“It is,” he said, his voice thick and deep from sleep. “That’s Carl’s ringtone. I set it to bypass.” He sat up and answered. “Hello? … Yeah?” He sounded wide-awake now. “We’ll be right over.”
Dewi hadn’t even realized she sat up and was now also wide awake. “What happened?”
“Nothing bad,” he said, getting up. “Tamsin’s in labor. Her water broke. He’s already called Dr. Collins and he’s on his way. I’ll go wake everyone.” He pulled on shorts and headed out of the bedroom to do that.
So much for sleeping.
Dewi climbed back out of bed and made another insurance trip to the bathroom before pulling on shorts and an oversized T-shirt. She brushed her teeth and her hair and by the time she made it downstairs, Da and Badger had, too.
“Field trip, gentlemen?” she said as she headed for the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee for the drive.
“Preview of comin’ attractions,” Badger snarked.
Dewi turned and growled at him.
He cackled. “Sweetheart, ye canna blame me.”
“No, she’ll blameme,” Ken said as he rounded the corner, now fully dressed. He leaned in and gave her a kiss where she stood at the single-serve coffee maker. “What happened to our ‘don’t rile Dewi’ rule, dude?”
Duncan chuffed. “You might want to take notes tonight, because you might be begging us for sanctuary while Dewi’s in labor, son.”
“Probably. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
They took Badger’s truck with him driving. Dr. Collins beat them to the house. His RV, which was a portable medical clinic, sat taking up the entire driveway while cars had been moved to park along the street. So Badger pulled up next to the curb behind Beck’s car and they all hurried inside.
She spotted Mateo and Carl in the kitchen and from the scent of food and coffee knew they were preparing for them all to settle in for a while. Beck and Da’von were in the living room, and before Dewi could even ask, Beck hooked his thumb toward the hall.
“Nami and Brianna are back there with her and the doc.”
Ken, Badger, and Duncan held back Dewi hurried on down the hall and paused in the doorway. The home birth had been planned because Tamsin was a shifter and it was fortunately rare for there to be severe complications with them. But just in case, they could quickly move her out to the RV if an emergency developed. Dr. Collins had the equivalent of a mobile trauma center and could even handle surgery. If Tamsin had been a human, they would have taken her to the hospital, where another doctor who was part of the pack and business partners with Dr. Collins would supervise her care.
Dr. Collins was eighty-six despite looking half that. He was currently a practicing veterinarian, but he’d started out as a human doctor. When he’d aged out, he’d gone back to school to become a vet. But he still treated their packmates in this area. In another few years, the fake identity Gillian had set up for him a while back would age-in enough they could get him his new human medical license, and from there set him up with privileges at local hospitals.
Ironically, in a few years the other doctor would switch to vet medicine, and then take over treating their packmates from the mobile clinic while Dr. Collins moved to treating patients in a hospital again.
One of Gillian’s current projects was setting up a secondary medical clinic there in Florida, so it would make everyone’s lives easier. From ordering supplies to being able to write prescriptions as needed. It was an elaborate ruse, but necessary in the long-run to avoid raising suspicions and drawing attention from state regulators.
They’d pushed the bed to the far side of the room, there was monitoring equipment set up, an IV pole, a tarp covering the carpeted floor, and Tamsin was currently sitting on a large yoga ball while Brianna and Nami helped her balance.
“Hey, sweetie. How you doing?”
Tamsin was working on her breathing but nodded.
“So far, everything looks fine,” Dr. Collins said.
“Did anyone call Trevor and Elaine yet?”
He pointed, and that’s when Dewi spotted the tablet set up on a dresser. Elaine Clarke’s face filled the screen and she waved.
“Cheers, Dewi! Trevor’s making our breakfast.”
Nami looked a little exhausted already. “Want me to take over for a while?” Dewi asked.
She nodded, and when Dewi swapped places with her, Nami sat on the edge of the bed. “Thank you, hon.”
With her Prime powers, Dewi gently reached out to better assess how the young corgi shifter was faring. Tamsin currently had a laser-focus on giving birth. Dewi sensed her grief and anguish, but for now it wasn’t her priority.
“You’re doing great, love,” Elaine encouraged, helping lead Tamsin through her breathing exercises.
