I knock on the door because I don’t have my key and I don’t feel like dealing with Mikael’s bitching tonight.
Anders opens the door. He cocks his head to the side but gives me a smile. “Hey, Piper.”
“Hey, is Charlotte home?”
He nods and ushers me in. “She’s in the nest with Eli, Mikael, and Katie.”
“Oh, I can come back.”
“You clearly ran here. She would be pissed if you came by and she didn’t see you.”
“Right,” I reply, going down to the basement into the nest.
“Auntie P!” Katie shouts and runs to me. I grab her under her arms and hug her on my hip. I fucking love this little girl so much. It’s probably because she’s a pretty little clone of her mother with a touch of Eli in there.
“We can give you guys a minute,” Eli says, looking down at his Omega with worry in his eyes.
“Everything okay?”
“If feeling like my vagina is going to fall out is okay,” Charlotte says from her mass of pillows.
“Is vagina a bad word?” Katie asks.
“No, it’s not,” Charlotte says.
“Come here,ma chouette,”Mikael says, holding his arms out to his daughter. Katie is skeptical, and Mikael sighs. “I’ll give you back to Auntie P after she talks to mommy.”
“Okay,” she says, and she goes into her dad’s arms.
I crawl into Charlotte's nest. Her mass of pillows nearly drown her, and I wrap an arm around her belly and feel my future nieces or nephews.
“You smell,” she says, and I laugh.
“Sorry, I ran here.”
“Why?” she asks, and I sigh. “I know you're holding back from me. No one is buying that Owen is just your friend, or whatever you want to call him.”
“I know. You know if I could tell you, I would, right?”
“It’s the only reason I haven’t pushed you. I’d like to get to know Owen better.”
“Maybe after you deliver these babies.”
“Twins are supposed to come early, Piper. I’m eight hundred weeks pregnant,” she sniffles, and I pet her hair softly.
“I’m sorry, Charles.” Charlotte starts crying and mumbling about how much bullshit this is and how everything hurts and she just wants to move again. I stroke her hair and reassure my best friend. I’m not sure why being with her and comforting her makes me feel so much better.
“Oh, fuck,” she says suddenly. Her sobs completely hushed.
“What?”
“My water just broke.”
“What?”
“Go get everyone.” I feel her stomach lightly. Having only learned about obstetrics in medical school, I have no clue what I’m doing, but I nod and run upstairs.
“Uh, so Charlotte is having the babies,” I say to three shocked Alphas and a cheering Katie.
