“Well, I’ll make some subtle inquiries. If they won’t tell us what the hell is going on, then we’ll find out ourselves. They’ll need to remember we’re in the pack too now.”
The constant use of the wordwewas small but significant.
It was no longer me against the world. It was Merrick and me fighting together. Having someone in my corner after struggling for so long was overwhelming, and tears gathered in the corner of my eyes.
“Thank you,” I said in a watery voice.
Merrick, noticing the swell of emotions, put the frying pan down and scooped me into his arms, gently whispering soothing words as I let myself break down.
“I’m sorry, I’m a wreck,” I sobbed into his bare, chiseled chest. “I blame the hormones.”
“You’re not a wreck,” he insisted. “After everything you’ve been through, I’m honestly surprised you haven’t been in aworsestate. Pregnancy and bonding aregoing to mess with your hormones; it’ll probably be a while before everything settles down. And you’re doing amazing.”
“Great. You tied yourself to anunstablewreck!” I cried, not really sure why. This was exhausting.
Merrick chuckled, pulling me closer. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
His sweet, caring words only made me cry harder. But at least they were coming from a happy place. I really was a mess, despite what he said, but again, it felt nice to be accepted as the mess I currently was, no ifs, ands, or buts.
Clearly, I had been smart choosing to bond with Merrick, because before we returned back to my apartment to faceNolan and Wilder, he had an appointment booked for me to get a sonogram. It was with the same building I had gone to the day before for my separation sickness, so they had all my information on file as the two offices shared files on patients, which was handy.
“You know, the baby is probably just going to be a blob at this point,” I said as we sat in that little room next to the sonogram machine, waiting for a technician.
“But it’ll be a very cute blob, because it’s your blob.” He smiled, holding on to my hand.
I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off when the technician appeared. “Hello, guys! Are we ready to see Baby?” she asked.
“We are,” Merrick answered with a beaming grin.
When she placed the jelly on my stomach I jumped, because that shit was cold.
“Sorry, I keep saying we need to get a warmer for this stuff, but do they listen to me?” She laughed lightly, looking at the screen as she pressed the wand into my stomach. The screen was just a bunch of black and white static.
“I occasionally have to use these at work, and I’m always apologizing,” I admitted, scooting up the table a bit so she didn’t have to crane her arm.
“What do you do?” she asked, never looking away from the screen.
“I’m an EMT.”
A smile broke out on her face. “Wonderful! So you probably know half of what I’m doing.”
“Some of it, but I don’t come across many babies in my line of work.”
“And what do you do, Dad?” she asked.
My chest tightened at those words. Dad. Technically, as a pack member, Merrick was a dad, but this was all so new that I feared he wouldn’t be okay with it.
My worries were for nothing, though, as Merrick visibly preened at being calledDad. His eyes crinkled, as his grin was so wide it probably strained his cheek muscles.
“I’m a firefighter.”
“Well, looks like I have a couple of heroes in my office today! Now—here we go! Here’s your baby!”
The static on the screen shifted, and there, in black and white, was my baby.
“Whoa, that’s no blob,” Merrick said in an awestruck voice.
It wasn’t—okay, maybe it was slightly blobby, but the head and body were easily distinguishable. There was a nose and tiny hands…
