Page 64 of Jared

Jared felt tears track down his face. I've ruined everything. Steve's special day and our wedding. People probably think that Steve makes me feel sick.

“Shhh, baby. It'll be okay. Hey, soon our little fella will be here.”

Jared could hear the strain in Steve's voice. “Spoiled everything,” he whispered hoarsely.

Steve shook his head. “No, you didn't. Babies come on their own timetable. So he's a little early. Probably the stress of being kidnapped and the trial on top of everything else, right?”

Jared gave a tiny nod. He felt a burning sensation from his sternum to his navel. It was accompanied by an even stronger contraction. He threw out a hand and clutched at Steve blindly. “Arghhhh!”

Steve gave a panicked nod to someone behind Jared. Two men gripped him under his shoulders and helped him off the dais, taking him as quickly as they could somewhere. Jared kept his grip on Steve the entire time and became lost in a haze. There was nothing but the sensation of walking somewhere, Steve, and the pain rising, cresting, breaking, and starting all over again.

Then he was being lowered onto a surface and Dr. Schaeffer was cutting his tunic away and removing his pants.

“It's open,” he heard him say with relief in his voice. “Jared,” Jared tried hard to focus on Doc's face and words as he obviously had something important to say. Something that would make it all stop and get his baby here now. Right now. “Jared, it'll be over soon, okay? Just try to relax and do what I say.”

Relax? Is he crazy?

The doctor was scrubbing his hands with soap and a bowl of water that had mysteriously appeared. Alice handed him a towel to dry his hands.

Where'd she come from? Jared forgot to wonder about that anymore as the doctor gloved up and moved his hands to Jared's abdomen. He paused, searching Jared's face and gauging his reaction. He turned towards Alice. “Can you hold the towel so that Jared can't see my hands? Steve, you stay there up by is head, please.”

Alice moved to comply, holding a clean towel up as a screen. A moment later, he felt hands on his abdomen, slipping even as Dr. Schaeffer told him, “Jared, I'm reaching in now. I'm taking hold of the baby, okay? I'm sorry we don't have anything here so you don't feel it.”

Jared threw a panicked glance at Steve. Steve held his hands in his. “It's fine, baby. Just hold on, okay. Be just a minute. Think of something else.”

Jared tried to focus. Think of something else- anything else. “Where'd he get the gloves?” he blurted out.

Steve grinned. “First aid kit. Mom had a good one put in the kitchen years ago and makes sure it's always fully stocked and up to date.”

“Oh.”

A heavy feeling moving upwards, then away.

“It's a boy.”

Our baby. He felt a deep need to see. He pulled a hand free and tugged at the towel. Alice lowered it.

“He's beautiful, see?” Alice said, proffering the towel to Doc, who was doing something with the cord. Jared fastened his eyes on his son's face. The baby grunted and then gave a short cry.

“He sure is,” Jared said.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “He is simply beautiful.

Jared felt a tear fall on his arm and was unsurprised to see Steve crying. Jared felt himself well up.

“The most beautiful baby in the world. Looks just like his Papa.”

25

Steve gazed at his sleeping son. He couldn't believe he was here already. It had all happened so fast. First the scare with Jared going missing, then his rescue, the capture of the two scumbags, their trial and punishment, the wedding...

The wedding.He winced. Jared is still upset about that. Maybe we should have a small, private, redo with just my folks, Desmond, and the betas. Maybe when he feels better.

Steve hoped that was soon. Jared had seemed to recover well after the birth so they'd only stayed a few days before returning home. With a couple of days, Jared had begun to feel unwell. At first they'd chalked it up to fatigue from healing while settling in with a newborn, but Steve was becoming worried that something else was at play. Jared had dark circles under his eyes and seemed to be growing not only tired, but weaker.

Almost as if he's fading. I don't care what he says, if he's not better today, I'm calling in the doc again.

He watched the even rise and fall of the infant's chest as he breathed, little snuffles bringing a small smile to Steve's lips. Galen Fai Chang. Steve longed to stroke the sleeping child's head, but refrained. Experience taught him that Galen would wake and express his displeasure. The boy loves his sleep. At least there's that. He's such an easy baby. Steve turned and stealthily closed the door behind himself as he left the room. He padded across the hall to check on Jared. He frowned. Jared's skin had taken on a waxy hue, the only color on his face two bright spots on his cheeks and the purple bruised hue about his eyes. Even his lips looked bloodless. His chest rose and fell with an agonizing slowness, his chest making but shallow movements.