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Present Day
I woke up drenched in my own sweat. I batted my eyes as I got used to the darkness in the bedroom. My heart was racing as the images from my nightmare faded in my mind. It was the same dream I had when I met Lydia. The dream/vision that predicted Logan’s death. At the time, I had the dream the first time something told me the boy in the dream belonged to both Lydia and me. Now I just wanted to cry. Then I realized why I had awakened. Mackenzie was screaming. I threw my wet tee shirt on the floor after I used it to dry my chest. Then I leaned over the crib to pick up my baby girl. She kicked as she cried. When she was in my arms, she didn’t stop.
“Mackey its Daddy you are okay,” I said as I tried to calm her as I rocked her against my shoulder.
She continued to cry much to my distress. Then I noticed her hands over her ears and her eyes closed. I moved her hands and whispered in her ear.
---
“It’s Daddy, wake up.”
Her eyes popped open as her green-eyed gaze landed on me; I saw Lydia in our baby girl as I held my child against my chest again. Her delicate little nose, pouty lips and softly green eyes were evidence of my wife. I patted her back as she calmed down.
“Daddy,” she said softly as she sniffed and poked out a trembling lip while she held my shoulder.
“It’s okay I’m here Sweetie and I love you so much,” I said as I tried not to cry, I smiled for her as I kissed both of her chubby cherub cheeks. She needed me to be happy, she was one of the most important people in my world. My life as I know it had shifted again when Logan died. Too much sadness I felt, but here I had my sweetheart the one that had come from the love my life. Which reminded me we should get back to sleep because Lydia was coming home? Mackey grinned at me as she reached for my nose. Such an innocent.
---
A half an hour later Mackey was finally asleep again after several games of tickle the tummy and me flying her in the air. She was so sweet. I lay watching her sleep as I gently touched her soft dark hair with my fingers. She was on my chest with her ear over my heart. I wrapped my arms around her as I dozed off myself.
---
A few hours later, a sound invaded my sleep. I lay still as I heard voices in the other room. I looked up to see Mackenzie watching me with a slight smile on her face. I leaned up to kiss her nose before Cassie knocked on the doorframe.
“Lydia is anxious to come home,” Cassie said with a smile as she stood at the door.
“Oh .. am I running late?” I asked as I leaned up with my daughter in my arms.
“A little but don’t worry I am her to watch the baby,” she said as she took my little girl from me.
“I’ll be back shortly,” I told my daughter as she watched me with a frown.
“Oh,” she said.
I leaned down to kiss her again, though I was choked up because she was asking for her brother with the look that somehow seemed to show me that she knew something was wrong.
“I’m going to get Mommy,” I said as cheerfully as I could muster.
“Mommy?” she said with a grin.
“Yep.”
Cassie watched us sadly though she smiled when Mackey leaned on her shoulder.
“Thanks for doing this Cas, I shouldn’t be long.”
“Take your time, I’m not going any where. Actually Dean is coming over with food for lunch he thought it might be nice.”
“Sounds good,” I said as she left the room so I could dress.
---
Lydia was dressed and in a wheelchair when I arrived in her room. She sat reading as I walked in.
“Hey slow poke,” she said with a smile as I went over to kiss her.
“Good morning, Honey, sorry I’m late.”
“The baby keep you up last night?”
“Um I think both of us had bad dreams,” I said as I began to wheel her toward the door.
“Okay, any thing I need to know about?” she asked hesitantly.
“Um, no, I don’t know what Mackey dreamed, she so young you know.”
Lydia bit her lip.
“You don’t think she will be like you with the visions? I mean … Logan had a gift I guess I assumed that one of them would be…normal.”
I was quiet for moment as I tried to arrange my thoughts into something that was not angry.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I had hoped the same thing.”
So she thinks I am not normal, not a good time to find that out.
---
“Sam stop.”
“What?”
“Stop moving the chair,” she said before we got to the elevator banks.
I stopped but stayed behind the chair. She touched my hand.
“I need you on this side.”
I stood in front of her looking dejected, I sighed in frustration.
“I did not mean you were not normal,” she said as she crooked her finger toward me to show she wanted me to lean down.
I knelt in front of her there in the middle of the hospital. I needed to know what she did mean.
“What then?”
“You know I love you, right?”
I nodded, speechless as I held my breath. Had she always thought my gift was something she only put up with not something she truly accepted.
“Honey it’s not a matter of normal or not I guess I hoped she would not have that weight on her life. I know its selfish but with a gift it should be used to help people. I also think it can be a burden.”
“I agree with that. All those years we hunted constantly and I used my gift for that, though it didn’t always work out exactly as predicted.”
She reached up to caress my cheek, then I realized we were in the way of the others as they came and went from the elevators.
“We should go,” she said as I got up to push her into an open elevator door.
---
At home, Dean met us at the door with Mackey in his arms.
“Welcome home,” he said to Lydia once she was in the door.
She thanked him as he hugged her around the baby. Lydia took the baby from him after the hug to hold. Mackenzie’s face was aglow with happiness at seeing her mother. She held her tightly around the neck as Lydia went to sit on the sofa with her. The rest of us scattered to the kitchen to give the mother and daughter time alone.
“Thanks guys for all the help over the last few months.”
“No need to thank us,” Cassie said.
“She’s right no need, you are like family,” Dean teased me.
---
Later that evening, while the girls were all asleep, since Dean and Cassie decided to stay the night, Dean and I talked in the den.
“So we are going to do this then?”
“Yeah we need to talk to the funeral home first to make sure there was not a mishap that could have caused a mistake at the …. Cemetery,” I said calmly as I reviewed my options again in my head.
I did not want to jump to conclusions or rush in somewhere and make things worse like Dean used to do in his younger days. He seemed calmer now that he was going to be a father, he amazed me at times with the changes in his attitude.
“Good idea,” Dean said.
“If that is not what happened then we go to the plan C, since we already checked the records as they are in the computer system.”
“Plan C is breaking into the research facility connected to the hospital, right?”
I nodded as I licked the cake off my fork. I placed the plate on the table as Dean laughed at me.
“Still loving your desserts?”
“Oh absolutely,” I grinned.
“Well we better get back to weights soon then,” he said as he laughed.
---
It was early the next morning when I heard a scream come from the guest room. Both Lydia and I jumped up from the bed. The next sound was Mackey as she cried from the sound. I got up to pick her up as Lydia went to check on Dean and Cassie. She came back a few minutes later.
“Dean is taking Cassie to the hospital,” she said as she went to the closet.
“It too soon,” I said.
“I know and they both seem really scared so we have to go with them.”
“Of course,” I added.
Cassie wasn’t due for over a month. I changed Mackenzie and put on her footed gown before I gave her to Lydia who had dressed quickly. Dean came to the door to tell us they were leaving. I let him know we would be right behind them. He nodded sadly as he left.
---
“I hope this works out for them,” Lydia said as we drove to the hospital.
“Me too, they have come so far.”
Mackey was asleep in her car seat as I kept my eyes on the road and attempted to keep it all together. Losing Logan was bad enough I certainly did not want Dean to lose his baby too.
Dean met us in the waiting room at the maternity ward. He sat by himself with his hands over his face and elbows on his knees.
“Hey you okay?” I asked as I sat beside him.
“Yeah, they are checking her now, we should know something shortly.”
“I think it will be fine,” Lydia said.
“She is right Cassie is eight months, that isn’t very premature.”
“I hope you are right,” Dean said as he leaned back to rake his fingers through his hair.
He had let it grow out a bit lately, since he insisted Cassie liked it that way. He worked at the local auto shop when he and I weren’t hunting.
---
It was almost an hour before a nurse came to get Dean. She took him over to the side to talk. I watched his stance to see if I could tell what she was telling him. He seemed to relax a bit after a moment. He seemed to sigh as she walked away.
“They want to take the baby or put Cassie on bed rest, its up to her.”
“Oh,” Mackey said in her sleep.
Lydia held her daughter closer.
“What did they recommend?”
“The longer that the baby stays in Cassie the better.”
A minute later a nurse came to get Dean to take him to Cassie’s room. We stayed in the waiting room.
---
I looked over at Lydia and saw tears running down her cheeks.
“Are you in pain?” I asked as I put my arm around her.
She shook her head as she took a deep breath.
“No, I’m sorry,” she said as she pointed at the baby in her lap.
“I heard,” I said with understanding.
Our child was dreaming about, Oh, her brother. We had to tell her even if she didn’t understand. I picked up the baby and put her on my shoulder as I smiled at Lydia.
“I’m okay, sorry for the tears.”
“Don’t worry about it is so much better having you here alive and … well than in a hospital bed.”
She leaned on my shoulder as we sat back to wait.
---
When Dean showed up again Cassie was with him. She smiled wanly and seemed embarrassed.
“Looks like I will be fine if I can put my feet up for the next month,” she said.
Dean had his arm around her and he wore a grin.
“Yeah they said if she can take it easy waiting til next month will be best,” he said as we all headed toward the elevator.
“Thank you guys for coming,” Cassie said as we all got in the elevator.
“Oh no problem,” I said as I pushed the floor button.
I watched Dean as he ran his hand over Cassie’s pregnant belly I could tell he was relieved. She smiled shyly at him. Lydia grinned as she looked up at me before I kissed her on the lips softly.
“De stress,” Lydia said.
Cassie smiled as Dean squeezed her hand.
“I’ll be good, no stressing you out,” Dean said.
“Sounds too good to be true,” Cassie teased her hubby.
---
More than Three years before
Lydia and I had spent most of our marriage hunting so we decided to take some time off for a while. Well that meant we had more time to make love and she ended up pregnant not long after our little break began. I found her in the bathroom one morning throwing up. When she looked at me I could see she knew the reason and she seemed upset.
“I think I’m pregnant,” she said as her voice broke.
She leaned over the sink to rinse her mouth out while I leaned against the door frame.
“Oh…you don’t need to be sad,” I tried to console her.
“I’m not its hormones, silly,” she said as she laughed and cried at the same time.
Women have strange talents I decided. I held her in my arms as she stood up to look in my eyes.
“Tell me it’s okay. Tell me you want us to have babies,” she said with desperateness in her voice.
“I do very much want babies with you. If you are pregnant then I am happy if you are not then we can try again,” I said as I tried to be amiable.
I honestly had not seriously considered having children. I mean we talked of it abstractly from time to time but never with a schedule in mind. I did mean what I said. A baby would be fine with me.
---
I pulled her into my arms to kiss her tear stained face.
“It’s okay we can do this, Sweetie. I mean you do want a baby, right?”
She nodded into my shirt.
“Yes, I do very much I just hoped it would be you know later on.”
“Well Babe, I think that is what most people say,” I teased her.
The next day the doctor confirmed that she was pregnant and I was happier than I could ever remember being.
TBC