The Guard- Elders-Part 3

Untitled Part 1

The Guard

~Elders~

By

Linda A. Doxey

London, Great Britain

1550 A>. D.

1

I could hear people laughing and talking. It was close by. I opened my eyes slowly. I was expecting the next pain. I felt my belly, the baby was gone.

I started to cry when I opened my eyes again Paddy was staring at me. He smiled. "Hey sleepyhead." Oh uh. I have slept for a long time again. "How long?" I said hoarsely.

"Three months." He brushed back my hair. I could barely swallow.

"Can you move? You must be thirsty?" I nodded.

He helped me up. I held him tight. "I have missed you." He kissed me gently.

"The baby Paddy?" I asked worriedly. He smiled. "Is right over there." He walked me over to the cot in our room. "He is in his sleep cycle. He is like Cassie was: a wake for two, sleep for one."

"Did you name him?" I whispered. "Yes." He nodded. "Quinn Riley."

"I like it."

"Good. I am glad." He kissed me again.

I sniffed myself. "How come I do not smell? The last time I was asleep for a long time. I smelled bad." He smiled. "The last time you did not have Cassie coming in here and bathing you everyday."

"She did." I turned to look for her. "Where is she?"

"She is with my parents, Cory and Gen. They went to feed." He kissed me.

"Which is something you need to do."

"I can wait."

I reached down and touched our son. He looked so peaceful sleeping.

"He has learned to control his shifting which is very impressive for a three month old." I took Paddy's hand. "Come swim with me." He smiled. "Gladly."

We went down to the bathing pool. Paddy undressed me, kissing my skin as he went. I moaned. "The last time you moaned like that you had our son."

"Paddy what happened? I do not remember anything."

"Um well Quinn had shifted into a panther which made him explode from your belly." Paddy's eyes were closed. "It is not an image I will easily forget." I kissed his eyes. He smiled.

"You were literally split wide open. Quinn landed in the pool and being a newborn not knowing how to swim he sunk to the bottom. I found him and put him on the edge of the pool. Then I took you out of the water and laid you down on the edge also. As soon as I was out of the water Mom and Dad came in to help. Cassie was hysterical. Cory and Gen were trying to calm her down."

"Mom and Dad realized I needed help but they could not enter the cave until we were out of the water. Mom stayed with you. She noticed that your body was slowly healing itself. She helped by placing everything back. She said if you were a shapeshifter, you would not have survived."

"Dad and I stayed with Quinn. He had a hard time with his shifting. He bounced from one shape to another. Dad finally had him calm enough to settle on his human shape. And he has been in that shape ever since."

"Cory and Gen brought Cassie into see you. She thought for sure you were gone, so did I. I was afraid to look. Mom had her back to us. We could not see what she was doing."

"Mom said she remembered when Athos had stabbed you with all those swords and your body absorbed the blood directly through the holes. She had cut her wrists and was letting the blood drip onto your skin. It worked."