One Daunting Night

Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – unedited (Written 15/7/2013)

*Friday 4th July*

Caleb's small cries next to Ara woke her up immediately. Being the mother she is, she sat up in her bed and picked up Caleb who slept right next to her. 

After last nights encounter with her wrecked apartment, she'll be staying a few days in Faith and Heather's apartment. Since the two were rooming together, Faith and Heather had a bigger apartment than Ara did, they had three bedrooms and a couch bed, for guests. 

Faith and Sebastian slept in Faith's room while Heather crashed in her own. Xander, not wanting to cause problems, slept on the couch. 

When Xander heard the faint cries of his son, he jolted awake and rushed towards the guest room. Ara was cooing the Caleb's small cries when Xander barged right in, making her jump in fear. 

She had to still get used to Xander. It didn't help that he was shirtless, his jeans from yesterday hanging dangerously low on his hips. She had to admit, the boy had abs. Yeah, well this boy is your mate. And got you pregnant. Her conscious kicks in, making her slightly annoyed. 

Of course, at times like these her common sense bugs in and does what it does best – put common sense into her. Just like now, how she's warming up to Xander and all, something inside her reminds her that he was the one who put her in this position, the one who made her lie to her parents, made her feel so alone and unaccounted for during her pregnancy.

Not to mention the reason why she went through the terrible pain of giving birth, but it was eventually all worth it. 

Xander sat on the light brown sheets in front of his newfound mate and son. He wasn't aware of his shirtless-ness and laid down on the side of the bed. 

"Does this always happen, him crying?" He asks softly in a small guilty tone. He's been beating himself up since he found out he got a girl pregnant, not to mention his own mate. Then she did it all herself.

"Yeah, but I'm used to it. Tonight was a lucky night. He slept right through it, usually I'd have to wake up about twice a night, but I take naps during the day." She replies simply, lifting Caleb up and supporting him to stand on the bed, letting him jump up and down. 

His cries turned into small giggles, as he jumps up and down, with the help of Ara of course. Xander feels guilty once again; it was technically all his fault. His momma could never be proud of her baby boy doing this. 

"I know you're guilty. I can see it by the look on your face when you see Caleb. Honestly, I know what we did was meant to happen, things happen for a reason. The whole soulmate thing is a little...weird to me. But hey, at least you put something interesting into my dull plain life." She admits sheepishly, trying to make him feel better. 

She twists Caleb so now he was sitting on her lap, his back resting on her stomach while his fingers carelessly in his mouth. Ara noticed that Caleb's first tooth was sprouting and was planning to buy new teething toys. 

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I really am. I hate that I did that to you, I hate that I could do it to anyone – especially you. I, I–" Xander apologizes but Ara interjects. 

"No offense, but sorry isn't going to fix it. It's nice that you apologized, manned up and took action, I really appreciate it. I forgive you, I do, I figured in the last two days I've just gotten to know you, you wouldn't just disappear. The only thing that is wrong is that I don't trust you yet." Xander's face falls, but he knew the reason why. 

"I understand and I totally agree. To be honest, I want to make it up to you. I want to be apart of your life, apart of Caleb's life." To become a family. He wanted to add, but it was far too soon, so he just stuck with what he said.