The door swung open, and Dave and Tina came in while Charlie pushed through the mother of all contractions, screaming in pain while somehow managing to laugh hysterically. I couldn't see what was happening under the tablecloth, so I kept my eyes on Charlie's red face. The door opened and closed again, but I couldn't be bothered to check. Not when my whole world was here on this counter. Charlie fell back against my arm, clutching my hand and panting with relief as a sharp cry filled the air.
Tom stood and looked around. "Alpha, it seems like Charlie needs you. Did you want me to go ahead and cut the cord?"
Shaking his head, Charlie answered before I could. "My parents are here. I want my dad to do it. He didn't get to cut mine. Maybe this will make up for it in some small way."
Dave had tears rolling down his cheeks as he came over with an extended claw. "Thank you, son. I know we stumbled in on this by accident, but I'm honored to be part of such an important moment." He gathered himself enough to cut the cord, then turned to pull a sobbing Tina into his arms. Tom passed our daughter to Darcy before muttering something about afterbirth and ducking back under the tablecloth.
"Not so fast." Charlie reached out. "Let me hold her, Darcy. I don't care how mucky she is. She is my little girl. If I learned anything from my own history, it's the importance of being able to imprint her face in my mind from the very start." As soon as he brought her close, he looked toward his parents with shining eyes. “She has our birthmark, Dad! Right here, it’s the cutest little strawberry over her right eyebrow. Or, where her eyebrow will be since she doesn’t seem to have any just yet.”
“They’re there, sweetheart. They’re just more fuzz than hair at this stage.” Tina smiled through happy tears, clearly as thrilled as we all were.
Charlie looked back at me. “Okay, it’s time to do your part, charming.”
It took me a moment to realize what he meant. Damned if I didn’t have to blink a few times through blurry eyes before I could scratch an X over her itty-bitty heart with the claw I extended.
After we were done and ready to pass her back, Darcy held his hands up and stepped back. "I'm going to let your mom take it from here, Charlie. I'm sure she knows a lot more about cleaning a baby after birth than I do, and it'll mean so much more to her."
Bless Darcy for offering exactly what Charlie preferred since his parents were here and he could include them. Darcy had been up to bat originally because there was no other option. Not only was it the right thing to do—it was Charlie's way of closing the circle. Goddess, but I loved my mate.
Tina went from crying with shaky hands when she finally laid eyes on Gidget up close to steadying herself and becoming all business as she took the baby over to the sink and got to work. Dave hovered at her side, ready to pass her anything and everything she might need.
I was so busy watching them, mostly because I couldn't take my eyes off my baby girl, that Charlie caught me off guard, bursting out laughing. When I glanced back at him, he pointed toward the left-hand corner, where the dead body still lay. Ash was there, along with my buddy Nick and two men I didn't recognize, talking to Pedro, obviously already conducting his investigation.
I hoped Josh wasn’t watching. Surprisingly, though, Alex was awake. The two brothers had their back to their so-called mother's corpse, quietly talking while everything went on around them. I turned back to Charlie with wide eyes. "Am I dreaming, or is this the craziest day ever?"
"I was thinking the same thing. I'd offer to pinch you, but I'm too tired." He looked past me as the door opened again, smiling with relief when he saw Raul. "Oh, good. Our beta is here. He can take over the crazy in here, and we can confiscate the golf cart and go home. Mom can care for Gidget properly there while you help me take a hot bath."
Tom came around the counter, wiping freshly washed hands with a towel, shrugging at Charlie’s lifted brow. "So I asked to share the sink for a second, sue me. And yes, a bath is a fantastic idea for you. You tore a little, but I healed you. You're good as new and ready for the next one."
Blanching, Charlie curled up against my chest, shaking his head. "There will be no talk of a next one until my brain has been able to recover from the multiple horrors of this one."
"Amen." I spoke without hesitation. It would be a long time before any of us got over this day.
Tapping my arm, Charlie whispered for me to help him back into his pants. Darcy and Tom chatted with him while I accomplished my mission. Tina and Dave turned around with a clean little angel cradled in Tina's arms, the moment after I helped Charlie sit up. He sat on the edge of the counter, swinging his legs and rolling his head from side to side as if working out the tension in his neck.
Tina offered Gidget, but Charlie shook his head. "You hold onto her for now, Mom. Keep her safe until I make it home. I was going to leave, but I think Lucian and I need to handle a couple things here before we head over. Raul can take you in the golf cart. You know where everything is in Gidget's nursery."
"It would be my honor, darling. My first grandbaby. You better know I will protect her with everything I have." Tina was crying again, but weren't we all?
Taking a moment to swipe his arm over his eyes, Charlie's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Dang it, Mom. It's hard enough not to cry. Do you know how many hormones are flooding through my body? I'm a mess, I tell you. A complete mess. I'm worse than Bette Davis in every crying scene she’s ever filmed."
His parents both laughed, smiling proudly first at Charlie, then me, before turning their adoring gazes back to our daughter. Charlie rested his chin on my shoulder. "Go ahead, Mom and Dad. Take our little girl home for me. Enjoy your granddaughter while you have the chance. Because after I get home and finally have my bath, I plan to be selfish while I count every finger and toe and take a million pictures."
Raul had obviously been paying attention because he came over with a smile and escorted Charlie's parents outside after taking a second to admire our daughter and congratulate us.
Meanwhile, the two strange men were wrapping the dead body while Ash and Nick chatted with the boys. And even better, Dave must have followed through on the promise of clothing because Alex was dressed.
Charlie tapped my shoulder. "Help me down, charming. I want to get in on their conversation."
When we arrived, there really wasn't much to hear. Ash was in the middle of explaining how their parents had brought them into the family. After both boys agreed to cheek swabs, they made it clear: while they were interested in finding their birth families, they would be sticking together.
Alex ended by looking to Charlie. "Charlie, I want to thank you for being so kind and not cussing me out for not telling you sooner who my family was the minute I walked in. At first, I didn't know it was important. And by the time I knew where you were and what it meant, I was afraid you wouldn't trust me if you knew. I planned to tell you after we got away, I swear. Josh was going to meet us on the way here, and we were going to ask Ford to introduce us to his Alpha."
I couldn't help chuckling when I heard, even though I was pretty sure Charlie had mentioned it himself at one point. Or maybe I'd filled in the blanks. “A friendly introduction would've been a better way than finding him half dead on the side of a ditch. But not how we were fated to meet. For the record, I would've welcomed you then, and I'm welcoming you now. Both of you will have a safe place and a pack if you want to stay here. Since you're already friends with Charlie and his siblings, I think you'd be a good fit."