Page 12 of Jeremiah

Not paying attention to Jeremiah, she held onto the fence that surrounded the playground and held on tightly. The pain was nearly unbearable, and she didn’t know if this was labor or growing pains. What her dad called Braxton hicks. Not having any idea what to expect, only being able to hang out at the zoo when elephant babies were born, Lexy decided to just let things go until Jeremiah came home and they could figure this out together. However, she thought that the baby had other plans and wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion.

It didn’t take her long to realize that she wasn’t going to be able to stay at school. She’d been told when she went into labor that walking was the best thing she could do. It was painful for her, yet it did seem to slow things down. As she made her way home, peeling off her coat on the way because she was suddenly roasting, Lexy was dizzy with pain when she reached out for the other women in the pack. The first person who contacted her was Hanna, and all she could do when she asked her if she was all right was to scream.

Not knowing what had happened when she woke up in a stranger’s bed, she looked around the beautiful room and saw that not only was Jeremiah there but her father as well. They were both sleeping. There was an older woman, whom she didn’t know, sitting there too, and it took her sitting up before she felt like she could figure out where the hell she was.

“My name is Peabody.” The elderly woman never stopped to look at her but continued clicking her knitting needles together in time with the clock that was ticking somewhere in the house. “You don’t know me. I’m sure that I never heard of you, but you’re my great-granddaughter.”

“My family is all gone but for my dad.” Peabody told her that was obviously not true as she was sitting right there. “I don’t mean to be rude, but…where is my child? I didn’t hurt her, did I? I mean, I was trying to make it home when…I don’t know what happened.”

“You did fine, Lexy. Just fine, indeed. There was a hiccup or two when they brought you here, but you gave birth to the young one without any trouble at all.” She asked Peabody what the hiccups were. “Oh, I guess then things didn’t go all that fine.”

She put down her knitting and moved closer to the bed. When she sat down, taking her hands into hers, Lexy felt like she didn’t want to know what had happened. Telling the elderly woman that she’d been a teacher before coming here and that she’d met her one true love, she closed her mouth when Peabody said her name.

“Do you have a name for your daughter? I bet it’s a lovely one.” She told her. “Alexandra is a lovely name. Does it mean anything? I mean, are you naming her after someone?”

“My grandmother. Please tell me where my daughter is.” Peabody told her that she was with the faeries and entertaining them quite delightfully. “And she’s all right then? She’s not been harmed because of me?”

“Good heavens, no. She’s just fine. Such a lovely little thing. Well, not little. She came in at about eleven pounds but was perfect in every way. You’ll get to see her soon. I promise.” Nodding, she looked at her dad and husband. “They’re sleeping. I had to make them rest so that you could. They were hovering. You know how they can be. They want to be your hero and make things perfect for you.”

“You have something to tell me.” Peabody said that she did. “It’s about…not the baby. You said she was perfect. So it’s me. Something happened to me.”

“Yes. That husband of yours he told me that you’d get it right away. That there was no fooling you at all. Yes, you had some complications that made it so that you can only have the one child.” Nodding, she waited for the bad news, and Peabody smiled. “He also said that you’d not care one with that you could only have the one so long as she was healthy and happy. That husband of yours, Jeremiah, he’s a good man. He loves you so very much. Did you know that?”

“I do. Yes.” Peabody patted her hands before putting them under the blanket. “Did he also tell you that I’m not much into being pampered? That I like my news like I take off a band-aid?”

“He did at that.” The two of them laughed as exhaustion nearly had her closing her eyes. “You sleep now, child. You and I have a great deal to catch up on, and we’ll bond over that little girl of yours. She’s a beauty, I will tell you that.”

Lexy was sure that she should have insisted that she see her daughter. But with knowing that Jeremiah was sleeping comfortably, as was her dad, she thought that she could sleep too. Having one child was hurtful and sad, but she had her, and that, she knew, was more than she had ever hoped for when she’d been growing up. Closing her eyes, Lexy let sleep take her under and smiled. She had a little girl. Her very own child with the best man in the world.

~*~

Enjoying the afternoon, Jeremiah watched his family as they made their way across the paths that had been set up by the faeries. They had been made so that his little girl, already walking, could make her way back home without getting lost. He’d not thought that Alex would be born as an elephant. He supposed that he should have, being that everyone kept telling him that she’d be big when she was born.

Alex tumbled over and was helped up by the unicorn. She had to spend her first year of life here so that magic could help her grow into a shifter elephant. He’d not realized that either. That she’d have to have special magic to keep her from staying as an elephant when it was time for her to learn to shift into a girl. He would learn something every day about his special daughter and was thrilled beyond words that she was doing very well while they were in the magical world. He looked at Hanna when she joined him on the bench. She’d been popping in and out for the last several days, checking up on them and Alex.

“She’s about accomplished all that she’s been taught. I bet you’re very proud of her. I know that Lexy is.” He just grinned at her. “I don’t do sappy. Use your words before I smack you around. Are you happy?”

“More than I think that I’ve ever been since meeting Lexy. Does that answer your question?” She nodded this time. “I’m not going to point out to you that you didn’t use your own words. I’m in too good of a mood to let you take away some of my happiness. Now, tell me what it is that brought you here.”

“Peabody is having trouble with her circus.” He told her that he’d figured that out. “So, tell me what you’ve done to help her out so that I can go back to your family and tell them. They, for whatever reason, think that I should have it all figured out and not have someone come and tell you. I would have just fixed it myself, but your family doesn’t like to step on anyone’s toes.”

“I wonder where they got the notion that they might be stepping on my toes.” She glared at him, and he really was in such a good mood that he laughed. “I sent money to cover her payroll. Also, I sent some people that I know, shifters, that will be a big showcase for her and had them working for her. They’re retired from whatever job they had and seem to think that they owe me something. This is a good way for me to clean up my books, so to speak, and bring her out of debt. We are going to go there in a couple of weeks and perform for her. She’s been training Lexy and her dad on some of the things that will help her out. Anything else?”

“Can I help her out?” Jeremiah told her that would be up to her and Peabody. “I’m glad that you said that. I’ve already spoken to her, and I’m going to be a headline for her in a month. I can be several animals that she doesn’t have, and that will bring in a good deal of ready cash for her to end off the year. You didn’t come to me. Why is that? I would have given them permission.”

“Loren was with me when I got the information about her circus. It was the first thing that he said, that if I needed some exotic shifters, he would allow anyone who was in good standing with you two to be able to go. I didn’t know that I had to have your permission, but he was happy to give it. However, they do have to be in good standing. I’m not sure what that entailed, but he assured me that the few that went are.” She told him. “Okay, that makes sense. I wouldn’t have thought about dues as a crime. Joel was able to get me in touch with the area leaders for a few more shifters, so that couldn’t have worked out better. Are you all right with Loren allowing that to happen?”

“He’s a big boy and able to make decisions on his own.” He asked Hanna if there was a ‘but’ to that. “No. I wish he would have told me about it so that I knew, but nothing bad will come of it. The others are a little pissy because they didn’t get to help. It’s nice when I can do something before they can. I like that feeling.” They both laughed.

“When I contacted her, I had no idea that she’d come to the birthing. In fact, I had no idea that she was related to Lexy and her dad at all. Well, not so much Larry, but she is great grandmother to Lexy. She is from Larry’s wife’s side of the family. Did you ever meet her?” She said that she’d not. “I don’t think I would have liked her. She seemed pretty much a bitch when I was asking about her.”

“That’s what I got when I talked to Peabody. How long do you plan on being with her? Through the rest of the summer, I’m guessing?” He said that he would leave when Lexy had enough. “Do you think that will happen? Her having enough of the circus life? I saw her practicing. She really is enjoying herself.”

“I saw that too. They’re going to dress me up in a suit and tie as my wolf and have me run around the feet of the elephants that are walking around. It sounds really dangerous, but it is easy. Once they start walking, I just make sure that I’m not going to be crushed. Works every time.” Hanna, of course, didn’t find any humor in that. Like she fully expected him to be crushed the first time he was around them. After a few minutes of her thinking, she told him that she was only joking. He didn’t believe that either. She had no sense of humor that he’d ever noticed.

After putting Alex down for a nap, something that he had never thought of doing before with an elephant, he found himself looking for Peabody. The others who had been practicing had left the area, and he thought that he’d sit down a little bit and talk to her about the rest of his family joining the troop to have some downtime from working so hard. It was Dad who had asked, and he fully believed that his father would be with the circus for the rest of his days if allowed.

Last night, his family had joined him in the magical kingdom. Loren and Hanna had been making it their home for a while now, at least the last few years. They had four children between adopting and their own child and, for the most part, ran their kingdom well. There were a couple of issues that were nipped in the bud right away, and that seemed to satisfy everyone. Hanna’s dad had passed away some time ago, so there wasn’t a threat about him anymore that kept them up at night.