Chapter 3 Drawl Forest

"A m I going to live, doc?" Holden croaked in a theatrical voice. I chuckled and kept my eyes on my watch as I checked the new father's pulse. He watched his perfectly healthy twins, Nathaniel and Nicholas, as they slept soundly in the crib beside his hospital bed, swaddled up tightly. "I'm no fortune teller, but so far so good," I smiled at him, then made note of his perfect heart rate on his chart. "Blood pressure is next." "What's that thing called again?" he asked as he pulled up the sleeve of his gown and let me wrap the cuff around his upper arm.

"It's a sphygmomanometer," I grinned as I started pumping up the cuff. "Geez, try saying that three times fast," he laughed. "I'm glad you're feeling well enough to make good jokes," I laughed. "Shifter parents are usually more robust than humans after we've gone through labor, but you're taking it to a new level." "What can I say," he shrugged. "I'm an overachiever." He had a quick wit that reminded me of someone that I used to be close to. It wasn't all that surprising, really, since that person was his older cousin, Zayne. Maybe it ran in the family. As I took the rest of Holden's healthy vitals, I did my best not to look for any family resemblance. Not that I had any idea what Zayne would look like now. It had been over fifteen years since he'd joined the military and left Blackwater – and me – behind. We hadn't spoken for over a decade, aside from a few failed attempts to email regularly. I did my best to keep him out of my mind. But I couldn't help but notice that Holden had his tight curls and sweet eyes. "You're good at this," Holden said and motioned to the cuff as I let down the air and recorded his blood pressure. I gave him my well-practiced, humble-doctor grin. "Zayne always said that you were super smart," he added. I felt a gnawing feeling in my stomach and I gave a quick, awkward laugh, hoping to end the conversation. Of course, that wasn't enough to get him off the topic. "Have you heard from him lately?" Holden asked as I ripped off the blood pressure cuff. "Who?" I asked, playing innocent. "Zayne," he said with a frown as he rolled down his sleeve. I shook my head as I filled out the chart and mumbled, "Not for a very long time." "Why not?" he asked blankly. I was a little taken aback, because in truth I didn't know. "We both have busy careers, I suppose...," I offered as I rolled up the cuff to put it away.. "Uh, bullshit. Are you still holding a grudge?" Holden pried. I fumbled the blood pressure cuff and frowned. "A grudge?" "C'mon, Pax. I've known you almost my whole life, we've got to be honest with each other. Zayne freaked out and shot out of town the moment that you had your daughter. And you were still just a kid. That wasn't cool. Your best friend leaving you in the lurch like that? Even I'd hold a grudge about that. Maybe not for over a decade, but still. That's got to hurt." I took a deep breath and swallowed dryly. He'd nailed it. The only detail he'd missed was that Zayne wasn't just my best friend. He'd also been my biggest crush. "Yes," I nodded, looking at the ground solemnly. "I've forgiven him for it, but it did hurt. And frankly, it still..." "Oh, shit, are you kidding me? Speak of the goddamn devil," he huffed in disbelief, looking past my shoulder. "Huh?" I asked, but didn't follow his lead. It wasn't until I heard someone clear their throat that I spun around. Someone else who looked like Zayne was standing in the doorway to Holden's hospital room. Someone much bigger, beefier, and older – and with a military style haircut. His bright blue eyes were locked on mine and a shocked look was splashed across his face. "Hey, cousin!" Holden laughed. "You made it!" Suddenly, a huge smile broke across the guy's face – the same toothy, broad, beaming smile that had constantly knocked me on my ass when I was teen. "Zayne?!" I whispered so quietly that I could barely hear myself. "Hi," he said softly. His voice was deeper and I found myself flushing at the sound of it. I felt my knees shaking and that gnawing feeling in my stomach had turned into a full-blown gripe. All of a sudden, my wolf surged forward in my chest and almost knocked me forwards. I grabbed at the edge of Holden's bed to steady myself and did my best to keep a straight face as my wolf pawed, yelped, and ran in circles in excitement."You're a week early!" Holden exclaimed. Zayne broke eye contact with me and gave his cousin a huge smile, "Well, some things have changed..." Suddenly, a sharp cry cut through the room. Holden and I glanced at the twins who were still sound asleep in their crib, and then back to Zayne who was grimacing sheepishly. He walked into the room carrying a baby car seat, set it down beside Holden's bed. He reached down to the car seat and picked up a tiny pink bundle. The crying immediately stopped and he held the wrapped up bundle close to his chest. "This is my daughter, Hope," he introduced us to the newborn baby who couldn't have been more than a few weeks old. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Holden exclaimed, struggling to sit up so he could see the baby. "Where did you get that beautiful thing?!" Zayne laughed, "I had her!" "Just like that, huh?" Holden grimaced. He'd had a hard time conceiving, and I wondered how much Zayne knew about that. "Zayne, we spoke just a few weeks ago! What the hell, dude?!" he exclaimed, then looked at Hope with total adoration. "Wow, she's beautiful." "She is, huh?" Zayne smiled proudly. He was right – she was one of the cutest newborns I'd ever seen, and I'd seen plenty. My heart swelled as I looked at her sweet, chubby face. "Was her dad...?" Holden asked carefully. "Yeah. I'm her only dad now," Zayne replied nervously. My eyes became fixed on Zayne. Half of me was taking him in, trying to put together the Zayne I used to know with this adult father; the other half was in doctor mode and diagnosing him with some serious exhaustion. There were dark rings under his eyes, he could barely keep his lids open, and he was wobbling on his feet. "When was the last time you got some sleep?" I asked. Zayne looked at me with surprise. I realized, embarrassingly, that this was the first thing I'd really said to him since he'd arrived. "Oh, uh... What's sleep?" he laughed. I immediately grabbed the chair beside Holden's bed and told him, "Sit down." "Yes, sir! You've always been so bossy," he smirked. It was the same smirk that had always made me crazy, and now it smacked against me like a punch to the face. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted him punch him. I felt just like I had when we were boys. "I've always been right," I insisted, scooping Hope out of his arms as his lids started to droop further. "Mm, that too," he mumbled as his head dropped to the side and his shoulders slumped down. "Zayne, are you okay?" Holden asked, seriously worried. "Thanks, Pax," Zayne mumbled softly to me before he drifted off and started snoring. Hearing him say my name made my heart race, and I took a deep breath to keep myself centered. "He's got postpartum fatigue," I told Holden, snapping back into doctor mode. "It's uncommon for shifters, but it happens under times of serious stress. I need to find him a cot." "Give me that beautiful baby," Holden said, reaching out for Hope. "I'll take her while you find a cot for her old man." "Are you sure?" I asked. "I'm surging with pregnancy hormones, Pax. Please give me all of the babies to hold." I laughed and carefully passed him baby Hope. My heart ached as I handed her over, and I wondered if I was suffering from exhaustion, too – it such a strange reaction to have towards a baby I didn't know. I hadn't felt like that about any kid, except for my daughter Mia. I excused myself and went to find a cot for Zayne to rest on. As soon as I walked out into the hall and rounded a corner, I fell back against the wall and clutched my hands to my chest. I closed my eyes and breathed through parted lips as I felt my heart racing in my chest. If I didn't know better, I'd have been worried that I was having a coronary event or a panic attack. But this feeling was already familiar enough to me - I'd felt it almost every day as a teen, right after I'd realized that I like liked Zayne. Any time he'd touched me, wrestled me to the ground, promised to meet me on the weekends, slept in my bed... this raging, banging heartbeat haunted me, right up until he left. "Yo, Doc. Are you taking a meditation break or something?" My eyes shot open. Nash was sauntering down the hall, carrying a cup of coffee and a bag of snacks. "Something like that. Hey, help me with something?" I dragged him off to collect a cot from the nurses station. I took the snack bag and coffee while he hauled the cot for me. "Uh, I thought you meant a cot for the babies. This looks adult sized. Who's it for?" he grunted. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Just come with me." As soon as we walked back into the postpartum room, Nash did a double-take between Holden and Zayne. "Some resemblance, huh?" I said. "Is that Zayne?!" Nash asked. "The military cut suits him, right, Pax?" Holden said as he wagged his eyebrows at me. I growled, and pretended not to notice as I set up the cot. Holden was pals with one of my closest friends, Jace, who I'd confided in about my old feelings for Zayne. It was no secret nowadays that I'd been pretty torn up over his disappearance back in the day, and I wouldn't have been surprised if everyone had heard that I'd had a crush on him by now. I hadn't expected that Zayne would ever hear about it, though – I'd had no idea that he was still in touch with Holden or anyone else in Blackwater. But here he was -- with a newborn. "And this is his baby!" Holden said, holding up Hope for Nash to see. "Cute. Is he okay?" Nash asked, peering at Zayne. "Postpartum fatigue," Holden said, like he was the one who had diagnosed it. "Help me get him up here," I said to Nash. The alpha handed his mate the snacks he'd gathered, and we each hooked an arm under Zayne's armpits. I held my breath, clenched my jaw, and tried to ignore the butterflies that burst into flight in my stomach when I felt how warm and solid Zayne's body felt. With some considerable effort, we hoisted his thick frame up and got him onto the cot. He slept through the whole thing. I took his pulse for the sake of duty of care, and a shiver ran up my spine as my fingertips came in contact with his wrist. He didn't make a sound. Suddenly, a page came over the loudspeaker. "Doctor Quintero, paging Doctor Quintero. Code red in east wing, Doctor Quintero." "Shit," I hissed. "Got to go. Are you all right with her?" I asked Holden, who was giving Hope little kisses all over her face. He looked up like the answer was obvious. "Call a nurse if you need help!" I shouted as I rushed out of the room. By the time I got to the east wing, I'd gone through every breathing exercise I knew to try and stop my hands from shaking. I hadn't felt that nervous since the first day that I'd realized that I'd liked Zayne, way back when I was fourteen. I'd somehow figured out that wanting to protect him and take care of him was maybe a sign that I wanted to do even more with him. And those same protective, caring feelings were still in me, as strong as ever.