Four months later…

“Do you like balloons?” Terry sang in his silly voice. “I do. This is my blue balloon. This is my blue balloon. Up it goes…”

“Oh, stop it!” I laughed, smiling down as he rubbed shea butter all over my pregnant belly. I couldn’t believe how big I’d gotten. Terry had started singing all kinds of silly songs to me while massaging my baby bump as a way of making me laugh. And it was working.

“What!? You’re my sexy blue balloon!”

“Why blue?!” I giggled as he squeezed me with his fingertips. “Shouldn’t I be like…your pink balloon or something?”

“Mmmm,” he mused, shaking his head. “No, that sounds like a sex act gone bad or something.”

I burst out laughing and squeezed his arm gently as he continued to massage me. I don’t know if it was the shea butter or just good genetics, but I’d only developed two little tiny stretch marks, one on either side down by my hip bone. That was enough for me—just a couple to show what I’d gone through. Tiger stripes. Badges of honor.

“That’s true. But why blue?”

“I don’t know!” Terry replied. “What are you giving me such a hard time for?”

I smiled and squeezed his arm again and took a deep breath as the warm sunlight spilled in through the window of the bedroom. It was March, which meant Spring was on the way and lots of work was on the horizon. Of course Terry’s would be doing double duty once the baby arrived, which would be any time. Honestly, I felt as though I was ready to burst any moment.

We’d decided to do an at home water birth in the bathtub and had been watching countless YouTube videos on it. Jamie had agreed to help out and watched all the videos and then some to make sure everything was prepared. For some reason, I just had this incredible sense inside me that everything was going to go right.

“Jesus Christ, you pop yet?” I looked up to see Chuck standing in the doorway swigging a beer. “I just wanna stick a pin in you and see if you explode.”

“A pin, eh?” Terry asked.

“You could just use your dick,” I suggested. “I’m sure it’s about the same size.”

“Ooooh, zinger!” Chuck laughed.

“Seriously though,” Terry said. “Is Jamie ready? Because I have a feeling this little guy’s on his way to meet the world here pretty damn soon.”

“Little guy?” Chuck asked. “Did you guys get a sonogram that I missed or something?”

“No,” I replied. “He’s just hoping for a boy.”

“Am I?” Terry asked. “I thought I didn’t care?”

“Oh, I can tell you want a boy,” I told him. “Someone to play catch with, ride motorcycles—”

“Take over his farm duties,” Chuck interjected.

“Watch it!” Terry laughed.

I couldn’t help but think they were right though. I’d been feeling…pregnant for the last few months of course, but today I was feeling…different, for lack of a better word. It was like something else had shifted inside of me and was about to change.

The pregnancy had changed me for the better. I felt so…maternal, despite being a dude. I couldn’t wait to nest the bedroom up and begin our family.

Terry and the rest of the boys had come together and built a crib that was now sitting a few feet from the bed with a set of cream colored sheets and pillows. I couldn’t wait to introduce him, or her, to Schuyler and let them play together. The whole pack was starting to grow and I loved that.

All of the things my family had denied from me, like a real sense of belonging and community and love, were things I had in spades at the farmhouse. Terry had given all of that to me by finding me, bringing me here and fighting for me. The fact that he had spared Brad just made me love him even more. He was absolutely perfect.

Basil was growing somewhere close by, and mixed with the lavender coming in from the garden outside, the entire bedroom smelled absolutely divine. A gentle breeze was blowing in and with my mate’s hands on my belly, I was in Heaven.

“Mmmm, I could just lie here forever,” I told Terry, looking into his beautiful eyes.

“My hands might fall off after a while if I kept this up,” he joked. “But so could I.”

And then, as I looked at him, I felt it.

My water breaking.

Something in my face must have shifted because Terry’s demeanor quickly changed. “What is it?!” He asked. “Is the baby coming?!”

“Oh, yeah,” I nodded, quickly pushing myself up into a seated position.

“Chuck, get Jamie!” Terry said quickly.

“Yea!”

Chuck dashed from the room and down the hall into the living room. I could hear him shouting for Jamie. I didn’t know where she was, but she couldn’t be far. She was expecting this.

“Oh, boy!” I cried out, clenching my teeth down as a mild contraction ran through me. It hurt, but I had to smile.

This is what I’ve been hoping for!

“Does it hurt?!” Terry asked, coming around the side of the bed and slipping an arm beneath mine.

“Yes!” I admitted. “But it’s okay. Our baby is coming! Help me to the bathroom.”

“Scotty!?” It was Jamie’s voice from the hall. I heard her racing towards us and met her at the bedroom door. “Oh, gosh! Is it coming!?”

“It sure is,” I replied, managing a grin.

“Oh, hot damn!” She cried out, clapping her hands excitedly. A small contraction ran through me, twisting my guts like someone with a wooden spoon trying to make scrambled eggs. I grimaced in pain and felt my legs go weak. Jamie and Terry both caught me before I could stumble, and took me quickly down the hall to the bathroom.

“Ow!” I cried out.

“Deep breaths,” Terry reminded me as he put the lid down on the toilet so I could sit down. Quickly, Jamie stopped up the bath and started filling it with warm water. The contraction was gone, as was the pain, but I felt…tight. Tense. Like a coiled spring ready to release. Terry’s hand was tight on mine as he knelt in front of me.

“You’re so sweet,” I told him, leaning forward for a gentle kiss.

“Why?” He smiled.

“Just being here for me,” I replied. “It’s so sweet.”

“You’re my mate,” he shrugged. “Where else would I be?”

I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of the water filling up the tub, taking deep breaths to try and maintain some sense of control through my labor. I rubbed my hand across my pregnant belly. It felt completely natural now, so much so that I almost couldn’t remember what it was like when I wasn’t pregnant.

“Okay, honey,” Jamie said calmly. “You should get in now.”

“Okay,” I replied, opening my eyes. Getting to my feet, Terry helped me step out of my sweatpants. I was naked in front of Jamie now, but I didn’t care. Everyone on the farm had seen each other naked at least a handful of times.

The water was warm, but not too warm, and I stepped happily into it and managed to get into a seating position before the next contraction hit me.

“Gah!” I groaned, leaning my head back against the tub, which was cool on my neck.

“You okay, babe?” Terry asked me. I twisted my head and looked up at him. His face was so beautiful, so filled with love.

“You’re going to make a great father,” I told him, feeling more in love than ever before. It was like my affections for him kept growing and growing without boundaries. It was hard to imagine loving him anymore than I did at that very moment, but I knew that in a week I’d love him even more. I was sure of it. Terry’s eyes began to well up as he smiled down at me.

“And so will you,” he told me.

Another contraction pounded through my insides, harder than the previous ones. I bucked forward and groaned in pain.

“Okay, it’s time to start pushing now, Scotty,” Jamie said, her voice stoic and calm.

“Okay, okay, okay,” I said quickly, my voice barely more than a breath. I gritted my teeth and pushed as another contraction smashed through me like a dump truck. I squeezed Terry’s hand and looked up at him.

“I’m so excited,” he smiled.

“So am I!”

“Okay, here we go,” Jamie said quickly. “Push, Scotty!”