Mated To An Enemy

When Galen returned to their room, he carefully crawled back into bed. Bell once more let out soft sounds of protest at the movement behind her. He wrapped his arm at her waist, bringing his hand to rest on her slightly swollen belly. He smiled to himself thinking of the child growing within her.

Galen gasped as he felt a gentle thump against his hand.

“He wants to know where his daddy went to in the middle of the night,” Bell said in a sleepy but playful voice. She turned to face him. She smiled and lay her head on his chest. “Mommy wants to know too.”

Galen sighed and kissed her head.

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” he whispered. “For now, let’s just get some rest.”

Bell nodded and curled herself into him as he held her close. They both drifted away into a peaceful sleep.

***

“So I know you guys are trained in a lot of different things… but… Are you really her doctor? Because I could swear the person I saw before was a woman,” Galen questioned.

Peter sighed and continued to set up the ultrasound equipment.

“Well, I tried to get my appointment switched back, but Gail had already filled the appointment slot. Peter was kind enough to offer to at least run an ultrasound for us,” Bell said cheerfully with a big smile.

“Oh… oh is that what Peter was kind enough to do?” Peter asked with an irritated smile. He turned to Galen and smiled. “Why don’t you ask your wife about why Peter, who is supposed to be taking a much-needed day off, is now covering an entire shift for Gail and her nurse.”

Peter raised his eyebrow and pursed his lips at Bell, who gave him a glare in return.

“How was I supposed to know that she was allergic to flowers?” Bell replied, showing her own signs of irritation. “I just wanted to send her something nice since she agreed to give me an ultrasound.”

“I wasn’t talking about Gail…” Peter growled back. “I meant Abby, her nurse, who I convinced to come in early and do this for you, but instead she is having her broken nose treated.”

“Wait, what?” Galen interjected, looking back and forth between Bell and Peter, each glaring at the other.

“She took my pickle, Peter,” Bell growled. “You don’t take a pregnant wolf’s pickle. You just don’t.”

“She moved your plate because it was on the printer,” Peter corrected.

“And my pickle was on that plate.”

“So, you broke her nose? You literally just had to reach over and grab the pickle, Bell. Like she didn’t even touch it….”

Bell growled.

“I really don’t understand what is happening… right now…” Galen said. Turning to Bell. “You broke someone’s nose? When?”

“This morning,” she replied looking at the floor. “I came by early to make sure everything was still good for our appointment. Then things kind of got… out of control.”

“Hormones,” Peter sighed and rolled his eyes. “This is why I deal with the trauma and emergencies, not the babies and mommies.”

“Shut up and do the ultrasound!” Bell growled.

“I’m doing you a favor,” Peter growled softly.

“Thank you, Peter,” Galen quickly said. “We really do appreciate it.”

Peter took a deep breath and then nodded to Galen.

“Do we need to talk about this pickle thing?” Galen whispered to Bell.

“It’s all good,” she said, shaking her head.

Galen looked as though he would say something else but changed his mind.

“Alright, let’s get this done,” he said. He readied the machine and grabbed the ultrasound gel. “This is going to be cold.”

“Abby usually puts it in the warmer first,” Bell said, pulling up her shirt and lowering the top of her skirt.

Peter growled.

“Bell…” Galen said.

“I was just kidding– oh! That is cold!” Bell cried out as Peter squirted her abdomen.

Peter smirked and moved the wand over her abdomen.

Galen looked up at the grey and black screen. He had seen it several times in pictures and video calls, but it was different in person.

Peter adjusted his position and then smiled.

“There we go,” he whispered and then flipped a switch.

Suddenly the sound of a heart beating quickly filled Galen’s ears. He drew in a surprised breath and listened to his son’s heart.

“And here’s the little guy now,” Peter smiled.

Galen looked at the screen and felt a swell of emotions in his chest as he stared at the small creature on the screen. He was curled in on himself, holding his hands in tiny fists covering his face, with his knees tucked to his chin.

“Guess he’s feeling shy,” Peter said. “Not sure I can get you a real face shot.”

“Galen,” Bell whispered.

With eyes full of unshed tears, he looked down at his wife, who smiled back at him.

“Talk to him,” she said.

Galen licked his lips and bent down near her belly.

“Hey Ren,” Galen said. “It’s me, your dad.”

On the screen, the baby turned, moving his tiny fist down to his chin and turning to face the screen. Galen let out a happy laugh.

“Hey, big guy,” he said with a shaky voice. “It’s so good to see you.”

Bell smiled, holding back tears of her own to see such a loving display. She reached out and took his hand. Galen looked back at her and smiled as the tears fell from his eyes.

“Thank you,” he whispered to her.

Bell laughed.

***

Galen wiped the gel for her, ensuring he got all of it off.

“So, everything looks good, he’s growing according to his age, he’s not showing any signs of health risks or potential problems with the actual birth. Just keep coming back for your regular appointments and let Gail know about any concerns you might have.”

“So basically, keep doing what I’ve been doing?” Bell asked with a laugh.

“Yup, pretty much,” Peter smiled.

“Sounds good,” she said. Bell sat up and fixed her shirt. Then, she turned to Galen and asked. “You ready to go?”

Galen didn’t answer.

“Oh, one more thing, pretty obvious, but I do see a note from Gail about it, so just make sure you’re keeping stress levels down,” Peter continued. “Like maybe don’t punch people over pickles?”

“Har har, you’re hilarious,” Bell rolled her eyes. She looked at Galen, who still hadn’t responded to her. “Galen? Are you ok?”

“I tried to kill Ashleigh,” Galen said.

Peter’s eyes widened, and he dropped the chart in his hand.

“What?” Bell asked, sure she had misheard him.

Galen swallowed and then met her eyes.

“I tried to kill Ashleigh,” he repeated.

“This is the exact opposite of keeping stress levels down,” Peter sighed.