Page 30 of Omega’s Oath

Chapter 11

The last week had been the happiest and most exhausting of her life. She’d hardly slept, couldn’t remember the last time she’d showered, and had no idea what day it was, but she was in heaven. Aide had taken a week’s annual leave when she’d left the hospital to be with her and Jude, and he had three more days before he went back to work. She was nervous over how she’d cope when he went back but knew she had no choice, and her friends were a godsend.

Fee and Hawk were back from their honeymoon and Fee visited every single day with food. Mack had stopped by with Dax at the hospital and brought Jude the most adorable blanket and a teddy shaped like a sealion. Penny and Sandstorm came by with Condor and Hattie, who had grilled her about the birth.

Rose had left out the details so she wouldn’t frighten the woman before her own birth and told her it was painful but was a blur now and she’d do it all again if it meant she had Jude. The last part was all true. It felt like it had happened to someone else and she could hardly describe the level of pain now.

Lyric had visited briefly, and she’d been touched when he told her he’d set up a savings account and put some cash in it to get Jude started. She’d told him it was the sweetest and he’d got typically embarrassed when she’d hugged him. Lyric was a good man who refused to show the world who he was. She didn’t know if that was because he was incapable of showing his emotions or if he was so guarded because of the undercover work he’d done.

Undercover agents quite often suffered after they finished with the job and she hated the thought that Lyric secluded himself. That was why their team made sure to pull him into every event, no matter how much he tried to resist. That was the thing with having strong women like Mack and Hattie around. They wouldn’t take no for an answer and Lyric was soft at heart and never wanted to disappoint them, so he always ended up agreeing.

As she nursed Jude, Aide placed a glass of milk down beside her. “You always get thirsty when you feed, and milk is full of calcium. I’m gonna make us some lunch. Is a sandwich and some fruit okay?”

One of the things she’d noticed about Aide was the way he seemed to anticipate her needs before she knew them like with the milk. He was right, she always got thirsty when she fed Jude and he’d noticed it before she had.

“Yes, that sounds perfect, but you don’t have to wait on me.”

He bent down over the side of the couch. “I know, I like doing it.” He kissed her, hard and fast, before dropping a kiss on Jude’s head and stroking his downy hair with a finger.

The doorbell rang as he went to walk away and she looked up and shrugged. Her house had been like a revolving door the last few days so it could be anyone.

She was just covering herself up when Harlan walked in behind a clearly unhappy Aide. Aide came to sit beside her, making his stance clear to her old friend who had a bunch of flowers and a large teddy in his arms.

“Harlan, thanks for coming over.”

He smiled as he took the chair closest to her and placed the flowers on the coffee table and the teddy on the arm of the chair. “Are you kidding? I was desperate to see you both, but I had some work to take care of.”

Rose had Jude over her shoulder as she burped him and when he let out a loud belch, she turned him and kissed his head before laying him back in her arms.

“How have you been?”

“Fine. Great. Tired but happy.”

“And you have everything you need? I could go shopping for you.”

“She has everything she needs, thanks, Harlan.” Aide interjected and she shot him a look at his tone, surprised by the hostility she could hear. She got that they might not be friends, but Aide was being openly hostile.

Harlan looked at Aide and smiled. “That’s good. I’m glad she had you with her to help out.”

“Would you like to hold him?”

Harlan smiled and began to nod but Aide was on his feet. “He needs his nap. You know how he is if his routine is disturbed. Maybe another time, buddy.”

Before she knew what was happening, Aide had swept Jude into the nursery. She had no idea what had gotten into him, but they’d be talking about it the first chance they got. “Sorry, he gets a bit over-protective.”

Harlan frowned. “I thought he wasn’t the father.”

“He isn’t but we’re together, and he loves Jude like his own.”

“You called him Jude, that’s nice”.

“Yeah, thanks. I like it.” She felt awkward and wanted to kick Aide for making her feel that way.

“Is he always so overbearing, Rose?”

Rose shook her head, thinking that any other time that was the last way to describe Aide, but he had been and now she was in a position where she had to defend him. “No, he’s a good man. The best, in fact. We haven’t had much sleep the last few days.”

“I didn’t realize you were living together.”