Dream Five, Chapter Thirty

(Anything in asterisks is meant to be italicized.)

It was another five hours before I was ready to start pushing. Barrons was by my side the whole time, holding my hands and making Ryodan help. Dani was assisting Kat and providing encouragement. Ryodan was helping Barrons hold my legs apart as they both also held my hands. I was screaming a lot.

"C'mon, Mac," Dani told me. "It's almost here! I can see the head! It's, um, I'm not sure—"

"It's almost crowning," Kat said.

Barrons looked at me and I nodded.

"Dani, come switch with me," he said.

"What? No way! I want to see this!"

"Do it," Ryodan told her.

"You're not my boss anymore, remember?"

"Christ, Dani, he wants to see his child come into the world."

"Oh, fine," she said as she rolled her eyes. Barrons showed her where to hold my leg and he pried my hand off of his before I latched on to Dani. "You're doing great, Mac. I don't know how you're doing this."

"Not helpful," I gritted before I started pushing and screaming again.

"Just a little more, Mac! That's it! Come on, just a little more!" Kat coaxed. "There we go, that's it! Okay, we've got a head and here come the shoulders!"

It was another few seconds of pushing before I felt the last of it leave and I laid back, my head going to Ryodan's shoulder. His arm was long enough that he'd used one to hold my leg back while holding my hand and his other he'd put around my back to help hold me up. Then I heard crying. Dani carefully let go of my leg and my hand to see, but Ryodan blessedly didn't move.

"Is the baby okay?" I asked.

Barrons was exultant as he said, "She's perfect, Mac."

"She? It's a girl?"

"It's a healthy baby girl," Kat said as she held her up, squirming and crying. I smiled weakly as I caught my breath, still clutching Ryodan's hand.

Barrons cut the umbilical chord and Dani started cleaning her up while Kat cleaned me up. Most of it was a blur for me. I could already feel my body restoring itself. I didn't snap back to life until I saw Barrons approaching with her wrapped in a blanket and wearing a little hat. It wasn't until he carefully sat down on the bed next to me and placed her in my arms that I let go of Ryodan's hand and he moved away.

"Hi, there," I cooed. "Hi, little princess. Oh, I know, I know." Barrons slipped an arm around me as he looked over my shoulder at her. "She's perfect, Jericho."

He smiled at me and said, "I told you," before he leaned down and kissed me.

"And she looks like you," I said with a sniffle.

"Really?" There was a little bit of mockery in his eyes and a smile on his face because he could clearly see she was his.

"She's got dark hair and gold skin like you," I said, ignoring his mockery because I was so relieved, "but she's got my cheekbones."

"You think so?" Her arm got free as she cried and she began waving it around. "I'd say she's got her mother's fire." He touched his finger to her little fist and she was unable to get her hand all the way around it.

"Mac, she's beautiful," Dani said as she peered down at her from the other side of the bed. Ryodan had his arm around Dani's waist and was smiling.

"Congratulations," he said with a nod.

"Thank you," I said, grinning up at them both. "All of you. For everything." Kat returned my smile from the end of my bed.

"Do you have a name picked out?" she asked.

"We do," Barrons said without taking his eyes off his daughter.

"We talked about it, and then we argued about it," I said, glancing at them before staring back down at her. Her crying was starting to quiet down. "A lot."

"Ultimately, we decided to name her after Mac's sister," Barrons said when I got lost looking at my baby girl.

"Yes, but I knew it would be too weird for my parents and I to call her Alina so we switched her first and middle name around. Meet MacKenna Alina Josephine O'Connor," I said. We added Josephine for Jo. Her death still weighed heavily on me. "Kenna for short."

"O'Connor," Ryodan said with a pointed look at his half-brother.

"Mac's the last of her bloodline," Barrons reminded everyone. "Most don't even realize she added it to her name. Almost no one knows your last name, Ryodan, but Mac's the only one who calls me Jericho."

"I better be," I muttered to his amusement.

"So it's another line of defense?" Dani said.

"Whatever it takes," Barrons told her before looking back down at Kenna who was still holding onto his finger. Dani slipped away from Ryodan and grabbed something from her backpack. Then she zoomed back and there was a click.

"Did you just take our picture?" Barrons asked softly as he went preternaturally still.

As she wound the disposable camera, she shrugged and said, "Mac and Alina grew up with photo albums and I know how much Alina's have meant to Mac." Then Dani suddenly grew serious and said something that made me want to hand my newborn baby to her father so I could hug Dani and never let go. "I don't have any pictures of my mom. Never did. Before she put me in a cage, every night I used to hold her face in my hands until I fell asleep. If you're determined to keep her with the Lanes, she should have ways of seeing her parents when you're not there."

*Did you put her up to this?* Barrons demanded along our connection.

*No, but I like it.* I looked up at his expression and said, "Oh, come on, Jericho. We could make it a tradition! Every time we go see her, she gets new pictures. They'll be treasured memories and for her it will be like we're always there."

"Mac—"

"It's not like you have to be in every picture and we can destroy the negatives once they're developed."

"Ms. Lane," he said softly.

"Fine. If you really hate it that much, then—"

"Rainbow Girl." I stopped talking and he nodded to our little bundle of joy. When I looked down, I gasped a little and my eyes teared up. "She has your eyes."

"I know," I said breathlessly. I heard another click and a low, atavistic rattle in Barron's chest. *Hush, Jericho. She deserves to have pictures of you.* I *don't even have pictures of you.*

*Jealous, Mac?*

*Maybe. I am your wife. The only copy I have of the one picture you allowed anyone at our wedding to take of us I put in your photo album.*

When he finally responded, he said, *You could have kept it for yourself.*

*I wanted you to have it.* It was harder than I anticipated but I managed to tear my eyes away from Kenna and look up at him. *You captured every nuance and emotion in those pictures. Except for one because I didn't know it was there yet, but it's one of the most important ones.*

*And what did those photographs all fail to capture, Ms. Lane?* His eyebrow arched slightly and I smiled.

*How much I love you. You can see it in our wedding picture. It's in my eyes. I made the album so I would always be with you so I had to include a photo that shows you're my whole world.* I leaned forward and he met me in the middle, kissing me back. He looked exultant again, even more so than before. I had wanted to keep the picture for myself and have it framed, but I wanted him to have it more.

I looked back down at Kenna and smiled as she stared up at us. "Hi, Kenna," I began to coo. "That's your name. You're our perfect little princess, and you're an actual princess. That's because Mommy's a queen and I'm your mommy." I angled her towards Barrons. "And that's your daddy." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Don't worry, baby girl, I'll make sure to teach you how to get whatever you want from him." There was soft laughter as I angled her towards Dani and Ryodan. "And that's your aunt Dani and your uncle Ryodan." Lastly I angled her towards Kat. "And that's Aunty Kat."

Barrons pulled out his phone and said, "Smile and I'll send a picture to your parents."

As I posed with Kenna, Dani asked, "Wait, where are Jack and Rainey? Why aren't they here?"

"They've already moved to Scotland," I said as I tightened my grip on Kenna. "We'll give them time to adjust and settle in before we move Kenna up there." This was not a subject I wanted to discuss. She'd just been born. I didn't want to think about how I was going to be separated from her soon. "Send that to Christian, too, so he and Lyryka know. And Korrie." I'd constructed a set of apartments in the building where the cafe was for her and the *sidhe*-seers Kat had sent over to help so they wouldn't have to be woken up by a crying baby.

Kat offered to stay for a few nights to help me adjust and left the room to call Sean while Dani took more pictures. After getting some shots of me holding the baby, she had me hand her off to Barrons. There were shots of us both looking at Kenna and looking at the camera. Making photo albums for her was a great idea that had occurred to me several times, but I hadn't thought Barrons would go for it. I wanted my daughter to see how loved she was so she never felt alone. Knowing I had parents who would always love me had been an immense comfort during some of my darkest hours. My hope was that she'd look at these pictures and see the love and joy in our eyes as we looked at her.

Barrons was still holding Kenna when Dani was done and I had looped my arm through his, leaning my head against it as I smiled down at her. Dani had moved to stand by his other shoulder to look down at her again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ryodan pick up the disposable camera she had set down and frame a shot of the four of us before I heard the click. I shot him a smile as he sat down on the foot of the bed.

After a minute, I said, "What do you think, Dani? You want one, too?"

"Ah, Stardust," he said in a low voice and I saw that Ryodan calling Dani "Stardust" had the same effect on her that being called "Rainbow Girl" by Barrons had on me. "That's why Man invented floors and walls."

One of my favorite things to see on Jericho Barrons's face is when his heavily lidded eyes rake over me with lust. He has this way of saying "fuck me" that makes my knees want to give out and collapse because they know they soon won't be needed. Whenever he walks into a room and gives me that look or says those words, I'm overcome with feelings of awe. I'm honored to be the one he chose as his mate, honored that this man wants me every which way, honored that I get to share his bed with him, honored to know there isn't anything he wouldn't do to ensure our future together.

The look Ryodan gives Dani as Barrons laughs, his white teeth flashing in his dark face, is full of lust. But it's different from the one Barrons gives me. Barrons's look is primal and savage. Ryodan's is almost calculating. Both can be crippling.

When I was *Pri-ya*, I remember thinking how the beast in my bed (I hadn't actually known he was a beast yet but at that point I called us both animals. Not my proudest days.) was a ten, and if I had landed him, I must be a ten, too. If Dani and I had managed to snatch up Barrons and Ryodan for ourselves—and *all* to ourselves—then she and I must really be something.

At first when I looked at Dani, I saw the same feelings of awe and honor I felt whenever Barrons looked at me that way. (I hope I never stop feeling like that.) Then her expression changed as she fired a lustful gaze right back at him, her eyes narrowing as she wet her lips. She could hold him off and resist him as long as she wanted because the question wasn't *if* she wouldn't, but why she wouldn't. We both had it in us to resist them, but why would we want to? Whatever reason we had to not immediately jump them the moment they gave us those looks had to be a pretty damn good one.

I knew she was just as addicted to Ryodan as I was to Barrons, and I buried my face in his arm as my shoulders shook from laughter. Dani and I were the two most powerful *sidhe*-seers on the planet without our upgrades. My Null ability is the stuff of legend and she's a damn superhero, both of us wielding legendary objects of power. Then you factor in our upgrades: She's an immortal Hunter and I'm the Queen of the Fae. We are the two most powerful women on earth, and yet these two men had more power over our hearts and desires than should ever be allowed. It was lucky for us that we both shared the same power over them.

The look in her eyes told me that despite what she'd just seen me do, she'd pull Ryodan straight to his bed when they got home. I couldn't blame her because I couldn't be sure I wouldn't do the same thing with Barrons if the roles were reversed. Once my body had finished repairing itself, I knew it would want him again but I just wasn't sure my mind was ready to forget the pain of childbirth.

Whatever. My mind would get over it.

It had been over a month since we'd had sex. As soon as I had the energy and my body was repaired, I was heading straight to his bed in the lair and not leaving for a day or two unless necessary. Kenna had a nursery in the lair and another in the bookstore. She'd be nearby and we had found baby monitors. Once I left that bed, I planned on crawling into the bed in the sex dungeon I'd built us in the basement I'd added on to my bookstore. Besides, sex marathons with him were what had given me the physique I'd had since before getting pregnant. I wanted my figure back.

Once I had gotten over my laughter, I looked up at Barrons and smiled. His eyes were shining with pride. He had decided months before her birth that she'd be his if she wasn't already because she was my daughter, but we were both relieved to see his golden skin and dark hair on our baby girl. We were fairly certain that unless the elixir could be passed genetically, we'd outlive her. However, I'd selfishly decided that when she had reached the age I was when Cruce fed me the elixir, I'd offer it to her.

Barrons felt me looking at him and he turned to me. The look of pride stayed affixed as he gazed back and I preened. He lifted the arm I was holding and wrapped it around me so as to draw me closer. Kenna was so small and he was so big and strong that he could easily hold her in one arm. I was weak right now as my body recovered from the pain I had just endured, but he wouldn't leave my side until I was strong again. His arms would keep me safe like they always did. He'd be my shield.

It wasn't long before I yawned. Barrons looked down at me and sent, *You need to sleep.*

*Don't want to*, I told him as I stroked her cheek with my finger.

*Don't care. You're exhausted.* When I said nothing and refused to look at him but failed to swallow another yawn, he said, "I'll make you sleep if I have to, Ms. Lane." Dani and Ryodan exchanged a look that I ignored.

He'd forced me to sleep several times before. When Mallucé had thrown me into that stack of pallets and I had been recovering, when I was *Pri-ya*, two weeks before when he had sung to me. He'd even tried to Voice me to sleep before.

I sent him the part where he was singing to me and told him, *Maybe I want you to make me sleep again.*

He snorted and said, "You'll be asleep before I'd have to resort to that."

"Resort to what?" Dani said.

"Singing to me," I told her as he slanted me a look.

Dani stepped back to assess him as she said, "You can sing?"

Mockery dripped from his voice when Barrons told her, "Mac refused to sleep when she was *Pri-ya*. She just couldn't get enough of me fucking her. Singing to her was one of the only ways to get her to sleep until she decided she liked sleeping." I narrowed my eyes and poked him in the ribs. His head whipped towards me. "What is it with you and poking me in the bloody ribs?"

Dani looked at Ryodan with curious interest. "Can you sing, too?"

Barrons sent Ryodan a pointed look. "We should let Mac rest," Ryodan said as he stood and held out his hand to Dani. "Come on." She took one look at me before she shrugged.

"Bye-bye, Kenna," she whispered before she leaned over and kissed her niece's forehead. Then she bid Barrons and I goodbye as she took Ryodan's hand and they sifted away.

"You need to sleep," Barrons said.

"I thought you never repeated yourself," I said with a smirk.

"I only ever have to with you," he gritted as he narrowed his eyes at me and I smiled back innocently. "Kenna will be fine. I'll have Kat bring her up to the nursery."

"What if she gets hungry?" I wanted to sleep but I didn't want to stop looking at her either.

"We'll wake you when she does."

"What if whoever attacked my bookstore comes back?"

"I'll kill them," he snarled softly, and I was pleased to see it didn't make Kenna cry. "I've also got some of my men guarding the building. We gave Kat a panic button for the next few days. It'll send alerts to all of our phones, including Sean, Christian, and Ryodan. I'll stay right here with you while you sleep. No one is getting anywhere near my family."

"Will you hold me while I sleep?" I asked after I thought for a moment. He arched an eyebrow at me and I shrugged. "I like it when you hold me."

"Sure," he said as he inclined his head. "I'll go give her to Kat."

I pulled her closer to me and kissed her forehead. "I love you, my little princess," I whispered to her before Barrons went to go find Kat. While he was gone, I sifted a blanket down from my bedroom a few floors up. Then I invited the earth to restore the sheets and my hospital gown to the way they were shortly before I gave birth. Barrons wouldn't have minded the blood (he never does), but I felt gross and didn't have the energy to shower yet. The earth remembers everything that has ever been; that's how I was able to restore my bookstore.

He returned about five minutes later and helped me move to the edge of the bed before he kicked off his boots and climbed up next to me. My entire body ached but the pain started to die down once he pulled me close.

"I can't believe we have a kid now," I murmured sleepily as he wrapped his arms around me and I rested my head in the hollow of his neck.

*I'm so proud of you, Rainbow Girl.*

I lifted my head and kissed him hard before I laid my head back down with a smile, inhaling the scent of spices.

*I'm proud of me, too.*