Page 39 of The Dragon, the Bear, and Their Sugar Glider Omega

“They can wait,” Armel said.

“Yeah, yeah. I think you’re right.” This was happening faster than I’d realized it would. “It’s just...the pouch. It’s opening.”

The pain would be over now, the seal broken, but there was still a lot of work today and, in this case, by my sweet baby.

“You might not want to look at this,” I told the guys.

“Well, I bet it’s just gonna open up and a baby’s gonna climb out.” Rome’s eyes were fixed on my belly, which was still covered by my tank top.

“Exactly. And that might not be what you want to see.”

“We aren’t leaving.” Rome cupped my cheek.

It didn’t hurt other than the initial pull and tug, but still, it wasn’t a normal thing. It was definitely not something I’d seen before. I had them help me pull my shirt off, and I looked down. Sure enough, you could see where the pouch line was. Slowly but surely, it opened until the seal was completely gone.

“Wow,” Rome said.

“Yeah, wow,” Armel agreed.

I thought so too, but I couldn’t contribute to the conversation. I was too busy watching…watching for her to come out. I wasn’t sure how much I should help her, but when the pouch was loose enough, I did pull it out to let the baby climb out easier. She was in this weird state that was not quite human, not quite sugar glider. It’s what allowed her to crawl out and find her first meal.

And she did exactly that. Our little baby daughter, Matilda, was going to be a mountain climber based on her day one skills. Once she reached my chest, she fully shifted back to her human self. We wouldn’t catch even a glimpse of her sugar glider self again until she was a teen.

She was beautiful.

I helped her latch and put my pouch back against my middle. It would heal soon enough.

As she started taking her first meal, I heard a tap tap tap.

“Is that what I think it is?” Rome asked, staring at the egg.

“I think so.”

“It definitely is,” Armel said. We watched as the egg rolled from side to side. The baby inside was tapping with what I guessed was its talon. First, there were a couple of cracks, and then a tiny piece fell off, then another and another until our sweet baby dragon, Sky, was there.

“He looks just like your dragon, Rome.” We knew the second we picked him up, his dragon would disappear, our baby in its place, and we took a minute to admire him.

“Mates, can you pick him up together and put him next to his sister?”

They did, and just like his sister, he shifted. Once on my chest, he too began to eat, and my mates cuddled up next to me, watching our babies enjoy their first meal.

“We’re dads.” My eyes glistened, so many tears of joy ready to fall.

“We’re dads,” they both said.

Epilogue

Armel

Life as a parent was better than we’d ever dreamed, or at least than I had. Clay enjoyed working at Animals but didn’t need the money, of course, and after his paternity leave ended, he decided to stay at home and be a full-time daddy.

When he left his life before, the one of power and wealth, he hadn’t been sure what he wanted to do except try out an ordinary job for a while and maybe meet some sincere friends who liked him for himself. My friends fit that bill from the moment they met him, making him as well as Rome part of our circle as if they’d known them all their lives. But while he had gone from an amateur server to very competent at the job, by the time he left for paternity, it wasn’t his passion—being a daddy was. And watching him in action with the little ones could bring tears to my eyes.

I didn’t know why Fate had chosen me to belong to Rome and Clay because I couldn’t think of a thing I did that made me worthy of them, but as I sat in the nursery on a beautiful warm San Diego afternoon, I was flooded with nothing but gratitude. And of course love.

“You coming outside in the yard?” Rome’s voice cut into my contemplations. “They’re going to break ground.”

“Be right there.” We were finally going to break ground on the ADU which, rather than being an adult-dwelling unit, as originally planned, would now have a whole other function. Between the master bedroom, the hoard room, the guest room, and the nursery, we were decidedly lacking in a space just for our children to play. And where better than in the middle of the backyard? It would be a place we could rock and read them stories, but as they grew, it would become their playroom. I started for the backyard where I found my mates each holding one of the babies. The contractor we hired was directing his men to start on our project, and for a moment, I wondered if we’d regret starting something so noisy when the babies were little.

But watching them giggle in their daddies’ arms, I knew they’d be fine. The little troupers slept through anything life threw our way, and they’d do fine. They took after their rock-star daddies. My great loves. All four of them.

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