Page 36 of The Devil on my Chest

Spinning on his stool, Doc put his wand away and handed Mal a soft cloth to clean his belly. “According to the measurements, compared to last week I’d say you’re three to four weeks in. The little ones have got most of their features and organs, although we probably won’t know the gender for about another week. From now on, all they are going to do is grow.

“I’d still like you to come in weekly, just to keep a check on your blood pressure, but from what I’m seeing everything is processing normally, so you can make it two weeks, unless you have any issues.”

“We’ll come next week.” Rocky was still staring at the screen which had gone dark. “We have to see them again – you know, check on them and make sure they’re okay.”

“Rocky, they are still in my belly,” Mal said. “Just because you can’t see them on the screen…”

“Next. Week.” Tearing his eyes from the screen, Rocky looked at his mate, his grin splitting his face. “Don’t you understand? We’re having babies!” Rocky didn’t think he’d been so happy in his entire life.

“Welcome to the party. You’re only a week late. But it beats falling into a dead faint on the floor, I suppose,” Doc said drily.

That happiness persisted as they said their goodbyes, making plans for another appointment the same time the following Thursday. Rocky kept a tight hold of Mal’s hand as they madetheir way back to the street, but then he just couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Dropping Mal’s hand, Rocky flung his arms wide and yelled as loud as he could down the street. “We’re having babies! Two of them!”

There were a few cheers from the people drinking at Cam’s, and a smattering of applause from friendly locals just going about their day. Rocky waved at a couple of them and then dropped his arms, turning to his mate.

Mal was shaking his head as he slid his arm around Rocky’s waist. “Do you feel better now? Can we go and get lunch?”

“We can do whatever you want, my wonderful mate.” Nothing was going to ruin Rocky’s day.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mal shifted in his chair and rubbed his back. It was a month later, and as Doc had said, the babies were definitely growing. At their appointment the day before, Doc said Mal had at most two weeks left, given how much the larger pup had grown. “We want to leave them there as long as possible, to give the smaller one the best chances of success, but if your larger pup gets much bigger, birth is the best option for both of them.”

Mal agreed. He could understand what his pregnant friends had been complaining about. He struggled to put on his shoes, none of his clothes fit, resulting in a hurried online shopping binge. Mal was also tired all the time, and he knew it was starting to show.

“I told you to take my chair,” Rocky said, rolling his big executive chair in front of him as he came out of his office, putting it next to Mal. “You take this one, and I’ll perch my butt on your chair.”

“Thanks.” Mal was too tired to argue. He took Rocky’s arm to help him stand and shuffled over, sinking into Rocky’s chair. “Babe, we need to talk.”

“Is this about us giving up work?” Rocky plopped into Mal’s now vacant chair, resting his arms on Mal’s desk. “I got Simon to check over our investment accounts. They’ve been doing really well, so we’ll be all right. Do we need to resign our jobs?”

“Rocky!” Mal didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. “You’re really good at your job, and so am I. Why should we resign? We’ll probably need a few weeks off, maybe a month at most, but Joe and Liam can cover for us until then, and Beau said he’d help with the paperwork and reception while we’re away. I’m trying to work out how we can have the babies in the office when we come back to work. See?”

He pushed a piece of paper in front of his mate – a basic layout of the office and squiggles and cross outs where he’d tried to fit everything in. “No matter how I work it, I can’t see how I can get a double crib in here without the extra furniture impeding the flow of foot traffic around this place.”

“Hmm.” Rocky turned the paper one way and then the other, and then stabbed at a blank space. “What’s in here?”

“The cells, Rocky.” Mal turned the plan back up the right way. “We’re not putting the babies in there.”

“Definitely not.” Rocky frowned and then pointed to another blank area. “What’s here?”

Mal barely resisted sighing. “That’s your office, hon, and before you ask, the room back there is behind the cells and is the private interview room we have to have for sensitive cases.”

“Which we barely get any of. All we seem to deal with are drunks and idiots, but all right.”

“So see here. This is the doorway to your office, my desk, the desk Liam and Joe share, the filing cabinets, windows, and this is your office space. This is the space I’m trying to rearrange.” He drew his finger around the reception area.

“Why don’t we use my office space for the babies?”

Mal did sigh this time. “I know you don’t like to remember it, but you are in a position of authority in this town, and that means you need to have a professional office space to speak with legal personnel and council authorities.”

Rocky screwed up his face. “That’s happened like twice since we took this job.”

“It’s still important for you to have your space.” Mal had already considered Rocky’s office as a short term solution, but he wasn’t about to mention it. “The only thing I can think of is to put thefiling cabinets in your office, or in the hallway by the cells, but they do contain sensitive information…”

“What about this space here?” Rocky pointed to a spot on the back of his office.

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