Page 108 of How to Rescue Your Surprise Baby

Telos might’ve pushed a little too hard.

“I see—” Mav’s eyes grew round. He held his hands up to catch, except their baby almost shot right off his hands.

For a heart-stopping second, Telos thought their baby might hit the floor and end up hurt.

But Mav caught her just in time, pulling her close to his chest. Relief echoed through their mental bond.

“Fuck, that was stressful,” Telos said.

“At this rate,herfirst word is also going to be ‘fuck’,” Mav said dryly. But his face was all soft and sappy as he stared down at their daughter, cleaning her up so she could breathe. “Hey, Ariel. Welcome to the family.”

Telos could’ve exploded; his heart was so full.

When she began to wail, a collective “Aww” went up through the room. Pterodactyls and butlers cheered. Mav bit off the umbilical cord and stood, easing Telos back on the bed so he could place their baby on his chest. Telos cradled her gently. This was a baby that he and Mav had made together. She was just as important as Estie, and he couldn’t wait to be home with his family, all of them growing together. “Hey, little sugar pie.”

Ariel wrapped her tiny hand tiredly around his thumb.

“You did so well,” Mav whispered, kissing Telos hard on the lips.

“You were a good footstool,” Telos said with a laugh.

“A big, scaly footstool.” Mav leaned in to nuzzle their baby; Telos couldn’t help caressing her back, marveling at just how tiny she was.

It had been a long road to get here, an eternity of pining for Mav from afar. But Mav loved him now. Mav was willing to do anything for Telos; his love was in the gentle touches and searing kisses they shared; it was in the way his eyes lit up when Telos entered a room.

Telos was so, so grateful for it all.

“We’re going to make up a song for this special occasion,” he told Mav.

Mav made a face. “Please don’t put dicks and butts in it.”

“No promises,” Telos answered.

Mav leaned in with a warm laugh, kissing him again.

EPILOGUE

“We’re going on an expedition!”thirteen-year-old Estie announced. “Is everyone ready?”

“Yeah!” her siblings yelled behind her.

Telos watched as twelve-year-old Ariel made sure their three siblings were accounted for.

“We all have our backpacks,” Ariel said.

“Let’s go!” Estie yelled.

They began running—Estie taking the lead, Ariel sticking to the rear to make sure no one got left behind. In between them, ten-year-old William flapped his arms, eight-year-old Terry rolled into a somersault on the grass and picked himself up, and seven-year-old Pearlyn tried to catch Estie.

Telos and Mav walked behind them, hand in hand, while the butlers filled the carts with even more snacks.

They climbed a short hill—one among several on the private land that Mav, Telos, and their friends had pooled together some money to buy. This land was sprawling, added to every year, sothe dragonets would have somewhere to fly and play without being seen.

At the top of the hill, the children wriggled out of their clothes and shifted.

It was always exciting to see which creatures they’d pick. Sometimes they chose to be dragons, and sometimes they chose to be pterodactyls. Sometimes they were other creatures—Mav had pictures of five woolly mammoth cubs racing through the forest.

Telos had ended up keeping his penthouse for the view and the height. The children were allowed to take off from there once they’d mastered their shifts—never as dragons, but they could fly as any other creature they wanted.

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