I gently pick the baby up, cradling him in my arms, remembering to support his little head. I turn so both Lyric and Kean can see him.
“This is your brother, Lyric,” I say softly. I look at Kean, and he has a look of awe on his face.
Lyric reaches his hand out, so I move closer, and Lyric touches his cheek. “Baby.”
This is the first word I’ve heard Lyric say. “Yes, your baby brother.”
I look at the doctor. “Can we move the crib into the same room as Lyric, so we can keep them together?”
“I can move them into a private room for you, then you four can start bonding. I can already tell you’ll make incredible parents,” the doctor replies.
I smile. “Thanks.”
“Follow me and I’ll take you to a different room and have the crib brought in,” the doctor says, leading us out of the room.
Justin closesthe door behind the doctor as he leaves our room. “I have some paperwork for you to sign, and more information to tell you.”
“I thought you would,” Kean says, sitting Lyric down on the room's sofa.
This room is big. Along with the sofa, there is a child’s bed, a changing table, and a couple of cabinets along one wall. It also has its own bathroom.
I pass the baby to Kean and sit next to Lyric. He looks at me and then climbs onto my lap, leaning against my chest, sucking his thumb. I gently wrap my arms around him.
“So Reggie Lee was a Kitsune, Doris was human.”
“A Kitsune?” Kean asks. He looks like he’s thinking hard. “That’s a fox, isn’t it?”
Justin nods. “Yes, with nine tails.”
“Wow. We’ll need to do some research,” he remarks.
Justin opens his bag and pulls out some papers. “Here, this will tell you everything. Apparently, male Kitsune genetics are strong, so even though Doris was human, the boys will be full shifters,” he puts the papers on the bed. Then pulls out some more. “I’ll need your signatures on the adoption paperwork. We can get everything done in a few days.”
“I thought it would take longer than that,” I say. Lyric has fallen asleep in my arms, and the baby is sleeping in Kean’s.
“Normally, it would, but Monica helped push things through quickly. I’ll leave the paperwork here, so when your arms are child-free, you can sign where I’ve marked.”
“Thanks, Justin,” Kean says.
“I’ll leave you now and come back in the morning.”
“Thanks, Justin, night,” I add.
“Night,” and I watch as Justin opens the door and leaves.
He’s left the door open, and we see Monica walking back in. She sees Kean and walks into our room, carrying a baby carrier and two baby bags.
“Look at you four. I want to say congratulations, but that feels wrong if you know what I mean.” As she talks, she puts the baby carrier on the floor and the two bags on the bed.
“Yeah, we know,” I reply.
“Here are your keys,” she says, putting them on the bed. “Everything is installed in your car. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to show you how to do the baby carrier.”
“Thanks. As for the baby seat, our brothers have a baby, so we know how to do them,” Kean tells her.
“Perfect. So, in these bags are clothes for both boys, nappies, formula for the baby and fruit juices for Lyric.”
“Thanks. Monica, do you know if Reggie and Doris had picked out any baby names?” I ask. It would be lovely if they had.