2 comments/ 8499 views/ 2 favorites Love and Mistakes Ch. 04-05 By: AshiraDatya CHAPTER FOUR "Is there any change?" Netalia asked her father when he joined her for breakfast. "Her vitals are improving, but she's still quite ill," Dex answered, taking a sip of his coffee. He made a face. "Jason, what the hell is this shit?" he asked. "Coffee," Jason answered, as he grabbed his toast from the toaster. He spread some butter and apple butter on it before taking a generous bite. "This is really bad coffee," Dex groaned. "Why do you think I stick with hot chocolate?" Jason asked with a grin. "Netalia, you should go back to the hotel and rest," Jason told his niece as he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "I want to go visit mom. Billy said she isn't contagious anymore," Netalia argued. "You can visit your mother later. You need to be taking care of yourself right now," Dex chimed in. "I haven't seen mom in almost a week," Netalia protested. "Take a few more hours," Dex said. Netalia sighed. "Okay. A few hours," she promised before leaving the house in a huff. ~~~~~~~~~~ "Netalia, what are you doing here?" Stacey asked as her friend walked into the office of her old high school. "I came by to see if you wanted to go have lunch with me," Netalia answered. "Oh my God, is old man Wilcox still the principal?" she asked softly. Stacey nodded and grinned. Both girls looked up as a man in his late sixties walked into the outer office. "I don't believe I pay you to socialize Miss Jones," he said, not looking up from the open file in his hands. "Hi Mr. Wilcox," Netalia said, trying to hide her laughter. He looked up. "Miss Miller, it's good to see you again. Or is your last name Thorne? I heard about your adoption and all of the mayhem that ensued the death of your adoptive parents," Mr. Wilcox said with a warm smile. "Actually, my last name is Carson now," Netalia said. "You got married then?" Mr. Wilcox asked. "Yes sir," Netalia answered. "I came to see if I could steal Stacey for an hour or so for lunch. I need to pick her brain about something," she added. "I wouldn't normally agree to this, but seeing as you are royalty and all, I suppose you may steal Miss Jones for an hour. No more," Mr. Wilcox said. "Thank you sir," Stacey said as she finished up what she had been working on. She locked her computer, grabbed her purse, stood up and said, "Let's go." "How's your mom?" Stacey asked after they grabbed their hotdog from the vendor. "She's still in really bad shape. I can't believe all these children's illnesses can effect adults so much," Netalia answered, taking a bite of her hotdog. "I'm so glad I can eat without it coming back up," she murmured. Stacey laughed and nodded in agreement. "How are you doing?" Stacey wanted to know. "I'm good. I'm scared for my mom, but I'm good," Netalia answered. "Your mom is in good hands," Stacey reminded her friend. "I know. Billy about gave my dad a heart attack when he got here." Netalia took another bite of her hotdog while her friend waited for her to continue. "It turns out that my mom is eleven weeks pregnant and if her fever doesn't break soon, she's going to miscarry. My parents didn't even know that mom was pregnant," Netalia said before taking a long swig of her water. "Oh my God! Well, I guess I can't be too surprised. Your parents are so in love with each other that I'm surprised you don't have ten other siblings," Stacey said with a grin. Netalia laughed. "Tell me about it. I remember about six months before Cory and I got married, Sara had a bad dream and when she went to tell my parents, she heard noises that scared her so she came running into my room screaming that monsters were eating mom and dad," Netalia said. Stacey stared at her and began to laugh. "Monsters were eating mom and dad?" she echoed. Netalia nodded, laughing so hard there were tears streaming down her cheeks. "I had no idea how to tell a five and a half year old that it wasn't monsters, it was mom and dad having amazing sex," Netalia giggled. "That's priceless," Stacey said, taking a drink of her soda before popping the last of her hotdog into her mouth. "To top it off, the next morning, mom was getting Sara breakfast and she was mentioning having had a bad dream. And when she said she had gone to mom's room that the monsters in the bedroom scared her so she came to my room. Mom wasn't sure what Sara meant by the monsters until I did this," Netalia said, turning one hand into a fist and sticking her index finger of her other hand in and out of her fist. Stacey started giggling again. "My mother turned more red than cooked lobsters turn," Netalia roared, laughing loudly. "I love your family Neta, you're so close," Stacey murmured when they had calmed down. Netalia smiled. "Yeah, but it can be tough though. Dad still thinks I'm a little girl," Netalia murmured. She had finished her hotdog and had just about finished the bag of chips. "I'm going to get another hotdog and then we can walk back," she told Stacey ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dex looked up at the knock and smiled at his oldest daughter. "Hey kid," Dex said as Netalia walked into the hospital room. "Hi daddy," Netalia murmured. "You still look tired," Dex observed. "I'm fine dad," Netalia told him. "How's mom?" she asked. "Ask her yourself," Dex said, nodding to the bed. Netalia turned around and sighed in relief when she saw her mother sitting up in bed. "Now that's a sight for sore eyes," Netalia remarked. Dex nodded his agreement and smiled as Netalia walked over and hugged her mother. "How are you feeling?" Netalia wanted to know. "I'm tired, but I feel pretty okay for having been running a fever almost hot enough for my brain to start boiling," Shella answered. Netalia blanched. "Sorry sweetie, but every person I've ever spent more than five minutes with in my entire life has been in here and asked the same question," Shella murmured. Netalia laughed. "It's okay," she said with a grin. Netalia glanced over at her father, noticing that he seemed much more relaxed than he had earlier that day. "Any news on if you're going to be able to carry the baby to term?" Netalia asked quietly. "I'm still pregnant, for now at least, but the jury is still out," Shella answered, avoiding her husband's gaze. "Am I missing something?" Netalia wanted to know. "No," Dex said, giving Shella a look that Netalia knew all too well; it was the, "Don't you dare say anything," look and he knew it pissed Shella off. Everyone looked up at the knock on the door and were all surprised to see Shella's parents standing in the doorway. "What the hell do you want?" Dex growled, still angry as hell at their betrayal of Shella, and Netalia nearly two decades before. "I wanted to check on my daughter," Sue said. Phil said nothing, he knew he had burned that bridge so to speak and that his daughter wanted nothing to do with him. "It's okay Dex, mom can stay," Shella said from the bed. "Dad, you need to go," she added. Phil sighed, but glanced at the grand daughter he had almost literally caused his daughter to give away. "I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Phil said. "For your information, you unmitigated jackass, my daughter is married!" Shella retorted from the bed. "Relax," Dex said softly. He turned to his father. "I can't believe my father ever considered you a friend, although, I'm glad he did, because if he hadn't, I never would have met your beautiful daughter. And on that note, I want you gone. Sue is welcome whenever she wants, because she has made amends, you just keep digging the wound deeper. And you're upsetting my wife and my daughter and I will not allow that," Dex said, firmly. "I am her father, you have no right to keep me from her," Phil growled. "Darius!" He appeared in the doorway behind Phil. "Throw this poor excuse for a father out and ensure he does not gain access to this floor," Dex instructed. Darius nodded. "With pleasure," he said. ~~~~~~~~~~~ "Where have you been?" Cory demanded to know as the door closed behind Netalia. "Visiting with Stacey and my mom," Netalia answered. "Damn it Netalia, you were supposed to rest today, you promised me!" Cory shouted. "I was resting. I just chose to do it with a friend and my mother, who is much better and no longer contagious by the way," Netalia shouted back. "Netalia, you're pregnant, you should be taking it easy," Cory said, lowering the volume of his voice. "But that doesn't mean I have to stop living," Netalia pointed out. "Neta, all I care about is keeping you safe," Cory told her. "Cory, I'm fine, the baby's fine. I know this because he or she has not stopped from bruising my internal organs," Netalia said. Cory chuckled a little. "You should have taken a guard with you," he said. "For crying out loud Cory, nobody here knows that I'm not just an average person! The custody battle between my parents and Victoria were over ten years ago! I just want to be normal for a few hours!" Netalia exclaimed. "You are a Princess, you need to act like it," Cory growled. "Oh stuff it!" Netalia shouted. "Excuse me?" Cory asked, the tone of his voice lowering. "Stop telling me what to do!" Netalia said. "You're my wife Netalia and you're carrying my child. I'll tell you whatever the fuck I want," Cory retorted. Netalia backed up as she saw the look on Cory's face, frightened of him for the first time. "I'm your wife," she agreed. "But I still have a brain and no how to use it and I am my own person, not your property," Netalia said. Before he could say anything else, one of Cory's guards walked into the room. "Is everything alright your highness?" he asked. Cory started to nod. "No, it isn't. His royal highness of pain in the ass is being exactly that, a pain in the ass," Netalia remarked. The guard looked like he wanted to laugh. "If you could ready a car, I would like to go for a drive, to cool off," Netalia added. The guard looked at Cory who sighed but nodded. Netalia walked out of the room without looking back at her husband. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What the hell are you doing here?" Netalia snapped as Carter dropped into the chair across from her. "Eating dinner with an old friend," Carter said. The waitress walked up. "A cheese burger please, medium rare, cheddar and swiss cheese, red onions and tomato. No mayo, no lettuce, ketchup and mustard with a rum and coke," Carter ordered. Netalia sighed and shook her head. "Haven't you heard of anything healthy?" she asked. "Like the rabbit food in front of you?" Carter countered. "That's got to be real good for someone who's pregnant," he joked. "I have a pasta dish coming," she told him, taking a sip of her lemonade. "How have you been?" Carter asked. "I've been good, you?" Netalia asked. The longer they sat talking, the more Netalia remembered why she had fallen for him in the first place. "You look beautiful," Carter murmured. Netalia smiled a little. "It makes me wish that the baby was mine," he added. "You have a baby with Stacey," Netalia reminded him. Carter sighed. "She's beautiful Carter," she added. "Why did you lie to Stacey's parents Carter?" Netalia wanted to know. "I wasn't ready for a baby and I sure as hell didn't want to marry Stacey," Carter admitted. "So she was good enough for you to fuck but not marry?" Netalia asked, feeling defensive of her friend. "No, that's not what I meant," Carter said with a sigh. "Then what did you mean?" Netalia asked. "I wanted to marry you. "What happened between Stacey and I was not meant to happen. And I never meant for it to happen more than once," Carter murmured. She sat and listened as Carter finally admitted what had happened to make him sleep with Stacey. "She was drugged?" Netalia asked. "Yes. By some frat boy who thought she'd be an easy lay. Steve had gone to the party with her, but he was too busy checking out the women who'd been invited to notice that his cousin was in trouble. "I was there because it was Doug's frat and he wanted me to pledge. I saw the douche bag take her upstairs to one of the rooms, I got lucky, he chose Doug's room. When I kicked his ass out, Stacey was so out of it due to the GHB that she started tearing off my clothes. I couldn't help myself and I knew it was wrong. It took nearly two months for her to return to normal, and she wanted to know what it was like to have someone make love to her without being drugged, and part of me fell for her. I fought it because I wanted to be with you. I still do, even though you're married and expecting your own kid," Carter said. "I'm glad you stopped that oaf from raping Stacey, but you need to do what's right Carter. Her parents kicked her out Carter, and took her out of their will. She has nothing but your daughter and a job. Steve's been ordered to stay away from her, he can't even say hello if he runs into her on the street," Netalia told him. Carter nodded, finished his drink and took the bill when the waitress brought it over. "I've got this. A beautiful woman should never have to pay for her meal," he said, placing a credit card in the folder and handing it back to the waitress. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Why the fuck were you having dinner with Carter?" Cory growled when Netalia walked into the room. "Not this again Cory, please," Netalia said softly. "Are you fucking him?" Cory asked. "Am I what?" Netalia asked, unsure if she heard him correctly. "Fucking him. Are you having an affair?" Cory repeated. "NO! What would make you think that?" Netalia wanted to know. "You had dinner with him. A man who left a woman pregnant with his child to fend for herself," Cory said. "He sat down while I was eating and we talked, that's it. I'm not having an affair with Carter," Netalia told him. "Or anyone else for that matter," she added, backing up when she saw the look on Cory's face. "I don't believe you," Cory announced. "What?" Netalia asked in surprise. "My father warned me that women lie," he said. "I'm not lying Cory, I've never lied to you," Netalia promised. She swallowed hard as her back made contact with the wall. Her eyes widened when she realized he was completely naked. "You're mine," he growled, wrapping his fingers around her arm. He pulled Netalia to him and carried her to the bed. "Nobody else can touch you," he growled. "Cory, stop!" Netalia exclaimed. "What's the matter? Don't you want me?" Cory asked, dropping her to the bed. "Not like this," she answered, wincing as he roughly ripped her panties from her body. "Tough." She screamed as he thrust into her and began pumping in and out of her savagely. After a few moments, Cory finally noticed that Netalia was drier than over cooked chicken and stopped. He pulled out of her and sighed. "Netalia, I'm sorry," Cory murmured, hating the look of fear in her eyes. "Get out," Netalia whispered. "Neta, please, let's talk about this," Cory pleaded. "Get out and leave me alone!" Netalia exclaimed. He reached for her and hated himself as she curled up in a little ball and whimpered. Cory watched her cry for a few minutes before he reached for her again. "Go away!" she shrieked. The door flew open and guards flooded the room. "Is everything alright in here?" the head guard asked. "Everything's peachy. Out," Cory said sarcastically. The guards left the room and Cory pulled on his clothing. "I'm so sorry Neta," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before leaving the suite. "He did what?!" Stacey exclaimed. "I can't believe him! I'm going to kill him!" she shouted. "Stacey, calm down! You can get arrested for saying that!" Netalia pleaded. "I thought he was so good to you," Stacey murmured. "He usually is. We had a fight earlier yesterday and I stormed out. I ran into Carter at the Pub and he invited himself to dinner," Netalia told her friend. "What'd ass wipe want?" Stacey asked. "To talk. To explain himself. Why didn't you mention any of it?" Netalia asked. "About the frat party?" Netalia nodded. "I was ashamed of it. I wanted to forget it happened," Stacey answered. Netalia sighed. "I don't know what you said to him, but Carter called me last night. He asked to see Calla," Stacey added. "I'm glad," Netalia said with a small smile. She rubbed her aching back and sighed, making Stacey laugh knowingly. "I'll get the heating pad, why don't you head to my room. You can crash in my room and I'll take the couch. It's comfortable, but it won't be for someone who's nearly six months pregnant," Stacey told her friend. "Thanks," Netalia said gratefully. "I didn't mean to kick you out of your room," she added. "It's fine," Stacey assured her. When Netalia woke up the next morning, she was momentarily disoriented, unsure of where she was and nearly fell out of bed. "Are you okay?" a deep voice rumbled from the doorway. Netalia jumped, her head snapped up and she sighed in relief when she saw it was only Carter. "I'm fine," Netalia said. "Stacey told me what Cory did last night. You should see a doctor," Carter told her, walking into the room. He traced the bruise on her arm from where Cory had grabbed her. "I'm fine," Netalia told him. Carter nodded and left the room so Netalia could get dressed. When she joined them at the dining room table twenty minutes later, she smiled when she saw Carter playing with Calla. "You were right. She is beautiful," Carter said. Stacey and Netalia exchanged smiles. "Sit and eat," Stacey told her friend as she placed some pancakes and turkey bacon on the plate in front of her. Netalia drowned her pancakes in syrup and began eating. "How old is she?" Carter asked. "Almost nine months," Stacey answered. "Wow," Carter and Netalia said together. A knock at the door had Carter standing. "You ladies sit and eat," he said as he carried Calla to the door. "What are you doing here?" Carter asked. "Looking for my wife, what are you doing here?" Netalia and Stacey looked at each other as they recognized the voice of the visitor as Cory. "Visiting with my daughter," Carter answered. Netalia walked to the door and came to a stop just behind Carter. "Go finish your breakfast Netalia," Carter said without turning around. Netalia glanced at Cory and being unable to read his expression, turned and walked away. ~~~~~~~~~~~ "What's going on?" Netalia asked, seeing her father pace in the hall outside of Shella's room. "Your mom's losing the baby," Dex answered, Netalia gave her father a hug and giggled when her unborn child kicked out. "You'd better teach that kid some manners," Dex kidded. Netalia laughed and looked at her father in concern. He seemed to have aged at least ten years in the last few weeks. "Dad, are you okay? Is mom going to be okay?" Netalia asked. "Your mom will be fine, physically at least," Dex answered. "And you?" Netalia asked again. "As long as I have my family, I'll be fine," Dex told her. He hugged her again. "I'm sorry kiddo for overreacting when you and Cory announced you were pregnant. I just hated the thought of you having had sex," Dex said. "It's okay dad," Netalia said with a sad smile. "What's wrong?" Dex asked. "Cory and I had a fight," Netalia admitted. "Did he hurt you?" Dex wanted to know. Netalia, sensing the mood her father was in shook her head. "Don't lie to me young lady. Did he hurt you?" Dex asked again. "A little," Netalia answered. "What did he do?" Dex wanted to know. "He grabbed my arm a little harder than he intended to, that's all." Dex's eyes narrowed and he gave her a pointed look. "He told me I was his and that no other guy could touch me, and then he got a little rough," Netalia said. "Rough how?" Dex asked, checking the viewable pieces of skin for more bruises. Love and Mistakes Ch. 04-05 "She means rough sex," Cory said, walking up the hall. He looked at Netalia and gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry Neta," he murmured. Before anyone could say anything else, Billy walked out of Shella's room with a goofy grin. "What?" Dex asked. "She didn't lose the baby. It was just some breakthrough bleeding. We're going to watch her for another week, maybe two and keep an eye on the baby, but for right now, the baby has a strong and healthy heart beat," Billy said. Dex and Netalia breathed identical sighs of relief and Cory slipped his hand into Netalia's. She glanced back at him and carefully pulled her hand away from his. Billy looked from Cory to Netalia to Dex and sighed. "NO STRESS! She doesn't need it. I don't care how pissed you are, you act like the loving couple you were when she came in," Billy said. Netalia nodded. CHAPTER FIVE "Have you spoken with Netalia?" Cory's brother Devin asked. "No. I know she's in Tria with her parents, helping her dad with her brothers and sister. She sends weekly letters to keep me updated on what's happening with the pregnancy, but ..." Cory stopped talking and stared at the shape in the doorway. "Netalia," he breathed, standing up from his chair. He crossed the length of the room in four large steps but made no attempt to touch her; the last time he had tried, she had started screaming and clawing at him. "Are you okay?" Cory asked. Devin slipped out of the office through the library and Cory could hear his brother telling the staff that unless told other wise, that Prince Cory was off limits for awhile. "We're fine," Netalia murmured. Cory smiled as she pulled his hand towards her abdomen. "Only a few more days," she added. Cory smiled again. "We should talk before the baby comes," she murmured. He nodded and closed the door. "Why did you react the way you did?" Netalia wanted to know. Cory sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is why," Cory answered, handing her a wrinkled piece of paper. "You believed this?" Netalia asked. "Part of me did." Netalia sighed, crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it into the garbage can. "Devon's ex-girlfriend tried to trap him into marrying her. He was going to break up with her because she had started stealing things from the palace. And father and found a bride for him." "Amiee," Netalia murmured. "Yes, God bless her. Devon's ex, Eden didn't like that she was being passed over and told Devon that she was pregnant and that it was his." Netalia looked up sharply. "Are you saying that you're not ..." "No, I know I'm the father of our baby, now let me finish," Cory said. Netalia sat back in her chair. "Naturally, Devon told Aimee he couldn't marry her, not when someone else was carrying his child. He felt obligated to marry Eden. The day before the wedding, Eden went into labor. The baby was born three hours before the wedding ceremony." Cory pulled out an old picture of Eden; Netalia thought Eden was beautiful with shining blond hair and green eyes. "The baby was black," he said. Netalia's eyes widened and met Cory's who nodded. "She'd been sleeping with an old boyfriend, one she dated right before Devon, and while he was abusive, and crude and not a nice man at all, apparently, he was very good in bed and very large so they, once a week, would meet and have sex," Cory added. "So someone sent you a note saying I was being unfaithful and you believed it?" Netalia asked. Cory sighed again. "I never dated anyone because I was afraid that the same thing that happened to Devon would happen to me. When your dad brought to Tria and had the ball to celebrate you and your mother and siblings being brought to the area, I fell in love with you the minute I laid eyes on you. I know I hurt you and I'd rather die than hurt you again. I'm so sorry Neta," Cory murmured. "I know. I've had time to think, and I'm not mad anymore," Netalia told him. He smiled and reached for her. She allowed herself to be pulled into a hug. "Netalia?" Devon poked his head into the office. "C'mon man, we could have been naked in here," Cory complained. Netalia giggled. "Sorry bro, this is important. Your dad just called, there's something wrong with your mom," Devon told Netalia. Her face paled and she turned back to Cory. "We need to get to Tria, now," she said. "You can't fly Netalia, or at least you shouldn't be," Devon said, walking over to them. "This is my mother Devon! I need to be there, she needs me!" Netalia exclaimed. "Your mother needs to know you're taken care of. She knows you're getting close to delivering," Devon said softly. "Your dad said for you to stay put. He'll call in an hour and update you," he added, kissing his sister on the cheek before walking out of the office. Cory hugged Netalia gently. "Come on, let's take a nap," Cory murmured. "I don't think I could sleep Cory," Netalia told him. "Who said anything about sleep?" Cory asked with a grin. Netalia laughed and allowed him to lead her to their bedroom. "Are we still okay to do this?" Cory wanted to know. "As long as you're gentle," she told him, reaching behind her to unzip her dress. Cory moaned in appreciation as the dress fell to the floor. "You look so beautiful. I can't believe how big these have gotten," Cory breathed, cupping a breast with his hand. He flicked his finger over an already hard nipple and grinned when she moaned. "Cory, you don't need to tease me, I've been missing us for weeks now," Netalia whined as he lowered his lips and suckled gently sending jolts of pleasure through her. She gasped and Cory chuckled before switching to the other breast. "Cory," she said weakly. He looked at her in concern and grinned when he saw the look of frustration on her face. "Are you okay?" Cory asked. She nodded and he eased her down to the bed. He had his pants off before she could even say anything and he sat on the bed at her feet and eased her legs apart before sliding a finger deep inside her. Netalia let out a shaky moan and pleaded with her eyes to stop teasing. Cory pushed Netalia onto her side and moved behind her. She moaned happily when he pushed his way inside her. Cory kept a finger near her clit so that everything her body was jostled by his thrusts, her clit would brush right by his finger. He savored the sounds of her moans of pleasure and grinned when she screamed as her climax hit. He thrust once more before he reached his climax and held as still as he could as his seed burst from his body and into hers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Dad, is mom okay?" Netalia asked, grabbing the phone from Cory. "Your mother is fine, but she went into premature labor," Dex said with a sigh. "But she was only four months pregnant!" Netalia exclaimed. "I know." Netalia gave Cory a worried look as her father went silent. "Did the baby make it?" Netalia asked softly, afraid of the answer. "No, she didn't," Dex answered. "What can I do?" Netalia wanted to know. "You can stay home and safely deliver a healthy baby," Dex told his daughter, a small smile played on his lips as he listened to his daughter protest and try to convince him to let her return to Tria to help with her siblings. "Netalia Rosa, listen to me. You are too close to your due date to travel back to Tria. The doctors didn't even want you flying back to Morena," Dex told her. "I'm fine dad," Netalia argued. "Let me speak to your husband," Dex said. Netalia growled but handed the phone to Cory. "Yes your highness?" Cory asked. "Cut the formalities. If my daughter feels you're still trust worthy, then you're family. Call me Dex or dad." "Yes sir," Cory said. "Keep Netalia in Morena. Do not let her on a boat of any kind or at the airport. Sit on her if you have to, but she shouldn't leave Morena until after the baby is at least two months old," Dex instructed. "I agree, and while, no, I won't sit on her, I have a few other ideas on how to keep her in one place," Cory said with a grin. Netalia rolled her eyes and Dex groaned. "Thank you for that mental image of you fucking my daughter. Excuse me now while I drill a screw into my frontal lobe," Dex said dryly before hanging up the phone. "What'd dad say?" Netalia asked. "To keep you in Morena, even if I had to sit on you," Cory answered. "And what did he say to your innuendo?" Devon wanted to know, lounging against the doorway. "That he's going to give himself a lobotomy," Cory said with a laugh. Devon roared and looked down when he felt a tug on his pants. "Daddy, it's story time!" Devon smiled and lifted his daughter into his arms. "Well, Lizzie girl, I have just the story for you tonight. We're going to read the Velveteen Rabbit," Devon said, carrying his pint sized daughter down the hall. "He's so good with her. Is that where you got your experience with kids?" Netalia asked, rubbing a spot that their unborn child had just kicked. "That and there are three more kids in my family. My parents are a firm believer in adopting children when their mothers have died and there isn't any other family member to take them in. They're fostering an infant right now. I swear, if they don't quit adopting kids, they'll be rivaling Angelina Jolie," Cory said with a laugh. "It's sweet," Netalia said with a small smile. "I think so too," Cory agreed. Netalia tried to hide a yawn but Cory saw it and reached for her hand. "Come on, you should take a nap before dinner," Cory suggested. ~~~~~~~~~ "How are you feeling?" Dex asked, sitting down on the side of the bed as Shella slowly blinked and looked around. She knew right away that she was no longer pregnant and even if she hadn't, the expression on Dex's face told all. "Empty," Shella murmured. Dex sighed and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. "Do you feel sick or hurt anywhere?" Dex asked. Shella shook her head. "Do you want some water?" Shella nodded and Dex reached for the cup of water on the beside table and held it for her. Shella took a sip of water and managed a small smile before looking away. "Shella," Dex murmured. She looked at him. "I love you, nothing will change that," he promised. Shella smiled again as Dex reached over and wiped away the tears that streamed down her face. "Aunt Shella!" Shella looked up and saw Jason, Tina and their kids walking into the palace. Correction; Jason and Tina were walking, the kids were running. "How are you doing?" Jason asked, giving his sister a tight hug. "I'm hanging in there," Shella murmured. "The kids are in the play room," she told the hyper children. Julia and Mary made a mad dash for the play room. "Is something wrong Parker?" Shella asked the eight year old. "I'm sorry you were sick when you visited us and I'm sorry it caused you to lose your baby," Parker said, his voice trembling. Shella knelt down in front of the boy and gave him a fierce hug. "Listen to me Parker. It wasn't your fault or Mary's or Julia's that I got sick. Nor is it any of your guys' fault that I lost the baby," Shella said gently. "But if we hadn't been sick ...." "Parker Douglas, it was not your fault or your sisters' fault. I don't blame you nor am I mad at you. I love you all too much for that," Shella said gently but firmly. Parker grinned and gave Shella a tight hug. "Now, go be a kid and play," she told him. Parker didn't have to be told twice and he dashed off to play with his cousins. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Netalia, you okay?" Devon asked, walking past the library in time to see her grab the back of a chair. "Yeah, great," Netalia groaned. Devon walked into the library. "What's wrong?" Devon wanted to know. Netalia started to say that nothing was wrong when a gush of fluid ran down her legs. He hid his grin as she looked at him in a panic. "Relax Netalia, that just means ..." "I know what it means! I'm the oldest of five kids," Netalia snapped. "Relax," Devon told her. "C'mon, I'll help you to bed then call the midwife and my wayward brother," he added, leading her from the library. "How much longer?" Netalia panted in between contractions. The midwife did a quick exam. "Not much longer if you stop your griping and push already," the midwife snapped. "Watch your tone, you're speaking to royalty," Cory growled. The midwife opened her mouth to make a retort when Netalia groaned loudly. "PUSH!" she exclaimed. Before either Cory or Netalia knew it, the crying baby slid into the midwife's arms. "It's a boy!" she announced. Netalia dropped back against the pillow while Cory stared in amazement at the tiny, squalling child. The midwife's assistant cut the cord and quickly wrapped the baby in a blanket and placed him in his mother's waiting arms. "Hello little one," Cory murmured, pulling a chair over to the bed and peering at his new son. "Welcome to the world Sebastian Matthew," Netalia whispered.