Badge by K.L. Savage

 

“Where are you guys off to?” I ask as Knives and Mary walk through the living room. I’m sitting on the couch, enjoying my daughter-free time. Jay is downstairs after he came down with a nasty cough, so Doc is monitoring him. Badge is sitting next to me, arm wrapped around my shoulders as we watch the new Space Jam movie. Maizey, Aidan, Delaney, and Micah are inside the fort they built, and Skirt and Dawn are on the love seat.

Dawn is asleep. We can never watch a movie without her falling asleep. I get it, though. Skirt is holding Joey as she naps in his arms. The dogs are in the fort too and I could bet if I peeked inside, the kids would be asleep too.

“Are you guys okay?”

“I think I’m having contractions,” Mary whispers as she holds her side. “I’m not sure. All I know is it is time for this baby to come out. If I get to the hospital and they say no, I’m killing somebody.”

“Hellraiser—”

“—Don’t Hellraiser me. You did this.” She points to her stomach.

“I don’t remember you complaining when it was happening,” he grumbles under his breath. Badge chuckles next to me.

I punch him in the stomach to tell him to stop laughing.

“What did you just say to me?” Mary squints her eyes at Knives.

“I said, I hope you don’t remember this because I hate to hear you complain about pain,” Knives pouts, puckering his lips.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said.” Mary reaches for the door, and she doubles over, holding her side through the pain.

“Mary, how far along are your contractions?” I ask.

“I think they might be Braxton Hicks. I want us to go to the hospital anyway,” Knives says, opening the front door to a cavalcade of thunder and lightning. He sighs. “Why is there always a storm when we need to be outside? I doubt we can hide in a barn this time.”

“A barn?”

“Another story for another time,” Mary says and then her eyes begin to water. “Knives, I think something is wrong.”

Badge and I get up at the same time to help her.

“We’re going to the doctor right now.”

“But Doc is here. He can help.”

“No offense against Doc. I want my Hellraiser surrounded by an entire team. It shouldn’t be up to Doc all the damn time. He deserves a break without all of our chaos. Come on, Hellraiser. Let’s go.” Knives manages to swing Mary up in his arms and heads out the front door just as a crack of thunder roars and a flash of lightning illuminates the dark desert. It’s eerie and empty, promising wickedness in its wilderness.

“It isn’t safe out there, Knives. Are you sure you don’t want any of us to go with you? One of us can drive.” Badge follows him outside just as it begins to rain.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll call you when we get to the hospital.”

Mary screams just as a roll of thunder shakes the ground. Knives and Mary are getting soaked in the downpour and Badge puts his foot down. “It isn’t safe. She’s obviously in labor and Doc is here.”

“Fuck,” Knives curses as he slams the car door, changing his mind.

The rain is pouring in heavy sheets and everyone’s clothes are drenched. Mary’s hair is slicked down and Knives can hardly see as he climbs back up to the steps to the porch. Mary’s scream sounds like someone being murdered.

“Put me down. Put me down!” she yells over the pounding drops of rain.

“I can’t. I’m taking you to Doc,” Knives replies.

“Put me down!” she grips his cut and yells just as a gush of water splashes to the ground from between her legs.

“Oh shit, her water broke,” I say, but that isn’t what is worrying me. “Stop. Stop walking.” They’re dripping in water as they enter the house, and that’s when I notice blood.

“What’s wrong? What is it? Oh, god, it hurts so fucking bad!” she cries, and the kids run out from the fort and into their rooms.

Dawn is awake and at the ready and Skirt is moving everything out of the way for Knives so he can walk without running into something.

“Blood,” I say in horror. When I look down, I notice a trail of it, and it’s all coming from Mary. “We need to get her to Doc now.”

Mary lets out another painful scream and a few others come from their rooms, like Reaper, Sarah, Tank, and Braveheart.

Braveheart is already on the move and Poodle’s daughter Ellie opens her door, watching him with hearts in her eyes.

Oh no. That cannot happen.

Poodle opens the door next, yawning from pulling a long shift at the garage, but wakes up when he sees Mary in Knives’s arms.

“Shit, is she in labor?” Poodle asks.

“Something is wrong,” I say. “There’s blood.”

“Everyone get downstairs now,” Reaper bellows, then stomps three times on the floor to let Doc know we are coming.

The basement door is already open and Braveheart must already be downstairs because I hear a flurry of instruments clanking together.

We all follow behind Knives, one by one, like the big family we are, we are here together. All except Dawn and Skirt. They stay upstairs to watch the kids. Bullseye and Ruby are up in Lake Tahoe with Faith, and Tool and Juliette at are the club.

It’s just us.

And we will have to do.

“Put her on the table. And I’m sorry, but you guys are going to have to wait on the steps. I doubt she wants everyone to see—”

“—I don’t fucking care, get this baby out of me!” She clutches her stomach.

“I have to do a C-section. It looks like your placenta has torn. No more wasting time. I’m putting you under now.” Doc works quick, hooking her up to machines.

“Knives,” she whimpers, scared. She reaches out for his hand, and he takes it without hesitation.

Knives kisses her forehead. “I’m right here, Hellraiser. I’m not going anywhere, okay? “

She nods just as she falls asleep and Doc dips a cotton swab and starts running it up and down, sterilizing the skin.

“Fuck, this isn’t how it is supposed to go.” Knives runs his fingers through his hair. “I can handle a lot of things, but this… I can’t handle this.”

“You’re going to have to,” Doc says in a clipped tone. “She can’t handle it either, but she has no choice and neither do you. I have to get in and stop the bleeding if she’s going to live.”

“She could die?” Knives’s face loses its color.

“Yeah, Knives. If I don’t work quick enough.”

“Doc is the best. She’ll be alright.” Badge comes from the other side of the room, his arms full of baby Jay.

I don’t blame him. I have the need to be close to him too.

Knives holds a hand over his mouth in worry, but Slingshot claps an arm on his shoulder. Poodle, Melissa, and Ellie huddle up close. Mars places his hands on Sunnie’s stomach.

“I need a volunteer,” announces Doc. “Somebody wash your hands and get over here.”

“I’ll do it,” says Sarah, handing off Hendrix to Reaper and hurrying to the sink.

“Me too,” says Tongue, causing everyone in the room to give him a weird look. Even Doc.

“What? Besides Doc, I’m the most precise one here with cutting and you all know it.”

“Tongue—” Knives starts, but Doc cuts him off.

“We don’t have time for this,” he snaps. “Tongue, hurry up and get washed and put on some gloves.”

Knives glowers at Tongue, but Tongue gives him back a serious look. “I’ll take care of her, brother. I promise on my life.”

With that, Tongue and Sarah get prepped for the procedure and join Doc. He gives them a rapid-fire series of directions: what tools to arrange, what signs to monitor, how to properly clean and cut.

“It’s going to be okay, Knives,” whispers Reaper.

“I know, I know,” he sighs. “But I just…”

He trails off as he watches Doc, Tongue, and Sarah moving in quick, deliberate motions, working carefully to make sure everything is okay.

After what seems like an eternity—or maybe only a couple of minutes—Doc wipes the sweat off his face and looks up with a grin.

“Happy Birthday to you,” he sings as he pulls the baby out from Mary.

And I don’t know about everyone else, but my jaw goes slack and my eyes round. That’s the biggest baby I’ve ever seen.

That’s… that’s a damn toddler. No wonder she was so uncomfortable.

“Well, Knives. Looks like you have a big baby boy.”

Knives holds out his arms. Tears brim in his eyes as he holds his son who is still red with goop all over him. The cord is still attached as Doc begins to remove the afterbirth and Tongue and Sarah start the process of cleaning Mary back up. Once Doc stops the bleeding, he takes the suction and shoves it in the baby’s nose and mouth to get the goop out.

“That baby is fucking huge.”

Reaper slaps Tank on the back of the head.

“What? As if no one is thinking it,” Tank mutters.

“Think it. Don’t say it.”

“I’m terrified,” Sunnie whispers as she stares down at her stomach. She’s growing three. Mars is next to her and whispers something reassuring that I can’t hear.

Doc snips the cord and takes the baby from Knives’s arms. “I’ll clean him up and do an exam, but I think he is okay. He’s a big boy.”

“Looks like he is a big boy everywhere! That’s my kid!” Knives pounds on his chest proudly. I can’t help but roll my eyes.

Men.

Doc shakes his head and Knives kisses Mary’s forehead. “You did so good. He’s perfect, Hellraiser. Just like you. I can’t wait for you to see him. You did so good. I’m so proud of you.”

It’s hard not to become emotional. Badge places Jay in my arms, then begins to rub my back.

“Holy shit. Everyone, we have a new record,” Doc announces. “He is twenty-three inches long and twelve pounds on the dot!” He wraps him up in a blue blanket and hands him back to Knives. “You better treat this woman like a damn goddess after carrying him around. You better do everything for her,” Doc chuckles, then begins to clean up the mess.

“Is Mary going to be okay?”

“Yeah, she’s going to be fine, but sore for a few days. You’re going to need to do most of the work.”

“I don’t mind,” Knives smiles, brushing his finger down the plump baby cheek. “I don’t want to tell y’all his name yet. We didn’t know he was a he and I can’t tell you with her asleep.”

“We can take care of all that with she wakes up. There’s no rush. Enjoy your time with your new family.”

“I feel like I have to call him Hulk or something,” Knives says to Doc.

“Oh my god, Mary will murder you,” I state. Everyone laughs at the thought because everyone also knows how right I am.

“Can we see him?” Tank asks.

“Of course, come on over.” Knives sits down in the recliner and one by one we take our turns meeting the newest member of the Ruthless Kings family.

“He is so cute,” I compliment, then point to the new baby. “Look, Jay. That’s your cousin or brother or whatever you want him to be. Uncle, maybe?”

Knives and Badge laugh, but I shrug a shoulder. I don’t know how else to explain the dynamics here.

“I feel so bad,” Knives says, staring at his son. “All those times she complained, all the times she was grouchy, I always wanted to make her feel better, but I don’t know if I tried hard enough. Maybe I should get her a gift? But what even could I possibly get that’s like, ‘thanks for birthing a twelve-pound baby and carrying him around for nine whole months’?”

“I have no idea, brother,” says Braveheart.

Knives looks back down at Mary lovingly. “You never have to walk again if you don’t want to. I’m sure your ankles could use a break. I don’t know what screams all that, though.”

“Diamonds.” I pat his shoulder. “Get a gorgeous necklace. She’ll feel like a million bucks.”

“After birth gifts are a thing?” Mars whispers the question so only we can hear and not Sunnie.

“They are a thing, but they are usually called push gifts.”

“Right. I’ll need something for three.”

“A new car?” I throw the suggestion out there as a joke, but he nods quickly, snapping his fingers.

“That’s good, Hope. That’s a good idea. Whatever she wants. The best there is. I’ll put a big bow on it. And get her jewelry.”

“I mean, too much is never enough… I guess?” I grin at Mars, who places his hand on Sunnie’s lower back and guides her up the stairs, sending me a wink of appreciation.

“Hey, I hear we have a damn boulder in the family.” Skirt and Dawn come down the steps next and Dawn spanks Skirt’s ass in punishment. “Crivens, what was that for? Me cheekies,” he pouts.

“You don’t call a baby a boulder.”

“Dawn, he is twelve pounds. What do ye expect me to call him? He ain’t no barra. He’s right muckle.”

Everyone trades a look, having no idea what Skirt just said.

“He’s big,” Dawn translates, and we all laugh again

Knives doesn’t get mad. If anything, he finds it humorous. “It’s okay, Dawn. He isn’t wrong. Our mini-man is big.”

“Ye got to call him something fierce, ye realize that, right? A laddie that size can’t be called… Hank. Or fucking Tom.”

“Jesus, Skirt. He can name his son whatever he wants.”

“No, Dawn. No, he cannae. The rules are different now since the baby is so big.”

“We’re leaving.” Dawn gives everyone a pinched smile. “Kiss Mary for me when she wakes up.” She pushes against Skirt’s back and pushes him up the stairs.

“I dinnae ken why I have to go. I’m only sayin’ what everyone’s thinking.”

“That’s what I said too, Skirt!” Tank defends himself and Dawn crooks a finger at him. “Aw, man. How am I in trouble?” Tank hangs his head and slowly trudges up the stairs with Dawn continuing to point to the kitchen as if he is a teenager getting ready to get spanked.

I snicker.

“We’re really happy for you, man.” Badge squats down to be eye-level with Knives’s son. “He is pretty perfect.”

Knives beams from the compliment. “He is, isn’t he?”

I love when men allow themselves to be emotional. They fight it, but there’s nothing like witnessing these big badass bikers all become loving, caring fathers.

“Typical for him to be born in a storm. Hey, maybe that can be his middle name. It fits, right?”

“That’s pretty badass,” Badge agrees. “Congratulations, Knives.”

We stand to leave and Doc shouts after us. “You have to leave Jay here. I need to monitor him.”

“Aw, Doc. Come on. Can’t we watch him?” Badge begs.

“No. I need him here and hooked up to the machines. I’m sorry, Badge. Maybe in a few days.”

“A few days?” he sighs, carefully handing Doc our baby.

Jay is ours.

“You can stay down here with him, but that’s my only offer.”

Badge is about to follow Doc when his phone rings. “Hello?” he answers. “Another one? No, it’s okay. I’m on my way.” He hangs up and pulls me in for a kiss. “I have to go. There’s been another murder.”

“Is the baby…”

“I don’t know. He didn’t say. I’ll be back with more news. I’m going to ask Reaper to go with me this time. I love you, Angel,” Badge says, cupping the back of my head to bring me in for a final kiss.

“I love you too. I’ll stay down here and I’ll read to Jay.”

“Best Mom in the entire world.”

I blush and watch as the love of my life backs away from me to head up the stairs. I sit down in the recliner and watch Jay try to get comfortable. “I hope there are no other kids like you out there. I’m afraid they won’t get found.” I insert my hand through the hole and Jay’s small hand wraps around my pinky finger.

It’s amazing how something so small can cause such strong emotions.

“I promise to protect you just like I protect Faith. You’re family now, little man. And you have a big brother over there who will fight for you,” I say it loud enough so Knives can hear me.

“Damn right,” he agrees.

“I’m sorry about your mom, but I promise to be the best one I can be to you,” I yawn as I lean my head down on my arm and keep my hand inside the incubator so Jay can hold onto my finger.

I’ll be the mom all those other moms never got to be—including my own.