Epilogue

Epilogue

Some time later

Maya sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her swollen belly. Her hands shook slightly as she stared at the pool of water that had gushed down her legs and onto the rug underneath her feet.

"Heyder...." her voice came out in a whisper.

"Hmm?" The jinn moaned. He laid beside her with his face buried in the pillows and his shirt forgotten somewhere else in the room.

"Heyder," Maya said a little louder. "Wake up."

"Birdie, 5 more minutes," Heyder mumbled.

"I don't have 5 more minutes," Maya looked down at her belly.

"I swear I just got to be like 2 seconds ago," Heyder pulled Maya's pillow and placed it over the back of his head.

"Heyder!" Maya tugged at the covers. "The baby is coming."

"What?" Heyder slowly lifted his head and opened his sleepy eyes. "You're not due for another week or two."

"Fine. Go back to sleep," Maya rose from the bed. She grabbed a pillow and threw it at Heyder's head. "You can come meet your son in a week or two."

"Maya," Heyder groaned. He pushed the covers off of himself and climbed out of bed. As soon as his bare feet touched the wet rug, his eyes widened as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head. In a blink of an eye, Heyder was in front of Maya scooping her up into his arms.

"Nurse!" He hollered as he appeared in the medical wing of the palace. "Call Dr. Alden!"

"Maya already linked me," Rye said as she poked her head out of one of the rooms. "Right in here."

Heyder carried Maya into the private room and laid her down on the bed. He gripped her hand as the nurses began to work on her. He turned to look at her but found her eyes already glued to his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Are you okay?" Maya asked.

"I'm........I don't know what I'm feeling right now," Heyder chuckled.

"Heyder."

"Yes, birdie?"

"You can stop healing me," Maya looked down at their hands. "I'm okay."

Heyder frowned as he scanned Maya's face, "Does it hurt?"

"Not yet," Maya said. "My water just broke."

"I'm not taking any chances," Heyder shook his head.

"I might be in labor for a long time."

"Okay."

"It'll just be waiting around."

"Okay," Heyder nodded again.

"First child is always longer."

"Maya," Heyder leaned in a little closer to get a closer look at the girl's eyes. "What are you trying to do?"

"You don't have to be here for the whole time," Maya said slowly.

"Excuse me?" Heyder frowned.

"All I'm saying is you have a lot to do at court," Maya said. "Ali will be overwhelmed without you and honestly nothing is going to happen here for a few hours. You can go to court and make it back with plenty of time to spare."

Heyder narrowed his eyes and tried to judge if she was actually being serious. His dark eyes drilled into Maya as she looked up at him through her lashes.

"You stupid little girl," Heyder lowered his voice as he leaned in closer. The tip of his nose brushed against Maya's as he gently bumped her forehead with his. "I am not moving an inch from where I am standing."

Maya felt her heart flutter in her chest. She wet her bottom lip as she tugged on her husband's hand and brought it to her chest.

"We're having our baby," she said.

"Yes!" Heyder laughed. "And I am not missing it for the world."

"But Ali and the court-"

"Ali and the court can go fuck themselves for all I care right now," Heyder pushed Maya's wild hair back and placed a kiss on her head.

"Some supreme you are," Maya teased as she savored the sensation of his lips.

"I'm terrible," Heyder confessed. "I keep asking you to teach me."

"You're a horrible stude -" Maya stilled as she grabbed her side and her face twisted in pain. "Ahh!"

"Maya!" Heyder gripped her hand and began to pump her full of his energy. "Rye!"

"Relax," Rye said as she slowly put on her gloves and a nurse tied her scrub. "Just contractions."

"How do you know? You haven't even looked?" Heyder frowned.

Rye raised a brow as she looked at Maya, "How do I know?"

Maya shook her head.

"My medical degree and years of experience is how I know," Rye snapped. "I can have you kicked out of here if I want."

"Babe," Maya tugged at Heyder's hand. "Say sorry."

Heyder looked down at his wife and frowned. When he looked back up, Rye waited to hear the words with her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry," Heyder sighed. "I might be a little nervous."

"That's normal," Rye said. "I see it all the time with first time dads. Exton almost threw up."

"Of course," Heyder rolled his eyes.

"Heyder," Maya tugged at his hand. "I seriously can't feel anything. I feel like I'm on drugs."

"Good," the jinn said. "Easy painless delivery. Every woman's dream."

"Is that normal?" Maya looked at her grandmother. "Will the baby be okay?"

"I don't see why not," Rye shrugged. "He's healing you so your pain receptors are all worthless right now."

"See, everybody wins," Heyder pulled Maya's hand to his lips and pressed a kiss.

"I'll go find you a shirt," Rye said staring at the shirtless jinn and his many tattoos. She had one of the nurses open the doors for her and slipped out quietly.

Maya laid back against the pillow and stared up at the boring ceiling. Her toes tingled and her muscles were all relaxed. She felt Heyder take a seat beside the bed and run his hand through her hair.

"Do you want to sleep?" He asked as he watched her.

Maya shook her head, "No."

Heyder continued to play with her hair hoping she would catch some sleep before the baby arrived. He watched her eyes flutter and lips part slightly. Moving his hand away from her hair, Heyder touched her belly and felt his heart swell up.

Leaning closer, he placed a kiss on Maya's ear and whispered, "Thank you."

A small smile appeared on Maya's lip. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed up at her husband. With a cold hand, she touched the edge of his face and sighed.

"I love you.....so much," Heyder took her hand and placed a kiss on her palm.

"So much more.....and you'll never know," Maya whispered back.

For the next several hours the couple was slowly visited by all their family and friends. Gemma sat on the other side of Maya's bed and held her daughter's hand as Heyder and Exton conversed in a hushed tone by the door. Mavi and Owen stopped by with flowers and stuffed animals, Maksim and Ella volunteered to do the last minute touches to the nursery and Clare, unknown to the rest of the family, hovered nearby as per Maya's request to heal Heyder in case he burned himself out. When Rye announced it was time for Maya to start pushing, she could hardly believe it.

"I don't feel anything," Maya said.

"Stop complaining," Heyder groaned. "You want to feel yourself be teared apart?"

"This feels weird," Maya shook her head.

"Honey, you're completely fine," Rye assured her. "We're monitoring both Heyden and you."

"This is so anticlimactic!"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Maya!" Heyder snapped. "Just push."

"What am I pushing! I feel nothing!" Maya yelled back. "You're robbing me of my experience. Let go of my hand!"

"You sadist fuck! I'm saving you from labor pain!"

"I want to feel labor pain!" Maya yanked her hand away.

The nurses in the room stared at the couple with concern as Gemma and Rye shook their heads. They watched as Heyder dropped Maya's hand and took a step back. Maya huffed and turned away from the glare in his eyes. She took in several long deep breaths as the pressure in her lower back slowly started to build.

Stubborn as always, Heyder remained where he stood rooted to the ground. With his arms folded over his chest, he watched the little droplets of sweat pool on Maya's forehead. Her cheeks started to heat up as her breathing increased.

"Baby," Gemma spoke softly as she placed an ice back on the back on Maya's neck. "Maybe Heyder should come back now?"

"No, I can do this," Maya shook her head.

"Oh my god," Heyder groaned, rolling his eyes. He let out a frustrated breath as he watched Maya's face twist with pain.

"Can I at least hold your hand?" He asked. "Please, birdie."

"Promise me you won't start healing me," Maya looked over at him.

"Promise me you will let me if the pain gets too bad," Heyder took a step forward.

"I promise," Maya nodded. She held out her hand for the jinn and he took it without hesitation.

"I promise," he repeated. As soon as their fingers touched, Maya gripped his hand tightly as Rye encouraged her to push.

"Okay, now I want you to give me a big push and hold it for 10 seconds," Rye smiled. "You're doing great, sweetie."

"Okay," Maya said breathlessly. She squeezed Heyder's and her mother's hand as she bit down on her lip and pushed.

Gemma lifted her eyes to see Maya's pain in Heyder's eyes. He had his gaze glued to her face. In the brown of his eyes, Gemma could see how much the jinn loved her daughter. She felt herself smile and sigh with relief.

They will be just fine, she thought to herself.

"Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop!" Rye cheered as Maya pushed. "He's almost here! Here he comes!"

Like Christmas trees, Maya and Heyder's face began to light up. Rye looked up and landed her eyes on the pair.

"Who wants to hold him first?" She asked.

Everyone in the room gasped as she held up the small newborn covered in fluids. Heyden began to cry immediately as Rye placed him on Maya's chest.

"Oh my god," Maya began to sob. "Baby.....oh my sweet baby."

Heyder started with wide eyes and in complete shock. He was speechless as the child's cries ran in his mind and made all the puzzle pieces in his life fall right into place.

Maya couldn't stop sobbing with happiness as the nurses tried to clean Heyden around her. Gemma pressed a hand over her lips as she too cried silently. She looked up at the stunned jinn and ran around the bed to pull him into her arms.

"Oh he's perfect, Heyder!" Gemma beamed with happiness.

Too stunned and overwhelmed to speak, Heyder felt his eyes begin to sting. He raised his hand and took a step closer. But suddenly, before he could reach out and touch his child, something in the room started to beep.

Gemma and Rye looked up in alarm as Heyden stopped crying. Maya frowned as she looked down at the newborn on her chest. In a matter of seconds, she let out a bone chilling cry for her husband.

"Heyder!" Maya called to him in a panic.

Instantly Heyder leaped forward and took the baby into his arms. Rye rushed over with a blanket and covered the little thing as his father started to heal him. Gemma held Maya back as she tried to jump out of bed and go to her baby.

"Heyder," she reached out.

Heyder moved closer and sat down beside her. He gazed down at Heyden in his arms and marveled at how tiny he was. With both of his hands, he channeled a steady stream of energy into the tiny being as Maya hung onto his arm and adjusted the little blue blanket.

"He's okay," Rye said. "Just don't; stop healing him."

"I won't," Heyder said, quietly, looking down at the child. "He's so quiet. Why isn't he moving or crying?"

Maya leaned in closer. She tugged on Heyder's arm until he bought Heyden down closer to her. With the softest touch, she rubbed his cheek and then ran her finger along the edge of his face.

Heyder watched in amazement as the baby began to stir. He felt his heart leap up and stop as those tiny eyelids ever so slowly began to flutter open.

Both Maya and Heyder were greeted by the most beautiful pair of green eyes they both had ever seen. Heyder pulled the baby closer as Maya let out a happy sob. He turned to her and surprised her with the tears in his own eyes.

"Our baby," Heyder whispered.

"Yes," Maya nodded, crying and laughing at the same time. "Ours."

See you in Clare's book :D

The End!