24: THIRD TRIMESTER

28 WEEKS

"Your headaches haven't gotten better, huh?"

Marisol shook her head at Meredith. "I still get them a lot."

"And you've been taking Tylenol?"

Marisol nodded as Meredith gently pressed against her stomach. "Then I'm afraid bedrest is probably the best answer."

"I-I have work. I can't stay in bed all day!"

"I'm afraid your maternity leave begins now. Keep taking Tylenol, but if your headaches get worse or don't end, come back, and we'll see what else we can do. Keep drinking water and limit the amount of activity you participate in."

Marisol sighed softly as another burst of Tala invaded her mind as Grey drove them back. Marisol closed her eyes again as pain radiated through her skull. Seeing her discomfort, Grey put a comforting hand on her thigh.

"We can stop to get more medicine."

"No, it's okay. I'll get over it."

He stopped anyway and picked up some chocolate to make her feel better. When they got back, he laid with her as her head ached.

Sitting up, she groaned. "It really hurts."

"I know, I'm sorry," he whispered, rubbing her back. He took her back into his arms and laid down. Eventually, she fell asleep in his arms, and Greyson stayed.

As Marisol turned in the bed, Grey woke up. He sat up and got out of bed, putting on some pants to go get some painkillers for her. She quickly sat up as she heard the door shut. She yawned and rubbed her eyes– the light was so bright coming through the windows. She wondered why Grey never closed the curtains.

Her heart jumped in her chest. Her head swung to her hands, gazing at their dark complexions. She forgot what she looked like. It's been so long. How could she forget? She...she could see. She stood up quickly, too quickly as she became dizzy. She smiled, and only two desires filled her. The second was to see herself; did she still have freckles? Did she look different? Were her eyes the same color? What about her teeth? Her hair?

But the first need, the need that almost made her stop breathing, was to see him. The man who loved her even when she was bruised. The man who never left her crippled side. She didn't change out of her pajamas. She rushed to the door, throwing it open. Abigail was down the hall and heard the commotion. She came out of her room, seeing Marisol practically run to her.

"Mari–"

"Abigail? Oh, Abigail, you're so pretty! I didn't know you were so beautiful. Not to say that I thought you weren't pretty, it's just that–"

Nolan stepped out of their room, rubbing his head sleepily. "What's going on?"

"Nolan! I thought you looked different! But this different is good! It's a good different!"

"What the fuck is happening?" Nolan asked his mate.

"Where's Grey?"

"Downstairs–"

Before he could finish, she was already gone, trampling down the stairs. She passed through the living room and then dining room, and as she made her way to the entrance of the kitchen, she suddenly stopped.

What if he didn't look like what she thought he did?

What if...fuck that, he was Greyson. He was her mate. She took a breath, walking in. He started to speak, but not before she ran to him, and gasped as she saw his dazzling eyes. Her hands gently ran over his face. Tears streamed down her face as he stood there, just watching her.

"Marisol?"

"Greyson," she whispered.

"You can see me."

She nodded.

"You can see me," he repeated again, dropping the glass onto the floor. He pulled her close to him, kissing her. She pulled away shortly, just because she wanted to stare at him. "You're so handsome."

"I'm glad you think so."

"C-can we go to the park? A-and have a Twilight marathon? Oh, and meet your parents again! And go to the museum, maybe. Oh my god, could-could we go to a store and look at things for the nursery? And cute baby clothes and–"

"Yes," he affirmed, he pulled her in for another kiss. "But we should visit the doctor again, this time a doctor who specializes in Lycanthropy. Shouldn't we figure out what's going first? What if something is wrong?"

He could see Marisol's excitement dim and it almost shattered his heart. He walked away from her, going to the fridge. He took off something and walked back. "I'll call the doctor, but while we wait, would you like to see their ultrasound?"

She bit her lip to hide her excitement. She grabbed the photo and ran a gentle finger over its frame. "It's funny. They're so tiny, but already I couldn't imagine..."

"I know. Me too. You know, I doubt the doctor could be here any time soon. Do you want to look at names?"

Greyson grabbed her hand as she enthusiastically nodded.

❥

She couldn't hear what he said because she was too busy looking at his profile. He was even more beautiful than what she imagined. His jawline could slice air and his hair was so dark, it contrasted perfectly with his pale skin. She was darker than him. His perfect lips were moving but she didn't respond until he turned to look at her.

She blushed moving her gaze.

"You're staring."

"Sorry."

"Don't be," he said, "I do it too, but you don't catch me. What about Vladimir?"

"We are not naming our child Vlad," she said with a grin. He pushed himself away from his desk and went to sit next to her. He pulled her into his lap, and she giggled, tracing the outline of his lips. She leaned forward, kissing him.

"What about Greyson, the second and third?"

"Nope."

"What, you don't like my name?"

"I didn't say that."

"Well, what names do you like?"

"Hmm, what about Issac?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I knew an Alpha with that name."

"Was he bad?"

"He slept with my mom."

Marisol gagged and nodded. "Alright, no Issac." She went back to thinking before exclaiming again. "Ezra?"

"Not bad. Not bad. Let's keep it on the list."

"You do realize we, not only have to choose one name but two boy names and one girl name? We are never going to agree."

"Then I guess we'll just have to call the girl F-01 and the boys M-02 and 03."

"Who do you think we are? Elon Musk?"

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Weston?"

She looked at him, now rolling her eyes. "No."

"Why–"

"One of their names will not be Weston Weston."

Greyson grabbed her hand. She looked at him, confused. "What?"

"You're going to give them my last name?"

Marisol shimmied in her spot. "Well, yes?"

"But I thought you said 'why do our kids have to have your last name as if I was the one to carry them?'"

"And I still stand by that. In any other circumstances, they would have my surname."

"What's different now?"

"Nothing is different now than before. I always thought they would have your name."

"Then–"

"Because my last name sucks. It's infected by abuse, unchanged alcoholism, and other shitty traits. Our kids do not deserve my awful last name and its history. I don't want to steal their lives."

"Giving them your last name isn't stealing anything. It has no biological or natural significance. The only thing it does is label our heritage and act as an identifier."

"Exactly," she said. "They don't need anything connecting him to them. And besides, there's only one thing I want to steal."

"And what's that?"

"Your last name."

He smiled, laughing as she rested her head against his. "I think you'll be successful with that." After a short break, he spoke again. "What about...Rose?"

"For the girl?"

"No, I meant for the b– of course I mean the girl. Marisol...Rose...maybe we could throw in a Lilac at some point?"

"I like it," she whispered. "But what about Rosalind or Rosalina?"

"Let's put it on the list."

"What about Carlisle?"

Greyson rolled his eyes. "Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on! It's a good name."

He stood up, hearing a car come down the driveway. He reached for her hand and she took it, following him down the stairs and into the living room where the rest of the pack was waiting.

"Because we are not naming our pup after my dad."

"But why! It's a pretty good name," she said with a grin. She looked over at Irabella, who stood next to her mate. "It's a strong Alpha's name," she joked. Grey rolled his eyes again. Marisol watched as a young man entered through the door with a doctor's coat on.

"Alpha and Luna, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Callahan, but people call me Cal for short."

Marisol and Greyson both smiled in return and thanked him for his quick arrival.

"Congratulations on not one but three babies! Luna is going to have her hands full for the next few months that's for sure! But I listened to your voicemail, and there seems to be something else going on. I suggest we look at an ultrasound first, do an exam, and then we can talk about the other things going on. Is that alright with you, Luna?"

Marisol nodded.

"And I hope that it's okay if I perform the exam myself, Alpha? I do have to touch your mate, but it's purely medical. "

"Of course. Do what's necessary."

"Excellent! Do you have a place of preference? Somewhere we can take a look?"

"We have a medic wing," Grey said, gesturing the way. Marisol followed her mate down the hall and to the left, where she was able to wobble her way to the table. She couldn't get up by herself, so Greyson eased her up.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Luna, if you can pull up your shirt."

She nodded, gently easing it up. She winced at the purple veins running up her stomach. She never realized how...large and...hurt she had gotten.

"They tend to fade," Dr. Callahan assured. "You can use some oils to make them fade quicker. From the looks of it, you look like you are at the correct size for a woman pregnant with triplets."

"Really? I feel like...like a pregnant elephant."

He laughed, turning on the machine and sliding on gloves. "I'm afraid the discomfort will just get worse. Exercise and rest can make you feel a lot better. I also suggest getting a pregnancy pillow."

Marisol smiled at him and laid back down. As he placed the clear gel on her stomach, she looked at him. Had she not been able to see, she wouldn't have guessed he was older than his voice sounded. He sounded...alive...spry even, but his brown hair was greying. His beard was even more grey. His eyes, while hopeful, held something in them she couldn't understand. He had some crows feet around his eyes and smile lines, but besides that, he was handsome.

Greyson growled, and she looked at him skeptically.

"Sorry," Cal said rather sheepishly.

"Not your fault," Grey said.

"What isn't?" She asked.

"Your heart rate spiked when you were looking at him. We could hear it."

"What are you saying, Grey?" Her eyes widened, and he looked back at the doctor. "Oh no, I– I'm not...I wasn't checking you out or anything. I mean, I think you're attractive–" She cringed from Grey's growl. "But Grey's my mate and I would never–"

"It's okay, Luna. It's normal. Especially at this stage."

"What do you mean?"

"During the third trimester, women tend to be..."

"Horny?" She concluded.

"Well, I was going to say excitedly, but yes," he laughed.

Marisol relaxed again as the ultrasound came on. She smiled as she saw their little feet pressed against her stomach, and their little faces smushed against her uterus. For some reason, she looked toward the partially open door and saw a little boy hiding behind the wall, curious. She smiled at him and waved him in. Hesitantly he walked in and came to her side.

"What is your name?"

"I'm Cooperland, Luna."

"My name is Marisol."

"I know, Luna," he said. "A-are those the babies?"

She nodded. "Dr. Cal, would you mind explaining what all those numbers on the side mean."

"I'd love to!"

Marisol and Grey let the boy stay and learn all he wanted until they had to talk about her sight. She sat up after wiping the glue off her.

"Unfortunately, Luna, I believe the reason why your eyesight returned is because of your little babies. They have Lycan DNA and somehow fixed or healed or bypassed your injury."

"And that's bad?"

"It means that while there is a possibility that they healed you completely, there is also the possibility that once you give birth, your sight will go away again."

Again, unedited I apologize.