ItM - Simon - 72

Heart of the Matter

I’m lost.

I don’t know what hit me or where I am.

I can’t hear anything anymore. I can’t hear Erin’s sweet voice, or Gideon’s soft babbling. I don’t know where they are.

Life was known to take its twists and turns, but I thought we’d already had our fair share of surprises. Was it so wrong to want to live a normal life with my mate and child?

Apparently, to the masters of fate, it was.

Once I’m up and moving, I’m going to punch someone in the face.

Then, I’m going to hug my son and kiss my pretty girl.

~*~*~*~

Groaning, I rolled over and pressed my hands to my head in an attempt to stop the throbbing pain centered in my skull. I must’ve missed the license plate of the truck that ran me down and beat me with its tailgate.

I cracked an eye open and saw Gideon lying next to me, his hands opening and closing on air. “Hey there, little guy. You look like you’re enjoying yourself, playing with the air.” Burbling, he turned his head, looking at me, and stuck his fingers in his mouth. “Those aren’t food, you know. Maybe your mother can get you a bottle and me a glass with a bucket of aspirin.”

It was a struggle to sit up but I was able to do it on my own, and I only felt dizzy twice. Once I was upright, I picked up Gideon and held him against my chest, needing to touch him, to make sure he was safe.

His head went straight for the curve of my shoulder and settled there, his hands grabbing onto my skin. Everything melted away when I held onto him. He had this ability to pull my focus away from the world and onto him.

But there was something bugging me, something poking me and prodding me, and I needed to figure out what it was before all hell broke loose.

Looking down at Gideon, I brushed a kiss across his hair. “Where’s your mother hiding, son? She making you something to eat? I hope she’s not making me something to eat, but I could eat anything right about now.”

The door to the connecting bathroom opened and Erin stepped out in her bathrobe, rubbing her hair with a towel. When she saw me the towel fell from her hands and she ran straight for the bed, climbing up to sit next to me. “You’re awake.”

“That’s about all I am right now. Well, that and hungry.” She chuckled a bit, but then she started sniffling, and she pressed her face into my shoulder as she cried. “Hey, what’s with all the tears?” I set Gideon back down on the bed and pulled Erin into my lap, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. “What’s wrong, pretty girl?”

She cried as I held onto her, her hands grabbing onto me, nails digging into my skin. Her body trembled like a leaf, and I knew something strange was going on.

Long moments passed as she sobbed. When she was done her head came up off my shoulder and she wiped away the tears, taking a deep breath. “I was so worried.”

“About what, Erin?”

“Well, first that moron shot you, and then my parents showed up, and my dad was all angry and controlling, and-”

“Wait. Your parents are here?” Shifting on the bed, I winced when I pulled a muscle in my side. “And who will I be beating up, because I’d like to know who fired a gun at me. Did you save the bullet so I can pound it into his hip, too?”

“I already punched him. I think I broke his nose.”

I chuckled, kissing her forehead. “That’s my girl. Now, tell me more about why your folks are here?”

“I don’t know, there was something about my father’s work getting dangerous, and he wanted to take me away from here to keep me safe, but I got angry with him and stormed off.” Her face fell and she curled up against me, her eyes full of sadness and fresh tears. “I wouldn’t let him hold his own grandson.”

Squeezing her close, I nudged her face up, pressing a kiss to her lips. “You had a right to be angry, Erin. They left you when you were so young, then they appear in your life when they want to. They haven’t thought about what’s best for you, pretty girl.”

“They mean well.”

“I know, but if they cared, they wouldn’t do all these things that make you cry.”

Erin sighed, looking so tired and worn-down. I kissed her again and stood up, putting her down on the bed. “You lie down and get some sleep. Let me take care of you.”

As I dressed she fell asleep, and I picked up Gideon so Erin could sleep on her own. “Let’s go have something to eat, little guy. Maybe your grandparents will calm down if I let them hold you.”

I closed the bedroom door as quietly as I could while holding a baby in one arm, and headed for the kitchen.

If only Erin had told me that I’d have to confront three grumpy vampires in the living room before I was able to reach the kitchen. That might’ve changed my choice in clothes.

I hadn’t wanted to meet Erin’s dad wearing ripped black jeans, an old band t-shirt from my days in high school, and bare feet with some silver studs in my ears. Yeah, that look really says ‘I’m capable of taking care of your daughter and grandchild’ and not ‘I’m a punk slacker’ to a hard and opinionated father. Hopefully Gideon would soften the blow.

Erin’s mother saw me and rushed over, her hands shaking. “Simon, I’m so sorry about all of this. Erin was so upset earlier, and she wouldn’t let us see how you were doing. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine once I eat, and once the bullet wound in my side heals over.”

“It was a tranq dart.”

I looked over at the tall guy standing in the shadows and saw the slight bruising around his eyes and nose. Erin’s punch sure did a number on him. My wolf recognized his cold scent and I growled at him. He flashed his fangs at me in response.

I figured I could take him.

Turning away, I headed for the kitchen with Lise at my heels. “I made Erin get some sleep, she looked exhausted.”

“If she’s sleeping I won’t go in and bother her, but I hope she wants to talk to us when she wakes up. I hate having her so angry with her father.”

“She’s been through a lot with you guys, having you in her life one minute and gone the next.” Before she could say anything to that, I settled Gideon in her arms. “Could you hold him? It’s hard to carry him and make him a bottle at the same time.”

Gideon was able to distract her and she cooed over him as I fixed him a bottle and myself a sandwich. I gave her the bottle, and she frowned at it. “You’re giving him a bottle of baby formula? But Erin had him drinking blood last night.”

“He’ll take both, so we’re going to give him both until he decides what he wants more.” I wolfed down the sandwich, and watched Erin’s mom give Gideon his bottle. “Were you surprised to see him?”

“I never thought my little girl would have a baby of her own. He’s gorgeous.” The smile on her lips spread across her entire face. “He looks like Erin, the same nose and mouth, but he has your hair and eyes, Simon. There’s no doubt that he’s your child.”

“Stop hovering over the boy and let someone else hold him, Lise.” Erin’s father walked over, looking stern and stiff, and took Gideon from his wife.

“I’m allowed to coddle him and spoil him, Malcolm. He’s my grandson, and I’ve missed the first four weeks of his life, and all of Erin’s pregnancy.”

The man smiled at his wife, surprising the hell out of me, and kissed her forehead. “He’s my grandson too, Lise. Learn to share.” She slapped at his shoulder like only a wife could and he took it, his eyes so much like Erin’s focused on Gideon. “He looks perfect.”

It was hard to be angry at a man who looked at a baby with such awe and affection, but Erin deserved some answers, and since she wasn’t in the room, I was going to try and get them for her.

Taking the empty bottle from Erin’s mother, I rinsed it out in the sink, and found Erin’s father staring at me with Gideon batting at his tie. “So, you’re my son-in-law.”

“So, you’re my father-in-law.” My gaze drifted down to Gideon, who started squirming around. “You might want to burp him before he explodes all over your suit.”

“Oh, of course.” His hands raised Gideon up to his shoulder with ease, and moved to pat his back. “It’s been a while since I’ve burped a baby.” Gideon let out a loud burp, and Malcolm shifted him away from his shoulder before I could warn him about Gideon’s spit-up trick.

Seconds later, his suit was covered in spit-up, and Gideon burbled at him, gifting him with a smile.

Sighing heavily, Malcolm handed his grandson to his wife. “Maybe he likes you more, Lise.”

“Yeah, you really have to watch him after he takes the formula, or you’ll end up covered in it.” I handed him a wet cloth so he could attempt to clean himself up. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.” His voice sounded clipped, like he was keeping something back every time he spoke. “It’s not the first time I’ve been a victim of a baby’s accidents.”

“Then you really won’t want to be around when he needs a diaper change. I’m considering buying a couple gas masks.”

He gave me a small, tight smile and nodded. Something about him bothered me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Besides, this was Erin’s father. I wasn’t going to judge him without talking to Erin about him first, just in case she thought something was wrong as well.

Pushing a hand through his hair, Malcolm’s eyes never left his wife. “I imagine you and Erin had to read up on childcare.”

“Not exactly. My sister had a little girl a couple years ago. Helping her raise her kid helped prep us for Gideon.” Erin’s mother walked over to the guy standing in the living room corner, holding Gideon out towards him, and Gideon reached up to grab onto his sweater. “Who’s the pissed off guy who darted me?”

“That’s Thane. I suppose he’s your brother in law.”

Would Erin’s family ever fail to surprise me? Probably not. “Erin never mentioned a brother.”

“We never told her she had a brother. By the time Erin was born, Thane was off in college, and we’d drifted apart. We didn’t want to upset her when she was younger. If she never knew about him, then she’d never miss him when she was growing up.”

“But she missed you and her mother in those ten years she was stuck at the Arbour House. She thought you two were dead, and she suffered under that bitch for a decade before I was able to get her out.” Turning my head, I looked at his profile until he looked back at me. “Why are you guys here now?”

He just shook his head, turning back to watch his wife and son meet their half-vampire half-werewolf grandchild and nephew. “Not without Erin. She has to know what’s going on.”