“Sweetheart, can you hear me?” I asked, brushing the boy’s hair away from his head. His large green eyes flashed open as he grabbed onto my arm. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You were so brave,” Rush told him. The boy looked at him, panting to get air. He couldn’t be any older than thirteen, probably a few years younger.
“I don’t want to be alone,” the boy cried, his fingernails dug into my skin, but I grabbed onto him with as much fierceness.
“You aren’t,” I promised him. “You are family now. I saw you in the woods before, you were a good boy. You saved our child.”
“Yeah.” The boy fought to smile. “That was me.”
“You’re a hero.” Rush touched his cheek gently. I moved my hand down to the boy’s stomach; I knew I couldn’t heal him from an injury that severe, but somehow, I hoped I could lessen the pain. The boy was fading quickly, scared, but we never left him.
“I’m sorry,” he whimpered.
“No.” I grabbed his chin. “You don’t be sorry. You did nothing wrong.” His head nodded slightly. His eyes began closing, the pale, sweaty skin of his eyelids closed the vibrant green. “We’re here, we aren’t leaving you.”
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“What’s your name?” Rush asked, stroking the boy's head.
“Theodore, sir.”
“You’re a good man, Theodore.”
With a small, wistful smile, the boy told us, “My friends call me Theo,” and moments later, he was gone.
Theodore
“Isn’t he just the sweetest thing?” Cordelia cooed, bouncing our son on her lap.
“You keep telling him that, and he's going to get a big head,” I warned, folding a small onesie against the dresser in the nursery.
“He’s a Weston boy,” she said bittersweetly. “It doesn’t matter what I say or do. He will be as his father is, and his grandfather is, and the many before him.” Cordelia held the baby out to me as I approached her. She stood up from the rocking chair and handed me the purple burp cloth from her shoulder.
“Hey, baby boy,” I whispered as I patted him on the back. He gurgled and wiggled in my arms. “Why don’t we go see your daddy.”
We wandered out of the room, peaking in the other rooms to find Rush. I heard the distinct sound of chopping wood and rolled my eyes. I looked out of the window in our office to the front yard, where Rush was chopping a large tree.
“What are you doing out here?” I called as I exited the front door.
Rush paused and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
“It’s getting colder,” he called. “We’re going to need firewood soon. I’d rather do it when it’s not five degrees out.”
I nodded and fixed the baby on my hip.
“Bring me, my son!” Rush called excitedly.
“Oh no,” I shook my head. “I just gave him his bath. You are covered in sweat and dirt.”
“Oh, come on,” he whined.
“No, sir. He is clean, and he smells like baby powder, you are not ruining that!”
“You coddle him too much,” Rush chided.
“And you don’t coddle him enough. He’s ten months old for Pete’s sake, he’s not ten.”
Rush rolled his eyes at my words and grabbed a handkerchief from his back pocket. He wiped his hands and sweaty forehead with the cloth and stuck it back in his pocket.
“That’s better,” he cooed, grabbing the baby from my arms. “Theo loves his daddy, doesn’t he?”
Theo giggled and slammed his chubby hands against Rush’s chest. Rush smiled back at him and held him close to his body. I turned and wandered back inside, knowing Rush was following me. He took a seat on the sofa and allowed Theo to sit on his lap.
As I sat next to him, Theo latched onto my finger and began biting the end of it.
“Are you happy?’ Rush asked.
I looked at him strangely. “Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No reason.” His head tilted. “I just know how close you were to those human children, and now they’re gone.”
“The packs down south can handle and care for them better,” I said softly, focusing on our son’s cheerful face.
“I know,” he agreed. “That doesn’t mean you don’t miss them.”
“I have our son.” I kissed the side of Rush’s face. “He’s perfect, he’s all I could ever ask for.”
“He is pretty cute, isn’t he?” Rush chuckled, holding onto both of Theo’s hands. His blue eyes looked up at us as he wiggled around on Rush’s legs.
“We could make a few more of these,” I said laughing.
In the evening, after we put Theo to bed, Rush and I laid in our bed. Although Theo was an independent baby, he was still a baby and required our constant attention.
“Is it possible to sleep with your eyes open?” Rush asked, rubbing his tired eyes.
“I’ve been doing it for the past four months.” I giggled.
Rush grabbed my hand and pulled me to his side. He was quiet for a while before breaking the silence. “Do you regret what we did?”
I knew he was talking about the battle.
“No,” I settled. “Do you?”
“No.” His answer came quickly. “Yes. I don’t know.”
“We saved the children,” I reminded him.
“I know.” He sighed. “All those people, though.”
“Yeah,” I breathed.
“I can still see all of their faces,” he admitted.
I shifted in bed and looked up at him. “I didn’t know this was bothering you so much. What can I do?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head quickly, planting a smile on his face. “I’m fine.”
“No, you aren’t. That wasn’t easy, Rush.”
“I’d do it again to protect our pack.”
“I know that.” I gently rubbed his arm. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you.”
He looked down at his hands in his lap.
“I just,” he paused. “I look at Theo, and I’m relieved he won’t grow up with Harrison in the world.”
“But,” I prompted.
“But, I just wonder if we’re setting him up for failure.” Rush looked over at me, his
