"Matty?"

Garbled words are all I can hear, the only thing I can make out is my name. The droning of words is comfortable though, lulling me in and out of sleep. It feels as if I underwater, no weight of pressure on me, sounds dulled. That stasis is everlasting, never-ending.

And it comes to a screeching halt when a cry cuts through my calm.

My eyes crack open, turning in the direction of the cry. My body feels like a war zone, every part of me sore. Just the thought of moving has me groaning.

"Oh, thank god," a familiar voice says.

It takes a lot of effort to open my eyes again, by the sight in front of me is worth it. Rowan is watching me with wide blue eyes, his blonde hair disheveled as he watches me and tries to bounce a crying baby at the same time.

"He's awake!" he yells behind him.

Movement comes from farther away before more people are spilling into the room. Mom is over to me the quickest, sobbing as he falls down to his knees beside my bed. "Don't you ever do that to me again, Matty."

Papa and Dad are hovering behind Mom, looking just as distressed, but not crying yet.

Taylor manages to push through everyone, coming to sit on the edge of my bed. "How are you feeling, Matty?"

"Sore," I rasp, throat scratchy from disuse.

He nods. "Perfectly normal."

"What- What happened?" I ask, eyes flicking across the room before finally landing on the squirming baby that still seems to be crying.

"You lost a lot of blood," Taylor says. "Part of your placenta got stuck. Getting it off of your uterine wall caused you to hemorrhage."

"Is my baby okay?" I ask, eyes never moving from the moving bundle that Rowan is trying to juggle.

"He's healthy but pretty hungry."

"You've been asleep for three days, Matty," Mom says, looking up at me with swollen, bloodshot eyes. "We-We didn't know if you were going to make it."

"I tried to nurse him," Noah says, shaking his head. Turning, I see that he is standing next to Rowan now. He must have come in when he heard the commotion. Beckett stands behind him, Aria in his arms. "But he refused. He has only gotten a little from me every time before he realized that I wasn't you. Even when I wore your shirts, he would figure it out."

"Smart already," Rowan says, smiling down at the baby.

"Stubborn is more like it," Papa says, a soft smile on his face.

The need to hold my baby has me ignoring my aching body. He has been here for three whole days already, probably scared and most definitely hungry. I need him in my arms.

With trembling arms, I try to push myself up from the bed, but it is impossible for me to get more than an inch.

"Let me help you, love," Mom says, hands moving under my shoulders and carefully moving me so that I am leaning back against the wall. A few pillows are placed behind me, the blankets readjusted so that I don't get cold.

"Let me see him," I ask, looking up at Rowan.

He walks over to me, sitting next to me on the bed. His warmth is a familiar comfort, and I lean against him. Carefully, he hands me the wiggly babe, his arm staying beneath mine as I hold him to my chest.

"We'll give you guys some privacy," Taylor says, before quite literally shooing everyone out of the room. Mom protests the most, but eventually gives in. I have no doubt in my mind Mom is waiting in the other room, ready to pounce if I make one sound.

"He's beautiful," I whisper, looking down at my baby. His skin is quite pink, a dusting of wispy hair on his head. His eyes blink open as he rubs his face against me, the color an ordinary newborn blue. He stills as he presses his nose against my chest, obviously relaxing at my scent.

"He's been missing you," Rowan whispers, pressing a kiss against my cheek. "God, we all were. The past few days have been the most terrifying of my life."

Baby boy shuffles against me, and as carefully as I can, I adjust him so that he can latch onto my nipple. He is clumsy at first, getting frustrated, but Rowan helps him to latch on right. There is a pinch in my chest, and then baby boy is relaxing, eyes fluttering shut as he nurses.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here," Rowan says, head leaning against mine as we both watch our baby. "I should have been here."

"None of us knew that he would come so soon," I tell him, relaxing further into his side. "None of this is your fault. I'm just happy we're all here now."

We are both silent after that, not taking our eyes away from our baby. His skin is so smooth, and he coos as I run my finger down his arms. It feels strange to have him here in my arms instead of carrying him inside me. But, I am happy that he is here. He was the biggest surprise, but one that brought me and Rowan back together.

"How big is he?" I ask, finally looking over at the alpha.

"About 18.5 inches, and 5.8 pounds."

"He's so small," I whisper, worry running through me.

"He is actually a little bigger than he should be, considering his gestation." Looking up, I see that Taylor has come back into the room, carrying the baby blanket that Avery had made, a new diaper, and a tiny baby onesie. "He is lucky he was so big, or else I would be worried that he came five-weeks early."

He comes over to the bed, smiling as he looks at the baby. "He really is quite beautiful, Matty. He looks a lot like you when you were first born." He laughs then. "Oh god, that was twenty years ago. How the time flies."

Taylor must see how tense I am, leaning more into Rowan, because he sighs, setting down the things he is holding. "I'm not mad at you, Matty, if that's what has you being so wary of me." His eyes flick down to his hap. "I'm ashamed of how I acted all those months ago, treating you horribly. Now, I realize that none of this is any of your guy's fault. I should have known better than to think I could predict or change fate because we all know fate prevails in the end."

He looks back up at me. "I want to help you find a solution to all this. I want my daughter to stop being driven mad by her wolf. She-She isn't herself anymore, and I'm afraid of what might happen to her if we don't find a solution soon."

My heart breaks at his word. Rosalie and Henry have been acting exceedingly strange, not anything like themselves. To be honest, after Henry growled at me, I have been watching my back a lot more closely. I know that no matter how mad they are at me, they would never intentionally hurt me. But who knows what their wolves may drive them to do.

Reaching over, I rest my hand on top of Taylor's. "We're going to fix this and get them back to normal. I'm probably not going to have much time for reading anymore, so you can have the books I was reading."

He nods, a small smile on his face. "Thanks, Matty."

Rowan finally speaks, eyes fixed on his son. "I think he's done."

Looking down, I see that baby boy is completely asleep, only nursing periodically. His little hand is resting on my chest, as if he is trying to hold onto me.

"Yes, he is full now," Taylor says. "He is just nursing for comfort now." He looks up at me. "Is it alright if I change his diaper and get him dressed?"

"Of course, thank you."

He smiles, waiting for me to unlatch the baby before I hand him over to him.

"So what are you two naming him?" Taylor asks, easily changing the sleeping baby's diaper.

Looking over at Rowan, I see that he is completely stumped. "We hadn't really thought of boy names. We were pretty convinced he was going to be a girl."

Rolling my eyes, I smile, leaning more heavily against him. He is right. We had mostly focused on girl names, finally deciding on Hazel Elizabeth and Lilia Grace after months of thinking. We were going to wait until after the baby was born to make the final decision.

His arm comes up to wrap around me, wary of the cut still healing on my stomach. To be honest, I had been thinking of boy names, just in case this baby might be a boy. Seems as if it was a good idea.

"Elias James."

Rowan looks at me, eyes searching my face before going to look at the little boy. "Elias James. I think it suits him."

"Well then, hello, Elias," Taylor says, swaddling the baby in the blanket before handing him back to me. Noise is coming from the other room again, and Taylor is just giving an exasperated shake of his head. "I think everyone is getting a little impatient to meet him."

Smiling I hold Elias tight against my chest, feeling complete with Rowan by my side and our baby in my arms. "Send them in, before they tear this place apart."