Chapter 50

Charlotte was coming around when she realized that a large warm hand was holding hers and pressing soft kisses to the back of it.

"I love you." She whispered with her eyes still closed.

The disembodied voice whispered back, "I love you, too."

Charlotte tried opening her eyes and blinked rapidly. Looking up at the ceiling, she frowned. This wasn't their bedroom. The bedroom in the Alpha suite was large and airy with light cream colored walls with gray, blue and turquoise accents. This room felt small and the bed she was on was all wrong. Plus she was propped up.

Frowning, she looked over at her mate, who still looked incredibly worried about her, and asked, "Where am I?"

"You're at the town clinic. I carried you over here so Misty and Henry could exam in you."

"What;s the verdict? Will I live?"

Jaxson frowned and his voice almost broke when he answered her. "Please don't make jokes like that, Sweet Mate. I genuinely thought that I had lost you. It was worse than the first time."

Charlotte felt herself flush with shame. "I'm sorry, my bear. I was trying to lighten the look on your face. You looked so concerned and I wanted to take the weight off of you."

Leaning down, he placed a light kiss on her lips and pulled back.

"That is appreciated, my love. But, I am still getting over the shock of you getting shot."

Charlotte could have sworn that her precious bear's bottom lip quivered. "Well, give me the run down, then."

"One bullet. A through and through, with minimal liver damage." At her look of astonishment, he nodded, "Yes, they shot you in the liver. Which is actually the best place to get shot, evidently. At least, according to Misty and Henry. It's the only organ that can and will regenerate if it is damaged. So all Misty had to do was sew up the entrance and exit wound." Charlotte could see that he was struggling with telling her something.

So she gently reminded him, "Mates don't keep secrets, Jax. You said so yourself."

"Misty did an ultrasound to check to see how bad the damage to your liver was. She said it was better than opening you up on the operating table and digging around in there. She found no damage and that there were no bullet fragments. It was a clean wound."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes, knowing beyond a doubt that this wasn't all of the information. So, she prodded him. "What else, Jax? And before you decide to wave us off, I'll tell you now, I will call and talk to Misty and Henry both, until I get the information."

Jaxson let out a huff. "You're not going to leave it alone are you?"

"Do you remember sitting in our kitchen and you walking out in a huff because I was trying to keep my identity a secret for a while longer? I told you my secret, Jaxson. You cannot have a double standard."

Jaxson hung his head. He had not wanted to tell her this soon, in case something happened or it was just a blip on the ultrasound screen.

Lifting his head, he smiled and looked her in the eye. "When Misty did the ultrasound looking for damage, she left the wand across your lower abdomen, where it stopped. There was an anomaly on the screen. It looks like you might be pregnant."

Watching her closely for her reaction, he saw her expression go blank first. Then disbelief, wonder, amazement and finally, acceptance. "We're going to have a baby?"

"Maybe. Misty wasn't positive. She said it could be anything from a blood clot to a malfunction We really didn't want to tell you and get your hopes up. Just in case it isn't a baby." Jaxson reached out and stroked his thumb over Charlotte's full bottom lip and then leaned in and kissed her. "I'm sorry, Sweet Mate. We won't know for sure until, well until your cycle either starts or is overdue."

Charlotte felt like someone had pulled the rug out from under her. She hadn't really thought about having a baby, until it was mentioned. Now, in the space of thirty seconds, she found out that she might or might not be pregnant. She wasn't really sure how to feel. But, she made up her mind. She, no, they will deal with whatever happens.

Jaxson watched Charlotte, seeing the wheels turn in her mind. He knew the minute that she came to a decision. She looked up at him and he could have sworn he saw an idea spark in her eyes. She smiled. When she did, it lit up her whole face. It shown in her eyes. It came from her soul, her heart and even her mind.

"If it's not a baby, then we'll keep trying until God and Ursa bless us with a cub or cubs. But, if it doesn't happen and we never get to have our own, there are other ways. We can adopt. We don't have to have an heir, because there's Rio and Amber." She stopped, frowning. "Jaxson, I want to go home."

Leaning down to pick her up and carry her out, he said, "Don't worry, Sweet Mate, I'm going to take you back to the Alpha house now."

"No Jaxson. I want to go home to our house in the mountains. I want to see Big John. I want to feed the pigs. I want to walk in the orchard with you in bear form. Can we go home for a day or two?"

Before he could answer, someone had opened the door and held it open for him. Looking down at her and knowing that he could deny her nothing. "Yes, we can go to the farm, if you like. But, we can only go for a few days. Three at the most." Charlotte nodded, understanding that they had other obligations to fulfill by the end of the week.

Suddenly, his mom and dad were there. "Son, if she wants to go, you guys go. The seamstress can measure her and do the alterations while you are on the mountains. Go upstairs and pack. Take it easy, though. Do not let Charlotte do anything, She could pop her stitches."

Going up the stairs, Jaxson sat her on their bed when he got to their room. Grabbing a bag, he went through several of her bras and several pairs of her panties. He was about to go into their closet to get her some pants when there was a knock on their bedroom door. Crossing the room, he yanked open the door.

The birdlike woman at the door smiled at him and said something to him in French. Over his shoulder, he heard Charlotte answer. "Merci Madam. S'il vous plaît entrez et nous pouvons commencer."

Charlotte giggled at her mate and said, "I asked her to come in and get started. She's the seamstress and is here to get my measurements for my dresses. I would have thought that you could speak French." She said, smiling

"Well, I can speak, Spanish, German, Farsi and some other Arabic and some local Bedouin dialects. Just not french."

"It's okay, I can speak Spanish, German, French, Japanese and Portuguese. So, I will translate when needed." Stretching up, she placed a swift kiss on his lips. "Now, my dear, finish packing for us so we can go."

Charlotte stripped down to her bra and panties, leaving Jaxson looking at her in appreciation. But, she watched at he frowned and looked down. The bruising from the gunshot wound was still developing and it was starting to look a deep purple.

Jaxson swallowed hard and said, "Henry said that the bruising will look worse by tomorrow."

"I'm fine, darling. Go pack for us." Charlotte waved him off and he went and did as she asked. If he listened, he could hear his mate and the seamstress speaking in low tones.

"J'ai terminé"

"Merci, Madam, passe une bonne journée."

"She's gone, love. Are we ready to go?" Jaxson walked out of their closet with a full bag with changes of clothes for them both.

"Let's go. Can you walk?" Jaxson asked her softly.

"If I go slowly." They were at the bottom of the staircase, when they were met by Rio and Amber.

"Going somewhere?" Rio asked.

"Yes. Charlotte and I are going to the farm. She wants away from everything for a day or two." Jaxson explained to his brother.

"Jaxson, we just got here a few days ago. Surely..."

Jaxson cut him off and heatedly asked his brother, "If it had been your mate, what would you do? Charlotte asked to go to the farm for a few days. Please tell Greaham that if he needs us, to call. Otherwise, Rio, we want to be left alone for a while. Our lives are about to be turned upside down. All four of us."

Rio nodded. He understood. As soon as everything had blown over, he was taking his mate on a honeymoon to wherever she wanted to go.

"Go ahead, brother. I, well we, understand. See you in a few."

An hour and some minutes later, Jaxson pulled up into the driveway and came around to pick Charlotte up and carry her into the house. He sat her down on the sofa in the living room and went back out to get their shared bag.

Coming in, he followed the sounds to the kitchen. Where he found his mate in the kitchen. She had the panty door open and was studying it's contents.

Turning around and seeing Jaxson, she said, "I'm hungry."

"Okay. What would you like?" He asked.

"Would you believe ramen noodles, and maybe some of that leftover steak in the freezer?"

"You know, that actually sounds pretty good.' So Jaxson reached into the freezer and took out a frozen steak and put it in the microwave to thaw and started the water boiling for the ramen noodles.

But the time everything was finished and ready to eat ten minutes later, Charlotte's stomach was growling loud enough to hear it across the room. He set hers in front of her and then started making her more. When she protested, he said, "Charlotte, your body has been through a trauma and you know it needs extra calories to heal. Eat slow and enjoy it."

She knew better than to argue with him, and just nodded.

After they ate, Jaxson carried her into the bathroom and had her sit on the toilet lid that he had closed. Then he went a wash clothes with warm water and soap. Working swiftly but gently, he washed her as completely as possible, then rinsed her and put her in one of his t-shirts before putting her in the bed and crawling in behind her.

Sometime during the night, Charlotte was having a nightmare. Jaxson was awakened by her whimpering in her sleep and her body jerking. He knew she was reliving the previous day and perhaps it was running together with the previous incident. Leaning over, he reached out and gently pulled her to him, like he had many nights before. Gathering her in his arms, she quietened and went back to a deeper easier sleep.

Hearing birds chirping outside of their bedroom window, Charlotte slowly came awake. Blinking her eyes, she went to get up and was incredibly sore. Trying to sit up, she groaned in frustration. Having no choice, she called out to Jaxson. The man was so quiet, she wasn't even sure that he was in the house until the bedroom door opened. Seeing him, made her smile, as tears pricked her eyes.

Seeing the tears, Jaxson was immediately on alert. "What's wrong?"

"I'm so sore. Too sore to be able to get up out of bed without help." Reaching out an arm, she indicated that she wanted him to come over and help her up and out of bed.

"Bathroom?"

Nodding, she gritted her teeth as he helped her raise up and the stand, taking the pressure off of her core. They worked together to get her in the bathroom and let her take care of her morning business and then washed her hands, brushed her teeth and then her hair. Leaning down, he realized that she was sweating. Feeling her forehead, he realized that she was sweating because of the pain and her exertion. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had been ready to pick her up and take her back to the clinic, if she had a fever.