Chapter 11 - Number Three

Many happy months past and it was soon time for Celeste to age up. On the morning of the big day Dayvid sang to her as he lifted her out of the cot and put her in her party clothes. I leant on the door frame in my big maternity dressing gown, my mug of tea balanced on my belly, and smiled as I listened.

'It began one happy summer morning,
I was the loneliest vampire in town,
Then my beautiful Princess Cescie
Came and turned my life around.

We danced together in the meadows,
And we ran through the grass and the reeds,
We sang to the birds in the treetops
And we hummed right along with the bees.

We played all day long in the sunshine,
We swam in the big, blue sea,
And I grin when I think of my princess,
That lovely, rosy princess and me.'

He looked up and chuckled with embarrassment as I applauded his performance. He hadn't realised I was there and I swear if he were human he would have been blushing.

'Come on then, Cescie! Let's get you ready.' I said and Dayvid placed her in my arms.

Celeste's party was held a week before her birthday just in case the baby decided to come a bit early and interrupt the celebrations. I held her over the cake and together we blew out the candles.

Lots of people had turned up to the party - Briar, Branch, some of Dayvid's colleagues, friends we'd made over the years. Everyone came together to celebrate our little girl's birthday.

And what a beautiful little girl she was. Everyone agreed that she was perfect.

We all gave her her birthday presents and she opened each one with glee. Dayvid and I had had a wall built to separate the big spare bedroom on the top floor into two rooms, one of which we had decorated and furnished to make a little girl's haven.  

I'd been having twinges of pain for the last few hours but I put it down to braxton hicks as I'd experienced them a lot in my previous pregnancies.

To my delight, Dayvid went over to Briar and shook his hand.
'Thanks. For my lovely little girl.'
'Hey, you're welcome, Mate.'
'And congratulations! I hear it's twins?'
'Yep! I'm a little nervous to be honest but I think I'll be able to handle it. Annie's really getting big, maybe Elizabeth and her will be on the same ward!'
'Hehe, maybe.'

I was so pleased to see them getting on and made a mental note to thank Dayvid for being so understanding.

After the cake had been cut and the presents torn open I found Briar and gave him a hug.
'Thanks for Cescie's unicorn toy. She loves it.'
'I'm glad, It will look perfect in her new room!'
He stepped back from me and gave a look of happiness that quickly changed to a look of panic as a grimace spread across my face.

Suddenly, I felt a tidal wave of all too familiar pain, the strongest I'd experienced that day.

Okay, so these definitely weren't phantom contractions, this was the real thing. Why did I always seem to have my children at parties!? I screamed at Dayvid to call an ambulance but I needed to push and I knew I wouldn't be able to get to the hospital in time. Dayvid rushed downstairs and addressed the guests as soon as he saw me.
'All right, party's over folks. Thanks for coming.'
He half-carried me up the stairs to our bedroom whilst trying to calm me down by whispering encouragement in my ear.

Jasper and Celeste spent the night with Branch as he was their godfather. I waddled into our bedroom and began to push.

It was a very quick birth and Dayvid guided me through it by reading from our birthing book.

Meet Colin Bird, my gorgeous little boy. We named him after Dayvid's brother who was killed in the slayings. He was the first of our children to have Dayvid's stunning golden eyes and I could already tell he was a vampire from the way they glinted in the light. He had an ever-so-fine layer of blond hair and skin that shimmered like liquid light.

Dayvid spent every waking hour doting on our baby boy. 

Two days later, Celeste and Jasper set off for school together. I made Jass promise to keep an eye out for her seeing as it was her first day.

I managed to get started on my career again and found a case with Emilie Van Gould. Since having Jass and Cescie I hadn't been able to get as much work done as I'd have liked. To be honest, though, I didn't really mind. My children made me happier than I could ever have imagined and I felt unbelievably lucky to be their mother. I contemplated how many kids I would like. I'd always longed for a house full of laughing children but I was still in my twenties and already a mother of three, I decided I might give having kids a break so I could concentrate on my career. Although... one more couldn't hurt... 

I found a little time to give myself a makeover. I went for something a bit more down-to-Earth.

Emilie wanted to know if her boyfriend, Waylon Wolff, the son of Erica Wolff, was going to be proposing to her any time soon. If the bunch of battered flowers and the empty ring box I found in the bin was anything to go by, I'd say no!

Sometimes I took Colin with me on cases. He seemed to enjoy the fresh air. I only ever took him out at night even though I knew he wouldn't be affected by sunlight until he was older. I just couldn't help but be paranoid.

I bought Celeste a computer of her own so that she could begin writing stories. She was overjoyed and for about a week we saw very little of her! Cescie had always loved books. Dayvid and I spent a lot of time reading to her as a baby and so did Jasper once he was able to. Her room also boasted a big, beautiful bookcase which was already overflowing with all sorts of texts.

Jasper, on the other hand, was becoming quite the painter. The walls around the house were heavy with his masterpieces. Sometimes, though, I worried about him. He had very few friends and preferred to keep himself to himself. The only person he really talked about was Rebecca. I began to think that my little boy had a crush! Even so, I couldn't help but worry about him a bit.

Soon it was time for Colin to age up. The months had flown by and I wasn't sure if I was ready to see him grow up just yet.

Ta-da! What a little cutie.

Colin definitely looked the most like Dayvid of all our children. He inherited pretty much everything from his father, apart from his hair. I was utterly in love with this lovely little guy.

Yes, it was also time for Jasper to grow up. I had been dreading the moment when my sweet-natured boy turned into a sulky teen, brimming with hormones.

Nevertheless, it had to be done and Jass blew out his candles.

Jasper grew into one of the most handsome young men I have ever seen. I wasn't sure about his new haircut and strange beard but there was no mistaking his good looks. I was only glad Dayvid had already given him 'the talk'.

Author's note

I will leave you with this picture of Celeste and Colin. Sorry this post wasn't the most interesting and that it's taken me so long to publish. My final exams start next week and my last one is on the 18th of June so I probably won't get another post out until after then. As always, comments are appreciated and I am very grateful to my readers for sticking with me whilst I get through these dreaded exams. Thank you!