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Consequences	By : Sabriel0405 Category: Anita Blake > Het Views: 4737 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Anita Blake series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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With all that had happened, I had forgotten that Christmas was not only fast approaching, only a week away, but that I hadn’t finished shopping. In a sudden burst of holiday cheer, or perhaps panic, I asked Micah to drop me off at a mall and instructed him and Jason to go get a Christmas tree. I’d get a ride home eventually from someone.

I hadn’t loved Christmas in years, not since I was a young child. I remember being wrapped up in the season and asking Santa for presents and sitting on Santa’s lap. But after my mother died, it was a cheerless holiday. Judith tried, of course. And for Josh’s sake, I pretended. But for years it had been just another chore. I thought that this year might be different.

The mall was jammed but it was my own fault for waiting until this late. I had the gift certificates and mail order stuff back at the house but I wanted something special for Jean-Claude and Asher and Micah and Jason and Damian and the list was beginning to get way too long.

Jason turned out to be easy. I was going to get him clothes, but he didn’t need clothes from me. He was Jean-Claude’s personal Ken doll. But he did love to eat. For a change, I had my cell phone with me so I ordered a bunch of restaurant certificates, from fast food to fine dining. I also bought him some books. Jason lived his public persona so well that I often forgot that behind the mask was a very articulate, thoughtful man. I also picked up some books for Asher. Just some modern history texts and contemporary biographies. Asher was too long in the dark. He needed to find out about the world in the last two hundred years. Then there was the set of award winning children’s books. They were bound in multi-colored faux leather and I couldn’t resist. Micah, Nathaniel and I had finished Treasure Island and had moved on to A Wrinkle in Time. These additions would keep us busy for months.

I had gotten Jean-Claude a cameo the first year that we dated and didn’t want to be repetitious but I still kept coming back to jewelry. I could hardly buy him clothes. He’d laugh. The jewelry stores in the mall were too contemporary, though I did pick up small gifts for the women in my pard and Sylvie. The Christmas spirit was definitely getting to me.

I called home and Nathaniel not only answered, but also had a car at his disposal. He picked me up and drove me to a shopping area known for its eclectic nature. My first stop was the rare bookstore. They had some illuminated manuscripts that I thought Asher would enjoy. The jewelry store made me feel as though I had stepped back in time. It was perfect. I had seen Jean-Claude wear sapphires that almost did justice to his midnight blue eyes. I didn’t try to compete with that. He already had a ruby pendant. The emerald pendant I found was an old one, the color still as vibrant as it had been the day it had been cut. The ornate setting would draw the eye to his chest no matter what he wore. It would make a definite statement. The price also made a statement but I got it anyway. It would look stunning against his white frilled shirts.

They had a silver cuff bracelet, thick and masculine, that I wanted to get for Micah before I remembered that the silver would burn him. I rolled my eyes in disgust. I fondled it once more and handed it back to the shop’s owner. “I forgot,” I said, “My friend is allergic to silver.”

“Oh, it’s not silver, madam. It’s platinum,” he said. That explained the price. Before I could think about it, I bought it. I tried not to think of the rising costs. I wasn’t even done. I wanted to get something special for Nathaniel. My pomme de sang had never once said no to me. He would lay down his life for me and consider it well spent. I didn’t understand that, not even when I looked into his heart. But I wanted to reward him.

I found what I wanted in an antique shop. I don’t like antique shops as a rule; they make me feel awkward and clumsy. But this place felt comfortable. Perhaps it was the weapons lining the wall like sentries. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I knew it when I saw it. A brass slave cuff. It was thick and hammered and polished to a gleaming yellow. It was definitely a mark of ownership and would fit snugly around his bicep. I could see him wearing it on stage at Guilty Pleasures. I could see him wearing nothing else. The ardeur flared within me and I closed down that line of thought.

I was walking toward the cashier when I saw the ship. It was a replica of a Viking war ship. It was hand carved wood so I knew that Damian would appreciate the craftsmanship. I thought about Damian the warrior. Perhaps because he wasn’t a master vampire, I discounted his warrior’s skills. But seeing the longboat, I could picture him on board, arms steady at the oars. Once again the ardeur rose. I blanked my thoughts and added the boat to my purchases.

I was almost done. In fact, I was done, particularly since I was having trouble managing the packages. I hadn’t kept track of Nathaniel. He’d be there when I needed him. Sure enough, he was waiting outside the store. He deftly relieved me of my burdens and began walking back to the car. I moved to follow but there was a Christmas shop at the end of the block and the smell of balsam fir drew me in. The trees were lovely. Each one had a theme. They reminded me of the trees we had when I was a little girl. I fondled the ornaments with bittersweet memories and added a few to the basket I had impulsively picked up. I took my time looking at each tree. When I came to the Noah’s Ark theme, I saw the leopards and the wolves and the rats and the bears and knew that I had found the gift I didn’t know I was looking for. I gathered up a dozen of the leopards, all different, and a handful of every other animal, paid the bill and walked into the crisp December air.

That’s it. I was done with the shopping. I wondered if wrapping was mandatory. I sighed and walked into the card and paper store. By the time I walked out, I never wanted to go shopping again. Once again, Nathaniel was waiting for me outside the door and he emptied my arms, which meant that my gun hand was free again. I relaxed almost immediately.

The drive home was mostly silent but in a happy way. I was exhausted and Nathaniel, well, I think Nathaniel was excited. He was like a boy who taught from an early age not to believe in Santa Claus only to discover that Santa was real. He made me feel like I should believe again.

I knew as soon as I walked in the front door that Micah and Jason had been successful. Pine needles littered the front hallway and left a trail into the living room. There was merriment and popcorn everywhere.

“Anita!” Zane yelled. “You’re home!” He pounced off the couch, a half-strung popcorn streamer in his hands. “Anita’s home!” he announced as though the others hadn’t already figured it out.

I looked at Micah and he smiled at me. “We got a tree,” he said, as if I could have missed the giant pine tree dropping needles on the floor. Nathaniel had brought all the bags into the bedroom and I followed. I wanted to get the ornaments I had bought. It took me a while to sort them all but the expressions on their faces when I handed them the out made it all worthwhile.

Giggles and relaxed hilariook ook over as we trimmed the tree with not only my ornaments, but also ornaments that the others had from Christmases past. Even Nathaniel had a couple. One was a Popsicle stick cross, decorated with yarn and glitter. It was dirty and battered and had clearly seen better days but Nathaniel held it reverently and the happy memories shone from his lavender eyes. The other was a faded porcelain snowman, decorated in Christmas colors with the words “Nathaniel’s First Christmas” just barely discernible on the flat white surface.

The tinsel fight left nearly everyone with silver strings attached to some part of their body but we had managed to tinsel the tree as well. The tiny multi-colored lights were plugged in and we all stared at this unexpected piece of home. I had created a home here. I hadn’t looked for it, would have sworn I didn’t want it, but it had happened anyway. Without warning, Jason came over and kissed me soundly. I pulled back and said, “What was that for?” He merely pointed up. When I hadn’t been looking, someone, probably him, had hung mistletoe from the ceiling. Not just a little bunch. There was mistletoe everywhere. Suddenly, every woman in the room was grabbed by the nearest male and kissed. There were lots of screeches and laughter.

Zane brought out the eggnog and suggested that we toast to Christmas Future. The stereo was playing Christmas music, lively and full of holiday cheer. I left them to begin the process of wrapping presents. We took turns. I’d wrap a few and then give Micah the room and so on.

The pile under the tree grew rapidly. I the the gifts for the vampires to the side, since I’d be celebrating with them at the Circus. And yes, it did feel weird to be celebrating Christmas with vampires. But it had become such a secular holiday that, this year anyway, it was the thought that counted. I could see eyes go wide as I kept making trips back and forth. By midnight, the tree was barely visible with all the presents piled under and next to it. We had agreed that I would spend Christmas Eve at the Circus and then take Jason back to the house to celebrate Christmas with the pard. I had even asked Micah to invite Richard and Sylvie, Jamil and Shang-Da, Rafael and Louis and even Ronnie and Catherine and her husband. I didn’t know how many, if any, of these people would come but I wanted the invitations out there.

Micah, Nathaniel and I settled down to sleep. Nathaniel snuggled against my front, his leg entwined with mine. Micah at my back, molding his body to mine. He kissed the nape of my neck, nuzzling the hollow at my neck and shoulder. I shuddered with pleasure. But it wasn’t sex pleasure. It was happiness pleasure. Micah’s hand came around to my belly and rubbed gently. I had almost forgotten. Really. But the sudden realization wasn’t scary. At least not right at that moment. I fell asleep, secure in their warmth.

By Sunday, I had forced Zane and Caleb to thin and relocate the mistletoe forest to more traditional locales. My lips were starting to become bruised from the random kisses and Cherry began actively avoiding the living room. The presents continued to pile up. The excitement on Nathaniel’s face was almost too much to bear. Even Cherry, my favorite cynic, had been seen shaking a few boxes.

Zane had told me that Gabriel wasn’t big on Christmas, beyond the money making proposition of pimping out his pard as Christmas gifts. I tried not to feel sick. Micah agreed that the last few years had been difficult. Running from Chimera had put a damper on celebrations. I knew Jason had celebrated the holiday with Richard’s family who certainly knew how to make merry. But I thought he was looking forward to Christmas day here. I knew I was. I couldn’t wait to see their faces as they opened the gifts. I was not looking forward to my face when I received the credit card bill.

Christmas is a slow season at Animators Inc. Post-Christmas is busy. What do you get the person who has everything? A gift certificate for an ancestor-raising. It is a strange world we live in. Until then, I was handling mostly will disputes. The only interesting raising on my schedule was a history professor writing a new text on Lewis and Clark and wanted to talk to another historian who had brought new facts to light without providing the source. The guy had died a little over a hundred and fifty years ago. It’s amazing what our government grants are being used for these days. The professor was ecstatic.

I spoke to Jean-Claude early in the week. I tried to touch base with him most nights, but it didn’t always happen, particularly when we already had set plans, like we did for Christmas Eve.

“Ma petite,” he said, the silken whispers of his voice like ethereal wrappers around my body. “Do not feed if you can avoid it.”

The words made my body grow hot and cold at the same time. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“The night will be a feast, do not come to the banquet table already sated,” he said and I felt the caress all the way to my toes. I had visions of what would happen and my body swayed involuntarily.

“I’ll do my best,” I said. And I would. I had reached a point where the ardeur was steady enough that I could manage it, at least so long as no one else had metaphysical control over me. I could alter my schedule so that by Friday night, I would need Jean-Claude’s touch. More than usual.

As the week wound down to Christmas Eve, I felt good. The prenatal vitamins restored my physical normality. The pard made sure that I ate three nutritious meals a day. I had started to show just a little bit, though only if you knew what you were seeing. Nathaniel had pointed it out one night as we snuggled in bed. We had finished another two chapters of our book and were settling down. Nathaniel had run his hands down the front of my body, not sexually, just getting comfortable. “Anita?” he said, a questioning lilt to his tone.

“What?” I asked, a little sleepy. Micah was in the bathroom and I already missed his warmth. It was sad just how hard I found sleeping alone these days.

“Is this the baby?” he whispered.

I was awake now. I touched where his hand was touching and felt a new roundness there. I wasn’t in the habit of touching myself like that, feeling the contours of my body, but things had definitely changed. My hand fell away as Micah crawled in behind me.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. I simply moved his hand to my belly. His smile was almost visible in the dark. “You’re having a baby, Anita. This is supposed to happen.”

If he laughed, it would be all over. But he didn’t. He simply pulled me against him and nuzzled the hollow of my shoulder. I arched back against him, our beasts touching ever so lightly. I loved sleeping with these men. Their unconditional acceptance was an irresistible lure. Nathaniel snuggled against me and I let the real world fall away.
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Consequences