Chapter 600: A Father’s Smile
Chapter 600: A Father’s Smile
Nikolai’s mind became terrifyingly calm, as if someone poured ice cubes into his skull, cooling his previous worry and panic. Sasha and the doctors recovered thanks to his existence and began to call out orders. He listened to whatever he needed to do, and he followed their instructions.
’Baby, don’t worry. Your father will definitely save you!’
"Keep the pressure steady and keep calm, use his blood to help keep the baby stable. Don’t rush," Sasha said with a trembling voice.
Although she carried out countless operations and experiments, this felt different. Being in charge of saving a new, young life brought an exhilarating and fresh emotion that caused her mind to snap into action.
Hyper-fixated on saving the child, she rapidly tapped the hologram.
"Understood."
Nikolai didn’t have the demeanour of a patriarch; he performed dozens of actions, getting water, tools and comforting Selene.
He simply became a husband and father.
Selene gasped as another contraction ate through her body, her fingers crushing the reinforced rails beside the bed. The machines spiked to the limits with alarms bleeping as if she was already dead, despite soon stabilising again.
"Try not to push too hard, we’ve administered specialised drugs, and will perform a C-section!"
She didn’t care what the doctors said; tears streamed from her eyes, and she whispered and repeated the same apologies constantly. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, my baby, it’s all mommy’s fault for rushing everything... forgive me.... forgive me."
"Selene, Selene! It’s gonna be okay, look, I’m here." He leaned close, pressing his forehead against hers, practically pushing her down, their sweat dripping down as he brushed her cheeks. "Look at me. Breathe with me."
The fear, the confusion, the sorrow all bloomed in saturated bubbles around her. He stared into her pupils, which shrank and dilated constantly as her body reacted to the drugs and pain spreading through her body.
"Honey.... I.....I...." She stuttered.
"No, no, it’s fine. Don’t be like this. Our child will be fine!"
Nikolai’s voice tore through her chaotic thoughts, his firm but warm voice anchoring Selene as another contraction wracked her body. Her nails dug into his forearms, drawing blood, yet he didn’t flinch. His attention was locked entirely on her and the life struggling to enter the world, and nothing else.
The monitors bleeped constantly, which Nikolai and Selene tuned out.
"The cord tension is increasing. Give me a hand," a doctor called out, his voice tight. "Heart rate dropping, keep focus."
"Don’t panic! Focus, here... follow this modified plan for the patient!" Sasha scolded the doctors. Because, unlike humans, the supernatural healing and strength of the child itself meant they could endure and survive more.
She expanded the hologram, isolating the umbilical projection, showing the clear loop which became visible, faint but tightened around the infant’s neck at an awkward angle.
Selene constantly cried out as she twisted on the bed, held down by metal bars, her body arched as they cut into her stomach, unable to focus because of the medication, she called Nikolai’s name obsessively.
"Nikolai~ Nikoai~ where are you?"
"I’m here," he said immediately. "I’m not letting go."
He didn’t mind repeating himself until his throat became sore and dry, if it made Selene’s suffering even a fraction better.
The nurse blushed slightly, hearing his affectionate tone, which, to most werewolves and vampires, held a lofty and almost divine reverence to see them showing such a passionate and loving side, which tickled their inner maiden.
While the female doctor remained focused on her task, glancing at the monitor and listening to Sasha’s advice.
"Nikolai, can you do it?"
He glanced at the panicked Selene, clinging to him tightly, and shook his head, extending his hand towards the cut and speaking in a sharp voice. "...please, just cut me."
Sasha’s eyes widened as she held the scalpel that would cut his wrist.
She swallowed before nodding and speaking to the doctors. "Keep the pressure steady, her wound will try to heal, but you must focus on the child’s life! This blood will keep the mother alive no matter what!"
Nikolai closed his eyes briefly as the cold steel cut through his flesh, a familiar memory from when he helped revive his mother.
Shlick!
Sasha’s lips trembled as she constantly cut and sliced his wrist over and over.
His blood seeped into Selene’s body through her stomach, stabilising the chaotic energy inside her, calming the violent fluctuations on the monitors.
Soon, the high-pitched alarms and noises faded to soft beeps.
To a dangerous situation, escaping the worst case.
"That’s it, cut slowly, the mother’s body and child seem to have rapid regeneration", Sasha muttered, eyes sharp as her fingers flew across the display. "The vitals are stabilising. The child’s heart rate is recovering—my gosh, what speed!"
Sasha’s pupils shrank at the baby’s ability, or rather, desire to survive. Its blood pumped faster, and its healing factor matched Nikolai’s. This helped keep the child alive despite the lack of oxygen; it managed to maximise the effect of each molecule.
"Just like his father."
At this moment, Anastasia collapsed, leaning against a silver bench, her face pale and covered in sweat.
"Good... good... It’s going to be okay. The blood of Volkov grows stronger with this."
Nikolai clenched his teeth, enduring the painful bloodletting, until his child cried and the wound thoroughly healed; he would gladly bleed for them. His grip tightened around Selene’s hand, as if trying to pour his warmth, emotions and feelings into her body.
Selene’s eyes fluttered as she switched between a worried sob and agony. Her breathing grew ragged, tears soaking into the sheets beneath her head. "It hurts... Kai... it hurts..."
"I know," he said softly immediately. "I know. You’re doing amazing. Just a little longer."
Suddenly her hips lifted, her mouth opened with a dry, rasping cry as one last contraction jolted her body into an arc.
The hologram pulsed again, the projection of the infant shifting as the surgeons worked with skilled and well-practised urgency. The looped cord loosened fraction by fraction, aided by the stabilising effect of Nikolai’s blood.
"It’s done, we’ve done it! Just a little longer," a doctor called out.
A sharp, piercing cry cut through the room.
For half a second, no one moved.
The machines beeped steadily.
It was a cute sound, but rather than a vampire’s or a human’s cry, it was like a little wolf howling.
"...We have respiration," Anastasia said quietly.
The cry came again, louder this time, furious and indignant.
Selene sobbed, the tension finally leaving her body as she collapsed back against the bed.
"I—I hear them... I hear my baby..."
Nikolai’s eyes froze looking at his child.
The world became silent, and only the beating of Selene’s heart, her soft, tired voice and the faint bleeps remained.
He laughed once, breathless and disbelieving, then pressed his forehead against Selene’s, his voice breaking for the first time. "You did it. You were incredible."
Sasha stepped back, removing her gloves with trembling hands. "...The child is stable. Mother is stable. Complications resolved."
The room’s cold atmosphere shattered, with the room erupting into a sudden rush of movements and actions, with nurses cleaning, preparing a small bed and incubator, and doctors exchanging glances and smiles at their success.
A nurse carefully brought the infant closer, wrapped in a soft cloth, still red and squirming with a vibrant sense of life.
Selene turned her head weakly. "Niko... let me see..."
When she noticed, her eyes widened as her tears continued to drip down her messy face. He helped guide the baby into her arms, supporting both of them as her trembling hands closed around something impossibly small.
The crying softened, replaced by quiet, uneven breaths as the purple eyes glanced at both Selene and Nikolai. It watched them silently before blinking twice, slowly closing its heavy eyes with a bit of sound.
However, Nikolai noticed the flicker in their child’s eye.
As if he recognised them, both of them.
’This little guy, is he so smart?’
Selene smiled through tears. "The baby feels so warm, hehe..."
Selene stared at the tiny face for several long seconds, as if afraid the moment would vanish if she blinked.
Then the nurse spoke, voice gentle but unmistakably clear.
"Congratulations... It’s a boy."
For a heartbeat, Selene didn’t react.
Her lips parted slightly. Her breath caught.
"...A boy?" she repeated softly, almost to herself.
The nurse nodded, smiling as she adjusted the cloth around the infant. "A very strong one."
Selene’s hands trembled as she pulled the child closer to her chest, tears spilling freely now, no longer restrained or quiet. She laughed weakly through her sobs, shoulders shaking as she nuzzled her forehead against the baby’s head.
"A boy... Kai, did you hear that?" Her voice broke. "We have a son."
Nikolai felt something inside his chest collapse and rebuild all at once, although he adored his beloved daughters.
A son was something strange; the images of his father and his childhood flashed through his eyes as he smiled uncontrollably. He nodded, unable to speak at first, his throat tight as he reached out and rested his hand gently over Selene’s and the baby’s back.
"I heard," he finally said with an unsteady voice. "I heard."
Selene smiled wider, brighter than he had ever seen her smile before. "Our son is so handsome, hehe."
’He’s kinda ugly.’ Nikolai thought, but kept it to himself to avoid a beating.
Around them, the room settled into a calmer rhythm. The machines beeped steadily. The staff moved with quieter steps as if to avoid disturbing their leader and his newfound family, their hearts relieved as the tension faded.
Selene leaned back slightly, cradling their son carefully, eyes never leaving his face.
"...Thank you," she whispered, not just to Nikolai, but maybe to the world itself for this moment, her head nodding as she slipped into a deep sleep, the baby sinking into her large breasts, with the support of Nikolai’s massive hand.
Nikolai looked at his son, using Selene’s breasts as a pillow, happily sleeping and shook his head with a grin on his lips.
’This kid is definitely mine...’ Then, with a slight flicker of light in his eyes, he huffed. "I’m only lending them to you, brat."
Filled with a sense of euphoria, Nikolai bent down and pressed his lips against her sweaty forehead before the nurses came with a small bed and took the sleeping child away.
He knew they needed to perform checks on him, but watching his son leave the room brought a slight sense of worry to his chest.
With a premonition he’d become a doting father, Nikolai thought to himself in the dimmed hospital room, at Selene’s side.
’Now, what would be a cool name for my son?’
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