It had been hours since Emrys had made the call to the Mallorys to summon Mara to aid Marissa in birthing their third child. Hours since the Hadleys had picked up the twins to keep them for a few days. Hours that Emrys had been stationed at his wife's side, while Mara fussed over Marissa and assured them both that everything would be fine. At least, she hoped so. There was no reason to believe it wouldn't. Babies often had a bad habit of taking their time being born, and this one was no different. But the hours of waiting seemed to be finally paying off, as the little one's birth at last seemed imminent.

"A few more pushes," Mara had said, and though Marissa was exhausted, somehow she found the strength to do as she was told. Clutching Emrys' hand tightly, she squeezed her eyes shut, held her breath, and bore down as hard as she could.

"That's it, love," Emrys murmured to her, his arm wrapped around her back, supporting her with his lips pressed to her temple as she labored to bring their third child into the world. "Not much longer. You're doing so well."

From between Marissa's legs came a thin, reedy wail, and Mara laughed. "Wastes no time, this one," she declared. "One more, darling, and then you can rest for a little."

Marissa knew better than to argue. She had been through this once before and knew it was better to save her strength for the birth than to waste energy fighting it. And she was almost done; then, she could rest. She simply drew another breath and pushed again, encouraged by the sound of their child's first wail in objection to his or her abrupt entry into the world.

To the accompaniment of their new baby's complaints, Mara swiftly wrapped the child and laid it down on the bed, tying off the cord so it could be cut very shortly. "You have a son," she told them with a gentle smile, turning to locate the magical pieces she had invested in since the last time she had midwifed for Marissa.

Emrys let out a burst of laughter, kissing Marissa's cheek as he hugged her to him. "A boy, love," he repeated. "We've another boy!"

"A boy," Marissa echoed in an exhausted whisper, tears of joy and relief streaming down her face. "Is he healthy?" she asked, needing first to know that before she asked anything else.

Mara chuckled, still finishing up down there before she could properly wrap the sticky baby and hand him to his parents. "He's absolutely everything you could hope for," she promised Marissa with a smile. "Emrys, introduce your son to his mama."

Blushing, Emrys gently settled Marissa back against the pillows before moving to scoop up their son, absently wiping the goo from the boy's mouth as the child wailed. "Oh now, shush you," he said, gently jostling the baby as he returned to Marissa's side. "You don't want to show a frown to your mama, do you?"

"Does he have all his fingers and toes?" she asked, though she assumed Mara wouldn't be so eager to hand him over if he didn't. "Where is he, Emrys" What does he look like?" she asked, eager to see her son, but weary, just the same.

"Here." Easing himself down onto the bed beside Marissa, Emrys slid the baby boy into her arms, wrapping his own arm about her back once again as the child quieted in her embrace. "He looks like you," he murmured against her hair.

"Does he?" she asked as she cradled her son close, grateful for Emrys' embrace. "I think he looks like you," she said, without hesitation. She peeled back the blanket just enough to allow her to peek at the newborn's tiny hands and make sure there were, indeed, ten fingers there. "He's so beautiful," she whispered, clearly in awe of this tiny miracle of birth.

"Just like his mama," Emrys murmured, kissing her hair with a smile. In her arms, the baby boy wriggled, smacking his lips before settling down, little fingers wrapping about her thumb with the peculiarly strong grip all newborns came with.

At the foot of the bed, Mara got to grips with the magic she had learned for this aspect of midwifery, wiping away the afterbirth and after-effects of birth and pregnancy as discreetly as possible while also envying Marissa the lack of physical recovery.

It wasn't that Marissa was ignoring Mara. She was, in fact, enormously grateful to the woman for helping her with every aspect of the pregnancy, but she was too in awe of this tiny person to notice much else at the moment.

"Handsome, like his Papa," she whispered back, looking up through tear-filled eyes to smile at her chosen mate.

"Like his brother," Emrys responded, leaning down to kiss her tenderly. "I love you, kitten. Thank you." He never failed to thank her - for loving him, for choosing to share her life with him, for giving him now three beautiful children ....He would never stop thanking her, loving her.

She smiled, though he didn't need to thank her. She adored him, plain and simple; there was no other way to put it. He had captured her heart and given her life new meaning at a time when she thought she could never love again. She let the baby rest, cradled in one arm, while she lifted a hand to trail her fingers against her husband's jaw. Even now, he was so handsome, he very nearly took her breath away, and she loved him so dearly, her heart felt as though it might burst.

"I love you, Emrys," she whispered back, vaguely aware of Mara quietly fussing nearby, or she might have said more.

He smiled back at her, holding her just that little bit closer, that little bit more lovingly. "What shall we call him?" he asked, more curious than pushing for an answer. The name would come naturally, after all.

"I don't know," she replied, frowning thoughtfully. Of course, their son would need a name, but somehow, they hadn't worried about it much. They'd decided to wait until the baby was born, hoping a name would come to them. She'd been secretly hoping for a son, though they already had one of each. "Would you mind if I named him after my father?" she asked him tentatively, almost shyly. "Just his middle name."

"Now why should I mind that, love?" Emrys countered gently, stroking her hair out of her eyes as he smiled back at her. "The man meant the world to you. Of course you want to honor him. I suppose this means I'm responsible for the first name this time, hmm?"

"Well ..." she started, the tiniest of smirks on her face at the irony of her adoptive father's name. "His name was Fox," she said, just a little amused at the thought of naming their son - who was of mixed werewolf and tiger blood - after another species entirely. "And yes, unless you want me to name him Emrys Fox ....Um, what is your surname?"

"I can cook," he said with a defensive smile. "Here, cuddle our son while I investigate the kitchen. He might want feeding himself before I ruin his night with a wash and brush up."

"Brush up?" Marissa echoed, giggling. "He doesn't have any fur yet, Papa!" she pointed out with a grin as she cradled her arms to take the newborn from his father. She sighed as she looked down at the "little man" in her arms. "I am not really looking forward to a barrage of visitors," she murmured. At least, not yet.

"We won't get a barrage," he assured her, rising to move over to the little kitchen. "Seren and Dorian bringing the twins back tomorrow, but I should imagine Mara will give us a few days. And Neville and Demi will remember what it's like - they've got three to corral, after all."

"I suppose," Marissa admitted quietly, a small frown on her face for some reason. She had some family of her own, but visits were rare, and as far as her birth family was concerned, she hadn't seen them since she was a small child. Still, she was grateful for those she had, including Emrys' sister.

"I'm sure Colleen and Rhiannon will find a way to visit as well," Emrys went on. Naturally, his own family came first when he was talking about such things, but he never meant to leave out hers. There was a quiet clatter from the kitchen as he unearthed the stew pot Mara had brought with her and separated a portion to heat on the stove.

"I'm sure," she admitted, trying not to dwell too much on things that made her sad, when she had so much to be happy for, especially today. "Em, do you really think he looks like me?" she asked, seeing more of her mate in the little one than herself.

"Aye, I do." He nodded, stirring the stew before pulling a fresh loaf from the bread bin to cut a hunk off it. "He's definitely got your nose, kitten." He smiled over at her. "But then, we always see each other in our children, don't we?"

"I think so," she agreed with a soft smile. "Though I am hoping Cerys does not inherit your hairy chest," she teased from the bed. The cottage was no longer as small as it had once been, as the couple had worked hard to make improvements and additions necessary for their growing family.

Emrys laughed at that, rolling his eyes at her teasing. "If she does, I'll find a way to get rid of it," he promised in turn, pouring the portion of stew into a bowl to bring it over to his mate so she could eat. "Shall I wash him up and get him dressed while you eat, love?"

"He's content enough for now. You should eat, too," Marissa replied, as concerned for her mate as he was for her. She knew he hadn't eaten for many hours, as well, as he had barely left her side for more than a few minutes at a time.

Emrys chuckled faintly, setting the plate of bread down on the side table to unfold the little tray table he had made last time around so she could eat in bed. "I will," he promised her. "You come first, love. You've had a busy day."

"Emrys," she started, adopting that semi-stern tone of voice she used when she was scolding him. "You have not eaten or slept either," she reminded him. Not since she'd gone into labor late the night before.

"I'm not the one who was doing all the work," he pointed out, setting out her meal on the little tray table before her. He did grin, though. "You know I'm not going to starve myself, kitten. I like my food too much to go without for too long. Let me look after you, all right?"

She couldn't help but smirk at something he'd said. "I can't argue with that," she said, with regard to the work involved. "I need a shower," she added, chuckling as she realized just how much, though she was too tired for that now. It could wait until morning.

"In the morning," he told her, as though reading her thoughts. "You need to sleep first. Do the sheets need changing, though?" He glanced a little warily at the middle of the bed, but thankfully whatever magic Mara had learned to use had dealt with that, too.

"I think Mara already took care of that," she admitted, grateful for that. Magic was plentiful in RhyDin and there was no reason not to use it.

"Here, let me take the young lord and master so you can eat," he said, reaching to lift little Dai up onto his shoulder to free up his mate's hands. "I'll eat when you're both settled."

"I do not have the energy to argue with you," she admitted, nor did she truly want to. She knew how lucky she was that she had such a kind and thoughtful mate. The truth was that they'd both had very lonely lives before they'd met the other. Fate took care of the rest. She let him take the little boy from her arms, only then realizing how truly ravenous she felt.

Rocking Dai affectionately against his shoulder, Emrys watched Marissa for a moment, making sure she was actually eating, before moving about to gather what he would need to wash and dress the baby properly. He fully expected a screaming fit as he did so, but Dai surprised him with just a gurgle and flailing limbs as he wiped the blood and goo from his skin.

"He's going to be a water baby," he predicted.

"Tigers love water, you know," she pointed out helpfully as she dug into the stew, suddenly starving. They were, in fact, good swimmers, despite what most people believed about them.

"You might end up with a tiger cub to play with in ten years' time, then," Emrys chuckled, carefully drying Dai off before expertly wrapping the diaper into place.

"Do wolves not like the water?" she asked, knowing better, but curious anyway. "As I recall, it took some convincing to get you to take a bath when we first met," she added with a teasing grin over at him.

"I was very attached to my grime, thank you," he countered with a cheerful smile in answer, remembering with no little satisfaction the look on her face when he had emerged from the bathroom cleanly shaven and washed up. Maneuvering Dai into a onesie, he chuckled again. "It's a dog thing," he mused. "Some dogs love water, some don't. Never seen a baby not scream at the first hint of a wash, though."

"There's a first time for everything, love," she reminded him, as though he needed reminding. "And you are a wolf, not a dog. Different species entirely," she added, for good measure. It irked her to no end when people mixed the two up. They might have once been related way back in time, but there was a distinct difference, at least as far as she was concerned.