Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"Of course, dear." Vincenzo seemed calm, confident that even if something did happen, they were protected.

Just as Vincenzo gave Kate her tea, there was a loud scuffle echoing down the hall, and a cut-off yelp. Qira disappeared briefly, but returned calmly once more. Brogan was tense, wanting to join the defense. But he knew this was an exchange of secrecy and subterfuge and daggers, not a battle for his Claymore and martial skills.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate glanced towards the hallway at the sound of the scuffle and she was soon letting out a sigh. Kell had his secrets and always had. She just had to trust that things were alright with him in the lead. She took a sip of the tea, glancing over at her Da as he tensed and readied himself to join the fray.

"Ma would have your hide if you did." Kate said softly to her father. "Stay here with me and be safe."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She can bloody have it if it means she an' you are safe..." Brogan murmured. He was uneasy with his family all separated, guarded though they were. But before long, Julia was guided back to them safely and guardsmen let them know that the twins were safe and secure, Rho and Naiya were with Ciaran and Justin and Dana, and so on. Whatever had happened in the hall, it was sorted and cleaned up before Julia had been able to see it as she passed by.

Kate was able to rest for a long while, getting plenty of sleep before labor really set in. Kell checked in hourly, but he wasn't able to stay with her for fear of her safety. The closer the cub came to being born, the more threat there was.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate felt as if she had slept forever with her family there to watch over her. Her Ma and Da stayed, letting Vincenzo rest so that she was never alone. She wanted her husband there with her more, but he had a job to do. As labor truly set in and she was in quite a bit of pain, she tried her hardest to be brave and not let it show just how much she needed Kell.

Her Da was the one that helped to carry her into the tub, getting her settled before she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Da." She whispered before he left to leave her in Vincenzo and Julia's hands.

 

[KieranSoares]

"An' I love you, Kitten," Brogan murmured in return softly, kissing her forehead before he finally left her side.

Valentina and Luna came to help Vincenzo as well, and they were able to handle Kate quite competently. But the longer it took, the more they worried, wishing Mariko Varno were there. Luna had learned plenty from the older Wolf, but she had nowhere near his level of skill and experience as he was around Vincenzo's age.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate couldn't help the cries of pain that came from her lips as she struggled to bring her cub into the world. She was in the best of hands outside of Mariko, but it worried her when the three of them discussed options in case things turned towards the worst.

"Give the cub a chance." Kate murmured, her hands cradling her belly as she panted through sharp pain. "He just needs a chance."

"No one's going to do anything without talking to you first, kitten." Julia murmured softly, brushing her daughter's red hair back from her forehead.

 

[KieranSoares]

Vincenzo was deeply concerned the longer it took, knowing that there was the risk that the cub would suffocate and be stillborn. But as the pain grew too great, the door opened and a very grizzled-looking old Wolf stumbled in, bandages visible against his greyed fur. "I'm here..." he panted, likely having sprinted through the keep to reach them. His small team of fellow werefolk were close behind.

"Mariko," Vincenzo breathed a sigh of relief, stepping back to let the skilled healers work. Seeing Kate wouldn't be able to do it alone, they brought her from the tub to another room with a small bed. They would take her to her own bed later. And as Mariko finished his quick check-over of Kate, they brought her a powerful herbal mix.

"There will be scars, my dear, but I believe we can save the cub," Mariko informed her softly. Though he and his team looked worse for wear and beaten, they were deadly focused.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't care about scars." Kate said as Mariko and his team got her situated and assessed the situation. "I want my cub here safely."

Kate tried her hardest to relax, glancing over at her Ma as she stood to one side to let everyone work. "I need Kell."

"I'll try my hardest to get him here, love." Julia said, moving close to kiss her forehead. "You won't be alone."

Kate watched as her mother left and she took the herbed mixture that Mariko offered her. Once she took it, the pain greatly lessened and she relaxed truly for the first time since her labor had started. It felt like she was floating as they worked, but she knew the moment that Kell arrived. She didn't even have to look as someone took her hand and held it tightly, kissing her knuckles. In fact, she let her green eyes close when she grew too tired, simply trusting that everything would be alright.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kate's haze was eventually disturbed by the sound of a cry, but it wasn't that of a newborn. It was one of pain as Mariko was grabbed and a small bundle was ripped from his arms. There were flashes of daggers as Kell and his men reacted and the figure holding the bundle drew their own knife. For all his security measures and removing variables, Kell had not managed to find the assassin in time.

Julia saw it all as the figure wrestled the silent little cub from Mariko, throwing the old Wolf aside, and it wasn't clear in the rush if the cub was stabbed before Kell and Qira slammed into the assassin. Qira came away with a small cut to his chest and the cub in one arm, and Kell barreled the assassin into the wall, burying his dagger in the figure's chest with a monstrous snarl. The stranger slid down to a sit, limp, and Kell stumbled back with their knife buried in his thigh, panting heavily in pure adrenaline and fear. He turned and his breath caught as he saw Qira wiping blood from the little cub. Golden eyes wide, he bolted over and took the cub quickly but carefully. And Julia could see him desperately inspecting the tiny thing, oddly small despite having been born late. It wasn't moving, and its breathing was incredibly shallow, but the cut was minor. The assassin's blade had only managed to cut the cub's upper chest, and nicked the cub's ear in the scuffle.

Kell's knees went weak and Qira lowered him carefully to the floor before he could collapse with the release of all the fear and stress. Sitting on his knees, Kell slowly looked up and over to his wife. "Kate..."

"She'll be alright," Mariko murmured as two of his healers helped him up. "... I'm afraid our arrival might've let the assassin in... I'm so sorry, Lord Protector."

"They're alive..." Kell muttered. "That's all that matters..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm cold." Kate murmured, her words slurred as she opened her eyes and looked towards the chaos that was happening in the middle of the room.

"We'll get your warm, kitten." Julia said softly, moving to tend to her daughter as Kell held the cub in his own arms. "We'll get you cleaned up and in your own bed and then you can hold the baby."

"The baby's here?" Kate asked, slightly confused as Julia placed a thick blanket over her.

"A beautiful dark furred little cub." Julia said as she kissed Kate's brow and smoothed her red hair back from her face.

"I was going to name him Brogan. Does it look like a Brogan?" Kate asked, frowning as Julia chuckled gently.

"I'm not sure, love. You can discuss that with Kell in a little while." Julia said, looking towards Kell as Mariko and his staff got back to work.

 

[KieranSoares]

Once Kate was settled and Mariko was bringing her out of the haze of the herbs, Kell came to her side. A healer had seen to the knife wound in his thigh and tended the cub, but Kate could see immediately the damage done to her cub. The cut on his chest would heal, but the nick in his ear would always be there, the cartilage severed a quarter of the way into his little pointed ear. He was incredibly silent and his breathing was ragged and shallow. He was clearly sick.

Kitty had long ago told Kate of a similar circumstance with Brogan, how he'd been born small and ill with pneumonia and barely survived his first weeks. It seemed this little cub was repeating history.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Hello, little one." Kate said softly as she took the cub for the first time, holding her son in her arms as she looked him over.

She nuzzled against him, rewarded with a soft little squeak. He was the same color as his father, darkest black but his eyes were a mixture of cub blue and dark green. She gently kissed the tip of his nose and then cuddled him close against her warm chest, not caring that he was sickly. He was her son and she would protect him until his dying breath if that's what it meant.

"Mama's got you." She whispered to her son, glancing up at Kell as he watched over the both of them. "And Da as well."

 

[KieranSoares]

Despite watching over them, Kell's head was bowed with guilt at his son having been attacked and everyone's safety having been compromised.

Except for Mariko, Vincenzo, and Kate's parents, everyone else left the room. Brogan came close to kiss Kate's forehead and knelt beside her. "I suppose all's well tha' ends well," he murmured, glancing at where the assassin had fallen, already taken away to be searched and buried. Qira was still there, but he kept back.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, it certainly wasn't perfect, but I wouldn't change it for the world." Kate said as her father kissed her forehead. "Brogan Damien Aleister will be a fighter, just like his father and his grandfather."

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan looked up to Kell, seeing the younger man so quiet. "Kell. Y'protected them. It's done fer now, so enjoy your family."

Kell nodded slightly, reaching out to touch his little cub's cheek.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate looked up at Kell as he touched the cub's cheek, the look in his eyes absolutely heartbreaking. "We're alright, love. You won't lose me."

She knew that he was still haunted by what happened to his first two cubs and his mate. It was a long time ago, but she was sure that he was thinking about them as she held little Brogan against her chest, the cub sleeping easily in spite of his raspy breathing.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You two need some rest, this little one 'as the right idea," Brogan murmured.

"I have to make sure this doesn't happen again. There will be more," Kell muttered, rising only for Brogan to stop him.

"Leave tha' to your people, Kell. This was a lot o' bad circumstances tha' lined up too well. They can handle it. Be with yer little lad an' Kate a while, then get some sleep. We'll look after th'cub when you do."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate watched as Kell warred between going to do some work and staying. After her Da demanded that he stay, her family disappeared for them to have some time alone. She tilted her head to kiss her husband, her hand raising to touch his cheek gently as she cradled Brogan with the other.

"He'll have a story to tell when he's older." She said softly, giving her husband a small smile.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell tried to smile back but it was difficult. His defenses had failed at a critical moment, leaving only himself and Qira as the last line of defense. But his own son had been in the hands of an assassin and nearly killed in his first minutes of life. And the cub was still in peril from all angles, be it other assassins or his health.

"I should be ecstatic... I should be running through the keep telling everyone..." Kell murmured.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Your grandfather will be here tomorrow. He wrote to me two days ago." Kate said softly, knowing that Khelt informed her more than he did his grandson. It simply allowed both men to have their secrets without the danger of giving up anything crucial. "And then you'll have time to take a break and enjoy him properly."

Little Brogan squeaked, his cry as meek as a mouse as his tiny little hands gripped at her nightgown. Kate glanced down at her son, chuckling as she nuzzled him again until he calmed.

"Lie beside us, eldere. I think he needs the both of us right now. Qira can watch him while we sleep." Kate said softly, needing her husband to hold her close as well.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell climbed into bed at her side, sitting back against the headboard as his gaze remained on his son and he laid a hand over the cub and stroked his fur gently. They were all exhausted. And while Qira was most certainly watching over them, he was keeping away and leaving them be.

 

[heartofcourage]

"His sisters are watching over him right now. I know that they want him to get better so that you can love him in the way that you never could with them." Kate said softly, her head resting against her husband's shoulder as she let her eyes close.

 

[KieranSoares]

Before Kate drifted off, she would hear Kell murmuring to his son, "Mary would've loved you... Nina and Jessie would be asking by the hour when you'd be able to play..." It was hard for Kell not to think of what he'd lost, especially when he realized that people he loved wouldn't see what he'd made of himself, or his mate and his son.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate held her son a little bit tighter as she drifted off to sleep, waking only once when Qira came to take the cub from her to take him to Vincenzo and Mariko. She let him go easily knowing that her family would protect the little boy with their lives. He not only was Scotland's heir, but he was the answer to a lot of things for both her and Kell. She knew that when Khelt arrived tomorrow, Brogan would be spoiled as much as any little boy could be.

 

[KieranSoares]

Come the next morning, Kate found Kell still at her side. It was an odd occurrence considering all that had happened. But he was already dressed for the day, telling her he'd gone and then returned, and he was now deeply asleep thanks to his exhaustion. Little Brogan was not in his crib, and the fire had been recently stoked in the room. But the familiar black cloak of Khelt Aleister the First lay draped on the edge of the crib as a simple little sign that he was there and the cub was safe.