She nodded. "For a wee while." Holly looked to her mate. "But no upsetting Faye, Fraser. For once, be nice to her."
"I'm always nice to her," Fraser muttered. However, Holly raised her brows and he sighed. "Okay, I'll hold off until she's well. But if she expects me not to tease her ever again, then she's deluded."
Lorna clicked her tongue. "Enough, Fraser. Let's go. I need another grandchild to spoil."
Chase resisted snorting. After all, Lorna already had three.
Lorna, who had always been somewhat unsure of how to act around his mum, put out a hand. "Come on, Gillian. As the grannies, we should meet the wee lassie first."
Her mother took Lorna's hand and stood. "Aye, I think so, too. It's the first female born in my family for some time. I plan to spoil her now and then."
Lorna snorted. "Only now and then? Since this is your first grandchild, I'll let you in on a secret—it's our duty to spoil them as much as possible. Then we can simply give them back to our children and they have to deal with them afterward." She lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "I look forward to the day I can fill them up on biscuits and sweets, return them, and see how they deal with the ensuing sugar high. My own family always did that, and I think it's time to pass on the tradition."
Both of Lorna's sons sighed, which only made her laugh. "That's right, lads. I suspect it'll only get worse the more you have. Keep that in mind."
The two mothers left the room first, followed by Fraser and Holly. Fergus, the other twin, stopped and clapped him on the shoulder. "You'll be next, Chase. Just wait."
Since Chase knew Fergus MacKenzie the least of his in-laws—the male could be more serious than even Chase's older brother—he merely nodded.
Fergus motioned for him to precede him. "You go on ahead. I need to fetch my mate and make sure her sister and my stepfather are okay watching both Fraser's lassies and my son by themselves for a bit."
Chase headed toward the room Holly had mentioned when she'd given her first update earlier. He wanted to meet his niece, aye. But he burned to know Layla was okay, too.
The thought of her being alone for so many years, never having someone to hold her after a difficult procedure or day, only made him pick up his pace more. From today, he was starting a new tradition. As soon as she finished, he'd find somewhere private to hold her tightly and tell her how proud he was and how much he loved her.
It couldn't wipe away all the exhaustion or bad days, but it should help.
However, when he arrived at Faye's room, Layla was nowhere to be seen. He made his way to the nurse who was standing next to Faye and asked, "Where did Layla go?"
The nurse replied while jotting something on a clipboard. "Her sister went into labor, so she should be in Yasmin's room."
He blinked. "What?"
He tried to dash out the door, but his mum grabbed his bicep. "You can't do anything to help her right now, lad. You know that. So say hello to your niece, Isla. It's better than fretting somewhere by yourself and getting yourself worked up."
His dragon grunted. She's right. And this is how it'll always be, too. So you'd better learn how to deal with it.
I'm trying, dragon. But I hate being so useless.
You're not. After saying hello to our niece, then we can get everything ready at Layla's cottage. We'll take care of her once the day is over. His dragon paused a second and then added, And think of it this way—with both the bairns delivered, it won't be long before we can have a frenzy of our own.
Chase glanced over at an exhausted Faye holding her daughter, with Grant at her side. Some would say he was too young, impulsive, or a thousand other excuses. But as Chase watched his brother with his new family, Chase knew he wanted that, too.
Even if it meant him taking more responsibility at home some days while Layla worked, he wouldn't mind.
His dragon bobbed his head. Then be the doting uncle and start putting things into motion for it to happen.
I won't rush Layla into it.
Aye, I know. But if she's as anxious to have the frenzy as we are, then find a way to make it happen. Layla isn't the best person at asking for help, after all.
He'd rather not start speaking for Layla, if he could help it.
But as his mother guided him to Faye's bed and he saw his tiny, dark-haired niece up close for the first time, Chase smiled as he traced her soft, pink cheek, forgetting everything but the tiny bundle in Faye's arms. "Hello, wee Isla. I'm your Uncle Chase. Just know now that I'll be your fun uncle, meaning I'll probably be your favorite, too."
Fraser grunted. "That would be my role, lad."
The other male had tried to put dominance into his voice, but it wasn't enough to stop Chase from grinning and replying, "Then I guess we have a new competition, aye?"