Mercy (Queen's Birds of Prey 1)

“Holy shit, I forgot. Christ, what a good friend I’m turning out to be. I’m on my way, sirens running too.” He laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot. “You should hit me over the head when I get there. I’m only in my uniform.”

“No worries. I’m in dress pants and a shirt. We decided that since we’ve already jumped the gun on a few other things, we’d just skip the being fancy.” Joel was still laughing when Allen disconnected the call.

He was never late for anything. Allen showed up ten minutes early for work, never missed a day of church unless it was an emergency, and he was forever waiting for his wife to get ready at home and began telling her an hour earlier than they had to be anywhere. It had worked for a while, but she caught onto that quickly. Pulling into the parking lot, he leaped out of his car and ran, grabbing up his hat as he went. Right now, Allen could have crawled into a hole and never come out.

The courtroom was beautiful, and it had little to do with the flowers all around the room. The sisters, as everyone had been calling them, were all dressed in different shades of brown. It might have sounded drab, brown as a color, but these women made it shine. He smiled at Jude when she came to stand by him.

“She decided on having Miley as the maid of honor, which is the best that she could have done. And I’m glad you were here in time to see this.” He asked her what he was seeing, because he was already blinded by the beauty. Telling him not to be such a flirt, when she nodded to his right, Allen watched Miley come into the room with just a cane to hold her up. “Miley has been working on this very hard, trying her best to be walking at her dad’s wedding. They didn’t know she was this far in her working with the therapist.”

She had to work hard at standing upright, but she was doing it. The pride on Joel and Mercy’s faces was palpable. He felt it too, all the way to his heart. Watching the little girl work this hard for her parents made him want to run home and tell his wife that he wanted seventy children right now.

He knew he couldn’t do that. They had been trying for years to have a child. But after the shooting that had hit him near the groin, he no longer had the ability to father children of his own. She told him it was all right, but he felt like he’d failed her. Looking at Mercy, her small belly starting to show, he wanted to ask if for a moment he could have a bit of their magical love to help him for his wife.

But this was neither the time nor the place to be feeling sorry for himself. Allen knew that they’d someday have someone in their life, even if it was just a dog. Being a human, he knew that was about all he could hope for. Smiling, he walked to where he was to stand with Joel to be there for him. Just as the man had been there for him at times.

Joel had been around twice now when Allen was having a difficult time of something. He wasn’t the captain of the station house, just a lowly cop. But there were days that he wished someone would notice. Perhaps fire the captain that they had now and give him the job and the pay. That would make it so much better for he and his wife to be able to adopt. Money and being able to afford a child were a big factor in adoption.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” Judge Wilson said to Joel and Mercy. Allen loved this couple. Allen was going to go home on his lunch hour and tell his wife just how much he loved her.

When he hugged them, and the sisters, he was pulled into a big hug again by Joel. The man, for a human, he noticed, was very huggy. Not that he minded—Allen loved a hug just as much as the next person. But when Joel whispered in his ear, Allen pulled back and asked him what he’d said.

“I have magic. A great deal of it, I’m just learning how to use some of it and other things, like dressing myself, has come fairly easy, I guess you’d say. But I do have some that I can share. So much so that I can do a lot of things that a mere human, which I am not any more, can’t do. Like knowing what your greatest desire is. I would like to grant you that desire. Or I guess that I have already done it.” Allen pulled away more, not sure what he was talking about and afraid that he did. “Allen, you do know that I’d never hurt you. Not in any way, shape, or form. But I wanted to help you, so I did. But I have a reason too.”

“A catch, you mean?” Joel told him that it wasn’t a catch, not at all, but something that he’d like for him do to. “That sounds just like a catch. And how do I know you are talking about the same thing that I want?”

“You want to give your wife a child. Children, lots of them.” He nodded before he could think that he was caught in some sort of trap. “The deed, as they say, is done. You are wholly a man, though I doubt that Anna ever thought you weren’t.”

“She said that it didn’t matter. But I hear her crying at night sometimes. Especially when she sees a family with children. Or a bump, like Mercy has.” Joel sat down on one of the long pews. “What’s the catch, Joel?”

“You’re not going to believe me that it’s not a catch, are you?” Allen sat too, his mind too busy with thinking about children. “What if I told you that I cured you of your ailment several days ago? And right now, Anna is going to have twins. I had nothing to do with that part. But you’re going to have a pair of twin boys.”

“I can’t give her children.” Joel told him that he could now, and that he had. “What is it, Joel? What is it that you need from me to make this real?”

“It is real. But what I would like for you to do, no strings, is to work with your brother. Daniel seems to think that he can work the gate twenty-four/seven, and he can’t do it—not and be healthy. Not to mention, it’s not necessary. But I do believe that he’s having fun at the job. I want you to work when he needs a break. The house is closed up at six at night, so there is no need for either of you to be out there after that time. Magic keeps us safe then.” Allen asked him about being a cop. “This is something else that I’d like for you to think about. And soon. The captain that is there now, he needs to be gone. And if you take the job that I’m offering you, someone will notice that you’re doing it all. And then the ball will start rolling for you to take the position.”

“I can’t do both jobs.” Joel told him that he’d not have to. But he could also work fewer hours for more pay. “And what about the job working with Daniel? And he does love the job. He said that you’re very generous with his pay too.”

“I would be with you as well. And you can continue to take over for Daniel at times. And as a captain, you’d be able to adopt children. Some that need a helping hand like you and your lovely Anna can give them.” He asked about his own children. “I’m not worried about them. You shouldn’t either, Allen. They’ll be raised by the best and know the difference between right and wrong.”

“I’d be a great father.” Joel told him that he would be, yes. “I don’t understand this. You’re telling me that you want me to quit the force, work with Daniel, and that Anna is going to have a baby—two babies.”

“Yes, and you can have more children if you wish, too. The adoption agency called Mercy for a reference. It’ll be small wonder if you’ll ever be turned down for anything from them.” Allen smiled—he could feel it all over his body. “If I were you, I’d go home for a while, make love to your wife, write out your resignation, and start working for us today. It’ll all work out, Allen, this I promise you.”

Allen was nearly home when he realized that he had no idea how he’d gotten there. Nor did he remember if he’d thanked Joel or not. But he needed to see his wife, needed to know that she’d not been harmed in any way with whatever Joel had done. Allen was afraid to be hopeful on this. Terrified that it was all a dream, and he was going to wake up all the sadder for it.

When he got into the house, Anna wasn’t anywhere to be seen. There were sheets out on the line—she so loved the feel of air-dried sheets. Then he saw her on the phone, talking to someone.

“Yes, I’ll tell him right away, Mrs. White. He’ll know just how to get the kitten out of the tree for you.” She smiled at him and he walked up to her, nibbling on her neck while she talked, flustered now, to Mrs. White. “I’ll do that the moment I see him. Yes, I have to go.”

When she put the phone on the cradle, he turned her around and kissed her. Anna was his life, his love. Picking her up by the ass, he sat her on the counter and smiled at her.

“A little afternoon cuddling, Allen? I thought you were going to work late.” He said that he’d changed his mind. “Well, Mrs. White called. If you could— Allen, you shouldn’t be home making love to your

wife. You should be— Oh, my yes, that’s wonderful.”

“I’m quitting my job and going to work with Daniel.” She didn’t tell him no, as he thought she would. “Joel said that he’d pay me a good wage, and that you and I are going to have a baby. Twins.”

That got her attention. “I’m sorry, what?” He told her again. “That’s not possible. We’ve seen a specialist.”