They drove to the Meadowfall prenatal clinic, where rainbow-and-unicorn murals decorated the walls. Lullabies played softly in the background. Jesse settled down with Dom at the waiting area, just looking around. It felt odd, being in a medical facility and not wanting to crawl out of his skin.
While they waited, curious looks landed their way. No one asked what Jesse was doing there. Hell, Jesse had never imagined himself waiting for a prenatal ultrasound.
A while later, they entered the doctor’s office, Dom’s touch light on Jesse’s back—a reassurance that he wasn’t alone.
Dr. Smith was a friendly beta who smiled when Jesse shook her hand. He’d emailed her in advance—so she’d have an idea what she was getting into with him. They chatted a little; Jesse showed her his scarred abdomen. Then she had him lie on the exam bed, and Jesse fumbled. The exam bed was so soft.
When the doctor pressed the ultrasound wand to his abdomen, a mess of black and white speckles appeared on the screen. Then she tilted the wand, and a tiny, curled-up figure came into view.
Jesse stopped breathing. He stared at his baby bump, then the screen. “That’s... in me?” he asked.
“Sure is,” the doctor answered with a smile.
She took screen captures of the baby from different angles, examining it closely. Jesse tried to imagine that tiny person in his abdomen. “How big is it really?”
The doctor measured out a length—the baby was the size of a banana. Smaller than Jesse expected, with how big his abdomen already was. “Is that normal?”
“Yes, it is.”
Jesse thought about the flutter he’d felt earlier. Until now, the concept of being pregnant had seemed kind of abstract to him. But there was a tiny face on the ultrasound image. That was his and Dom’s baby.
Jesse’s stomach flipped. He sneaked a glance at Dom, only to find Dom entranced by the ultrasound image, his eyes bright. Jesse’s breath stuck in his throat. Yeah, Dom really adored that baby, even before it was born.
He’d probably hurt a lot, back when Jesse had told him about terminating the pregnancy. Guilt crept into Jesse’s chest. He squeezed Dom’s hand, wanting to apologize. Dom met his eyes and smiled.
Later. Jesse would make it up to him later.
“Is it growing okay?” Jesse asked the doctor. “I mean, I’m not exactly built for this.”
The doctor was quiet for a moment while she studied the ultrasound images. “Your baby matches the developmental milestones. I’d say we have a good chance of this pregnancy progressing as it should. But just in case, I’ll schedule an appointment every two weeks—that way, we’ll be able to observe you more closely.”
That was a relief to hear.
When the ultrasound was over, Dom asked for two printouts of their baby. “You want one for your parents?” He glanced at Jesse.
Jesse had told his mom some weeks back, when they’d gone to Highton for a visit. She’d been excited, too. “Yeah, I think my mom would love it.”
Dom smiled and told the doctor they’d like three printouts. He helped wipe off the ultrasound gel, before covering Jesse’s abdomen with his hands. “I’m waiting,” Dom said.
Jesse frowned. “It was really faint. I don’t think you’ll feel it.”
But Dom waited, hope in his eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment, just focusing on Jesse’s abdomen. Then a tiny gurgle vibrated from inside. “Might’ve been my stomach.”
Dom lit up. “I think it’s our baby.”
He heaved Jesse off the exam bed and spun him around in a circle. Jesse smacked him off, embarrassed. The doctor only smiled.
Later, when they were in a department store, Dom brought Jesse to the cosmetics aisle and stopped in front of the nail polish.
“Which color do you think would go on me?” Dom asked.
Jesse stared. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Jesse looked at the colorful bottles, and back at Dom. This didn’t make sense. “Why?”
Dom shrugged. “Why not?”
“Because you’re an alpha.”
“So I can’t paint my nails?” Dom raised his eyebrows.
“It isn’t... right.” Jesse squirmed. He couldn’t imagine Dom with glitter on his nails. It wouldn’t make him any less of an alpha, but... But maybe a dark red would be okay.
Dom picked out a pink glitter polish. That totally did not suit him at all. Then Dom leaned in and growled in Jesse’s ear, “Imagine this on my nails. Do you think it’ll make me not fuck you raw? Do you think I’ll lose to you in a fight, just because I have glitter on my nails?”
“Well... no. But you aren’t the one with omega parts.”
Dom looked thoughtful. Then he nodded at the rows of polish again. “Which is your favorite?”
Jesse found the bottle of silver-and-blue glitter he’d been eyeing earlier. “It’s the same one on my nails. But Perry didn’t do a thick coat because I didn’t want it to be so shiny.”
Dom put that bottle into the cart, along with the bottle of pink glitter polish. “Tell you what. We’ll go home, we’ll do each other’s nails, and you’ll knot inside me.”
Jesse’s breath stuck in his throat.
Dom smiled. “But you’ll have to fight me for it. I won’t be a sitting duck.”
Painted nails or not, Jesse didn’t feel as though he was less when Dom looked at him this way—all dark and confident, and expectant. He just felt... powerful. Like it didn’t matter what he looked like, or what sort of past he had.
Dom linked their fingers together. “You think?” he murmured. “Want to give it a try?”
“Why’re you doing this?” Jesse asked, his throat growing tight.
“I want you to see yourself from my shoes. I want you to know that you’re just as much of an alpha as I am. That it’s important for you to value yourself.” Dom kissed Jesse’s temple. “What you look like, what you’ve been through—those add to you as a person. They don’t take away from your worth.”
Jesse glanced at his round abdomen, and the silver markings on his wrists. He tried to think of himself
