“Make that Big H’s,” Valen said.
Harris elbowed him in the gut.
They crowded around Sam, rubbing his back, holding his hands, but little seemed to help alleviate the pain. The midwife checked in, said Sam was almost fully dilated, but not quite yet.
Valen groaned. Sam groaned, too. Harris seemed to have gotten his worry under control.
“Just a bit longer,” Harris said, his eyes calm.
“Why don’t you get pregnant,” Sam muttered. Then he cried out, and Harris’ composure vanished.
Valen squeezed Harris’ hand. Then he rounded the bed to Sam’s other side, pressing kisses to his shoulder. “You’ll be fine,” he said, rubbing Sam’s arm. “You can do it, Sam. You’re the best.”
“We’re here,” Harris said, his forehead furrowed. He held Sam’s hand, grunting when Sam’s grip tightened around his fingers. “Pretty sure you can break a sword with that grip.”
Valen covered his crotch in a panic, and Sam cracked a smile.
It wouldn’t be long, now.
Fourteen hours into Sam’s labor, Landon finally crowned.
“Push, Sam,” Valen said. Couldn’t help it, when his omega was in so much pain, his chest heaving, his teeth gritted.
“I fucking know,” Sam snapped. Then he heaved again, crying out.
On Sam’s other side, Harris had frozen. He held Sam’s hand but couldn’t speak, could only watch as Sam writhed on the hospital bed. Valen wanted to hug Harris, wanted to tell him this wouldn’t be like his previous omega’s birth. But how would they know until it ended?
Valen gripped Sam’s hand, stroking his hair, pressing kisses to his forehead. Harris finally moved closer, squeezing Sam’s shoulder. He still couldn’t speak, his eyes dark with despair.
“It’ll be okay,” Valen told both of them. Sam grimaced, and Harris swallowed.
Sam pushed. The doctor and midwife monitored him and the baby, and Valen couldn’t help absorbing some of Harris’ fear. What if something happened, and he lost his Sam? What if they lost their baby? It was far too terrible to think about.
Then Landon slid out of Sam, and Sam sagged into the bed, panting, his skin gleaming with sweat.
Harris stared at Sam, then the baby, his eyes wide and disbelieving. Sam sucked in a shuddering breath. Valen watched them both. Sam was alive. The baby squirmed in the doctor’s hands, all bloody. The birth was over.
“Sam—Sam’s okay?” Harris croaked. He leaned bonelessly into the bed, staring as the midwife brought Landon over to Sam, blood smeared across their baby. Landon wailed, his tiny fists clenched.
“Sam’s okay,” Sam said, smiling up at Harris. Harris’ hands shook around the bed railings, waves of relief rolling off him.
“Landon seems to be a healthy baby,” the midwife said, her eyes crinkling. “Congrats.”
Sam gave a shaky laugh as he hugged their baby to his chest. Landon was tiny in Sam’s arms, his eyes squeezed shut, his fists clenched. “Hello, Landon,” Sam breathed. He rocked Landon in his arms, and gradually, Landon quieted.
Valen choked up, just watching them both. He leaned in, gathered Sam and Landon in his arms. “I love you both,” Valen whispered.
Then Harris leaned in, too, and his eyes were bright, filled with tears. Valen’s throat grew tight. He caught Harris’ nape, pressed a kiss to Harris’ forehead.
“I told you they’d be fine,” Valen whispered. Harris cracked a smile, didn’t even protest when Valen kissed his lips.
Harris pulled Sam and Landon against himself, dropping kisses onto Sam’s hair. “Gods, Sam,” Harris whispered, his voice hoarse. “I was so afraid.”
Sam beamed, tipping his face up. Harris kissed Sam fiercely; something in Valen roared.
My family, he thought. They’re all mine.
“Want to hold him?” Sam asked when they broke the kiss, looking up at Harris, then Valen.
Harris nodded at Valen. “V first.”
Valen gulped. Sam held Landon out, and Valen stopped breathing. Carefully took his son into his arms. Landon was so tiny in his hands, warm and damp. He made a small, soft sound when Valen held him, and he was so real. So very human.
Landon was his flesh and blood. He almost looked exactly like Valen in Valen’s baby pictures, with his little nose, his dark eyebrows. Looking down at him, Valen felt a connection to his son, one he hadn’t anticipated.
Maybe he could do this. Maybe he could be a decent dad. Maybe, with Sam and Harris beside him, he could avoid the mistakes his own parents had made. And maybe he wanted Landon in his life, wanted to see Landon flourish as he grew older, smiling at everyone.
Valen cradled his baby closer to himself, half-afraid of crushing him. He blinked his own tears away. When he looked up, he found his alpha and omega both watching him, soft smiles on their faces.
“Okay?” Harris asked quietly.
Valen nodded, handing the baby to Harris. Harris cradled their son close, pressing a kiss to Landon’s head. “Welcome to the family, son,” Harris murmured. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Valen choked up again, and when he met Sam’s gaze, he found Sam teary, too.
“You did great,” Valen said, pulling Sam into a tight hug. “I love you all.”
Sam leaned into him, smelling like dahlia and sweat, like omega and ours. “Love you too.”
Then Harris handed Landon back to Sam, and pulled Valen and Sam against him. “Ours,” he murmured, meeting Sam’s eyes, then Valen’s. “Can’t wait to bring you all home.”
With Landon born healthy, and with Sam safe in their arms, Valen felt the same. He dragged his wrist over Landon’s forehead, then Sam’s throat, and Harris did the same. Pulled them all close.
They were family, and nothing would tear them apart.
Epilogue
Sam padded down the stairs, a load of dirty clothes in his laundry hamper, Harris behind him with another load. It was one of Valen and Harris’ days off, a calm wintry morning.
“That’s great,” Valen’s voice rang through the kitchen. “Now, let’s try again.”
Something bounced off the floor, small and light.
“Almost,” Valen said. “C’mon. One more time, Landon.”
Something else bounced. Valen’s voice held a bit of a smile. “I swear, one of these days, we’ll get there.”
Behind Sam, Harris snorted. “Gods, not again.”
Sam reached the landing, turning to
