“Surprise!” they said, beaming.
Wyatt laughed, staring at all of them. “What’s this for? It’s not even my birthday!”
“It’s your baby shower,” Raph said, hugging Wyatt from behind; Sam still hadn’t released him yet.
“A baby shower?” Wyatt wrapped his arms around Hazel when she wriggled into the group hug, looking around the apartment.
There were balloons strung up in every corner, satiny streamers dangling from them. A large paper banner hung across the wall, big colored-in letters reading Baby #2. A cheerful cake sat on the coffee table, and wrapped gifts lined the side of the couch, glittering in the sunlight.
Wyatt’s throat grew tight. Years ago, when he’d been carrying Hazel, he hadn’t the time or energy to consider a baby shower. So he hadn’t expected anything for this pregnancy, either—Raph was busy dealing with paperwork from Grandma’s death, and Penny and Sam each had their own lives to see to.
“It was Raph’s idea,” Sam said, grinning. “He said you’d love to have a baby shower. So we all got together and planned for today.”
“You needn’t have,” Wyatt choked, looking at Hazel’s grin, Penny’s smile, and Sam’s warm eyes. Then he met Raph’s gaze, and Raph slipped his hand up along Wyatt’s neck, his fingers catching in Wyatt’s hair.
“You’re doing great,” Raph said, brushing his thumb down Wyatt’s throat. “Thought you might like a small celebration.”
Wyatt blinked hard, his eyes prickling. “Gods, Raph. You’re not supposed to make me cry.”
Raph’s smile slipped. “You don’t like this?”
“I do!” Wyatt smiled through his tears, fumbling around until he caught Raph’s hand. “I just... I wasn’t expecting this.”
“You have family and friends,” Raph said, looking around at all of them. “I just wanted to remind you of that. So if you ever feel like you’re alone, or if you feel terrible about yourself, remember that you have people who love you.”
Wyatt’s lips trembled. Hazel frowned at Raph. “You’re making Dad cry again.”
“It’s happy tears, hon,” Wyatt said, his chest bursting with warmth. “It’s okay to cry happy tears.”
Hazel studied him dubiously, before leaning into Raph. “Okay.”
Penny joined the group hug, flinging her arms around Sam and Raph. “We also want you to know that we’ll be around for the next baby,” she said. “Call me anytime.”
“You haven’t found an alpha yet, Pen?” Raph asked, grinning.
“I’m married to my work,” Penny said, winking. “But I can always spare time for Aunt Penny visits!”
“Gods, I love all of you,” Wyatt said, hugging them tight. “I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Raph said, pressing a kiss to Wyatt’s neck. “C’mon, let’s go open your presents.”
“I can’t believe you kept this a secret from me,” Wyatt said, when they released him so he could walk. “And Hazel, too? Hon, you’ve been keeping secrets from me?”
“Dad said it’s okay,” Hazel said, glancing at Raph. “Because it’s a surprise for you.”
Raph grinned, his cheeks turning dark. He still hadn’t gotten over being Hazel’s dad, yet. Two months ago, they’d filed the paperwork for him to become Hazel’s legal guardian. Until now, Raph still wore a huge smile whenever he looked at their daughter. That, in itself, was amazing.
Wyatt followed them to the couch, sitting on Raph’s lap. Hazel knelt by the presents. Penny and Sam hung back behind her, matching smiles on their faces.
“This one’s from Aunt Penny,” Hazel said, handing a lumpy package to Wyatt.
Wyatt turned it over in his hands. “It’s soft.”
“Two hundred percent sure you’ll like it,” Penny said. “I got recommendations from Dr. Kinney.”
He tore the package open, feeling the press of Raph’s solid chest as Raph leaned in, looking over his shoulder. Penny’s gift was a light knitted blanket, all pale blue and gray and white, with a cow’s face for a hoodie. It would be perfect for the baby.
“It’s adorable,” Wyatt said, squeezing the soft fabric. “Thank you.”
Sam’s gift was a framed watercolor painting—of Wyatt, Raph, Hazel, and a newborn in Wyatt’s arms. Wyatt’s heart skipped a beat.
“My brother’s omega paints,” Sam said, grinning. “I commissioned it.”
Wyatt didn’t want to ask how much it had cost Sam—probably a lot. And it was precious, too, looking at the likeness of their faces in his hands. In the corner of the portrait, he found a signature by Felix Brentwood. “It’ll go up on the wall once I finish unwrapping everything. I can’t thank you enough for this, Sam.”
Sam laughed. “You’ll owe me, then!”
Wyatt grinned. “You’ll be seeing a lot of me in the future, when I pay my dues!”
The third gift was a car seat. “From Dad,” Penny said. “He’s all about the road safety.”
Wyatt laughed, and Raph kissed his neck.
The fourth gift was a stack of hand-drawn notes, in Mom’s handwriting. Wyatt flipped through them. This coupon entitles the holder to one free day of babysitting. There had to be sixty of the same coupon in the stack. Wyatt looked up, raising his eyebrows.
Penny laughed. “You can tell Mom really wants to babysit, too.”
Raph chuckled, slipping his arms around Wyatt’s belly. “Yeah, I’m not surprised.”
Wyatt blushed, swearing to himself that he’d visit with his parents more often.
When Hazel handed the fifth gift over, she wriggled, grinning widely. “This one is from Dad and me,” she said. “We spent a long time picking it out.”
Wyatt’s pulse quickened. He looked over his shoulder at Raph, who smiled. “Go on, open it.”
Past the wrapping paper, he found stacks of folded baby clothes—mittens, socks, onesies—all in different sizes, for when the baby grew. Most of them had cow prints on them, and at the bottom of the pile, there were four identical cow plushies.
“One for each of us,” Hazel said, hopping over to grab a cow in the middle. “That one’s mine.”
Wyatt laughed, hugging the remaining three to himself. “I’ve never seen you with plushies, Raph.
