“I can walk, you know,” Ian whispered.
“Yeah, but I’m your alpha. I want to make sure you’ll be okay.”
Ian rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.
Dr. Smith took a tube from a tray, flipping it open. Ian pulled his shirt up, and the doctor squeezed a dollop of gel onto him. It was pale blue, clear, and Ian shivered. “I always forget how warm the gel is.”
Brad hovered close to the bed, touching Ian’s calf, waiting as the doctor pressed the ultrasound wand to Ian’s belly. She spread the gel around, and black-and-white speckles formed on the computer screen.
A few taps on the keyboard later, the images began to resolve themselves. Brad held his breath. Stepped closer, staring as he began to make out little shapes—the baby’s head, his spine, his tiny arms.
That was their baby, right there.
“It’s about ten inches long from head to heel,” Smith said, moving the wand this way and that. She tapped on the keyboard, snapping pictures of the baby. Ian’s eyes had glued onto the screen, and Brad saw the way Ian looked at their child, hopeful, excited.
“How is the baby?” Ian asked, almost breathless.
Smith studied the fetus from different angles. “It appears to be developing well, but we’ll have to look at the amniotic fluid analysis to have a better picture.”
Ian nodded, his hands curling into fists.
Dr. Smith glanced at Brad and Ian. “Do you want to see the baby for yourself? That is, I am assuming you’re Ian’s alpha.”
24
Brad
Brad met Ian’s eyes. Aside from June and the alphas at the station, they hadn’t gone public with their relationship in front of anyone else.
“Yes,” Ian said, holding Brad’s gaze. “He’s my alpha.”
That made Brad’s heart soar so high, he couldn’t speak. He hadn’t expected that of Ian, when Ian hardly held hands with Brad in public. The few times they had... Brad cherished those moments.
Brad realized he was smiling when his face started to ache from it. And Ian blushed, his lips twitching.
Dr. Smith handed Ian the ultrasound wand. Brad crowded close to Ian’s side, cupping Ian’s hands in his own. Together, they turned the wand around, moving it this way and that, the image on the screen shifting along with the wand.
“He’s so tiny,” Ian murmured.
“He’s ours,” Brad whispered, and Ian blushed.
It felt good, doing this with his omega. Admiring the life they’d created in Ian’s belly.
“I’ll have to see you again in a month, Ian,” Smith said kindly. “At your age, the risks of pregnancy are higher—both for you and the baby. We’ll have to perform more frequent tests to make sure your body is coping.”
Ian’s hands tensed against Brad.
“I’ll be there,” Brad told him. “It’ll be okay.”
“You don’t know that,” Ian said, his shoulders sagging.
Brad thought about the possibility of complications, of the pregnancy taking its toll on Ian. Perhaps even taking Ian’s life. His stomach twisted.
“Are complications common?” Brad asked Smith. “With... with omegas at Ian’s age.”
Smith frowned. “Sometimes. There are different risk factors, but Ian’s medical history puts him at an advantage.”
There was still Gwen’s heart defect, though.
“What about the baby’s heart?” Brad asked, suddenly worried. “Is it okay?”
“I’ve listened to the fetal heartbeat—it’s perfectly fine at this stage.”
Brad blew out a breath. At least, they wouldn’t have to worry about that for now.
He couldn’t help thinking about his mother, though, the months after losing her, and the grief that had torn through him. The dream earlier had been far too real. What if—
“At what point during the pregnancy should we... stop sexual activity?” Ian blurted. “I mean, intercourse.”
Brad stared. Realized that Ian had just gone and mentioned they were fucking, on top of having a relationship. And there Brad had expected to be asking that question himself, at some point during this visit.
Thrown off his moody thoughts, Brad gaped. He glanced at the doctor, and back at Ian. Ian really wanted the sex. Enough to come out and say it, even before Brad did.
“Really?” Brad murmured.
Ian blushed.
“As long as you experience no pain, feel free to participate in it,” Smith said with a smile. “I will suggest refraining from rough activity, however.”
Ian ducked his head, nodding vigorously. “Thank you.”
Brad slipped his hand into Ian’s, his grin creeping through his face. Ian wanted more of him. Brad couldn’t wait until tonight, when he could snuggle with Ian in bed, slide deep inside his omega.
They returned the ultrasound wand to Smith, who set it on a steel tray. “Whenever you’re ready for the amniocentesis,” she said, looking at Ian.
Ian whined, but he nodded. “I’m ready.”
Brad watched as the doctor pulled a syringe from a drawer, its needle twice as long as the body of the syringe.
“Holy fuck,” he said, horrified. That needle was going into Ian?
Ian squeezed his eyes shut.
Brad leaned in close to his omega, watching as Smith pressed the ultrasound wand to Ian’s belly. She paused after a while, disinfected Ian’s skin, and Ian sucked in a shaky breath.
Brad cradled Ian’s head. Held Ian’s hand, pressing kisses to Ian’s forehead, his cheeks, his mouth. Ian’s nails bit into Brad’s hand when the needle pierced his skin; Brad looked up at the ultrasound image, his chest aching for his omega. It looked painful.
“You’re so brave,” Brad whispered. “I love you.”
Ian whimpered.
When Smith finally pulled the needle out, Brad gathered Ian into his arms. Held him close, kissing his lips. Ian shivered against him.
“You may experience cramps for the next few hours,” Smith said, transferring Ian’s amniotic fluid into a lab test tube. “Refrain from sex, and lifting anything heavy for the rest of the day. It’s recommended that you take the rest of the day off.”
“Okay.” Ian leaned into Brad, pressing his face into Brad’s abs.
Brad stroked his head, trying to imagine taking a needle like that into his own body. That wasn’t so bad, if he were the one. But Ian, and their baby... That wasn’t
