Desmond leans in toward Neal slightly.
“Matthew.”
Neal smiles brightly. He looks up and sees that the doctors are holding this tiny little baby over the screen and that’s his son- he almost can’t believe that this day is finally here.
“I think Alex should hold him first.”
Alex doesn’t hear that. He doesn’t hear anything- he’s far too transfixed with the little baby who’s all pink and squirming and his. He blinks and then the doctors are there, putting the baby- Matthew, just Matthew, no middle name; he’s too small for a middle name- in his arms. He thinks the way he holds Matthew is more instinct than any actual knowledge, but whatever the reason he seems to be doing this right. He has no idea what to say- they’ve spent so long waiting for this very moment and he still can’t find the right words or even the right thoughts- so he just stares down at Matthew instead.
Desmond rests his chin on the pillow next to Neal’s head.
“I think he looks like you.”
“No,” Neal mutters. “He looks like you.” He slowly reaches out to touch a hand to Matthew’s cheek. “Hi, baby. You took such a long time to get here, but now you are, it seems like we only found out about you yesterday. You are so small and so special and so loved and… Oh, I think your sister wants to join us.” He turns to look back towards the doctors, waiting more impatiently than he probably should for them to deliver his daughter. He knows that Desmond is leaning over him slightly, cooing over Matthew and that’s wonderful, but he needs to concentrate on their daughter right now. He thinks that this feels so different now to a minute ago, when Matthew was being born and he wonders if that’s normal (every baby is different, after all) or if he’s just forgotten already (the doctors did warn him that the whole procedure might be a little fuzzy for him because of the anesthesia). He decides that none of it matters though because there’s more of that wonderful crying and his baby girl is here, being held up by the doctors so that he can see her. He relaxes then- the procedure isn’t quite over yet, but he did his job; he got the babies here and they’re safe and healthy and not quite happy yet, but this is a big thing for them so he thinks that’s okay. He blinks a few times- he’s starting to get tired, but he knows that he’s not allowed to fall asleep yet. He turns to the side to look at Desmond and smiles sleepily.
“It’s your turn.”
“Don’t you want to hold her?”
“I carried them both for nine months- I think it’s only fair you and Alex get a go.”
Desmond smiles gratefully and nods briefly. He turns towards the doctors and they can’t put the baby, Elizabeth, in his arms fast enough. He stares down at Elizabeth for a few seconds before shifting around slightly and turning Elizabeth towards Neal.
“What do you think?”
“Beautiful.” Neal reaches out and runs his fingers down Elizabeth’s cheek. “You have Daddy Alex’s eyebrows already, though- we’re very sorry for that, but it won’t stop us loving you; nothing would ever do that.” He smiles at Elizabeth for a few seconds before looking up at Desmond. “She’s so tiny.”
“I know,” Desmond mutters without tearing his eyes away from Elizabeth. “They all seem small, but I’m sure she’s smaller than any of the others ever were, but just as beautiful, just as special, just as loved.”
“Just as loud,” Neal adds.
“Even louder.” Desmond lifts Elizabeth up and presses a kiss to her forehead. He looks over at Alex. “Do you wanna trade? Alex? Alex?”
“What?” Alex’s head snaps up. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything’s fine. I just wondered if you wanted to swap.” Desmond nods down towards Elizabeth.
“Oh.” Alex looks down at Matthew. A part of him, the selfish parts, wants to keep hold and never let go, but another part of him wants so desperately to hold Elizabeth in the same way. “Uh…”
“I’m afraid you won’t have time for that right now. We need to take them…”
“No.” Alex clutches Matthew tightly.
“Just to check them over.” The doctor holds his hands up. “We need to make sure that they’re healthy.”
“It’s okay.” Desmond presses another kiss to Elizabeth’s forehead before handing her very carefully over to the nurse who’s stood in front of him. He stands up and walks over to Alex. “Don’t worry- they’ll be safe. We just need to make sure that they’re really okay.”
“I don’t want them to go.”
“They’re coming back. They’re here, they’re ours and we’re not going to let anything happen to them, but right now the doctors need to check them over.”
“Do you promise they’re coming back? They’re coming right back?”
“I promise.” Desmond leans in and gently lifts Matthew out of Alex’s arms. He gently bounces Matthew a couple of times before handing him to another nurse. He puts a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “The doctors will take very good care of them. Now, we need to make sure they fix Neal up properly, right Neal? Neal?” He turns to look at Neal. “Neal!”
“What?” Neal’s eyes snap open.
“You’re not supposed to be falling asleep.”
“Uh… I didn’t?"
Desmond rolls his eyes and walks back over to his chair. He sits down and takes hold of Neal’s hand.
“Just stay awake a little while longer, okay? Just until they finish fixing you up. Please. For me?”
“I’d do anything for you. And you.” Neal turns his head to the other side, expecting to see Alex, but what he sees instead is the door banging shut.
“I wondered how long he’d last.”
“Where did he go?” Neal frowns slightly and turns back to face Desmond.
“Probably to hover around the doctors checking on the babies.”
“Well, that’s nice- I don’t want them to be alone- but you’ll stay here, won’t you? You’ll stay with me?”
“Always.”
***
Desmond walks down the corridor to Neal’s room.
“Hey.” Desmond walks over and sits in the chair next to Neal’s bed. He smiles softly and takes hold of Neal’s hand. “I thought you were sleeping.”
“Woke up.” Neal shrugs. He glances around the room again, even though he knows nothing will have changed since he looked around when he first woke up just a few minutes ago. “The babies are…”
“Oh, well, they are sleeping- they’re down in the nursery right now to give us a bit of time.”
“And Alex is with them?”
“Actually, no- I managed to persuade him to go and get us some food. I’m sure he’ll be back here soon, though.”
Neal nods slowly. He stifles a yawn and rearranges himself back against the pillows.
Desmond runs a hand through Neal’s hair.
“You want me to ask him to get you something?”
Neal doesn’t get a chance to respond because the next second he knows Alex is bursting into the room.
Alex stops and takes a few seconds to catch his breath before rushing over to Neal.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Neal smiles softly and reaches a hand out towards Alex.
Alex lets out a brief sigh of relief before sitting down in the chair by Neal’s bed, on the opposite side of Desmond.
“Uh… Alex?”
Alex reluctantly tears his gaze away from Neal to look at Desmond.
“What?”
“Food?”
Alex frowns at Desmond.
“You were going to get us food.”
Alex’s frown deepens.
“Never mind.” Desmond rolls his eyes, but smiles fondly. “I’ll go get something.” He leans over and presses a kiss to Neal’s cheek. “You want something too then?”
“Uh…” Neal thinks carefully for a moment. “Cookies.”
“Cookies?” Desmond can’t stop himself from laughing. “Guess that’s not just a pregnancy craving after all.”
***
Desmond is back in Neal’s room, s
itting by the bed, barely a bite into his sandwiches (Alex’s food is left completely ignored, but Neal has already devoured one cookie and is part way through the next) when the door opens. He turns around to see who’s there, but he doesn’t really need to- Neal’s laugh of joy and Alex’s gasp of surprise (and probably a generous amount of fear) tells him that at least one of the babies is here. He barely looks at the nurse before turning his attention to the bundle in her arms- that’s Elizabeth, he knows for sure because she’s so small and wearing a little pink hat.
“Someone wanted some food.” The nurse walks over, but hesitates by the side of the bed.
“I’ll take her.” Neal puts his cookie down on the cabinet next to his bed and then reaches out to take Elizabeth into his arms. He’s never held her before, not properly, but he feels as if she belongs right here. “Hi.” He lifts Elizabeth up and kisses her forehead. “Don’t cry. We’ll get you your food right now.”
“Hungry and loud?” Desmond laughs softly and shakes his head. “Oh, yeah- she’s definitely ours.”
“What about Matthew?” Alex looks up at the nurse. “Is he hungry too?”
“I’m sure he’ll be along in a minute. They’re very similar already.” The nurse hands the bottle to Neal. “Would you like me to…”
“I can do this. I fed babies before- Giselle, she’s my niece, and Ollison, Elizabeth and Matthew’s sister. I know what I’m doing.” Neal holds the bottle to Elizabeth’s mouth. “Here is your food. Now, are you going to be a good girl and drink it all up or do we have to have a talk?”
Elizabeth stops crying and blinks a few times before starting to drink from the bottle.
“Good girl.” Neal looks up and grins. “I did that.”
Desmond watches Neal and Elizabeth for a minute or so before speaking.
“The rate she’s going, she’ll be asking for your cookie soon.”
“She can have all my cookies.”
“Oh, you know what that means, Libby?” Desmond leans towards Elizabeth. “That means he really loves you.”
“Of course I do- she’s my little girl.”
“Our little girl.”
“Yes.” Neal nods. “Ours.”
Alex isn’t sure how long he’s been sat here, watching this scene before finally speaking.
“Can I… Can I try?”
“Oh.” Neal looks over at Alex. “Of course you… Yes. You… Yes, but you should take her soon- I think she will cry even louder if we take away her food for long.”
Alex realizes that he’s shaking as he reaches out to take hold of Elizabeth and wonders if he’s ever going to stop being nervous about having these babies.
“What if she doesn’t like me?”
“Oh, Alex; you were supposed to stop worrying when they got here.”
“That’s… It’s a lot harder than I thought.”
“You can do this.” Neal very carefully places Elizabeth in Alex’s arms. “Now, take this.” He gives Alex the bottle and then guides Alex’s hand and the bottle towards Elizabeth’s mouth. “See.”
Alex nods briefly and mutters some kind of response, but he’s far more interested in just watching Elizabeth and every last little thing she does. He’s spent the last nine months (though it’s more like seven since he found out) imagining this moment, imaging his baby, and Elizabeth is already so much more than he could ever have imagined.
Neal smiles softly. He knows that Elizabeth will be safe with Alex and that there’s no way he’ll get any conversation out of Alex, the way he’s focused on Elizabeth, so he turns towards Desmond.
“Will they bring our Matty down soon?”
“I’m sure they will.” Desmond rests his hand on top of Neal’s hand.
“I miss them.” Neal laughs lightly and shakes his head. “I know I spent the whole time complaining about being pregnant, but now they’re not living inside of me, it feels strange. Everything is different. I don’t remember how to be like this.”
“You’re not remembering, Neal- you’ve got to be something different now. You have babies, we have babies. It is different and we just have to get used to that. I can’t wait to see how we do.”
***
Desmond walks over and wraps his arms around Alex’s waist. He rests his chin on Alex’s shoulder and peers over towards the cribs where Matthew and Elizabeth are sleeping.
“You don’t have to watch over them twenty four hours a day.”
“I have to do something.”
“They’re sleeping- there isn’t anything you can do right now.”
“But… I can’t just do nothing.”
“Soon enough, when they’re crying through the night, you’ll treasure the minutes they’re sleeping. These are the times when you get some time to yourself, when you get to do whatever you want.”
“What I want is to be with them.”
“Trust me you’re gonna want some time alone soon, some time to relax, so why don’t you go and practice now?”
“And leave them?” Alex turns around to face Desmond and his eyes go wide. “Neal too?”
“In case you hadn’t realized, Neal is also sleeping and I am here in case anything happens so take some time for yourself- it might be the last time for a long while.”
Alex chews nervously on his lower lip. He looks down at Matthew and Elizabeth and then looks over at Neal and back again.
“Seriously, take five minutes- get a coffee or… well, coffee would probably make you even more jittery. Get a tea or call your mom or your friends or even Boris, I don’t care- just take some time for you.”
Alex looks hesitant again.
“Go.” Desmond gently nudges Alex towards the door.
“Five minutes.” Alex points at Desmond. “That’s it.” He starts walking towards the door, but stops by Neal’s bed and squeezes Neal’s hand tightly for a second before leaving the room.
Desmond rolls his eyes, but smiles fondly as he watches Alex leave. He walks over and sits down in the chair next to Neal’s bed. He takes hold of Neal’s hand.
“He’s never going to change, is he?”
***
Alex returns to Neal’s room exactly five minutes later (and maybe he’s been hovering outside the door for the last minute and eighteen seconds, but never mind that), but he’s barely gotten a couple of steps into the room when the sight before him makes him stop.
“So this is why you wanted to get rid of me?”
“Uh…” Desmond looks down- he’s sat in a chair at the far side of the room and he’s got Matthew cradled in one arm and Elizabeth cradled in the other. He slowly lifts his head to look at Alex. “Well, no, but…”
Alex puts his hands on his hips and gives Desmond a serious look.
“You look like Neal when you do that.”
Alex narrows his gaze slightly.
“You’re not getting out if it that easily. What is going on?”
“They are mine, too- I am allowed to hold them.”
Alex slowly shakes his head.
“Okay. Okay. You wanna sit down?” Desmond nods towards the empty seat next to him.
Alex hesitates for a few seconds before walking over and sitting down.
“You wanna take one?” Desmond starts to move slightly.
“No, it’s okay. They seem… settled with you.”
Desmond smiles softly. He shifts back to a slightly more comfortable position in the chair. He looks down at Matthew and Elizabeth for a few seconds before looking up at Alex again.
“This is new for you and for Neal, too. I know you’ve both been around babies before- you’ve fed them and changed them and held them- but these are your own and I know it feels different. I want to give you the time to get used to it all, but I want time with them too, you know. I want to sit and get to know them. I wanna bond with them too, but you’re always hovering around- that’s great, you should be concerned, but you don’t have to be so… I just want a bit of time with them myself, okay? And everything I said before wa
s still true- you will need time alone and some quiet and… Yeah.”
Alex frowns heavily and studies Desmond carefully for a moment.
“I’m… monopolizing?”
“Kinda, but it’s fine, really- I just… sometimes I want time alone with them too.”
Alex sighs lightly and nods.
“I should… That makes sense, of course you should have time with them, but I just miss them too much when I’m not with them.”
“Wanna know a secret?”
Alex frowns slightly, but nods.
“That’s never gonna change.” Desmond smiles softly. “Now, are you gonna take one of them? I’ll even let you pick.”
Alex rolls his eyes. He reaches over, but hesitates for a few seconds before eventually picking up Matthew (only because he hasn’t spent quite as much time with him as he has with Elizabeth). He winces slightly because he thinks Matthew is going to wake up.
“I wouldn’t worry so much- he’ll probably wake up and need feeding or changing soon anyway.”
Alex mutters some kind of acknowledgment and then focuses on Matthew. He looks up at Desmond a few minutes later and, even though Desmond is seemingly entranced by Elizabeth, he speaks.
“How do you think we’re doing so far?”
Desmond glances over at Alex and smiles brightly.
“I think we’re doing perfectly.”
***
“Well, yes, that makes sense.” Neal looks down at Elizabeth, who’s sleeping in his arms. He smiles brightly and looks up again after a few seconds. “Who wouldn’t want time alone with them?”
“I can’t think of anyone.” Desmond sets Matthew down in his crib and slowly backs away.
“I think we should really do this- all have alone time with the babies. Then there’ll be time when there’s just two of us with the babies- like when you go back to racing, Alex- and then there’ll be times when there’s all three of us with the babies and then when there’s all of us and the babies and Lukas and Andrea and Bella and Max and Ollison and then…”
“Okay, Neal.” Desmond puts his hand on Neal’s shoulder. “Basically, what you’re saying is that the only people who don’t get alone time with the babies are the babies.”
“Oh, yeah- we’re not gonna leave them alone until they’re like thirty. At least.”
The Omega's Unexpected Baby: An MPREG Romance Page 13
