Chapter Nineteen
Rook
Once we confirmed that my omega was pregnant, things moved fast in some ways but not in others. The baby was growing inside him, but he still lived in town and was not here nearly enough to suit me.
When I brought up the subject, he had one excuse after another.
His rent was paid up; he was close to work.
He wanted to sort through his things, so he didn’t bring a lot that he would rather just get rid of.
I’d held out so far, not wanting to push him to do something he wasn’t ready for, but when I spoke with him on the phone and he was feeling sick or was trying to get up the energy to make himself some soup, my cat had fits.
We should be taking care of him. His excuses were just that, and I couldn’t figure him out.
I had answers for all of those things, and on the day of a very important healer visit, I was determined to pin him down.
Our healer, Jingie, was not a shifter, but certainly not human.
They were something special, for sure, and each time we visited, their presence created a calm that lasted for the rest of the day.
“Well,” they asked when we were settled in the ultrasound room, “how much information would you like from me today?”
“What?” Startled, I tightened my grip in Idris’ hand, releasing and patting it when he squeaked. “Information?”
“Yes. I am confident you would like to know the health status of the pregnancy, but do you want to know gender? Number of babies? Animals?”
“You can tell which of our beasts they have inherited?” Intrigued, I studied the machine rolled up next to the table. “Just from an ultrasound?”
“No.” They chuckled. “I have that from the blood test.”
“We have discussed the gender issue,” Idris said. “And we have decided to wait and learn that at the birth, but we definitely want to know how many little ones are swimming in there. We have to have enough beds.”
“And diapers,” I put in.
“Oh, you can never have enough diapers.” Our healer picked up a bottle and held it over Idris’ rounded belly. “Okay, no gender reveal for you, but about the animals?”
We looked at one another and I shrugged. “Up to you, omega.”
“I think I’d like to wait on that as well, if you’re sure you’re all right doing that, alpha.” Resting his free hand on his tummy, he gave an affectionate caress. “Let them reveal when they are ready.”
“Might be a while,” Jingie warned. “Not all babies shift very young.”
“We’ll wait.” I kissed my omega on the cheek. “It’s just one aspect of their personality, and there will be many.”
“I like that.” Idris lay back and turned his face toward the screen. “Can you show us the baby or babies without revealing gender? If that’s even possible because I do want to see them.”
“Yes.” But the healer turned the machine slightly. “I’ll make sure of it.”
He squeezed the bottle and covered my omega’s bump with gel then moved the transducer—if I got the name right—around and then turned the screen back to us. “There you go. Your twins are modest. No bits showing at all.”
“Did you get a look, Healer?” I asked. “Before they got shy?”
“Yes…why? Changing your mind about learning more?”
“No!” Idris barked then flushed. He still did that all the time. “I mean…unless you have, Rook?”
“Not me. I was just curious if the healer knew. I can’t help it. It’s like having someone know what the Christmas presents are, and I want to beg for hints but also to be surprised on Christmas morning.”
We did not find out, but at some point, one of us caught on to something else the healer had said.
“Jingie…twins?” Idris’ voice rang with delight. “Two babies?”
“Unless there’s a third hiding in there somewhere, but so far I’ve only picked up two heartbeats, so I’m fairly sure it’s only twins.”
“Only.” I tried to picture us taking care of two babies, making sure they had everything they needed.
Would we need to take turns sleeping? Hire a nanny or a manny?
When I came out of the mental fog, it was to hear my omega chatting with the healer as if two babies were an everyday thing.
And as he discussed his tentative birth plan and what he hoped to do for the next few months, I realized it was.
Shifter multiples were more ordinary than singles, so why I had imagined we’d only have one was a mystery.
The healer left the room, and I let out a breath.
“Alpha, are you ready?” Idris was wiping his belly with a wet wipe. “I thought we could get a bite to eat on the way home.”
“Omega, don’t you think it’s time home meant one we share? If you don’t like the mountain place, we can find another house or I’ll move into your apartment with you. It’s up to you, but I can’t stand thinking about you all alone when you’re carrying our twins and might need something.”
“Alpha, I—”
“Hear me out! It’s your call in everything if you’ll only allow me to sleep at your side every night. No demands, if you don’t want there to be more.”
He dropped the wipe in the waste basket and pulled his shirt down over his tummy before reaching out his arms. His expanding bump made it tricky but worth every attempt to get him as close in my embrace as possible.
“Alpha, I want more than just sleeping at your side. I’ve been packing all week and planned to surprise you by showing up with my car full of boxes, but since you brought it up…
May I move in tonight? If you drop me off, I’ll pick up my stuff. ”
“Omega, we’ll pick up your stuff together. What about your furniture?”
“Most of it has already been donated or junked depending on condition. With both our cars, we can get everything, and I’ll just need to come back on the weekend to clean.”
I lifted him in my arms and strode out of the exam room, past a not-startled-at-all-appearing Jingie. “Healer,” I asked, “Do you know of a good cleaning service? My omega is moving out of his apartment this week.”
“The young man who cleans here might have an opening. Let me get you his card.” He opened a desk drawer in the reception area and found it, handed it over. “Congratulations, you two. It’s about time.”
And wasn’t it, though.
My cat purred.