46. Beckett
Chapter 46
Beckett
W e had been home for four days, and they were four of the best days I’d had in recent memory. With no band obligations, we spent all our time together, looking after our heavily pregnant omega.
Meadow had been spending most of her time in the nest, but when she wanted a little movement, she would go for a dip in the pool. We never complained; getting to see her in tiny swimsuits would always be a win. There was something about the rounded stomach that made my inner alpha want to beat his chest with joy, even though I wasn’t the reason she was in that state. She was beautiful and all ours.
Phin had been cooking nonstop, and enjoying every minute of it. Meadow could only eat small portions this late in the pregnancy, but she never turned down a nibble when Phin presented her with some new plate.
The strawberry salad with feta and balsamic glaze had been a success in my books, which shocked me, considering I staunchly believed that fruit didn’t belong in a salad. Phin had been insisting we all had to expand our palates, so the baby didn’t take cues from us when they started solid food and refused stuff for no reason.
Meadow was taking a nap in the nest while I vacuumed the hallway. We had been cleaning pretty regularly to ensure the house was in good condition when the baby came. We had discussed hiring cleaners, to ensure everything was in tip-top shape, but Meadow didn’t like the idea of someone else being in her space this close to the birth. Luckily, the home we’d purchased in Lakelyn Fields had been professionally cleaned before they’d put it on the market, and I’d snapped it up that same day.
Pregnancy nesting was a whole other kind of crazy. Omegas were possessive of their nests at the best of times. When they were preparing to have a child, they went into overdrive. Meadow had cleaned the new nursery and her nest, rearranging everything time and time again, and every time she would stress that it wasn’t good enough and redo the entire thing.
“Beck?” Meadow’s small voice called out behind me.
I turned off the vacuum and spun around, jolting to see her immediately behind me. Sometimes she moved like a ninja.
Her face was pinched with obvious discomfort. That wasn’t entirely unusual this late in her pregnancy. She had been experiencing a lot of lower back pain, and we had been regularly giving her back massages and foot rubs, because on top of everything else her body was going through, her ankles had started to swell.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” I asked. “You need to be resting. You hardly slept last night. Are your Braxton Hicks worse?”
The practice contractions were so unfair. It wasn’t enough that Meadow would have to go through labor, but she had to have practice labor pains. She was starting to get dark circles under her eyes, which was upsetting, because we were desperately hoping she could rest before the baby came.
Meadow shook her head, her voice shaking as she told me, “I-I think these are real labor pains.”
That was all I needed to hear to spring into action. Guiding Meadow to the den that was nearby, I sat her down on the couch before grabbing my phone and texting the pack group chat.
Beckett:
BABY TIME!
I probably should have added a little more detail, but I simply shoved my phone back into my pocket, returning my attention to Meadow, who was breathing deeply as she clutched her belly.
“What do you want to do?” I asked her.
A large part of me wanted to take control and run the situation, but Meadow had her own plans. She had discussed every addition and adjustment with us, but I figured I would ask, in case the reality of the impending birth had her changing her mind.
Now was not the time to make any mistakes.
“I need to get changed.” She spoke through gritted teeth.
I resisted the urge to ask her why she needed to get changed. She was wearing one of my oversized crew neck shirts, which pulled tightly over the bump, and a pair of sleeping shorts. With her hair piled on the top of her head, she looked downright adorable.
“Do you want my help?” I asked, even though I knew there was no way in hell she was going to be able to get changed on her own.
We also needed to start timing the contractions. I remembered that much, so I pulled out my phone.
She nodded. “I want to wear the blue birthing gown I got. There’s no point taking it to the hospital to put it on there. And I need the hospital bag.”
Hendrix dashed into the room. “I can do that!” He went straight over to Meadow and grabbed her hand, kissing the top of her head. “You’re amazing. I’m feeling only a fraction of what you feel through the bond, and I’m pretty sure my balls will never be the same again!”
Meadow laughed. “I think that’s only fair, considering you got me into this situation!”
Hendrix glared playfully at her. “I’ll have you know, it was your munching ways that got you into this situation. I fully believe that the bite came before the baby conception!”
“I was just following instructions, remember.” She shrugged with a giggle.
“Such a good girl.” He chuckled. “I’ll go get your bag while Arlo brings the car around front and Beckett gets you comfortable. Phin is throwing together a few snack boxes for you to eat if the doctors give you permission.”
Meadow groaned. “That sounds perfect.”
I almost asked if Phin had packed enough for all of us, but as Meadow groaned, clutching her stomach again, I was reminded that this situation wasn’t about me.
Gently taking Meadow’s hand, I grinned at her. Our lives were about to change forever. “Let’s go have a baby!”
Thirty hours later, and Meadow’s labor wasn’t progressing much. Arlo had rushed us all to the hospital while she had whimpered and moaned through her contractions, talking normally one moment, clutching her belly in pain the next.
“Someone needs to serve your spawn with an eviction notice!” Meadow snarled at Hendrix, who just nodded in agreement, knowing better than to do otherwise right now. He was holding on to her hand through every contraction, and judging by his pale, pinched look, he had been feeling every one of those contractions through the bond.
“Surely I’ve got to be dilated to a ten now?” she asked as sweat dripped down her brow.
I really hoped she was. Her labor was slow, and we were all exhausted from lack of sleep, so Meadow probably felt terrible. The baby needed to hurry up, so his sweet mama could rest.
Phin lightly pushed Hendrix, taking his position opposite me, next to Meadow’s head. In his hand, he had a bento box with easy nibbles he had been slowly feeding her, since, thankfully, our hospital was relaxed about letting expectant mothers eat during labor. If Meadow had been hungry on top of everything else she was going through, it probably would have resulted in some sort of violence.
Meadow was an aggressive omega when hangry. I had learned that the hard way when we had been so distracted with nest building, I had forgotten to encourage her to eat and she had thrown a roll of onesies at my head. A second later, she had burst into tears because pregnancy was a wild ride, and her emotions were everywhere.
“Can one of you guys go get a nurse to check me? Things are starting to feel different,” Meadow asked in a breathless voice.
“I’ll go,” Arlo said, quickly disappearing through the door that led to the nurses’ station.
“We still need to agree on a name,” Hendrix said from where he was massaging her ankles. We had discussed names briefly over the course of her pregnancy, everyone tossing out ones they liked as they thought of them, but we hadn’t settled on one.
“Don’t make me think right now,” Meadow growled, but it came out more like a groan.
“ Baby works for me!” Hendrix said in a chipper tone, making us all laugh.
“Hey, Meadow.” The nice nurse who had been taking care of her popped her head in. “Your alpha said you wanted another check to see if you’ve come along any further. Are you sure? You still had a way to go last time we checked.”
Meadow nodded. “I’m sure!”
The nurse did a check, and her eyes widened. “Okay. It seems like you have progressed nicely. I’ll go get the doctor. I think we’ll be having a baby soon!”
“Oh, thank god!” Meadow sighed in relief.
“I didn’t know a little human nugget could be so perfect,” Phin cooed as he gazed in awe at the baby in Meadow’s arms.
“He’s so small. Should he be so small?” Arlo asked, looking over Phin’s shoulder.
Meadow snorted. “He is not small. A ten-pound baby is enormous! No wonder I felt like a whale at the end. My poor lady bits.” She giggled, delirious with exhaustion.
“I’ll kiss your bits better.” Arlo smirked at her, making her giggle even more.
Once the doctor came in, it was smooth sailing. Only thirty-five minutes of pushing later, Meadow was holding our son in her arms. I had thought I had seen how fantastic Meadow was, but watching her give birth to our son had been mind-blowing. She had taken everything in stride.
“I still like the name Forest,” Meadow said, smiling down at the wiggling bundle on her chest. They had been doing skin to skin for the last hour, and Meadow had a blissed-out look on her face.
It might have been the baby; it might have been the epidural.
We all nodded. That was a name we had discussed several times and seemed to keep coming back to.
Hendrix had suggested Bono at one point, but Meadow had instantly vetoed that.
“Forest Nicholas?” I asked. “Considering Christmas is just a few days away.”
Hendrix beamed. “Festive. I like it!”
Phin chuckled. “That’s my middle name, too! I’m more than happy to share it with our little Christmas nugget.” He leaned forward, lightly holding Forest’s tiny foot in his hand, admiring the tiny toenails.
I could already see Phin buying the baby a chicken nugget costume for Halloween. It would be adorable, if not hilarious.
Meadow sighed. “He’s absolutely perfect.”
“When can we have another?” Hendrix asked, his eyes locked on his son, a dopey loved-up look on his face.
Meadow snorted, turning her head to give him a stern look. “Mine is out of commission for the near future, so the moment you grow a vagina.”