Chapter Nine Days Until Christmas
Nine Days Until Christmas
Eden
Eden fills the silence nervously, unable to stop herself, her hands fidgeting with the hem of Tenor's sweater. "Maybe my suppressant prescription needs to be increased? I've been on the same dose for years but..."
"It's time, baby," Julius says. "I'm going to call."
The three of them watch him as he dials the number saved on his phone and insists on speaking to the doctor.
They're put on hold for a few tense minutes and Eden clutches at Tenor's hand now.
It's warm and reassuring and when he links their fingers together, she feels herself relax in small increments.
The anxiety is rolling off Julius in waves too, but outwardly he's holding it together pretty well. Probably for her.
"Hello, yes, thank you for speaking with me. My omega, Eden North, was in to see you on December 7. You wrote her a prescription for Amoxicillin and she's been having some heat spikes and heightened nesting instincts like she's..."
He trails off as the doctor says something too quiet for the rest of them to hear.
"No, that's what I'm saying. She's been on suppressants–"
The doctor says something else but Julius cuts her off, a growl accompanying his words. "Well why didn't you tell us that when you prescribed it?"
Eden can hear her voice saying something back that just makes Julius growl again, and her hand clutches Tenor's even more firmly. "No, we didn't fucking read the instruction page you sent us. We were looking after our sick mate–"
More incomprehensible noise through the speaker.
"Well, what the fuck are we supposed to do now? That's not really very fucking helpful."
The doctor barely even responds before Julius is interrupting her again. "So what happens now? She had the contraceptive injection last winter. Will that change anything?"
Whatever she says is not what Julius wants to hear because he responds with a clipped "got it" and then immediately hangs up the phone in the middle of whatever the doctor is saying in response.
He covers his eyes with his hands, like he's trying desperately to calm himself. When he finally speaks, they all stare.
"Some penicillins, like the one Eden has been taking, are known to interfere with heat suppressants.
They can negate their effects. Even if she stops taking the antibiotic now, there's probably too much in her system to stop it.
The contraceptive injection will likely keep her from ovulating and getting pregnant, but that just means the heat will probably be longer and more intense. "
???
Her thoughts keep looping back to the impending thing that she refuses to give a name that is looming over her like a tsunami wave.
The thing is coming, and if she were being totally honest with herself, she's not really afraid of it.
She wants to experience that thing with her mates. She knows they will take care of her.
And even if she does get pregnant, she does want a baby with them.
They've talked about it, and they had agreed they wanted to have children in the future, so if the thing ends up resulting in a conception, that's not a bad thing.
Maybe a little early in their timeline, but not the end of the world.
It's just the fact that this thing is happening without her choice. Once again, things are just happening to her beyond her control. And it makes her want to kick and scream and throw something and crawl up in a ball and hide.
Her mates have been tiptoeing around her since the morning, giving her space and letting her process even while her scent ramps up around them until the room is drowning in thick pomegranate sugar.
She ignores it, so they do too.
When she sits on the couch with a heaving sigh, finally ready to talk, they materialize around her and wait for her to speak.
"I'm going into heat," she says, redundantly.
They all know it. And they don't respond, but their bonds are open, letting her prod at them, to see what they're feeling.
Excitement. Nervousness. Desire. Anticipation.
Concern, which is directed towards her. And something soft and tentative and hopeful that feels a little bit like holding a squirming little baby in their arms.
"I... I do want a baby," she finally whispers. "I want us to have a baby. Whether it's now or later. I swear."
"Baby." Tenor's voice sounds hesitant. "No matter what happens, you know we'll support whatever you want to do, right? If something happens and you feel differently later, we'll support you."
She doesn't know what to say to that.
"Just... we want you to know you have options," Julius says then, and his face looks the closest to nervous that she's ever seen it.
And to their credit, they don't even use the word "breeding" once.