Epilogue
Day one
Outside the hospital room’s large windows, I could see snowflakes dancing in the cold air, but in here, there was only warmth, real and metaphorical.
Marcus was still flushed, but he’d finally fallen asleep after giving birth.
We’d let Vi make the hospital arrangements, and while I had no idea how she and the other pack members and non-pack members had managed it, it had all worked out.
The only people in this wing were ones who knew what was happening. What had happened.
In my arms, the baby turned in his sleep. He was small; a normal size for an omega’s baby, but small to me. Still, he had stolen my heart from the first moment, from his first careful cry.
“You don’t look like a Blob at all,” I told him.
The baby made the tiniest of sounds, but it didn’t matter. Marcus’s eyes opened all the same.
I walked over to the bed, rocking the baby.
“How long was I out?” Marcus rubbed his eyes, wincing when he moved to sit up.
“Maybe twenty minutes. You can go back to sleep, honey.”
He shook his head and held out his arms. “Where are Dom and Ell?”
“Getting your bag from the car and getting some food respectively.”
“Right, food.” He took the baby, pressing the small bundle to his chest. He smiled. “I almost thought I’d dreamed him.”
“Oh yeah?”
He grinned at me. “Only for a second. The pain was definitely real.”
I grimaced. “You know, I want to tell you how amazing you did and how strong you were, but honestly, I kept thinking I don’t know how he’s doing it, and I couldn’t do this, he’s so fucking badass, I love him so much.”
He snorted. “Get that made into a card.”
“Maybe I will.”
The door to our room opened and Dom and Ell tiptoed in, Ell with what I assumed was cafeteria food, and Dom with Marcus’s go bag. That was what I called it. Dom called it his baby bag since there was stuff for the baby in there as well.
“Patients who don’t sleep when they were told to get some rest don’t get a lollipop,” Ell said.
Marcus didn’t look impressed. I had a feeling there was nothing we could ever do that would impress our omega, not after what he’d done today.
“I think he’s hungry.” Marcus sniffed the baby’s forehead. It was almost a wolfish gesture, even if he was human.
Dom gasped. “Shit! I forgot to pack the nursing pillow.” He looked at me. “You think they have those in the gift shop downstairs?”
Marcus sighed. “Stay here.”
Dom put the bag down and sat on Marcus’s bed. “Okay. So what do we call him? Everyone’s been asking. No pressure though, it’s just that we can’t tell people his name’s Blob.”
Marcus looked up. “Well, that was only ever supposed to be a placeholder.” He cleared his throat. “I had a thought, but don’t laugh.”
Ell put down the food on the rolling table. “Tell us. We promise we won’t.”
Marcus rocked the baby. “Okay, so I was thinking Nova. Like an exploding star bright enough to light up a galaxy, you know? Felt a little like that giving birth to this guy, but don’t tell him that.”
Dom chuckled. “Nova, huh? I like it.”
I nodded. “It’s unique. Just like him.”
Marcus untied his hospital gown. “Yeah, and since I don’t know if he’ll agree that it’s a good kind of unique when he’s older, I thought maybe we could all brainstorm a nice middle name.
If he ever wants to be a writer, he really needs a middle name.
I didn't have one, and it seriously hurt my career.”
I chuckled. “As your boss, I’d like to disagree with that.”
“Me too, out of principle,” Ell said.
“Me three and four, on behalf of Nova here. But I do like the idea of a middle name.”
Marcus snorted. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
Dom held his hands up. “Hey, don’t judge me for doing all the name research, okay? There are a lot of them. Is it working? Is he latching on?”
Watching Marcus bring a whole new person into the world had been one thing, and now seeing him nurse that person was continuing to leave me stunned into speechlessness.
We could all see the answer to Dom’s question, hear Nova drinking.
Marcus smiled. No, he glowed. They were both incredibly bright. Exploding stars indeed.
I sucked in a breath. “Silvian. How about Silvian as a middle name?”
“Nova Silvian Waite.” Dom nodded. “Sounds like a cool dude.”
Ell rounded the bed and kissed me on the cheek. “I love it. That’s our son.”
Dom smiled, showing us teeth. “Yes, our baby boy. I can’t believe I went through all the fucking name databases, and you just look at the baby and pop out his name.”
Marcus cooed at Nova. “Hear that? Your daddies are already arguing. Aren’t they silly? Three silly alphas. You’ll be exactly like your three daddies when you’re all grown up, won’t you?”
Dom pulled his legs up on the bed. “Or he’ll be like you. Who knows?”
Ell put his arm around me. “He’ll be like himself. That’s the point.”
Marcus nodded. “Hear that? Daddy Ell is so smart. That’s why he told me he loved me before I loved him.”
Ell tensed. “Huh?”
Marcus looked up. He had to have changed before today. It must’ve been me, not noticing how bright this man was, this human man who had accepted our bite. Who had accepted us. How blind I’d been. Marcus was brilliant.
“I love you too,” Marcus told Ellis. Then he looked at me. “And I love you as well.”
Dom gasped. Marcus grinned. Dom hummed and fisted the bedsheet.
“Little Red…”
Marcus’s eyes sparkled. “Love you, Dom.”
Dom gasped again before sagging against Marcus’s legs.
We watched our baby and our omega until one was fed and the other asleep. After that, we watched over them in shifts, one of us cradling Nova in his arms while the others watched over Marcus.
Not every day would be like this first one, so perfectly calm yet perfectly unpredictable. That didn’t matter. We were a family. That meant many things, but most importantly, it meant we’d get to share all our joy and watch it grow as it took root in the hearts of those we loved.
Forever.