Chapter 14

We arrived at the clinic for our ultrasound twenty minutes earlier than Mortimer had told us. I was nervous about the amount of water he'd had me drink and figured it would be best to be here once it all hit my bladder instead of trying to walk here needing to pee.

We walked inside and immediately backed out. It was official, being early meant we were scarred for life. The image of what we had walked in on would forever be burned into my retinas. I wasn't a prude by any means, but that was something I'd have been fine never having seen… ever.

Beckett and I sat on the front steps of the clinic, the door shut behind us, neither of us speaking. Maybe if we ignored it, it would leave our brains. I doubted it. It wasn't something we ran across every day.

Around us, the pride continued on as normal. No one but us had had their worlds turned sideways. They were all living their best lives, blissfully unaware.

"Were they…" I asked, still trying to blink away the vision of Mortimer leaning against the counter, Jonas on his knees before him. Mortimer's white lab coat had been open, his scrub pants pushed down to the floor.

"Yes, they were," Beckett replied with a laugh. "Good for them."

I understood his point. I wanted to be an old man getting blown by the love of my life. Age was just a number, and unless it was 69, I was ignoring it. I longed to be as ridiculously in love as those two are at their age.

Still, I smacked his shoulder. "Not good for them. They need to be a little more considerate. There are kids here."

Although, I supposed it was good for them that their relationship was so healthy that a midday blowjob was something that occurred. I could understand their desire for one another. I felt the same desire for my own mate and just yesterday we had a midday blowjob also. But it was within our own home. And that led me back to this being their space. I was being judgmental and needed to cut the crap. That was for sure.

"We did arrive early, and we came in unannounced," Beckett reminded me, and he was right. It wasn't as if they were on the front stoop or something as in your face as that.

"It's a public building!" Why was I still arguing? I didn't even know, "But they shouldn't be doing that." Especially when we had an appointment. Even if we were early.

"The whole territory is public," Beckett said. "That didn't stop you from getting on your knees at the hot springs."

"That's different. We're younger than them." And now I sounded like the jackass I was being.

Beckett nudged my shoulder. "Are you saying that when we're their age, we won't be like that?" he asked, barely containing his grin.

"I suppose we will be," I replied. I couldn't imagine a day when I would not want my mate in that way. Perhaps the day I give birth, but any other day was fair game.

"Damn right, we will," he said.

The door opened, and I nearly jumped off the porch in surprise.

"We're finished. You can come in now," Mortimer called. He didn't pretend to apologize, to make excuses, or even deny what we saw. It was refreshing in a way.

I shook my head. "Bless the goddess." I kept my eyes trained on the floor in front of me.

Beckett laughed. "Come on, mate. Let's go in and meet our child."

That had me moving quickly. It was the reason we were here and probably the reason I allowed Mortimer having a good time to get under my skin. I was nervous. This was where they would tell us if they think our baby had something wrong with them, and I was scared.

I could barely make eye contact with Mortimer as we entered the exam room. I was embarrassed both by what I'd seen and by my reaction to it. The bulk of it being connected to my reaction. My mate was right. We were early and we didn't knock first. What we saw was just as much on us as it was on them.

He pulled out the steps, and I climbed up onto the examination table, grateful that Jonas had gone off someplace else. With any luck the man would not return until we had left.

"How have you been feeling?" Mortimer asked, his tone all work.

"Fine," I replied. I focused on the corner of the room. There was a chip in the paint there that I found fascinating. I wasn't going to look at Mortimer. I might've seen the error of my ways, but that didn't make me any more comfortable.

Pregnancy was weird. I'd seen plenty of naked people doing what naked people do over the course of my lifetime. The first time I had questions, but since then it didn't fazeme. Today had nothing to do with Mortimer and everything to do with my inability to regulate my emotions since becoming pregnant.

Lately I cried over the littlest things. This morning I'd spilled some milk and I sobbed. Yesterday, I cried with joy because I didn't burn my toast. It wasn't like I was in the habit of burning my toast. Just for some reason, I was so sure I was about to ruin the last slice of bread in the loaf, and when I didn't, I was thrilled beyond belief.

Mortimer squeezed my shoulder. "Don't be such a prude. What we were doing is completely natural. Enjoying your mate's body is a natural part of the mating pull. It is what makes being mates so amazing."

"I know," I said, my teeth clenched.

"You don't need to be ashamed of sex. After all, that is how your child came to be." He kept on explaining, not realizing I already knew all of this.

"I know," I said, practically grinding my teeth.

I didn't have to look at the man to know that his eyes sparkled with laughter. My own mate was barely containing his chuckles.

"It wasn't really about that. I… would you be able to… my emotions just got the best of me. I think because I had sex with Beckett and he put a baby in me."

"Yeah, that will do it." He shook his head and then reached for a blood pressure cuff.

I loved how Mortimer blended the ways of old medicine with modern medicine.

"Are you keeping food down?"

Both Beckett and I nodded.

"Your belly is growing nicely. Any concerns that I should know about?" Mortimer asked. I shook my head, and he turned to Beckett. "Any concerns that you have, alpha?"

"He eats well. For breakfast he tends to have a small meal, but I make sure that he has some protein midmorning. Lunches and dinners have been normal. Though he doesn't seem to want any fruit."

I gaped at my mate. I had no idea he was keeping such a close eye on my food intake or that it was somehow a concern that needed to be brought up to Mortimer. The midmorning protein he spoke of was when the two of us would meet between my counseling sessions. Beckett always came with some sort of snack for me, and it was always protein forward. He'd read an article that said protein was the most important part of a pregnant person's diet.

"That doesn"t sound like a concern." Go, Mortimer!

"I have two concerns." My mate was not to be thwarted. He let out a sigh. "The one concern I have is that he isn't sleeping well. He seems to be getting a little more restless. He can't get comfortable, but his energy levels haven't changed," Beckett replied.

"Have I been keeping you awake?" I asked. I hadn't noticed that I couldn't get comfortable. Sure, it was a little more difficult to sleep with my belly protruding more than it ever had before, but I made it work.

"Not too bad," he replied. Which wasn't a no.

When I looked closely though, his eyes were a bit dark, like maybe he wasn't getting a full night's sleep. And why? Because of me.

He never said anything. My mate was keeping such close tabs on me to make sure I was healthy and content, and I hadn't even noticed that he wasn't sleeping? He was giving up his health to make sure I had mine.

Tears came to my eyes, and before I could stop myself, I was full-on sobbing. "I'm s-s-sorry, Beckett! I didn't know that I was keeping you awake. I c-c-can sleep in the guest room."

Beckett's arms came around my shoulders, and he shushed me. "You'll do no such thing, love. I want you close to me."

To Mortimer he said, "This is the other concern. He seems to be emotional."

Mortimer laughed heartily. His whole body shook with it. "Congratulations, you two. You are completely normal. Beckett, you're an extremely attentive alpha. Good on you. Thomas, you have completely normal pregnancy symptoms."

"What do I do about it? I can't just cry at everything," I said. I mean, I could, but my job wouldn't be being done as effectively.

"Good news, I do have something that can help."

Finally, I looked at Mortimer. "Well, what is it?"

"Time. Eventually, your hormones should return to normal and you won't cry at the drop of a hat. Of course, your child will be a few months old at that point, so you will probably be too tired to cry even if you wanted to."

I narrowed my eyes. I went from sad to extremely annoyed. "Very helpful," I said.

"I try. Now let's see your baby."

He had me lie back and pulled my shirt up and my pants down below my belly. He explained the process and then put some icky stuff on my belly. It was cold and slimy, and my instinct was to wipe it off. I was a good omega and left it there, holding onto my mate's hand as Mortimer put the wand on my middle and the echoing sound of our baby's heartbeat filled the air.

"That's… that's our baby?" Beckett's voice cracked. "I hear him."

"Or her," I reminded him. "We don't want to know." At least I didn't think we did. But one thing was for sure, we could ask Mortimer to tell us later much easier than we could get him to take it back once he told us.

"Then I won't tell you," Mortimer reassured us. "Now let's take a look at your baby."

He took us from body part to body part, being cautious around the bits that might give away our surprise. He started with the toes, and because our baby was amazing and wonderful, they were in a position where we were able to see every single toe. Some days I hated technology. Not today. Today I loved it more than anything. It was showing me our child.

From their toes we went to their legs, the organs such as hearts and kidneys, their arms, and finally their head. It boggled my mind how I could see their tiny little finger and at the same time be looking at their full body and not knowing if they were a boy or a girl. I was glad for it, wanting their sex to be a surprise on the day we met them. It was weird, nonetheless.

"Everything looks perfect. Your baby is nearly here." He wiped up the jelly and helped me sit up.

"They are." A reality that set in when I saw all of their adorable features on the screen.

Mortimer grabbed some pictures that he'd printed of our scan and excused himself to allow us some privacy. He also reminded us that if we changed our mind, he'd be happy to give us the information.

"This is our baby." I set the pictures on the counter so we could take them all in at once. "I love them so much already." More than I ever knew I could love anyone, and we hadn't even met yet.

I could hardly wait.