Not His Omega To Love by GS Holmes

12Ethan

As we entered the clinic,Cody inched next to me, and I raised my arm to place around his shoulder in support, but I caught myself and lowered it. That was going a bit too far.

Cody stopped walking, and I glanced down at his white face. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m the only…”

I glanced around the waiting room and understood. He was the only teenager here. The other four omegas were older, in their twenties and thirties, judging by their looks. Two had their alphas sitting by them, which made me glad I wasn’t the only alpha here. I hadn’t been able to make many of Matt’s appointments when we were together, as I’d only been a trucker then. Now I owned a company and had scheduled one of my drivers to take over my run today.

“It’s okay. I’m here.”

He squared his shoulders and nodded, and my heart skipped a beat. He was so timid, but at times like this, when he took on that determined look, he made me so proud.

Even though his breath came out shaky when he gave his name, he sounded confident. The lady at the desk smiled and handed him a form on a clipboard to sign up.

“That wasn’t so bad,” he said as we took a seat.

“You did great. I’m proud of you.”

He ducked his head over the form, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. His slender fingers gripped the pen firmly, and his tongue stuck out at the corner of his lips as he filled out his name in block letters. CODY SEBASTIEN GOODEN. He'd turned nineteen back in January. Seeing it in writing made me blanch, and I averted my gaze. He was so young. Shame settled in my gut for all the times thinking about him flickered a flame inside me.

He stopped writing, and I glanced over. His pen hovered over emergency contact.

“Do you want me to fill in that for you?” I asked him.

He nodded. Our fingers brushed when he handed me the pen, and he inhaled sharply. Fuck, this wasn’t good at all. I scribbled my name, address, and telephone number in the respective spaces, then faltered when it asked for relationship.

“Let’s leave this part blank for now.”

“Okay.” He signed the form, then brought it over to the receptionist. His jeans were faded, and the shirt he had on looked as if it had been washed one time too many. And it was the same clothes he’d worn when I picked him up at the motel. Would his parents be okay with me collecting his stuff?

Anger burned inside me at the way they had treated their son. He hadn’t intentionally gotten pregnant. How could parents kick their kids out so heartlessly without thinking about how they would eat or where they would sleep?

Cody disappeared with a nurse for a few minutes, then returned to my side.

“Everything okay?”

“Yes, I should’ve come here when I found out I was pregnant. I hope everything is okay.” He placed a hand on his stomach, and the gesture tugged at my heart. He was pregnant with my grandchild. This baby was a part of me, whether or not Reggie wanted to sign over all his rights to Cody.

“I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“Me too. All I want is a healthy baby.” He had the sweetest smile on his face while he talked about his unborn child. He’d completely made up his mind, and it wasn’t changing. Cody wanted this child, and there was no reason he shouldn’t be able to keep it.

“What about your plans for college?”

He shrugged. “It might have to wait.”

“But what was it? Before the baby and everything. What did you want to do?”

“I didn’t want to go out of state but planned to stick close to home and my family. I was going to study business.”

“Business?”

“Yeah, it’s practical.”

“I guess so.”

“But if I could do anything, I’d choose landscaping architecture. My parents were against me doing that, though.”

“Why not? There are a lot of possibilities around here.”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now anyway. I have different things to think about.”

“Don’t give up on your dreams. You never know what will happen.”

We remained silent until his name was called to go in to see the doctor. He rose to his feet and took a step, then turned back to me, his eyes full of fear.

“I won’t leave. I’ll be here waiting the entire time.”

“You won’t go in with me?”

Surprised, I stared at him. “You want me to?”

He nodded. “If it’s not too weird. I’m not sure what to expect, and it’s a bit scary.”

“All right.”

He visibly relaxed as I stood. This time I didn’t stop myself from placing a hand on his lower back. He melted into the touch and gave me a smile that would have me holding him forever if that was what he wanted. He was so precious. And so off-limits.

“I’m Dr. Van Hurst.” A tall, slender, elegant omega wearing glasses shook Cody’s hand, then mine. “I was going over your information, Cody, but I may need to ask for some additional details about your medical history and that of the father.” The man smiled at me. “It’s always good to see a father present at these appointments. It’s easier to get the father’s medical history from the get-go.”

Cody’s mouth bobbed open and closed. He wasn’t going to be any help here.

“The father is currently not in the picture,” I replied. “But I can answer sufficiently for what you need to know since I am the grandfather.”

Dr. Van Hurst blinked at me. “Ah, right, that’s okay, then. Why don’t you have a seat? We'll fill out the medical histories and then get you on the table to see how everything is developing.”

Maybe I should have stayed in the waiting room, but when Cody took the chair next to me, I relaxed. I was here for support and nothing else. We went over Cody’s and Reggie’s medical history, and I learned things I didn’t know about Cody before. Like he was a premature baby who had a heart defect that was corrected as he grew older. No wonder he was so small, even for an omega. He’d been a sickly child.

“Please put this on, and we’ll have a look at your first ultrasound.” Dr. Van Hurst handed Cody a blue smock, and the boy disappeared into a changing room. He emerged with the smock swallowing him and sat on the bed.

“Lie back. This won’t hurt at all.”

The doctor parted the front of Cody’s robe and spurted some gel onto his naked stomach, which was still flat. A soft but steady thud-thud filled the room, and I pulled my eyes away from Cody’s stomach to the ultrasound screen.

“Is that…?” Cody asked.

“Your baby’s heartbeat,” Dr. Van Hurst replied with a smile. “The sound of music we all love to hear at this stage.”

“Oh my god.” Cody clasped his hands over his mouth. “That’s their heartbeat.”

“Yes, it is, healthy and strong.” He pointed out images on the screen. They were still blurry, but Cody’s eyes were wet as he stared at them.

“Is everything okay?” I asked the doctor.

“Yes. Of course, we’ll need to schedule other scans in the future, but development seems normal. Do you have any specific questions?”

I glanced at Cody, who shook his head.

“No, I think we’re good.”

“Great, then that’s it. Cody, you can get dressed. Then I want you to go to the lab to run a couple of blood tests, which can help us to detect early on if the fetus might have a birth defect.”

Cody gasped. “Is that a possibility?”

“It’s a possibility for every pregnancy, so we try to detect as early as we can, but nothing for you to worry about. Routine stuff.”

Cody changed, and the doctor gave him a form with two things checked off on it. I took him to the lab. When his face paled at the sight of the needle, I stood next to him and held his other hand. “Don’t look at the needle. Look at me.”

I should have told him to look at something else in the room. Like the door. His gaze collided with mine. He bit his bottom lip, and his hand in mine felt so tiny. How was this omega supposed to carry a baby inside him for another four months?

“And we’re done.”

Cody looked at the phlematobist in surprise. “That’s it?”

“Yup. The results will go straight to your doctor, and he’ll call you if there’s anything to report.”

I thanked the phlematobist. When we were in the hallway, Cody took a long deep breath.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just a lot, you know.”

“Brace for it, but it’s about to get a lot more.”

He grinned at me. “I’m ready for the challenge.”

But are you ready for me to be actively involved in this child’s life when I want to protect you so much?

I fell silent as we went back to the front desk to pick up his appointment card.

“Do you have a health insurance policy?” the receptionist asked Cody.

He shook his head. “N-no, do I need one?”

“The fees are reduced for sure if you do.”

Cody’s jaw slackened, and he groaned.

“We’re still working out the particulars of adding him to my health insurance,” I said, taking out my wallet and handing her my credit card. “This should cover it.”

“Thank you.”

Cody tugged at my arm, but I ignored him, already guessing what he wanted to say. The receptionist ran my card, then handed it back to me as well as my receipt.

“Your information is already in the system,” she said to Cody. “Go to the website and enter your patient number, create an account, and you’ll be able to see all the details related to your visits. If there’s anything the doctor would like to discuss, he will get in touch with you. You’ll also get a text from us two days before your next appointment to remind you.”

“Thank you. We appreciate it.” When Cody didn’t move, I took him by the shoulder and steered him toward the exit. “Let’s go.”

“I thought it was a free clinic,” he whispered as we walked out. “Why didn’t you take me to a free clinic? This is way too much. And I’ll have to be here every month.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can afford it.”

“But—”

“But nothing. You’re going to give birth to my grandchild, and I have every intention of ensuring they get the best possible care. Can I at least do that for you?”

“You’re already doing so much for me.”

At the concerned tone, I stopped walking. “I hope I’m not overwhelming you, Cody. You’re a promising young omega with his whole life ahead of you. I want to do this for you to have as pleasant a pregnancy as possible. And maybe I’m being nice, so you won’t object to me seeing my grandchild now and then.”

“I’d never prevent them from seeing you.”

“Good. Then let a soon-to-be grandfather do everything he can for his unborn grandchild.”

He chewed on his bottom lip. “Only for the baby’s sake.”

Yes, only for the baby, and I needed to remember that.

“Now let’s grab some things for you that you’ll need for school.” We continued across the parking lot to my car.

“I’m not sure if I should go back.”

“What? Are you being serious? You have only a couple of months left.”

“But then I’ll be showing, and everyone is going to know.”

Ah, the dreaded shame of being an omega going through school pregnant. “Cody, this baby will be a part of your life for a very long time,” I said gently. “This means having to deal with the stigma of being an unwed teenage dad. You won’t be able to hide from the world.”

“You’re right.”

“Then let’s go get you some new clothes.”