When Jesse and I had had dinner with my parents, they’d suggested we visit my grandmother and inform her of our newfound relationship. Which I’d always planned to do, Grandma and I were very close, but I was anxious about it after seeing their reaction.

Not that my grandmother had ever been traditional or anything. I had no evidence that she’d share my parents’ view other than the fact that she was older, and older people tended to be more traditional.

Then again, my grandma had always kind of bucked that stereotype. She was the opposite of traditional. She had made a career out of being a fox healer using an old school’s forms of holistic medicine. She was really off the wall, and she had always followed her own path.

I had to hope that meant she’d be okay with me following mine.

My grandma had an interesting house. It was a cabin, but the door was this oval shape. It was exactly the kind of home you’d expect a hippie dippie fox healer to live in.

I knocked on the door, taking in a deep breath as I heard her footsteps.

When she saw me, she grinned from ear to ear.

“Oh, honey, I didn’t know you were coming by!” She gave me a kiss on the cheek and a tight squeeze.

“Yep, thought I’d stop in and see how you are.”

“Well, come in, come in! I just put the teapot on the stove, would you like some?” she asked warmly.

“Yeah, sure, that sounds great, thanks.”

“Come on, follow me to the kitchen.”

I did, and, when I got there, I took a seat at one of the barstools that sat under her countertop.

I wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but I knew I needed to rip off the band-aid. If I let us get into small talk, I might lose my nerve and be unable to tell her what I needed to.

“Actually, Grandma, I didn’t just drop by for no reason,” I told her hesitantly.

“Oh?” she asked. “Then why are you here?”

“Well, I had a big thing happen in my life recently, and I wanted to let you know.”

She stood across the counter from me, grabbing teacups from the cabinet and setting them down before looking at me seriously.

“Well, go ahead dear. Spit it out.” She smiled.

“Okay…” I took a deep breath. “Grandma, I’ve found my fated mate.”

She grinned. “Honey, that’s wonderful!” She walked over to me and hugged me tightly, but then she pulled away. “Wait, why do you look so nervous to tell me that?"

“Because, uh, my fated mate is Jesse.”

This only made her smile more. “Your best friend Jesse?” she squealed. “Well, honey, that’s even better! I adore that boy!”

I couldn’t contain my own smile. “You do?”

“Of course! He’s such a doll. Oh, I’m so happy for both of you.” She said as she grabbed the teapot and began to pour tea for us.

I was so relieved. For the first time, I’d gotten a glimpse of what it was supposed to feel like to announce that you'd found your fated mate. Your family was supposed to be unendingly happy for you. I was filled with joy instead of that gut-wrenching discomfort I’d experienced when we’d told both Jesse and my parents.

I began to tear up a little. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

She looked alarmed. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

I just shook my head. “It’s nothing. It’s just… nobody else really gave us this reaction. Jesse’s parents are really homophobic, and they hated the idea.”

She raised an eyebrow. “But surely your parents had no problem with it?”

“Not with the relationship, no, but they were pretty horrified to find out that I wasn’t a beta."

“Oh, honey,” she handed me a cup of tea. “You know, I’ve always known you were an omega.”

My eyes widened. “You have?”

“I mean, I was always open to whatever you wanted to be, but I had an inkling. You never seemed quite beta, darling. You always seemed to blur the lines of those roles. And I’m happy you do. You are always unapologetically yourself, and I adore you for that.”

It felt so good to hear someone say that. It made me feel like I wasn’t living a lie. It wasn’t just me—other people had seen the omega in me, too. It authenticated the way I felt about myself.

“Besides, you know how much you were pushed to think you were beta! Your father felt so much pride in being a beta. They had an idea for what role they wanted for you even before you were born. But, we have to learn that our kids are not a reflection of ourselves. They aren’t going to be whatever we want them to be. And we have to give them the freedom to learn who they are and accept them as such. I hope that’s something you remember with your own child.”

“You are so wise, Grandma. Of course, I will.”

That much I was already sure about. When the time did come for Jesse and me to have a child of our own, I’d accept them completely no matter how they identified.

“Speaking of which…” she began slowly. “When were you going to tell me about the baby?”

I didn’t quite follow and laughed awkwardly. “What are you talking about, Grandma? Like, when are we going to have one?”

She looked puzzled. “I mean, when were you going to tell me you’re pregnant? That is what prompted you to come over, right?”

My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. “What? No! I just came here to tell you that Jesse and I are in a relationship. Grandma, it’s a little soon for pregnancy.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I think your body begs to differ, dear.”

I could hear my heart pound quickly in my chest. “What are you talking about?”

“Honey, do you really not know you’re pregnant?”

“What?” I gasped. “I’m not pregnant. There’s no way. What makes you say that?”

“I could feel it on you as soon as you walked in. I’ve been a fox healer for seventy-five years. I can sense a pregnancy from a mile away.”

“Well… maybe your sense is a little off, Grandma. Because I’m positive, I’m not pregnant.”

“Only one way to find out.” She shrugged as she walked back to her cabinet and fished something out.

It was a pregnancy test, the conventional kind made of plastic. She slid it across the counter over to me. The message was clear… go take it.

I really didn’t believe her, but taking a pregnancy test made me nervous. I knew it would come out negative, but the thought was in the back of my mind—what if it didn’t? What would we do?

I knew I wanted kids—I’d always known, but I had no plans to have them anytime soon. That was a ways off. Jesse and I had barely gotten started. We needed time to become established in our relationship.

I went to the bathroom, peeing on the test per its instructions. As soon as I had, I had to wait two minutes, which was anxiety-inducing. But I wasn’t pregnant, I knew I wasn’t. My grandma was just being her usual batty self. She had no idea what she was talking about.

But, then it popped up… two little lines. Extremely clear lines at that—there was nothing ambiguous to them.

I felt like I was going to faint.

I was pregnant?

I walked out of the bathroom, and my grandma didn’t even bother looking at the test. She was that confident. “Believe me now?” she asked.

“But… how?” I muttered.

“Oh, honey, please don’t make me explain where babies come from.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I can’t believe this. I’m just… I have a baby inside of me?”

That was the first moment I truly processed it after the initial shock wore off. I had a baby inside me.

I was growing my child.

In that moment, it felt kind of amazing. I knew that this was possible: that omegas were the carrier of children, but I hadn’t put a lot of thought in to it. I hadn’t thought of it as a miracle.

But that was what it felt like, a miracle. I had a little baby Jesse inside of me. A little baby version of me. We had pulled together in love, and from that a child had been created.

It was the most beautiful thing we could do in this world.

I instinctively put my hand on my stomach, and my grandma looked relieved.

“You’re happy, aren’t you? Thank goodness you’re happy. I was really worried for a moment there.”

I actually was. I hadn’t expected to be. Yesterday, had someone asked me whether or not I was ready to have a baby right now, I would have said no.

But, now that one was already here and fatherhood was on the horizon, I felt surprisingly calm. Sure, I could do this. With the man I loved more than anything in this world? We’d be great parents.

Oh, shit, but what if Jesse didn’t feel the same?

“Grandma, I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go… like, right now. I’ve got to go tell Jesse. He has no idea.”

“Of course, of course, go!” She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “But come back later this week, so we can talk more about the pregnancy! I have a lot of vitamins you need to take.”

She was so sweet. “I absolutely will. Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Before I went out the door, she took me by the hand and looked me in the eyes.

“He’s going to be okay with it, you know that, right? He’s going to be happy, and you two are going to be fantastic parents.”

I looked at her nervously. “You really think so?”

“Honey, I know so. You two are such great boys. In my suspicions that you might be an omega, I’d always hoped it would be with Jesse. He’s good for you, dear. You two are just good together. And love has always come naturally for you, even when you didn’t know it.”

She was right; she was completely right. And despite being nervous to tell Jesse, I was also confident we could get through anything. Because we’d pretty much gotten through anything already. We were happy together. We were good together.

And I really hoped we’d be good parents, too.

I hugged her once more. “Thank you, Grandma. You have no idea what this means to me.”

"Of course, dear,” she kissed my cheek. “And your parents will come around. They didn't learn the lesson that I’ve already taught you—that we need to let our children be exactly who they are. But they will learn. And they’re going to extremely happy about this pregnancy, I know it. I think seeing their grandchildren grow in you will really change the way they think about you being an omega. It’s a beautiful thing.”

I really hoped that was true.

I didn’t even bother calling Jesse. I knew he was off work today—we’d already been planning on hanging out after I’d gone to my grandma’s, so I just drove to his place.

He was sitting on the couch when I got there, his eyes glued to the television.

“Hey, back so soon? I thought you’d spend some more time with your grandma. I hope that didn’t mean it went badly.”

I felt so flustered that it was hard to process what he was saying to me. “No, no, it wasn’t bad. It was great, actually. She was very accepting of the whole thing. Of our relationship, of me being an omega, she was really awesome.”

“Oh, fantastic! So glad to hear it. But then… why do you look upset?” he asked.

“I’m not upset.” I sat down next to him. “I’m just nervous.”

He turned off the television and sat up, taking his feet off the coffee table and planting them on the floor.

“Nervous about what?”

“At my grandma’s house, I just found something out. You have to promise not to freak out. It’s really stressful, but… just promise you aren’t going to go anywhere, okay?”

“Okay… I promise. What is it?” he asked.

I looked down at the ground. “I’m pregnant.”

I thought his eyes were going to bulge out of his head.

“I’m pregnant. I know. I wasn't expecting it, either. I didn’t really think it was going to happen this soon, but… it did. And, we’re having a baby.”

“Wow… that’s… wow.” He stumbled on his words.

He definitely wasn’t filled with the immediate calm that I had been once I’d realized I was growing a child inside of me.

“I know it’s soon. I know we just got started. But, please don’t ask me not to keep this baby. Now that I know it’s there, I really can’t imagine not raising this child. It’s such an intense bond, and I jus—”

“Woah, woah, slow down there!” Jesse said quickly. “Nobody asked that. You think I don't want to keep this baby?” he asked.

“Well, you do seem pretty nervous,” I pointed out.

He nodded. “I mean, I am a little nervous, sure. We just found out about this magical sea monster that is possibly going to destroy our town, and now I’m realizing we’re going to have a baby…”

I looked at him, confused. “What does that have to do with the baby?”

“I’m worried about its future,” he told me. “I’m worried about the future safety of our child, considering the danger that is currently lurking in the world.”

I couldn’t hide the fact that this disappointed me. I felt like he wasn’t truly excited about this. I felt immeasurable joy at knowing I was growing our baby inside me, but he clearly did not share that sentiment.

I knew I should have probably given him a break. It was normal to be scared. He had just discovered this monumental, life-changing piece of information. I needed to give him time to acclimate.

And maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but I just couldn’t control the fact that I was disappointed. Perhaps it had been too much to expect he’d be happy about this right off the bat. But, I wanted him to be because I was. I wanted to see him thrilled about this commitment and ready to take this next step.

What did it mean that he wasn’t excited? Was it a sign that he wasn’t really committed to me? Was this a failing in our relationship?

I knew I was letting my thoughts spin out of control a bit, but I couldn’t help myself. If he wasn’t committed to me, what was I going to do? I knew I’d keep this baby—that much was clear. I was already in love with the little guy. Or girl. But then I’d have to be a single dad if Jesse didn’t want to take part in raising it. And that was hard to fathom…

Suddenly, pulling me out of my negative thought spiral, Jesse took his hands in mine.

“This is fantastic, babe. You are going to make a great father.”

I looked at him curiously. “You're really happy about this?”

“I promise you, I am. Like I said, it’s just scary with everything that’s going on. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think this is an amazing thing. I’ve always wanted to be a dad. I’ve always wanted to be with you. Now, I get the best of both worlds.”

I couldn’t help but feel like he was just trying to placate me at this point. Like he knew I was upset by his reaction, and he didn’t want to upset me further.

So, I couldn’t really get excited about him saying it was a great thing. I supposed I would just have to wait over the next few weeks to get a grasp of how he really felt.

And hopefully this was how he really felt. Hopefully he was happy like I was.

I gave him a quick kiss. “I think you’ll make a great dad, too.”

And I truly believed that.

I could already see him as a father. Getting up in the middle of the night to change the baby, taking our toddler to the park to go exploring in the grass. I could envision late nights and messy feeding sessions.

I was oddly prepared for it all. I truly did believe that if Jesse had the dedication that I really wanted him to, we were going to make a fantastic little family. Screw what anyone else thought about it. We were made for each other. We were made to have a family.

And I was completely ready to do exactly that.