Shit.

It wasn’t a very eloquent thought to have when you had just been told that you got someone pregnant, but it was Nathan’s first thought all the same. He didn’t make office romances a habit, despite the fact that Simon was the second wolf teacher he’d felt sexually attracted to—and the first with whom he’d actually been compatible. He had known all the risks, had accounted for nearly all of them.

All except for this one.

“We should have used protection,” Nathan said. It was the only thing he could think to say at a time like this.

“No shit?” Simon snapped.

Nathan held up his hands again, though he felt that there was a real danger here of having Simon bite his fingers off. “Okay. Calm down. We can get this figured out.”

“How the hell do you think we’re going to do that? This is going to ruin my life! I just got hired here for a very physically demanding job, and now I can barely even prepare for that job because I feel so terrible!”

“Simon.” Nathan put some command in his voice, falling back on the alpha wolf inside of him. “Calm down. We’ll figure it out. But we need to talk about it before that can happen. And we can’t talk unless you’re calm. Remember what I said the other day, about…”

“Fuck what you said. You think I’m going to take advice from you after what you’ve done to me?”

Nathan flinched on the inside, but he managed to stay stoic and unmoved on the outside. “Excuse me? It takes two people to make a baby, and I’m certain I didn’t force you to have sex with me. This is partly your fault, too.”

The omega opened his mouth as if he wanted to protest more, and then he shut it again. Some of the fight drained from him, his shoulders slumping down. He seemed to shrink in an instant, becoming much smaller than he actually was. Panic, fear, and anger seemed to have diminished him, taking away something very important from him.

Taking a step backwards, Nathan gestured at his desk. “Sit. Let’s talk.”

Lowering his head, Simon sulked past him and sat down in his usual spot on the other side of the desk. “You’re too methodical sometimes. I don’t know how you do it.”

Nathan waited until the other wolf was properly seated, and then he went over to his seat and sat down himself. “Simon,” he said.

Reluctantly, Simon lifted his head until their eyes met. His nostrils flared, and his fingers drummed restlessly on the desk. He seemed to be shaking despite the fact that all his muscles were drawn as taut as a bowstring.

Nathan met his dark green gaze and said the first thing that came to mind. “I’m fucking terrified.”

Simon’s expression flickered. His fingers stilled on the desk as surprise washed over him in a wave. “You…are?”

Nathan nodded. His stomach was churning with his own tension, and he could feel all his own goals wavering imbalanced on the edge of a precipice. One wrong move and it wouldn’t matter what he had done, because it would all just go crashing down. This was the stuff that scandals were made of, and he really didn’t think he could afford one with the new school year just about to start. A person probably wasn’t supposed to have a scandal at any time of the year, but the start of it was the most important time. Everyone was counting on him to tie up all the loose ends and get everything together, to get everything moving on the right track. If he couldn’t do that because he was caught up in something like this, then he wasn’t meant to be a principal any longer. Someone younger, with stricter morals, would come in and take his place.

There was so much pressure on both of them. Despite what he’d just said about Simon sharing in the blame, Nathan knew that most of it belonged to him. He had been the one who allowed this to happen, who enabled it and kept it going. He would do the right thing and take care of all of this.

“I could lose my job. I could lose pretty much everything I’ve worked for.”

“So could I.”

Nathan shook his head. He reached out across the desk and took ahold of Simon’s hand. Simon didn’t hold him back, didn’t try to pull away either. “You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of your job, you, the baby. All of it. I promise.”

Simon bit his lip. His fingers flexed anxiously. “But what are we going to do?”

Nathan held his hand tighter, more reassuringly. “You don’t have to do anything but take care of yourself and the baby. That’s going to be hard enough as it is.” His thoughts were racing, hardly more than a step or two in front of his mouth. He was inventing things on the fly, nudging at the problem from all different angles to see how he might solve it. “I said I’m going to take care of everything. And I will. I’m not going to fire you. You won't lose your job.”

“But…”

“What I’m going to do is place you on temporary leave. You won’t be entitled to any pay or anything since you technically haven’t done any work yet.” According to the way the system worked, that was. In actuality, Simon had already accomplished more than some of the other teachers would by the time school actually started. He’d done his job efficiently and effectively, checking on all the equipment in the gym and working out all the various kinks he’d found so far. Unfortunately, since the school year hadn’t yet begun, the system wouldn’t count any of that as actual work.

“I don’t understand why this has to happen so quickly.”

“We don’t know how fast you’re going to start showing,” Nathan pointed out. “It could raise a lot of questions from the humans. They aren’t as blind as they seem.

“I can put you on temporary leave for up to three years. You’ll still be with us, just not working with us. I wish we could spring for maternity leave but that would raise even more questions.”

Simon grimaced at the idea of maternity leave. Or maybe he was making a face at the foolishness of humans, who considered themselves so important that they were always nosing into the business of others.

“I’ll have to hire someone else to stand in your stead, but the job would still actually belong to you. If you still want it.” Nathan suddenly stopped. His thoughts came to a halt, like they’d crashed into a brick wall. “I’m so sorry, Simon. I’m just assuming things again. Do you even still want to work here?”

Simon hesitated. Turmoil gathered behind his soulful eyes, his handsome face creased with stress. Even in his current state, with his hair crazy from sleep and his clothes rumpled, he was still a striking man. He would have been a prize for anyone.

Damn shame he had to get saddled with me.

“Yes,” Simon said. “I still want to work here. I’ve already committed to it. I can’t back out now. Plus, I like Elaine.”

Nathan snorted, smiling a little. “Good.”

“Thank you for asking, by the way. Everything already feels so out of control, it’s nice to be reminded that my opinion still matters.”

Gentle warmth spread through Nathan. He was glad he’d thought to make sure that this was what the other man wanted, instead of assuming they were still on the same page. He could still remember what it had felt like when Simon called him overbearing, the heavy realizations that came with it.

“Of course your opinion matters,” Nathan said. He gently squeezed Simon’s fingers, which curled against his in response. “So, tell me what you think about what I just said.”

He wasn’t used to needing to know the opinions of others. He was the boss, the man in charge. He gave orders, and they were followed. He listened to concerns, then did something about them. He was a man of action.

Right now, he needed to be a thinker.

“I guess it could work,” Simon replied. He looked a little doubtful, his eyebrows furrowed together into a single entity. “But what about…everything else? The job is kind of the least of my worries right now.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Nathan repeated. “What I mean is, I’ll pay for it. I’ll pay for everything. Anything you need, anything the baby needs. Your groceries, your utilities, and the doctor visits. All of it. I’ll do all of it.”

“That’s way too much!”

“It’s exactly enough,” Nathan growled. There was no menace behind the sound, but he couldn’t stop his tone from roughening anyway. “I would even have you come live with me if that was necessary. I’ll play my part in this.”

“And my part is just to carry the baby, like a 50s trophy wife?”

“You’re already being affected by it,” Nathan said. “The pregnancy is only going to get rougher from here. That might be all that you can handle.”

The look on Simon’s face told him the omega was unhappy, but that he also understood. “And what about after the baby’s born?”

“Would you put it up for adoption?”

“I don’t know. There are already so many kids in the system.” Simon’s eyes narrowed, the green in his irises intensifying; Nathan knew that he was thinking of Tobias Noble, who was a product of that flawed system. “Then again, it might be better for…it. I’ve never thought about having my own kid before. I don’t know. I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“Then, you don’t have to decide right now. There’s plenty of time to think about it anyway.”

Simon nodded slowly. “You’re right. It’s not a decision to make lightly.”

“The first thing you need to do is get to the doctor. Not your regular doctor, but a specialist. You need to start reading up on everything that you’re going to experience, all the vitamins you have to take. You’ll need a specific diet, quality exercise, and frequent visits…” Nathan paused in the middle of ticking off all the things that were coming to mind, all the things he had learned throughout the years from pregnant teachers and parents. “What? What is it?”

Simon just smiled a little and shook his head. “Nothing.”

Nathan knew it wasn’t nothing, and he sighed. “I’m sorry. It happens when I get focused on something. I don’t really mean anything by it.”

“Well, you’ll have a lot of time to practice because I think we’re stuck with each other for several months now.”

“Only several months?” Nathan ventured. Simon glanced at him and then down again, seeming as if he didn’t quite know what to say. “If you’re going to continue to be my employee, we’re going to be together for a lot longer than that. Unless you change your mind. Which is always an option.”

“What do you mean by be together?”

This was one of those topics it was easier to just ignore. Nathan knew all about that. He’d had plenty of such talks with parents and guardians. Most of the time, he was bringing an issue to their attention. Sometimes, like this time, it was someone else venturing forward with the topic.

And every single time, the topic had to be discussed. The hardest things to talk about were always the most important.

“Look,” Nathan said, looking right into Simon’s eyes. He tried to pull all his emotions up to the surface so his words wouldn’t have to speak for themselves. “I like you a lot. I don’t know if I would have kept coming back for more if you weren’t someone who had my interest.”

“I think you had a lot of ‘interest’ in me.”

“Yes.” No use denying that when it was what had gotten them into this in the first place. “But it’s more than just sex. If you annoyed the hell out of me, that kind of ruins the enjoyment of the thing. But, you’re a hard worker. You’re unlike any other omega that I’ve ever met.”

“It’s almost as if labels don’t define people.”

Nathan winced. “It was a compliment.”

“I’ll take it as one.”

He was just about to wonder if this was a bad thing to continue talking about, when he snuck a look at Simon and saw a glitter in his eyes. “You’re screwing with me.”

“It was pretty easy, too,” Simon laughed. Some of the color momentarily returned to his face, making him seem more like himself. Nathan was glad to see it happen, his heart skipping a beat.

“Anyway. I do like you. You’re easy to be around. You’ve opened my eyes to some things in the short time since we’ve known each other. I would be willing…” His voice snagged, catching on itself. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “I would be willing to go through this with you for as long as you’ll have my support. If you decide to keep the pup, or if you decide not to. I like you enough for that.”

“Are you suggesting that we be mates?” A weird look came across Simon’s face, one that Nathan couldn’t quite identify.

He took it to mean he’d said something wrong and held up his hands. “Not mates. Not necessarily. I’m thinking more along the lines of child support, but more personal. Or not, depending on what you would want. It’s all up to you. You’re the captain of this ship.”

“The S. S. Baby.” Simon laughed, leaning back in his chair. “I think I’d like to turn the boat around and go back to shore. But that’s not an option. This is all just so much to deal with at once. I don’t even have any idea how to go about thinking about it. I’m not great at thinking. Some omega I am, right?”

“I’m also not great at thinking. Some principal I am, right?” Nathan shrugged, then stood up. He worked his way around the desk and went to Simon to wrap his arms around his shoulders. Simon leaned against him, his weight reassuring. “We’ll get through this one step at a time. Let’s give everything a try, see how it feels. We don’t have to commit to anything yet.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“First thing to do is find a shifter-friendly doctor and make an appointment.”

“My regular doctor is shifter-friendly, but I don’t think I’ll have much luck with him. He’s not very specialized. Likes to make a lot of referrals.”

“If you don’t want to waste time with him, you’ll need to find someone else. You just need to get the process started.”

Simon turned his face slightly so that his chin pressed against Nathan’s shoulder, then he looked up. “I think I know who I need to talk to, but I’d really rather not do it alone. I need a kiss for bravery.”

Nathan was more than glad to meet that request, pressing his lips softly to Simon’s. Their breath lingered between them for a moment, intimately shared, before they parted again. Simon’s eyes were slightly hazy before he blinked, and then the fog in them cleared. Whether the haze was due to sexual arousal or something else was a bet that Nathan didn’t want to take.

“Who are we going to talk to?”

“My mother.”