If it wasn’t one thing, it was another.

The months that followed the fateful night were some of the most confusing, chaotic times Nathan had ever experienced in his entire life. Not only was he recovering from a pretty bad injury, he had to continue to be a school principal from a distance, giving approval for this or that as the need arose because no one else was authorized for it. Much of his “recovery” time was spent on the phone with Elaine or teachers or parents, which meant he was essentially participating in just as many meetings as before.

It wasn’t technically taking it easy like the doctor wanted, but maybe it made enough of a difference because he was soon up and about on his feet again. There was just too much to do: speaking with the police, turning away the press, going to doctor’s appointments with Simon, planning his wedding with Simon, arranging for Simon to live with him, and a thousand things more that all involved Simon. Most of their plans wouldn’t come to fruition for a long while yet, but there was no harm in getting a head start.

He was a man of action, and he continued to make things happen even at a time when he should have demanded the world move at his pace for once.

Things eventually settled down for a couple weeks, and then he was awoken in the middle of the night by an ear-splitting groan.

Panic lurched through his entire body, and he sat bolt upright before he even really knew what he was doing, instincts demanding that he move. A glimmer of gold caught his attention from the corner of his eye and he turned in the direction of the source. “Simon!”

Simon sat up in bed, holding his enormous stomach with both hands. He wore his ring, hadn’t taken it off since the day Nathan proposed to him; the skin around the thin band had turned white with tension.

“Is it the baby?” he asked.

Simon turned his head, the corner of his mouth turning upward into the beginnings of a snarl. “Is it the baby?” he mocked.

His foul demeanor wasn’t exactly a new thing. His body had been having what were essentially practice contractions for days now. Each time one come over him, the pain and tightness turned him into a biting, hormonal thing. It was rough to deal with, especially the first few times when Nathan hadn’t had any idea what was going on, but he eventually figured out a strategy for such times.

Ignoring his mate’s snarls, Nathan pushed himself out of bed and went over to the closet to grab the overnight bag they had prepared for such an event as this. Slinging it over his shoulders, he shoved his feet into his shoes, got Simon into his slippers, and took them both to the hospital.

Simon was treated like a queen about to deliver the next heir to the throne, his every desire fulfilled. Much of those desires were snarled out through gritted teeth as the omega lay angrily in his delivery bed. Nathan did what he could before discovering that he mostly got in the way, that the nurses were too accustomed to useless fathers to know what to do with his competency. At least, that was the thought he consoled himself with when they sent him back to his seat for the fifth time in a row.

After that, he mostly just held Simon’s hand and talked to him about all the little fantasies they’d created together for the future. Simon’s grip on him was incredible, going beyond simply painful and into the realms of hellish, but Nathan suffered through it because he knew it was nothing compared to what his mate was experiencing.

He could feel faint echoes of Simon’s pain through the connection they shared, reminding him distinctly of the way his entire body had hurt after being shot. Every single movement sent agony reverberating out all the way to his fingers and toes.

It was an eternity of waiting, but only a few hours in reality. Their son slipped wetly into the world just before dawn, already giving voice to his very first howl. The cry was thin and wavering in comparison to Simon’s shriek of effort and pain, but Nathan fell in love with the sound right away.

He couldn’t move, his feet welded to the ground. All he could do was watch as the doctor quickly examined the infant to make sure he was healthy, before reverently handing him over to Simon.

Simon gazed down into a face that was so red and splotchy it was practically purple. All the tension evaporated from his own face. His lips parted, and he pressed a gentle kiss to the pup’s forehead.

Then, his gaze slid over to Nathan, beckoning him near.

One monumental step at a time, Nathan went over to meet his son, to begin the next part of their lives.