Chapter 18

Morning had become something of a special time for Derek. The steady hum of the snowcat as he drove along the darkened slopes of the mountain was soothing to him.

It had been several weeks now since he had started helping Peter manage the marketing campaigns for Snowed Inn. What had started as a simple job to increase the visibility of Andrew’s restaurant had morphed into a much larger position. It consumed a lot of his time and left him unable to drive the shuttle vans for Tony anymore.

However, Derek was reluctant to leave Tony shorthanded. So, after a bit of negotiation, he’d been given a new job helping the early morning crew grooming the slopes and trails that surrounded the ski lodge.

He was up before the sun every morning. He thought he would hate it. Derek had never really considered himself a morning person. After a brief period of adjustment, however, he found himself looking forward to the quiet stillness of predawn. It gave him the chance to clear his thoughts and prepare himself for the hectic chaos of the day.

Today was no different. The air outside was clear and cold. Derek was thankful for the warmth of snowcat’s cab. Unlike a normal morning, he found his thoughts pulled, not towards work but, towards his omega.

He and Timothy had managed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone except for Tony. Since he lived right across from Timothy’s condo it had been impossible to keep Tony from noticing. Thankfully, he seemed disinterested at best.

Now, however, Timothy was sick.

The omega had been unable to keep any of his dinner down. He had been in the bathroom vomiting all night long. He’d even fallen asleep on the floor next to the toilet. When Derek finally put him to bed, Timothy had only slept for a few hours before racing back to the bathroom. He had been too ill for breakfast when Derek got up to start his snowcat run.

There was no fever, but it was clear that Timothy was miserable. If he didn’t start feeling better soon Derek would have no choice but to ask for help from someone in the family.

To be perfectly honest, Derek had no idea what to do. He helped care for Timothy when he had the flu in college, but the majority of the nursing had come from Louisa. When it came to that sort of thing, he was completely useless without direction.

Derek finished his work for the morning and turned the snowcat back towards the Lodge. As he approached the vehicle barn he spotted several of the other snowcats. The timing was perfect as usual; everyone got done within a few minutes of each other. Today, however, Derek resented it a little. It meant he had to wait in line in order to park. If he’d gotten back before, or after, everyone else it would’ve been a simple matter. He could have just parked, turned off the snowcat, and gotten back to Timothy quickly.

Derek spotted Tony standing in the snow near the barn. He had a radio in one hand and called out to each driver in turn, directing them into the barn one at a time.

Derek anxiously waited to hear his name called out over the radio. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and chewed his lip in anticipation. After what seemed like forever, the path opened up in front of him and he heard his name. Tony waved him into the barn and he was able to park.

Derek shut his rig down in record time and hopped out before the next vehicle had even begun its approach.

He waved a wordless goodbye as he passed Tony and started back towards the condo. It was about a five-minute walk, and the sun was beginning to rise by the time he reached the front door. He stomped off the snow that clung to his boots, slipped his key in the lock, and opened the door.

“What are you doing?” The words leaped from Derek’s mouth before he had even stepped into the living room. Timothy was sitting on the couch putting on his boots. He already had his coat and hat on and a scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck.

“I’ve got to get to the restaurant. You know the grand reopening is tonight. There’s way too much to do.” Timothy sounded exhausted as he spoke, but there was a determination in his voice that made it clear he wasn’t going to back down.

That didn’t mean Derek was going to try. “Tim, you were barfing all night. Did you manage to eat anything? There’s no way you’re gonna make it all day on an empty stomach. Besides, you got almost no sleep last night.”

“Yeah, I know but what else am I supposed to do? If I don’t show up today then everything I’ve done will be for nothing.” Timothy let his hands fall to his sides in defeat. “I don’t feel like going, I really don’t but I can’t just sit here.”

“Think about it to Tim,” said Derek. “You got sick at the very smell of the bagel I toasted for you this morning. How are you going to handle working in a restaurant all day?”

“I know you’re right. I don’t know what else to do though.” Timothy shook his head slowly. “I haven’t felt this sick since I had the flu.”

“You don’t have a fever or anything though. Do you think it’s the flu again? Or something else?” Derek approached him slowly as he peeled off his coat.

“Honestly, I don’t want to say what I think it is.” Timothy looked up at Derek with a confused expression.

“Is it bad? Please tell me you weren’t trying to self-diagnose off of the Internet. You know that’s not a good idea.” Derek tried to inject some humor into the situation, but he felt like it was a losing battle. Whatever was on Timothy’s mind wasn’t going to be solved with a joke.

Timothy was silent for a long moment before finally sitting up straight. “I mean, we’ve been having a lot of sex lately…and we haven’t used protection. I wasn’t on any sort of birth control. So…” He let the sentence hang there without finishing it.

Understanding slowly dawned on Derek and he took an involuntary step back. “Are you saying…?” Derek felt his chest tighten and his heart rate spiked. “Are you pregnant?”

Timothy flopped back onto the sofa once more. “It’s a possibility. You can’t count it out.”

“What do we do then? I mean, if you are pregnant then that’s even more reason why you shouldn’t go to work today. You’ve got to take it easy, right?” Derek’s mind was reeling as he tried to anchor down his understanding of the situation. His thoughts on the matter were a muddled mess. Pregnant? Sure it was possible, but what did that mean? Was he going to be a dad?

“If I am then it’s only a couple of weeks. This is probably morning sickness. Either way, me staying here isn’t going to change anything.” The uncertainty of the matter didn’t seem to have much effect on Timothy’s resolve to finish this day.

“No, before you do anything we need to find out for sure.” Derek wasn’t used to putting his foot down on anything, but the situation seemed to call for it. “Let me go get Luke. He’s been pregnant, he will have a better idea than we will.” Derek shrugged his coat back on and turned back towards the front door.

“Derek, if you do that everyone will find out. There’s no way you can tell Luke without telling Peter. From there it’s only a matter of time before my family gets wind of this.” Timothy sighed.

Derek looked back at him for a moment. “We weren’t going to be able to keep this a secret forever anyway. If you really are pregnant it’s only a matter of time before they find out. How long did you think we could wait?”

“I’m just nervous. Before I went to college I saw so many of my siblings dating relationships fall apart. It was all because of this stupid family tradition. I didn’t want that to happen to us.” Timothy had grabbed one of the pillows from the couch and was hugging it to his chest.

“Don’t worry, we’ve been through a lot so far. These last few weeks have let us build a solid foundation for our relationship. We’re not going to fall apart that easily.” Derek smiled at his omega. His reassurances weren’t empty words. He truly believed that they could get through anything that came their way. It didn’t matter what it was, the relationship was strong enough to handle it now.

His confidence seemed to reassure Timothy somewhat. The Omega smiled softly.

“Go get your cousin. Hopefully, this all turns out just to be a stomach bug. If it doesn’t, and it is a baby… I guess we’re gonna have a lot to talk about.” Timothy smiled softly. There was still a hint of nervousness in his eyes, but he looked a little stronger now.

“Don’t worry, whatever comes our way we’re in it together.”

***

“You’re lucky I happen to have these,” said Luke as he handed a couple of boxed pregnancy tests to Timothy.

Derek sat on the sofa beside his omega and watched anxiously as Luke handed over the tests.

Luke had come as soon as Derek had called him. He arrived laden with grocery bags of supplies and his five-month-old son, Henry, tucked into a sling against his chest.

“Why don’t you go and take that upstairs with you? We’ll wait down here,” Luke instructed.

Timothy wordlessly rose from the sofa. He seemed almost numb as he carried the stack of pregnancy tests upstairs. Derek couldn’t help but feel utterly useless as he watched Timothy go.

“While he’s doing that, you can help me with this.” Luke set the bag of supplies on the coffee table in front of Derek.

“All I was asking for was some help. Maybe some advice. I didn’t expect you to bring the entire grocery store.” Derek leaned forward and opened the bag. Inside was a collection of different soups and crackers, as well as a few other nausea remedies that ranged from common to obscure. “We don’t even know if he’s pregnant.”

“Chances are, he is.” Luke didn’t hesitate in his assessment of the situation. He looked down at his son and used a small cloth to gently wipe the drool from his chin. “Given the situation, I would be surprised if he wasn’t.”

Derek rose from the couch and carried the bag to the kitchen. “What do we do if he is?”

“That’s between the two of you. No one can make the decision but you.” Luke followed him to the kitchen. “Whatever you decide, do it as a couple.”

“But, we haven’t even gone through this stupid vetting process that Timothy keeps telling me about. He’s really worried about it.” Derek looked over at his cousin as he set the bag of groceries onto the counter.

Luke looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. “It’s rough, I’m not gonna lie. I absolutely hated it. But, it’s not as hard as they make it out to be. At least, it didn’t seem like it to me. The thing is, I think it’s less about the relationship and more about the people. They don’t have a set of fixed criteria the judge you by. They seem to look at the way you work together. I honestly can’t say more than that, because I really don’t understand. All I know is that they created it for reason.”

“I know, Timothy said it had something to do with how rough it is living up here. I feel like we can overcome it. I’m not really that concerned about it. I know Timothy is though.” Derek shook his head as he began pulling cans of soup out of the bag and lining them up on the counter.

“They take it seriously. They take this whole place seriously. Snowed Inn is more than just a job, it’s their home. I don’t blame them for wanting to try to protect it.” Luke smiled softly as he continued. “Just stick together. You’ll make it.”

Before Derek could reply he heard the sound of Timothy coming down the stairs. He walked out of the kitchen and watched as the omega crossed the living room and flopped back down on the sofa.

“What did it say?” Derek asked as he approached Timothy.

“I left it on the sink. I didn’t wait to check it.” Timothy’s voice sounded almost hollow. It was difficult to judge exactly how he was feeling.

“Derek, why don’t you go check the tests?” suggested Luke. “I’ll try to get something for Timothy to eat.”

Derek nodded numbly. He turned towards the stairs and immediately felt his heart begin to pound against his ribs. He forced himself forward and began climbing towards the second floor. One foot after the other, one stair at a time.

He reached the top and made his way to the bathroom. There, lying on the edge of the sink, was the pregnancy test. He hovered in the doorway for a moment. He hadn’t been prepared for how nervous he would feel.

Whatever result that test showed would change the course of his life.