Mark

"Just keep trying, Mark. Keep holding little Trevor up to your nipple and eventually, he'll get the idea."

"Are you sure?" I asked. “He doesn’t seem even remotely interested.”

"Yes, I’m positive. This is perfectly natural. Sometimes it takes the baby a day or two to latch on, but I haven’t had many problems beyond that."

“Oh, my God," I said with a gasp. "I think he just figured it out."

“That’s a good boy,” she said as she gazed down on the little bundle in my arms. “Now, you let me know if you need anything at all, dear. I’ll be at the nurse’s station. Just press the call button.”

“Okay,” I said absentmindedly. I couldn’t stop staring at little Trevor. His lips were finally wrapped around my nipple and he was actually sucking. I couldn't believe it.

As the nurse walked out the door, Landon and Stephen popped their heads around the corner. "Is it okay if we come in?" Landon asked. But when he saw that Trevor was feeding, he rushed up to the side of the bed. "Oh my God, he's nursing already? When did he start?”

“Just now,” I said, my eyes still glued to him.

"That's one smart baby you’ve got there,” Stephen said as he joined us on the other side of the bed. “He’s got your nose, Mark. The one you got from Dad.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. The best part is, he’s got Landon’s gorgeous blue eyes. That’s what I was hoping for,” I said, looking up at Landon. “He’s beautiful.”

“He is,” Stephen said. After a moment he broke the silence that had fallen over the room while we all watched Trevor. “So, Mark. How long have you been seeing Dr. Livingston?”

“Since he walked into the delivery room. Didn’t you hear the nurse? He was standing in for my regular doctor.”

“Oh, okay.”

Stephen’s tone had changed a bit and it tore my attention away from my son. I looked up at him and his face was slightly red. “Why do you want to know?”

“I had no idea he was back in town. It was a bit of a surprise to see him, I guess.”

“Oh wait, wasn’t he the one you dated while you were at med school?” I asked. “The one that—”

“Yes,” Stephen said, cutting me off with a frown. “He’s the one that ghosted me.”

“What happened again? Didn’t he transfer to another school or something?”

“Yeah, he transferred two years in. We’d been together for over a year and when he left I never heard from him again.”

“That’s right. What an ass,” I said. “I’m sorry, Stephen. I had no idea he was the same guy.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m sure he’s a good doctor. It was just a shock seeing him in the delivery room. I’m sure I won’t run into him again since my clinic is on the other side of town.”

The three of us watched as Trevor nursed with his eyes closed and his tiny little hands balled up into fists until he drifted off to sleep.

"I'm so glad you're okay with me being here, Mark," Stephen said when Landon stepped out of the room for a moment. "I can't tell you how much it means to me. I’ve really missed you.”

“I know, Stephen. I can't believe I almost let this whole pregnancy go by without telling you about it. I was just afraid that you …”

“Afraid of what?”

“I’ve always felt like you had everything, Stephen. You’re a doctor, and Mom and Dad always gushed to everyone about how proud they were of you. Plus, you’re an alpha.”

“What does me being an alpha have to do with anything?”

“I guess I always felt like I’d never be able to measure up. You know how it is. Alphas are the prized offspring. I’d hoped that’s what I would become when I was in high school—when everyone else was going through the change. Then when nothing happened, I decided to be the toughest beta I could be. I was convinced I could out-alpha any of the cops on the force.”

“Well, from what I hear, you have,” Stephen said with a smile. “But I still don’t understand. What were you afraid of? I’ve always respected you, Mark. I’ve always thought you were an incredibly strong person.”

“I don’t know. I had these ridiculous notions in my head. After living my life believing that omegas were inferior, when I changed into one, I just freaked. I was afraid everyone—you and the guys at work and the captain—would all see me as a nobody. A baby machine. I guess I wasn’t able to give anyone—including myself—the benefit of the doubt.”

“Wow. Well, I hope you don’t feel that way anymore, Mark. You have no idea how many people in this world, including alpha males, wish they were in your shoes. That they could experience childbirth. What you are capable of is special. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I’ll second that,” Landon said as he walked up behind my brother. “You’re an amazing partner and you’re going to make an even more amazing dad.”

I could feel my face turning red, but I didn’t care. I was just so glad to know that I had the respect of the two men who I respected most in the world.

“You know, the last time I saw you was when I came to your office. I seem to remember us talking about having a barbecue at Landon’s house.”

"Yeah, I remember that,” Stephen said.

“It’s not just my house now,” Landon said. “It’s Mark’s too. And if he says barbecue, we barbecue!” I could see Landon’s eyes glaze over as the barbecue wheels started turning in his head.

“I think we should wait a little bit before making plans like that. The three of you need to get settled in first,” Stephen said with a concerned look on his face.

"Well, it's up to Mark. I think if we plan it in a week or two that should be plenty of time to settle in. And I’m perfectly fine with taking care of the whole thing. All you’d have to do is lay around in a lounge chair on the patio and look pretty,” Landon said to me with a big grin. “What do you think?"

“A couple weeks sounds good to me. I’d like to get rid of this spare tire first if I’m going to look good lounging around.”

“Oh, come on, nobody cares about that. You look fabulous, sweetie,” Landon said.

“Well, what I’d really like to do is invite some of the guys from work. Make a real party out of it. We could have a post-birth baby shower too. I’d really like all the guys to meet Trevor.”

"You’re okay with all of them coming over to meet our baby? The captain? Everyone?“ Landon said with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, I am.” I looked down at the sweet little bundle in my arms. “I want everyone in the world to know that this is our son. That the two of us made this sweet little boy."

I looked up at Landon and saw that he had tears in his eyes. “I’m so glad you feel that way, Mark. That means so much to me. What do you think about making everything official?”

"What do you mean? What do we need to make official?"

Landon took my hand and brought it to his lips, all the while staring into my eyes. I had no idea what he was talking about, but from the sweet look on his face, I could feel my eyes starting to fill with tears.

“Let's get married. I mean … will you, Mark? Will you marry me?"

A huge smile spread across my face and I couldn’t contain the tears any longer. But I didn't give a damn if anyone saw me crying anymore. I’d held my tears in my whole life and it felt incredible to let them come out. There had never been anything wrong with crying. It had all been in my head and I was glad that I could finally see that. "Of course I'll marry you, Landon.”

I’d never imagined that I could be so incredibly happy while I had tears streaming down my face. But there I was with my newborn son in my arms, my brother by my side, and the man of my dreams kissing my tears away.