Eight months pregnant…
Gray waddled to the cottage’s front door, not sure who would be visiting. All three boys were at school, and he wasn’t expecting guests, not until later when the car arrived to take him to his monthly doctor’s visit. When he finally opened it, he saw Tensen standing there, all smiles.
With another bouquet of flowers.
“Well, this is a surprise. What do I owe the pleasure?”
Tensen smiled. “I’ve just been thinking about you.”
Gray smiled wanly. “Oh… well, why don’t you come in?”
Tensen handed over the flowers before crossing the threshold and removing his hat. He looked about the house. “Very cozy.”
Gray smiled. “It’s more than enough for us.” He ushered Tensen into the small formal living room at the front of the house that was rarely used. “Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
Tensen grinned. “Just point me to the kitchen and I’ll get us both something to drink.” He took the flowers. “And get these in some water. You look like you’re ready to pop any minute now.”
Gray sighed and pointed. “Thank you.”
Tensen wandered off as Gray rested in one of the large armchairs in the room. He heard some noises—the opening of cabinets and such—before the solicitor returned with two glasses of lemonade. “I hope this is okay?”
“Perfect,” Gray said, taking one of the glasses.
Tensen took a seat in the armchair beside him. “When are you due?”
“I have another two months still,” he answered before taking a sip. “I don’t know how I’ll bear it much longer.”
“Soon… it’ll all be over,” Tensen said. “And your life will get back to normal, I hope.”
Gray seriously doubted he’d ever again feel normal. “Perhaps.”
“I came today… because I have a question of you.”
“Oh?”
“After the babe is born… and you’ve had a little time to recover, of course…”
Gray tensed, hoping the solicitor wasn’t about to ask if he’d consider another surrogacy.
“I wish to call on you. As a suitor.” Tensen smiled slightly, his face darkening a little. “If you’ll have me.”
Gray froze, shocked.
“I know you already told me I wasn’t for you… and I know there are things I cannot do for you as an alpha could… but I find myself unable to stop thinking about you. You are an incredible man, Gray.”
An alpha would offer him freedom. Children. A future. What could he possibly have with a beta?
Love?
His heart clenched as he realized he’d already fallen in love with someone else.
He closed his eyes, knowing it was never to be. Even if they lost Jamie, he wasn’t sure either he or Rohan could love again. Tensen was kind. He was considerate. And he’d likely treat Gray with respect.
I want more. I want love.
“I don’t know,” Gray murmured. “My life is in such a state of chaos right now, it’s hard to make any kind of decisions now.”
Tensen smiled wanly. “It’s not a no. Perhaps we can discuss it again—after you’ve had the baby and some time to readjust to your life.”
“Perhaps,” Gray said.
Tensen took a sip from his glass. “How are Jamie and Rohan, by the way? I’ve reached out to Jamie a few times in the last couple of weeks, but we keep playing phone tag, it seems.”
“He’s doing as good as can be expected, all things considered,” Gray said. “The new round of chemo hasn’t been easy on him.”
From the look on Tensen’s face, Gray realized he might’ve said too much.
“His cancer is back?”
“Ah, yes. I assumed you knew. But then… if you haven’t been in contact in a few weeks, maybe not. I’m sorry, that was their news to share.”
“It was news they should’ve shared with me.” Tensen rose quickly. “I’m afraid I have to cut our visit short. I’ll try to stop in again and see you very soon.”
Gray rose unsteadily and followed the beta to the door. Before he left, Tensen leaned in and placed a chaste kiss to Gray’s cheek.
“Just don’t forget about me,” Tensen murmured before he left.
Gray shut the door and lifted a hand to the place where the man had kissed him. And then he remembered the almost kiss he’d gotten from Rohan. He’d felt more thrill… more delight from a near miss than he did one to his cheek.
But could beggars really be so choosy?
A kind, attentive companion had to be better than nothing.
Gray wandered into the kitchen and saw the flowers in a too small vase. After pulling more appropriately sized one from the pantry, he readjusted them, adding his own flair to the arrangement. Once he was done there, he waddled his way out to his studio—which he hadn’t used in weeks.
Months, really.
Since the onset of Jamie’s illness, he just hadn’t had the time. Nor the desire. It also didn’t help that he hadn’t been sleeping well. His girth made it hard to remain comfortable—and lifting Jamie so often was killing his back even more.
Gray sat in front of a page of blank newsprint with a charcoal in hand, searching his mind for some inspiration. Nothing came.
He dropped the charcoal onto the table beside his easel and inhaled slowly.
Gray felt lost.
He wasn’t the same person anymore… and it impacted everything in his life. His body was so swollen and changed, that he simply didn’t feel like him anymore. Gray spread a hand over his growing stomach and rose, his back aching from sitting on the stool.
By the time the car came to pick him up for his monthly exam by his obstetrician, Dr. Forsythe, he had tried reading, a crossword puzzle, and yoga to keep his body and mind focused—all ending in massive frustration. He slid into the backseat and saw Jamie and Jefre were already there.
Gray cozied up to Jamie… and suddenly that frustration and angst he felt all day evaporated. A sense of peace came over him, and he smiled. “I’m so happy to see you’re feeling well enough to come today.”
Jamie leaned over and rested a hand on Gray’s belly. “I’d be here even if I felt like hell. I’m always excited to get more news on this little guy.”
“Little, he is not,” Gray said.
“Agreed. I’m almost getting nervous for your delivery.”
Gray didn’t want to think about the pain to come. He pushed it from his mind and chatted with both Jamie and the nurse about their day.
“I tried to get Rohan to come with us, but he’s busy catching up on some project at home.”
“You need to stop trying to force us together,” Gray mumbled under his breath.
“This is his child, too. He should be here,” Jamie said, lifting a brow. “It’s not me pushing. I just want him to take on a more active role here.”
Gray knew why Rohan wasn’t coming to the appointments, and a part of him was glad for it. Their situation was hard enough as it was without having to be in the same room with one another for more than a few minutes.
Once the car drew up before the obstetrician’s office, the driver and Jefre helped get Jamie into his new wheelchair. They entered the office and were soon called back into one of the exam rooms. Jefre accompanied them, so he could be there to help Jamie.
A nurse took his vitals, and Dr. Forsythe came in shortly after.
“Well, hello there! The gang’s all here,” the man said with a grin before he walked over to the small basin and washed his hands. They all said their hellos as he washed. When he was done, he turned and scanned the room, stopping at Gray. “How are we doing today?”
“Good,” Gray said with as much enthusiasm as he could.
“That didn’t sound like a good,” the doctor said as he looked down at the chart the nurse had left for him.
“I’m just exhausted. It’s hard to get comfortable, and I haven’t been sleeping so well because of it. And I’m huge. Huge.”
The doctor nodded and lowered the chart to the counter. “You are just above normal in weight gain for this stage of your pregnancy—and by eye, I can say you’re more than likely above average in growth. Let’s check you over and see if everything appears normal.”
The doctor instructed him to lie back. Dr. Forsythe pressed around his stomach and then lifted his stare to Jamie. “Mind if your helper rolls you out for a moment so Gray can have some privacy?”
“Is something wrong?” Jamie asked, blanching.
“No… but I need to do an intimate check. I can call you back in shortly.”
Jamie squeezed his hand before Jefre rolled him out. As soon as they were alone, the doctor helped him get onto his knees. The doctor checked the mouth of his womb and then had him lie back again.
“I think I want to do another ultrasound,” the doctor said.
“Is something wrong with the baby?” Gray asked, panicked. The baby had to be okay… it was the only thing holding Jamie to them.
Dr. Forsythe smiled. “There’s no reason to get upset or worked up. I’m just going to take another look.”
Usually when someone said not to get upset, there was a reason to get upset. He fisted his hands into the material covering his waist and just tried to breathe.
“I’ll be back in a moment. A nurse will come in and get everything ready for us,” the doctor said, patting Gray’s knee. “No worries, we’ll have you up and out of here in no time. Just relax.”
Just relax. How could he?
Jefre wheeled Jamie back in. Jamie’s face was tense. “Did he say something was wrong?”
Gray shook his head. Stay calm. Stay calm. “He just wants to take a look, he says.”
Time slowed. Jamie held his hand as a nurse came in and set up the ultrasound machine and got him ready for the exam. It felt like an hour had passed, but he knew it likely wasn’t. By the time the doctor returned, his heart was pounding in his chest and his mind was full of all the tragic scenarios he’d read about in pregnancy books.
The first thing he heard was the heartbeat. This time, there was a weird echo to it. “Why does it sound off?”
“Just relax… and let me look around here,” the doctor murmured, never taking his eyes from the screen. The light from the machine washed over his face in the darkened room.
Dr. Forsythe rolled the paddle all the way over to his side—almost his back—and pushed and prodded. “Just relax and breathe for me, Gray.”
“What are you looking for?”
The doctor didn’t answer, just frowned and looked harder at the screen. Gray turned and looked himself… he saw the baby’s profile… two arms… two legs.
Wait…
There was another arm or leg. It was thinner than the others. “What is that?”
“I think I know,” the doctor said before pushing a little harder with the paddle. “If I can just get him to turn a little in the womb.”
The baby did a moment later… and there it was.
Another baby.
Both Jamie and Gray gasped in unison and turned to one another, their stares meeting before they both looked back to the small screen.
He was tiny in comparison to his brother. He was maybe half the size.
“Twins?” Gray asked, shocked.
The doctor smiled. “Twins.” He continued working, taking measurements on the screen and entering them into his charts.
“But how did we not know until now?” Jamie asked.
“My best guess is… you’ve got a very rare alpha and omega set of twins. The omega is so small that the alpha child hid him from view during the earlier ultrasounds and tests.” The doctor took a few pictures and then moved the paddle. “He’s tiny. Really tiny. In these scenarios, there’s always a fear that the larger babe might be using up more of the resources and putting the smaller babe at risk. That little guy is likely underweight and small for his gestational age, but in most cases, they catch up once they’re born and return to average ranges within the first few years.”
“Is he in any danger?” Gray asked.
“His heartbeat sounded good just now. The nurse took some blood when you got here, and we’ll get it tested to see if there are any abnormalities. But going from the test results we’ve already done these past months, it’s been consistently good, so I’m not worried right now. If I see anything in this new draw, I’ll bring you in and we’ll talk decisions then.”
“What happens next?” Gray asks, worried.
“I’m going to strongly suggest bedrest,” the doctor advised. “And we may need to take the babes sooner than your due date if we see he’s struggling. The real estate in there is getting real tight, but I want them to remain where they are as long as possible. For now, he’s small, but not severely undersized. And as long as those test results don’t show any signs of an issue, we’ll play things week by week now.”
“Bedrest?” Gray cried, worriedly looking at Jamie. “I have too many things to do. I can’t spend the next two months in bed.” He had his nephews… Jamie… it was all too much for him to give in and lie about.
“You come live in our home,” Jamie said. “We can hire a cook… a manservant…. Whatever else we need. We’ll take care of you.”
“I appreciate your kind offer, but… I can’t abandon my nephews.”
“Auggie and Lake can come live with us as well,” Jamie said. “That will allow Avery to focus on his studies.”
“I can’t ask you to do that. It’s too much of a burden. Plus… you can’t speak for Rohan.” The alpha wouldn’t want him under the same roof. They couldn’t be so close.
“I’ll speak to Rohan, but I’m sure it’s what he’ll want to do,” Jamie said. “Protecting you is his instinct. He’ll do what’s best for the babies.” Jamie grinned. “Two… two precious little ones. We need to prepare!”
Gray opened his mouth to argue, but when he saw a light of hope shone in Jamie’s eyes that had been slowly fading, he couldn’t speak. “We’ll see what Rohan says and then decide.”
“Are we settled now?” the doctor asked, crooking one brow.
“Yes, sorry,” Gray said.
“For now, I’ll schedule your home birth nurses to visit you once a week and I want you in the office every week. Unless you have any issues. If you see any bleeding, have any pain—anything—I want you to go to a public hospital immediately. Call us on the way, if possible.”
“Yes, of course,” Gray said.
The doctor smiled. “That said, while your situation is rare, it is not unheard of. We know how to handle an AO twin pregnancy, and I’m sure everything will end up just fine.”
Gray damned well hoped so.
* * * *
Three’s a crowd…
Rohan heard Jamie and Jefre returning from the doctor’s visit. He rose from his desk and wandered out to see how the appointment had gone—only to see Gray was with them. Their eyes met. Gray gave him an odd look before looking down at the floor.
“What’s going on?”
“Gray has come to live with us,” Jamie announced, a broad smile on his face.
Rohan frowned. He tried to search Gray’s face again, but the man wouldn’t look at him. “Shouldn’t we have… discussed this?”
“We had an appointment today… remember? The one I asked you to go to?”
Rohan sighed. “Yes, I remember.”
“Well, we have huge news,” Jamie said. He looked to Gray and grinned. “You want to tell him?”
“No… this is your news, not mine.”
Jamie looked like he could bounce out of his wheelchair. Even Rohan had a hard time not smiling, given how animated his omega looked.
“Twins!”
Rohan’s eyes widened. “What?”
“There’s a little twin hiding under the bigger twin,” Jamie said, his eyes shining with excitement. His smiled faded some. “There is a little concern because he is so small. The doctor is going to start monitoring the situation very closely from here on in. We have to go see him every week now, not every month. And Gray needs to go on bedrest.”
Two babies? Rohan took a moment to mentally chew through all that information before he looked to Gray.
“Jamie suggested I should stay here. I told him it wasn’t a good idea, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“Rohan… he’ll be confined to a bed for two months. We were already going to hire a cook and a manservant to help around the house once the baby came. We’d just be doing it a little sooner than later,” Jamie cooed.
Rohan felt his omega trying to manipulate the situation. “What about his nephews? He can’t leave them alone in the O Quad.”
“They can come here, too,” Jamie said. “You’re going to love Lake and little Auggie. He is just the sweetest. Auggie. Not Lake. Lake is a teenager, and you know how teenagers are… but they can stay here, right?”
Rohan opened his mouth to argue and saw the look in Jamie’s eyes.
There would be no arguing. His omega had already made up his mind.
“Right. Of course. I’ll go ahead and call the service about the cook and manservant in the morning.”
“Perfect,” Jamie said, clapping his hands together. “We’ll be one big, happy family.”
Rohan shook his head. He scrubbed his face with both hands. When he lifted his stare, he looked at Gray—who still stood in the middle of the foyer.
“If he’s on bedrest, shouldn’t he be in bed?” Rohan asked.
Gray met his stare.
“Can you show him to a room?” Jamie asked, leaning back in his chair. “I’m just exhausted and want Jefre to take me up.”
“Of course,” Rohan mumbled. He glanced at Gray. “Follow me.”
Rohan waited until Gray was at the steps and helped usher him up. He noticed just how large the omega had become. Gray waddled up the stairs, taking one at a time.
“Are you okay?”
Gray cast a glance his way. “I’m a whale… trying to mount a ridiculous number of steps.”
Rohan shook his head before lifting Gray into his arms and carrying the pregnant omega to the second floor. He tried to ignore the purring within, the satisfaction he felt in having the papa of his children in his arms. Rohan carried Gray to the bedroom Jamie had abandoned and lowered him to the side of the bed.
Gray kicked off his shoes and took off his sweater before Rohan helped him into bed. Rohan sat on the edge of the bed, eyeing the swell again. Without thinking, he reached out and caressed Gray’s stomach. He leaned over and pressed his lips to the belly before resting his forehead there.
Two babes…
Twins were rare, and the birth would be just that much harder on Gray. Birth was already dangerous, and many omegas didn’t make it through. Adding more danger scared him.
What if Gray didn’t make it through?
His heart stopped at that thought.
Rohan lifted his stare. Gray watched him, a mixture of concern and want in his eyes.
“I need you to take care of yourself,” he whispered.
“I plan on it,” Gray responded.
“Two babies… that makes this a high-risk pregnancy. I need to know you’re going to make it through this.” Because I can’t lose you, too.
“I can only follow the doctor’s instructions. Other than that, it’s up to fate.”
Rohan rushed from the room and grabbed an item in the hall. He returned and set the bell at the bedside. “I’m going to get an intercom system put in. Until then, you use this if you need anything. You’re not to get up. At all.”
“What if I need to pee?”
“You ring the bell. And we’ll be here to help you,” Rohan said.
“Speaking of peeing,” Gray said. “I should’ve asked you before you brought me in here.”
Rohan offered a hand. Once Gray was out of the bed, he scooped the omega up and carried him to the adjoining bathroom. It was a little awkward, but Rohan refused to leave. He wouldn’t give things up to chance.
Now he had two omegas to watch like a hawk.
Trying to make it a little less awkward, Rohan asked a question as Gray tried to pee. “We need to get your things and the boys. I can send a car.”
“Already done,” Gray said after he’d finally gone and wiped up. “Jamie had me call on the car ride over. Avery is packing my bag, and the boys are collecting whatever they need for now. And the car was going to pick them up tomorrow.”
“I can hire the manny early, if possible. See if he can start now to help with your nephews.”
“You’re already going to a lot of trouble and expense for me. It makes me feel horrible.”
Rohan lifted the omega into his arms and looked down into the man’s face.
“This is probably the most awkward thing that has ever happened to me.”
“My job is to protect you… which I will do in whatever way I need to. You’re carrying our children,” he murmured. “I’m your alpha…”
Gray held his gaze, his cheeks darkening. “For now. In a couple of months, you’ll be free of me and we’ll never have to see one another again.”
That thought nearly made Rohan’s heart break. Two months. That’s all they had left together.
He couldn’t speak… only stare down at the handsome omega.
“Can you take me back to bed?” Gray asked, averting his stare.
After carrying his pregnant omega back to the bed, Rohan lowered Gray and got him covered. “I’ll order us some dinner for tonight. I didn’t know we’d have company. Are you hungry for anything in particular?”
“Chicken soup sounds good.”
“Okay.”
“But a steak sounds yummy, too,” Gray added suddenly. He frowned and looked at Rohan. “Do you have any walnut maple ice cream, by chance?”
Rohan chuckled. “Sounds like I need to go run to the grocery.”
“I don’t want to be any trouble,” Gray said. “Unless you were already going to go?”
“I was,” Rohan fibbed. “Is there anything else I can get you while I’m there?”
“Pickles? The sliced dill kind.” Gray nodded. “Oh, and some plums. Toffee popcorn? Maybe some caramel sauce for the ice cream.”
Rohan eyed him. “Do you have your phone?”
Gray reached into his pocket and lifted it out. “Yep.”
“Text me a list. You have until I get to the store to add items.”
Gray smiled. “Thank you.”
Rohan returned the smile. As much as he hated the thought of Gray being there, a part of him had wanted it from the start. His pregnant omega was under his roof.
And he was pleased.
* * * *
Greetings from home…
Avery knocked on the mansion’s front door. In the dark, it was hard to truly get the size and scope of the place, but apparently Jamie’s alpha did alright for himself. The door whipped open, and a harried looking alpha filled the doorframe. Avery tensed… he was still getting used to being in tight quarters with alphas, and he’d yet to relax completely in their presence.
“Can I help you?”
He lifted the two bags in his hands. “I’m Gray’s nephew, Avery. I brought his things.”
“Wonderful,” the alpha said. “Come in.”
Avery passed the huge man before turning to face him.
The alpha looked outside and then back at him. “Your brothers aren’t here?”
“No, I left them at home. I’m not so sure it’s the greatest idea to send them here for the next two months. I was hoping I could talk to my uncle?”
“Sure,” the man said. “If you don’t mind, I’m trying to get some groceries put away. Can I give you some directions?”
“Absolutely.”
“Top of the stairs, hang a left. Second to last door on the left.”
Avery nodded. “Thanks.”
The alpha headed off to wherever he’d come from, and Avery took the curving staircase. Nosy, he checked the place out as he walked up. The foyer was huge… and there was a second-floor gallery hallway that traveled three sides. A railing wrapped the hallway, giving a perfect view down. Huge paintings graced the walls of the foyer—which was more great hall than foyer—and more graced the walls of the second floor halls.
Avery turned left and then paused. One of the paintings looked familiar, and he was almost sure that it was one of his uncles. He smiled and continued on.
“Knock, knock,” Avery said at the door Rohan had directed him to.
“Avery?” Gray asked from behind.
He entered and showed his uncle the bags. “I got your message and brought your things.” He lowered them at the foot of the bed and looked around the huge bedroom. “So bedrest? For how long?”
“Until the babies come.”
“Babies?”
“Apparently there are two. A smaller omega twin was being hidden by his larger alpha brother.”
“My gods,” Avery said. He sighed. “How in the hell are we going to manage for two months?”
“Well, like I said in the message, Jamie and Rohan want me to stay here—”
“And take care of the boys, I heard.”
“Where are the boys? Are they getting settled?”
“I didn’t bring them,” Avery replied.
“How in the world are you going to work, go to school, and raise two boys on your own? They’ve offered to let Auggie and Lake stay here, so it doesn’t impact your studies.”
Avery sat straighter. “Does Rohan know?”
“Know what?”
“About me? I feel quite sure Jamie probably does.”
Gray smiled wanly. “Yes. Jamie knows, and he won’t say a word. Rohan does not. Nor will he.”
“I wish you hadn’t told Jamie.”
“It slipped… an accident. And he’d just about guessed. But trust me… Jamie and I are very close. Very. He’s almost like a brother.”
Avery’s head whipped up, the comment striking him. “You know… I learned something interesting in my history class a couple of months back. It rang a bell for me then, and I couldn’t understand why… now maybe I do.”
“What was it?”
“Did you know that an alpha can have more than one mate?”
Gray looked at his nephew and shook his head. “No… there is one fated pair. One alpha to one omega.”
“The government created the idea of the fated mate when omega numbers began to decline. During the Resurgence, and before actually, alphas had as many as a dozen omegas who were mated to them.”
“A dozen? There’s no way one alpha could handle a dozen omegas and their needs.”
“I’ve read up on the subject. It was real. Alphas can have more than one mate… while omegas only have one, they have this other kind of bond that’s similar. It’s not sexual… but it was called ‘the brotherhood’ by one author. Omegas mated to the same alpha would claim they felt this brotherly bond of love, and sometimes it actually did go farther.”
Gray eyed his nephew. “I’ve never heard anything like this before in my entire life.”
“Of course not. Because they don’t want us to know there are options out there.”
“The birthrates are too low… if alphas could claim more than one mate, why wouldn’t they want them to? More babies is a good thing for our society.”
“A theory I read said this. The omega numbers declined… and there were large numbers of alphas without an omega. Fighting and chaos erupted. That’s when the harems were outlawed and the one-to-one ratio was made law. One scientist claims our chemistry changed some after that… that we somehow acclimated to this new world order after a few generations.” Avery tilted his head and looked at Gray. “Maybe you’re a throwback to that older system… a quirk to the new chemistry.”
“A quirk. Sounds about right. Everything in my life has been strange.”
“But doesn’t that sound like you and Jamie—you said you loved him like a brother. And you’ve said Jamie seems to feel the same for you.”
The idea stunned Gray. Did they both truly belong to Rohan?
“I can bring you one of the books sometime soon. Let you read it for yourself.”
Gray nodded. “It’ll give me something to do while I’m stuck in this bed for two months.” He smiled. “You can bring it when you bring the boys.”
“I don’t know how I feel about Lake and Auggie coming here. They’re my responsibility… and with you being down and Jamie sick… there’s too much going on here. I don’t want to add to the chaos.”
“But if they remain home… there’s no way you could work and go to school. No way. I won’t have you quit because of me. I did this to help pay your tuition. We can’t lose it now.”
Avery wasn’t convinced it was the right thing for his brothers. “If you’re on bedrest, who will care for them? No… we can’t do this.”
“Jamie and Rohan already have round the clock nurses who can help watch over me, as well. They now plan to hire a cook and a manservant, which they already planned to do once the babies were here. The boys can come home every afternoon and do their homework right in here—at that table there. The schools are better in the Family Quad, and they can visit some of their friends while they’re here. They’ll have someone to ensure they’re fed. I already suspect Jamie will spoil them… he spoils everyone. I’ve told him not to, but he got that twinkle to his eye. Your brothers will be in heaven.”
“And in two months, after the babies are here, they’ll be sent right back home to reality. Do we really want that upheaval in their lives?”
“It’s a necessary evil,” Gray said. “You need to focus on your studies. They’ll be safe and cared for here—being told repeatedly that this is a temporary situation and not to get too attached.”
Avery was still unsure. “I’d like to think it over.” He smiled. “I’d miss them tremendously.”
“It’s not like you couldn’t visit, Mr. Norcross.”
Avery rolled his eyes. “I already hate that name with a passion.”
Gray chuckled. “Three more years. More, if you have to quit a semester.”
“You don’t have to push,” Avery said, rising. “I should get home and get the boys something for dinner.”
“There’s an emergency casserole in the freezer. The blue dish.”
“When did you become so responsible?”
“I’m trying,” Gray said with a smile.
Avery paused. “Should I stop in to see Jamie? I don’t want to bother him… yet I don’t want to appear rude, either?”
Gray pressed a button at the side of the bed. “Hold on.”
A moment later, a beta walked into the room in nurse’s apparel.
“Serge, is Jamie awake?”
“He just got up a little while ago. Would you like me to bring him in?”
“Yes… if he’d like to visit a moment with Avery before my nephew leaves. If not, tell him we understand if he’s not up to having a visitor.”
“Give me a moment to ask him.”
A few minutes later, Serge rolled a very weak looking Jamie into the room. Avery tried not to look surprised, but the change in the omega was staggering. He was gaunt and extremely pale… almost skeletal. He turned his head, catching Gray’s stare before looking back at Jamie.
He walked over, forcing a smile. “How wonderful it is to see you, Jamie.”
Jamie grinned widely. “It’s been too long since I’ve had the pleasure.” He reached out a hand and gripped Avery’s weakly. “I expect your uncle has been telling you of our plans. I hope you’ll agree. We’d love to host your brothers.”
Avery didn’t quite know what to say. He’d known Jamie was ill, but seeing it before him almost made him want to break down and cry for the man. “I fear having a pre-teen and a teenager in the house might be too much for you.”
“Nonsense,” Jamie cried. “It’ll liven up the place. We need that around here right now.”
Avery turned to meet Gray’s stare again before looking at Jamie. He forced another smile. “I’ll go home and discuss it with my brothers and see what they say. It’s a lot of upheaval for them—but I truly appreciate your kind offer.”
“Upheaval?”
“Well, they’ll come home in a couple of months.”
“I very much doubt that,” Jamie said with a chuckle.
Avery frowned, not understanding. “Excuse me?”
Jamie just smiled and waved a hand. “Never mind… you’ll see.”
Avery looked at Gray—who looked as if he knew something more, but from his expression, wasn’t telling. He turned back to Jamie. “I’ll see?”
“In time,” Jamie said with a wink.
“I should be going,” Avery said. “The boys are already home… we’ll discuss things once I get them some dinner.”
He gave Gray a hug before taking Jamie’s tiny hand and squeezing it. “I’ll see you both soon.”
“Wonderful!” Jamie said with a smile.
Avery left, casting one more glance at Gray before he left.
It was all a terrible idea, and he knew it… but he also knew Gray had a point. Without their help, he’d likely have to quit the semester.
And he wasn’t ready to do that, either.
He’d worked too hard to reach for something supposedly unreachable for him. To let go now?
It just didn’t seem right.