I can’t believe what’s happening. I was wondering how Harley was doing, and I was waiting for him to contact me, hoping he would. And now he contacts me when his baby is about to be born. And I’m in the hospital with him, like I’m the kid’s father, holding Harley’s hand as he goes through one of the most difficult experiences of his life.

And you know what? I don’t mind one bit.

This feels right. It’s like I’m meant to be here. The hospital is cold, clinical. The staff is great, but Harley’s scared. I can tell. I can smell it on him, and I can see it on his face. He’s in pain, and he’s worried.

I wish I could take all that away from him. I wish I could make him feel better. All I can do is help comfort him, knowing that he will feel better eventually.

I’ve never actually been at a baby’s birth. I’ve always wanted to be, because I’ve always wanted to be a father. But I’ve never had this experience.

I was just sitting at home when Harley called, thankfully, otherwise I might not have been able to help. He doesn’t have any family in the area, or friends, as far as I know.

I’m so, so, glad I gave him my number that day.

His eyes are squeezed shut, but he’s working hard. I’m not clear on how omega births work, being an alpha, but I’m learning now. The opening under his belly is wide and red and angry-looking, and I don’t want to look further because I don’t know what I’ll see.

But I can’t help myself. The opening is wide enough that I can see Hunter’s head just peeking out, shining and nearly hairless.

“He’s crowning,” says one of the nurses.

Harley squeezes my hand, and I can tell he’s a bit relieved. I feel so connected to him right now. It’s an incredibly deep connection to have with someone you barely know, but I’m present at one of the most important moments of his life.

“You’re doing great, hon,” says one of the nurses. “He’s almost out.”

Harley smiles tentatively. He’s exhausted and drenched in sweat, his cheeks flushed, but he knows the end is near.

Finally, the baby slides out, and the doctor cuts the umbilical cord. One of the nurses takes the baby and swaddles him, and then hands him to Harley. It all happens so quickly that I can’t believe it happened at all. But in the end, Harley’s holding a newborn in his arms.

Tears start trickling down his face, and he blinks them away, a grin breaking out. He looks like he’s dead tired, but this is one of the happiest moments of his life. I’m silent. I want to let him and the child have their moment together.

One of the nurses smiles at me. “You’re a lucky man,” she says.

My cheeks flush. “Oh, he’s not—” I start, but she’s turned away.

It hadn’t even occurred to me that it would look like we were together until now. But I don’t mind. It feels right, in that inexplicable way it did earlier. And it doesn’t feel like I’m betraying Lars either. I’ve never heard of something like this happening.

Whatever this is.

“Hey,” says Harley, his voice raspy. “You wanna hold him?”

“Me?” I blink, caught by surprise. He wants me to hold the baby?

But I can’t say no. I gingerly take the swaddled baby and hold him close to me. He’s incredibly small, barely bigger than my hand. And he looks so delicate, his skin red and paper thin, and his eyes tightly shut. His features are perfectly formed, like he’s been molded from porcelain. I can’t believe that this is what a baby is like. Hell, this is what we all were like, when we were born. The most perfect, delicate bundles of potential.

I can’t believe Hunter is here. I can’t believe he’s a person who’s going to have a life of his own.

I snap out of my philosophical moment and hand the baby back to Harley, who’s blinking back tears as he takes his child back. I watch him look at the baby lovingly, almost a little jealous. I wish I was part of that family. It’s obvious how much love there is.

After letting Harley bond with Hunter a bit more, they take him to do whatever medical things a baby needs after being born. I step outside for a moment. I feel almost impatient, like I want to be a part of the action. But why?

When I examine my impulse, I realize it’s because I want to help care for Harley. I don’t know why that is. Is it just because he’s a new omega father, alone in the world and recovering from an abusive relationship? That would make sense, but it seems like there’s more to it.

A knock on the door of the waiting room startles me, and I look up to see a nurse smiling at me. “Mr. Fleur?” she asks. “Come on in.”

I don’t know why I’m being summoned, but I follow her to another room, where Harley and Hunter are snuggled together. My heart melts upon seeing them.

“Harley and Hunter are ready to be discharged now,” says the nurse. “So if you want to head on home…”

Harley smiles at me. He looks exhausted, but happy. As he should be. His eyes are shining with a love so intense I can only imagine what it feels like.

“You don’t need to take me home,” he says quickly. “The hospital has a shuttle, apparently—”

“No,” I say firmly, cutting him off. “There’s no way I’m letting you go home alone. Go ahead and get ready, and I’ll take you back to your place in my car.”

Harley blushes slightly, but he nods, accepting my offer. Good. I don’t want him navigating transportation in the state he’s in, alone with a newborn. And I want to help out as much as I can—maybe pick up some groceries and other supplies. I have no idea how much he’s been able to prepare.

After the nurse finishes with him, he’s wheeled out. There’s no way he’d have been able to get home himself, and I’m glad he called me. I walk with him and the nurse and Hunter to the entrance, calling my car so it’ll be ready for us. The nurse helps him into the car while I hold Hunter, slightly anxious like I’ve never been before—I know how precious the baby is, and I feel like I shouldn’t even be allowed to hold him.

It’s a little strange to be thrust into a… fatherly role, but I like it.

Harley’s mostly silent on the car ride back. He can’t do anything but stare at Hunter, and I can’t do anything but stare at him. Hunter seems like a quiet kid—he didn’t cry much at the hospital beyond his first scream of life, and now he’s sound asleep. But I suppose that’s how babies are. I realize I don’t know the first thing about babies.

“Do you have everything you need?” I ask, breaking the silence. “I’d be happy to run out and get groceries, anything you might want…”

He looks up at me and smiles, and my heart tingles with a novel feeling. I love how soft his face his, how gentle his expression is, how he’s holding Hunter with the utmost care and protectiveness. I have an urge to scoop both of them up into my arms, protecting them from the world.

That’s… a little odd, but I’m not going to question it too much.

“I’m good,” he says. “My coworkers have been super helpful, actually, and they’ve gotten me what I’ll need for the first week.”

“Oh, good,” I say, surprised. I hadn’t realize Harley had found a job, much less made friends and built up something of a support system.

“Yeah, they’re good people,” he continues. “I’m really lucky to have found them.”

“So what’s the job?” I ask, intrigued. I have to admit to myself that part of the reason I want to know is because I want to make sure it’s something good for Harley, something stable, where he’ll be safe and happy.

“It’s nothing too exciting, just some admin stuff at an antiques store,” he says. “I like it well enough, though, and I’m grateful for the opportunity. They said I can bring Hunter to the store to watch him, and there’s an elderly lady there who said she can watch him sometimes too.”

“Huh,” I say, the cogs turning in my brain. I can’t help but think of the store in the Paisley which is supposedly a front for the gang, but there’s dozens of antiques stores in Stell. And that one didn’t sell antiques, exactly, just all kinds of random stuff. “Where’s the store?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

“The Paisley,” he says. “It’s a nice neighborhood. Seems kind of run down, but it’s full of good people.”

An alarm bell goes off in my head.

“Really, it’s quite safe,” says Harley, misinterpreting the expression of surprise on my face. “They said the bad parts are on the other end of the neighborhood. And it’s close to the station…”

But I’m only half-listening. I have a horrible feeling that this is the same shop. How in the world did Harley get this job?

I have to stay calm so I can find out more information. “Oh, no, no,” I say. “I’m sure it’s fine. How did you get the job?”

“Well, one of the first people I met in the hostel was this guy named Morty, who said he was looking for someone for the store, and he wanted to give me a chance since I obviously needed it,” says Harley, rattling off his tale, completely unaware of how much danger he’s in.

My heart is pounding, so hard that I’m surprised Harley can’t see or hear it. But he isn’t a shifter; he doesn’t have those fine-tuned senses.

“That’s… good,” I say, though my brain is racing. I can’t believe it is the same shop, with that damn Morty.

“And Morty’s grandmother Marie has been so kind to me,” gushes Harley, “giving me all this stuff for the baby and furniture so I don’t have a bare house… They’ve both honestly been such a big help.”

“That’s great,” I say, though my voice is dull. But Harley doesn’t seem to notice, as tired as he is.

“Yep,” he says cheerfully. “It looks like coming here to Stell in the first place was a fantastic idea.”

“Uh huh,” I say, and I’m saved from having to say anything more because we’ve pulled up to the apartment building.

I help Harley out of the car and make sure he and the baby get up to the apartment safely. I take some more time to help him set some stuff up in the house, and I see that it is indeed full of furniture and other housewares that seem like they could have come from that shop.

This is bad. Very bad. I need to run back to headquarters and tell Lars about this. I have no idea what to do, so maybe he’ll know. I feel like a chicken with its head cut off, my brain running around in circles of anger at the Blacktails and fear for Harley and Hunter.

I make sure they have every single thing they need before leaving, and I make sure I have Harley’s number this time. I tell him he can call me for anything, and I mean it. I’d rather he call me than his Blacktail friends.

As the car zooms down the streets on its way to headquarters, I think about my next steps. It’s even more crucial now than ever to put an end to the Blacktail menace.

Someone I care for is now in the middle of it all.