Kurt woke up on Sunday morning and immediately wished he hadn’t. It was a foolish wish, and he wished he had someone he could reach out to and talk about it. He wasn’t what he would call a romantic by any stretch of the imagination. At least, he didn’t think of himself that way. Maybe he had some of those notions deep down, but he’d never been the kind of guy to get all worked up about a guy and mope about not having him around.

Then again, he’d never been pregnant before. Maybe it was hormones. Maybe it was just the fact that he was looking forward to single parenthood, and he didn’t exactly see that as a desirable state for him. Maybe it was the fact that he genuinely liked Dom, in spite of everything, and would miss him.

Whatever. Even if—when—Dom decided to leave forever, Dom was going to be part of Kurt’s life at least for a while. Kurt had to go and talk to him about this and try to work out visitation and crap like that before they got lawyers involved.

It figured. Kurt could be the best actor in the world, but as soon as he tried to do anything else (like have a relationship, or start a family, or anything else at all) he was so bad he had to get lawyers involved to clean up his mess. Maybe his father was right, and all he was good for was shaking his ass in front of a camera. Hell, it had taken him years to figure out Dad was stealing from him, so he obviously wasn’t any good with money either.

He jumped out of bed and slipped into some clothes. Lying in bed all day wasn’t going to solve any problems.

He dressed carefully—he usually did, despite appearances to the contrary. He didn’t want Dom to think he was lying around broken hearted, even though he was. He wanted Dom to know he meant business. He also wanted to feel comfortable, though. His normal jeans and a plain white tee shirt would do, along with a nice jacket.

He arranged for a car service to take him to the restaurant. He needed to get around to putting one of those ride sharing apps on his phone, now that he was working to get rid of Elisa. He didn’t need to get her involved with his pregnancy, so he didn’t need to get her involved with this meeting. For now, the concierge could help him find a local company.

He got to the restaurant exactly on time. The maitre d’ showed him back to the private room Dr. Ben had reserved, where he found Dr. Ben and Hopper waiting for him. They even had champagne already. Dom was late.

Neither Dr. Ben nor Hopper seemed particularly perturbed by his tardiness. Ben just shrugged and raised a glass. “It gives us a chance to congratulate you on your pregnancy, alone.” He grinned. “It may not always seem like it, but you’re in for a good time. We didn’t plan for little Cam, but she’s the best thing to ever happen to us.”

“It’s true. I don’t necessarily remember that when she pukes on my shirt, but every time she laughs and claps her little hands I remember.” Hopper grinned for Kurt. “You’re going to love that moment, let me tell you.”

Kurt forced himself to relax. “I wasn’t exactly trying or hoping for a baby,” he admitted. “I figured it would happen eventually, and I was okay with that, but I figured I had a few years. But the baby’s on its way, and it is what it is. I’m sure I’ll be pretty excited once the shock wears off, and once I’ve got all my ducks in a row with the studio and my current projects.” He grinned. “I’m going to have to bring on a nanny, and I’m prepared for that, but I’m not sure where to start. When I tell my mum, I’ll ask her to start a search and start screening candidates. She’s actually done early childhood education, so she’s got more of a clue about what to look for than I would.”

“Is your mother in California then?” Ben toyed with his champagne flute.

“Oh, no. She’s back in London. I’ll give birth there.”

Hopper and Ben exchanged troubled glances. “Are you sure about that? I mean the father is a Navy SEAL. Don’t you want to have the baby in the US?” Hopper scratched behind his ear, like he couldn’t quite think what to do with his hands.

“Not really. Dom and I aren’t really partners, you know?” The words gave him a pang, and he didn’t try to hide it. Why should he? He wasn’t ashamed to have emotions. “I’m sure he wants to be involved with the baby. But I want the baby to have full English citizenship. I’m not an American. If I’m going to settle down, and have a permanent address, I’m not doing it in America.”

Hopper drew his eyebrows together in confusion. “But what about Van Heel?”

“What about him? Has he asked me to stay?” Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose. Maybe he’d have been better served by staying in bed after all.

Ben put his hand on his husband’s arm. “Sweetie, maybe it would be better if we waited for this discussion until Van Heel gets here.”

Dom was fifteen minutes late, fifteen minutes of awkward conversation and continued fending off of the waiter. When he finally arrived, he didn’t give any explanation for his tardiness. “Hey,” he said instead. “Nice digs.”

Kurt pressed his lips together. Maybe if he pretended this was just another meeting with some odious studio executives, he could get through this.

Ben seemed to be thinking the same thing. “Okay,” he said, pretending to smile brightly. “Maybe we should order first and then start the discussion.”

The waiter must have been hovering outside the door, because he pounced. All four of them ordered, which suggested Dom had studied the menu last night, and then they settled in. “All right. So. Where do we start.” Dom fussed with his fork, twirling it in his hand.

“Well, where do you want to start?” Ben’s face had that “professionally neutral” expression a lot of lawyers and therapists got when they were dealing with difficult clients. “What seems to be a good starting point to you, Dom? You were the one who came up with the most concerns, so maybe you should be the one to start. Then we can put those concerns to rest.”

Kurt plastered his usual vacant expression onto his face. It was how he usually got through these meetings.

Dom pointed at him. “That right there? Don’t do that shit. I know you’ve got more going on there than what you’re showing me. Don’t pretend to be stupid just because you’re feeling stubborn.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Are you pretending you want my actual opinion? Or are you going to tell me I’m not allowed to have one again because I’ve spent so much time whoring around?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Kurt, are you going to pretend you didn’t spend that time doing all that?”

Ben cleared his throat. “All right. So Kurt, maybe we could try to leave past arguments in the past, unless they specifically come up again. Van Heel, how about if we leave judgements about other people’s sex lives alone? That’s super hypocritical and inappropriate, unless you’re willing to start making accusations against quite a few of your teammates as well.”

Dom glowered, but gritted his teeth together. “Fine,” he spat.

“Okay. Let’s try something different.” Ben’s eyes tightened. “Kurt, what are you hoping to get out of this meeting? Be honest. You’re among friends.”

“I’m not really, am I?” Kurt leaned back in his chair. “I don’t mean to offend. I like you. I do, and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done. But let’s face it, you’re SEALs and he’s married to a SEAL. I’m an interloper, someone who showed up because my bosses and your bosses decided it would be a swell idea. Dom is family, and I’m just some guy. As soon as I mentioned my intentions, Hopper, your first thought was for Dom.” He held up a hand when Hopper’s beautiful face twisted into a frown. “It’s not a criticism. That’s how it should be. But as soon as I say something that’s seen as out of line, I’m going to get dog piled, and we all know it.”

“You’re not completely alone, but I understand what you mean.” Ben managed half a grin. “Of course, you’ve also got resources Dom can’t even imagine to come to bat for you. So I guess it kind of evens out, maybe?”

Kurt sighed, closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not even close. Look, I’m willing to have this discussion. But I’m going to have to ask for your forgiveness if I don’t seem as expectant of a win-win from it.” He sat up.

Dom gave him a long, measuring look. “Spare me the poor me routine, would you? You’ve got all the power here, and you know it. You can just hop on a plane and hide out back in England, forever.”

Kurt put his hands on the table. “If that’s what you think of me, then we shouldn’t bother having this conversation. I asked you, when we got back to the hotel, if we could please wait to discuss it later. You said no and went on to insult me so thoroughly that I had to kick you out of my hotel room. I agreed to meet up here, and you keep on insulting me. What exactly do you, Dom, hope to get out of this conversation?” He turned to face Dom completely.

Dom flinched back. “There’s no need to get all huffy.”

“Just answer the question, Dom. He’s reacting reasonably to your provocation.” Ben glared at him.

Dom sucked in his cheeks. “I want to be able to see our kid.”

“Take it up with the lawyer. Are we done?”

“Christ, do we have to go through the lawyer for everything?” Dom threw his napkin up into the air. “We’re having a baby, not a lawsuit in a diaper!”

“You’re the one who brought the lawsuit into it.” Kurt shrugged. “I’m not going to sit there and raise my child to have you use it as a weapon against me. My father did that to me, and I’ll be damned before I do it to another kid. I will do whatever I need to do to make sure you can’t do it to our kid too.”

Dom took a deep breath. “I don’t want to use the baby to take cheap shots at you. I’m very concerned that you don’t know what you’re doing. I’m very concerned that the life you’ve been leading will be a bad influence on the baby. And I’m deeply concerned about giving the baby a stable lifestyle.” He sucked on his cheeks, opened his mouth to say more, and then paused while the waiter brought their food.

Kurt felt Dom’s words like stab wounds. Kurt didn’t know what he was doing, insofar as having a baby, but no first time parents did. When the waiter left, Kurt looked up at Dom again. “I’m worried about giving the baby a stable lifestyle myself. That’s why I’m having my mother help in the search for a nanny. She’s got a degree in early childhood education, so she can screen candidates from home. It gives her some role in the process, too, which is good for her since my father’s lawyers completely excluded her from my life after the divorce until I was eighteen.”

“As for the ‘life I’ve been leading,’ I think you’ve got a lot of nerve casting stones about that one. Sure, I’ve slept around, and I’ve even liked it sometimes. You know why I’ve done it. You certainly weren’t a virgin when we met. Are you going to pretend it’s different for alphas? Having a child will allow me to shift away from that image, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. So that excuse falls flat too.”

“As for me not knowing what I’m doing, no one does when they have their first child. Even pediatricians don’t know what they’re doing the first time they hold their own child, for fuck’s sake. What’s wrong with you?”

Dom shook his head. “You’ve been completely isolated from the real world since you were twelve! You didn’t graduate high school. You’ve never held a job. You can’t balance a checkbook. You don’t know how to prepare a meal. You don’t know how to do anything in real life! How exactly are you a fit parent?”

Hopper turned to Kurt, eyes wide. “Okay, everything I said before? I take it back. My blood brothers are assholes too.”

Ben cringed. “Er, Van Heel, is there anything you might want to rephrase?”

“Don’t bother.” Kurt held up a hand. “He’s not going to listen. He’s so convinced of his own righteousness nothing’s going to cut it.”

“So you’re suddenly a gourmet cook and a college grad now?” Dom crossed his arms over his chest.

“No. But neither are you.” Kurt tilted his head to the side and looked at Dom with defiance. “And you know something else? It’s fine that I’m not what you would choose in a partner. I don’t actually care that I’m not good enough for you, Dom.”

“I didn’t say that.” Dom shook his head, scowling.

“You kind of did,” Ben told him.

“The point is,” Kurt continued, “that what you think of me doesn’t matter, because soon enough I’m going to be gone from your life.”

“You can’t just leave. We’ve got a baby on the way!” Dom leaned forward and hissed.

“So what, you thought that I’d just take up permanent residence in the Hilton?” Kurt hovered between hysterical laughter and sobs. “Maybe you thought I’d like to be your kept man? I mean, I’m not the kind of guy you want, but you know, you could stop in for a little something when you’re feeling uptight and lonely?”

“You’re putting words in my mouth.” Dom was growling now.

“Then start making sense, Dom. You don’t want me, but you expect me to stick around and do what?”

“Stick around, keep the kid where I can see it, and be a parent to it! Don’t go gadding around the place just doing whatever! And maybe, someday, we can be a family.” Dom threw his hands up in the air. “Is that too much to ask?”

“Well, when you make such a convincing argument, how could a man say no?” Kurt snorted. “Hard pass.” He took a bite of his omelet. “This is delicious, by the way.”

“What do you mean, ‘hard pass?’” Dom blinked at him.

“He means,” Ben said slowly and succinctly, “that you’ve made absolutely no offer that would convince him to say yes. I’m sorry, Kurt. I seem to have wasted your time.”

* * *

Dom’s mouth had gone as dry as any desert he’d ever fought in. His palms hadn’t been quite so sweaty, even in his first time in combat. “Wait,” he said. “Do you really not want us to be a family?”

Kurt rolled those magnificent dark eyes of his. “You’ve done nothing but insult me since we found out about the baby. Why would I want to be a family with you?”

Dom swallowed as hard as he could, but it was hard to push anything past that lump in his throat. “Because we’re having a baby. It’s important for babies to be raised in families.”

Hopper cleared his throat. “Sometimes families aren’t necessarily two birth parents. I grew up with my aunt. Adami was raised by his grandfathers. I think there were a few other guys in the unit who didn’t grow up with their bio parents, at least not all the time.”

Dom shook his head hard. “Why can’t any of you get it? Family is important. Families are the basic building block of this country! We need that. Our baby needs that. It needs both of its parents, damn it.”

Kurt pursed his lips. “What it needs is to see parents treating one another with respect. You’ve made it pretty clear on a number of occasions that while you are attracted to me, you don’t respect me. You can’t respect me, Dom. Even though you’ve said you aren’t bothered by who I’ve been with in the past, you keep bringing it up when things have gotten uncomfortable. Do you really think it’s healthy for our kid to see you putting its father down for things like that?”

Dom sucked in a huge breath of air. “I hadn’t thought about it that way. Honestly, I don’t think about those other guys.”

“Liar.” Kurt scoffed and went back to that stupid omelet of his. “If you didn’t think about them, you wouldn’t bring them up. You keep bringing them up, so you must keep thinking about them.”

“They’re not what’s really on my mind.” Dom picked up a champagne flute. “Look. We definitely have different values, and we both know that. What’s to stop you from picking up and taking off? You don’t actually need me for any of this. You’re going to pick up and leave, and you’re going to run off and do some wild stuff somewhere, and our kid’s going to be raised by hired robots or some crap, and it’s all going to be a mess.”

Hopper squirmed. “I’ll be the first to admit the idea of having a nanny threw me for a loop at first. It was a big adjustment. My people don’t have nannies, but some of my cousins and sisters have been nannies. Look, some families do just kind of abandon their kids to nannies and forget all about them. It is a reasonable solution, though, when both parents have challenging and unpredictable jobs.”

“He could quit,” Dom pointed out brightly. “Look, I’m a traditional guy. I come from a single-income household. If we couldn’t afford it we didn’t buy it, we didn’t put mom to work and make the kids fend for ourselves. Mom took great care of us and maybe there were other things she would have liked to be doing, but we were her top priority. That’s the gold standard. That’s what we should all be aspiring to.”

Everyone blinked at him, even Hopper. “Okay, then,” Hopper said after a moment. “Let me ask you something. Why is it your mom who had to stop work? Or in this case, why is it Kurt that you want to stop working?”

Ben and Kurt sat back in silence, waiting. The corners of Ben’s mouth twitched, like he was amused. Kurt just looked annoyed.

Dom sighed. “Look. The carrier parent is the natural one to take care of the kids.”

Kurt stood up. “I’m so out of here I’m in Tahiti.”

“Look, it’s just the way things work!” Dom stepped in front of Kurt. “It just is! And it’s not like they’re going to be able to pimp you out with a baby in your belly.”

Dom recognized his mistake before Kurt even spoke. “Wow, everything else I said just went in one ear and out the other, didn’t it?”

“I’m sorry. Maybe I’m a little more hung up on it than I think I am. I told you, I’m a traditional kind of guy. I’m just—what’s wrong with starting a family?”

“I think you need to work on your definition of family. The only problem with that is, of course, that I’m leaving. They’re going to have to move up production on the wretched SEAL Magnet if they want to keep Hap looking trim, so I’ll be heading out to Arizona sooner rather than later.” Kurt’s face showed no emotion at all as he revealed this bombshell. “I haven’t told them yet. I haven’t told anyone yet. But I’ll probably have to do that today, just to get the ball rolling.”

Dom couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. “I thought we’d have more time,” he said, when he found his voice again.

Kurt’s face softened, just a little bit. “Yes, well, we never really know how much time we’re going to have, do we? I’m sure Elisa will keep everyone updated on the schedule, once we have it.”

“And that’s just it.” Dom couldn’t believe it. “You’re just going to leave. Are you even going to keep in touch?”

Kurt bowed his head. “Dom, ever since you found out I was pregnant, you’ve insulted me almost constantly. No, I’m not signing up for a constant stream of abuse. My lawyers will keep you updated on the pregnancy and work out a visitation arrangement. It would have been great if we could work something out. I liked you. I really did.” He pushed away from the table. “Thanks for brunch.”

Kurt walked out of the restaurant, and the remaining three watched him go.

Dom turned to Ben. “You said you’d talk to him!”

“I said I’d facilitate,” Ben snapped. “He’s right. You went on the offensive as soon as you walked in. This wasn’t a battle situation, Van Heel. It was a discussion with the father of your child, for the future of your family. You should have gone in with diplomacy, and instead you brought in a nuclear warhead.” He threw his napkin onto the table in disgust, muttering in French.

They asked for the check, only to find out that “Mr. McNeil” had paid the bill and left a generous tip besides. That was far outside anything Dom had expected, but maybe he should have.

Kurt didn’t show up on base the next day, which was Monday. Elisa did, which turned out to be fairly embarrassing for her. She waited a full half hour for Kurt to arrive before she sneaked out of the briefing room to call him, only to apparently have the studio office call her and tell her to go back to the hotel. She minced into the briefing room on those ridiculous heels of hers and spoke to Chief and then minced away.

Chief cleared his throat. “Apparently they’re thinking of speeding up production on SEAL Magnet. I’m sure you’re all heartbroken. With any luck that will be the end of any babysitting, and we can all get back to doing what it is that we do.”

What they did was supposed to be training. What they actually did seemed to be following “valuable intelligence” via the news for details about the Chaos Tree trials. The SEALs had known about the Smolak Arms connection to White Dawn and to Chaos Tree from the beginning. Now that the details about Smolak’s personal and corporate donations to the accused congressmen’s campaigns, Dom had to wonder just how deep Smolak’s involvement went.

Follow the money. Those had been Conley’s last words to Chief, or so they said. Not a lot of people had the kind of money to throw around that Smolak had.

Dom wasn’t sure SEALs should be paying all that close attention to a US citizen, or to his campaign contributions, but these weren’t ordinary times. This wasn’t an ordinary trial. Every time they’d been pulled back from investigating White Dawn—a foreign organization directly related to their area of responsibility—someone had pulled those strings to make it happen.

Had Smolak been the puppet master?

He reached out to Fitzpatrick, who had an attorney he liked. His attorney liked working with SEALs pro bono, although his first advice was to find a way to play nice with his ex. “Unfortunately, the law doesn’t give fathers in this situation a whole lot of rights. Promiscuity isn’t illegal in the US, and despite his hard-partying image he’s not a drinker or a drug user. I’ll do my due diligence, but I don’t think you’re going to find much leverage. From what you told me, you basically drove him away yourself. The law isn’t going to force him to surrender his livelihood to salvage your ego, buddy.”

It wasn’t the answer Dom wanted to hear, and he went and worked out against the heavy bag over it for a little while. After a couple of hours, though, he had to admit the lawyer was probably right. He’d been insecure, and he’d been clinging to ideals that only really applied in cowboy stories. He needed to grow up, and he needed to try to patch things up with Kurt.

When he showed up on Thursday night at the Hilton, though, Kurt was nowhere to be found. There was a note at the desk from Kurt telling them not to let Dom up, which hurt, but there was a competing note from Elisa saying Kurt had said to let him through. Dom was pretty sure Kurt hadn’t authorized that, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Kurt still wasn’t there. Dom’s key didn’t work anymore, but he was a SEAL. He didn’t need a key to get into a hotel room, for crying out loud. Kurt wasn’t there.

He called Elisa, who had no idea where Kurt was or even that he wasn’t in his room “where I told him to be.” He hung up on her in mid-rant and called Ben, who admitted Kurt was there visiting the pediatrics ward.

When Dom got there, the visit was over. Kurt was leaving, a big grin on his face. He all but tripped over a panhandler outside the door. If it had been Dom, Dom would have kept going. It was never a good idea to pay too much attention to panhandlers. They weren’t usually the problem—they could get a little aggressive, but they didn’t generally get physical. The kind of people who preyed on others, on the other hand, watched the panhandlers carefully.

Kurt, of course, stopped to talk to the guy. Because of course he did. He’d never lived in the real world. He’d never been a victim. He’d probably never known a victim. He had people around him his whole life making sure things turned out okay.

The guy looked up at him, surprised, and spoke. Kurt crouched down beside him, speaking quietly and earnestly. The guy tried to demur, but Kurt could be a force of nature. In the end, the filthy man took Kurt’s outstretched hand and let Kurt lead him into the emergency room.

Now Dom got mad. Kurt wasn’t just doing things for Kurt anymore. Kurt was carrying their child. If he got some kind of disease from the homeless guy, their baby would be at risk. Dom ran toward the emergency room, too.

When he got inside, Nick and Mal were crouched down in front of the homeless guy. The guy looked a little shell-shocked, but Kurt was talking to him too. Dom watched as Kurt talked him into getting into a wheelchair while other men waiting grumbled. Clearly, the derelict was getting preferential treatment because he was there with a celebrity.

Then Kurt helped the man off with his coat. Apparently they needed to get a blood pressure cuff on him. That was when Dom saw it—the Silver Star, pinned to the guy’s filthy tee shirt like a gleaming beacon in the night. Dom stood, unconsciously, to attention. As he did, the other veterans in the waiting room rose.

The homeless guy shrunk in on himself, and Kurt put a hand on his shoulder. He leaned down and whispered into the stranger’s ear. Whatever he said, it was the right thing, because the guy relaxed and let the nurses wheel him back into the treatment bay. Kurt, apparently at the man’s insistence, went with him. Nick pushed the chair. Mal stayed behind.

The moment was over. The other waiting men sat down, returning to their waiting activities of moaning and groaning. Mal approached Dom, though. “So,” he began. “I’m guessing the Silver Star is important then?”

Dom gave him a look. “Little bit. Who was that guy?”

“His name is John. He hangs out outside. I give him food sometimes, when he’ll take it. He’s not usually a chatty guy. I don’t know how your boy there managed to get him to open up, but apparently he’s a bit under the weather. Case o’ gangrene, maybe. Your boy recognized it by the smell.”

Dom tilted his head to the side. “How does he even know what gangrene smells like?”

“I don’t know. Maybe later you can go and ask him. The guy’s not scamming him. He’s definitely sick. And Kurt’s covering anything the VA won’t. It seems odd, yeah? The guy earned some kind of major service award, but the country won’t pay for his health care?”

“It’s complicated.” Dom knew Mal was taking a dig at him. He didn’t want to rise to the bait. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Jesus, Van Heel, he just got here. Can we get someone to take a look at him? I’m hoping so. But even if not, he’s got at least one friend who’ll see him through it all.” Mal looked toward the door to the treatment area. “Look. You haven’t asked for my advice.”

“You’re right. I haven’t.” Dom hoped his tone would be enough of a hint.

“Well, I’m going to give it anyway. That man is something special. Don’t let him get away.”

“I’ll take that under advisement. It would be great if I could just talk to him.” Dom gave himself a mental gold star, and made a promise to go out and buy himself a whole pack of star stickers, for not snapping at Mal.

“You can’t go into the treatment bay, but you can wait here for him.” Mal patted him on the shoulder and gestured to the waiting room.

A toothless old man patted the seat next to him, invitingly.

Dom held back a groan and went to take his seat.