Normally Liam loved conferences, but he'd felt off this week, and now as he sat in the vaguely uncomfortable hotel meeting room chair, taking notes about intestinal parasites, his stomach roiled. He took another sip of ginger tea, the only thing he's been able to hold down lately in the morning. Stupid stomach flu. Pam had had it last week, and now it was Liam's turn on the chopping block. The lecture finished, and Liam slowly took another sip of the now lukewarm tea.

His neighbor, a tall, muscular woman with close-cropped curls with a nametag that read SAM in thick, black strokes looked over at him and said, "It was the same for me when I had my first child. How far along are you?"

"Oh no!" Liam waved a hand in front of him. "I'm not pregnant. Just a bug going around the office."

"Ah," Sam said, but she didn't look like she believed him. "My mistake. You are an omega though, right?"

"We use protection."

"So there is someone.” Sam grabbed a large pocketbook from the floor beneath her feet and put it on her lap. “You should do the test. And make sure you're using the alpha condoms if you don't want him to knock you up."

"Alpha condoms?"

"They’ve been out for a while, at specialty stores. You didn't know?"

Specialty stores? Like sex shops? "No." Liam grabbed his condoms from the drugstore, like everyone else. "What's wrong with the regular condoms?" His face was warm, and he pitched his voice a bit lower as he said, "I get the large size."

"Sometimes there's an issue with the knot. I was dating an alpha for a while. I didn’t really care one way or the other about the knotting, but he liked it." She shook her head. "Not to be gauche, I’m just going to say, there was some tearing with the standard issue."

Liam nodded. "Um... thanks. I’ll be careful.” He and Gunnar would have noticed if the condom had broken, wouldn’t they?

If Liam was being honest with himself, Liam wouldn’t have noticed a thing after the knot flared.

Crap.

They made small talk as Sam finished gathering her papers. As Liam was leaving the conference room, someone called out his name.

Liam flinched. Who could know him here? The nausea Liam had already been fighting grew stronger as he turned towards the voice.

Ben, another doctor at the emergency clinic he had worked in Philadelphia, waved. He was a stocky, square-jawed beta with powerful fingers and an easy grin. "Liam! Long time no see!" He said with his characteristic grin. "I never thought you’d gone out west. What have you been doing with yourself?"

"I… Moved. Needed a change of scenery."

Ben closed the distance between them. "Good for you. I'm in San Fran now. Great scene. You can hook up every day of the week and twice on Sundays." Ben had always been a partier. "Damon, that alpha you were seeing, came by after you left."

Liam's shoulders tensed. He wanted to throw up. "What did you tell him?"

"Just that you'd resigned. I never liked that guy. He was creepy."

"He was a mistake," Liam said. "I’m doing better now."

"You look good."

It was good to see Ben again. San Francisco seemed to agree with him. His skin had a healthy tan, and he’d cut his hair, tipping the short spikes in platinum blond.

Ben asked, "I didn't see your name on the list of attendees, or I’d have tried to look you up. Are you still working emergency?"

"No. I’m at a family clinic now."

Liam smiled, thinking of how much his life had changeed in just the past six months. "It's wonderful. I really like our clients, and it's good to see the patients over a longer period of time. I really know I'm making a difference. I mean, you know you're making a difference when you can save a life on the spot, and that's great, but there's something for being able to do the everyday work too."

"You sound really happy. Are you seeing anyone?"

"Yeah." Liam's face grew warm. "He's an alpha. His first husband died, and he has a kid. She's really great."

"It seems like a lot to take on. But you look happy. Just be careful."

"I'm careful."

Though maybe not careful enough, if his nausea wasn't the flu, but instead – –.

Liam couldn’t let himself worry about that now. If he was pregnant, he and Gunnar would handle it. Gunnar wasn’t the type to back out of his obligations, and while Liam doubted the alpha would be thrilled to have to help support another child out of the blue, Liam’s job had flexibility, and he could earn enough to take care of the baby. Hadn’t Dr. Griffin bragged about caring for both of her newborns between appointments at the practice?

And maybe Gunnar would want something more. To build a future together. If so, the best thing Liam could do would be to hold off on sharing the news until he was sure they had a future. People who got married just because one got knocked up didn’t have good outcomes.

"Viruses or vaccines? Liam, are you listening?"

"Huh? Yeah, sorry!"

"Dreaming about your dream man?" Ben laughed. "Full disclosure, before you hooked up with Damon, I’d thought about putting the moves on you myself."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You had that sweet hotness thing going, but office romances don’t end well, and I always thought you were looking to settle down. Not because you’re an omega, just because you’re the settling down type. I think a small practice is a good fit for you. You’re happy, right? No more creepers?"

"Gunnar’s not a creeper at all. He’s a detective for the Liberty PD. And I am happy. I don't know where things are going, but I'm happy."

Ben clapped him heartily on the back. "Good for you. A good man is hard to find. So, you look like you just wrapped up parasites. Viruses or vaccines? "

Liam’s stomach wasn’t up to anything else that moved or squirmed. Even microscopically. "Vaccines,” he said quickly.

Liam stuck with Ben for the rest of the morning. By lunch, most of the nausea had passed, and he and Ben left the hotel and ventured into the too-bright spring sunshine to a bar and grill. Liam had been scared of running into someone he knew, but now that the worst had happened, he was grateful. Ben’s nonstop chatter took Liam’s mind off of his irrational fear of Damon finding him and his more rational and immediate fears that Sam might be right.

Either he was pregnant, or he wasn’t. Worrying about it wasn’t going to change things.

At lunch, Ben ordered a local IPA and Liam drank iced-tea. Just in case. Ben glanced at Liam’s glass but thankfully didn’t ask.

As much to avoid the subject of babies as to ease his own fears, Liam asked, "You didn’t hear anything about Damon after he stopped coming around, did you?"

"No. I think he skipped town too. His company had a bunch of satellite offices, didn’t they?"

"I think so.” Liam hadn’t really talked much with Damon about his job. Damon had done on-site technical support for large companies on a rare piece of software only his company made. Which meant he’d traveled a fair amount. Most of his work was remote so he could have moved anywhere he liked.

Liam shivered.

"If that jerk comes back around, did you want me to tell him you’ve moved on? Found a hot cop in Liberty?”

"No!” Liam’s grip on his glass was too tight. His knuckles ached. "I just want to put Damon behind me."

"I get it.” Ben took a long swig of his beer. The hair on the back of his neck and shoulders had risen, and he got the oddest sense that he was being watched.

Liam took another gulp of his tea. Damon had to have moved on this point. And if he hadn't, how could he track Liam down at a veterinary conference on the opposite side of the country, one where Liam wasn't even on the guest list.

Liam was just paranoid. Thankfully, one of the best things about Ben was he did most of the talking. All Liam had to do was listen, nod, and laugh at Ben’s jokes which were even pretty funny. Ben polished off a burger and fries while Liam worked his way through the blandest thing he could find on the menu, which was salad and toast.

What if he really was pregnant?

The thought terrified him. He wanted kids, and if he was going to have kids, he’d want to have them with Gunnar. Or someone like Gunnar. No point in getting ahead of himself. Liam and Gunnar had only been together a little over a month. And while the sex was great, and Liam felt he could trust Gunnar not only with his body but with his heart, it didn't mean they were moving toward a home and family. Gunnar hadn't invited Liam over for dinner with Olivia, or his mother, or even his coworkers. It was like they lived separate lives most of the time, and Liam understood that. He didn't want to push or pry. And he didn't want to be clingy. But if he was pregnant, it made things more complicated.

Liam didn’t want complicated.

Liam pushed the thought from his mind. It was probably just a stomach bug. Liam hadn't even had sex with Gunnar while in heat, and they had been using condoms (albeit the wrong ones,) so why assume the most terrifying outcome?

On the second day of the conference, he woke with the same crushing nausea. Just a stomach bug, he told himself. His stomach calmed through the morning lectures, and he even managed a portabella mushroom sandwich with Ben and a couple of other veterinarians he’d barely met.

That night, after they all had dinner together in one of the hotel’s grand ballrooms, Liam begged off joining in for a bar crawl. Ben had already found a hookup, a young, soft-faced blond who was two years out of vet school.

If Liam hadn't found Gunnar, he might've considered Ben, for a fling. Now, Liam couldn't imagine sharing his bed with anyone but Gunnar. He and Gunnar made no promises to each other, but Liam couldn't get excited about kissing another man's lips or sucking another man's cock. Or feeling another man's knot. Though he’d only knotted with Gunnar, he didn't see how the experience could get any better, and he wasn't particularly eager to find out.

He said his goodbyes, and went to the hotel front desk and asked where the nearest pharmacy was. Away from the group, Liam again felt strangely vulnerable. The concierge gave him directions, two blocks away, to the right, and with a final glance behind him, he walked briskly out the door onto the street.

Running into Ben, as pleasant as it had been, was bringing back his old fears about Damon. It was warm out, and as it was Saturday, the street in front of the hotel was pretty crowded. Maybe he should have stuck with the others, socialized, and ordered something non-alcoholic.

He didn't even know he was pregnant, and already he was acting like he was.

He had walked about a block when the hair on his neck begin to prickle. Liam pulled the phone from his pocket. He was scared, for no particular reason, and he wanted to hear Gunnar's voice. But that wasn't a good reason to call. Gunnar had his own life. And if the test came back positive, everything between them would change. Maybe for the better, probably for the worse, but either way, it would be different.

Liam flipped through his recent calls and dialed Gunnar's number. The phone rang. Liam crossed the street, and ahead of him, he saw the pharmacy.

Feeling stupid, he walked to the corner and leaned against the building, looking back the way he had come.

Everybody was walking, some looking down at their phones, while others listened to music through their earbuds or talked to each other.

Stupid and paranoid.

"Liam!" Gunnar's voice sounded through his phone. Liam smiled. He couldn't help but smile.

"I missed you," Liam said, and then kicked himself for being too sentimental. It was bad enough that he had freaked out two weeks ago and sobbed in Gunnar's arms after the man had barely touched his neck.

"I missed you, too," Gunnar said, and some of Liam's fears eased. "I didn't want to bother you, because I knew you'd probably be out having a good time."

Liam wondered where Gunnar had gotten the impression he was a party animal. Maybe because Gunnar had been one? Or maybe because Liam was younger, and Gunnar just assumed all younger men are either cruising for a hook-up or bar crawling. Liam didn't know. "I was thinking of making it an early night," Liam said.

"Are you outside?"

"Yeah. I had to get something from the pharmacy."

I think I'm pregnant. Liam tried the words out of his mind, but he couldn't get them past his lips. No point in scaring the life out of Gunnar without even having any evidence.

"Toothbrush? I always forget my toothbrush."

Liam laughed. "No, I'd gotten that yesterday. And you can get a complementary one at the hotel desk."

"Really?"

Liam had stayed at enough motels traveling across the country to know. "Did you know there were alpha specific condoms?"

"It's probably a gimmick. I never had any problems with the normal ones."

Liam breathed an internal sigh of relief. Everything was fine. Liam said, "That's what I thought."

"I can go look for some, and we can give them a try when you get back. If you want."

"Sure," Liam agreed. "Maybe they have more sensation or something." It felt strange to be having this conversation out on the street, but no one was paying him any mind. He kept his voice low.

"I ran into one of my old coworkers here," Liam said, glad to have some excuse to change the subject. "He's living in San Francisco now."

"Old flame?" Gunnar said, his voice devoid of emotion.

Was Gunnar angry? Liam felt like a fool for calling, and worse for bringing up his past. "We never did anything. I didn't even know he was into me."

Silence stretched between them.

"We're just friends," Liam said.

"It's fine. You should have fun."

The nausea Liam thought had passed from this morning came back full force. Gunnar hadn't even called, and now, he was encouraging Liam to "have fun."

"I am having fun," Liam said. "I mean I'm really enjoying the lectures, and I think I've made some friends."

"That's good. You should have friends, and a busy, interesting life. There's something I need to ask you when you get back."

"You can ask me now," Liam said.

"No. It's… I'd rather we talk in person."

Was Gunnar breaking up with him? Liam swallowed. "Okay. Whenever is good."

How could Gunnar talk about getting condoms and then…

Gunnar couldn't be breaking up with him if he was talking about buying condoms. Maybe he just thought things were getting too serious. Or maybe he wanted things to get more serious.

Or maybe… Who knew?

"I should probably go and – –." Liam said at the same time Gunnar started, "I think Olivia's calling me. We'll see each other when you get back?"

"Yes. I want that. I mean, when it's convenient."

"Sure thing. Gotta go." Gunnar hung up.

Liam flipped the phone closed and put it in his pocket. He took a breath, trying to push the panic away. Of course, Gunnar wasn't breaking up with him. Maybe he just wanted a little more space. Maybe he'd only been so attentive because he thought Liam was fragile, considering Liam's history.

He was probably just stressed out because he was worried about the results of this pregnancy test. Not that over-the-counter pregnancy tests were 100% accurate. He’d go, piss on the strip, find out he definitely had the stomach flu, and when he got back to Liberty, he'd find out what Gunnar wanted to talk about and if the two of them would be moving closer together for further apart.

Liam turned back to the pharmacy. He went in, grabbed one of the pregnancy tests off of the shelf for omegas, and tried to act like he wasn't mortified at the register to be paying for it.

The clerk didn't even bat an eyelash. She scanned it, dropped it in a paper bag and then put that in plastic.

"Thank you," Liam said.

As he stepped back onto the street, something caught his eye. Across the street, partially obscured by a parked truck, a large, tall blond was walking toward one of the other hotels. His back was turned, and Liam only caught a glimpse of him before he stepped behind the truck.

It couldn't be Damon. Of course, it wasn't. The world was full of tall blonds in suits. Still, Liam quickly left the pharmacy and strode past the hotel into an open bar. He ordered a Coke and nursed it for twenty minutes before venturing again outside.

Of course, no one was there. It was all just a figment of his imagination. Too many fears all stacking up at once.

It took him another hour to get up the guts to take the pregnancy test.

Two plus signs.

Over the counter pregnancy tests were notoriously unreliable. Liam put the toilet seat down, and the cover, and sat down with his elbows on his thighs and stared. He could only lie to himself so much.

I'm pregnant.

I can't be pregnant.

But I am.

Liam lifted his palm protectively over his belly, and the new life forming there. How was he going to tell Gunnar?