Page 33 of Duke's Baby Deal
“I know. Made me nervous the first time I went outside walls.” He reached across the table to me and squeezed my hand. “If it helps, I sat down with Quin and Abel this week, and we’re good for credits. We’re just going to run a debt for a bit after you start working again, but I’m okay with that. You’ll earn a ton of credits, I can take on some extra shifts. We’ll get by. And Quin’s offered a deal on the tuition money you’ll need—he’s absolutely slavering at the idea of getting another medic.”
“You sure?”
“Most animated I’ve ever seen the man. I was worried for a moment he was going to kiss me,” Duke said dryly, and picked up his fork. “Eat. You’ve got someone else to think about now too.”
I picked up my fork, but couldn’t resist. “You don’t think he’s cute?”
“Not as cute as my mate. Now, get that into you. It’s too delicious to go to waste.”
I laughed at him, then scooped up some turnip and brought it to my mouth, but something—I don’t know—the smell, the shape, the texture? As soon as I put it in my mouth, I had to get it out. Now.
I raced for the bathroom, everything I’d eaten all day gurgling up my throat, and made it just in time to lose the piece of turnip and my afternoon tea into the toilet. “Dammit.”
“You okay?” Duke asked behind me. A large warm hand landed on my back, and my glass of water from the table appeared in front of me. “Here, rinse your mouth.”
“You sound like you know what you’re doing,” I commented, then took the glass.
“My misspent youth in the barracks,” he said, his tone amused.
“Mmm,” I answered, and rinsed my mouth. “I hope this isn’t the flu.”
He put a hand on my forehead and I closed my eyes and savored the feeling. It still didn’t raise the goosebumps it would have before Justin, but I liked the touch of his hand against my skin. I was glad the omega bond was only physical—my heart could still go where it wanted.
“You don’t feel warm,” he said. “Did you eat something today that didn’t sit well?”
I shook my head and stood up a little shakily. “No.” I smiled up at Duke and took the hand that had just been on my forehead. “I think I’m fine now.” He smiled worriedly at me and took his hand back. I picked up my glass. “Thank you. Let’s go eat.”
But when I got back to the kitchen, the smell of the stew turned my stomach again, and I ended up lying on the couch in the living room with the window open, freezing us out, while Duke shoveled his meal into his mouth, then packed away the food I couldn’t seem to stomach even without eating it.
“I’m sorry,” I groaned from the living room.
“I’m going to call Adelaide and see if she can look at you,” he told me, worry evident in his tone.
“No, don’t, it’s okay. It’s probably just a small bug. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Except I wasn’t.
Christmas Eve saw me eat a good breakfast, but as the day wore on, my stomach got pickier and pickier about what I could put in it. When I put a plate in front of Duke at supper and tried to retreat to the living room, he stopped me.
“You were fine this morning. What’s going on? The truth, Bram. You’re not inconveniencing me.”
“I think maybe I do need to go see Adelaide.” I was wearing a pair of jeans that normally hung loose on me, but they were—not tight, but snug, today. Only around my waist and my hips, though. The jeans I’d planned to wear today had been uncomfortably tight. It couldn’t be the baby yet, though, right? I still had time before I was out of normal clothes and begging for maternity stuff according to the Sex Ed notes.
“Why? Is it the baby?” He stood up and examined me closely. “You do look pale.”
“Eat your food and I’ll call her.” No question of leaving him home while I went to see her, that was obvious, and I was grateful. So while he finished his meal, I called the clinic receptionist, who told me to come right over.
It was snowing, probably our only snow of the year, but it was nice to have a white Christmas. Except that it made the walk over to the clinic cold. I curled in under Duke’s arm and wished I could crawl inside his jacket and suck the heat out of him like I did at night. We trudged silently through the cold until we’d reached the entrance to the clinic. It was dark, only the one tiny light outside the door. “Crap,” I said with feeling while Duke knocked on the door. “She must be ready to go home.”
Duke cast me an amused glance, but before he could say anything, the door opened and Adelaide ushered us in.
“What’s the problem, Bram?” she asked.
“He’s been sick,” Duke put in before I could say anything. “And tired. But the throwing up is what I’m most worried about.”
“And my pants don’t fit,” I added in a quiet voice.
Adelaide’s startled glance told me that I’d been right to suspect this wasn’t normal. “Come on back,” she said. “Let me have a look at you.”
