Page 173 of Omega's Flight
C H A P T E R 1 1 7
C as leaned against the headboard of their hastily reassembled bed and held Raleigh's hands. He'd never felt so helpless in his life, but there wasn't a damn thing he could do but be there and let Raleigh call him whatever names he wanted to when the contractions finally gave him time to breathe.
"You're doing fine," Holland said soothingly as the most recent one faded. "Did you feel the pinch that time?"
"Yeah," Raleigh panted. "My line's opening fine, right?"
"About an inch and a half. He's not wasting any time." Holland looked up at Cas. "You're doing fine too, you know. Alphas never used to stick around for this part."
Miss the birth of his son? Not a chance. "Is there anything else I should be doing?" Cas asked carefully, having already been scolded once for some careless remark that he still didn't see the problem with. There was no room for humor in the birthing room, it seemed.
"Just stay there, don't leave me," Raleigh said and then Cas had to watch helplessly as Raleigh curled over his belly, his face screwed up with pain and a high-pitched moan taking the place of his words.
"Should we get Adelaide?" Cas asked, for possibly the sixth time.
"No, he's having a perfectly normal pregnancy and birth. Relax. Besides, she's over at Jason's," Holland said and busied himself with a towel below the curve of Raleigh's belly.
The contraction ended and Raleigh leaned back against Cas's chest. "Did you not talk to Quin and Abel about this?"
"I did!" Cas protested. "They just made it sound—different." He adjusted his fingers in Raleigh's grip. "You want more ice?"
"Please."
Cas reached for the bowl and picked out a couple of the larger chunks to feed him, then traded the bowl for the folded washcloth and wiped down Raleigh's face and neck. "Need anything else?"
"No, that was great. Thank you." Raleigh took a deep breath, stretched his free hand up to stroke Cas's face—hitting his nose and one eyeball in the process—then grabbed for Cas's hand again. "Here comes the next one." His face screwed up and he curled into the contraction, his hand clamping down on Cas's with a strength that was unexpectedly frightening. A grip like that could break bones. But he didn't have time to think about that—his job was help Raleigh ride this takeover of his body, to help keep him from panicking as biology overtook free will.
Bram rolled in through the door at the moment that the contraction was at its peak, so Cas missed what went on there. But when Raleigh's body relaxed again, Bram came up to the head of the bed with a damp towel to trade out for the one that Cas had been using. "How are you feeling?" he asked Raleigh.
"Ready to be done. He seems like he's in a rush." Raleigh let his head fall back against Cas's chest and panted heavily through open lips. "Everything okay?"
Bram peeked at Raleigh's omega line. "Everything's perfect," he said with a smile. "Is your oven hooked up yet? We should start warming up some blankets for him."
"That fast?" Cas croaked in shock.
"He's at close to three inches now," Bram said. "You're gonna be a Da pretty soon. Couple more good pushes and then we're really in business."
Da. The word reverberated in his head, leaving him dizzy. Did he want to be Da, or some other name? They hadn't even discussed it, spending most of their time arguing with their other pups about what this one should be named. And Degan was Da—Cas didn't want to have the same name as him.
Raleigh's fingers clamped down on his and his thoughts were diverted to the effort his love was exerting.
"That's it, Raleigh," Holland crooned. "Good, keep it up."
The door opened again and Cas let a few mental swear words slip, wondering when this had become a public event, until he realized it was Ori.
"How're things going?" Ori asked. He had Lonnie cradled against one shoulder and his other arm was full of towels. Deftly, he set them on top of the dresser, shoving aside the mess that they hadn't had a chance to put away yet.
"Perfect," Bram said. "I don't think you guys really need me."
"You're staying, regardless," Holland told him in his Alpha's Mate voice.
"Oh, well, if you put it that way," Bram said off-handedly and Holland shot him a look that would have withered anyone else other than Bram.
"I think," Cas said quietly, getting verbally between the two with the skill of a practiced litigator, "That Raleigh's having another contraction."
"Oh boy," Raleigh muttered, and leaned back against Cas again. He tilted his head back and grinned. "No really, before you go all panicky, it's fine. I've done this before and you really do forget it after." Cas stared at him, exasperated, then laughed and kissed him. "Fine. I'm trying to figure out what the baby should call me. We know you'll be Papa. I don't want to be Da, that's Degan. And my Da."
"What other names do you have around here?" Raleigh asked, evidently intrigued. That, or just looking for a distraction—Cas figured it was as likely to be one as to be the other right at the moment.
