Page 30 of Unsuitable Omega

23

Jai

Jai had just walked into the kitchen where Betty was making breakfast when the first pain hit. With a muffled gasp, he clutched the edge of the counter to steady himself. The fear that engulfed him was much worse than the slight cramping sensation that gripped his lower abdomen.

“What’s wrong?” Betty demanded, coming around to his side.

“I think I’m losing the baby!” Jai whispered shakily, white as the wall behind him.

Betty, calm as always, move Jai into the closest chair. “Breathe in and out slowly. It could be just cramping”

But the pains kept on coming and they decided that Jai should go to the local hospital.

An ultrasound was performed immediately once they got to the hospital. Jai took a deep breath and crossed his fingers that his baby was okay as the doctor spread the goo on his belly. While he waited for the picture to come up, Jai said a prayer to any deity who would listen.

He was sinking into a pit of dread and self-blame. Had he been so determined to go it alone, that he’d worked too hard trying to build a safety net as a single parent, and put his baby in danger?

Maybe he had pushed himself too much. And stressed too much. And stupid nausea from all day sickness meant his weight wasn’t where it was supposed to be. It had never once occurred to Jai that his own body might let him down.

Jai released a swoosh of breath the moment he heard his child’s heartbeat on the ultrasound.

“And there’s the heartbeat, nice and strong…” the doctor trailed off as he pressed the wandy thing over his belly.

“What’s wrong, is everything okay?” Jai asked, fretting at the doctor’s silence, as he stared at the screen.

“Oh. Okay, well this probably explains your nausea and dizzy spells. We have a bit of a surprise here.” The doctor turned the screen and pointed, “Can you see there,” he said, pointing at the shapes Jai couldn’t understand, “you’re having twins.”

“Twins,” Jai breathed and Betty gasped.

“Yep. Your body just isn’t getting enough nutrients for both of them, and I’m sure the morning sickness isn’t helping.” The doctor said sympathetically.

“All day sickness you mean,” Jai muttered, making the doctor laugh.

“Yea that happens sometimes, but I can definitely give you something to help. However your weight is a concern,” the doctor said. “If you don’t want to lose these babies, you’re going to have to make a lot of changes. Starting with no stress, and bedrest for a little while to get you back on track.”

“What about the bleeding,” Jai asked fretfully.

“Well everything looks fine, the placenta is healthy, I think it was your body trying to tell you to take it easy. And the cramps are from you being severely dehydrated. So, there will be an IV in your future. For thirteen weeks, we need to get more weight on you.” The doctor finished and handed Jai paper towels to wipe the goo off his belly.

“Everything will be okay,” Betty said, as they waited for the nurse to return and set up his IV.

“I can’t lose my babies Betty, I love them so much already.” Jai squeezed out the words and they got tangled up in his vocal cords. The next thing he knew he was sobbing as though his heart would break. “What if I lose the babies and Nickolas never even knows he was going to be a father?”

“Don’t think like that Jai, everything will be fine. You’ll see. The bleeding has stopped hasn’t it?” Betty asked.

Jai nodded, “Yes,” he said in a small voice, “but...”

“No buts. You have to stay positive and follow the doctor’s orders.” Betty insisted, “and maybe after all this you may want to call your alpha and finally have that talk you’ve been avoiding.”

“I haven’t been avoiding it,” Jai said, but the raised eyebrow he was getting from Betty told him she wasn’t buying what he was selling. “Okay, I have been avoiding him, but if you know what happened then you’ll know why I can’t go back.”

“Well then tell me,” Betty said.

So, he finally did. The whole sordid tale came out, making Jai feel like crying all over again. Betty listened without interrupting him and when he was done, for the first time in nearly two months, Jai said the words he had refused to admit even to himself, “I think I need my alpha, Betty. I want Nickolas.” Jai sobbed.

“Well today is your lucky day,” Betty said, a guilty look on her face.

“What did you do?” Jai asked, his tone filled with suspicion.