Page 82 of His Gentle Omega
Plucking at the ugly hospital gown at my neck, I huffed, “I’m fine. I just got overheated. I need to get back to work.”
Meg Farrell looked unimpressed as her pen made a scratchy noise writing things in the chart she was holding–my chart–and pursed her lips.
“I’m sorry, are you the doctor?” She handed the chart to the nurse, rattling off a barrage of tests she wanted that I was sure were not necessary. “Last I checked I was the head of the E.R. and oh, a doctor. You just lay there and look pretty,” she scrunched her nose as she looked me over, “well, that ship has passed. You just lay there and don’t give anyone any trouble.I’ll be the judge of whether you had too much sun, or if this is something else. Either way, you’re done for the day.”
Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I folded my arms over my chest. At least they had let me keep my underwear on when they had stripped me and put this gown on me. And at least I didn’t remember any of it, so I might actually be able to look the staff in the eye tomorrow.
The privacy curtain whipped open with a flourish and Seth rushed in, clad in lilac scrubs with kittens on them. His hand went to his heart, and he gasped, “Thank the Goddess you aren’t dead.”
Meg stared at him open mouthed for a second, before muttering, “No one told you he was dead. Stop with the dramatics. I told you he had fainted, and you were listed as his next of kin. And that you probably didn’t need to even come. But hospital policy and all that.”
Seth blew her a kiss. Before he had gone to work for Asher, he had worked here in the hospital E.R. department. It was how we had met. It had been my first day, I’d been sitting alone in the cafeteria and Seth had plopped himself down at my table, without so much as a “Is this seat taken?” He’d then proceeded to regale me with his morning, not even letting me speak, declaring at the end of lunch that he was now my bestie. It had honestly been one of the best days of my life.
“You knew exactly what wheels you were setting into motion by making that phone call, Dr. Farrell.” Seth pranced over to my side, waving a finger at her. “Don’t even play like you didn’t. Now, what’s happening with my bestie?”
“It’s just the heat.” If I said it enough it would be true. The thing about working in a hospital–and passing out, not fainting, thank you very much–was that I knew they would routinely runseveral standard tests for a patient with my symptoms. Pregnancy being one of them. I guess I would have my answer soon enough.
Seth looked me over, his sharp blue eyes missing nothing. Today his eyeliner was a rich purple, that made his eyes pop more than normal. The false lashes he had on helped too. “You look like shit,” he informed me without preamble.
The lab tech saved me from snapping an answer back, coming in at that moment to take vial after vial of blood. Good Goddess, what exactly were they planning to do with it all? Meg informed us she would be back when she had my test results, and hurried off to see to another patient.
Seth planted himself in the one uncomfortable looking chair in the room, reaching for my hand.
“I’m not dying,” I groaned, leaning back against the pillow, feeling embarrassed. “The heat just got to me. I ran out at lunch to get something, and I should have just stayed in the AC. It’s nothing. Everyone is making a fuss over nothing.”
“Hmmm,” Seth hummed, “you let us medical type people decide that, huh? Just because you work in a hospital doesn’t make you qualified to diagnose yourself.”
“Seth,” whispering low, I plucked at the thin blanket they had insisted on putting over my legs even though I wasn’t cold. “I think…I think I might be pregnant.”
Seth’s face, usually animated, for once remained absolutely blank. He just stared at me, not saying a word, until I finally cried, “Say something!”
He nodded, looking around, then nodded some more. “Okay. Okay. Okay.”
“Stop saying ‘okay’!” I hissed, because he wasn’t helping at all. “This is not okay!”
He took my hand, rubbing his thumb against my palm. “If you are, what do you want to do, B? Do you want this baby or…”
“I want it.” There was no hesitation in my answer.
Maybe I was more okay with it than I had thought a second ago. Saying the possibility out loud to Seth made it real. Made me consider all my options, what I wanted. It was the worst possible timing, considering where things with Shay stood, but I knew one thing. I wanted this baby if I was pregnant.
Seth smiled, “Then that’s that, isn’t it?”
Tears filled my eyes, because he made it seem so easy, when I knew it wasn’t going to be. Being a single parent was hard, no matter how responsible and financially stable I was. Shay couldn’t handle an unplanned pregnancy on top of everything else he was dealing with right now.
Which was why, if I was pregnant, I didn’t plan to tell him.
At least not right away. I would tell him, just not now. He had enough complications, with Edward, dealing with therapy, and getting himself into a good mental head space. He didn’t need the added worry of me and an unplanned pup.
“I’m not going to tell Shay.”
Seth’s eyes widened, his grasp tightening on mine. “Bennett–”
His tone told me what he thought of that plan, and he didn’t like it. He might not be thrilled–or even truly understand–Shay’s reasons for taking giant leaps back from me and any relationship we might have, but he wasn’t happy about my plan of silence either.
I shook my head, stopping when the action made me slightly dizzy. “I will tell him, in a couple of months. Not right now.”
“Shifters only carry for seven months, Bennett,” he reminded me, in case I had forgotten. “That doesn’t give you that long. As tiny as you are, you might start showing soon,” he warned me.
