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Arthur wakes up sensing something is wrong. He growls immediately to warn any enemy that was stupid enough to come this close, but no one is sneaking up on him. The camp is quiet and calm, it’s the middle of the night and except two people keeping guard, everyone should be asleep.
They should, but even in his own bed one person isn’t sleeping and it isn’t him. The pillow still strongly smells of John, he was laying on it recently which is also evident in the fading warm.
Arthur sits up, puts on his boots and goes looking for his mate, sure to find him somewhere near, he couldn’t’ve gone too far. He checks the main fire first but his omega isn’t among their sleeping friends.
The other fire is empty too, same with the wagons. Arthur starts scenting the air, but human’s sense of smell isn’t as good as it was in early days of humanity to, from a distance, smell an omega who isn’t in heat. He has other ways to find his mate.
He lets out a deep growl, quiet one to not to wake up the whole camp but loud enough to cover a lot of ground. He receives an answer in seconds, similar growl he locates with no problem. They still have good hearing.
Arthur turns back towards their tent, passes it and walks a little bit more before arriving at the solitary place at the edge of the camp. John sits on the ground, leaning against the big boulder at the shore of the lake they are staying at. Omega is looking straight ahead, showing only by purring softly that he’s aware of Arthur’s presence.
The purring stops abruptly. Arthur continuous with his own and sits by his mate side to stare at the water with him.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” he asks. John isn’t someone to wake up in the middle of the night.
“I’m nervous” John admits.
Arthur can sense it, this characteristic smell of nervousness. Now he needs to know the source of it.
“With what?” he asks again.
John glances over at him and takes a deep breath.
“Only one month left,” he reminds Arthur and pets his belly.
Arthur watches it with enchantment. It’s hard to believe that not so long ago it was just a tiny bump, unnoticeable under John clothes. Now it’s impossible to hide it or not notice it. The belly is so big even Pearson’s sweater wouldn’t be able to hide it.
It’s their child in there. A living being that will be with them in a month. They’ll be able to touch it, hold it. They’ll be parents. It’s still as scary as it was five months ago when they found out about the pregnancy, but exciting nonetheless. They both can’t wait to meet their child, but apparently John started to feel worried.
He’s not the only one, if Arthur has to be honest.
“You’ll be okay.” He’s scared too, but he wants to soothe John like a good mate and alpha should.
“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one who will give birth,” John points out, hugging his belly, as if he wants to keep the baby inside forever.
“But I can be with you during this,” Arthur suggest.
That was his plan all along. He never heard of an alpha being with their omega during birth, but he has no intention to leave John during such a big moment. It wouldn’t be right.
“Susan told me already she won’t let you in.” There goes his plans. If Grimshaw decides something, she won’t change her mind. “Apparently the birth is too disgusting and alphas shouldn’t watch it because it can make them leave their mates.”
Arthur despises alphas who are like this. Leaving omega after birth, no matter the reason, is a sickening behavior that should be punished with prison or something else. He can’t imagine how anyone can do something like that.
Susan’s word must’ve get to John, because the omega becomes even more scared, probably by thinking about being abandoned. Arthur gets closer to him, places his hand on that part of belly omega didn’t covered with his arms and starts purring.
“I would never leave you,” he promises, kissing John on the temple. John responds with a quiet purr and bends his head, nudging with his nose the bond mark on Arthur’s neck. The proof of Arthur will to stay with him forever. The mark will never disappear, it will stay with him till his death. Anyone will know he had omega once and left them. If he was a son of a bitch capable of something like that, that is.
“I told her that, that I want you with me to feel safe but she said no.” There is a panic in John’s voice. “It’s not appropriate to see omega in that state, you have to stay outside the tent and wait like everyone else, God knows how long. It can take hours, Arthur. Hours! That’s what Susan said. And that it’s the worst pain I’ll ever feel.”
“Christ,” he sighs, covering his face with his hand. With the way John described that, Arthur starts to feel scared of this birth too, and he won’t be the one giving it. He can’t even imagine all that pain. “You talked to her before sleep, didn’t you?”
John fidgets beside him. Arthur’s calming purring isn’t even working anymore. During birth it probably won’t help that much neither. Even so, he still wants to be with John during this so maybe just his presence can help, even if only a little.
“I went to her myself,” John explains and takes a deep breath to calm himself. His hands are still caressing his belly. Arthur catches one of his palms and intertwines their fingers together. His mate smiles weakly at him. “I wanted to know what to expect and then Susan started talking about how hard it’ll be, about the blood and pain and how long will it take, what can go wrong. I started worrying. What if something goes wrong?”
John looks at him with eyes full of fear. It’s the same look he had when he went into his first heat years ago, during hunt with Arthur in the middle of the woods. John may grew up since then but his scared eyes are still the same. And they could still make Arthur feel the strong need to protect the omega.
“I’m worried too,” he admits. Just like John he asked about the risk and birth itself, but he was too embarrassed to ask Susan. What he heard from the local midwife, made his skin crawl. “But many omegas gives births and they are fine, so maybe we’re worrying for nothing?”
Many newborns and the omegas also dies, but Arthur tries no to think of it and be positive. He believes their child will be born healthy and John won’t get hurt. If he could, he would do anything to make sure his mate will be safe during giving birth but they have no control over those things. That’s why he doesn’t worry too much or at least tries, because there is a fear in him.
Arthur would be stupid to not fear losing John but he needs to be calm for both of them. John has every right to feel nervous, it’s all about him, he doesn’t need a panicking alpha, what he needs is a mate who will be by his side like he was so far during the whole pregnancy.
He is very determined to be a mate like that, to show he can help his omega when he needs Arthur the most.
“Susan said that even wealthy people with midwives to help them don’t always survive.” The more John talks about this, the more scared he becomes. Arthur doesn’t want to think what would’ve happened if he didn’t woke up and John would’ve spend the whole night only with his frightening thoughts. “In manors when you can eat from the floor. We’re in a dirty camp where your dog piss on everything.”
“You’re starting to overreact, Johnny.”
Copper wasn’t any near their tent in weeks ever since John growled at him so loud the poor dog run away with his tail tucked between his legs and started to avoid the omega. They deliberately chose the place near water and without any dangerous animals around. The whole gang was doing everything to make sure the camp will be safe for the arrival of the new member. Maybe they aren’t living in the palace or there isn’t any hospital with professional doctors ready to deliver the baby, but they were doing all they could so John doesn’t have to give birth in dirt but in a clean sheets and protected by the whole pack of alphas and few omegas.
They were doing their best to make sure the day of birth will end with celebration, not mourning.
“I just don’t want to die and take our child with me.”
John whines with fear, a natural reaction of a frightened omega that causes Arthur’s own instincts to respond. He quickly wraps his arm around his mate and provides him with his scent to help him relax. John clutches to him shaking and breathes deeply.
“You ain’t going to die, all right?,” Arthur whispers into his hair and strokes his arm, his other hand on omega’s belly. For a moment he forgets what he wants to say when he feels a soft kick. “You’re strong, the strongest man I’ve ever known. You’re doing great with this pregnancy and nothing went wrong so far. You’ll have Susan to help you during birth, she knows what to do and she’ll make sure our baby arrive on this word safe and after that, she will take care of both of you. Everything will be fine.”
His words starts to work eventually, John relaxes slowly and even starts purring again. Arthur is sure his mate is still worried, he is too, being nervous in that situation is understandable. It’s their first child after all. Everyone on their place would be nervous.
“I hope you’re right,” John says, slumped comfortably over Arthur, listening to his purr that helped to calm him many times over the years. “I didn’t want this baby at first but I got attached after a while. I want it now.”
Arthur understands. Just like at the beginning, he still thinks they shouldn’t have children as long as they’re outlaws, but the egoism is stronger than common sense. Their child isn’t even born yet and they already love him or her and are as excited for the birth as they’re scared. They can’t be sure that another opportunity to have children will ever appear again, so they’re taking the chance the fate gifted them with.
“Me too”, he whispers back, smiling when he feels a kick under his palm again. “And we will have it. I promise.”
If something goes wrong, if they end up losing the first child – God forbid – even if it would mean doing it behind Dutch’s back, they’ll try again. They want the child too much to quit.
They sit at the shore for a while longer, John is completely calm now, his purring sleepy and tired. The baby decides to fall asleep too, it stops moving, probably asleep, and Arthur would love to get back to bed as well. Last night, in solidarity with John, he didn’t sleep for hours. The baby kept John awake by moving so much as if it was trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. Arthur decided to stay awake with his omega.
“Come on.” Arthur pats his half asleep mate on the arm and stands up. “Let’s get back to bed.”
Sitting and sleeping at the same time isn’t the best idea, especially in John’s case.
John nods. “Okay.” He stretches first. Arthur waits for him to stand, regretting he doesn’t have any cigarettes in his pocket to smoke on the way back. “Arthur?”
“Mmm?” he hums and looks at his mate who is still sitting on the ground, watching Arthur with a pitiful look on his face.
“I can’t get up,” he says and to prove his words, he tries to lift himself using his hands. He barely lifts his ass off the ground.
Arthur watches his clumsy attempts and chuckles. John glares at him but looking this helpless he’s not that scary as he would like to be.
“Good thing I woke up or you would had been sitting here till morning,” Arthur jokes and gets closer to his mate, grabbing his outstretched hands.
“I would had started screaming.”
Their friends would probably think the birth started earlier.
“Up you go!” he gasps with effort, lifting his mate from the ground and putting him back on his feet. John stumbles a little, almost falling into Arthur. “Come on, you barrel. One more month and you’re free.”
“One month,” John repeats with a smile.
It took thirteen days.
They aren’t unprepared, John starts getting fake contractions few days earlier. Susan assures them it’s normal, just like John making a nest using his and Arthur’s clothes to have a familiar scent around him all the time. Everyday Arthur wears one of the gathered shirts and gives it back to John in the evening so the alpha scent is always strong.
John spends all days in his comfy nest, leaving it only to relieve himself or stretch his legs. Nothing else can drag him out of the bed, nobody even tries. Arthur takes it upon himself to bring his mate food every day.
Susan tells them the birth can start at any time but even with that warning, nobody expected it to start so early.
It happens on early morning when Arthur is pulled from his sleep by a loud groan from John who, apparently, few hours earlier started having strong contractions that are becoming rather frequent and painful. Arthur calls Miss Grimshaw immediately. The moment he goes to get her is the last time he’s seeing John before the delivery starts. Susan and Mary-Beth – who was chosen to help – are the only one allowed to be with John. Everybody else, especially Arthur, has to stay outside.
It’s the longest three hours of his life. At first nothing indicates the birth even started. There is no sound coming from the closed tent and Mary-Beth doesn’t look even slightly worried whenever she leaves the tent to fetch something. She always smiles at Arthur who watches from the distance – focused, alert, ready to intervene if needed.
He is so absorbed with it he barely notices any other gang members who joins him to witness the birth. Some of them tries to lighten the mood with jokes, the other tries more conservatives methods and just assures Arthur everything will be fine. No one is congratulating yet.
The news of the birth finally starting causes a pretty big commotion, everyone waits for something to happen. Arthur wishes for as little to happen as possible, just a simple and quick birth. He wants that even more when everything begins for good and John starts screaming.
Arthur is sure he drowns his mate’s screams with his own growl before he rushes towards their tent. Three alphas who stands the closest jumps on him to stop his from disturbing the birth, while the rest of the gang just watches worriedly as he becomes more and more furious with every painful scream from John.
“Deep breaths, amigo!” Javier tells him for a hundredth time while practically climbing his back. “Hold him, Mac!”
“I’m holding him as hard as I can!” he screams back. One of the Callander brother holds Arthur by one arm, his brother Davey doing the same with the other.
“Arthur, calm down” says Hosea who tries to get to him with word while the other barely holds him in place for two hours now. “Nobody is hurting John.”
Arthur knows that but the primitive part of his brain has a different opinion on that and doesn’t want to listen the logical one. The only thing it wants is to protect the mate it can’t see, only hear his screams filled with agony. Anything could be happening to John right now, it doesn’t matter he’s just giving birth. It brings him pain and it’s enough for Arthur instincts to go crazy, telling him to react, to kill anyone who dares to hurt his omega.
His eyes are probably bloody red. He didn’t kill anyone yet because he’s too focused on getting to John to think logically and to simply get himself rid of people who holds him, instead of unsuccessfully trying to get away from them. Despite being three of them and only one him, they still barely hold him. After two hours of fighting he isn’t even tired and he won’t rest until he can see John and make sure the omega is safe.
But he can’t see him. Susan forbid him that, John is alone and Arthur can’t help him or support him, he can only listen to his screams becoming even louder.
He jerks forwards harder than before, feeling himself slipping from his friends grasps. He moves a few steps closer to the tent. Ever since the worst started, when John started practically howling with pain, Arthur took a lot of steps like that. If it takes any longer, he’ll reach the tent for sure.
“How the hell he’s even stronger?!” Davey shouts worried.
“Arthur, you need to calm down!” Hosea repeats himself.
“Morgan, control yourself!”
He can’t. No when John is screaming like that. He needs to see with his own eyes everything is alright.
Arthur almost escapes his friends this time when another scream rings through the air. It’s not John’s.
Arthur freezes, hearing only this new sound that seem to call him to itself. He tries to move again but this time it’s not his friends holding him in place but shock. He stands stuck in one place then, listening to the shrill of a child. It’s so strange to hear something like that in the outlaw’s camp, it doesn’t fit here and seems almost fake, unreal. Arthur isn’t sure he’s really hearing it.
“You hear that, compadre?” Javier asks with a smile in his voice and pats Arthur on the chest that rises and falls rapidly from exhaustion he experienced during last two hours. “That’s your baby. Mierda, what a strong lungs!”
“You think we can let him go now?” Mac asks uncertain.
“I think so,” Davey answers and lets go of Arthur’s arm. The others moves too and he is finally free, but he still doesn’t move an inch.
“A baby,” he repeats stunned, staring at the tent where behind the thin wall of fabric is his mate and their newborn.
He had so many month to get used to his new role as a father. Day after day he saw John’s growing belly but he still can’t believe it’s really happening. It’s baby’s cry. His baby. It’s here finally, so close to him.
He rushes forward so suddenly his friends almost didn’t catch him.
“I knew letting him go was a bad idea!” Davey groans, trying to hold struggling Arthur in his grasp. He tries to escape to see his baby. He doesn’t want to wait any longer, he waited enough for six months.
“Stop yapping and hold him, Davey!”
“You’re not helping, brother!”
“You need to wait just few more minutes, Arthur!” Javier is once again on Arthur’s back, trying to slow him down but even with added weight, Arthur takes a few step towards the tent. “Wait till Miss Grimshaw let you inside!”
It’s another long minutes of waiting and hearing baby’s cries. Arthur wants to see it, hold it, to feel it’s real but most of all, he wants to see if John is okay.
The baby gets quiet eventually, Susan and Mary-Beth leaves the tent not long after, smiles miles wide and carrying with them bloodied rags and bucket with a red water in it. Arthur growls at the sight.
“You can go see them,” Susan informs him. Them . “John and the baby are alright.”
He won’t believe until he see them. At this moment, it’s even hard to believe he’s a father. That after all those months of waiting he can finally see his child. Their child.
“Ey! Congratulations, amigo!”
“Good job, Morgan!”
“Congratulation, son!”
“Now the real fun begins!”
Still congratulating and celebrating for him, Arthur’s friends lets him go and he slowly, much slower than he expected, approaches his and John’s tent. He hears his mate’s purring coming from the inside, it calms him down a little but not enough to cause his heart to slow down. It starts to beat even faster when he senses the new smell in the air.
Tentatively, he parts the flaps of the tent and goes inside, closing them after himself to provide the three of them some privacy. There is no source of light inside, the lamp isn’t lit, it’s dim but Arthur’s eyes quickly gets used to it and he sees his mate clearly, laying against the pile of their clothes gathered on the bed.
Arthur breathes a sigh of relief at that sight. Finally he knows for sure his mate is safe and sound.
“John,” he speaks quietly. The omega’s eyes are closed but he opens them after hearing Arthur’s voice.
“Arthur?” His voice is weak and so is his movements when he shifts just a little.
The baby is in his arms. A little bundle that whimper softly when John moves. Arthur can already feel tears in his eyes.
“How are you feeling?” he asks and gets closer. He takes the chair standing in the corner of the tent and places it near the bed, not even for the moment shifting his gaze from John and the baby.
John sighs and closes his eyes again.
“I was stabbed, shot, poisoned but none of those were as terrible as giving birth,” he admits and looks at the newborn that hungrily feeds from his breast. A small and tired smile appears on John’s face. “But I think it was worth it.”
“You think?” Arthur repeats amused, just like John looking at the baby. It’s so unreal it’s here, with them. Everything went okay, nothing happened. They’re parents.
“Never again, Arthur. It’s our first and our last.” John’s voice is serious when he looks at Arthur, almost closing his eyes again. “I’m so tired but Miss Grimshaw told me to feed him.”
Arthur almost chokes on air when he hears that.
“It’s a boy,” he stutter, so many emotion swirling in his heart at the same time.
John smiles again.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, holding their son more firmly. The baby whimpers again before getting back to eating. “But I told you it will be a boy.”
Arthur was hoping for a girl, he never hid it but he isn’t even slightly disappointed. Nothing can spoil him this joy he’s feeling right now.
“It doesn’t matter.” Arthur moves closer. He wants to touch his son, hold him, but he is afraid to ask. First hours after birth is the time for omega and the child to form a bond. Alpha can wait. He doesn’t want to take that away from his mate. He doesn’t know how to hold a newborn anyway. “It’s our baby.”
They created him together, he has part of both of them in him. It’s almost too beautiful to be true.
“Yeah,” John nods and looks at his son he holds in shaking arms. “I’m gonna drop him soon. Want to hold him?”
Only fear stops him from exchanging his hands right away.
“He’s done?” he asks, seeing his son still hungrily sucking the milk.
“I don’t know. He better be if he doesn’t want to live on this world only few minutes because I really gonna drop him in a moment.”
Ignoring the baby’s protests, he hands the boy to Arthur.
Arthur hands are shaking when he holds his son for the first time. He’s small, so tiny Arthur is afraid to hurt him accidently. It’s terrifying how little the baby is, how delicate. He holds the boy with both of his palms and watches him with amazement.
The boy is covered with wrinkles, there is a small patch of hair on his head and his skin is a little reddish. It’s impossible to see his eyes color, they’re barely open but focused on Arthur, who is sure his own eyes are playing tricks on him.
The baby is wrapped in one of his shirts and coos quietly while wiggling his little arms and legs under the fabric.
Ever since they found out with John about the pregnancy, Arthur imagined their baby many times but the reality topped any of his expectations. He can’t stop looking at their child, trying to find who he resembles the most, but so far it’s impossible.
“He’s beautiful,” he says entranced. He can’t stop his tears anymore, they fall down his face. He looks at John who looks back fondly.
“Because he’s clean,” John says and carefully finds the more comfortable position. “You didn’t see him when he was covered with blood and weird slick. Maybe it’s for the better you weren’t there.”
“I wanted to be. For you to not be alone.”
It must had been hard. The mates presence always help in stressful situation.
“It would’ve been nice,” John admits and reaches his hand towards Arthur, who understand perfectly what he wants. He moves their son to hold him only with one hand, safely laying him on the bend of the elbow, before sitting on the bed and grasping John’s hand in his. “I thought I was going to die.”
“You sounded like you were dying.”
His skin still crawls when he remembers those screams. Thankfully John is okay and beside being tired, he looks perfectly okay. During those two hours when Arthur listened to his screams, not being able to do anything, he was suspecting the worst.
Arthur smiles at John, happy and relieved his mate survived the pain and hardship to bring their child into the world.
“Can I go to sleep now?” John mumbles, too tired to form the words perfectly.
“Yeah.” Making sure that the baby is okay, Arthur bends down and kisses John on the cheek. Omega purrs in response. Even his purring sound tired. “Yeah, I’ll take care of him. You rest. You deserve it.”
“Damn straight.” John takes a deep breath, almost melting in all the clothes he’s lying on. Maybe he didn’t have Arthur with him, but at least he had his smell to help him survive the birth.
With a smile, Arthur brushes the hair from John’s forehead and just looks at him. The overwhelming amount of love hits him like a tide when he watches his omega who just gave him the greatest gift in the entire world, along with allowing Arthur to mate him few years ago.
He bows down his head again, this time tenderly kissing John on the forehead. John purrs happily, weakly squeezing Arthur’s hand in his.
“Thank you,” Arthur says, but he knows his words can’t show how grateful he really is right now.
Confused, John opens his eyes. “For what?”
“For giving me a son.”
He’s a father, he has a child. Arthur couldn’t be more happier right now. He never really dreamed of having a child, but now that he got one, he can’t stop how much joy it brings him. Or the tears that starts to gather in his eyes again.
“You’re not disappointed it’s not a girl?” John asks to be sure. How can he even think Arthur would be angry about something like that?
“Of course not. I love him.” He lifts his son higher to softly kiss his head. Arthur can smell his scent he will remember for the rest of his life – an unique mix of his and John’s scents. There are definitely tears in his eyes again when he looks at John. “And I love you.”
“And I love the two of you.” John moves his eyes to the baby and lifts his palm to gently touch the boy’s chubby cheek. He can’t keep his hand in the air for so long, it quickly goes limp and Arthur holds it again. “Our baby.”
“Our baby.” Arthur shifts even closer, half lying next to John who happily rests his head on alpha’s shoulder. “We’ll provide him with everything he needs.”
“Protecting him from any danger,” adds John and yawns. “Never stopping loving him.”
“He deserve better childhood than ours.”
“I’ll do anything to make sure he won’t ever end on the streets like we did,” John promises with determination and yawns again. “But sleeping first.”
Arthur chuckles quietly to not to disturb his son who is snuggled into him just like his Pa.
“Sleep, Johnny,” he tells his omega and wraps an arm around him. “We’ll be there when you wake up.”
Despite being barely conscious, John once again opens his eyes to look at Arthur.
“I’m glad we have him,” he admits, his voice shaking from all of those emotions. “Doesn’t matter it was an accident.”
The best surprise that almost caused them to die from fear.
“Me too.” Arthur’s whole body is filled with pure happiness while looking at two most important persons in his life. “We have a family, John. A real family.”
Many years ago, when Dutch took Arthur in and he and Hosea became his family, he never thought that one day he’ll create his own family – with an omega and a child. He never wanted a family like that yet here he is, already willing to protect it even with his own life.
“We have,” John confirms and looks at both of them. “Good night, Arthur. Goodnight, Jack.”
John has chosen this name a while ago. Arthur had one ready for a girl but it won’t be needed anymore. He isn’t even sad about that.
“Goodnight, John,” he responds but omega doesn’t hear it, finally asleep from the exhaustion his body had gone through just couple of minutes ago. Arthur hugs him tighter to himself and looks at the yawning baby in his arms. “Your Pa will be asleep for a while, Jack. Welcome to the world, son.”
The boy stares at him for a moment before closing his eyes and falling asleep as well. Arthur stays awake to protect them and to enjoy his new family.
This is all he needs from life.