Xael was finally resting peacefully and Grams and Skylar were enjoying a cup of coffee before lunch was ready.
"I have a feeling that Xael and Adam will be moving out here sooner than they thought." Skylar spoke while hidden by the newspaper that he was reading. Adam was nice enough to bring it by when he stopped to take care of Xael.
"I was thinking the same thing Wes. With this being Xael's first pregnancy and her having so many issues so soon, resting would be much better for her than trying to manage the diner. I'll talk to Vicki and Ester later today."
"Good, I'd feel better if she just rested. Three months is not a lot of time for pups to come to full term."
"Agreed, I'll go into the diner one day and go over the ordering with James."
"Mn."
Just as Emma got up to plate up lunch, Xael came shuffling into the kitchen and sat by Skylar, resting her head on his shoulder. He just shook his head and gave her a kiss to the forehead. "Why aren't you resting Puppers?"
"I'm hungry."
"I'll fix you up a plate Xaely."
"Thanks Grammy." Xael laid her head down on the table. With a soft whimper Xael lifted her head and looked around. "What time is it?"
"Almost one."
"Mn. Grams I don't think I'm going to be working much at the diner."
"Good! Me and Wes were just talking about that. This is your first pregnancy Xael and your body is going to need to change a lot for the babies."
"So I gathered from my back going out. I don't ever want to go through that again. Birthing these twins is going to be hard enough."
"Welcome to motherhood deary."
"I wouldn't trade it for the world." Xael laid her head back down until her plate was ready, her hand caressing her growing stomach. Skylar fed the pups and took them out only for them to run right back to their momma after their potty break. Xael just had a small bowl of macaroni salad, she wasn't as hungry as she thought and Grams told her she needed to eat more but she just wasn't feeling it today. Even though she wasn't in severe pain, she was still uncomfortable.
Finished eating, Xael went to take a hot shower and was going back to sleep. Heating pad turned back down to three, Xael slowly crawled into bed and under the covers, laying on her side. She made sure the pillow was between her knees helping to adjust her hips and back. Cradling her stomach with her hands, Xael drifted off to sleep.
Pulling into the small town, the clock on the dash read 1:30pm. Beau made pretty good time getting back to the reservation from the city. His phone went off a few times on the way up there but he just ignored it as he already knew who it was and didn't care to speak to her. Her name popped up on the entertainment system screen since his phone was connected to the radio via blue tooth. There was nothing left for him to say. She had made her decision and he had made his.
Beau dropped off what he had at his old apartment and left a window open to air the place out. He would see if Ms. Emma had any sage he could have because smudging was definitely in order; he could even use a sweat lodge.
With everything unloaded into his apartment, he would unpack and get settled tomorrow. He took a quick shower and dressed to head to Grandma's house. Before he left, he texted Adam that he had made it back to the res.
The drive out to Grandma's house was a quiet one and very much needed. Beau shut his phone and the radio off and rolled down all the windows as he drove along Cutler's Pass. It seemed that once you got onto tribal land everything changed; the air was fresher, the energy more peaceful, everything was different. Turning down onto the dirt road to the house, Beau breathed a sigh of relief that he was back home again. Pulling up to the house, Skylar was there on the large deck, standing to greet him. The Elders long almost white hair, blowing in the soft breeze.
Walking up the steps, the two greeted each other with a hug which Beau desperately needed.
"Welcome home Alpha."
"Thanks Skylar, you don't know how good it is to hear that word."
"Come on, Em has some smudge ready for you at the door before you can enter."
"Thank god."
Skylar had the honor of smudging the young Alpha then they headed into the kitchen or the second living room as it was quickly becoming.
"Beau!" Grams had him wrapped in a hug, her hands held out as they were wet from peeling potatoes. "Good to have you back dear."
"It's good to be back Ms. Emma."
"Oh enough of this Ms. Emma nonsense! Have a seat, I'll get you a cup of coffee."
"Thanks Grams. How's Xael doing?"
"Sleeping, today was a rough day for her but she'll be fine. How are you doing?"
"Now that I'm home, much better. This has all been a huge, painful learning experience for me."
"Life can be like that sometimes Alpha."
"Yeah. I just hate that an innocent had to suffer." Beau shook his head. He needed to look forward, not back as nothing could be changed.
"Ah, spirit will see that the little one is reborn. So, we hear you found your actual Mate?"
"Yeah..." Beau rubbed the back of his neck and the Elders could tell he was hesitant to talk about it which was odd. "We're...we're just going to take it slow for now. They also have some things to take care of before we can fully be together."
"I see." Skylar gave Emma a look
Grams took a seat next to you Beau. Both of the Elders knew there was something else that was bothering the young Alpha. Grams put a gentle hand on his arm.
"There's something else, isn't there Beau."
"My Mate is an Omega...a male Omega."
"Okay?" Grams had a confused look and Skylar had his head down trying not to laugh. He cleared his throat.
"Beau, there's nothing wrong with that son. Our Mates are who our Mates are. Male, female, Beta, Alpha or Omega. No one here is going to judge your Mate based on that."
"Wes is right dear. Wolfen see nothing wrong with same sex pairings, we never have and we never will."
Beau took a deep sigh as he fought back tears. "Thanks you two."
"So! When do we get to meet him?!"
"When he has some time off from work."
"What does he do?"
"He's actually a nurse."
"Ooooo!"
"What's his name?"
"Minh Son. He's Vietnamese."
"Mn! Well bring him by when he's able to."
"I will Grams."
"I'm happy for you Beau that things eventually worked out for you."
"Thanks Skylar."
Just then tippy tippy sounds were heard as the pups trotted into the kitchen followed by their two legged momma.
"Beau!!" Xael had the Alpha wrapped in her strong arms and was squeezing him a little too much.
"Air, pretty momma, I need air!"
"Sorry. When did you get here?"
"What are you doing up Pup?"
"I'm thirsty." Xael eased into the seat next to Beau giving him a full view of her growing belly.
"Wow, you're getting big there momma!"
"Oh hush."
"How you feeling?"
"Like I been hit by a mac truck. Will you rub my back for me?"
"You sure it's okay?"
"Yes, your like my brother so get to rubbing!"
"You still hurting Puppers?"
"Yeah, it's mostly my hips now. I'll go back to bed in a bit. When did you get here Beau?"
"Bout thirty minutes ago."
"Mn." Xael was shifting in the wooden chair trying to find a comfortable position to sit in.
"Xael dear I'm going to run you a salt bath, that will help your muscles after a good soak."
"Okay."
"How far along are you?"
"Uhh..." Xael gave a confused look at Grams, not sure what to tell Beau. "Far enough that they need more room than my hips are giving them. It's good seeing you hon, Grams I'm going to go and sit on the couch for a bit."
"Okay, I'll bring some tea out to you."
"Thanks, Unc will you look after the boys?"
"Sure Puppers, you go and take it easy."
Xael was slow to get up and slow to move as she shuffled into the living room. Beau gave Grams a worried look.
"She'll be fine dear, it's just her body trying to accommodate twins."
"She looks almost 5 months pregnant."
"Twins have a way of doing that."
"Those are going to be some huge twins, but given how big Adam is, I'm not surprised."
The Elders just laughed because they knew it was partly true. Grams got the hot salt bath ready for Xael and helped her get undressed. She was getting big but there were only 3 months left for the babies to get here so they had a lot of growing still to do.
Xael stayed in the hot water for almost half an hour, she only got out because the bath was cooling down. She was fine getting out of the tub on her own and dressed in just a pair of undies and one of Adam's tshirts that had been left behind. Crawling into bed, she snuggled under the covers and relaxed. She messaged her Mate to bring some extra comfy clothes and food for the pups, even though it was Monday, she didn't think she would make it to the diner till about Wednesday, Thursday at the latest.
Grams quietly went to check on Xael and saw a pair of furry ears sticking out of the edge of the blankets, they had been alerted to the sound of the door opening and were at attention even though Xael was already asleep. Grams pulled the door closed and returned to the kitchen.
"How is she Em?"
"Sleeping again."
"Good."
"She gonna be able to run the diner?"
"Oh, probably not till after the babies get here and then not for a month after that."
"Wow."
"Yeah, but she'll be fine. Xael will just have to take it easy and allow others to help her."
"So you staying for dinner Beau?"
"Sure!"
"Good! Here, you can chop potatoes! We're having mashed potatoes with supper tonight."
"Yes ma'am."
This was one of the best jobs Beau had had since leaving tribal land.