Carlos bursts into the hospital, his hair dripping onto his already sodden shirt.
"Room 76?" He pants to the front desk, looming down at the woman.
She stares up at him blankly, chewing on her gum.
"Name and relation to the patient?" She drawls.
"My name is Carlos. Her name is Conrad Rosser. I'm her fiance," he bluffs, his irritation rising with every smack of gum.
He hates human spaces at the best of times, but human hospitals really bother him.
It's not only the risk of exposure that stresses him out, but also the noise and disorganisation.
"Fine. Turn left at the end of the hall, and keep walking. Look at the numbers; knock before you go in. She's on her own," she drones.
Carlos is gone like a bullet from a gun as soon as she finishes speaking, following her instructions until he's standing outside of the brown door.
He forgets to knock, walking in and coming face to face with a scowling lady.
"Out, knock first," she snaps.
Carlos blushes, turning on his heel, closing the door, and then knocking.
After a few seconds, he opens the door, now being greeted by a smiling lady.
"Very good. You must be the man I've heard so much about," she comments.
Carlos doesn't really know what to say to her, so he offers her an awkward smile and slides around the side of her to see Conrad, who looks remarkably pale.
She's usually pale, but the ink from the tattoos on her arms look like pen on paper.
"Baby," he breathes, hugging her gingerly.
Conrad doesn't raise her arms, her eyes glued to the end of the bed.
"What happened to her?" He asks, sitting on the chair beside the bed as he rests his hand on top of hers.
"Well, she fainted. It's always safer to bring patients in when things like this happen, and it's lucky that we did!" The nurse smiles, reorganising things beside the sink in the room.
Conrad is still motionless, and Carlos is getting increasingly worried.
"Why is it lucky that you did?" He urges, standing up.
"Why don't you ask the lovely lady beside you! It's her news!" She cheers, "I'll leave you two alone. Ring the bell if you need any help!"
The nurse leaves the room, whistling to herself.
Once the door closes, Conrad turns to look at him robotically.
"What's wrong?" He asks, kneeling beside the bed.
His mind is racing with possibilities, and he doesn't like any of them.
She doesn't reply, her hand shakily coming up to cover her mouth.
"Baby, what did she say? Was she rude? I can get her fired if we need to. You don't need to worry about anything. If you're sick, I'll take care of you and everything you need. You just need to tell me what's wrong," he pleads, clasping her free hand.
She looks up at him, and he's taken aback by how miserable she looks.
"I'm pregnant," she breathes, her eyes immediately filling with tears.
Carlos' jaw drops as he stares at her, standing up from his spot on the floor.
He runs his hands through his hair as he begins pacing along the bottom of the bed, his face paling to match hers.
"I don't hear any happy crying," the nurse calls into the room as she passes.
Carlos doesn't even hear her, completely absorbed by his own thoughts.
"Carlos, I'm sorry," Conrad sobs, her chest heaving, "I didn't plan this, I swear. I don't want a baby. I didn't want this."
The sound of her sobs fill the room as he continues to pace, pulling on the ends of his hair.
"Carlos, please talk to me. This isn't my fault; the pills failed," Conrad whispers, her tears trailing down her neck.
They've taken off most of her makeup, and she's been left with two big black panda eyes from her eye makeup.
"Carlos," she cries out, slamming her hands on the bed, "look at me!"
He doesn't even react to her statement, and she slowly climbs out of bed, grabbing his arm.
He jerks away from her, his eyes wild when he turns to look at her.
"Conrad, we can't have a baby right now," he breathes heavily, his heart racing.
"I know, I know we can't, I don't want a baby right now," she bawls, clasping one of his hands desperately.
He doesn't pull away this time, staring down at her.
"What the fuck are we going to do? We can't have a kid right now," he repeats, his voice getting quieter as he speaks.
He sits down in the seat beside the bed again.
She follows him, still holding onto his hand.
"I know. I know we can't," she utters again, her tears still falling.
This seems to finally register with him, and he wipes them away with his thumb, wiping the mascara off on his shirt.
"What are we going to do?" He whispers, his chest feeling hollow.
"I don't know. I don't even know how far along I am; I asked her not to check. I said I wanted you here for it, we can't let them do a scan, or they'll see that it's not human," she murmurs back.
He grabs the back of her head gently, pulling their foreheads together.
"We're going to figure it out," he sighs.
She slowly sits on his knee, and he doesn't push her off, so she leans her head against his shoulder.
"Are they sure?" He asks after a moment of quiet, and he can feel Conrad nodding against his shoulder.
"Yeah. I had them check twice; it's impossible that I'm not," she sighs, rubbing her forehead.
They sit in silence for a few minutes, with Carlos gently rubbing Conrad's hand with his thumb.
The door flies open as the nurse prances back in, a grin on her face.
"How are the happy couple? I'm here to discharge the lovely lady! You're okay to go home, but we advise going to your doctor as soon as possible to check on dates for the baby!" She beams, ignoring the quiet room.
"Thank you," Conrad mumbles, standing up.
Carlos points to the bag of clothes he brought her.
He had grabbed the first things he saw in the wardrobe because the last time he knew anyone was in a human hospital, they had cut their clothes off.
The nurse leaves for Conrad to change, and she slides the hospital gown off, rubbing her face.
Carlos walks up behind her, making sure to leave space in between their bodies so that his wet shirt doesn't touch her.
"We're going to be okay," he whispers, kissing the back of her neck.
Conrad gives him a tiny smile, sliding on the bra he packed for her.
She puts on the shirt in the bag, which is his, putting the underwear and leggings on afterwards.
"Thank you," she mumbles, and he shakes his head.
"I mean it. Who else, apart from my parents, would drive through a snowstorm to make sure I was okay. We have phones, you know," she laughs weakly.
"You have a whole team of people who are worried for you. Poor Skyla is pacing the waiting room; they wouldn't let her in to sit with you. I didn't tell your parents. I didn't want them to worry until I knew what was happening; they wouldn't tell me anything over the phone," he explains.
"Still, thank you," she shrugs, putting her shoes on.
"I don't know anyone who goes to such lengths to get out of meetings, though," he chuckles, a grin on his lips.
She turns to look at him, her jaw dropping.
"Excuse you. I did not do this on purpose; your child made my blood sugar drop," she scoffs humorously, a smile crawling onto her face.
"My child? You mean your child! My children love sugar. It isn't my genes that did that," he smirks, picking up the bags for her.
"Is this what it's going to be like? Are you really going to make this a competition? Because I'll win!" She warns him, putting on the coat on the bed.
"Well, I think I've already won," he shrugs, a small toothy smile on his lips as he holds the door open for her.
He has a spare outfit for himself in the car, but he's going to run out and get the vehicle to the door, so she doesn't have to get wet.
While he goes to get the car, Conrad is standing in the lobby.
She looks down at her stomach, which is just like usual. Not flat, a little bit soft and chubby, but no different.
She can't believe it; she's having a baby.
Our baby. Not anybody else's, Jane growls protectively.
Conrad raises an eyebrow at the anger in the tone of Jane, but brushes it off after a minute.
This is going to be our baby—all ours. There's not going to be any unsure claim; everyone will know who their parents are, Jane snarls.
What the hell are you talking about?, Conrad asks in confusion.
Carlos will claim this child. This child will not be like Carlos was, fatherless. And it won't be like the twins; they are mongrels, Jane spits.
Jane, leave them alone. They won't hurt our baby, Conrad frowns, looking for Carlos' car.
They might. They could challenge our baby because we're their father's ex-mate. I will not allow us to be anywhere near them. I forbid it, Jane hisses.
Conrad raises an eyebrow.
Every time she tried to visit the twins in the last few weeks, she's been overwhelmed by a horrific wave of exhaustion and nausea. She realises that it was Jane's doing, and she releases a scoff out loud.
A lady turns to stare at her, and Conrad stares back, completely stuck in her head.
A horn beeps, and Conrad spots the car, hurrying out to meet him.
She puts her hood up as she scrambles towards the car, clambering into her seat when she gets there.
"Are you okay?" Carlos asks, pulling into the nearest parking space to change his shirt.
"Yeah. Are you sure it's safe to drive home in this?" She asks, peering out the window at the rain, which looks like it's turning into hail.
"We'll drive as far as we can in the next hour. We can stop if we need to, but I think we'll be safer closer to home on account of my life being threatened and the... surprise," he manages, putting his seatbelt on.
"It's probably the biggest surprise of my life," she mumbles, rubbing her nose.
"Mine too. Sabrina was half planned, me and her mother had at least talked about children. The only time we spoke about them was to say we don't want them yet," he sighs.
"I know. It's bizarre," Conrad murmurs, looking out the window.
"Con," Carlos frowns, reaching out and touching her arm, "I love you. We're going to figure out what to do together. I'm not going to leave you; I'm not my father."
"I know you're not your father. You're an amazing dad to Sabrina; that's not what I'm worried about. What if something happens between us? What if your ex comes back and wants to claim you?" She asks nervously.
Carlos stares at her incredulously.
"Conrad, I don't care about her. She's fully mated to some Alpha, and they have two children together. If she comes running back to me, I'd drop dead with shock considering she can't even see her daughter," he frowns, "if something happens between us, we'll work together to raise our child."
Conrad is reassured by this, mostly.
"We're not our parents. You're not my mother. We're bonded. You're not my mistress, and I'm not letting history repeat itself. I'll mark you before the baby gets here," he promises, pulling onto the road.
Jane perks up at the mention of marking, and Conrad can't stop the shock expressing itself on her face.
Marking is the wolf equivalent of a wedding ring. Once marked, it's near impossible to break a bond, and most witches will refuse to do it. Conrad's bond had been broken due to Meg being pregnant and the rejection being mostly mutual. Carlos' bond had been broken mutually, because he knew his ex wanted to move on, and he wasn't going to make her stay.
"Really? Are you only marking me to save face?" She asks, a scowl coming onto her face, "I don't need to be marked before we have a baby."
He glances over at her, his eyebrows raised.
"No, I'm not only marking you for the baby. When we get home, you'll see," he sighs, his lips pursed.
"What do you mean when we get home, I'll see?" She pushes, her curiosity getting the better of her. She couldn't give him the silent treatment when he has the information she desperately wants.
"Well, it's not a surprise anymore," he mutters, trying to calm his heart.
"I was going to ask you to consider marrying me. I know it's not typical, but our relationship isn't exactly conventional," he offers a weak smile, immediately turning back to face the road to avoid her eyes.
She's genuinely speechless as she stares at him, her hand covering her mouth.
"I had the whole house decorated and all; I did it all this morning. I was hoping you'd be home tonight. I had reservations and all," he adds, red crawling up his neck.
She hasn't said anything at all yet, and it's making him incredibly nervous.
He usually can't get her to stop talking, but he's never wished to hear her voice quite so much as this moment.
"Charlotte was in on the plan and all. She was going to take you to get your hair and nails done as soon as you got back, you can text her. She said that was important before a proposal. When I told her you were in the hospital, she was more worried than anyone I've ever seen," he babbles on, following the GPS instructions.
"I bought the ring three weeks ago. Sabrina helped me with it. That was the day I had the business meeting up near her school, I took her out for the day, and we picked it out. Charlotte approved it, too. Your dad and mum were both so excited; I even contacted them to inform them. I didn't ask for their permission. I know how you feel about all that because you're your own person and don't need approval from-"
"Yes," she grins, shaking.
He pulls the car over to the side of the road, his eyes wide.
"What?" He asks, blinking.
"I said, yes. I'll marry you. I'd love to marry you," she laughs in disbelief, beaming at him.
"I don't know who's going to be more excited. Me or Sabrina," he breathes, running his hand through his tangled and damp hair.
"I think I'm the most excited," she points out, the grin on her face hurting her cheeks.
Some of you guessed half of it, I'm dreadful at being subtle.
Hope you're all well!!
I had an interview, got the job, and decided I didn't want it because the vibes were awful there! As every day passes, my proposal for my masters becomes more and more focused on climate change, and I'm not a fan of it.
I have like two chapters done and just need to edit them, so you might get another tomorrow!! Apparently TU was mentioned on tiktok somewhere, because a lot of new readers have added it to tiktok reading lists - I am just as confused as you guys.
Drop a like! I don't bite!!
- Aoife :) xx