Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The pain woke Erik up. 

It wasn’t really anything new, pain often woke him up. He wasn’t a stranger to pain, nor had he been exactly kind to his body throughout his life. 

The place of the pain, however, was new. Most of the time it would be his back, or knees, maybe a shoulder. But this was his abdomen, on the lower right side. 

At first, he was tempted to just blame the dinner he had and move on, but it hardly seemed to be that kind of feeling. He didn’t know what it was, but it was something new that he hadn’t experienced before. 

With a wince, he brought his hand to the spot, almost instinctively, and rubbed over it. For a brief second, the pain disappeared, but as soon as his hand was gone, it was back and in full force. 

To him, there seemed to be only one logical thing to do. He rolled over onto his stomach, and put his hand to the spot, using the weight of his body and had to keep pressure on it. That should do well enough. 

It wasn’t like there was much else that could be done. It was three in the morning and he certainly wasn’t going to wake anyone up. What would he even say? That his stomach was hurting? He wasn’t a three-year-old. If their kids did that, it was one thing, but Erik wasn’t going to risk that. 

Wanting to test the pain and see if it was gone yet, he moved his hand and winced as it came right back. His body curled in and he pressed his hand back on the same spot, hoping for the temporary relief once again. 

It seemed like every time his hand moved, it only felt worse, the intensity increasing as the moments went by. There was no slowing it until he was biting his lip and each breath was more of a hiss between his teeth than anything, just struggling to not make a sound. The last thing he wanted to do was wake Charles up. 

But, of course, he was trying to not wake up a telepath who always seemed to have a mental connection with him, the two of them linked so much that they could feel each other’s pain and knew what the other was thinking. This was no different as it only took a moment more for Charles’s eyes to open and he turned to look at Erik. 

“What’s going on, love?” He asked, his voice was a little rough and Erik wondered if it was from the pain he was feeling and projecting or if it was from sleep that Charles just woke up from. 

Erik shook his head, his face contorted in pain. He wasn't sure he could speak right now if he wanted to, even with his hand pressed against his side, it seemed to do so little but he was terrified to let go in fear that it would only feel so much worse when he did. 

“Erik,” Charles said, his voice much more alert now, a bit of a demand in his voice. “You're in pain. Do you know what’s causing it?” 

Erik shook his head, glad for the yes or no questions, something he could answer without having to speak. The more time went past, the more he thought that perhaps he did need some help because it was possible something was wrong. 

“Okay, I’m going to get Hank. I think we need to get you to a doctor,” Charles said, sounding like he was panicking but trying to stay calm. Erik wished he was in the position to turn to him and calm him down but the pain wasn’t going to allow for that. 

Instead, all he could do was make his displeasure known, projecting his annoyance at the thought of Hank but Charles didn’t seem to care. The man was already in action, putting a gentle hand on his back before moving off the bed and onto his chair. “We’re going to need to get you up. Do you think you can stand?” 

The thought seemed torturous but Erik wasn’t going to let that stop him. His omega had asked him to do something and he couldn’t be seen as weak. Especially not by Charles—who he always wanted to impress—and Hank who he just did want to see him without his guard up. 

As he moved, the pain radiated from his side, seeming to spread from one place outward. But he gritted his teeth and kept on going until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. There was sweat on his face and he wanted to puke at the thought of moving anymore but he wasn’t going to let this beat him. 

“Darling, we can get you in a wheelchair or have Hank help you. We can get you in my lap, if nothing else. You don’t have to do this,” Charles said, the words rushing out from him but Erik wasn’t hearing it. 

The man looked up at Charles, doing his best to glare at him. He couldn’t unclench his jaw to speak if he wanted to and feared he would get sick if he opened his mouth. Besides, the glare was rather ruined by the tears in his eyes anyway. 

Perhaps it should hurt him that Charles didn’t believe he could do this but, instead of caring, he just pushed himself until he was on his feet. And, at that moment, Hank walked into the room. 

It was as though he knew immediately what was going on because he rushed to Erik’s side, wrapping an arm around him. As much as Erik wanted to protest, he knew this was for the best since it felt as though he could pass out at any second, or at least fall back to the bed, undoing his progress and the landing was sure to hurt. 

“Come on,” Hank said, starting to move, helping Erik along. “What’s the plan, professor?”

“We’re going to get him into a car and I’m taking him to the emergency room. I have a feeling I know what this is and he’s going to need to get checked sooner rather than later.” 

Erik was, once again, left to project his displeasure. Charles knew how much he hated hospitals. Just everything about them. They reminded him of Shaw, of torture, of Charles being shot, of their little girl dying. Which only led to him thinking about the other three little girls asleep in their room. 

“I’ve woken Raven to let her know,” Charles said, picking up on the thought. “She’s not happy with me but I don’t care. She said she’d watch them if we’re not back by the morning when they wake up.” 

The idea of leaving without saying bye to them, the thought of them waking up and looking for their Daddy and Papa and not being able to find them, not knowing where they were at. It hurt and Erik hated it but he knew there was no changing the plans now. He would have to get Charles and Hank to agree and they were already set in their own plans. 

Besides, the pain was radiating and Erik was struggling to just breathe and stay on his feet, making them move. There was no chance of making it to the kids rooms and saying bye, not to mention waking them up to say that and then having to get them back to sleep. And no doubt at least one of them would want to go along which wouldn’t be ideal either. 

The trip down to the car seemed to take forever and Erik was sweating just standing in the elevator, waiting for it to reach the first floor so they could get out. But it wasn’t just any sweat, it felt like he had a fever, clammy, sweating and cold. Part of him was sure that Hank was resenting him for this but Erik wasn’t too happy with the other at any given point so he wasn’t about to apologize. 

What felt like years later, there was an open car door in front of him and he collapsed down into it, feeling close to passing out. The world around him was fading in and out, the edges of his vision blacking out. Nausea was taking over and he just had to close his eyes and rest his head back against the headrest and hope this wasn’t him dying. 

Distantly, he could hear Hank and Charles talking, but he couldn’t focus enough on anything that wasn’t the pain to know what was being said. Not that it mattered to him, it seemed useless in that moment and all that mattered was whatever was trying to kill him from the inside out. 

And that was when he found himself leaning over, gagging and getting sick, practically hanging out of the car door. It seemed to be enough to get Charles and Hank to shut up and then kick them into gear.

Charles moved into the driver's seat and Hank tucked his chair in the back of the car before going back into the school. 

With what little strength he had left, Erik sat back up and closed the car door, just in time for Charles to start the car and they were on their way. A trip that Erik was expecting to be spent in silence but, naturally, Charles felt the need to fill the quiet between them. Not that Erik minded it was nice to hear his partner’s voice and give him something to try to focus on. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Charles said, softly, “I think it’s appendicitis. Just a little surgery to remove your appendix and you’ll be fine. A couple of tests to confirm first. We should be out relatively quickly. Everything will be okay, darling. Nothing at all to worry about.” 

“Feels like I’m dying,” Erik said, gagging again and rolling the window down quickly, just in case. “Put me out of my misery.” 

A small laugh left Charles before it was stopped. “I think you’re being a little dramatic, love. It’s going to be okay, I’m sure of it.” 

Erik just wished he was as confident as Charles was but, at the moment, he didn’t have the energy for that. He was just in survival mode, he was sure of it. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so sick and miserable, it had to have been when he was a child. 

Once they reached the hospital, Charles got his chair out and slid out of the car before going around to Erik’s side and opened the door. “I’m going to run in and see if I can get a wheelchair. I think that would be easier.” 

As stubborn as always, Erik shook his head and unbuckled his seatbelt and started to slide out. “I can do it, it’s fine.” 

“Erik, darling, sit back and sit here for a moment. It won’t take long and the last thing I want is for you to fall on the ground in the middle of the parking lot. Sit down and wait. We both know it’s going to be more painful than it’s worse just for your pride and there’s no one here you need to prove yourself to. No reputation you need to defend here.” 

With a shaky breath, Erik started to slowly sit back in the seat and nodded, letting Charles hurry into the hospital to get a nurse and wheelchair to come help get him out of the car. It wasn’t like Charles could help Erik into the hospital the way Hank had helped him into the car, after all. 

It didn’t take long before the omega was back with someone else pushing a chair. With no help, thank you very much, Erik got out of the car, turned and sat down in the chair, closing the door behind him. What he couldn’t help was the way he curled up a little, his arms wrapped around his middle, leaning a little more onto the right side than the left. 

Then they started going in, Erik not paying much attention to what was going on around him. Anything they needed answered, Charles would be able to handle the paperwork and all. Erik was just letting them take his vitals, temperature and blood pressure, anything they asked for, he did mechanically, just trying to swallow back the nausea. 

“How are you feeling?” Charles asked as the nurse walked out of the room, saying something about tests, Erik was only half listening. 

Erik didn’t even know where to start with that question and couldn’t open his mouth for fear of being sick again. Instead, he just projected to Charles, the feeling along with his answer, “Nauseous, exhausted, pain.”

“I’m sure they’ll do something soon,” Charles said, his hand brushing through Erik’s hair that was damp and sticking to his forehead. “The nurse said they’re going to do a urine test, blood test and ultrasound before scheduling surgery. It shouldn’t take too long to do.” 

It sounded like it would take a long time, too long, but Erik wasn’t about to say that. Not right now when he was feeling the way he was, just thinking about it instead. Which must’ve been enough, if the way Charles grabbed his hand and kissed it was anything to go by. 

At least then the nurse came back in with someone else. “We’re going to take some blood for a test, then if you can, we need a urine sample. Someone will be in soon to do an ultrasound and confirm. But we do already have an emergency room open and ready for you.” 

“So you’re sure this is the problem? His appendix?” Charles asked, looking at the nurse as the other started taking Erik’s blood. 

“Almost certain,” The nurse replied, “He has a slight temperature. And with what you said about the pain and nausea, it sounds like appendicitis.” 

Charles nodded and Erik was trying to not pay attention to the metal in his arm, looking for any kind of distraction. At least until it came out and he closed his eyes to leave the others to do the talking. All he really wanted to do was curl back up in a ball on the hospital bed and let it go.” 

“Here’s a cup,” The nurse was saying, “There’s a restroom next door, right off the waiting room. Do you need any help?” 

“I can help him,” Charles said and, for that, Erik was thankful. He wasn’t sure he could handle it by himself but he was hardly going to ask for a stranger to help with something like that. The idea of even Charles helping seemed difficult to accept. 

The door opened and Erik forced his eyes open to see the nurse had left, he wasn’t even sure when he had closed his eyes. 

“Come on, darling, let’s go,” Charles said but Erik groaned, wondering if they couldn’t just do it here without having to leave. 

“Because you shouldn’t be peeing in the exam room,” Charles replied, “Even with the cup. I’m not sure it would hold it all and they certainly don’t need that much.” 

“I don’t even need to piss,” Erik mumbled before swallowing hard, trying to keep from getting sick. Opening his mouth was as bad gf a decision as he thought it would be. 

“Darling, let’s just get this over with so they can get on with the tests and confirm what we already know,” Charles said, reaching out, taking Erik’s hand, giving it a gentle pull.

With another groan, Erik managed to sit up a little more before hissing and curling up around his side as the pain spiked once again. His teeth ground together to keep from calling out. Keeping up his breathing was hard enough, at least until he realized he was going to be sick again and couldn’t exactly run to a toilet, instead he just flailed his hand until Charles got the idea and got him the trash can which Erik immediately put to use, gagging and emptying his stomach into it. 

“I’ll go talk to the nurse and ask if you have to pee in the cup. Maybe it’ll be okay without it. Or they can work something out where they can help.” 

“If they insist on helping, I’ll just go home,” Erik projected, but Charles seemed to not like that idea as he rolled right back around to face Erik. 

“You will do no such thing, and you are not in a position to argue about this,” He demanded, “You are not going home with your appendix. The last thing I want, and you too, is for that to rupture and kill you.” 

Erik would be more upset at the things Charles was saying and how he was saying them if more nausea wasn’t crashing over him and making him gag once again. He had to admit that maybe Charles was onto something. 

The omega went back to his previous task and left the room, leaving Erik alone in the room with nothing but the trashcan he was clutching onto as though it was a lifeline. 

It took a few minutes before Charles returned, this time with the nurse from earlier right behind him. “So your omega tells me you’re not sure you can make it to the restroom?” She asked, her voice all too chipper and happy. 

The only thing Erik could do was look up at the woman, a weathering look. It was the most he could muster at the moment, feeling exhausted and like hell. She seemed to pick up on the situation and nodded. 

“Alright, we can continue on with the ultrasound without the other test, though we would prefer to have it. I can, of course, get someone to help if you’d like?” She offered. 

“No,” Erik managed to choke out, gagging once again in the process. It was a feeling he was not appreciating. 

The nurse gave a small laugh and nodded, “I suppose that would be a no to a catheter too?” She asked, but this time Erik could say nothing, he gave Charles a look and the omega answered for him. 

“He’s not interested. Just do what you have to do to get the surgery done before he decides he needs to walk home or something equally as idiotic,” Charles said and the nurse started to laugh before realizing he wasn’t joking. 

“Of course,” She said as there was a knock on the door and another nurse pushed in the ultrasound machine and started to get it set up. 

The nurse who was already talking to them got started right away, getting the bottle off the cart. “Can you pull your shirt up for me and we’ll get starting? This gel is going to be cold.” 

Erik nodded and, with more effort than he wanted to admit, moved on the bed. Pulling up the white t-shirt he had worn to bed that night, he settled back, though he was still breathing through his teeth and could admit to sitting a little sideways, curling in on his side even now. 

The nurses didn’t seem to mind as they got started on checking him out. One put the gel on his stomach as the other got the wand. Some kind of paper was put in the top of the thin pajama pants he was wearing—he was just thankful this had happened on a night he was wearing pajamas, he certainly hadn’t thought about changing and if he had none on, he wouldn’t have thought about putting any on—and then the wand was on his stomach, moving around. 

“Okay,” The guy said, looking at the screen, “There are your intestines and…” He trailed off as the wand moved lower. A brief look of confusion crossed his face as he looked from the screen to Erik, then back to the screen. Then he seemed to clear the expression and go back to work. After another moment, he spoke up again, “There we are. That would be the issue.” 

Next to him, Erik could help Charles release a breath, as though that was the worst of the situation. To Erik though, it was just confirmation that he could need surgery when he was hoping it would be literally anything else, and that wasn’t to mention the worry in the back of his mind from the nurses reaction to whatever he was seeing. Something was clearly wrong. 

“We’ll need to get you in a hospital gown and into surgery as soon as possible,” The nurse said as he got Erik some towels to clean his stomach as the machine was put back together and the first nurse took it out of the room. “I can help if you need it.” 

“I can handle it,” Erik said, wincing as he started to move to take his shirt off. “I can,” He said, feeling Charles’s eyes on him. 

The omega accepted the hospital gown and then moved closer, grabbing the bottom of Erik’s shirt to pull it over his head. It wasn’t the easiest thing with Charles lower than Erik and the way Erik wanted to stay curled up but it worked out. Only then did the two get the gown on. Pants were easy after that, just pulling them down and Charles kept both. 

From there, the nurse who remained helped Erik lie back on the bed and pushed him down the hall toward surgery where Erik was certain his life was going to end. 

As it turned out, Erik didn’t die, but he almost felt like part of him did. He woke up in recovery soon after but only had the vaguest of memories of it when he woke up a second time. 

“How are you feeling, love?” Charles asked, seeming to know that Erik was awake before even Erik himself knew. 

“Am I alive?” He mumbled, his head rolling on the pillow in the direction he was sure that Charles was sitting in. He couldn’t see him though. “Where are you?” 

Charles laughed softly and, even in his confusion, Erik enjoyed the sound more than words could explain. “Darling, your eyes are closed,” He said, gently tapping one of Erik’s eyelids.

“Oh,” Erik whispered and it still took him a moment to find out what muscles moved his eyelids and managed to pull them up. “There you are,” He mumbled.

“Here I am,” Charles said back, smiling at him, “You done well, love. Everything is all sorted and handled. One appendix removed and all else still intact. Do you feel any better now?” 

“I don’t feel anything,” Erik said with a small laugh. It almost felt like everything was numb and nothing was wrong. It was a rather nice feeling. 

“Do you need to sleep for a while longer?” Charles asked, his thumb moving over Erik’s cheek in a way that made Erik decide his only option was to turn his head and press a kiss to that thumb. 

He shook his head, “No, I’m good,” He mumbled, happily. There wasn’t any of this feeling that Erik wanted to miss, choosing to be awake and alert for as much of it as was left. 

The two talked for a few minutes before Erik started to slowly come back to himself and not feel quite as strange. He could at least identify what was his fingers and what was his toes. 

And that was when one of the nurses walked in. The man from earlier, if Erik’s memory served—and right now he really wasn’t sure that it did. 

“The doctor will be in soon to release you, but there’s something he wants to discuss too,” He said, checking Erik’s vitals. “Pain and everything okay?” 

“Yeah,” Erik said, rather dismissively, thinking he still felt a little more out of it then he would like. The last thing he wanted was to be on more meds. “What is it the doctor wants to talk to me about?” 

“Nothing to worry about,” he replied, “Just something that was found on your tests. It’s nothing bad, but something that you should know about.” 

And, with that, he was gone, leaving Charles and Erik looking at each other in nothing but concern and fear.

Chapter Text

“What do you think that was about?” Erik asked, as though his heart wasn’t about to beat out of his chest and the worry wasn’t about to take him. 

“I’m sure it’s nothing too bad,” Charles said, reaching out to take Erik’s hand, but it didn’t take an expert to see that Charles was anxious about it too. The clamminess of his hands and the scent he was putting off were clear signs of that. 

Not knowing what else to do, he looked over at Charles, mentally wondering how many more times he would get to do that. How long he would have with his babies. He couldn’t help but fear that they were going to come in and tell him he was dying. Even if he didn’t feel any different than he always had. It had to be something bad, right? That was how his life went. He found happiness and then something came along and ripped it away. 

Only this time, it seemed life was going to take him away from the happiness instead of taking the happiness away from him. At least his three babies were going to be okay, and Charles too. 

If he died now, he would get to be with their little Anya and watch over her. She’d get to have her Papa and Erik couldn’t help but decide that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Even if he didn’t get to see the young women Lorna, Jean and Nina would grow into. 

“I don’t think it’s anything that bad,” Charles said, his voice giving away the tears that were gathering in his eyes. He made it known to Erik he didn’t like how comfortable he was with the idea of death. But it also seemed he couldn’t really blame him, not when Erik was so sure their little girl was going to be there waiting on them. 

“His mind,” Charles said softly, “It didn’t seem like it was a bad situation or anything. Just a strange one.” 

Erik nodded but couldn’t help but think about it. It wasn’t like it would have anything to do with the man. If Erik was going to die, it wouldn’t affect the nurse in the slightest, surely he wouldn’t be thinking about it much. He couldn’t. Not when they had so many patients coming in and out, if each and every dying patient bothered them then they would never make it in this profession. 

It seemed like forever—though it was fifteen minutes at most—before the doctor came in. A female alpha who looked at the two of them and picked up Erik’s information as she introduced herself as Doctor MacTaggert. 

“Everything seems to be going well. Your vitals are where they should be, are you in any pain?” She asked, getting straight to business but Erik only had one thing in mind. 

“What was it the tests showed earlier?” He asked, needing to know and not wanting to put it off any longer. 

The doctor looked at Erik, then over at Charles. “I need to have a talk with Mr. Lehnsherr alone,” She said politely, “Can you give us some privacy please?” 

Erik looked from her to Charles, then back to her. “He’s my mate,” He said, “He can hear anything that you have to say. We don’t have secrets from each other.” Or they did but nothing this big. 

“I really must insist, Mr. Lehnsherr. Knowing what this is, it’s for the best if I tell you first and then you can decide what to do with the information,” She said, “It’s a matter of safety and confidentiality at this point, to protect your rights.” 

At that, Erik couldn’t understand what was going on, but he looked over at Charles, who gave a small nod to him. “I’ll be right outside,” He said, “Just let me know when I can come back in.” 

“Of course,” Doctor MacTaggert said, and Erik watched as Charles made his way out of the room, the door closing behind him and leaving him alone with the doctor. 

It wasn’t something he enjoyed. Doctors made him nervous and a little panicked at the best of times, but when he was alone with them, it only made it worse. But he had to make it through this and then Charles could come back in and Erik could tell him what was going on. Everything was going to be okay, he tried to convince himself.

“What’s going on then?” Erik asked, l looking at the doctor, not caring if he was being rude. He thought she was rude for making Charles leave the room so she could tell Erik something that Charles was going to be told immediately. 

The doctor sighed, “During your ultrasound, the tech found something on the scan. Some pictures were shown to me and during the surgery, the suspicions were checked and found to be facts. It’s very rare, but sometimes, Alpha’s can have a mutation that leads to them having a uterus. And that’s what’s happened here. You have a uterus, Mr. Lehnsherr,” She said. 

“There’s a few things we can do. Surgery to remove it, your mate doesn’t have to know about this. I’m sure you can see why I insisted he leave the room. This could go very poorly in some situations, it’s an acceptable cause to end bonds and marriages.” 

Erik shook his head. “I don’t want to do anything about it,” He said. “Are you saying it’s possible for me to get pregnant?” 

“Are…you interested in that?” The doctor asked, as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she was doing well at hiding it. 

“I am,” He replied, “My mate and I always wanted to have a big family with a lot of kids. After the first pregnancy he had to have a hysterectomy. We assumed that meant our family had to be complete but if there’s a way to have more babies then I know I’m interested and I’m sure he would be too.” If anything, Charles would just want to know more about the mutation. 

Then the doctor nodded, as though considering, “Well, you don’t have any ovaries. In theory you could be pregnant but not with your own eggs. You’d need to find a way around that.” 

“If we had his eggs frozen, could we use them?” Erik asked, trying to hide how excited he was becoming, the more he thought about this. That would be something to hold out on until he could tell Charles about the news he got. 

“That could work, yes,” The doctor replied and Erik smiled, “Alright, thank you. When can my mate come back in and when can I go home?” Now that he had his other questions answered, that was the only thing he was worried about. 

The doctor gave a small laugh, “You should be able to go home as soon as your release papers go through. I have these here for you to sign,” She said, passing the papers and a pen over. “I can get your mate now, if you’re ready?” 

Erik nodded, “Yeah, I think I need to talk to him about a few things and see how he feels about…everything.” He said with a small laugh, signing his name. 

A quick look let him know that it was around midday and he was more than ready to go. His babies were up and they needed him and their daddy. Their day was probably already thrown off and Raven would be getting close to murdering them for leaving her alone with the three of them for so long. 

The doctor stepped out to get Charles, then returned with the omega right behind her to get the papers from Erik, who held them out for her. “It shouldn’t be long now, a nurse will be in soon to let you go. If you’d like to go ahead and get ready, feel free.” 

Erik nodded and waited for her to leave before starting to get up and change out of the hospital gown and into the clothes he had worn to the hospital. Charles was sitting there, watching him, the question clear on his face but Erik was enjoying himself, holding back on the information he had. 

“What did she want to talk to you about?” Charles asked, finally, when he couldn’t take it anymore. 

Erik tried to hold back the smile as he looked back at the other man. “Oh, not much. Nothing to worry about.” 

Charles gave him a look, “Darling, what is going on?” He asked, “Clearly it was something. I mean, I suppose it’s fair if you don’t want to tell me, but I would like to know if it’s something important.” 

Moving closer, Erik reached out, taking Charles’s hand in his, “It was…something. Nothing back,” He rushed to add, “She said that they saw something on the ultrasound and confirmed it during the surgery. I have a uterus. She said in theory I could get pregnant. Not the traditional way, but I asked if we could with the embryos we have left and she said yes, that it would be possible. If you want to try. While you were pregnant, we kept talking about me carrying the next litter. Turns out, it’s possible.” 

Immediately, Charles’s face lit up, hearing the news, but he tried to fight it back, at least at first. “Is that…um, is that something you would be interested in? I mean being pregnant isn’t nothing.” 

“I definitely want more kids and this seems like the perfect chance. I don’t want to pass that up,” He replied, “We can talk about it more, but it’s something I would want to try. If you’d want to too?” 

Charles nodded, “Yes, of course. I would love to have more kids, more little versions of us running around. You know it crushed me to find out…” He trailed off but Erik nodded, knowing what he was getting at. 

“I know. I remember,” Erik replied, thinking back to the aftermath of his own pregnancy was like. Between Anya dying and the hysterectomy, the blood loss. Charles had been far from okay. It had taken close to a year for everything to settle down and even begin to return to some sibilance of normal. Though with one of their little girls gone, nothing could ever be normal again. 

“Is this something you’d really be okay with?” Erik asked, his arms going out and wrapping around Charles, sitting back on the edge of the bed, unsure about standing up much longer. “I want to make sure you’re sure about this before we make any decisions or get too hopeful.” 

A smile formed on Charles’s face, “Yes, I’ll be okay with it, love. We should still talk about this some more and reach some decisions together, but I definitely want to do this. I want more babies and we had discussed getting you pregnant and carrying the next litter when I was pregnant with our girls.” 

Erik nodded, allowing himself to smile now, he was more than a little excited about this. The ideas kept forming in his mind, thinking about what it would be like to have their babies growing inside of him, feeling the moving around, kicking, growing, feeling how close he and the babies are. It just felt too good to be true.

“Then let me get ready and the two of us can go home and get me good and pregnant,” Erik said, finishing up changing his clothes and throwing the hospital gown. He hated that thing. 

A small laugh left Charles, “I don’t think it’s going to work that way, darling, and I think the doctors wouldn’t approve of us having sex right after you’ve had surgery. Maybe we should wait a couple of days anyway.” 

That was an idea that Erik was far from happy about but he had to admit that maybe Charles was right about it. “Alright, well, we can still go home and check on our little ones. They said someone was coming back but I’m going to go find the nurses station and tell them I’m leaving. I can’t wait any longer. I need to know how Raven is getting along with Jean, Lorna, and Nina.” 

“She has Irene and Hank helping her. I’m sure that they’re all doing okay. That’s one baby each. Nothing too hard,” Charles countered but Erik just looked around at him, not too amused. 

“Charles, they’re almost three. They’re running everywhere and with Kurt and Marie? They could get into all kinds of trouble. It’s not even Lorna and Jean I’m worried about, they’re…them. But Nina.” 

With a small nod, Charles started to roll along behind him, “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’m sure she’s fine but it’s less of a worry with the other two. They find something like this as a fun, different day and Nina will be missing her Papa. She’s your little princess.” 

“They all are but Nina definitely latched on to me more,” He said, smiling, “I don’t mind in the slightest. But I’m sure Jean is missing you too.” Not that Lorna wasn’t missing them, but she was a big fan of her aunt Raven. 

At the nurses station, Erik looked around at them, “I’m leaving,” he announced and Charles, from behind him, gave a laugh, clearly amused at his impatience. 

Erik was moving a little too fast when they got home, at least he was sure it was too fast for Charles’s liking but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He got his omega’s chair out of the back and then took off into the house to find the kids. It had been too long since he last saw his babies. 

“Erik,” Charles called from behind him and Erik heard the door close and then, with his powers, felt the other man moving closer to him, following him but Erik wasn’t slowing down from his speed walk. “You need to talk to the kids about this. They won’t know and you’ll rip your stitches.” 

“We’ll be fine,” Erik said, advancing still until Charles caught up behind him and reached out, a hand on his arm. 

“We’re going in together and you’re going to sit down with them. They need to know to be careful with you,” Charles insisted, “They’re still little but I’m sure they don’t want to hurt you.” 

With a sigh, Erik nodded, “Alright, fine. I just need to make sure they’re okay. We haven’t been away from them this long and I’m worried.” 

“I know, love, I am too. But I can tell you that I can feel their minds and other than missing us everything is okay. They’re wondering where we are but they're playing together in the nursery right now. Irene is with them, everything’s okay. Now, go to our room, I’ll get our pups and meet you in there. I’ll let our babysitters know we’re back too, alright?” 

It wasn’t what Erik had envisioned, but he had to admit that Charles had a point. He was hurt and the last thing they needed was for him to rip his stitches out. That would just send him back to the hospital and he’d be away from his babies again. That was the only thing that led to him nodding, letting Charles go get them while he made his way to the bedroom. 

The whole time, Erik kept track of where Charles was, feeling his chair. Not that he was that far away. The nursery was right by their room, after all. He couldn’t stand to spend a night without his babies, he certainly wasn’t going to let their rooms be any further away from their own than the next closest room. 

It wasn’t long after he got settled on the bed—his back propped against some pillows and the head of the bed—that Charles opened the door. Lorna and Jean took off for him immediately, climbing onto the bed and settling down on either side of him. From Charles’s lap, Nina cheered, a bright smile stretching across her face. 

“PAPA!” The little girl yelled and Erik smiled at the girl, wrapping his arms around Jean and Lorna, pressing a kiss to the top of both their heads. 

“Hallo, Nina,” Erik said, watching Charles sit the girl on the bed and she crawled her way across and onto his lap. True to what Charles said, the kids were all careful with him, even Nina who was on his lap. 

The bed shifted and Erik looked over, watching as Charles transferred over onto the bed next to them and Jean was quick to move across the bed and settle herself against his side, tucked in between him and Erik. 

“Where you go, Papa?” Lorna asked, looking up at him and Erik smiled. At three, the kids didn’t have great skills in pronouncing words or their grammar but they were certainly talking. 

“I had to go to the doctors,” He said softly, “But everything’s okay now. Just a little sore.” 

“Papa has a boo boo on his belly,” Charles said, “That’s why I said we need to be careful with him. He’s a little hurt but he’s going to be alright.” 

“Stay in bed,” Jean added and Erik smiled at her. The little girl seemed to have Charles’s ability to make demands and try to order him around. Sometimes she and Erik clashed a little because of it but right now he knew it was her child-like way of caring. That’s what they did when they were sick, after all. One of them, Charles or Erik, would stay in bed and care for them, maybe read them stories or just hold them as they napped. 

Erik nodded, “For a while, I will,” He replied, “Do you want to go get some toys to play with while we’re here? Or do you want to go back and play where you were before?” He asked, giving them the options. 

Nina held onto him tighter and Erik winced a little and wrapped his hand around one of her arms, repositioning it a little. He didn’t want to stop her from hugging him but her hug was a little too close to comfort to the bandage on the right side of his abdomen. 

“We need to get your braces on, sweet girl,” Erik said, looking down at Nina who was leaning against his left side. She looked up at him with a small smile, one that let him know it was her own fault that they weren’t on, most likely insisting that she didn’t want them or insisting that only Erik could be the one to put them on her. A small tantrum later and, with Raven, she got her way. Hank, Erik was sure, would’ve pushed and managed to get them on her. 

As the other two girls got off the bed and ran off to get their toys, Erik used his powers to locate the metal of the leg braces and brought them into their room and then to the bed. Shifting around, he started getting the pink and purple braces on the little girls legs and feet. 

Charles’s pregnancy was hardly easy and, of their four babies, Anya hadn’t made it a day before passing away and Nina had some lasting complications from the way she and her womb mate were positioned, not quite giving the smaller girl enough room and nutrition, thus the leg braces that helped to straighten her legs and give her additional support holding her own weight, without them, she was left to crawl. Even now at three, she had just started to take a few steps, a little too wobbly and straight-legged with the braces but better than nothing. 

“Do you want some toys too, Nina?” Charles asked, looking over at her, “We can go get them together, if you want?” 

Nina shook her head, “Papa,” She said softly, smiling a little at them and Erik glanced over at Charles before looking back to Nina. 

“Why don’t you go with Daddy and I’ll stay here and wait for you two to come back?” He asked, finishing up with the braces, double checking the metal and making sure that the braces were okay and fit right. 

“Papa,” Nina said again, moving to cuddle against his side once again, “No toy, jus papa.” 

“Oh, I see,” Erik said, his hand rubbing up and down her back, letting her get comfortable. “Not sleep well, maus?” 

The little girl said nothing but shook her head, hiding her face against his side and Erik let her go. It was about their nap time, after all. He doubted any of them would be awake for much longer. 

Seconds later, Jean and Loran were running back in. Jean had a doll in her hand and Lorna had a couple of metal trucks in hers. Perhaps the trucks were something that they shouldn’t have let the child have, after all, at three-years-old, there was a lot that could go wrong when a child was playing with big chunks of metal. However, the girl did seem to have her Papa’s affinity for metal. 

“Play?” Loran asked, holding one of the trucks out toward Erik and he smiled, accepting the truck. 

True to what he had suspected, it wasn’t long before all of the kids were asleep. Jean had curled up on Charles’s lap and was the second one out, right behind Nina. And Lorna found her place between Charles and Erik to fall asleep. 

“So, our plans of getting me pregnant,” Erik said, his voice soft, not wanting to wake the kids, but wanting to talk to Charles all the same. He couldn’t go any longer without discussing it. “Want to get some practice in tonight?” 

Charles looked at him and fondly rolled his eyes, “Not tonight, love. Not until you’ve healed a little more. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt during…us doing that. Maybe tomorrow. But we can still talk about it, if you want.” 

“I definitely do,” Erik replied, smiling a little, “Is it something you’re interested in. I mean honestly. I can see how it would be…hard,” He said, trying to choose his words carefully. 

“It’s okay,” Charles said, “Really, we talked about it before, though it was in a much more hypothetical way, but I still want to see you carrying our babies. And I know you want to feel it, them growing inside you. There’s really nothing like it. Though I wouldn’t recommend four for your first try.” 

At that, Erik laughed softly and looked at their little ones, “You can’t regret it though. We’ve got our perfect little princesses out of it.” 

“No part of me regrets a second of it. Except when I got sick. I do wish I could’ve avoided that. Then maybe…” Charles trailed off. 

There was no doubt in Erik’s mind what Charles was talking about. He knew why he regretted getting sick and what he thought it resulted in. Though there was no real proof of it either way. It was possible, sure, but they didn’t know it for a fact. 

And, either way, Erik couldn’t find it in himself to blame Charles. Not when it could’ve been something else, anything else. And it wasn’t as though Charles got sick on purpose. It was out of their control. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Erik said, reaching out to wrap his hand around Charles’s, “Our little angel, you didn’t do anything to her. You wouldn’t have done it if there was an option. It wasn’t a choice you made, it wasn’t you at all. It was out of our control, entirely.” 

Charles gave a small nod and took a deep breath, “I still think it’s a good idea. We have the money for more kids, we always wanted more, we always said five, right? I think this is the chance to get that. And I can tell you want to.” 

“I can only imagine how other people are going to feel about this,” Erik said, “not that I care what they think. But how would you feel about it? People knowing that I’m pregnant?” 

For a moment, Charles considered it and then, slowly, he nodded, “I think I’ll be okay with it. If anyone asks I’ll say I can’t and that you can. We’ll leave it at that. It’s our choice, no one else’s, our family.” 

“We’ll need to set up another nursery. And you remember all the trouble I had when we were doing IVF and insemination. It wasn’t easy, are you ready for something like that?” 

“If we get more babies at the end of it? I’ll do anything, I’ll walk through a fire for it. I love our family and if we didn’t have this chance, they’re more than I ever thought we’d get the chance to have, but I don’t want to pass this up. It feels like we’re just supposed to have more since we can, you know? I don’t know how to put it into words.” 

Charles nodded, “I get it. Most people don’t have the ability but we do. We always wanted more kids and here is the chance right in front of us. We should take it if we want to.” 

“And we want to,” Erik added, smiling a little, “So we need to start on setting up a doctor’s appointment for this and see how things go, right? We’re up to that point?” 

With a bright smile, Charles smiled again, “Yeah, I think it’s time for us to look into getting started if this is something you’re so sure about. What do you think these little ones will think about having a little sibling?” 

“I hope they’ll be happy,” Erik said, looking around at their little girls, “They’re big fans of dolls, after all. We might have to watch closely and make sure they don’t try to play with their little sibling though.” 

Charles looked over at Erik, a soft smile on his face that was reserved for Erik and their kids, “Do you think you’re only going to have one?” 

That was enough to make Erik smile and shrug, “I kind of hope so, it seems like it would be easier and we’d have our five then.” Counting Anya, but he would always be counting their little angel, “Not to mention that I would be afraid of having multiples.” 

A small, shocked laugh left Charles, “And because you’re afraid of them, you think that means you won’t have them?” 

Erik nodded, sagely, “Yes, of course. We’ll have one,” He decided, all by himself. “I’ll experience pregnancy and we’ll get to go on with our little family from there. 

“I think you’re going to have twins,” Charles said, trying to bight back a smile, but it wasn’t working too well, Erik held out a hand. 

“You’re on, Xavier,” He said, taking that as a bet and Charles accepted the hand, both smiling at each other. 

“For now,” Charles said, “I think we should get up and get something to eat. I’m starving and I imagine you are too. The kids will be hungry when they wake up too, I’m sure. It’ll be snack time. I suppose Raven fed them while we were gone.” 

The omega shifted on the bed, gently pulling away from Jean, laying her back against the bed. “I’ll bring lunch in here as soon as I get it done, love. You stay with our babies.” 

Erik gave a nod and watched as Charles left the room, him and their babies left alone. Though it wasn’t long before Erik’s head dropped back against the headboard and he was joining them in taking a nap. He hardly got enough sleep the night before when he woke up in the middle of the night, after all. 

Chapter Text

It took just over a month for them to get the appointment scheduled to actually start the process of getting him pregnant. All the basic appointments and tests done, there was only the embryo transfer to be done.

In the lead up to the fateful day, Erik spent too much of that time feeling an odd mix of excitement and nervousness. No matter what, there was a small part of him that was terrified that he wouldn’t be able to get pregnant and this would all be for nothing, leaving his and Charles’s hopes to crash and burn. It didn’t matter to him that they had been informed that it was fully possible. 

The night before the appointment for the embryo transfer, lying in their bed with only a bedside lamp still on, Charles reached out and took Erik’s hand in his own, thumb gently rubbing over the back of Erik’s rough knuckles. 

“I know you’re nervous about this, but I don’t think you should be,” He said, quietly. “We have a few chances here, it’s not like this one time is all we have. After our last try with me we still didn’t use what we had.” 

Nothing that he was saying wasn’t anything that Erik didn’t already know. He remembered the experience all too well, everything that Charles had gone through, the uncomfortable moments, the pain. It wasn’t just physical but mental and emotional too. The whole experience was taxing on them both and they had nothing to show for it. 

But now maybe they could and it wouldn’t all be useless. They’d had their embryos frozen in the event that they would, one day, want to go back and try again. It had become too much but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t revisit it. And then they had gotten pregnant and their little miracles were born. 

Now here they were thinking about going back to the process once again and the five embryos they still had waiting for them. Even after all the heartbreak they had experienced when they last tried.

“Think about it,” Charles said, “Even if they just use one and it doesn’t take, we’ll still have four more. Though I suppose they’ll do more, probably two. The first time they tried one with me and by the second they were already upping it because of age and the first not taking,” he rambled on and Erik tightened his hand before shifting closer and wrapping his arms around Charles. No matter how long had passed, it still felt too fresh. Even now when that was almost ten years previous and they’d been through so much since. 

“So they do two and we still have three,” Erik said softly, thinking about it. He could handle twins but that didn’t seem too likely that they’d have two. After all, of the five embryos Charles had tired, only one took and it was almost over before it started. Just under a month in, everything seemed to go to hell and then they couldn’t build up the courage to try it again. It almost ruined both their lives, thinking they had lost their baby and may never have the chance again. Still, Erik had been there for Charles, holding him close and trying to keep everything together and going smoothly. 

They had originally started with thirteen eggs but somewhere in the process they were knocked down to ten—Erik wasn’t really sure what had happened, they tried to explain it to him but he didn’t understand. Now they had five chances left and he wondered just how many times they would try this time before he had to back out. Before the stress of the situation became too much and they ended up walking away empty handed once again. 

The thought was heartbreaking. It was strange that he had always wanted the chance to do this and, now that he had it, it was a desire so strong, overwhelming. There was nothing he wanted more and the idea of not getting it made him feel sick. It was hard to believe how much he wanted to be pregnant. 

This was probably something that Erik should’ve asked more questions about, what the plans were, how many they were going to be using. He had no one to blame but himself and, to be fair, they could’ve told him when he wasn’t listening. Charles had stayed back at the school for the last appointment, taking care of a last minute emergency and so Erik had gone alone. And then he had spent the entire appointment basically daydreaming about being pregnant. 

“Exactly,” Charles said softly, “We’ll have more than one chance to get this done if it doesn’t happen the first time and if you decide to give it another chance. But I’m sure this will work out for us. You’re very fertile.” 

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Erik laughed and looked down at him. “You really know how to compliment an alpha, don’t you?” He asked. It was a strange one, but he couldn’t help but feel just a little pleased. 

Shifting to look up at him, Charles gave an innocent smile and nodded. “Of course I do. Though I believe I’ve said that during sex before and it made you feral.” There was a look in his eyes that made Erik think he was rather fond of that memory. 

Though Erik didn’t feel the same. The reminder led to him shifting a little on the bed, not sure how to react to being confronted by that memory. It was hot, sure, but he wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he was supposed to have now. “Well, you know, it’s like the way you like to be told I’m going to fill you full of my pups and watch you grow big with them. It doesn’t seem as hot when I’m not fucking you.” 

Charles hummed, “Speak for yourself, love,” His hand slid up Erik’s chest, his hand carefully wrapping around his throat. “Interested? The doctor said it was up to us if we wanted to do this the night before.” 

For a moment, Erik thought it over and Charles didn’t seem inclined to push him for an answer. Their doctor had said it was up to them, that there were benefits and potential risks but Erik thought they were relatively safe from the risks. And he was already feeling himself reacting to the touch of Charles’s hand on his throat. After all, since the birth of their little girls, they hadn’t had much time for this kind of thing. Or the energy. They’d gone from multiple times a week to maybe once every other week. 

“Fuck me, Charles,” Erik whispered out, his head moving to look at the other man, his head tilting back, pushing his throat up into the hand wrapped around it, making it clear that he was more than interested. 

The omega smirked at Erik, “There’s something I’ve been wanting to try, actually,” Charles said, “Do you want me to fuck you?” He seemed a bit nervous, but mostly excited about a new idea. 

Erik gave him a look, confused and curious. There was no way to hide how intrigued he was. Both of them knew he was always up for trying new things. “I just said I wanted you to, didn’t I?” He asked. 

“Yeah, but I mean actually fuck you. Not just you riding me. There’s a thought that’s occurred to me. I can’t promise that it’ll work, but I think it will. And if it doesn’t then you can ride me, I’m assuming it’s going to work and you’re not going to laugh if it doesn’t,” Charles said, rambling a little and making Erik smile. 

“You know that I’m not going to,” Erik said, honestly, meaning every word of it. It wasn’t something he would ever dream of doing. “But I do want to know what you’re planning. I’m always interested in your new ideas.” 

“Then roll over,” Charles ordered, “And get me the lube.” There was a slight determination to Charles’s voice, a set order. It could’ve been disguised as him being dominant but Erik knew the truth. He was a little scared and worried, it was more directed inward than outward. It wasn’t something that Erik was going to mention though. 

Doing as he was told, Erik rolled onto his stomach and reached for the bottle they kept on the bedside table, passing it to Charles. From there, he made himself comfortable, his arms resting on the bed under his head, his legs spread a little to give Charles room. 

Behind him, he threw the blanket off them and shifted back for better access. Once he was in place, then sat back between Erik’s spread legs. “Ready, love?” He asked, hands rubbing over Erik’s ass. 

“I’m always ready for you,” Erik replied, honestly, turning his head to rest on the side, glancing back at Charles as he did. A look of challenge was on his face, wanting the omega to do his worst. 

“Good answer,” Charles said, opening the lube. Erik could only hear what he was doing, coating his fingers generously and then sliding one of them into Erik. No matter how many times they did this, Charles was always equally careful and gentle with him and this was no different. He worked the finger in with more attention and love than Erik ever thought he deserved. 

A small hum left him as he gently pushed back on Charles’s finger, seeking out more, wanting to get stretched, wanting Charles’s cock, anything he could get. In response, he heard Charles chuckle softly and then add a second finger. 

“Such a slut for me, aren’t you, darling?” Charles asked, leaning down to press a kiss to Erik’s upper back before gently biting down and making him moan. The area was a sensitive spot and Charles knew it. 

“For you? Always,” Erik replied, honestly. It wasn’t anything that could be denied, after all. He wanted to be fucked, needed his omega’s cock inside of him. “Get on with it already, old friend.” 

Charles chuckled, “Always so impatient,” He said, “Just for that, I should go even slower, you know. Really take my time stretching you out and getting you ready until you’re begging and pleading for more. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, alpha?”

The thought was enough to have Erik a little breathless but he wasn’t going to admit to anything. But he did find himself saying, “Omega, please,” softly. And he thought he wouldn’t be begging nearly so soon.

Seeming to give in, Charles slowly worked a second finger into Erik, along with a little more lube to make sure he was slicked up appropriately. The only thing Erik was worried about was his mate deciding he needed more of a stretch, just for the hell of it. Erik knew he was already well ready to take Charles’s cock, but if the omega didn’t agree, they could be there for a while. 

“You are impatient tonight,” Charles observed, even though Erik had said nothing about it. Telepathy, Erik’s best friend and mortal enemy. Either way, it was enough to have Charles pulling his fingers back and adding some lube to his cock. 

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, darling?” Charles asked and Erik had to wonder if he was dragging things out to tease Erik more or if it was him trying to build up his courage for whatever he had in mind. 

Turning his head a little to look back at Charles, Erik nodded, “You know I’m always ready to take you, omega. Now get on with it and fuck me, since you say you’re going to.” 

Even still, there seemed to be a little procrastination before Charles started to move. His body was stretched out over Erik's, his cock lined up and gently pressed in. The feeling was new to Erik, it had been years since Charles last topped like this. At least before they got properly together. Back when they broke him out of the pentagon? Or perhaps it was even before that when they both first met. 

None of that took away from the feeling though, a gasp punched out of Erik as Charles started to move. It seemed to shake the whole bed a little and the movements were clumsy, at least at first. Erik didn’t have to wonder too hard to know Charles had never tried this before. 

But in a few moments, he had figured it out, falling into a steady rhythm, his hips smacking against Erik’s, the sound filling the room and his cock filling Erik just the same. 

“Fuck, forget how good this position is,” Erik mumbled, his fingers flexing into the bed beneath them, his eyes slipping closed, even his toes were curling in pleasure. He could have lived the rest of his life without it, but if this was going to be an option, it was certainly one he was going to take from time to time. 

Above him, Charles was panting and moving, holding himself up on his hands on either side of Erik. Small moans and groans leaving him that Erik could hear just because of how close they were. 

It didn’t take long before all thought seemed to fade away. It was a feeling that Erik had only heard omega’s describe feeling and, perhaps, there was something broken in him that he could feel it too. Or maybe it was the fact that he also had a uterus, despite being an alpha, but either way, he slipped away to a place where only he, Charles, and pleasure existed. 

“Good alpha,” Charles mumbled, “Taking it so well. Fuck, you’re so tight.” His head dropped down against Erik’s back and, a moment later, there were kisses being placed over his upper back. 

Erik couldn’t place if it was the kisses and attention to such a sensitive area, or if it was the way Charles was fucking him, but he found himself hurling toward his orgasm. “Cl-close,” he choked out, having to turn his head away from the pillow and wondering when he had buried it there again. 

“That’s it, alpha, cum for me, taking your omega’s cock so well, going to take my cum too, get all full of it and our babies? Going to carry them and grow bigger with them? A whole litter, wasn’t that what you said you wanted? Imagine how big you’ll be?” 

With that, Erik was a goner. The sound that left him was rather embarrassing as he came hard against the bed, almost knotting in the process, even if there wasn’t anything for him to lock in. 

Behind him, he could hear the sounds Charles was making and then the feeling of him cumming inside of him, the weak dribble of cum omegas tended to produce. And then the smaller man was collapsing down on top of him, both trying  to catch their breath. 

“Fuck,” Erik said, weakly, “When did you learn you could do that? How did you do that?” There was nothing in his voice and mind but surprise and contentment brought on by pleasure.

Charles laughed softly and pushed off one side of Erik so he rolled over next to him instead of staying on his back. “Mostly abs. I can say I spend a good amount of time thinking about fucking you and it occurred to me that this could be an option. I may not have any feeling in my hips but between my arms and abs I can still get some movement going, a bit of gravity too.” 

“It feels amazing. You always feel amazing,” Erik said softly, cuddling in against Charles, pulling the omega closer and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I love you, baby.” 

“I love you too,” Charles said, shifting a little to press his lips against Erik's, giving him a brief but sweet kiss. As he pulled back, he asked, “Do you feel pregnant yet?” He didn’t really think he could get Erik pregnant that way and it was clear by the tone of his voice that he was teasing.

Erik laughed, not expecting to be asked something like that. “Not yet, no,” He replied, “but I’m sure I will soon enough. I suppose I can expect to be asked that frequently in the next few weeks?” 

“Yeah, probably daily,” Charles replied, nodding sagely and making Erik smile and roll his eyes. “Maybe we can try this daily, just to increase our chances of really getting pregnant.” 

“Shut up and go to sleep,” He said, fondly, his powers reaching out and turning off the bedside lamp to leave them both in the dark. “I’m sure we’ll be needing our rest for the appointment in the morning.” Not once did he mention trying again daily to get pregnant, mostly because he was all for the idea. 

After that, it was quiet, though the two did share a final kiss before settling in and slowly drifting off to sleep, first Charles and then Erik when he was sure his omega was safe, comfortable, and sleeping peacefully. 

To say Erik was nervous would be an understatement. It didn’t seem like something he should be so concerned about, really. The excitement was there but he was terrified. There were things that could go wrong, it could turn out that he couldn’t get pregnant, it could be a waste of their time, their money, their embryos. 

And then there was how uncomfortable Charles was after he had the procedure done and Erik was a little worried about that. It felt strange to think he wasn’t sure he couldn’t handle something that his omega had experienced but he never claimed to be stronger than Charles was either. 

“Take a breath,” Charles said. They were sitting in the car, getting ready to go in and he reached out to take Erik’s hand. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll be out soon and we can go home and, I don’t know, nest? How does that sound?” 

Erik took a deep breath, giving Charles’s hand a squeeze, “That sounds perfect. Our nest with you.” He needed something to get him through this and that was better than anything he would’ve thought of. 

“Then let’s go and get this over with. It won’t be long and I’ll be with you the whole way,” Charles assured him and Erik nodded. He wasn’t sure Charles would be with him for all of the appointment but knowing that he was going in with him and wouldn’t be far away was something. 

The two of them made their way out of the car and started in the direction of the doctor's office. Erik was still worried but Charles sent a projected wave of calmness his way and he was able to take a deep breath once again. 

The waiting room was the worst part after they had checked in. Erik’s mind was spinning with how things could go and all the issues they could face. But Charles seemed much more calm about it. 

“Love, we’ve done everything we can in preparation. You’ve taken the meds, you’ve been checked. They said there was no reason you shouldn’t be able to get pregnant,” Charles said softly, watching the way Erik’s leg was bouncing against the floor and he was fidgeting with his hands. 

Erik nodded, “I know but I’m still worried about it,” He said softly, “What if something goes wrong? I’m not worried about myself but we're down to our last chance to have more babies. What if I’m just wasting them?” It wasn’t lost on him that there were no more chances. No more embryos to be made, not since Charles’s hysterectomy. 

“Then we still have our little girls,” Charles reminded him. “We agreed that we would have the babies if we could and, if not, then we were happy with the ones we have. If you don’t use them then they’re going to be wasted anyway. This way we at least have a chance of having more babies. More than we’d have if you didn't try this.” 

With a sigh, Erik nodded. He knew Charles was right. It wasn’t like the omega was going to get a chance to have their babies again, not after the hysterectomy he had after the last pregnancy. It was Erik or their family was done. 

“Erik Lehnsherr,” He heard from the door going back out of the waiting room and stood up. He felt a little like he was walking to his death but that wasn’t going to stop him. He and Charles went together with the alpha in front and he smiled a little at the nurse. 

“How are you today?” She asked, kindly and Erik looked at her, having to work hard to do so with how he was feeling. He was pretty sure he could run right through a wall with no issue, not even slowing down as he passed through the concrete wall. 

“I’m good, you?” He asked, dismissing his feelings. He wasn’t about to tell a stranger how he was really feeling. It was almost bad enough that Charles knew about it, that was as much as he could allow his guards to come down. 

“Alright,” She said with a smile, “Step on up here and we’ll get your weight.” There was something almost too kind about her voice and Erik didn’t know how to feel about it but was trying to push past it. 

Once they weighed him, he was taken to a room where his vitals were check and then he and Charles found themselves in the room alone. The order from the nurse to get undressed was what they were left with and Erik had to remove his pants and cover up with a hospital gown, thinking he had worn one of those more in the last couple of months than he was strictly comfortable with. 

“Nothing too bad so far,” Charles said softly, moving closer to Erik. Not that Erik wanted to hear something like that when he knew the worst part was yet to come. 

He fixed Charles with an uncertain and apprehensive look before saying, “Says the one still wearing his pants. Besides, I’m sure it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I know what’s coming, nothing can make up for that.” 

“Not even the babies we’ll be having in nine months?” He asked, smiling softly. It was that special smile that he often wore around Erik and their pups that filled the alpha’s heart with love for his mate. 

Erik gave a small smile, “The baby we’ll be having is all that could make it worth it,” he said, making it clear that he was still certain they’d only have one this time. 

“You’re going to have twins,” Charles told him with a smile, but Erik shook his head, not going to be persuaded. 

“We’re only having one this time,” He insisted, “And then we can maybe try again after this one and see what happens. Another one, maybe two.” It seemed like a plan to Erik. Three babies, then one, then one more. It would get them their five kids that they always talked about, six counting Anya. That was what they always wanted, after all. 

“You’re wrong,” Charles said again, teasing his alpha and giving him a gentle poke in the ribs. But as Erik opened his mouth to keep the debate going, the door to the room opened as well and Erik stopped before a single word came out. 

A whole team walked into the room, doctors, nurses, someone with an ultrasound machine. All people the two of them had seen before but Erik still felt himself shifting uncomfortably.

It was automatic that Erik found himself answering questions and then reaching for his pants and his wallet when he was asked for a form of identification, something about wanting to make sure they had the right embryos and right patients. 

Someone was checking with Charles as well as the ultrasound machine was being hooked up and prepared for what was about to happen and all Erik could think about was how he needed to piss and that he wasn’t wearing any pants. 

One of the workers had a picture they were showing him and Charles. Or multiple pictures that looked like something out of a science textbook. They were going on about how the embryos were frozen and thawed, that they were going to transfer two of them and wanted to show them how they looked. 

That was the part that Erik didn’t personally understand, why someone would want to see the little blobs. He was pretty sure he had seen the exact same thing in some of the books the eight and nine year olds were carrying around that Charles and Hank taught out of. If he wanted to see that he would look at them. 

But, perhaps, there was something about the little circle being half him and half Charles. “ He has your radius ,” Erik found himself projecting and Charles didn’t manage to stop the small laugh before it could escape him. 

“Thank you, darling,” Charles replied, “So do you think we’re going to have a boy this time? One and one girl? Or two boys?” 

“Just one, Love. A boy," came Erik’s answer. He wasn’t going to fall for all of Charles’s attempts to change his mind. 

Unfortunately, before Charles had the chance to say anything, a little tray was moved closer and the hospital gown was pushed up on his stomach. Cold gel was squirted onto his skin and the process began. 

The pressure from the wand was almost too much, pressing against what he supposed was his uterus, but also his full bladder—apparently this was the reason he was told not to go to the restroom beforehand. 

“Here we are,” One of the nurses said, and the wand came to a stop, just in time for someone else to move around to Erik’s other side with a small bag that he was a little too familiar with, though never used on himself. 

“Are you ready to get started then?” She asked with a kind smile and Erik wished she looked evil. It would make it so much easier to not like her. 

With a deep breath, he replied, “As I’ll ever be,” Because he knew he needed to get this done and over with if he ever wanted to have his new baby. It wasn’t something he could put off forever. The faster they could get done, the faster he and Charles could be back home in bed, having a cuddle and recovering from the eventful morning. 

The woman gave a small laugh and then they began the procedure. Or at least getting Erik more into position with his legs spread and slightly lifted. If he thought being without his pants was bad, it was nothing to presenting for everyone to see. 

It was something that he had to wonder if any other alpha had ever done before. They weren’t exactly made for this and some primal part of himself wanted to make that known. It took more control than he would like to admit to stay still. 

And it was something he was still working on when the speculum was worked into him so even more was on display. He wondered if he should’ve reminded them he was an alpha before they started doing that if the pain was anything to go by, but it seemed too late now. Besides, it wasn’t like his scent or cock couldn’t also give him away and serve as a reminder. 

He was just working on breathing through the pain as he felt someone working around the opening and cleaning him up. At least, through the pain, they didn’t pause or stop. It was going to be over one way or another now. 

The next step began with a small catheter being slid into his hole and then, with the use of the ultrasound, was pushed through his hole and into the cervix. A small inner sheath was pulled out and he looked over just in time to see it being loaded up with the embryo and then they were moving back to gently push the tube back into the sheath. 

Erik could swear he felt it as the tube was shown on the ultrasound screen and he heard someone say, “We’re doing the transfer,” As though he didn’t already know that. Then, on the screen, there was a flash and, next to him, he felt Charles reaching out and grabbing his hand, clutching at it. 

Nothing felt comfortable at that moment, but at least Erik had to remind himself that they were almost done and then he could limp out of the room and back to the car for the ride home. Nothing about sitting in a car sounded like fun at the moment though. 

The catheter was slowly removed and then came the speculum which led to Erik hissing and wincing as his hand tightened around Charles’s. If they were doing this again, he was going to have his mate prep him before they went in.

And then, slowly, the doctors and nurses started to leave the room. Some of them spoke, some did not. It didn’t matter to Erik though, he was just staring at the ceiling, trying to find the courage to stand up and go find a place to empty his bladder. 

It was a moment after everyone left that Charles looked at him, “They said we can go when we’re ready,” He said. “How are you feeling? You looked uncomfortable for most of that process.” 

“Well stretched. If we have to repeat this, you’re stretching me first next time. My ass is sore and I’m sure it will be for days. But I need to piss just as soon as I think the pain has faded enough,” He added. 

“Maybe we should’ve thought about that or mentioned it to someone. I’m sure they’re used to omegas and, well, most of us are made to take alpha cocks and knots with ease. That wouldn’t be a problem. If I had thought about it, I would’ve said something. But you could’ve spoken up.” 

Erik shook his head, “It felt like a challenge,” he said, feeling rather foolish now that it was all done and over with and he hadn’t spoken up. Perhaps Charles was right and he should have. No matter though, it was over and he could leave. 

Very gently, he rolled to his side and then to his feet, trying to avoid his ass touching the table he was on. He had a little experience with that in the past but having Charles spank him was an entirely different situation to the one he was currently having. 

Removing the hospital gown, he tossed it on the exam table. Someone else could deal with that, he decided as he accepted his underwear and trousers from Charles who was reaching them to him. Slowly, he got dressed and then looked at his omega. 

“Piss and then home,” He stated, walking for the door and choosing not to give Charles rolling his eyes any attention. 

It didn’t take long for him to take care of his problem and find the other man again. From there, they made their way out of the doctors office, stopping only to make another appointment for ten days later to check if they were pregnant with a blood test. 

The ride home was mostly quiet, with the only sound being Erik shifting on his seat and trying to sit on his leg so it wasn’t his ass fully against the carseat. It wasn’t helping much but it was a small improvement. 

Back at the school, they made their way up to their bedroom—only being stopped once by Raven who wanted to ask how things went and promptly decided she didn’t want to know when Erik told her his ass was sore. 

“Ready to make a nest and cuddle up then, love?” Charles asked, smiling as they approached their bedroom. 

“Why don’t you go ahead and start on the nest? I don’t know how to do things like that, I’ve never had to nest before besides helping you. It’s about time for the kids to have their name time, I may go see if they want to come join us.” Erik couldn’t help but want his babies close after the morning he’d had. 

“Alright, I’m hardly going to say no to cuddles with our little ones,” Charles replied with a smile. “They can help with the nest. It’s never too soon to start learning, after all.” 

Erik smiled at that, “Nina’s already learning. Have you seen her bed lately?” He asked, mostly jokingly, he knew his omega had seen it. 

“Yeah, it’s hard to miss,” Charles agreed. The little bed had no less than seven blankets on it, a whole herd of stuffed animals and one of his shirts as well as one of Charles’s. Neither of them had it in them to stop the little girl and she seemed more than happy with it, curling up and going right to sleep every night. 

“She seems to have it down. Maybe she could teach me a thing or two,” Erik said, starting into the nursery. “Hello,” He said, smiling at his little ones. They all seemed to be ready for their naps, blankets pulled out, stuffed animals in their arms. It was clear one of the other adults had helped them get ready. 

“Papa!” Lorna called, running to him with Nina toddling along right behind her, both crashing into him as he lowered himself down toward the floor. Jean came along a moment later, wrapping her arms around them as well. 

Erik smiled and hugged them all close, “Hi princesses,” He said, pressing kisses to each of their heads. “Would you like to have your nap time with me and Daddy?” 

“Yeah!” Jean said, smiling brightly as Lorna and Nina smiled and nodded along, “Where Daddy?” 

“He’s in our room getting our nest ready. Come on you three. Let’s go,” Erik said, standing up, only to have all three of them holding their arms up for him to get them. 

There was only one thing to do, moving back down, wrapping his arms around Lorna and Nina, letting Jean climb onto his back. It was a slow process to stand up and not fall over with the additional weight but then he managed and then made his way into his and Charles’s bedroom. 

“Oh wow,” Charles said, laughing softly from where he was arranging blankets on the bed. “I’m impressed. Are you three attaching your Papa?” 

“No, Daddy,” Lorna said, laughing at the idea of them fighting him. “Ride!” She informed him as though any other idea was just crazy to her. 

Charles smiled at the girl, “Oh, right, I’m sorry,” He said, scooting over and Erik made his way over, leaning to drop Jean down on the bed, followed by moving over to drop Lorna. The last thing he wanted was to drop his babies on top of each other and hurt one of them. Finally, he put Nina down, being a little more careful with her. 

“You three will need to be a little more careful with your Papa for a while,” Charles said, looking up at Erik in a rather disapproving kind of way. “We need to make sure he’s okay and doesn’t get any owies again.” 

Erik felt a little bad, he didn’t like having to say that he was hurt around the kids, and right now he wasn’t. The idea of them being careful with him just felt wrong since he didn’t think they could hurt him. But, at the same time, he knew that if he did end up being pregnant, then they would need to be a little more careful in the future. 

“We no hurt papa,” Nina said, looking at Charles, who gave her a small smile, trying to reassure the girl. 

“You didn’t,” Erik assured her, “Just need to make sure you don’t. I’m okay, but Daddy wants to make sure it stays that way, okay? I’m sure you won’t hurt me, my careful, gentle little girls.” 

He might have been exaggerating a little. Lorna was anything but careful or gentle. Jean had her moments, but Nina was already gentle. Perhaps it was just her way, or maybe she just wasn’t quite as strong as her siblings, but either way Erik had no fear that she would ever hurt him. 

Laying down, he cuddled in, getting his babies between him and Charles, draping their blankets over each of them. They were safe and protected with Erik closer to the door and curled around them, Charles on the other side, protecting the place he couldn’t. It was nice to have all his little family in a bed together, in a place that smelled like them all. 

“Daddy, story?” Jean asked, looking over at Charles and Erik smiled a little as his partner reached for the book lying next to their bed. It seemed they had stores lying everywhere. Some of them were little kids story books, some were chaptered books that they’d get a chapter of at a time. Erik had to wonder if his kids already had enough books to make them a library. 

As Charles started reading, Erik found himself listening along, even if it was in the middle of the book, at least it was the start of a new chapter. There was always something about his partner's voice, especially when he was reading, the gentle tone, the cadence that seemed to bring each word and action to life. 

It wasn’t long before Nina was out, followed by Lorna. It seemed that Jean was the one who was a little more interested in the story than the other two and, thus, took the longest to fall asleep. 

But even then, Charles kept reading. Erik had every intention of staying awake and talking to Charles once their babies were asleep, but with everything that had happened that day, it was harder and harder to keep his eyes open.

The last thing Erik heard before drifting off to sleep as well was, “It’s this,” she said. “It’s a secret garden, and I’m the only one in the world who wants it to be alive.”

Chapter Text

Ten days, just over a week, and Erik was sure that he had never seen a slower passage of time in his life. And that was coming from the man who spent a decade in solitary confinement. 

It was strange to think back about that now. It was like a whole different life from his time spent in that cell to now. He had a mate, the love of his life, and their three pups. For so long he thought he’d never have anything like a family again and now he had more than he could ever ask for, and possibly one on the way, if that appointment would just hurry up already.

“I really think this has been the worst part,” Erik said, getting dressed to go to the doctors. “Just all the waiting around and not knowing. It feels like everything has been waiting for this moment and it could be everything or nothing that we walk away with in an hour’s time.” 

Charles nodded, “There’s a lot of things that could happen, but no matter what, this isn’t the last chance. And I really think it worked. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I just feel like it did. What do you think?” 

For a moment, Erik considered, his hand going to rest on his stomach. Even if it was still flat, it was still possible that a little baby was starting to form in there and it was almost too good to be true. 

“Maybe,” He finally said, “But I’m still worried that we didn’t make a baby. Or that we did and we’ll lose them.” It was a bit of a touchy subject now, after Charles experienced a false pregnancy, then a miscarriage, and then little Anya leaving them after just a couple of hours. Still, it felt like something Erik needed to say, a worry he had and thought it would be more beneficial to talk about than to hide.

Charles moved closer and reached out to wrap an arm around Erik and pull him down onto his lap. “If that happens, we’ll deal with it just like we have before. It’ll break us a little and, after a while, we’ll stand up again with our three girls, and we’ll decide what to do from there. No matter what, you’re not losing me or our pups.” 

That was enough to ease Erik’s nerves a little, though not erase them entirely. He wasn’t sure anything would have that kind of power, so he would take what he could get. The only thing that would really help would be the ability to carry and give birth to one of his and Charles’s pups. At least one. 

“Do you think the girls are ready?” Erik asked after stealing a brief kiss from Charles before standing back up. “I want to get going as soon as we can. Maybe we’ll get out sooner that way.” 

Charles rolled his eyes but Erik didn’t bother asking why, not when he already knew the answer. He was always hoping that getting to an appointment early would mean leaving early and that just never worked out. Didn’t stop him though. 

“They should be,” Charles said, moving back a little. “Let’s go check on them and get the diaper bag ready. I just wish one of our babysitters would have pulled through.” 

“This is what you get for getting an appointment in the middle of the day in the middle of the week,” Erik said, walking out of their bedroom and moving off to find their girls who had been ready for a little while now and Erik just hoped they weren’t playing in the mud or paint. They had left them inside, after all, so no mud might be true, but the paint could do either way. 

Erik made his way to the stairs and started down them before he felt Charles’s presents more strongly than the usual back of his mind feeling that tended to come with their bond and telepathic link. 

“Darling, second floor common room. They’re playing with Ororo and Kitty,” Charles informed him and Erik smiled a little. The youngest kids in the school and they always seemed to be stuck together. Erik wouldn’t be surprised at all if he found Kurt with them when he got there. 

With a small smile on his face, he made his way to the room Charles had instructed them they were in and pushed open the door. It wasn’t surprising that he did find Kurt and even Scott too—Alex’s little brother that he had brought in a couple of months prior when he became the guardian of the boy. The little kids that weren’t old enough to go to classes yet beyond the two hour long class they had every day that was basically a preschool. 

“Lorna, Jean, Nina,” Erik called softly, “It’s time to go. Come on, you’re coming with Papa to a doctor’s appointment and then we’ll try to talk Daddy into stopping for a special treat. Do you think you can convince him?” 

The little girls came over, nodding and cheering, clearly excited to think about their treat that they were so sure they’d be able to get. Erik smiled and nodded along as they started out of the room—having to pause so Scott could run over and wrap his arms around Jean. Erik was not a fan of that boy. 

Once they were out of the room and Erik had closed the door behind them, they made their way down to the first floor and met Charles who had finished getting ready and was waiting on them. 

Lorna didn’t pause before crawling up on his lap. “We get i-cweam.” She said, a serious look on her face that Erik had to think was all his own. 

Charles gave a small laugh, “You look like your papa when you do that,” he told the girl, gently touching her little cheek. “We’ll see about getting some ice cream on our way home, okay? If you three are good and patient while Papa gets a test done then we can get ice cream. Sound good?” 

More cheering and nodding from the girls made Erik smile and he took Jean’s and Nina’s hand before they made their way outside and to the car. 

There, Jean crawled up into the car and into her carseat where Erik buckled her in. Then Lorna followed, crawling off Charles’s lap and into her own seat where she was buckled in too. Nina, Erik had to put in her seat, knowing her climbing abilities were quite as good as the other two. 

Once Charles was in the car and his chair was in the back of the car, Erik got in and buckled up as well before Charles started the car and they were off. 

Erik was nervous and was sure the feeling was filling the car so that both his mate and children knew about it. Especially if the way the kids were getting increasingly agitated in the back was anything to go by. If there was a way for him to turn it off, he would but his scent was going to give him away. 

“Darling, it’s going to be okay,” Charles said, glancing over at him. There was a sensation that felt like a hand wrapping around his own but Erik knew it wasn’t really there. It was Charles’s powers making it feel that way. After all, he knew that the omega needed both hands to drive, one on the wheel, the other working the breaks and gas. 

Erik released a breath, “I know, I’m sure it will be, but I’m still just worried about what’s going to happen. If I am or not. And who we’re going to tell if we are. I mean when do we let the girls know?” 

It was a moment before Charles answered but Erik knew not to push. The man was clearly thinking about what the answer was and what to do. Then, slowly, he replied. “I think we should wait. They can be a little….inpatient at times and we’ll have nine months. Besides that would still be early on in the pregnancy.”

That was the same thing Erik was thinking but he also worried about any questions they would have and how they were going to be able to answer them. Still, he didn’t want to face nine full months of the three of them asking him about the baby and when they’ll be here and if they were going to have a brother or sister. Especially not if something happened in the first three months and they didn’t get their little sibling at all. 

“I think you’re right. I just don’t know what we’ll do if they start asking questions. Do you have some answers that we can give them then?” Erik asked, turning to look back at the three little mischief makers in the back seat. They seemed none the wiser to what Charles and Erik were talking about, seeming to play some kind of game that would only make sense to the three of them. 

“We’ll work something out, darling,” Charles replied as he pulled into the parking lot for the doctors office. “No need to worry too much about it until we know what they’re going to want to know. Now, do you want us to go in with you?” 

Erik watched as Charles pulled into a parking spot and finally looked over at Erik and finally reached for his hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze and then a kiss to the back of his hand. 

With a deep breath, Erik shook his head, “You and them can stay out here. I don’t know how they’d act in there and they seem to be okay in here. They’re playing and having fun. What do you think?” 

Charles nodded, “Sounds good to me. As long as you’re sure you’ll be okay in there alone getting your answer. And I’m going to want to know what you find out as soon as you get back out here.” 

With another breath, Erik nodded and got out of the car to go in. It almost felt like he was walking to his death as he checked in for the appointment and then took a seat in the waiting room. 

Part of him almost wished that he had brought Charles and the kids with him but he knew they would be bouncing off the walls with him and Charles trying to calm them all down. Though part of him wondered how well his omega was doing in the car with the three of them. It could either be going really good or really bad. Chances were they were still playing and hadn’t realized. Or maybe something had happened and they were all screaming and crying. 

His mind was latching onto almost anything obsessively as he remembered once again why he was there. There could be another little one to add to their three. Four babies, four little ones that were half him and half Charles. If everything went well then it would happen, otherwise, what? This was all for nothing and he and Charles would have their hopes shattered once again in a way they had experienced again and again. 

Charles had said that they had another chance to do this. That there were more embryos to implant and see how things would go. But Erik wasn’t sure he would be able to do this again. One time would break him, a second time was unthinkable. There was no way they would be able to do this twice. 

“Erik Lehnsherr,” He heard called from the door to the side of the room and he stood to go to the nurse, following her back. The basic tests being done on the way, weight, blood pressure—a little high, nothing surprising—heart rate, temperature. It seemed to go on and on before he was pissing in a cup and then having his blood taken. 

What came next was sitting in a small exam room, waiting for the results. If anything, he wished he had Charles with him at that moment. He could use some company. And that would, of course, include the kids. The three of them would certainly help to keep him on his toes and pass time. 

The only thing he could think about was not being pregnant. Or worse, being pregnant and losing the baby in the next month or two. He wasn’t sure that was something he’d be able to survive. 

Though Charles had survived it before, Erik reminded himself. Not that it was the first time he had realized the omega was stronger than he could ever be. There was a lot that Charles had been through that left Erik in awe of him. 

And then his mind took a turn and he found himself getting a little lost in the idea of being pregnant. The thought of feeling the baby growing inside of him, stretching his belly to show the signs of the little life growing inside of him. 

Would the little one be a boy or a girl? Or maybe Charles would be right and they’d have twins. But would they be two boys? Two girls? One of each? There were so many options and he couldn’t wait to feel them kicking and moving around in there. 

Unconsciously, his hand went to his stomach. There was no sign of life there. It had only been about ten days since the transfer. It hardly seemed right to even think that they could know so soon if he was pregnant or not. 

Not that he was going to complain, he wasn’t sure he could handle not knowing for a day longer. This felt like a whole new form of torture and it only got worse once he was put in this room with four white walls, feeling all too similar to the cell he was thrown into in the pentagon. It made his skin crawl and felt the need to stand up, to pace, to make a run for it and get out of there. 

But, of course, he couldn’t do that. He needed answers and Charles would send him right back in if he came out without knowing. 

Or maybe he would get out of the car and come in with him. Him and their little girls. That was a thought. He should just go out and get them, they were just right out in the car, after all. 

Standing up, Erik started for the door of the exam room, only to be stopped by a knock on the door before the doctor walked in with a file in her hand and a smile on her face. “Hello,” She said happily and Erik had to hope that was a good sign. He quickly sat back down. 

“Hallo,” Erik replied, sitting back down on the chair he had just abandoned. He felt like a child in school who had just gotten caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do. Not that the doctor seemed to mind as she went and sat down in another seat, looking over the file. 

“Alright, Erik,” She said, her pen moving over the file. “How are you feeling? Anything that’s worrying you or you want to ask about?” 

“Am I pregnant?” Erik asked, “That’s all that’s worrying me and the only thing I want to know about.” It was honest and the only reason he was there. 

The doctor smiled and looked away from the file. “If that’s all that you’re worrying about then you’re in good shape,” She said, “Your hCG levels are rising, which is what we look for to tell if you’re pregnant. It’s a good sign. We’ll want to redo the tests in a few days to check things are going according to plan. During that visit you’ll have and ultrasound just to check and make sure you are pregnant and that everything is going as planned. 

Erik felt a warmth flood him and, in that moment, he realized that Charles had found his way into his mind, listening into the conversation. It was something that he couldn’t help but appreciate and love. As much as he wanted the man, he had found a way to get there. 

“And everything is okay? Nothing to be worrying about?” Erik asked, trying to keep the hope back before he had all the answers. 

“From what we’ve seen your bloodwork was good. Nothing that raised any red flags. We’ll keep a careful watch for a few days and make sure things stay that way. Before you leave, you’ll have a follow-up appointment scheduled. Probably for early next week. If it goes well then we’ll be seeing you once a month for the first couple of trimesters before increasing how frequent your appointments are,” She explained. “Any questions?” 

Erik shook his head, “I don’t think so. I just wanted to know if things were going okay. Is there anything else?” 

“I don’t think so, if you don’t have any other questions,” The doctor said, standing up and he did the same, the two making their way out of the exam room. 

After stopping at the front desk to get his next appointment—five days from then, a little too soon according to Erik but he supposed, for his baby, he would do anything—he made his way out of the building. It didn’t take him long to find Charles and the babies still in the car where he left them. 

In the back seat, Erik saw the three of them had fallen asleep while he was gone and Charles smiled brightly at him. “Good news then,” He said, not even bothering to ask. 

“Yes. Don’t think I didn’t feel you in my mind when I was told about it,” He replied, smiling, “I have another appointment five days from now. But other than that, things seem to be going as planned. How were the little ones?” 

Starting the car and slowly making his way out of the parking space, Charles replied, “They played for a while, then they all started screaming and crying. It was rough going for a few minutes there. Then they all just started to quiet down. I looked back and they had fallen asleep. Do you think we should stop for their treat still?” 

Erik nodded, “I think so or we’ll never hear the end of it. I’m sure they’ll wake up for ice cream and then go back to sleep in the car on the way home,” He said, knowing the little ones. They’ll be grumpy sure, but it would be worth it to not have them complaining and grumpy all evening for missing their treat. 

And so, Charles stopped at the little ice cream shop they tended to prefer—no issues with mutants and seemed to enjoy the chaos that three three-year-olds seemed to bring with them. There was no longer any discussion of where they were going to go when it came to treats and celebrations. 

“Should I go on in to order while you wake them up?” Charles asked, looking over at Erik, who nodded. He could handle waking them since he had left Charles in the car with them as they got tired and eventually wore themselves out. 

Getting out of the car, Erik got Charles’s chair and moved it into place next to his side of the car with his powers while he opened the back door to get access to his babies. He heard the driver’s side door close as he started with Jean.

“Sweet girl, come on,” He whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Do you want ice cream? You have to wake up if you do.” 

Slowly, her little blue eyes opened and looked at him. “Ice cream?” She asked, rubbing her little eyes with her fists. The sight brought a smile to Erik’s face. 

“Yeah, we said you’d get a treat, right? We’re going to get ice cream now if you’ll wake up,” He said, starting to unbuckle her from her car seat. 

Throwing her arms up with her eyes still closed, Erik smiled. “Alright, come on, Kleine.” He picked her up, holding her against his side as he got out of the car and closed the door before going to Nina. 

The process repeated, but she was always harder to wake up than either of the other two were. As much as she was a perfect combination of him and Charles, she certainly got Charles’s ability to sleep through anything. 

“Little bunny,” He said, softly, gently rubbing his hand over her arm and shoulder, trying to shake her awake without really shaking her. “Come on, we need to get up.” 

“Ice cream!” Jean told her, perhaps a little too loud as the girl groaned and shifted in her carseat, trying to bury her face against the side of the seat. But Lorna didn’t seem to be having the same problem. As soon as Jean spoke, her eyes opened, seemingly wide awake. 

“I-cweam?” She asked, looking hopeful and Erik laughed softly, moving around Nina as carefully as possible and working to balance Jean so he could help the little girl get out of her seat. She was working on the buckles by herself and wasn’t seeming to have much luck with them. 

“Yeah, that’s right, sweet girl, ice cream,” Erik replied, “Are you ready? Daddy went on in to get some for us.” 

As soon as she was free, Lorna started climbing around the car to get to her sister. She grabbed Nina’s arm and started pulling, shaking the girl. “Nia! I-cweam!” She announced loudly. “‘M on!” 

Nina whined and Erik tried not to laugh, “Lorna, come on, I’ll get Nina,” He assured her, going ahead and unbuckling the girl and picking her up in his free hand. Jean on one side and Lorna on the other. 

As the three of them got out of the car, Lorna held his arms up for him and Erik kneeled down for the other to climb on his back. It was with his powers that he made sure the car was closed and locked up before going into the ice cream shop. His powers opened the door to the building and he found Charles sitting at one of the tables, waiting on them with a smile on his face. 

“Hands full, darling?” Charles asked and Erik laughed softly, depositing Nina on his lap and then wiggling Lorna around and onto the seat between the wall and him. Meanwhile, Jean was tucked in on his lap, a little more than half awake by now. 

“Our order should be here soon,” Charles said, “They said it would be just a minute. I thought it would be good to get a table.” He looked around, “Since the place is so busy.” 

Erik laughed, looking around, there wasn’t anyone else in there with them except one family at the far side, eating their ice cream peacefully. It was far from busy. “Yeah, what would we do if you didn’t find a seat for us?” He asked, teasingly. 

“I know. We’re certainly not going to take five ice creams in the car. That would be a disaster. I suppose we’d just not get any and have to go back home.” Of course, this just led to two very loud protests from the two girls who were awake. 

Nina, meanwhile, just wiggled around on Charles’s lap to press her face against his chest, trying to get away from the sound. It was enough to make him smile and place his hand on the back of her head and press a kiss to the top of it. “Still sleepy, baby girl?” He asked. 

A small sound left her as she nodded, still not bothering to pull back from his chest. If anything, she was trying to burrow deeper against him. 

Erik couldn’t help but smile to himself at the sight. It was all too cute and always one of his favorites. Charles holding onto one of their babies, the sight of their pup so comfortable and safe in their Daddy’s arms. If he never saw anything else, he would still be a very happy man. 

“What are you looking at?” Charles asked, smiling and looking amused. Erik knew immediately that he had been caught but he didn’t care. He just looked at Charles and smiled back. 

“The most beautiful omega in the world, holding one of the three most perfect pups in the world,” He answered with no hesitation, meaning every word of it. And then he got to watch as Charles’s cheeks turned red. 

Jean pulled at his shirt, “Papa?” She asked in a small voice but it was still enough to get his attention. He turned to look down at her. “Who the uver pups?” 

Erik laughed softly and pulled her back onto his lap, “Well, one of those perfect little pups would be you. And the other,” He turned to look at Lorna, “Is you.” He gently tapped her on the end of the nose, making her giggle. 

Before any of them could say anything else, their ice cream was brought out to them, Jean and Lorna digging in immediately. It was enough to get Nina’s attention and she turned around and started eating too. Though it was with her eyes closed and almost as an unconscious thing. Her little hand bringing the spoon to her mouth, sometimes with ice cream on it, sometimes not. 

Erik laughed softly and took the spoon from her, bringing a bite to her mouth. Perhaps Charles would’ve done it but he was eating as eagerly as their other little ones were. Erik had no problem with taking a bite of his own and then giving Nina a bite. After all, it was certainly not the first time he’d eaten like that. 

By the time they had finished, Jean and Lorna seemed to have more of the ice cream on them than in them and Erik took Lorna while Charles took them to the bathroom to wash off a little. 

“Did you finally wake up, sweet girl?” He asked, bouncing Nina on his hip a little as he cleaned up the trash from their snack and threw it away. 

“Ja,” Nina replied, resting her head on Erik’s shoulder. Her little hand found his hair but that was hardly anything new. Since she was little that seemed to be her favorite thing to do. 

“Are you going to stay awake in the car on the way home? I think your sisters will fall back to sleep,” Erik told her, thinking about the way their little eyes were already starting to close. 

“S’ay up,” She confirmed with a nod but even as she said it Erik wasn’t so sure. She was acting like she tended to do before going to sleep. 

Erik smiled and kissed the top of her head, “Then when we get home we’ll put your sisters to bed and you, daddy and I can have some time together. What do you say?” 

That seemed to wake the little girl up some more. Her head went back up from where it was resting. “Out-ide?” She asked, looking hopeful and Erik laughed softly, very unsurprised by the request. 

“We can go outside, sure. Are you wanting to see some of your animal friends?” He asked, watching as Charles and their other girls returned, looking a little cleaner than they were before. 

Nina nodded excitedly, just as she always did when she had the chance to go out and see her friends. “Ja, maminals,” she said, wisely. “See maminals.”

“Oh, are we going outside when we get home?” Charles asked, looking up at them as they made their way out and started trying to get the kids back into their car seats. 

“Nina wants to, yeah,” Erik replied, then adding mentally, “I said we could if the other two fell back asleep on the way home. But it kind of looks like Nina might as well. Would you be interested in coming with us if we do?” 

Charles smiled, getting into the car as Erik put his chair in the back and got in as well. “Of course. You know I’d never pass up an offer like that. I love seeing her use her powers.” 

“We both do,” Erik replied, then was silent for a moment before admitting, “I’m still wondering about Jean though. I mean Lorna and Nina have both manifested and Jean hasn’t. You said she’s one of us, right?” 

“She is,” Charles replied, “I can tell that much but that’s all I know. Technically it’s still early. Just because the other two manifested so young doesn’t mean Jean will too. I mean I was nine, you were fourteen. Most kids manifest around puberty. We have years before there’s anything to even think is strange.” 

Erik nodded and then looked over at Charles. “You know I’m not worried she’ll be a human or anything, right? I’d love her either way. I just want to know what her power will be because you said she’s a mutant and hasn’t manifested yet, even after the other two have so long ago.” 

“I know, darling,” Charles replied, “There was a time I would’ve worried about it but not anymore. You’ve proven yourself and your love of our pups. I’m excited to see what she’ll be able to do too.” 

“I know you don’t, but I still hope she has your powers,” Erik said softly, knowing it was a touchy subject. 

“I really don’t,” Charles replied with a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about that right now. What about your little ones, growing in there? What do you think they’ll be able to do?” 

Erik laughed softly, “Little one. And I don’t know. I think we’re going to have another little girl though.” 

“No,” Charles said, smiling a little, “Two little boys this time. Or a boy and a girl. I wonder if I’ll be able to tell by your scent the way you could tell that I was going to have girls? Or is that just something alphas can do with omegas?” 

With a shrug, Erik replied, “I don’t know. I might be the first pregnant alpha in the world,” He said, his hand going to his flat stomach. “We’ll just have to wait and see. I hope you’ll be able to tell. I want you to have that experience. I want it too, there’s something special about knowing someone so well, their scent, and being able to pick up on those little chances. And I can still tell which one of them was giving off which part of the change in your scent.” 

“It sounds amazing,” Charles said, almost dreamily, “There’s so many experiences I had during my pregnancy that I hope you don’t have. But it’s still an amazing feeling and I know you’re going to love it.” 

At that, Erik couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sure I am. I can’t wait to feel him growing in there.” He found himself looking back to see if the girls were asleep and relaxed a little to see that Jean and Lorna both were. Nina was singing to herself, whatever was playing on the radio, her little feet kicking happily. 

“It’s the best feeling. I just hope you don’t have four of them in there,” Charles informed him and Erik couldn’t help but laugh a little at that. 

“Well, considering there were only two embryos transferred, I think I’m safe. That doesn’t seem very likely. But if it did, I’m sure we’d work something out. That would certainly be enough babies.” 

With a laugh, Charles gave a small nod, “I’m not sure we’d be able to handle it. I just think there’s two. Six children. That sounds like enough to me. A good place to stop.” 

Erik gave him a look, still not believing him. “Five children, I’m only carrying one. That’s not enough. We’re going to need to do this once again. And then we’ll be able to stop.” 

“So six is the goal,” Charles said with a smile. “I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe next time your body will know this process and we won’t need to do the whole doctor thing next time.” 

It didn’t seem likely but Erik hummed, “Maybe. I’m sure it doesn’t work that way but we can try anyway. But yeah, six is the goal. If we’re talking about doing this again does that mean you agree with me that there’s only one?” 

“Shut up, alpha,” Charles said with a laugh and Erik smiled over at him, falling silent for now. There was no point in continuing the argument. It was going to be what it was going to be and there was no point in debating out anymore than they already had. At least, not right now. Erik was sure they’d come back to the debate time and time again before they had their answer. 

Only time would tell and they’d just have to wait it out and both hope they’re the one who is right.

Chapter Text

The pain was something Erik wasn’t sure he should be feeling. Of course, he wasn’t sure what was going on inside of him and he knew that Charles had made a comment about some pain in the beginning as well. He’d compared it to his heats but Erik had never experienced a heat. 

It was enough to leave him wondering if Charles was going through a similar pain every time he had gone into heat and, if so, he was incredibly impressed with his omega for just being able to stand up and walk around. All he wanted to do was curl into a ball and stay in bed until it was over. 

Nevertheless, he knew that wasn’t an option when the door to their bedroom opened and a little voice called out, “Papa?” 

“Yeah, Lorna?” Erik asked, sitting up on the bed with a wince and struggling to stay upright instead of curling into himself. It felt as though his body was being pulled in that way. 

“Daddy wants you,” She said softly and Erik smiled at her as she came over and climbed onto the bed. As much as he knew he should get up and go find Charles, see what he wanted and, perhaps, check with the pain he was in, all he really wanted to do was stay where he was with his little girl. 

And that desire was winning out. He held his arms out for her to crawl into and he wrapped her up close. “What are you being so quiet about?” He asked, tickling her tummy just to hear her giggle and watch her try to get away. 

The girl looked shy as she shrugged and that only served to make Erik more suspicious. Never in her life had Lorna been shy about anything. She was all Charles as far as how outgoing she was. 

“Alright, let’s go see what Daddy wants, shall we?” He asked and sat her down so her feet were on the floor. Normally he would have no problem picking her up and carrying her around with him, maybe a gentle throw into the air to hear her laugh but, with the current pain he was in, he wasn’t sure that would be his best idea. 

It didn’t seem to be much of an issue though as the little girl trailed along next to him, reaching out to take his hand instead and Erik didn’t hesitate to wrap his hand around her smaller one.”What is Daddy wanting?” Erik asked, “Is it something good or bad?” 

Lorna looked at him and shrugged, but there was a small smile on her face that let Erik know this little act was just that. It was all an act that she was putting on, most likely thanks to Charles. 

“You do too know,” He accused with a smile, “I see the look on your face. What are you and Daddy cooking up that you’re not telling me about?” He wasn’t expecting an answer but that wasn’t going to stop him from asking. Nina would’ve told him, Jean would’ve tried hard to keep it a secret and then ended up saying something but Lorna was different. That kid could stand up to torture and say nothing if she had to. 

Lorna led Erik to the kitchen where they found Charles. “I’ve been summoned?” He asked, walking up next to his omega. 

“Yeah,” Charles said, looking up at him, “How are you feeling this morning? You were sleeping in a little and I didn’t want to wake you up but I figured you’d appreciate it. Besides, I have some information now.” 

The question made Erik pause, he knew he should tell Charles about how he was feeling if for no reason but to make sure he was actually okay and that the feeling was normal. But what if it wasn’t? Wouldn’t it be best to pretend everything was fine even if he could feel the pain radiating around his back and down his legs? 

“Honest answers, please,” Charles said, “I can see that look on your face, I know what you’re thinking about and a lie right now isn’t going to help any of us.” 

And, at that, Erik had to relent. Charles had a good point, after all, even if Erik didn’t want to admit it. “My stomach is hurting. Cramping. I…remember you mentioning something about that early on in your pregnancy with the kids. I don’t have anything to compare it to though, no heats or anything so, I suppose, I’m just worried that something’s wrong but I also didn’t want to worry you and I’m sure it’s nothing but it’s enough pain to make me want to curl up so much that even standing straight is difficult to do.” 

“Come here,” Charles said, his hand going out and, without questions, Erik knew what to do. He leaned down until fingertips brushed his temple, then there was the feeling of someone in his mind. He knew that Charles was just checking though, feeling the same pain he felt as another wave of it washed over him and he felt his body retract a little before he regained control. 

With a wince, Charles pulled back and nodded. “I’m afraid that’s about normal but we could still get a scan if you’d like. Not that I think there’s much that could be seen this early on, though we might have a positive answer for whether or not you’re pregnant then. Cramps in that area are a lot the first time aren’t they? Especially when you're not expecting them.” 

Erik nodded, even as he had to admit, “I have a whole new respect for you and your pre-heat ways now. I can’t imagine missing this feeling at any point.” 

Charles gave a small laugh at that. “I don’t miss that part, but I do miss my heats. Feeling like I could get pregnant again, the closeness between the two of us. I didn’t feel quite so much like a failure of an omega then.” 

The words were said as though they were a joke but Erik didn’t believe that they were for even a single second. He knew his omega and that he had struggled with that feeling before, when they were trying and not succeeding to get pregnant. 

But now to hear that he was feeling that way still because of his missing heats, the surgery he had to have after their babies were born that left him infertile, it hurt Erik a little. If there was anything he could do to make sure Charles never felt that way again, he would do it in a heartbeat, no matter what it was. To him, his omega was perfect, no matter if he was still capable of having heats or not. And he felt bad about bringing it up in such a way. Even three years later. 

“You know that none of this has changed the way I see you, right? You’ve always been the perfect omega for me. Plus, you gave us our beautiful babies, more than I could’ve ever even dreamed of. We’ve never been….conventional, but that doesn’t make you any less of an omega or me any less of an alpha. I love you and that’s never going to change.” 

“Not even you being pregnant,” Charles said, clearly an attempt at a joke that fell rather flat thanks to the tone he said it in. 

Erik couldn’t help but admit he had a bit of a point there, but he couldn’t let that ruin what he was trying to get across. He was nothing if not stubborn and determined in equal measure. 

“No, me having a uterus doesn’t make me any less of an alpha than you not having one makes you less of an omega. But, you were the omega who had two uteruses, so I think that helps show just how much of an omega you really are. And, later, if you’d like, I’ll take you to bed and show you just who is the alpha and who is the omega around here.” The last part was whispered right next to Charles’s ear. The last thing they needed was the kids hearing their conversation. 

Which reminded Erik of where they were and what they were doing. His hand wrapped around Charles’s chair as the pain went through his body once again as he shifted. It was something he would normally never do, but holding onto something was instinct at this point and the chair was the first thing he found. 

Charles, for his part, didn’t seem to mind. He just simply moved his hand to place over Erik’s covering it and provided a little support as the pain eased. “I think we should get you to Hank and check if you’re alright. You and the baby both because as much as it could be normal, I…would just like to know for certain that everything’s okay.” 

Erik nodded, but then shook his head, “We can’t start telling people now. I don’t want to do that.” 

“Then the other choice is the hospital and letting them check you out. Would you prefer that? I don’t want to take the time to make an appointment and then wait for it to roll around. If we do that we might not be able to do anything if something is going on,” Charles said, rambling on a little, his worry morphing to panic and it was clear to tell. 

No matter Charles’s worry, Erik had something else in mind. “Just call the doctors and see if they can do something. If not, if we can’t get an appointment today, then we’ll go down and see if we can do a scan on me without Hank. I’m sure the two of us together should be able to sleuth out how to work the machine.” 

As much as Charles may have wanted to argue, he didn’t seem able to. His mouth opened, but then closed and he nodded before rolling off to find the phone. Erik, left alone, just sat on one of the tables and looked over to see their daughters eating breakfast. He opened his mouth to say something but a groan left him instead and he was quick to bite his bottom lip to stop any further sounds before they could follow. 

In all the fuss, Erik completely forgot that Charles had sent Lorna to get him up for something. He was much too focused on the pain in his stomach and the fact that his mate was calling the doctor. 

“Papa?” A small voice asked and Erik turned his head to look at Jean who was watching him closely. He thought he was covering the pain he was in well enough that they wouldn’t notice but now he was beginning to second guess himself. 

“Yes, Herzchen?” Erik asked, trying to sound as normal as possible, no pain, no worry or fear in his voice. He thought he had a good grip on it, sure Charles would’ve been able to see through it but he doubted anyone else would.

But, apparently Jean wasn’t just anyone else. “Hurt?” She asked, getting out of her seat to walk over to him and crawl onto his lap. Her touch was surprisingly light and careful. He helped her into place and wrapped an arm around her to keep her balanced. 

“I’m okay, sweet girl,” He said softly, “Just a little hurt.” It wasn’t something he liked to admit but, at the same time, he didn’t see the point in lying to her. She was old enough to ask the question then he could give her some kind of answer that wasn’t a lie. 

And he was sure Charles would say something about there not being any shame about being in pain and it was something that showed strength and that was something that they should be showing their kids. But Erik wasn’t Charles and he wasn’t going to lecture himself about it. 

“Where hurt?” She asked, her little head tilting to the side as she looked at him, as though she could see straight through him. That was certainly a look she got from her Mama. 

“I have a bellyache,” He said, thinking that was something she could understand and might stop the line of questioning. After all, none of them knew about the quest for them to have a little sibling and Erik wasn’t about to bring up the idea now when they could be losing all they had been working for. It was best to just wait it out and give Jean answers she could understand. 

But, the little girl got out of his lap and walked to the fridge, coming back a moment later with a ginger soda in her hand. “Daddy says it helps,” She informed him and Erik took it with a smile. 

“Thank you so much, Jean,” He said, feeling tears in his eyes that the little girl was so thoughtful. Even though he knew it wouldn’t help and he hardly wanted it, he opened it and took a sip anyway. 

The girl gave him a hug around one of his legs before skipping back to her sisters who were finished with their breakfast and very possibly plotting something as some of the older kids trailed in with Charles right behind them. 

“We’re going in now,” Charles said, “Alex and Hank said they’d watch the kids which…sounds like it could be a bad idea but we’re running on short notice.” 

Erik nodded and stood careful, fighting the urge to curl up. “I don’t want to hear my girls calling the other kids bozo or making fun of their mutations,” Erik said as he walked by Alex, trying to seem as angry and commanding as possible. He was sure he failed but he wasn’t going to seem even more weak by going back to try again.

Instead, he and Charles simply made their way out of the mansion and into Charles’s car so they could get to the doctor's office as soon as possible and make sure things were going okay. 

The trip to the hospital was spent in tense silence. Erik wasn’t sure what to say or if there was something that would be the right thing and, from the feeling he was getting off Charles, the omega felt the same. So, neither of them spoke, instead they sat in the uncomfortable silence, pretending everything was normal. 

Or that was what Erik was doing. A routine check-up. As though there wasn’t any pain in his stomach that was uncomfortable bordering on painful. It wasn’t easy to pretend that nothing bad was going on because he just didn’t know for sure. 

But, when they finally arrived and Charles parked the car, it was all Erik could do not to throw open the door and run in. The anxiety was overwhelming and the slow pace seemed to cause physical pain. Not in his stomach but just the unknown and the fear mixing together to bring out a feeling he knew all too well, yet couldn’t explain. 

Side by side, they walked up to the desk and checked in, telling the woman his name and confirming that everything was the same. All Erik could think about was how he hoped the wait wasn’t too long. A thought went through his mind of him making it this far and then the baby dying while they were in the waiting room of the doctors office. 

Yet, he also had to wonder if they would ever know. It was only about a month in, it was all too likely that they wouldn’t know. That they’d never find out, right? Or was there a test for that? 

The thought of having to start all over and being on their last chance was terrifying and, the more he thought about it, the more the feeling made him feel sick. What if this didn’t work so they gave it a final go and that didn’t work either. 

He should be okay with it. They would still have their three little girls. It wasn’t like they’d be without. And they had been over this before, Erik assured Charles it was okay and they didn’t need to have children if Charles couldn’t get pregnant. But that wasn’t a courtesy that Erik could give himself. He needed this and if it didn’t work out, he would never be able to forgive himself. But, worse than that, would Charles be able to forgive him? 

Logically, he knew the answer was yes, yet he worried about the resentment if it didn’t all work out the way they had talked about and planned out. It was that thought that sent him into action, running into the restroom right off the waiting room where he was promptly sick. 

A moment later, Charles followed behind him, something that perhaps should’ve been more worrying that the two of them were in a public restroom together but it seemed no one cared. Either that was common for an OBGYN office or Charles was using his powers. Either could be true and Erik wasn’t too concerned about finding out the truth. 

“Are you getting your morning sickness around lunch?” Charles asked, leaning over in his chair to rub Erik’s back. 

“I hope the stomach issues are over now,” Erik groaned. “I did not want to be doing this in a public toilet.” 

Charles laughed at him but Erik couldn’t find it in himself to care. If the positions were switched, he was sure he would be laughing at Charles for the same thing. Fair was fair. 

“It may be, but it will still be best to get checked over, just in case and make sure everything is alright. Especially since we’re already here. Are you ready to move? Or do you need to stay here a little longer?” Charles asked. 

For a moment, Erik didn’t move, just thinking about it and then slowly, he shifted, testing the waters. Once he was sure he was going to be alright, he stood and flushed before going to the sink. He washed his hands and rinsed out his mouth the best he could before the two of them made their way out of the bathroom and back into the waiting room. 

They barely had time to sit down before someone was calling Erik’s name and the two of them were taken on back into one of the exam rooms. 

The basics were done first, weight, heart rate, blood pressure, and respirations. Then came the bloodwork that Erik hated more than anything but he knew it would tell them more than any other test would. The nurse asked some questions, mostly about how things had been going and the reason for their current visit. That was a question that Erik couldn’t answer. He had tried, opened his mouth, and then found that he couldn’t force any words to come out so, instead, Charles had answered for him.

 From there, they were left alone once again for more waiting. “I swear this is the worst part,” Erik said, taking a deep breath. 

“But they know how important something like this can be which may move us up in the queue a little,” Charles replied, “How are you feeling now? Still in pain or did the little bathroom trip take care of the issue?” 

Erik looked over at Charles, trying not to glare at him, mostly because that would answer his question, if he didn’t. The truth was that he did feel some better now but the anxiety he felt before was still there and threatening to become too much and send him running to find that place on the floor once again. 

A small smile formed on Charles’s face, a sign that he had found the answer to his question without Erik saying a thing. Damn telepath. But he didn’t say anything to make fun of Erik or even call attention to it. 

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” He said, simply, and Erik just reached out from where he was sitting on the exam table to take Charles’s hand in his own. 

“Thank you,” He said softly. Before he had the chance to say anything else, however, there was a knock on the door and then it opened revealing the doctor who walked in with a smile on her face, greeting them both.

“You’ve been having some stomach cramping?” She asked, sitting down and looking over his file. “Where’s the pain located and can you describe it for me?” She asked. 

“Mostly alone my lower abdomen,” Erik said, his hand rubbing over the area, “It’s eased a little now but we thought it was best to go on and get it checked over since we’re here and just make sure everything is okay. Cramping is the best way I can describe it but it does ease and come back on occasion.” 

The doctor nodded, “I think you’re right about getting it checked. From what we’ve seen so far on your bloodwork everything seems to be in order and there’s nothing to worry about there, but we’ll do some more tests, just to see if we can find anything. Can you lay back for me?” She asked, moving over and Erik did as he was told. 

He never was a fan of any part of doctor’s visits, but this was one of the worst parts, when the doctors started poking and prodding him. All he could do was lay there uncomfortably and let her do whatever it was she was doing. 

A hand wrapped around his and he looked over to see Charles giving him a small smile and holding his hand. Erik returned the smile and tried to relax a little more. 

“Alright,” The doctor said a moment later, “I’m going to take a listen, just breathe normally for now. This may be cold,” She warned, taking the stethoscope and putting it on. Erik’s shirt was pulled up and then she started listening around on his chest and stomach. True to what she said, the cold of the metal sent a shiver through him. 

“Good,” She whispered after a moment, pulling back and standing up straight, “Someone will be in soon to do an ultrasound, though it’s still very early for that so you won’t be able to see much, but it’s just one more thing we can check and see if there’s anything wrong. I haven’t found anything concerning so far, but that will just give up a better view and we’ll know for certain. Some cramping is normal in early pregnancy. I imagine that’s what’s going on here. If you don’t know what to expect and, in your case, you’ve not experienced that kind of pain before with not having heats. It can be surprisingly painful, especially if it’s unexpected. But you’re both right, it’s best to go ahead and get checked out while you’re here.” 

Erik nodded, taking a deep breath. He was a little tired of people pretending he knew nothing about stomach pains, as though he hadn’t been woken up by appendicitis just a couple of months ago and had surgery for it. It was no stranger to him. Though the cramping, he could admit, was new. 

He said nothing and so Charles spoke up for him, “Thank you for all your help and getting us in so quickly.” 

“That’s what we’re here for,” She said with a smile, “Any questions or other concerns you two have while you’re here?” 

The two shared a look and then Erik shook his head, “Not that I can think of,” He replied. 

“No, thank you,” Charles replied with a smile and the doctor smiled back and gave a nod. 

“Well, someone will be in soon and if you two do think of any questions or need anything you know how to get ahold of us,” She said and, with that, she walked out of the room leaving Charles and Erik alone once again. 

With a deep breath, Erik turned his head to look at Charles before slowly sitting up. “Well, that’s a good sign, right? That she didn’t find anything?” He asked, sounding hopeful which wasn’t what he was aiming for but it was too late now. 

Charles nodded and put on a smile but it looked forced, “Yeah, that’s a good sign. Just need to wait for that ultrasound now.” Charles’s words did absolutely nothing to assure Erik who was still just as nervous as before. 

They both knew that her not finding anything didn’t mean they were out of the danger zone. Though it was a step in the right direction and they both had to acknowledge that, if nothing else. 

It was difficult to stay still, all Erik wanted to do was get up and pace. Somehow though that felt like the wrong move, as though such an action would have his mate even more anxious than he already was. If there was anything he could do to help out Charles, he was going to do it, even if Erik was the one who was pregnant this time. 

“You know that’s not good for the baby,” Charles said softly and Erik had to bite his tongue to keep from suggesting there was no baby or that the cramping wasn’t good for them either. That wouldn’t be helpful and, if the positions were switched, Erik would be saying the same to Charles. He had, in fact, reminded him of that many times when he was pregnant, after all. 

Thankfully, before he had to say anything, someone walked in with the ultrasound machine. Erik didn’t bother to hide his eagerness when he laid back on the table and pulled his shirt up to expose his stomach. He felt rather like an omega in heat, exposing his belly, but to someone he didn’t know which also felt wrong. He just had to keep reminding himself that it was for their baby and to make sure everything was okay. This wasn’t about him, it was about them and their family. 

The nurse smiled and walked over, introducing herself and explaining the process but Erik was hardly listening to a word that came out of her mouth. His mind was latched on one thing and one thing only. 

The cold gel was a bit of a shock but it didn’t last before she was rubbing it over his stomach with the wand and the screen came to life. It seemed to take forever for the wand to come to a smile and the woman to move it gently back and forth in one spot. 

“And there’s your baby,” She said softly, pointing to a little dot on the screen that Erik was rather thankful she was showing them. He would’ve never been able to find it on his own, even after seeing their little ones as they grew inside of Charles. 

Erik felt immediate relief, followed by a spark of joy that ran through Charles. He couldn’t help but look over at his omega, seeing the bright smile on his face, the way his eyes lit up and his hand tightened around Erik’s. 

“We’re going to have another baby,” Erik whispered to Charles, thinking about how this was the first time they had a certain answer that they were, without a doubt, pregnant. He was going to have a baby, and they were growing inside of him right now. 

“And they’re okay,” Charles whispered, his voice a little more than a sigh of relief as he leaned in a little to get a better look of their little circle of joy that Erik was protecting and growing. 

The knowledge was so strange, even if they had already talked about it and thought Erik was pregnant, they had discussed having a boy or a girl and what they thought it was. But now to know that the speculations were a reality and, unless something went wrong in the next eight months, they were going to have another little one running around the school. Another baby to keep them up all night and diapers to change, a mouth to feed. Erik couldn’t be more excited. 

But that just brought another question to his mind. How was he going to feed the baby? No part of him was even vaguely interested in breastfeeding, even if that would be an option for him. Which he was hoping it wouldn’t be. 

“We have a lot to figure out again this time,” Erik said softly and Charles looked at him and nodded, but there was still a smile on his face, reminding Erik that they were in this together and had it down. After all, if any two were going to be able to handle something like this, it would be them. 

“Just for our peace of mind, make sure how many of them there are in there, please,” Charles added, looking back to the nurse and making Erik laugh softly. “We don’t need three more than we’re expecting this time. Four will be enough.” 

Erik had to agree. At least, for now. In the future they might want another one but this time one would certainly be enough for them both to try to handle on top of three three-year-olds.