Chapter Text
The doorbell rang.
“Ah! My precious daughters have returned!” cried a middle-aged man as he was embraced by two pairs of arms.
“Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Baba!” they chorused in unison.
“Come in and take your shoes off! Your mama is in the kitchen cooking your favourites!”
After settling around the kitchen table and sipping from warm cups of tea, the elder daughter said, “I’ve got an interesting story to tell you, Baba.”
“Oh? What sort of lunatic passed through your ER this time, ah?”
“Funny you used that descriptor, Baba. So, two weeks ago, an S-class Alpha male was brought in who had apparently collapsed at some work conference. His blood pressure was insane at 200/95, heart rate of 100; it’s amazing none of his blood vessels had burst, though his carotid was very visibly throbbing. His labwork came back with several irregularities that pointed toward prolonged distress from scent bond-severing. But he didn't respond to any of the standard IV and pheromone protocols. And there was noone in the room with him because it was his secretary who’d brought him in. I found the man—a Beta—in the sitting room with an Omega male that he introduced as a colleague, so I brought them into one of the triage rooms and asked about symptoms. The secretary confirmed that the patient had been having frequent headaches for two to three months now and often looked overheated. When asked about any hand tremors, the man asked me how I knew. Well, no mistaking the signs. So, I asked if the patient was recently divorced or separated from a partner but was told he was single. I asked if there was an Omega he’d been with and the Beta actually snorted and said the patient despised Omegas.
“He asked what was wrong with the patient, but I told him he was not kin, so I was not at liberty to discuss his medical condition. The Omega surprised me so much by asking if the patient needed soothing Omega pheromones that I said ‘yes’ before I could stop myself. He gave the Beta an odd side glance and then said, ‘I’m his omega.’ Well, needless to say, I practically dragged him into the room. His scent filled the room even before he arrived at bedside to grab the patient’s hand. The monitors immediately showed a drop in BP and HR and stopped beeping soon after. I called a nurse in to grab another vial of blood for testing, and it’s while I was waiting for the blood to be drawn that I finally noticed that the Omega was pregnant. His awkward bending over the bed made his baby bump so obvious that I admit I was ashamed I didn’t see it until then. I went and rolled in the comfiest office chair from the nursing station. And when I returned, that’s when my diagnosis was further affirmed: I could smell the faint aroma of caramel that was mingling with the Omega’s scent. I told him the patient’s vitals had stabilized but I wanted to wait until he awoke to discuss his condition; told him to stay put and press the bell if the patient woke up or was in any distress.”
“Mn,” hummed the father. “You definitely made the correct diagnosis. I’d just seen one of my Alpha patients who’d lost his omega wife to cancer two weeks ago. Poor man was in a bad state: must’ve lost ten kilos in that short time.”
“Well, I went to examine two other patients and was going to see a third when one of the nurses told me the new lab results were back for the scent-distressed Alpha. Everything was normal. So, I thought I’d pop in to see if he was awake. Well, he definitely was. He was also clinging onto his omega for dear life and sobbing like he’d just lost every single member of his family. The poor Omega looked so uncomfortable with his back arched, legs apart, and knees pressed into the hospital bed mattress—it was the only pose he could adopt to prevent his pup from being squashed against the bed. But he didn’t even seem to notice the discomfort, he was so focussed on giving comfort. And the caramel scent was even stronger now that the Alpha’s scent was present.”
“It was distinct from the Omega’s?”
“Yep.”
“Mn, then it is only a scent bond and not a full mating bond.”
“Yep. Anyway, I left them alone and closed the glass sliding door. They definitely needed to talk. So, I set the timer on my phone to check in on them in an hour.”
“Still holding to your hard and fast rule, then, Jiejie,” said the younger daughter with a smirk.
“Haven’t found an exception yet, so I maintain that any couple who can’t even begin a conversation, no matter how awkward or angry, within an hour will never salvage that relationship.”
“Tell Baba what happened when you went back.”
“I found the Omega cuddled in the Alpha’s lap. They didn’t even hear me clear my throat. When I finally got their attention, I told them that I didn’t want to know what had gone wrong between them to result in their separation, but whatever the reason, I hope they could work things out because, like it or not, they are scent-bonded, and the longer they stay apart, the worse things would get. I very pointedly told the Omega that he is endangering their pup and that he’d be lucky to survive the birthing. Told him I was sure his endocrinologist had already told him that his was a high-risk pregnancy without the constant support of the Alpha father, given how pale and thin and haggard he looked. I told the Alpha about the results of the second blood draw and said that if he felt able to stand on his own two feet, he could leave within the half-hour.”
“Well, I really hope they work it out. Omegas abused or abandoned by Alphas after one-night stands, raping, or other cruel encounters have a hard-enough time dealing with resulting pregnancies,” said the father. “A scent-bonded one has it almost as bad as one who is fully mate-bonded, in my experience, because they feel more insecure that it was only a partial bond, and that added stress can make the pregnancy and birthing very difficult and fraught indeed.”
“Wait ’til you hear the clincher, Baba,” said the younger daughter with a sly look.
“There’s more?”
“Oh yeah,” replied the older daughter. “I didn’t really register it at the time, only that the two scents were unusual. But it’s after I got home and started telling Meimei about the case that I realized just how unusual they were. And then Meimei confirmed my suspicions after giving me an update on one of the patients she’d seen the same day.”
“Can you guess, Baba?” said the younger daughter.
“How can I guess? There are so many different scents and combinations.”
“Well, do you remember a former patient of yours you used to come home and rant about, the one with the severe pheromone disorder caused by years of abusing suppressants?” At his widened eyes, his younger daughter continued: “Well, he moved to Country O and followed your suggestion to find a new endocrinologist at Hospital E. Guess who was assigned to be his doctor?”
The father grabbed his daughter’s wrist. “How is he doing? Did he stop using those damned suppressants? What treatment are you giving him to stabilize the pregnancy?”
“He did stop using suppressants and I started him on a high dose of artificial pheromones. It doesn’t fully replace those of the Alpha father, of course, but he has a sister who is an Alpha, so the addition of a family member has made the treatment more effective. The pup is healthy, if a bit on the smaller end of the growth curve, but we know that babies show a remarkable tenacity for survival, even at the expense of the mother’s health. Provided that they aren’t exposed to any really harmful environmental stressors, of course. And idiotic as this Omega may be, he really loves the kid, so he’s definitely doing everything he can to make sure the pup is as healthy as possible.”
“Well, I’m very glad to hear that he is managing.”
“Did he ever tell you what his Alpha smelled of?”
“No.”
“Jiejie?”
“Irises. Which is what I smelled mingled with sage and caramel in that ER room.”
“You mean—?!”
Both girls smiled at their astonished father. The younger daughter said, “I won’t be seeing him again for at least another month, but I’ll be sure to update you if I see any remarkable improvements to his condition, Baba.”