It was ten hours of crying and begging for it to just stop before Matthew was ready to push and Alfred was grateful when it was finally time... He hated watching Matthew in pain.

However the pain was not over, now the pushing started. The Alpha was in awe as watched his mate, he had never seen anyone work so hard. Alfred did all he could for Matthew during the ordeal. Dabbing sweat from Matthews brow, letting his scent fill the room, encouraging the omega, even holding a leg back thirty minutes in when Matthew cried that he couldn't do it anymore. It was really all a blur until the last push…

"Okay Matthew, he's almost here! One last big push to get the shoulders okay?" The doctor said from his position. Matthew whined but nodded bearing down hard, squeezing Alfred's spare hand and tucking his chin. There were all short of encouragement flying through the air as the nurse counted down from ten, only getting to six before Matthew got to take in a startled, yet relieved breath.

That first cry hit the air, pulling tears into Alfred's eyes. Logan was placed on Matthew's chest, the Omega gathering him close and sobbing outright while smiling. Alfred cut the cord, after wiping his eyes on his sleeve. It was bloody and gooey and Matthews hair was a messy, everyone looked exhausted and sweaty, Logan was red and screaming his head off, but Alfred couldn't think of a more beautiful moment.

Loan was swept away to the other side of the room to be cleaned and wrapped and Alfred turned his attention fully to his mate, ignoring the doctor working on patching Matthew up . "You did so good Mattie," he said, tears in his eyes as he kissed the exhausted but smiling Omega's forehead. "I love you"

"Mmm I love you to Alfie" Matthew murmured sleepily. Logan was brought back wrapped up tight a moment later and the little family all sat peacefully parents gazing at the tiny boy. "He's perfect" Matthew whispered, kissing Logan's forehead. Alfred nodded in agreement silently soaking up the moment of happiness, the reward for all the struggles and heartache. Looking at Logan in Matthew's arms, he knew he would do it all over again in a heart beat.

Lovino and Feliciano came into the room a sometime the following morning, Feli was crying, Lovino was smiling as they came in to see the tiny little boy.

"Hey there Logan" Feliciano said sitting on the side of Matthew's bed and running careful fingers over the baby's face. Matthew smiled up at him and held the bundle out, easing him into the other Omega's arms "You're a big little bambino" Said the teary Omega's rocking Logan. "How much does he weigh?"

"Eight pounds two ounces" Matthew said with an exhausted smile. Feli nodded, not taking his eyes off the baby. Matthew looked over towards the Alphas who were both watching with easy smiles, the look was somewhat foreign on Lovino's face, but welcomed.

Matthew felt a swelling in his chest, they had only been living with the Vargas twins for a while, but they had been so welcoming and caring… there was a feeling of family in the room. Tears pricked Matthew's eyes as he smiled at the peaceful scene, the farthest thing from what he had expected to happen when he and Alfred had left home.

The morning was spent visiting, Logan being fussed over, Everyone smiling and discussing the excitement of bringing him back to the house. It wasn't until that afternoon, shortly after Lovino and Feliciano left to go home for last minute set up, that anyone realized anything was wrong.

"Just a few tests" the nurse said with a warm smile " standard stuff. We'll have him back to you in no time. Daddy can even come if he wants" she added looking to Alfred.

Alfred looked at Matthew and the omega nodded "I'll be fine. Just gonna get some sleep. "When he woke an hour later there were people in the room.

Matthew looked around confused at first, Alfred eyes were red, and he was cradling their bundle close to his chest. Ludwig stood in front of him a frown on his face. Matthew suddenly felt anxiety run through him, sitting up a little too fast but shoving aside the pain it brought, "what's wrong? " he asked eyes going wide.

"It's nothing life threatening" Ludwig started off with in order to quell some of the fear that was filling the room. "We were running some basic tests, and the hearing test came back a little troubling..." he trailed off, and Matthew looked over to Logan shaking. Something was wrong with his baby?! Ludwig continued, "we looked a bit further in, ran a few more tests, and it appears as if Logan has a profound hearing loss."

Matthew's stomach dropped, he felt like a bucket of cold water had been dropped on him. "B-but what does that mean?" He asked, his voice straining. "How did it happen?!"

"We think it may have just been something Genetic. Nothing anyone could have prevented, but in simple terms, it appears Logan is deaf."

Matthew sat in the hospital bed, cradling his son close tears still coming and going between periods of sleep. He ran his hands over Logan's perfect face. touching his closed eyelids, his slightly upturned little nose, those cupid bow lips, and the ears that wouldn't work.

He didn't speak unless necessary for the rest of his stay, although the nurses told him the vibrations while he was holding Logan would also work to sooth him, so Matthew would hum when he cried.

Alfred sat in the chair, just watching. Taking the baby when Matthew managed to close his eyes. He had taken the elder twins out of the room into the hall when they had come back to pick the teens and baby up that evening, explaining the situation with teary eyes. Feliciano had gone into the room when they heard a sob, finding Matthew hovering over the bag he was checking and crying. The omegas sat on the bed for a moment, Feliciano holding Matthew while he cried. a deep frown on his face.

When they finally calmed everyone down, and managed to get back to the house, they expected a little upset… but they also expected things to move forward. Alfred moved forward, doing his best to work with the otherwise healthy baby, taking care of him. He was an attentive father and a quick study. He was also trying to be a good mate… but it was proving a little difficult.

Matthew was not handling it. At all . He laid in bed most the day, crying. He would feed Logan, changed him, rock him, he would sit and look at him lovingly, but one of the other three would need to go in and take little Logan when they heard the tell tale sobbing of yet another break down.

Matthew blamed himself, guilt manifesting in what Ludwig had said was postpartum depression. It was common enough in young Omega parents, but in ones with children with health issues… he wasn't surprised when Matthew showed up at the office, dragged there by two Alphas, still in Pajama pants, hair a mess, with a frown and tear stained face. Matthew was prescribed pills he refused to take.

Logan was twelve weeks old before Alfred hit his breaking point. He had held it together for them until then. Holding Matthew while he cried, listening to him, comforting him as best he could. But it wasn't doing any good.

Matthew was sitting in bed, knees bent with Logan laying against them. "I can't even sing him lullabies Alfie... he can't hear his name, or the sound of the wind, or a truck coming..." he choked up. Moving forward with tears rolling down his cheeks to kiss Logan's forehead.

Alfred knew all this, it scared him and made him sad to, but he was starting to get irritated that it was all Matthew could see, That he had a constant ache of his mate's distress in his head and it was over something he couldn't fix.

"Yeah you're right" he said with an edge to his voice "know what's gonna suck for him even more than any of that though? When he gets to watch his Papa lying in bed all damn day because everything's not perfect."

Matthew looked at him in shock but Alfred continued raising his voice.

"It's gonna really fuck him up I bet when he sees you sitting and crying at his birthday cause he can't hear us sing, or when you can't get past your own stupid, unfounded guilt to tell him honestly that you think he's fine the way he is. Or when he's older and starts wishing he wasn't himself because the way he is, makes papa sad!"

"A-Alfie..." Matthew stuttered, new tears and hurt shining in his eyes.

"Yup," he moved to stand walking to the door "sorry Logan, your life is gonna be hard. Not because you can't fucking hear, but because your papa apparently thinks you can't have a good life without being able to hear your own name" with that, he slammed the door and stormed away leaving Matthew to cry.

For the next three days, Alfred threw himself into work and finishing the small house. He couldn't watch Matthew break any more. He came home for dinner, held Logan for a while and slept.

Lovino and Feliciano tried to talk to him, let him know they understood he was upset, trying to convince him that Matthew was going to get past this. but he brushed the conversations off, he didn't want to deal with his mate falling to pieces on top of everything else.

On the fourth day of his silent treatment, Alfred was suddenly hit with a realization that scared him. While Matthew slept, there was no distress, so his early mornings weren't filled with it, but it would usually hit when he woke. by one in the afternoon he still hadn't felt the ache return and it set off alarms in his head.

Matthew wouldn't...

He dashed back to the house convinced he was going to find his Omega in a puddle of vomit or dangling from a rafters. In fact he was close to tears when he burst through the kitchen door.

But rather than any of the horrific scenes he had imagined, there was Matthew, in real clothing, sitting at the kitchen table on the phone while Feliciano bounced Logan in his arms. There was even an empty plate in front of him…

"Okay and when do classes start? Uh-huh... yup. Okay.. and you have two spots open? Okay we'll take them. Yes. Yes thank you. We'll see you then." The phone clicked and Matthew put it down "Feliciano, when did you say that mommy and me class was? Because theses are Monday Wednesday Friday three till six" he asked looking at a calendar he had in front of him.

"Tuesday's ten to eleven-thirty"

"Okay then that should work... and you're okay with taking him while we're in the other classes right?"

"Mattie?" Matthew turned in his seat, with a slightly guilty smile, looking up at Alfred.

"Hey Alfie..." Nothing was said, the two just staring at one another.

"Well Patatino," Feliciano said cheerily looking down at the little boy in his arms, breaking the quiet, "how about you come with Zio Feli, and we go give you a bath!" He said before he turned, waving off the thank you Matthew gave him, and left the room to let the twins sort things alone.

The silence only continued until they heard the bathroom door close. Matthew sighed and spoke, "I'm sorry Alfred. You were right, I wasn't helping anything..." Matthew looked back down at the table "but I'm going to do better for him." Matthew paused "and for us?" he added with a nervous smile.

Alfred was still standing there. But as the words sank in, relief flooded him. He moved to the table dipping down to gather the omega in his arms and hold him close. Matthew turned awkwardly returning the hug and nuzzling into Alfred's arm. "We start ASL classes in two weeks" he murmured against his Alpha's sleeve, receiving a nod.

The house was ready by the time Logan was four months old, but Lovino and Feliciano convinced Alfred to put it off just a little longer. Make sure Matthew wasn't going to sink again.

He didn't.

It took time and Matthew would still cry some nights, but most of his energy went into helping Feliciano with the main house and taking care of Logan's needs. By six months it was obvious he was going to pull through just fine. There was a determination in his eyes for his son, a new found need to put everything he could into being the best Papa he could be for the little boy.

It was the morning of the twins eighteenth birthday. Matthew was sitting at the kitchen table with Logan, now a smiley goofy six and a half month old. Matthew was signing "more food " and smiling wide when Logan "burbled" with his hands back. He wasn't signing yet, but he was understanding the concept of using his hands to communicate. right on track with what Ludwig had suggested

Matthew was just giving him the last bite of banana puree when Alfred came in the door "good morning" he said with a smile leaning to kiss first Logan on the forehead, then Matthew sweetly on the lips. Matthew smiled, returning the kiss with a soft hum.

"Morning Alfred, not working? " he asked with a frown

"Boss gave me my birthday off" He said leaning down and draping himself over Matthew's shoulders.

"That's a pretty nice boss you got there" Matthew said with a smile as he heard the door open again.

"Yeah, I think I got pretty damn lucky" He said nuzzling against Matthew's cheek.

"You did get fucking lucky" Lovino grumbled as he walked by rolling his eyes. He walked to the kitchen sink, turning it on and washing his hands while he continued, "You better move your asses too. Feliciano has plans for dinner for the pair of you, so you don't have all day moron"

Matthew frowned again "Move our asses where?" Alfred moved off him and turned to unlock the highchair scooping Logan out and smiling at him. He turned towards the back door, opening it

"come on Mattie, keep up" He said cheerfully bouncing the now giggling baby on his hip. Matthew was perplexed, but followed anyway.

He was further confused when the stepped outside to see the car with Logan's car seat strapped in back on the dirt road that lead around the edge of the field . Alfred swung the back door open and put the baby in signing "car ride" to him before smiling and closing the door "Get in" He chirped moving to the drives side.

Matthew gave him a perplexed look, but he followed regardless, going around to the passenger side and sitting down. Alfred reached over and Matthew pulled away when the Alpha moved to put something over his eyes "wha- Al, what are you doing?!"

"Trust me?" Alfred said, smiling that boyish smile, blue eyes melting the Omega. Matthew sighed and nodded, letting himself be blindfolded.

"I swear Alfred… you better watch where you're going…" Matthew murmured as the car started moving. He wasn't a fan of the feeling of being in a moving vehicle without being able to see.

"Relax Mattie, would I ever do anything to hurt either of you?" Alfred said, Matthew could hear a small frown.

The Omega sighed "No, you wouldn't."

"Good then. Almost there" Alfred said cheerfully.

Another minute later Alfred stopped the car, darting out to help the still blindfolded Omega out of the car. "stay there for a second while I grab Logan" He said kissing Matthew on the cheek and turning to grab the burbling baby. Logan was a fan of car rides, so he fussed a bit when Alfred took him out of his seat. The Alpha quickly calmed him with a soother from out of his pocket, He had planned for this…

"Okay" Alfred said, baby on one hip as the other gently turned Matthew to face the house. "Ready?" Matthew nodded, he just wanted to know what was going on!

The blindfold was removed and Matthew had to blink a few times to adjust to the light before blinking again to make sure what he was seeing was real. He turned looking at the field, spotting the dot that was the older twins farm house again, before turning stunned back to the house standing in front of him. "how…" Matthew asked stunned. When had this happened.

"Me and Lovino started working on it in November." Alfred said moving to take Matthew's hand "like it?"

"It's beautiful…" Matthew said, impressed by the pairs handy work. white siding, red trim… It looked amazing,

"Good, cause we're moving in"

Matthew looked at him with an eyebrow raised "what?" he said sharply

"Well, it's close to work, Logan gets his own room. come on I'll show you!" Alfred said excitedly dragging him towards the front door.

Matthew moved numbly through the house, still trying to process. It had a kitchen, and older appliances, a small table, some couches, there was indoor plumbing, towels already stocked.. there was no bed in the main bedroom but Alfred said they'd be moving the one's they had been using in tomorrow along with all their other stuff. There was a crib in Logan's room. It was painted bright blue, the main wall even had a farm mural on it

Matthew was lightly touching his fingers to the cow when Alfred came behind him arms wrapping around the Omega, Logan having been sat in his crib, "Feliciano came and painted that for us. he's pretty good with a paint brush" Alfred said nuzzling against Matthew's hair. "What do you think?"

Matthew had tears Gathering in his eyes, sniffling as he looked toward the barn in the picture, reminding him of what this building had looked like the first time he slept here…

"Mattie? Is it okay?" Alfred said frowning

"I love it" Matthew said turning and burying his face against the Alphas chest, Alfred's hands instantly holding him close. "It's perfect… It's all perfect…"

Alfred smiled holding Matthew close "good, I was hoping you'd say that"

"We're home Alfred... " Matthew muttered moving to look towards Logan, pressing his ear to Alfred's chest, feeling his heart beat.

"We are Mattie" Alfred replied, kissing his head.

The twins had managed, somehow in the mess of everything, to find a place to belong. The journey had been messy and hard. The twins certainly hadn't gone with the easy choice, and it wasn't the perfect life, but it was a happy one. They had their beautiful little boy, and he was safe and happy, surrounded by love and a strange little family with two fathers and two uncles who all got to watch, and help him grow.

In the end, the path that had been chosen for them, was worth it.