Notes: in the last chapter notes I was like "oh we won't take much to post the next chapter!" FIVE MONTHS LATER… WHOPS!
But here we are! We're SO SORRY for the wait, LOL. Hope this makes up for it!
Also, there's a lot of hospital terminology things happening in this chapter and we apologize if we used words or terms that aren't correct. We also have No Idea how American hospitals work LOL
Answering reviews:
Carlita3: Thank you! Sorry we took so long! ;;
Cone of Depression: haha, yeah! Kiku is trying, tho! Hope this chapter will answer your questions!
Alguien22792: thank you! Hope you'll still be here to read the update! ;;
Guest: DON'T WORRY we're not THAT evil LOL
Chapter 07: When You Reach Me
February 24, 2018
Arthur thought of Alfred in the second he saw that blood on his underwear, fresh and red and scary, so it was to Alfred he called as he crawled up to his bed and curled up in himself in fear, frightened by the idea that something could be wrong with his baby.
He couldn't lose Gilbert again.
He placed the phone against his ear and touched his belly, feeling it hard to put air to his lungs, feeling the room spinning around. He closed his eyes and when Alfred's reassuring voice greeted him with a surprised "Hello?", he struggled for words.
"Al-Alfred… I need… I need your help. Pl—please."
Alfred's entire body froze when he heard Arthur's frightened, trembling voice and felt his heart almost stop for a moment.
Without hesitating for a second, he stood up from the table where he was with Kiku and headed outside the bar to better hear what Arthur was saying.
"Arthur, are you alright?! What is going on?"
"I don't… I don't know… I'm…" Arthur sobbed and whimpered, "I'm bleeding, I don't know… I'm scared…"
Oh shit. Fuck, fuck. What the hell was going on? Where the hell was Arthur?!
"Call an ambulance! As soon as you know which hospital they're taking you to, tell me and I will go there!" Alfred instructed, trying to help.
Arthur's sobs intensified.
"I can't—I can't afford that, I can't…" he sniffed, "C-can you take me there? I'm sorry. I just… I can't… if I lose the baby, then I… I can't…"
Alfred didn't even stop to think straight about it. He just went for it. He heard Kiku calling for him, but he didn't have time to respond or explain anything so he just entered his car and put the call on speaker.
He asked Arthur urgently:
"Where are you?! What's the address?!"
There was a brief moment of silence from Arthur's side before he said his address very quietly between sniffs.
Alfred had lived in that city for a long time, but he had never heard of that street. He would have to use his GPS to locate it, so he quickly put the address there and started the car after receiving its directions.
"It's gonna be alright! I'm on my way! Stay calm, okay?! Try to get something to stop the bleeding!"
"Okay…" Arthur whispered and tried to wipe away his tears. He sat up and he was scared to look down at himself, but he forced himself to do it anyway. He feared he would see his mattress drenched in blood, but there was nothing.
He gulped and quietly moved to the edge of the bed, reaching for his wardrobe and taking a clean underwear and clean trousers from there, as well as a pad. He got dressed slowly and it was reassuring to hear Alfred's voice on the phone, telling him he was on his way, that he would be there soon. Arthur still felt his entire body shaking, but he managed to put on shoes and his warmest coat.
For the next five minutes or so he sat down on his couch, staring at his door and waiting for Alfred to arrive. And when he finally heard a knock on the door, he almost ran to it.
Arthur hadn't got into details of how or why he was bleeding and the scene that surfaced in Alfred's mind had been REALLY bloody. He thought he would find Arthur lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood, so it was a HUGE relief when he saw Arthur standing on his apartment's door with no bloodstain on his clothes, ready to go to the hospital.
His sense of relief was so intense that he couldn't help himself and he pulled Arthur into a hug, sighing against his shoulder, his heart racing.
"I thought you were dying. I was so scared... " he mumbled, unable to contain his feelings.
Arthur held tight to Alfred's clothes because he, too, was scared, and Alfred's scent was reassuring, his presence was reassuring. His body was shaky and he felt his legs weak, so he held on to Alfred even when he moved to part the hug.
"I'm sorry… I… I was scared, I thought… I don't want to lose my baby…" he mumbled.
"It's gonna be okay." Alfred swallowed, controlling his breathing. Now that he had seen Arthur safe, he was starting to be able to think again. "I'll go with you to the hospital and we'll check this out. Do you want to get something before we go to my car?"
Arthur let go of Alfred but not after a last sniff, inhaling Alfred's scent and closing his eyes in the process. Alfred made him feel safe.
"My wallet…" he whispered, looking around. It was probably by the nightstand in the bedroom, "I…" he took a deep breath and rubbed his eye, "I'll take it and then we can go." and then he turned to go grab it.
As Arthur rushed into the bedroom, Alfred paused a moment to look at his place and ... Wow. That was... Alfred didn't want to belittle the place where Arthur lived, but it looked dangerous.
The walls had cracks, the ceiling seemed a little sunken and had stains on it... Clearly, Arthur tried to keep that place neat but he couldn't fix the terrible structure on it that possibly offered him risks.
Arthur's neighborhood was awful, too. Alfred barely believed when he saw the street where he would have to stop at. It was isolated, dark, suspicious and there was garbage scattered everywhere. There were was also graffiti on almost every wall. Honestly, Alfred was afraid that his car might be stolen there.
Why did Arthur live in such a place? Was his financial situation that bad? Why hadn't he ever asked Alfred for help?
Arthur was fast to take his wallet and come back, because he didn't want to give Alfred much time to look around. He was aware, painfully aware, actually, that his apartment wasn't a good one, and he felt embarrassed to have Alfred standing there. Alfred lived in such a nice neighborhood, in such a nice house, he really… seemed out of place there. And the only reason he had given Alfred his address was because he really needed help. He couldn't afford an ambulance, and he didn't feel good about taking the bus. If that incident hadn't occurred, Arthur would never have invited Alfred to see where he lived.
So as soon as Arthur had his wallet secure in his pocket, he took his keys and gestured to the door,
"W-we should go…"
Alfred didn't want to embarrass Arthur by talking about his apartment. Especially at a time when the most important thing was to keep him calm and make sure he got to the hospital soon enough. He decided to simply smile at Arthur and pretend that he had not noticed anything in particular about his place.
"Yes, of course. Do you have a preference for a specific hospital?" Alfred asked, putting an arm around Arthur's shoulders and bringing him to his car.
The trajectory to the hospital was tense. Alfred turned on the radio and Arthur was glad he did, because he didn't know what to say and all he could do was hug himself and bounce his legs nervously.
He was worried about the baby and he was embarrassed Alfred had to see where he lived, because it was pretty clear he didn't live somewhere nice: there were a group of shady teens by the corner when they got down to the car, all of the them smoking and laughing too loudly. Alfred clearly had seem them, and Arthur wondered what he might be thinking of him.
Arthur was exhausted, tense, scared and honestly a bit hungry when they finally got to the hospital. He just wanted that to get over with soon so he could go back home and eat something.
And although Alfred knew that stress should be the main symptom affecting Arthur's scent, he couldn't help but be alarmed at how different it was. His scent was full of various elements and none of them were good. Though Alfred was considerably calmer compared to when he was imagining that Arthur was losing a lot of blood, he was still stressed and alert because his omega was scared and in need of help and, damn, he would get him help at any costs.
He went to the front desk with much more haste and urgency than Arthur himself.
"We need help! This omega that is with me...!" he pointed to Arthur, still at the entrance of the hospital "He had a bleeding! He's expecting a baby! We need medical attention NOW!" he slammed his fist against the desk, gazing intently at the receptionist, as if challenging her to contest his demand.
Arthur approached Alfred while hugging himself, and when he got close enough his nostrils were drowned in Alfred's scent. It was Alfred's reassuring scent, only stronger, too stronger but not in a bad way, and it made Arthur's legs go weak and his face heaten up, but he didn't know what to do with this reaction. He held on to the front desk, feeling his breath escape his body. He stared at Alfred and he wanted to be hugged by him, his hormones and instincts all over the place. His mark was feeling itchy, though, and it held him in place. He was feeling really… confused.
The receptionist at the front desk, a beta in her thirties, raised her eyebrows to Alfred and looked at Arthur for a brief second before handing a form for Alfred to fill:
"He doesn't look like it's an emergency. Fill this form and wait there, please," she said.
That seemed completely unacceptable to Alfred.
"He's expecting a baby!" he insisted impatiently, "You want to let him sit on a hospital bench, waiting for his turn when something could have happened to his son?! What is your problem?!"
Arthur didn't want anything bad to happen to his baby. His body was feeling itchy and too hot and too anxious and he got closer to Alfred, holding to his arm. He wasn't sure what he was doing. He was scared, Alfred could protect him, so he wanted to be close to Alfred. Nothing weird.
"Sir, are you feeling any pain?" the receptionist asked Arthur. He shook his head. "That's great. Then please fill out the form." She smiled at Arthur and then turned back to Alfred with a small frown, "I'll do what I can to make sure your mate is taken care of as soon as possible, but it doesn't look like it's an emergency. The baby is probably fine, so it can wait an extra couple minutes."
Alfred wanted to kick a bunch of chairs and scream a bunch of bad words at that receptionist. However, thanks to Arthur, who was holding onto him, he managed to contain his anger and gradually replace his aggressive instinct to fight to defend him for a more caring and calm instinct to be gentle with him to make him well.
"Sorry, Artie." he turned to Arthur, acting as tenderly as he could, though he still felt a little agitated by his nervousness and anger and his body was still shaking with fury. "It looks like we're going to have to wait a little. Is there anything I can do to make you comfortable?"
Arthur shook his head, his face burning up. He wanted to hug Alfred, but instead he scratched his mark.
"I just… I want to sit down, so I'll just fill this out..." he said, taking the form and thanking the receptionist, who just nodded and went back to her own business.
Alfred let Arthur go sit down, but kept walking in circles impatiently in front of the reception, arms folded across his chest, snorting with anger.
Didn't these people understand that Arthur was expecting a baby?! He shouldn't stay in a hospital for too long! What if he got sick?!
As for Arthur, he wished Alfred would sit next to him, and hold his hand and tell him he'd be fine, that the baby would be fine. Then he finally noticed that the receptionist had assumed Alfred and him were mates, which made Arthur blush and frown and scratch his mark again, feeling uneasy and confused. He thought of Gilbert and felt guilty to have wished Alfred would hold his hand. His mind was thinking one too many things all at once, and he was feeling sick.
He wished he could just go home and forget that day had ever happened.
And then someone called his name, a doctor, and Arthur mechanically got up, his body tense and shaky. He looked around, looking for Alfred, and he felt guilty at how much he wanted Alfred to go in with him, at how much he just wanted a bit of support, to be reassured, to be told he was fine. He wished Gilbert was there.
Alfred followed Arthur, catching his arm to support him as they made their way to the consulting room. He heard Arthur clearly sigh with relief at his touch but assumed that Arthur was just relieved to be finally being attended to.
The doctor greeted them with a warm smile even though she was an omega and she could smell that they weren't mates and see that Arthur was holding a bit too tight to Alfred's arm.
They all sat down and Arthur forced himself to let go of Alfred, fidgeting with his hands instead. When the doctor asked him how he was doing, he tried to keep himself calm as he explained.
"I'm… I'm six months pregnant…" he touched his belly lightly, "And, and today I had a bleeding… it wasn't much, but…"
"Did you feel any pain before the bleeding?" the doctor checked.
"No. I just noticed it when I went to take a shower." Arthur explained.
"What was the color of this bleeding?"
That question sounded very private and Alfred felt a little guilty about watching that conversation. Maybe his presence was making Arthur uncomfortable. He started to turn away to leave, but then Arthur took his hand and squeezed it. Even though he had done it with force, Alfred felt a huge vulnerability in that gesture.
Okay… If Arthur wanted to, then he would stay there.
Arthur couldn't bear to be alone. It was embarrassing to talk about that in front of Alfred, but he'd feel even worse alone.
So he took a deep breath and answered, as calm as he could.
"It was, uh… light red. Not too light. But not super red either…"
"How much did you bleed? Enough to stain your pants?" the doctor asked next.
Arthur was embarrassed by that question, but to assure him that it was all right, Alfred took his hand and brought it gently to his lips in a chivalrous gesture.
Arthur blushed. He could feel his face heating up and he didn't know what to do about it, he couldn't control his scent and he knew it was probably all around the room, so he looked down and shyly scratched his mark again.
"N-no, not that much, just… just my underwear…"
"Mr. Kirkland, I know you're nervous, but stop scratching your mark, please. You will end up hurting yourself," the doctor requested before saying. "Look, I'll have you do some tests, but I'll warn you in advance that bleeding during pregnancy is more common than people think. By the color and quantity of your blood, there's two reasons that are most likely the cause. It may be that your body is lacking progesterone, which causes this type of bleeding, or it may be that you have placenta previa. In that second case, it can be fixed by its own in time but physical exertion can make you bleed. Both problems are easy to solve as long as they are diagnosed early. Is this the first time this happened?"
Arthur immediately let go of his mark, feeling like a kid being scolt by a teacher, and he went back to fidgeting with his hands. He had no idea what those things meant, and he felt both awful for not knowing about those important baby related things and glad the baby was okay. His eyes became watery as he nodded, relieved.
And then… he noticed that the reason why was bleeding was probably because…
"... I, actually, today I was cleaning up and I had to move some furniture around… They weren't too heavy, so I didn't think it would be a problem…" he said, very quietly, his voice getting lower as he spoke.
Alfred's jaw dropped and his eyes widened slightly.
"You were… Were you moving furniture? What? Why didn't you call me to help you? I told you to ask for my help in this sort of thing!"
Arthur shook his head.
"It wasn't much, really… I was just cleaning up a bit and decided to move the coffee table and the dresser…" he explained. And he thought about adding he didn't want Alfred knowing where he lived, but decided against it.
"Even so! You're expecting a baby! You have to carry as little weight as possible!" Alfred complained, holding Arthur's hands and giving him an anxious look. "Please, put more trust on me. I really want to help you."
"I know," Arthur said, but he didn't manage to look at Alfred's eyes for long. There was something anxious and worried in his eyes, so he forced himself to look away. Alfred's scent was making him want to apologize, but he didn't. He just gulped and looked down.
He knew it, but apparently that was not enough for him to let Alfred come into his life and support him with things like that.
Alfred let out a long sigh. He could only help if Arthur allowed him to and communicated with him. If Arthur didn't want him to help... What could Alfred do for him?
"I want you to take these exams, Mr. Kirkland," the doctor said, handing several papers to Arthur. "Give those to the receptionist and they'll tell you where to go. The most important ones are your ultrasound and blood test."
Arthur didn't like the idea of taking a blood test. He felt his breathing becoming shorter and faster, but he did his best not to let it show.
Besides… what was more worrying was not the tests themselves, but… how expensive they would be. He gulped, trying not to worry about it but worrying anyway. It was not like he could not do the tests, he needed to make sure his baby was okay. It was his fault, anyway, for moving furniture around. What was he thinking?!
He nodded, and after the doctor told him the tests results would be ready that same day and that he should return to talk to her once again, they left the room. Arthur was tired, he was hungry and he was so, so stressed. He honestly wanted to cry. He wished Alfred would hug him, and tell him it was alright. But he took a long, shaky breath and tried to offer Alfred a smile.
"I should… I should get this over with…" he said, indicating the papers in his hand.
From Arthur's scent, he seemed really stressed, so Alfred knew he would have to stay next to him, no matter how long those exams took.
"I'll be here with you," he said with a gentle smile, touching carefully Arthur's cheek. "Don't be afraid. You will not go through any of this alone."
Those words were comforting, warm and so, so welcome. Arthur shyly reached for the hand on his cheek and squeezed it. Alfred's scent was soothing, gentle, and if Arthur felt like crying it was because he didn't feel so alone, which in itself was weird.
But he didn't cry. He sniffed and nodded, but tried to stood tall and put together, because he needed to practice it for when his baby was born. He needed to be strong for him.
"Thank you so much, Alfred." he told his friend, staring at his kind blue eyes, "I… I'd be so lost. If you weren't here." he admitted, but then he looked away.
"Hey, no problem. Can you go give the papers to the receptionist while I call the babysitter to tell them I'll be back a little later?"
Arthur nodded even though he felt guilty for taking Alfred away from his kids when he already had so little time to stay with them. He gave the receptionist his papers and waited as she typed something in her computer. Every key she pressed made Arthur think about how absurd his hospital bill would be at the end of the night. He was glad he hadn't eaten anything in hours because he would probably be sick if he had anything in his stomach.
The receptionist informed him what floor he should go to, and then he approached Alfred, who was already finishing his call.
"I need to do the blood test first," he said, and gulped, "So it will be ready when I finish the other ones."
"Oh, right. I'll join you." Alfred said, quickly saying goodbye to the babysitter and hanging up the phone. "Are you feeling good? You're not feeling any pain or anything, right?" Alfred wanted to check it out again.
He probably asked that about five times by now, but he couldn't help worrying about it.
Arthur shook his head.
"No, I'm fine." he smiled a bit as they took the elevator, "I'm just… tired." he sighed, and he meant it in so many senses. He placed a hand on his belly, "And I'll have to eat something after the blood test. Ugh… I hate blood tests…" he said quietly to himself, getting goosebumps just to think of the needle which would be spiked into his arm.
"I'll be there with you and it'll be over in a second. It's gonna be okay." Alfred smiled, wrapping his arm around Arthur's waist. They talked to another receptionist, then with a nurse, who let them to a small room. Arthur sat down with Alfred next to him "You want me to distract you with something?"
Arthur nodded. It felt weirdly good to have Alfred so close, his body warm and his scent relaxing, Arthur felt so less scared and so much calmer around him, when Alfred touched him and said such nice things…
Alfred was… Alfred was a really great friend.
A nurse walked in with a nice smile on her lips and tried to do some small talk, but Arthur wasn't in the mood for it. Alfred was sitting on his side and Arthur grabbed his hand by instinct, closing his eyes and feeling his breathing shaky. The nurse told him to try to relax and Arthur felt his eyes watering.
Since Arthur was so scared, Alfred started telling a story about his life to distract him:
"You know, when I was in high school, I was super-athletic and popular, but at the same time I had a bunch of interests that could be considered childish and, well, uncool for a bunch of teenagers. Cartoons, cute games, things like that." he told Arthur, putting a hand on his shoulder. "And then one day I became interested in an omega. He was so cute. Honestly, he was like a sweet cookie. He had those round glasses and giant sweaters. It was ridiculously adorable. And I wanted to impress that omega... Okay, Artie, it's okay. It's almost over now."
Arthur didn't dare look to his arm just yet, so he kept his eyes closed and held Alfred's hand tight.
"...And then… what did you do?" he asked, because he wanted to hear more of Alfred's voice.
The nurse was taking a tube of blood from Arthur, so it was a pretty good thing that he wasn't looking.
"I kept trying to impress him by trying to look even more athletic in front of him," he explained as the nurse put a cotton in Arthur's arm to stop the bleeding. "I did things, like, leaning just one arm against the closet to give off that body language that conveys the 'hey, do you come here often?' kinda vibe. Also, I called him to come to my games all the time. Anyway, I was trying my hardest to emphasize my cool sides and hide the shameful ones. Then one day, I finally got the courage and I confessed to him and his response was 'sorry, but I don't think you're my type. I like nerdy guys and you're kind of too generic for me'. So I was like, 'NO, I AM A NERD. I LIKE NERDS THINGS ' and he gave me that 'don't lie to impress me' kinda look and urghhhhh, I was so frustrated after that."
Arthur actually chuckled a bit at that. He slowly opened his eyes to look at Alfred, and he was so close and smiling so happily it made Arthur's eyes go wide and his face heat up. So he looked down and gulped and closed his eyes again.
"T-that's… that's funny, but… yeah… I can imagine how much must have been frustrated… when it happened." he said quietly.
"Yes, but it helped me accept more of my personality as a whole. This was when I realized that it was impossible to please everyone," Alfred replied, tilting his head to the side with a small smile. "And so that made me more comfortable being who I am!"
"That's good." Arthur agreed, "You're happier when you are yourself." he added, and then he took a deep breath, not daring open his eyes again, "... is it over?"
"Yeah! Can't you feel the sticker on your arm?" Alfred asked, laughing a little.
"Oh," Arthur said, finally allowing himself to look at his left inner elbow. He sighed audibly and sinked in his chair. He then looked to Alfred and smiled a bit, "Thank you, Alfred. I… I didn't even feel anything."
"No problem." Alfred smiled back at him, offering his arm to help him up. "It's over now, okay? You can relax."
Arthur nodded as he gladly accepted Alfred's help. He got up and then stopped, feeling a bit… fuzzy. When had he ate something last? He took a deep breath and when Alfred asked if everything was alright, he quickly nodded again.
"I need to… I should do the other tests so I can go eat something. There's a diner around the corner, I could get something there later," he said with a small smile. He didn't want to worry Alfred and he just wanted to finish everything and go home as soon as possible.
Arthur said that, but he looked pale and his eyes were almost closing as he smiled at Alfred.
"I have a better idea. Let's eat something in the hospital cafeteria NOW and then we continue with your tests." Alfred replied, already leading Arthur by the arm toward the cafeteria.
"No, I'd rather do them first. So I can go home sooner." Arthur shook his head and stopped walking. No, the hospital cafeteria was too expensive. Arthur was already expending too much money with everything else. He couldn't spend lots of money with food when he could spend much less at a diner, or even eating something at home. He just… didn't want to say that.
Alfred recognized the anxiety bitter undertones in Arthur's smell. However, more worryingly, he noticed that Arthur's general scent was fading quickly and it was almost disappearing into thin air. Arthur was probably very weak at this point.
Arthur would probably feel calmer by getting out of the hospital as soon as possible, but ... Urgh. Alfred couldn't let him faint or stay with a low blood pressure. He was expecting a baby.
"Artie, I'm really sorry, but if you don't follow me, I'm going to have to put you in my arms and carry you there." Alfred said with a sigh, looking at Arthur concerned but determined.
Arthur snorted. Alfred wouldn't really do that, would he?
But then he smelled Alfred's scent. Strong and determined, and he knew Alfred was serious. Arthur gulped and looked away. Alfred had such a strong scent, Arthur wanted to just… do whatever he was saying, to please him so his scent would become sweeter and soothing.
"I don't want to eat there," Arthur managed to say, gathering all his strength. He was so tired, "I can't eat there." he repeated.
"And why is that?"
"Because I can't afford that!" Arthur almost yelled, letting go of Alfred's hold to cross his arms in front of himself, to shield himself, to protect himself. There it was. He had said it. Alfred already knew it, he definitely did, but now Arthur had said it.
Alfred blinked, surprised.
"Whatcha talking about? I'll pay it for you."
Arthur froze, confused.
"You… what?" he mumbled.
"I'll pay it for you." Alfred repeated as if it were obvious. "The costs of a snack in a cafédoesn't affect my savings, but it affects yours, so it's better if I pay for you, right?"
By now, Alfred had already realized that Arthur was strangely concerned about spending every little thing he needed in his life and, seeing his apartment, he could understand why. He didn't know how Arthur could be in such a bad financial situation despite being employed, but that wasn't important. The important thing was that he gave as much support as possible to his friend.
"I… I…" Arthur started, but he didn't know what to say.
Alfred was always paying things for him. Always. He paid his transport for him to go over, he paid for food when they were out, he paid… for everything. Arthur felt guilty. He hated it. He hated it so much. He clenched his fists when he felt his eyes water. He let out a shaky breath.
"You shouldn't… I should… I'm sorry…"
Oh damn. Alfred really didn't like to see Arthur sad. He really wished that Arthur would be happy and feel safe and comfortable. Arthur deserved that much.
"Hey, listen. You don't have to feel bad about it. Like I said, I will pay this because it doesn't affect my savings so much, but it does affect yours a lot. It's normal. If you were in your house, drinking a bottle of water and suddenly I came and practically collapsed at your door because I was dehydrated, you would give the bottle to me, right?"
Arthur sniffled and rubbed his eyes.
"Well, obviously."
"I'm giving the bottle to you now." Alfred explained gently, holding Arthur's hand for a moment. "You are expecting a baby and you need some special care. It costs me nothing to give that care to you, but it costs you absurdly to try to get it on your own. So I'm offering this to you."
When Alfred put it like that…
Arthur took a deep breath and looked up to Alfred for just a moment.
"I'm sorry. I mean, thank you. I promise I'll pay you back for all of this. For everything you've been doing for me." he said. He was determined about that. He still had so much else to pay for, and also the baby, but… he'd pay Alfred back too. He really would. He would work hard and get himself a better job, go back to freelancing as well… he closed his eyes as his head ached, and finally he allowed Alfred to guide him to the café.
"You know, you can pay me back by taking care of the children when I have to go out for something at night. I always paid good money to the babysitters, so that would be a good way to compensate me financially." Alfred offered. He, then, averted his eyes and felt embarrassed noticing that he was still holding Arthur's hand. "Er ... You don't have to do this ... It's just a suggestion ... "
"No, I can do that!" Arthur said with a smile, "I love your kids and babysitting them would be great practice to me as well, so everybody wins."
Arthur's smile was very bright and precious and Alfred was completely weak against it while they were holding hands.
Should he say something about it? Should he take off his hand first? Arthur wasn't complaining about it. Oh gosh. He felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach.
"Oh, haha! Great! We have a deal, then!"
They walked to the hospital café and Alfred sat Arthur down and then got him a soup, a glass of orange juice and a chocolate cereal bar for dessert. Arthur insisted he didn't need a dessert, but Alfred wouldn't listen and made him have it anyway.
Despite how awkward Arthur felt to have Alfred paying for his food, they had a nice time. Alfred didn't bring up the fact that Arthur lived in an awful place, and Arthur was glad for that. He wished to never talk about that with Alfred. Alfred always seemed to be living in a different world than him. Arthur didn't want to discuss his home or anything of the sort with him. It felt… wrong.
When he finished eating, he smiled to Alfred and sighed.
"I should do the other tests so I can talk to the doctor and go home," he said with a yawn.
Alfred agreed. As much as he wanted to take care of Arthur, there were limits to how long he could leave his children alone with the babysitter.
He helped Arthur keep calm for the remaining exams and they returned to the doctor to present the results.
She said that everything seemed normal and that Arthur's bleeding probably was caused by his placenta previa and his physical effort. This was normal and even the weight of the belly in pregnancy could stimulate this kind of bleeding, but she said it was better for Arthur to check the position of his placenta in the hospital for the next couple of months in case it didn't go up on its own.
Arthur was tired and stressed and the hospital smell made him feel dirty and sick.
At least his baby was okay.
The bad news was… he now had an even larger hospital bill to pay and this time for nothing. If he hadn't decide to move furniture around, if he hadn't freaked out… how much would all that coast? Hundreds? Thousands, maybe? Oh god…
The doctor was saying something else but Arthur hadn't payed attention.
"Sorry?" he said with a small, polite smile.
"I asked if you live alone," the doctor repeated the question.
Alfred, who avoided answering for Arthur before because he didn't want to be rude, ended up answering for him this time because Arthur seemed distracted:
"Yeah, he lives alone."
"But do you have the help of someone to clean the house and do other household chores?" the doctor asked Arthur.
Arthur shook his head and fidgeted with his fingers on his lap.
"No, I'm on my own."
"And you live in an apartment adapted for omegas, I assume?"
Arthur gulped. Should he lie? No, Alfred would surely call him out…
"Uh, no, I… It's a beta apartment, actually…"
Alfred should have guessed that Arthur's apartment was meant to be for betas. It seemed well below the price range that apartments for omegas had - which was probably the reason why Arthur chose it.
"Winter must have been pretty hard for you, then." the doctor pointed out with a worried expression. "It's amazing that you haven't suffered with hypothermia."
It had been, Arthur thought to himself. His apartment would get really cold during the night. Usually Arthur wouldn't mind, because Gilbert would be there for him. But now… he was always cold.
"I have plenty of blankets," he said with a small smile.
Alfred felt his heart sink hearing it.
He couldn't believe that all this time, Arthur had been living in such bad conditions without saying anything to him, despite they being so close.
"For what month is your delivery expected?" the doctor checked.
"Hm… Late June, if I remember right," Arthur nodded to himself. He wanted to rub his eyes, but refrained from it. Gosh, he was tired.
"Well, Mr. Kirkland, do you think you'll be alright until June the way things are?" the doctor asked so brutally honestly that Alfred wanted to hide his face for a moment. He was feeling so out of place there... "You're anemic, living in an apartment for betas and doing all the housework on your own. These are rather dangerous conditions for an omega waiting for a baby."
Arthur felt the blood rush out of his face as he heard that. He felt suddenly colder, more tense, weak. He was probably pale and he hated to know his scent was probably all around the place. How could he put on a smile and lie that he thought he'd be fine when he couldn't keep his hormones in?
He didn't think he'd be fine, he didn't think he could do it, but he had to, hadn't he? He didn't have much of a choice. He had to stay on his feet and do everything he had to do because it wasn't like he had a choice, it wasn't like he could walk away from it or change it.
He was alone. But it was okay because he'd work his way around it. He'd be fine. He had to.
"I'm… anemic? But I… I've been eating properly," he said. Most of the time was more accurate, but he didn't want to say it.
"Well, yes, but pregnancy makes your body need more nutrients than usual. You need to improve your diet. Take vitamins, make at least four meals a day... Extra caution is necessary. You are 'eating for two', as they say."
Arthur sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Yes, right… he'd have to research some cheap vitamins and recipes later…
"Alright. I'll be more careful with that. And eat more. So that should be fine. As for everything else, I'll be fine," Arthur said, forcing his smile up and doing eye contact to try and seem more confident than he actually was.
He could see Alfred with the corner of his eye and he worked harder to keep that I'm-going-to-be-fine façade.
"Mr. Kirkland, it would be preferable if you stayed with a member of your family during your pregnancy," the doctor suggested.
Alfred was surprised that this idea hadn't occurred to him before. Where was Arthur's family, after all? If things were so bad for him, why didn't he ask his family for help? Was it simply because they lived in England or something?
"I can't." Arthur said, and that was final. He would not try to reach his family, not after the way they'd treated him and Gilbert, and… and as for Gilbert's family… Arthur really didn't want to bother them. He knew, he really knew they'd open their arms to him, but he just… they weren't in a good financial place either, and Gilbert's mother was so old, and Gilbert's brother had an ill daughter to take care of, and just… Arthur couldn't… he couldn't be a bother… he had to take care of himself. Later on, if he felt like he needed, then he'd ask for a bit of support from Gilbert's family. But not now. He could be on his own. So he would.
Why? Why couldn't Arthur stay with someone in his family? What had happened to his relatives?
Alfred wanted very much to ask several questions, but he knew the timing wasn't appropriate. He bit his tongue and kept quiet.
"You can also stay with a friend," the doctor said, glancing in Alfred's direction.
Arthur could feel both the doctor's and Alfred's eyes on him. He felt really small and really awkward and he wanted to get out of there.
Instead he looked down at his hands and shook his head.
"If I feel like I need to, I can contact my friends. Like I've done today. But… but I'm fine. I'll be fine."
"Well, Mr. Kirkland..." the doctor sighed, sounding resigned to Arthur's stubbornness. "I recommend maximum rest for you this week. Avoid any exercise or mental stress. Try to lie down most of the time, if possible. If you have another bleeding, come to the hospital just in case, but know that chances are that it is only a consequence of the movement of your placenta."
Arthur nodded.
"Alright. I'll rest as much as possible," he said. "Could I get a medical certificate for a couple days off work?" he asked, because as much as he didn't want to skip work, he'd like to have a sick note to give his boss. He'd obviously still do some things from his bed, but at least he'd be laying down and resting his body. That'd be good enough.
The doctor agreed and offered him some extra generical tips, and after that Arthur and Alfred were finally free to leave the room. Arthur sighed audibly once they were outside, and finally rubbed his eyes, yawning in the process.
Alfred seemed tense and Arthur didn't know what to say about it.
"I'm sorry you had to hear all that," Arthur said finally, a bit unsure.
"Wow, man. This was a very tiresome night, wasn't it?" Alfred laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to appear as casual as he could about everything he had seen. "Can you sleep in my house tonight? I want to be able to check on you at least for tonight, but I also have to go home. My babysitter should have left hours ago."
Arthur bit his lip.
"Alfred, I'm really, really sorry for all the trouble…" Arthur started. He wanted to tell Alfred he'd rather just go home, that he'd be fine, that there was nothing to worry about, but… Something in Alfred's scent made him swallow those words.
Maybe he was too tired. That was probably it. He didn't want to think about how much Alfred's scent was soothing and not too calm but not angry or upset either, and that it was a soothing thing to have nearby when he himself was so stressed.
He wanted to be close to Alfred.
"I'm sorry for worrying you, and for keeping you away from your kids for so long, I… If it would make you feel better, I… I can go, yeah." he ended up saying.
Alfred took Arthur's hand, looking deep into his eyes.
"Yes, that would make me feel better. Stay with me. Please." he said in all sincerity.
How could he help Arthur? Should he just wait patiently for Arthur to admit that he needed help? What if, when Arthur finally asked for help, it was already too late to help him?
Alfred really wished that Arthur counted on him more often, that Arthur would tell him what he felt and what he needed more more often.
Alfred didn't want to be the kind of alpha who imposes favors and opinions on an omega because he thinks he understands their needs better than the omega himself. So… If Arthur insisted on being alone and dealing with his problems on his own, Alfred had to respect that.
How could Arthur say no to that? He was so tired, so stressed and feeling so vulnerable, he'd say yes to anything Alfred asked him at that moment, holding his hands, staring deep into his soul.
Arthur was glad the only thing else Alfred asked of him was for him to wait for a moment while he went to one of the receptions. Arthur was too tired to ask about it, so he did not.
Instead he went into Alfred's car and smiled a bit at him when he started driving. Alfred turned on the radio and they did a bit of small talk but it died off quickly because soon Arthur had his head against the window and his eyes were closed and he was asleep.
He opened his eyes again when the movement stopped and then the music stopped. He blinked, confused and disoriented, and looked around to try and find out where he was.
The door to his side was opened and he faced a pair of very big, very blue eyes. He smiled a bit at them while rubbing his eyes.
"We're here?" he said quickly, taking off his seatbelt.
Yes, they were there. Alfred was about to put his car in the garage when Arthur woke up.
"Artie, you can go ahead if you want. I bet that my babysitter will be relieved to see that we arrived." Alfred said, patting the top of his friend's head.
Arthur nodded and smiled a bit, getting off the car and into the house as Alfred parked.
Alfred was right: the babysitter sighed visibly and smiled at Arthur when she saw him.
"Oh, gosh, I thought Mr. Jones had died or something. He wouldn't answer my texts!" she said in a loud voice.
Arthur smiled awkwardly.
"Sorry for all the trouble. He's just parking the car," Arthur explained looking around. He knew it was late, but he decided to check anyway, "The kids are already in bed?"
"Yes, of course! I tucked them in a long time ago. I was just watching some TV," she said, and Arthur smiled to her. She seemed like a good kid.
Soon Alfred was inside and Arthur watched from the couch as he apologized and paid the babysitter and waited her uber with her.
Once she was gone Arthur sleepily wondered where he'd be sleeping that night. The couch where he was sitting was so comfortable and warm that, honestly, Arthur wouldn't mind sleeping there.
When Alfred returned to the living room, he made a point of immediately informing Arthur:
"You're going to sleep in my room today. I'll take the couch."
"No way," Arthur said immediately, "I can't take your bed like that. I can sleep here. Your couch is more comfortable than my bed anyway, I won't mind." he added and in his sleepy state he didn't even notice how awful that made his life sound.
That made Alfred's expression become more guarded and definitely more resolute.
"You just got back from the hospital. You're not sleeping on the couch today, Artie." he said with a pout. "I sleep on the couch and you sleep in my room."
Arthur opened his mouth to say that no, he would be sleeping on the couch, but he just could not do it.
He sighed and crossed his arms.
"It's unfair," he pouted, "I can't argue with your pheromones!"
... Pheromones?
"What are you talking about?" Alfred laughed nervously. "I bet you can't even notice my pheromones, you silly."
"Of course I can. Why couldn't I? I can smell them. They're strong and nice," Arthur rubbed his eyes and yawned again, "I'm tired… I don't mind where I'm going to sleep, I just want to sleep…"
A little flushed and trying to ignore the way his heart pounded as Arthur said this, Alfred held out his hands to him to help him get up and walk to bed, but Arthur practically fell into his arms as soon as he stood up.
That guy…
"You really need attention, Artie." Alfred sighed, patting the top of Arthur's head and allowing him to sink his face between his shoulder and his neck.
"I'm just tired…" Arthur said, and he felt so relaxed being so close to Alfred, so calm and protected, the words just left his mouth before he could filter them, "So tired… I was so scared… if you weren't there, I… I hate being alone… I'm tired… I'm not strong, I have to be, but I'm… I'm not…" he held tight to Alfred's clothes, "I'm tired…"
What could Alfred do? He liked the person in his arms so, so much. He truly felt like he would fight dragons to protect that guy. However, if Arthur didn't let him know how to help him, there was almost nothing he could do …
"Do you want me to carry you to bed?" he asked carefully.
Arthur knew he should say no.
He really knew it. He opened his mouth to say it, but… but Alfred was so close, he smelled so good, he was so warm and so good…
"Please…" he ended up whispering, holding tight to Alfred's clothes, to his warmth and comfort.
Arthur was very heavy because of his belly and it was not an easy task to get him in his arms. Fortunately, even though he was no longer the athlete of his teenage days, Alfred still had some strength in his muscles and he eventually succeeded in carrying Arthur half-sitting in his arms. He had to kick the door of his room to open it and he got quickly afraid that the children had woken up with the noise, but otherwise, everything worked well.
Arthur didn't mind the noise the door made, he just minded when Alfred put him down in bed. He tried to hold on to Alfred's clothes, but it was no use. Soon he was in bed and Alfred wasn't holding him anymore. He wanted to cry, but his body was too heavy, his eyes were too heavy.
"Don't leave me alone…" he begged really quiet and vulnerable, his eyes almost closed, but with his hand trying to reach for Alfred. Because Alfred was safe. Soothing. Warm. And oh, Arthur really needed those things. To feel safe. To feel soothed. To feel warm and loved. He missed that. He really missed that.
Arthur's scent was agitated and vulnerable — something expected after the stress he had experienced.
Even if Alfred rationally understood that it was normal and that if he let Arthur rest a little, on his own, he would soon return to normal, to smell the omega whom he liked in that state made Alfred's instincts of protection get strongly aware.
He sat on the floor beside the bed, holding Arthur's hand.
"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, okay? You won't be alone."
Arthur nodded at that.
He held tight to Alfred's hand, squeezing it and bringing it closer to his body.
"Stay with me…" he said as he closed his eyes, and then he repeated it a few more times before he fell asleep.
Alfred stood beside Arthur until he noticed that his scent had grown weaker because he was asleep. After that, he covered Arthur with his blanket a little better and left the light of his lamp on in case he woke up scared in the middle of the night, before retiring to the couch.
What a night.
After that, the night was calm for Arthur.
He had a good night of sleep, a dreamless but very relaxing sleep. When he woke up his body was calm and warm and he even smiled a bit as he stretched his arms up, his mind still too foggy to understand where he was or why he was there. Until it did. And when it did he sat up immediately, feeling his face red with embarrassment. He had slept in Alfred's bed, again. He couldn't remember the bits of what he'd done before he went to bed (did he walk? Did Alfred carry him there?), and he hid his face in his hands for a moment to absorb all that.
And as he did he remembered something even more important that made him jump up and run out of the room. Something really important and that he couldn't believe he had forgotten: he hadn't payed or even gave any payment information to the hospital and oh, god, that was bad. He wasn't even sure how he managed to leave without it.
But he needed to go back to do it because as much he already had an endless debt, he couldn't just pretend he didn't have to pay for that.
So he rushed to the living room, and he sighed when he saw Alfred sitting by the dining table,
"A-Alfred, we need to go back…!" he started, but he stopped himself right there. Alfred smelled tense, too tense, And Arthur gulped, feeling himself getting tense too. Alfred also looked really serious and pensive, and Arthur ended up asking about it, "... Is everything okay?"
Alfred had barely slept a wink.
He was pretty tired that night, so he just hoped to fall asleep as he went to the couch, but ... No, he couldn't sleep peacefully after everything he had discovered about Arthur's life.
Arthur, his great friend and the omega whom he liked, was living in a miserable apartment that wasn't suitable for someone of his type, was anemic and was dealing with a lot more work and stress than he should have, being six months pregnant.
Alfred always thought Arthur looked rather lonely and, well, that was normal since he had lost his mate, but Alfred never thought that Arthur didn't even had a family to whom he could depend on in more extreme situations.
He spent the whole night thinking about how he could help Arthur and whether he should help Artie in the first place. Arthur hadn't told anything to him until that point. Alfred had almost accidentally bumped into the information he was assessing at the time ... He didn't know if he had the right to say something about it or if the help he proposed would be the best option for Arthur.
Still…
"Arthur." Alfred stood, walking to Arthur, placing his hands on his shoulders. "I need to ask you something very important."
Arthur didn't know what to do or say.
Alfred was nervous, he could smell it on him, and as he smelled it he felt nervous as well. He shook his head, unsure. What did Alfred want? Did he want Arthur to stop calling him about his problems? Did he want Arthur to do something for him in return? What could it be?
"I… Okay, sure. What is it?"
Alfred had thought about it all night and there was no other way.
Even if he didn't ask Arthur to pay back the money for yesterday medical expenses, Arthur would still be in serious problems, financially. That was affecting Arthur's body. It could affect his baby, even!
"Arthur Kirkland…" Alfred spoke, more seriously than he had ever been in his life in a very long time. "Please, come live with me."
