A/N: Hello again. I'll admit I don't know much about being pregnant. I'm mostly googling stuff for this story and managing to come up a bunch of random facts. I had this chapter completely rewritten in another way but I forgot to email it to myself very sad day! So I whipped this one up instead. I promised Viktor but at the last minute I felt this was getting waaay too long so I chopped it. I'm also thinking about opening up a poll for people to vote on whether it's a girl or a boy. Let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy! I do not own the Mercy Thompson series nor do I own the Alpha/Omega series. Both of those belong to the talented and loving Patricia Briggs. I do own Viktor and Meridith.

I yawned once.

Twice.

Everybody stopped talking.

I started to fidget with the bracelet on my wrist twirling it first this way then that way while humming a little song under my breath. Everyone turned back to the island discussing what sounded a bit like battle plans to me. Actually I should be paying more attention since they were debating if it was worth me staying here in the Tri-Cities or going up to Montana where more "experienced" wolves would be able to help me "when the time came". I rolled my eyes before noticing Jesse edging closer and closer to the fridge. She noticed me staring at her then placed her finger against her lips.

"Jess if you're hungry then eat a piece of fruit. You know the moment those pudding cups are gone the Sandoval girls will lose their minds when they come back over with Gabriel." Adam placed an apple on the counter before reaching under the counter only to emerge with a rice krispie treat he pushed towards me.

"This should wake you up a bit until Samuel comes over at least. If that doesn't work I have some tea here and coffee too." Adam looked up at me with a tight smile before dropping his head back into the conversation. Slight bags had began to form underneath his eyes and he looked like he needed another hour or two before he was able to fully wake up. I smiled back at him before pulling the treat to me. I never did like rice krispie treats when I was younger but the sugar just called to me.

"I thought pregnant women weren't allowed to have sugar or caffeine. Doesn't it make the brat all jittery and stuff?" Ben asked the room as he rubbed at the base of his neck. "Shouldn't she be drinking mile or something instead?" I flashed my eyes to him as he smirked wolfishly at me. I swore with the way his moods whipped back and forth it was him that was expecting and not me. "I can have caffeine in small amounts, same with sugar; just a taste not a bag full." I recited what the only nice white coat had told me during my first pregnancy. Viktor had stayed with me the entire time soaking all of his recommendations in before he had grabbed me roughly by the arm to take me back.

Ben dropped his eyes back down to the table as he pulled out his phone. "Is it okay if I ask you something?" He started to scroll through his phone touching random items on the screen. Without waiting for my answer he spoke, "I wonder if daddy knows that you're here with us and not out there roaming the streets about." He pursed his lips as stopped scrolling. "Wonder how he feels now that he can't feel the very beginnings of movement the little one has started to do." He placed his phone down on the island top before walking out

The kitchen had gone deathly silent. I gnawed on the inside of my lip before standing up abruptly with my bag. This time I gave a fake yawn eager to get away from the stares of the others. They don't know, they don't know. Don't hold it against them Meridith, it's an honest question, I thought to myself.

"Dammit Ben." Mercy pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please ignore him Meridith. He tends to get a little bit antsy whenever someone new comes around. He's real nice but he just pushes buttons. Give him a few and he'll be warm putty in your hands."

"It's ok. It was a good question and one that I've been avoiding for a while. A lot of people won't really understand what's happening or what I'm going through but I can't forgive them of their opinions." By this time Jesse had come back to my side with Warren right behind her. I gave a soft chuckle at the sight of two pudding cups stuffed in the front pocket of her sweater. Warren mussed her hair before announcing that he would get one of the guest rooms ready for me to take a nap in. "Oh," he called back from the hall, "I'll give Kyle a ring to see if any extra clothes were left behind from one of his clients. A nice dress or something."

A loud knock on the door sounded before it opened, "Adam, Mercy, Da?" Sounded a deep voice from the hallway. I couldn't help it. My head whipped around so fast that I felt dizzy. The wolf had perked her ears slowly lifting her head sleepily from her paws as she took in this man. My nose itched with the scent of pine needles and musk that absolutely sang with dominance. I rubbed at my temples attempting to ignore the mental picture of the wolf thumping her tail happily with each step this new visitor took. As he got closer though I grinned at the aggravated yowl she gave when he reeked of a mate. I can chase but I can't play, she thought with a teeth baring grin. I only rolled my eyes before turning back around.

Bran was playing with a coin as he leaned on an elbow in front of me. His eyes looked clouded as he stared at me head on. I blushed ducking my head to escape his probing gaze as he called, "in here Samuel." His light steps walked headed into the kitchen-he was making an effort to let his presence be known as a stranger was in. "Ariana told me that you had wanted me to come over with my bag. She didn't go into much details just asked that I bring it her. Mercy didn't get shot at again did-"

Just my luck. He had to stop right behind me. I could hear him taking in quick breaths trying his hardest to place my strange new scent. My fingers went back to the bracelet tracing the leather that had been woven in a hearing boned style as he slowly walked into the room. "Is this some sort of a trick, Da?" He started to head off to the right slowly stalking me. "Are my eyes truly deceiving me? Is this nose of mine playing the tricks of nightmares long ago?" He dropped his bag down before coming into my sight. The wolf stretched lazily as she too began to circle in my head sensing the imposing threat in the room. If he was taking such an offensive stance the she would be on her best guard.

"Stand up I want to take a look at you-I want to see the lines of your face and say for myself that you are in such way related to her." I darted my eyes over to him raising my lip in warning. I may be low in the pecking order but by God himself I would not allow for another to endanger my hitchhiker. I placed an arm around my stomach as I rose, chin tucked as I took in his tousled hair, white shirt, and tan pants. His eyes burned with a questioning flame that echoed almost as much as it did in Bran's. Disbelief, uncertainty, amazement, wonder, and the most painful of all, pure raw hope. His gaze took in every plane of my face as I did the same with his body.

His hands were large yet rough with a permanent scent of disinfectant. Like the walls in Mercy's house I had to look hard but the stain of blood was there embedded deep within the cells lining every line his hands held. They were so large yet gentle. A healer's touch is something that you must experience for yourself. There is nothing more sorrowful yet loving in those arms, the tight muscles of their chest, the sweetness of their breath that has announced the joys of life and the shadow of death all at once. I wanted to bow to him much like I wished to do so with Bran.

I closed my eyes against the need.

"Da. How can this be?" His voice was so tight I could imagine the fragile rigidity that was upon him. One sentence showed me enough of his soul to know that he was safe.

"I do not know how this came about Samuel. All I know is that she is not the first nor will she be the last. The bodies of the other lone wolves and humans we found held the same scent she barely does now. They started to show up two years ago then disappeared. Now we have one surviving soul that needs to be protected. She's the only one that is still pregnant." Bran had bowed his head and when he pulled it up I couldn't keep the grim look from my face. "She is the only one to not act extremely sick or near death like Blue-Jay Woman did. Samuel I feel as if she can survivor the birth but I have no hard facts at this point."

Sam stayed silent for a while before grabbing his bag then leaving the kitchen. "Is there a room I can set up in?" He asked from the archway.

"Warren's setting up a guest room as we speak. He should be done by now so let me take you guys down there." Mercy quickly stood before leading the way down the hall.

"You don't need to come Mercy. It'll just be some routine things that I can check by myself since I don't have an ultrasound machine with me. Boring stuff really." Mercy stopped in the hallway before turning her brown eyes to Sam.

"No. I won't leave you two alone not when you're wolf won't stop trying to herd her closer to you. Plus I'm curious about this too. Adam's my husband now Sam, and as much as he keeps saying that he's getting to be too old to play a dad it's not stopping me from holding out hope. I may not be a wolf but I will keep my fingers crossed on this one as well. Besides I want Adam to look as flustered for our rugrats as he does in all the pictures with Jesse." She looked over her shoulder at him then at me. "I don't know if even you know how truly blessed you are. You're gonna bring a lot of hope and attention to yourself now." She walked forward again calling to Warren as she went.

"In here. Mercy, how do we baby proof one of these rooms? What if she trips and falls here? Or manages to roll over and get stuck here?" Warren was standing in a room that had small random pictures on the walls. Every few feet or so there were small areas that had been patched and painted covering old holes. He was squeezing and rotating pillows from one area to another on the bed with an annoyed look on his face. "Kyle said he would be here by dinner time with some extra clothes unless you have any you're willing to spare. Hello Sam," the cowboy nodded to him as he scanned the room once more. "This is the only one with a private bathroom that you can lock on the other side of the door. The window here opens too if you want some fresh air to come in, if not then the thermostat's right there." He jerked his chin the wall the bed sat next to.

"I'll let you guys be alone for now. Holler for me if you need something, ok?" He left the room before any of us could so much as say another word. Sam gestured to the bed with his free had as he started to rummage through his bag. He pulled out a stethoscope along with several other instruments as I laid down on the bed flat. Mercy sat next to me as she watched Sam with interest. "What are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to try and feel for the baby too see if there are any abnormalities or defects. I won't be a hundred percent accurate but I will try my hardest to diagnose what I can." Sam pulled out a pen from his back pocket along with a spiral notebook which he flipped through until he reached a clean page "First let me get some background information. What's your full name?" He held the pen at the ready keeping a steady gaze on the blank sheet. I swallowed before answering him, "Meridith. Just Meridith."

"No last name?"

"None."

"Age?"

"Seventeen."

"Are you sexually active?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"No. I think an Alien got a hold of me doc! My belly's the size of a cantaloupe and keeps getting bigger! I swear all I've done is anal so there's no way of me being pregnant."

Mercy broke out laughing as Sam just gave an angry huff before scribbling down something else. "When was the last time you had your menstrual cycle?"

"About five months ago I think. Haven't really been a regular girl for a while you know." I stared up at the ceiling making odd shapes in my mind out of the popcorn ceiling. With the soft bed underneath me I had to keep my eyes open somehow without dozing off.

"Is this your first pregnancy?"

That question, I thought to myself, is the worst of them all. I felt the earth still around me as my eyes began to blur. I counted up in my mind flexing each finger individually until I had counted six all together. It was all I wanted to count. I wasn't going to count the implantations at first but I had to. Even if I wasn't their first mother they had attached to me before being ripped away. Four in total from my own body, three of which were Viktor's, the last being another wolf that had been given to me and then this one. My hands roamed on my stomach. Viktor's yet not his.

"Six. I've been pregnant six times before this little hitchhiker decided to stay with me for a longer time than all of its brothers and sisters. My little miracle that is bravest of them all." I felt a soft smile as I felt the bed dip besides me.

"I take it you didn't go full term. Care to tell me what happened?'

"One was beaten out of me, four were chemically aborted and the other two I lost to 'natural causes'. I didn't lose any of them willingly."

Sam looked at me blankly. "A life is a precious thing to have."

"Even more so when it is all that you have." I answered back as I pulled up the hem of my skirt. He had turned to grab the stethoscope from the dresser when he paused shocked by my answer. Turned back around he placed it down on my stomach before listening intently. "He has a good heart, this one. Only one here so no twins. Nice steady beat for one so young." He pulled the piece of equipment from his neck before gently pressing down on my stomach shaking it slightly until the flutter feeling began once again. I felt it trail up against his wrist which made Sam smile down at my stomach. "Hello little one. Grow big and strong so that you can be cherished by all." He removed his hands before measuring my stomach with a measuring tape pressing it snugly against my stomach. His brow wrinkled slightly as he tutted at me. "You will need more protein and iron. Your skin is not only pale but you are very tiny for someone this far out in their pregnancy. You're halfway there now so it's important to get your body prepared for the birth especially if you plan on nursing. You can pull your shirt back down."

Sam had begun to pack all of his items back into his brown bag. "If you have any questions please feel free to seek me out. Also, you can now tell the sex of the baby; it's up to you if you want to know or not. I'm going to schedule an ultrasound for you as well to rule out any hidden things. You'll need bloodwork as well as some other testes to be performed. Now when the time comes you can decide to have him here with the pack or at a hospital if you wish." He clicked the bag closed before taking a small breathe. Stepping towards me he grabbed my hand rubbing a small circle on the back of it with the pad of his hand. "We may not know each other fully now but I would be honored to deliver you baby for you. If that is what you wish of course." His thumb kept rubbing me until Mercy cleared her throat.

He dropped my hand as if he had been born before taking the bag in his hand then moving to the room door.

"How do you know it's a boy?" I asked after him.

If there was one person who shouldn't look as if he was stalling that would be Samuel. He patted a small beat on his thigh before answering me without looking, "Your stomach rests low. It may be an old wives tale, however, I have been a healer for many many years. If I am wrong then I will be your babysitter for the first year of her of her life." I could hear the smile in his voice from where I was laying. "I'm going to have a talk with my father about a few things then we'll discuss where to go from here." He left the room leaving me to brood over his words while Mercy awkwardly sat with me. She shifted on the bed before standing smoothing out her pants as she started to leave as well.

"I'm no expert on werewolf pregnancy or anything that has to do with being pregnant at all. I don't know how you've been able to go this far without keening over in need to change for so long or even worse losing it. I can see you're tired right now so please feel free to take a nap. When you wake up we'll be upstairs waiting for you." She left the room as well shutting off the lights as she went. I began to pull on my bracelets band again rolling the tiny stone between my thumb and forefinger as my mind began to wander. If I told them the horrors that lied only miles away from them how would they react? Did Bran, the Marrok himself, know of what was going on in that facilty? He had said that bodies were found in predicaments just like mine no doubt with scars like mine. Was there more than one lab? I could feel my heart racing as the thought of having another human being be tested on like I was.

My lips felt chapped as I licked them. Suddenly thirsty I walked into the bathroom running the taps to catch the water for a drink. My body felt tight with the muscles in my lower body clenching up from the tense day that I had had. I wanted to see the stars or at least feel the warm breeze blowing through my fur; when was the last time that I had changed? Weeks ago? The first time that I had tried to make it out here? I took a sip of the cold water relishing in the numbingly chill feeling of it sinking to the bottom of my stomach. A bath will probably help me relax some. I stripped then folding the clothes neatly before placing them on the closed toilet lid. I was too scared to take a bath in that shabby motel. If I had stayed a day longer I probably would have mustered up the courage to do so.

Once I got the temperature just right I stepped in sloshing the warm water with my feet gently. A soft sigh left my lips as the steam tickled at my thighs puckering my nipples against the cool draft coming in from the room. I slowly wetted one of the washcloths that hung from the hanging shower caddy before wetting my body. My skin prickled against the cold until it became too much for me. Pulling on the plug I allowed for the water to run over my feet out into the drain then started the shower to wash my hair. As the steam filled the room I leaned my head back into the shower closing my eyes as the water rushed over to me. I let my mind wander taking in the sounds of the water. I counted silently in my mind before I shut off the water then wrapped myself in the towel that hung outside.

Someone had laid a dress on the bed while I was in the bathroom with a pair of house slippers lying on top. Underneath it a new pack of underwear and chamomile lotion with the wrapping was placed as well. I snorted before slipping the items on then slathering myself up with the soothing lotion. I guess someone had noticed how chapped my skin had looked. I tucked myself under the covers closing my eyes as I willed myself to sleep. Please, I wished, give me one dreamless night. Whoever's out there let me just have a restful night.