Alpha's Surprise Baby(10)

I paused to think about it. "I think he'll be fine waiting," I said. "It's just a doctor, after all."

The driver took me, in the now empty tour van, to my chosen doctor. It  looked like a perfectly normal medical establishment, with the exception  of the huge "by appointment only" sign on the door. This was to keep  out humans.

I liked shifter doctors a lot better than human doctors. Their clinics  were cozy and had a lot of plants for one thing, unlike the sterile,  white corridors where humans were treated. I suspected that human  doctors would be a lot more successful if they took a leaf out of our  book. I imagined that any living creature would recover better if they  were surrounded with plants and soothing lighting.

The receptionist was a calming type of person, too. Her pastel dress and  pleasant expression made me feel better about my decision to visit the  doctor. Whatever the problem was, they would be able to put things right  in no time.

"Have a seat and we'll see you in just a few," she said dreamily.

I glanced at the magazines, wondering which one to take. There were some  human magazines, but there were also shifter magazines, like Fang and  Bone,Claw Quarterly, and Weekly Wolf News. I wasn't too plugged in to  the shifter community, to be honest. Rolling Stone was more to my taste.

But they called me up before I had a chance to pick one. An equally  pleasant looking nurse peeked out of a door and I went up to follow her.

"So, what brings you in today, Kade?" she asked, clutching a clipboard and pen.

"I've been feeling nauseous," I said. "And I've had some weird food aversions."

"I see," she said, scribbling in her notes. I followed her into an  examination room, where I had a seat while she checked my vitals. I  answered a few more questions about my general health, and she left to  consult with the doctor.

He stepped in just a couple of minutes later. He seemed to have some  sort of inner serenity, like all shifter doctors, even though his face  was stern.

"Nice to meet you, Kade. I'm Dr. Samson."         

     



 

"Nice to meet you, too," I said, suddenly nervous. The verdict would soon be delivered.

"I'll be honest with you," he said. "I think you might be pregnant.  We're going to take a blood test in order to check, as well as a urine  sample, if you don't mind."

I gulped. "Really?"

"I'm quite sure," he said. "The blood test is just so we can be certain."

"This is not a good time," I said, the color draining from my face.

Dr. Samson seemed sympathetic. "It often isn't. But let's confirm this  for you, and then we'll talk about what we want to do next."

I was paralyzed with surprise while they drew my blood, and when they  handed me the urine collection cup, I walked to the bathroom like a  robot, my brain whirring with thoughts. My two main concerns were how  would Xander react to this, and how would this affect the tour?

Ten minutes later, it was confirmed. "Kade, you're pregnant."

"Damn. Okay." I scratched my head. How was I even going to explain this  to Michael? None of the people on the tour except for Xander were  shifters. I certainly couldn't let them know I was capable of becoming  pregnant.

"Is the father your fated mate?" asked Dr. Samson.

"Yes, he is," I said reluctantly.

"Well, it's up to you what you want to do, of course," said the doctor,  "but I'll load you up with some vitamins. You shouldn't stress yourself  out too much over the next two months."

I gave a harsh laugh. "The next two months are going to be extraordinarily stressful," I said. "But I'll manage."

"Why? What are you doing?" asked Dr. Samson.

"I'm …  a rock star on tour," I said, feeling sheepish. "I simply can't cancel these upcoming shows."

Dr. Samson frowned. "I see. Well, like I said, it's up to you what you want to do. I can only provide my recommendation."

"I understand. Thank you, Dr. Samson."

When I left, with a huge bag of vitamins, my first thought was to go to  Xander. I had to unload this on someone else immediately. But Michael  apprehended me first.

"So, will you be okay?" he asked.

"It's um, going to take a while to get better, but I will," I said.  "They've given me lots of medicines." I waved the bag of vitamins.

"Okay," said Michael, unsure of what to make of my vagueness. "Just keep me posted."

"Will do."

I practically ran to Xander's room, flinging myself in his arms. I  needed someone to hold me, comfort me, and tell me that everything was  going to be okay. I had no idea what to do with myself because I was so  overcome with emotion.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, catching and holding me steady. "What happened?"

"So you know I went to the doctor, right?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Right. What'd they say?"

I practically hissed my answer through my teeth. "I'm pregnant!"

His eyes widened. "You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. They did a blood test and everything."

"Wow." He looked away, staring into space as his brain processed the news. "You aren't kidding, are you."

"Nope," I said, shaking my head. "I mean, nausea, food aversion …  Those  are classic signs of pregnancy. It had never even occurred to me that  this could happen."

"Damn. And you can't tell anyone else, can you?"

"No." I frowned. "And I have the East Coast leg coming up."

"Yeah, this isn't good." He put an arm around me and rubbed my back.

I was glad he wasn't showing any sort of negative emotion, but I was  afraid that he wouldn't want to be with me anymore. Finding out that we  were fated mates was one thing, but throw a baby into the mix, and it  could all change.

"I mean, I guess I'll just have to press on, right? At least the baby isn't due until after we get back to Lake City."

"Oh, is that so?" he asked. "That's good news, definitely. But we'll have to figure out how to hide your growing belly."

"Long t-shirts are the new fashion," I said. "Or maybe I could wear hoodies on stage. Fuck. People are totally going to notice."

"We'll figure it out," said Xander. "I'm not going to leave you out to dry. I mean, this is my kid, too."

"I'm glad to hear that." I pressed myself to him more.

"You won't show until after New York, most likely," said Xander, taking  out his phone. He pulled up the tour schedule. "Then it'll just be a  couple of weeks until we hit Lake City again. I don't think we have to  worry about this right now. Just make sure to keep yourself healthy."         

     



 

I took deep breaths. "Okay. I got this."

"There you go. And you've got me to help you. I'm your Alpha, and I'm going to protect you like I should."

It was indescribably comforting to hear those words. I was so grateful to know that I wasn't alone in dealing with this problem.

But it wasn't going to be easy. The nausea and food aversions were going  to get worse until they got better, and I was going to feel fatigued  and cranky. The tour was going to be a slog. And on top of all of that, I  was expected to get started on a new album release as soon as I got  back to Lake City.

"How am I going to explain the sudden appearance of a child?" I asked,  thinking out loud. "I mean, I'm still going to need to practice with the  band and I don't want to hide the little guy or girl away."

"Generations of shifters before us have successfully integrated into  human society," said Xander. "I'm sure we can handle it, too. We'll have  to say that he's adopted, and you can adopt a child at any time. It  won't be too difficult."

"But he's going to look like us … "

"Which do you think humans are more likely to believe," said Xander,  "that an adopted child coincidentally looks like us, or that men are  capable of pregnancy?"

I laughed, "You have a point."

"See? Don't worry about it. It'll probably be good for your public  image, anyway. A lot of celebrities are adopting kids these days."

"I never thought about that."

He smiled at me and put a small, sweet kiss on my forehead.

"Thanks, Xander. I really feel a lot better about it now."

"Good. Our child is going to come into the world feeling welcomed."





6





Xander





The Baltimore show was particularly difficult on Kade, I could tell.  Being a performer, he was amazing at acting. He could put on a different  face easily, pretending that he was enthusiastic and feeling genuinely  delighted to be there. And he was, to an extent. It was just that he  would much rather have not been performing.

Michael had noticed his condition, unsurprisingly. That man had eyes  like a hawk, keeping tabs on his star performer. He didn't know it was  pregnancy, of course, but he knew something was up.