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Four months after the mating ceremony saw a very pregnant Stiles Stilinski-Hale waddling his way around his house, cleaning things up and just generally being anxious. ‘Nesting’ they called it. It was a month to go until the cubs were due and he was uncomfortable. Nothing in his house looked clean enough, no matter how much he cleaned it and they still hadn’t picked names for the cubs.
“Why have we not picked names yet, Derek?” Stiles asked his husband as he made his way into the living room.
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Derek told him.
“We should probably come up with some names soon,” Stiles said.
“I’ve already made a list.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You didn’t ask.”
“Well, I’m asking now. We’re having three children, Derek, and haven’t even named one of them yet."
“I like family names. It gives a sense of family ties. I like John and Andrew for the boys and either Talia or Claudia for the girl,” Derek said.
Stiles looked at his husband for a moment, considering and deeply moved. Derek wanted to name their sons after their respective fathers and their daughter after one of their mothers. Stiles loved the idea, but…
“Okay, I love that. However, could they be middle names or could we call them by something else? I love my parents, but I want our kids to have a sense of self as well as family,” he said.
Derek thought it over for a minute.
“Yeah. I like that idea. Be your own person but remember where you came from,” Derek said.
“Exactly.”
“So what were you thinking?”
“Well, I thought that celestial names would be appropriate, seeing as we are celestial supernatural beings. Especially you, born wolf.”
Derek smiled, “So what were you thinking?”
“Well, I really like the names Selene and Celeste for girls. So one of those. And I like Sky for a boy if we’re staying celestial, but I’ve always loved the name Ryder.”
“Okay, well, I have an idea,” Derek said.
“Don’t hurt yourself,” Stiles retorted as he took his place next to Derek on the couch.
“Very funny, oh love of my life,” Derek said with a smirk.
Stiles laughed and Derek continued.
“How about John Ryder and Andrew Sky for the boys and Claudia Celeste or Talia Selene for the girl?”
“Oh my God, Derek,” Stiles said, tears welling up in his eyes, “It’s perfect. They’re perfect. Everything is perfect.”
Stiles lunged forward and kissed Derek full on the mouth. Derek smiled at the attack and lay back on the couch, dragging Stiles down with him until they were laying on their sides to make room for the both of them.
“It’s a good thing you were skinny before you got knocked up or this would be impossible,” Derek said.
Stiles broke out in wracking sobs without warning. Derek stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Stiles, baby, what is it?”
“I’M A WHALE!” Stiles wailed, “Derek, I’m so fat. And my feet are killing me and my back hurts all the time. I haven’t shit in four days, I just want to eat everything and sleep and I don’t know how you can look at me right now.”
“Shhh, Stiles. Baby, look at me.”
Stiles looked up at Derek, hiccupping sighs breaking free as he tried to calm down.
“You are beautiful. You’re always beautiful, but you’re bringing new life to this world, to this family. This is an impossible feat and you’re doing it. I will always love you and love you even more for the sacrifice you’re making, for the love that it takes to do this. You are not a whale. You are gorgeous and brave and I love you.”
Stiles buried his face in Derek’s neck. He couldn’t look at Derek for what he was about to say.
“I’m so scared,” he told him.
“Of what?”
“Everything. The pain. The uncertainty.”
Derek tightened his hold on him and kissed his forehead.
“It’s not too late,” he told him.
“Yes it is, Derek. And even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t change my mind. I would die a thousand horrible deaths for these cubs.”
“I know, baby, I know,” Derek said.
“Derek, I can’t do this without you. I need you. I want you to…” he trailed off to regain his composure as the tears threatened to start again, “I want you to hold me when I have these cubs.”
Stiles didn’t say the words, but Derek heard the meaning behind them. ‘I want to die in your arms.’
Derek nodded once and wrapped Stiles even tighter in his embrace.
They lay there like that for a while before Stiles drifted off. Derek stood and scooped him up. He carried him upstairs and lay him gently in their bed. He wanted nothing more than to crawl in next to him, but he needed to call Deaton.
“Hello, Mr. Hale,” came the veterinarian’s silky voice from the other end of the line.
“Deaton,” Derek said.
“How is your mate this afternoon?”
“Not so good, Deaton. He’s terrified of giving birth. He says he’s afraid of the uncertainty. He’s afraid he’s going to die.”
“Well, I told you both in the very beginning that it is a very real possibility.”
“No. It’s not an option. I can’t do this without him. I can’t LIVE without him. Doesn’t the mating ritual strengthen him at all? He’s an alpha now, doesn’t that count for something?”
“Firstly, he’s not an alpha. He’s the Alpha’s mate. His place in the pack is second only to you, but he is not alpha. Secondly, yes, the bond does make him stronger, but the risk is still there. We’re going to have to cut him open to retrieve the cubs. He will most likely heal between cubs, so we will need to use wolfsbane lined utensils to make sure the incision doesn’t close. Unfortunately, this will also keep his veins from healing and his blood from clotting. If we do not move quickly enough, if there are complications or if he heals with the wolfsbane in the wounds, he could be poisoned or he could bleed to death. If the wound heals before all the cubs are out, we will have to make another incision, at which point he could bleed out and the remaining cubs could be poisoned. It’s all very precarious and we will need to work together here, Derek,” Deaton explained.
“What can I do?” Derek asked.
“Take his pain so he doesn’t lose consciousness.”
“I can do that. I will do that.”
“One more thing, Derek. Be careful about how much of his pain you take. Taking his pain means giving your power.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that if you go too far, you could lose your alpha status and become a beta once more.”
“Thank you for the clarification, Deaton.”
“Any time, Mr. Hale.”
Derek hung up the phone just in time to hear the blood curdling scream from upstairs.