Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Space was a massive black void with specks of sparkling, twinkling lights of hope you learn to no longer believe in.

It doesn't start off this way. The first few times you're out there, it's profound. Beautiful, terrifying, and humbling. The kind of thing you're supposed to indulge in occasionally.

But after living in a black void long enough, all its wonder fades into cold loneliness.

Cee looked out the window as their ship hovered above the Green Moon.

Another twinkle of hope in the void that would prove to be empty, as it always did.

They never made much profit from harvesting. All their meager income came from the boxes of pills and bottles of liquids with syringes they transported for people Cee was never allowed to see.

But her father was a gambling man. He always chased the miniscule chance that their harvesting might pull in a huge profit. All Cee wanted was to find a home.

"I'm anchoring the hover coordinates." Damon, her father, said. "We'll take a drop pod down the surface in the morning. Why?"

"So we can make sure the command took," Cee answered. She wasn't facing him. She was looking out at The Green boredly. She didn't want to go there. Didn't want anything they were doing. "Because you don't want to be on the planet when you find out your ship has drifted."

"Right." Her dad said quietly, distractedly.

When they went to lie on their cots, Cee did what she did every night, and tried to remember the last time she actually slept on a bed. It was back on Kamrea, when she was little. Back when mom was alive.

To be honest, she didn't actually remember it anymore. Just like she couldn't quite remember what mom looked like anymore. What she did remember was the warmth she felt whenever her mother hugged her.

A warmth she hasn't felt since mom was gone.

Cee wondered if her father knew that. If he cared. Or if he felt the same way.

She looked over at him, the thought to ask tickled her mind but seeing him drop a familiar clear liquid in his right eye and she deflated.

Cee couldn't talk to him when he was like that.

"During the rush, they said the aurolacs only surface about once every fifty-five years." Damon said, "But my research shows a resurgence happening now."

The flight deck of the drop pod was incredibly small. There was only an inch between their shoulders. It was as old as their ship. Maybe older. Her father hadn't asked too many questions when they bought it. He never worked with the type of people who accepted questions.

Their descent onto the planet wasn't a smooth one, when they hit atmosphere the ship started violently thrashing and the windows showed that they were washed with flames.

That was normal. What wasn't normal was the smoke Cee smelled coming from behind them.

Her father snapped his head back, trailing the scent of smoke and cursed, pressing buttons in a panic.

His actions didn't seem to help much, they landed harshly, both of their bodies jerking as the pod crashed to the ground.

"Fuck!" Damon cursed, looking at the panels to his right. "Damn thing took us off course. Do you have the coordinates of our anchor?" He asked, turning to her.

"Yes." Cee said.

"Good." Damon said, handing her a map. "Find out where we are then suit up. Six cycles and we'll repair the pod so we can head back to the ship. Don’t forget to charge the thrower."

Cee nodded as she took the map.

The aurolacs released carrom acid into the atmosphere, making it impossible to breathe for humans. They had to wear their suits on the surface. Cee remembered that her father told her that some people lived on The Green though.

She couldn't fathom why. It didn't seem very pleasant.

There were several deposits her father planned on visiting. It meant long days and just a few hours of sleep during the night.

They left the pod and prepped their suits for the long journey. Then started walking to their initial first drop.

Their equipment was on the pod. Their tent. Food. Water. Heaters. Everything except their limited harvesting tools. They left it because her father was in a hurry. Cee could never tell if her father's decisions were affected by the liquid in his syringes or because there was yet another secret plan he had that he didn't tell her.

Either way, the possibility that they could be stuck in the wild without the proper equipment frightened her. Something she'd only admit to herself. She was her own closest friend after-all.

"There!" Her father said excitedly after a couple of hours walking. On the ground ahead of them, she saw what looked like a mound of mud on the ground but the fleshy texture told her it was an aurolac.

Her father rushed forward, urging her when he noticed she was trudging along. "Do you remember how to harvest?" He asked her. Cee nodded. "Good, help me."

The gem they retrieved was small but a decent pull. Would go for a thousand or two if she was remembering what her father taught her correctly.

When they were done, her father quickly gathered the materials. "The deposit shouldn't be far away." He said.

For once, Cee didn't feel like her father bamboozled her. A few hundred feet ahead and there were aurelacs littering the ground.

They were harvesting for hours. They pulled about twenty more gems. Cee was cautiously enthusiastic. They've never harvested this many before.

"Let's head back." Her father said when the sun started setting. "We'll harvest the rest tomorrow. You carry the gems." He said as he handed her the backpack they'd been stuffing the gems in.

"It's heavy." Cee said when she grabbed the bag, her hand dropping down because of the weight.

"I know." He said. "But if someone comes snooping around, it's best if it's on you."

Cee didn't know what that meant but assumed it would be in both of their favor. So she pulled the backpack on.

She couldn't walk as fast with the load so their journey back took even longer. Night fell quicker than she anticipated. But her father urged her to keep walking.

They were crossing a clearing when they heard twigs snapping behind them.

"Someone's approaching." Damon whispered, handing her the thrower, "Go hide. Channel zero, mute your mike and wait for my signal." They've talked about what to do in situations like this so many times that Cee didn't hesitate to move.

Cee darted off to the side as quickly as she could with the extra weight, taking cover behind a tree just as two men emerged from the thick forest.

"Hello friend!" One said with a wave that caught Cee by surprise. He did it as if he knew them. But they didn't know anybody. Cee ducked down, not wanting them to see her.

“Curious.” The man said as he approached Damon.

“I’m sorry?” Her father said.

“Don’t see too many kips around these ways anymore.” The man said.

“I just arrived.” Her father said. “Just landed about an hour ago before it fell dark. Figured it was time to turn back.”

“Really?” The man said. He didn’t sound convinced. “You started walking at dusk. Friend, we just met but you don’t look that unintelligent.”

“I thought I saw an old dig in the distance.” Damon said. “I was going to observe it.”

The man hummed, “What’s your name, friend?”

“Damon.” Her father said.

“Where are you from?”

“Nowhere.”

The man chuckled. “How poetic. Nice to meet you Damon from nowhere, I’m Ezra.” The man said with a laugh.

“Hey!” Cee heard her father exclaim, “That’s-what are you doing?”

“Is that a serious question?” The man said.

“I don’t have anything!”

“And I believe you, gentle man. But my partner always needs a little convincing.” The man, Ezra, said. “He’d put me through hell if I just let you go without a thorough search. And you'll have to excuse him. He's not a talker like you and I.”

“They’re just things that I need.” Damon said and Cee could hear that someone was shuffling through his bag.

“Don’t we all.” Ezra said, his voice impatient.

“Hey! NO!” Damon yelled. Cee heard scuffling and and then her dad yelled in pain.

Cee jumped from behind the tree, thrower aimed in the direction she heard the voices. The two men snapped their attention at her, and when they saw the thrower, they took two steps back. One had his foot on her father's chest.

"Oh my," One of the men said, it sounded like Ezra's voice. He spoke with an awed smile. "In all my time in the green, I've never seen a little girl before."

Cee felt a bit indignant. She wasn't a little girl. But now was not the time for bruised egos.

Her father snatched the rail from Ezra's hand before climbing to his feet. The man was startled when her father did so, then tisked.

"Damon, I've underestimated you. I've got to stop doing that." Ezra said, as if this has happened before. Maybe it had. Her father had many secrets. Perhaps this was just one of the many.

"Give me back what you took!" Her father said as he started going through their things.

"Have it." Ezra said, taking a step or two back to sit on a log. His partner looked back at him. Cee couldn't see what his expression was but the way Ezra reacted…he suddenly seemed smaller than he had a moment ago.

"What? I can't help it." Ezra said, looking past his partner at Damon. Cee followed his gaze to her father. His eyes seemed to have met Ezra's. Her father had that look on him. The one he got when he discovered something profitable.

What he saw she couldn't tell. Maybe it was past Ezra?

Ezra chuckled. It was a bit tight though. "He hates talkers.

"That's what I felt when I pushed you." Her father said, his voice sounded victorious. He straightened, the rail in his hands trained at the pair.

The silent man lunged towards her father and Cee's finger squeezed the trigger on the thrower before she even thought about it. The guy jerked when it hit him in the shoulder. Then he jerked two more times before collapsing on the ground

The thrower only had one charge so Cee was confused at first. Until her dad took a shaky step back, his hand dropping.

The only sound anyone one made was a soft "Oh," from Ezra when he processed what had just happened. He walked over to his partner and sat beside them. Ezra didn't seem particularly upset that his partner was dead. There were no tears. He didn't move to touch the body in any way. He didn't look glad either.

His motions must have roused her father. He lifted the rail, aimed it at Ezra.

"Let's get moving." Damon said.

Ezra's eyes shifted, seemingly trying to think of what to do. He chuckled nervously, rising to his feet.

"Friend, I think we have a misunderstanding." Ezra said, but his voice wasn’t sturdy. There was a hint of a breaking. Maybe he was upset about his partner.

"No, you're pregnant. I felt it." Damon said, then waved the rail in the direction ahead of them. Cee's jaw dropped. She had never seen a male carrier before. There were sections of the Galaxy where they were more prominent than others but they never made up the majority of any population. They only made up ten percent of all human males in the galaxy.

"But I reckon you have the wrong impression of me. I'm a beta." Ezra said, "This man was my alpha. We got stranded here some time ago and when we found out I was carrying, we decided it was time to commandeer a ship."

"He's lying." Her father said, motioning for Cee to get closer. She did so cautiously, gripping the thrower even though she knew its one charge was gone. "It's an omegamale."

Ezra started, "I have proof—"

"Walk!" Damon demanded.

Ezra didn't move, so her father approached him, grabbing his arm and shoving him, "I said walk!"

"Okay." Ezra said,  as he found his footing from the shove, his voice sounded a bit defeated. "Be mindful of being rough. You don't shove pregnant women around, do you?"

Her father grumbled 'shut up' under his breath, shoving Ezra again who finally started walking. Cee followed hesitantly. She's never seen her father like this. They were both alphas. Most of the Galaxy was. Betas made up the second most popular gender. They didn't need much domination. Betas knew alphas were stronger so they followed their orders. And there was no need or desire to dominate other alphas.

They were only halfway to the pod and Cee was still carrying the gems. When her father noticed she struggled to keep up, he made Ezra carry the bag.

Cee thought it was unfair, given his condition. Also, he had robbed them before. What was to keep him from doing it again? But her father assured her that Ezra wasn't going anywhere. The weight slowed him down and since her father made him walk in front of them, it slowed them down as well.

It was nearing morning by the time they reached the pod. Cee was exhausted but from his heavy panting, she would say Ezra was more tired than her. She was used to it. She could hold out for a second wind but she didn’t know if Ezra could. She’s never met a pregnant person before. She didn’t imagine, though, that they should be carrying heavy loads.

When they reached their spacecraft, her father took the bag of gems from Ezra and gave it back to Cee, telling her she knew where to put it.

And she did. She followed them into the pod, after her father all but shoved Ezra in. She stayed in the cargo bay while they climbed the ladder to the flight deck. She quickly stashed the bag into one of their many hidden compartments. Then climbed up when she heard her father telling Ezra to take off his helmet.

He chuckled a little, leaning his back against the wall. “Good man, I’m not sure you want to go down this path.” Ezra said, nodding towards Cee. “Your little girl here seems scared. You might not want to show her this side of you.” Cee couldn’t tell if his concern was fake and self-serving...or genuine.

“You don’t need to worry about her.” Damon said. “Charge the thrower.” He said to Cee though his eyes never left Ezra. “And you take off your helmet.”

Ezra shook his head, “No, I don’t think I will.”

Cee found the charger and bent down to it. The second she did, Ezra sprung forward, shoving her dad to the side. His movement startled Cee who fell back without the thrower being properly charged. He ran past her though towards the ladder but her father was quicker than Ezra and he grabbed his arm, slamming Ezra into the wall. The man rasped in pain when he collided with it, sliding down to his knees. Damon made sure Ezra’s back hit the wall and not somewhere that could hurt the baby. It didn’t stop Ezra from wrapping his arms around his stomach protectively.

“Come on friend,” Ezra said, his voice tight, somewhere between his normal good humor and true concern. “Be careful. I’m carrying. It’s sexist to treat a pregnant man worse than you would a woman.”

Her father ignored this as he disconnected Ezra's helmet, yanking it off.

"Come look at this." Damon said, motioning for Cee to come to him.

She was so shocked she almost couldn't move, having never seen her father like this. He used violence very sparingly. Only during confrontations. To see him be so physical with someone, especially someone who was obviously a sub…Cee knew she didn't know her father very well but now she was seeing just how much.

Cee got to her feet slowly and came to his father. He showed her the barcode tattoo on Ezra's neck.

"See that? Do you know what it means?" Her father asked.

The barcode started with a B, followed by twelve numbers, and ended with an O.

"If it starts with a B, it means he's a beta?" Cee said. It appeared as if Ezra had been telling the truth. But her dad shook her head, victoriously.

“If the little girl can read a barcode, surely you must feel ashamed.” Ezra said and was slapped for comment. Cee took a startled step back that her father either didn’t notice or just didn’t care.

"On this side of the galaxy it means beta." Damon said, "But he's from back home. The B stands for broodmare. The O stands for omega. It should have another barcode on the back of it's hand that matches this section’s policies. It would have gotten it when it passed the borders."

Cee's mind went blank. This was all so strange. She had many unanswered questions.

"How did you know he was an omega when we first saw him?" Cee asked.

"A friend of mine got in touch. It was taken from him while he was doing business on Grynda. Had a lead that he was taken here and hired me to retrieve him." Damon said. “Paid me half to start and was going to pay the rest when I brought him back but I never had any intention to. He’s worth far more than the fee.”

Her father’s smile was predatory and greedy. Cee didn’t know how to take all of this. Didn’t know what to think of her father anymore. The shreds of goodwill she had for him were quickly dwindling.

“Here,” Her father said, getting Cee’s attention. “Hold this to his stomach.” Her father handed her the rail. “It can get pretty violent. It has killed before so you watch it closely, and make sure it doesn’t try anything funny while I register it.”

Handling weapons like this always made Cee nervous. She’s held firearms before but her grip was never sturdy. She was especially shaky now. The threat wasn’t just taking a human life. It was taking the life of a baby who was completely innocent.

Her father jotted down the digits from the barcode on Ezra’s neck and went to the flight deck to connect to the ISA database.

Cee noticed Ezra had gone quiet. She couldn’t blame him. What was there to say? He glanced up at her though. His eyes had changed. They had gone cold. Hard. He slumped back against the wall a little. She didn’t think he was scared. Just defeated.

She believed her father when he said Ezra’s killed before. He did seem like the kind of man who could. But...how was it fair to threaten an unborn, defenseless child just to keep their carrier in line? Was the measure even necessary? It wasn’t like Ezra had been fighting back this entire time. He’s tried to escape, to talk his way out of it. Not fight.

Cee looked over her shoulder at her father, letting her aim slip away. To make sure he wasn’t paying attention but also to see what Ezra would do. Which was nothing more than watching her.

She turned back around and made sure he saw her put the safety on the rail before putting her aim back on his stomach.

His eyes immediately came alive, bright and hopeful. He sat up a little, mouthing 'thank you'. It seemed so genuine and raw.

Her father came back shortly after, wearing a smile, "I need you to go fill the bladders. There's a stream straight out if you turn left at the hatch." He took the rail from her.

A bit of worry crept up in Cee. He hadn't checked the safety before aiming it at Ezra. If she left, he could gain the advantage. She didn't feel particularly inclined to inform him though.

But immediately after that morbid though, she changed her mind. He was her father. She didn't want him dead.

"Dad—"

"No, go, now! And mute the radio. If I need you, I'll use channel three." Her father said. Cee deflated with sigh and walked over to the ladder, climbing down.

Instead of grabbing the bladders and heading to the stream, Cee muted her mic. She was pretty sure she knew what was going to happen next… She just...needed to know for sure.

"Take off your suit and clothes." Her father said. She heard a huff and a bit of struggling, like Ezra was standing up.

"Damon-Alpha," Ezra said, "I would just like to remind you that claiming can be done asexually."

"Take it off." Damon demanded.

"I could have a disease for all you know."

"You've had a flush. It's in your records."

"Months ago. I've been passed around repeatedly since then."

"I'll take my chances."

There was a pause and some shuffling.

"Don't stall. Take it all off."

"Alright, friend-alpha…I'm not going to fight. But I am carrying a very handsome payload for you and I think you need to hear this before proceeding." Ezra said.

There was a slight hesitation before her father told him to 'go on'.

"There are villagers around here with their own ways." Ezra started, "They're amicable but strong willed. One family in particular, the mother has died and they need someone to carry on their lineage. That's how I have come to be carrying this litter. My alpha, the one you kindly shot down, made a deal with them. I am supposed to carry three litters for them. This is the second litter and I should tell you their pay is a case of the gems you're spending so much time harvesting. So if you'd like to become richer with significantly less work. So I'd suggest a gentle approach if you please. I've never lost a child. I don't plan to now. "

There was a moment of silence before her father said, "Take off your clothes."

"I told you, I'm not fighting." Ezra said, "I just need to know they'll be okay."

"I won't hurt the merchandise." Her father said.

Cee heard a heavy sigh and more shuffling and clanking. After a while her father said, "Don't act like you don't know how this goes. On all fours. Now!"

Cee decided to mute the channel and find the stream.

When Cee returned about an hour later, her father was outside working on the engines of the pod, doing something she's never heard him do before…

Whistling.

He heard her approaching and turned around.

"You got the water, good. Get started on polishing the gems. I'll finish them when I come back inside."

Cee opened the hatch to the pod, then hesitated.

"Where is he?" Cee asked.

"It's in the cargo hatch." Her father said, "No need to fear it. It's been tamed."

Cee didn’t like the sound of that. She wasn’t afraid of Ezra. He hadn’t done anything threatening so far. Even if he had, he was a pregnant omega. She didn’t think they generally posed much of a threat. But her father had taught her to never underestimate anyone.

She retrieved the gems from where they were stored and started polishing them but after awhile she had to stop. Ezra's scent was lingering. It was sweet with a musky hint. Like a sweet wine. His scent had a way about it, something a bit sad and...lonely. Cee knew how that felt.

Cee grabbed an MRE and peeked out a window to ensure her father was still working then opened the hatch to the cargo bay. Ezra startled a little when she did, he looked like he had been pacing. He was out of his suit and in a green sleeveless T and khakis.

"Oh, little girl." Ezra said as she climbed down the ladder, "What brings you down here?" His voice was cautious, like he thought she was up to no good. Cee wondered if he thought she would do the same thing she assumed her father did.

"Is the baby okay?" Cee asked, glancing at the bump in his belly. It was vibrating a bit and it looked weird.

"Oh, yeah." Ezra said, leaning back against the wall, putting a hand over his baby bump. "Maybe too much excitement for them today, they don’t usually move so much. But I think they're fine."

"They?" Cee said, finding herself becoming a bit nervous. Ezra didn't seem likely to attack but he was still a complete stranger.

"Mhmm," Ezra said, lying his head back against the wall, like he was tired, "I'm carrying a litter. I think I’m carrying at least three."

Cee opened her mouth to ask no if he really were a broodmare since such omegas were incredibly rare but she heard the clunk of the decompression door closing.

"I have to go." Cee said in a hurry, reaching forward to hand Ezra the MRE which he took hesitantly. “I thought you might be hungry.” She said before hurriedly climbing back up the hatch. Cee was just closing the door when she saw her father coming up into the flight deck.

"What are you doing?" Her father asked.

"You said he wasn't dangerous." Cee said, "I was going to go down and—"

"Don't go getting attached." He snipped, then sighed crossing the room to the closet. Or at least what they were using as a closet. He glanced back at her as he started undoing the latches of his suit. He sighed again, his eyes softening, "You're like your mother. You'd get attached."

Cee piqued as she always did when he mentioned her mother. He only did so on rare occasions or when the clear liquid was in his system.

But she could tell he wasn't interested in talking about it by the way he curtly turned around. She did the same to pick up where she left off with the gems.

Chapter Text

“We’re still harvesting?” Cee asked the next morning. They woke early as always but Cee had thought it was out of habit. Then her father told her to get ready and she was confused. She almost asked about the villagers Ezra claimed to be selling a litter to but at the last second she remembered she wasn’t supposed to know about that.

“Of course,” Damon said.

“I thought you said he’d make us a lot of profit.” Cee said.

“Mhm.” Damon hummed, the way he did when he hadn’t been quite honest with her. “But there’s plenty of gems for the taking. We might as well take them.” He turned and started gathering their equipment, telling her to help him.

So, conversation over.

When they were through packing, Cee wasn’t even sure what they were packing for, Damon opened the cargo hatch and told Ezra to put on his suit and come up.

“He hasn’t eaten.” Cee said, remembering that when they ate their morning MRE’s, not one had been given to the omega.

“It’ll survive.” Damon said boredly as he put on his suit. As if that wasn't extremely unfair. Cee hesitated, not sure what to say.

"Is that what you did when mom was carrying me?" Cee asked.

Her father turned, giving her a warning look, "It isn't your mother. It'll survive. End of discussion."

He turned and started gathering their equipment for the walk. Cee did the same but when Damon wasn’t paying attention she quickly grabbed one of the rations and held it behind her back as she pretended to fiddle with her suit. When her father crossed the room to grab an extra filter, she quickly walked over to the still opened hatch and dropped the package down then quickly put on her suit.

“We’re heading to deposit fifteen.” Damon said, handing her the map. Cee chanced a glance at Ezra. They had loaded their equipment onto a field dolly that the omega was tasked with pulling as well as carrying two backpacks.

On top of carrying three pups.

Cee couldn't help but pity him.

"That's the one that's furthest away." Cee said.

Her father nodded, taking back the map, "Yep, we're going to start there and move back in closer to the pod. We better head out now if we want to beat the darkness."

Cee didn't think Ezra would be able to keep the required pace to reach deposit fifteen by nightfall but she didn't say anything. She obediently followed her father, knowing well he didn't appreciate any form of input.

Ezra's first few steps, his soft, strained groan as he started tugging on the dolly, told Cee that he probably wouldn't be able to keep up. She reached out to help Ezra but her father grabbed her arm, telling her to stay close and remember what he said about becoming attached.

They travelled for hours. Not much was said, except for some instructions her father gave her as they walked. Cee would occasionally look behind to check on Ezra; he was trudging slower and slower behind them.

After a few hours more, when the sun started to set, Cee heard a loud, “Whew!” behind them.

She and her father turned around to find Ezra parking the dolly and taking a seat on the edge of it.

Ezra looked at them and smiled brightly, “Alpha, if you don’t mind, I think here would be as good of a spot as any to call it a day.”

"What? No! We are not stopping here!" Damon just shy of yelled. His voice was tight and annoyed. Cee felt a small swell of protectiveness bubbling inside her. For Ezra. Which didn't really make much sense. They just met the strange man yesterday. Maybe her father was right. She was becoming attached very quickly. Maybe she did need to be careful.

"Then push on, my alpha." Ezra said, "But I told you I have never lost a child and I still don not intend to. I will remain here until I feel it is safe to continue."

Cee was intrigued. The betas she's met were never this…sturdy. She had expected omegas to be even more flimsy, flopping their opinion around to accommodate the alpha.

From the way her father growled, Cee felt the need to intervene. She tried to stop herself as she fiddled with the map but she still spoke up.

"There's a deposit just two clicks away. There are several with a ten mile radius." Cee said, looking down at the map. Her father gave her a look, one of many meanings.

"Cee, you know why we start at the point the furthest away." Damon said.

Cee nodded, "That way as we work their way back, the weight from the accumulating gems would be the heaviest when we're the closest to the pod.

"Exactly!"

"But we don't have to carry it as we go. When we've finished a dig, he can carry them back to the pod as we move on to the next one." Cee said.

Damon sighed impatiently, "It'll try to escape."

"Contrary to your belief," Ezra spoke up, "Separating from an alpha is not a course I take intentionally unless my children are at risk." To Cee it sounded like a commitment yet a threat. An ultimatum.

Damon exhaled very slowly, glaring at Ezra the entire time.

"Fine!" He said finally, "But you'll go with it every time.."

Cee sighed. She just made a lot of work for herself but it would gave her more time to figure Ezra out.

"Okay, fine." Cee said.

"Alright, you stay here and help it set up camp." Damon said but judging by how tense his voice was, Cee knew he wasn't happy. "Be quick about it. Then join me, bring it with you. I'm going to set up our materials for harvesting."

"Okay." Cee said as her father turned from her.

Ezra released a breath, a hand going to his stomach. He suddenly seemed a bit…smaller. Cee couldn't tell if he didn't need to put on an appearance now that her father was gone or if he was just trying to appeal to her sympathy. What upset her is that it was working.

"Thank you." Ezra said with a small, tired smile. It seemed so genuine.

"You don't have to do much if you're too tired." Cee said, "I don't want anything to happen to the babies either." She started unloading the dolly. They were going to be at this camp location for a while, she assumed. There were a lot of deposits circling the area. Since the plan changed, this would be a good base camp.

Ezra smiled a bit more, "I can be of use. I just couldn't walk too much further. The more I'm carrying the less energy I can afford to exert or else they'll flush."

"Flush?" Cee asked.

"Yes, sometimes a child or two will abort to ensure the survival of the rest." Ezra said.

"Oh," Cee said, "I didn't know that could happen." Ezra started to speak but they both turned when they heard someone approaching.

Damon appeared giving Cee a disapproving look, "Go set up the dig. What do I keep telling you about getting attached?"

He had calmed down significantly already; her father was never one to hold on to anger for long.

"We were just talking—"

"The dig! Go!" Damon said.

Cee couldn't help but roll her eyes as she sighed, grabbing the harvest equipment. She heard Damon bark orders at Ezra as she walked in the direction of the deposit. She felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to get him in trouble.

Cee had the dig prepared and the equipment set up. She was just waiting now. She wanted to start; she knew how to harvest on her own. But her father always made her wait for him since the consequences of misplaced confidence could be death.

She could still hear her father barking orders at Ezra over comms. From what Cee could tell, Ezra hadn't responded to any of it. She didn't like the way Damon was treating him so she turned off the mic.

Before too long, she heard twigs snapping as feet walked over them.

"You have everything prepared, good." Damon said when he appeared from the bushes. Cee was surprised to see Ezra trailing him. She thought her father would leave him at the camp. He's been on his feet all day. He had to be tired.

"You brought him?" Cee asked.

"I didn't trust him at the camp site alone." Damon said. Cee couldn't fathom why. The Green didn't seem like the type of place someone pregnant would want to traverse on their own. 

"I can harvest." Ezra said. His voice lacked it's normal gusto. His eyes were hooded, he sounded breathey, like he was tired.

"Don't talk unless spoken too." Damon said as he knelt down beside Cee at one of the digs. Ezra sighed but stayed silent, leaning back against a tree, hands held behind him.

He stayed silent as Cee helped her father for hours, harvesting gem after gem. Ezra just stood there watching them intently. They had just finished a pull when the omega finally spoke up again.

"She knows what she's doing." Ezra said softly. His quiet tone didn't save him from being glared at by Damon. Ezra put his hands up defensively, lowered his eyes, "I'm just saying you could do this on your own, I could help her and you would finish in half the time."

Damon huffed, standing, leveling a look at Ezra but he stayed silent as he thought for a moment.

"Fine," Damon gritted after a moment, "But follow her instructions and I don't want to hear a single word from you. Not one." Ezra nodded.

Damon sighed again, and looked at Cee, "Start a dig, I trust you to know what you're doing. We'll only do one or two more before we're done for the day." Cee nodded, tried not to be too eager so her father wouldn't reconsider.

Cee moved to another aurolac and Ezra joined her, giving her a small smile. She was actually growing a bit nervous now. She's never done it by herself before… Well, she wasn't really alone, was she?

Ezra proved that he really did know how to harvest. Whenever she was close to making a mistake, he'd gently intervene, sometimes took the tools and did what was needed then handed the tools back to her. He did this all wordlessly and Cee was sad for that. She liked listening to him. Liked hearing his wacky stories.

When they were through, her father shoved a map at her and told her to go find a stream to fill the bladders. She didn't trust her father with Ezra. But she supposed using an omega in such a way, even a helpless and pregnant one, was to be expected of an alpha. She had just thought they'd be beyond that by now.

------

Cee took her time as she walked to find a stream. She certainly didn't want to return too soon and see anything unpleasant. She didn't think Ezra would appreciate that. Or her father for that matter.

A half hour trip took two and Cee she cautiously walked back to the base camp. She saw they had set up two tents while she had been setting up the digs. Her father was alone in the bigger one, she could see his shadow, so that's the one she entered.

Her father was cleaning their dig equipment and glanced up at her when she entered and quickly closed the tent door.

"Took that long to find a stream?" Damon said.

"The forest is dense." Cee said simply, not at all answering the question. "If you were worried, you would have used the radio."

"I was about to." Damon said. "Help me with this."

Cee took off her suit and began cleaning the equipment using the water she just collected from the stream. She glanced around as she worked, noticing there was a connector between their and Ezra's tent. Their tent had a bunk bed, three coolers and a purified water dispenser. Ezra's tent was small, she doubted his tent contained any of that. Probably not even a lantern with how very dark his tent was.

They were only at it for about an hour or so, working in complete silence, eating MREs as they worked. Her father never talked to her. Only instructed and explained. Sometimes rebuked and reprimanded. But never just talked.

When they were done preparing for the next day, Damon opted for pills instead of eye drops. They worked faster and harder, putting him in a deep sleep almost immediately.

Cee sighed as she sat on the bed. Damon had given her the bottom bunk. She didn't know why, it didn't seem wise with how high he stayed. But he wasn't too far off the ground so if he fell, it wouldn't be so bad she supposed.

She stared at the connector to Ezra's tent for a long while, wondering if she should disturb him. He could be sleeping, he had been very tired earlier. But, in her heart, she knew Damon hadn't been fair to him so she made a decision. She went through their storage boxes and collected extra water bottles and two extra lamps. She checked one of the coolers to make sure it had enough food in it and opened the connector when she had gathered everything, pushing it all through.

She could see Ezra startle a bit over the bundled as she crawled through behind it. It appeared had been sitting with his back against one of the poles in the corner, not asleep, she figured. He did at least have a cot. Better than being shoved in the cargo bay back at the drop pod.

She couldn't tell why he opted to sit up though when he had to be exhausted.

"Oh, Little girl," Ezra said quietly, curiously, "I see you've brought gifts." He said as he leaned over and helped her pull the stuff through. When she crawled out, she saw that her assumptions had been right. Ezra had nothing but the bed.

"I wanted to make sure you'd be okay." Cee said, taking a lamp and hanging it from the ceiling of the tent. The other she handed to Ezra who took it cautiously and set it beside him on the floor.

"I've never met someone carrying before but I read in a book once that you're always hungry." Cee said. Ezra chuckled a little, tiredly, taking a package of beef jerky she handed him that she took from the cooler.

"There's water in here too. Everything you should need." Cee said. Ezra looked at her, eyes a bit narrow as he opened the package.

"I don't think your pa will appreciate you reconsolidating his resources." Ezra said.

Yeah. She didn't think he'd like that either.

"It's what's fair." Cee said, "You're not here by choice."

Ezra hummed a little as he opened the package and took a bite of the meat.

"Where's your mother?" Ezra asked. It caught Cee off guard. She wasn't even sure why. She guessed she didn't expect him to care enough to ask.

Cee shrugged, "Why?"

"You're different from your father," Ezra said. "There has to be some other factors."

Cee was quiet for a moment before she decided it was okay to tell him. It wasn't like it wasn't obvious.

"She's not here." Cee said, not at all answering the question. It wasn't purposefully done but she didn't correct it.

Ezra didn't seem to notice, he winced suddenly, placing a hand on his stomach.

"Are they okay?" Cee asked, taking a step towards him before stopping herself. He was still tucked away in the corner. She may very well be bothering him but he might not feel he had the freedom to voice his discomfort.

"Yes, I think so." Ezra said, leaning back again, his eyes closed. "I was just on my feet for too long today."

"I'm sorry." Cee said before she even realized she was speaking. Her father always taught her that apologizing, especially to strangers, made her seem weak.

But she didn't want to take it back.

Ezra opened his eyes and met hers, seemingly confused. So she…kept going. For some reason.

"I'm sorry he treats you this way." Cee said.

"Huh," Ezra said, leaning his head back against the beam. "Where's your mother, little girl?" He asked again.

Hmm…strange reaction. Guess her father was right.

"I'll let you rest." Cee said, guessing he was tired. Or maybe he just felt disconnected from her. Cee guessed if she was held captive by someone's father and mistreated the way she assumed her father did to Ezra, she'd feel disconnected too. Ezra opened his eyes at that, seemed a bit confused but didn't say anything. She gave him a small smile and knelt down to crawl back through the connector.

"It's just that you and alpha are very, incredibly different." Ezra said just before she started her crawl, "And the only reason I can fathom is the person that is missing or you're more like him than you let on."

Right. Distrust. They were cautious of each other. Probably misplaced since the only person causing harm was snoring away in the next room.

Cee sighed, "She died when I was young. I didn't know her very well. I can't imagine being very much like her."

Ezra hummed a little. He thought on it and she let him.

After a while, he sighed. "Come here." He said, motioning with his hand.

That seemed like a bad idea. But Ezra looked exhausted, obviously the day had taken a toll on him. And he was a pregnant omega after all.

He wasn't a threat…

She hoped he wasn't a threat. He has killed before, or so her father had said. And he had every reason to be angry enough to kill now…

Despite her better senses, Cee walked over to him, sitting at his side. He raised his shirt, revealing the baby bump that was vibrating again. The bump was bigger than she expected, about half a kratgon melon. His shirt was bigger than necessary and it concealed how far along he was.

"Give me your hand." He said. She slowly reached over, not sure where he was going with this. He took her hand and placed it on his stomach, on the left. She could feel something moving under her touch, then a more determined bump and Ezra winced a bit.

"You feel that?" Ezra asked. Cee nodded. "It's Jael. I call him Jael. He's a night owl. He favors this side and calms down if I sleep on my left." Ezra moved her hand to the center. Cee felt a different type of movement, like the baby was turning around, spinning in circles? "This is Kylar. She sleeps at night but makes up for it in the early mornings. If she does stay up, she rarely kicks." He moved her hand to the right. Cee noticed an immediate difference. He was constantly kicking, some were stronger than others. "And this is Yael. I don't know why he feels the need to torture his poor carrier this way but I can't get any sleep when he's like this." He let go of her hand but she kept it on his belly. Feeling the life under her touch. And Ezra didn't seem to mind.

"They all always move the most when I've done too much during the day." Ezra said. "They're not even born yet and they already have tendencies."

"It's…fascinating." Cee said. Ezra smiled tiredly but also sadly. "You named them?" Cee asked. Ezra nodded. "Will they get to keep their names?"

He sighed, "No. It's just what I have until they're gone."

"Gone?"

Ezra nodded again, "In a few months, when they're born, they'll be taken from me. I doubt if they'll grow up knowing I even exist. But I like to think that there will always be some part of me that stays with them, with all of them."

"I hope so too." Cee said. She didn't know what else to say. The way he had spoken, with so much sadness…she knew she couldn't fix that with words. "They're probably all talkers." Ezra huffed a laugh.

"What's a broodmare?" Cee asked after a while, the babies had calmed so she retracted her hand. She had a vague idea what a broodmare was but it seemed too…unreal.

"An omega who has litters." Ezra said. "I've never had less than three at a time. And the most I've had was nine. But the conditions on The Green does not cultivate that sort of carrying."

"That's…" Cee started and stopped, not sure how to take this information. A broodmare was exactly what she thought it was but it still seemed unreal. "You must have a lot of children."

Ezra laughed, "Yes. Being knocked up in my profession. That's why I'm so valuable to alpha. He can sell me and my litters."

"You're not a dog." Cee said instinctively. And with those words came the realization that she did exactly what her father told her not to. She's gotten attached. Rather quickly, too quickly. He just came into their lives.

But she didn't regret it. Not yet, at least. Not at this very second.

Ezra laughed again, meeting her eyes, "You must have more of your mother in you than you think." Cee pondered on that, deciding it was probably true. It would explain a lot of things.

"You should probably sleep, little girl." Ezra said.

Cee was not a little girl.

"Hopefully you won't have to be on your feet so much tomorrow." Cee said, "Since we don't have to travel as far."

Ezra smiled, though there was doubt in his eyes, "That would be quite the treat. Goodnight, little girl."

Cee crawled over to the connector, saying, "Goodnight, Ezra," before crawling through.