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“King Derek and Prince Stiles were seen attending close friends’ Scott and Allison’s wedding yesterday. All anyone is talking about is whether or not the Prince’s waistcoat is hiding a baby bump. We’ve wanted a mini Hale since the royal couple was married almost three years ago, could this be it? Stay tuned for –“
Derek clears his throat as he turns off the TV. “Our tea has arrived,” he announces gesturing to the tray he had placed down on the table.
Stiles sheepishly ducks his head as Derek continues speaking. “You really shouldn’t watch that trash. It’s only upsetting you further.”
As if proving his point, a few more tears drop down Stiles’ face as the image of yet another negative pregnancy test burns in his mind. Derek sits down on the couch and pulls Stiles into his side, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
They quietly sip their tea and let the warmth radiate throughout their bodies. When both mugs have been drained, Derek begins drawing patterns into the side of Stiles’ hip and says, “This just means that we get to have more fun trying love, it is going to happen sometime.”
Stiles mutters, “Will it though? I’m a male omega. My chances of getting pregnant aren’t high to begin with.”
Derek continues tracing shapes into Stiles’ skin as he reassures him, “Just because it is more difficult for a male omega to get pregnant, doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It’s happened for other male omegas and it will happen for you.”
Stiles sighs, “I know babe, but we have been trying to get pregnant for so long and I really thought this time the test would be positive. Even the media thought I was pregnant, but really I am just putting on weight from all of the stress.”
Stiles pauses, exhaling a loud breath before turning to face Derek. Stiles can feel the tears starting to crowd his eyes again as he looks at Derek’s face. Derek is as breathtaking as always, but no matter how hard he tries, he can see the sadness lurking in Derek’s eyes too.
Stiles starts again, “I hate this phrase, but I’m supposed to give you an heir and a spare. I want to give you so much more than that. I want a whole bunch of kids running around this palace. I want to give you a large family like you had growing up. I never had that as a kid. I want our grandkids to have so many cousins to play with. I want that to be our future.” Stiles gives up trying to keep the rest of the tears at bay and instead just lets them flow.
Derek doesn’t know what to say. He wants all of that for them too, but he doesn’t want to add more pressure to what Stiles is already feeling. Instead of responding, Derek gathers Stiles up into his lap, holds him as close as possible and lets the tears run another course. Once Stiles’ eyes are dry again, Derek places his hand on his cheek and pulls him in for a soft kiss. When they part Derek reaches for Stiles’ hand to intertwine their fingers.
“How about we turn in early tonight? Does that sound good?” Derek questions.
Stiles nods his head and snuggles in closer to him. “You know what else sounds good?”
Derek raises an eyebrow and waits for Stiles to continue.
“A nice hot bath before bed.” Stiles whispers.
Now it is time for Derek to nod his head. “That sounds great love. I’ll run the water and you can pick out a bath bomb. I’ll even give you a shoulder massage.”
Stiles smiles up at his husband and wonders again how he got so lucky. While soaking in the bath Stiles reminisces on meeting Derek when he was visiting his dad, the director of security at the palace. The moment their eyes met, they both felt the mate bond snap into place and a sense of rightness spread over their bodies. As they fall asleep that night Stiles is comforted by the love he can feel pulsing between their mate bond.
***
Derek’s royal advisor approaches Derek during a meeting.
“Your Majesty. A palace staff member has reported that Stiles has barricaded himself with his Spark in the bathroom in your private quarters.” He whispers.
Derek keeps a composed exterior and excuses himself from the meeting. He swiftly makes his way to their private quarters, trying not to raise alarm in the castle. Derek enters the bedroom with his royal advisor and immediately knows what’s wrong. He collects himself and gently knocks on the door.
“Stiles, honey, it’s me. Please let me in.”
A choked sob can be heard through the door. The barricade shimmers before solidifying once more.
“Stiles, my love, my mate. I know what’s wrong. I smell the blood. I only hear one heartbeat. Please let me in.”
The barricade shatters like glass and Derek enters the room to find Stiles curled tight in a ball weeping on the floor with blood staining his inner thighs. Derek turns to his royal advisor, who respectfully has been looking away from the door the whole time.
Derek mutters, “Go get the doctor. Be discreet.” Before turning to comfort his mate.
Stiles wakes to damp cheeks. He brushes the tears away and curses being a Spark. His Spark works in mysterious ways, one of which being his ability to pull up memories from the past, including ones he’d rather keep buried deep. The baby they’d lost before making it public knowledge that he’d been pregnant in the first place. That’d been a small blessing in the whole nightmare that only Stiles’ dad, their close friends and the palace staff had known Stiles was pregnant and miscarried nearly a year ago. Of course, his Spark chooses the day of Scott and Allison’s baby shower to bring up this particular memory. He takes a deep breath and turns to see Derek looking at him.
“Penny for your thoughts.” Derek says.
“I’m thrilled for Scott and Allison and of course wish nothing but the best for them and their first baby.”
Derek grabs his hand and nods in understanding as the tears reappear in Stiles’ eyes.
“I just can’t help but think about what happened to our first baby.” Stiles chokes out.
“I know sweetheart. I’ve been thinking the same.”
Stiles and Derek have a slow start to their morning, spending as much time as they need cuddling in bed and mourning together.
***
They’ve been home from the diplomatic meeting in France for over a week and Stiles is struggling. Jet lag usually hits him really hard, but the fatigue never lasts for this long. As he’s getting ready for bed, he opens one of the cabinets by the sink looking for more toothpaste and finds the box of pregnancy tests squished in the back. That’s odd, they usually keep the pregnancy tests in the closet, not the cabinet. Stiles stares at them for a little and realizes that Derek must have hidden them before they left for their trip so Stiles wouldn’t stress out more about trying to get pregnant.
He picks up one of them and turns it over in his hands a few times. Maybe he’s not jetlagged. A common symptom of pregnancy is fatigue. He doesn’t want to get his or Derek’s hopes up, but he can’t put the test back. He looks at the clock and realizes that he still has some time before Derek returns to their private chambers from his meeting. He usually waits and takes the test when they can be together to see the results, but tonight he can’t wait. He doesn’t think he can bear to see Derek’s disappointed face again, especially this close to Derek’s birthday.
When Derek enters their private chambers he starts looking around for Stiles, hoping for some cuddle time. He hears muffled sobbing coming from the bathroom. He opens the door and sees Stiles on the floor holding his stomach crying next to an empty pregnancy test box. Derek’s heart breaks a little again as he kneels next to Stiles and pulls him into his arms. Derek starts to rock him back and forth and whisper reassuring phrases about trying again into his ear.
Stiles pulls back slightly and shakes his head back and forth before uncurling his hands to show Derek the positive pregnancy test. Derek gasps and looks from the test to Stiles’ face and back to the test again, before Derek starts crying and pulls Stiles back into his arms. They both stay on the floor crying tears of joy and whispering about how lucky they are.
***
The next morning Derek tells his royal advisor to notify the palace staff that Stiles is pregnant. He also tells him that everyone is sworn to secrecy to the highest level. Luckily their staff is very loyal and the news never escaped the castle last time, so Derek is fairly confident the news will remain a secret.
The night before he called an emergency pack meeting where Stiles and Derek shared the happy news with the pack. Stiles’ dad had cried. Cora had cried. Scott and Allison were so excited their kids would grow up together. Erica and Boyd offered to answer any questions, seeing how they already had 2 kids. Kira, Malia and Lydia cheered over being aunties again. Isaac quietly congratulated them with a beaming smile at being an uncle again. It had been a joyous night.
***
At the first prenatal visit Stiles is silent and still, which concerns Derek as those two words are never used to describe his mate.
“What’s wrong?” Derek asks.
Stiles sighs. “Nothing’s wrong. I think. I’m just telling myself not to get too excited.”
“It’s okay to be excited. We get to see the baby today. That’s exciting.” Derek gently kisses Stiles’ temple.
“We’ve been here before. I don’t want to get too excited in case.” He can’t finish his sentence, but Derek knows what he means.
Regardless, when the image appears on the monitor happy tears rush down both their faces and their smiles are so wide it hurts.
***
Stiles’ knees hurt from kneeling over the toilet. He feels like he lives in this bathroom now. He starts to sit up, but feels another wave of nausea wash over him. As he leans back over to be sick, he feels Derek adjusting the washcloth that almost slipped off his neck at the movement and his hand rubbing soothing circles into his back. The morning sickness is just as terrible as he remembers, but it’s worth it.
His stomach has been causing lots of problems. He’s also had a severe aversion to meat of any kind. An ironic situation if you think about the fact he’s married to a werewolf and has a 50/50 chance of having a werewolf baby. They won’t know if the baby is a werewolf or human until they are born. Not that it matters to either Stiles or Derek as long as the baby is healthy. For the time being the kitchen staff is challenged with cooking vegetarian meals for the first time in the castle.
***
More happy tears are shed as Stiles hears his baby’s heartbeat through the monitor for the first time. Derek is so lucky to be a werewolf who has enhanced hearing and first heard the baby’s heartbeat weeks ago. Speaking of enhanced senses, Stiles watches Derek’s nose twitch and his face switch to one of worry.
“Your scent is bittersweet. What’s going on?” Derek questions.
Derek is always so in tune with Stiles, whether it’s his facial expressions, heartbeat or scent, Derek can pick up miniscule changes in Stiles. It makes Stiles feel loved deep in his bones that Derek cares for him so attentively.
“I’m so relieved to hear our baby’s heartbeat. It’s just we didn’t make it this far last time. I mean Derek can you believe we made it to 3 months? I’ve finished my first trimester. And even though that means I’m less likely to miscarry, it could still happen.”
He doubted he’d ever get over the fear of losing this baby. Even once the baby was born he’d forever be concerned for their safety. Do all parents feel this way? They must, although Stiles recognizes that some of his anxieties came from the trauma of his miscarriage.
“Do you want to hold off on making the announcement to the public? We don’t have to do it tomorrow. We can push it back until you feel comfortable.” Derek offers.
Stiles didn’t think he could keep this secret any longer.
“No, I think we should still do it tomorrow. It’s tradition to announce at the end of the first trimester. I also don’t know if I’ll ever feel ready to announce it. I think I’ll always be worried about this baby’s safety. Plus, part of me wants to share with the public. I know how excited they’ll be.”
He also knew how excited Derek was to share the news.
“Okay love. Whatever you want.” Derek says before leaning in for a kiss.
***
“You are beautiful. Our baby will be beautiful. What your body can do is beautiful. But this? This is disgusting.” Derek says.
Stiles rolls his eyes at his husband’s dramatics. “Really Der-bear. The morning sickness you were fine with. But this is where you draw the line? My cravings for mango.”
Stiles definitely hadn’t been okay with the morning sickness. He hated throwing up, always had, usually crying while emptying his stomach. At the beginning he had also protested Derek seeing him like that, but Derek assured him that he wanted to help however he could and even Stiles couldn’t deny that Derek rubbing circles into his back had helped.
“It’s not your cravings for mango that’s weird. It’s eating mango on pizza. Some things just don’t belong on pizza and that’s one of them.” Derek insisted.
Stiles feels like mango bacon pizza isn’t the weirdest pregnancy craving he’s ever heard of.
“I’d say sorry, but I’m not. It’s delicious. Plus, what baby wants, baby gets.” Stiles pats his belly happily.
Lately what baby wanted was a lot of mangoes including yogurt, smoothies, popsicles, sherbet and salsa.
Stiles shoves another slice of pizza in his mouth and happily munches away. When he finishes eating, he stretches his arms over his head and hears a small gasp.
“What is it Derek?” His heart drops into his stomach thinking that Derek has picked up on something wrong with the baby.
Derek slowly walks over to Stiles and slightly lifts his shirt. He rests one hand on Stiles’ stomach.
“Seriously Derek. What is it? You’re scaring me.”
“You’re showing. Stiles you have a bump.”
Derek takes Stiles’ shirt off and gently leads him over to the huge mirror in the room. Derek twists his body just so and Stiles gasps too.
It’s barely noticeable, but there is a small bump. Stiles brings his hands down to cradle over Derek’s.
“Hi baby.” He whispers in awe.
After that day Stiles starts wearing only crop tops in their private chambers so they can always see and touch his little baby bump.
***
They went back and forth on whether they wanted to know the sex of the baby. Not that it matters to either Stiles or Derek as long as the baby is healthy. In the end they decide to find out so they can choose a name. At the next ultrasound appointment, they find out it is a baby girl! They decide to keep the gender a secret for just the two of them. Lying in bed that night they discuss baby names.
“I’ve always liked Casandra for a girl. It means love.” Derek shares.
Stiles swears he can feel his heart skip a beat. “That’s sweet. Our baby was made from love. It makes sense that her name reflects that. And I also like the name Casandra. It’s pretty and has lots of nicknames if she wants one.”
“Well since I’ve picked the first name, you should pick the middle name.” Derek picks up Stiles hand and starts playing with his fingers idly.
Stiles mind draws a blank. “Okay. I don’t have any names off the top of my head. I didn’t let myself think up names in case we didn’t get this far. Let me do some research.”
Derek kisses Stiles on the forehead and pulls him closer for cuddles.
The following week Stiles is reading a baby name book when he says “What about Amari. It means miracle.”
Derek smiles sweetly, “I love it. Our little miracle baby. Casandra Amari Stilinski Hale.”
***
Stiles and Erica are sitting in the grass watching Erica’s two children play and gossiping about the kingdom. Stiles’ hands are resting on his belly, as they usually are ever since his bump started showing. Suddenly Stiles stops talking in the middle of his sentence and his face pales.
He turns to the nearest guard, “Something’s wrong with the baby. Get Derek and the doctor.”
Two of the guards immediately react and leave while the other guards come closer unsure of what to do.
“Stiles what’s wrong?” Erica asks.
Stiles panics. “There’s a weird feeling in my abdomen. Something is wrong with the baby. I’ve never felt this before.”
Erica’s voice remains calm. “Can you describe the weird feeling?”
“It’s like a fluttering. Ah! There it is again. Oh god I can’t lose my sweet girl.” His brain starts spiraling with worse case scenarios.
“Stiles I think your baby is just kicking for the first time. Can I put my hands on your stomach?”
Stiles nods and moves his hands out of the way. Erica replaces them with her hands and they sit in silence, the only sounds are the children’s laughter nearby.
Eventually Stiles feels the strange fluttering again and looks at Erica in alarm.
Erica smiles softly, “It’s okay. I was right, that’s just your baby kicking. It’s light now, but the kicks will get stronger as your baby keeps growing.”
Derek and the doctor arrive shortly after and Erica explains to both of them what’s going on. Derek sits down behind Stiles and wraps his hands around to lay on his stomach eager to feel the baby kick. While they sit there wrapped up together Stiles wishes again that both of their moms were still alive. Erica has been great at helping explain things to them throughout his pregnancy, but he can’t help wishing he could turn to his or Derek’s mom for advice.
***
Stiles wakes with a start and Derek, always having been the light sleeper between the two, wakes with him. Derek reaches for Stiles’ cheek to wipe away some tears.
“Bad dream?” Derek asks.
“Yeah. It felt so real. The baby was here but something was wrong and I didn’t know what to do. I just started panicking and did nothing and then our baby died. Oh god, I’m going to be a terrible dad – “
“I’m going to stop you right there. You are going to be an amazing dad. It was just a bad dream.” Derek reassures while continuing to cradle Stiles’ face.
“I don’t know anything about being a parent.” Stiles whispers.
“We start birthing classes next week. We’ll learn more then. We also have our family and friends to lean on for support and guidance. Not to mention a lot of it is instinctual and sweetheart you are the most caring, protective, loving people I know. Our baby is going to love you so much because you are going to be the best parent.” Derek says.
Stiles worries his bottom lip with his teeth. “What if something is wrong with the baby right now and I can’t tell?”
“All of our doctor visits have shown that she is healthy. If something does happen, we have the best doctors available. This is just your anxiety talking. We can’t predict the future, we can’t change the past, we can only live in the present. We can go to the doctor again in the morning if it will make you feel better.” Derek suggests.
Stiles lets out a slow breath. “Yeah, I think it would make me feel better.”
“Okay then that’s what we’ll do. Let’s try to get a little more sleep.” Derek kisses Stiles’ forehead.
Stiles curls up to Derek using him as his own personal body pillow. Derek draws patterns on Stiles’ back with his fingers until Stiles drifts off back to sleep.
***
“Happy Anniversary love.” Derek says while removing his hands from Stiles’ eyes.
Derek set up a picnic for the two of them in their private chambers. A bouquet of lilies, Stiles’ favorite flowers, are set up next to the record player. Stiles goes over to pick out their favorite Stevie Wonder vinyl. As the music comes on Stiles goes back to Derek and gives him a soft kiss.
“Happy Anniversary. Thank you. This is so sweet. Will you dance with me?”
Derek takes Stiles’ hand in his and places his other hand around Stiles’ waist. They sway gently to the music. As the song changes Stiles grunts in pain.
Derek freezes. “What’s wrong?”
“My abdomen is cramping. Do you think this is it? Are these contractions? Is the baby coming? I’m only 7 months along. It’s too early. She can’t come yet! Derek!” Stiles shouts in fear.
Derek unfreezes and guides Stiles to the bed, draining his pain on the way.
“Stay here. I’ll get help.”
Derek runs out of their private chamber and gets the nearest guard to fetch the doctor.
The doctor stays to monitor Stiles before determining they are just Braxton Hicks contractions.
“Your body is just practicing for labor. Never hesitate to call for me, but for future reference Braxton Hicks contractions are usually in the abdomen, are weak, brief and irregular. Labor contractions usually start in the back and moves to the front. They are also regular and get closer together over time while steadily getting stronger. Moving around can stop Braxton Hicks contractions quicker, where labor contractions will continue. But like I said you can always just call me to check you out.” The doctor explains.
“Thanks doc.” Stiles and Derek say together.
***
“Bed rest is the worst.” Stiles loudly declares.
At his last doctor’s appointment he was diagnosed with mild preeclampsia and now has to be closely monitored on bed rest until they decide to induce him. His ADHD is making the bed rest extra difficult. The upside is he’s been relieved of all royal duties. The extra thinking time has had him dive headfirst into research mode. He ends up researching on increasing fertility rate and percentage of conceptions lasting full term for male omegas. Weeks on bed rest lead to him coming up with a treatment plan, which he turns over to the royal OBGYN and their team of doctors to take over.
Lydia helped with a lot of the research and is with him today to help with a different type of planning.
“I know you’ve been struggling with being on bed rest, especially now that we are done researching male omega pregnancies. That’s why today we are going to finish planning the nursery. To adequately plan the decorations I need to know, are you having a boy or a girl?” Lydia asks.
Stiles rolls his eyes. “Lyds I already told you Derek and I aren’t telling anyone the sex of the baby. Besides we’re not conforming to stereotypical gender norms so it wouldn’t make a difference anyway.”
“Don’t call me Lyds. Fine. It was worth a try. I’m assuming I can’t know the baby’s name either?”
“Absolutely not.” Stiles sounds exasperated.
The whole pack has been trying to get one of them to slip up and say the baby’s sex or name. So far no one had succeeded.
“You don’t deny already picking one though. What about the initials if I want to monogram something?” She tries one more time.
“My lips are sealed.” Stiles mimes the action and throws away the key.
***
“King Derek and Prince Stiles are proud to announce the birth of Casandra Amari Stilinski Hale born on August 28th at 1:59am. She is a healthy 7lbs 2oz. Prince Stiles is also doing well. King Derek and Prince Stiles ask for privacy at this time to settle into their new family.”
Derek clears his throat as he turns off the TV. “That’s our cue to turn off the TV and enjoy our family time.”
He walks over to Stiles who is laying on his hospital bed cradling Casandra to his chest. Derek presses a kiss to Stiles’ forehead before running a finger down Casandra’s cheek.
“You were amazing love. Our daughter is perfect.” Derek whispers in awe.
Stiles grins up tiredly at Derek.
“She is perfect. Our perfect little miracle baby made from love.”
***
Derek is trying to wrangle their three children into position for the palace photographer while Stiles sits with their fourth and newest child.
During the infancy of Casandra medical trials took place that prove Stiles’ treatment plan to be effective. This of course leads to Derek and Stiles having three more healthy and happy children and having a huge impact on the lives of countless of omegas, as Derek constantly reminds Stiles.
The palace is full of children running around, Derek has a large family again and Stiles gets to experience a large family for the first time. The Stilinski Hale family live happily ever after.