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Robby always had a thing for younger omegas. It wasn’t something he told everyone, and it wasn’t his only ‘type’ (Heather was proof of that) but he certainly liked them.
It wasn’t often that he went into a relationship with a young omega. As the years had caught onto him, it became a sort of… thing larger society looked down upon, despite the fact that the interest only applied to young omegas who were well into adulthood. He wasn’t interested in anyone college age, and certainly not any younger than that.
When he started falling for the younger omegas though, he always fell hard and fast, and probably developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with them.
The one that recently caught his eye…
Dennis Whitaker.
26 years old, grew up as a farmboy from Nebraska, coming with all the stereotypical farmboy qualities one would expect.
Well, maybe not all the qualities.
He didn’t have the big muscles or burly attitude one would expect. Instead he was on the small side, and had a bit more of a personal touch. Robby couldn’t say if that was the omega in him, not without meeting the rest of the man’s family, but either way. To Robby it made him all the more interesting.
He wanted to know more about him. He wanted to know everything there was to know about him.
Robby was slightly worried that he wouldn’t come in the next day after the disaster their last shift had turned into. But he had, walking into the hospital right beside Santos.
The relief Robby felt seeing him walk in through those doors was bigger than Robby had expected it to be, like a whole weight was taken off of his shoulders that he didn’t even know he was holding up.
As the shift began and he started with the usual morning briefing, he ran through the usual, thanking everyone for a job well done the day before, telling everyone to support each other today as well as stay on top of their game. Just because things would (hopefully) be a little less chaotic, didn’t mean they could slack off.
The entire time however, all he could really pay attention to was Whitaker.
And as he looked at him, it looked like Whitaker also couldn’t take his eyes off of him.
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Some people might call him a trouble maker, but Dennis Whitaker always had a bit of a tiny problem.
That problem? Falling for older alphas.
Especially who had positions of leadership and power over him.
Like his current boss, Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch.
There was something about the way the man held himself, the defined yet still functional muscles that Dennis could see on his body, the way he was able to bark orders across the ER and thirty seconds later turn around and make sure you were doing okay and taking care of yourself.
And his scent.
It was one of the most intoxicating alpha scents Dennis had smelt in a while.
Walking into the hospital for his second shift in the emergency room, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he would be working under Robby again today.
He wanted Robby. He wanted to hug Robby, kiss Robby, press himself up against Robby’s body. He wanted Robby inside of him. He wanted-
“Are you alright?” Dennis heard Trinity's voice say as she turned to face him.
That was right. It was the start of their shift, Robby was in the center of the Pitt, giving them a start of shift briefing, thanking them for all the work they had put into last shift with the mass shooting, and most importantly…
Dennis was not supposed to be thinking these thoughts right now.
He was about to go into a twelve hour shift in the ER, he needed to be focused, not fantasizing about having sex with his boss.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he told Trinity just as Robby wrapped up and people started dispersing to their stations around the ER.
Trinity looked at him for a second, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. “Sure, whatever you say.”
As she turned around and walked away, Dennis was left by himself. He let out a deep breath, and ran a hand across his forehead. God, that was…
He hadn’t fantasized about someone like that in a long time, especially standing in the same room as them. In his bed was one thing, at the start of a shift in the ER? He hadn’t done something like that since he was looking at his organic chemistry professor in his sophomore year of undergrad.
Just like back then, he needed to get his head on straight if he was going to make it through this.
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As the weeks went by, Robby’s fascination with Whitaker only continued to grow.
Sure there were a couple of times that he had taken an eye to a younger omega before. But usually, as he came to know them more, there would be a few quirks or personality traits that would make Robby loose interest.
Whitaker had some quirks, it didn’t take long to see them if you spent more than a couple hours with the man. But instead of killing the interests Robby had for him, they only made the interest grow.
They made Robby want to learn more about the man.
What else made him get flustered?
What kinds of things made the man mad? Or sad?
What did he look like when he got mad?
What would it take for Whitaker to need to seek someone out for help or comfort? (Help outside of the job, of course).
He had seen what Whitaker could do to a rat, but what about other animals? Was he a dog guy, Robby could see him as a dog guy. What would he look like surrounded by a pile of puppies?
Or what about pups?
What would Whitaker look like surrounded by human pups? His pups?
Robby didn’t know, but boy did he want to.
“Is there something I need to know about that omega?” Jack asked Robby when he came in one night.
“What do you mean?” Robby asked, not looking up from the computer he was inputting some patient notes onto.
“The med student, Whitaker,” Jack said. Hearing the name, Robby looked up at him. “Everytime I come in, you’re either in the same room as him or he’s covered in your scent. And don’t think it hasn’t been lost on me that I’ve only ever seen him scheduled for when you are. You might have most of these docs working under you a lot, but they still get moved around under other attendings from time to time.”
Robby just gave Jack a small smirk. “You’re seeing things that aren’t there, Jack,” he said. “We were working a big trauma a little while ago. You know how those things go sometimes, in the chaos I was leaning over him at some point, he caught some of my scent.”
That part was true at least. He always had some story to excuse why he had basically scented Whitaker at some point over the shift.
Robby had actually done that multiple times over the last month, all with a way to explain it. He had figured that if Whitaker had noticed or didn’t like it, the younger man would say something. If not say something, then make an attempt to avoid him, whether it was avoiding Robby’s limbs or Robby altogether.
But instead, it was like Whitaker was doing the opposite. Whenever they were in the same room, Whitaker somehow wound up standing right next to him, whether it was the break room or a patient’s room. He never made any attempt to avoid or brush off the pats on the shoulder Robby gave him.
If anything, it was like Whitaker was seeking them out, trying to get Robby to touch him more often.
And well… if that was Whitaker’s goal, whether conscious or subconscious, Robby wasn’t going to deny it.
Back to the present though, Jack narrowed his eyes at Robby. “He’s only a med student,” Jack said.
“I know,” Robby said. That was the main, or only, problem Robby was facing with pursuing Whitaker. He wasn’t just one of his subordinates. He hadn’t even completed med school yet. If Robby did pursue him and word got out, it could be the end of his career before it even started.
But despite all of that, Robby wasn’t deterred. If anything, it gave him more of a challenge. He wouldn't hurt the omega in any way if he could help it.
“Just be careful,” Jack said, leaving no room for rebuttal or argument.
“Of course.”
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Getting Robby alone and away from the hospital wasn’t that hard at all, Dennis found out. All he had to do was wait for the end of one of their shifts and approach Robby by their lockers, playing the role of ever studious med student asking Robby if they could have a one on one meeting to pepper the older doctor with questions about the job.
Maybe Robby had seen right through Dennis and knew what he was really asking for, maybe he didn’t. Either way, Robby had invited him to a late lunch the next day they were both scheduled off - Robby’s treat.
And things developed quickly after that.
Robby had taken Dennis to his house after the lunch, and … activities occurred.
Activities that made them quickly lose track of time.
Before Dennis knew it, he was waking up in the morning, his cheek pressed against Robby’s chest, Robby’s hand rubbing circles in his back.
“You awake?” he heard Robby’s voice ask.
Dennis hummed, a smile stretching across his face. “I am now.”
Robby moved his hands under him, moving to sit back against the headboard of the bed. Dennis let out an upset hum at the movement. “How about we get up now?” Robby asked as he carded his fingers through Dennis’s short hair. Dennis loved the feeling, he had to admit. “I can make some breakfast.”
Dennis had opened his eyes and was looking at Robby now. How was he even hotter after he had just woken up in the morning?
“You can cook?” Dennis asked, looking up at Robby from where his head had fallen onto the mattress as Robby stood up.
Robby chuckled. “I’m over fifty,” he said. “I sure hope I can cook.”
“An alpha that can cook?” Dennis said, half to himself, half to Robby. “That’s hot.”
Robby moved so that his body was leaning over Dennis. “Tell me what your favorite breakfast food is and I’ll make it,” he said, voice deep.
Hot and sexy.
“If you keep this up I might want to go on another round,” Dennis said.
Robby stood back up to his full height, reaching a hand out and pulling Dennis to sit up. “Food first, then we’ll see what we can do.”
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“Where were you last night?” Trinity asked Dennis as he walked into their apartment later that afternoon. “You said you were going out for lunch with Robby but never came back.”
“Oh yeah. Sorry I didn’t text or anything,” Dennis said as he took his shoes off and placed his jacket on the coat hook by the door. “I ran into some friends, they insisted I go out with them and you know how these things go… one thing led to another and I woke up on one of their couches.”
He tried to go for lightness in his tone, making it seem like it wasn’t a usual thing, but not unheard of for him to do. Make if so she wouldn’t ask any questions and try to figure out what he had really been up to the night before.
Trinity let out a questioning hum. “Who’d you go out with? Anyone I know?”
Shit, Dennis thought. She was going to ask questions. “I don’t think so,” he said. “They don’t work at the hospital.”
“Really? How do you know them then?” Trinity continued.
Dennis’s mind drew a blank. He honestly hadn’t expected her to keep digging this far.
“I met them when I first moved here,” Dennis said. “They’re a… cool bunch, try to meet up with them when work allows.”
“Can I meet them?” Trinity asked. And again, Dennis drew a blank. “It’s alright if you say no, I’m just interested to know what kind of people you hang out with.”
“Um… maybe one of these days,” Dennis said. “We all kind of work awkward hours, you know?”
Trinity smiled and gave a short chuckle. “Oh, yeah. I hear you there.”
So it seemed that for now, Dennis was able to assuage her curiosity and suspicions. Hopefully he would still be able to going forward.
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After that one… Night? Day? He had no idea what he should call it.
Well… it didn’t stop at just one night.
At least once a week Dennis had wound up at Robby’s house. And he loved every second he could get alone with Robby.
Not even every second alone with him, but every possible interaction. Whether that was making eye contact with him for half a second from opposite sides of the ER or Robby pushing him down onto his bed.
It was a wonder no one had caught onto them yet. But then again, ever since Dennis’s first shift in the ER, Robby had been very handsy with him. Not PDA perse, but a hand on the shoulder or neck, no one thought that was weird.
Maybe that was Robby’s intention when he started it.
No, Dennis thought suddenly. Even when they were all deep into treating the shooting victims Robby was still touching him. Even when Dennis found him practically broken down in the makeshift morgue he had done it. And Robby was in no way the right state of mind to be making moves on an omega that day.
It was another chaotic shift. Well, chaotic was putting it lightly. It was probably only a step below the Pittfest shift.
Both Robby and Dennis were being pulled from one patient to the next. Constantly moving and running. Robby barking orders, Dennis just trying to keep up with whichever doctor had dragged him to help with a patient.
By the fifteenth case he had been brought in on to watch or help, Dennis had long since lost track of time when he suddenly stood up a bit too fast and felt a swooping feeling in his head.
Even though the feeling only lasted for less than half a second, he almost fell to the ground - if it wasn’t for two hands catching him by the shoulders.
“You need to sit,” he heard a deep voice say into his ear. A voice and tone that always made a chill run down his spine. Robby, all deep and commanding.
Keeping his hands on Dennis’s shoulders, Robby walked the man over to his desk in the middle of the pitt. Robby practically pushed him into the chair and then put a sandwich down on the desk in front of him.
“Eat that,” he said. “And I don’t want to see you up again until it’s gone.”
Dennis spun around on the chair and looked up at Robby. He blinked his soulful eyes up at the alpha, knowing exactly what effect they had on the man. He wasn’t disappointed when he saw Robby’s back straighten and his eyes widen ever so slightly, centering on him.
“I thought you said any food had to be eaten in the breakroom?” Dennis asked. “I remember you telling me that on my first shift.”
Robby straightened his back, standing to his full height as he looked down at Dennis. “Lets just say that I seemed to have figured out I need to keep a closer eye on you now,” he said as he turned around to go back to his work.
And boy if that didn’t make a thrill of excitement go through Dennis. He couldn’t wait for later tonight.
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Dennis found Robby in the hallway outside the locker room just after their shift was ending. He had gotten changed into his street clothes quickly, finding Robby just as the alpha was finishing updating Dr. Abbot on what he needed to know as the night shift took over.
“My heat is supposed to start in two weeks,” Dennis said as he took Robby to the side of the hallway, standing close to the older man.
“I know,” Robby said. Dennis looked up at his face, seeing Robby give him that gentle smile he had long since fallen in love with. “I saw you put it into the scheduling system.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot you had access to that system,” Dennis said, leaning into Robby and wrapping his arms around Robby’s waist, but didn’t fully pull the man into him.
Robby chuckled. “Really?” he asked.
Dennis leant more into Robby, the front of their bodies almost entirely pressed against each other. He blinked his eyes up at Robby. He knew it was probably a jerk move considering how much Robby liked looking into his eyes. “Maybe,” he mumbled, his mouth pressed into the fabric of Robby’s shirt.
Dennis felt Robby’s arms wrap around his shoulder, pulling him closer and giving him a squeeze. “So what are you asking?” Robby asked, his voice growing deeper at the end of the question.
Dennis tilted his head back, moving so his chin was sitting on Robby’s chest and visible to the man. “Do you want to spend it with me?” he asked.
Dennis watched as Robby’s smile turned from his soft and gentle one to his excited one. If possible, Dennis liked that one even more. “I was waiting for you to ask,” Robby said.
“You’ll be able to get off?” Dennis asked.
Robby huffed a laugh as he leant down and pressed a kiss onto Dennis’s forehead. “Who do you think makes the schedule?”
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Dennis couldn’t remember everything that had happened between them during his heat, Like for most of his heats, most of it was a blur. But what he could remember the most were the emotions.
The ecstasy, the lust (from both sides), the passion, and dare he say it… love.
Well, he might be getting ahead of himself there. It was only January right now, and they had only met in October.
Still though, it was everything Dennis could imagine a heat with Robby to be.
If things continued going the way they were, he would ask Robby to join him for his next heat in April and then August, and then every following heat.
That brought a realization to his mind. He wanted a future with the older alpha. A bond, a mating bite, hell even the whole nine yards with a pack full of kids.
He was definitely getting ahead of himself there.
But at the same time, it wasn’t really a realization. There had been a handful of times so far that he had imagined what a future with Robby would look like. It was an open secret among the ER staff that there was something going on between them. Everyone knew it but no one had said anything.
But being out in the open with their relationship?
He wanted it. He wanted everything that he could get with Robby.
And he was going to figure out a way to get it.
He only had to figure out his next step now.
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By the time Dennis’s next heat got close to coming around, Trinity had started to suspect that there was something going on between Dennis and Robby.
She had started to suspect something, but had no idea what it was.
“Robby seems to be taking an interest in you,” she told him one night as she was driving them home.
“Really, you think so?” Dennis asked.
“Mhmm,” she hummed. “You’re kind of his favorite now that Langdon’s out. Pretty sure if he has any say in it, you’ll get a residency spot here. Are you really saying you haven’t noticed it?”
Dennis shrugged his shoulders. “I figured he was like that with everyone.”
Trinity laughed. “Oh come on Huckleberry. I thought you were getting more aware of yourself since you’ve been here?”
Dennis laughed along with her, as long as she wasn’t getting close to what was actually going on, he would go along with whatever theory she came up with. If Trinity thought that Robby had just picked him out as his special student project, he wouldn't say anything to refute that.
And in a way, that was still true.
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“So I saw that you requested all of next weekend off,” Robby heard Jack come up and ask him one day when he was up on the roof.
“You saw that?” Robby asked. Jack only nodded. Robby huffed, his breath visible in the still cold air. “Of course you did.”
“I gotta ask, since when do you make sure you have a weekend off?” Jack asked.
“I’m allowed to make plans,” Robby said. “And I booked this well in advance, so you’re not going to be able to convince me to switch.”
“You? Make plans?” Jack asked. “In April?”
Robby sighed. “Yes, Jack,” he said. “I’m allowed to make plans that require me to schedule off in April.”
Jack hummed in thought as he remained silent for a moment.
“You want to know what I’m doing, don’t you?” Robby asked.
“Since you mentioned it,” Jack said.
Robby looked off in the distance, saying the words as he tried to make it not sound like it was a big deal, even though it was a huge one to him. “I was asked by an omega to join them for their heat. I said I would.”
Despite Robby’s feigned indifference, Jack immediately caught on and knew who Robby was talking about. “Are you talking about Whitaker?” he asked, his gaze snapped right towards Robby and his eyes narrowed.
“What would you do if I say yes?” Robby asked. Robby remembered when Jack had warned him before about not going after the med students, specifically Dennis Whitaker, and Robby had wisely not taken Jack’s warning.
“Since you didn’t say no, I’m going to assume that’s a yes,” Jack said. “If Whitaker asked you to do this for him without you suggesting it, that’s one thing. But end this as soon as it’s done. And God, whatever you do, don’t get the kid pregnant.”
Robby nodded along, listening to everything Jack was saying, even though he knew he wasn’t going to follow anything Jack said. That would be a problem for future Robby though.
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About a month after his second heat with Robby, Dennis woke up in his bedroom in his and Trinity’s shared apartment with a stomach ache. He hadn’t slept over at Robby’s place that night - Robby having, for once, been scheduled to work the night shift.
He and Dennis had gotten into a habit of always spending the night at Robby’s place. In fact, Dennis couldn’t remember the last time he had slept at this apartment. It was weird.
He should ask Robby about moving into his place one of these days. Maybe after his next heat, if he didn’t become pregnant during this last one. Because yeah…
He had been trying to get pregnant from Robby for a while now.
And he knew that with being a male omega, the best chances of that would be during his heat.
If only the whole process would finally be successful.
So back to what woke him up that morning… a stomach ache.
Which was weird, in and of itself.
He grew up on a farm, he was a farm boy. Grew up eating fish straight out of the river and questionable dirt pies his older brothers dared him to eat. He always considered himself to have a strong stomach. He never suffered from food poisoning before even when his college roommates did after eating the same meal he did.
But now he was having a stomach ache. One that-
He suddenly felt a swooping in his stomach and was up, running to the bathroom, falling to his knees in front of the toilet and expelling all of the food he had eaten for a late night snack the night before.
“Huckleberry,” he heard Trinity call out his name followed by a knock on the bathroom door. “You alright in there?”
Dennis wiped off his mouth with the back of a hand. “... Yeah,” he said. “‘m fine.”
“You sure?” she asked. “Sounded like you were throwing up in there.” And of course, as soon as she said that, another wave of vomit came up and out of his mouth. “Alright, I’m coming in,” he heard Trinity say. Before he could move, the door opened and she came inside, immediately spotting him still on the ground in front of the toilet.
He heard Trinity let out a sigh as she grabbed a washcloth from under the sink, wetting it with water and handing it to him. “Yeah, you’re just fine alright,” she said.
“Thanks,” Dennis mumbled as he wiped off his face. Luckily for now, it felt like his stomach was actually finished this weird and sudden rebellion. He slowly stood up from the floor and moved towards the sink to wash up a little more.
He heard Trinity sniff the air. “You smell different,” she said.
“Gee, thanks,” Dennis said as he washed his mouth out and brushed his teeth. “You really know how to make someone feel better.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying in a bad way,” she said. She furrowed her eyebrows in thought as she tried to come up with a way to phrase what she was thinking. “But it’s almost as if it’s… sweeter?”
Dennis froze, his eyes widening. She said his scent was sweeter.
Trinity was a beta. Betas didn’t have as strong of a sense of smell that was able to differentiate minute changes in scents. They weren’t able to pick up on the small changes like when he was excited about something or stressed or nervous. Only when the changes were very obvious and caused by things like depression, illness, severe injuries, and… pregnancy.
Pregnancy…
All the other causes of scent changes that Trinity would be able to smell would make him smell sour or bitter. But she said his scent had a sweet hint to it.
A sweet hint…
That would only be caused by pregnancy. He was pregnant.
But no, he didn’t know that for sure of that. He would need a test and an ultrasound and some bloodwork. He would-
“Are you pregnant?” Trinity asked, knocking his thoughts out of the spiral they were headed towards.
“I- I- I think I need a pregnancy test,” he gasped out.
Twenty minutes later, Trinity came back to their apartment with three tests in her hands after going down the block to the drugstore to buy a handful - different brands, just to be absolutely sure. She pushed them into Dennis’s hands, and then pushed him towards the bathroom.
“There’s directions on the boxes,” Trinity said. “Come out with the results in ten minutes or I’m coming in.”
Dennis sighed as she gave him a slight push and then shut the door behind him. He then turned to the sink and set the three boxes on the counter. They all had basically the same instructions. Pee on the test strip, wait four to six minutes and look at the results.
If only the control line appears - not pregnant.
Control and test lines appear - pregnant.
Only the test line appears - so pregnant (4+ months) that all of the ink was taken by the test line and there were no remains to color the control line.
He did as the test directed, for once happy he didn’t pee first thing in the morning and had enough to… cover the three test strips. Then he set the test on the counter face down as he waited the five minutes needed before he checked.
Inside his mind, he was beginning to freak out.
Of course the tests could all come back as negative, but after two heats with an alpha, Dennis doubted it.
Which… shit. He was still only a med student. Sure he had fantasized about having Robby’s kids, but really in all of those dreams he was midway through his residency, not before he even started it.
What was he going to tell Robby if it came back positive?
They had only talked jokingly about a future together. For all he knew, Robby was just sleeping with him as a way to relax and destress, spending heats with Dennis because he was a bit possessive of him and wanted to make sure the young med student wasn’t taken advantage of.
He hadn’t really expected any of this to get this far.
The timer on his phone went off then, and Dennis looked back to the tests on the counter.
He gulped. If they came back negative, then it was just a freak pregnancy scare caused by Trinity probably picking up on a scent of his body wash or laundry detergent used to wash his bedsheets. He would have to really think about what possible future he had with Robby, but eventually he would look back on this as an amusing experience.
If it came back positive. Well… his entire life was never going to be the same again.
He closed his eyes tightly as he reached a hand out to flip over each of the tests, then he opened his eyes and looked at each of them.
All three of them…
Positive!
Pregnant
Two colored lines.
Well… Dennis reached his hands up and ran them through his hair, giving the strands a small pull.
He was pregnant… fucking pregnant.
Fuck!
He walked out of the bathroom looking like he was in a daze to find Trinity sitting at the table in their kitchen, looking at him expectantly.
“So?” she asked after he remained silent for a minute.
Dennis looked at the tests held in his hand in a fist. “... I’m pregnant,” she said, still somewhat shocked.
That was the first time he actually said it. The first time the words came out of him.
Trinity meanwhile, schooled her expression to show him no reaction, whether positive or negative. Then she nudged the chair across from her out with her foot. “Sit down,” she directed him.
He paused and then did as she directed.
“I take it, it's Robby’s?” she asked after a second of them both sitting in silence.
Dennis nodded, she was one of the few people who were well aware of their relationship at this point. She was freaking living with Dennis, she had to find out about it at some point.
It was when he came back from the second heat that Trinity had put two and two together. She had been grilling him for days on meeting the person he was spending his heats with, assuming it was one of his friends he had met outside the hospital, when he had let it slip.
She was shocked, anyone would be, he certainly couldn’t blame her. But then at the same time, she hugged him fiercely and told him that if Robby did anything to hurt him she would make sure he paid.
Dennis had laughed when he heard her say that, but then he saw that she had been serious.
“I mean it, Huckleberry,” she said. “You say the word and I’ll make him pay.”
Now, as she sat across the table from him, Dennis wasn’t sure how she was going to take it.
She suddenly stood up, slamming her hands onto the table, making Dennis jump in his seat. “I’m going to kill him,” she said.
“Wait, what?!” Dennis said. “Trin, you- you can’t!”
“Why not?” she asked, an edge to her voice.
Dennis stood there grasping for words that would explain everything and get her off of Robby’s back.
“Just… just let me talk to him first before you do anything!” he said.
Trinity took a breath, wanting to say something, probably something along the lines of making it clear that Dennis didn’t need to tie himself to Robby - even if he wanted to keep the kid.
And Dennis did want to keep this kid.
No matter what happened between him and Robbie and what was in store for him in the future, Dennis knew that he wanted to keep this kid.
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
Later that morning, Dennis stood right outside Robby’s door as he waited for the older alpha to get home from his night shift. He tried to stop himself from fidgeting as he saw Robby walking down the street, but that was hard.
He was nervous. What was Robby going to say? How was he going to react?
He didn’t know what he would do if Robby suddenly rejected him. What kind of omega would he be then? What kind of omega gets rejected and left to fend for himself when he tells his alpha that he’s pregnant with their kid?
That’s the thing though, wasn’t it?
Despite how much Dennis wanted him to be, Robby still wasn’t his alpha.
“Dennis?”
He was pulled out of his spiraling thoughts when Robby called out his name. Dennis lifted his head up from where he was looking at his shoes, seeing Robby’s face full of concern and worry.
“What’s going on?” Robby asked. “I thought we weren’t meeting again until later tonight?”
That had been the original plan, as it always was when one of them worked a night shift. Give the other person some time to decompress and sleep, and meet up in the late afternoon or early evening.
Although right now it was barely 10:30 a.m. nowhere close to their planned meeting time.
“We need to talk,” Dennis said.
Robby looked slightly caught off guard at hearing what Dennis said. “O- Okay, yeah,” he nodded. “What do we need to talk about?”
“Can we do this inside?” Dennis asked, definitely not wanting to have this conversation out in the open where anyone walking down the street could overhear them.
“Yeah,” Robby said as he walked up the steps to his front door, unlocking it and inviting Dennis to follow behind him into the house.
Dennis had been inside the house over a dozen times since he and Robby had been getting together, but walking into it now felt like he was walking in for the first time all over again. He took in every detail of the house, the angle the green armchair was placed at in the corner of the living room, how many rows of shelves were filled in on the bookshelf on the far wall, the photos lined up on the wall of the hallway leading to the kitchen, some decades old, some only months old.
Robby grabbed two glasses from the kitchen and filled them both with water before he walked back to the living room and handed one to Dennis. They then took seats next to each other on the couch, Dennis making a deliberate distance of a couple inches between them, something Robby picked up on immediately.
“So, what was it you wanted to talk about?” Robby asked, bringing them back to what brought Dennis here in the first place today.
Dennis opened his mouth, hesitating. Then he eventually shook his head and jumped into it. “I’m pregnant,” he said, throwing the words out of his mouth.
Robby sat there in stunned silence for a moment. A moment too long for Dennis, who thought Robby was going to react negatively.
Only he didn’t.
Robby’s face then split into a tentative smile as he asked. “Did I hear that right? You said you’re pregnant?”
Dennis gave him a short and jerky nod. “Y- yeah, I did.” Subconsciously, and arm wrapped around his midsection. “I am… pregnant.”
The smile on Robby’s face turned from tentative to ecstatic, and it felt like a weight lifted off of Dennis’s shoulders.
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
Dennis was pregnant.
Dennis was pregnant.
Robby couldn’t believe it.
Dennis was pregnant, and at least according to the omega, he was the father.
Maybe if Robby was anyone else, he would ask for proof of that, a DNA test or something. But Robby knew that wasn’t needed. For one, he and Dennis spent nearly all of their time together. For two, Robby could see the way that Dennis looked at him.
There was no way that Dennis could be cheating on him.
And knowing that… it made a giddy feeling go through Robby.
He had made Dennis pregnant. He had made that omega pregnant.
They were going to have a pup, maybe multiple, but Robby wasn’t going to get his hopes up about multiples too soon.
Ribby knew he had wanted to make Dennis pregnant ever since that first shift with the man, and now that Dennis was…
Robby could see it in his head, Dennis nine months pregnant and relying on Robby for everything, getting a glass of water, getting dressed, helping to move from one side of the house to another.
Robby had heard dozens of alphas complaining about their pregnant partners over the years, but Robby didn’t care.
Dennis relying on him? He was looking forward to it, it was sending a thrill through his body.
Only now, one of the only bad areas of this adventure with Dennis, they were going to need to figure out a way to explain this to everyone. Because word traveled fast throughout the hospital, and Robby knew that within 48 hours Jack was going to be pinning him against a wall demanding answers for what Jack would consider to be stupid actions and decisions.
Robby didn’t regret it though, he would never regret something like this.
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
Since telling Robby he was pregnant, things changed for Dennis. They changed for him pretty quickly.
Even though Dennis knew Trinity could be a gossiper, she wouldn’t have gone spreading word about this, and neither would Robby. But despite that, it didn’t take long for just about everyone in the ED, and by extension the rest of the hospital, to find out that Dennis was pregnant.
To say it was weird was an understatement. Sure, there were occasionally pregnant doctors or nurses working in the ED, none of them med students though, none of them were med students who were impregnated by an attending who also worked in the same ED.
But despite all of that, people’s reactions weren’t quite what Dennis had expected.
Growing up, when he heard of unmarried and unmated omegas becoming pregnant, they became social pariahs, bound for their alphas to leave them and become burdens on their families.
He knew that when his parents found out, they would be pissed. Even without them financially supporting him anymore, they were still mad at him for moving out and going to medical school instead of settling down with an alpha in Nebraska. Dennis knew that despite only talking to them less than a handful of times per year, they were going to eventually find out, and when they did, they would be on his doorstep in less than 24 hours.
But yeah, it seemed that feelings in Pittsburgh were completely different from small town Nebraska.
The nurses had cornered him one morning, Dennis fearing they were going to lay into him, but instead they told him that whatever he needed, a quick break, a cup of ginger tea, even baby clothes when the baby came, they would get it for him. Dennis had been surprised, and a little teary eyed, when they told him that.
Trinity meanwhile, kept reminding him that if he needed anything, a shoulder to lean on or someone to hide Robby’s body, she would be there for him. Dennis had laughed her off each time, desperately hoping nothing came to that.
No one had even mentioned anything along the lines of ‘trying to sleep his way up.’
Maybe this was just his experience though, because he doubted Robby was getting off just as easily.
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
As Robby had expected, the next time he saw Jack, the man pushed him against the wall of a hallway. “What did I tell you, Mikey?” Jack hissed in his ear.
“Can I ask what it is you’re talking about?” Robby asked, feigning ignorance, even though they both knew Robby knew exactly what Jack was talking about.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about?” Jack said. “Anyone who walks within a five foot radius of that boy knows he’s pregnant, and we all know there’s only one person who could possibly be the father.”
It took all that Robby had not to let his face break out into a smile. “So what are you trying to say?” Robby asked.
Jack narrowed his eyes. “Do you remember what I told you about not going after a freaking med student?”
“Oh, I remember,” Robby said. Before Jack was able to yell out something along the lines of ‘Then what the fuck is going on,’ Robby said, “I listened to your advice, and decided not to follow any of it.”
Robby watched Jack’s face. Jack looked like he wanted to punch Robby, then strangle him, then probably take Robby’s dead body and throw it into the Alleghany River at the dead of night in an area no one would find him for another six months.
Instead of doing any of that though, Jack moved slightly to the left and gently beat his forehead against the wall behind Robby. Eventually he stepped back fully, looking Robby up and down. “You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?”
Robby smiled, “So you tell me at least once a week. Don’t worry though, I’ve thought everything through, planned nearly everything. And we’ve talked, Dennis is all for it as well.”
Jack shook his head, running his hands through his hair and giving it a pull. “And with that being your reaction, I know you’re a fool. A stupid fucking fool.”
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
Another month into the pregnancy, Dennis moved out of Trinity’s apartment and into Robby’s house. They were about to have a kid together, it only made sense.
Despite this reasoning and explanation though, Trinity insisted that he could come back if he needed to, she wouldn’t complain if it meant dealing with a newborn in the small space as well.
Dennis said he would remember the offer, even though he really didn’t think he would need to take her up on it. Dennis had seen his fair share of bad and abusive relationships, almost fell into one during his undergrad. But Robby hadn’t shown any of that so far.
Robby was perfect, and now Dennis had Robby all to himself.
Now Dennis had Robby all to himself, and he could be around the man whenever he wanted. Could touch the man whenever he wanted, which is something they had done a lot of that first weekend together. Cuddling on the couch, hugging Robby as the alpha cooked dinner, taking a shower with him, and the sex.
Dennis didn’t know pregnant sex could be even better than the sex they were having before - and he wasn’t really even showing yet.
No, there was a small swell to his stomach, but unless you knew he was pregnant or close enough to him to pick up on his scent, it was impossible to tell from just looking at him.
Going back to work after that weekend felt like Robby was being wrenched and torn away from him, even though they were still working in the same department.
And work… boy was that a touchy topic right now.
When it came to work, there had been talk of moving Dennis to another part of the hospital. Technically he was supposed to have been moved to his next rotation back in March, but Robby hadn’t wanted him to move on then and well… neither had Dennis.
Now, Robby was conflicted.
The ER was probably the most hectic and dangerous place to work in the hospital. There was at least one patient for each shift that would get rowdy and need to be tied down to a bed.
He didn’t want Dennis to be here. If anything, he wanted Dennis to be sitting at home, relaxed and safe, until the baby was born. But robby was also well aware how that would monumentally fuck over Dennis’s path as a doctor if he took a year off while still a medical student.
Robby knew how badly Dennis wanted to be a doctor, and just how good of a doctor Dennis could become. So for now, Dennis was still working in the ER.
Was it dangerous? Potentially.
But Robby made sure to schedule Dennis on the same shifts as him. And Robby knew that Dennis suspected it, if he wasn’t already well aware of it. But he made no comments or complaints about being constantly scheduled to work with Robby, if anything Dennis liked the sense of protection Robby exuded over him.
And thinking of it that way, at least when Dennis was in the ER with him, Robby could make sure he was safe.
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
Before they had realized it, Dennis was approaching month eight of pregnancy.
“You have less than four weeks until your due date,” Dr. Malloy, Dennis’s OB, had said at their appointment that morning. “Please tell me you have come up with your birthplan,” she said, looking at the two men.
Dennis turned his head, meeting Robby’s blank stare.
Dr. Malloy’s mouth dropped open. “Both of you are doctors!” she exclaimed. “You’re already at week 36! Are you telling me you haven’t even discussed this yet?”
“Um… no?” Dennis said sheepishly.
Dr. Malloy took a deep breath, reigning herself in as Robby said, “We’ve just… lost track of time.”
“Well it’s a good thing that you’ve both delivered babies before anyway,” Dr. Malloy muttered and then turned her gaze straight to Dennis. “Are you still working shifts?” she asked.
“Yes,” Dennis said.
She sighed. “Please tell me you’re not working in the ER anymore.”
“He is,” Robby said, raising his voice and straightening his back.
Dr. Malloy then turned her gaze on Robby. “You’re letting your eight month pregnant omega still work shifts in the ER?” she asked. “Do you want him to go into labor in the middle of a shift?”
If this doctor was anyone other than Dennis and their baby’s, Robby might be more defensive about this. But over the last seven months of appointments with her, Robby knew that she only had their best interest at heart.
“I’ll take his name off the roster,” he said, relenting.
Dennis didn’t put up any protests. He hadn’t mentioned anything to Robby yet, but the last couple of shifts had been taking a toll on his body. His ankles were swollen and uncomfortable now, and the baby bump, pretty big on his slim body, required a lot of maneuvering.
He was sure going to be bored the next couple of weeks though. Sure, he had always wanted to be a doctor, but he never expected that he would become one of those doctors that became addicted to their job. Robby sure had rubbed off on him.
But the pup coming was surely bound to change that in them, in both of them.
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
A week later, it was the middle of the day shift in the ER. Robby was working while Dennis was at their home, organizing a bunch of baby clothes they had been given at their baby shower a couple days previously, when Robby got a whiff of a scent.
It smelt very similar to Dennis’s.
Very similar, but not exact.
He stood up to his full height and turned his head back and forth, scanning the area.
Dennis wasn’t here, Robby was sure of that. His omega had been excited at the idea of putting the final touches on the nursery when he left that morning. Trinity and Mel were taking advantage of their day off to join Dennis in doing so even.
And wasn’t that a thought, Trinity had finally been starting to come around to the idea of them becoming a family. Robby knew why she had been hostile around him when they all learned that Dennis was pregnant. It was for the same reason that Jack was pissed at him for over four months.
But none of that explained why a scent that was suspiciously similar to Dennis’s was in the ER.
Robby sniffed the air, tracing the source of the scent to an exam room on the other side of the pitt that Dana was just walking out of.
“Who’s in there?” Robby said, motioning with his chin to the exam room to his right.
“64 year old man complaining of chest tightness,” Dana said. She then noticed the way that Robby was looking at the drawn curtain around the bed. Dana was a beta, she probably hadn’t picked up on the similar scent, but she had seen the man’s name. “His name’s John Whittaker,” she said just loud enough for Robby to hear her, and watched as Robby froze and his eyes widened.
“Whitaker?” Robby repeated.
A Whitaker that smelt almost exactly like Dennis. It couldn’t have been a coincidence, they had to be related somehow, closely related too. But from the little Dennis had talked about his family back home, Robby knew that there were very valid reasons he was in limited contact with them, and why he was happy about needing to come all the way out to Pittsburgh to complete his medical school.
Before Robby realized what he was doing, he opened the curtain just enough to get a look at the man in the bed and the woman sitting to his side.
The man’s eyes immediately jumped to Robby. “You the doctor?” he asked. “Been waiting forever.”
Robby heard steps approaching from behind him, most likely another doctor who picked up this case. He turned around, seeing Langdon and told her that he would be handling this patient, personally. She had paused, wide eyed for a second before nodding and going to the next task.
“So, Mr. Whittaker,” Robby began as he walked a step closer to the bed and closed the curtain behind him. Robby introduced himself and proceeded to ask, “What brings you in here today?”
“I’ve been having this tight feeling and pain in my chest,” the man said. “Didn’t you read my information, it should say that.”
Robby nodded as he pulled one of the rolling stools to him and sat down on it. “Yes, I did read that,” Robby said. “But I wanted to know what brought you to this city itself, I was told you’re from out of state?”
The man nodded. “Yeah, we’re from Nebraska, visiting our son. Why’s that matter?”
Robby nodded as he brought up the man’s chart on the computer docked on the side of the room. “Your son wouldn’t happen to be Dennis Whitaker, would he? I’m sure you know that he works here.” Robby turned his head to see their reaction as he asked the question.
The man’s eyes widened, looking caught off guard as if he hadn’t expected to be asked that question. The woman perked her head up, and Robby could see a look of recognition in her eyes, most likely at hearing her son’s name.
“How do you know-” the man started.
Robby let out a long breath. “Another Whitaker from Nebraska? Can’t say there’s a whole lot of people from Nebraska that come in here. Also, you have a very similar scent to him.”
The man’s mouth closed, as if he was trying to hold himself back from yelling out at Robby. Next to him, his wife squeezed his hand, as if trying to tell him to not make a scene.
“Do you know the scents of all they guys who work for you?” he asked, harshly.
“Most of them, yes,” Robby said.
They had a tense staredown for longer than Robby would have liked.
Robby wanted to question him on why he came to the city without telling Dennis, and Dennis would most definitely have told Robby if he was expecting a visit from his parents. But the last thing Robby needed to do was make a scene right now.
Robby knew Dennis wasn’t really in close contact with his family. Robby doubted he even told his family he was in a committed relationship, and he would bet money that these parents had no clue their son was pregnant.
“Hey, what about my chest pains?” Dennis’s dad asked as Robby stood up as if to leave.
“Let me guess, you went to a new restaurant when you got to the city last night and ate some acidic or spicy food?” Robby said. “All signs show this being simple heartburn. I recommend taking an antacid and eating some low-fat foods until you can follow up with your primary doctor at home.”
Robby left the room, and as he rounded a corner into a hallway and found a bit of privacy, he pulled out his phone, dialing Dennis’s number. It took a couple rings, and then Dennis answered.
“Robby? What’s up? Why’re you calling in the middle of a shift?” Dennis asked as he picked up.
“Hey,” Robby greeted him. “Things are good here, relatively. But do you want to guess who came in as a patient this morning?”
Dennis let out a confused hum. “Guess who came in as a patient? Is it someone I know, well I guess it is or you wouldn’t be calling me. Is it someone we work with? Can you give me a hint?”
“It’s your parents,” Robby said, cutting to the chase.
Dennis was silent for a moment. “Did you say my parents? They’re at the hospital?”
“Yeah, it was them alright,” Robby said.
“What- Do you know why? I haven’t spoken to them in months. Why would they be here now?”
Now that was a great question, one that Robby didn’t know and if he went back to ask, he’d probably have one of them try to bite him.
“I don’t know,” Robby said. “We can talk about it when we get home, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Dennis said. “Sounds good.”
Robby had expected to be all in the clear on this topic until he could at least get home and see his omega again. It seemed he was wrong however, as upon walking up to his house, he saw the two elder Whitakers standing outside his front door. And in the open front door, Trinity was standing, looking as if she was blocking them from going inside with her arms crossed and her stance defensive.
“I’ll say this one more time, girl. Move out of the way,” Dennis’s father said as he glared down at Trinity.
Just what had Robby walked up to?
“Hey,” Robby said, catching the attention of Trinity and the two Whitakers. “What’s going on here?”
“You again?” John Whitaker snarled when he turned his head to see Robby. “And what are you doing here?” he asked as he faced Robby, glaring daggers at him.
“I live here,” Robby said. “Now tell me what’s going on?”
“They just showed up here ten minutes ago,” Trinity said. “Demanding to be let in and see Dennis.”
“So I’m right and he is here then?” John said.
Trinity didn’t reply to that question, only holding her mouth shut as she waited for Robby to say something.
Robby stood between the road and the Whitakers who were blocking the way to his door. “It’s pretty obvious he doesn’t want to talk to you, or he’d be outside here,” Robby said. “So can you please leave now?”
John rounded back to face Robby again, looking even more pissed off than before. “What role do you have here? Why is Dennis living with his boss of all people?!”
After a twelve hour shift in the ER, all Robby wanted to do was go inside and see his omega. But now seeing these people, Robby really wanted to call these people out on all of their bullshit.
“Oh, fuck!” John suddenly yelled out.
“John, language,” his wife hissed out. That was probably the first thing Robby had heard her say all day, and he really had to ask why it took her husband to say the f-word for her to say anything.
“Don’t tell me that you’re courting him?!” John continued, yelling out for the entire street to hear him.
“He’s doing a little more than courting him,” Trinity mumbled. And while robby wanted to tell her not to add fuel to the fire right now, he was about to say something along the same lines.
“Oh, shut up!” Robby finally yelled out, making all of them shut their mouths and stop moving. It wasn’t often that Robby used his alpha voice, it was years since he had needed to use it, in fact. But when he used it - it worked.
“If Dennis wanted to see you right now, he’d be down here talking to you,” Robby said harshly. “The fact he isn’t, hell the fact he didn’t even know you were in the city, tells me he doesn’t. So if you want to talk to him, you can start by just calling him. Later. Now, get away from my house.”
The Whitakers held their mouths shut as Robby finished. And though John didn’t say anything, he still held his glare on Robby.
But thankfully, the glare was the only thing else he gave Robby as they finally walked away. Robby let out a deep breath and shook his head as he walked the ten feet up to his house.
“He’s in the bedroom upstairs,” Trinity said as he walked inside. That was the first place Robby went to, not even stopping to take off his shoes.
Robby found Dennis curled up in their bed with Mel. As he stepped into the room, Mel got out of the bed, and so did Dennis, running up to Robby.
Robby met him, wrapping Dennis in a tight hug. “It’s alright,” he said. “They left.”
He could hear the tears in Dennis’s voice as Dennis said “I’m sorry, I didn’t know they were going to show up here. I don’t even know how they figured out I’m living here.”
“It’s alright,” Robby repeated as he pulled Dennis further into the hug, pushing the omega’s head into his neck to smell his scent gland. Knew that this always calmed Dennis down. “Don’t worry about them anymore, they’re leaving.”
“I’m sorry,” Dennis said, his voice muffled.
Robby ran an arm up and down Dennis’s back. “Like said, It’s alright, you don’t need to worry anymore.”
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
When the day came that Dennis went into labor, everything proceeded almost perfectly, like someone was reading all of the events from a pamphlet on what to expect when you go into labor.
The only thing that didn’t go as planned was that it all started three days before his due date.
It started while Robby was making them both lunch in the kitchen, Dennis sitting in the living room, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Things had been largely uneventful in the last couple of days as they made final preparations in organizing the baby’s nursery and all of the baby supplies they had either been given or gathered over the past months. That and just relaxing with each other, trying to get as much sleep as they could before the baby came.
It was just as Robby was carrying two plates with food from the kitchen and over to Dennis when Dennis felt something inside him move. At first he thought it was the baby kicking him again, that had been happening more times than he could possibly try to count in the last week, but no, it was too strong of a kick for that.
“You okay?” Robby asked as he set the plates on the coffee table. He had watched Dennis as he walked into the living room, saw him still momentarily as he was moving on the couch.
“Um… yeah,” he said. “What did you make?”
“The matzah balls you’ve been begging me to make all week,” Robby said as he passed Dennis one to the plates. Dennis’s smile widened impossibly wide as he took the plate from Robby. He absolutely loved when Robby made this.
As he had gotten halfway through the dish, Dennis felt the same pressure suddenly tense up and release inside of him. It was sudden, unexpected, and hurt a lot, making him let out a moan.
“You okay?” Robby asked again. “That didn’t sound like a ‘this food is so delicious’ moan.”
Dennis moved a hand to the bottom of his very prominent baby bump, giving it a small rub. That was most certainly not a baby kick, he told himself. More like a contraction. But Dennis wasn’t sure. This entire time, he hadn’t had any Braxton Hicks contractions, which for male omegas wasn’t that uncommon. But with it being so close to his due date now, Dennis didn’t think it would be that.
He looked up at Robby and said, “I think I’m having contractions.”
“Really?” Robby asked as he moved closer on the couch to Dennis. “What- When- When did they start?”
“That was the second,” Dennis said. “Th- they started maybe… ten minutes ago?”
“Okay, okay,” Robby said, thinking through everything he knew about childbirth. “They’re fairly close together now, we should get to the hospital.” Dennis nodded at that suggestion.
Within the next thirty minutes, they were at the hospital and getting settled into a room on the Labor and Delivery floor. The contractors had gotten a lot closer in the meantime too, now only five minutes apart.
Robby was by his side though, standing next to the edge of the bed and holding onto one of Dennis’s hands, letting Dennis squeeze it as another contraction overcame him.
“That’s it, that’s it,” Robby said as it came to an end, leaving Dennis panting as he tried to regain his breath.
“This is horrible,” Dennis said as he dropped his head back. “How do people decide to go through this multiple times?”
Robby shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “But hopefully it will all be worth it.”
“She better be,” Dennis said, referring to their daughter who was now in the process of trying to climb her way out.
Then they were both distracted by a knock on the door. “Well, it’s great to finally see you two gentlemen here,” Dr. Malloy's voice said as she stepped into the room.
A small and tired smile stretched over Dennis’s face. “We’re excited to finally be here too.”
🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹 🩹
By 6 p.m. that evening, they had welcomed their little girl into the world.
Seven pounds 6 ounces. Eighteen inches long. On the smaller size, but perfect nonetheless.
“She’s beautiful,” Dennis said as he laid the girl against his chest. Her face was still shriveled up and splotchy red, like all newborns were, but the best looking baby both Robby and Dennis had ever seen (at least in their opinion).
“Yeah, “ Robby said, looking down at his omega and their pup. “You both are.”
Dennis blushed a deep red. “You compliment me too much,” he mumbled.
Robby leaned over and pressed a kiss into the side of Dennis’s head, right behind his ear. “That’s nonsense,” he said. “I’ll keep complimenting you until I can’t speak anymore.”
They were interrupted by another knock on the door, turning their heads to see Jack and Trinity standing in the doorway looking eagerly at them.
“Shouldn’t you be downstairs?” Robby asked.
Jack chuckled. “Our shift doesn’t start for another half an hour. And there’s no way everyone else would want to start work without seeing a picture of her,” Jack said, referring to the baby.
Robby shook his head as he motioned for them to come forward. Jack took his phone out to take a quick photo of the baby, as both he and Trinity cooed over her.
“So what’s her name?” Trinity asked.
“Maya,” Dennis said.
Trinity gave them both a smile. “That’s a great name.
“Well, Robby, if you do one thing right, you sure do make a cute kid,” Jack said when he came over to visit a week later. Dennis was taking a much needed nap in the bedroom upstairs while Robby and Jack were watching a sleeping Maya downstairs.
“Thanks,” Robby said. “But I think that’s all Dennis’s work.”
Jack let out a laugh at hearing that. “Well, you got one thing there right.”
“My warning still stands,” Jack said after another moment. “Don’t think that just because the baby is here now that you can get away with anything. You do anything to hurt Whitaker, or you’re daughter, I’ll make sure you pay for it.”
Robby nodded. “Yeah, I remember,” he said. “And I won’t forget it.”