KEEGAN

Sunday came, and another barbecue event took place at my family’s house. Dad and Maverick were in charge of the food. Cecil and Elise took care of making the table. The kids played around the backyard, and Meadow played with them. My heart felt warm just looking at him around my nephews and nieces. He looked like he belonged there. Meadow was a part of the family. Perhaps even more than me. I heard a pained huff coming from my side. I turned to see Jeremy, sitting on a chair. He had furrowed brows and looked as if he was in pain.

“Are you okay, Jer?” I said, kneeling beside him. Conner had gone to get some water for him.

“Yeah, just…this kid is moving too much.” Jeremy said with a huff while his hand moved around his belly.

“Do you want me to get Conner?” I asked, starting to get worried. He was sweating a lot.

“No, I’m fine.” My brother reassured me.

“You don’t look fine.” I sincerely said. 

“I am. Oh, fuck!” Jeremy cursed loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Jeremy! There are kids present.” Maverick scolded our brother.

“Fuck. Fuck. Shit!” Jeremy continued to curse out loud. His expression was full of pain. Something was happening. 

“Jeremy?” I called for him.

“We…we have to go to the hospital.” He said to me, his breathing heavy.

“What? Why?” I asked, worried and too slow to connect the dots.

“M-my water just broke.” My omega brother explained, and I took a moment to process. 

“Oh. Oh…Holy shit!” I panicked when I realized what he meant and said out loud to my family to hear. “Jeremy’s water broke!”

“Jeremy’s what? Where is Conner?” Dad asked, turning the grill off.

“I am here. What happened?” Conner came out of the house confused.

“Take Jeremy. His water broke.” Elise said to him. 

“Oh God/dess! Come here, baby. Let’s go.” Conner was fast and ran to us. He easily—but carefully— took Jeremy in his arms and walked away.

“Okay, everybody. You know what to do.” Papa said.

“Yes!” Everyone said in unison.

“What? What do we have to do?” I asked, confused as everyone moved around the backyard.

“Come with me, babe. We are going to the hospital with Owen and Cecil.” Meadow said, taking my hand in his. 

Soon, we had all arrived at the hospital—kids included. No Beackman was left behind as we all waited in the waiting room outside of Jeremy’s labor room. I grew anxious thinking about the pain my brother was feeling at the moment. Seeing him curse earlier made me worry about him. I couldn’t stay put, so I paced around the room. 

“Is he okay? Will it take long?” I asked out loud, waiting for an answer from someone else.

“He is okay. Probably will take a while, or it could be fast.” Elise explained. She was also a skilled professional in childbirth. She had twins. But Elise was also a female omega. Meaning her body was different than Jeremy’s. Omega males were more complicated.

“What if something happens to him?” I asked with furrowed brows.

“You don’t need to be so nervous.” Papa said and then reassured me. “He will be okay. It’s not his first rodeo, you know this.”

“I still feel nervous. It’s my first time going through this.” I said, still pacing around back and forth in a straight line. 

“And it’s not even your kid. Not even Conner is this nervous.” Maverick mentioned with a chuckle.

“Is this how you are going to act when Bunny gets pregnant?” Owen asked, and I noticed Meadow blushing in his seat. Was I going to be this way then? Of course, I was.

“Owen, don’t bother your brother like that. You were just like that with both of my pregnancies.” Cecil left a soft punch on my twin’s arm.

“Was I? I don’t remember.” Owen frowned, trying to think about that day.

“You almost passed out when Cecil’s water broke.” Maverick said, laughing at the memory. “I had to drive you both to the hospital.”

“Keegan. You need to stop pacing like that. It’s annoying.” Emil said, annoyed at me, and then turned to my omega. “Bunny, control your man, please.”

“Hey, come here.” Meadow said, offering me the seat next to him. I obeyed and sat down next to him. “Good. Now relax. Everything is fine. Jeremy will be just fine.”

“I hope he is. God/dess, I don’t know how you all do it.” I said, hiding my face on his neck.

“Shh..shh…It’s okay.” Meadow whispered, caressing my hair and releasing some of his pheromones to calm my nerves down.

“Is uncle Keegan crying?” Chase asked.

“No, Chase. He is just worried about your uncle Jeremy.” Bunny explained to the kids.

“Papa is okay. He is waiting for the stork to give him the baby.” Tomas, Jeremy’s first son, mentioned. Him thinking it was a stork they were waiting for inside there was adorable. 

“Are you excited to become a big brother, little man?” I asked him with a smile.

“Yes! I will be the best big brother.” Tomas said with a big smile.

After a few hours, nothing was happening. There was no news from Jeremy’s room, and it made me worry. Thankfully, Meadow never left my side. He kept me focused and calm. He reassured me every time I showed my worry, and I loved that he did that. Suddenly, a doctor rushed into the room, followed by a nurse. We all watched, and before they closed the door behind them, I heard my brother.

“Conner, you fucking idiot! You better use a god damn condom the next time!” Jeremy screamed curses at his alpha mate. Outside, my family laughed at my brother's reaction. 

“Cursing is good.” Bunny told me with a smile, and I felt relieved to hear that. If Conner had energy to curse his husband, that meant he was fine.

A sudden loud wail came from inside the room. A baby wailing. Hearing that sound made my chest feel warm, and the worry disappeared from my body. I turned to look at Meadow for his reaction, he nodded with a big smile. I hugged him and took a deep whiff of his scent. His scent was sweeter than ever, but perhaps it was just the emotion of having a new member in the family. We waited for a while until we got permission to go inside the room to meet the baby. We entered to find Jeremy on the bed and Conner sitting next to him. My brother-in-law was holding the little bundle of joy. 

“My sweetie, how are you feeling?” Papa was the first one to ask Jeremy. 

“Like I just popped a baby out of me.” Jeremy said, honestly. “I’m fine, Papa.” 

“You did a good job, my love.” Conner said to my brother with a smile, and he turned to face us. “Everyone, we would like you to meet Travis.”

All my brothers and their mates took turns carrying the baby in their arms. The kids took turns to greet their new cousin, and Tomas was over the moon seeing his little brother. Meadow took Travis in his arms and greeted him with a smile. The image of my omega holding a baby awoke a primal feeling inside of me. He looked happy and so beautiful with Travis in his arms. I wanted him to carry a baby of his own. My cubs. Keith agreed with me. 

“Do you want to carry him now?” Bunny asked me with a smile.

“Huh? Oh, I don’t know how to do it.” I confessed. I had carried my siblings when they were babies, but that was long ago. And I was always supervised by Dad, so I wouldn’t drop them. 

“I’ll show you.” He said with a smile and gave me all the directions on how to carry a baby. 

I finally gathered the courage to do it and took baby Travis into my arms. He was so tiny and fragile, I was scared to drop him. But Meadow kept me confident and reassured me that it was not happening. Seeing baby pictures was nice, but having the real deal in my arms made me notice his features more. I noticed traces of my brother and Conner in him. 

“Welcome to the family, baby Travis.” I said with a soft voice and a big smile. 

~oOoOo~

As the days passed and after the arrival of a new member to the family, I recognized I had been missing out on a lot. That nervous feeling of seeing my brothers bring new family to the world. Carrying my newborn nephew in my arms. Helping around with the ranch duties. Being involved with the business. Riding my horse, Blizzard. Spending time with Meadow. Everything made me open my eyes. If I were to go back to New York, I would miss seeing the kids grow up. I would miss my Papa’s cooking. The family banter. I would miss Meadow. 

‘You don’t have to miss all of this if you don’t leave.’ Keith mentioned.

Keith was right. Finally, I made a decision. I was going to stay in Bramville. But first, I had to go back to New York and find a way to make it work. I loved my job, but I loved my family more. I loved Meadow more than anything. I took out my phone and booked the earliest flight I could find for tomorrow. I wanted my return to be a surprise. Would I get in trouble for leaving without notice? Yes, most likely. But it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I would fix things quickly and come back.

In any case, how long would it take me to find the way to make things work?

I hoped not much.