Chapter Twenty-Three — News

Maria was glad her father could prolong his stay just for another day. They didn’t have to invest in a taxi to bring them to the hospital in Metcalf, and it gave her someone to distract her as she waited for Joseph’s surgery to be over.

Alma sat across from her in the waiting room and glared daggers. She hadn’t said hello or acknowledged her in any other form than to huff and glare. Leonard sat next to his daughter and gave her hand a squeeze.

“Don’t worry, Maria. The doctor sounded very confident.”

“He said he has good chances. He could still…” She didn’t dare finish the sentence. The thought of losing Joseph stung too deep.

“He won’t. He’s always been a fighter,” Alma muttered and let out a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry, I gave my sister your address. I was just worried about her.”

Alma shook her head and ran her tongue over her lips, the scent of her anger and annoyance laced through with worry herself.

“I get that. But I would have appreciated a little head’s up. At least then I’d have known to keep the door chained. That asshole scared my boys.”

“You have sons?” Leonard asked with his default fatherly smile.

“Yes, two. Charlie is six and Aiden just turned three.”

“Wonderful ages.”

Alma agreed with a smile of her own. “Yes, the phase when they are still cute and listen to their mommy.”

Maria couldn’t contain her smirk when she came up with the perfect idea. Alma and her father would be the perfect marriage of convenience. Her dad wanted sons and Alma wanted a father for her children. They would both get what they want if they got together.

But judging by the looks Alma still shot at her, Maria would wait before suggesting it, even as a joke. She wrapped her arms around her middle and breathed through her nose to keep her churning stomach under control. Not that the stinging smell of medical detergent and stressed nurses and doctors was anywhere near soothing. Leonard wrapped his arms tighter around her and began to purr so softly that it was merely a comforting vibration in the little space between them.

“You shouldn’t worry so much. It’s not good for the baby,” he said and gave her another squeeze.

It took Maria a moment to understand what he was saying. She frowned up at him and shook her head. “I’m not pregnant.”

His brows drew together in confusion as he took in a deep breath. Alma leaned onto her knees and did the same.

“You smell pretty pregnant though. You should do a test, just to be sure,” she suggested.

“I’ll stay here and call you as soon as they can tell us something about Joseph.”

Maria waited for him to wink or start laughing, either of them, but they looked dead serious. Alma stood up and held out her hand. What was going on here? She wasn’t pregnant. She couldn’t be! Still, Maria took the offered hand and allowed Alma to lead her down into the ground floor pharmacy to purchase a pregnancy test and a big bottle of water. She drained it, only realizing now that she was actually rather thirsty. When had she last drunk something? Not this morning since she had been too queasy to ingest anything, not even plain water. Was this just the stress or actual morning sickness? She didn’t want to believe it, not even when she read through the instruction and peed into a little paper cup from one of the water dispensers in the hallways.

“Are you okay?” Alma asked through the door of the bathroom stall.

“I’m… I don’t know.”

Alma chuckled and waited for Maria to leave the stall, her face pale and the hand which held the pregnancy test shaking slightly.

“How long do we have to wait?”

Maria swallowed thickly. “Two minutes. Ten to be sure.”

“Let’s head back to your dad. You look like you need to sit down.”

“I-I thought I couldn’t have children anymore,” she whispered and followed Alma’s gentle urging to bring her back into the waiting area in front of the surgery wing. Millions of thoughts raced through her mind, making her deaf to Alma’s calming words. What if she was really pregnant? Why now? Why not earlier? How had she not noticed before? Would Joseph be happy about the news?

Leonard’s warm hand on her shoulder made Maria snap out of it.

“Sweety, are you all right?” he asked with a chuckle.

“I don’t know. What if Joseph doesn’t want it?”

Alma let out a bright laugh. “He loves you. Of course, he wants it.”

Maria’s eyes suddenly filled with tears, her emotions going haywire. “But, what if—”

“What if the world explodes in two minutes?” Leonard cut her off and wrapped his arms around her again while Alma moved to the other side of her to hug her too. “How about we eliminate one question out of your head? What does the test say?”

Maria’s hand shook as she lifted the little plastic stick up and gasped at the clear pink plus sign staring back at her. She was pregnant.

“Congratulations,” Alma and Leonard said in unison, but all Maria could think of was that she needed to see Joseph. She needed him to come out of the surgery alive and whole to be her baby’s daddy. Now that she knew where her nausea came from, everything else made sense as well. Her altered scent Joseph found so enticing, her queasiness, her urge to get back to her Alpha no matter what.

Time crawled by for what felt like forever. She stared at the clock above the door and held onto the pregnancy test. She would have to get the final confirmation from a doctor before she would allow herself to be happy and even then… She had lost a baby before.

It took two agonizingly long hours before the surgeon, Dr. Han, finally joined them. Maria was up on her feet within a heartbeat, ready to hear the worst news imaginable.

“He is going to be fine if everything goes as planned. We could isolate the infected tissue and replace the damaged joint with the prosthetic like we discussed before he went in.”

“When can I see him? I have to see him.”

Dr. Han’s deep brown eyes dipped down to the test in her hands and with a knowing smile told them all that it would be about half an hour until he was ready to receive visitors. Another thirty minutes ticked by as slow as honey dripped. Only now, Maria couldn’t sit still anymore. She knew that Joseph was going to be fine after a lot of rehabilitation and time, so she needed to see him. Being forced apart from him felt like punishment of some sort, but Leonard was quick to calm her down again with a deep rumbling purr.

“It’ll only be a few more minutes.”

“Too long,” Maria whined and snuggled into her father. Maybe it was the fact that she had missed him so much over the last seventeen years or that he was an Alpha, but being close to him actually helped.

***

Half an hour later, Dr. Han returned, no longer dressed in scrubs but the typical white coat. Maria’s heart hammered in her chest as only she was allowed to follow him down one of the many identical hallways into the waking rooms. She twisted and turned the pregnancy test in her sweaty palms before she took a deep breath and told herself that Alma was right. Joseph loved her. He would love their baby too.

“He will still be a little drowsy.” Dr. Han opened the door and smiled at his patient.

The sight of Joseph, pale and motionless, chased a shiver down Maria’s spine. If not for the regular beeping of the heart monitor on the other side of the bed, she would’ve sworn he was dead. But he wasn't. As soon as she entered the room, Joseph sucked in a deep breath and blinked open his eyes. Once they found her, he smiled with a low groan.

Maria forgot about the world at that moment. She hurried forward and took his hand in hers.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, frowning at how cold his hand felt.

“High.” He chuckled. “And frosty.”

Maria looked at Dr. Han for an explanation. “Patients usually get a little chilly during surgery. He’ll warm up again soon. Don’t worry.”

Was it too early to tell him? Maybe she should wait until she had seen a doctor and had solid proof of her pregnancy before she got his hopes up.

“I dreamed of you,” Joseph said with a tired slur to his gruffer than usual voice.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing one can talk about in polite company.” He chuckled and made Maria blush. Joseph lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He closed his eyes and let out a little moan when he pressed her wrist to his nose to suck in her scent.

Could he tell somehow? Did he know where her altered scent came from?

“I’m pregnant.”

She had whispered it without meaning to and held her breath as she waited for his reaction.

Joseph’s eyes snapped open again, staring up at her with lifted eyebrows. “You are?”

Tears choked her, so she nodded and pressed her lips into a thin line. She had completely forgotten about the surgeon still standing by the door. Her blood rushed in her ears as she waited for any kind of indication if Joseph was happy or not about this unexpected news.

“Why are you crying? That’s good, right?”

She nodded again with a laugh bubbling up in her chest. He was really high.

“These are happy tears.”

He smiled and brought his free hand up to cup her cheek. With his thumb, he wiped away a fresh tear and gently pulled her mouth down to his.

“I love you, Maria,” Joseph whispered right before their lips met.

How could she have ever doubted him or his reaction? “I love you too.”

Dr. Han cleared his throat behind Maria and ended the moment. He told them in detail what they did during surgery while Maria sat on the edge of the bed and held Joseph’s hand. It was amazing what this little contact already did to her shaky nerves. Knowing he was fine and that he was happy about their little family had taken such a heavy weight off her shoulders. She listened intently to what the surgeon told them about taking it slow and doing everything the rehabilitation specialist would tell them to the last letter.

Joseph drifted in and out of sleep, trying his hardest to stay focused until he eventually lost his battle and started snoring lightly just as Dr. Han finished his instructions.

“If I were you, I would tell him about the baby again in a few hours when he is completely clear again,” the doctor said with a smirk and added, “Congratulations.”

Maria beamed and ran her fingers through Joseph’s curls. “Thank you.”

***

Hours later, Joseph finally woke up completely and demanded pain beds immediately. Alma and Leonard had joined Maria as soon as Joseph had been brought into a private room, sponsored by Leonard to make sure they would be undisturbed.

“What did the doctor say? Everything’s a little hazy.”

Maria told him the most important parts and continued to hold his hand while they waited for a doctor or certified nurse to arrive with the much needed painkillers.

“When you say “hazy” does that mean, you don’t remember anything when you first woke up?” Alma asked with a smirk.

“Hardly anything. I remember that Maria was there and the doc.”

Maria bit her lower lip to keep from smiling like an idiot. How many women got the chance to tell their baby daddy twice that they were going to have a child?

“Boy, are you in for a surprise.” Alma chuckled and leaned back in the armchair. Leonard did little to hide his smirk and Maria shook her head about the two of them. Did they have to tease him?

The nurse arrived with a clipboard and a bottle of clear liquid.

“Will he be drowsy from this?” Leonard asked when the Latina had finished her clipboard questions about Joseph’s current state overall.

“A little, but nothing compared to the actual anesthetics. This will only make him a little slower but definitely take the pain away.”

“Slower than he is already? Oh, man, is that even possible?” Alma joked.

Maria was glad about that since it meant everything would indeed be better again, returning to normal in a few more weeks.

Joseph was about to reply something, undoubtedly equally childish, but Maria stopped him with a kiss. They waited until the nurse was done and had left them alone again, before Maria reached into the pocket of her, i.e. Joseph's hoodie and pulled out the pregnancy test.

Before she could say anything, Joseph spoke. “So that hadn’t been a dream then? You’re actually pregnant?”

“I thought you didn’t remember.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t get pregnant and thus I was certain, I had only dreamt it while under the influence of the anesthesia.” Joseph let out a laugh and took the pregnancy test, twisting and turning it in his hands like he couldn’t really believe it.

Suddenly, memories of the day she had lost her son came flooding back. “Don’t get too excited though.”

“Why?”

“What if it will end like my first one?”

Alma and Leonard exchanged a quick look and stood up. “I think we’ll see what the cafeteria has to offer.”

Leonard pressed a kiss to Maria’s temple while Alma squeezed her brother’s hand before they left them both alone.

“It won’t be like the last time,” Joseph stated like it was fact.

“You don’t know that.” Maria dropped her head and resisted the urge to rest her hand over her still flat belly.

Instead, Joseph did it and drew her attention. “It won’t be like it was with him.”

She wanted to believe him. She wanted to hold her baby in her arms in a few months and watch them grow and mature into the spitting image of her Alpha. She had a feeling it would be another boy, a brother to her first son who never got the chance to take his first breath. Maria looked into Joseph's eyes and found nothing but love in them. Maybe he was right… No, he was. Even during her first pregnancy Chad had never looked at her with such pride and devotion. It wasn’t like the last time. This was how it was meant to be.