Knowing that Otto didn’t remember that he was angry with me, I hesitated until the doctor patted my shoulder.
“That’s a good idea,” he said kindly. “You haven’t been getting enough rest and it will do you both good. Do you want me to have the nurses find you a gown to sleep in?”
“No, thank you. I have a clean shirt and shorts in my bag.”
The doctor nodded and turned toward the door. “Get some rest. If you need anything, press the call button.”
And then we were left alone.
~*~
Otto
“Dex? You okay?” Talking hurt but so did seeing Dex standing in the center of the room staring at me like he was afraid I might bite.
“Yeah. I’ll just..” he made a gesture with his hands and nearly ran through the doorway to the private bathroom, grabbing a small backpack on his way.
When he came back in, he was dressed in a long t-shirt and pair of soft-looking cotton shorts. “You’re sure you want me to sleep with you?”
I snorted, regretting the amusement when it intensified the ache in my throat. “Yeah, baby, I’m sure.” I tried to pull the covers back and had to bite back a huff of annoyance when I could barely lift my hand.
“I’ve got it,” Dex said quietly, lifting the covers and sliding into the bed beside me, the size of the mattress requiring him to cuddle close. Dex’s bare legs tangled with mine and we both sighed at the contact.
“Better?”
“Yeah,” Dex sighed, his hand coming to rest on my chest as we shared the small pillow. “So much better.” His words faded into a snore.
I closed my eyes and focused on the hand on my chest, letting the rhythmic in and out of Dex’s breaths lull me to sleep.
When I woke, Dex was still fast asleep with his face buried in my armpit and his body plastered against mine. The blanket had been pushed down as we slept and Dex’s t-shirt had crept up, revealing the rounded belly that protected our baby. Lifting my hand to stroke over his stomach, I was relieved to find that I felt much stronger and more in control of my limbs than before I dozed off.
“Hey, there, little one,” I murmured, stroking my hand over the silky-soft skin of Dex’s baby bump. “You doing okay in there? I love you.”
I continued to caress Dex’s tummy, occasionally straying up to his chest or down onto his back while I carried on a one-sided conversation with the baby inside until I fell asleep again.
The pattern continued for several more hours. I would sleep for a while, waking up a little stronger each time, and then refamiliarize myself with my Omega’s body while he slept. Dex was so fast asleep that I would have been concerned if not for the small snores or occasional muttered sentences that made little to no sense.
It was nearly dinnertime when Dex finally began to wake, yawning and stretching so that his entire body rubbed against me before he settled back with a little sigh.
“Sleep well, baby?”
Dex stiffened slightly but nodded. “I did, actually. I guess I didn’t realize how tired I was.”
“That makes sense.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Much stronger,” I assured him with a small smile, rubbing my hand against the spot it was resting on. “I know the doctor didn’t want us to get into anything too serious, but I can’t keep calling the babyhey you.” I chuckled, happily realizing my throat was already feeling much less raw. “Do we have a name picked? Um, do we know if it’s a boy or a girl? I guess it would be hard to choose a name if not.”
“Oh, uh..” Dex swallowed nervously. “Um, no. The doctor can’t tell gender yet.” He shrugged, not meeting my eyes. “So, yeah. No name.”
“Oh, okay. Have we narrowed it down to final choices yet?” When he didn’t respond, I gently pinched Dex’s chin between my finger and thumb, turning him to face me. “Baby? What’s wrong? You’re starting to scare me.”
“Oh, it’s, um, nothing,” Dex assured me but the smile on his lips didn’t reach his eyes. “This has just been really stressful and, well, yeah. That.”
He was saved from me asking more questions when a loud knock came on the door.
“You two decent?” a cheerful voice rang out. “Y’all slept through lunch so Doc said you absolutely have to eat dinner.”
