"Thank you." His mouth tasted like crap at the moment. Ben manoeuvred them so Tommy was under the spray and he slowly brushed his teeth. Ben placed gentle kisses against the top of his head and ran a soapy loofa over the skin he could reach without having to put Tommy down.
By the time Tommy had finished brushing his teeth, his eyes were closing again in exhaustion. Ben turned off the shower and stepped out, awkwardly wrapping a towel around them and drying them off as best he could before he left it piled on the floor and walked back to the bed.
Ben sat on the edge of the bed and unlocked Tommy's legs before he lay down and held Tommy against his chest. The cover was pulled over the top of them and Ben wrapped his arms securely around Tommy, holding his close.
A kiss was placed against his forehead and Ben whispered, "Sleep, pup, everything's going to be okay."
Tommy didn't have the energy to say anything so he took Ben's advice and drifted back to sleep, safe in the knowledge that no matter what happened, his mate would be there.
* * * *
Being a werewolf had its perks, such as the advanced healing, heightened senses, and also the fact they couldn't get or transmit any known diseases. Due to all this, Tommy had never been sick a day in his life. He'd never had the flu, or a stomach bug, never had the chicken pox when he was a child. Hell, he couldn't even remember ever having a damn headache.
That being the case meant Tommy was completely unprepared for the way he currently felt.
Tommy hadn't been able to keep anything down in nearly four days. He thought it was called morning sickness, meaning it was limited to before noon, but apparently he'd been mistaken. His energy was non-existent; he had taken to having baths in the main bathroom as his legs had given out on him two days ago while he'd been in the shower. Tommy had cried out in surprise and terror when he had gone down, and Ben had come running.
He'd cried when Ben had picked him up off the shower floor and tried to soothe him but Tommy couldn't calm down. His damn hormones were all over the place and Tommy had clung to his mate for a half hour and bawled like a baby until he had finally exhausted himself and fallen asleep.
Since then it was strictly baths for him unless Ben was able to join him. As it was, Tommy had to get Ben to help him to the bathroom anyway because he couldn't make the distance by himself.
Tommy hated the worry he could see clearly displayed on Ben's face but didn't know what to do about it. He spent most of his days either lying on the nice plush couch in the lounge room, with a bucket in case he got sick, or in bed sleeping. He never knew that being pregnant would play such havoc on his body.
After four days of not keeping anything down though, Ben drew the line in the sand and called in the pack doctor, Philip Carter.
Tommy was woken from where he'd fallen asleep on the couch by the sound of the doorbell ringing. He didn't even attempt to get up and answer it because he knew he'd be lucky to make it halfway before he had to stop.
He groaned and looked toward the television that he had put on mute god knew how long ago. Even with cable and hundreds of channels to choose from, he hadn't been able to find a single decent thing to watch; instead he'd muted it and closed his eyes to rest for a little while.
Tommy prayed that he didn't feel like this for the entire pregnancy, he didn't know if he could cope. He was immensely grateful that the gestation period for a werewolf was only double that of a regular wolf and lasted for only eighteen weeks. But still, thinking about feeling like this for another eighteen weeks had Tommy once again on the verge of tears.
Wound up in his own thoughts, Tommy didn't notice Ben come down or answer the door. It wasn't until Ben squatted down next to the couch and gently brushed back loose strands of hair that had fallen across Tommy's face that he even realised his mate was close by.
"How are you feeling, pup?" His voice was soft and tender, and Tommy wanted nothing more than to curl up around him and just breathe him in as he slept.
Tommy shrugged, not really sure how to answer. He really hated telling his mate that he felt like complete crap, and even though he did, he wasn't feeling quite as bad as he had previously.
"Okay, pup. Doc Carter is here to check you out, all right?" Tommy nodded then realised his mistake as a wave of nausea hit him hard. He rolled over and reached for the bucket that sat on the ground just to the side where his head rested. Tommy heaved and retched, yet nothing came up. It didn't surprise him as he hadn't been able to keep anything down, barely even water. Tommy hadn't wanted to add to Ben's stress but he was starting to worry that their child wasn't getting what it needed from him if he was unable to eat and drink.
Ben stayed with him the entire time, never leaving him alone until Tommy lay back down again. Only then did Ben move in favour of letting the Doc close. His mate didn't go very far though, just to the head of the couch, and he never once removed his hand and maintained contact between them.
Doc Carter was a man easily in his sixties; Tommy thought he had that whole silver fox thing going on. Even with the age, the man was easy on the eyes and carried himself well; he had a very calm manner about him.
"Hello again, Tommy." Tommy had first met the doc when he'd come to Atherton all those months ago, broken and battered. The doc had helped him to heal.
"Hey Doc," Tommy whispered.
"Let's get you checked over." The second the doc reached for him though, a deep rumbling growl could be heard from behind Tommy.
A little startled at the unexpected noise, Tommy stared at his mate, wondering what the hell the matter with the man was.
"Problem?" Doc asked.
Ben just shrugged his shoulders and squeezed Tommy's hand in reassurance. Tommy turned back to the doc in time to see him reach for his stomach and again stop as a deep menacing growl filled the air.
This time Tommy spoke up, although due to his lack of energy he knew he didn't sound very authoritative. "Stop it. If you can't behave you can leave."
Ben leant down and placed a kiss on his lips.
"Sorry, pup. It would seem I'm a tad bit possessive when it comes to you and our cub. I don't want anyone else touching you."
"Thank you, that's kind of sweet, but also incredibly stupid."
"Excuse me?"
Tommy could feel the hint of amusement lacing Ben's words.
"Ben, people are going to touch me. Declan touches me every time he comes over, Liam does the same. If I want to hug my brother, I bloody well will, whether you like it or not. So stop acting like a caveman and let the doctor look at me because I feel like shit and I'm worried I'm hurting our cub."
Tommy could once again feel tears gathering in his eyes by the time he had finished his silent rant to his mate.
"Oh, pup. I'm sorry." Ben carded his fingers through Tommy's hair in an effort to soothe him. Ben knew how much Tommy loved having his hair stroked, but Ben's grip on his hand never lightened. "Go ahead, Phil."
Not another sound crossed Ben's lips as Doc Carter started his exam. His temperature was taken and his blood pressure, iron levels, and blood sugar were all checked. Tommy was hooked up to a drip and stabbed with a needle for the first time in his life so they could get some fluid into him since he was badly dehydrated.
Two bags of liquid later and Tommy was feeling a little better. The doc pulled out some anti-nausea medicine that he assured Tommy and Ben would not harm their cub in any way, shape, or form and informed Tommy he had to take the medicine twice as often as the instructions prescribed due to the fact that they metabolised things so much faster than a regular human.
Tommy didn't care how often he had to take the damn pills just so long as he stopped feeling like this. The doc also asked Ben to get him a set of scales, and once back, Ben helped Tommy to stand and the doc recorded his weight. Tommy lay back down on the couch at the doc's instructions and flinched when he put his hands on Tommy's stomach and pressed down gently.
Ben growled, the doc snatched his hands back, and then looked worriedly at Tommy. "Did what I just do hurt?" he asked.
"No, but your fingers are bloody cold." Ben's breath expelling from behind him had Tommy smiling while the doc chuckled lightly from where he crouched beside him.
"Sorry." Tommy watched as the man rubbed his hands together in an effort to warm them then placed them back on Tommy's stomach. "Better?" he asked as he pressed down with the pads of his fingers and felt around before moving a little way and repeating over again.
"Yes, thank you."
"Just out of curiosity have you confirmed the pregnancy with a test?" the doc asked not once looking away from what he was doing.
"Yes, I ran out and got a couple of home pregnancy tests four days ago when the morning sickness started. They all tested positive." Ben said.
"How many is 'all'?" Doc Carter asked, looking interested in the answer.
"Twelve." Tommy watched as the man threw his head back and laughed.
"Bloody men are always the same," he muttered before going back to what he was doing. The last thing he did was bring out a measuring tape and measure Tommy's stomach from his bellybutton to the edge of his pubic bone. Tommy squeezed Ben's hand tightly as the man bared his teeth and growled at the doctor.
"Stop it, Ben."
"He's a little too close for my liking,"
Ben grumbled.
"He's doing his job."
Before Ben could answer, he was interrupted by the doc. "It's a little too early for us to be able to hear a heartbeat yet. We'll give it a couple more weeks. Now, were you interested in finding out the sex of the cub? Not that we can at this early stage, but it's something for you to think about anyway. I've made a note of all of my findings and you have your medication. I will want to see you again every two weeks until you get to twelve weeks gestation then it will move to weekly visits. I will continue to keep a track of everything through the entire pregnancy so you will have a record of it after. If you have any problems, the medicine doesn't help, or you have any cramping or pain, you call me straight away. If in twenty-four hours you're still unable to keep anything down, make sure to call."
"Thanks, Doc." Ben held his hand out and shook the other man's.
"You're welcome, Alpha, and congratulations to you both."
"Thank you," Tommy said from the couch since he didn't want to risk moving to help his mate see the man out.
Ben returned a couple of minutes later with a fresh glass of ice cold water and slowly helped Tommy to sit up. Once up, Tommy took the first of his pills and looked at his mate. A baby! They were really going to have a baby. Tommy didn't know why but the reality of that just seemed to hit him. Holy crap!
Ben must have seen the slightly panicked look on his face and pulled him into his arms, holding him tight. "Everything is going to be fine, pup. Just wait and see, you're going to be an amazing father, and our kids are going to love you to pieces."
"Kids? As in plural?"
"Of course. We've already discussed that." The way his mate had said that sounded like there should be 'duh' on the end.
His mate kissed him gently, nowhere near the passionate kisses of the previous week, but Tommy knew this was because his mate didn't want to cause him to get dizzy or feel nauseous.
"Do you want to know the sex of our cub?" Ben asked.
Tommy shook his head gently. "I like the idea of being surprised. Either way I will love the child with everything that I have; so boy or girl, it matters not to me. What about you?"
"I think it would be easier to cater if we knew what we were having, but I also like the idea of being surprised. Plus, there is so much more colour choices available these days, not everything in either pink or blue."
"Oh crap, there's so much to do. We have to get the nursery ready. Wait, where the hell are we going to put the nursery? We have to buy all the furniture, and a car seat and a stroller, we have to baby proof the house, and clothes. What about clothes? We don't have much time, how are we going to get everything done before the baby arrives?" Tommy's eyes were huge and his breathing coming fast by the time he had finished his little breakdown.
Ben cupped his cheeks and tilted his head up so Tommy had to look at his mate's face. "Breathe, pup." Tommy took a deep breath in before exhaling loudly and then repeating. When Tommy seemed to have calmed down, Ben continued, "We have plenty of time. When you're feeling better, we'll take a drive down to Cairns and pick up everything we need. You're not going to be showing for several more weeks yet so there's no reason to panic. The nursery will go in the room next to ours. Anything that we don't manage to get before the cub starts to make itself known, I can pick up, or we can always send Uncles Liam and Declan to collect it for us."
"Okay, sorry. I think I just got a little overwhelmed with everything."
"It's fine, pup. Completely understandable. Now how are you feeling? Can I get you something to eat? Maybe a little chicken soup?"
"Mmm, actually I think I am hungry. That sounds really good."
"Okay, you sit back and relax and I'll be back with some soup, then. I'm sorry but I still have some work that I have to attend to."
"I'm sorry. I'm taking up so much of your time." Tommy hated the
fact that he'd been so sick and taken Ben away from his work. He had seen during the previous week just how hard Ben worked while trying to oversee all the werewolf packs in Australia. The man really needed an assistant.
"You need help."
"I'm sorry?" Ben looked a little confused as he stood to head to the kitchen.
"You need help with your work. I hate taking you away from it, but with me pregnant, surely that's going to limit the number of hours you can work once the baby arrives. I think you need to hire an assistant to help you so he or she can do all the menial jobs, freeing up your time to deal with the big ticket items."
Ben seemed to stop and think about what he had just said before a broad grin spread across his face. "I'll get the word out that I'm looking to hire someone. I wonder if there's anyone suitable in the pack or not."