Chapter Text
Kai doesn’t like the smell of hospitals. But he’s here now because of a call from one of his one-night-stands telling him that he’s pregnant and that he’s the father.
Kai wants to say that it is bullshit. That he never forgot to use protection no matter how drunk he was with his flings.
But here now, the bundle of warmth currently crying in his arms and refusing a bottle of formula milk is his pup. The baby smells just like the last omega he met. And the baby’s lips look just as pouty as his. There is absolutely no reason to say that this pup is not his.
“That fucking bast– I mean, your … papa.” Kai curses as he tries his best to let his baby latch onto the bottle’s nipple. Kai is sure the omega is just in the ward, now the ward is empty, other than the baby cradle. Even the IV drop is still dripping, the heart rate monitor is still beeping a straight line. It seems like the omega decided not to have anything to do with their pup.
“Ehhnggg!” The pupper cries again, refusing the silicon nipple.
Kai bounces on his heels to stop the baby from crying. Because fuck, how is he supposed to suddenly know how to care for a newborn? What more, without another parent?
“Ohh, what is the matter? Need a diappy change?” A nurse walks in just at the right time and Kai uses the chance to hand the baby over. The nurse cradles the pup and the cries subside down to little hiccups. “Ah, I need to take the vitals–” The nurse studies the ward and realises the mess on the bed; ripped off IV line and abandoned pulse oximeter.
Kai sends the nurse a regretful look before reaching for his baby again. “I don’t know where he is. I can’t contact him.”
“I can retrieve his contact since you’re his–”
“You don’t understand. He’s not my … registered mate. We aren’t married. In fact, I didn’t even know I’ll be having a baby until today. He wants nothing to do with us.”
The nurse pities the alpha. The man who looked like he could control everything in this world looks helpless with a bundle of pup in his arms. “He needs his omega’s milk.”
Kai tries again with the bottle. But the pup rejects it once more with another cry. “Well, he doesn’t have an omega parent anymore. It is just me.”
The nurse sighs and goes over to the alpha. She places a hand on the bundle and tries not to cry at how an omega could possibly abandon such an adorable newborn. A helpless newborn. “We do have a system in the hospital where parents with newborns produce more milk than their baby can consume. Or in other cases, no longer have a pup to feed. It's the Giver and Receiver Foundation.”
Kai isn’t exactly tight on money. He’s a CEO and he can afford the whole world and more for his pup. “Well, this crier needs his milk.”
—
Meanwhile, in another ward, a police officer is just done taking notes from a particular omega. “You contact us immediately if he ever does come near you. Meantime, I suggest you find lodging somewhere safer.”
Sehun nods while a nurse tends to his bruises on his cheek and God knows how many cuts he has all over him. “Thank you, officer,” Sehun weakly replies.
The officer draws Sehun in for a hug. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Oh.”
Sehun lets a tear slip down his bruised cheek. Hand coming over to cradle his now flat tummy, he mentally says a prayer. “Papa is sorry I couldn’t protect you. Fly free, my little angel, maybe one day when I’m ready, I can be your papa for real.”
“Alright, all is done.” The nurse pats the bandage on his temple gently.
Before Sehun stands to leave, he reaches over to two packets of milk he had expressed earlier after a nurse informs him about a newborn needing milk. Sehun had immediately agreed to sign up as the giver. “Here, it’s my first time doing it, it hurts, and I didn’t express it as much as I hoped to. I hope this is enough for the baby.”
The nurse regretfully accepts the packets of milk. “It is more than enough for the day. I’ll have a courier arranged between you and the other parent. Would you be okay to exchange contact with the receiver? That way, they may let you know when they need the milk or when to stop.”
Sehun nods. “Sure.” He watches the nurse exit the ward with the packets of milk. Well, at least he is able to provide for a baby, even if the baby is not his.
Once Sehun signs the release papers, the nurses once again send him their condolences and Sehun is this close to breaking down. But he tries not to.
When the elevator opens, Sehun steps in, mindful of a man, an alpha, carrying a newborn with one arm while the other carrying what seems to be a leather suitcase. That man doesn’t look like a father at all. But Sehun tells himself he shouldn’t be that quick to judge. And Sehun couldn’t help but catch a whiff of the alpha’s newborn. And a part of Sehun wants to hold the pup. Just once.
The newborn pup exposes its tiny fingers, reaching for its father and Sehun feels his nipples leak. He wants the pup to latch. He wants to feed it. And Sehun can’t help the tears that threaten to spill. The alpha doesn’t seem to know his way around a newborn as he just stares blankly at his pup, then a second later, he bounces on his feet a little awkwardly.
After having a miscarraige and finally getting rid of his abusive ex, Sehun can’t help but admire the alpha with the newborn. He could’ve had a scene like this. They could’ve been his. An attentive alpha partner and father to his baby.
The elevator door opens at ground level and Sehun watches the alpha’s broad back disappearing off after turning a corner.
Sehun exhales shakily, drawing his coat tighter around himself as he exits the hospital building. It is summer, but after suffering a bloody miscarriage, his body is failing. He feels cold. And Sehun imagines the alpha in the lift earlier embracing him with his bodily warmth, hugging his coat tighter.
And that’s when he let it all out, in the middle of the street, Sehun squatted by the pavement.
He started crying.
–