Back at the house the group had started working, gathering information about many things in hopes that something would come up, which it hadn't for the entirety of that week. On the sixth day after their visit to the Alpha, sometime past mid-day, Rose had started feeling hot and bothered, her hands trebling so much she couldn't aim in training and Rose pulled away and headed for her room, knowing what was about to happen.Before the day was done, Rose's heat would have fully taken her over if she hadn't taken his heat meds. Laying curled up in the pile of soft materials that was her nest inside of her closet, Rose was visibly shaking as the pain was slowly building, making her struggle to breath evenly. The pain at this stage wasn't as bad as it would be at its peak in about 24 hours (where it would stay for another 24-36 hours) but Rose could already feel and hear her pulse in her ears and at the back of her head, a burning ache in the pit of her stomach and a cutting pain passing th
Sebestian had sat there for a few hours before Rose had even begun to stir, but the second she did, Sebestian wished she would have just gone on sleeping. In her sleep, Rose would sob and shake, but when she woke the rather quiet sobs turned into desperate cries as she dug her fingers into her skin, clawing at it like the cure for her pain was to remove her own skin.Moving over in the small, confined space, Sebestian tried to stay on his knees outside Rose's nest, knowing that any Omega (even one as resisting as Sebestian) would be sensitive about what kind of scents were surrounding them. Just as he lifted the glass of water off the floor, Rose curled up before what seemed like all the muscles in her body tensed up and she started coughing, hard."Rose" Sebestian tried, but he didn't know what to say because nothing he could possibly say would help the poor omega in front of him. Gasping, Sebestian held his breath as a wave of bitter Omega scent washed over him seconds before Rose c
"Sebestian?"Opening his eyes again, Sebestian looked at Monika who was sitting with bedhead in Rose's bed, looking at him as she wrapped the covers around herself even though she was clearly still dressed "Are you OK?""Yeah" Sebestian nodded and pushed away from the door, his legs feeling weak as he took a few steps forward. "Rose is getting better, so I should probably get going" Sebestian tried to smile though every cell in his body was crying out for him to not leave.Monika tipped her head to the side, her make-up from the day before was smeared out and still she looked more beautiful than the average girl ever could "Is she awake?".Shaking his head, Sebestian tried to straighten out his cloths, knowing he could clean them with the snap of his fingers, but not sure he wanted to."You should stay until she does, she can be stubborn and difficult at times, but I am sure she will want to thank you for your help" Monika smiled, rubbing one of her eyes with her free hand.Shaking hi
Rose bit down hard on her lip as she knocked on the door before quickly moving back far enough for her heels to almost knock against the wall behind her. She hadn't taken her omega meds yet, she couldn't, and she hadn't actually been close to an Alpha except Ash for past months, so she stepped back to not be a bother for the other man.Time ticked by extremely slowly and Rose was almost contemplating leaving when there was a sound coming from the other side of the door, followed by one of them being pulled open. Holding her breath, Rose looked at Sebestian who now stood only a few meters away from her, hair, clothes and make-up on point as always, but with a surprised look on his face.Fuck, Rose thought, suddenly remembering all of her worries from when she first woke up. She had looked like a mess, she had smelled, she had been weak and pathetic and worthless and what if Sebestian had been grossed out? Why was she even here?"Eh, I just wanted to say thank you, Monika told me about
"I am sure she is trouble" Ash huffed annoyed, spinning a blade in the palm of his hand, testing its balance as he looked over at Monika who were punching at the hanging heavy bag in front of her."I think - he could be - good for Rose" Monika replied, a few word between each punch. Rose had seemed more relaxed the last two days, Monika had actually caught her smiling once or twice for no reason, and that was unheard of when it came to her big sister.Ash pressed his tongue against his upper teeth, sucking in air until it made a high-pitched squeaking sound "I don't know, he is just so""Good looking?" Monika asked, punching the bag so hard her knuckles almost bruised."No""Kind?" Monika guessed again."No, he is just" Ash tried."Powerful?" Monika asked as she punch the bag one last time before wrapping her arm around it, hanging off it slightly."Monika, really?" Ash sounded annoyed as he put the blade he had been playing with down."What is your problem with him Ash, really? I kno
"Your turn". Holding out her knife again, Rose waited until Sebestian took it off her, hiding a small shiver as Sebestian' fingers brushed over her."You need this" Rose said and held up a finger tab to protect Sebestian' fingers. Walking around Sebestian after he had taken the tab, Rose grabbed an arm guard and strapped it around Sebestian' right arm to protect it from the snap of the string. She didn't need that herself anymore, but with Sebestian at least saying he was a beginner, Rose wasn't taking any chances.Grabbing another knife, Rose handed Sebestian that as well and then stood back looking at the Alpha as he held it both, looking a little bit lost, which Rose had to admit was a little sweet.Coping Rose the best he could, Sebestian pulled, surprised with just how hard it was to hold it like this."You need to spread your legs more" Rose said, looking at how Sebestian feet were placed on the ground.Sebestian looked down at his feet and then at Rose, a playful grin on his fa
Rose hadn't answered Sebestian' text that night, or the next day or even the day after so Sebestian couldn't help but think that maybe it had been a lot more one sided than he had first thought. Lying in bed after having spent the day drinking (in general) with Damon, Sebestian had just turned off the lights and gotten comfy when his phone vibrated and beeped.Getting it off his bedside table, Sebestian' squinted his eyes at the light streaming off the phone when he picked it up and quickly turned down the light. It was almost 2am, but when he saw who the text was from it suddenly didn't matter.R: Hope you had a good day. -RIt was short and random, but because it was from Rose, Sebestian couldn't help but smile. Had he been a few years younger he might have tried to play hard to get and not answer right away (if they had had texting back then), but Sebestian was too old to play silly games and decided against it no matter how long Rose made him wait between texts, he'd answer as he
Feeling his mouth water, Sebestian exhaled hard as his eyes fluttered open, scanning his room without moving. Small ray of sunlight made their way into the room between his heavy curtains, lighting up the room enough for his dark eyes to perfectly take in his surroundings. Next to him, or more accurately- half on top of him, Rose still slept almost soundlessly. The Omega had moved in her sleep and now had both one arm, and one leg wrapped around Sebestian who in turn had wrapped one arm tightly around him. Sebestian licked his lips and shivered at the feel of Rose's (that now were half parted and brushing against his neck), a tingle spreading across his skin whenever the other man exhaled.Rose smelled soft and sweet, a stronger scent of vanilla and honey than Sebestian could ever remember. She also felt light and fresh like a summer breeze but what was new and harder to ignore than Sebestian thought possible was the very pleasing scent of Rose.Sebestian wasn't sure if he was to blam
Cristina was stunned momentarily. Sebestian therapist before her complained that even after fifteen sessions he didn't manage to get through to the man, didn't make any progress at all. She wasn't arrogant enough to deem herself the right person to help. But perhaps she was lucky enough to stumble into his life at just the right moment. "You know that none of that is true", she was bold enough to proclaim. Sebestian' anger wasn't aimed at Rose. "I only saw you two together for... what, ten seconds before he left the room. And I could already see how much he loves and values you." She saw the fight rising from deep within Sebestian and catalogued that as a good sign. "He almost lost you. A part of him must be scared that she still might." She gave him a moment. "Rose knows how strong you are. Be patient with her while she tries to remember it again."Sebestian smiled wryly. His eyes softened, though. "I'm not a patient man.""What kind of a man are you, then?" Cristina threw back.Sebe
When she pulled her a hug he clung to her tightly. It made her feel a little less like the world was falling apart but she retracted from the comfort quickly. She was still shaken from the mild panic attack he'd have to postpone dealing with until later. Resolute to push through and put one foot in front of the other Rose headed out of the room with her sister following her. She was putting on a coat when something occurred to her. "Thank you, for everything. How did you know that I was having a...?" She didn't want to say it oud loud."You were shouting to your phone." Monika went on before she could panic. "You know the boys; they wouldn't wake up to a bomb going off when they're tired enough. They're fast asleep, I checked." After her reassurance she focused on searching through his coat's pockets, so she didn't see her frown. "What are you doing?"Rose's brows furrowed while she spun around wildly. Her head whirred and her hands were shaking along with her whole body. "My car keys
Rose had no idea what happened next. By some miracle she managed to get the boys to calm down, at least to an extent. Apparently, she also ordered takeaway none of them really wanted because suddenly there were cardboard containers all over the kitchen. She did have a far too vivid memory of the lead heavy silence that lingered as they ate, all of them much too aware of the empty seat at the table.It wasn't until later, as she stared at the kids while they watched cartoons huddled together, the full gravity of the situation fell mercilessly on Rose's shoulders. Everything she'd almost lost and could still lose... It weighed too much.Rose's stomach rolled violently. She dashed as fast as she could to the toilet connected to the bathroom, knowing that the boys wouldn't have to hear whatever noise she made there. As soon as she fell to her knees, she threw up loudly, feeling the world falling apart around her yet again.How was she supposed to keep fighting when every time she thought
Ray continued to avoid mentioning his daddy for a couple of more days. Did his best to not even think about his other parent because it hurt too much. But in the end the whole situation got too much on him.He'd had a lot of nightmares since his daddy's accident. They haunted him almost every night. Something about the one he had one particular dark night made it worse than others.In the horrible dream he and his papa were in a forest, where thick fog began to engulf them. Ray was terrified and did his best to keep up with the man walking in front of him. In the end he found himself standing paralyzed while the fog swallowed his papa."Daddy?" There was no response and fear squeezed his chest mercilessly. Tears filled his eyes. "Daddy? Daddy!" Only silence answered him.Ray woke up crying, with his entire body covered in cold sweat. His heart hammered while his wide eyes darted around, trying to convince his mind that he was safe. That he was home and his daddy was safe, too. He want
Holding Max... It felt so good that had hard time controlling his emotions, especially because the brain injury seemed to enhance all feelings. But listening to his son's excited babbling was also a bit much on his still recovering head."... got a new class hamster. And guess what, papa! He has a missing leg, too. I said that he's just like my papa, and Miss Pen gave me a big hug." Max sounded endearingly proud of him, himself and the little creature the child now had a special connection with.Carefully avoiding Max noticing, Sebestian cast a slightly panicked look at Rose. 'Miss Pen?' How many people were there in his son's life he had no idea of? 'His teacher, Aline', Rose mouthed back.Max went on, completely unaware of the adults' exchange. "... named him Skunk, because he's black and white. He likes cuddles, I can tell. But Miss Pen says that we can't cuddle him too much because he's so small and fragile."Sebestian listened to Max babbling as intently as he could, his new limi
Monika likely noticed what she'd done to her hands but didn't call him out on it at the moment. Instead, she moved to hug her, but he refused her with a shake of head. "I'm... I can't." Her voice was so hoarse that for a second, she wondered if she screamed out loud, after all. "If you touch me, I'll lose control and..." She trailed off. She couldn't lose control; too many people she loved needed her to stay strong right now.Monika nodded. Not necessarily happy but understanding. "As long as you know that you're not alone in this. We're all here for you, all of you. Got that?"Rose nodded, dangerously close to losing control over herself. After that... she didn't have very clear memories. She took a cab to the hospital, even on such a day sensible enough to know that she shouldn't drive. Her feet led him to the ICU. The sterile reek and suffocating silence that smacked her across the face at that ward just about tore her new numb bubble to shreds.There was no one around to update he
That night Ray woke up needing to use the bathroom. He yawned and left the comfort of his bed reluctantly, then began to tiptoe towards the toilet. Halfway there he froze at what he saw on the balcony.His mommy stood there with his grandma. Crying while she hugged her and whispered comforting words, appearing distraught herself. Even a child could see how heartbroken his mommy was.It terrified Ray more than he would've cared to admit. Things were supposed to be improving. His daddy was awake. There was supposed to be no need to be sad anymore. Did something go wrong again?Ray managed to retreat to his room unseen. He hid himself under a blanket entirely, trembling miserably. He couldn't sleep while his thoughts whirred.His therapist had helped convince Ray that he wouldn't be sent away, that he wouldn't lose his family. But the insecurities and fears lingered, ready to resurface at any given moment. He hadn't seen his papa in what, to a child, felt like a lifetime. He missed his p
Sebestian felt like he was held under water while he listened to Rose, eyes fixed on the opposite wall. "Ray is another child." It was all told with the kind of paternal love that'd already showed itself once.Rose tried to show a picture from her phone, but Sebestian was too ashamed and overwhelmed to look at it. The Alpha closed his eyes and tried very hard to breathe properly. "How long?" How much time had he lost? How many precious memories? What kind of a parent was he, to forget his own son? He wanted to scream from frustration when the words got tangled together and were nearly impossible to spew out coherently. "... long?"Rose frowned before finally figuring out what he meant and answering tentatively. "He's been our son always." The full weight of those words crashed down on them both simultaneously.Sebestian struggled to make sense of everything. It was like getting sucked into an alternative reality. Like waking up from long sleep, to find that someone else had been livin
The whole family was in an agreement that Rose shouldn't be left alone at the hospital for long. They knew how bad off she was, while trying anxiously to support others. And Sebestian... They didn't want to imagine Samantha without him, for even a second. Because it'd be a loss she wouldn't survive, at least as herself.Monika braced herself for great many things on her way from her workplace at the morgue to the ICU. Her chest clenched and she almost dropped the takeaway coffees she carried when she saw her sister sitting on a bench, wiping his eyes. Then she realized that the tears she fought back were those of joy.Rose's eyes shone from tears and happiness when they met hers. "He... He woke up, Monika. Sebestian woke up and talked to me."Monika decided that it was time to ditch the coffee. She tossed the mugs aside, not really caring where they ended up. Then she pulled her sister to a tight embrace. Which she returned with equal vigor. She could practically feel the relief radia