"Omega male, 22 years old. First-degree stab wound on the abdomen, first trimester pregnancy!"
"How long is it?" The male doctor calmly attends to the badly injured Caspian.
"12 weeks according to the patient's record," the EMT replies. A few more Beta nurses flood into the emergency room, working so hard to save Caspian's life.
Outside, Peinaire waits silently in the waiting room; along with the other Sarins. Her parents are on their way, so are Caspian's.
"No sign of Sati anywhere anymore. That's good news," says Elder Talay. Young finally can take a deep breath and rest.
No one dares to get close to Peinaire. She's restless, and angry as well. The news about Caspian's pregnancy drops in like a bomb on her. She knew her instinct was always right. But, she didn't expect that Caspian would keep the news from her for that long period.
"12 weeks... how can he keep it by himself!" Peinaire gushes. She throws an empty can into the dustbin in anger. "Who else knows about it?"
Everyone exchanges glares. The silence in the room is enough to answer Peinaire's question.
"Everyone knows but me! How unionist!"
"Caspi has a good reason to keep it from you. Look at how you react!"
"Oh, so... when will you guys plan to tell me about the pregnancy? When Caspian is lying dead in the delivery room?"
Cirrus sighs. "No one is dying because of a pregnancy, Pein..."
"Your Omega is almost dying while he gave birth to Emi!"
"Is he dead now?"
Peinaire dashes over, grabbing Cirrus's collar tightly. The two almost fight, but not before Renyu and Young try to calm them off.
"Don't talk big when you know nothing, Cir! You're supposed to understand when you yourself used to face a deadly incident before you got Emi!"
"What's a big deal if Caspi is pregnant? He was elated when he found out, yet scared to death when he started to think about your reaction!" Cirrus vents. "Do you ever ask Caspi what he wants in his life after he married you? Do you ever care about him? You do know how important a cub is for an Omega! Do you ever love Caspi in just? Do you?"
Silence.
"Caspian has anorexia nervosa. For him to get pregnant is a high risk. Cardiovascular problem, anemia, preeclampsia, placenta previa, placental abruption, chorioamnionitis, antepartum hemorrhage... the list is getting long..."
Peinaire faces her family with a brave face. She balls her fist tightly, trying to muster her courage to open up about Caspian's true condition.
"For a male Omega, pregnancy is much more complex due to their anatomy. Everyone knows that, right?" Peinaire sneers between her stern voice. "Caspi might look normal. He has a great body of an Omega, the one that people adore so much! But, here..." she points at her head. "He is weak mentally. Facing a prolonged prejudiced thought from his school and family, he was this close to killing himself."
"If you said I never love Caspi, then you're a heartless person, Cir. I did all I could to help him. I took him from that prestigious school as one hella mess up Omega who forced himself to throw up after every meal, just because he gained 100 grams during the weekly evaluation! He was broken inside and out!"
Just as Peinaire lets out everything that she kept for so long, Kawei and Mei arrive at the door and listen to all of it.
"I love Caspian more than anything in this world. After Ma left, Dad never paid attention to me. He even sent me away from home when I needed love the most. When I first met Caspi, I saw myself in him. We're two broken souls who rely on each other. How can I not love him? He is the only one that I have!"
"I do want cubs. I know, that will make Caspi happy. But, I don't want to lose him! That's why, pregnancy is always out of question. I know he wants to, but I don't want him to die!"
Mei hugs Kawei when she notices the Alpha is crying silently next to her. The two quietly stand at the door, listening to everything with a crushing heart.
Tul suddenly stands up, leaving the furious Cirrus alone. He softly pats Peinaire's shoulder, trying to calm her down.
"We know how much you love Caspian. He is always your priority. Caspian knows it, too..." the Omega says. "He is aware that you don't want him to get pregnant because he is weak. That's why, when he first learned about the pregnancy, he sought help from my doctor. He works so hard to recover so he can be strong throughout this pregnancy..."
There's a brim of tears in Peinaire's eyes. Caspian loves her so much, but he is an Omega with a maternal instinct. He is willing to go through all those hardships for the sake of the cub and Peinaire. He has done this much for his love and for his family. Learning that makes Peinaire sad. She promises happiness to Caspian, but in the end, she failed him.
"Family of Caspian Sarin?"
Peinaire wipes away her tears and dashes in a hurry to the doctor. "I'm his Alpha. How's my husband, doctor?"
"Good news; he just passed the red zone, which means, he is doing fine. But..."
Peinaire waits impatiently for the bad news. She talks less but her eagerness is visible in her eyes.
"Unfortunately, we can't save the pregnancy. And..." the doctor pauses a bit, looking a bit hesitant. "There's no chance that Caspian will get pregnant again. His vessel got torn because it was too thin and weak due to malnutrition. You should've know how dangerous an Omega with eating disorder to get pregnant."
Peinaire's body slides onto the ground. Her eyes shot in terror, she almost having a major crash down. Tul quickly grabs Peinaire and gives a hug to calm her down.
"No... Caspian... No!!!" Peinaire wails out loud. The whole room can feel the shaking in her voice as she bursts in tears. Everyone share the same pain, especially Kawei and Mei. They run inside and get to Peinaire as soon as they can.
"Calm down, Pein... calm down..." Kawei grabs Peinaire from Tul. The two share the unfortunate event in full of tears.
Nothing is good when you know how it feels to see your dream get crushed into pieces. Peinaire is devastated, but to think how she will face Caspian to deliver the news is more disastrous feeling ever.
A dull and gloomy day envelopes the Sarin. Just as when they thought everything is gonna be just fine after fighting an evil, the tragedy strikes like a bad typhoon that swipes the whole world. Now, Peinaire needs to face the most heartbreaking moment in her life:
To tell Caspian the bad news.