Rhys

I pulled Kayden into my arms immediately, holding him tightly against my chest as tears burned at the corners of my eyes.

We were having a child.

A living, breathing little thing was growing inside him right now.

The realization felt so overwhelming that for a moment, I could barely process it properly. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Oh goodness," Miller exclaimed from across the room, his eyes widening with shock and excitement. "This is incredible. I..."

He trailed off, unable to find the right words, but the excitement in his voice was impossible to miss.

Kayden suddenly turned toward me fully before wrapping his arms tightly around my neck.

"Rhys, we are having a child," he said excitedly, his voice trembling with emotion. "I cannot believe this."

Tears gathered in his eyes as he continued speaking.

"A few months ago, Leo told me that the excessive use of suppressants over the years might permanently affect my fertility." He sniffled softly before burying his face against my shoulder. "And now we are actually having a baby. We really are..."

"Yes, we are, softie," I whispered gently as I kissed the side of his cheek. "We are having a baby."

I held him even tighter as he trembled quietly in my arms, overwhelmed with emotion.

But despite the happiness flooding through me, my mind kept catching onto the new information I had just heard.

No one had ever told me there had been a possibility that Kayden could struggle with fertility because of the suppressants.

The thought alone made something twist painfully inside my chest.

Still, with the room filled with relief and excitement, I decided not to press further about it for now.

"Listen up."

Leo’s voice cut through the room again, immediately pulling all of us back to reality.

"There is something else you all need to know," he announced quietly.

The seriousness in his tone sent a chill down my spine almost instantly because I knew Leo well enough to recognize that voice. Whenever his expression turned that serious, it usually meant something had gone wrong.

"Is everything alright?" Miller asked cautiously.

Leo slowly shook his head, and the movement alone felt like a punch directly to my chest.

I knew it.

My grip around Kayden tightened instinctively.

"Is something wrong with the baby?" I asked immediately, panic rising in my voice. "Did something happen?"

Leo released a long sigh before lowering the tablet onto the counter beside him.

"I have not performed a full scan yet because the fetus is still too underdeveloped to be clearly visible," he explained carefully. "However, based on Kayden’s hormonal readings and toxicology results, we could be dealing with prenatal suppressor toxicity complications."

The room fell completely silent.

Leo continued speaking, his voice calm but heavy.

"The prolonged use of high-dose suppressants over several years means there are still residual compounds stored within Kayden’s endocrine and reproductive systems. Under normal circumstances, those chemicals would gradually leave the body over time, but pregnancy changes everything."

Kayden’s fingers tightened slightly against my shirt.

Leo looked directly at him before continuing.

"The fetus is currently developing in an environment still affected by suppressant residue. That can potentially increase the risk of placental instability, premature fetal development complications, hormonal rejection responses, and in severe cases..." He paused briefly before finishing quietly, "...early pregnancy loss or premature delivery."

My chest tightened painfully at his words.

"No," Kayden whispered weakly.

Leo immediately stepped closer, his expression softening slightly.

"I am not saying that will definitely happen," he clarified quickly. "Right now, these are only risks, not conclusions. The pregnancy is still very early, and your body is responding better than I initially expected."

He picked the tablet back up again.

"But from this moment onward, we need to monitor you extremely closely. The suppressant residue needs to be gradually filtered out of your system over the next several weeks while making sure the hormonal environment remains stable enough to support the fetus safely."

The excitement that had filled the room moments ago suddenly disappeared beneath a crushing wave of fear and uncertainty.

"I do not want to lose the baby," Kayden whimpered against my chest. "Why the hell do we have to suffer every single time and I..."

His voice broke apart as tears spilled down his face.

Seeing him cry like that shattered something inside me instantly.

I tightened my arms around him protectively, holding him as close as possible while he trembled against me. I hated seeing him like this. I hated that even after everything we had survived together, life still refused to give him peace.

"Leo, please," I said desperately as I looked toward him. "We really need your help regarding this. Is there a way to stop all of this from happening? What the hell are we supposed to do? How do we even handle this?"

Leo adjusted his glasses quietly before answering.

"Well, the first thing Kayden needs is a stable environment with minimal psychological and physical stress," he explained in a calm, professional tone. "A repeat of what happened at the airport absolutely cannot happen again. Elevated stress hormones can destabilize both his endocrine regulation and fetal development, especially this early into implantation."

He glanced down at the tablet in his hand before continuing.

"And like I said earlier, he needs continuous monitoring until we are certain the fetus is developing safely and the suppressant residue levels begin decreasing properly."

Leo paused briefly.

"That is why I am going to contact an obstetric-gynecological specialist I know. My expertise only extends so far regarding omega pregnancies and reproductive complications. We need someone who specializes specifically in prenatal omega care and high-risk pregnancies."

"But he is going to be fine, right?" I asked immediately.

Leo’s expression tightened slightly.

"That... I cannot guarantee right now."

A deep frown formed on my face at his response.

"Leo, this is when we truly need you," I said quietly, frustration and fear mixing heavily in my voice. "You have to do everything possible to help Kayden and the baby, and I..." I stopped halfway, exhaling heavily before forcing the next words out. "Please."

Leo looked at me silently for a moment before speaking again.

"From the perspective of a doctor and not your friend, I genuinely do not know what the outcome will be yet," he admitted honestly. "Right now, the most important thing is keeping Kayden somewhere safe, calm, and emotionally stable while we gradually flush the suppressant compounds from his body."

Kayden sniffled softly before lifting his head from my chest.

"So I cannot join this hockey season?" he asked quietly.

Leo shook his head slightly.

"I did not say that. If the suppressant residue is successfully filtered out, your hormone levels stabilize, and both you and the fetus are no longer considered high-risk, then nothing is stopping you from playing again as long as your body can physically handle it."

Kayden immediately released a shaky sigh of relief.

"Whatever it takes to protect the baby, I am ready to do it, Leo," he said firmly.

Leo nodded before glancing through the tablet again.

"And another thing," he added. "There will be temporary reproductive abstinence until we fully understand what is happening internally."

He looked directly between both of us.

"The fetus is still in an extremely delicate implantation stage, and excessive pheromone surges, knotting activity, or elevated hormonal stimulation could destabilize the uterine adaptation process. So for now, I highly recommend that both of you refrain from any form of sexual activity until I say otherwise."

A small silence filled the room before Miller snorted softly.

"So basically," he muttered, "the doctor is telling you two horny disasters to keep it in your pants."

That immediately earned a laugh from everyone in the room, even me.

The tension finally eased slightly for the first time since we arrived at the clinic.

Then Leo stepped closer to me and placed a reassuring hand against my shoulder.

"Everything will be fine," he said quietly. "I can assure you of that. Whatever it takes, I will do everything possible to protect Kayden and the baby."

I gave Leo a small smile before turning my attention back to Kayden.

"We are having a baby and everything is going to be fine," I whispered softly as I pressed a kiss against his forehead. "Our baby is going to be fine."

Kayden did not say anything immediately. Instead, he wrapped his arms tightly around me again and buried himself against my chest as if he never wanted to let go.

"Also, guys," Leo suddenly called out, gaining our attention one last time before we could fully settle into the moment. "Unless Kayden starts showing, this pregnancy needs to remain completely confidential for now."

His expression turned serious again as he looked directly between both of us.

"The last thing we need right now is unnecessary public attention or media pressure making this situation even more stressful for him."

Both Kayden and I nodded at the same time in agreement.