The Smile You Can't Forget (7/?)
seven
The waiting room was busier than Jensen had anticipated.
He'd figured that since it was a week night, it was liable to be fairly quiet. Instead, he was faced with a handful of paperwork and a room full of elderly people quietly bitching to each other and toddlers screaming. If it wasn't for the fact that Jared was still pale and shaky on his feet, a hand pressed to his stomach like he was fighting not to throw up, Jensen might have suggested that they head back to his and just make an appointment for the doctor's office in the morning.
As it was, he waved off Jared's concerns about having to wait for hours and settled the young omega into a seat, wrapping his leather jacket around the young boy before dropping into the seat next to him. He shifted around for a few moments, finally settling on a position that didn't make his ass hurt quite as badly, and flicked the lid off the pen.
Jared shifted uncomfortably.
"I can fill those out," He said quietly, reaching for the pen. His hand was trembling, and Jensen rolled his eyes as he gently tugged the small object back. "Seriously. You're going to need my insurance information and medical history-"
Jensen held up his hand, cutting the younger man off gently. "You're my mate, Jay. That means that you're covered by my insurance, so don't worry about it. As for your medical history, I'll just read the questions to you and you can tell me what to write, okay? You can just sit back and relax a little until we get called through."
For a second he thought that Jared was going to argue back, and then the young man breathed out a deep sigh and slumped against Jensen's side, tugging the jacket around himself and tangling his fingers in the material, as if seeking comfort. Jensen gently reached out an arm and wrapped it around the younger man's shoulders.
"Thank you." Jared told him softly, sounding worn down and tired. Jensen dropped a kiss to the top of his head.
"No need to thank me." He replied softly. "Do you want me to grab a bottle of water or something for you? When was the last time you had something to drink?"
Jared glanced down, a blush colouring his cheeks just a little. "I grabbed a coffee with Chad between my first two classes."
For a second, Jensen genuinely didn't understand why the kid was blushing... and then it finally clicked that the kid was admitting to not drinking anything for nearly six hours. No wonder he wasn't recovering from his near-faint; he was probably more than a little dehydrated.
"Drink it is." Jensen nodded, doing his best to keep the slight trace of frustration out of his voice. It wasn't like Jared had made the conscious decision to dehydrate himself, but Jensen couldn't help but wish that the younger man had stopped to grab something to drink a heck of a lot earlier. "You gonna be alright on your own for a few moments while I find a vending machine or something? I'll be as quick as I can."
"I'll be fine," Jared offered. His smile was obviously forced, intended to reassure Jensen, but the alpha still hated the idea of leaving his mate vulnerable and weak, without anybody keeping an eye on him. He hesitated for a long moment, jumping a little when a hand descended on his shoulder.
He glanced up to find an elderly woman smiling down at him, a still-sealed bottle of water in her hand. She gently dropped the water into Jared's lap, smiling a little at them both. Jensen wasn't sure whether he or Jared was more surprised, but the woman didn't seem upset by their lack of reaction.
"I haven't poisoned it," She said with a cheeky wink. "Scout's honour. Your mate here just looked like he could use it a little more than I could, is all."
"Thank you." Jensen smiled, more than a little relieved that he wasn't going to have to leave Jared by himself. He reached for his wallet, intending to pay the woman back, but she waved him off with another smile.
The woman shook her head decisively, stepping back a little. "Don't you go giving me money, young man - I wouldn't dream of taking it. You just keep taking care of that wonderful little omega you have there, and we'll call it even, you hear?"
Jensen nodded, offering the woman another grin as Jared breathed his own thanks, unsteadily unscrewing the cap off the bottle and taking a small, measured sip. The woman offered them one last smile before turning and headed a few feet towards the other end of the waiting room, settling happily into a seat there.
"That was weird." Jensen commented quietly, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "Nice, but weird."
Jared gave him a weak smile, snuggling back into his side. "There's always good people somewhere."
**
It was almost three hours after first arriving at the hospital that a nurse finally called Jared's name, leading the two of them through a winding maze of hallways. Jensen hadn't been sure if Jared would want him to wait outside while he saw the doctor, but the kid had tangled his fingers in the sleeve of Jensen's sleeve and the alpha was more than happy to take that as an indication that the kid was okay with him being there.
If the doctor found it strange that Jared wasn't by himself, he didn't comment on it.
"Okay, Jared," He said with a soft smile, waiting patiently for the young omega to settle himself onto the hospital bed. "What can I help you with today? Your paperwork says that you've been experiencing nausea, headaches, dizziness and light-headedness. Is that correct?"
Jared nodded mutely, but opened his mouth to speak when Jensen gave him a gentle nudge.
"I, uh... I nearly fainted earlier." He confessed. "And I kind of feel like I might throw up."
The doctor nodded thoughtfully. "And when you nearly fainted, can you recall some specific cause? Perhaps you stood up quickly, or felt a bit too hot. There are a lot of causes for a reaction like that - even emotional ones, such as hearing some distressing news."
Jared shook his head, and when it looked like he was once more inclined to remain silent, Jensen opened his mouth himself.
"He was sitting doing some reading," He informed the doctor politely, smiling reassuringly at his mate when the omega shifted uncomfortably. "Went to stand up and it was like his legs went out from underneath him. He said he felt dizzy, so I made him sit down, but he hasn't really gotten much better since then."
"Alright," The doctor nodded. "In that case, I'm just going to run a few routine tests on you, if that's okay? I'm sure everything's okay, but better to be safe than sorry. Can you lie back on the bed for me?"
Jared's wide eyes flew to Jensen, more than a little panicked, and Jensen rubbed a hand up and down his back soothingly.
"It's okay," He muttered quietly, shifting away from the bed a little to give the kid room to lie down, but still keeping a hand on his back. "I'm right here. Nothing's gonna happen to you, alright?"
He recalled Jared's whispered confession in the Impala that he really didn't like hospitals, and wondered if the kid had been underestimating just a little.
The doctor seemed content to work around Jensen, fussing around and carrying out a few tests that Jensen didn't really care to pay attention to (and, honestly, he only really recognised the blood pressure cuff and the stethoscope). He was more focused on doing his best to keep Jared calm, clasping the kid's hand tightly in his own and running his other hand up and down the younger man's arm. Jared didn't exactly relax at the touch, but he looked more than a little grateful for it.
"This is horrible," He breathed after a while, and both of them startled when the doctor chuckled a little.
"Not to worry," He said lightly. "Nearly done now."
He went back to working in silence for a few moments more, and in the quietness of the room Jensen almost missed the slight change in the doctor's demeanour. As it was, he barely caught the way that the man's smile suddenly became a little more forced and his shoulders seemed to tense a little. Jared's eyes widened a little more, shooting a panicked look at his alpha.
"What's wrong?" Jensen demanded, stomach flipping sickeningly. "Is everything alright?"
The doctor glanced up, obviously doing his best to collect himself, and forced a smile.
"Nothing to worry about," He said casually, in a voice that was a long way from reassuring. "But I'd like to try an ultrasound, Jared. I have a feeling that might provide the answers to our mystery illness."
Jensen's eyes widened, and Jared's breathing picked up. "An ultrasound? What do you think is wrong?"
"I'd rather not say at this moment in time." The doctor confessed, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "At least until we know for sure. Is it alright for us to proceed, Jared?"
The look on the teenager's face suggested that it wasn't, but he nodded nonetheless.
The doctor didn't seem to waste any time, muttering a quick warning about the gel being cold before squirting it on Jared's stomach and using the machine's wand to smear it around. It took a few moments for the machine to work, and a little longer for the doctor to find what he was looking for, and then he sighed.
"What is it?" Jensen demanded again, voicing the thought that Jared seemed too scared to voice.
"You see this here?" The doctor asked, nodding to a section on the ultrasound that appeared a little thicker than the rest. "I'm pretty sure that this is a baby."
The room fell silent for a long, startled moment, and Jensen felt Jared freeze underneath his hands.
"A baby?" The omega breathed finally.
The doctor nodded firmly. "It's still a little early to say for sure... I'd say that you're about five to six weeks, and the foetus won't show up properly on an ultrasound until two months, but I'm about ninety-five percent sure."
Jensen glanced down at the omega, not quite sure what to say. The timing was right for their mating, suggesting that their first knotting session - which had been entirely condom-free - was likely to be the reason that there was currently a baby sitting in Jared's womb. Irrationally, Jensen felt suddenly guilty for breaking his promise that they'd be able to take things slowly. This was far from slow.
Slowly, the guilt gave way to worry, because he doubted that the doctor usually announced the impending birth of a baby with a frown and a sombre tone to his voice. Surely this should be something happy... something to be celebrated?
"Okay," He said slowly, frowning at the doctor. "So why did you look so worried?"
The doctor sighed, running a hand through his graying hair, and gently wiped the cold gel off Jared's stomach before he looked back up.
"As your doctor, Jared," He said quietly. "I have to... inform you of a few things. Your paperwork says that you're nineteen, is this correct? Okay. As you're probably both aware, male pregnancies are very rare in this day and age, and with this comes a certain amount of risk. All male pregnancies are counted as high risk, regardless of how well they seem to be progressing. On top of this, we also have to consider several other factors."
Jensen frowned, feeling more than a little sick. "Like what?"
"Jared's age, for one." The doctor explained patiently, his eyes trying to engage the young omega. Jensen wasn't sure that Jared wasn't so shocked by the revelation that he wasn't taking in a work - his eyes were still wide, and he was watching the doctor in silence. "The body of a male omega takes much longer to fully develop than that of a female carrier. Usually, we recommend that attempts at pregnancy are made after the age of twenty-two, which puts Jared a few years underneath the desired age."
Jensen's stomach sank even further.
"So what you're saying," He said quietly. "Is that there's a risk to Jared's health, too? Not just the baby's?"
The doctor nodded grimly. "Without a doubt. This pregnancy poses a serious risk to both of them - there's no telling what the stress of trying to support the foetus might do to Jared's health. He's already underweight for his height, and I'm concerned that he's dehydrated."
Jensen felt his hand tighten instinctively over his mate's, and he sighed out a deep breath as he slumped back in his seat.
"Mr Padalecki," The doctor said carefully. "As a medical professional, I have to admit that my recommendation is that you abort. There's always the chance to try again later, when your body is more equipped to deal-"
"No."
Jared's voice was firm and clear, though his hand was still trembling within Jensen's own, and he looked impossibly pale against the paper sheets underneath him.
"Jared..." Jensen breathed unsurely. "Maybe we should think about this for a while."
The thought of an abortion had tears welling in his eyes, his stomach churning so hard he thought he might physically throw up, but the thought of losing Jared was infinitely worse. Short as their time together might have been, Jensen didn't even want to have to consider living without him.
Jared shook his head, looking scared but determined. "I said no. That's not going to happen. As long as this baby has a chance of surviving, then I'm not giving up on it. If you want to walk away, then I won't blame you, but as far as I'm concerned that's not even an option."
There were tears glistening in his eyes, and all Jensen could think was that the kid before him was nineteen. He was still barely more than a kid, still had so much left to do and to give, and yet he was willing to give it all up for the possibility that his child... that their child might survive. Regardless of his decision, regardless of how scared they both were, there was no way that Jensen was going anywhere.
"Okay." He nodded, pulling himself together as best as he could, resolving to be strong for his mate. "Okay. If you're sure, then we'll do it together. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."