The ABO Serum

Nesting is Real

After the pain and discomfort of transitioning to an omega, and then the painful neediness of heat, pregnancy wasn't so bad. He could live without the nausea, but if he ate frequently, and before getting out of bed in the morning, it didn't get out of hand. Mr. Weisman was having it much worse, but he had an alpha taking care of him, so Pablo didn't feel sympathetic.

The weekly group meetings were helpful for him to be able to discuss his symptoms and progress with the other omegas, but at the same time a sad reminder that his plight was different. He'd gotten himself knocked up by strangers. There was no loving mate protecting him.

He'd taken part in the matchmaking experiments, but no one found him particularly appealing. He didn't have supportive family. He'd come out to them right before leaving for college, when he knew he had a place to live for the next four years, because he expected them to tell him to never come back. Now, his hard-earned education was disrupted, and he was pregnant without a partner. This sucked the big one.

Despite his circumstances, he couldn't hurt his baby. In fact, he found comfort in talking to the pea sized fetus. It was a feeling that he would never be alone again, that he had someone to love that would always love him back. The way he still loved his dad, even after his dad and stepmother rejected him. Kids couldn't help it. They could hate their parents so much and at the same time still be stuck loving them and wanting their approval. And he suspected parents were the same way. They could say they were disappointed or hated their kids and reject them, but they hurt themselves doing so because it wasn't really true. It was some of that, but also a bunch of other feelings complicated by an irrefutable love they could never get rid of. They couldn't handle it, so they called it hate, kicked the kid out, and then spent the rest of their lives crying and praying and wondering how to rescue their child because they don't hate them. They just don't understand them.

Pablo had way too much time on his hands, as evidenced by his ability to dwell on such sad philosophical concepts as the depths of parental affection and how it can lead to pain. From what he knew of love, it generally led to pain. Dr. Rodgers suggested he bring a supportive person with him to their weekly classes, but he didn't have one. His boyfriend gave him the ABO disease after cheating on him, so they broke up after the diagnosis outed him, and living isolated in the omega dorm, Pablo wasn't going to meet a new one. In any case, he didn't want one.

What Pablo wanted was security and stability, and he'd never felt either in connection with another person, friend or lover. He needed to make himself secure. He needed a job and a place of his own to live.

"So, you have a bachelor's degree is Structural Engineering and you're here working on your masters?" Daryl confirmed when Pablo mentioned his concerns at their weekly meeting. "And you need a job?"

"Don't forget, school was cancelled this semester and for the summer semester and I'm pregnant...and going to be very much more pregnant when it starts back up again in the fall," Pablo added.

"Technically you can't get any more or less pregnant, but we get what you mean," Dr. Martin pointed out. "Unless you're having twins!" He looked way too excited about the prospect. Any excitement about the prospect of having more than one baby at a time was too much excitement for Pablo. Mr. Weisman looked wistful contemplating the idea, but Carey also seemed slightly alarmed.

"So, what you're saying," Dr. Rodgers began with his usual active listening phrase, "is that even if you are qualified, you are unlikely to be hired, and even if you're hired, you may not be able to keep up when the baby comes, and that makes you feel insecure and worried about providing stability for your baby."

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Mr. Weisman muttered under his breath. But Pablo appreciated that Dr. Rodgers understood his situation.

Carey looked at Daryl and Daryl looked thoughtful. "Carey is nesting in a big way," he finally said. "It must be hard to nest without some stability."

"Brad," Mr. Weisman finally added his two cents. "Who do we know that he could work for remotely? There's probably not a great option here in Podunk, America, but there are places elsewhere that need your specialty and will pay well enough that part time will cover your expenses when you go back to school. And if you can work remotely you can minimize your maternity leave. Now you just need to get out of the dorms."

Brad cleared his throat. He'd been scrolling through his phone for a while. "You've got an online interview with Alan Greer at Greer Development Corporation tomorrow at 9 am. I'm sending you the details."

Pablo sat slack jawed on his yoga ball. They were all sitting on yoga balls for reasons that Dr. Rodgers explained once. Not for the first time he wondered how life landed him in this group of powerful and brilliant men.

"I don't like the idea of you living alone," Dr. Rodgers said. "We have no idea how your pregnancy will progress or what could happen to your body. I have a spare room, and I'd like the opportunity to follow a male pregnancy more closely. Since you don't have a partner, I won't be a third wheel. Would you mind?"

Pablo sat stupefied. "Um...I appreciate the offer, but I'd like to find a place where I know I can stay after the baby is born and until I finish school. I think nesting is the right word for all my emotional distress. Nesting is preparation for caring for a baby. I won't be able to nest properly knowing I have to leave soon after the baby is born."

Waving his hand dismissively, Dr. Rodgers added, "That's not a problem. It's unused space so you won't be a bother if you stay a few years. I expect to be working here at least that long with the second and third waves of pregnancies. I anticipated as much and bought a house for the investment. After you all give birth, I may get so busy you hardly see me. You can pay me like a roommate if it makes you feel more secure, write up a lease and everything."

"Great! Are we done here?" Mr. Weisman was always a little impatient during these 'classes'. "I have a water aerobics instructor meeting me this afternoon."

"Really?" Carey asked. "Is that why you asked if you could heat our pool and use it?"

"Duh. I'm not letting my body go to pot over this." Richard looked up at Brad and winked. "I've got to keep in shape so I can keep up with my alpha." The 'in bed' that he left unsaid was painfully obvious to everyone in the room.

"Alright," Dr. Rodgers intervened in the awkwardness, "that's probably a great form of exercise. Would you consider making it a group class? It wouldn't be bad for you four to meet up more than once a week."

Impatient, but endlessly sociable, Richard agreed and left it to Brad to arrange. Dr. Rodgers called an end to the class and took Pablo by his house during his lunch break to see the space.