The ABO Serum

(Part 6 extra) Infertile Wombs

Noah Simmons-Blitzer knew he could never equal his beloved Dr. Alan Blitzer in education, prestige, or income. He'd made peace with that. But he could try to be a suitable partner, and he could try to make his hero happy.

It wasn't an easy thing for Noah to let Alan show him off, as the far more sociable doctor loved to do, but he always spoiled Noah a little beforehand, so his heart was satisfied knowing the doctor knew and appreciated that this was hard for him. It was hardest when he accompanied the doctor for speaking engagements at medical conferences. Once the town opened, Dr. Blitzer was frequently called on to represent GenLife at such events all around the globe.

After what happened to Stephanie Hartley, security for the pair was high. Most countries were still trying to halt the spread of the ABO disease and fighting a subset of their population who viewed it as a miracle to embrace. Because of this, Dr. Blitzer kept Noah literally at his side every moment they were abroad. The furthest away he'd been was seated in the front row center of an auditorium while Dr. Blitzer was speaking.

This also made it difficult for Noah to go back to college, but he managed to take about six units a semester online, three in the summer, and when Dr. Blitzer could predict a slow semester for travel, he managed a lab class.

He'd never thought about being a parent before growing a womb and marrying an alpha he wanted to give children to. Realizing his complete lack of preparation for parenting, he'd switched his major to home economics, and then childcare as he found he liked taking care of small children. He never stuttered around them as he did with adults.

Alan didn't encourage Noah to join the birth control trials. There weren't many partnered beta men that could be considered at risk of getting pregnant, so they were in demand for the study, but just the thought of Noah carrying his child made him insensibly horny. Plus, he was older and ready, and willing to support his husband completely as a stay-at-home parent. He kept Noah close hoping it might happen soon, but no such luck.

When the first wave of omega babies were born and they'd never had so much as a false alarm, Alan began to worry. Noah was determined to finish his schooling, so he wasn't worried yet. When they'd been married two and a half years and no beta men had become pregnant, Alan wanted to figure out why. Beta men menstruated every month but didn't have heats like the omegas. Heats were when omegas were fertile. Did no heat mean no fertility?

When Alan asked Noah if he would allow Alan to restart the daily blood draws to check his hormone levels, Noah began to realize that the doctor wasn't gearing up toward parenting on his same schedule. He was ready a year ago and starting to worry now. Noah agreed and soothed his alpha's worries but began to develop his own.

Was he ready for this? He was only three quarters of the way to his Childhood Development Associate Credential and he really wanted it. It wasn't a degree, but it was the difference between a low paying childcare job and a decent paying one. He might even be able to start his own childcare center one day. The baby boom in town certainly warranted more. He was thinking about proposing an on-site childcare center at the GenLife labs when he got his credential.

The blood tests showed regular hormonal cycling sufficient to menstruate, but not quite enough to release an egg. With a small boost at the right moment, an egg would develop and release. The relief Alan felt when the solution turned out to be so simple was immense. The beta men were effectively always on birth control naturally and needed a hormonal boost to get past it. He wanted to prove his solution with Noah right away.

The problem was, they'd never explicitly talked about having children. Dr. Blitzer assumed that having a womb and getting married led to babies. He must have exhausted Lex with his obsessive baby talk because he smacked the back of Alan's head as he walked by. "What?" He shouted.

"Your husband is still a baby himself. He's obviously very tolerant to put up with you, but he's probably not in as big a hurry to have babies himself. It's not a race. Take your time." Lex admonished.

"Says the man whose husband is having twins," Alan grumbled.

Lex smiled and answered, "Talk to him. Please. It does you no good to talk to me about it."

Something was bothering Alan that night and Noah wasn't sure how to get it out of him. When he kissed him hello and welcome home, he absently pecked Noah's lips and failed to notice he was wearing nothing but an apron. He set dinner on the table and sat his naked ass on a chair for the first time ever. The naked apron welcome always led to immediate sex and then they ended up putting on clothes before eating, at least bathrobes. His naked behind didn't like the cold wood.

"Hey babe," he tried.

"Hmmm?" Alan answered without looking up.

"Alan?"

"Hmm?"

"Doctor Alan B...Blitzer! L...look at m...me, p...please?" He finally shouted, which for anyone else sounded like speaking at a normal volume. Alan looked up and paid attention for the first time since he'd walked in the front door. He saw bare neck and shoulders behind a ruffled pink apron and dropped the loaded fork he'd had halfway to his mouth. How had he missed that?

"W...we n...need t...to t...t...talk, d...don't we?" Noah looked pained as he said it and Alan felt like a complete moron. His sweetheart hardly ever stuttered around him anymore, and here he was, forced into showing such incredible vulnerability because Alan was doing all his talking about babies at the lab instead of with his husband.

"I'm so sorry," were the first words out of his mouth, and he was, for missing the invitation the apron implied and for making his sweet Noah stutter. He pushed his chair out from the table and held his arms open. "Come here babe."

Noah jumped up and ran around the table to close the uncomfortable distance between them. He sat on Alan's lap and wrapped his arms tightly around the older man's chest. "That's it," Alan cooed. "It's nothing bad. I was distracted." He pet Noah's hair gently until he relaxed. "I figured out why beta men aren't getting pregnant and it's an easy fix." He could feel Noah start to get tense again. "But I realized I never asked you if you were ready to have a baby yet."

He was squeezed tightly again for a few minutes and then Noah whispered, "I want to give you babies. I'm nervous that I won't feel good pregnant and won't be able to finish school. I don't want to drop out because I want to be capable of a decent paying job, plus I'd disappoint my parents if I didn't finish something."

The last thing Alan wanted to do was make Noah feel like he'd disappointed his parents. They'd been so beautifully supportive of their son's marriage. He hadn't even thought of that. And it was true that pregnancy derailed many an education. He wasn't thinking that Noah's education was especially important since he could support his husband, but he realized it wasn't just about providing for them. Then, he realized how wrong Noah's first sentence was. That's where the problem lay.

"Noah, I don't want you to give me babies." Noah looked up in shock. "I want you to have babies with me when we're both ready. I didn't realize I was making you feel rushed and undervaluing things that were important to you. Thank you for agreeing to the blood tests. That must have been a bigger concession for you than I realized. I have the solution now, and when you're ready, we can use it."

"R...really?" Noah had a single tear working its way down his right cheek.

"Really. You give me everything too easily. Be a little selfish sometimes. The thing I want most is for you to be happy with me. Be at least that selfish for my sake, okay?" Alan whispered as he held his husband close.

"I have another semester and I need to stay home enough to get through my practical training hours in a childcare center. Then, I want to talk them into opening an in-house daycare at GenLife so I can work close to you. Once it's started, I'll be ready. That's maybe another year altogether. Is that too long?"

"No babe, that sounds just right," Alan hugged Noah close and they both felt reassured. Then Alan's hand brushed across the bare skin of Noah's back and he remembered the naked apron situation.

"Hey babe, we can still practice, right?" Alan asked.

"Practice?" Noah scrunched up his forehead in confusion.

"Practice making babies," Alan smiled deviously and scooped Noah up in his arms.

"Ahh!" Noah squealed, and it was the first of many incoherent noises he made that night.