baekhyun sighs softly, running his fingers through chanyeol’s hair. the omega’s been running a fever for the last few days, whimpering and crying because his whole body aches. he wishes he could do something else to make chanyeol feel better, but all he can do is give him medicine. chanyeol’s fast asleep, resting against baekhyun’s chest as his alpha pets him to keep him soothed even while he sleeps. it’s almost time to wake him up for another round of medication, which he knows chanyeol will protest. the sick season has been bad for the whole pack, but specifically chanyeol. he’s eight months pregnant and very vulnerable to the sickness. 

“chanyeol,” he murmurs, kissing his mate’s forehead. “time to wake up, honey bun.”

“mmh…” chanyeol rubs his cheek against baekhyun’s chest, sighing as he opens his eyes. “why?”

“you have to take some more medicine, sweetheart,” baekhyun says, cupping his lover’s cheeks and giving him a gentle kiss. “you’ll feel so much better once the medicine kicks in, i promise.”

“i don’t wanna take medicine…” chanyeol whines, whimpering softly. “i don’t want it.”

“you need it, chanyeollie.” baekhyun rubs his omega’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to his face. “please, take it for me? baby… you know i just want you to get better.”

“i don’t want to,” chanyeol responds, huffing. he smushes his cheek against his alpha’s shoulder. “it’s gross and i hate how it makes me feel.”

“but you’re still so feverish,” baekhyun says, laying his palm over his mate’s forehead. “yeol… honey bun, you’re burning up. i’m gonna go get your medicine.”

he gets up before chanyeol can wrap his long limbs around him, running to the medicine cabinet and pulling out the medication they got from the doctor to treat chanyeol’s fever. the meds won’t harm the pups, or else he wouldn’t give it to chanyeol. it isn’t good for him to be sick so late into his pregnancy— it isn’t good for him to be sick while he’s pregnant at all. 

“here.” baekhyun holds out a few pills and a glass of water. “take them, chanyeol.”

“i don’t want to,” the omega mumbles, hiding his face in baekhyun’s pillow. “they’re gross.”

“yeollie, it’s not good for you to be so sick while you're pregnant,” baekhyun says gently, setting the glass of water aside. “please take them?”

“fine,” he whimpers, accepting the pills and the glass of water. he takes them quickly, glaring at his mate the whole time. when he’s done, he curls up and turns his back towards baekhyun. 

“chanyeol…” baekhyun sighs. they’ve gone through this so many times since the omega started taking the medicine. he gave chanyeol his pills, the omega took them, and in turn he would ignore his alpha. “stop doing this. you know exactly why you need to take your medicine.”

“i don’t care,” he replies. “i don’t wanna take anymore pills and you can’t make me.”

“i’m going to make you take them until you’re all better.”

“then i hate you.”

baekhyun just sighs, collecting his pillow and blanket. 

“i’ll leave you alone, then, since you hate me so much.” he murmurs, patting chanyeol’s head. “goodnight, my love.”

he tries not to feel bad when chanyeol does this, but it still hurts. the love of his life telling him he hates him is like a knife to the heart. he knows that chanyeol’s pregnant and emotional, but his words hurt. he puts his pillow on the couch, flopping down and covering himself with his blanket. he turns on the television, just to have some white noise to fall asleep to since he’s used to falling asleep to the sound of chanyeol’s breathing. it’s going to be a long night, he can tell. he’ll have to get up to give chanyeol his medicine in a few hours. he knows his omega will fight against it again, but he needs him to take it and he knows he’ll win eventually. he drifts off with a sigh, falling asleep quickly. 

he wakes with something heavy laying on top of him, quickly realizing it’s his mate and not a dangerous intruder. chanyeol is fast asleep and there’s an empty glass and a half full bottle of pills on the coffee table. baekhyun sighs in relief, realizing that chanyeol took his medicine on his own. he kisses his sleeping mate gently, wrapping his arms around chanyeol and rolling them over so they’re side by side. he rubs his hand over the swell of chanyeol’s belly, nuzzling his neck. the omega mumbles sleepily, his eyes fluttering open. 

“baek…” he mumbles, reaching out to touch baekhyun’s face. “i’m… i’m sorry i said that i hate you. i didn’t mean it, i really didn’t. i love you lots… and you were gonna wake up to make me take medicine so i took it by myself and i didn’t want you to be alone out here, so i came and laid down with you, buttercup…”

“chanyeollie,” baekhyun murmurs, cupping his mate’s cheeks. “hush. it’s been a long day, you need to go back to sleep…”

“no, i wanna talk.” chanyeol pouts, kissing baekhyun’s lips gently. “i need to tell you stuff.”

“so tell me,” he says softly, eyes half shut. “and then we’ll go to sleep.”

“i’m really sorry that i said i hate you,” chanyeol says. “i didn’t mean it. taking medicine is better than dying and i don’t wanna leave you ever, so i’ll take my yucky medicine. baekhyun… i wanna know what you meant when you said i know what will happen if i don’t take the pills.”

“because…” baekhyun sighs heavily. “if you don’t take the medicine and get better, it might.. be bad.”

“but i’m not gonna die. why would it be bad?”

“you’re pregnant, yeollie.” baekhyun says softly. “you’re carrying our pups and this fever could harm them and you . we really don’t know, honey bun… i don’t want you to die.” 

“but i’m not, baek.” chanyeol mumbles, rolling his eyes. “we’re all fine. the pups are still alive, i’m still alive. here, feel.”

“i know, but i’m just saying. medicine is important because it keeps you from getting too sick.” baekhyun mumbles. “time for bed. let’s go to the bedroom, though. you should sleep in bed instead of on this old couch.”

“don’t wanna get up.” chanyeol closes his eyes, going limp on top of baekhyun. the alpha sighs softly, carefully lifting his omega and carrying him to bed. baekhyun might be small, but he’s strong. ”wow, my baekhyunnie is so strong.”

“i have to be strong enough to carry my mate around like a princess,” baekhyun says, gently laying chanyeol down on their bed. “don’t i?”

“you don’t have to,” chanyeol whispers, hugging his alpha close once baekhyun has laid down next to him. “only if you want to, baekkie.”

“mm. goodnight, chanyeollie.” baekhyun kisses chanyeol’s forehead, tucking his omega in and practically passing out beside him. chanyeol sighs, rolling over to face his sleeping mate. he watches baekhyun for a while, watching how his chest rises and falls, listening to the soft noises escaping him as he sleeps. he’s so handsome. he’s the best alpha in their pack and chanyeol feels so good knowing baekhyun is his. other omegas had wanted to be baekhyun’s mate, but he chose chanyeol. chanyeol gives his alpha a kiss, snuggling up to him and falling asleep. 

chanyeol’s fever breaks the next day. he’s still miserable for part of the morning, whining that he feels achy and uncomfortable, but he feels better as the day progresses. he’s still exhausted, but he wants to keep up with his mate even though the pregnancy and remnants of his fever are hindering him. 

“we need to go grocery shopping,” baekhyun sighs, running a hand through his hair and resting his hand on chanyeol’s forehead. “will you be okay here by yourself?”

“no,” chanyeol answers, gazing lovingly at baekhyun. “i wanna go with you, buttercup.”

“but you only just started feeling better,” he murmurs, sighing softly. “are you sure you’re up for it?”

“yes!” chanyeol whines. “buttercup, please… let me go with you! please? i feel fine!”

“fine. but please take it easy, honey bun. tell me if you start feeling unwell, chanyeol. i don’t want you passing out or anything.”

“i won’t!”

baekhyun helps chanyeol get dressed, giving him lots of kisses as he hands over items of clothing. chanyeol looks cozy by the time they’re done, so baekhyun takes his hand and they walk to the store. he has chanyeol pick out some food for dinner, but halfway through the trip, he can tell that chanyeol isn’t feeling well. he notices how the poor omega keeps trying to discreetly rub his swollen belly and how his cheeks are red. baekhyun can hear that he’s panting, and he just looks so out of it. 

“chanyeol,” he calls, waving the omega over. he lets his mate drop his head against his shoulder, petting his hair and kissing the top of his head gently. “honey bun, i think we should go home.”

“but you’ve still got stuff to find…” chanyeol whimpers, panting. “we can’t go home…”

“i’m just gonna pay for what we have,” baekhyun murmurs, leading his omega to the checkout with him. “we have enough for dinner, at least…”

he pays quickly, hastily dragging chanyeol out of the store before the omega clutches at his belly and whines about how his stomach hurts. he whimpers softly, leaning over to empty the contents of his stomach into a bush. 

“this is exactly why i wanted you to stay home,” baekhyun mumbles, patting his omega’s back as chanyeol vomits. “i didn’t think you’d get so sick, sweetie…”

“i’m sorry…” chanyeol mumbles, his voice thick. he’s crying, but he doesn’t want baekhyun to see. his stomach is empty, nothing else is coming up so he wipes his mouth and straightens up. “wanna go home…” 

“i know, honey bun.” baekhyun sighs, rubbing chanyeol’s back and leading him in the direction of their home. “we’ll be back soon, you can lay down when we get home.”

he promises himself that he’ll take chanyeol to the hospital if the omega is still sick. chanyeol makes a beeline for the bedroom when they return home, most likely snuggling up underneath the blankets. baekhyun won’t be surprised if he finds that chanyeol has made a nest in their bed. chanyeol is pregnant, after all. he puts the groceries away slowly, trying to think about what he should do for dinner. he ends up eating alone, because chanyeol only woke up to tell his mate that he was still hurting before falling into a fitful sleep again. he packages up a portion for chanyeol to eat later before joining his omega in bed. he pets chanyeol as the omega sleeps, pulling him close and letting chanyeol rest against his chest. 

“oh, chanyeollie…” he murmurs, rubbing his back. “what am i gonna do with you?” 

he tries to sleep, but finds himself drifting in and out of consciousness as the omega beside him whimpers and squirms in his sleep before shifting from a human to a wolf. baekhyun sits up, frowning as he reaches out to pet his mate. chanyeol’s soft fur feels nice beneath his fingers, but he’s worried. he lays down again, resting his cheek against chanyeol’s round stomach. 

“i’m worried about you, chanyeollie,” he murmurs, nuzzling his face against chanyeol’s swollen belly. “first you had a fever, then you puked, and now you aren’t even staying in your human form.” 

he pets the wolf, letting chanyeol his face. his mate seems to feel better this way, but baekhyun doesn’t understand why. 

“is your tummy still bothering you?” he asks, rubbing his hands over the wolf’s tummy. chanyeol whines, going limp beneath his mate’s hands. baekhyun pets him for a while, until chanyeol closes his eyes. “is that a yes, honey bun? your tummy still hurts? let me give you a belly rub when you shift back, okay? i need to make sure you’re okay and the pups are okay.”

he goes back to sleep, resting against the wolf curled up next to him. he wakes up next to chanyeol— a very  chanyeol at that. his omega’s cheeks are pleasantly rosy, a small smile on his lips. baekhyun kisses him gently, shaking chanyeol’s shoulder. the omega opens his eyes, blinking away the remnants of sleep. 

“good morning, buttercup,” he says, stretching and ignoring the fact that he’s completely . 

“morning, honey bun,” baekhyun says. “can i rub your tummy? it seemed to be bothering you last night and i wanna make sure it’s all settled.”

“mhm,” the omega nods, laying down again so baekhyun can touch his belly. “be gentle…”

“okay, chanyeollie.” baekhyun places his hand over chanyeol’s round tummy, rubbing soothing circles into his mate’s warm skin. “you were really sick yesterday, sweetie…”

“i feel okay now,” chanyeol says. “but i wanna sleep all day after we eat.”

“okay,” the alpha nods, patting chanyeol’s tummy. “i wanted to talk to you about something, though.”

“please don’t give me a lecture,” chanyeol sighs, pushing baekhyun’s hand away from his bare skin. “you do it every time i go into heat and now you’re doing it while i’m pregnant and it’s getting really old.”

“i’m not gonna lecture you.” he replies, laying down next to chanyeol. “i just wanted to ask… will you let me take you to the hospital if you keep getting worse?”

“yeah…” he nods slowly. “i guess so.”

“good. i just don’t want to put your life or the pups at risk.”

“baek…” chanyeol sighs tiredly, reaching out to his mate. “i’m not… i’m fine. the puppies are fine.”

“i know, love.” baekhyun takes chanyeol into his arms, holding his soft omega close. “but i don’t wanna take any chances, chanyeollie.”

“baek, stop doing this. i’m fine, okay? you don’t need to hover around me every time i get up and move.”

“i’m sorry, baby…” baekhyun murmurs. “but i need to know you’re okay.”

things go back to being fine until chanyeol’s due date approaches. he’d noticed how restless his omega had been, how he’d shift and slink off to his nest while he thought baekhyun wasn’t looking. the pair had been warned that chanyeol might feel a lot of discomfort before he went into labor, but they hadn't thought it would be like this. when he wandered close enough to the bedroom, baekhyun could hear chanyeol’s whimpers. the poor omega is constantly uncomfortable, especially when the pups kick. baekhyun has done what he can for chanyeol— rubbing his tummy, kissing him, cuddling him until he falls asleep— but it isn’t enough. 

“honey bun, are you okay?” baekhyun asks softly, kneeling beside chanyeol’s nest and carefully rubbing his mate’s belly. chanyeol whines, tears rolling down his cheeks. “is it time?”

“i… i don’t know,” chanyeol whimpers, squeezing his eyes shut. “it hurts, baek, it hurts so much.”

“yeollie, bun, i’m gonna run to the store real quick, is that okay?” baekhyun pets his omega’s hair gently. “i’m gonna get you something… it’ll help calm you down.”

“go,” chanyeol whines, pushing his alpha away. “but hurry back, please…”

baekhyun takes the car, wanting to get back to his mate as fast as possible. he finds what he’s looking for quickly, grabbing a box of calming tea before checking out hastily. his driving is probably bad enough to get him pulled over, but he doesn’t care. his omega needs him now more than ever and he’ll be damned if chanyeol goes into labor while he’s not there. he’s barely taken the key out of the car and made it through the door when he hears chanyeol’s whimpers. he sets the box of tea on the counter, deciding he’ll check on the omega first. 

“chanyeollie, how bad is it?” he asks, settling down beside chanyeol’s nest. he pets his omega’s hair. 

“really bad,” chanyeol groans, squeezing his eyes shut. “buttercup, it hurts so much..”

“did your water break yet?” baekhyun smooths chanyeol’s hair away from his forehead. 

“no… it just really hurts..” chanyeol says, rubbing at his belly. “can we… can we go to my other nest? i don’t feel so good, baekhyun…”

“yeah, of course.” baekhyun nods, petting chanyeol’s soft hair. “let me help you up… i’ll make you some tea, too.”

he helps chanyeol to the nest they’d carefully constructed using a lot of baekhyun’s flannel shirts and chanyeol’s soft hoodies, and the special blankets for the babies that were made by each of their mothers. baekhyun settles chanyeol down, making sure he’s comfortable before he goes to make him some relaxing tea. chanyeol manages a few sips, relaxing enough to take a short nap while baekhyun pets him. he thinks he might take one too, but the moment he drifts off, chanyeol whines that his water finally broke. baekhyun jolts awake, blinking rapidly. he holds chanyeol’s hand, giving him soft kisses and trying to keep him calm. his omega is in labor for a long, long time, but he gives birth to three healthy pups. they’re so small, whining as soon as baekhyun’s shifted into his wolf form and started to them until they’re clean. chanyeol uses the last bits of his energy to shift, whining softly before closing his eyes. baekhyun nudges the cleaned pups until they’re curled up against their mother’s belly, curling up next to his mate and pressing his snout against chanyeol’s neck. they sleep for a while, shifting back to their human forms when they wake up. 

“chanyeol-ah, wake up,” baekhyun coos, his mate’s cheek. “come on, honey bun. your babies want you to wake up.”

“mmh…” chanyeol groans, barely opening his eyes. two of the pups squeak and snuggle right up to him. “why is… why’s he not getting up?”

“he’s sleeping, i think,” baekhyun says, but his heart drops when he picks the third pup up. “oh… oh, chanyeollie…”

“what?” chanyeol is still only half awake, trying to pet both puppies at once. 

“he…” baekhyun whimpers, feeling the sharp prick of tears in his eyes. “he’s dead, yeollie…” 

“but they were all…” chanyeol sits up, the two pups resting in his lap. “they were all healthy… how?”

“i think he stopped breathing, yeol.” the alpha murmurs, cradling the dead pup against his chest. the tiny body is cold, so they know that the little thing died while they all slept. “maybe we should take the rest of them to the doctor.”

“do you think it’s because i was sick when i was pregnant?” chanyeol asks quietly. 

“no, baby.” baekhyun reaches over, tucking his mate’s hair behind his ear. “this wasn’t because of anything you did or anything that happened to you while you were pregnant. this isn’t your fault, honey bun.”

“why is he dead?” chanyeol whimpers. “if it wasn’t because of what happened to me, why is he dead?”

“i don’t know, chanyeollie. i think we should take them to the doctor.. maybe we should get you looked at too, babe.”

the doctor tells them that their little pup had a weak heart, and that it was a little miracle that he was even born alive. chanyeol tries to be strong, but he can’t help crying. one of his babies died while he slept, stupidly unaware of the little life slipping away. baekhyun can’t fight how anguished he feels either, so they go back home and curl up in the nest with their remaining pups and cry together. 

“chanyeol…” baekhyun whispers, chanyeol’s tear stained cheek. “honey bun, please don’t blame yourself. you heard the doctor, it was a miracle that we even got a few hours with him… this isn’t your fault.”

“i’m sorry,” chanyeol cries softly, pressing his cheek against baekhyun’s chest. “i’m sorry, buttercup.”

“shh… you’re crying so much,” the alpha kisses his mate’s forehead, holding him close. “you’re gonna make yourself sick.”

“i wish i could’ve saved him,” chanyeol whimpers. “i should’ve saved my baby…”

“yeol-ah, it’s okay…” baekhyun murmurs, rubbing the omega’s back. “the other babies are still alive and they need you… they need their mommy. and they need names, honey bun. shall we name them?”

“yeah..” he sniffles. “we should name all three of them, so our little one isn’t buried without a name.”

“that’s a perfect idea, my darling.” he kisses chanyeol’s forehead gently. “what did you want to name him?”

“i wanna name him… chanhyuk.”

“okay… and what about the others? we have a girl and a boy.”

“i want you to name them.”

“alright, sweetheart… chansung for our little man and for our little girl… chanmi.”

“why do they all have to have names that start with chan? you’ll say channie and have three people staring at you.”

“fine. how about boyeon for the girl?”

“much better, thank you.” chanyeol sighs softly, his lower lip trembling. “i… i need a nap, buttercup.”

“oh, chanyeol…” baekhyun embraces his mate carefully, holding him close. “take a nap, honey bun. the pups are still asleep.”

after a while, they heal. it’s hard, at first, taking care of two pups while knowing there should be three. boyeon is a bouncy little wolf while chansung is a shy little baby. they love their pups dearly, the babies are even more precious to them now. baekhyun can tell that chanyeol, as the mother of the pups, is still feeling out of sorts after the loss. he’s assured his mate that they can try again and have another litter of pups when the two youngsters get older. chanyeol confesses that he doesn’t feel the same anymore, now that he’s lost a child. he cries a lot and the most random times. they could be eating dinner or snuggling and he’ll begin to cry, shedding tears that he’s been bottling up. baekhyun’s solution is to let his mate cry it out. he knows chanyeol is healing, slowly but surely. 

“how do you feel today?” he asks one morning, four months after their pups were born. he rubs chanyeol’s back, soothing him as he wakes up. 

“i feel okay,” chanyeol answers, and he means it. he feels better , somehow. “i feel… better.”

“i’m glad, honey bun… because one of your babies decided to shift right after i got up.”

“no… really? they’re already old enough?”

“mhm.” he nods. “little boyeon is very human now. you know what that means, right? chansung will be right behind her and you’re gonna have to start feeding them.”

“that’s fine, buttercup.” chanyeol smiles sleepily. “i can do that.”

“let’s go see them.” baekhyun practically hauls a whiny chanyeol out of bed, taking him to visit their children. chansung is curled up, fast asleep, but boyeon is awake, widening her large eyes when she sees her parents. she has chanyeol’s ears for sure. 

“oh, baby…” chanyeol coos, scooping her up and cradling her against his soft chest. “you’re so cute … you must’ve gotten that from me. your daddy isn’t very cute.”

“ hey , i’m right here,” baekhyun mumbles, but his heart feels warm seeing chanyeol joke around like this. “how long will it take little chansung to shift?”

“maybe we’ll have two human babies by the end of the day!”

chanyeol is right. both pups shift into their human forms by the end of the day, making soft cooing noises whenever their parents hold them. boyeon is much noisier than chansung, as expected. baekhyun is just glad that the shifting of their babies got chanyeol to feel better. he knows it would be ideal for chanhyuk to be here too, but he knows that their oldest pup is watching over his siblings. 

“hey,” baekhyun murmurs, hugging his omega close as they’re trying to fall asleep. “i love you, chanyeollie.”

“i love you too, baekhyunnie…” chanyeol says, hugging his alpha and squeezing him gently.

they’re adjusting to life as parents, trying to cope with the grief of losing a baby while caring for two more. they’re making their way through this life and they know they’ll be just fine, as long as they stick together.