We lay in silence, the quietness making it slightly uncomfortable. Taylor stares at me, his brown eyes wide in anticipation of what I might say, but I am stunned into silence. Different thoughts are fighting for dominance in my head, and I find difficult to organize all of them.

"Tate?" Taylor whispers a couple minutes later. He tries to pull away from me when I do not answer him, but I tighten my arms around him, not allowing him to escape.

"Um, I- I don't really know, Taylor," I tell him, finally looking over to meet his eyes. As soon as I say those words, I want to take them back. Sadness passes over the omega's face, but he is quick to cover it, looking impassive instead.

"I understand," he says, trying to pull away from me again. But with every time he tries to get away, I pull him even closer, knowing that if he gets away from me right now without talking about this, then he will think some of the horrible thoughts that tend to pass through his mind.

"No, I don't think you do, lovely." I press a kiss to his hair in order to try and relax him, but he still remains tense in my arms. "You're probably thinking something that isn't true at all."

"I know why you said no, Tate." He refuses to meet my eyes, choosing instead to look at the ceiling. He doesn't give me anytime to respond before he starts talking again, his voice so quiet I can barely hear him. "Who would want to have a baby with me?"

"Lovely, don't say that," I whisper, trying to catch his eyes. "That's not true, and it hurts me that you think that way."

"Well, it's true, Tate. Don't even try to deny it."

"No, it isn't. At all." He still stares at the ceiling, refusing to meet my eyes. "I never said 'no', I just said that I was unsure."

Finally, his eyes flick over to mine, and I can see the tears that are threatening to spill over. With a small sniffle, he reaches up to wipe away some of the moisture in his eyes, but it is no use. The tears fall anyway.

"Lovely, my lovely Taylor." Reaching up, I wipe away the wetness from his face, pressing soft kisses over his cheeks. The tenseness leaves his body, and he allows himself to slump back against me. His face is pressed against my chest and his arm is thrown over my waist, making us as close as possible without actually becoming one. My hands find their way to his brown locks, carding through them in a soothing manner, trying to draw any of his remaining tension away.

"Let me think about it, hm?" I say, finally letting myself sink comfortably into the mattress. "This is just so sudden, lovely, and having a baby right now may not be the smartest thing."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Taylor mumbles, turning his face into my neck, but not before I see the sadness returning to his eyes. "No baby, I guess."

Taylor falls asleep a few minutes later, his body relaxing in his slumber and letting go of any extra tension he had been holding. The last words he said before falling asleep are playing on a loop in my head, and that flash of sadness on his face when he thought I said no to having a baby refuses to leave my mind. My heart aches whenever he thinks bad about himself, and it was no different this time.

Feeling my tiredness growing, I pull the blankets up over us before closing my eyes, thinking of my lovely holding Matty. The image of Taylor holding Matty is replaced with him holding a baby with his brown eyes and mahogany colored hair. The last thing I see before falling asleep is Taylor looking over at me, a wide smile on his face and all the sadness he has held for so long gone from his eyes.

*****

The pitter patter of small feet making their way over to our room wakes me up. Cracking open my eyes, I see the early morning light peeking in around the edges of the curtains. The doorknob on the door is turned. Peeking over my blanket, I am met by the sight of Elliot sneaking into the room as quietly as a three-year-old possibly can.

"Elliot, what are you doing?" I ask, my voice still groggy from sleep.

The little boy quickly makes his way over to the bed, his blonde curls in disarray from sleep. He pulls down the blankets on the bed, struggling for a minute to climb up onto the high raised mattress before I reach out a hand to steady him. Once he is safely on the bed, he snuggles into my side, hiding his head in my neck and pressing as close as possible to my chest.

"Elliot?" I question, rubbing small circles into his back in order to try and calm his trembling body.

"I has nigh'mare," he tells me, not lifting his face from where it is buried in my neck.

"Wanna tell me about it?" Reaching down, I pull the thick blankets back over us before resuming the gentle, circular rubs on his small back.

He shakes his head, and I do not push him further, knowing that if he wants to tell me, he will. With him being a three-year-old, he does not filter what he says, and if he feels the need to tell me about his nightmare, then he will.

"Okay. Well, it's a little too early to be up, so let's go back to sleep, hm?" My little brother doesn't answer me. Looking down, I see that he is already fast asleep, his face relaxed in his slumber.

A warm arm winds its way around my waist before I feel Taylor pressing up against my back. "He okay?" he mumbles into my back where he has his face pressed, voice gravely from sleep.

"Yeah, just a nightmare. He fell asleep quickly, so I think he will be fine," I tell him, putting my arm over his and twining my fingers with his.

"Mm, good," he whispers, sounding like he is already falling back to sleep. My suspicions are confirmed only a minute later when I feel him relax completely in his sleep.

Knowing it is early, I try to go back to sleep, but it is no use. The combination of the bright sunlight lighting up the room despite the curtains and the immense heat radiating off of Taylor and Elliot make it impossible for me to catch a couple more hours of sleep. Carefully, I unwind myself from Taylor's arm before lifting Elliot off of me and slowly laying him back in the bed. Free from the limbs of my two bed mates, I am able to slide out of bed and onto the hardwood floors.

Walking over to the dresser on the other side of the room, I pull out a pair of socks, not wanting to walk barefoot in this house. The ruffling of blankets catches my attention and looking over at the bed, I see Elliot squirming around in his sleep in search of me. I start walking over there to comfort him, but before I even make it halfway, Taylor grabs my little brother and cuddles him to his chest, neither of them waking up in the process. They both seem comforted by each other, Elliot laying his head on Taylor's t-shirt covered chest and Taylor rubbing sleepy circles on my brother's back.

Before I can stop myself, a smile spreads across my face. Taylor is such a natural with children, and seeing him with Elliot is just further proof of that. Walking over to them, I carefully pull up the blankets so that the both of them will stay warm in the cool morning air. With a kiss to both of their foreheads, I silently make my way out of the room, closing the door to block out any noise that may come from other parts of the house.

"You look happy this morning," I hear a tired voice say from behind me. Turning, I see Liam walking out of his own room, wide awake baby in his arms. "What are you doing up this early?"

"Couldn't fall asleep after waking up when Elliot came in an hour ago," I say, waiting for him to join me before walking down the stairs.

"Ah, I see," he says, a small smile spreading across his tired face. "I would kill for a couple more hours of sleep. This little guy wakes up every three hours on the dot, hungry and wanting to be held."

A laugh bubbles up before I can catch myself, and I throw a hand over my mouth. We make it into the living room and Liam sinks into the armchair that he has claimed as his while I settle into the couch.

"Sorry for laughing. I couldn't imagine having to wake up that often every night. How are you not going crazy from sleep deprivation?"

Liam looks over at me, a reassuring smile on his face before returning to the task of taking off his shirt and nursing the baby. Matty snuffles around for a few seconds, a small cry falling from his lips before Liam gets him latched. As soon as he has the nipple in his mouth, the cry stops and he eats in earnest, his soft grunts and swallows audible from where I am sitting.

"Can you hand me that blanket?" he asks, pointing at the one sitting next to me. I hand it over to him, watching as he wraps the blanket around Matty. It doesn't take him long before everything is situated and he is raising his blue eyes to meet mine. "I have to admit, I feel like I am going crazy from the lack of sleep, but Ethan and Erik help out a lot. Most of the time I don't even get out of bed during the night. They change his diapers and bring him over to me when he is hungry. As soon as he is done eating, they take him again and rock him until he falls asleep. Despite their help, though, I feel like I am one of the infected, mindlessly stumbling around throughout the day."

"How do you do it?" I ask him, genuinely curious.

Liam looks down at Matty, a broad smile spreading across his face as his brushes his fingers through the dark locks on the baby's head. "Honestly? This little guy makes it all worth it. Every time I see him, it just tells me that he is safe and alive. Something that is hard to come by these days, you know?"

I nod my head, and my eyes look down at the small bundle in his arms. Matty's eyes are locked onto Liam, not straying for even a minute, and his little hand wiggles out of the blanket, resting on his father's chest while he eats. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Liam looks up at me, his eyebrows furrowed as he studies my face. "Are you alright, Tatum?"

"Yeah, everything is fine," I say, trying to keep his gaze, but my eyes keep falling to the tiny baby. He must notice my inability to look away from Matty.

"You know, I was wondering if maybe you could watch him for a little bit after he is done eating. A little extra sleep would be great after last night." Looking up at the omega, I see the tiredness in his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. That'd be no problem." Honestly, I haven't gotten too much time to hold the new member of our pack, only holding him the few times that Taylor had to run to the bathroom. Now, after what Taylor said last night, the desire to hold him has grown stronger. Something inside of me is pushing me to hold Matty and try to see what Taylor sees every time he holds the two-week old baby.

"Oh, thank god. That is honestly the best thing you have ever said to me, Tatum," he says with a laugh, hushing the baby when he unlatches from him laughing.

We sit there in silence for the last couple minutes it takes Matty to eat. Liam reaches down to detach Matty, and the baby lets us know how he feels about that with a loud cry. Seeing his pacifier laying on the coffee table, I quickly hand it over to an overly tired Liam, watching as he pops it into the baby's mouth. Matty's cries are instantly quieted, and Liam looks up at me with a grateful smile on his face.

"Thanks for that," he says, laying Matty on his lap while he swaddles the squirming baby. "He never wants me to unlatch him. I don't know why. It's not even like he is eating anymore."

"Well, babies are complicated creatures," I say, watching as he efficiently bundles the small body, stilling the wiggling arms and legs.

"That they are." He lets out a laugh, yawning at the end of it. "Wow, okay. I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit. You sure you're okay with watching him?"

"Yes, Liam. Go lay down before you collapse on the floor with exhaustion. Your mates and Taylor would kill me if I let that happen," I say jokingly while taking Matty from his him. Liam leans down to give the baby one last kiss, hesitating before finally walking out of the room and up the stairs.

Once I hear the omega's bedroom door close, I look down at the tiny baby in my arms. He stares right back at me, his blue eyes that are identical to Liam's wide and his pacifier bobbing as he sucks on it rhythmically. I lean back on the couch, snuggling him a bit closer.

"Damn, you're a cute baby," I mumble, reaching up a hand to run it through his wispy, dark hair. He just continues to stare at me, no signs of tiredness showing on his face.

"My boyfriend wants to have a baby, you know," I whisper to Matty, and he stares up at me as if he can understand everything that I am saying. "But, I don't know if that is the right thing for us right now. We just settled here, and I don't know if throwing another baby into the mix is the right thing to do."

My hand glides from his hair down to his face, his soft pale skin standing in stark contrast against my calloused and tan fingers. His eyes don't loose their wideness, enraptured by my voice, so I continue to talk to him even if he can't understand what I am saying.

"But he has been so happy ever since you were born as if all the sadness I used to see in his eyes and the way he carried his body is completely gone. Just this morning, he was cuddling my little brother, Elliot. You know, the little blonde haired boy who insists on giving you a wet kiss on your cheek every night before bed? Anyways, he seemed so content to have a little body to cuddle with, and he seems to think he is ready for a baby. In all honesty, he is the one I am the most worried about. What if something goes wrong, Matty? I don't think my lovely could handle the loss of anyone else. He's already lost and been through so much, way more than anyone should ever have to."

Matty somehow manages to wiggle out one of his hands during my rambling. He holds it up in the air, and I place my finger on his palm, watching as his tiny fingers latch onto mine. He pulls my finger back to his chest and stares up at me with his big blue eyes. The innocence in his face and the way his fingers are latched onto mine makes me catch my breath. A small little baby wields so much power, just in the way he is able to stop my rambling and heal Taylor's broken soul.

"Maybe a baby wouldn't be such a bad thing, Matty. If Taylor says he is ready for one of his own, after losing one already, then I should listen to him. The pack would help us, just like we do with you. Damn, you're so smart and right. Now I know why Taylor always insists on holding you and never wanting to share."

"Well, he is pretty damn cute," a familiar voice says from behind me. Jumping a little bit from being startled, I turn around to see Taylor standing in the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest and a smile on his face.

"Why thanks, lovely. That is the sweetest thing you have ever said to me," I tease, trying to calm by racing heart. Matty squirms when he hears my omega's voice as if searching for him.

Taylor shoots me a deadpan look before joining me on the couch and taking the wiggling baby from my arms. "I was talking about this handsome guy right here, Tate. He has everyone beat in the cuteness department."

Laughing, I settle back into the couch, watching as Taylor presses kisses all over Matty's face, and the baby basks in the attention. Taylor brings Matty up to his chest, snuggling him as close as he can without hurting him.

"How much did you hear?" I ask a little hesitantly, not sure if I want him to have heard what I was saying to Matty.

"Enough," he says, pressing his side up against mine. I can feel him staring at me, but I refuse to look at him, instead choosing to stare out the window to the left of the fireplace. "Tate, lovely, look at me."

It takes me a few seconds to listen to him, but I eventually do. I turn my head to meet his eyes and am almost thrown back by the amount of happiness that is showing in them. A smile is spread across his face, and he leans over to kiss me. He nips at my bottom lip, waiting for me to open up to him, and when I do, his tongue rubs against mine. Not wanting to pull away, I only do so when the need for air is too strong.

"What was that for?" I ask breathlessly.

"Did you really mean that about us having a baby?" he asks, the hope evident in his eyes. I nod my head in confirmation and watch as a radiant smile spreads across his face. He holds onto Matty with one hand and uses the other one to fist my t-shirt and pull me in for another kiss.

"Really?" he whispers, lips brushing against mine as he speaks.

"Really."

*****

The picture at the top is of Matty.