#alpha tim

His parents were happy to come over with blankets and even his mom's favorite sofa couch, the large one he used to snuggle into when he first presented. Jazz brought over pillows, including her most trusted striped teal-and-white body pillow, and her favorite soft pair of pajamas that Danny wore for the first few months of his pregnancy.

Tucker sent over teddy bears he collected throughout his life. Unlike Dash, who was ashamed of them, Tucker proudly displayed his collection in the room, then at home after he moved out, always looking for ones dressed in funny outfits or customized for whatever event he wanted. Sam went out of her way to purchase him new furniture, replacing all the metal pieces Danny originally owned with a sweet, rosewood-smelling bedroom set.

It reminded him of her home near Yellowstone, where she was living her dream of studying botany while Tucker was on the other side of the country working with NASA. Shockingly enough, Danny wasn't as jealous as he thought he would be when Tucker told him. He was so happy with his donut shop and his independence by the warm coast that he couldn't find any reason to be jealous.

And now that was all gone.

The baby kicks hard on his bladder, making Danny wince. "Yeah, I know. I need to go to the bathroom."

He opens the door to his bedroom, walking by Susie, who is already dressed for her shift at a local cafe. She was the one keeping them afloat financially after the money his parents and Sam had lent him ran out. "Morning, Danny!"

"Morning." He mutters, rubbing at his eyes. He wobbles a little towards the last door of thier small apartment. It's a two-bedroom, one-bathroom, but it's smaller than his old home above his donut shop.

"I'm going to an interview later today for that secretary position at Disco Insurance," Susie calls over her shoulder while putting on her earrings. She always leaves them by the key bowl so she can use the hallway mirror to adjust the dangling gummy bears to face the right way. It's the part of a set her brother got her before he was murdered. "I'll pick up pizza on the way back!"

"Can you also get ice cream?" Danny yells back right.

"You got it!"

Danny smiles at her cheerful twirl that she does just as she finishes putting in her gummy bears. She matched them to the green stones she has on the curve of her ear.

"Have a good day!"

"You too!" She sings before slipping out the door.

"Yeah." Danny mutters, "Yeah, I'll have a wonderful day. Just being here."

He slips into the bathroom, doing his business so the baby can stop trying to make him explode. Once he's done, Danny washes his hands, then splashes cold water on his face. He tries to smile at his reflection, but it falls flat.

Suddenly, tears well in his eyes as sadness so strong ran through his entire body. He's sobbing while leaning against the sink, pressing a hand against his mouth to muffle his cries even if he's the only one home.

The baby chooses that moment to move, shifting so he's on the lower side of Danny's left, and it makes no sense; it's not even the right motion, but somehow he gets the feeling his baby is hugging him. Danny laughs, drying his eyes as he places a hand over his stomach. "Yeah, sweeite, I'm okay. Papa is okay. I'm so excited to have you here."

He looks at his reflection again, and instead of seeing the man who lost his dream, on the run from an alpha that might kill him in order to silence him, and now working from home by answering the chat of a countrywide shipping company, he sees a father who gave everything up so his child could have a future.

"Almost." He tells his belly. "Only two more months and you're here. We're all so excited to meet you."

His baby bumps his hand, and Danny smiles warmly, "I'm the most excited"

___________________________________________________________

"Wow, you have such a beautiful omega! He's going to be a real heartbreaker," Danny's smile strains as the woman coos at his son. The toddler wasn't paying attention to the adults, far too focused on rolling his toy car on his stroller table and drinking his juice.

"He hasn't presented yet," Danny manages to say, hoping his tone wasn't as tense as he felt. "Kids don't present until they're ten or tweleve"

"Oh, but we already know what he is." She dismisses, and Danny wants nothing more than to punch her in the face.

"No. We do not." He grabs the handles from the strollers, yanking his kid back and away from her. She's a beta, but Danny is the last person to judge someone based on how they behave due to presentations. He walks away from her as fast as he can, anger and slight disgust pooling in his stomach, ignoring her offended huff.

"Slide. Slide. Slide" Sammy- his son named after Susie's late brother- demanded the moment Danny speed walked the playground. He relaxes at his baby's voice and stops, just at the edge of the sandlot. His son is wiggling about, trying to slide out of his seat, and were it not for the seat belt, Danny is pretty sure the little bugger would have escaped already. Ever since he learned how to scrim and wiggle, putting the kid in a seat has been a nightmare. Sammy hated his car seat the most.

"One second and we can get you to the slide," Danny tells him as Sammy starts thrashing, little face scrumbling into a familiar pout that would lead to demonic screaming if left alone for too long. Not that anyone who didn't know Sammy would suspect a sound like that to come from such an angelic face.

His son is pretty, and that wasn't just his Omega pride talking.

Nine months in my womb making me suffer, Danny thinks, annoyed as Sammy's slightly wavy hair falls into his eyes, making his pout extra adorable. And you came out looking exactly like your father.

Sammy Fenton was a miniature version of Timothy Drake, and that was a problem Danny would one day have to deal with. Susie was right about that.

They couldn't be in hiding forever. Drake would find them, but he would have to learn to kill something that was already dead before they could have his son.

It's why the two had moved when Sammy was born. It was best to get away from the hospital that helped him with the delivery, and Susie found a new place in the southwest, somewhere nearly deserted. It was dry, it was windy, there was nothing to do in town, and they had to drive thirty minutes away before they could even do something as basic as grocery shopping.

And apparently, the people here were weird about his kid's presentation status despite it being a good decade before his secondary gender kicks in. The good news was that they would be moving again soon, just after Sammy turned five, to hopefully throw off any trail that Drake-Wayne may follow.

If all went well, that would be the last move, and despite not knowing where they were landing, Danny was going to finally reopen his donut shop. Susie finished her online degree, which meant she could no longer comfortably work from home, and as long as she was near Sammy, Danny didn't have to worry about babysitters. Plus, he had savings from selling his first shop and from paying back the loans his friends and family had given him.

"Slide! Slide!" Sammy giggles as Danny hosts him on top of it. He beams at his one-and-a-half-year-old.

"Again?" He asks even as the toddler wiggles around, already trying to go back up.

"Again!"

_________________________________________________________

Danny steps back, admiring the new sign over his front. Susie, Sammy, and he had just finished setting up everything for thier grand opening, with the sign being the only thing missing.

It had been backordered for one reason or another, and Danny was afraid his grand opening would be ruined without it, but, miraculously, it arrived early that morning. The men who brought it were quick to install it, with Danny putting the finishing touches on his indoor tables.

Sammy was running around in a little apron, carrying a tiny tray of mini donut samples he was most excited to hand out once they opened. Susie was behind the register, ensuring everything was in the system to make checkout easy.

Nothing could go wrong today.

They had settled on a new coast, not as bright or as colorful as the first store, but this one could be their forever home. With five years between the lawsuit and now, there was little to no chance Drake-Wayne would find them.

"All set," One of the men calls down. An alpha who's been extremely helpful in getting everything done. He takes off his cap, tilting it towards Danny, and it's his experience in the southwest that lets Danny know this man has ranch manners.

He's sweet, but despite his manners, his rugged good looks, and the obvious interest he regards Danny with, the omega is not looking to date. It's not easy being a single omega father, let alone one who's run a business on his own; he just can't add relationships to that.

"Thank you! I have a tip for you and a box of free donuts," Danny chirps, acting like he doesn't notice the way the man's eyes gleam as he and his partner climb down the ladder. "It looks perfect."

Danny's Dazzling Donuts seems to glow despite the words not having any lights whatsoever. He's so busy admiring the letters that he misses the way the alpha lingers, attempting to make the job last longer until his partner forces them to leave.

Danny does feel it when the alpha sends him a sad puppy-eyed look from the van, but he still refuses to turn. He checks his watch, gleeful that it's time.

They would be opening late today, and only today, to give the locals a chance to try their donuts before battling it out with other early businesses. He found that the tactic worked great with his old shop and wanted to give it a chance here.

At ten am on the dot, Danny enters his store and clicks on the glowing open sign. He takes a moment to breathe in the sweet smell of fresh donuts of various flavors before starting behind his counter.

"Is it time, Daddy?" Sammy hops off the little stool he was sitting on. He picks up his tray and proudly displays mini donuts decorated like his favorite TV show. Danny and Sammy had gotten up early to work on them together. They look lovely for the blue and orange dogs they are based on.

"Sure is. Remember our deal?" Danny crouches down so he can look into his son's eyes comfortably. Sammy's wide blue eyes sparkle, and Danny is hit once more by how adorable his son is.

Sammy was the prettiest kid on the block, and that wasn't just omega pride talking. His boy made everyone aw when they saw him, which is why he would be the perfect hook.

"Don't move away from the door and don't follow strangers!" Sammy hops in place, jostling the samples. "Don't worry, Daddy! I know the rules!

"Okay, have fun," Danny tells him, watching his sweet heart twist on his heel to run as fast as his tiny legs could take him. He slips through the glass door, making the bell above jingle. He stands at attention by the door, swinging his tiny head for any bystanders he can offer his wares to.

Danny can see him through the door and the large windows, so he's not too worried, but he still makes sure to keep the little one in sight. Not even a second later, a man in a suit walks by, typing away on his phone, while hiding from the bright sun under a parasol.

Sammy's head snaps to him as he straightens out his back and likely puts on his strongest puppy dog eyes. His son realized he could get Susie, Danny, Jazz, and Jack to do whatever he wanted a while back and now uses them on any unsuspecting adult.

He took five steps away from the door in order to block the man's path, holding up his little tray. Danny smirks when the man doesn't seem to be able to resist taking on, nor does he seem able to pull his hand back when Sammy launches onto it and starts yanking him towards the shop.

The bell rings as his son manhandles the stronger inside with a cheerful "Welcome!"

Danny takes that as his cue to smile and stop leaning on the counter. "Welcome to Danny Dazzling Donuts-"

His words cut off in his throat when the parasol is tilted upwards, and he can see the face of the stranger. His heart drops from his chest to somewhere near his ankles. He hears Susie gasp in horror, while Sammy's excitement melts into confusion as he senses the change among the employees, but Danny can't find it in himself to reassure his child.

Not when he's staring at that face.

It's the same as his son's.

Timothy Drake-Wayne stares back at Danny in utter bewilderment, his hand still wrapped in his son's fingers. A bitter thought flies through Danny's otherwise stunned mind.