It felt like life had hit the fast forward button after Maxwell and Andrew got engaged.
Thanks to the interviews, the claims that his family had attempted to put on Andrew were contested from the get go. That, and everyone was pissed for Andrew's sake. Including other members of his family, and especially some of his half-siblings.
Andrew was surprised, no, shocked to find out that one of the members from the anonymous therapy session was a late stage manifested true alpha like him. Not only that, it was the sweet man he had met at the Christmas party, the one who had been nervous, but kind.
It now made sense why he had disappeared as soon as their father had shown up. He hadn't wanted to be tied to him in any regard. His name was Noah, and he was who their family pivoted to saying he had gotten engaged when it didn't work for Andrew.
The younger man didn't take it though. He didn't go along with their plans. He made it clear he was not engaged, it had not been him that they were talking about, and he wanted to stand with his older half brother because his father, their father, had treated his Mom like shit, but she survived.
Noah, the sweet nervous man, had stood on business when confronted with reporters. He had appeared just as nervous as Andrew had felt when first confronted with the flashing lights and big cameras, but he spoke his truth. He even said that he was only able to have this courage because of his older brother.
It did something to Andrew to hear the man refer to him like that. It was a complicated feeling, but not because of anything Noah did. It just proved something that Andrew already knew. That his Mom, who he viewed as the most special person in the world, had not been special to the one person she was supposed to be to outside of Andrew.
Noah didn't reach out. He made no assumptions that Andrew wanted anything to do with him now that his identity was revealed. There were some half siblings who reached out, but not for good reasons. They were berating him for what he had said about their father, blah blah blah. Andrew ignored them, and paid more attention to the quieter reach outs.
The members of the family who were quiet, shy. Pushed back and out of the way because they didn't live up to the standards that the rest of the family wanted them to.
Andrew had several omegas and betas reach out to him. Andrew, obviously, couldn't save them. That was something outside of his abilities, and it was Maxwell who made sure that Andrew knew that. He wanted to support Andrew, but he needed to make sure Andrew understood that he could not save everyone who reached out.
It was not his duty, and he owed no one anything. It sounded harsh, but it was something Andrew needed to hear. Maxwell was looking out for Andrew when Andrew wasn't always looking out for himself.
Add into the mix the fact that Andrew also had classes, even if they were online, starting now, and they were planning for a wedding. Their life felt truly hectic in a way before the proposal that Andrew hadn't understood.
Richard got better, and he also soft launched that he was in a relationship with Ellis at another family dinner. His parents were shocked, but Rose? She teased him relentlessly. May was worried that he was going down a difficult path, but she supported her son, and his partner. Ellis let them know that he was basically estranged from his family and that they would not like his choice, and that made May and Ford wrap their arms around the other man and welcome him in.
Andrew had a feeling the man didn't know what he'd just done, or he did, and Richard was going to have a hard time trying to get rid of him if things didn't work out.
Speaking of parents who accepted others with open arms, Luis and Thomas had been stopping by their house. A lot.
Even with Luis' busy schedule, she made sure to stop by and check on Andrew, and Maxwell, but mostly Andrew whenever she had a free moment and they said that they could come over. Maybe Maxwell's comments about not being able to save others, and that he didn't have to do everything for everyone also pertained to his parents, but Andrew couldn't say no to them. It wasn't in his blood.
A Mom coming over to check on them? There was not a single part of him that could say no. She didn't bring baked goods, because she knew that Andrew would have the better ones on hand naturally, so she brought over other things.
Helped Maxwell and Andrew brainstorm ideas for the wedding, brought over the new season's clothing for both Andrew and Maxwell, and made sure that the contractors were doing their jobs.
Oh yeah, because in the middle of the chaos, Maxwell still wanted to renovate the house. He was still moving forward with the plan, and as soon as it got warm enough, the contractors were back to working on the house. The same team, but Richard was better so no one had to tip toe around. Plus, Ellis was possessive, so he made sure that Richard rarely smelt like his own pheromones. It did mean that he smelt like an omega still, but that was fine.
Andrew wouldn't let anyone lay a hand on Richard, in their house or outside of it. Plus, with Richard's height, everyone just assumed he was a beta who was marked by an omega who loved him. It kind of worked out in his favour.
He was still living with them. One, it was the cheapest option, and two, he was still newly manifested. They were discussing him moving out, of course, but they had all come to an understanding that he should wait a little longer. He was going to move out before the wedding, probably at the beginning of summer, but for research reasons, they needed to keep monitoring him.
The same way that Andrew was still being monitored, even now.
He still had check ups with Doctors, Michael still came over to make sure that he was okay, but you were also more likely to see Michael over for dinner, drinking, taking a break then see him just there to work.
Andrew made sure to extend invitations to the man, even if he knew that 70% of the time he would have to either say no, or run out mid dinner because of a patient. Andrew didn't care, and neither did Maxwell. Neither man took it personally.
Michael was in high demand before it came out that he was the one who took care of Andrew, and was in even higher demand after someone leaked word that he not only was a college friend of Andrew, but also had taken care of him. Was still taking care of him.
Being friends with Andrew and Maxwell had opened up his ability to be picky about who he worked with, so he could avoid the people who made him awkward. Like that couple that wanted to introduce him into their bedroom activities. As much as Michael was there to check on genitalia, he didn't want to get an up close and personal look at his patients' dicks in that way.
While he was busy, he also seemed…happier. Less stressed. The clients he was working with now were more in the designation that he wanted to work with. He wasn't being pushed around by assholes, but rich people who needed someone like him. He was, in tandem with Richard and the Dr. Piper, putting together a few studies involving true alphas to help further the understanding of them. Thanks to his connections, the true alphas would actually participate in the studies without feeling like it was below them.
Andrew couldn't lie and say that he didn't play a role in that.
He'd been caught by a reporter once and asked if he helped his fiancé out with his studies, and Andrew hadn't lied. Didn't know that was an option, honestly, and he liked bragging about his fiancé. He told the reporter that he absolutely helped his fiancé, especially because finding true alphas who wanted to participate in studies was hard.
He had then laughed and said that most true alphas viewed it as beneath them to participate, but Andrew had assured the reporter that anonymity was a top priority, and that most true alphas would be dealing with a spectacular team who respected them as people, not just as alphas.
Andrew had then admitted that he was biased, since his brother of the heart was the head researcher, but that he meant his words. They had all helped him through his manifestation, and they all wanted to see a world where everyone who had health issues, no matter their secondary sex, could get help.
That had sent quite a few people their way, and now Dr. Cox, Dr. Piper, and Richard weren't just a three man team anymore.
Richard now had several people under him. He was like a proud Dad, watching his team grow, and Andrew couldn't be happier for the man. He was a good Boss, and Dr. Cox and Dr. Piper might have some growing pains with being team leads, but they were great as well.
What was Andrew doing in all of this?
He was basically becoming the spokesperson for the company.
It was bound to happen. The whole Beckett family told him as much. Maxwell was cute, but Andrew? Andrew could talk to people, smile politely, and make people feel at ease. Maxwell made people nervous to step into a room with him. Andrew just needed some media training, but that was it.
Maxwell pushed back against it at first, until Thomas spoke to him about it in private, over scotch and a 3 hour conversation, and when he came back from his parents house, Maxwell was a bit more agreeable about it. The scotch made it that Maxwell spoke his true thoughts, but Andrew had a feeling that Maxwell would have told him anyways.
Maxwell wanted to show Andrew off, but he also didn't want people to see him too much. He hadn't sealed the deal yet with Andrew, so he was nervous to let the public see him too soon.
Andrew had smothered the man in kisses after he had admitted that. What a damn cutie. Andrew had assured Maxwell that he was flashing his ring as much as Maxwell was, and they had refreshed the bite on Andrew once so far. It only needed the touch up, and Maxwell made sure to touch it often.
Under clothes and over.
There was no way anyone could mistake who Andrew belonged to, and quite willingly. Andrew made other alphas look bad considering how much he melted whenever he was asked a question about Maxwell. The media were eating it up. They loved that the big, scary true alpha was just head over heels for the smaller, far more intimidating man.
Andrew had to agree. He loved their dynamic, and also loved that Maxwell saved most of his love for Andrew's eyes, and Andrew's eyes alone. He completely understood what Maxwell meant when he said that he wanted to keep Andrew to himself.
Andrew promised himself that once everything was calmer, the wedding was over, he would convince Maxwell to take a month-long vacation, a honeymoon, and they would just spend it together. He'd already spoken to Thomas and Ben, and both men were in agreement.
Maxwell hadn't even taken time off when Andrew had manifested. He could do with a vacay.