by Elin Wyn
This was ridiculous. I was a Skotan warrior. Nothing stood between me and my goal, especially when that goal was taking care of my wife and my unborn son. I gripped the hilt of the electrified club I’d brought with me. My blasters were stored safely in General Rouhr’s armory. I’d stopped bringing them home after I had a stress dream about one accidentally going off and shooting Jeneva in the stomach. She said keeping the blasters at work wasn’t necessary, but I wasn’t going to take any chances.
I’d faced off against a handful of aramirions, but I’d only ever used a blaster against them. I hadn’t gotten a good look at the one scuttling through the underbrush now. There was a possibility that its poison-tipped limbs were longer than my electrified club. If that was the case, a head-on battle wasn’t a good idea.
I wanted to fight the damn thing. I needed to do something with my nervous energy before I went mad.
I never used to be like this. I was selected to be the leader of a strike team because of my level-headedness in the most stressful situations. When I thought about Jeneva and the baby, the last thing I felt was level-headed. There were too many variables, too many things I couldn’t control, and far too many things that could go wrong. What was most precious to me could be snatched away so easily and, in most cases, there was nothing I could do to prevent it.
The anger from knowing how helpless I was boiled inside me to the point of frenzy. My muscles tensed, ready to spring into action, but somehow, I stopped myself. Aramirions were among the most dangerous creatures in the forest. They were quick and toxic. Even if I managed to kill the thing, I likely wouldn’t make it out unscathed. Not even Jeneva knew the full effects aramirion toxins had on a Skotan.
I wasn’t going to risk injury. Jeneva needed me to be there for her.
Tucking my frustrations away, I hunkered down and waited for the beast to leave the area.
I wondered what kind of choices my father made while my mother carried me. Skotan men weren’t as involved in childrearing as most human males appeared to be to me. It was the job of a Skotan male to provide a safe, stable environment so the female could adequately handle a growing Skotan child.
Skotan children were far less docile than human children seem to be.
Most Skotans work within or in partnership with the military. My father was an outlier in that case, though that didn’t make him any less valuable to the Skotan community. My father was a farmer. He supplied both eateries and markets. He supplied the military at one point, but their excessive demand drained our family’s land and almost destroyed the farm.
My memories of him weren’t vivid. He didn’t train me as a child, my mother’s brother did. He was far more qualified.
I never knew if my father wanted me to take over the farm one day. He never once objected to my military career. I vowed to do the same for my son when he decided what he wanted to do with his life. Though, if things didn’t improve soon, he might have to have a military career whether he wanted one or not.
No, I’d make sure things got better so my son could follow the path of his choice.
Even if I hadn’t had the constant guidance of a father, I’d always be there for my son. I didn’t resent my father for never being there. He was there indirectly. He wasn’t at the breakfast table because he was already out in the fields, doing everything he could to make sure my mother and I had a roof over our heads.
I needed to find a balance. My job was extremely demanding and vital to the safety of the planet. Yet, I refused to miss anything in my son’s life.
I’d be there for him.
I promised.
Eleven
Jeneva
We laughed. We laughed harder than we had in a while. Damn, it felt so good!
Not that my life with Vrehx wasn’t good and there weren’t laughs, but he’s such a serious individual that sometimes it was good to laugh with other people.
And, right now, it felt damn good to be laughing with my grandmother and my sister. At Vrehx’s expense. Without him here to hear it.
I loved him, of that there was no doubt, but holy hell, that man could be a bit overwhelming.
“He is a little, what’s the word I’m looking for… intense about things,” Amira said, coming eerily close to echoing my thoughts.
“You might be being too nice using the word ‘intense’, darling granddaughter,” Renna laughed. It was good having her around. The simple fact that she was in her nineties, making her old enough to be my great-grandmother, didn’t bother anyone. She moved around like she was in her fifties, talked like she was in her twenties, and smacked people in the back of the head like she was in her thirties.
She had had my mother a little later on in life, and that didn’t seem to bother her, so I didn’t let it bother me.
“Yeah?” Amira cracked back. “What word would you use then?”
Renna made an overexaggerated play at thinking. “Hmm,” she hummed out loud. “I would have to use the word extreme. Maybe try severe, potent, vigorous, all-consuming, overwhelming, insane, just to name a few.”
Amira laughed and even I chuckled a bit. I knew that even though it might have sounded like Renna was being mean about Vrehx, she loved him and her words were said with love and admiration, even if they did seem to go a little far at times. She was unabashed with her words and attitude. She didn’t give a damn what others thought of her, and I shared a lot of that mentality with her.
Before the guys arrived, bringing their tiny little fight with the Xathi with them, I couldn’t have cared less what anyone thought of me, including my sister. Now, I cared about what people thought, to a point. I cared about what the people I cared for and respected thought of me.
Everyone else could suck on something.
“What do you think, sweetie?”
I looked at my grandmother and gave her a smile. “Yeah, he can be a little overbearing at times.”
“Overbearing? Honey,” my grandmother said in her I’m about to teach you why you’re wrong voice. “I know women wish men would be there every second of the pregnancy, but damn if that man doesn’t dote on you like you’re some sort of invalid. I swear, if we didn’t kick him out every once in a while, he’d probably try to use the bathroom for you.”
I couldn’t hold back the laugh. It escaped as a snort, with made me laugh out loud. She wasn’t wrong. Vrehx was an amazing man, and after that incident at the doctor’s office where he was on his damn tablet instead of paying attention—regardless of what was happening in the world with everything else—he’d been the most attentive man I had ever heard of.
Too attentive.
“Did you see his face when you cramped up?” Amira asked. “It was like this,” and she went on to do a fine imitation of Vrehx. I don’t remember ever seeing his eyes go so wide, and so filled with absolute loss of control and fear. He looked damn near terrified, but in a comical sort of way.
I laughed even harder, then grabbed my belly. “Oh. Don’t make me laugh so hard,” I cried. “Baby is kicking my ass from the inside out when I laugh.”
“And here I thought you were about to say that you were gonna piss yourself,” Renna said. Amira and I both looked at her in shock. We knew she talked however she wanted, but she usually saved it for people other than the two of us. “What?” she asked.
I looked at Amira and she was mirroring the same look I must have had on my face, because we both sputtered and laughed. The baby must have been having fun at daddy’s expense, too, because he was kicking the shit out of me.
“Holy hell,” I nearly shouted after a particularly hard kick. “This kid is gonna kick his way out.”
“Maybe we should calm you down, then,” Amira said. “Wanna talk about the humans that hate you and your man?”
“No,” I said loudly. “Those assholes can kiss my pregnant ass.”
“With how big that ass is getting, there’s probably room for all of them to kiss it at once,” Amira commented.
“Ah!” I grabbed a
pillow and threw it at her, hitting her in the shoulder as she tried to duck away.
“What did I say?” she gasped between breaths as she laughed.
“Wait until you get pregnant. Dax is bigger than Vrehx,” I commented.
“Yeah, he is,” Amira smirked. When my jaw dropped, I watched as she and Renna laughed.
“You two are incorrigible.”
“You said it, sweetie,” my grandmother responded from her chair at the table. “Not us.”
“Ha. Ha,” I said flatly as I got up from my chair and waddled into the kitchen. I liked using the word ‘waddle’. It was a cute little word. I got myself something to drink from the cooling unit and leaned against the island. Sitting down felt good, but my ass was hurting, so I needed to stand for a minute, even if my feet were swollen and uncomfortable as hell.
“See?” Renna said, pointing at my glass of orange juice. “Vrehx wouldn’t have let you get up to get that for yourself.”
I had to nod in agreement. “True. He has gotten to be a little overwhelming in his overprotectiveness.”
“The only way his overprotectiveness could get any crazier would be if he somehow figured out how to have the kid for you,” Amira commented from her spot at the island.
“Oh, god,” I breathed. “That would be fantastic if he could.”
“Baby,” Renna started, “his ass would die. Men love to say that they’re strong and tough and can handle pain, but the pain of another human being ripping you apart in the place that also gives you that much pleasure, he’d die.”
Amira audibly choked down her laughter as I just stared at my grandmother. I opened my mouth to say something, found that I had nothing, and closed it again. I looked at my sister and nearly died looking at her face. She was struggling to hold back her own laughter.
“Hey, you better be careful. Dax is a lot more attentive that Vrehx is. Just imagine his big ass trying to take care of you,” I said.
I watched as she thought about it for a second, then her face fell as she realized that I was probably right. Dax was a fuzzy teddy bear compared to Vrehx…with a big-ass gun.
“Shit.”
“Uh-huh,” I said with a little bit of a headshake. “You think I have an overbearing protector, wait ’til you get prego.”
“Uh,” she stuttered.
“Damn,” Renna cut in. “She’s got you there, baby girl.”
“Shut up.”
We all broke out into laughter again. It felt good to laugh, it took my mind off the fear I felt in the back of my mind at the idea of giving birth to a mixed-species baby. Vrehx had scared me with stories of Skotan births, and while this kid was only half, I was still worried.
That’s why it felt so damn good to laugh right now.
Twelve
Vrehx
“Vrehx, come out with us,” Axtin called to me as he walked out of the briefing room.
“I can’t,” I replied without looking up from my console. As I worked, the notes from the briefing I didn’t attend downloaded onto my drive. I’d look them over before I left for the day.
“Of course, you can.” Axtin clapped me on the shoulder. The rest of my strike team followed him over.
“My leave is rapidly approaching. I need to make sure everything is in place so you all don’t kill yourselves while I’m gone,” I muttered.
“All the more reason to come out with us,” Daxion urged. “Don’t you trust me to keep them in order? We’re practically brothers-in-law.”
“That phrase only has meaning to the humans,” I replied.
“Don’t act like human traditions mean nothing to you,” Tu’ver observed. “You just referenced your upcoming leave. You’re only taking that leave because of human tradition.”
“That’s not true. I’m taking a leave of absence to support Jeneva and spend time with my new son once he’s born.”
“That’s very human of you,” Sakev smirked. “Skotan fathers don’t do that.”
“Perhaps I’m taking leave because I’m sick of dealing with the lot of you.”
“That sounds more reasonable,” Axtin nodded.
“Just wait until Leena’s pregnant,” I grumbled. Axtin tipped his head back and laughed.
“I can’t wait for that! Having Calixta is fantastic. I want to raise one from birth.”
“I can babysit, right?” Sakev chimed in.
“May the cosmos help that poor child,” Tu’ver murmured.
“I’m surprised Mariella isn’t with child yet. She is very much the motherly type,” I said.
“She wants to wait until she’s not working with hazardous materials as often as she is now,” Tu’ver explained. “Her logic is sound.”
“I tried to get Jeneva to stop working sooner, but she wouldn’t have it. Perhaps I should’ve used Mariella’s logic.”
“I’m not certain it would’ve worked with Jeneva,” Tu’ver replied.
“Why?”
Before he could answer, Axtin butted in.
“This conversation you’re having right now could be taking place at a nice restaurant with good food and endless drinks.”
“Vrehx, the permanent stick up your ass is reaching new heights. Come have a drink with your team,” Daxion urged.
“Fine,” I snapped. “But I’m not paying for a damn thing.”
My strike team rushed me as I downloaded the work I still needed to do onto my datapad.
“If you as much as look at that thing this evening, I’ll smash it,” Axtin threatened.
“Do that and I’ll have you on kitchen duty for the duration of my leave,” I countered. That shut Axtin up.
I let them lead me to a bar a few blocks from our building. I’d been in there once or twice before, never cared for it much.
It was packed, but Axtin managed to snag a booth on the opposite side of the room. We all piled into it. It was definitely not made to support this many alien bodies. The wooden benches creaked underneath us.
“Twenty credits we’ll break this before we leave,” Sakev said.
“I’ll take that bet.” Daxion shook on it.
Axtin ordered an army’s worth of food for all of us. While we waited, I sent a message to Jeneva letting her know where I was and that I had no idea when I’d be home. Her response came off as enthusiastic. I found myself frowning.
“What’s with the face?” Daxion asked.
“Vrehx isn’t scowling. Something must be wrong,” Axtin added.
“Nothing is wrong.” I rolled my eyes. “Jeneva seems thrilled that I won’t be home at my usual time.”
“Oh.” Tu’ver choked on his laughter, the others following suit.
“Am I missing something?” I asked.
“You’re always missing something,” Sakev joked.
“Oh, there’s the scowl,” Axtin jeered.
“If I’d known all I was going to get from this excursion was a headache, I would’ve stayed at work,” I muttered.
“Do you really want to know?” Daxion asked.
“Of course I want to know why my wife being happy that I’ll be home late is amusing to you airheads,” I muttered.
“Have you noticed that you’re being sent on an unusually high number of time-consuming errands?” Daxion prompted.
“Jeneva finds moving for extended periods of time tiring now,” I said. “Carrying a child is a draining experience.”
“That’s true, but do said errands seem unusually complicated?”
“Pregnancy is complicated, Dax. Especially this one.”
“The herb runs you do all the time are so Jeneva can get some peace at home,” Daxion said with a sigh.
“What?” I snorted a laugh. That was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.
“You gather similar herbs each time, right?”
“Yes. It’s a recipe designed especially for Jeneva.”
“Why does Renna make you collect only enough for one dose each time?”
“Stop asking me questions to gen
tly lead me to the conclusion,” I snapped. “You’re telling me Renna and Jeneva have planned this so that my herb runs take longer than they have to.”
“Exactly.”
“But why?”
“You’re smothering her,” Axtin spoke up.
“Jeneva’s in a fragile state! Anything could go wrong,” I protested. “No one can predict what’s going to happen with this pregnancy.”
“You’re right,” Tu’ver said. “It’s new, it’s terrifying, and it’s stressful.”
“Exactly,” I sighed. “I barely sleep at night. Most nights, I end up lying awake watching Jeneva’s chest rise and fall to make sure she’s still breathing.”
“Let’s circle back to the whole smothering thing,” Axtin said.
“Making sure she’s breathing isn’t smothering her,” I countered.
“Yes, it is,” all of them said in unison.
“When your mates are in this position, you’ll understand,” I warned them.
“I’m sure we will,” Tu’ver replied. “When that happens, you can remind us of this conversation.”
“I’m simply trying to assure the safety of my child. Jeneva’s already doing all of the work by carrying him to term. I have to do something,” I said.
“I believe we’ve stumbled upon the root of the problem,” Sakev mused.
“What?” I narrowed my eyes.
“You feel like Jeneva’s doing all the work and now you’re desperate to do your part,” Daxion said.
“Of course I am!” I exclaimed. “She’s going through the most challenging process a woman can go through. It’s not right for me to just sit around and wait for the baby.”
“Of course not,” Axtin shrugged. “But you don’t have to treat Jeneva like a sugar crystal.”
“Amira’s told me that a woman’s mental state affects the baby’s health just as much, if not more than, her physical state,” Daxion said.
“That’s how you know all of this.” I jabbed an accusatory finger at him. “Amira’s feeding you intel.”
