Materfamilias

by Wendie Nordgren

  I nodded, but leaning closer, I whispered, “Are you sure my baby is okay?”

  “I’m positive, Cupcake. If I weren’t absolutely certain, I wouldn’t allow you to go.” He placed his hands on my upper arms and held my gaze with his. “I mean it, Teagan. This pregnancy may feel different to you because it’s the first healthy one you’ve had. With both Neema and Niklos, your heart was a major concern. Don’t worry. Safeguards are in place in case of magnetic disturbances. There is nothing for you to worry about. Eat, sleep, and only do what you feel like doing. I promise. You are solidly knocked up.” He gave me a wolfish grin.

  “I’m trying not to be afraid. I just want this baby so much.” My voice broke, and my eyes began to fill.

  “In less than ten months now, you’ll be yelling that you’ve changed your mind.”

  I smacked him on the arm.

  “Cupcake, milk this pregnancy for everything it’s worth. You’ve got five possible fathers. You could have one rubbing each of your feet while another rubs your back. Let them spoil you. They want to. Parvac males will do anything to keep a pregnant mate happy. It’s a cultural thing.”

  “You sound like you’ve been studying.”

  “Oh, I have. Anyway, Victoria has loads of excellent advice.”

  “The two of you get along?”

  He nodded. “We have the same goals.” He tipped his head toward his bedroom. “Let them spoil you,” he whispered.

  “They do. I couldn’t be happier. I only hope that I make them as happy as they make me.”

  “I’m pretty sure you do.”

  “Phillip, are there any rules you want me to follow about food and stuff?”

  He scratched his belly thoughtfully. “Try to cut down to one cup of coffee a day and go easy on the sweets. If you feel like walking, do so, but I got you out of the physical requirements of the Inquisitors’ training. Oh, try to bring up your science grade. Tracy can help you.”

  “Ugh. Science is hard and boring.”

  “But, you like boring and hard. You married Drex.” Phillip stared at me with a straight face.

  “Drex is a sweetie. I was wrong about him.” I felt a hand touching my lower back.

  Fitz asked, “Teagan, are you ready?”

  “I guess, but I’m really worried about all of us getting into a transport.” I cringed at the thought of what the ride to the land port might do to my friends and me.

  Fitz said, “I won’t leave your side. I promise.”

  Phillip said, “We’ll be down in a minute.”

  “Phillip,” Terre called weakly from their bed.

  He gave my cheek a kiss and went to his wife. “Yes, my goddess?”

  I held onto Fitz’s arm, and together we walked out to the waiting transports. The prospect of the ride filled me with dread. I was taken aback when I saw a large, solid black transport resembling a bus that filled up the driveway. Its windows were blackened, and its carpeted steps were lowered. “What’s this?”

  Dario answered. “This is how our ladies will travel on land for as long as they wish it. Its stabilizers and shielding will prevent all sensations of movement. Traveling within it will feel no differently to you than sitting within your sitting room.” He gave me a dashing smile just as the wind caught at his black hair.

  “Thank you, Dario.” I still wasn’t convinced.

  “Anything that I can do to make you more comfortable during your pregnancy will be done.”

  “I like the sound of that.” I winked at him. Dario’s brown eyes were full of fervent adoration. Thunder rumbled through the sky. Worried at the foreboding sounds of the coming storm, I asked, “Will it be safe to travel in this?”

  “Yes, baby. This is a minor storm. Don’t forget. She’s got the finest shielding.” He patted the side of the black bus.

  Into my thoughts, I heard Rozz, one of the younger hybrids, say, “All you do is worry. You’re worse than Jazon.”

  Sighing, I accepted the help of Fitz and Dario into the bus-like transport. Inside, it reminded me more of a luxurious apartment. Everyone found seats and got themselves comfortable. Checking to make sure everyone was inside, I counted heads, starting with babies and moving onto spiders and adults. “Is everyone here?”

  “Yes, Teagan. Come and place your head upon my lap, darling,” Momma said.

  Fitz walked me over to her. She sat upon a plush grey couch. After I was seated beside her, Fitz lifted my feet and covered me with a blanket. Sparrow sat on Xavier’s lap and hid her face against his neck. Tracy had her head completely covered with a blanket, and Jazon rubbed circles on her back. From them, I looked over to the children. They sat in a circular play area and amused themselves with their toys.

  “What about their lessons? Are we being selfish? Are we really going to all of this trouble for steaks?” My rising anxiety and panic vanished in a poof.

  Zared touched the tip of my nose with the pad of his finger. I got lost for a moment in his black eyes. He said, “We are making a brief stop on Thalassa to pick up Ambassador Ember.”

  “Oh.” Before I could ask why, Fitz tickled the bottom of my foot. I tried to pull it away from him, but he held my ankle.

  He asked, “Would you like to spend a few hours visiting our family while we are there?”

  “Yes!” Tracy said. “Please? I want to see Andy.”

  I forced myself not to cringe at the name of Felix Jiri’s surviving clone. I admitted, “It would be nice to spend a day or two on Thalassa. Maybe, your dad will make some of the shrimp and crab bisque that he made last time.”

  “He will make anything you would like and extra for the cold storage,” Fitz promised.

  Whispering so as not to elicit another groan from Sparrow, I said, “Ask him to make some pineapple turnovers, cakes, and ice cream. Oh, and if he wants, he can grill some shrimp.”

  Yukihyo chuckled, “Lady Wife, you have developed quite the hunger.”

  “I’m starving. You have no idea. Wait. Wasn’t I worried about something?”

  Zared said, “You were trying to invent things about which to worry. I will not tolerate it. If one of your concerns is legitimate, I will allow you to consider it.”

  Angrily, I said, “Zared, my thoughts are my own.”

  Sternly, he retorted, “Female, you were aware of my Eriopis heritage when you took me as a husband. You are pregnant. I cannot abide with distressed thoughts upsetting you.”

  Fitz distracted me from Zared by rubbing and gently tugging on each of my toes. Momma was smiling down at me while resting her hand on my arm. She looked completely content. I yawned. “Are we waiting on someone?”

  As though he hadn’t heard me, Fitz asked, “Is there anything you would like to do during our visit to Thalassa?”

  “I’d like to hire the artist you used to paint my portrait to paint one of the children and Thunderdrop. He can create one from a picture, right?”

  “He can. It would be difficult to get the children to pose for a portrait.” Fitz gave me his charming smile.

  Momma said, “Oh, Teagan, what a charming idea.”

  Still, we continued to sit, and I was becoming frustrated. “If we weren’t ready to leave, why didn’t we stay in the house?”

  At that moment, Dario walked from the front of the transport and from out of what I realized was a closed front cabin. Then, he opened the transport’s door. I prepared to glare at whomever it was who had made us wait for so long. However, Kaoti stood, helped Violet to rise, picked up Poppy, and left the transport.

  “Where are you going? Don’t leave! What happened?” I felt my eyes spilling over and started sobbing.

  Kaoti leaned back inside. He stared straight at me. Without expression, he said, “You need a nap.” Then, he left.

  “Kaoti!”

  “Koty!” Neema yelled, mimicking me.

  Dario knelt in front of me. “Baby, we’re here. Why don’t you let me carry you up to your bed? When you wake up, you can have or do whatever you like.”
>
  Fitz helped me sit up. I felt completely disoriented.

  “Oh,” Sparrow said as she left the transport held in Xavier’s arms.

  “Excellent,” Yukihyo said to Dario.

  Nico said, “I couldn’t agree more. They all benefitted from this.” He patted Dario on the back and picked up Niklos. Momma took Peter, and Yukihyo took Neema.

  I put my arms around Dario’s neck, he lifted me up, and Fitz followed us from the transport. “Oh,” I said. I looked around in stunned disbelief. “I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t realize we had left.” We were in the transport bay of the Empress.

  “I can’t have you feeling any discomfort while traveling,” Dario said.

  Thunderdrop chirped at me from Farowyn’s shoulder. My Eloneave husband had been avoiding me for days. He was trying to hide something from me. I was certain of it, and my other husbands were facilitating his efforts. I intended to get to the bottom of it.

  Captain Ricimer saluted and smiled as Dario carried me into the lift. “Princess Teagan, welcome aboard. You look radiant.”

  “I do? Thank you.” I rested my head on Dario’s shoulder and tried to ignore the movement of the lift as it took us up to Deck Two, the Imperial deck. When the doors opened, the sight that greeted me felt like home.

  Resting on the marbled grey, black, and white carpeting was elegant grey furniture, decorated with yellow and purple accent pillows. Thunderdrop leapt from Farowyn’s shoulder and over to his sculpture that had been carved from Arachnean wood. From his perch, he gazed down into the tank of Sue, his pet octopus. The purple and blue octopus was the size of an apple. She reminded me of Quaid. After all, he had given her to Thunderdrop to cure him of his broken heart when he had mistakenly fallen in love with a stuffed animal that Quaid had given me.

  Around the deck, the sounds of my loved ones getting settled reached my ears as Dario carried me into my bedroom. The viewing window behind the bed was closed.

  Farowyn said, “My Queen, may I have a moment?”

  My suspicions went up a few more levels. “Yes, my husband.”

  Dario gently lowered me to my bed, kissed my lips, bowed to Farowyn, and left us in privacy.

  I patted the bed beside me and scooted over. He sat and put his arm around me, enclosing me in the safety of his patagium. “My Queen, you are well-cared for.” He hesitated. It made me nervous. Pushing away from his chest, I sat up and looked into his eyes. My fancy heart started pounding. Was he leaving me and taking Peter with him? My eyes started to fill. “Please, don’t cry.” His knuckles slid against my cheek. “You gifted me with a fine ship so that I might bring supplies to my people. While you are visiting the Laconian Sector, I thought to journey to Talpa. My cargo holds are full. Ember is lonely for her people and desires passage. Will you grant me leave?”

  “Are you coming back?” my voice broke as I asked.

  “I will return before you have time to miss me. The photonic film Yukihyo had affixed to my ship’s hull will cut my travel time in half.”

  “What about Peter? Are you taking him?” My throat felt like it was being squeezed.

  “No, Teagan. I would never take Peter from his mother. However, once he has grown to be a young male, I hope you will agree to allow him to go on an adventure.” Farowyn grinned at me.

  “You’re coming back to me?”

  “Yes. I promise.”

  Lowering my face to his chest, I attempted to get my tears under control.

  “My men wait for me. I will hold you in my arms once more when we dock on Thalassa. Alright?” He stroked my hair and then left.

  Fitz quickly replaced him. “Come with me.”

  “Where?”

  “In there.” He pointed to the bathroom. Once I had entered, he gave me my privacy. I took advantage of it and then washed my face. In the bedroom, he waited beside the bed and held a nightgown. He had changed into a pair of pajama bottoms. After helping me to change, he held me in his arms beneath the covers. Seconds later, Nico joined us.

  Playfully, I asked, “What are we doing?”

  “Napping,” Nico answered.

  “You need your rest. We are only here to comfort you. Now, close your eyes,” Fitz ordered.

  “Fine.” I cuddled up against him and put my cold feet on Nico’s hairy legs. “Did the two of you know that Farowyn wanted to return to Talpa?”

  Nico said, “Yes, you have known it as well. It’s why you had us buy him a ship.” He chuckled at me.

  “What?”

  “I think you have what I’ve heard referred to as pregnancy brain.” Nico gathered my hair up and loosely braided it.

  “What the heck is that?” I pinched the hair on his legs with my toes.

  Fitz said, “Your hormone levels are high, you are tired from growing a little one, and you need your rest. Being overly tired can make anyone forgetful.”

  “Oh.”

  “Now, close your eyes. That’s right. Think about what you would like to do while we are on Thalassa.”

  I snuggled closer to him and went to sleep. At some point, I woke up to find Neema sleeping between Fitz and me. Her leg was thrown over my back. I couldn’t move because Niklos was asleep on my other side and had my hair fisted in his hand.

  Nico was softly chuckling, but I couldn’t see him. “They crawled into bed with us a few hours after you went to sleep.”

  I whispered, “Help. I need to pee.”

  Carefully, Nico and Fitz freed me from my babies enough so that I could crawl to the foot of the bed. Using the steps at the foot of it, I made my way into the bathroom. Inside, I yawned so hard that my jaw made a cracking sound. After seeing to my needs, I put on a robe. My husbands had gotten out of bed and raised the clear protective sides around it so the children wouldn’t fall out. Then, they followed me from the room. Nico locked the door into its open position so we could watch in case they woke up. It would never do for them to wake up without us and become frightened. Eli, Drex, Yukihyo, Dario, and Zared tracked me with their eyes as I trudged into the kitchen.

  “What time is it? Is everyone else asleep? Why are you all awake?”

  Nico said, “It’s after midnight.”

  In the kitchen, I opened the cold storage and stared at the shelves.

  Drex asked, “What do you want?”

  “I don’t know.” My stomach growled at me.

  “Dearest one, have a seat. I can cook.” He put his arm around my back. “I’ll make you anything you desire.”

  Deciding to put him to the test, I said, “Okay, I want a banana split, but instead of ice cream, I want yogurt with that cereal Neema likes sprinkled on top of it. And, I want chocolate and peanut butter chips and some little marshmallows. Oh, and some hot chocolate with little marshmallows in it, too. Oh, and some toast.” By the time I had finished, Drex had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

  Within me, the gold cord that I envisioned as the link between myself and those with whom I had bonded snapped out and claimed Drex. His eyes widened in surprise as he stared at my own surprised expression. Along our new bond, I sent to him the love I felt for him, and what he felt for me in return was humbling in its intensity.

  “Drex….”

  His hands trembled slightly as he lifted them to cup my face. Tenderly, he kissed my lips. Then, he felt the connection to the others. Yukihyo, Zared, Fitz, and Nico each met his eyes. Nico walked by us and into the kitchen. My stomach growled again, breaking the spell.

  Nico stole my attention away from Drex when he walked by with my hot chocolate. I followed him to a couch and sat beside Yukihyo. I pulled my feet up, and Eli covered me with a blanket. Soon, I was happily munching away on toast. Then, Drex presented me with my custom banana split. “Is there any whipped cream?” After it was gone, I was still hungry.

  Thunderdrop blinked his eyes at me in sympathetic understanding.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” Dario asked.

  “I don’t even feel like I ate anything. Do we have any
bacon?”

  Dario went to the kitchen and got to work.

  I called out, “Make it crunchy.” I covered my mouth when the door to Kaoti and Violet’s door opened. “Do I smell bacon?” she asked while rubbing her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

  “No, the baby woke me. I’m starving.”

  Fitz asked, “What would you like, my lady?”

  “Bacon and a milkshake.”

  “I want some milk,” I said. Soon, Violet and I were seated at the dining table with a platter of bacon between us. “Oh, can I have some peanut butter?” I started dipping my bacon in it. It was fabulous.

  “Is there any steak?” Violet asked.

  Eventually, we got full and went back to sleep. I had to sleep on my side between Neema and Niklos, but I didn’t mind it. They were soft, warm, and cuddly.

  Chapter Four

  When I woke up, I had a foot in my face. It took my eyes a minute to adjust. Tiny toes filled my vision. Thankfully, it was a clean little foot.

  “Mommy, is you awake?” Neema asked sleepily.

  “Yes, and I need to go potty.”

  “Me, too.”

  I pressed the button to lower the sides of the bed. Neema crawled off the foot of the bed and went into the bathroom. It was just the two of us.

  “Your turn,” she called. “Mommy, your hair looks silly.”

  “So, does yours.” Her hair was sticking up in wild disarray.

  “I’m going to find Daddy.” She left me to yawn on the waste unit in peace.

  After tidying myself up a little, I put on a robe and left my room. Then, I froze in my tracks. Most of my husbands were in uniform. Yukihyo and Fitz were wearing suits. Pulling my robe’s edges together, I tied the belt. “What’s going on?”

  “Darling, your father-in-law came to escort us to his home. Let me help you get dressed,” Momma offered.

  Niklos was sitting on Praetor Finn Jiri’s lap. Finn waved at me. Momma turned me around and walked me back into my room.

  “Teagan, here you are, my love. It’s decaffeinated. I hope that’s alright,” Fitz said as he handed me a cup.

  I sat where Momma indicated and took the cup, sipping it. “It’s fine. Thank you. The children?”