THE HEALING HEART: Military and Pregnancy Romance

by Zelda Clemens

  Dana laughed and he kissed her slowly. She felt it throughout her whole body and it seemed to lift the hangover that was shadowing her. When he pulled back, he pulled lightly on her ponytail and grinned before walking away. She stood surrounded by happy hens and watched him disappear into the trees on the edge of their property.

  *****

  Lee had been disappointed when Frankie left, but he had promised to be back soon. Lee hoped he didn’t lose the writing buzz he’d gotten used to. He still didn’t understand how he could accept him into his life and bed so easily having never even thought about men like that before. When he’d woken up that morning with Frankie’s arm around him, it had felt so natural. Frankie’s kiss goodbye had been as exciting as the ones the previous night and he’d risen to the occasion but the man had left and Lee had a book to write.

  His flow was still strong and the words came easy. He spent his days writing, helping Dana with the farm and making love to her wherever and whenever they felt the urge. Their relationship felt stronger and their love was sweeter in a way he couldn’t have described despite the flow of creative juices that ran through him.

  It was raining that afternoon and Dana had gone into town to do the food shopping and he’d stopped for coffee. When he saw her park outside and run in, his first thought was that she’d had an accident or the that Frankie was back. Neither was true. She placed a small plastic stick in his palm and he turned it over. A little screen announced in bold writing that she was pregnant.

  “We’re having a baby?”

  She squealed, and he had to grasp the table as the world turned a little fuzzy. Once the news had sunk in, she told him she’d booked an appointment at the clinic while she was in town and there were a few things she would have to give up like coffee and alcohol. As she talked, he remembered that night with Frankie and wondered if the baby was his. He decided it didn’t matter, she was his wife, and he still hadn’t mustered up an ounce of jealousy where Frankie was concerned. Frankie was theirs, their special friend and if the baby was his, then it was theirs.

  They began to plan for the baby and Lee took on the heavy jobs around the farm. Dana’s plants were beginning to shoot and they would be eating home-grown organic food in just a few weeks. As Dana’s bump began to show they both wondered when Frankie would be back. They had looked for his home of course, but there was no dwelling at the end of the lane, just trees and the brook that Frankie had taken him too on that afternoon.

  ****

  “Lee, come quickly,” Dana said bursting into his office.

  He ran after her wishing she would slow down but when he saw the large form limping across the field, he overtook her. Frankie was beaten and battered and close to collapse when he reached him. Something awful had happened to him and he had found his way across the countryside to their farm.

  Lee supported him and half carried him back to the house with Dana. Frankie had cuts, bruises and terrible grazes on his body and his clothes were shredded. His usual tanned coloring was covered with blood and dirt, but Lee could tell he was a sickly pale tone underneath.

  They moved him to the bed and Dana cleaned his wounds while Lee gave him sips of water. He fell into an uncomfortable sleep leaving them to wonder what on earth had happened. They took turns to care for him for the next couple of days, bathing his wounds and feeding him soup but he remained silent and barely conscious most of the time.

  When he finally woke up, they were both exhausted. Dana was sleeping on the sofa while Lee was sitting on the other side of the bed reading a book. He felt Frankie stir and his hand reached out and rested on Lee’s knee. Lee was about to call Dana but Frankie put his hand to his bruised lips and Lee took the hint.

  “I can only heal by drinking the water from the brook,” Frankie said and his voice was raspy and more of a whisper.

  “You want me to get water from the brook, are you sure?” Lee asked.

  “If you can do that for me I promise I will tell you everything but only you,” Frankie said his voice still barely there. “Dana doesn’t need to know right now.”

  “Okay,” Lee said.

  He took a bottle and ran down the hill and across the rocks thankful that he’d put boots on this time. When he got to the large rock where he’d first kissed Frankie, he wondered if the man had brought him down there that day to tell him something but the kiss had distracted them. He filled the bottle and made his way back, creeping into the house to avoid waking Dana who needed more sleep now the child within her was growing.

  He helped Frankie to drink the entire contents of the bottle and was amazed at how quickly his abrasions began to heal. He’d never seen anything like it and somewhere deep down he knew that Frankie was different. He’d always known. Frankie sat up and reached for his hand silencing his thoughts.

  “I’m not like you,” he said. “I come from a long line of beings who are not human but used to live side by side with humans. We are called fairies and we are dying out. We need to interact with humans to survive and we need to breed with them to keep our species going. The world is not kind to my species and there are plenty of those who wish to destroy us.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Lee said gaping like a fish but unable to stop himself.

  “I was caught and held but I escaped and I managed to come back here but I didn’t have the strength to reach the brook,” Frankie said looking healthier and less pained.

  “Why can’t Dana know?”

  “She is carrying my child,” Frankie said placing his hand over Lee’s.

  “I know,” Lee replied because he had been sure that the other man’s sperm trumped his in the race.

  “I don’t want her to be frightened, the child may be very human like her or more like me,” Frankie said. “Either way, you will make fantastic parents for my offspring and their abilities will help you as will mine.”

  “You really were my muse,” Lee said. “I knew something was different about you, I just didn’t understand what it was.”

  *****

  All throughout her pregnancy Frankie had been coming and going. She knew he didn’t live at the end of the lane and she knew he didn’t have a car. When he arrived, he always seemed to appear from the tree line or he just arrived in the middle of the night and they would find him in their bed in the morning. He’d persuaded her to drink the water from the little brook because of the nutrients it contained and she had to admit she’d had a healthy pregnancy.

  She knew that morning that she was in labor, but Frankie had insisted on being at the birth and he wasn’t around which meant that she was keeping her legs closed and the baby inside. She fed the hens and the goats who were also heavy with babies of their own and then went to check on the crops. From that vantage point, she could see most of the way to the brook and the row of trees where Frankie always seemed to appear from. There was no sight of him.

  Another pain enveloped her and she buckled slightly under the pressure. She was breathing through it but only just and when she felt a snap inside of her she let out a yell. Water was trickling down her legs and she seemed to have lost the ability to move. She managed to walk to the old apple tree which was halfway to the house but the next pain came on so suddenly that she was stuck once more. This time, it was more intense and everything faded away leaving just her and the pain.

  She couldn’t seem to get the breath to call Lee and his office being at the back of the property didn’t help. She was stuck on the gravel drive now not close enough and wracked with pain. She could barely stand and her vision had narrowed. Knowing she might faint, she sank to her knees but before she reached the gravel, she was lifted by strong arms.

  “I heard your call, I’m here,” Frankie said as he took her inside.

  “Good timing,” she said.

  ****

  The baby girl was born just twenty minutes after Frankie had arrived. She was healthy, alert and had curly dark hair, just like Frankie’s. Dana didn’t say anything, both men fussed ove
r her and the baby and they seemed to know who the biological daddy was. Dana was given plenty of water from the brook and she felt pretty good considering her labor happened so fast.

  “What are we going to call her?” Lee asked.

  “Laurel,” Dana said, and both men nodded their head with approval. “I thought she had better have a natural name, given that she isn’t fully human.”

  “What?” both men said, and she had to laugh, men were no good at keeping secrets.

  “Oh come on,” she moaned. “I didn’t miss my pill, you don’t appear to live anywhere nearby and you always pop out of the trees like a shadow. What are you and what is my daughter?”

  Both men looked at each other and then back at her as she sat with her arms folded across her chest. She waited while they made eyeballs at each other obviously trying to decide what to say to her. Lee put Laurel into her cot and sat on the bed. Both men waited for the other to speak and she felt like she was back at school.

  “Fairy,” Frankie said after the silence had become too uncomfortable for him.

  “Fine, why didn’t you tell me before. I knew you were different,” she said pulling him closer to kiss him.

  “I didn’t want you to freak out,” he said.

  “I didn’t,” she said leaning back against the headboard. “Well, I’m out of action but you two may as well celebrate.”

  Frankie kissed her and then pulled a bottle of champagne from under the bed. Lee got three glasses and Dana had a few sips before putting it down. The men drank the champagne and then kissed while she watched sleepily. Lee’s confidence had grown in the bedroom and she had Frankie to thank for that. He stood up and slowly undressed the man, caressing his muscles as he did so, lingering to kiss the newly freed skin. Dana could watch them all day.

  When her husband stripped, he did so with style and she had to laugh. Frankie wasn’t always there but when he was, it was like getting a boost of energy. Lee’s writing and editing went well, the animals on the farm became more contented, and she felt more relaxed. She would even swear to the plants growing quicker if it didn’t make her sound crazy. Their lives had become entwined with Frankie’s in a way that they could never have foreseen. Now with little Laurel it had grown complete.

  When Lee had signed the deal with his publisher, he had attributed it to his family and he had included Frankie. They’d celebrated together until Dana had sent them away so she could sleep. Now she had Laurel they were intricately tied together, and she welcomed that. She curled up on the bed while her two naked men made her favorite snacks and brought her drinks. Nursing the baby might have put her out of action for a while but she still found pleasure in watching.

  Lee was putty under Frankie’s magic touch and she loved the look of bliss that he wore when Frankie’s hands caressed his skin. She would never tire of watching Frankie’s sculpted body and the way the muscles rippled when he moved. He might not have been a god, but his fairy blood made him beautiful and strong just like the ancient Greek works of art. Whoever said that women were the fairer sex had never met Frankie.

  “When you’re feeling stronger in a week or two would, you like to meet my friend, Klara,” Frankie said lazily stroking Lee’s thigh. “She’s in the area for a few weeks and would like to meet you all and she’s great with babies.”

  “Is she like you?” Dana asked. “A horny fairy with a hot body.”

  “Of course, and she wants to come around to play but no vodka this time,” Frankie said laughing.

  “Game on,” Dana said.

  Maybe her life wasn’t complete yet after all. There’s always room for more pleasure, she thought.

  THE END

  Another bonus story is on the next page.

  Bonus Story 42 of 44

  Going Full Circle

  “Don’t tell me that you are going to the game after work?” Amanda asked Shirley as they shut down their computers.

  “Yes I am, and I think that you too should come and see what it’s like out there. There are so many hot men that you can choose from, just as long as you don’t choose my Andre,” Shirley said to her workmate and best friend. “What do you plan to do all afternoon anyway, and it is a Saturday?”

  “To tell you the truth, I don’t really have anything to do and so I think I might as well tag along with you so that I can see this guy that you are so obsessed about,” Amanda replied.

  “Now that’s my girl, I hope that you will finally understand why I am so obsessed with football,” Shirley said, pleased that she would have company today, since she usually went alone and at times it could get quite boring.

  Shirley Baine had been attending football games faithfully for a couple of months, and the main reason was because she had a very mad crush on the one of the rookies, Andre Walters. He was a tall handsome blonde with broad shoulders. From the physique of his body, she had pictured in her mind how he looked a million times. He had the sort of body that every girl dreamed of, and to top it off, he was also the best player for the Rockets, the leading NFL team of the season. She knew that he might never even set his eyes on her, but at least she could dream about him after watching him play. She had ventured many times to the locker rooms, but the security detail there was usually too strong to penetrate and she had given up.

  “I think I'll just do it out of curiosity because I don’t really understand how you could have a crush on a guy that does not even know you exist. You are a very sexy woman and maybe it is about time that you thought of getting yourself a boyfriend that you can actually get,” Amanda said as they began making their way out of the office.

  “I don’t think that you will ever understand what I feel, and hey, stop talking as if I will never get him, because now more than ever, you have given me the drive to gun for him,” Shirley said adamantly as Amanda laughed.

  “You are a crazy woman, Shirley, but even then, I still love you,” Amanda said as they got out of the building, standing on a pavement to wait for a cab.

  “Well, if you are my best friend then I suppose that you, too, are crazy,” Shirley said, waving a cab to a stop before they both got in.

  Shirley was, as usual, dressed in her sexiest clothes. She had on a pair of skin tight jeans that showed off her shapely figure, and a T-shirt that covered her down to her waist. She was wearing sneakers and sun glasses, and she had her handbag with her. Her friend, Amanda on the other hand, was wearing a sexy dress that hugged her body, showing off her assets, and it came down to midway down her thighs. She had on a pair of heels that made her butt stand out in a good way.

  Both of the women were in their early twenties, and they had met when they began working together at a law firm, where they both happened to be budding lawyers. They had instantly clicked and bonded, becoming the best of friends within no time. They shared the same interests in most things, including their type of men.

  “Think we should grab a bite before we get to the stadium?” Amanda asked.

  “No, there won't be need for that because there are several food courts there,” Shirley could already feel the excitement of the game starting to overwhelm her.

  “So, how did you create such an interest in football, anyway?” Amanda asked as Shirley tucked a loose blonde lock behind her ear.

  “Danny, my brother, he was a football fanatic when we were in school. Being my only sibling, I always went with him to games or to watch him when he was playing,” Shirley said, remembering the good old days.

  “You don’t say,” Amanda said, her eyes widening slyly. “Then that means that he must have one of those awesome looking bodies. When are you going to introduce me to him?”

  “Shirley, what has gotten into your head, he is my brother and it would feel very awkward if he started dating my best friend,” Shirley said, punching her best friend playfully in the side.

  They went the rest of the way in silence with Shirley thinking about her dream man. Andre was the only other man that she had such a mad crush on other than her childhood
crush, Nate Brinks. Nate had been a few grades ahead of her in school and had been a friend of her brother’s. Whenever she saw him, she would feel her blood boiling within, something within her stirring.

  When they had gone to high school, Nate had become even more handsome and all the girls in school seemed to have a crush on him. He probably did not take notice of Shirley because her body took long to develop. Her breasts did not grow as quickly as the other girls, and her figure also did not pan out as quickly as she would have liked. As soon as he had graduated from high school, he had joined military school and she had not seen him for quite some time now.

  To get her thoughts off him, she had put her sights on Andre even though they had never met. If she could get her brother Danny to introduce them, she would never look back again.

  “You know what,” she said to Amanda, “I just got an idea.”

  “Okay, what is your crazy idea this time,” Amanda asked.

  “What if I call Danny and ask him to come to the game, since he is around. That way, he could introduce me to Andre-”

  “While you introduce me to him. I think that is the brightest thing that you have thought of in your life,” Amanda brightened up.

  Before Amanda could finish talking, Shirley had whipped out her cell phone and was dialing her brothers number.

  “Hey sis,” he said lazily on the other side of the line.

  “Hi Danny. What are you doing? I was thinking that maybe you would like to join my best friend and me at today’s football game,” she said, her heart pounding hard.

  “Well, right now I am a little held up, but I know that there will be a party held for the players later on. Maybe we could hang out together then. Is your friend hot because I could really use a bang tonight?”