Kaitlyn O'Connor (34 page)

* * * *

Loren had special incentive to complete her cart project. As soon she realized that the men were working frantically to complete the central part of the structure before the babies were born, she began working more feverishly on completing the transport. She wanted to have her baby in their own village if it was at all possible. Shara, she finally discovered, was a mid-wife and herbalist—experienced. She thought as long as Teron had confidence that Shara could help her with the birth there was no reason to dash over to the other village.

Especially if she got the transport working. If worse came to worse and any sort of problems arose, they could send for Teron.

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She wasn
‟
t nearly as confident when she actually went into labor. Apparently her men weren
‟
t either. They
‟
d hated her transport on sight and none of them had wanted to try it. The moment she had her first contraction, however, Kael, Dakaar, and Balen ran a foot race to reach it first. Kael won, hopping into the front to start it, and Dakaar and Balen piled in the back.

Loren gaped at the three of them as they disappeared over the first hill.

“I wonder how long it
‟
s going to take them to figure out they left you here,” Karen said dryly.

“Stop it!” Loren said irritably. “They went to get Teron….” She frowned. “At least, I hope so.”

“Take long time first,” Shara said calmly. “Dey figure it out. We go inside now, ok?”

Daeman dragged his attention from the rapidly diminishing cart and turned to look at Loren uneasily. Tossing down the tool he
‟
d been using to work the cement-like material they were using to build the pods, he strode quickly across the clearing and scooped Lau-ren up into his arms. “Dumbasses,” he muttered.

Loren sent him a reproachful look. “They
‟
re just excited.”

Daeman decided not to comment on that. He was glad he had not. By the time he had carried Lau-ren inside and settled her beside the birthing pool, his heart was beating unpleasantly fast and he had begun to feel lightheaded. Both sensations increased when he discovered that Lau-ren had no intention of allowing him to escape. She caught his hand when he would have straightened and fled. “Stay with me?”

He swallowed convulsively several times and looked at the other women hopefully. In his village the women would never have allowed a man to be present at a birthing.

Instead of coming to his rescue, however, they told him to wait so that he could get into the pool to support her once she was ready. He ground his teeth, promising himself that he would choke the life out of the Hirachi when they returned, regardless of his vow to Lau-ren. He settled behind her to support her in a reclining position once they
‟
d undressed her, however, lightly massaging her mounded belly for her.

Shara instructed her to draw her knees up and then knelt between her feet, examining her.

Brushing Daeman
‟
s hands from her belly next, she settled her own hands on either side of Lau-ren
‟
s belly for what seemed a very long time to Daeman and began to make him uneasy.

More uneasy than he had been.

She frowned.

Daeman tensed.

“Tink maybe baby in hurry.”

“What mean?” Daeman demanded hoarsely, fearing he knew the answer.

“What do you mean?”

“We see,” Shara said, getting to her feet. “I go make tea.”

Loren studied her uneasily when she left. Shara had told her that the tea would help to soothe the pain that she would have as her labor progressed. She
‟
d analyzed it with the scanner, however, and she couldn
‟
t see that the herb Shara had picked had any properties that would act as a pain reliever. It made her more uneasy, however, because Shara had told her she could only give it to her when she had made enough progress to warrant it.

159

She hadn
‟
t really felt any kind of pain when she
‟
d felt her first few contractions—nothing that she
‟
d associated with labor, at any rate. She
‟
d thought it was the baby moving and then she
‟
d thought it was a muscle cramp. Almost from the moment it had finally sank in that it was labor contractions, however, she
‟
d had an ache that had been steadily growing worse.

She nuzzled her face against Daeman
‟
s arm. “Thank you for staying with me.”

Daeman felt his throat tighten. He had not wanted to. He did not want to now. He wanted to be far away so that he could not hear her cries of pain. He did not tell her that, though. He lifted one of the hands he had been stroking her belly with and stroked her cheek, bending his head to kiss the top of her head. “I here for you…always.”

“You are,” Loren said, smiling. “Your English is getting really good.”

“I work bery hard. Soon no sound like dumbass.”

Loren chuckled. “I knew I shouldn
‟
t have taught you all the „bad
‟
words first! You don
‟
t sound like a dumbass now. I think it
‟
s cute.”

“Deisen warrior…no cute,” he muttered. “Handsome.”

Loren turned her head to look up at him, grinning. She lifted a hand to his cheek. “Yes, you are. Very handsome…but that has nothing to do with „cute
‟…
at least not the way I used it.” She thought it over. “Charming.”

His eyes gleamed. Bending closer, he kissed her. He was just warming to his theme when Loren felt a particularly hard contraction. She broke away, sucking in a gasp. Daeman was staring at her in consternation when she opened her eyes again. He flicked an anxious look toward the door Shara had gone out. “Where dat bitch?”

“Daeman!”

His lips tightened. “Gone long enough
hunt
herbs den brew tea!”

“She hasn
‟
t been gone that long,” Loren disputed, glancing around for Karen to confirm it.

She discovered that Karen had a strange look on her face. She
‟
d curled her arms around her own belly. “Karen?”

Karen
‟
s head popped up and she looked at Loren wide eyed. “I think mine
‟
s coming, too.”

She paused as a puddle began to form between her legs. “Uh oh.”

“Piss self?” Daeman asked, clearly disapproving.

Karen glared at him. “My water broke, stupid!” she snarled at him.

Daeman glared back at her until that finally registered. It wiped the expression off his face as it sank in that he was trapped in the room with two women in labor. He whipped his head toward the door. “Shara! Get ass here, bitch!” he bellowed.

“She
‟
s going to slip poison in your drink if you don
‟
t stop calling her a bitch.”

“She no know what bitch is.”

“Yes, she does,” Karen corrected him. “I told her.”

Daeman glared at her, discovered she was in the process of removing her clothes and decided to look for reinforcements. “I go find Ka-ren
‟
s mans!”

Loren caught herself on her elbows when he leapt up abruptly and strode toward the door with the air of someone in full flight.

“He won
‟
t be back,” Karen said.

Daeman jolted to a halt at the door and flicked a resentful look at her. “I come back den, 160

Lau-ren,” he said tightly.

Loren sent Karen a reproachful look. “Mean. You know he wanted to escape.”

“I know…but the other three dumbasses are about half way to the village by now.”

Loren wanted to argue with Karen
‟
s assessment of her men, but she discarded it. They weren
‟
t dumbasses and Karen knew it. She thought it was cute that they
‟
d panicked. They were always so cool headed!

It occurred to her after a moment to wonder what Karen was thinking now that she was about to have her baby. Karen had told her that she had children. She
‟
d never asked her about them, knowing it would be painful for Karen to talk about. “You ok?”

Karen nodded. “It isn
‟
t my first time.”

Loren
‟
s chest tightened with sympathy. “I know. You told me.”

Karen looked at her oddly. “I thought you
‟
d forgotten.”

“I figured you would talk about it if you wanted to.”

Karen thought that over. “I do tend to speak my mind,” she said wryly. She frowned at her belly thoughtfully, rubbing it. “I was really young when I had the girls. I guess I wasn
‟
t a very good mother.” She shrugged. “I left them with my mother a lot when they were really little, just so I could go out and have fun. I guess it was sort of pay back that they got so wild when they hit their teens. They did the same thing I did—got pregnant too young. I miss them something awful, but the truth is they didn
‟
t seem to really want me butting in to their lives. And I know they have mom. And I can
‟
t do anything to change that. I
‟
m going to try really hard not to make the same mistakes with this one…this family.”

Loren felt so badly for her she felt like crying. She missed her parents, but she couldn
‟
t imagine how awful it would be to know she
‟
d left children and there was no way to get to them.

Karen was probably right in a way. She certainly hadn
‟
t wanted her parents interfering with her decisions about her life, but they
‟
d still been there if she
‟
d needed them and Karen couldn
‟
t do that for her girls. It wasn
‟
t going to help either of them to dwell on negative things, though.

“Well, I don
‟
t guess there
‟
s going to be any chance to go bar hoping,” she said teasingly.

Karen laughed, sniffing. “They
‟
ve got music at the other village, though. We could throw a party. They do every once in a while—special occasions, you know.”

“We
‟
ll have to have a big party when the guys finish the pods,” Loren agreed, smiling. “And who knows? We might still make a trip to Earth, at least to visit. We used a lot of fuel getting here, but we might be able to find a source to replace what we used and the ship has obviously been there many times. The course should be in the data banks.”

* * * *

When Daeman had located Ka-ren
‟
s men and told them that the baby was coming, he went to stare down the path that they had cut between the two villages for any sign that Kael and the others might be on their way back. He did not want Lau-ren to want comfort and have no one, but he did not want to go back in a very bad way. It had been bad enough to begin with, but he could see that her pain was growing and now Ka-ren would be howling in pain also before very long.

After a brief debate, he turned and studied the area for some place that would allow him to 161

see further and finally focused on the building itself. They had only just begun work upon the pods that would house their families, but the central community area was completed. Four tall ventilation shafts, two on each end, rose to a height that put the openings above the surrounding trees. Lau-ren had said that it was a brilliant design. It would keep the temperature inside almost constant at a comfortable temperature year round—like the central heating and cooling units they used on her world.

Girding himself, he strode to the building and began to climb up. He was breathing heavily by the time he reached the top of the nearest spire, but he felt triumphant. Turning, he stared hard in the direction of the other village, hoping to see some sign that they were returning—with or without Teron. He could not see them and frustration and dismay filled him. They had abandoned
him t
o stay with Lau-ren, the inconsiderate bastards!

He was about to climb down again when it occurred to him that his voice would carry very far, mayhap further than his eyes could see. Shrugging inwardly, he sucked in a deep breath to bellow as loudly as he could. “Lau-ren is having the baby!”

He didn
‟
t feel particularly hopeful that that would inspire them to rush back even if they heard him, but at least it was something!

Lau-ren looked far more distressed when he returned than she had when he had left and he felt his belly cramp. He halted just inside the door, wondering if she would notice if he retreated again.

She unclenched her eyes and looked at him before he could escape. “Daeman!” she gasped, holding out a hand to him.

His belly executed a flip and something tightened around his throat, as if a hand had seized it in a vice. Swallowing with an effort, he moved toward her and sat down as he had before—behind her where he could see nothing but the mound of her belly. Shara had been examining Ka-ren, but she moved to Lau-ren as he gathered her against him again.

She nodded and held out the tea for Lau-ren to drink a little. “Baby coming. We get in pool now.”

Daeman looked at the calm bitch with a mixture of outrage and fear.

“Oh no! They
‟
re not back yet. We have to wait!”

Daeman agreed completely. He nodded jerkily. “Wait for father.”

“Baby no wait. He come when he ready.”

“You think it
‟
s a boy?” Loren asked hopefully.

Shara shrugged. “We know soon.”

How she could be so calm about it passed all belief, Daeman thought angrily. He got up, however, and cast a yearning glance toward the door and then climbed into the pool. When Shara had joined them, she instructed him with a mixture of language and hand motions to hold Lau-ren as he had before except he must reach around her and support her legs.

He thought he was doing well enough until he spotted a light cloud of blood. A wave of dizziness swept over him and he glanced at Shara sharply to see if he could tell from her expression if that was a bad thing or expected.

She smiled. “Almost see top of head! Come very soon now!”

“Gods!” Daeman muttered, glancing toward the door again. To his relief, Kael rushed in.

Directly behind him were Teron and Dakaar and Balen. Balen stopped at the door and stared at 162

the group in the pool and then retreated.

Craven bastard, Daeman thought.

Kael and Dakaar dropped into the pool and wrestled briefly over possession of Lau-ren. As relieved as he was, Daeman felt a flicker of both regret and resentment as he yielded her to them and climbed out of the pool. Despite his earlier desire to escape, however, he did not retreat far.

He had been with her through most of her labor. He decided he would stay so that she would know he was with her throughout.

Kael and Dakaar finally settled their silent battle and Kael shifted her to hold her as Daeman had been. Dakaar took her hand, kneading it a little frantically.

Teron had gotten into the pool and moved first to Lau-ren. When he had checked her, he patted Shara
‟
s shoulder. “She is doing well.”

Kael and Dakaar glared at him as he moved away to check on Ka-ren. “Her baby is crowning, also,” he announced. “They are racing, these two!”

Neither Kael nor Dakaar looked amused or pleased about the announcement. In point of fact, Ka-ren
‟
s men did not look particularly happy either, especially when Ka-ren began to throw more volume into her cries.

Teron moved back to see Lau-ren
‟
s progress, but he merely stood and watched Shara until he was apparently satisfied and then he moved back to Ka-ren.

As unsettling as it was to watch Lau-ren struggle, Daeman focused on her again. Kael and Dakaar, he saw, seemed to have won their battle with their panic.

“Big baby,” Shara announced, planting her hands on her hips to consider the problem. “Very big.” She looked at Dakaar. “Put hands here on belly. Next time grow hard, you help her, yes?”

Dakaar looked a little sick, but he nodded jerkily and placed his hands on Lau-ren
‟
s belly.

Lau-ren began to pant with effort.

“Now!” Shara said. “Gentle push down.”

Lau-ren strained until her voice reached a high note that bordered on a scream.

“Good! See head now! One more, Lau-ren!”

She frowned after a moment. “Next one.”

Kael held his breath, beginning to feel the panic from before clawing its way to the surface again when Shara thought the baby would come and it didn
‟
t. He felt weak all over when saw a small shape appear between her legs and tiny arms and legs flailing the water as the baby swam instinctively toward the surface. Its face broke the water and it sucked in a breath of air and let out a wail of distress.

Loren chuckled weakly with relief, reaching for the baby as Shara caught it beneath its arms to support it and looked it over carefully. She grinned at Loren abruptly. “Big strong boy! Good lungs!”

She held the baby out to Dakaar. “You gibe Lau-ren.”

Dakaar caught the baby and stared it for a long moment, searching for any clue that it might be his. Torn between the desire to know and the reluctance to find out it was not his, he hesitated and finally lifted the baby to sniff its scent. The baby sniffled, squinted its eyes, and let out a wail. Disappointment tightened around his throat. He turned and settled the baby in Lau-ren
‟
s arms. “No mine,” he said, trying to sound neutral.

163

Loren glanced at him sharply. “We don
‟
t know that yet.”

He nodded and looked at Kael.

Kael looked at the baby skeptically, trying to accept, and finally shifted Lau-ren in his arms so that he could nuzzle his face against the baby
‟
s. The baby tested his scent and opened his eyes a sliver, batting at his cheek. Kael grinned broadly. “Mine.”

“You two are weird,” Loren said a little irritably. “He
‟
s mine and that makes him ours!”

“Next one mine!” Dakaar said, grim determination in his eyes as he challenged Kael.

“Don
‟
t talk to me about „next
‟
, damn it!” Loren said tiredly. “I just had this one.”

Dakaar looked disconcerted for a moment. He leaned down and nuzzled her face. “Next one mine?”

Loren relented, kissing his hard cheek. “Talk to me about it in about a year.”

Dakaar looked surprised but pleased and then a little doubtful. “You spawn in year?”

Loren bit her lip. Either he hadn
‟
t believed her when she
‟
d told him that they were fertile once a month every month, or he
‟
d forgotten. “Yep. I
‟
ll be ready for another spawning in a year.

We
‟
ll tie Kael up,” she added, sending him a teasing look.

“I spawn,” he said, studying the baby with pride. “Next year, I no need.”

When they finally helped her and the baby out of the pool, it was Daeman waiting with the blankets to wrap them both up. Loren smiled at him happily. “He
‟
s beautiful isn
‟
t he?”

He studied the baby a little doubtfully. “Mine be pretty.”

Loren ignored the insult to her beautiful baby and smiled at him, lifting a hand to pull him down for a kiss. “He will be…just like his daddy. The ladies are all going to faint when they see all of my beautiful boys!”

She noticed Balen, looking a little pale and shaken, standing behind Daeman when he straightened and smiled at him, holding out her hand in invitation. “This is wonderful! All the people I love the most in the entire universe together,” she said happily.

A new baby wail caught their attention and they all glanced over toward Karen. Noticing their interest, one of her men looked at them. “Mine!” he said with a shaky grin.“Is girl!”

Loren repressed a smile. He looked as shaky as crack addict! She sure was glad
her
men were so tough and cool under pressure!

The End

164