Addicted In Cold Blood (49 page)

“Yes.” Xzion stood by her side, rubbing her arm as he sighed in relief. “I didn’t know they were coming, or I would have told you.”

“We tried to contact you,” Dr. Iszox explained as he opened his jacket and placed on his spectacles. “But we were unable to reach you. Here…” He pulled a new wrist computer out of his jacket. “Under the circumstances, Aton felt it was best you have a way to communicate with us, since you’ve been assigned back to your mission.”

Xzion took it, and tossed it haphazardly onto the bed, crossing his arms. “I’m not doing anything until she is examined and we are given the information we need.”

“I understand. That is what I’m here for.”

“And I want you out of here during this examination!” Xzion barked, pointing at Aton. Aton smiled, shook his head and excused himself from the bedroom.

“Ms. Knight, can you please lie down on the bed for me?”

Jayme hesitated, then heeded the request.

“I am going to examine you, then give you some information. Shall we get started?”

Jayme and Xzion nodded. He pointed the doctor in the direction of the bathroom. The man returned with clean hands and, removing a small bag from his jacket, he placed it on the nightstand beside the bed...

****

Journal entry:

There was nothing unusual about it.  It felt like your typical exam at your local Ob-Gyn. He was gentle, yet his smiles were insincere. I know a fake smile when I see one, like the kind that his boss, Aton, gave me after my fiancé told me who he was. The whole room got cold as that man stood there, looking at me. I swear the temperature dropped ten degrees. I thought Xzion was cool to the touch; this was on a totally different level. He was soulless, just like Xzion used to be. I still couldn’t, for the life of me, understand why this was happening.

The whole experience was bizarre, yet, I knew we needed help and I had to allow it to happen. It didn’t help that Xzion was prancing around like a caged tiger. His antsy behavior was making me nervous. His right eye was shining, doing strange things, like he was trying to control from marching out into our living room and slicing that man in half. He kept clutching his hands, cracking his knuckles, avoiding eye contact with me, as if he were afraid I’d see something inside of him. I suppose he is worried about whatever the doctor may say as well, but he seems happy about the baby. He wouldn’t stop walking around, pacing all over the place, even after I made him aware of it. Then, I saw it. His damn eye was glowing. My suspicions were right—he was talking himself down, trying everything in his power to not do it.

He wanted to rip that bedroom door off and go and kill Aton. It was so obvious, and I’m sure the only thing that stopped him was that I was there. That’s the thing about Xzion, once he is betrayed, he seems to never recover from that... Now, we are waiting. The doctor is in Xzion’s lab, doing what, I have no idea...

I just hope my baby is okay...

*
***

Aton, Jayme, Xzion and doctor Iszox sat in the living room. The all-white furniture, flooring, cabinets and silver accents gave it a futuristic feel that Jayme wasn’t accustomed to. She assumed this sort of look was common from where he came, and while she was his hostage, she didn’t give it the sort of attention she was bestowing right at this moment. Now, it was her home as well, so she made mental notes about the changes that she’d want to make. It needed to be warm and inviting, the opposite of the chill that kept swirling around the room. She knew what she was doing—she was in avoidance mode. She wanted to concentrate on anything and everything but what that man had to say, in case it wasn’t to her liking.

She and Xzion sat on the couch, their hands clasped. Aton sat on the loveseat while the doctor sat across from them in a matching over-stuffed chair, his legs crossed, looking down pensively at his notes.

“Okay,” he finally said, cutting the tension. “Xzion, much to my amazement, your baby appears to be perfectly healthy and fine. The sonogram showed nothing abnormal regarding the development.”

They both gave an audible sigh of relief as they grabbed each other’s hands and held one another tightly. I did notice a couple things however, when I looked at Ms. Knight’s blood samples.”

“Such as?” Xzion asked.

“Well, it appears the baby is depleting her iron levels, which is typical of all babies, human and Zarkstormian, but Ms. Knight is not physically suffering. Her blood levels and white cell count are completely fine yet the iron is definitely lower. I find it rather remarkable. I will not know if the half Zarkstormian child carries the warrior gene or not until after birth, but everything is in good running order.”

“Dr. Iszox,” Jayme began. “Do you know of any other half Zarkstormian, half human babies?”

He paused, uncrossed his legs and seemed to deliberate. He then looked at Aton, who shot him a look, one that seemed to say, ‘hush’.

“What do you know, Aton?” Xzion angrily interjected. “Have there or have there not been?”

Aton grunted. “No, and that is the truth.” He paused. “What there have been are relationships, however—sexual relationships between humans and Zarkstormians. None of them resulted in a pregnancy, to my knowledge. Your child is the first.”

“How did this happen?” Aton looked toward the doctor. It was apparent he was still believing there may have been some misunderstanding, or that the baby was completely human. “Zarkstormian women have only one cycle a year. Human women don’t seem built to be able to withstand a pregnancy of only six months that moves so quickly. I’m sure everything inside of Ms. Knight is in overdrive, in fast forward mode. Is there any chance her body may abort due to all the rapid changes that may be taxing her?”

The doctor turned to Aton, his expression grave. “Though Xzion’s mate is not used to the strain placed on her body by the baby, in this case, with the
type
of baby that is growing within her, there is compensating that is occurring. I have a theory. I believe the fetus is already intelligent enough to know that her or his mother needs assistance and is thus taking the bare minimum but necessary nutrients and requirements, keeping both the child and mother out of harm’s way.  I am here to help you both, Xzion,” he turned to him, “but I am also here for another reason. This case intrigued me and though I’d never met you up until this point, naturally, I’d heard a great deal about you.

“This is phenomenal. This is the first I’ve heard of this, the first of its kind. I am surprised that the human body didn’t reject your sperm, since you have a third foreign chromosome, while humans only have two, and the three you have don’t match hers at all. Reproductive wise, it would seem impossible for fertilization to take place. I can see conception occurring, but it would seem the pregnancy wouldn’t go to term...yet it is, and it’s progressing quite nicely, I might add. This whole situation is fascinating. I was shocked that the fetus is so healthy, quite honestly, and if things keep going well, you can expect to have your baby in approximately three months from now.”

Jayme gasped. Xzion had already told her everything would be accelerated, but it still seemed so surreal. She was now showing, when just two weeks ago, she barely had a baby bump. She also wasn’t sick anymore.

“I do know the sex of the child. Would you like to know or have it remain a secret until the birth?”

Jayme and Xzion looked at one another, and a silent message passed between them. Simultaneously, they said, “Let’s wait.”

“I would like to deliver the child, if that is okay? Obviously, I can’t stay here until that time and I know that labor will move swiftly. The pod can be here in approximately five hours, four and a half if we really push it. I can stay on this planet for approximately six days, I believe, before feeling severe adverse effects. Right now, I only have a headache, but I can pull through. I am not of warrior blood, so I do not have Xzion’s resilience and since he is special,” The doctor shot him a knowing smile, “he can actually live here, and we cannot. In any case, when she shows symptoms of active labor, Xzion, contact me directly, immediately. My direct line is already programmed in your new wrist computer. Do you need Aton to install it?”

Xzion shot Aton a look. They stared at one another coldly.

“It would be easier if he did the surgery, but I’ll manage.”

“Xzion, I’m willing to put aside our differences until this matter is resolved!” Aton’s voice rose. “That would be an unnecessary act of labor on your part, and possibly even a bit painful. We have a deal.”

“And what is that? We never came to any agreement. I only have you here because I needed to speak to Dr. Iszox. My mate and my child are all that matter to me, so I was willing to put up with your presence but honestly, I’d like nothing more than to...”

“Kill me.”

I knew it. I knew I was right.

“And I’d expect nothing less of warrior blood.  Passionate and violent, at times unnecessarily. In any case,” he yawned nonchalantly, “here is the arrangement that will be made.” The man clasped his hands together and smirked. “You will continue with your assignment, Xzion, and Dr. Iszox will be back to deliver your child. He now has a vested interest in you and the infant. You will still need assistance for we do not know if the child will be able to withstand Earth’s atmosphere, and if so, for how long.”

“Wait! The baby may have to be taken from me?” Jayme’s gut knotted. She’d never even considered it, the thought of being apart from her child, especially after receiving such wonderful news that all was going well. Xzion had already informed her that she’d never survive on his planet for more than a month due to their atmosphere and the inhalants that float naturally in the air.

“At this point, Ms. Knight, it is a wait and see type situation. I will have apparatuses available in case the child needs to be on a ventilator. This is the first in our history, and believe me, I did my research before arriving here. Now that we are speaking freely,” he shot Aton a glance, “I can’t make you any promises. A half human, half Zarkstormian baby is a brand new situation. We have to play it all by ear and monitor the situation very closely. I wish I could stay here with you for the duration of the pregnancy, but what I can do is remotely do analysis so I will have Xzion check you every week, and send the samples to me to examine.

“I will return in approximately a month and a half to check on the pregnancy, just to make sure things are still on track and then, of course, for the birth. Please try to relax. I understand that this may be upsetting, but we just need to remain level headed and optimistic.”

He knew all the right things to say; he’d obviously studied human behavior as well, but nothing was heart-warming or enduring. His entire tone was condescending, though Jayme knew he didn’t mean for it to be. He simply didn’t know how to sound any other way. He was, more than likely, doing the best that he could.

Jayme leaned back on the couch and gently stroked her stomach. If someone had told her that this would be her life—engaged to an alien warrior, carrying his child and having a discussion about a planet called Zarkstorm—she would have called for immediate back-up and placed them under arrest for impersonating a sane person...

*
***

“Mmm hmm.” Jayme’s father placed his Bible staunchly on the long, wooden dining room table with a large dusty bowl of assorted plastic fruit sitting in the center of it. An oversized curio, filled with odd collections of historic black figurines, lined the inside. Some were black-faced, their shiny red lips glistening from the paint glaze. Some were more recent—bronze dancers, clutching tightly to one another— and some were angels, flying high from the porcelain molds, wings spread and trumpets blaring.

“You were on assignment. I was very proud of you, Jayme,” said the tall, dark complexioned man with slightly pocked skin and expressive eyes, his throaty voice cutting the air like knives.

“I know you were, Dad.” Jayme appeared rather aloof as she turned away, shot her mother a forced grin then returned her gaze to her father who commanded attention, front and center. He reminded Xzion of Aton—the way he stood, the way he expected to be revered. Jayme didn’t give the man’s entire resume, but he knew the type.

Now that she was back in the folds, going to the office, trying to re-immerse herself in the life that she loved, she wanted to also be as forthcoming as possible. Though she and her father were not exactly close, she did show him respect, but not fear, and that may have always been the problem. She was no longer a little girl—there were no more, “Yes, Daddy...” said begrudgingly as she’d sulk away to her bedroom.

Xzion watched the entire scene play out like a hawk perched atop the knick-knack covered furniture. Unfortunately, Jayson wasn’t invited to the family meal that Sunday . He was still estranged, an outcast, and that angered Xzion. He wanted someone else to speak to, someone to make sense of the madness he was witnessing. This was human shit, he didn’t understand this father and daughter dynamic that was playing out. In his world, parents raised their children, children fell in line and if they didn’t, there would be consequences but even in those consequences, you never saw the outbursts, the tears, the yearning for understanding. The tension was thick. He was new to love, emotions and all that entailed—he had no concept of family dysfunction and the subtleties it brought, nor did he understand black culture, and how that dynamic was interwoven in an already convoluted, confusing fiber of human life and existence. In his world, there were no ethnic races—you were either a Zarkstormian or you weren’t, and religion didn’t exist. Everyone knew who God was—he’d made his presence clear to them. There was no need to study and write a book about it, then argue about the ‘holy word’.