Quiver (7 page)

Anna pulled Dey-lal’s head down to hers, and she kissed the burn on his cheek. “There. The only thing I can offer.”

He smiled. “You have done wonders. Now, tell us about your day. Ours just involved screaming villagers and a volcano.”

He escorted her to the table, and she sat next to him, trying to remember everything.

“Yem-lal, were you serious when you said I could invite my family here?”

Her mother-in-law smiled. “Of course.”

“Good. I have amassed enough funds to transport them safely, as well as set them up in a home with vehicles and enough funds to last them the rest of their lives, including medical expenses, should they need them.”

Dey-lal brought her hand to his lips. “You did all that today?”

“Well, I started yesterday, but today, I just kept going. I have priced out everything that I imagine they would need and worked toward that goal. It’s done.” She grinned as the bots brought the evening meal to the table. “And I am hungry.”

Yem-lal smiled. “Your husband can help you with a communication to your family, if you wish. If they want to come, they are more than welcome. I will sign all necessary documents to make it happen.”

Anna Baxter Aricor felt a curl of joy unfolding. It was a flicker of hope. Her parents might not want to come, but it was her one chance to bring them to her before she started a family of her own.

Dey-lal smiled. “I will arrange the communication after dinner.”

He was true to his word. They entered the com office, and he started the time-consuming process of sending a secure communication to a destination in the stars.

It took three hours, but when the link was made, Anna was there.

Her parents looked worried when they appeared on the screen.

Her mother teared up. “Anna? Oh, baby. You made it.”

Her father was more practical. “Honey, why are you calling?”

“Mom, Dad, I have a question for you.”

Her parents glanced at each other and then nodded. Her father said, “Go ahead, Anna.”

“Would you consider leaving the Earth and coming here to join me? I have asked, and it is not only possible, the permissions have been given if you say yes.”

Her mother hesitated, but her father said, “Yes. What do we need to do?”

Her mother looked a little more hesitant, but she nodded. “If you want us, we are on our way.”

“You can think about it for a few days, but I would like to have you here when the baby arrives.”

Her mom went from hesitant to delighted. “Yes, can we go now? Babe, start packing.”

Her father looked at her mother, and he grinned. “The word has been given.”

Dey-lal was behind the screen, and he nodded. They had discussed how this was going to go down.

“Recruiter Norz will be contacted, and he will be in touch with you. Your passage is paid for; you don’t need to bring many clothes; you will be outfitted with local clothing when you get here. So, pick things that you can’t possibly replace. Norz will help you turn the photos into holograms.”

“We will wait for the call, Anna. We hope to hear from you soon.” Her mother kissed her hand and pressed it to the screen. Anna did the same.

With a sigh, she smiled and waved before hanging up.

Dey-lal chuckled. “Three hours of waiting for a three-minute communication?”

“We said a lot without saying much. Why wasn’t there a time lag?”

“The secure lines use Relays. Relays are living beings that can pass on the information with the speed of thought; they are a very secure method of communication.”

“Wow. Well, can you send the message to Norz?”

“My mother is handling that. As Avatar, she has a bit more weight when it comes to such matters.”

Anna was giddy with excitement, but she had another appointment before bed.

She got to her feet and said, “Okay, now, let’s go see your mother in medical so that she can check on the next generation.”

When it was confirmed that the tiny clump of cells was progressing properly, Anna was ready for bed.

The moment Dey-lal was naked, she saw the damage that was rapidly healing. “I think perhaps tonight is one of those
just cuddle
nights.”

He grinned and stretched. “It might not be a bad idea.”

She tried not to react to the sight of all that muscle moving from left to right. She failed but took off her gown, folding it on the back of the chair at her dressing table. The breast band and panties came off, and she draped them on top of the gown. She stretched as well, and when she moved back toward the bed, she saw that she also had an avid audience.

She crawled onto the bedding and leaned over him. “So, perhaps we should try the cuddle night another time.”

She nipped at his lips and ran her tongue along the seam.

He held her head and gave her his wordless agreement in the most obvious of ways.

There was more bureaucracy involved in transporting free Terrans into the Nyal Imperium than an entire ship full of slaves.

When the day finally arrived, there was a chance for all the Guardians to assist in the welcoming of the two new citizens of Hemcorl.

Yem-lal had been in communication with what she termed her new brother and sister during their voyage.

Dey-lal had one arm around her, and she felt a little awkward greeting her parents with her belly nearly ready to blow. All day, she had been feeling twinges, but she had refused to give in to the urge to surrender to labour. This was her day, damn it!

Anna blew the air out of her lips as softly as possible. Yem-lal kept giving her worried looks, but Anna was focused on the ship that was being cleared by Hemcorl immigration and customs.

The crew exited first, and the Guardians tensed. The passengers began to disembark, and in the middle of the batch were two familiar faces.

Anna tensed and put a hand on her belly as she watched her parents stare at the new world around them.

Yem-lal floated forward and greeted them with kisses and hugs.

“Does she often fly? I haven’t seen her do it before.” Anna whispered to her husband.

“She is showing off. Trying to make a good impression.”

Anna giggled and then caught her breath on a gasp. It felt like a hand squeezing her spine and pulling at her belly.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. Everything is fine. My parents have finally arrived. I am so happy.” Anna squeezed his hand and stepped forward to hug her astonished parents.

Her mother blinked and stared at her belly. “When you said grandparents, I never thought you were already pregnant.”

Anna grinned. “I figured that out. This was my way of enticing you here. I am guessing it worked.”

Her father hugged her carefully, and then, it was time for the serious introductions.

“Mom, Dad, this is my husband, Dey-lal Aricor. Yem-lal’s son. This is his brother, Karo-lal, and they and the other two are Guardians of Hemcorl.”

She wanted to explain about the Guardian situation, but her water broke.

With military precision, everyone was loaded into the skimmer and they flew back to the base.

Alber-vel was a trained physician, and he assisted Yem-lal who was operating as midwife.

It seemed surreal to have everyone around her and her parents looking so worried. Too worried.

“Mom, Dad, the average size of a Nyal baby is seven pounds, no matter the size of the father. The baby won’t be to scale with the adult.”

Her parents looked embarrassed and tried to find something to do.

“Everybody out.” Yem-lal ordered it, and Anna was delighted.

It took a lot of nerve to have guys that you beat at poker staring at your crotch while a living being tried to exit it. Between the contractions and emotional overload of seeing her parents, Anna had no nerve left for anything but the task at hand.

Dey-lal scowled at his mother and held Anna’s hand. “I am not leaving.”

“Good. When the child arrives, I will need nine hands.”

They had deliberately avoided knowing the sex and had programmed the monitors not to display gender data. Everyone wanted to be surprised.

Anna looked to her husband and watched his concerned expression as things picked up the pace. It could have taken minutes or hours. All that Anna remembered clearly was the sound of the little squall followed by shouts of relief from outside the door.

Dey-lal kissed Anna quickly and took charge of his child with easy motions. He had obviously been around infants before. Anna couldn’t imagine him babysitting in high school.

Her whimsy continued until he handed her the baby and she looked down at her daughter. “It’s a girl.”

Dey-lal was smiling, and he rubbed his cheek along hers. “It is a girl.”

Yem-lal looked over and smiled. “Anna-bax Aricor. It is a good name.”

Anna had given in to the tradition of the mother-in-law naming the child, and Yem-lal hadn’t let her down.

A few more minutes and the placenta completed its delivery. Scans indicated that Anna was in the first stages of recovery from housing the baby.

When the blood was cleared and Anna brought to their room, she was read to receive visitors and delighted that the regenerator worked on her nether regions far better than it did on Dey-lal’s body.

She was settled into a sitting position with her daughter seeking her breast before the family and Guardians were let in to view the little crossbreed.

The fresh starts were everywhere in the room. Karo-lal was negotiating for his own Terran, Alber-vel was being set up by his own parents and Crios-nan had a long-distance relationship with another Guardian.

Her parents were home and would soon be in their expansive house overlooking the city, and she would be close enough to visit with the baby.

The alarm sounded, and Yem-lal looked at her sons. “Stay there. I have got this.”

Anna sat stunned as her mother-in-law shot out the window to go kick the ass of whoever was disturbing her granddaughter’s first day in the world.

Anna grinned at her husband and looked down at her daughter. “It is a very new day, indeed, Anna-bax. Glad you could join us.”

She looked at the faces around her. “Glad that everybody made it today.”

Dey-lal dropped to the bed next to her and lay on his belly as he played with his daughter’s fingers and toes.

Anna could see the surprise in her parent’s faces, and she grinned. “You get used to it.”

Her father hugged her mother and said, “I am going to enjoy the process of getting used to all of it.”

Over the next few hours, the Guardians explained themselves to the Terrans and demonstrated their skills, with Titan having to do it from outside the building.

The delight and awe on her parents’ faces was an amazing gift. It wasn’t every day that a daughter could give her parents a whole new world complete with a grandchild. It was definitely a very good day.

Author’s Note

One more down, three to go, with
Quit
being the final story. We will find out about Norz, her original identity and why she was pregnant the last time I showed her to you.

Thanks for reading,

Viola Grace

About the Author

Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.