Chapter Sixteen
“What? Wait.”
Gideon woke up to find Sasha sitting next to him on the bed, her personal computer in one hand, while the other was clasped over her mouth. She rocked back and forth on the edge of the bed as if in some distress or shock. “Love?”
“Check your comms.”
Gideon hurried to obey, snatching his up from the bedside table.
“Ah. Farhet’s new secretary, or perhaps he himself, has officially acknowledged the end of my contract.
It says he filed a protest, but the protest has already been counter-protested with an attestation from Dr. Marcus.
I will say one thing that is superior about the Leonid Contract Management System—it’s very quick and efficient, and that is because of pompous, impatient people like Farhet.
If I had been anyone else’s secretary, I do not know if—”
“Gideon. Not that message. They sent it to you, too. Looks like they sent it to a bunch of people involved with the surrogacy program—or whatever this new program is called. I see Dax, Skyla, Doc, you... There’s a bunch of com addresses listed that I don’t recognize, probably people from Bastet Mercy. ”
“Why in Bastet’s name would they send your blood test results to all of us?
” Gideon moved up his e-communications, which he had to admit were few and far between.
It wasn’t until he looked at the old list with fresh eyes that he realized how lonely his old life had become without him seeing it.
There were no communications from friends or family, only Farhet, businesses, and a few from his dealings with the Comet Stalker and the surrogacy program. “Sasha, what am I looking at?”
“These numbers in red. The numbers in red with the up arrows beside them.”
“It says that indicates a value has risen from the last test. You see this?” Sasha held out her comm, pushing it into his lap. Her slender finger tapped a number. FCG 500 per unit.
“What is FCG?”
“The hormone for human pregnancy is HCG. Is FCG the Felid version?”
Gideon stared. “Pregnancy? But... The window? The short, little window?” he gasped.
“I’m just... I’m not going to get too excited until I talk to Marcus.” Sasha bolted up. “Which will be now.”
DR. MARCUS WAS DOING a whooping, cavorting dance with his twins in his arms, spinning down the hall with his babies in the double carrier that strapped to either side of his wide chest. “Guess who’s going to join the Cub Club?” he howled, waving his comm at the oncoming couple.
Gideon clutched his chest. “But... We can’t be? There was almost no time. Sasha’s window was small, and she didn’t reach the full heat, not based on her symptoms.”
“Yeah, I was noticing that, too,” Marcus beamed.
“Because you two made some magic in your first few days, by the looks of it. This number shows that implantation of the fertilized ovum happened very recently. If you’re not pregnant, the number is under five per unit.
Now, look back,” Marcus brandished his comm, swiping on the screen.
“The day of the wedding, three days ago? 70 per unit. I should have flagged that, but it was a busy day, and you two wouldn’t come up for air,” he chuckled.
“And now? 500. Tonight, let’s check and —”
“Can we check now?” Sasha begged, eyes luminous.
“Well, there won’t be much change, but... Okay. I can’t resist a request from a pregnant Queen. Come on, Papa.”
“Papa? Father. Me?” Gideon staggered and had to clutch the wall for support. “But... But, the window was too short...”
“And you two have had long, long odds right from the start.”
GIDEON STARED AT THE screen.
750. In half a day. Halfway to double. According to Marcus, that’s what they want to see, steady climbing, even doubling in the first early days. A strong, healthy cub. Maybe two. Probably one.
“I don’t want to go to the resort,” Sasha said next to him. “In five cycles, we’re going to be parents. You know where I want to go?”
“Huh?” He jerked back to reality, felt Sasha’s now familiar form cuddled to his side. “What, my Queen?”
“I want to go to Lynx-Nineteen when we get in range. I want to go on virtual and holo tours so we can pick out our land. Our house. Meet the neighbors. Let’s talk to Dane and Cherie.
Let’s order the trees. And the goats. And the baby furniture.
A crib. Little clothes.” Sasha clutched her middle, tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Do you know that these are happy tears?” she demanded with a giddy laugh, pointing to her cheeks.
“I hoped,” Gideon whispered, hurriedly wiping them away.
“If I were pregnant and had to give my baby to Farhet? I would be sobbing in misery. I might have tried to break the contract, but on my own, with his power, and carrying his biological child? It wouldn’t have happened.
With his hatred of humans, I would have never even seen my baby again.
But you! You and me? We’re going to raise her in a beautiful, safe little world, with lots of friends and a mommy and daddy who will love her and protect her. Never give her away or leave her.”
“Never, ever will we do that.” Gideon pulled Sasha into his arms and dared to rest his paw on her belly. “Little one, you are not able to hear me yet, but I am telling you that you are safe. Your mother and I will never let anything bad happen to you.”
“That’s right.”
“Wait. You said ‘she.’ Can human mothers tell?”
Sasha shrugged. “It’s just a feeling. This first one is a girl. The next, who knows?”
“The next?”
“That doctor in Hillhead knows what he’s doing. Someday, maybe I’ll be his assistant. Maybe someday, we’ll be helping couples like us. I know that’s a huge dream—”
“No, this is a huge dream,” Gideon whispered, voice awed.
He had a Queen in his lap, and his child in her, growing in safety, with their love protecting her.
“This is the biggest dream. All the rest is small by comparison. We can make anything else happen now, my love, if we work for it. And I promise, by all the stars, that I will be the hardest-working King you have ever seen.”
“You already are.” Sasha kissed his cheek. Then his lips. “Mmm. Gideon.”
“No, no. No, I am going to be strong, Sasha, and let you rest. I mustn’t jostle the baby until it’s more firmly secured. Past the first cycle and a half, that’s the old Queen’s tale.”
“A cycle and a half without sex? Nope. We’ll just be gentle. But if you’re worried about doing it until I have a few more check-ups with Dr. Marcus, that’s fine. Want to take me on a holo tour of this Hillhead place?”
“Yes! Let me go to the database computer and—oh. Look, Elio says there’s a shuttle marked as freight coming from Leonid-One.” Gideon opened the screen and immediately saw the notice from the Comet Stalker’s Freight Coordinator appear in the corner.
“Your stuff. Farhet must have found out that he lost the contract contest. I hope he didn’t break it all up out of spite.” Sasha bit her lip.
“I think he’ll be too busy scrambling to find another Queen to provide him with a child before Memhet comes home with a bride.
He probably just had some of the houseboys throw everything in boxes and take it to the shuttle port.
Hm. It says it’ll be here within the week. He even paid for a hyperjump. Wow.”
“That’s generous.”
“I imagine the servants did that. They were never what I’d call friendly, but the houseboys and the cook did know that I managed most things to Farhet and his father’s liking, which spared them hours of haranguing and complaints. It was probably a kindness they hoped Farhet wouldn’t notice.”
“You should try to get in touch with them,” Sasha said, hugging his arm tightly as she stood beside him in front of the computer. “I bet they miss you.”
“Are you going to try to get in touch with your old roommate?” Gideon challenged. “I’m sure she misses you. How could anyone not?”
“No. No, I get what you’re saying. Time to let go of the past, and move towards the future.”
“Mmhm. Our future.” Gideon kissed her middle, making her laugh. “Let me show you this little place on the edge of town...”