Chapter 44 #3
The idea of being allergic to or diseased by her mate broke her heart. What if that meant they couldn't be together? What if they could never make love again?
That horrible thought made stepping into the hover just a bit harder because, if that was the case, then she really didn't want to know.
But her friends, with their bullshit affection and damnable concern, wouldn't let her back out and held her down in the seat even as tears formed in her eyes.
***
“Deep breaths, vi Adassani,” Donivi said patiently as he stood in front of her, hands resting on her shoulders, trying to get her to calm down.
Peony had managed to sit on the edge of his exam table, but the sight of the mega computer taking up an entire wall and the ring of magic science death floating at the head made it hard to breathe and it was all she could do to not leap up and run.
Holly and Scarlet were both standing in front of the door – the former with her arms crossed over her chest – as if to prevent that very thing. For as nervous and shy as Holly usual was, apparently when it came to other people, she turned into a damn general.
“I'm okay,” she said, mostly to herself. “Just... can you promise me no needles or sedation?”
“I can certainly promise that.” Donivi chuckled. “How about a medication to calm you down though? If I try to scan you now, the only reading I'll get is all your stress and adrenaline.”
“No needles?” She repeated, her voice warbling.
He smiled at her and walked to the control panel of the computer.
A few seconds later, he was returning with an injector full of a perfectly clear liquid.
It was the same stuff he had given her during her language imprint.
She knew it didn't hurt. She still grimaced and flinched when he pressed the circular nozzle against her skin.
She felt a short pressure and it was done.
Only a few seconds later, her heart rate started coming down and her breathing slowed.
That sense of wrongness continued to pervade her body, but she could finally breathe.
“There. Much better.” Donivi smiled. “Shall we lie you back? And you can tell me what's been going on while I scan you.”
Peony took in a gulping breath and allowed him to help her turn on the bed and lay down.
The gentle glow of the death ring made her grimace as her hands tightened against the edge of the gurney.
She started trying Holly's breathing counts and, unlike the other anxiety, those actually helped ease her phobia a bit.
“Do you want to close your eyes?” Donivi asked, returning to the control panel.
Peony shook her head. “No, that would be way worse. I want to actually see it.”
“All right. Just lay there. You can fidget if you need, you don't have to be perfectly still.”
The ring started spinning over her head as the giant computer hummed. Peony groaned, her foot tapping furiously in the air. She wished Atem were here.
“Now, tell me what's been going on?” Donivi asked as the ring began to descend.
Peony hesitated to answer, only because her eyes were focused on the ring as it started down over her head.
She had done this before, after the ratchi attack, but she had been barely coherent then.
As the pale light glowed over her, Scarlet walked forward to join Donivi by the control panel, both of them looking over the results.
“I've just been feeling really weird,” she finally said, looking at them as they stared at writing she recognized but words she didn't. They were specialist words and had long since faded with the imprint since she hadn't bothered to learn them.
“This hormone here,” Donivi said softly, gesturing to it. “That's unusual. None of the rest of you had that one. Do you perhaps recognize it?”
Scarlet looked over what appeared to be a 3D model of lumps and bumps. She shook her head. “No, sorry. Not from just the molecular structure. Do you not have something similar here?”
“I don't think so,” he murmured, a list scrolling past the molecule. “It must be unique to humans. Or perhaps a disease process I don't recognize.”
Peony whimpered. The ring was to her neck now.
“Tell him the rest, Peony,” Scarlet urged, neither of them looking away from the detailed scan of her body that was slowly appearing.
It had various layers that they could peel away to get to see specific areas of her various organs or vessels.
It would be really cool if she could actually calm down enough to appreciate it.
“Er, yeah. Just really weird. Really anxious. And I got a strange craving for blood this morning. And it tasted really good. And it definitely shouldn't have.”
Donivi hummed with interest. “Your heart is strong. Your lungs look good as well. I do see a small ulcer forming in your stomach. Your stress must be high lately.”
“How long have you been feeling anxious, Peony?” Scarlet asked, using her finger to turn the holo of her stomach around to look at the tiny ulcer in question.
“I don't really know,” she admitted, frowning. “A couple weeks, er tendays, maybe? It comes and goes.”
Donivi frowned, looking past her holo to her. “Do you notice a pattern to your anxiety? Does it appear at certain times or around certain people? Or when certain people aren't around?”
Peony thought back for a moment before shaking her head. “No. Not really. Some of them occur when I'm alone. Others, when I'm with people. It's not really predictable that I've noticed.”
Donivi was giving her a strange look before focusing on her holo again. Her lower belly was being scanned now. Scarlet's head tilted, her brow furrowing.
“Peony,” she started slowly, “are you-”
Donivi put a hand to her shoulder stopping her. “Peony. When you were creating your nest, did you perhaps feel... differently?”
Peony blinked, surprised. But delighted. He recognized this! Then, this was something that could be fixed! “Yes! Actually, yeah. I felt like this weird obsessive need to make it perfect.”
“I see. And these anxious fits... have you ever had one around Atem?”
“Oh, er...” She frowned, thinking back. “No, actually. Usually, I'm pretty calm around him.”
“Donivi,” Scarlet gave him a wide-eyed look.
He held up a hand to stop her words. “Peony, can I just do an extended scan on you? Focused, but extended.”
“What? Why? Will it hurt?” Her heart jumped.
“I have... well, an idea. I need to be sure. It won't hurt at all.”
Peony nodded, uneasy but not unwilling. However, her eyes were focused hard on the ring as, having reached her toes, it came back up and began scanning again. This time, hovering only over her lower belly as the pale light deepened in color.
Donivi and Scarlet mumbled together as they gestured to something she couldn't identify.
She didn't recognize whatever, weirdly folded organ they were highlighting and turning around.
She only knew it was colored mostly pink except for a darker red light at the apex of it.
As Peony watched, she could see her own blood throbbing through the light recreation and something fluttering rapidly in that red light.
Donivi looked to Scarlet. “You're sure of this hormone?”
“If it is what I think, then yes. Absolutely sure,” she nodded before looking over the hologram and focusing on her. “Peony, when was your last period?”
“I don't know. Before our abduction. Why do you...” Her voice trailed off, her eyes widened as she realized the only reason they might be asking that question. “Wait! Am I pregnant?!”
Donivi frowned. “This is not ideal. I don't know anything about human offspring. I won't know how to monitor it as she progresses.”
Scarlet blinked at the fluttering red light that was so tiny Peony almost lost it amongst the rest of the organ. If it hadn't been scaled up, she might not have seen it at all.
“I mean, I'm not unfamiliar with the process,” Scarlet said slowly. “But, Peony, is this baby...?”
“Wait,” she looked between them, confused. “What does he mean 'not ideal'? And... Holy cow! Am I actually pregnant!?”
“Apparently, you are,” Donivi said, staring with interest at what must be her womb.
He pointed to the fluttering red light. “This here is the developing offspring.
It's implanted in a good location in your uterine wall, so we won't need to move it.
Ah, I see, Scarlet. The hormone is coming from the connection between her tissue and the fetus. You called it 'hCG'?”
“That's right. It's the pregnancy hormone. It's how her body knows not to shed her uterine lining.”
“Um, hello!” Peony called, her heart in her throat even as she couldn't properly panic because of whatever drug Donivi had injected her with. “Can we do the science later?! I would like to focus on the much bigger deal that I'm apparently pregnant!”
Donivi offered her a kind smile. “Of course.
Forgive me. I'm just not familiar with human gestation and I assumed I wouldn't need to be since you are all likely to remain here for the rest of your lives.
It will be a good learning opportunity though.
I'm lucky, in a way, that you came to us pregnant.”
“What?” Peony frowned at him, not understanding. She sat up and the ring, flashing in protest, quickly moved down to the foot of her bed. It might not mind if she fidgeted, but apparently, it wasn't okay with her getting up entirely.
“Ah, the scan wasn't fully complete,” Donivi muttered in disappointment. “Who knows when I'm going to convince you to lay down again...”
“Hey, hey,” she waved her hands at them as she threw her legs over the side of the bed. “Science later, remember? The pregnancy thing is what I'm more focused on right now.”
“Yes, of course,” Donivi chuckled, coming around to stand in front of her. “Your symptoms are all perfectly normal.”