Chapter Six #3
“It was financially tight, but we managed. I was the eldest, and they had a natural daughter by the time I started high school. She let me rent space in her house, owns a bakery, and is a midwife.” She patted her waistband. “My midwife.”
Isocar looked at her belly, and Nylora could feel the pressure of the exam. “Use a light touch, or I will save you and wreck you in a forty-eight-hour period.”
Isocar smiled. “There’s a little person in there.”
“There is. Three months to go.”
Her sister smiled. “I will be an aunt.”
“Yup. We are tying you to the future, whether you like it or not.” She squeezed her sister’s hand. “Get well. Get strong, and we can meet for coffee. Decaf for me.”
Isocar smiled. “I think I could manage that.”
“I am not trying to smother you, so I will let this go at your pace. I am on nights for the next few days. I am about to head on shift for the night, but I wanted to see you and make sure that I broke the news while you have unlimited access to sedatives.”
Her sister giggled and then clutched her ribs. “You are funny.”
“I work alongside the XIA for a living. They are ridiculous, so I laugh a lot.”
The Gangers chuckled.
Isocar said, “Their daughter, Benny, is in the XIA. I used to babysit her when I was younger. Um... do you know who the father is?”
“Uh, yeah.” Nylora rubbed the back of her neck. “Six months ago, there was a thing and a fertility god, and a party, and we have just introduced ourselves today. Busy week.” She chuckled. “And the other guy. Different teams.”
The Gangers chortled. “Benny and the guys host barbecues at our place. I am fairly sure you will be invited.”
“Well, one guy was day shift, but the other is fairly entrenched on the night shift. So, only one to deal with at a time.”
Isocar smiled. “You are dating?”
“We skipped dating, and now we are going back to start with having breakfast after our shifts.”
“And a baby on the way.” Isocar smiled. “What do you want for the baby? I’m loaded.”
Lenora laughed. “She has months to go. There is time.”
“Not if we want custom stuff.”
“We?”
“I have never had a sister before. Will you tell me how we got here?”
“Well, there was a bird and a bee was trying to have sex with it.”
Harcourt stood and said, “You said demonborn but not demonblood. I am very interested in how that occurred. Would you come over on the weekend and talk to us? Isocar, too, of course.”
“Of course.” Isocar chuckled. “I am not going to miss that for anything. It’s like the ultimate family gossip session.”
Nylora unsnapped her pocket and pulled out a card. “This is my office number in case of emergency, and on the back is my personal number.”
“Where do you live?”
“I live with my foster sister, and I haven’t had a chance to tell her about meeting you.
I wasn’t sure how it would go. Prepare to be adopted again.
She’s incorrigible. If I weren’t older than her, she would have adopted me, but the local registrar said no.
I could adopt her but not the other way around. ” She shrugged.
Isocar frowned. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“It’s all right. I have my own family started, and if anyone tries to take this one, they are pulling back a stump.” Her phone buzzed. “Can I check the texts?”
Isocar blinked. “Of course. Wow. You are polite.”
Nylora fished out her phone and grinned. “Skip just wants me to grab some food. His mom had him doing dishes the moment that he woke. He’s all sad and whiney.”
Lenora asked, “Does food make you ill?”
“Only my favourite things, like tacos and nachos and fajitas and all things spicy. It’s breaking my freaking heart.” She laughed. “Just a few more months and I can stop eating vegetables with every meal.”
Isocar grinned. “I hate them, too.”
“It’s a dark fae thing. Meatatarians.” Nylora laughed. “It’s hard to catch vegetables in the dark. They don’t move enough.”
Isocar held her side and giggled. It was a nice sound, and the Gangers looked surprised.
“Right. So happy you are recovering well. If you need a ride and I am on duty, I have a sweet ride and can park anywhere I want.” Nylora winked. “I have to get on the road and pick up my buddy. Lives to save. Agents to taunt. Lights to run.” She chuckled. “Plus, the siren blast makes agents jump.”
Lenora smiled and said, “I will warn Benny.”
Nylora leaned over and kissed Isocar’s forehead and smiled. “Okay. Contact me if you want to. I am around, and if you catch me on a day off, you can see what Bump looks like without the restrictor.”
“Restrictor?”
“Corset.” She tapped the boning. “Steel-belted radial.”
“Is it comfortable?”
“Surprisingly, it is like wearing a hug without the weird arm thing.”
Isocar smiled slowly. “That sounds... pleasant. Especially with my injury.”
“Well, if your ribs are back, I can take you to the shop. They will fit you with something.”
Lenora chuckled. “To think I had to wait to get out of the corset. Harcourt was always willing to help.”
Nylora squeezed her hand. “If you need anything, text or call. I will get back to you in under ten minutes.”
“Okay. Thank you for coming, and thank you for being there when I needed you.”
“Any time, from here on out. Unless I am in labour or bedrest.”
Lenora asked, “Bedrest?”
“Yeah, technically, a high-risk pregnancy. Dark fae of my variety don’t birth that easy.”
“Wait. Aren’t we twins?”
“Yes. Fraternal. It’s an interesting story about a very smart succubus in love and her father, the demon king. No, it was not Yomra and his daughter, but they all try their own playbook.”
Isocar chuckled. “Now we have to meet up soon. When do you sleep?”
“Eight to two if I can. To four if I am spoiling myself. I roll at six to six.”
Lenora frowned. “That isn’t a good schedule for you.”
“They don’t make a special allowance for preggos, not that they are fully aware of it.
I sent in all my paperwork and had it all authorized but then obscured things.
They can only find it if they are looking for it.
” She wrinkled her nose. “I think they started looking this morning. Right. Well, I am off. Have a great evening. Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs.”
“It was pleasant to meet you, too, Nylora Mills.”
Lenora laughed. “Right. You are descended from a relative of mine.”
“Really? I mean, my foster parents were related to your ancestor. No direct line to me. Night!” She waved and walked out of the hospital room.
She headed back to the ambulance bay and got into fifty-one.
She checked the computer and saw the demand for her to head to headquarters before the shift started. She sighed, buckled up, and headed out.