Chapter Seven #3
“Yeah. Well. That was then. This is now, and I am protective of my hair. That’s why I strangle and pin it back. Also keeps patients from grabbing it.” She stabbed the hashbrowns and finished her breakfast or dinner.
She sat back and nursed her decaf. “Okay, now you guys. Solor, what are you when you aren’t wearing a stab vest?”
“Um, I have family responsibilities and community responsibilities.”
“Hobbies?”
“Not really. My time is fairly accounted for.”
She sighed and looked to Demuel. “What about you?”
“Same. Community responsibility, family responsibility. Working out, going out with friends.”
“Oh, so you have them. Cool.”
He snorted.
Solor grunted. “I have friends, too. We are sitting in a room with them.”
“Aw, but they get paid to hang out with you.”
Laughter erupted at four different tables around them.
Solor blinked. “I suppose they do. You are hard on the ego.”
She shrugged. “I was just making an observation based on the descriptors you offered.”
Demuel said, “What do you do?”
“Well, before Bump, I would hang out with friends, go out to karaoke—Bump is a great singer—go to the gym, hang out with other medics on days off. Garden, hang out with my foster sister. Watch movies. That kind of thing.” She rubbed her belly under the table. “I am slowing down a bit.”
Demuel stared at her. “You launched over my head and tucked and rolled.”
“I know. Before Bump, I could have stuck the landing without road rash.” Nylora held her cup between her hands. “Thanks again for the healing.” The kick made her smile, and she released her cup to rub at her bump again.
Demuel looked and said, “May I?”
She met his gaze and nodded.
His hand covered the swell, and Nylora chuckled as Bump indicated it was happy to be warm.
His smile was bright. “It’s moving.”
“Yes.”
“Is that kicking?”
“Just little flutter kicks. Possibly punching.”
Solor’s eyes were glowing. “May I?”
Demuel sighed and slid away from her, and Solor scooted in next to her. His hand shook as he placed it on Bump, and then there was a minute of silence before it started moving wildly, and Solor’s eyes teared up.
He swallowed. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“It didn’t have to be here, but you kept it.”
“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me. Bump is my child, and it was beloved from the moment I knew it was there.”
He looked at her. “You have to share.”
“Fine, but I am greedy by nature.”
Demuel laughed softly. “I remember.”
Solor smiled and flexed his hand on her. “You feel so tiny.”
“It’s smaller. Also, not a stress ball.” She put her hand over his and patted.
He looked at her sheepishly. “Right. Sorry.”
He reluctantly withdrew his hand. “Can I do that every time that I see you?”
“Not if I am working on a patient, but otherwise, sure.” She looked at him. “Just warn me first. It would be weird if you touched me, and I screamed.”
Demuel grabbed his water. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Ha. Funny.” She finished her coffee, juice, and water. She yawned and wished she had gotten more sleep.
Solor put his arm around her and pulled her in close. He smelled a little sweaty, a little musky, but warm. Very warm.
She yawned again.
Demuel smiled. “Sleepy?”
“Yeah. Yesterday was busy, and I had to get up earlier than normal to visit my sister in the hospital. Bump has made my sleeping hours vital.”
Solor rubbed her arm. “Is that what is next on your agenda?”
“Yup. Nice soft bed. Fluffy comforter, my sister puttering around or making calls to manage her bakeries.” She smiled as she described the comforting sounds.
“Have you always lived with her?”
“Just the last four years. She has her own life but a house with a spare set of bedrooms.” Nylora chuckled.
“She took pity on me, and when she found out I came back from the event pregnant, she made sure that I went for my medical checks and got my diet set up, and she watched and adjusted it as we went along. She’s my midwife. ”
Solor said softly, “Can we ask her some questions?”
“Sure. Do I need to be awake and in the room for it? I am crashing fast.” She yawned again under her hand. She pulled her phone out and started looking for a rideshare.
Solor asked, “What are you doing?”
“Getting a ride home. Kaitha normally drops me off and picks me up, but I didn’t know how long today would take. So, I think we have hashed out a lot of stuff, and I need to sleep.” She paused. “But first. Move.”
“Why?”
“I need the ladies’ room.”
He blinked. “Oh, right. You will come back?”
She took her phone and pressed it in his hand. “I cannot call a ride without this. Got it?”
He nodded and got to his feet, holding her phone.
She got up, swayed, and located the sign for the restroom. She walked with purpose and got to the restroom in time to take the pressure off her bladder.
With her hands clean and dried, she headed back to the room. Neekil and Hannah waved her down. She walked over, “Hey. What’s up?”
Neekil looked weird, and Hannah said, “He didn’t realize how pregnant you were, and he wanted to touch your belly.”
Nylora blinked. “Seriously. Sure. I am tired enough that I don’t give a fuck.” She grabbed Neekil’s hand and slammed it against Bump.
She heard a strangled shout as Bump kicked against the dark elf, and his eyes got watery. He smiled. “Thank you. It has been quite a while since I felt a new life as strong as that.”
“Well, Bump works out. All day, every day.” She looked up, and Solor was standing next to her, his nostrils flaring. “Oh, go have some cold water. At least he asked. As I get bigger, folks are just going to grab me, or rather, Bump. I am trying to get used to it.”
Neekil’s hand was warm, and he was talking politely to the baby, promising it all kinds of toys made by him and his people.
Solor paused. “Really?”
“Sure. I have met Neekil, and he is surprisingly good with kids. I have met you and Demuel, and it was Jennor, Reymark, and Day-ek who lured me into the interaction with you. And Jennel. She’s going to have to work things through with me.”
Solor frowned. “Why?”
“Because she deceived me. I could have challenged her to a battle right there.”
“You don’t know what she is.” He spoke with reverence.
“She’s a chimera and elemental who wields the power of her mates.” She looked at him. “Do you know what I am?”
He paused. “A dark fae?”
She chuckled. “Yeah, and so much more. Okay, Neekil. Any more time costs you five bucks.”
Neekil blinked and leaned back. “Thank you. I have gotten my fix.”
Hannah chuckled. “There. Now he can wait a little longer.”
She looked back at their table, and the bill and some currency were sitting and waiting for the waitress. “My phone?”
Solor held it up. “We will take you home.”
“My corset?”
Demuel held it up. “Got it. Let’s go, Nylora.”
She sighed and said softly, “I hope everyone has a good day.”
Half the diners thanked her and wished her a good day. She snickered as she was escorted out and into the bright sunlight. She paused, and Demuel wrapped an arm around her and lifted her off her feet. He carried her carefully to the car and settled her in the rear passenger seat.
She buckled in and took her corset. “My phone?”
Solor settled in the front passenger seat.
He handed her phone over, and she warned Kaitha that they were incoming.
Demuel asked for her address, and she gave it. He drove off, and Solor remained tense and quiet.
She tried to stay awake, but she was fighting a losing battle. The twenty-minute drive ended up being two minutes awake, and then she was being woken up with hands unbuckling her seatbelt.
Kaitha was saying softly, “It’s past her bedtime. She’s fairly predictable. She has exactly ninety minutes after a finished shift before she crashes since the pregnancy. Less if she was under extreme stress.”
Demuel said, “She had to take this off.”
“Oh, shit. Right. Come this way. I’ll tuck her in, and you can ask the questions about her that I am sure you have. She has a look that generally shuts up folks who pry. I am willing to spill her secrets.”
Nylora snorted. “Squealer.”
“You know too much about my sex life.”
Nylora giggled. Solor carried her up to her room, and while he did that, Kaitha got a nightgown for her, and when he was out of the room, Kaitha snapped her fingers, and the shift clothing was in the hamper, and Nylora was in a clean new nighty.
She was tucked in, the belly got a soft pat, and the blackout curtains were pulled. “Night, Kaitha.”
“Night, Nyl. Do you mind if I give them your care and feeding manuals?”
“Go ’head. Sleep now. Ouch day.”
“Ah. Right. I will check on you by three so you can start waking up for your shift.”
Nylora snuggled down into the bedding and whispered, “Boo shift.”
Kaitha laughed and closed the door.