Chapter Six
Alody was holding Ithal on her lap when the baby was born. He wasn’t interested in that part. When the little boy was born, the cord was cut, the baby was wrapped and removed from the room. Diena waited until things were cleaned up, and she began healing.
Dr. Jenaki took a look. “You have accelerated healing?”
“Yes, when there is need for it.” She closed her eyes and removed the traces of pregnancy from her system. “This qualifies. I don’t need uncontrolled weeping to burst out.”
He looked at her sadly. “I believe I understand. To know a thing and to feel a thing are different.”
“Yes.”
“How long are you taking off work?”
“A week.”
“May I meet with you during your time off? I get long lunches.” He smiled.
Alody laughed. “Not wasting time.”
The doctor smiled. “If she heals, she ceases to be my patient. That means that I can begin courting.”
Alody chuckled and smoothed Ithal’s hair. “He saw that. He saw a very shiny man and Diena, and...”
Diena muttered, “Mom, I love you, but shut up.”
“He’s already fixed. I don’t think this will scare him.”
Dr. Jenaki checked under the sheet and nodded. “Your tear is nearly healed.”
“Thanks for looking.”
The doctor grinned at Alody. “Now, what else?”
“A little baby girl with gold on her cheeks.”
The doctor froze. “You don’t say. How far away is this?”
“Fourteen months or so.”
“That is sensible. Enough time not to feel rushed. A girl?”
Ithal murmured, “A girl with little gold leaves on her cheeks. She’s your first.”
Diena groaned in embarrassment. “Ithal, I love you, but this is embarrassing.”
Jenaki murmured, “How many are there?”
“I can see at least five.” Ithal yawned. “There could be more. Sis loves family.”
“And you love your sister.”
“Yup. Can I look now?”
Diena laughed. “You can look. I am back to looking exactly like Mom.”
Ithal squirmed loose and ran to the bed, using the sides to climb up and hug his sister. Diena smiled. “Thanks, little bro.”
“Can you hear them?”
“I think the capitol can hear them.” She smiled. “They are happy. Very happy.”
Jenaki blinked. “You can hear the family?”
“Yes. I heard them speaking softly at work. Heard the crying, the sniffles, the depression as attempt after attempt failed them.” She smiled. “They had a need. I answered it.”
Alody smiled. “You will hear that term a lot in our family. We act on need. That is the only way to get us to expose ourselves.”
“And you have seen that I will eventually be family; you are being honest with me?”
Diena stroked Ithal’s hair and the fin on his head. “We have always been honest. It is too complicated to lie. No one believes the truth.”
Ithal chuckled. “You believe me.”
“I believe you.” She stroked his hair, kissing his head.
Dr. Jenaki said softly, “Do you need a lift home tomorrow?”
She smiled and turned her head. “Alody?”
“I think that since it is after one, I am going to take Ithal home if you will be all right, Diena?”
Diena sighed. “I am tired. That was a workout.”
“Okay, we are going to our place, but I want to know the moment you head home. We are moving in until you are good. It will also let Ithal and Kessie go to school together. She starts school on Monday.”
Ithal perked up. “Nice.”
Diena laughed. “Thank you for being brave enough to stay with me. Go home and get some sleep. If Vaken is available when I get home, you can invite him to play, or Mom can take you both to the playpark again. I have endless passes.”
Ithal leaned up and kissed her cheek. “You did a good thing, sis.”
Diena smiled and nodded, swallowing. “I know. It is just strange to have it over.”
Alody smiled, got up, and kissed Diena on the forehead. “The baby was strong and healthy and huge. I am very glad my children have come to me the non-traditional method.”
Diena started laughing and was still laughing when her family left her to rest.
Jenaki moved into the bed next to her and held her as laughter turned to crying. She paused in her sniffling, “Are you clocked out?”
He laughed and held her. “I have been on call for you alone tonight. I knew it would be you when I was assigned your file.”
She felt the tears seeping down her cheeks and exhaled against him, inhaling the scent of heat and green and bright sunshine that made up his specific identifiers.
She muttered, “You are a good doctor. I barely felt a thing.”
“That would be the drugs.”
Diena sighed. “Drugs don’t work on me. Pain is pain. If I need it, I feel it; if I don’t, I don’t.”
Jenaki stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, as she had with Ithal.
It warmed part of her, and she felt something settle. “Don’t think just because you got me into bed on the first date that this is going to go smoothly.”
He chuckled. “I expect that I will have to use all my charm. I may need to borrow some. Just because I got your dress off, I don’t believe that is a frequent occurrence.”
She patted his chest, and a wave of fatigue swept through her. “Let’s not peak too soon.”
He kissed her again, and she let the deeds of the evening take her away.
* * * *
Jenaki was still wiping away her tears when the door opened, and a team defender was standing in the doorway. He was silent. Jenaki held a finger to his lips, and the man in the suit went into the hall and hushed everyone.
Jenaki mouthed, No baby. The defender nodded.
Dr. Kritz, Arcady, Tycho, and Corianne walked into the room, and they looked at Diena.
Recognition hit Arcady, but she was the one most likely to visit the commissary.
Jenaki looked at them all with a stern expression.
Arcady gave a watery smile and nodded. Dr. Kritz quirked a brow, and Jenaki gave him a thumbs-up.
Tycho was grinning foolishly. He made a gesture with his finger twirling, and Jenaki shook his head and held up a single finger. Tycho sighed and nodded.
Diena sighed against him and turned her head toward the crowd inside her door. “You guys can talk and stop wiggling fingers. Tycho, I am guessing you tracked by the scent on the baby?”
He chuckled. “Yes. Why do I know you?”
“I work at the commissary at Z-Corp. I saw Arcady every time there was a failed attempt, and she was getting depressed. I knew you were no longer telling her about them, but she knew, and she went for the same dessert every time. Since my uterus wasn’t doing anything fun at the time, I went for testing, and here he is. ”
Arcady smiled. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“I will state this now: he is the only child I will carry for someone else. I know that Kritz’s genetics make for a hard match, but I can’t do this again. I tested my body and was successful. There is too much time wasted waiting for someone else’s child. I want my own family.”
Kritz sighed. “Fair enough.”
Arcady said, “Thank you. I have my boy, and I am delighted. He’s gorgeous.”
“With a nanny?”
“Yes. We love him, but our link is built on adult private time. When that kicks in, we need someone with him. We also can’t take the little guy to work.
But across our link, that little guy is going to be surrounded by love every moment of every day.
I am going to wear him to work every chance I get.
” Arcady paused. “I wonder if Zera will notice.”
Zera and Torun came through the door. “This is where you are. Your baby is in the hall; bring him in here.”
Diena sat up and looked at her. “No. All of you, out.”
Torun jolted when he saw her. “You are her daughter.”
“I am. Get out.” The need to have them gone was rising. She was pulling power together.
Jenaki tensed. “There are other pregnant women and babies in this place.”
She said softly, “I am very precise, but I need to be held, I need to be comforted, and I don’t need to be thanked, so go. Our association is over. Have a nice day with your new baby. Tycho, if I sense your nose near me again, I will rip it off.”
They stared, and Zera said, “What is your activation?”
Diena rubbed a hand over her face, but Torun answered. “Need. She answers need. If she is powering up, she needs what she stated: to be held and comforted. We are going.”
To her amusement, he grabbed everyone and ushered them out, Torun looking worried as he nodded respectfully to her. When everyone was out, Torun said, “Is she still alive?”
“She is. Looks just like me. You just missed her. She flew the bus out of the river with her son in it.”
Torun blinked and smiled. “She has a son?”
“Yes. My brother is amazing unless you are a Hyreno male. Then, you might want to duck.” She swayed.
“Shit. Rest. What is your name?”
“Diena. Decanted in the capitol.”
“Oh, that explains the resemblance. Right. I will talk to you later.”
“Uh-huh. Call before you do. I work with Keska.”
He winced. “The bug zapper. Right. I will call first.”
She nodded, and he closed the door behind him.
The power dissipated the same way it had gathered. She exhaled and looked at Jenaki. “Sorry, but they were becoming much. The links and consortia just absorb people, and that is not what I want.”
He smiled. “I am glad you stand up for what you want and will insist on what you need. Now, what you need is rest, so come back and rest.”
She snorted. “You are just getting me used to you.”
“Yes. My people know the moment we meet our partners. Convincing them that we are a stable option is what we work on.”
She turned against him again and patted his chest. “Keep working on it. I will keep you apprised of progress.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I am hoping for a series of formally issued report cards.”
Diena smiled at the thought. “After the final checks that clear me, I will make a template. Nothing formal starts until then.”
“Thank you for the warning. How do you want to go home tomorrow?”
“Quietly.”
He nodded. “I can do that.”
She inhaled his scent and relaxed against him. “I love someone who can follow instructions.”