Chapter 24 Hallum
HALLUM
Lualhati fell asleep cocooned in blankets. Though sated physically, I could not have slept if I tried. My brain spun with the knowledge that Lualhati loved me. She would not need to leave to have a baby. She would not go back to Bryson.
She would be with me.
It threatened to overwhelm me, so I put my body to work. I washed her dress and underthings with the tub provided by Rivven and Shiloh. She had no other clothing left to her now, and besides perhaps socks and shoes, none of Shiloh’s garments would fit her. She would need these things tomorrow.
Once clean, I hung her clothing by the fire, then washed my sooty uniform, hanging it to dry as well.
The water in the tub was more than murky now, so I carried it out of the saloon to dump it.
While outside, I returned to the ambulance, tidying up in there, putting everything back in and disposing of used items. It felt a bit odd to be doing this work entirely naked (besides my boots, of course) but it could not be helped.
During this time, I discovered two sets of medical uniforms that Lualhati called scrubs.
They had not come with the ambulance – I knew everything in its inventory, having ordered it myself.
And the bright, somewhat nonsensical patterns on them told me immediately they were Lualhati’s own personal items. One set was pale purple, with little white animals that looked a bit like shuldu, except they only had one horn, and it stuck straight out from the fronts of their heads.
The other set was pink, dotted with yellow shapes that I was fairly certain were called bananas.
I was not sure when she had stowed these here, but I silently thanked her for her cleverness. Now, she had some more practical items to wear besides that flimsy dress.
I shut up the ambulance and brought the medical uniforms inside, placing them close to where Lualhati slept so that she would see them immediately upon waking.
I paused simply to observe her then. She was curled on her side, entirely encased in blankets she’d wrapped possessively around herself. Her damp hair was drying in frilly, kinky waves. Her face looked so small. Something in me felt almost bruised by that fact.
I will always be there to protect her.
I lay down beside her then. This was the first time we would sleep side by side, without a wall between us.
I could not say I’d ever cherished much in my life until now.
But I cherished this, her. The chance to hear her breathing without my ears hunting for it.
Without even realizing I was doing it, I let my own breathing fall into the same rhythm as hers.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Lualhati.
When I next opened my eyes, dawn was warming the windows. Voices outside caught on my ears. Xennet and Dorn.
Making sure Lualhati’s nakedness was adequately covered by her blankets, I quickly dressed and then went out to meet them. They’d arrived with their shuldu.
And more, apparently.
Each of their shuldu was strapped with bulging packs.
“Are you two going somewhere?” I asked. It looked as if they were packed for a very long journey.
“Only to the hospital to help get that roof on!” Xennet said.
“So what’s all this, then?” I slashed my tail towards their burdened shuldu.
“Rivven called us last night and told us what happened,” Dorn said, dismounting. “Told us that your station and everything inside got burned. All her things. And yours.”
“So we have brought some of our own things here today! As gifts!” Xennet said, leaping down off his own mount. “I’ve got blankets here, Warden. Good, thick ones,” he said, pulling open one pack to show me. “Some kitchen items. And a couple of my very best knives!”
“I’ve got an extra hat for her,” Dorn said. “Stayed up to make it last night. And some other stuff. A set of the jambillibongs. I had to guess at her measurements. Hope they turned out alright.”
“I’ve got boots!” Xennet said, grasping a pair and waving them about. “The ones you made me when I was young! They’re in good shape, as I outgrew them so fast.”
“I remember,” I said gruffly. “I remember how fast you grew.”
And look at him now. Look at them both.
I’d told Lualhati last night that she was the only person I loved.
But maybe that was not quite right.
Maybe she was the only woman I loved.
“Oh, empire help us. What’s happening to him?” Dorn asked in alarm.
“What do you – ah! Warden! What ails you?” Xennet leaped about like a panicked shuldu, gripping his belt.
“Nothing. Nothing at all ails me, Xennet.”
“But your eyes!”
I blinked, realizing they’d gone bright white.
“I have never seen them so!” Xennet cried. “Tell me that you are not dying, Warden!”
“I am not dying,” I replied crisply. The absurdity of Xennet’s question helped me to quell the swell of emotion that had almost proved too much. “Thank you for all these items, you two. I will compensate your credit accounts accordingly.”
“Oh, you don’t have to, Warden!” Xennet said, and Dorn grunted in agreement. “We wanted to do this for you and Doctor Lualhati. There is no need for payment!”
“Noted,” I said. “But I will pay you anyway. Do not argue this point any further.”
Xennet looked like he did indeed plan to argue further, but Dorn elbowed him and muttered, “Don’t you owe Rivven for nigh-on half a cycle of meals and drinks at the saloon?”
“Thank you, Warden,” Xennet said with a small smile. “Please direct my portion to my saloon tab.”
By the time Lualhati woke up and came onto the saloon’s porch, the roof on her bedroom at the hospital was complete.
Our bedroom.
I left the others, meeting her at the porch with the boots from Xennet.
She was in her bare feet, clearly unwilling, or perhaps unable, to put last night’s treacherous boots on again.
The rest of her was covered, though. She’d found her pink and yellow banana scrubs, and had a blanket wrapped about her shoulders.
“Here,” I said, placing the boots down in front of her. I stayed bent, letting her use my shoulder as a support as she put one foot, then the other, into the boots.
“Wow, these actually fit! They must be way too small for a Zabrian. Where did you get them on such short notice?” she asked, turning her feet this way and that to admire the leather in the morning sun.
“I made them a long time ago. They were Xennet’s. His from when he was a boy.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“Are you serious?” she asked. “He’s giving these to me?”
“That and more,” I told her. “He and Dorn both brought gifts. I will show you.”
We walked together through the slush and the mud. I was pleased to see how well those boots performed for her. She seemed to like them, too, walking with unhindered strides and a look of happy calm upon her face.
This was yet another moment to cherish. Simply walking through the morning air with her. Because we’d spent the night together.
Because she was mine.
“You will marry me, won’t you?” I asked, suddenly halting. She stopped walking and turned to face me, surprise pulling at her features.
“What?”
I’d never actually asked her last night. I’d assumed, after all the declarations of love, that it meant she was staying.
With me.
But I had to know. Had to hear the words from her soft lips.
I dropped to one knee.
“What are you doing? The mud!”
“Don’t care about the mud,” I said. “I only care that I do this right.”
I’d seen the pictures in Tasha’s document. The human marriage proposals.
I took her hands in mine.
“I may not have a ring for you yet,” I told her solemnly. “But I’ve got good boots for your feet, hands to hold yours, and a heart that will love you forever.”
Her eyes shone. “I thought you said Zabrians didn’t love with their hearts.”
“Maybe they don’t,” I replied. “But mine loves you. Perhaps because you’ve taught it how.” I gazed into her face. “Lualhati Ortiz. Will you marry me?”
She choked out a tiny sob. “Yes! Yes, of course I will, Hallum!” She cried openly now, tears streaming, but she was smiling, too, so I supposed that was alright.
She tugged on my hands, and I rose. I pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her, trying to pour every promise I’d just made into her mouth with mine.
When we finally broke apart, I said, “While I do not have a ring, I do have another small gift for you. Follow me.”
At the hospital site, I told Xennet and Dorn to go and get some food from Rivven at the saloon, then I pulled Lualhati into the bedroom.
“Oh, it’s bigger than I imagined!” she said, spinning slowly in the centre of the room. “Even with the walls and roof on, it feels huge!”
“I had anticipated it being filled with your things,” I said.
She stopped spinning and sighed. “Yeah. I know.”
“But, besides the gifts from Xennet and Dorn, we do have one item to put in it.” I entered the closet where I’d left the mug to dry on the shelf. The adhesive was well and truly hardened now.
“Here,” I said, returning to her and holding it out. Instead of taking it, she snatched her hands away, slapping them over her own mouth. “No!” It came out very muffled. “How do you have that?”
“What do you mean?” I frowned at the mug. “I collected all the pieces the day it broke. That glue is food-safe and heat-stable, so you can use it as you did before. Why are you looking at me like that? I told you that I’d fix it for you.”
“I thought you just meant you’d fix the mess!” she exclaimed, dropping her hands. “I thought you threw all the pieces away!”
“Absolutely not,” I replied. “I told you before that I would never yeet your things.”
She laughed then, tearily, and then carefully took the mug.
“It’s perfect!” she marvelled. “I can’t believe you found every single piece and glued them back together. Some of these are tiny!”
“It did take quite a bit of time,” I admitted. “I was not willing to compromise, or have any missing pieces or gaps. That is why I was late getting home to you last night.”