Page 15 of LeX

ViNcomes into sight, his eyes never leavingEmber’sas she looks up at him.EvOblocks her from being able to see the bloody, hardened uterus. “ViN,Ineed you to come here and pick her up.”

“No.”

“Listen, you know how you are making it easier onEmber?Well, what if you could do the same for your youngling?Thismay not work, but either way it will be a parental unit holding her if she leaves this world to go play at the feet ofTheLordofLight.”

“Icannot take both hands offEmber, you will have to bring her to me.”

“BeforeIdo,Iam going to cut off your vest so that she can feel the direct heat of your skin.”

Hemotions for me to go ahead and with two flicks of my fingers, the vest falls to the floor.Slowly,Ireach in for the child, whileEvOmoves the incubator out of the way.Thecloser the uterus casing gets toViN, the more active it becomes.Helooks at me horrified, whenIpress it against his side. “Whatin the frack, brother?”

“Holdstill,Ihave no idea if this is going to work or not.”

WhenViNstarts to hold out his arm,Igrab it and place it against the back of the casing. “Holdher tightly against you.”Thesquirming tentacles of broken veins, blood vessels and her external umbilical cords move around frantically.Butthat’s whenIsee it; his runes start pulsing rhythmically like they are calling to one of their own, and within the blink of an eye … it … she fully merges withViN.Theamniotic sac seems almost absorbed by the fetus as now you can see her tucked into her father’s side, curled up against him in a hard but clear casing.EvOandIboth stand there in wonder as we can now see each tiny finger and toe even though she is no bigger than her mother’s hand.

ViNlooks up at me in amazement before moving his hand away from her slowly.Witha huge smile on his face, he looks down atEmber, only to find her eyes closed and her body eerily still.Hiseyes flash red and just asIstart to step back, two massive arms come around the privacy screen, pinningViNeffortlessly to the wall that starts to indent, melting as he loses himself in anger and grief.

Myheart hits my chest as he fights againstSCOUT, andEvOandIboth stand here helplessly, his pain our own as all our hearts break.Howdid this happen?Wewere on top of the world only moments ago.

Justthen, two med bots come into the room, carrying a stasis container.SCOUTuses three of his other eight arms to gently pick up a now very unpregnantEmberbefore placing her gently inside it.Themoment it seals, and her vitals show that she is stable, he re-forms into himself right in front ofViN.

“CalmyourselfMasterViN, your mate … she lives.”

ViNholds his arms up, andSCOUTreleases him, stepping back.Qwinhas somehow snuck in and is crying againstEvOwho looks over her, watching.

“Whythe frack did you put her in that, then?”ViNroars out, fire sparkling all around him as he fights against his feelings.

“Hersmall human body has gone through great distress with the bearing of your youngling.Shehas been in intense pain and discomfort, but she was hiding it from all of you.Ihave placed her in stasis so that her body will not deteriorate any further.Themedical chamber has a higher success rate of healing her properly thanIdo alone.Iwas not able to save her uterus.Thiswill be the only youngling she will ever bear, and that might be a hard reality for her to accept once she recovers.”

“Doyou really believeIwould ever put her through this again?IftheLordofLightwills it, and this one survives, we will praise his name and be thankful for the blessing.Speakingof younglings, what doIdo now?”Hepoints to his side.

“Itseems like you have taken on the role her mother would have performed if she could have carried her to term.Shewill need sustenance and possibly protection now that she is no longer protected by her mother’s womb.Iwill monitor you continuously, as there are no other cases like this anywhereIcan find in any records.”

“Howlong do you think she will remain like this?WhatifIroll over and squish her, or bump into something accidentally?Howwill she get the nutrients and sustenance she needs?”

“Shewill obtain it from your body the same way she did from her mother.Thatcasing surrounding her has her better protected than we all are when in the bowels of theDestroyer.IfIwere you,Iwould enjoy this bonding opportunity you are having with your daughter.Itwould seem simply from appearances that she has taken on her mother’s features.Nevertheless,Ihave a feeling she will be more like you than you’ll want.Ibelieve she will remain in this external uterus for several orbital rotations, but we will know more as time progresses.

Iwill have the med bots transferMistressEmberand the stasis pod to your private chambers as it will comfort you and the youngling with her being near.Ifnothing interferes with our current course, theDestroyerwill dock withFalcorwithin two rotations.Iwill meet with you at that time and accompanyMistressEmberand yourself to theExplorerand the med chamber.”

“SCOUT, shouldIbe worried?”

“Isee no reason for you to stress yourself at this time, nor will it be good for the youngling.TheDestroyerandIwill be monitoringEmber’severy breath; if she twitches,Iwill be here.”

“Iwill be forever grateful for your assistanceSCOUT.”ViNreaches out, grabbingSCOUTin a hug, a rare form of affection from my brother.EvOandIboth watch as he followsEmber’sstasis chamber out of the room, his hand tucked protectively around his daughter on his side.

Themoment the door closesIcollapse into a chair. “Destroyer, please decrease the heat from this area.”

Qwinmoves up beside me, her small hand patting me on the back, but her words are directed at the massive male in the room “Isthat normal?Itsure as shit didn’t seem that way to me.I’mpretty freaked out right now and even though you saved the day … who are you again?”

Arare smile appears onSCOUT’sface. “MistressQwin,IamSCOUT.Iwould love to chat, butIam late for a date with my own mate.”

Promptly, he disappears right in front of us.Qwinstands there andIcan’t help but laugh at her many reactions.

“So, was that something else that’s common around here?Imean, theDestroyertalks to me all the time, but whatIjust witnessed … well,Ican’t explain that in words, but logicallyIdidn’t believe anything physical could redesign its own body like that.AndLeX, just what the hell made you think to take that squirming mass of blood and yuck and stick it onViN’sside?Ughh!Damn,Ineed a drink.Anap would be even better … butIknowI’mgoing to have nightmares about this … forever, so that’s out.Anddon’t you look at me all frisky eitherEvO!Ifthat is whatI’mgoing to go through if by any chance we can have a child, well you can just keep your pleasure rod all to yourself,I’mnot playing that game.”

“Pleasurerod brother?”Ican’t help it, nowIam laughing so hardIhave tears flowing down my cheeks.Ido not know if it is from the stress of all that has happened or the relief that somehow, at this very moment everyone seems to have survived this nightmare.

EvOpicksQwinup, who is not laughing with either of us and heads out the door.Thelast thingIhear is him negotiating the use of his rod.

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