“I did.” I glared at her, ready to argue if need be, but she just gave me a curt nod.
“Fine. Tell us what you need.”
The lack of resistance surprised me. I decided not to look a giftp’malin the mouth. “She needs a larger body of water. Deeper than the little tub. The lake should suffice.”
“So be it.” The director shouted orders to her people, and within minutes we were off.
Director Hall rode in the cab with Timber andMoya’aShil. I took a place in the bed of the truck with Ha’ana, holding her hand as the vehicle sped for the lake.
Once we arrived, I recognized the house the truck stopped in front of. Q’on’s mate Amber had left her Earth home in the care of the AARO, but any Xalanite who dreamed of a visit to Earth was familiar with the pictures she showed of the small cabin. Though I wished to better see the place where it all began, I knew time was of the essence. I could not waste it sightseeing.
I lifted Ha’ana out of the truck and carried her to the lake. I waded waist deep before diving under. Ha’ana’s gills opened, and she inhaled the cool water. Her body relaxed the instant she became submerged, the strain and tension melting away. A contraction started while she was still in my arms, but rather than groaning in pain she sighed with relief.
I didn’t let her go until I had swum farther and deeper out in the lake, far below where any human vessels might be running on the surface. I didn’t want to bring her all the way here just to have her or her litter injured by a propeller.
Several Xalanites followed us under, includingMoya’aShil. He took over once he caught up to me, and I floated out of his way.
The birth was nothing short of miraculous, with the mother’s fluids creating a violet cloud in the water before the firstaalingemerged. I helpedMoya’aShil to break the amniotic sac surrounding the firstborn and handed theaalingto Ha'ana. She cradled the girl to her rightmost breast, and we lined the subsequent children up beside her. Twenty minutes after entering the water, Ha’ana had four healthy babies, all suckling at her teats.
The sight made me long for babies of my own with Timber, but I didn’t know if I should try to broach the subject again so soon. She already had gone through so much change andupheaval since meeting me … I should probably let her process those changes before pressing the issue further.
When I emerged from the lake, Timber stood on the shore, wringing her hands with worry.
“Well?” she asked.
“Well what?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Well, is everything okay? Did the mother and babies make it?”
I grinned and held up my hand with four fingers extended. “Mother Ha’ana and all fouraalingare doing well. They will need to stay submerged for a day or two until the little ones’ land lungs develop enough for surface breathing, but they are all healthy.”
“What?!” Director Hall screeched. “You mean they have to stay underwater for days after their birth? Why didn’t anyone tell me this?”
By that time, the Xalanite physician had resurfaced. “I tried, director, but your human doctor said it wasn’t necessary.”
She stalked over to him. “And you allowed him to override you?”
Moya’aShil shrunk back from her piercing grey stare. “He thought the tub would be sufficient. I did not consider the pressure of the lake water being more similar to our Xalanite birthing pools at home.”
Timber cocked her head to the side. “Birthing pools? How big are those?”
I shielded my eyes from the sun with my hand as I took in the expanse of the lake. “Bigger than this,” I said, “but I thought it might do.”
Her jaw dropped in sync with Director Hall’s. They exchanged twin looks of utter shock before turning back to me. “And how many women give birth in these Xalanite pools at any given time?” Director Hall asked.
I shrugged. “Hundreds. Up to thousands sometimes, in the fertile seasons.”
They gasped, and I chuckled heartily.
“I am joking. At most, we have a few dozen females with child in any single birthing pool. Xalan is ninety percent water-covered, so there is plenty of room.”
With the crisis averted, Director Hall set to work closing off the lake from any civilians. AARO agents arrived in droves to get as many humans out of the area as possible. I overheard something about a chemical leak in the water, which was a little offensive. I knew they had to tell the humans something, though, and I had to admit I could not think of a better lie.
The director drove Timber and me back once the lake was more or less secure. I had hoped to continue where we left off, but it seemed the mood had passed. Timber sat down on the couch and began pouring over the files she had on the Xalanite residents.
Cock-blocked by company, indeed.
I sat next to her and peeked over her shoulder at the file she had open. It was a dossier on a female Xalanite named Lliaa. Not someone I knew, though from what I read she was well-to-do. Much of the file had been blacked out, which confused me. I pointed to one of these sections and asked Timber about it.
