Jaeyoung looked pleased at the praise. “Thank you. I hope to continue learning for a long time.” He turned back to Levi and the squirming newborn. “Have you thought of a name?”
Levi laughed softly and caught my gaze. “It all happened so fast... There wasn’t really time. We never talked about it, did we?”
I shook my head. “Maeleons wait until their young are born to gift names. What wouldyoulike to name our baby, Levi?”
“I had a few ideas bouncing around. They were all kinda gender-specific, but I guess Maeleons don’t think that way, huh?” He grinned at the baby, who looked around the room curiously with big green eyes. “I want a name that reflects both human and Maeleon culture.”
“Tell me your ideas,” I asked.
“I was thinking of naming the baby after my mother, Daisy.” Levi smiled at the newborn. “So, if we said it the Maeleon way, her name would be Dai’zee.”
My chest filled with warmth. “That’s beautiful.” I mulled over the new word,her. “You will teach me how to use these ‘pronouns’ correctly, yes?”
“Of course,” Levi replied.
“Dai’zee,” I echoed, glancing at our newborn.
As if responding to her own name, Dai’zee turned her green-eyed gaze to me. I shivered. Her eyes looked so much like Levi’s that it stunned me. We shared a long, meaningful stare until Dai’zee parted her jaws and squeaked loudly.
“Dai’zee must be hungry,” Fhi’ran remarked.
“Crap. She needs to eat. What do baby Maeleons eat?” Levi demanded.
I chuckled, putting my tentacle around his shoulders reassuringly. “Their teeth are not yet formed, so they can’t eat.”
“What?”
“Come outside with Dai’zee. You’ll see,” I promised.
I steadied Levi with my tentacles, helping him stand up and walk outside the den. The sun shone bright in the sky, as if welcoming Dai’zee’s arrival. I basked in its warming rays with a silent smile of gratitude.
After cleaning up and slipping into his onesie, Levi stepped out into the sun with a squirming Dai’zee in his arms. Immediately, the newborn relaxed. She yawned and stretched out her tiny feelers and tentacles, raising them into the light.
“Whoa,” Levi murmured, eyes widening at the display. “I just remembered you telling me a long time ago that Maeleons photosynthesize. I kinda thought you were joking. But look at her. She’s like a little flower.”
Jaeyoung came out behind us. He scribbled notes on his clipboard. “How fascinating.”
“She’ll bask like this until her teeth come in,” I told them. “After that, she can also eat solid food.”
Levi nodded, relieved that his baby wouldn’t go hungry. He pressed Dai’zee closer to his chest in an adorable embrace as she basked.
“I’m happy everything went well today,” he said with a contented sigh.
“I told you it would,” I reminded him.
“True. I should’ve just believed my filum, huh?” Levi teased.
Hearing him embrace that term meant so much to me. I smiled, looping my arm around his upper back.
“I love you, Levi,” I said.
My filum’s expression lit up. The sunlight reflected off his eyes, casting glints of gold in the green. “I love you, Zat’tor.”
I leaned down, bridging the space between us as I placed a kiss on his soft lips.
A loud gasp interrupted our kiss. I hadn’t noticed until now, but a loose crowd had formed around the healer’s den—no doubt everyone waiting excitedly for Levi’s delivery. A familiar human face emerged and rushed towards us.
“Is that the baby?” Paz blurted, a huge grin splitting his cheeks. He raced over without waiting for an answer. “Levi, you did it! You gave birth to a real-life baby!”
