Jaeyoung dished out a huge bowl, and Kur’tok was proud to deliver it to me. His red eyes gleamed with love. Above all, headored taking care of me. If I wasn’t starving, I would’ve given him a big sloppy kiss on the mouth.
“Ugh, I can’t wait anymore,” I complained. “I’m digging in.”
Just as I grabbed my spoon and thrust it into the thick stew, a sharp pain seared along my abdomen. I hissed, dropping the spoon and clutching my sides.
Kur’tok frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Fucking hell. Why did I have to start laborrightbefore dinner?
I sighed in frustration. “Baby’s coming.”
“What?” Kur’tok roared. He nearly slapped half the food off the table as he bolted to his feet, his tail lashing and his feelers bursting with panicked colors.
Jaeyoung placed his spoon on the table with a small sigh, then stood up. “I suppose eating can wait. Let’s get you back to your den, Paz.”
Meanwhile, Levi gulped down a mouthful of stew. He made no effort to get up. “Do you guys need me, or...? No? Okay, cool.”
The den was quiet. Kur’tok kneeled beside me while I clutched his hand, squeezing it with all my puny human might. On my other side, Jaeyoung set up his healing supplies. He was calm and collected, which made me feel better. Nothing had ever gone wrong during a delivery, but it was heartening to know my doctor was prepared.
“This sucks,” I grumbled. “I wanted to eat stew, dammit.”
Jaeyoung gave me a wry smile. “I’ll make you stew later, after you give birth. How does that sound?”
I sighed like a diva. “I guess that’s okay.”
To tell the truth, I was a bit anxious about the whole thing. I’d never been pregnant before, obviously, and nobody had ever prepared me for it. The only experience I had was watching Levi and Jaeyoung go through it, but seeing it happen to somebody else only helped so much.
I took a deep breath and kneaded Kur’tok’s hand. Having something to play with distracted me from my nerves.
Kur’tok wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was nervous, too. Probably more nervous than me. He hadn’t believed me at first when I told him humans could get pregnant by Maeleons; I wouldn’t be surprised if he still harbored some unease about it.
“Hey,” I said, smiling up at him. “I’ll be okay.”
He huffed, his tail flicking behind him. “You will. You have to be.”
“From what I’ve witnessed and experienced, it’s a relatively easy process,” Jaeyoung told him as he rearranged medicines and utensils. “Neither I nor Levi had complications.”
“But Paz is small. And I’m so...”
“Gigantic?” I offered.
Kur’tok pouted. “Yes.”
“I’ll be fine, big guy. Don’t sweat it.”
“Hmph.” Kur’tok sidled closer until he was practically on top of me. His overprotective nature was so fucking cute.
Then a sudden throb of pain swamped me. I clenched my teeth, biting back a cry for a second before the overwhelming agony made me wail. My hand clamped down on Kur’tok’s as my entire body went rigid.
“What’s going on? You said there were no complications!” Kur’tok snapped at Jaeyoung.
Jaeyoung wasn’t fazed by his outburst. “Humans almost always experience pain during childbirth. Pain is normal.”
“I don’t care,” Kur’tok growled, his voice thick with sympathy. “Make it stop!”
“Youcan make it stop, Kur’tok,” Jaeyoung said firmly. “Use your feelers.”
Kur’tok’s eyes widened into red pinpricks as realization dawned on him. I’d nearly forgotten about them, too. During Levi’s and Jaeyoung’s deliveries, their Maeleon partners had helped them by attaching their feelers and dividing the pain.
