This couldn’t be labor pains could it? I thought they’d be worse than this. As if called forth by my own thoughts, a sharp pain ran all the way from my side to my back.
Maybe it was a good thing Zander went to get Neelu after all.
I sighed with relief when he returned with both midwives. They were an amazing team who worked together as if they shared one mind. They had assisted in the birth of many babies before Dameron exiled them, and I could tell they were happy to reclaim their role as midwives for the dekes.
My relief was short lived as another shot of pain whipped around my middle. I moaned and gripped onto the arms of the rocking chair for dear life.
“Fatima!” Zander knelt before me and pushed my hair out of my face.
“Help her up, Zander. Get her to the bed and rub her back until the contraction is over.”
My mate didn’t hesitate to do as he was told.
It suddenly hit me that the time had finally come for me to have my baby. Neelu and Drondia were here, and so was Zander. My mate was with me and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he’d never leave my side. It was everything I’d ever wanted.
***
“She’s perfect,” Drondia complimented my little girl for the tenth time that afternoon. She had come over to check on us both.
My labor lasted well into the night, but I finally gave birth to little Zamena as the sun began to rise.
“How are my girls?” Zander asked as he walked back into the house. He’d run over to the dining hall to grab some food while Drondia was here.
I’d been ravenous ever since I gave birth. Anything and everything sounded good which was a nice change given all my food aversions over the past five months.
“They’re both doing well,” our faithful midwife assured him.
“Good,” he gave me a broad smile.
Zander had been with me throughout the entire birth. He rubbed my back, put cool cloths on my forehead, and was a constant source of encouragement.
My heart burned with love for him in a way I didn’t even know was possible. So when our little girl was born it only made sense to name her Zamena for Zander and Fatima. She was his daughter as much as she was mine. We were a family.
Chapter 19
Zander
“I’ll be back tonight,” Drondia said as she bid us farewell.
“Thank you,” I replied as I held the door open for her.
I went back inside and headed straight for my perfect family.
“You should rest,” I commented after setting our food down at the table.
“You just want to hold her,” Fatima teased.
“Maybe,” I replied in a sheepish tone.
I loved holding little Zamena. She was so tiny. So perfect. I wanted to hold and protect her as much as I could.
“Alright, fine,” Fatima replied in a light tone and lifted our daughter up to me.
I held her to my chest much like I did when Neelu first handed her to me. Her cry was loud and demanding and it gave me hope she would be fierce and stubborn like her mother one day.
“Go ahead,” Fatima smiled up at me earlier that night. “Go show her to the dekes. Go show them our daughter.”
It was our tradition for the father of a newborn sietling to hold them high and announce their arrival to everyone in the village. I had dreamed of this moment, but never thought I’d get to live it.
