My heart welled with joy and a tear streamed down my face. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, go,” my mate smiled up at me. I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her gently.
“You two are everything to me. You’re my whole world.”
I looked at my mate for a long moment before I took that first step toward the door. There was a crowd gathered outside and everyone went silent as I stepped into the night.
I held our baby high and proudly announced, “Fatima has done it!” My mate has given birth and is doing well!”
Cheers and whoops burst forth from the crowd.
“She will be called Zamena, for she is the child of Zander and Fatima!”
More cheers sounded from the crowd. I pulled my arms back so I could rest my daughter against my chest again.
“Congratulations,” Tarak said as he clapped my shoulder. “I am here if you need anything.”
“As am I,” Orsu added.
“You can count on me as well,” Drovo said.
“Thank you.” I’d never felt so much apart of this community as I did right now, holding my baby girl, and receiving promises of help from the other new father’s of the dekes.
I looked back through the open door and found Fatima staring back at me with a watery grin on her face. I had a mate and a child. Life couldn’t get much better than this.
Fatima
Five months later
“She’s getting so big!” Drondia commented when I walked up to her and Karo as they sat on a blanket in the sand.
“Big and full of smiles,” Karo added as he held out his hand so Zamena could grab onto one of his fingers. He had a way with babies. He never failed to make them smile and laugh.
“Is Zander back yet?” Drondia asked looking over my shoulder.
“Not yet, he’s got two more people to fly over and then we’ll all be here.”
Winter had faded and the weather had turned hot over the past few months. Just as I predicted, as soon as word got out that Zander could fly a mother and child to the beach, he became a very popular male. Jax had agreed to help fly people as well.
Now, once every two weeks, we would have a party on the ocean shore. Orsu would grill meat over a fire, Julie would bring a dessert, and we’d let the babies crawl around on blankets while we sunned ourselves and took turns swimming in the ocean.
“There he is,” Drondia pointed to Zander who was carrying the last two party goers on his back.
He extinguished his flames and knelt down on one knee so Beatrice and baby Bhaz could get down. Rhaz was there in an instant to help Beatrice onto the sand. They untied Bhaz fromthe swaddle on Zander’s back leaving him free to roam around once again.
My mate stood tall and scanned the crowd looking for me. I waited until his gaze met mine then waved with a bright smile on my face.
He gave me a broad smile in return then jogged in my direction.
Zander was perfect. The months had come and gone and he’d stayed by my side. He didn’t run screaming as I feared. Instead he was there for every night feeding, every burp, every blow out, and every smile.
“They were the last people who needed flown over,” he commented before giving me a quick kiss on the lips.
“Why don’t you two go swim or take a long walk while we watch Zamena?” Drondia offered.
“I got her to smile last time,” Karo commented. “I bet this time I could get her to laugh.”
“I have no doubt about that,” I chuckled.
