“I can wash those, you know.”
“They need to smell like you.”
I tried to think back to sex ed, when they talked about how quickly it took from the time you got your nesting impulses to the time you laid your eggs, and I couldn’t remember. I could call Jasper, but that felt awkward. Our midwife was great, but I was the first dragon they’d worked with. In the end, I settled on they will come when they come.
I called Sampson, told him I was taking leave and would keep him updated. I also asked for more blankets. There were nowhere near enough.
After a very quick shower, I climbed into the nest where I stayed unless I absolutely needed to get up. And when I did, my mate took my place. He was the best.
Having a nest was wild. I was drawn to it in a way I’d never been drawn to a place before. It was like a freaking magnet, and I was stuck.
On the fourth day, my stomach started to cramp. “It’s time, honey,” I said.
Our midwife had given us a plan that we were to follow. They had reached out to some dragon flights and talked to some healers. They were the best.
The plan included what they called an “everything shower” because, in their words, I wasn’t going to want to leave that nest after the eggs came. I wasn’t quite sure I believed that it would be that bad. So far I’d managed to get up to eat or take a walkaround the cabin as long as Zack was in the nest. Would it be that different? But my mate offered to help me clean up, and I wasn’t turning it down.
They said to call if I felt anything unusual, and I assured them I would. After getting cleaned up, I circled the nest over and over again, riding out the contractions. It was harder on my mate than it was for me. He didn’t like seeing my pain. It was written all over his face, but there was nothing I could do about it. It came with the territory.
The midwife said I would know when it was time to push. They were right.
My mate helped me into the nest and climbed in behind me, letting me squat with my back against his chest. This position was perfect. He helped me stay up as I pushed, and pushed, and pushed.
The first egg, purple, came out twenty minutes later. It was gorgeous, and I wanted to take time to admire it, but my body disagreed, the contractions hitting even harder.
The second one decided to come almost immediately afterward. This one was yellow and sitting next to their sibling reminded me of my own scales.
“Let me help you clean up and rest,” my mate said.
I was a sweaty mess and barely able to stay upright. Getting rest would be great.
Egg. Egg. Push.My dragon insisted it wasn't time yet.
“No, I can’t. There’s... there’s... there’s another one.”
“The midwife said there were two.”
“They said at least two. Trust me, there’s another one.”
And sure enough, ten minutes later, I birthed our third which was green, nearly the shade of my eyes.
“We will need another crib,” I said. With all that had happened, my mind went to the practical. So weird.
“I’ll take care of it. You need to rest.”
We still didn’t know who was inside. Dragon? Bear? Human? One of each? Our midwife said the egg didn’t identify the beast. We didn’t care as long as they were healthy. We called to let the midwife know they were here, and they promised to come by in the next day or two to listen to them. There wasn’t much they could do to change anything at this stage, but the reassurance was going to be nice.
That night I fell asleep wrapped around them, my mate on the other side. “Thank you for my family,” I said.
“No, thank you.” He kissed my forehead. “Thank you, mate.”
17
ZACK
“Any movement?”
Ford shook his head. “But I need to pee.”
