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There, I could get better stock as I felt over his head, using my thumb to lift one of his lids to stare at his pinned pupils shivering in place. “What the fuck did Mesmer try to do?”

“He tried to flip the page to the next day to speed things up, without warning us.” Jess stared over my shoulder and hissed through her teeth as she descended upon Lex, shoving me aside to lift his shirt and unbutton his pants. As she did so, I became aware of crumpled plastic things clutched desperately in his digits. With a trembling hand, I reached forward, ears ringing as my fingertips brushed their surface. And there, I plucked up several photos of a developing fetus, something so small. Ours.

My heart seized. Flipping a chapter while in a book with multiple requisitors was a big no-no. The shift of real-world items through chapters—especially with an unfocused and untrained requisitor could shift time and space in such a way that could leave the body in shock.

And as my eyes traversed his body, my heart flipped and mind went blank. He’d gone into the book a few weeks pregnant.

He’d come out a few months. Time had stretched when Mesmer flipped chapters. And with an author that skipped forward on time a lot? “Fuck.”

I reached out to his belly, the gentle swell right at that point where one wouldn’t immediately assume pregnant, but getting close. I palmed the swell and drew my hand over it. I traced a finger down the line beneath his navel and bit back a whimper. “Lex…”

“Hoooo, boy.” Jess ran a hand over her face as she swatted my hand away and ran a palm over and around his belly. “Ooh…”

When she reached for me, I startled and found my hand in hers being pressed right under the gentle curve of his abdomen, where something within fluttered against my fingers. “I’d say if they’re healthy enough to be kicking, they’re alive.”

I sighed in relief so hard that I sobbed. So, I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against his belly as the tears ran. “Lex.”

Sheepish steps on old, creaky boards made every hair on my body stand on end as I whipped around and stared at Mesmer’s pale face. His breath caught as he saw the result and flinched away, mouth open slightly. “Oh, gods.”

“They’re both alive.” Jess clicked her tongue and rested a hand on my head before quickly moving to my shoulder, whispering a quick apology. I was funny about folks touching my hair after a lifetime of getting that sort of treatment, and also, my hair was a bitch to maintain. Only in the last twenty to thirty years did I have any reliable way to get it styled. And even then, I had to bring my own styling creams and things because the magazines I dove into, when I left, I couldn’t bring anything back with me, so it just frizzed up and went wild.

I never even had to ask Lex. The way he treated my hair with care, the way he didn’t gawp at my features or ask me rude questions. He accepted me for who I was, Zeke. And that was all I needed.

I sniffled and stared at Mesmer, really stared at his pale, drawn face.

Part of the reason we’d gone our separate ways so long ago was due to his thoughtless nature, the lack of care for others—lack of empathy. And what I saw in those pale blue eyes hidden behind those old glasses, it was as close to empathy as I’d ever seen—but more than likely fear of repercussions.

“He’s in shock.” Jess stared Mesmer down. “Baby is fine. He should be. And did you get your little wish?”

Mesmer reached for that little notepad in his pocket, hand trembling. “I—”

“I bet Lexi’s gift saw to it. I’d have had you on the ultrasound table next had you not gotten impatient.” Jess crossed her arms and kept her gaze locked firmly on him. I didn’t even want to look at him anymore, head turned to focus on my supine mate.

I’d had so much more time with Mesmer than I had with Lex, but my heart wanted him. My heart never ached for Mesmer like that. From the first time I sat with him, before I ever dove into a book…he felt important to me.

I circled my bed, the sad, lonely size they no longer manufactured, the super single. What a name. It had suited me once upon a time because the box spring was easier to get up the narrow steps, but with the innovation of flat box springs, slats, and even foam mattresses, I shouldn’t have kept on sleeping on that pinnacle of loneliness… But it was cozy when I shared it with Lex. As I approached the other side, I knelt and took Lex’s hand, squeezing his cool fingers, studying the pale, graceful length of them—delicate. The way they were made for turning pages, touching paper, tracing text. I held his hand to my forehead while I did all but pray for his health.

As I studied his form, taking in his short little breaths, I reached to the lower part of his belly and rubbed gently, studying the bruised line where the pants had bit into his flesh from the whiplash of time.

Where we had time before, we had time no longer. And any chance we had to make other arrangements was gone with the wind, and we needed to make real preparations… Because I had no idea how we’d arrange for childcare, what we’d do… And with what we did, they’d have to be someone in the extra community. Maybe a demon? One of the otherkin? Lex still needed to fulfil his duties in the archivist community, if not at least learn all the rules. He was so new.

I leaned in to kiss his temple, inhaling deeply as I did so. His practical scent mired with a light antiseptic smell, likely something he’d brought back. “What’s the verdict, Mesmer?”

“Lex needs to be trained. This was not an ideal move so soon after him finding everything out… But he is useful. I’ll stop by every few days to check in and get him prepared for the flood of requests that will inevitably come. What do you two need?” Mesmer straightened up and folded his hands behind his back. With a put-upon air of self-importance, he stared me down.

Translation: Let me offer you assistance in exchange for my mistake.

Subtext: Don’t rat me out to the council.

I rubbed my forehead and sighed. “We’ll need a house—not the estate’s townhouse. And we’ll need childcare. If Lex needs to learn, fulfil duties and field requests, he’ll need to make do.

Mesmer nodded once. “I’ll register the details of your impending child with the upper echelon and keep the requests at bay for now.”

“It’s the Yeast you could do.” Jess snickered.

I flinched and glanced around, irritated that I had nothing within reach to throw at her.

Mesmer nodded once and turned on his heel before marching out.