Alien General's Baby (Brion Brides 7)(35)

“Now, Miss Jones, shall we go? I promise to you, I will find the reason for your illness before Master Gelo has finished the bracelet. A little friendly competition, if you will. We even gave him a head start."#p#分页标题#e#

Smiling, Naima allowed that with a nod. They headed for the best med bay in the galaxy, but Braen's heart still raged at whatever or whoever had made his gesha feel the way she did.

He wondered if the blame lay solely with him.



Naima was sitting on a high-raised chair, resting comfortably against the soft surface with a cold drink in her hands. Her legs were dangling over the edge far from the ground and she looked so happy it brought a smile to Braen's lips as well.

"I remember times, back on Terra," his gesha was saying between sips, "when going to get checked up meant getting poked with something all the time. Cold, metallic spikes and weird gadgets and whatever else. Ugh, I get shivers down my spine even from thinking about it.

“It’s better now, of course. We're implementing Palian technology as fast as we can, but still. This was so nice! I just laid here, didn't even have to put my drink down and the scanner did the rest."

"The healer said these were the simplest diagnostics," Braen added, hating to bring her good spirits down, but he thought it was better if she didn't get her hopes up so fast.

After all, he expected to stay for a while, since neither of them could think of a reason for Naima's sudden illness, other than troubling increases of the Fearless’ presence, which she seemed to deny.

"Even so," she smiled at him. "It might just be the comfort of knowing. I've spent the last three weeks thinking whether I'm crazy or not, wondering if the images in my mind are real or not. I was getting used to my mind breaking down on me, but now my body as well? I’d like to retain control over something at least."

Braen didn’t add that whether she wanted to or not, she certainly controlled him, to an extent.

Something about the way she said that brought Braen crashing back to reality. He'd kept his silence while Fosh worked with Naima, but now that the healer had left them alone for the moment, all the emotions rushed back.

Seeing his valor squares pulse faster, the smile fell from Naima's face.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The thing you said before," the general said. "That you felt like a pawn, a tool for my mission. Not a real person."

Naima didn't reply, looking at the floor instead of him.

"I know it's not like that," she offered at last. "I just wonder what would have happened if Janey had dived into that cave instead of me. What then? She'd have touched the stone. She would be here instead of me. Everything I did to get the spot on Doug's team – that was all me, all my hard work, doing what I loved. I am here by accident."

"You are here by fate," Braen argued, seeing the way Naima's eyes snapped up to meet his burning gaze. "You were meant to pick up the stone. I have seen the feeds. Janey saw the glow as well but it was you who it called to, who it wanted as its conduit. And there is no world, no possible eventuality where I would have left you. With or without the lifestone, you are everything."

The general could see that she was about to reply, but Fosh came back and there was a wide smile on his thin lips.

“We’ll continue this later,” he said in a hushed tone, flicking his attention to the healer.

"I bring good news, Miss Jones," he said. "No more tests are needed. The cause for your illness is very simple and your symptoms are entirely natural.”

Braen sat up a little straighter, seeing the confusion on Naima’s beautiful face.

“Weren't you aware that you were pregnant?"

His heart nearly stopped. The absolutely stupefied look his gesha gave him told Braen that she had, in fact, not known that either.





21





Naima





Naima's mind was giving her the flatline signal.

The healer Fosh had come to the room with such excitement, clearly believing he was the bearer of good news. Now, she watched as the joy slowly washed away from his features.

It was almost funny to watch a Palian thinking he'd fucked up. Or it would have been more amusing if Naima wasn't fighting the strongest urge to scream. Either from joy or despair, she wasn't sure yet.

Joy, of course joy, her heart finally made itself heard over the panicking mind. Yes. Okay. We've established that. Now fucking what?

"Forgive me, Miss Jones," Fosh was saying. "I was certain you knew already. You are experiencing morning sickness. Combining that with your body still recuperating from the attack of the Fearless explains your weakness and the symptoms that General Braen described to us before your arrival. We have been given to understand that morning sickness is quite common with Terran females."#p#分页标题#e#

"Yes," Naima heard her voice replying. "It is. I simply didn't think to assume that."

Apparently Fosh had caught a bad case of blabbermouth, very uncommon with the Palians, since he went on: "I would still like to congratulate you, Miss Naima. We were informed the general is your gerion. This joyous occasion is truly –"

"Uh-uh," Naima stopped him, her voice completely devoid of emotion. "I think you should give us a moment before we get to discussing how joyous this really is."

I thought healers were supposed to read the room well, she mused, watching with passive interest as Fosh took one look at Braen somewhere behind her and took off as fast as he could without actually running.

Naima turned on her seat to find the general looking at her with an unreadable expression. The valor squares on his neck were pulsing a quiet, soothing tune and the room was painted in light blue. As someone who didn't speak the complicated language of the Brion crystals, Naima had no idea whether it was a good or a bad blue.

Probably good, right?

She chose to believe the softness of the palette was a positive sign.

All thoughts were wiped from her head. At the moment when she registered what the healer was saying, Naima had expected an array of emotions. There were so many valid ones to choose from, after all. From the positive "babies are so cute" to the negative "this is going to complicate matters even more" to the rational "contraceptives were invented, like, several centuries ago".

In all fairness, though, that last one probably doesn't count. As much as I've seen, Brion guys would have to have their condoms custom made.

She hadn’t been on any variant of the pill in years because of her off-planet work. And for some reason, even though she knew that Brions and Terrans were… compatible, she’d never really thought of that. After all, none of the other Terran geshas of Brion generals were pregnant yet!

Of all of those warring emotions, only one emerged. It felt like being buried in the warmth and softness of pure love. The sickness that had bothered her only moments ago was now nothing, less than nothing. For the life growing inside her, Naima would have suffered a lot more.

It was amazing what simple knowledge could do. Her baby made her stronger than any discomfort. Her hand went instinctively to her belly and she frowned slightly.

How didn’t I know I had a life growing inside of me? My baby… Our baby, Naima reminded herself. It's our baby.

Neither one of them had said anything for a long and increasingly awkward moment. Naima had literally no clue what the general was thinking, but her own mind was clear enough. She just needed Braen to speak first. It seemed all of their fights either began or ended up with her spurting accusations at the general which she knew herself weren't true.

Considering the topic was their child, Naima held her tongue.

Suddenly, the tables had been turned on her. As much as she’d actively fought the notion that she might need Braen as much as he claimed to need her… Well, now, she definitely did. If for no other reason than the keep the delicate, tiny life that was growing within her safe and warm.

When the general moved closer to her, she expected him to kiss her, like he'd done before in similar situations, but Braen didn't touch her. The regret was immediate and painful. She had to bite her tongue not to take back her refusal right then.

I’ve done too much to break this before it ever had a chance…

She’d have plenty of time to consider her choices soon enough, but right now, she couldn’t do anything but curse herself for being… What? A coward.

A coward sounds about right. He never had doubts and yet here I am, having put our child’s life in danger by not trusting him. Had I calmed down and let Braen closer, the Fearless might have never gotten so deep in my mind.

"What does the blue mean?" she asked at last when the general merely looked at her with eyes full of devotion.

"Joy," Braen replied, his voice a little hoarse from emotion. "Absolute joy. Not any kind that can be achieved in a good battle. Much more special and intimate than that."

"Figures," Naima said carefully. "It's why most people don't associate this color with Brions."

"It's because they don't see it," Braen corrected, his deep voice caressing her skin. "That kind of happiness is only shared between fated couples, no others."

She nodded. Braen was so close to her it was hard to consider any other option than to be his forever, but Naima wasn't about to say anything rash in her very emotional state.#p#分页标题#e#