"Good, because that's the general plan." He hugged her closer to him and kissed her cheek. "Lots of Zhubin's babies that we can spoil rotten and dote on. All of them, preferably, should look just like you and have your amazing and wonderful personality."
That had her grinning and she nodded. "I like how that sounds. I really love the idea of having such a great life with the two of you. And you will be their dad too, you know," she murmured quietly. "You might not be their genetic father but you will be their dad as well. Know what I mean?"
"I understand your meaning, though I am yet unsure if I am ready for that step. We will discuss it further, later. For now we need to get you well and cater to your every need and whim in the meantime. So, just relax and we'll take care of you." The elevator came to a stop a moment later and they were all moving through the hall toward medical.
"That sounds like a plan." She patted his chest again and smiled. She could hear Briar before she saw her and giggled. "For someone afraid of you boys she certainly has no trouble giving you marching orders does she?" she teased him.
"She has her moments and, hopefully, she's also figured out we would never cause her harm." Pressing a kiss to her lips he set her down on the bed that the doctor had ordered him to. Letting her go he took one of her hands in his and squeezed.
Briar looked to Zhubin and tilted her head to the side. She wasn't so sure that the woman was ready to hear everything she had to say. When they were in her office she said, "Sit." She saw the hesitation and shook her head. "Please. I need to tell you something." She stepped in front of him and leaned against the desk.
When he looked out again she smiled. "Don't worry, your mate is being watched over by Ansell and they are getting her hooked up to the IVs but I need to tell you something. I've had to contact a doctor on the other side of the Veil. An OB/GYN." She waited for it to click and knew when it did because every inch of his body tensed as he looked to her. "She's not far along but with the way that a Luhpyne pregnancy takes place she's further than her human body would be in this point in the pregnancy." She took a deep breath and added, "I'm hopeful that the medication tweaks will be enough to not harm the babe but this is something I don't want her to know about yet."
Licking her lips, she whispered, "She needs to focus on getting over this illness. We will deal with the pregnancy after, are you going to be okay with that?"
He was just staring at her, a dumbstruck expression on his face. Probably trying to process what she'd just told him, to get it to gel in his mind. "What?" he asked in a stunned voice. Another slow blink and he shook his head before frowning. "What?"
"Lacey is pregnant." Briar didn't know how much plainer she could get with the poor guy. "As in she's going to have your baby as long as I can keep her body from rejecting the pregnancy along with the illness. I'm sorry, Zhubin, but there is a very real possibility that she will lose the child, which is why I don't want to tell her yet." She sighed and shook her head. "The good thing with the pregnancy is the child is a male Luhpyne and has a stronger genetic makeup, according to the doctor I conferred with on your side of the Veil."
He was nodding. "Luhpyne genetics are pretty hard to knock down. Shit, she's going to kick my ass," he muttered, getting to his feet. Pacing around her office he ran his hands through his hair and down over his face. "Yeah, we can't tell her and fuck, we didn't even know. Which we should have, her scent would have changed about now with the baby but the drug or disease or whatever this is is obviously masking the scent."
"I would imagine that the illness has masked a great deal of everything with her. When you go back out you can scent her to see if you can tell a difference but I would wager that you can't." Briar sighed and added, "Let's just get her through this illness, then as long as she doesn't miscarry we will tell her about the babe."
"If Ansell hasn't picked it up, I never would," he said. "His nose is one of the best around, not the best, but definitely one of them. But I agree, we need to make her well and then worry about everything after she is better. Do whatever you have to, Briar. Make our mate well again."
"I will." She nodded to him and took a deep breath. "The medics have already started her IV line and the medication, I just needed you to know what might happen when I introduce the medication from your side of the Veil. I hope that it doesn't, I just needed you to know." She turned and opened the door, moving from him and toward the woman who was lying on the larger-than-typical bed with Ansell holding her close.
Zhubin was right on her heels as Briar made her way back to the bed. "The medicine," he asked when they reached Lacey's side. "Are they sure it will work? I was led to be believe this was a mutated strain of the original."
"We are hopeful that it will work." Briar did a little bit of everything around this place. She was the medical examiner, she was the base doctor and also a researcher. She wore all kinds of hats and at the moment was very grateful for them. "As I said, I have been conferring with doctors from your side of the Veil since I got the blood sample. It's my hope that this is what she needs." She accepted the needle from one of the Techs and after thanking her moved to Lacey's side. "Are you ready? It might hurt. If so, try to let the pain flow through you. Easier said than done, I know, but it's all that I can offer you." Briar wasn't sure how this was going to react with the woman's pregnancy and truthfully hoped there would be no pain.
"I'm ready," Lacey whispered and yawned, her head on Ansell's shoulder and already more asleep than awake.
"Sleep if you can," Briar murmured nervously as she stuck the needle into the IV port and injected the medication into the line. She tossed the needle into the sharps container and nodded. "Now we just wait."
Zhubin stood at the end of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched everything. Ansell held her close, his hands rubbing over her arm and back in a light and slow caress. They were both worried, that was easy enough to see. This wasn't something they could hunt down and kill, it was something they didn't have the knowledge to battle and she knew it was killing them a little inside to acknowledge that fact.
An hour later Briar nodded and looked to Zhubin. "She's starting to chill. You might want to crawl into bed at her front and both of your body heat against her while she's covered as well. Yes I could get out the heated blankets, but your body heat would be more comfortable for her," the doctor murmured as she watched Lacey's body temperature drop another two degrees.
Nodding, he moved to the side she was standing on and kicked off his boots. Climbing onto the bed, he and Ansell got Lacey on her side and tucked between them. It wasn't the most comfortable of beds, given it was made for a human body and not a human plus two large Luhpynes, but it worked. As long as no one coughed they likely wouldn't fall off.
"I will turn the lights down, if there is any change, let me know?" Briar asked and added in there as an afterthought, "If she begins to hurt, get me immediately. Zhubin, you know what I'm looking for." She was worried that the woman would miscarry and if she was going to it would be within the next couple of hours since she had just had the medication pushed into her body.
"I'll get you if anything changes," he said, shooting her a look. Nodding in understanding of her request he relaxed back down into Lacey and held her to him. His cheek was to hers as he and Ansell wrapped their mate up in their heat and kept her as safe as they could in that moment in time.
Chapter Fifteen
Several days later …
Sitting up in the bed, Lacey slowly ate the soup that she had been brought. It wasn't because it was too hot or anything, it was just she was stunned, to say the least. Pregnant. She. Was. Pregnant.
When Zhubin called her name again she finally looked up. "And now?" she asked softly. "With all that I went through trying to get over the shit that I was infected with, how is the child now?" She was shocked that she was pregnant, more than a little, honestly, but now her mind turned to the health of the child. Nothing else mattered, just their child.