by Gini Koch
I shook my head. “He’ll understand.” I hoped. Because I wasn’t letting Reader leave me now that he was here.
He knew it, too. He shifted so I could lean my back against his side. “Better?” He kissed the back of my head. Poofikins cuddled next to us so we could both lean into it. Harlie remained on guard. Neither Poof had growled at all, which was unusual in a danger situation.
“Yeah. Still freaked out, just not as freaked since you’re here.”
“That’s my job, at least until Jeff gets back.” He made a few more phone calls while I went in and out of dreamland. I heard him confirm that everyone was all right in Dulce, run checks of all our other U.S. Bases, then call the Euro team. “Well,” he said as he hung up, “I don’t think the teams not meeting up with Jeff is related to this. They’re there and they’re fine, and they did get the orders from Gladys. But since Amy wasn’t where she was supposed to be, neither were Jeff and Christopher, so the Euro teams had to find them. They’re heading back soon.”
“Good. You won’t leave until they’re back, right?”
“Right.” He moved his arm and wrapped it around my shoulders, so I could lean my chin on his arm. We’d gotten used to this position since my stomach had gotten huge. It let him hold me in a nonsexual way, support my back, and comfort me all at the same time. Jeff occasionally had to be reminded that Reader was gay, but otherwise he was okay with it.
Leaned my chin, felt sleepy, closed eyes. “Everything’s okay then?”
“Yeah. Well, as far as we can tell. If we don’t count mysterious knocking that freaked out the entire population.”
I opened my eyes. “James? Doesn’t that seem . . . odd?”
“We passed odd a while ago.”
“No, I mean that everyone was freaked out? Me, I can understand. You and Paul because I was on the phone with you, sure. But Richard? Everyone else? You said no one answered their doors, right?”
“Right.” I could tell by the way he said it he was on the same wavelength I was now. “Everyone Paul talked to said the knocking frightened them, or similar, and they wouldn’t answer the door.”
“That’s beyond unusual. I mean, there are plenty of people who would open the door. All of Airborne, for starters. My flyboys wouldn’t be thrown by someone knocking in the middle of the night.”
“But they were. Paul checked with high-level personnel first. All of them felt the same as us: It’s creepy, it’s scary, it’s wrong, don’t open the door.”
“But you did.”
“Babe, you were either in agony or being attacked. Yeah, I opened the door.”
Something was tickling in my mind. “Security was down here. At least the first contingent. I heard something, scuffling, and the knocking stopped for a little bit, then started up, stronger.”
“Security, all of them, are back at the main command center, Level Three.”
“So whatever knocked them out put them back there. Why?”
“No idea.”
“More to the point, why weren’t you knocked out and put back, either into your room or into the Security command center?”
“Maybe it was a group hallucination?”
“I point you back to the sleeping Security team.” A thought occurred. Decided to test it. “Which, I have to say, puts us all in terrible danger. And means that Jeff could have trouble getting back.”
The com went live. “Commander Martini, are you all right?”
“Yeah, Gladys, I’m okay.”
“Is Captain Reader with you?”
“Yes.” It always cracked me up to hear someone use Reader’s official A-C title. He never used it unless he had to, and no one on Alpha ever referred to him that way, but because we were a military unit, in that sense, we all needed military-type titles. And he was our best pilot, even better than my flyboys, which, considering they were Top Gun trained, was saying a lot.
“Security is back up and live, running complete facility scans.”
“Thanks, Gladys. Glad you and the rest of the team are okay.” One more test. “James, maybe you should leave.” The baby kicked, hard. I gasped.
Reader reacted instantly and massaged my stomach. “I’m not going anywhere until Jeff’s back, girlfriend.” Calmed right down.
“Okay, I don’t actually want you to leave anyway.” I looked down at my stomach. “There are better ways.”
“Better ways to do what?”
I leaned my head back against Reader. “I’ll tell you when Jeff’s back. But, I think I’ve seen the future. And, boy, do I hope we’re ready for it.”
CHAPTER 11
READER WAS QUIET, though he was still rocking me. “I have a funny feeling I know where you’re going with this.”
“Figure you’re right.”
“Why me?”
“Because, realistically, you’re the one I always turn to if Jeff’s not here. Not Christopher, not Chuckie, not Paul or any of the others. You. And if Jeff and I are fighting, who is the person I call or run or, for the last few months, waddle to?”
“Me.”
“Bingo.”
“Commanders Martini and White are back on premises, Commander.”
“Thanks, Gladys.” I patted the Poofs. “Back to bed, you two.” They purred at us, went back to small, and then trotted to the Poof Condo.
In about five seconds, I heard the sound of running feet. Jeff burst into the room and stopped dead. “What the hell is going on?” His expression and tone of voice said that he suspected Reader was only pretending to be gay whenever Jeff was around.
The baby went nuts, and I shouted in pain. Jeff was next to me before I could finish my first shriek. He started to rub my stomach, sat on the bed, and moved me into his lap.
I was too busy whimpering and shuddering to talk, so Reader brought Jeff up to speed on what had gone on. Jeff held me and rocked me. The baby didn’t stop. “Jeff, stop being jealous, please.” I sobbed this out. “Jamie doesn’t understand it.”
“Why are you calling him Jamie?” Jeff didn’t sound any less jealous.
“The baby, you idiot. I’m talking about the baby.” She kicked and hit, and it was so painful I started to black out.
“Jeff, for God’s sake, calm down.” Reader sounded furious. “You’re killing her.” He took my hand and held it. “It’s okay, girlfriend. Just try to relax.”
Something got through to Jeff. He kissed my head. “Baby, it’s okay. I’m sorry. Relax, I’m not upset. I was just worried about you and didn’t realize James was in here.” I sobbed from pain, but at least I was seeing more than a pinpoint of light. “Shhh, baby, shhh. It’s okay, I’m here, it’s all right.” His voice was soothing now, and I could tell he wasn’t angry any more. The baby calmed down.
Managed to take in a deep breath without it hurting. “I wanted to name the baby James Jeffrey if it was a boy and Jamie pick-a-middle-name if it was a girl. It’s a girl, clearly. And I’ve known it since you started showing you were worried, so I call her Jamie when you’re not here.”
He was quiet for a few moments, and I wondered if we were going to have a fight, which, from how the baby was reacting, could kill me. But he nuzzled my head. “Jamie Katherine.”
Reader and I both relaxed. I could tell because the baby went very calm and I could feel her being happy. Jeff reached out and pulled James into a group hug, which was a common A-C thing. “Sorry, James. Just been a stressful night after a stressful day.”
“No problem. About to get more stressful. Just try to keep your cool.” Reader kissed my cheek. “Go for it, girlfriend.”
Group hug over, I took another breath. “She’s your daughter, let’s just say that. When you left I was worried, and then I got the usual hormonal overload.”
“You mean you started panicking that I didn’t love you any more, no longer found you sexually attractive, might consider having sex with Amy just because she was there, and might decide being chased by goons in the middle of Paris was more fun than being up with y
ou at three a.m. looking at baby strollers?”
“Wow, I didn’t think your sarcasm knob went past eleven, but I think you were at twelve there.”
He sighed. “Not only could I pick all that up, I could also pick up when you started to get terrified. I’ll do the reassurance drill later. What do you two think caused the knocking and unnatural fear? And why was James not as affected by it?”
“I think the baby picked up that I was frightened and that her daddy wasn’t here. So she did her best to get the most acceptable surrogate over.” I cringed, waiting for his reaction.
“That makes sense.”
Reader and I looked at each other. “Personal growth is a great thing, babe.”
Jeff sighed. “Look, all jealousy aside, if the person you run to when I’m not here is your best friend who happens to both be gay and married to one of my closer cousins? I’m great with that. The baby wasn’t trying to get Reynolds in here. I can’t even say how grateful I am for that.”
“Maybe you could stop dwelling on Chuckie and his supposed still-romantic interests in me, Jeff. Since, for the past nine months at least, I only think about him as a romantic alternative when you bring it up.”
“Huh. Fine. So, why knocking? And why did she knock out and move the Security team? I get that she wanted James with you, not them, but I don’t understand the rest of it.”
“I have no idea. She’s a baby in the womb. I don’t have a good idea of how babies in the womb think, Jeff.”
Reader looked thoughtful. “She’s reacting to you, though, isn’t she, Kitty?”
I thought about it. “I suppose. The knocking stopped my crying. But it scared the crap out of me, too.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding.” Jeff hugged me. “I wasn’t joking—I could feel your terror in Paris. If we hadn’t been running for our lives, I’d have gotten home a lot faster.”
“I probably don’t want to know.” Of course, I knew I’d find out. And soon.
Reader cocked his head. “That’s it.”
“What’s it?”
He shrugged. “The baby wanted Jeff back, right? To calm you down and make her feel safe and secure. Mommy started crying, but Daddy wasn’t there to do the reassurance drill. Jeff, I’ll bet you wanted to get home when you felt Kitty start to go hormonal, but it was still something that was a lower priority than your assignment.”
“Right,” Jeff said slowly. “But, to finish where I think you’re going with this, the moment I could feel how terrified Kitty was, I almost left Christopher to handle the situation so I could get back here.”
“But you couldn’t. And Jamie must have realized that. But, by then, I was scared out of my mind, and that meant that . . . what? James had knocking on his door, too.”
“Testing,” Jeff said. “Who’s going to come when Daddy can’t?”
“Uncle James to the rescue.” Reader grinned as Jeff snorted. “What? You’re naming her after me but I don’t get the uncle title?”
“Of course you do. Uncle Christopher would have come, too,” I added. “But she already knows that . . . .”
“What do you mean?” Jeff sounded like he was heading back to Jealousy Land. And he’d been doing so well for the past few months.
“Jeff . . . for God’s sake, I cannot physically handle Jamie’s reactions to your jealousy, okay? Can you just curb it? If you go all wiggy on me right now, she’s going to freak out, and if the last bout was any indication, I’m going to be in ICU.”
“Sorry.” He rubbed my stomach. “I haven’t heard this story.”
“It wasn’t that big a deal. You were somewhere else, Christopher wasn’t. I fell, he came and helped me.”
“First of all, why do I know nothing about this, what were you doing that you fell, and how did Christopher know to come to you?” Jeff sounded like he was just holding the jealousy in.
Reader shook his head. “Jeff, I don’t know about it, either. Christopher got to save the day instead of me. Maybe I should stomp around the room a bit, whaddaya say?”
“Okay, fine. I’ve been up since midnight, and we’re heading toward dawn, and I had to dodge bullets and thugs on the Parisian streets with a moment’s notice and less sleep, after a day from hell, but, you know, don’t cut me any slack.”
I managed to laugh. “Oh, poor baby.” I leaned against him and snuggled closer. “I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t a big deal. I tripped over something and fell in the bathroom. It scared me a lot, though, because I just missed hitting my head, again, and I wasn’t sure if I’d done something to the baby.”
“So, again, how did Christopher get the call?”
“He told me that our wedding picture he has on his nightstand fell over. He put it back up; it fell over again. Did that a couple more times, he got freaked out, came down to check on me while he called in to check on you.”
“Oh. I remember that call. I thought it was weird.” He looked at Reader. “When we were at Top Gun, for the flyboys’ ceremony thing.”
“Right, Kitty couldn’t go and Christopher had something planned with his father. Explains why I wasn’t here to save the day.” He flashed the cover-boy grin. Even at four in the morning it was awesome.
“So Christopher found me, got me up, did the broken-bones check, did the is-the-baby-okay check, called Tito, who did the whole freaking check, they put me back into bed, and that was about it.”
“I don’t remember getting a feeling of terror from you then.” Jeff sounded thoughtful. “You must have been frightened, though.”
“Sort of. I was more embarrassed. I tripped on nothing and couldn’t get up. I honestly didn’t want you to see me like that. I just couldn’t figure out if I should crawl up or lie there or what.”
“Confusion versus fear.” Reader shook his head. “Kitty was scared about the baby but not scared for anything else, like does my husband still love me. So Surrogate Daddy White was a fine option because he was close by and also wouldn’t cause Mommy more embarrassment.”
“Look, I’m the size of a freaking hippo. If we were at the zoo, the tourists would take pictures of the hippo in black and white Armani maternity wear and toss their popcorn to me and, sadly, I would eat it. I, personally, cannot wait to see Amy’s reaction when she gets a look at me, particularly since the last time she saw me I looked fairly decent and not like I’d swallowed an entire supermarket whole. So, yeah, I have a lot of confidence issues right now. So sue me.”
Reader kissed my cheek. “Surrogate Daddy Reader is going to bed. Surrogate Daddy White sounds busy, but I’m sure he’ll be able to help if necessary.” He winked at Jeff. “I’ll let the real Daddy handle this issue. ’Night, babe. Really, you look a lot better than you think you do. Fertility’s sexy in every culture, even this one.” He yawned a good-bye to Jeff and then left, shutting both the bedroom and main doors behind him.
Jeff sighed and lifted me off his lap, put me gently back onto the bed, and then started to get undressed. “Amy’s installed in a room on the transient floor. She’s fine, long story that we have little of, but we’ll make sure you hear at the same time we do, since I guess they taught confusion-speak at your high school.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” He had his jacket off and was halfway with the shirt. I was losing interest in the conversation.
“We couldn’t figure out what the hell she was talking about. However, the twenty goons after her were convincing in their desire to kill her and anyone trying to help her.”
Statements like that could bring me back even from staring at Jeff’s pecs. “Are you hurt? Are you okay?” The baby started to get edgy and shifted around.
Jeff was out of his shirt now, and he knelt next to the bed. He kissed my stomach. “It’s okay, baby. Both babies,” he added with a grin. “I’m fine. Christopher and Amy are fine, too. It was just a situation I couldn’t leave, not even to get home to you two.” He got up and sat next to me. “But I wanted to.”
“I’m sorry, Jeff.” I felt g
uilty for being so needy.
He hugged me. “Oh, baby, stop. I don’t mind that you need me so much right now.” He chuckled. “You know I love it.”
“No, I don’t.” The hormones were doing their thing. I started to cry. Again.
He cuddled me close. “Baby, I love to take care of you. You’re mine, mine to cherish and protect and love. You could have picked so many other men, and you chose me. And you’re carrying my baby.” His voice was soothing, and he stroked my stomach, tracing the infinity symbol against my skin. “You think you look fat. I think you look even more beautiful.”
I sniffled. “I think you’re lying.”
He laughed. “As you love to point out, A-Cs can’t lie. Therefore, when I tell you how beautiful and sexy I think you are, you’re going to have to accept that it’s true.”
“I guess.”
He nuzzled my neck. “I want a better response than that.”
I moaned. As he well knew, my neck was one of my main erogenous zones. I hadn’t thought my neck could get any more sexually sensitive, but pregnancy had shown that it could.
Jeff continued to nuzzle and kiss my neck. I started moaning in earnest. He got me relaxed, helped me lie down in the bed, and then took his pants off, pulled the A-C nightclothes on, and joined me. “I want to make love to you, but I think you need to rest from the baby’s kicking earlier.”
I couldn’t argue, because he was right. I wanted to make love to him, too, but I was suddenly so tired. “Okay.”
He shifted me to my side, put the extra pillows all around me, then slid his arm under my neck, put his chest against my back, and stroked my stomach with his other hand. This had been our standard sleeping position for the last few months. It was comfortable and made me feel safe and secure.
I started to fall asleep, when I felt something funny. I considered ignoring it. Felt another something funny. Thought about all the movies Tito had forced us to watch and all the private chats he’d had with us. “Jeff?”
“Yeah, baby.” He sounded like he’d almost been asleep. “You okay?”