Andar shook his head. “It might last for a couple hours or a couple days. I could make you some tea though, that would ease the pain.”
“Yes, please.” Janelle leaned back weakly against the fluff-filled fabric that served as a pillow.
Andar threw on his breaches and quickly disappeared down the rope ladder. She heard him moving below. He was back a short while later, and handed her a wooden cup with warm water and bits of leaves and pieces of mushrooms floating at the surface.
Janelle had learned in her short stay on Klaskar that food that would have looked and tasted terrible on Earth was often delicious on Klaskar. She didn’t miss burgers and fries one bit when she could have the delicious fresh nuts, mushrooms, berries and leaves that Klaskar provided.
She sipped at the tea, swallowing the leaves and chewing the mushroom pieces. It was delicious, woody and Earthy and the relief it provided was almost instant. There was still a dull, aching pain in her stomach, but it was hardly noticeable.
“Do you have anything you want to ask me now?” Andar prompted gently, sitting down again on the edge of the bed. “Are you afraid of the changes that are to come?”
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t,” Janelle admitted, swallowing the last of the tea and setting the cup down on the bed beside her. “Human birth can be very painful. What if something goes wrong? Could I die giving birth? I don’t know anything about your doctors or medical system out here.”
Andar nodded. “I know. I can understand how it would be very scary for you. We have Wise Females here who help with the birthing. It is generally painful, with cramping like you experienced just now, only worse.” Janelle shuddered and Andar rushed on. “We can give you tea, or there are salves that will help manage the pain. I think it is much less painful than what women experience with human babies.”
“Oh. That’s good.”
“As to the ease of the birth, I think it’s fairly quick. Most women have no problems and are healthy again days later, which is also much different than with human births, or so I understand.”
“I think you’re right. With human births, it can take months to fully heal.”
Andar reached out and squeezed Janelle’s hand. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I promise. We will have the Wise Female come as soon as you feel the first pains. She will guide you through the process. Maslar and I can be there with you if you like.”
“Maslar… we will have to tell him.”
“I can tell him if you like.”
Janelle sat, her brow furrowing in thought. “No. I think I would like to be the one to tell him. I sleep in his tree tomorrow night, anyway.”
Andar nodded. “I must admit that I have hoped for a young of my own, but if it should happen to be Maslar’s, it would be all the better. He has been very lonely since his female died. He loved her very much.”
“He’s told me before that she passed but he never said what happened.”
“It was the move.” Andar sighed and his shoulders sagged. “When we moved the planet, it was very stressful for all life on it. It was a huge change from our own solar system. We were without sun for weeks. The males in our species are strong and hardy but the females, although physically just as strong, are more sensitive to changes like that. We never expected it would take so long to find a new sun. It took a full eight Earth days longer than we thought. It had a great effect on our females and the young. They died within days of each other from strange fevers, or the females would start bleeding and we would not be able to stem it.” Andar shuddered and Janelle squeezed his hand.
“I’m so sorry. It must have been awful for Maslar.”
“For everyone, but yes, he mourned Sashar’s loss deeply. That is why I would rather the young be his.”
“And if it is? Will you have another woman? Will you try again to have your own young?” Jealousy crept into Janelle’s voice and she had to look away so Andar would not see the pain in her eyes. She couldn’t believe it was possible that after only weeks on Klaskar, she had fallen in love with both Andar and Maslar. Loving them was not like loving a human man. She had surrendered her body fully and her heart had followed not long after. They were a part of her now and had been since that night she had first given them her body.
Andar smiled softly, as though he knew what she was thinking. He could likely sense her change in feeling or even scent her jealousy. “I do not know yet what I will do. I want a young and it is important that we replenish our species. I won’t lie to you and say that I would not ask for a human woman to have my young, but I can’t say for certain how long it would take.”
“Do you… do you feel anything for me?” Janelle asked, voice shaking. She was slightly ashamed of her great need for him in that moment.
“Oh, Janelle.” Andar reached out and stroked her hair tenderly. “Of course I do. Even if I took another woman later, it would not diminish what I feel for you. These memories will always be special to me.”
Janelle’s heart ached. “Some days I don’t want to leave. It’s strange because I’ve only been here for three weeks, but I feel like it’s been an eternity. I almost can’t imagine my life back on Earth. It wasn’t a happy one, and I don’t want to go back to it.”
Andar was smiling softly when she looked at him. He reached out and ran a finger over her trembling lips. “Tell me about your life, Janelle. I could sense a great sorrow when you first came, and that is gone now.”
“There isn’t anything to tell,” Janelle insisted. She didn’t want to divulge how unhappy her life had been before coming to Klaskar.
“We cannot heal if we won’t accept that we need healing,” Andar told her gently.
Janelle nodded. She felt safe with him, like she could trust him and was able to confess things she had never even confided in Shelly about. “My mother never wanted me. She got pregnant when she was just a teenager. Her parents were furious and kicked her out. The father, my father, wanted her to get rid of it. She told me once that she would have done it if she could have afforded it, but she couldn’t, so she had me. She had to care for me, but she didn’t know how. She wasn’t mature enough to care for the needs of a child. Somehow, I made it though, and when I was old enough to look out for myself, I did.”
“That must have been awful for you.”
Janelle nodded. “I remember once, when I was probably about five, she came home from a party strung out on drugs. She crashed on the couch and was so still I thought she was dead. I don’t know how Social Services never came to take me. I guess no one ever reported her. I always went to school, so I suppose no one ever thought that anything was wrong at home. I never talked about it, I was too embarrassed.
I worked hard and got good grades. School was a safe place for me. I stayed in that house until I was sixteen, and then I moved out and supported myself. I got a job and an apartment, and I never looked back… at least until I lost my job. I couldn’t find another, because I’d never graduated from high school, and that’s kind of important down on Earth. People thought I wasn’t capable. If only they knew! Anyway, I didn’t have enough money to pay for my apartment anymore. I was on the verge of being homeless and that’s when my best friend gave me the pamphlet about surrogacy. I’ll admit I signed up just for the money, but as soon as I got here, I knew that this was where I was always destined to be.”
“You’re right. I think everything in your life prepared you for this moment. And I’m glad it did. As much pain and suffering as we have all endured, we would never have met each other if we hadn’t been through it.”
“I’ve never really thought of it like that.” Janelle gripped Andar’s hand. “You can understand why I’m reluctant to go back, though.”
Andar’s eyes softened. “Janelle, you can’t be afraid. Never be afraid. You are smart and more than capable. You have survived against all odds. You have embarked on this journey and the money you’ll earn will be put to good use, I’m sure. You can start over. You can get the education
you need to get a good job and support yourself. And when your time comes to love someone, a human man and have your own children, you will love them all the more for your own upbringing.”
Janelle shifted on the bed, moving forward into Andar’s outstretched arms. She clung to his chest fiercely. She would never tell him that she couldn’t imagine every loving anyone else. That it would break her heart to leave him and Maslar and Klaskar behind.
His scent, pungent and sharp like the smell of rain and smoke mingled together filled the room. It was so different from the deep, musky scent of his arousal that Janelle knew instinctively it was the smell of his own sorrow.
Chapter 13
The next night, at Maslar’s tree, Janelle picked the right moment to share her news with him. He had been busy for most of their evening together, working diligently on the scrolls that covered the rough-hewn wood table that served as his writing area.
Finally, he rose and stretched. He rubbed his tired eyes.
“Did you have another vision last night?” Janelle asked, knowing full well that somehow his dreams correlated to his writings. He hadn’t fully explained everything to her, and sensing that his work was next to sacred, she hadn’t pried.
“I suppose that I had a dream. I don’t know yet what it means so I wrote everything down. I’m sorry it’s taken me all day. I meant to be done before you got here.”
“It’s all right. Can I help fix you something to eat? You look tired.”
“That would be fine, thank you,” he replied with gratitude in his eyes.
Janelle set to work preparing the leaves and berries that Maslar had laid out on the other table, likely that morning. She separated the food into two bowls and when he sat, she handed him one. He thanked her silently, with tired eyes.
She waited, breath anxiously trapped in her lungs, for the right minute to tell him about the young growing inside of her. At last, he set his bowl aside and his eyes met hers. She smiled at him gently from across the table.
“I have something to tell you,” she whispered.
Maslar was instantly alert. “What is it?” He looked at her in concern but when he saw her smile he froze.
“I’ve conceived. I’m going to have a young for you or Andar,” she said in an excited rush.
Maslar was still for a minute before he jumped out of his chair, knocking it to the ground. With a whoop of happiness, he rushed to Janelle and scooped her up in his arms. He spun her around the small room and she laughed and begged him to set her down.
He finally did, yet his strong arms remained around her waist. He stared tenderly down at her. “You have no idea how happy you have made me with this news. Even if the young is Andar’s, it would be no less exciting to me.”
“I had started to think there was something wrong with me. That I wouldn’t conceive. We tried so hard…” Janelle blushed, recalling just how many times they’d practiced. There had been whole days when she didn’t get out of bed.
“There is nothing wrong with you,” Maslar said in his rich, deep voice. He ran his hand over her cheek before bending his head and kissing her gently on the lips. Janelle’s body tensed in excitement.
“I can’t believe you didn’t know how to kiss before I got here. You’re so good at it now.” She touched a finger to her tingling lips and Maslar grinned.
“And you are very good at everything.” His words sent a rush of heat swirling through Janelle.
Janelle shook her head, trying to focus on everything she wanted to say. “Maslar, I just want you to know that you mean everything to me. You and Andar. You’ve shown me a whole new way to look at the world. You’ve made me feel treasured and special, and I can never thank you enough.”
Maslar kissed her again, tenderly and passionately all at once. He pulled away and his eyes were stormy. “You have given me much the same. I didn’t know how to begin to hope again after I lost my female. You have given me happiness and filled my heart with joy, two things I never thought possible to feel again.”
“I’ll miss you, Maslar,” Janelle said sorrowfully. A single tear ran don her cheek.
“Shhh,” Maslar whispered. “We have lots of time yet.” He scooped her up in his arms again and carried her over to the rope ladder, which led up to the bed. “I plan on showing you just how much you mean to me.”
Chapter 14
Janelle was down by the stream that ran past Andar’s tree when it happened. Her belly, large and round, made picking mushrooms and berries difficult but she enjoyed the task. It gave her a chance to be out in the fresh air, to enjoy the brilliant sun and stretch her cramped, aching muscles.
A rush of wetness made Janelle panic. She glanced down at her thighs and saw the beads of water pooled there. She knew that it was happening. She had been expecting the birth of the young for the past few days.
She grabbed for her basket of berries but a sharp pain bent her in half. She gasped, waiting until it passed. She scooped up her basket and half walked, half hobbled, stopping and doubling over when the pains came.
They were so close together that it was hard to believe they had just started. She imagined that if she’d been carrying a human child, this would have been considered an advanced stage of labor.
“Andar!” Janelle cried as she reached his tree. The walk there, normally a short one, had seemed to take forever. The agony ripping her apart was overwhelming, and blackness threatened the corners of her vision.
Andar came rushing out of the house. He took one look at her and knew what was happing. He picked her up gently and carried her into the house.
“Stand here,” he said, motioning for her to support herself against a wall. “Don’t lay down. It won’t bring you any relief. The young will come much easier if you’re standing. Try not to fight the pain. I’ll make you a tea to ease you and then I’ll go for the Wise Female.”
“No! I want you to stay with me” Janelle said desperately.
Andar clutched her hand. “It’s all right Janelle. It won’t take me long. I’ll get Maslar and send him here to be with you until I can return. Don’t be afraid. This is going to be a very happy day.”
Janelle nodded through tears of pain and sorrow. She was excited to see the young that had grown in her body for the past three months, but she had also dreaded its arrival. She knew that it meant that her time on Klaskar was at an end.
Andar made her the tea, which she drank in one long swallow, and then rushed out the door. She gasped, her chest heaving with ragged breaths as she tried to ignore the pain. A few minutes later Maslar crashed into the tree.
“Janelle!” He rushed to her and helped to support her, wrapping one strong arm around her shoulders and another around her waist.
“Oh god, Maslar! It hurts. I can’t do this!” Another wave of pain seized her, threatening to tear her in half and Janelle bore down with it. The urge to push was so strong she couldn’t deny it.
“Just hang on, Janelle. Help is coming.” Maslar looked pale, even through his blue-hued skin, and it frightened Janelle.
She was about to say something to him when the Wise Female, a beautiful blue-skinned woman rushed through the door. Her eyes were kind and knowledgeable, and Janelle relaxed. Andar was close on the female’s heels. He rushed in and joined Maslar in supporting her.
The female checked Janelle quickly and nodded. She smiled widely and placed a hand on Janelle’s stomach. “Everything is fine. The young will be here soon.”
Janelle screamed as another pain tore through her. She bore down again, pushing. The female’s hands guided her, her words of encouragement and instruction soothing her.
“That’s it. You’re so close. The young is coming. Push again and it will be here.”
Janelle did as she instructed, waiting for the pain and the urge to push. She cried out and leaned into the strength of the two males on either side. They held her upright. One more push and a tiny blue bundle fell into the female’s hands.
She held up the young, wipi
ng the goo away from its face. “A male,” she whispered. Janelle wanted to look at the young, but another pain tore through her.
She gasped and clutched at Andar and Maslar, who were still holding her. A look of concern came over the female’s face. She rushed forward, and balancing the young in one arm, ran her hand over Janelle’s belly.
“You have another young inside of you,” she said in awe. “Push when the next pain comes and your other young will soon be here.”
Janelle bore down again, working with the pains. Sweat beaded off her forehead and rolled into her eyes. She cried out and pushed hard and her second young was born.
She was shocked at the way the pain suddenly ceased. There was a rush of something warm and bloody that trailed down her thighs. She felt weak and shaky, and just wanted to see the young.
The Wise Female cleaned the young and then quickly worked at wiping away the afterbirth and cleaning Janelle.
Janelle watched everything as though in a haze. She saw the wonder on Andar and Maslar’s faces as they each cradled a young. Soon the Wise Female was giving her a tea that she drank. It helped to revive her enough that she soon regained the strength she had before the birth. Her renewed energy gave her a new determination and she was able to stand. She was still sore and her legs unsteady, but she made her way across the room to see her young.
Andar and Maslar presented the little bundles to her. She stared at the blue-hued faces, the sweet, large purple eyes, the tiny ridges of skin on the forehead and cheeks. One of the twins had a fuzz of dark hair on his head but the other was bald. They looked at her with their serious, sweet faces and Janelle fell instantly in love.
Her heart broke at the thought of leaving them. These were her babies that she had carried in her body for the past three months. She’d felt them grow and move, develop and thrive. She’d been through the pain of their birth and now they were here, in their fathers’ arms.
“Can I hold them?” Janelle asked hesitantly.
The Klaskians Series: Boxset Bks 1-3 Page 6