“Andar… wake up.” Andar leapt from bed, the silky coverlet falling away from her body as it pooled to the floor in a rush.
“What is it?” He glanced around wildly, his body poised for fight. Through the holes in the tree trunk, the first rays of dawn were just beginning to flood the room. Seeing no lurking enemy, he glanced at Janelle, puzzled.
“My breasts!” Janelle sat up and tried staring down at herself. She touched them gently. “They hurt! And my stomach is cramping. I think something’s wrong!”
Andar’s face relaxed, and to Janelle’s surprise, he smiled. She looked at him, confused, unable to understand his reaction. Something terrible was happening to her, some illness was taking over her body. Her skin was hot, almost fevered and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Her breasts ached and the cramping was getting worse and he just stood there, looking like it was the best thing in the world.
Then it slowly dawned on her that it was the best thing in the world.
“I’ve finally conceived, haven’t I?” Janelle whispered. After three weeks of trying, she’d almost given up hope. She had expected it to be something that happened right away, even though she recalled from the briefing that it wasn’t always that way. Some women took months to get pregnant with their male.
“Yes, Janelle. The signs are unmistakable.”
“Why is there cramping?” She put a hand over her stomach. “In human pregnancies, I don’t think that’s a good sign.”
“Don’t worry.” Andar sat down on the edge of the bed. He leaned over and stroked Janelle’s cheek gently. “Oh, my dear, this is the best news. We’ve found that human women experience some discomfort when the seed takes hold of the egg. New life is being created inside of you right this minute.”
“Do you know when the pain will pass?” Janelle winced as another spasm shook her.
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.