Riding an Abomination wasn't like riding a horse.

We really need to come up with a better name for them now, Jackie thought.

The creature was running across the plains toward Kol-Eresh and the fortress that was now her home. Its great mechanical body was moving in odd ways under her legs as Jackie sat in her saddle, wondering if she should have taken a different mode of transport.

She hadn't been able to wait until a ship was prepared for her. And no ship maneuvered like the Abomination did.

It ran over the plains covered in glowing purple flowers like it was born to do it.

Jackie had no words to describe how she felt. It still felt like a dream. After two months, she hadn't fully shaken waking up in the middle of the night to check that she was alive and Kol-Eresh was with her.

She jumped off the second the creature stopped before the mighty gates and ran inside. The air outside was crispy, even a month after the storm had passed. Kol-Eresh had told her it was one of the most violent ones in recent memory, but to Jackie, it was just a piece of information.

She'd spent the long night with her fated, throwing herself into the bond headlong without any regrets.

They'd skipped important parts like meeting the parents and going on dates, but on the other hand, they had gotten pretty good at shared activities. The harbinger had been more than happy to give her first training with a small sword and taught her personally how to ride the Abomination which was now Jackie's own ride.

Jackie ran down the walkways, only stopping to ask for the harbinger before she found him overseeing the latest haul from a Gech.

"My love," Kol-Eresh said, catching her as Jackie ran to him. "I was growing concerned. Where were you?"

"At the Obalor," Jackie said. "With Forack and the others, no reason to be worried."

The secret fortress of the Eternals had been named Obalor and the harbingers of the nearby domains had somehow managed to do the impossible and come to a unanimous decision. Jackie chose not to mention to them how horrible it was that they only agreed when something fundamental happened.

At Kol-Eresh's suggestion, the fortress had been given to the healers to see if they could finish the research the Eternals had begun – with more humane methods. Now that the serum and the ancient warriors were no longer a threat, Nayanors were very interested to see if the healers could fix the problem with the females.

No one was believing in a miracle, but Jackie thought that it was nice to see Nayanors actually working toward something for a change.

"It's not going to last," Kol-Eresh had told her. "Sooner or later, a warlord will come and claim the fortress, but until then... we'll see what they can find."

Luminos truly was a horrible planet, but Jackie couldn't have cared less that day.

"I need to talk to you," she said. "Somewhere private?"

Kol-Eresh took her away from the others, a deep concern on his face.

"Forack told me there were no symptoms left," he growled.

"There aren't," Jackie said. "Except for the nightmares, but those will pass. Kol... I'm pregnant."

The harbinger stared at her like they were suddenly not speaking the same language.

"And there's one more thing," Jackie said, before her fated could react in any way. "I try not to remember the days we spent in the ship looking for the Eternals. Or I was trying to forget, before I realized that those days are just as much part of us as the happy ones have been.

"Everything we said that night when you left –"

Kol-Eresh cut in, taking her hand and holding it in his strong ones. The weight of emotion in his eyes was immeasurable.

"That's behind us," he promised.

"Yes," Jackie agreed. "But I don't think it's reason to forget. I want to remember, because you were right that night. I didn't think you would be and some of the things you said hurt me a lot."

"Jackie –"

"Let me finish," she said. "You told me that the day would come when I would thank you for pushing me to try and not give up. I never told you this, but when I was waiting for you down by the hatch, I thought of our future. Of the sons we might have and now that I'm pregnant...

"Thank you for not letting me give up. I know you did everything for me, I know it was hard for you to listen to me that night, just as it was hard for me to be alone but this right here is why it had to happen."

Jackie pulled her fated closer to her, laying his big hand gently on her stomach.

The smile on Kol-Eresh's face was just as wide as hers as they stood and imagined meeting the child that was growing in her belly.

"To have this moment," Jackie said quietly, "I would do it all over again. Risk everything again."

Kol-Eresh kissed her, slowly running his hands down her hair, caressing her as they stood locked together the way a fated couple was supposed to. Jackie thought of her words and realized that she really would have.

Hindsight was a useful thing, of course, but she had never been that happy in her life. The paths that life had taken to bring her where she was were rough and hard and so steep she'd nearly fallen off. Jackie didn't know if there had been a purpose to it all or if she'd just been incredibly lucky to come out of it, but she was there.

She was alive and so was Kol-Eresh and until they were together, the path that fate chose to put them on was the right one.

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