Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Chapter Thirteen
Six months later…
Nanish
We’re pacing again. Bamgin and I do this a lot. We nearly wore a hole in the floor of the transport vessel during the trip. I’m grateful we had each other. I can’t imagine how much lonelier the trip would have been without the ability to commiserate with each other.
Six months of pacing and watching our girl in her deep slumber. Excruciating.
We did everything we could to keep our minds occupied, including prepare my home for our arrival. We arranged for Bamgin’s belongings to be moved in and the final touches to be added to the nursery.
We communicated dozens of times with one of our government councilmen, Zingar, about the oddity that is our mating—two of us claiming the same female. Zingar was on Earth waiting to find his perfect mate when our family unit left to return to Eleadia. He left a few days behind us. The three of us had nothing but time on our hands to discuss the odd circumstances of our mating during the journey. Bamgin and I felt sorry for Zingar. He didn’t have a partner to fret over his Little girl with. No one has had this luxury besides us.
We spoke with the doctors at the clinic, Chadka and Thabo, letting them know about the surgery Margaret had undergone before we left and the fact that she will likely take issue with the state of her body when she realizes how much muscle she has lost.
Bamgin and I spoke a lot about our primary concern—the tears our girl shed when we told her there was no basketball on Eleadia. We know this is going to be a point of contention, and we think we have a possible solution. Now we have to hope she doesn’t lose her mind and balk at our idea. We’ll keep it to ourselves until the time is right.
We’ve been home two hours, long enough to have worn the carpet in front of her crib with our renewed pacing.
When she finally whimpers in her sleep, we both rush over to her, coming to both sides of the crib and lowering them at the same time. There’s really no need to be quite so cautious. She won’t be able to move more than reflexively for several days. There’s no chance at all she’ll roll out of bed. But one of the staples on Eleadia is the protection we surround our Little girls with at all times, including the four sides of their cribs.
I’m so elated when she opens her eyes. I missed the sparkling red and yellow specks.
We both set a hand on her shoulders to comfort her.
Bamgin speaks first. “We’re home, Baby girl. Don’t panic. Remember we told you that you won’t be able to speak for a few days, and it will take a few weeks before you’ll be on your feet. We’ll take care of you entirely.”
I can see the stress in her eyes as she glances between us. She’s sucking her pacifier hard, but that’s not new. She’s done that the entire trip. It’s been good for her, though when we’d asked Chadka about it, he said it sounded a bit unusual. Little girls often don’t suckle much while in stasis. The fact that Mags had isn’t exactly concerning, but we’re curious what it might mean for her strength in general.
I palm her diaper. It’s dry, but she hasn’t eaten in a few hours, so she needs to be fed. As I scoop her up, Bamgin rubs her back. “I’ll grab a bottle,” he says.
Mags stares at me, sucking that pacifier like it’s a lifeline as I carry her to the living room. I’ll sit on the couch so Bamgin can sit with us. We’ll both want to lean over her and dote on her every time she’s awake for now. She’s like a newborn to us. We’re going to want to share the responsibilities.
Bamgin joins us and lifts her legs to drape over his lap. He leans over to pop her pacifier out of her mouth and replace it with the bottle while I hold her hands against her tummy. It’s not as though I need to restrain her to keep her fingers out of the way. She won’t have the strength to lift her arms for at least a week, but I like touching her, feeling the warmth of her skin.
I’m surprised when our girl sighs heavily before she starts sucking. Even that small noise is unexpected.
It’s impossible to look away from her. I’ve missed her so much. Her eyes are mesmerizing. They seem even brighter and more orange now that we’re home. The control she has over her eyes seems unusual, too. It takes me a minute to realize she doesn’t simply shift her gaze back and forth between the two of us. I swear she’s also moving her head slightly.