Chapter 22

And suddenly, it was. Sol grunted and pushed, and the tiniest most-perfect head crested through the mrelmasht, followed by itty bitty shoulders. Cure gave a gentle tug on the newborn, and they slid into his hands. Sol panted and breathed, Cure wiped off my child, and handed them to me in a soft cloth. I looked down at their little face, and tears leaked out of my eyes.

“Hello, beautiful,” I whispered to my newborn, smaller than a standard Terran newborn, probably only four pounds. I didn’t know if that was because they had to share the womb or because Ssarften babies weren’t as big as Terrans. I would ask Cure later.

Sol made a noise, and I bent to show him our child. He smiled, then grimaced, and his hand landed on my thigh, gripping so hard I would likely have bruises. I didn’t care about that in the least.