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She shook her head. “I don’t want to leave yet.”

“Okay, but let’s sit on the swings,” I suggested, helping her walk out of the sand. I knelt to put her shoes on, but she shook her head.

“The ground cover feels good,” she said. Leaving her shoes next to the sand pit, we linked arms and walked across the fluffy greenery covering the ground. I was surprised the guys stayed back, giving us a little space.

After she was sitting in a swing, I took the other one. I did a couple of shallow swings, impressed with how smooth it was. They’d gotten everything right.

“Can’t you see JJ playing here?” Cleo whispered.

As soon as she said the words, I could easily picture a miniature Jasper running around, his laughter echoing off the painted sky above.

“Yes,” I said. “He’s going to love it.”

“We’ll have to come back here all the time,” she said.

“I’m sure we can make that happen,” I said. “Especially after JJ is old enough to really appreciate all this. He’s not going to notice much for at least the first six months.”

“That’s true,” she said with a chuckle.

The sound was suddenly cut off when she hunched over and gasped.

I jumped off the swing and stood in front of her. “Cleo?”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouchie,” Cleo panted.

As she repeated those words, liquid soaked her wrap and dripped off the swing.

“Oh shit,” I whispered. “You’re in labor!”

“Tell me something I don’t know!” Cleo snapped.

“Something you don’t know? Well, how about that I’m not ready for this,” I said.

She grunt-laughed. “I’m not ready either.”

There was a growing sound of worry coming from the Talins around us, and the guys rushed over.

“It’s time,” I said when they got to us. Tolly lifted me out of the way as Lexarit picked up Cleo.

“She’s in labor!” Narmuna shouted. “Clear a path to medical! Alert the healers. The cub is ready to emerge.”

Chapter 29

Tolreum

Fourteen marks later Human Jasper Junior left his mother’s body to become his own, breathing, screaming entity. Cleo looked elated but exhausted. Jasper Junior seemed deeply upset over the entire ordeal.

Through the whole thing, Opal stayed at Cleo’s side. Holding her hand, telling her to breathe in different ways, encouraging her to scream, and reminding her that all the pain would be worth it.

Narmuna and Lexarit remained close also, purring and taking turns doing anything she asked. They fetched her favorite blanket from her nest, got one of the station restaurants to create small shards of ice she could chew on, and gently bathed her face with a cool, damp cloth.

Between Opal, Narmuna, Lexarit, and the healers, there was no room for me to be near the bed. I had to stand back and watch.

I’d never felt so useless in my life, and I hated it.

When Cleo began screaming, I was ready to do something drastic. It was only the serene, knowledgeable Healer Grifforum that kept me calm. As he’d promised, he’d studied everything he could get his claws on about human gestation and birth. He’d guided Cleo through the process and even comforted both Opal and Cleo, assuring them that everything was progressing as expected.

Finally Cleo pushed Jasper Junior entirely out of her body. Healer Grifforum had examined the child, ran a scan, did several other things, then handed the tiny body to Cleo.