Page 77 of Whoops-A-Mate From Outer Space
Milo grinned. “There you are! I knew I could get you to smile. Now, let’s face that fear and get you ready.”
Eashai nodded. “Ok.”
Milo and I helped him to stand and remove his clothes, then put on a hospital gown. Once that was done, I washed up while Milo rubbed a combination cleaning and soothing balm onto my mate’s stomach.
“All ready,” Milo declared a moment later. “Let’s give this baby his grand entrance.”
Eashai’s shaking had reduced to trembles thanks to Milo’s reassurances, then we entered a delivery room.
It was still weird, getting used to their advances in medical care. In a human hospital, we’d have entered a surgical suite, but for them, it was just a standard delivery room. Everything they needed for either natural or surgical birth was there, and I’d learned they could switch on the fly if there were complications.
“Ah, there you are,” Escaluu said as we entered. “We are prepared.”
Milo and I helped Eashai onto the bed, which was mostly upright in a semi-seated configuration. The doctor confirmed that he still wished to be fully unconscious, and—once he was—they reclined the bed to expose my mate’s stomach.
Things moved swiftly once they got started. A glittering gel was applied, and I watched as the glitters moved and seemed to absorb into Eashai’s skin. A moment later, a panel lit up with information. Escaluu consulted it, made what appeared to be adjustments based on his experience, then started.
I focused on my mate’s face, his eyelashes dark against his blue skin, his parted lips.
I hoped that holding our baby would make the temporary fear worth it.
I could have sworn that only a few minutes had passed when a wail of protest sliced through the room. I looked over to see Escaluu holding a light sage green infant.
Escaluu laughed. “I believe that he was rather comfortable in there.” Then he motioned that I should move beside him.
For a split second, I worried that I was abandoning my mate, even stepping a few feet away.
“Come,” the doctor urged. “It is healthy for him to have contact with his bapo while we wait for his bapi to wake.”
I nodded, arm trailing behind me as long as possible to keep touching Eashai’s fingers.
Then a crying, squirming newborn was placed into my arms, and I started sniffling. He was our baby, and he was perfect. I had no idea where the green came from, but I’d been assured by both Eashai and various doctors that it was common for a baby to be a different color than the parents, or a blend of colors, or the same color. It was just how things were.
But I could see plenty of my mate in our small son.
“Do you wish to cut the cord?” Escaluu asked. “I have been informed that it is a human tradition.”
I blinked, then realized that the cord was indeed still attached.
“Y-yes.”
Milo edged in and gently took my son as the doctor showed me what to do. Our baby was whisked away to be cleaned and measured while they closed Eashai up. Then, as swiftly as it had all started, it was over.
It was only later, when I was holding our newborn and waiting for Eashai to wake, that I realized I’d barely noticed any blood.
“Gene?” Eashai asked groggily about forty-five minutes after the doctors and birthing team had left.
I looked up and met his gaze. “Hey.”
“How is he?”
I shifted so he could get a look at our son. “As perfect as his bapi. Do you want to hold him?”
He nodded and pressed the button to get the bed into more of a seated position.
My chair was almost in my way as I stood, since I’d moved it as close to the bed as possible. But I managed to work around it and settled our son in his arms.
Tears streamed down Eashai’s face as he gazed down, and he whispered in his language.
