Chapter Sixteen

Kirk

My leave reminded me of how bad I was at doing nothing and as much as I loved my mate, sometimes he needed space to work or hang out with his friends or just breathe in a different room than me. So eventually we fell into a nice morning schedule of him working after breakfast and me cleaning up. That evolved into me doing minor home repairs and double-checking that everything in the house would be safe for our incoming pup. I checked outlets and their covers, installed child safety locks on everything, and put together the nursery in my first two weeks of leave. With 9 weeks left more or less before the baby was due, I struggled to fill up his work hours with things to do around the house. I took up going for long morning and afternoon runs. Sometimes, during the early stages of his pregnancy, Chasten ran with me, but we soon learned running in human form set off his ‘morning' sickness. So did running too fast in his wolf form.

"I'm more of an indoor wolf," he laughed gently one afternoon as he sat on the edge of the tub while I cleaned up the bathroom. "Art, snacks, and occasionally venturing outside for pumpkins or something in the fall. Maybe build a snowman if it snows."

"I think you'll be better after our pup is here," I frowned at him. "I don't know that there is such a thing as an inside wolf. I mean, look at our wild counterparts."

"Well, they lick themselves too," he laughed.

"We lick each other in the same places. What's the difference, besides the buddy system?"

"Ummm! We wash first!" He laughed, but the tips of his ears turned red. "If my stomach wasn't threatening another uprising…." He trailed off.

"What would you do?" I asked, wiping his face with a cool cloth.

"Something that would prove I can stay inside and get my exercise. I don't faint or get morning sickness in here."

"Joking or legit anxiety?" I asked him, trying not to pry too far onto his side of our mating link.

"A bit of both. Fainting is something I never want to do again."

"Let's check the blood sugar," I said, keeping my voice level.

"It's low," he shrugged. "I'd put money on it being low after that."

"Maybe I'll try making that pumpkin spice coffee stuff you like again."

"I love you, but you suck at making ice coffee."

"The one at the shop has way too much sugar, though."

"And fat and probably sodium too," he nodded. "That's what makes it so good, though!"

"Yep. It's low," I said a moment later looking at the meter. "Let's feed you."

"I really don't feel like eating after all that."

"We'll take it slow."

And that's how life rotated around the sun during the early weeks of Chasten's pregnancy. I walked the fine line between helping him and driving him crazy by trying to do too much for him. In my free time I started reading Treg's online comic book and writing lists of things I wanted for our kid someday. Most of them were experiences. I wanted our pup(s) to see all that Earthside had to offer. Heck! If the mission with the guys who went out into outer space was successful maybe my kids could fly around out there too!

"Are you upset you didn't travel the world before you started your career?" Chasten asked, peeking over my shoulder late one night when neither of us could sleep.

"I dunno," I shrugged. "Aren't we supposed to want to give our kids the stuff we didn't have?"

"Yeah. I mean, if they want it," he tugged my chair until I scooted back and let him plop down on my lap sideways.

I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his temple.

"Did you travel?" I asked.

"A little. Around stateside anyway."

"Should we whisk ourselves away to London?" I teased him.

"Maybe somewhere more remote. A little cottage in the woods somewhere?"

"Hmmm…. Where?" I yawned.

"I don't know. Where are little homey cottages in the woods?"

"Probably lots of places. Maybe we could go on a cruise."

"Bite your tongue. My stomach would kill you and then my diabetes would kill me!" he laughed.

"Maybe we'll decide on where later."

"Maybe to the Raven Hollow territory to see the leaves change next year," Chasten offered.

"I'd like that. Well, I'd like watching you watch that, and I bet they have some nice hiking trails too."

"They do. Treg and Grina went there and took lots of photos back when they were a couple."

"Has Grina come up for air?" I asked.

"Was that a pussy eating joke?"

"If you want it to be," I nodded.

"Not really. She's self-employed. She could take forever off. Don't know much about her mate, but she could."

"Grina hunting and gathering for food is not something I can imagine."

"Why not? She's a wolf too. I bet her mate could too."

"Probably."

"Are you too tired to drive?" he asked.

"Where do you want to go?" I shot the question back at him. "It's raining pretty hard."

"I want some ice cream. Even if it's that less sweet kind."

"I can do that but you're staying here. It's bad enough that I'm going to risk life and limb for ice cream. You aren't risking our pup for it."

"My big brave hunter," he laughed and kissed me hard. "If you want the rest of that kiss you can have it when you get back from the store."