28. Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-eight

A melia woke up in the med-bay. Thankfully, she knew where she was this time. What she didn't know was where Zylar was. Not wanting to lie around waiting for someone to come in, she got up and used the shower that she and Zylar used the last time they were there. Then she helped herself to the clothes replicator. She was alive and whatever her mate and Healer Bly had done left her pain and scar free. Yeah, she was alive, and life was good.

There were some wounds and scars that advanced medicine couldn't heal. She could see the darkness in her mind festering like maggots waiting to erupt. Either she was out cold, or they put her under. There was no other way she would have been able to rest. Sleep was something she didn't see herself indulging in.

Amelia moved around the room aimlessly. She could leave. That was never the question. Why hadn't she? She didn't have the energy to leave or even decide to do anything. What was important was her life? Why hadn't she died when Vexar attacked her mentally and then physically? How were her emotions so finely attuned to her mind? She didn't know the answers to any of these questions. If asked, she'd swear that if a person's emotions went, their mind would follow.

Her feet took her back toward the bed she'd been lying on.

The lights flicked going dim, causing her to cry out before they got so bright she couldn't see.

"Daughter, look at me."

Amelia's eyes were closed, and her arm was thrown over them. She lowered her arm to see if the light would sting through her eyelids. When it didn't, she slowly opened them. A beautiful Diza female stood in front of her. Not just a Diza female, a goddess.

"Hi." It was lame, but after all that happened to her, she didn't know what to say.

"Hello, daughter. Walk with me." Warmth was emanating from her, and Amelia wanted to bask in it. She got close enough that she was almost touching the goddess.

The goddess moved and Amelia moved with her like they had choreographed it. They walked toward the wall and then through the ship until they were walking on stardust.

"Am I asleep? I must be still sleeping."

"You're awake and alive, unlike the times we met in the past."

"How?" She turned around, seeing space in ways that were so different from looking up at the night sky, or even through the windows on the ship.

"With me, anything is possible, but I brought you here for a reason."

"What is it?" What could a goddess want with her? Everything happened so fast that she never got to ponder why a goddess was willing to deal with her. She felt much better about herself, but she didn't feel like she deserved a visit from a goddess. That should have gone to Bella or Jenna. They deserved it.

"We're going to have to work on how you feel about yourself. I'm sure your mate will agree with me." They walked more in silence, the ship growing distant. "That last battle was hard on you."

You think? She bit her tongue to keep from saying it aloud.

"Yes, I think." The goddess laughed. It was a beautiful sound. She always thought that Bella had the best laugh, but the goddess beat Bella's hands down.

"Thank you, my dear."

Ugh, of course, she could read her mind. The goddess laughed but didn't comment.

"I came to offer you options." Amelia perked up; she liked the sound of that.

They stopped walking, simply standing on stardust and the will of a goddess. Amelia stayed silent, listening.

"I can make it, so you never fall into the hands of your uncle. Sorry, I can't bring your parents back." Amelia nodded and sniffled as she thought about her parents. They would be so proud of her for all she lived through and came out on top.

"I can take your memories away, all of your memories." Amelia shot her a wide-eyed look. Did she mean memories of Zylar, too?"

"All," the goddess emphasized. "Or I can make sure you're strong enough to deal with what's happened to you."

Amelia closed her eyes. She wasn't thinking about the options. Time to think wasn't needed. She was bracing herself for what needed to be said.

"If I take your first offer, I lose the relationship I have with my cousins and I don't get my parents back. Your second offer sees me losing Zylar. Neither of them is viable for me. I simply want to be strong enough to deal with what's happened to me."

"I knew you would make the right choice. Come here, daughter." The goddess wrapped Amelia in her arms. Amelia's eyes closed as she breathed in the peace flowing from the goddess.

When her eyes opened, she was lying on the bed with Zylar standing over her with a worried expression on his face. Amelia sprung up, clinging to him.

"I almost lost you," she cried before kissing him.

"You're never going to lose me," he said when they came up for air. "Wherever you go, I'll be there."

"Then why are you frowning?"

"One minute you weren't there and then you were."

Amelia hugged him tighter as she smiled. Thank you, goddess, for letting me know it was real.

Anytime child.

"Am I good to go?"

"You are, Healer Bly cleared you earlier while you were sleeping. I'm clearing you now."

Amelia stood and wrapped her arm around Zylar. She didn't want to be parted from him.

"Are you all right?" he asked as they entered the lift.

"I am. When I woke earlier, everything felt like too much to manage. Why? It was all I could ask, and that one word covered the spectrum. I was drowning in the memories of all that's happened. Now… It's still there but I know I can handle it. I never said thank you for coming to my rescue." Amelia gave him a smile to show she was all right.

"There was never a question, but Amelia, you saved me long before I saved you."

"You're so sweet."

"No, love, when you found me, I was drowning. You pulled me out of that ocean calling to me." She gave him a quick kiss. "How about we call it a draw and say we saved each other?"

"I like it, in fact, I love it."

When they entered their cabin, Zylar walked her backward through the living room until they reached the bedroom. His hand went to her ass, and she knew there was a spanking in her future. Her pussy dripped and her nipples tingled.

Forgetting her mate would have been a crime of epic proportions.

"Do you feel safe enough to work on our first youngling?"

She thought about it not wanting to lie.

"Yes."

***

A loud sound went off in the room, making Amelia flinch in her sleep. She woke up tense, wondering who they were going to have to fight now.

"Zylar?" She was clinging to him.

"Shh, love, it's a call coming in from Earth. Someone used the emergency override protocol." He answered the call to hear lots of noise and distress in the background.

"Zylar," Rakha sounded frantic, and his voice was pitched several octaves higher than his normal range. "Bella has gone into labor. Stop sleeping and…"

Amelia never heard the rest. She was up and in the shower, taking the record for the fastest shower ever. By the time Zylar was out of the shower and dressed, Amelia was pacing in front of the door waiting impatiently to leave.

They didn't say anything as they ran through the ship to the hangar.

"Strap in. We're using emergency protocols." When the hangar door opened, and they were a safe distance away from the ship, the shuttle picked up speed.

Holy hell, Amelia thought. She hadn't realized it could fly through space like this. Her hand went to her mouth to encourage her stomach not to rebel. However, she kind of thought she left that part of her anatomy somewhere in space. Before she knew it, they were at Bella and Rakha's place.

"Bedroom," Theo shouted.

Amelia almost tripped. It had been too long since she had seen her friend. Theo winked at her and waved her on.Zylar growled, but Amelia was laughing and leaving him behind. They burst into the bedroom to find a pale Rakha. SaKura was looking like he may pass out, and Jenna was holding Bella's hands crooning sweet words of encouragement.

Amelia had never seen childbirth before. Was this what she was signing up for? Bella was sweating, and there was a look of pain on her face. Her belly was contorting, and she opened her mouth wide in a silent scream.

Oh, hell no. There was no way she was going through this hell. Amelia watched in horror for four hours. Where was the joy of childbirth that men said was so special? They waxed lyrical about how it was a woman's sacred duty to give birth. She was ready to stick a watermelon up their asses and tell them to give birth to that.

"You're ready." Zylar had been giving Bella pain relief this whole time. Amelia didn't think it was working.

"Your baby is ready to be born and you're dilated."

"Take the baby. Stop talking and do your job!" Rakha screamed. Bella was holding his hand and from where Amelia was standing, it looked like she was crushing his fingers. He'd need healing after the baby was born.

"Push, Bella."

"What do you fucking think I'm doing? I'm not on a lazy Sunday drive. I'll have you know this is the first and the last child we have," she spits at Rakha in between cries of pain.

"I see the head," Zylar said calmly. The light of his hands washed over Bella.

"This isn't a ball game. I don't need a play-by-play. Deliver my baby," Bella growled, her eyes spitting daggers.

Any other time, Amelia would have words with Bella. No one talked to her mate like that. This time, she was in complete agreement with her cousin.

Zylar flashed Rakha an accusing look that said ‘You mated her.'

"Push again, Bella. You're doing so well. One more big push and…" There was a loud slurping sound, and the baby slipped from Bella's body out into the world. Zylar caught the child and began cutting the cord and clearing the passageway, and then there was a loud cry in the room.

Amelia's heart stopped and when it started again, she was in love with a squished-up baby who was the bridge between two worlds.

"It's a girl," Zylar said. He took her out of the room and cleaned her up before bringing her back to her parents.

Every negative emotion Amelia felt over the hours was gone as she got a glimpse of that tiny face. Her hand slipped to her womb. Did she and Zylar conceive a child last night?

As she watched Bella and Rakha check over their daughter, counting her fingers and toes. Saying how she looked like the two of them, Amelia knew that was what she had fought so hard for. A chance for them as a family to grow, but not only that. This was the chance humans needed to become more than they were. To meet the future with open arms and to welcome change.

Zylar hugged Amelia as she stood swaying, as if she was holding the baby.

"One day that will be us." She nodded. She wanted this because it was beautiful, but she also thought men should have to give birth to watermelons. That would be beautiful and funny. Bet if they did it once, they'd never want to do it again.

"We've named our child," Rakha announced.

The room got quiet as they waited. Amelia looked around and found Theo and Cloe waiting, as well as Anna and Sarah. Everyone was here, as it should be.

"We're going to name her JenStar after my sister and Rakha's mother," Bella said, looking down at the little girl who was greedily nursing.

When Bella looked up, she winked at Amelia, and her heart almost stopped.

There was a secret that only the cousins knew.

Amelia's father gave her the middle name Star because he was convinced that one day she would become a star.

This was the beginning and not the end. She couldn't wait to see where tomorrow would take her.

Zylar kissed her because he knew what her name was. There was faint laughter in the background that sounded like the goddess. Yes, they were all there.