Chapter 17

"You've been sick for weeks, Layla." Zyair narrowed his eyes.

"I'm fine. I just have a stomach bug. Or an ear infection. Or motion sickness, or…" Layla listed all of the possible maladies that could be affecting her, but she knew deep down that her guess was as good as his, meaning she had as much of a clue about what ailed her as a being who could count the number of humans he had met on his two hands.

"Well, you should still go to the doctor for any of those things."

"You go to the doctor for motion sickness?"

"No. Lorr don't get motion sickness. We're raised on ships and… Don't change the subject. I'm taking you to a doctor that understands humans. You might have a parasite."

Mind reader.That was, indeed, the idea that had occurred to Layla, especially eating all of these unfamiliar things in strange environments. Who knew what sorts of microbes hitched a ride on their opulent spacecraft?

The more she thought about not knowing why she was sick, the sicker she felt. Her stomach churned, her head throbbed, and her mouth watered.

"I'm gonna hurl," she said, looking for a bag.

"Not on the control panel!" Zyair panicked.

"That's helpful. Don't you have an airsick bag?" she asked, looking around frantically.

"No. I told you. Lorr don't get motion sickness."

"Well, you don't have anything? A trash receptacle or…" Layla retched, and Zyair shivered.

"Okay, we've got to get you to a hospital or something."

"I'm fine, I just…" She vomited more. Zyair reached to help her, letting go of the controls and allowing the ship to wobble.

"Stop it!" she screamed. "Just look where you're going!"

"I'm trying to help you! I want to help you. What should I do?" He was shouting. He felt powerless when anyone around him was ill, but it was especially terrifying to have no way of alleviating the pain of the woman he had grown to care for so deeply over the course of the weeks they had spent together.

"Nothing. You just have to… ride it out." Layla finished throwing up and sat up to wipe her mouth with her sleeve, coughing at the taste in her mouth. "It'll go away eventually. Do you have any water?"

Zyair looked at her like Lorr horns had sprouted from her temples. "Everything on your inside is now on your outside, and you want to try to swallow something? No!"

Rolling her eyes, Layla searched through the compartments within arm's reach.

"What are you looking for?" Zyair asked.

"A peppermint or something."

Zyair swatted her hands in response, closing the compartments closest to him.

"Look, I'm fine!" she insisted. "I feel a lot better, so could you just let me lie down for a bit?"

Zyair snorted. "The only place you're going is to the emergency ward."

"Don't you think you're overreacting just a little?"

"You just upchucked all over my ship! This is an emergency."

Layla pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed through her mouth. "I'll hose it down for you, okay?"

"I'm sorry. This isn't about the ship. I just need you to work with me here. I'm taking you to the doctor, and that's final!"

Sighing and rubbing the back of her neck, Layla gave in. "Okay, okay. Just make it a clinic, okay? Emergency only admits humans for chest pain on most planets."

"Really? Okay." Zyair changed course and was quiet for a few minutes. "Hey, what's your hang-up with doctors, anyway?"

Layla groaned and held her stomach. She was beginning to feel sick again. "Do we really have to get into this now?"

Clearly afraid she would throw up again, Zyair backpedaled. "No, no. I just… I mean, it's a little weird. You're over there dying and you don't want to see someone who could make you feel better. That's all."

"My dad used to hit me a lot." Several moments passed in silence. "You there?"

"Yeah, just… processing. And confused. What does that have to do with the doctor?"

Boy, for a detective, he sure can't connect the dots."I spent a lot of time in and out of doctor's offices. They ask all these questions, and none of them are good and… I would just rather handle things myself."

He nodded. "I see. So what would have happened if you had answered their questions?"

"They might have taken me away from my family."

"Didn't you leave your family anyway?"

Layla crossed her arms in front of her chest. "When I was an adult. Not as a kid. You don't know what it's like to be powerless. You've never been powerless."

"So what can the doctor do now that scares you?"

She blinked. "Um… nothing."

Zyair shrugged. "Okay. Good." He pulled the airship to a stop in front of a clinic. "You seem to be stable. Can you sign yourself in? I have some cleaning to do."

Layla chuckled. "Yeah. Sorry about that." She exited the vehicle and went into the waiting room, filled out the Terran paperwork, and was quickly called into the back.

A nurse came in with a cart to take her vital signs. She was surprised at how little the process differed from Earth medicine. When she said as much, the nurse just smirked. "We get a lot of humans here, so we're prepared. Besides, human anatomy is similar to ours. You should see the Perockian chart."

When the doctor came in, he didn't even look at her. His nose was buried in her chart. "So, Ms. Killingsworth, it seems we have some tummy trouble today. No fever, blood pressure normal, no pain or swelling in the ear canal. You've listed parasites as a possible concern. Have you eaten anything strange or been in very rural areas of late?"

"No," Layla said candidly. "Although being from Earth, I think everything is strange."

The doctor laughed and she continued. "But like you said, I don't have a fever and I'm not prone to motion sickness or ear infections."

"I'd like to conduct a few tests," he said vaguely, handing her a jar. "The restroom is down the hall. You know what to do?"

She blushed as she noticed the doctor was looking at her for the first time. "Yeah. Yeah, I know what to do."

After dropping off a urine specimen on the proper counter, Layla resumed her seat on the examination table just a minute or two later. She waited, wondering if Zyair was getting impatient or worried.

Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about what she might do if he weren't there when she returned. No, he wouldn't do that, she consoled herself. She had found someone who truly cared about her.

Just as she was about to pop her head out the door and ask a nurse how long she might have to wait, the doctor breezed in with his eyebrows raised. "Just as I suspected!" he puffed. "You're both perfectly fine!"

It took a moment for the realization to dawn on her. When it did, Layla looked at the doctor open-mouthed. "Congratulations!" he said with a smile. "The nurse will be back in a moment to discuss prenatal care. Can I do anything else for you today?"

Dazed, Layla shook her head. What was she going to do with a baby? What was she going to tell Zyair? What would he say?

She tried to push thoughts of what her father would say if he were the person she had to tell. I don't have to tell him, she reminded herself. He will never get his hands on this baby.

A baby! Her baby! She and Zyair, combined into one. The emotions and protectiveness she felt were overwhelming. It suddenly didn't matter what Zyair had to say, or anybody else for that matter. She would make sure nothing bad ever happened to this little one as long as she lived.

Of course, she hoped he would be happy about it. She waffled between elation and anxiety the whole time the nurse was speaking with her, handing her pamphlets and starting her on a vitamin regimen. The only recurring thought was that her life was never going to be the same again.