would chance an “oops” happening. Yet here she was...unmarried, pregnant, and resentful.
Apparently an apple doesn’t fall far no matter where in the universe it lands.
Still, as angry as she was with Max and her situation, the baby was a part of her and she couldn’t just give it up. Not to Tess. And certainly not to Ferly Mor. She had to protect her baby from the alien.
But how?
Addy tossed the glass shards into the trash before sweeping the smaller pieces into the dustpan. She needed to change the subject before she went crazy thinking about her choices, or lack thereof.
“What happened when the aliens realized you couldn’t...” Addy didn’t need to finish the sentence.
Tess wiped the floor with a wet rag as she spoke. “Well, I had two more cycles with the same man and one with another. During my fourth miscarriage, I hemorrhaged so much I bled to death. After that, Ferly Mor never brought me to a breeding box.”
“You died ?” Having worked with emergency medical personnel, she’d known a few cases where people have been revived with CPR or defibrillation. But they’d never talked so casually about their experience like Tess did.
“For nearly an hour. Any longer and Ferly Mor wouldn’t have been able to reawaken me.”
Reawaken. That was the second time she’d heard that word. Max had used it in the breeding box. “You mean resuscitated ?” Was it even possible to resuscitate someone after an hour?
Tess sat back on her heels, wet towel in hand. “Didn’t Da explain reawakening?”
“No. And I’m beginning to think it’s time someone did.”
Addy’s personal ringtone sounded from the Yard. She glanced out the observation wall to see Ferly Mor waiting with a leash in his hand. The music played again.
“You best go. I’ll explain later. And Addy? Think about what I said about the baby. Please?”
Addy nodded and left the house with head hung.
Although grateful that Ferly Mor didn’t use the leash—instead, he carried her to HuBReC—she couldn’t stop grinding her teeth. Once inside the office, she couldn’t tune out a woman’s labored breaths and grunting coming from an open doorway down the hall.
A newborn cry made her heart sink. Placing a hand on her belly, she sighed. Four weeks down. Sixteen to go.
Ferly Mor placed her on a cold examining table, leaving her with her prenatal doctor, Rosalita. Since Addy had been the first person in the Yard to encounter the new Hyborean at the Survival Race party, Duncan said Addy had the privilege of naming her. She figured if Ferly Mor was the Great Gray Man, his chestnut-red girlfriend should be Little Rose.
Addy was weighed, measured, and shot in the navel, yet again, with her same EpiPen. The device must have contained some kind of growth hormone because her hair had been growing about a half-inch every week. Once her exam was finished, she sat on the floor putting her shoes back on.
Ferly Mor charged into the room, nearly stepped on her as he guided in a hovering gurney. She jumped out of the way before she became one with the floor. He handed off the gurney to Rosalita, picked up Addy, and placed her on the counter.
By the look of the skuzzy, injured man they transferred to the examining table, an emergency had come up, which meant Ferly Mor wouldn’t take her home until he finished. Oh well, it wasn’t the first time she watched him at work.
As she’d seen him do before, he dipped his hands in a bowl of pink liquid that must have been some sort of antiseptic, then dried them before cutting the tattered clothes from the man’s body. Rosalita also cleaned her hands and arms before hooking the guy up to machines.
Ferly Mor stepped aside to throw the filthy shirt in the garbage shoot, and Addy gasped at the horror before her. Bloody whip marks, both fresh and scabbed, crisscrossed the man’s entire emaciated back. The flesh not torn apart was covered with welts and bruises. Each rib and bony vertebra were clearly visible
Apparently an apple doesn’t fall far no matter where in the universe it lands.
Still, as angry as she was with Max and her situation, the baby was a part of her and she couldn’t just give it up. Not to Tess. And certainly not to Ferly Mor. She had to protect her baby from the alien.
But how?
Addy tossed the glass shards into the trash before sweeping the smaller pieces into the dustpan. She needed to change the subject before she went crazy thinking about her choices, or lack thereof.
“What happened when the aliens realized you couldn’t...” Addy didn’t need to finish the sentence.
Tess wiped the floor with a wet rag as she spoke. “Well, I had two more cycles with the same man and one with another. During my fourth miscarriage, I hemorrhaged so much I bled to death. After that, Ferly Mor never brought me to a breeding box.”
“You died ?” Having worked with emergency medical personnel, she’d known a few cases where people have been revived with CPR or defibrillation. But they’d never talked so casually about their experience like Tess did.
“For nearly an hour. Any longer and Ferly Mor wouldn’t have been able to reawaken me.”
Reawaken. That was the second time she’d heard that word. Max had used it in the breeding box. “You mean resuscitated ?” Was it even possible to resuscitate someone after an hour?
Tess sat back on her heels, wet towel in hand. “Didn’t Da explain reawakening?”
“No. And I’m beginning to think it’s time someone did.”
Addy’s personal ringtone sounded from the Yard. She glanced out the observation wall to see Ferly Mor waiting with a leash in his hand. The music played again.
“You best go. I’ll explain later. And Addy? Think about what I said about the baby. Please?”
Addy nodded and left the house with head hung.
Although grateful that Ferly Mor didn’t use the leash—instead, he carried her to HuBReC—she couldn’t stop grinding her teeth. Once inside the office, she couldn’t tune out a woman’s labored breaths and grunting coming from an open doorway down the hall.
A newborn cry made her heart sink. Placing a hand on her belly, she sighed. Four weeks down. Sixteen to go.
Ferly Mor placed her on a cold examining table, leaving her with her prenatal doctor, Rosalita. Since Addy had been the first person in the Yard to encounter the new Hyborean at the Survival Race party, Duncan said Addy had the privilege of naming her. She figured if Ferly Mor was the Great Gray Man, his chestnut-red girlfriend should be Little Rose.
Addy was weighed, measured, and shot in the navel, yet again, with her same EpiPen. The device must have contained some kind of growth hormone because her hair had been growing about a half-inch every week. Once her exam was finished, she sat on the floor putting her shoes back on.
Ferly Mor charged into the room, nearly stepped on her as he guided in a hovering gurney. She jumped out of the way before she became one with the floor. He handed off the gurney to Rosalita, picked up Addy, and placed her on the counter.
By the look of the skuzzy, injured man they transferred to the examining table, an emergency had come up, which meant Ferly Mor wouldn’t take her home until he finished. Oh well, it wasn’t the first time she watched him at work.
As she’d seen him do before, he dipped his hands in a bowl of pink liquid that must have been some sort of antiseptic, then dried them before cutting the tattered clothes from the man’s body. Rosalita also cleaned her hands and arms before hooking the guy up to machines.
Ferly Mor stepped aside to throw the filthy shirt in the garbage shoot, and Addy gasped at the horror before her. Bloody whip marks, both fresh and scabbed, crisscrossed the man’s entire emaciated back. The flesh not torn apart was covered with welts and bruises. Each rib and bony vertebra were clearly visible
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