Drakkal glanced at her from the corner of his eye even as he increased the speed of the hovercar. Beads of perspiration had begun to gather on her forehead.
“Breathe,kiraia. You’re in control. And soon, you’ll be holding your cub with your own hands.”
“Who was she?” Shay asked when her body eased.
“Who?”
“That female azhera.”
His expression tightened at the mere thought of Vanya; she was a threat to Shay, and his instincts didn’t appreciate that he’d let her walk away. “Someone who doesn’t matter.”
It had taken them nearly twenty minutes to drive to the starting point of their upper city walk. Drakkal completed the return journey in eight—and those eight minutes were the longest of his life. Shay’s flares of pain were frequent, coming and going at random, and all he could do was let her squeeze his hand and drive. The former felt ineffective, the later too slow.
The garage door was already open when they arrived home. He swung the hovercar around and pulled up directly to the interior door so it was only a meter or two from Shay’s side.
Arcanthus, Razi, and Samantha were waiting. They helped Shay out of the car as Drakkal rushed around to her. He swept her into his arms again and hurried for the infirmary. Urgand was standing in the hallway as they approached.
“Her water broke,” Drakkal said. “Can you fix it?”
Urgand preceded him through the door and gestured to an adjustable bed with a pair of stirrups. “Probably just the amniotic sac rupturing.”
Sam followed Drakkal in, closing the door behind her.
“That sounds worse,” Drakkal growled as he carefully lowered Shay onto the table.
“Messy but normal,” Urgand said distractedly. He was hurriedly moving equipment into place around the bed and pulling up floating holo screens. “Take off her pants.”
Drakkal’s ears slapped down. He clenched hisjaw and reminded himself—more than once in rapid succession—that this was necessary. She couldn’t very well push her cub out into her pants.
“It’s fine, Drakkal,” Shay said, dropping her hands to her waistband.
Drakkal scowled and tugged off her boots before helping remove her pants. He tossed them onto the floor, turned his head, and glared at Urgand.
“Do I need to have Razi and the boss hold you back?” Urgand asked, pulling on a pair of gloves.
“Why?”
Shay grunted and closed her eyes, her face strained as she gripped the sides of the bed. Fluid seeped from her and wet the bedding.
“I need to check how far along she is,” Urgand said.
“So turn on the scanner and see,” Drakkal replied.
“He has tofeel,” Sam said, easing up beside Drakkal at the foot of the bed with a sheet. She draped the sheet over Shay’s legs and waist.
Not for the first time, Drakkal’s instincts warred with one another. The most rational of his impulses was to question the necessity offeelinganything. All this damned equipment, all this expensive equipment, and for what? What was the point of it? But he was not so lost to instinct as to crumble to those impulses.
He loved Shay, and—though he’d yet to meet her—loved the baby, too. Whatever was the best for them. Whatever was the safest.
Drakkal nodded tightly.
“Get her feet up,” Urgand said as he pulled on a pair of thin gloves.
Samantha and Drakkal took opposite sides of the bed and did as Urgand had commanded.
“Let us know when your contraction is over, Shay,” Sam said.
Shay nodded, features tight. After a few seconds, her expression relaxed slightly. “Okay. I’m ready.”