Cosmic Sex (20 page)

“And what if I do, it’s a privilege I’ve earned,” she scoffed.

He chuckled. “You’re right.”

A voice inside Kia’s head began to chant. You’ll never have this... you’ll never have this...

Stop!

“You okay?” Nick asked close to her ear so that only she heard.

She nodded. “I like your family.”

Her stomach rumbled. She liked them a little too much.

A woman wearing loose green pants that tied at the waist and a matching top came into the room with a worried look on her face.

“We have a slight complication,” she said. “The doctor is taking Becca into the O.R.”

Chapter 22

O.R.? Kia looked around the room. This O.R. must not be good, from the expressions on everyone’s faces. Tingles of apprehension ran through her.

Letty had drawn in a sharp breath. Tony came to his feet with a worried scowl on his face and Nick was holding tightly to her hand. Her heart began to race. What was happening to Becca and her baby?

“What kind of complication?” Nick asked the authority figure.

“The baby isn’t positioned correctly. This happens sometimes. The baby is in some distress. The doctor doesn’t want to take any chances by waiting. They’re setting up for a C-section. We’ll keep everyone updated.”

“Can I see my daughter?” Letty stood.

“I’m sorry. There isn’t time.” The woman hurried from the room before any more questions could be asked.

Complications? Kia looked at Nick. His face had lost some of its color. Fear stabbed through her. Fear for this woman she barely knew, fear for the unborn child, and fear that Nick would be hurt if anything happened to his sister.

“What does this mean?” she asked.

“I don’t know for sure. The baby is supposed to position itself as the time draws near for delivery,” Nick attempted to explain. “Sometimes it doesn’t turn correctly and they have to surgically remove it.”

“And how is that done?”

He cast a worried look in his mother’s direction. Letty rubbed her forehead. Tony tried to comfort his mother, but he was looking haggard himself.

“They cut her abdomen open and take the baby that way,” he mumbled, his attention clearly not on her. “Mom, I’m going to get some coffee. I’ll bring some back for you and Tony. Becca will be okay.” But he didn’t sound positive.

Kia only shook her head when he looked at her to see if she wanted anything. He left the room.

She concentrated on what he’d told her. They were going to take a knife and cut Becca open. A picture formed in her mind of Becca strapped to a table screaming as they came closer and closer to her with the knife.

A shudder ripped through her.

It would kill Becca. Probably the baby, too.

Letty glanced her way. “She’ll be fine. This seems to happen a lot in our family.”

“You were cut open, too?”

She nodded.

This was a great woman, a strong female!

“And you survived,” she spoke with awe.

“That’s where my Irish stock comes in handy. We can handle just about anything that’s thrown our way.”

That must be why Nick was such a great warrior. He had inherited some of this Irish strength from his mother.

But she didn’t have this kind of strength. Her life had been relatively easy, now that she thought about it. Would she be able to survive her stomach being cut open? She didn’t think so. The trauma of the experience would kill her.

For a moment, she had wondered what it would be like to stay on Earth. For a moment, she had let a fantasy envelop her. For a moment, she had pictured an idyllic life with just her and Nick. They’d make love all night and during the day they would work together as code enforcers.

Now she could see how foolish her thoughts had been. She wanted no part of Earth now that she knew just how primitive it was. She’d kick someone’s ass if they came toward her with a knife.

“I shall return.” She abruptly stood, leaving the small waiting area. She needed to walk around, gather her thoughts.

She went down the hall and around a corner. At the end was a set of double doors. She continued forward, hoping it would lead to an outside area where she could get some air.

But when she pushed the double doors open, she saw men and women who wore the same uniform as the woman who’d given them the information on Becca.

This was apparently the place where they took the mothers-to-be. She stopped at the first open door and looked inside.

“Tell the doctor I want drugs, damn it! Screw your beliefs.” She glared at the man who stood beside the bed patting her hand. The woman’s expression was wild. The hair sticking out around her face didn’t help her ferocious appearance.

“Now, honey. You know we decided that we wanted to do natural childbirth,” he spoke in a soothing voice, a placating smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

The woman grabbed him by the crotch. The man grunted as his face screwed up in pain.

“If you don’t want me to stretch your dick out and wrap it around your fucking neck, then you’ll go get me a nurse or a doctor right now!”

“Yes, dear. Just please let go,” he said with a high-pitched squeak.

“I don’t even like your stupid religion,” she continued. “In fact, I don’t like your mother, either! And the next time she bitches about the way I clean house, I’m going to tell her to go fuck herself! Now... get... me... some... drugs!”

“Yes, dear. Anything you want. I’m going right now.” He hurried toward the door.

Kia couldn’t back out of the room fast enough. She ran toward the double doors, not looking back. Her palms were sweating and it was hard to catch her breath.

The woman had clearly been in horrific pain. This wasn’t good. No wonder the Elders had stopped childbirth. They were very wise. They had seen all these horrors and taken away the pain for all Nerak.

Yes, there were some things about Nerak that might not be perfect, but the Elders didn’t let anyone suffer needlessly.

Kia went back to the waiting area and took her seat, thinking about what she needed to do to get home. They would finish calling the names on the list of Hanks and they would find the Hank who had brought her to the bar. Soon she would be back on Nerak and all this would be a bad dream.

Nick returned a while later carrying cups with dark liquid. By then, she’d composed herself as best she could. She watched as he handed his mother the coffee. Maybe not all of her stay would be a bad dream. No, some of it had been good. It just wasn’t what she wanted.

“Any word?” he asked.

“Not yet,” she told him as he sat in the chair next to her.

He gave her a funny look. “You okay?”

Before she could answer, the woman in green returned. This time she was smiling when she looked at Becca’s mother.

“You have a grandson. The doctor had to do a C-section, but mother and baby are doing fine.” She smiled. “The verdict is still out on the father, but we think he’ll be okay, too.”

“Can we see them?” Nick asked.

“They’ll be in recovery for a while, but the baby will be in the nursery soon. If you’d like to wait at the window, you can have front row.”

“I knew she’d come through this.” Letty beamed. “Come on, let’s go see my grandson.”

They all started walking toward the elevator. Kia hung back.

“Would you like to see him?” Nick asked.

“They will permit this?”

“Sure. We’ll be on the other side of the glass but we’ll be able to see the baby.”

A newborn child. Becca had almost died giving birth to this baby.

Kia had never seen an infant. Would it be like the puppies and attempt to capture her heart? Did a baby hypnotize a woman into believing she could endure the pain of childbirth if in the end she would have a tiny baby?

She looked around. Becca’s family seemed happy, cheerful. They were excited to welcome this new member into their family unit.

“I’ll wait for you downstairs, I think. I’ll see Becca and the baby later.”

He gave her a funny look. “Are you sure?”

“I’m tired.”

“My family won’t mind that you’re there.” He smiled. “Mom would love showing off her first grandson.”

“I need to get some air.” Please, Nick, she silently beseeched.

Apparently, he read her thoughts. He squeezed her hand. “I’ll meet you downstairs. Do you remember where we came in?”

She nodded.

“Okay, I won’t be long.”

Kia got on the elevator with Nick and they rode it up one floor. His family had already left, anxious to see the newborn. When he got off, she stayed on, smiling and saying she would see him soon.

It was a relief when she was once again by herself. She pushed the button for the floor they had come in on and realized she had adapted quickly to her new environment. An insidious transformation that had begun to suck her in, until she’d realized just how imperfect Earth was.

Halfway down, the elevator stopped and two men wearing the same uniform of authority got on, except these were blue in color.

They looked her way. One of the men closed one eye when he met her gaze. She did not know this custom, but when she returned the gesture, he grinned. The other man was older and didn’t pay much attention to their exchange.

The elevator stopped and the older man got off but the younger one stayed. As soon as the doors closed, he turned toward her.

“I’m John.”

She warily eyed him. There was something about him she didn’t like, but she would refrain from judging him.

“I’m called Kia.”

His gaze slithered over her, lingering in all the wrong places.

“Not from around here, are you?”

“No.”

He straightened, puffing out his chest. “I’m a doctor.”

“A doctor?”

“Yeah, at least I will be as soon as this year is up. I’m still an intern, but that’s all about to change. As soon as I finish I’ll be a surgeon. That’s where all the money is, you know. I plan on being a wealthy man. A mansion, maybe even a yacht.”

He acted as if his words should have some meaning to her, but she had no idea what he was trying to imply. Apparently, being a surgeon carried some importance. Her curiosity was piqued. “What is a surgeon?”

He leaned back against the wall and grinned. “I cut people open, sweetheart. Slice and dice.” He made a slashing motion with his hand.

She backed into the corner. He was the one who cut Becca open! “Stay away from me.”

He reached into his pocket.

He was getting a knife! He was going to cut her open!

She grappled in her satchel and pulled out her phazer.

“Hey, sugar... ”

She pushed the button.

Zappppp!

She leaned against the back wall, taking in deep breaths. He was gone. He wouldn’t cut her open. Earth was a barbaric place. The sooner she was back on Nerak, the sooner she could forget this awful planet.

But as she walked out the front door, she knew there was someone she would still remember—Nick.

“I think Becca’s delivery might have upset Kia,” Letty told Nick as they stood in front of the glass looking at Jack Jr. “A lot of women are nervous if they haven’t been around babies, and Becca said Kia acted as if she’d never seen a pregnant woman.”

Nick was thoughtful. She did seem a little green around the gills.

His mother patted his hand. “You should give her a little time to digest everything. I’m sure she’ll come around. She’s a lovely woman.”

And his mother was trying to marry him off. He spotted all the signs. He’d like to let his mother dream her dreams and not contradict her, but it wasn’t fair not to tell her Kia wouldn’t be around much longer.

“She’s leaving soon,” he told her. They were alone as they stood in front of the window. Tony had gone to the bathroom.

“And you’re going to let her get away?”

What was it about him that people were always butting into his love life or lack thereof?

“You used to be a hopeless romantic, even when you were little,” she continued. “What happened?”

He stiffened. “Dad pretty much opened my eyes when he walked out on us.”

“Not all marriages are meant to be.”

“You were together twenty-two years.”

“But they weren’t happy years. We settled. That’s all.”

“Until he found someone else.”

She drew in a sharp breath.

“Mom, I’m sorry.” Damn it, why the hell did he have to remind her that his dad was a jerk?

“It’s okay. I hear his fourth wife makes him toe the line. I still speak with your grandmother on a regular basis. She told me his wife... ” Letty chuckled. “She doesn’t call her new daughter-in-law by her name. Anyway, he can’t even watch his football games because it disturbs the serenity of her home.”

“Good.”

His mother sobered. “I shouldn’t laugh. I should feel sorry for him that his life is in such a mess.”

“But you don’t.”

She sighed. “No, not even a little bit. I’ll probably burn in hell.”

He grinned. She didn’t look as if she were too concerned. His attention was drawn back to the babies in their bassinets. Jack Jr. yawned and stretched, pushing his arms out of the blue blanket the nurse had swaddled him in.

“Look,” he told his mother. “Jack is already giving the nurses hell.”

His mother chuckled, touching her hand to the glass. “Yeah, kids are like that, but we love them anyway.”

Two nurses came around the corner. They were laughing about something. As they drew nearer, they heard their conversation even though they kept their voices lowered.