“Blastocyst.I’m wondering if a single cell has the same ability.Seems silly to check when we need to drag the entire All into our dimension so we can send the fleet in to destroy it.”
“Since that doesn’t seem possible, we have to start small and work our way up.”Cassidy grimaced and adjusted her posture.
Egilka’s attention intensified.“Are you okay?”
“I’ve been sitting too long on this stool.”She stood and stretched so her spine crackled satisfyingly.
“Are you sure?”
“Just some cramps.”
“In the abdomen?Coming and going?”He stood and rummaged around the sample jars, computers, and assorted materials on his side of the table.
Cassidy’s eyes widened when he approached holding a medical scanner.“Uh-huh.Is that your bright idea or my hysterical Imdiko clanmate’s?”
Egilka grinned at her winningly.Funny how charming and warm the usually aloof scientist could be when the need arose.“Degorsk asked me to have it on hand.Since you’re so close to your due date, I agreed it would be a good idea.”
Cassidy had to admit she might be having contractions.As the father of two, the emperor would recognize the signs.“Fine.Did you chase Empress Jessica around with a medical scanner when she was expecting?”
“No, but I worried her endlessly during her third trimesters by asking constantly how she felt.I seem to remember my life being threatened on more than one occasion for being a pest.I imagine I might be missing a few limbs if I’d tried to scan her.”Egilka operated the device, waving it in front of Cassidy’s distended abdomen and lower.
“It might not register if it’s early labor.I think I first started feeling something maybe forty-five minutes or an hour ago?”
“You’re right...not seeing anything right now.Tell me the next time a cramp comes along.”
They didn’t have long to wait.About a minute later, Cassidy felt the tightening again as she was telling a laughing Egilka about the sludgy vitamin drink Degorsk had concocted a few months earlier and his efforts to get her to consume it.
“Checkup time.”
Her pulse quickened when Egilka beamed.“Definitely a contraction.Baby’s on the way.”
“My water hasn’t broken.It could be false labor.We should wait before sending my clanmates into full freakout.Why don’t we wrap up our latest reports, then do another check?”
Egilka chuckled and clicked the scanner off.“It’s funny how we dads-in-waiting get so excited while those of you who do the actual work stay calm.Actually, I’m kind of nervous for you myself.You’re right though.At this point, there’s no rush.If your water breaks, we’ll head to the birthing center.”
“Excellent.”Cassidy turned back to her experiment, and the emperor returned to his station.
Maybe she looked calm, cool, and collected to Egilka, but a giddy rush filled her at the prospect of seeing her child soon.No thoughts of the Other or the pain she’d put the Darks through intruded as she dictated her research notes and waited to see if the baby was ready to make an entrance onto the world’s stage.
