Meryn shrugged. "Kinda knew it was going to happen, so I was right behind you." She looked
back at her squire, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad; I just moved before I knew it."
Ryuu was kneeling down beside her in an instant. "I would not change your courage for all the world. It just means I will have to work that much harder to be deserving of you as my charge."
"Just keep feeding me and we're cool," Meryn said, looking uncomfortable at her squire's compliment.
Ryuu simply brought her knuckles to his lips and raised them to his forehead in a sort of benediction. "Whatever you wish, denka." He stood and went back to his normal position of standing behind his charge.
Kari was touched at Ryuu's devotion. She couldn't imagine Meryn with any other squire. She looked around the room. "Is no one going to ask how she knew?"
Declan looked at Aiden who looked at Tarragon who shrugged.
Meryn sighed. "Don't ask, I have no idea; it might be this empathy thing."
Tarragon shook his head, bewildered, before he turned his attention back to Kari. "Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"
She shook her head and then blushed. "Wait...yes, it is a possibility."
"It only takes once," Meryn teased.
Tarragon just nodded before handing a small stone to Declan. "Would you like some privacy?" he asked. Declan nodded.
Tarragon turned to Aiden and Meryn. "Okay young lady, now that the major emergency is over, lets go work on that shoulder."
Aiden cradled his mate carefully to his chest, and he and Ryuu followed Tarragon out the door.
When the door closed, Declan just looked at her. "What do you want?"
"I do not know. What about you?"
"You know if you had asked me that this morning I would have been happy either way." He took a deep breath. "I heard the scream, and I knew it was you. So, I want it to be yes. I want a piece of you, a piece of us that we can raise and love. What about you? Yes? No?"
"Everything so crazy right now, but maybe that is why it should be yes. Maybe that is why it would be okay. It is important to hold onto the things that matter. Two days ago, I would have said no; I had too much changing. But now, maybe a little version of you would not be so bad. So, yes, I think I would be okay if I were."
Declan swallowed hard and held up the stone. She extended her hand palm up, and he placed the stone in the middle of her hand. Slowly, an amber light began to glow. Declan's eyes filled and sob escaped. He pulled her against him.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Kari knew she had said yes, but now that she knew it was yes, it was different. Things were so dangerous; it had her thinking that maybe they should've waited, but now it was too late. She was going to be a mother, and she didn't even know where she was going to be living. It wasn't until Declan began to shake her gently that she realized she'd been hyperventilating.
"Do I need to go get Tarragon? Are you okay?"
"I am fine. I am fine. Maybe you could get me a glass of water?"
She took another deep breath. Declan raced to the sink. When he dropped the cup for the third time, she had to smile. It was a good thing it was plastic. He filled the cup almost to the brim and carefully walked it over.
He handed it to her as if it were the Holy Grail. His reactions made her relax. He wasn't handling it any better than she was. Smiling, she drank enough that she wasn't worried about spilling any water. She set it down on the small stand beside her. Declan stood there, unsure what to do. Looking shell-shocked, he began to sway on his feet. She reached over and gently tugged on his hand until he sat down in the chair again.
"Kari, I could've lost you both." Growling, he reached for his walkie-talkie. "Grant, come in." Kari knew he was distracted if he didn't use a call sign.
"Yes, Simba. What's up?"
"Can you see if you find my brother and send him down to the infirmary?"
"Sure. Is Kari okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine, over."