“What? Where are we going?”
“To see Liv—that nice girl I introduced you to when you first came on board,” Meg told her. “She’s a doctor and she can get you a test.”
“What—like a pregnancy test?” Sammi asked. “I don’t know, Meg—maybe I’m just being crazy and there’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Then the test will be negative and you’ll have put your mind to rest. Come on,” Meg said firmly. “You have to know, Sammi. Because if you are pregnant, somebody has a lot of explaining to do!”
Well, that was certainly true, Sammi thought faintly. She allowed Meg to lead her away from her uneaten breakfast and march her down the hall to the Med Center where Liv worked. Outwardly she was calm but inside, her stomach was a mass of butterflies.
It seemed that Roark’s insemination machine might be working better than he thought—better than either of them had ever thought possible.
Thirty-Six
“Well, you’re pregnant all right.” Liv handed Sammi two little flowers—both of them pink. “Twin girls—do you have any idea how rare that is when the father is a Kindred? It’s like a million to one shot. Who is the father, anyway—if you don’t mind me asking,” she added.
“I…I don’t know,” Sammi said numbly. Now that her hunch had been confirmed, she didn’t know how to act. She looked up to see Liv staring at her blankly.
“You don’t know?” she repeated, frowning. “Are you dating a human, then?”
“I’m not dating anyone,” Sammi said and burst into tears.
“Oh, Sammi!” Meg exclaimed and put a comforting arm around her shaking shoulders. “It’s okay, honey,” she told Sammi. “Just let it out—let it all out.” She looked up at Liv. “I’m sorry—but could we have a little time alone?”
“Of course.” Liv patted Sammi’s shoulder. “If you need anything at all, I’ll be right outside,” she promised.
“Th-thank you,” Sammi stuttered. But the minute Liv left the room, she really let it out. ”I don’t know wh-what to d-do,” she moaned through her sobs. “I don’t understand what’s happening. How can this be?”
“I’ll tell you what you do.” Meg was scowling. “You march straight to that lab and demand that Commander Roark tell you what exactly was in that ‘fake seed’ he was giving you! Because it obviously wasn’t fake! And how was he giving it to you, anyway?” she added, frowning.
Sammi couldn’t answer. She was too busy trying to get hold of herself and think how to deal with this crazy problem.
A plan—I need a plan, she told herself desperately. Any time she had an issue she had to solve, she always felt better once she had a plan.
Well first of all, Meg was right—she had to talk to Roark. She could tell him her theory about the babies she was carrying being a product of a stray Beast Kindred sperm. It occurred to her that maybe this wasn’t such bad news. They had talked, in a round about way, about couples who couldn’t conceive, adopting children. Would it really be so different if she had babies that weren’t Roark’s biologically?
Maybe this would even make him decide they ought to be together as more than just boss and assistant, Sammi thought hopefully. Maybe they could make a life together and raise the two little girls and have a happy home.
A picture of the four of them bloomed in her mind—two little girls staring adoringly up at their adopted father and Roark laughing and playing with them while Sammi rocked them to sleep and read them bedtime stories. She had always wanted to be a mom—always wanted a big family. And now maybe she had a chance to do it….
“You know…” she said, sniffing and swiping at her eyes with the handful of tissues Meg had given her. “I think you’re right—I need to go see Commander Roark right now.”
“That’s the spirit!” Meg said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “And I’ll come with you for moral support.”
“No.” Sammi shook her head. “No, this is something I have to do on my own, Meg. Thank you, though,” she added, giving her friend a watery smile. “You’re the best friend a girl could ask for.”
“I know,” Meg said cheerfully. “And soon I’m going to be the best aunt a girl could ask for—two little girls, in fact.” She gently patted Sammi’s tummy. “Go on now—go straighten this out.”
“I will.” Sammi lifted her chin. She was determined to get to the bottom of this…and hopefully come out in a better place on the other side. Visions of a happy family still dancing in her head, she left the Med Center and headed for the lab, taking the two tiny pink flowers with her.
Thirty-Seven
“You’re what?” Roark looked at her blankly.
“You heard me.” Samantha lifted her chin. There was a defiant gleam in her green eyes that said she fully expected him to believe her.