Chapter 7:

Mates for Life.

Delicate waves of moon beams drifted in through the sky light casting a dim glow throughout the entire chamber. The breeding room seemed to rest content becoming lost forever in time, like an undiscovered sanctuary undisturbed by any creature or human that happened to be near. The sound of crickets chirping echoed in through the ventilation system, giving off the false impression that the room was a jungle. In reality, it was manmade and constructed for a single purpose – a purpose that was about to be carried out.

Blu and Jewel stared into each other's eyes. Like motionless statues they formed peaceful smiles as they enjoyed each other's company. Their bodies shined like diamonds, catching the attention of the other bird. Jewel had never noticed Blu's body change in the moon light before. She stared in awe, her jaw hung low. As for Blu, this would have been the third time he had witnessed such a miracle of nature, but still he stood in admiration.

"You are so beautiful," he said swallowing a lump in his throat. He would have said more, but Jewel's wing went to his beak, silencing him.

"Now isn't the time to talk, Pet," she smiled. "I just want to be with you... without any thoughts, or conversations, no fear, no domestic status... just me and you sitting in the moonlight."

Jewel seated herself upon the ground and beckoned Blu to sit with a wave of her wing. She smiled as he obliged and wrapped his wings around her mid-section.

I bet Tulio will be happy. He really wanted us to do this. Blu thought to himself. He eyed the camera, surprised that it wasn't pointing in their direction. Maybe he is giving us some privacy. Blu smiled. That would really help move things along.

"Um, Jewel..." Blu began, toying with his wings a little nervously. "I wish I could tell you-"

Jewel pulled him into the longest, most passionate kiss of his life. She wrapped her wings around him. Both macaws became lost in the moment. Blu closed his eyes, and blushed inwardly. He knew they had already kissed twice before, but this one seemed much more intense. Much more romantic than he ever would have thought possible.

After a few moments both macaws pulled away, and stared into each other's eyes. Blu's was a soulful brown. Jewel's a sweet sapphire colour. Both macaws smiled at each other for a moment before either decided to speak.

"Wow," Jewel blushed, "where did that come from? That really wasn't like me at all."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Blu asked nervously, "I mean we could wait if you don't want to-"

Jewel silenced him again by placing her wing against his beak. She shook her head and eyed the star strewn night sky visible through the sky light.

"There will never be a time that I'll fully be ready." She said. "But as I said, when I'm with you there is no doubt, there is no fear. You complete me in every single way."

"But..." Blu began to protest but fell silent.

"No, there are no buts. Like Rafael said, there is only one way to get over your fear of doing something, and that is to face it head on."

"I really don't think this qualifies," Blu objected, "I mean this can't be taken back. What if something should happen?"

"Than we'll face it together... remember what I told you that day aboard the airplane. We'll figure this out together. I meant it then and I mean it now."

Before Blu could object again, she pulled him into another passionate kiss. Blu found himself acting upon instinct this time. He wrapped his wings around her, and lowered her to the ground. Both macaws peered at the camera. They hoped the humans weren't watching.

"Let's go, Pet." She grinned. "Let's get this over with."

# # #

Not too far away from the jungles of Rio, rested a small grotto. Large strands of vine like foliage surrounded the area, blocking out all but the faint glow of the moonlight, and the occasional firefly that fluttered upon the breeze. Like a phantom, a white robed bird slipped silently into the clearing and seated herself. To the untrained eye, she appeared to be nothing more than a large rock sticking up out of the Earth. Her eyes burned furiously as she folded her wings together.

"I was so close," She groaned, "How could I let everything just slip through my talons? My fool of a sister actually believed that I perished that day."

She snapped her beak together and shook her head. She chuckled insanely, placing a wing across her face.

"No, I didn't perish that day, but she will wish that I did."

She cackled to herself and pulled her hood away from her face. She peered at her reflection in a puddle of water. The revolting creature which peered back sent shivers down her spine. She was a horribly scarred spix macaw. The entire left side of her face rested partially paralyzed. Veins swelled and popped bringing out a rather large spider web design to that one side. Her face held two different tones of colour. Her right side consisted of the traditional cerulean of her species... the left side however was a mess. Most of the feathers on her paralyzed side had fallen out leaving black and blue bruising across her severely damaged facial tissue – the kind that would never heal.

"My sister is to blame for this." She cried, the cerulean side of her face shed a tear. "I'm a freak! I'm a shadow of what I was. She will pay dearly for what she did... but what concerns me the most is that male."

Her mind fell upon the impudent blue macaw who intruded in the artificial jungle. She focused on what he looked like. Her beak twisted into an insane snarl.

"He was a spix macaw too I would know my own kind anywhere. But how is that possible? My family was supposed to be the last of a species."

She slammed her wing across the puddle, disrupting the mirror like reflection. She growled throwing her wings up in a fit of rage.

"What cruel sort of destiny is this? It doesn't make any sense!" She screamed, "The reason my family was ripped from me was because we were the last of a species... who is this new guy?"

She stopped her temper tantrum and grew more menacing. She plucked a firefly from the air and swallowed it whole.

"It doesn't matter," She smiled, "if he is with my sister, then they have a reason to be together. Could it be humans are responsible for this turn of events?"

She shook her head.

"It doesn't matter," she smiled, "If they're together then that makes him an enemy too. But he is a male... so I can't directly face off against him. I would be too easily outmatched."

Her pale golden eyes watched the water settle. She formed a smile and refastened the cloak around her.

"But males have weaknesses. They have an over inflated desire to mate." She reminded herself. "If I can isolate Jewel, I can continue on my charade of a haunting. She'll drive herself insane."

The female laughed.

"Yes, it's decided. Tomorrow night, I'll pay another visit to my sister. She'll learn who the favorite should have been... before she pays for her treachery."

# # #

The first few rays of sunlight stirred Blu from his peaceful slumber. He studied his position for a moment before remembering the events from the night before. His body snuggled up close to Jewel, his wing wrapped gently around her. He formed a smile and watched her breathing. She seemed much more at ease now. Her chest bobbed up and down, her snoring filled his ears.

"I wish I could tell you those three words." He sighed, "But my mouth won't co-operate with me. Why is it so hard?"

Jewel smiled and opened her eyes. She rolled over to face him. Blu knew from her expression that she had been listening to him. She winked and kissed him.

"Well good morning, Pet." She grinned, "I don't suppose you were thinking about last night, were you?"

Blu nodded his head.

"Actually, I kind of was." Blu said sheepishly, "It's not every day something like that happens, especially to me."

"Same here," Jewel nodded, "But you know, that is what makes it special. We waited for each other."

Blu again nodded his head. Jewel shoved him playfully.

"Well, we'd both better get used to it. I have a feeling we'll be doing that for the rest of our lives."

Blu was going to respond but became silent when he heard the door's restraining bolt click out of place. Both macaws turned and watched Tulio enter the room. He smiled as he eyed the two birds for a moment. He wrote down something on his research clipboard.

"Well good morning you two." He said after a couple of moments. "Had some excitement last night, did you?"

Blu and Jewel looked at each other for a moment and peered up at the camera. It still appeared to be looking away from them.

"Oh come now, don't deny it. I saw the whole thing." Tulio laughed excitedly, "While you two were gone yesterday, we installed mini spy cameras throughout the entire chamber. We figured you didn't like the larger cameras so we shut them off."

"That means they saw everything," Blu explained in words Jewel could understand. "I should have been smart enough to figure that out."

"It's not your fault," Jewel cooed, rubbing her head against his. "I am sure if you had known you would have said something."

Blu nodded again.

Tulio smiled and rescued Jewel from off the ground. He stroked her feathers and whispered in her ear.

"We should run some tests, don't you think?"

"Tests?" Blu and Jewel both arched a curious eyebrow simultaneously.

Tulio proceeded to exit the room but turned back a quick moment and winked at Blu. "Don't worry, my friend. She'll be back soon."

Blu sat in solitude for a few moments. He sighed, and shook his head. He peered at the camera, now noticing a little black dot on the back side of the large box.

"How could I have been so stupid?" He asked himself, "You can clearly see that..."

"Why the long face?"

Blu jumped startled at the sound of the voice which rang out behind him. He turned to see two familiar birds entering from the ventilation system. Nico and Pedro fluttered over to him and forced two confident smiles.

"We heard the news and thought we'd come to visit." Nico grinned, "Why didn't you tell us about the wedding?"

"Yeah, that's robust." Pedro nodded swinging his wing in the traditional gangster style.

"Don't you like us anymore, bird?" Nico asked.

"Yeah," Pedro nodded his head, "Come on you can tell us."

Blu held up his wings to stop the barrage of questions being thrown his way. He shook his head and tried to give them the best answer he could think of.

"Well... We didn't really know ourselves until we visited Rafael. It just sort of happened... we didn't have time to even come look for you guys because it was getting too late."

"Oh, I see." Nico nodded, "That explains it. So there's nothing to worry about. We're good friends just like before."

Blu nodded his head.

"Of course we are. There's no concern in that department."

Nico and Pedro both landed on the ground and continued their little interrogation.

"So what's with the long face? You're getting married, you should be at the happiest point in your life."

"Well me and Jewel... ummmm well we... how do I say this?" Blu narrowed his wings together for added emphasis. "We, well we kind of-"

"Mated?" Nico finished. His eye filled with excitement.

"Yeah, that." Blu nodded.

Nico and Pedro slapped their wings together in a high five movement. They eyed the bird in admiration.

"Well that's awesome. We knew you could do it, Blu." Pedro grinned.

"But they took Jewel from me." Blu explained, "They said they needed to run some tests. I don't know what they meant by that."

"They wanted to see if there were any eggs." Nico grinned, "So they could know if you were going to be a papa."

"A papa?" Blu arched a curious eyebrow and peered towards the camera. "I didn't even think of that. I was just too involved in the moment."

"We could have a possible baby shower and wedding all at the same time, Nic" Pedro smiled, "Isn't it funny how the two always go wing to wing."

Blu lowered his head and went deep crimson in the face. He shuffled his wings together. He eyed the two birds for a moment and began to speak.

"Well... I was kind of had a different reason for the wedding." Blu admitted. "I really want to tell Jewel those three words. But my mouth won't co-operate no matter how many times I try."

"Awww every girl loves to hear those three wonderful words," Nico fluttered his eyes pretending to cry. "Remember one thing though. To make it special it has to come from the heart and hold real meaning."

Blu nodded his head.

"Right, I gotcha on that one."

# # #

Tulio studied the x-ray and ultrasound of Jewel's internal structure. He smiled, comparing the two for several moments. He straightened his glasses, flashing a small fibre optic light across the blackened picture.

His tongue stuck out of his mouth as he concentrated on his work. He mumbled to himself writing down his observations upon the clipboard, and turned to peer at Jewel and Linda. He nodded his head and went back to studying.

"Don't quote me just yet, but I see something. " He pointed a pen at the x-ray, and circled his findings.

"What is that?" Linda asked a little unsure of what she was seeing. "All I see is a little black dot."

"Exactly," Tulio grinned, lying back in his chair. "It's a little black blip amongst the blue that would be her bones. It's too early to tell for certain, but I know for a fact that it wasn't there a few days ago."

"Could it be an error from the x-rays machine? It might even be a little injury she has suffered sometime."

"No, I don't think so." Tulio shook his head. "It also appears in the ultrasound. Look here. See you can see it starting to form."

Linda watched the screen, surprised to see three little blackish dots appearing into plain sight. She gasped and peered down at the bird in her possession.

"You don't think that... she's going to have children are you?"

Tulio nodded his head.

"Normally for a bird, they carry their eggs only for a limited time. Normally they would carry their eggs for one or two months at the most."

Linda nodded in understanding.

"Because of that, their bodies normally begin to start showing signs almost immediately. I am not sure if you know, but Blu and Jewel were found together this morning... and we carefully kept monitoring their situation last night. The timing seems correct. So I would say that there is a very real possibility that Jewel is pregnant."

Linda examined the screen again. There were three black dots that she could make out. She studied the bird who looked horrified at the realisation.

"So if you are correct, all three of those dots are-"

"Are Blu and Jewel's children," Tulio nodded finishing her thought, "Three small eggs for three small baby macaws."

# # #

Tulio allowed Jewel a couple of minutes alone in the medical room. A cold feeling crept down her spine. She studied the x-ray for a moment. She could not deny the little dots which were growing inside of her. She placed a wing upon her stomach, feeling the flatness which would soon be gone. Tears worked their way down her face.

"I'm going to be a momma." She said a little uneasily. "I'm being entrusted to bring three new spix macaws into this world?"

She seated herself upon the desk. Her mind raced with a million different thoughts. Her entire life of loneliness and despair flashed before her eyes. But then she saw him... the blue macaw who she loved. He smiled at her, the way he usually did whenever he saw her in person. She eyed her stomach and sighed.

"Blu is going to be a father," she smiled. When she said it like that, it didn't seem so bad. She almost laughed to herself.

"Me and Blu," She mumbled, "parents to three little children."

She repeated herself several times. With every attempt a smile formed upon her face. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah," She nodded her head. "I like the sound of that."

Her thoughts drifted towards the wedding. Now there was a whole new reason to celebrate. She gasped and held her wings to her face.

"What am I going to say to him?" She wondered aloud, "How am I going to tell him, he's about to become a father?"