Everyday was a little better. She always wanted Keta-ki around, but he couldn't help but feel that her need for his presence was artificial. She just didn't want to be alone. Zuri pulled him to sit on the bed with her, and he turned on the hologram screen. He went through the recordings until he found a beautiful, cladly dressed female being watched by someone.
Zuri quickly hit the button on his wrist control to switch the recordings to something else. Keta-ki huffed but didn't bother to argue with her. Zuri had to have a hand on her belly constantly, and it seemed to calm her. As she watched the screen, her thumb rubbed back and forth over her swollen belly. Then for no reason, she grabbed Keta-ki's hand and placed it over her stomach.
When he glanced over at her, she gave him a shy smile. He supposed there was hope still that she would come to see him as a suitable mate. Keta-ki slowly rubbed his hand over her soft skin, still debating whether or not to tell her about the other yautja involved in Uri' crimes. He didn't want to bring him up though and have her cry again. So Keta-ki wrapped one arm around her back as the other held her stomach.
"You know the appointment is later today. Have you decided on a name?"
"No. I figure that when I see the baby, then I'll be able to decide."
"I realize that the child isn't mine, but I'd like to name him Meketre. Do you like it?"
She tucked her lips in as she considered it, but then said, "I'll have to think about it for a little while."
When Keta-ki got bored and couldn't sit there any longer, he tried to get some work done. He had to keep tags on badblood sightings and other related news, as well as do some budgeting. However, Zuri didn't want to watch the holograms alone. Lately, she'd gone into a sort of nesting mode-the cleaner and more organized the house was, the better she felt. So she kept trying to move things around and clean even though she could hardly do much.
So Keta-ki abandoned his work to wrap his arms around her, "You need to relax. You are too far along to be moving so much. Exercise and walking can induce labor-and you're scheduled for C section."
Zuri sighed and leaned her back against him, "I know-you've said that before."
He finally got some work done when she took a nap. Then, it was off to the hospital. Zuri was calm the ride there, and just a little bit nervous when they had her lie down on the table. The doctor began describing the procedure, and what she should expect, while the assistant got the tools ready. Zuri started to look pale.
"You mean I'll actually be awake through the whole thing?"
"Of course. We strive to make C sections as similar as natural births that we can. You will be numb from the waist down, and will be able to see your baby take its first breath." The doctor explained.
"Oh no no no! I can't be awake! I don't wanna see them cut me open!"
The assistant came to stand by Zuri's side, "The painkiller is ready to be administered."
Zuri practically lept from the table to get away from the doctors assistant. Keta-ki placed his hands on her belly and ran his claws through her hair to sooth her. Her chest was absolutely heaving with panic. When he tried to steer her back to the table, he could see her eyes start to glaze over with tears. Keta-ki didn't want to purr to her in the presence of others, so he looked to the doctor for some other answer.
"She can be put to sleep for the procedure, if she wishes." The doctor offered.
"Zuri," Keta-ki asked, "is that what you want?"
She nodded.
"Go get the proper anesthesia." The doctor ordered.
Keta-ki guided Zuri back to the table and helped her get on it, "I will be right here when you wake up."
The shot was given, and Zuri quickly faded. They raised the table, briefly prepped her for surgery, and then the assistant handed over a small handheld tool. It looked like a fat pen. It was an advanced piece of equipment that knew the depth at which to cut. The doctor ran it up her stomach in a long, straight line.
Keta-ki had never been squeamish about blood, but seeing her being cut open did worry him some. As the doctor held away the skin, the assistant used a small sponge to absorb the blood. Keta-ki had adamantly requested that he deliver the baby or help with the C section. As they both looked back at him though, waiting for him to step in, he had a few doubts. Still, he walked forward and looked to the doctor for directions.
Keta-ki had the honor of reaching in and pulling out the baby head first. It squirmed and make little squeaks as it looked up at him. The baby was big, even for a yautja baby, and very plump. The baby still wasn't crying though, and he found that odd. When the doctors assistant reached for the child, Keta-ki spun the child away with a vicious growl.
He was panicked, thinking that something was wrong with it. Babies could swallow too much fluid during birthing and have trouble breathing or die. The same could happen during a C section. The baby kicked and wiggled, seeming full of life, but could have been suffocating. He gave the baby a light smack on its behind to startle it, hoping for the best.
It immediately started coughing, then burst into tears. It wailed frantically, its hands balled into fists. This was the one and only time that everyone was happy to hear the child screaming at the top of its lungs. Keta-ki tenderly washed the blood off the child, then tightly wrapped it up in a soft leather cloth. Now that it had started crying, it didn't seem like it was ever going to stop.
The doctor healed Zuri's incision and the scar was erased. A different injection woke her up, and her head immediately turned towards the sound of the baby's cries. The doctor asked her questions, making she there was no side effects of the drug. Then, she was helped to sit upright. Keta-ki gently handed over the screaming baby.
The child had the face of a yautja with the four mandibles, and reptilian skin. Yet, it didn't have the traditional drooping or blotching. It's skin was uniformly peach. It had small, blunt, tusks at the ends of its mandibles, but no tusks in the top of its mouth and no teeth at all. The baby had deep green eyes with sprinkles of bright gold.
It had Uri's eyes. Zuri held her baby, stroking and kissing it. The baby still wailed and squirmed, until it latched onto Zuri's breast and started feeding. She stared down at it lovingly, her smile almost too big for her face, and her eyes began to water. He would never understand oomans...crying when they are sad, angry, and even happy...but Keta-ki now had a family.