When he returned to the island only to find that she wasn't there, he felt unusually short of breath. The cave was flooded. Her scent was gone. He jogged through the rain, searching the island in a hurry, finding few signs of her. But the tides had risen, so even her fishing traps were underwater.

His throat grew thick, knowing that she could have perished. Anunnaki dove into the canyon, and swam into the cave to check for a body, but the cave was completely empty. He couldn't find any remains, but much of the island was swamp now because of all the rain. Yaut hounds could have taken her. If his mate and unborn child were dead, he would blame himself. It would be his fault for mating her in the first place, and his fault for leaving her all by herself.

One detail nagged at him though. He'd left provisions for her in the refrigeration unit, and yet it was nowhere to be found either. He ran back to his ship, which was still resting on the beach, and he looked out at the ocean. He hoped that the ooman had made it to the mainland, and that she was still alive. She was due to give birth in a week, and Anunnaki needed to be there.

She'd been having pain like cramps all day, but she was sure the baby wasn't due yet. She'd kept careful track of it. She still had a whole week to reach the mainland before she went into labor. Her body seemed to have other ideas. A sudden rush of water between her legs told her it was time.

With shaking hands, she removed her shorts and laid under the canopy of the raft. Her heart beats started to climb. The pain quickly grew worse. There was no way to know if she was dilated enough, but when she had the urge to push, she pushed.

She grabbed the underside of her thighs and tried not to scream out in pain. Sweat began to run down the side of her face. She worried that something was going to go wrong. The umbilical cord could get wrapped around its neck, the baby could be turned the wrong way, or it could come out disfigured.

No matter how hard she kept pushing, nothing seemed to be happening quickly. She dropped her legs and rested her head on the uneven logs, trying to catch her breath. She felt her body tightening before another contraction. She grit her teeth together, lifted her legs, and pushed. She collapsed again, breathing heavily.

"I can't do this...I just can't do it."

She covered her face with her hands as her eyes started to swell with tears. When she felt another wave of pain through, another contraction, she couldn't help but push. She kept pushing, over and over, until she was exhausted. The sun kept steadily moving across the sky, and she worried it was taking too long. She was afraid that if it lasted even another hour, she'd be too tired to push. The baby could suffocate.

Ariana struggled to roll over, then prop herself up onto her hands and knees. The position felt more natural to her, and it was easier for her to breathe that way, rather than lying on her back. She dropped her head between her arms and grit her teeth, pushing as hard as she could. The pain was nearly unbearable, but worth it when she finally heard the baby screaming.

Ariana immediately started to tear up again as she scooped the baby up and started inspecting it. It was a little girl. She had all ten fingers and toes. Her facial features and skin color looked like Anunnaki, like a yautja. The only thing that concerned Ariana was how small she was. She felt barely five pounds, small even for a human baby, and yautja sucklings were over ten pounds.

She knew she still had the afterbirth to deliver, but she fretted over the baby first. Ariana cut the cord, washed her off, and tried to get her to feed. She'd been born a week early, and so tiny. The yautja males were supposed to be shorter. Ariana worried that her baby would grow up to be the smallest yautja female ever. She was relieved as soon as the baby latched onto her nipple. She wrapped her up in soft leather, and let her suckle as long as she wanted.

When she spotted something out in the distance, she was excited at first. She thought she'd finally reached the mainland. As it came closer though, she realized that it was a spaceship on top of the water. Her heart dropped. After all that work, he was already there to take the baby away. A few hours wasn't long enough. No amount of time with her baby would ever be long enough.

Ariana hugged the little girl to her and hid under the rafts canopy. She wouldn't let him take her away. The ramp of his ship landed right next to the raft. He waded out in the water and quickly anchored it to his ship. Anunnaki peeked under the canopy, finding the ooman huddled under it.

"Ariana?"

He'd assumed she'd be happy to see him, and yet she barely moved. He thought she might be sick at first. The water was up to his hips and he leaned his elbows on the raft to get a better look at her. He smelled blood on the wood first, before realizing she had something wrapped up in her arms. He let out a soft trill.

"You had the baby early? Are you ok?"

Ariana nodded.

"Well, is it a boy or girl?"

She swallowed nervously, "Girl."

"Let me see her."

Now the ooman showed some life. She quickly scooted to the very edge of the raft, farthest away from him, "No."

"It is of my blood! It is my child! Hand her over!"

"No!"

As Anunnaki started to climb onto the raft, she carefully slipped into the water. She held the baby up out of the saltwater. She'd swim the rest of the way to the mainland if she had to. Anunnaki went after her. He looped his arm around her chest and started dragging her up the ship's ramp. She couldn't fight him off without hurting the baby.

"Please, let me go!"

Anunnaki set butt down on the ramp, "What were you doing, getting in the water like that? Are you crazy? Dehydrated? What?"

He watched tears roll down her cheeks, and knew he was being too aggressive. Nine months alone in the jungle was hard enough, and then she'd given birth alone in the middle of the ocean. After searching for her, thinking she was dead, all he wanted was to hold the baby though. He didn't understand why she'd deny him that, unless something was wrong with the child. That though only made him more pushy to hold her, and see for himself.

"Tell me she's healthy at least."

Ariana nodded.

"Then let me see her."

Ariana tensed as he reached for the child, but she let him take her. Anunnaki held her in the crook of his arm and gently unwrapped the leather, getting a good look at her. Under the blanket, she was absolutely the tiniest suckling he'd ever seen. She kept her eyes closed, looking so sleepy. When he rubbed his thumb over her soft skin though, she gripped his finger tightly.

Anunnaki couldn't look away from her, "She is small, but strong. If she's fed plenty, she'll catch up."

"Please don't take her."

Anunnaki tipped his head up some, remembering what he'd told her before he left. The ooman already assumed the worst. They had turned him down as he'd feared. He was supposed to collect his offspring and leave again. Anunnaki wouldn't do it. Even though he'd taken an oath not to switch clans, he never promised not to leave the clan.

He set the child back in her hands, then ran his claws over her scalp, into her hair, "I'm not going to take her away."

Ariana looked up at him, confused, "They said yes?"

"No, they refused you as a member."

"So?"

"So, I left the clan...I am bound by no laws. For my first criminal act as rogue, I intend to kidnap you. We can live on any planet we like-as long as we don't run into any arbitrators."

She knew leaving a clan was serious. Anunnaki was leaving behind his house, and all his belongings as well. He could get punished by an arbitrator if he were ever caught. He was doing it all for her, just to be with her. Ariana was speechless, but a slow smile crept to her lips.

Anunnaki dropped to his knees in front of her, and grabbed a hold of the metal collar around her neck with both hands. The veins in his arms bulged, but he managed to snap the hinges apart. He tossed the broken collar onto the raft, then turned back to the ooman and his suckling. Her skin color was lighter, but green and grey just like his was. Her eyes were blue, but he knew that could change as she grew older.

"What have you named her?"

"I don't know. I've gone threw a million different names, and I don't like any of them. I need your help."

He let out a snort, "Female's name the pups, not males."

Ariana pursed her lips at him.

He let out a grumpy rumble, and then said, "I guess I've always kinda liked the name Sheriti for a girl."

"Sheriti...I like that name."

~Y Diwedd~ (Welsh for "The End")