Keta-ki let out a dark growl as he stared down at the throw up all over his feet. However, he really couldn't be angry at her. Morning sickness and vomiting, even to the smell or sight or certain foods, was not uncommon for a pregnant ooman. It was not her fault. He tenderly held her hair out of the way, but she seemed finished.

Her eyes glazed over as she wiped her mouth, and then she mumbled, "I wanna go to bed."

Since he didn't have a guest room, she'd be sleeping in his bed until he got another, "Take a bath first."

He showed her to the bathroom, and she washed off her face, then tried to leave. Keta-ki blocked her. When she tried to squeeze past him, he lightly growled at her. She whined as a response.

"Throw me your clothes and I'll have them washed and dried before your out of the bath." He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face the tub.

Once he showed her how to use the faucet, she said, "Turn around. You better not peek."

He let out a snort, and turned away from her. He'd seen plenty of naked females before, ooman ones even. Her body was nothing special. Still, he found himself listening to her movements intently, his skin warming as he tried to picture her actions. Suddenly, a sopping wet cloth hit the back of his neck.

Keta-ki spun around to snarl at the girl. The water was up to her neck and her arms were tightly wrapped around her chest. She was glaring at him, and he had no idea what he'd done this time to set her off. He grabbed the dripping wet shirt, and her pink panties, then stormed from the room. As he waited for her to finish, he washed her clothes and ordered a bed to be delivered to the house.

When she started yelling, he figured that she was done but didn't know where towels were, and didn't know how to use the drying machine. At her request, he assisted her with his eyes closed. Then, he showed her to his bed and watched her destroy it. She tossed more than half of the ornate furs to the floor, balled up others, then crawled under the rest of the pelts. When his new bed arrived, he left it in the living room, and collapsed in the middle of it to try to sleep.

Strange noises woke him up several times, as he was a light sleeper, and was not used to hearing anyone else in his house. He listened to her turning, yawning, kicking, and murmuring things in her sleep. When he was just about to fall back asleep again, Zuri began to pant and whine as she tossed in bed. It was not uncommon for oomans to have more vivid nightmares when pregnant. Keta-ki finally decided to go check on her.

He lifted himself out of bed and walked to his bedroom and slid open the door. She was sweating, her hands balled around the edge of a fur pelt. He hovered over her, unsure if he should wake her or not. When her breathing began to pick up, he started to purr to her. Almost instantly, her body relaxed.

As he continued, her breathing calmed and she pulled a fur up to her chin. He stayed by the side of the bed for a few minutes before he left her. Then, Keta-ki flopped back into his bed in the middle of the living room. Something about her just wore him out. It was several hours before she woke him up again, but this time was different. Keta-ki didn't shift, just trying to listen and interpret what she was doing.

It was the subtle sound of the bedroom door being slowly opened that had woken him. He could hear her slow breathing as well as every step she took. His hearing was better than hers, and she probably thought she was moving silently. He waited to see if she would enter the bathroom. Instead, he heard her walk right up to his bed.

Smell was what gave her away then, opposed to sound. Her scent was usually tempting and sweet, but was now tainted with fear and adrenaline. She thought to attack him while he slept, he was sure of it. He had removed all of the weapons, but back on earth she had used a candleholder. There were several heavy objects around his house that she could have grabbed with the intention if bashing his head in.

He wasn't going to give her the chance to try. Keta-ki swiveled to face her, and quickly grabbed her before she could react. Whatever object she had in her hands dropped to the floor with a deep thud as he pulled her into bed with him. She struggled and screamed, but he was more powerful than her. Keta-ki flipped her body under him and held her down.

"It is very poor sport to attack an opponent when they are at their weakest." He whispered.

"Get off of me! Let me go! Let me go! Please, I'm sorry!"

He released her and she scrambled out of the bed and ran back to the bedroom, making sure to slide the door closed behind her. He heard her climb into the bed and then the room was quiet. The elder was right-oomans were never as innocent as they seemed. Still, that little event proved that she wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He relaxed in the bed, enjoying her scent on it while it lasted.

In the morning, he prepared a full breakfast, only for her to eat a few bites then say she wasn't hungry. Zuri went back to the bedroom and slid the door closed. With some time to himself, he did some paperwork, ordered some clothes for the girl, and did some light cleaning. Only about an hour later, the door to the bedroom opened. Keta-ki glanced over, finding her leaning against the doorframe.

"I'm starving."

He dropped what he was doing to go into the kitchen. She turned around and headed back to the bedroom. Keta-ki sliced up a fruit, put it on a plate, and brought it to her. She had all the furs rolled up at the front of the bed so she could sit upright against them. As soon as she saw what he had, she seemed dissatisfied.

"That's it? I said I was starving. I don't want fruit."

Keta-ki thrust the plate into her lap anyway, "I am not your butler. Remember that I saved your life."

As he turned and left, she shouted, "Bring me something to drink!"

Though his agitation with her was growing, he went into the kitchen and scoured the shelves for something special. He measured vitamin powder and mixed it with sugar and juice. Then, he added a few drops of a liquid that would help ease her upset stomach and prevent her from puking. He went into the bedroom, finding that she'd eaten all the fruit on the plate. He handed

her and grabbed the empty plate from her.

She took one tiny sip from the drink and gagged, "This tastes like medication!"

"Drink it. It is good for you."

"No thanks." She tried to hand it back.

"Drink it."

She grit her teeth, "I don't want to."

"Drink it!"

"No!" She threw the contents of the cup in his face.

The liquid dripped down his face, and Keta-ki let out a bellowing roar of anger. Zuri recoiled from him and covered her ears. When she started to scream though, he went silent, realizing that he could damage her eardrums. She stared at him, her hands still over her ears, and she started to cry. He huffed, began a deep and steady purr, but she kicked at his chest.

"Get away from me!"

"I'm sorry."

"Go away!" She sniffled and sobbed and when Keta-ki didn't budge she whimpered, "They're

going to kill Uri."

He was hesitant to answer, but eventually admitted, "He is detrimental to the yautja race. Since he has failed to correct his behaviours, his sentence is death."

She stared to cry harder and babbled, "I always just thought that he would go to jail or something and I'd never see him again. But that elder said to kill me and I guess I realized that your race is as cruel as Uri said it was...That was what I dreamt last night, that the elder killed him."

Keta-ki wiped off his face and sat on the edge of the bed, "How did you meet him?"

"I was mugged, and bleeding pretty bad. My house was closer than the hospital, but I ran into Uri on the way. He healed me. It was like magic. Then, he just disappeared...but later that night when he came into my house, I was scared, but I offered him food...and it went from there."

She lightly rubbed her belly as she said, "It was years before he even touched me. Which, by the way, was more decent than any guy I'd met back at home. He didn't do the things you said, he couldn't have."

Keta-ki clicked his tusks together for a moment, then asked, "Do you love him?"

He expected an immediate yes from her, but instead she hesitated, then said a weak, "Yea."