Getting closer to the due date, Keta-ki constructed another surprise for Zuri. He had to get her out of the house for a little while. She looked silly, a pregnant ooman carrying around a tiny hunting hound puppy. When the little beast got bigger though, she was going to look fierce. After a ride around town and some light shopping, he brought her back home and waited to see if she'd notice anything.

She set down the hound to go the bathroom and Keta-ki casually leaned against the wall by the bedroom. When she came back out, she found her crackers and started nibbling. She eyed him suspiciously but then continued about her business. He watched her as she got a drink and sipped it slowly. She looked back over at him, and put one hand on her hip.

"What?" She asked.

He gestured for to come over. She huffed and started to walk to him, but suddenly jerked to a stop. She looked at the bedroom door, then to the door beside it. Zuri cocked her head to the side, then her eyebrows rose. She bit her lower lip, then cautiously turned to look up at him.

"That door wasn't there before, right?"

While they were out, he had hired a remodeling crew to come to his house. In little less than an hour, a door had been installed, a room built onto the building, and furniture placed inside. He had been planning it for some time. He hoped that Zuri would like it.

"Go on in." He prompted.

Zuri slid the door open and stood in the doorway. Her mouth dropped some as she looked around the room. There was a crib in the center, designed like a chalice with a soft round bed in the inside. In one corner was a comfy chair where she could relax and breastfeed. There were tables, shelves, and drawers around the room too.

Keta-ki had warmed up to the idea of raising her child. Chasing badbloods and becoming an arbitrator could wait-he just wanted to be with Zuri. He cautiously came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest, daring to show some of the affection he felt for her. She started to run her fingers up his arm, but then began to shake her head. She pulled away from him, and her eyes started to swell with tears.

"You shouldn't have done this...If...if Uri is found innocent, I'll have to leave. He said that he loves me."

"I won't deny that he may care for you, but he is no good for you or your baby."

"You don't get to say what is or is not good for me!"

"He is a badblood, and you need to admit it. I'm sorry Zuri, but it is true."

"He can't be! He would never hurt me or put me in any danger! He isn't bad; there has to have been a mistake!"

"I can show you his crimes, show you the videos."

"I just want to go home." She sobbed.

She needed to be strong when she had her baby, and latching on to false hopes was unhealthy. The sooner she realized the truth, the faster she would be able to move on. Even if Uri did love her, he would be chased as a badblood his entire life, and that was not going to end well for her or the baby. And if he's caught and put on trial, he would be executed, and she needed to prepare herself for that. She couldn't grieve too long; her baby was going to need her.

Keta-ki grabbed her wrist and hauled her into the living room, activating one of the large hologram screens. He played recordings of Uri, skipping to the parts that were unlawful. At first she lit up at seeing him, but as she watched, she became receded. It showed Uri committing many crimes, some of which were armed robbery, arson, kidnapping, and finally murder with the assassination of the political figure and his mate. Zuri just stood there, silent, her eyes on the hologram.

Keta-ki turned it off, hating to see her like that. He was breaking her heart. He combed his hands through her long, dark, curled hair a he started to purr. The holograms were not censored, and not blurry-they were in high definition and full color, showing Uri's face clearly, and all the blood. He wiped away her tears and when her soft, pink lips began to quiver he deepened his purrs.

"He never acted violent in front of me. Never." She whimpered.

She was still starting up at the hologram screen even though it was blank. Keta-ki carefully scooped her up and carried her to bed. He arranged the furs how she liked and brought the biggest one over her body. Then, he found the hairless puppy and placed it in her arms. She started to giggle at his efforts, but it turned into hiccups, and then just more sobbing. Keta-ki left, thinking it was best if he let her be alone for a while.

o0oo0oo0o

In over six months she hadn't seen him, touched him, or smelled him-and then he showed up at her door late one night. Over the years they had been seeing each other, Uri had learned her language. They walked together at night, around places were they weren't likely to be seen, and they talked for hours. At an abandoned farm, Zuri climbed up and sat on the wooden fence. She was almost at his eye level then.

Uri was about to continue their conversation, when he got distracted. He walked closer to the fence and tilted his head to examine something. Under the moonlight, Zuri could see a big preying mantis climbing one of the fence posts. When it got to the top, Uri extended his hand to touch or pick it up. The little thing was feisty though, and he pulled his fingers away.

After a few seconds, Uri declared, "I think this tiny insect wishes to fight me."

Zuri burst out laughing. All the while, the preying mantis was eyeing him and flicking its arms in the air menacingly. When she stopped giggling, Zuri stared into his eyes and forgot what they had been talking about. She cleared her throat and focused her attention on the fireflies around them. She lifted both of her hands and started to try and catch one.

Little kids were always catching them, but Zuri was finding it difficult. As soon as she zeroed in on one, it stopped glowing and she lost it in the dark. He stood just watching her for a few moments before deciding to join in. Uri's eyes followed one of the fireflies and he calmly reached out and caught it in his fist. He extended his hand for her to take the insect he'd caught.

She cupped her hands around his as his fingers opened, and the firefly was caught in her hands. She slowly brought her hands apart to peek down at it. It was almost too dark to see anything, but then a flash of yellow lit up in her palms. The fact that he'd caught it for her had her insides going all gushy. She smiled at him as the little bug flew out of her fingers.

Her stomach was in knots, but she bent forward and placed a small kiss on his mandibles, then she abruptly leaned away. Her cheeks were absolutely burning, unbelieving what she'd just done. She'd gone from finding his face hideous, to tolerable, to kissing it. Zuri had provoked something in him though. He placed his hands on the railing on each side of her, and steadily brought his face closer.

Her heart was pounding a million times a minute as his breath set on her lips, and his mandibles slowly twitched out of the way. Her grip on the fence tightened as a tusk grazed her lips and his teeth parted as his jaws opened. He pressed his mouth to hers. She was instantly lightheaded. His mouth moved against hers and she just sat there petrified for several seconds.

Zuri closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath of his musk, and her body was set on fire. She threw her arms around his neck and held him closer, moaning slightly as his strong arms went around her back. Her tongue reached out to his mouth without hesitation. Uri grunted at the intrusion, but in a matter of seconds his tongue began to slip into her mouth. His tongue was long, thin, hot, and carried an unusual taste that she sort of liked.

When they broke apart, Zuri was so out of breath and dizzy that she almost fell off the fence. She wracked her brain for some clever reason to invite him back to the house, but then just asked, "You wanna go inside?"

"Yea."

She hopped off the fence and sprinted back to the house with him on her heels. She clumsily fiddled with her keys, the anticipation making her frazzled. As soon as they got in the door, Zuri turned around and threw herself at him. Keta-ki's hand went behind her head as they kissed. He kicked the door closed and they moved towards the bedroom.

They scrambled in the dark to get each others clothes off, then tripped over the discarded garments as they tried to keep their mouths connected in the process. Zuri's squeezed his dreds and he collapsed back into the bed with her straddling him. He quickly flipped her under him and he let out a playful growl. Her eager fingertips trailed over his pecs and his abs, carefully feeling around those tiny spikes. As his hands parted her legs, she stared up at those mint green eyes.

Zuri drew in a sharp breath as he pushed inside her, his girth more than surprising. She winced as he sunk all the way inside her, but then her body shuddered with pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his back, panting and moaning with his every stroke. The gold beads in his hair clinked together as his muscles tightened and he thrust into her harder.

His hand went around the base of her neck, restricting her air flow, and making her feel weak and safe all in the same breath. She arched her back and moaned as his thrusts became more demanding. It was an overpowering sensory fusion of pain and pleasure. In the dark she could still make out the odd blotching of his skin, reminding her what sort of creature was unleashed on top of her. The reptilian skin, the claws, the mandibles, just made it all the more exhilarating.

He held her tightly as one last thrust sent her over the edge. She let out an orgasmic cry, pleasure sweeping through her body. Uri nibbled at her ear as she caught her breath, then he rolled over to lay beside her. She curled up on his side, her fingers trailing up and down his chest as her eyelids grew heavy. As she zoned in and out, he murmured alien words in a sleepy, sated tone.

Then, right before her eyes closed he uttered, "I've fallen for an ooman."