The Territories are a dangerous place at the best of time. Chiana learned this fact at an early age and she'd lived under those conditions for longer then she cared to remember. The number one major rule that kept her alive all those cycles of wandering perilous space was never let your guard down...ever.
The recent cycles aboard Moya may have dulled her edge slightly. Busy in the Leviathan's Amnexus fluid chamber taking care of her laundry, the relative sense of safety was the only excuse she could come up with for what happened. She just dumped her soapy clothing into a rising tub when she got the feeling... the one that says, "You're in trouble, but it's too late to do anything about it."
Crichton would have called it having the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
She stiffened as she realized somebody was close behind her. Before she could do much more, muscular arms wrapped around her and swiftly lifted her up slightly off the floor. A strong hand clasped itself over her mouth at the same time. Chiana eyes shot wide open with the shock of being so totally taken surprised and unaware.
The intruder's head tilted in next to hers and his voice spoke in a low tone close to her ear,
"It would be in your best interest to remain silent."
Chiana knew the owner of the arms that held her captive meant business and so she thought it wise to agree to whatever he wanted. She nodded her head in the affirmative that she would cooperate.
"Good," said the voice, "I'm glad you see things my way."
The hand fell away from her mouth and Chiana inhaled deeply but followed his instructions and didn't cry out. The arms set her back on the deck and loosened their restricting hold on her body though one still keep a hold of her, not allowing her the opportunity to escape. Right away the other hand started loosening her clothing. Chiana bit her lip and suppressed a moan as the seeking hand found her flesh. The intruder guided her away from the fluid tubs, toward a mount of clothing in one corner. The Nebari girl held her breath as she readied herself for what she knew was coming next.
Half an arn later, Chiana covered herself with a blanket from a nearby pile. The deed done, her interloper seemed content to start to doze off. The woman frowned at the man and decided now was the perfect time to extract her revenge for the rather rude interruption of her life.
She leaned over and lightly nipped her bond-mate on the nose.
"Hey!" exclaimed Berret as he became fully alert, "What did you do that for?"
Chiana gigged, "Because you deserve it for sneaking up on me and acting like such a dimbulb."
"Well, if it wasn't convenient for you, you could have just said something and I would have stopped."
The Nebari gave her husband a wicked grin and swooped in for a quick kiss.
"Not if your life depended on it. You started it, you better be able to finish it, my boy," she said, her leer even more wicked then the grin had been. "We're just lucky none of the other's walked in on us," she finished.
"No, they're all busy," Berret told her.
Chiana brushed one hand along his cheek and gazed down at him lovingly.
"Not that I'm complaining... but what brought this on?" she asked.
Berret smiled back up at her and ran his finger along one of her bare forearms.
"I don't know," he admitted with a quizzical look, "I just started to... miss you for some reason. So I came looking for you."
"That's sweet, but Aeryn will kill you if you don't finish rebuilding that power collector in the maintenance bay."
Berret frowned as she reminded him of his chore, "Yes, she is rather moody since she became pregnant."
Chiana gave him another chuckle, "Hey, you really want to have some fun and gris her off? The next time you see her... stop and look at her strangely then ask her if she's putting on weight."
"Oh, right... then I can start dodging pulse bolts. Grand idea," said her husband, which made Chiana chortle harder. He started to gather his clothing together and then turned to her with a grin and asked,
"Nebari don't get so moody when they're with child, do they?"
Chiana started to dress herself. "No, we're our usual sweet selves."
Berret gave her an exaggerated frown as he finished dressing and got to his feet. "So... what you're telling me is that I could one day be in for a worse time then John is having now," he said trying to hide the smirk.
Chiana stuck out her tongue and grabbed up a towel from the linen pile. Quickly rolling it up she snapped it at her husband's retreating behind.
"Back to work, Mister!" she scolded.
Berret chuckled and tossed the Nebari phrase for "I love you," over his shoulder as he left the chamber.
Chiana smiled to herself and briefly hugged the towel to her chest. Bonded life was turning out better then she expected.
A few arns later, Chiana and Berret walked into the Center Chamber mess, hand in hand for the evening meal. The Nebari girl looked up warmly at her bond-mate and then leaned in against him to rub her cheek against his bicep in Nebari adoration. The last few solar days, Berret had been acting more affectionate and loving to her then was normal for the man. She wondered if he was finally beginning to come to terms with the Earth human emotions that were slowly making themselves prevalent in the last cycle. Perhaps their Bonding had set him at ease and helped him adjust to being an emotional creature again. Whatever the reason, Chiana wasn't going to grumble about the results, she had absolutely no doubts now that Berret truly loved her.
The couple found a pair of empty seats at the large table and Chiana greeted Andar as she took the chair next to him. Andar looked up from his conversation with Malika and gave the two a smile and a quick hello before returning to the discussion he was having with the Delvian Pa'u. Berret noticed an intricate looking bracelet adorning the man's wrist that looked as if most of the material it was woven from consisted of blue Delvian hair, hair that Malika was suspiciously without now that she had entered into the Delvian Seek. The Shrike wondered exactly where the couple's relationship stood but the pair seemed content and happy to keep the status of such to themselves. Berret looked back at Chiana and saw the slight smile on her glossy black lips and knew her she'd also made note of the Sebacean man's new accessory.
The rest of the crew was already present and several animated conversations were going on around the mess table. Tonight was sort of a celebration as Rygel had arrived unexpectedly from his homeworld on his private shuttle. The Hynerian Dominar was probably avoiding some social function one of his many wives had planned and had used Moya nearness to Hynerian space as an excuse to get out of it. As the couple entered the small being was regaling his friends with stories of life in the royal court. After Chiana and her husband were seated, Zhaan passed down a large platter of shell-covered mollusks. As Berret set the platter down on the table before them, he could see steam rising off the cooked shelled invertebrate life form. Chiana sniffed the air and licked her lips.
"Mmmm, I love steamed Mimitch," she said as she picked out a few shells and set them on her plate.
Berret slightly frowned, shell covered seafood was not his favorite type of victuals. However, the crew had traded for supplies and gotten a good deal on a load of the mollusks; which because they could be keep alive in Moya's saline water tanks indefinitely, where a good non-perishable food supply to have laid away with the war between the Scarrens and the Peacekeepers waging.
The Shrike chose one of the shells and cracked it open after setting it on his plate. Inside the meat of the sea animal was dark gray and peeled off in strips. Berret put a piece in his mouth and chewed, finding it to be dull and bland to his taste, he looked around the table for something to season the lifeless meat with. His wife had no such problem as she had noisily devoured her first shellfish and was working on opening her second one. Apparently he wasn't the only one who found the meat almost tasteless as both Crichtons had containers of different seasoning lined up before them and where dousing the tidbits to give them some sort of flavor. The rest of the crew watched and shook there heads wondering why anyone would want to ruin the exotic taste of the shellfish. It seemed that human taste buds where somewhat lacking in their ability to detect such nuances unlike natives to the Territories.
Chiana had worked her splitting-fork into the seam of the shell but instead of cracking the husk open, it remained stubbornly sealed tight. To make matters worse, the thick prying end of the fork was now stuck in the shell and wouldn't budge. The Nebari girl worried at her tidbit until Andar noticed her situation and that Berret's attention was on the story-telling Rygel so he offered to help.
"Here, Pip. Let me help get that opened for you," he said as he half stood up and leaned over her to assist.
Before he realized he was doing it, and to the rest of his crewmate's shock, Berret rocketed to his feet.
"No!" he half-snarled as he seized Andar's wrist in one hand before he could reach Chiana's fork.
"What?" exclaimed Andar, as he looked around himself quickly for some unseen danger, his free hand darting to his holstered pulse pistol. Then Andar realized the ex-assassin was glaring at him and not at something else. All conversation in the chamber ceased and all eyes turned on Berret as the sudden anger visibly drained from his face in the next microt.
"What's going on?" asked Andar bewildered.
"I don't know?" Berret answered him in confusion.
Chiana, startled by the sudden outburst asked, " ...'Retty? Are you okay?"
Before he could answer Zhaan said, "Jared, why did you do that? What did Andar do?"
"Nothing. I don't know why I reacted like that."
Andar nodded and pointed at his wrist still held in the other man's hand. "Well, until you do figure it out... can I have that back?"
Realizing he still held the Sebacean man's arm, Berret let go. "I'm sorry, Andar. I don't know what to say. Please excuse my behavior," he asked in slight embarrassment.
The Shrike truly felt bad for his unexplainable conduct. Andar by far was the most well mannered among Moya's male crewmates, even more so then both John and Sean. He was just being polite by offering to help Chiana break open her Mimitch shell when he saw she was having trouble. There was absolutely no logical reason for Berret to become angry with the man for being chivalrous.
The Sebacean man told him after his apology that there was no harm done and preceded to complete the task he was interrupted in. Taking the shellfish from Chiana, he gave the fork an expert twist and the husk broke apart. The Nebari thanked him and hurriedly ate the meat before it could cool. Andar sat back in his seat and picked up his conversation with the young priestess, having already put the matter aside.
Berret retook his seat and noticed both Crichtons looking at him oddly while Aeryn looked annoyed at having her meal interrupted. But then again, Aeryn always looked annoyed with everything since becoming pregnant. The situation over, D'argo went back to eating while Rygel for his part never bothered to stop in the first place. Zhaan regarded him from her place across the table.
"Perhaps you're simply not feeling well, Jared," she said. "And maybe you're just a little jumpy."
Berret lowered his voice so only she could hear him. "I don't know, Zhaan. I feel fine. It was as if I just suddenly had a flash of anger or rage. I guess Andar just happen to be a convenient target for it."
"Maybe we should go to the Med-lab after the meal and check to see if you picked up a virus that is affecting the collar pathways in your nervous system. I could give you something to shut them down until it passes," she suggested.
"They haven't bothered me in a while. I don't even notice the background noise anymore," he replied.
"Even so, we should check them to be on the safe side."
Berret agreed, knowing the Delvian would get her way about the exam at any rate. Beside him, Chiana let out a small cough.
"Speaking of the Med-lab, I'm starting to not feel so good myself," she told them.
"What's wrong," asked Berret, concern growing on his face as he took in her condition.
"Yes, my dear. You're looking flushed," said Zhaan.
Chiana's forehead was covered in a light sheen of sweat and she began to sway as Berret put an arm around her shoulder to steady her.
"I dunno. I feel like... like... like I'm gonna..." the Nebari girl tried to get out.
"Going to what?" exclaimed Berret in alarm as the others started to rise from their seats at Chiana's obvious distress. Berret frantically looked at his wife waiting for her to finish telling him what was wrong with her.
"Like I'm going to..." she stammered again, " THROW UP!" she got out as she turned her head to one side and did just that.
Berret held his wife as she became violently sick. When the worse of her heaving subsided Zhaan knelt down beside her and quickly examined her.
"She has a slight fever. We have to get her to the Med-lab right away," the older Delvian said as the Shrike picked up his small bond-mate.
"No one else eat anymore of the Mimitches until I have examined Chiana to determine what has made her ill," Zhaan ordered. "Malika, I'll need your help."
As most of the companions left the Center Chamber, Rygel called out, "But I've been eating them all day and I feel fine!" When no one bothered to answer him and with no one present to stop him, the Hynerian went back to feasting on the shellfish.
Zhaan ran the imaging scanner over Chiana's prone body. A small alarm sounded and she backtracked the scanner bar back the way she'd just waved it until it settled over the Nebari woman's abdomen. Berret held Chiana's hand as they waited for the Delvian woman to make her diagnosis. Zhaan looked over the data streaming over the small screen on the scanner bar as she held it over the spot on Chiana's body it told her to. Zhaan's eyes went wide in astonishment just at the same time Malika, who was standing over at the main med computer panel and reading over the same data Zhaan was, gasped in surprised.
Both Delvians looked at each other, Chiana fearing the worse asked,
"What's wrong? Am I going to be all right, Zhaan?"
Zhaan replied, "I'm afraid not, Chiana." She turned back to look at the prone woman and her bond-mate with a tight smile. A delighted giggle escaped her before she could catch it.
"Chiana, dear... You're pregnant!" she announced.
"What?" Chiana asked opened mouth.
"You're going to have a baby," Zhaan said.
"A baby? Me? Us?" the Nebari stammered as she looked over at Berret, who was just as opened mouth at the news as she was.
"A baby?" Berret repeated dumbly, "How...?"
Malika chuckled as she switched off the med lab computer. "Well, if you don't know 'how' by now... I'm not even going to try and explain it to you," she poked at him good-naturedly.
It was a good thing there was a chair behind Berret because he sat down without looking, still stunned over the development. He looked at his wife and immediately his heart filled with untold love for her.
She gazed back at him and squeezed his hand, she then remembered about her bout of stomach sickness.
"So what made me sick, was it the Mimitch then? Where they bad?" she asked the Delvians.
"I'm afraid it was the Mimitch, and no, they weren't bad," Zhaan explained, "I'm afraid you're experiencing the same affliction Aeryn is... what Crichton calls 'morning sickness.' You're going to find that some foods you liked before becoming pregnant will make you ill while you might crave foods you previously didn't like. And of course you will probably experience bouts of stomach sickness on and off just as Aeryn does."
Chiana twisted up her face in disbelief.
"That's not possible," she said, "Nebari woman do not get sick when they are with child. Not like woman from Earth or Sebacean women do."
Zhaan smiled pleasantly as she attempted to explain, "Sebacean women normally don't get sick either. Unfortunately, you and Aeryn are both carrying children that will be half human, therefore you will both probably have the morning sickness... at least for awhile."
"Well, this should prove interesting," Chiana said as she finally surrendered to the inevitable.
Zhaan turned to Berret, "With this new information, I believe I also have an answer to your earlier behavior with Andar."
Berret wondered what Chiana being with child could possibly have to do with his unreasonable anger with the ex-teacher; he nodded for the priestess to continue with her theory.
"When Nebari woman conceive their firstborn they produce a pheromone which is meant to bond their lifemate closer to them with constant exposure, it makes the males more protective. This is nature's way to ensure the family unit stays together. In Nebari males the effect is subtler and is almost ignored. Not being Nebari the effect is somewhat stronger on Jared."
Chiana looked at Berret, "That explains why you've wanted to be so close by me lately."
Berret could tell the news disappointed his wife slightly; the woman believed he'd felt the way he'd been feeling lately all on his own. He stroked her cheek lightly saying,
"I don't need any help with wanting to always be near you."
Chiana looked at him as if she didn't quite believe the words, so he added to cheer her up,
"Except maybe when you're throwing up... then maybe I will be content to stand somewhere safely off to one side."
The comment had the desired affect and the girl broke into a grin. "You didn't move off to one side in the Center Chamber a little while ago," she reminded him.
"There you see, even when you're sick... I still want to be near you," he finished by rising one of her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it.
"Well, well," said Aeryn from the doorway as she strolled into the lab. "I overheard the news," she explained and then turned to look at the Nebari with a mischievous smile.
"You just couldn't help yourself except to copy me," she said placing a hand over her belly that had just started to swell with child.
"Hey, retorted Chiana, "Can't let you have all the fun now, can I?"
"See if you thinks it's fun after a quarter cycle of that frelling morning sickness dren."
"Yeah, well... we'll see," Chiana replied as if challenged.
Aeryn grinned down at her and bent over closer to wiggled a finger in the Nebari girl's face.
"You know," she drawled, "This is what you get for teasing me about getting fat."
The recent cycles aboard Moya may have dulled her edge slightly. Busy in the Leviathan's Amnexus fluid chamber taking care of her laundry, the relative sense of safety was the only excuse she could come up with for what happened. She just dumped her soapy clothing into a rising tub when she got the feeling... the one that says, "You're in trouble, but it's too late to do anything about it."
Crichton would have called it having the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
She stiffened as she realized somebody was close behind her. Before she could do much more, muscular arms wrapped around her and swiftly lifted her up slightly off the floor. A strong hand clasped itself over her mouth at the same time. Chiana eyes shot wide open with the shock of being so totally taken surprised and unaware.
The intruder's head tilted in next to hers and his voice spoke in a low tone close to her ear,
"It would be in your best interest to remain silent."
Chiana knew the owner of the arms that held her captive meant business and so she thought it wise to agree to whatever he wanted. She nodded her head in the affirmative that she would cooperate.
"Good," said the voice, "I'm glad you see things my way."
The hand fell away from her mouth and Chiana inhaled deeply but followed his instructions and didn't cry out. The arms set her back on the deck and loosened their restricting hold on her body though one still keep a hold of her, not allowing her the opportunity to escape. Right away the other hand started loosening her clothing. Chiana bit her lip and suppressed a moan as the seeking hand found her flesh. The intruder guided her away from the fluid tubs, toward a mount of clothing in one corner. The Nebari girl held her breath as she readied herself for what she knew was coming next.
Half an arn later, Chiana covered herself with a blanket from a nearby pile. The deed done, her interloper seemed content to start to doze off. The woman frowned at the man and decided now was the perfect time to extract her revenge for the rather rude interruption of her life.
She leaned over and lightly nipped her bond-mate on the nose.
"Hey!" exclaimed Berret as he became fully alert, "What did you do that for?"
Chiana gigged, "Because you deserve it for sneaking up on me and acting like such a dimbulb."
"Well, if it wasn't convenient for you, you could have just said something and I would have stopped."
The Nebari gave her husband a wicked grin and swooped in for a quick kiss.
"Not if your life depended on it. You started it, you better be able to finish it, my boy," she said, her leer even more wicked then the grin had been. "We're just lucky none of the other's walked in on us," she finished.
"No, they're all busy," Berret told her.
Chiana brushed one hand along his cheek and gazed down at him lovingly.
"Not that I'm complaining... but what brought this on?" she asked.
Berret smiled back up at her and ran his finger along one of her bare forearms.
"I don't know," he admitted with a quizzical look, "I just started to... miss you for some reason. So I came looking for you."
"That's sweet, but Aeryn will kill you if you don't finish rebuilding that power collector in the maintenance bay."
Berret frowned as she reminded him of his chore, "Yes, she is rather moody since she became pregnant."
Chiana gave him another chuckle, "Hey, you really want to have some fun and gris her off? The next time you see her... stop and look at her strangely then ask her if she's putting on weight."
"Oh, right... then I can start dodging pulse bolts. Grand idea," said her husband, which made Chiana chortle harder. He started to gather his clothing together and then turned to her with a grin and asked,
"Nebari don't get so moody when they're with child, do they?"
Chiana started to dress herself. "No, we're our usual sweet selves."
Berret gave her an exaggerated frown as he finished dressing and got to his feet. "So... what you're telling me is that I could one day be in for a worse time then John is having now," he said trying to hide the smirk.
Chiana stuck out her tongue and grabbed up a towel from the linen pile. Quickly rolling it up she snapped it at her husband's retreating behind.
"Back to work, Mister!" she scolded.
Berret chuckled and tossed the Nebari phrase for "I love you," over his shoulder as he left the chamber.
Chiana smiled to herself and briefly hugged the towel to her chest. Bonded life was turning out better then she expected.
A few arns later, Chiana and Berret walked into the Center Chamber mess, hand in hand for the evening meal. The Nebari girl looked up warmly at her bond-mate and then leaned in against him to rub her cheek against his bicep in Nebari adoration. The last few solar days, Berret had been acting more affectionate and loving to her then was normal for the man. She wondered if he was finally beginning to come to terms with the Earth human emotions that were slowly making themselves prevalent in the last cycle. Perhaps their Bonding had set him at ease and helped him adjust to being an emotional creature again. Whatever the reason, Chiana wasn't going to grumble about the results, she had absolutely no doubts now that Berret truly loved her.
The couple found a pair of empty seats at the large table and Chiana greeted Andar as she took the chair next to him. Andar looked up from his conversation with Malika and gave the two a smile and a quick hello before returning to the discussion he was having with the Delvian Pa'u. Berret noticed an intricate looking bracelet adorning the man's wrist that looked as if most of the material it was woven from consisted of blue Delvian hair, hair that Malika was suspiciously without now that she had entered into the Delvian Seek. The Shrike wondered exactly where the couple's relationship stood but the pair seemed content and happy to keep the status of such to themselves. Berret looked back at Chiana and saw the slight smile on her glossy black lips and knew her she'd also made note of the Sebacean man's new accessory.
The rest of the crew was already present and several animated conversations were going on around the mess table. Tonight was sort of a celebration as Rygel had arrived unexpectedly from his homeworld on his private shuttle. The Hynerian Dominar was probably avoiding some social function one of his many wives had planned and had used Moya nearness to Hynerian space as an excuse to get out of it. As the couple entered the small being was regaling his friends with stories of life in the royal court. After Chiana and her husband were seated, Zhaan passed down a large platter of shell-covered mollusks. As Berret set the platter down on the table before them, he could see steam rising off the cooked shelled invertebrate life form. Chiana sniffed the air and licked her lips.
"Mmmm, I love steamed Mimitch," she said as she picked out a few shells and set them on her plate.
Berret slightly frowned, shell covered seafood was not his favorite type of victuals. However, the crew had traded for supplies and gotten a good deal on a load of the mollusks; which because they could be keep alive in Moya's saline water tanks indefinitely, where a good non-perishable food supply to have laid away with the war between the Scarrens and the Peacekeepers waging.
The Shrike chose one of the shells and cracked it open after setting it on his plate. Inside the meat of the sea animal was dark gray and peeled off in strips. Berret put a piece in his mouth and chewed, finding it to be dull and bland to his taste, he looked around the table for something to season the lifeless meat with. His wife had no such problem as she had noisily devoured her first shellfish and was working on opening her second one. Apparently he wasn't the only one who found the meat almost tasteless as both Crichtons had containers of different seasoning lined up before them and where dousing the tidbits to give them some sort of flavor. The rest of the crew watched and shook there heads wondering why anyone would want to ruin the exotic taste of the shellfish. It seemed that human taste buds where somewhat lacking in their ability to detect such nuances unlike natives to the Territories.
Chiana had worked her splitting-fork into the seam of the shell but instead of cracking the husk open, it remained stubbornly sealed tight. To make matters worse, the thick prying end of the fork was now stuck in the shell and wouldn't budge. The Nebari girl worried at her tidbit until Andar noticed her situation and that Berret's attention was on the story-telling Rygel so he offered to help.
"Here, Pip. Let me help get that opened for you," he said as he half stood up and leaned over her to assist.
Before he realized he was doing it, and to the rest of his crewmate's shock, Berret rocketed to his feet.
"No!" he half-snarled as he seized Andar's wrist in one hand before he could reach Chiana's fork.
"What?" exclaimed Andar, as he looked around himself quickly for some unseen danger, his free hand darting to his holstered pulse pistol. Then Andar realized the ex-assassin was glaring at him and not at something else. All conversation in the chamber ceased and all eyes turned on Berret as the sudden anger visibly drained from his face in the next microt.
"What's going on?" asked Andar bewildered.
"I don't know?" Berret answered him in confusion.
Chiana, startled by the sudden outburst asked, " ...'Retty? Are you okay?"
Before he could answer Zhaan said, "Jared, why did you do that? What did Andar do?"
"Nothing. I don't know why I reacted like that."
Andar nodded and pointed at his wrist still held in the other man's hand. "Well, until you do figure it out... can I have that back?"
Realizing he still held the Sebacean man's arm, Berret let go. "I'm sorry, Andar. I don't know what to say. Please excuse my behavior," he asked in slight embarrassment.
The Shrike truly felt bad for his unexplainable conduct. Andar by far was the most well mannered among Moya's male crewmates, even more so then both John and Sean. He was just being polite by offering to help Chiana break open her Mimitch shell when he saw she was having trouble. There was absolutely no logical reason for Berret to become angry with the man for being chivalrous.
The Sebacean man told him after his apology that there was no harm done and preceded to complete the task he was interrupted in. Taking the shellfish from Chiana, he gave the fork an expert twist and the husk broke apart. The Nebari thanked him and hurriedly ate the meat before it could cool. Andar sat back in his seat and picked up his conversation with the young priestess, having already put the matter aside.
Berret retook his seat and noticed both Crichtons looking at him oddly while Aeryn looked annoyed at having her meal interrupted. But then again, Aeryn always looked annoyed with everything since becoming pregnant. The situation over, D'argo went back to eating while Rygel for his part never bothered to stop in the first place. Zhaan regarded him from her place across the table.
"Perhaps you're simply not feeling well, Jared," she said. "And maybe you're just a little jumpy."
Berret lowered his voice so only she could hear him. "I don't know, Zhaan. I feel fine. It was as if I just suddenly had a flash of anger or rage. I guess Andar just happen to be a convenient target for it."
"Maybe we should go to the Med-lab after the meal and check to see if you picked up a virus that is affecting the collar pathways in your nervous system. I could give you something to shut them down until it passes," she suggested.
"They haven't bothered me in a while. I don't even notice the background noise anymore," he replied.
"Even so, we should check them to be on the safe side."
Berret agreed, knowing the Delvian would get her way about the exam at any rate. Beside him, Chiana let out a small cough.
"Speaking of the Med-lab, I'm starting to not feel so good myself," she told them.
"What's wrong," asked Berret, concern growing on his face as he took in her condition.
"Yes, my dear. You're looking flushed," said Zhaan.
Chiana's forehead was covered in a light sheen of sweat and she began to sway as Berret put an arm around her shoulder to steady her.
"I dunno. I feel like... like... like I'm gonna..." the Nebari girl tried to get out.
"Going to what?" exclaimed Berret in alarm as the others started to rise from their seats at Chiana's obvious distress. Berret frantically looked at his wife waiting for her to finish telling him what was wrong with her.
"Like I'm going to..." she stammered again, " THROW UP!" she got out as she turned her head to one side and did just that.
Berret held his wife as she became violently sick. When the worse of her heaving subsided Zhaan knelt down beside her and quickly examined her.
"She has a slight fever. We have to get her to the Med-lab right away," the older Delvian said as the Shrike picked up his small bond-mate.
"No one else eat anymore of the Mimitches until I have examined Chiana to determine what has made her ill," Zhaan ordered. "Malika, I'll need your help."
As most of the companions left the Center Chamber, Rygel called out, "But I've been eating them all day and I feel fine!" When no one bothered to answer him and with no one present to stop him, the Hynerian went back to feasting on the shellfish.
Zhaan ran the imaging scanner over Chiana's prone body. A small alarm sounded and she backtracked the scanner bar back the way she'd just waved it until it settled over the Nebari woman's abdomen. Berret held Chiana's hand as they waited for the Delvian woman to make her diagnosis. Zhaan looked over the data streaming over the small screen on the scanner bar as she held it over the spot on Chiana's body it told her to. Zhaan's eyes went wide in astonishment just at the same time Malika, who was standing over at the main med computer panel and reading over the same data Zhaan was, gasped in surprised.
Both Delvians looked at each other, Chiana fearing the worse asked,
"What's wrong? Am I going to be all right, Zhaan?"
Zhaan replied, "I'm afraid not, Chiana." She turned back to look at the prone woman and her bond-mate with a tight smile. A delighted giggle escaped her before she could catch it.
"Chiana, dear... You're pregnant!" she announced.
"What?" Chiana asked opened mouth.
"You're going to have a baby," Zhaan said.
"A baby? Me? Us?" the Nebari stammered as she looked over at Berret, who was just as opened mouth at the news as she was.
"A baby?" Berret repeated dumbly, "How...?"
Malika chuckled as she switched off the med lab computer. "Well, if you don't know 'how' by now... I'm not even going to try and explain it to you," she poked at him good-naturedly.
It was a good thing there was a chair behind Berret because he sat down without looking, still stunned over the development. He looked at his wife and immediately his heart filled with untold love for her.
She gazed back at him and squeezed his hand, she then remembered about her bout of stomach sickness.
"So what made me sick, was it the Mimitch then? Where they bad?" she asked the Delvians.
"I'm afraid it was the Mimitch, and no, they weren't bad," Zhaan explained, "I'm afraid you're experiencing the same affliction Aeryn is... what Crichton calls 'morning sickness.' You're going to find that some foods you liked before becoming pregnant will make you ill while you might crave foods you previously didn't like. And of course you will probably experience bouts of stomach sickness on and off just as Aeryn does."
Chiana twisted up her face in disbelief.
"That's not possible," she said, "Nebari woman do not get sick when they are with child. Not like woman from Earth or Sebacean women do."
Zhaan smiled pleasantly as she attempted to explain, "Sebacean women normally don't get sick either. Unfortunately, you and Aeryn are both carrying children that will be half human, therefore you will both probably have the morning sickness... at least for awhile."
"Well, this should prove interesting," Chiana said as she finally surrendered to the inevitable.
Zhaan turned to Berret, "With this new information, I believe I also have an answer to your earlier behavior with Andar."
Berret wondered what Chiana being with child could possibly have to do with his unreasonable anger with the ex-teacher; he nodded for the priestess to continue with her theory.
"When Nebari woman conceive their firstborn they produce a pheromone which is meant to bond their lifemate closer to them with constant exposure, it makes the males more protective. This is nature's way to ensure the family unit stays together. In Nebari males the effect is subtler and is almost ignored. Not being Nebari the effect is somewhat stronger on Jared."
Chiana looked at Berret, "That explains why you've wanted to be so close by me lately."
Berret could tell the news disappointed his wife slightly; the woman believed he'd felt the way he'd been feeling lately all on his own. He stroked her cheek lightly saying,
"I don't need any help with wanting to always be near you."
Chiana looked at him as if she didn't quite believe the words, so he added to cheer her up,
"Except maybe when you're throwing up... then maybe I will be content to stand somewhere safely off to one side."
The comment had the desired affect and the girl broke into a grin. "You didn't move off to one side in the Center Chamber a little while ago," she reminded him.
"There you see, even when you're sick... I still want to be near you," he finished by rising one of her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it.
"Well, well," said Aeryn from the doorway as she strolled into the lab. "I overheard the news," she explained and then turned to look at the Nebari with a mischievous smile.
"You just couldn't help yourself except to copy me," she said placing a hand over her belly that had just started to swell with child.
"Hey, retorted Chiana, "Can't let you have all the fun now, can I?"
"See if you thinks it's fun after a quarter cycle of that frelling morning sickness dren."
"Yeah, well... we'll see," Chiana replied as if challenged.
Aeryn grinned down at her and bent over closer to wiggled a finger in the Nebari girl's face.
"You know," she drawled, "This is what you get for teasing me about getting fat."