ZEDD - A LITTLE OVER A WEEK LATER

We're almost home, although still a few hours out. It's the longest we've been apart in years, and while Mara Jane and I had each other, we both still missed Thomas fiercely. Sure, we still talked to him every day, but it's certainly not the same. In fact, it's almost time for our call.

"Mara Jane! Time to call Daddy!"

In a couple of minutes, she's perched on my lap. "I want to do it, Papa."

I show her which buttons to press to make the connection. Shortly, Thomas is on the screen before us. Oh my god, he's so pale. "Thomas, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Zedd. The baby's just really active today." Uh oh.

"Thomas, I think maybe you should go down and see Pina. Have her check you and the baby over, please."

"How far out are you?"

"A few hours yet."

"I'll wait for you. It's fine, mate."

Mara Jane speaks up, her child's innocence saying what I dare not. "Daddy, you don't look so good. Kinda like you're gonna be sick."

He smiles at her. "I'm okay, angel. I just miss you. I can't wait to hug you when you get here."

"I miss you too, but I'm still worried about you."

"I just need a nap, baby. You're little brother has been trying to get my attention all day, by kicking and punching me repeatedly. I'll be fine once he sleeps." Right.

As he talks to her, I casually press a few buttons, intending to increase our speed without alerting him to what I'm doing. Unfortunately, the last button I need is just out of my reach holding my daughter as I am. She leans forward and sets her hand on the button I'm after, seeming to press it by accident. Ah, my devious little child seems to have caught on to what I'm trying to do and is helping me.

After a while, I say, "All right, sweetie. Run off to bed for now and I'll get you up when we get home, okay?"

"Okay, Papa. Night, Daddy. I love you."

"Love you too, honey. I'll see you soon." She hops off my lap and heads out of the room. "I can't wait for you to get home, Zedd. I've missed you so much."

"I miss you too, love. The bed is way too big without you in it."

He smiles, remembering when he'd said the same thing several years ago. "I know the feeling."

A light on the console catches my eye and it's all I can do to suppress my grin. Mara Jane is using a communication channel. I'd almost bet my entire fortune that she's calling someone at the castle to check on Thomas. We've taught her that it's not for playing with, so that's the only conclusion that makes any sense. Sure enough, not ten minutes later, someone knocks on the door.

Thomas grits his teeth before calling out, "Come in!"

"Hey, Tommy."

"What's wrong, Kira? You know this is when I talk to Zedd and Mara Jane."

Casually, she answers, "I felt a disturbance in the Force. Hi, Zedd."

I return her greeting. "Came to check on him, did you?"

"Well the problem was either him or you and your dark power doesn't feel like his so I took an educated guess."

Now both of us are staring at her. "You can feel his power? I don't think that's right."

"Not literally. Call it women's intuition then." Her slight emphasis on 'women's' tells me that my prior guess was right and Mara Jane called her. "I just got a little worried and decided to come and see for myself if everything was okay. Hell, you two might have been fighting."

"True."

"But we're not" Thomas sighs.

"How's the baby?"

He considers the question. "He seems to have settled down finally."

"Well then, not to cut your call short, but why don't you take a nap until they get here? Take advantage of the peace while you have it?"

I smile at him. "I think that's a good idea. I certainly want you well rested when I get home." Once I get the expected reactions out of the pair - a face palm each - I continue innocently. "I want to catch you up on some little things that happened when we finished moving house and several people sent some gifts back that I think you'll want to open as well. Mostly just things we'll need until we get home - where there's another pile of gifts."

"I'll tell you what. Tell me one thing that happened while moving house and I'll take a nap."

"Well, I will tell you that, as much as you say Mara Jane is my daughter, she is definitely yours too. She took a bunch of her old stuffed animals that she doesn't really play with any more and put them in the nursery, saying that she wanted her brother to have them so he could have as much fun with them as she did."

"Aww. What did you say?"

"I told her that it was a very nice thing to do, but she didn't have to give up her toys because the baby would have toys of his own."

"Good answer" Kira nods.

I laugh. "Yeah, well that's when my child made an appearance again. She snatched up all but one and sounded very relieved when she said that she wanted those back then and he could keep the one that was left. It was that ratty looking rabbit that she's had since before day one."

Thomas laughs. "Well she has loved it nearly to death."

"Which is why I had to wash it by hand last time we cleaned it. All right, mate, now I told you something that happened, now will you please put my mind at ease and take a nap? Truthfully Thomas, we'll be there before you know it."

He sighs. "All right, Zedd. I'll see you in a few hours. I love you."

"Love you too." I shoot a quick look at Kira before he disconnects the call and she gives me a short nod. Knowing that she'll keep a close eye on him for me takes the edge off, but I cannot relax entirely.

Still lost in my concern over him and my son being able to hold on until I arrive, I start slightly at my daughter's voice. "Did I do good, Papa?"

Looking back to find her in her pajamas but smiling brightly, I scoop her up in my arms. "You did perfect, baby. Let's get you tucked in bed and I'll wake you when we get home. For real this time."

Five hours later, I'm landing the ship as quickly as I can. Kira is waiting when Mara Jane and I disembark. "Pina and Dar have gotten most of the prepping out of the way. We're all of the opinion that it's almost time."

"How is he?"

"I left him sleeping a little while ago." I relax slightly. That's probably why I haven't really felt anything through the bond, even when we got home. I've been worried that I wouldn't be there before the baby was born, when he would have needed me.

I look down at Mara Jane, who's rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Why don't we go check on Daddy and then you can go back to bed?"

She nods and yawns. "Can I just sleep with you?" Not really minding her sleeping with us, as she has before when she's had bad dreams, or been sick and we've both wanted to monitor her through the night, I however would really like to focus a bit more on Thomas' health at the moment, which is somewhat harder to do with her between us.

"We'll see." I pick her up and head for the bedroom, Kira behind us.

"I just want to check on him one more time before I go catch a nap myself."

When we get to the room, I set Mara Jane on the bed and she quickly cuddles up with Thomas apparently taking my indecisive response to mean 'yes'. "Hi, baby. Missed you" he says sleepily.

"Hi, Daddy." In a moment, she's out again, but Thomas seems to wake up a little more.

"Zedd?"

"Right here, love. Go back to sleep." He sighs, contentedly and goes back to sleep himself, one arm wrapping around our daughter lightly. I exchange a look with Kira. "Maybe it's not quite time?"

She shrugs. "I'll let Pina and Dar know and we'll all probably grab naps. Let us know if anything changes."

I nod, ever more grateful that we'd installed an intercom system in the castle several years back. Kira had given me a hard time over the fact that I hadn't done it before, but we all were quick to explain that when I was evil there was no end to the number of minions that I could have had carry messages and when it was just Dar, Pina and me, we would just yell as there were no younglings to accidentally awaken. Hell even after Thomas joined us, there was no question over if we could hear his shouting or not.

Once she's gone, I quickly change clothes and curl up around my mate and daughter to get a little sleep of my own, however not before tapping my child lightly on the head as I do. "Hey, you kick me like you did last time and you're getting exiled back to your own room, princess."

Not even bothering to open her eyes, her response comes with a yawn from her and a sleep-laced snicker from my mate. "K, Papa."

I'm disoriented when I awaken suddenly later. It only takes a moment, however, before I realize that Thomas is in distress, groaning in pain. "What is it, love?"

"I hurt, Zedd, so much. I think the baby's ready."

Snapping to attention, I scramble out of bed and hit the switch for the intercom even as Thomas' pain starts to ease. "Wake up everybody! It's time!"

Acknowledgements come back as Thomas gently wakes Mara Jane. "Come on, sunshine. Time to go."

"Let her sleep" I suggest. "I'll carry her down there and wake her up when it's closer to time."

"All right" he agrees, moving slowly and still apparently feeling a good bit of discomfort.

Rethinking my suggestion at how pained he does seem, I leave our daughter for a moment to make sure he's going to make it. "Unless of course you need me to carry you. I can always come back for her love once you're settled and asleep. It wouldn't take me but a minute."

"No, it's okay. I'm okay." Despite his assurances, he definitely looks to be anything but.

"All right. If you need me to help you though-"

"I'll let you know, promise."

Keeping a close eye on him as we go, it's not long before we're in the infirmary, and not a moment too soon by his struggling. Dar and Pina have set up a small cloth wall in deference to Mara Jane's presence. It's high enough that she can't see over it, but I can. She doesn't really need to see her beloved daddy essentially sliced open. In truth, I don't need to see it either, but I'll be damned if I won't be here for him as he was for me.

I set Mara Jane down in a chair and she curls up, only half awake. Thomas moans in pain again and doubles over only making me all the more concerned. I know I was in pain when it was time for Mara Jane to be delivered, but it seems like he's having a far worse time than I did. "Zedd, help, please. Can't, can't handle it." Definitely worse.

"Pina get over here!" I quickly pick him up and move him over to the table, not at all liking how pale he is, or the trouble he seems to be having now. "Hang on, Thomas. It'll be okay."

Hurrying to us Pina injects him and soon he's asleep much to my relief. I go back around the barricade to wait with Mara Jane. I pace more than I sit, waiting impatiently. My impatience only gets worse when I hear Pina summon Kira as I know this is the cue for her to come get the baby. My hope falters at the brief glance I get of my son. Somehow I'm fairly certain that he's not supposed to be any shade of blue.

"Kira?"

"Hang on, Zedd." The calmness of her tone settles me down, but only slightly. Maybe things aren't as bad as I first thought?

"Come on sweetie, breathe, come on, breathe for Aunt Kira." Fuck.

Just about to intervene, determined to help save him anyway I can, the sound of my son's first cries suddenly fill the room and I suck in a relieved breath. The sound not only helping me once more recall how to breathe myself, it also wakes his big sister. "The baby! He's here! Where is he, Papa? I want to see my brother!"

Kira's next statement holds a small reproach in it at her impatience. "Let Papa see him first, young lady."

"He's okay?" Still needing to hear her say it, I feel the last of my concern fade as she gives me a smile and nod.

"A little angry I think, but beyond that, he's perfectly fine." Kira gently sets the small bundle in my arms. He's no longer crying, though he is definitely looking a tad disgruntled as Kira had stated, his large brown eyes blinking sleepily, and a slight frown marring his face.

"Hey, my little one, sorry about the chaos, but you weren't giving us much choice but to bring you out into the world tonight with what you were putting your daddy through."

I sit down in the rocking chair and Mara Jane leans on my knees, her own purple eyes wide. "He's so little!"

"You were little like this once, my darling girl."

"I was?"

"You were and Daddy sat and held you like this until I woke up and could see you too."

"He did?"

"Yes." While Thomas got to have the first moments of Mara Jane's life all to himself, I get the privilege of sharing our son's with our daughter and truly I wouldn't have it any other way.

"He has eyes like Daddy."

"Yes, he does." And I swear it only makes me love him all the more if that's even possible.

"Can I hold him, Papa?"

I consider this for a moment, before I stand and instruct her, "You have to sit down in the chair and be still." Once she's seated, I kneel in front of her and gently set the baby in her arms. Her eyes get even bigger, if that's possible. The siblings just look at each other for a minute, connecting silently, before my son's look of slight annoyance turns into a pleasant little smile.

From behind me, Kira says softly, "Here, Zedd. If he's anything like his big sister, he'll be hungry in a little while."

I hold out my hand for the bottle, not even looking as she drops a small towel on my shoulder as she puts the bottle in my hand. "Thanks, Kira."

I hear Pina call Kira again and I become alert at the stress in her voice. I keep one ear tuned to what's going on behind the screen. It only takes a moment to realize that something's wrong, but I can't leave the children.

As I wait for word that Thomas is all right, I help Mara Jane feed her brother. I burp him and then settle in the chair with him in one arm and Mara Jane in the other. As they both drift off to sleep, I can turn my full attention to what's going on. The urgency of the activity behind the screen seems to have eased off.

I raise my voice slightly, enough that the three can hear me but not so loud that I'm going to wake the younglings. "What's going on?"

Pina answers me. "Everything's under control, Zedd. Just a little longer and you can see him."

"What happened?"

"We'll talk about it later. I'm still a little busy."

It's almost another hour before Dar and Pina start to take the wall down and Kira comes over, all three of them having far too much of my mate's blood on their clothes for my liking. However just as she'd reassured me about my son, she's quick to do the same concerning my mate. "He's fine, Zedd, I promise. Here, I'll put her to bed, so you can focus on him and the baby." Gently, she picks Mara Jane up. "Come on, pumpkin. Auntie Kira's gonna put you to bed." Mara Jane nods sleepily and wraps her arms around Kira's neck.

"Thanks, Kira."

"No problem. See you in the morning." She heads out and I look down at my son, who is still sleeping. He looks so much like Thomas' baby pictures, it's incredible. I can't help but wonder if it's a coincidence that each child looks so much like the parent that carried them. Or is it due to gender somehow? If we do have more children, would the girls take after me and the boys after Thomas? Or, again, would it make a difference if I carried a boy next?

I stop that train of thought. Our son is barely a few hours old and I'm already thinking about another one? Well, not so much, it's more what Thomas would refer to as 'scientific curiosity'. I'll have to ask Pina later and see if she knows.

First things first though. "Pina, what the hell happened?"

"Zedd, he's going to be all right."

"He's lost a lot of blood for 'going to be all right'."

Looking at her ruined clothes and nodding slightly, she isn't denying my statement. "He has, but it's okay, he'll recover."

"Pina, just tell me!" The more she's dodging me, the more anxious I'm getting.

"He - was bleeding very badly, Zedd, and it took a bit to get it under control. However, it's handled and I know what to watch for if he does carry another child. He's going to be a bit weak for a day or so from the blood loss, which is going to delay his recovery a bit, but again he will recover."

"Is that why he was in so much pain before?"

"That, along with the normal pains that signal it's time to remove the child."

"What are the chances that it could happen again?"

She frowns as she considers this. "I'd say - less than one percent. As I said, I know what to watch for now and can prevent it from happening next time."

"No offense, Pina, but I still don't like those odds, not with my husband's or child's life."

"It's not like it's something that needs to be decided right now and by the time you two do decide, I might very well be able to improve the odds."

She's right. Those kinds of decisions can wait, though as it stands right now, with him at risk, he won't be the one to carry any future children if I have anything to say about it. For now, though, "How much longer before he wakes up?"

"Probably not all that long - half an hour or an hour, I'd guess." Unhappily, I settle in to wait, knowing that Thomas will most likely want to see our son as badly as I did our daughter, and now very badly needing to see him to assure myself that he will be all right.

It's closer to an hour and a half before Thomas begins to wake, struggling it seems to come around fully. Pina quickly checks him over as Dar gets him something to drink before he asks the same question I did. "The baby?"

"Looks just like you, Thomas."

"Poor thing" he jokes weakly.

"No, love. He's perfect." I bring the just stirring baby over to his father. "We agreed on a name at one point. Any last minute changes?"

"No." Dar helps him sit up, bracing him until he's sure that Thomas is stable. "Let me see him, Zedd."

I hand him over, shivering slightly at the now cold spot on my arm and chest where he had rested against me. Thomas smiles gently at our son. "Welcome to the world, Jacob Samuel Benjamin Kerch." He looks up at me with a smile. "It's kind of funny how we have different identities depending on where we are. On Earth, we're the Olivers or the Truehearts, depending on if we're with the tribe or not, on Eltar, we're lords and here we're just - us. I think it's why I like being here the best."

"I know what you mean."