CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
REUNION
"Leera?"
A sudden flash flood of terribly vivid memories washed over Gantu as he stared into the single bright eye of the woman who had proclaimed him her hero. In that eye he could see every last detail of those memories — the same eye that had once looked upon him in adulation, that had shone like sunlight on water whenever she'd laughed, and that had haunted his dreams with the pain he'd seen within.
He knelt down in front of her and brought his face close to hers. His sapphire eyes were dazzling in the morning light.
"Yes, I do remember you. In fact I, uh, I could never forget you, either."
Before anyone present could react, Leera lunged forward and threw her arms around Gantu's neck, hugging him with all her might. Startled, Gantu hesitated a moment before hugging her back. Lilo and Stitch stared in shock and Pleakley, whose eye was by far the widest, outstared them both. His jaw dropped as he watched his wife press a kiss to Gantu's cheek. Gantu blushed, but did not seem to notice his audience. He continued to embrace Leera as it seemed evident that she was not about to let go of him.
To Pleakley's astonishment (and mild disgust), a small but very sincere smile had spread across Gantu's face. The hug continued for much longer than Pleakley believed was appropriate. He frowned and began an impatient tapping of his foot. Out of habit he glanced at his wrist as though to check the time, though he didn't need a watch to tell him that this hug session should have ended ages ago. He saw Leera kiss Gantu's cheek again and growled, then quickly turned the growl into a loud throat-clearing sound in an attempt to get his wife's attention. This did not work at all.
Pleakley stepped forward and put a hand on Leera's shoulder.
"Uh, alright honey, I hate to break up this happy reunion, but I think you should be getting up to the house n— " his next words were killed off by the sound of sobbing. Horrified, Pleakley realized that Leera was crying. He felt something heavy and unpleasant hit the pit of his stomach, and the bitter taste of bile rose in his throat. Swallowing hard, he placed both hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her away from Gantu.
She finally turned away from the large alien, and Pleakley opened his arms to take her in, to comfort her, but instead of taking refuge in her husband's arms, Leera shoved past him so brusquely that he nearly toppled backward over Stitch, who was crouched behind him.
"No. I'm fine." The tone of her voice was cold. Too cold. Once she was safely out of arm's reach, she glanced back over her shoulder at Gantu. "I never got a chance to thank you properly, Gantu." She wiped a large tear away and sniffled. "Why don't you come back to the house with us so I can."
Pleakley, still stunned by his wife's sudden coldness, spoke up. "I don't think that's such a good idea, hun. You've clearly exhausted yourself enough for one day, and this Gantu guy isn't really the type of company you should keep, regardless of whatever he did, however long ago."
Leera turned on him with a look of cold fury. "He saved my life, Wendy," she said through gritted teeth. "I would have thought that you of all people would appreciate that."
"I do, believe me, I do. But… (sigh) Nani's not going to like this."
"Well, too bad. C'mon, Gantu." Leera took the tall alien by the hand. "I want to introduce you to the rest of my ohana."
Gantu smirked and stood up. "I think I know your ohana a little too well already."
"Maybe, but they obviously don't know the heroic Captain Gantu that I know. And besides, you haven't met the whole ohana just yet." Leera grinned impishly and patted her belly.
Gantu saw the gesture and his eyes widened as he seemed to notice her bloated belly for the first time. "Y-you're pregnant?" Leera nodded. "How? When? By who?" He winced at his own words. "I'm sorry, not 'by who.' How terribly rude of me. The father must be — "
"Me," Pleakley said firmly, standing beside his wife. He glared up at Gantu with a challenging eye.
Gantu looked flabbergasted. "You? But you're just — "
"My husband," Leera filled in. "Wendy's my husband."
Gantu stared at him. "Your first name is Wendy?"
Pleakley puffed out his chest and opened his mouth to say something unfavorable, but Leera was quicker.
"It means 'brave warrior' in Plorginaar, and that's what he is, alright." She threw an arm around Pleakley's shoulder. "Do you know what he did to the Kaizaxx?"
Pleakley blushed and muttered, "Technically, they did it to themselves. Le'Kru— I mean, you-know-who went mad and hit the ship's self-destruct button, remember?"
"Oh Wendy, don't be so modest. You're still my brave warrior," Leera cooed, wrapping both arms around his neck and batting her eye seductively.
"Quit trying to butter me up," Pleakley grumbled. "You know it always works."
"I know," Leera purred. She turned to Gantu. "C'mon now. I want the whole ohana to meet the man who rescued me."
"Yes. I'm really looking forward to hearing that story," Pleakley said, his tone somewhat sarcastic, though he wasn't sure if he'd really meant it to be. In truth, he was very curious about the role Gantu had played in his wife's past, but part of him was having a very hard time believing that Gantu could play any role other than that of a villain.
One arm around his wife, Pleakley turned and started back toward the house. Stitch scuttled on ahead with Lilo on his back. Leera waddled along heavily and Gantu followed a few paces behind. They didn't get very far before Leera stopped, doubled over as if in pain.
"What is it, honey? Are you okay?" Pleakley stood in front of her. Leera shook her head, but didn't look at him. Her arms tightened around her middle and she gasped.
"It hurts. Right here." She rubbed her lower belly.
Pleakley reached a hand out to the spot, then pulled back. "Do you — I mean — the baby — is it time?"
Leera cringed and hunched over further. "I don't know. I think so."
Pleakley paled considerably at this statement. "Oh dear Blitznak." He pressed a hand to the small of her back, the other to her belly. "Can you walk? Just back to the house. Then Jumba can…" he trailed off as Leera sank to her knees, breathing heavily.
Gantu knelt down beside the two Plorginarians and extended a hand. "Here. I can carry you back to your house quickly."
Leera and Pleakley both looked up at him in surprise.
"I can carry you both, if you like." Gantu looked back and forth at the two much smaller aliens, still staring up at him. "I promise I'll be gentle."
The sound of his wife gasping made him forget the last of his reservations and he nodded. Gantu moved closer, ready to take Leera into his arms.
"C'mon, babe. Get up," Pleakley whispered, wrapping his arms around his wife and pulling her to her feet as gently as he could.
Leera gasped and pulled away from him. "Don't! You're hurting me!" She stumbled a little and was saved by Gantu's large hand. She fell into it like a baseball into a catcher's mitt and settled there as his arms encircled her, bearing her up to rest against his chest. The once-familiar feeling overwhelmed her. Despite the pain in her abdomen, she was also painfully aware of Gantu: his soothing voice, his musk-like scent, the firmness of his chest as she rested her head against it, the warmth and safety she felt in his muscular arms. Lost in nostalgia, she snuggled up against her savior and allowed him to carry her home.
Pleakley, having refused Gantu's offer for a lift, followed the giant alien and Leera at a brisk pace, his single narrowed eye all but burning a hole in Gantu's back. He just couldn't believe any of it. First, the big dummy had to go and be a hero once, and then he just had to wind up on Earth years later and cross paths with his overly grateful, not-at-all-forgetful and extremely pregnant wife. Then, of course, he just had to win her heart all over again. She'd swooned twice into Gantu's waiting arms, and twice he had borne her away from him. And as if that weren't enough, she had even recoiled from him. Him! Her husband!
Really! Of all the nerve! He'd been a good husband, hadn't he? He'd been sensitive to her feelings, to her suffering. He'd even shared in it. Her pain was his own. He loved her that much, but now… it seemed to mean nothing. Had he really been that insensitive about her past relationship with Gantu? Had he really caused her pain when he'd tried to help her up? She'd seemed so upset with him, almost as if… she was blaming him for her pain. Darn mood swings. But maybe Leera was right. He did tend to overreact a little, but he certainly wasn't a drama queen!
When they reached the house, Gantu set Leera down gently on the porch. Pleakley raced up the steps to meet her.
"Honey, are you okay? How do you feel? Does it still hurt? How bad? On a scale of one to ten, how bad would you say — "
"Three or four. Five if you're gonna be a pain in the neck about it."
"Uh, okay. You wait here. I'll get Jumba. He can carry you into the bedroom."
"No, that's alright. I'm perfectly capable of walking now."
"You — you are?"
"Yes. I'm feeling a little better now."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"But — the baby — it could be coming now!"
Leera patted her belly and shook her head. "I don't think so. I think it was just a false alarm. Indigestion or something."
"Well, alright. You should go lay down and rest a little anyway. You've had a busy morning. I'll send Jumba in to check on you, just to be sure everything's okay."
Leera sighed helplessly. "Alright, Wendy." She turned to Gantu. "Sorry I have to ditch you now. If I don't go lay down for a while Wendy's gonna worry himself sick."
"Aww, that's alright." Gantu smiled sheepishly. Pleakley rolled his eye.
"Couldja come back this afternoon, Gantu? I'd really like to see you again. It's been so long. We've got a lot of catching up to do."
Gantu's smile widened. "Of course."