A/N: Sorry-sorry-sorry it's taken so #$& long to update. No excuses. Here's the first installment of what I hope will be a productive week. I'm already working on the next couple of chapters, so bear with me as I try in vain to make up for all the wasted time. Comments are, as always, very much welcome and appreciated, and are a great encouragement for me. Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you think, what you like, what you don't like, etc. If you have any questions or concerns or ideas or — ANYTHING, I'm all ears - er, eyes. Whatever. -(E

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
COMFORT FOOD

Leera had only just gotten comfortable when Jumba entered the bedroom wheeling in a small table, on which sat the ultrasound machine and various medical supplies. Pleakley came in right behind him and sat down on the bed next to his wife, watching like a hawk as the exam was carried out.

"So, I hear you are being acquainted vith big dummy fish face!" Jumba said abruptly, as means of making small talk during the exam.

Leera looked at him curiously. "What?"

"He means Gantu," Pleakley muttered.

"What! How dare you talk about him like that!" Leera said angrily, struggling to sit up. "Gantu is my friend! He - he saved my life! What did he ever do to you to make you call him that?"

Jumba backed away. "Okay then. I think ve are being finished here." He turned from Leera's smoldering glare and started setting the ultrasound equipment aside. Leera growled as Pleakley pushed her gently back down on the bed. He picked up a towel and wiped the gel off her belly.

"Why does everyone here hate Gantu so much?" Leera demanded, now more calmly.

"Eh, is not so much ve are hating him," Jumba replied. "Is more like returning of sentiments."

"Well then, what does Gantu have against you?"

"Cannot even be imagining. Maybe it was my costing him high-ranking job, or humiliation following, or the being constantly defeated by little girl and 626. Is hard to say."

Leera looked taken aback by this. "Long story," Pleakley said. "I'll tell ya later."

"But why does Gantu want your experiments, Jumba?" Leera asked.

"Oh, he is not vanting them for himself. Is mangy, maniacal little vermin he is working for. Dr. Jacques Von Hamsterveil, my former partner in field of evil geniusing."

"Oh." Leera looked disappointed by this news. Pleakley took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Jumba busied himself at the little table he had wheeled in, apparently setting up for another exam. After a minute, he pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and turned back to the bed.

"Please to be putting feet up," he announced, and before Leera could even move, Pleakley stood up quickly and shouted "Whoa! Hold on just one second there, Mr. Touchy-Feely! I think you've done more than enough probing for one day!"

"Vhat? I am not even starting to probing yet! This vill just be simple little pelvic exam. Is no big deal."

"Oh yes it IS a big deal!" Pleakley argued. "Especially when you're sticking your dirty hands where they don't belong!"

"Oh, Wendy, get a grip," Leera said. "It's not like we're having an affair or anything. It's just an examination. He wants to make sure everything's okay. Don't you want everything to be okay?"

"Well yeah, but — he's going to put his hands up your— " Pleakley burned red with embarrassment.

Leera just shrugged. "There's a lot worse things that could go up there. Besides, the same thing's just gonna happen again when the baby's being born."

"That's true," Pleakley mumbled. He sighed and sat back down on the bed, facing away from the other two. Out of the corners of his eye he watched Jumba move toward the foot of the bed, while on the other side Leera just laid there looking quite comfortable. Too comfortable, he thought, then slapped himself mentally. His eye bounced back to where Jumba stood. He saw a quick flash of metal and wondered what sort of instrument it was and what its intentions were.

Leera gasped. "Jumba! Your hands are like ice! And what the heck is that?"

Pleakley turned his head a little to peer over his shoulder, trying to see exactly what Jumba was doing without being noticed.

Too late. Jumba looked over at him suddenly and said, "Are you not going to be observing?"

"Um, well — "

"I thought it vas being mandatory for ridiculously paranoid husband to be observant of any and all prenatal examinations."

"Er, yeah, but — "

"Oh, you know how Wendy is about this sort of thing," Leera said lightly. "He can't even look at a slug because he thinks it's not decent."

"I just think they should be more modest and wear shells like their snail cousins!" Pleakley explained.

"Am guessing you made baby with lights being out," Jumba said, chuckling.

Pleakley swung around to stab him with a glare, but Jumba was immune. He leaned forward with an instrument in hand. Pleakley turned away quickly, but still watched Jumba and his wife out of the corners of his eye.

"Please to be moving aside third leg," Jumba instructed.

"Which one is that?" Leera asked.

Pleakley crossed his own legs tightly and blurted out in a shrill voice, "So, uh, how exactly did Gantu save your life?"

Silence, save for the rustling of bed sheets, answered him.

"Honey?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Well it's kind of hard to explain. Why don't we wait till later when he comes over?"

"I'd really rather hear about it now." The dead calm monotone of her husband's voice convinced Leera to tell him. Pleakley did not turn around to face her, and she felt uncomfortable not being able to see his face.

"When I was serving on the Quasar, and the Kaizaxx attacked…" she began, then paused, waiting for a reaction from Pleakley. That once sentence she knew should have been enough to start sending shivers through either of them. Sure enough, she saw her husband's limp antenna go suddenly rigid, and, looking down, saw his hands tighten their grip on the edge of the mattress. She took a deep breath and continued.

"When that happened… and afterward… when they marooned us on Naa… it was Gantu and his crew that came and rescued us." Leera paused again, feeling her throat tighten. She glanced again at Pleakley. He was sitting up straighter now.

"We were scattered all over the oasis. Some were half dead. I was lying in a thicket when Gantu found me."

"Uh-huh." This simple response seemed guarded, and she knew that deep inside her husband was beating down the demons she herself had had to fight off.

"Th - they ran out of paramedic units before I could be helped, so Gantu… he took me straight to the nearest infirmary himself. He rarely left my side until I recovered." Leera fell silent again, until a sudden sharp kick from the baby caused her to gasp.

Pleakley turned to her immediately with concern shining in his eye. Jumba, who had scarcely moved since the beginning of Leera's story, set his instrument back down on the table and pulled off his gloves.

"I think that is being enough for one day," he said. He took his supplies and wheeled them toward the door.

Leera sat up quickly. "Wait! You - you're not going to examine me?"

"Am thinking is not the best time. Ultrasound is being enough for time being. Besides, baby is looking very healthy."

"Yeah, but -- what about Leera?" Pleakley demanded. "What if she has problems with the birth?"

Jumba waved a hand dismissively. "I am doubting it. You stringy one-eyed types are very elastic. And no bones. Should have no trouble passing baby."

Pleakley made an indignant noise and said, "That kind of assumption is just plain ignorance, you know! For your information, my birth wasn't easy on me or my mom! So what do you say to that, Doc?"

Jumba looked him over. "Eh, you are both looking okay to me."

"Yeah, well -- well --- I nearly died! What do you say to that?"

Jumba looked at him again. "Ehhh, on second thought, your head is being oddly shaped. Other than that I am seeing no lasting effects." And he turned and strolled out of the room.

"Yeah well, what do you know? You're not qualified to be a Plorginarian doctor anyway!" Pleakley yelled at his back.

"Wendy, you're doing it again," Leera said.

"Doing what?"

"Being a drama queen. Now why don't you make yourself useful and brew me some mint tea?"

"Uh, sure. You want something to go with that? Cookies or something?"

"Graham crackers, please. And an orange, sliced. I hate having to peel those things."

"Alright then." Pleakley got up.

"Oh, and a pickle, too!"

"A pickle?"

"Yes, and a Pop Tart. And do we still have a can of sardines left? I'd like a few of those on a sandwich. With peanut butter and jelly. Grape jelly, not marmalade. I hate marmalade. Marmalade is just -- yeccchhh!"

"Uh, alright then. I'll try to remember all that with a straight face." Pleakley started for the door, then paused. "Uh, I'm afraid to ask, but here goes: anything else?"

"Oh yes. The baby will have some tomato juice and a slice of banana bread."

Pleakley sighed. "Of course. I'll get right on it."

Leera laid back in bed and rubbed her belly. "Thanks, hon."

In the kitchen, Pleakley found his parents and uncle sitting around the table having coffee and toast.

"Morning, sweetie," Vay yawned. "Nani said you were out experiment hunting."

Pleakley set some water to boil on the stove, then turned to the fridge to look for the snacks his wife had requested.

"I wasn't experiment hunting, I was wife hunting. Leera went out after Lilo and the little monster to keep an eye on them. You won't believe what happened when I went out looking for her!"

"What happened?" Gidgel asked. Pleakley paused in the middle of his search.

"Leera met Gantu."

"And?"

"And she knows him."

"Really?" Vay asked. "Where does she know him from?"

Pleakley pulled some items from the fridge and set them on the counter. "Uh, well, I think it would be best if you found out from her."

"Why?" Vay asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, really, except… well, Gantu kinda sorta saved her life one time and now he's a hero to her. So don't badmouth the big dummy in front of her, unless you're prepared to get walloped by an extremely moody pregnant woman."

"Well, isn't that something!" Vay exclaimed. "Gantu a hero. And what a small universe it is. But… you said Leera just met Gantu for the first time this morning?"

"No, I said she met him years ago when he saved her life."

"I know, but, here on Earth. This is the first time she ran into him?"

"Yeah, but that's only because there aren't very many experiments left to look for these days. Gantu hardly ever comes out of his ship unless there's an experiment loose. That, and he took off for a couple of months when the grand councilwoman assigned him to some top secret mission in the Neverun galaxy."

"Ah." Vay nodded and took a long sip of coffee. She watched her son tiredly as he bustled about the kitchen. "Wendy, come here."

"What?"

"There's a tear in your dress. Right there. No, there. Come over here and I'll show you."

Pleakley obeyed and stood next to Vay as she pointed out the torn seam under the left sleeve.

"Oh yeah, that. Leera tore it the other day when she was trying it on. That's about the third or fourth time that's happened now." He chuckled. "She just can't admit that most of her clothes don't fit her anymore."

Kirk, who had been silent the whole time, finally cleared his throat and spoke up. "Alright, that does it. I've been quiet all week now, but this has been bugging the heck outta me. Forgive me if I sound impertinent, but what's with the drag routine?"

Pleakley looked shocked at this question. He opened his mouth to answer, but was speechless.

"Oh, Wendy's always been like that," Gidgel replied. "He likes pretty things, and that just happens to include women's clothing. He's never cared what other people think, either. Ain't that right, boy?"

"Uh, right." Pleakley blushed as he set all the food on a tray and balanced it carefully as he headed out toward the bedroom.

"Is that ALL for Leera?" Gidgel asked incredulously.

Pleakley sighed in annoyance. "No, of course not. Some of it's for the baby."