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“That tracks,” Dr. Pan said. “You are progressing quite rapidly, but you’ll have a few more days of pregnancy at least, so try to listen to your body. Eat when you want, sleep when you want. Okay?”
Alexis nodded, her mouth too full of delicious fruits to reply.
“And where are your thoughts today?” Dr. Pan asked.
Alexis glanced over at Tiago.
He smiled down at her warmly, looking like he was almost too happy to breathe.
“We have to figure out what life will look like once the baby comes,” she murmured, smiling back at him.
“You’re mated now,” Dr. Pan said, nodding. “How do you feel about that?”
“So happy,” Alexis said.
“And I think I have the other stuff figured out,” Tiago added.
“You do?” Alexis asked, feeling awestruck. “When did you figure it out?”
“In the shower,” he said.
The love in his eyes was almost painful to see.
“You’re not giving up your fighting career,” she told him firmly. “That’s not on the table.”
“And you won’t stop dancing,” he said, his voice dark and final. “But I think we can manage both. I just have one question for you. When you perform, where does it happen?”
“We perform on Terra-58, of course,” she said. “And then we tour to the biggest venues in the sector. Ulfgard, Arkadia, Drath—”
“Do you know where most of the big fights happen?” Tiago asked suddenly, with a big smile. “Those same places.”
“But what are the chances we’d be in the same place at the same time?” Alexis asked.
“Excellent,” he replied. “I’m the champ, so I can call the shots on the venue. And besides that, most of the money in fighting is made on the streaming views, so the organizers will negotiate the location as long as it’s not Podunk and they can get butts in seats.”
“That could actually work,” Alexis breathed.
“Of course it will work,” he told her. “I love you, and you’re my mate. We will never be separated again.”
She felt the tears coming again and then he was on his knees at her feet wrapping his big arms around her.
28
ALEXIS
Afew days later, Alexis was lying on a big blanket in the sand. The sea crashed rhythmically and the ice cubes in Alexis’s third glass of mint lemonade cracked merrily, providing a backdrop to the list of possible baby names Tiago was listing off for her from his spot at her side, which he’d barely left in days.
So far, all the names were of famous fighters, for boys and girls.
Though Alexis knew it wouldn’t last, these last few days had been the happiest of her life. Slow walks on the beach, savory meals, and laughter had filled each moment.
The relaxation reminded her of the childhood vacations she had spent in a cabin with her grandmother, where mornings of boardgames melted into afternoon walks and into evenings baking cookies and watching the stars.
This pause between the part of her life before Tiago and the new part that would come with the baby was precious to her, in part because it would be so fleeting.
She was already so big that she could hardly move. And the thought of the life growing inside her after she’d hoped and dreamed of it for so long was almost too much for her to believe.
“You okay?” Tiago asked.
