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The heat of my flush spread to my neck and chest, and I shrugged. “It’s not normally all that much blood, really. It’s—complicated. But I do need something to, um, stop it. Something to, uh, either plug it up or catch what’s coming out. I don’t suppose you guys have anything like that on your ship? I’d hate to ruin any clothing you give me to wear.”
The aliens conferred in their tongue, and I wished the nanites translated things both ways. It felt weird to be standing there listening to the foreign words fly back and forth, not understanding a single thing they said.
Finally, Q’on broke off from the group and took me to the side. He leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Can you still … I mean, will we have to wait until the bleeding stops?”
Oh, geez. This horndog was worried about whether or not he could get any action for the next week. Meanwhile, I wasstillbleeding in the freezing snow. “No reason to wait, except for the mess. Most human males avoid sex during this time. There’s not a medical reason not to, they just don’t care for it. Some women aren’t particularly in the mood during their cycle, either.”
He grinned. “Good.” Q’on turned back to his friends and rattled off something in Xalanite. They all nodded, and two of them went back inside the ship.
“What’s going on? Do you dudes have supplies that will work, or do I just have to walk around with bloody pants until we can get to a place with more humans around?”
“Hunir thinks he has a solution,” Q’on said. “We do not have these pads or tampons you speak of, but he is a Xalanite medic, and he believes he can halt the flow for you. Something that will stop this ‘period’ so you can carry on without more blood loss.”
“Carry on without more blood loss” made it sound so damned dramatic, and I wasn’t too keen on a minor surgical procedure out here in the middle of nowhere. If that was all they had, though, I figured I’d give it a shot. Anything to get the focus off my womb and back on getting Q’on and me home and away from the AARO and Agent Wilson. Besides, if I remembered correctly, there was a similar procedure available here on Earth. More permanent, maybe, but similar. It tended to make the woman sterile, but since I was already screwed in that department, it couldn’t hurt anything.
Thankfully, Hunir invited me onto their ship for the procedure. I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped inside, grateful to be out of the cold.
The inside of the ship was just as sleek and impressive as the outside, with glass panels and displays inlaid right into the metal walls. Everything was seamless. It reminded me of sci-fi television shows, with little glowing lights everywhere that I assumed were buttons for controlling the ship’s various functions. I couldn’t make sense of the symbols on the screens, which must have been Xalanite words. Since I didn’t know what the buttons did, I kept my hands in the pockets of my scrub pants. The last thing I wanted to do was activate some kind of weapons array or self-destruct sequence.
“Come,” Hunir said. “Sit.” He gestured to a reclined chair with a built-in pillow on one end. I sat gingerly on the edge, half expecting it to be hard and uncomfortable, but the seat was surprisingly soft. Some sort of gel cushion that sank in and cradled my ass, shaping itself to my body.
Q’on stood next to the chair and held my hand as Hunir set up a tray of instruments. I had no idea what any of them did, and some looked a little terrifying. Thankfully, though, there didn’t seem to be any knives or scalpels among them.
I laid back on the chair and rested my head on the pillow. I wasn’t normally squeamish when it came to medical stuff, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to watch. I squeezed my eyes shut and tightened my grip on Q’on’s hand as Hunir started. Instruments clinked on the tray, and I waited for Hunir to instruct me to take my bloody pants off. Something cool and smooth touched my belly, startling me, and I gasped at the sudden chill.
“Relax,” Hunir said. “It is done.”
Wait, what? That was it? “What’s done?” I asked.
“You are healed. You will not bleed again this lunar cycle.”
That was deceptively simple. And what did he mean by “healed”? Was he just talking about the current mess, or did he do something to repair my faulty plumbing? “Hunir, when you say healed, do you mean you fixed everything?”
He raised a questioning brow at me. “I am not sure I understand.”
My eyes darted back and forth between him and Q’on. “Am I still—I mean, am I still sterile, or did you fix that?”
A shadow crossed his scaled features, and I knew the answer before he said anything. Q’on squeezed my hand and helped me sit back up. Though I had long ago given up on the thought of kids, the brief spark of hope made the crushing realization that much harder to accept. I fought back tears as Hunir handed me a fresh set of clothes to change into.
Q’on rubbed my back while Hunir left us alone so I could get dressed. Without a word about my disappointment, he helped me into the tight Xalanite garb, which fit well enough everywhere except the chest area. The shirt seemed to have been cut for a male body, and I was annoyed that they didn’t have anything that would let the twins breathe until I remembered that Xalanite women had extra boobs, so a woman’s shirt wouldn’t have fit right, either. My borrowed shirt had a deep V-cut neckline, and my tits seemed on the verge of popping out every time I moved. This was probably the best they could do given my anatomical differences to their species.
Once I finished getting dressed, Hunir returned with a set of clothes for Q’on. I’d gotten so accustomed to him being naked that I almost forgot he needed something to wear, too. The fabric hugged his narrow hips and broad shoulders, reminding me how hot he looked emerging from the lake outside my cabin after his crash.
Q’on pulled me into a tight hug and rested his chin on my head. I sank into his embrace, my body trembling as I held back a new onslaught of tears.
“I’m sorry, Q’on,” I said, though I wasn’t quite sure what I was apologizing for. For being broken, I guess. For not being an ideal mate. I hadn’t really fully admitted my sterility before, so I wouldn’t have blamed him if he changed his mind about being with me. He seemed young and fit; he deserved a woman who could bear his kids.
He’d make a great dad.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Amber.” He kissed my forehead. “I should apologize for not having the technology to repair you. You seem sad that Hunir could not make you fertile.”
“It’s not your fault the Xalanites don’t have anything for my broken ass.” I let out a dry bark of laughter. “I guess you’re gonna have to go find anothertyr’il, huh?”
Q’on pulled back and frowned down at me. “What are you talking about?”
“C’mon. You’re young. In your physical prime. You need a woman who can give you kids.”
He shook his head and stroked my cheek. “I needyou.”
