He tucks me against him, brushing a hand on one of my cold feet as I curl it against his thigh and lie on my side once more. He tucks his arm around my waist, his lips against the top of my head.
The baby kicks again, this time doing an impressive kick instead of a slight flutter. I suck in a breath, surprised at the ferocity of it.
Aehako loses all of his drowsiness. He immediately stiffens against me, his hand splaying over my belly. “Are you well?”
“I’m fine,” I promise him. “It was just a kick.”
“But you drew in breath. Does it hurt?”
“It was just surprising. That’s all. Go back to sleep.” I cover his hand with mine and close my eyes, pretending to go back to sleep myself. All the while, the baby in my stomach has decided that it is most definitely not sleep time. It flips and kicks and moves around, and I can feel the tension brimming in Aehako’s big body. He doesn’t go back to sleep. I know he doesn’t, because I know him. And so I wait.
It doesn’t take long.
“Kira?”
“Mmm?”
“Are you asleep, my mate?” His lips brush over my hair, pressing a kiss there.
The baby kicks again, and even though I just peed, it feels like I need to get up again. I knew being pregnant wouldn’t be a barrel of fun, but sometimes I wish this kid would pick somewhere to sit other than my bladder. “I’m awake.”
“Do you think the kit is well?” His hand caresses my belly and I can hear the worry in his tone.
My heart squeezes. My Aehako is always so laughing and carefree, so easily confident. Yet lately, as my belly grows, so does the worry in his eyes. This isn’t the first night he’s been unable to go back to sleep, and I suspect it won’t be the last. He’s not going to sleep well until I have this baby…and that’s months and months (and months) away from now. “I’m sure it’s fine. Go back to sleep, love.”
“But it is very active tonight.”
“Sometimes it does that.”
His hand slides over my belly. “What if it is trying to get our attention? What if something is wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I reassure him.
He doesn’t sound convinced. “How is your stomach?”
I have the occasional bout of nausea thanks to strong smells, and every time I do, Aehako panics. It’s like he can’t stand the thought of me sick or hurting, which is kind of sweet. In the middle of the night, though? It’s also kind of irksome. I remind myself that he’s just worried. This is our first baby together. It’s natural for him to be overprotective. “It’s good.” I make my voice sound as sleepy as possible. “Go back to bed, love.”
Aehako just tugs me closer, burying his face in my hair. “You would tell me if it was not, yes?”
“I absolutely would, I promise.”
He grunts and gets quiet, but I notice his hand stays protectively over my belly, and he twitches every time the baby kicks again, as if it’s punching his insides and not mine.
My poor Aehako. It’s strange, because normally out of the two of us, I’m the worrier. I’m the one that stresses over small things and tries to take the weight of the world on my shoulders. He’s the lighthearted one, the laughing, teasing one that makes me forget all of my worries. When it comes to this pregnancy, though, our roles are reversed. I’m the one that takes everything in stride, and it’s Aehako that has the sleepless nights and the constant fear. It’s Aehako that hovers over me as if I’m fragile glass and won’t let me do a thing around the cave that might disturb me.
He’s making himself crazy. At some point, he’s going to snap, because I don’t think he can take another six months of this, which is what it sounds like I’m in for.
The baby shifts again and I fight back a groan of irritation, because now I really do feel like I have to pee. But if I get up again, Aehako’s going to panic.
There’s no winning this.
* * *
“He is stressed,” Kemli tells me as she hands me a cup of tea later that morning.
“Do you think so?” I take a sip, trying not to worry.
The elder sits across from me with her own cup, her expression wry. “All males get touchy when their female is with kit. It is not just the body that changes, but she gets tired. Her feet hurt. She craves strange foods.” Kemli shrugs. “My Borran fussed and hovered with each of my kits. You would think a female had never had young before the way he acted.” Her mouth quirks, and then she sobers. “You must also remember that you are not with the healer, here in the South Cave.”