”He was about to leave when my mother stopped him. “Doctor, what about a prescription for pain. The sprain sounds like it’s pretty serious. I kn...w we shouldn’t give him anything too heavy tonight or tomorrow because of the concussion, but after that, can we give him something a little stronger than aspirin?”The doctor nodded and motioned for her to follow him. “I’ll write you a scrip. You can get it filled in the hospital pharmacy when you’re getting the crutches.” The two of them left the room. So adamant had she been about not wanting anymore children, she had me get snipped, and that was about fifteen years ago. And before that she’d been on Norplant, which had worked very well as birth control. And now, seemingly out of nowhere she was ready to be bred by another man. Something just didn’t sync yet. “Yeah?” I asked. “What made you change your mind about this? I mean, you’ve always been so very determined that you didn’t want any more children, you had enough, and now all three of. 'We did not come to steal your clutchlittle cousin.'The little queen landed atop her nest mound, the rest of her flockalighting nearby. "How did you get here?" Shalarra asked.She was shown images of the number one hold of the different shipsbetween AK-5 and Between. "You jumped from ship to ship," reasonedShalarra. I wish I knew how they got to Between to begin with, shethought to herself.Suddenly her mind was filled with images of a shuttle, the crew pilinggems and precious metals in a hatch. Her belly tumbled uncomfortably and she laid a hand on her abdomen to still the butterflies.She’d already changed into her nightgown and braided her hair for the night. Caleb was in bed, reading a medical journal. She sat down next to him and laid a hand over his page. “Will you tell me what’s bothering you?”He closed his book and leaned against the headboard of their bed, his warm brown eyes meeting hers. “It’s April twenty-first, a year to the day since the first time I laid eyes on you, and.