33 BULLETS

"El."

Tap-tap-tap.

"El."

Tap-tap-tap.

I groaned the sleep away and opened my eyes to the sun rising over the treetops below, my back warmed from being pressed against Thann all night.

Smiling at the lovely sight, I twisted on our high branch to see him. "Morning."

"El," he grinned and threaded his fingers through my hair. It was probably a tangled mess after another night in a tree.

I pressed it down. "You should really let me at least put it in a braid. Or buy me a brush."

"El. Hot."

"Hot?" I giggled with sleepiness still pressed around me. "What's hot? My hair?" I threaded my own fingers down a lock, but it felt fine to me.

"El," he beamed wide, a happiness that took his entire body. "Baby hot."

"Baby hot?" I wondered. "What do you mean baby hot?"

"Baby hot! Baby hot!" He sat forward in excitement.

My voice turned to a little seductive teasing. "Oh yeah, is your baby so hot? I sure am, Sexy."

Thann leaned forward and pressed his hand low on my abdomen, just under my belly button. He looked over his hand and smiled fondly. "Baby hot," he sighed in a joyful breath.

"Get your hands away. Not in a tree Thor," I playfully smacked his hand away from where I was sure his naughty fingers were headed and leaned in for a kiss.

He kissed me back with passion, scooting me forward against him, hands holding my back steady.

He then broke away and leaned his head back against the tree trunk, eyes closing in his grin. Happy. Thann happy.

I kissed his cheek. "Me too Big Guy. So what do you say we get some breakfast and then back on the road? Eat. Walk?"

His head dashed back up, eyes worried. "Walk? No walk. Hurt baby."

"Hurt baby?" I asked confused. How could a walk hurt baby. What baby? I already told him I couldn't get pregnant. Molly and Mathe's kids would hurt? "I don't understand."

"No El hurt baby."

Oh. This was about the implant again. I poked at the rod. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd need to get pregnant to save a dying race. I mean, who really thinks about that when they buy birth control?" I chuckled to myself. "Anyway, I'm hungry. Can we eat?"

He nodded and I scooted back on the branch and leaned my body down to the next level to start my descent.

"Cha!" He yelled and I glanced to him. It was his word for No.

"What'd I do?"

"El no hurt."

I looked around for what branch was going to stab me, when instead I was swept up into his arms.

"Oh!" I laughed and then smiled at his beautiful eyes. I held around his neck. "Okay, sure. I wouldn't mind an elevator," I snickered. We were pretty high up.

He kissed my cheek and then painstakingly climbed down making sure not a single branch even got close to touching me.

He hopped down the last few feet but still carried me over to our things.

I stretched and threaded my arms behind my head. "This is the life. Next feed me grapes and fan me with palm leaves, please." I chuckled at my imagination of me on a throne somewhere as a Cleopatra wannabe.

He sat me down delicately on a nice sized rock and tucked a strand over my ear. "Muhle."

"Thanks for the ride," I said sweetly and then tried to stand to go to our food.

He pushed me back to the rock before I got half a foot off. "Thann help."

"Uh, alright," I laughed in confusion. "What's with you?"

He brought out some jerky and veggies for breakfast and we sat to eat. He kept glancing over my body and smiling.

"You're being funny," I told him with a reciprocated smile.

He finished his bite and stood, coming over and giving me a quick peck. "Stay."

I nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Get out of here Rambo."

And he disappeared into the brush.

A few minutes later when I took my excursion into the bush, I noticed the metal of my jeans button and zipper were hot to the touch as I dropped my pants.

But it wasn't until I tried to zip back up that I realized that my stomach was flaming hot. "What the?"

I stood tall and starting walking back to camp. But I touched again, right below my belly button.

It was really hot, like fresh bowl of soup hot. It felt great on my hands, but it was really freaking wacky that a fever could be centralized right at my belly.

What was going on?

'Baby hot.'

Wait.

My trek froze.

What the freak did he mean by 'baby hot'?

I wasn't pregnant!

The implant was like ninety-nine point nine-nine percent effective!

This was not a point oh one percent!

"Thann!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Emergency!"

I felt the spot again.

It sure as heck felt like that was where a womb could be.

Thann appeared in a rush before me, wolf form.

"What is the meaning of this?" I pointed at my belly. "Hot baby? Hot baby! What the heck do you mean hot baby?"

He shifted human.

Dumb Tarzan strips.

And walked toward me, sinking to his knees in front me with a grin over his whole face. It even caused smile lines at his eyes. His hands roamed over the front of my jeans. "Baby."

"Uh, No. No baby. Medicine remember?" I tapped the rod.

He hugged around my waist, bringing his ear to me.

"Dude. Boundaries. I'm not pregnant."

He looked up, same grin lighting his face. "Baby! Baby! Molly hot. Baby."

I nearly stepped back with shock. "Molly was hot with her babies?"

He nodded. Molly hot.

No. That couldn't be. I had the implant. It was going to take three years to have a baby. And we had one in days?

I wasn't even due with a period for another week. Being pregnant right now was absurd. No one could tell that soon.

But this wasn't a human baby.

What if human birth control...

Oh no. My heart dropped.

Was I?

My sister-in-law. When she was pregnant, when she was pregnant she, she had morning sickness! I hadn't been throwing up. Just that once after my roller coaster ride! Not upchucking everything ten times a day!

But you have been on the ground for a week because of nausea, Eleanor.

Not every pregnant woman has to throw up.

Oh shoot.

Morning sickness. Check.

And cravings! Oh my gosh, I want raw meat! Cravings. Check.

What else were her symptoms?

I racked my brain. Whatwhatwhat!

Itchy boobs.

See! Ha! I wasn't pregnant. I didn't have itchy...

And as if it were a self-fulfilling prophecy, my chest begged to be scratched.

Nuts.

Was that it?

I was pregnant.

Wasn't I?

With an alien's baby.

I mean without a pregnancy test and missed period, I shouldn't be able to know, right?

But that heat.

I touched over the heat again and Thann's hands came to lay over mine.

Heat surrounded my hands.

The same heat from him, was coming from my belly.

This was an alien baby.

I was pregnant.