My plan for not signing the papers and putting them in the back of my mind is really paying off. I don't feel overstressed nor do I feel a hole in my heart anymore. It's like I'm playing a big game with him. Arson calls at least once a week to see if I've signed them and luckily, I can always tell him that a case has set me back.
Which is both true and false. They're little cases so it's not that time consuming but I do have cases.
It's been about a month now since Arson said he wanted to divorce me and I've thankfully avoided him. But I keep finding inhalers all around the house. I thought that the one in my purse was the only one he had forgotten but then I found one in the drawer by the bed, the drawer in the coffee table, and in the glove compartment. I knew he had a bunch but not that many... I wanted to call up Liam to make sure that Arson was alright but Arson is smart enough to take the canisters out of them and with him...
Right?
I opened all the inhalers and found canisters in all them, and all of them pretty much full except for the one that was by the bed. I began to panic and threw them all in my purse to head to Liam's house.

*********************

It was pretty late but I still knocked on the door and Liam opened it, yawning.
"Sorry to wake you..." I said.
He rubbed his eyes and then blinked.
"Jane?"
"Yeah... Um..."
"What brings you here?"
I fished in my purse and found all the inhalers.
"In his rush to get out of the house Arson forgot these. They're mostly full..."
"Oh... thanks..."
"How is he?"
"Um... he's not good actually. Maybe you can help me out?"
"I can try. Is he asleep?"
"Yeah." He said as I walked in and he closed the door. "My knowledge only goes so far on babies and since it's half alien..."
"I'll help as much as I can."
He led me to his back bedroom and opened the door. Arson was sound asleep on his back, hand on his distended belly and his other arm by his head.
"He looks at peace." I said with a sad smile.
"Watch..."
We watched him for a couple of minutes when he suddenly shuddered, whining a little like he was in pain.
"He does this all through the night. Sometimes he actually starts to scream in his sleep."
"He has nightmares?"
"Every night... Is this normal?"
"No... The men are supposed to have euphoric and pleasant dreams. I'll ask my brother about the nightmares and what they mean."
"He's been pregnant too, yeah?"
"Yeah..."
"He misses you, Jane." Liam said as we walked out.
I turned to him and he smiled.
"He's been talking in his sleep as well. Whenever he stops screaming and I calm him down, the first thing he says is 'Jane?'. He still loves you."
"Just give him the inhalers for me. Make sure he is alright. I'll talk to Henry tomorrow about those nightmares."

**********************

"Nightmares you say?" Henry said as I talked with him over the phone.
"Yes. Liam showed me and instead of the euphoric and happy dreams that men usually have during the pregnancy, Arson was having a nightmare. Liam says he sometimes screams at night."
"Hmm... That's a new one on me. I've never heard of men having nightmares when they were with child. I'll have to look into it and get back to you."
"Do you think it might be a human thing?"
"Possibly. Their DNA isn't that much different from our own but there are a few factors that make us different. I'll get in touch with Gastilial and see if he can run a scan on what could cause those."
"Aw, and how is Gas?" I asked of the old family friend and scientist.
"Last I saw of him he was doing well... Another letter came to me today about your mate."
"He's not my mate, dammit. What's his name anyhow?"
"Says in the letter 'Greetings and salutations Mr. Keppler..." Blahblahblah... oh, here we go... HOLY SHIT!"
"What?! What is it?!"
"Your mate is the friggin Duke of Yulstance! Duke Alax Shinoux!"
"Duke Shinoux? How did that happen?"
"I don't know. If he's a duke then he'll definitely be searching for you."
"Grrr, I hate that stupid arranged marriage stuff. Did you send a letter back telling them that I was already wed?"
"Can't. You got a human pregnant. It's a threat of exposure to Maclara. They would beam him up and hold him hostage on Maclara and you would be forced to marry Alax, whether by Arson's death or by the government's threat to kill Arson."
I sighed and kneaded the bridge of my nose. "Why does everything in my life have to be so complicated?"
"I don't know..."
"I'll have to call you back, I'm being called on the other line."
"I'll get back to you."
"Yeah." I switched to the call that was coming in. "Jane Channing speaking."
"You got my brother pregnant?!"
"Oh, well, if it isn't the oil that fuels the fire..." I sighed, opening the car door. "What do you want, Chandler?"
"I want to understand how he became pregnant. I'm a scientist and that doesn't happen!"
"I'm surprised you're just finding out."
"I had heard about the divorce and went to see him. What did you do to him, Jane?"
"It's what he did to me that caused all of this. Everyone feels sorry for Arson but no one understands how I felt!"
I turned the phone off and threw it across the car, sobbing. All anyone cares about is Arson... Why don't they understand?