I love that after two years of marriage, I'm as big as a house and he still looks at me with wonder and awe on his face.
I cover the muffins with plas-film and put them in a container, then waddle out to the air-sled. I head toward town, humming to myself as I drive the sled over my fields. I compare them to two years ago. Rektar's been working on my bots in his downtime, and as a result, they're working better than ever. In fact, they're working so efficiently I was able to plant another field, and the incoming money will pay for the new addition to the house—the baby's room.
And in a few years, I'm hoping we'll be able to pay for a little brother for our baby girl. I rub my belly as I drive, smiling at that thought.
There's an open space in front of the port custodial office, one marked specifically for me or my mate. It's empty, which means Rektar is probably out on his rounds, chasing down missing meat-stock or assisting with a transport ship. His days are pretty varied, but I'm sure he'll be back to the office soon. I maneuver my belly out of the air-sled, move to the passenger side to get the baked goods, and then head in.
Before I can even get to the door, Khex is there, pressing on the pad so it'll slide open. His eyes light up with pleasure at the sight of me. "My favorite female!"
"Don't let Rektar hear you say that," I tease. "He's been very protective lately."
"Of course he is. You look like you're ready to give birth at any moment." He takes the food from my hands, setting it down and then pulling out a chair for me. "How do you feel?"
"Like I swallowed a bag of footballs," I joke.
"What's a footballs?"
"Something enormous like this." I pat my belly. "Where's my mate?"
I look around the office, but Rektar's messy desk looks untouched. Before I can get an answer, two hulking alien men in uniforms—both as blue as my husband—race in and attack the muffins. Their horns are the same unadorned type that Khex and Rektar sport, and they both look much younger than my Rektar. Fresh out of college, I joke to myself.
"Good morning to you two," I say, amused at their appalling manners. Khex has told me before that Ainar and Sinath were very low ranked at their particular military outpost, and he requested that they be stationed out here after they had no other opportunities. Not only is Rektar protective of me, but he's protective of others in his situation. We've had these two over to our little house several times for dinner, and I can't decide if I feel sorry for the two or if they've been raised by wolves and are beyond saving. They're good at citing military protocol, but when it comes to being a normal person out of uniform, they're a little…feral.
Ainar grins at me through a mouth of muffin. "You look more radiant every time we see you, Lucy."
"Oh, you suck up," I say, smiling as I relax in the chair. Or try to. It's not helping my back much. "I bet you say that to all the girls that bring you food."
"No one brings us food but you," Ainar retorts. Sinath just stuffs another muffin into his mouth, like he's afraid they're going to be snatched away before he can eat his fill. Mentally, I make a note to increase how much I make. Or perhaps half a load of breakfast muffins and the other half a savory dinner pocket of some kind. Rektar loves it when I make those for him, as if he can't believe he's so lucky, and I always forget that these are men that have been given nothing but protein ration bars for years on end. Of course they love the cooking.
That's fine. I love cooking for them. In a way, I feel like the team mom, but my team is the Port custodians.
Sinath grabs a handful of muffins and shoves them into the crook of his arm, carrying them out to his sled. He nods at me in greeting, smiling, but says nothing. Never does, that one. Ainar grabs a few more, giving me a cocky grin of thanks, and heads back out as quickly as he came in. I'm left with Khex and a plate full of crumbs.
Khex picks at a few crumbs, sitting on the edge of Rektar's desk. "I can't believe they ate all of it before I had a chance to get some."
"The bottom compartment is for Rektar's share," I tell him, shifting my weight to try and get comfortable. "You can have one of his if you like. Speaking of, where did you say my mate was?"