Kneus: A Terraneu Novel (Book Four) Read online

  “Once you do the check-up can you bring her back to Knollig please?” She bit her lip waiting for an answer and his eyes were stuck on her mouth for a second. “Kneus?” she hesitated.

  He snapped out of it, “What? Yes, of course.” He hurried to take the newborn infant from Gwen and placed her in the portable unit designed for this purpose. Gwen hurried back behind the curtain to help Mairi. The portable unit did a quick diagnostic of the infant, and when she was cleared he hurried to bring her back behind the curtain. There were bassinets ready for the babies to rest in while Mairi recovered. He averted his eyes from Mairi, and quickly handed the infant over to Knollig. His brother looked like something a sacath dragged home after playing with it, chewing on it and then deciding not to eat it after all.

  “Here...we...go...again...” Mairi gasped out. “The con...tractions...are...building...”

  Kneus hurried out of the way to wait with Kniam. He didn’t want to embarrass Mairi by seeing something he shouldn’t.

  “I will need to turn on the monitor for this delivery Mairi. After I see which direction the baby is facing. If it’s safe you can deliver otherwise we will have to do a c-section.”

  Kneus didn’t know what any of that meant, he just wanted this night to be over. When the doors to the dome opened, he saw that Catherine and Knaleg had returned.

  “One of the babies has been delivered.” He spoke in mind to Thian since Knaleg couldn’t have known to tell him. “The other should be any minute now.”

  Thian answered, “Thank you for telling me. Let me know when the second baby is delivered.”

  Catherine rushed over to him while Knaleg hovered at the door, “Did we miss it?” She sounded disappointed, but Knaleg looked relieved.

  Kniam managed to get out, “One of the babies is delivered...” when from behind the curtain Mairi screamed out.

  “The scan shows her head is down and the cord isn’t prolapsed. You are going to have to push again.” Gwen’s voice could be heard over Mairi’s groans.

  “You can do it Mairi...” Amber cheered her friend on.

  “I know you are tired sweet Mairi but you can do this.” Knollig’s voice was at odds with his disheveled appearance. He sounded confident and reassuring.

  “Push Mairi! One big push and hold it!” Gwen encouraged.

  Again there was a lot of grunting and panting...then one final scream from Mairi and a babies cries rent the air again.

  “It’s another girl. The scans had it right. Twin girls.” Gwen’s happy voice called out.

  Congratulations were shared around the room. Catherine and Knaleg were hugging each other and he hugged Kniam. Thian, Asteen and Ailech were informed telepathically that both babies were delivered, one of them would relay it to the other males of the community. That being done Kneus waited for the second baby. It wasn’t long before Amber came out from behind the curtain with the second female and handed her over to be scanned.

  Gwen moved the curtain back so everyone could see Knollig and Mairi.

  “I used the portable medical unit on her lower extremities so she isn’t feeling any side effects from the birthing process.” Gwen told the group. “As far as I can tell both mother and daughters are doing fine.”

  Kneus had moved the portable unit closer to the medical bed Mairi was lying on. When it completed the scan on the second infant he moved her to the bassinet that was waiting for her. Two girls, both healthy with all ten fingers and ten toes. The first-born had a smattering of dark black hair, her sister a fine red. Both with full cupid bow lips, and big blue eyes.

  Mairi looked exhausted and sounded it when she asked, “Can someone please tell my grandfather that the babies are healthy. He will want to come visit.” She yawned hugely, which had her mate yawning too.

  “We will tell him Mairi. For now you might want to rest while you can.” Gwen had moved to do an assessment of both of the infants. Kneus watched as she made sure both babies were bundled to her satisfaction.

  Mairi, Knollig and the twins were given some privacy when everyone moved across the room to give them space.

  “I can stay to help.” Amber stated only to frown when Gwen shook her head.

  “I think it’s best if you go home and rest, check on the triplets and Tabec. Someone can get you a message through to Kniam if anything comes up.” Gwen advised and before Amber could argue she cut her off, “You need your rest too Amber. You won’t be any help to your family or Mairi if you exhaust yourself.”

  “She is right little female.” Kniam moved closer and massaged Amber’s shoulder, “You can come back first thing in the morning after you are rested.”

  Amber sighed and curled into his brother’s arms, “You are right of course. I am tired.” Giving Gwen a thankful look she headed for the doors with Kniam. Just before they cleared the doors she called out to Mairi, “I will be back first thing tomorrow if you need anything have Knollig get me.”

  “I will. Thank you Amber.” Mairi called back weakly.

  After Kniam and Amber left, Knaleg and Catherine followed. Everyone would return at some time the next day.

  Kneus had asked telepathically if any males were near Callum McPherson. When he got a reply from the fabricators, he asked them to pass along that his great-granddaughters were born. And his granddaughter would be up for visitors in the morning.

  It was his turn to leave he supposed. Walking quietly to his brother he noticed that Knollig was sound asleep tucked around Mairi, so he went back toward the doors. Gwen was busy with a console and he was torn as to if he should bother her or not. Deciding he should say something he moved toward her.

  “Gwen.” He started then when she looked over at him he paused. He hadn’t noticed before but she had really beautiful eyes. They were intelligent and warm and flashed with good humor. “Uh...that was very well done. The twins are beautiful and you did a really good job.”

  Her smile made flurries dance in his stomach. He must be really tired to be having these strange reactions to Gwen. He had been around her for weeks now and never had this unusual awareness of her. Maybe it was being around a female giving birth that had him all out of sorts? Perhaps he was having a chemical reaction? Something along the lines of the need to find a mate and have children of ones own to further his genetic line?

  “I can’t take any credit for the beauty of the twins, but I can say ‘thank you’ for the compliment on doing a good job in getting them delivered without a hitch.” She teased and his heart rate picked up. “I couldn’t have done it without the equipment you fixed for us.”

  “That was nothing. You did all the work with this being a natural delivery. Mairi got to have the birthing experience she wanted, and it is due to your skill not the machines.” Kneus went to move away then looked back, “Well again, good job.” He was losing his mind. Maybe he should do a scan on himself if he couldn’t even have a conversation with Gwen without getting all tongue-tied. Before he could make a total ass of himself he fled the dome.

  Chapter Eight

  Gwen was exhausted but didn’t want to leave the medical dome in case Mairi needed her. In order to stay close and get some rest she went to sleep on the second medical bed.

  What a great ending to the day! Mairi had delivered her twins, they were all three healthy and now Terraneu had two more babies to make life interesting! The triplets were developing about the same as an Earth baby. They were crawling, sitting up by themselves, and talking baby babble. She knew that in a few months they would be walking and saying their first words. In a year from now the twins would be doing the same. Gwen felt her eyes get misty thinking about how fast the triplets were growing, and how happy the families and mated couples seemed to be. Damn hormones anyway! She was a medical professional still, and she would be damned if she would get emotional. It had to be her new body chemistry because she had never daydreamed about starting a family and having a “mate” on Earth. She had been a driven professional and none of the things she fantasized about hav
ing had ever mattered to her before. Sure she had been lonely, but she hadn’t wanted a permanent relationship.

  She laughed softly to herself. She had never been around a man like Kneus before. He could make any woman wish for a bed nearby, and not for the comforts of sleep. But it went deeper than that and on some level it scared her. She knew that she was highly attracted to Kneus sexually. She felt like a teenager when he was around. She must be putting off enough sexual energy to light a small city. It was her admiration of his other traits that really scared her. He was the whole package of what she would like in a mate and she had no idea how to go about gaining his attention. She had always been a bit awkward around the opposite sex...well both sexes for that matter. She didn’t easily make friends and hadn’t dated a lot either.

  Sighing at how unfair it all was finding the man you know could be a compatible mate, and he didn’t even know you existed. Well unless you counted as a “friend.” She had to remember that Kneus was highly analytical and might need some kind of push to see her as a “female” and not a colleague. She would have to put some thought into how to go about swinging him from thinking of her as friend material, to wanting more.

  Chapter Nine

  Kneus walked into the technology dome and his heart rate picked up. Gwen had arrived before him and was sitting at a console. He smiled when she looked up and offered a quick hello.

  “Good Morning.” She replied, “How did you sleep last night?”

  “Well, thank you.” He moved and took the seat next to her. “How are the twins?”

  She had turned to watch him, “They are doing well.” He was surprised when she got up from her seat and leaned over to him. “How long are we going to do this?” When his eyes widened and before he could ask what she was talking about she leaned closer, placing her hands on either side of his chair. “How long are we going to deny our attraction for each other?” Then before he could recover, she pressed her lips firmly against his.

  He had read a lot of those romance novels Amber had insisted he send back to Terraneu. It was something he considered “research” for when he had a mate. In all of the scenes where the female and male kissed, this is what was described. The burning feeling of her soft lips moving against his, the push of her tongue trying to gain entrance into his mouth. With a low groan he opened his lips wider to allow their tongues to spar. Kneus felt the chair shift as Gwen moved her hands from beside his head, into his hair. It was unbelievable the heat that her fingers were rubbing into his scalp. When her fingernails gently scraped against him, he thought the answering electric spark might catch his hair on fire.

  Breaking his mouth away from hers he gasped in air, “Gwen...I don’t think...” she moved a hand desperately into his pants and he stopped trying to talk.

  “That’s right love...don’t think.” She flexed her fingers and his eyes closed at the feel of her soft palm against his hard shaft. “Don’t talk.” She squeezed again, harder this time moving her hand back and forth as much as his pants would allow. “Don’t do anything but feel.” She leaned in and this time moved her mouth aggressively against his.

  All thoughts of going slowly were driven from his mind. With a growl of frustration Kneus grabbed the clip holding Gwen’s hair and released it. Her brunette curls fell free down her back, the soft length of it brushing against his hands. Moving his grip from her shoulders into her hair, he fisted great handfuls and pulled her against him. His fingers going along her neck, he grabbed the soft length and squeezed slowly.

  “I do feel something.” He whispered, “I feel your pulse beating in your throat.” He squeezed harder. “I feel your panic building as I squeeze.”

  Gwen grabbed his wrist in frail fingers and tried to pull his hand away. Her violet eyes were widened in growing terror.

  “We are coming.” The voice called out to him, a hint of mocking laughter instead of malevolence in its depths. “We are coming.”

  Kneus jerked awake his body drenched in sweat as per the usual. He struggled to wake fully and hold onto the dream at the same time. With a groan he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and moved drunkenly into the bathroom. He had been having a dream about Gwen and they had been kissing. When she had grasped his shaft he had almost lost control right then. Glancing down he almost laughed that the ‘erection’ part of his dream wasn’t real. Still nothing down there to report. With a start he remembered the final part of his dream. He had grabbed Gwen by the throat and squeezed. What was wrong with him that he fantasized about choking someone? Not just anyone either, it was Gwen during a sexual dream.

  He had not been truly worried about the voice and the warning. He had not been really worried about finding information in the archives as to the cause of the blackouts. He wasn’t even truly worried that they would find a way to advance their weapons and shielding. All of those things he was confident they would find answers to. He was now, thanks to this dream, very upset about his mental state! He was truly concerned that he was losing his mind!

  Chapter Ten

  When she woke up Gwen left the medical dome in New Haven for the technology dome in the Square. She knew that Mairi and Knollig were in good hands. Amber had arrived with Kniam and a few others. The newborn sacath were doing great, Tabec had taken to mothering them just as she had with the triplets. She now had two new cubs? Kits? Sacittens? Pupcath? Anyway, Tabec had delivered one male, a golden colored replica of his father, and one female. She was a brindle mix of her father’s golden color and her mothers black. Kniam had laughed when he told them that Tabec’s nest consisted of their couch, torn up and piled just so to make a “cave” and a variety of Amber’s favorite gowns that the sacath had managed to get out of a drawer...along with all of their bedding. All of those items were easily replaced, it was the thought of the sacath tearing up Kniam and Amber’s dome that had everyone laughing. Gwen had promised to go look at the new arrivals later this afternoon. For right now Mairi didn’t need her, between Amber, Jen, Cat, Callum McPherson and the others she would have plenty of help. Walking quickly into the technology dome Gwen went straight back to where she had left off the day prior. She was quickly engrossed in the data and almost missed when Kneus entered.

  “Good Morning.” She smiled at him, “How did you sleep last night?” Her smile almost faltered when he frowned.

  “Well, thank you.” Kneus answered, “How are the twins?” For some reason she couldn’t say his frown intensified.

  She had turned to watch him, “They are doing well.” She got up from her seat to walk over to a different console and was shocked when Kneus jumped a few feet back. “Are you okay?” He had turned pale and looked as if he was starting to shake.

  “Yes. I’m fine.” He seemed to compose himself and hurried to add, “I’m glad the twins are well. Do you think Mairi and Knollig will want visitors this morning?”

  Gwen gave him a skeptical look, he didn’t look fine to her but she was willing to let the matter drop for now. “They have a few people helping out and visiting this morning, a better time to check on them might be this afternoon.”

  When Kneus went to sit she moved to show him an item on his console that he might find interesting. Leaning over to point out the data she was suddenly shoved back when he jumped to his feet.

  “What in the world!” Gwen struggled to regain her footing. Kneus’ hand shot out to grab her and hold her steady. “What is going on with you?” She couldn’t believe he was so jumpy and out of sorts. He had her really worried about his odd behavior.

  “I am sorry Gwen.” His eyes had turned a smoky purple she had never seen before. “I would never intentionally cause you harm.”

  “I’m okay Kneus, I know you would never hurt someone on purpose it’s not in your nature.” Gwen hurried to assure him, “Can you tell me what is going on?” When she saw the shuttered look come over him she decided to take the direct approach and rushed to say, “I know about the nightmares you are having, so don’t try to deny that something is bo
thering you.” His astonished expression almost made her laugh, if only this were a laughing matter. “Please let me help you! I can be bound by the old Earth custom of not telling anyone what you confide in me as a doctor to patient.” Gwen was desperate to get Kneus to open up to her. She knew that if he didn’t get help soon he might break mentally. With all the things he had seen on Earth, getting shot on the port pad and the coma he might have PTSD or something similar.

  “I don’t think...” Kneus began to say.

  Gwen decided to take off the kid gloves. “If you don’t talk to me Kneus, I will ask for a joint council meeting to discuss your mental health.” Ignoring the look of outrage that he gave her Gwen continued, “I know that everyone is concerned about you, and would listen if I called for a meeting.” The look of outrage shifted to hurt and Gwen almost gave up this avenue of reaching him, but she was determined to get Kneus to admit he needed help.

  “Please don’t make me go that far Kneus. Tell me what is going on so I can help you.” She gently placed her hand on his, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. When he just sat there she gave his fingers a gentle squeeze.

  He stared at her hand on his for what felt like forever when his eyes finally met hers she saw the pain he had been holding back. It stabbed at her heart to see he was in such misery.

  “I will confide in you Gwen but only if you promise you will not tell either council what we discuss.” Kneus’ voice came out rough with emotion.

  “I promise I won’t tell anyone.” Gwen hurried to agree to his condition for fear he would change his mind.

  He sat back into a console chair and pursed his lips. Gwen’s eyes stayed on them. How many times had she wondered how soft they would feel against hers? How would they feel moving against her skin? Would they be hot and smooth? Shaking her head against those thoughts she waited for him to talk.