Chapter 10

Tuesday September 25

A little after five, I awoke to someone violently shaking my shoulder. Opening my eyes, I could just make out the shape of Chris. It was odd, but I could 'feel' her presence, too.

There was something wrong, and I didn't know what. The bed was wet on Kitten's side. Did she pee the bed? I urged Chris out of the bed and got out myself, then turned on the bedside light.

Kitten had a grimace on her beautiful face. This time, I knew it was not a smile. Something was definitely wrong. I pulled back the covers, and found the bed wet between her legs. There was no smell of urine though. An image of a baby was placed in my mind.

I had no idea she was even pregnant, she did not even appear that way, now that I knew the fact. A little pudgy perhaps, but not pregnant. If she was this small, the baby was probably a preemie. I could only think of rushing her to the hospital, almost an hour away. I had to stop a second and think. That would put her whole race in jeopardy. What doctor could I get that would keep the secret? None. The only one I could think of for help, would be Susan.

I asked Kitten as I held her hand in mine, "Are you in pain? Is there anything I can do to help?" I got back the idea that it came and went.

"How long till the baby arrives?" I tried to get across. We had no common time units, but I felt as if it were more than an hour.

"I am going to call a friend of mine to help. I trust her with my life, and I think you can trust her, too." She squeezed my fingers, as a spasm went through her.

My nervous fingers pushed the speed dial button, and I waited a long time.

"Hello," Susan said with a yawn.

"Hello, Darling. I need your help, as soon as possible."

"Hello, my hero," she yawned again, and continued, "What is the matter?"

"There is a young lady here, that is going to have a baby. Would you come over and see what you can do to help?"

"It would be quicker, and safer too; if you took her to the hospital, or the clinic," she said as she became more awake.

"You're right. But she can't go to either of them. We need someone we can trust. Not even a doctor will do."

"What is all this about? I only helped delivering a baby once."

"If you trust me, come and help. We have no other choice."

"Ok. I'll get dressed and be on my way. The roads are clear. I should be there in a little over an hour."

"Thanks, love, but be careful. I don't want you in an accident."

"Yes, I will. Bye." She hung up, and was probably getting dressed, right now.

"She will be coming soon. Do you want me go and get some help from your home? Do you want me to get the father?" As I said it, I felt a stab to my heart. I had never even considered a husband. My caveman emotions were coming out. No doubt, it had served my ancestors well, but it was not appropriate to relations between worlds.

I must have been broadcasting, because both girls did their odd smile, and Kitten shook her head, to a double 'no'. Good relations or not, I felt relief, but tried to hide it. I do not know how successful I was, but had my hopes anyway.

"When Susan comes, Chris, I would like you to go downstairs." I held both of her hands as I looked down into her eyes, thinking how much I wanted all this to work out. "She will have problems facing one issue at a time. I will call you, when I think it is the right time to come up."

Then I turned to Kitten and asked, "Is there something I can do to help out? I can get some hot water, and make some diapers out of a sheet. Can I help you to the bathroom, or get you something to eat or drink?"

She extended her hand, and I helped her to the toilet. She peed, but could not do anything else. I washed her in the bidet, and dried her carefully. This time she was not turned on by my cleaning.

I tried to think of the best place for the birth, and the master bed was the best I could think of. With Kitten sitting in a bedside chair, I stripped the bed, and put clean sheets on it. I then went for more towels, a sheet of plastic, and pillows to prop Kitten up. I helped her back into bed, with a plastic sheet and some towels under her butt, and pulled the clean covers over her.

The thermostat was turned high, as she liked it. Then I got a housecoat, and brought it back for Chris to wear, now that she was standing on her back two legs. Her arms were wrapped around her body, to keep warm in the chilly morning air.

The dirty sheets were put into the wash. A clean flannel sheet was ripped up, to make some diapers. Another was torn for bandages, if needed. Water was not needed because we had the hot water tank, and I doubted that sterilization was needed. Then I remembered the scissors in the first aid kit, and the small needles and thread, I'd found so useful in Nam for sewing up friends. Then I brought some cord, to tie up the umbilical cord after it was severed. Maybe the boiling water was needed.

My constant running around seemed humorous to the girls. When all the things were assembled, I sat down in a chair beside the bed. I was out of breath, and feeling helpless. I held one of Kitten's hands, and tried to send what reassurance I could her way. The vision of an expectant father popped into my mind. I did not think any one else put it there. In a way, all those scenes from movies where the father was fumbling around, and more than just anxious, had been comical, but not now.

When in Nam, I had seen childbirth in backward hamlets, but had never participated. More and more, worry started creeping into my thinking. It could not all be mine. A civilization like Kitten's and Chris's must have very good obstetrics. Why didn't she want help from her home? Or, for that matter, why did she not seem to care if the father was here or not?

A car pulled up in front of the house. I tied the housecoat around Chris, before directing her downstairs. "I will be a few minutes preparing Susan for this meeting. Just relax as best you can. I will take care of everything." This last I said, was more wish, than fact. The bedroom door closed behind me. I opened the front door to Susan, who came in with her purse, and a bag of things, she thought she might need.

"Hello, my hero. Where is the happy mother-to-be?"

"Hi, Darling," as I held her tightly, and gave her a kiss. "Thank you for coming. There is something I have to say to you, first." She could feel my concern, and perhaps my worry, too.

"What is it?" She said in a questioning voice. A forced smile came to her face, as she saw the expression on mine.

"The girl is not originally from around here. I met Kitten yesterday, and invited her over. The pregnancy may be premature, because she showed very little signs of it. We have to keep the birth secret. You can't even mention seeing the girl, or her friend, Chris."

"What is so important that she has to hide? And what is this about a friend?"

"The friend is another girl I met, the day before. As to why this has to be kept secret, you will soon find out. Her kind doesn't originate on Earth."

"That's a good one. Let's see the girl." She probably wondered why I was trying to make a joke of the situation.

"Susan, I love you. I have been truthful in everything that really mattered. Believe me, when I say, I am not bending the facts in this matter."

She looked at me very strangely now. Perhaps she started to believe the possibility of my statements. I took the large bag from her hand and put it down, before hanging her coat up in the closet. The bag went with me, as we opened the bedroom door.

Susan was behind me. She took a look at Kitten, no doubt looking for antennae or tentacles. What she saw was a Human looking girl, with perhaps larger eyes that normal, and an odd hair style. Kitten's hands were wrapped around an extra pillow, holding on, as if to a life preserver.

Susan walked around me, and stood by the bed. "Hi, Kitten. My name is Susan." She crouched down, and put her hand on Kitten's bare shoulder.

"I will try to help you, if I can. Can you tell me how far apart your contractions are?" Susan waited for the answer.

"Honey, you can talk to me. I will not hurt you. Are you afraid?"

She slowly got up, then sat in the chair that I had just vacated. Susan's hand travelled down Kitten's arm, to her hand. Susan's hand gently rubbed Kitten's, as she waited for the reply. A quizzical look came over her face, as her eyes fell to the hand she was holding. Five fingers, but in place of the pinkie was another thumb, almost as large as the one on the other side of the hand. On closer examination she noticed the extra knuckle on each digit.

Susan was empathetic enough not to drop the hand, as she turned to me. "How can this be?"

"Well, I think her boyfriend must have got lucky."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do. I do not have many answers, only a lot of questions, myself. I am keeping it a secret, because if this gets out, her home will be invaded, or worse. If you want to find out, I am afraid you will have to work with me to get the answers. By the way, as far as I know, she does not speak. She can communicate by means of telepathy, but I am not too good with it, yet. I can make myself understood, but it is difficult to get complex thoughts."

"That's good. I thought I was going crazy with the images in my mind, when I asked her questions."

"I am glad you can communicate, too," I breathed in of relief. It would be much easier, getting answers, with two people able to speak. "You will find her a little different, around the area you will be working on."

Susan gave me a look that spelled serious trouble. She pulled the blanket back slowly, got Kitten's knees up, and inspected her mons and vagina. Kitten flinched as Susan's fingers delicately inspected her opening. The now dormant urethra hung down three centimetres, and was partially in front of the opening. Five pinker buds surrounded the opening, with fleshy skin protecting each. No inner lips were in evidence. A glance at her feet showed that they were different, too. Her toes were longer, coming close to being hands.

"Well, you certainly are different, Honey. But not that much. Is there anything you want to tell me? I can relax and try to do the receiving." Susan covered Kitten, and sat back in the chair with a look of deep concentration on her face. A few seconds later, her face changed to that of wonder. Her mouth opened, and her eyes opened wide. Eventually her face turned to me in an expression of awe, and then turned back to Kitten. I could tell that an inaudible conversation of sorts was taking place. They seemed to be able to communicate better than I could.

I watched for over ten minutes, as the silent communication took place, punctuated by occasional contractions. This ended with a moan of pain, from both. Susan looked at me and said, "She seems to like me. If I didn't know better, I'd believe she loves you, and only after one day."

"I only met her yesterday afternoon. The ability to read minds, must make things work much faster than it does with us."

Susan rearranged some of the pillows on the bed, to make Kitten more comfortable. Susan's hand came out, and gently caressed the short fine body hair, on the mother-to-be's arm and face. The face had no coarse hair, but did have a slightly thicker coat of fuzz than humans had. Kitten's hand moved to hold Susan's other hand tightly, as pains shot through her body. Their eyes were locked on one another. A lot of silent conversation was going on. The serious and even frightened expression on Susan's face, slowly dwindled.

As if in a trance, Susan leaned down and kissed Kitten on the lips. Their arms wrapped around each other, as only lovers would do. Susan slowly pulled back from Kitten's hands, and cupped her face, before returning for another embrace. Kitten's tongue came out and traced Susan's lips. I could feel an erotic surge at both the sight, and the images in my mind.

This time Susan pulled all the way back. She remembered me, and turned to see what I thought. I could only smile, and give her encouragement, for the lovely girl had captured my heart as well.

More pains came to Kitten, and both Susan and I could feel them, as if we were having the baby. The frequency was increasing, and I 'knew' that the time had come.

Susan crawled onto the bed between Kitten's legs, and inspected her pelvis. Kitten's knees were coaxed up to help. Again I 'knew' that the knees had to go higher to help Kitten deliver, but I knew she would have difficulty holding them up. I moved beside the bed, and held them as Susan tried to work. This was difficult to do, and gave Susan little room to work.

"Susan do you want another person to hold Kitten's other leg in position?"

"Yes, but where are we going to find them?"

"Call, in your head, for Chris to come up and help. She is a little different, but a very nice person."

Susan closed her eyes to do the call, and I heard the noise of someone coming up the steps. When she walked into the room, she looked no different from Kitten except the skin colouration. I saw Susan release a pent up breath. Perhaps she was wondering about how Chris was different, after seeing nothing apparent.

"Hello, Chris. My name is Susan. Thanks for your help."

Chris did her smile and moved into position, supporting one of Kitten's legs. Susan reached beside the bed to the floor, and brought up the bag and placed it on the bed, but not in her way. She opened it and got out some gauze to wipe up some leakage.

"Henry, give me some of those towels beside you."

I gave her what she wanted and said, "I have some things too. There are more towels lying on the dresser. Some medical instruments are beside them. I had no idea if you would need them or not."

She said, "I stopped at a pharmacy on the way over for some supplies. I hope I brought all the things I need."

I tried reassuring Kitten in a silent conversation, and her hand came up to hold mine. She looked into my eyes as she gave a grunt, and I knew something was happening.

Susan was talking, but I don't think Kitten or I really heard her.

Susan moved differently, between Kitten legs, talking to herself, I think. More minutes passed, with me still looking deep into Kitten's eyes, and her's into mine. I could feel a baby leaving my own body. More groans and grunts occurred, interspersed with a moment of calm.

Then a small cry, which was barely heard. A radiant smile came to Kitten's face. I felt as proud as if I were the real father or mother. Moments later, I heard a duet start singing. This was amazing! She barely had enough room for one. Then I heard another. Where did she get them all?

I took my eyes from Kitten, and looked at the tiny children. They were so small and wrinkled. They looked the usual blue to purple, and were perfectly formed, from what I saw. These must be preemies. I tried to shield my mind as I thought of their chances of living. Many preemies died, even in a well-staffed paediatric ward. What chances did they have, here? Plans for making incubators and ways of feeding them entered my head. How do we keep them as disease free as possible?

Susan sat up, after placing the individually wrapped babies in their mother's arms. She covered them with a soft cloth, then a small blanket. Kitten was so happy, that she almost glowed. Moments latter, the three placentas were expelled, one after the other.

Susan kept her head down, and I knew she was as upset as I was. She used more gauze to clean Kitten, plus a squeeze bottle of water. When she was dry, Susan removed all the damp towels and dropped them into a plastic pail beside the bed. She put a pad into a pair of clean panties and slipped them onto Kitten. We lowered Kitten's legs, turned her to a better position on the bed. Susan covered her, to keep all of them warm.