Free Charlotte and the Alien Ambassador by Jessica Coulter Smith Page A

a mate, but as the mother of one of our children, you are considered Terran by everyone here. When a Terran female loses her mate, our society comes together to give her support and anything she needs. Please allow us to do this for you.”
    “If you really want to help me, you can show me back to my room. And in the morning, you can help me find a job.”
    They shared a look before Cosmir spoke. “You’re going to need to reserve your strength the farther along you are in your pregnancy. You should rest and let us take care of you. And you should definitely make an appointment at the clinic in the morning. The doctor will need to know there is a pregnant female staying at the station.”
    “I’ll stop there after breakfast. I promise.”
    Vordro held out his hand and helped her from her chair. “We’ll escort you to your quarters. There’s a phone in your room. If you press 0, it will put you through to the front desk. You may ask for Cosmir or me and we will get anything you need. Even if it’s the middle of the night.”
    “Thank you. Both of you.”
    With a Terran on either side of her, they walked back to her room where she bid them goodnight and closed the door. Tears sprang to her eyes at how kind they were being, and she wondered once more what would have happened if she’d stayed on Terran. Would Borgoz eventually have come for her? Had he even noticed she was gone? Did he care?
    She missed Borgoz so much her heart ached. It felt as if a piece of her had been left behind. Her heart would always belong to him, and she couldn’t imagine ever loving another man the way she loved him. Charlotte contemplated confessing to Cosmir and Vordro who the father of her baby was, but she wasn’t certain what they would do with the knowledge. It wasn’t like Borgoz could come here and claim her.
    But what if she went back to claim him?
    You’re an idiot. He doesn’t want you .
    Knowing he had rejected her should have put an end to her longing for him but it didn’t. Even knowing he would prefer to not take a mate at all rather than claim her, she still wanted him. Still loved him.

Chapter Ten
     
    The doctor frowned as he examined her. The look on his face frightened her, but she was too scared to ask what was wrong. When the exam was over, he stepped out and she quickly changed back into her clothes before opening the door so he would know she was finished.
    “Is there something wrong with the baby?” she asked, unable to withstand not knowing.
    “The heartbeat is a little slower than I’d like and the scan shows it to be a small fetus, but I think some rest and food can cure that. I’d like to monitor the heartbeat though. Could you come in every morning so I can keep a record of it?”
    “What… what does a slow heartbeat indicate? Is the baby sick?” She dreaded asking, but she needed to know. If she lost her baby, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get up and carry on. It would kill her to lose her last tie to Borgoz.
    “Without running more tests, it’s hard to say. So far, none of the Terran-Human pairings have had children with birth defects, but it’s possible we could be looking at something like that. I think it would be rare because Terrans never run into that sort of problem.”
    “So it would be my genetics causing it.”
    He nodded.
    “And if it isn’t a defect?” she asked.
    “I don’t like speculating, but it’s possible you could lose the baby if we can’t raise the heart rate and get its weight to normal size. Right now, it’s less than half the size it should be, based off when you estimated conception.”
    “We were only together once before a clinic on your world confirmed I was pregnant. It isn’t an estimate but a certainty.”
    “Then the baby is definitely too small. It looks no bigger than a week or two old. From what you’ve said, it should be closer to six weeks. It should have developed a lot more than it has and that concerns me. Are you certain the father