Karina hovered silently in the water, occasionally flicking the tips of her fins to keep herself upright. Nero had his arm wrapped loosely around her waist, and she hummed at the contact. They were both lurking near the mouth of the overhang of the sandbar. The reef stretched above and behind them, but this little nook was where Rebecca had set up. Ixion was sitting on the sand nearby, watching, while his mate hovered over the pale red tail of one of the young Mer children in the pod. Thearisin was squirming beneath her touch as she plucked the thin spines of an urchin from the fine, flaky scales of his tail.

  “Ouch!” he squealed as she tugged on another one. “That hurts!”

  “It would hurt less if you would lie still,” Rebecca scolded him. Her tone was patient but firm, and it took all of Karina’s willpower not to snicker. Nero’s mother was incredibly bright and kind, but when it came to treating injuries and illnesses, she was unmoveable and a little scary.

  Thearisin was only six cycles old, but he had more energy and attitude than was good for him, and he puffed up his cheeks in response to Rebecca’s reminder. “It is hard to stay still when you are hurting me!” he complained.

  Rebecca’s thin smile grew slightly and she flicked her tail so that her fin would bump against his head and muss his red-blond hair. “I am helping you, not hurting you,” she corrected. “And you should be glad. I am not the one who was tussling on the reef where I should not have been. You and Neric were warned several times to avoid that bit of the shelf and you did not listen. Now do you want the rest of the spines out or not?”

  “But it will hurt,” Thearisin sniffled.

  Rebecca nodded. “I know,” she agreed gently. “But it will hurt more to leave them in. They might get infected and you do not want that to happen, right?”

  “Right,” Thearisin sniffled. He rolled back onto his belly and put his head down. Karina pursed her lips. While the child had been causing mischief, he now seemed so miserable that her heart went out to him. She could tell he was trying his best now to remain motionless as Rebecca pulled the last two spikes from his flesh, though he flinched each time.

  Once they were gone, Rebecca fussed over the slender limb for a few heartbeats more before pulling him up and shooing him out of the space. “Go straight back to your father, Thearisin, and do not let me catch you or Neric anywhere near that side of the reef again or you will be much worse off than you were with those spines in,” she warned.

  There was no response other than a squeak as the young boy darted around Karina, his fins grazing her arm in his hasty retreat, and she could not stop herself from laughing this time. Her laughter caught Rebecca’s attention and the Mer glanced up with a much softer smile. “Karina, Nero, what are you two doing here?” Then her smile slipped. “Is something wrong?”

  “Not at all,” Karina replied. She shifted out of Nero’s grasp in favour of taking his hand instead. He kept pace with her as they ventured deeper under the overhang and settled in the sand. As soon as they were seated, Nero wrapped his arms around her once more and pulled her close. A hum rose in Karina’s throat and she leaned her head back against his chest. The steady drumming of his heartbeat was always soothing, and Karina melted against her mate. His own purr rumbled against her cheek as he hugged her tightly.

  When she finally remembered they were in company, she glanced back to find Rebecca and Ixion sitting together and watching them calmly. Nero’s parents were holding hands, and their tails were brushed against one another. Karina blushed and then smiled back at them.

  “We came to share some news,” Nero reported after the silence had stretched. Karina gently swatted him for his bluntness. It was the primary reason they had sought out his parents, but he did not need to make it out like that was the only reason they might ever want to visit with Rebecca and Ixion. Nero merely shrugged sheepishly and grinned down at her in response.

  Thankfully, his parents did not seem bothered by the abrupt statement. Instead, Ixion gave them his calm, patient attention and propped himself up a little better. Meanwhile, Rebecca smiled and quirked a brow. Her grin was so wide and eager that her fangs showed clearly. “Oh? What news is that?” she inquired.

  Karina’s own smile slipped a little, though she was not truly disappointed or surprised at Rebecca’s reaction. “You already know…”

  Nero’s mother shrugged and inclined her head. “Tell me anyway,” she urged.

  Karina tilted her head back to gaze up at Nero. She was happy to share the news, but these were his parents and he deserved the right to announce it if he desired. He bent his neck and bumped their noses together with a hum. Then he dipped lower to press his mouth to hers and she purred as she leaned up into the kiss. “I love you,” she mumbled against his lips.

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  He rumbled deep in his throat in response. A few heartbeats later, he broke the kiss. “Tell them,” he whispered while wearing his usual half-smile. A sign of his level of comfort.

  Reassured, she turned back to the other two Mer. “Nero and I are going to have a baby,” she stated. She felt heat rise to her cheeks and she tucked her head for a moment.

  While Rebecca had clearly already known, but her smile brightened further as Karina confirmed it, and she was by their sides in a heartbeat. “Congratulations.”

  “How did you know?” Karina asked.

  Rebecca clucked her tongue and shook her head so her short brown hair tossed side to side through the water. “Karina, darling, you are anything but subtle,” she teased gently. “Besides, I would make a poor healer if I did not recognize the glow of to-be parents, especially when they are my son and his mate. But it is wonderful news; you will both be wonderful parents.” His mother reached up and cupped Nero’s cheek, then pressed a kiss to his browline. “How long now?” she asked.

  “Almost a moon,” Nero reported.

  “And your fins?” Suddenly, Karina was the subject of Rebecca’s attention once more, and this time the Mer had slipped into her more clinical healer’s tone. It was decidedly best not to resist, so Karina pulled free of Nero’s embrace just enough to sit up and roll her shoulders back to reveal the small, translucent fins beginning to grow at the sides of her chest.

  She remained still as Rebecca poked over her ribs and her belly, before sitting back with a content sigh. “You are still in the early stages, but for a moon into a pregnancy, everything seems normal. You have not been feeling ill?” she checked.

  Karina shook her head. “Just a little more hungry than usual.”

  “That is normal,” Ixion added as he moved closer to join their cluster. “I am sure Nero will have his hands full as you progress. There were times I thought I would lose a finger to a ravenous appetite.”

  “Oh come off it,” Rebecca scoffed. “I was not that bad! In fact, I remember having very little appetite.”

  “The second time, yes,” Ixion agreed with a bit of a forlorn strangle in his tone. “You were too sick for an appetite. But with Nero, you were unsatiable.”

  As they spoke, Nero pulled Karina close once more and his embrace tightened to an almost uncomfortable level for just a moment, but she did not protest. She enjoyed the proximity and she knew he took comfort and security in having her close, used her when he struggled. It was the vague mention of his sister that had spurred this. Nero was still reeling from that, and Karina could understand that loss all too well, so she simply hummed and rubbed circles over the bridge of his hand until he relaxed enough that his grip loosened. She was not ready to break their embrace, however, so she leaned against him and remained as she was. It earned her a kiss to the crown of her head and her mane quivered as Nero’s nose brushed against it.

  She only pulled her attention away from her mate when his father leaned forward to embrace her. Ixion was a much larger Mer than Karina and she squeaked in surprise as she was pulled into a hug. “Congratulations, Karina,” Ixion murmured. “I know what this means to you and I wish you all the health and happiness through your pregnancy.”

  The lump that rose in Karina’s throat and caused it to constrict nearly clogged her gills too, and she had to huff sharply to ease the tension. Her lip quivered and her eyes stung as she squeezed Ixion back. “Thank you,” she gasped. “To both of you. You gave me a home and I will always be grateful.”

  “There is nothing to thank us for,” Ixion refused. “You have brought love and laughter to our lives and to Nero’s. There will never be any question about your place here.”

  Karina began to feel like an empty clamshell being tussled over by two young Mer as Nero practically snatched her back from his father and nuzzled against her gills. She giggled breathlessly and tried to strain against him as he held her. She was rewarded with tightened arms and a trail of kisses down her neck and across her shoulder. “You gave me a home,” Nero reminded her. “You saved my life, gave me a home, your friendship and your life, and now this…” His fingers brushed her belly as he trailed off. His voice lowered to a tone so soft even Karina could barely hear him from her spot against his chest. “You are the brightest thing in my life and I cherish you.”

  Heat tingled in Karina’s cheeks, but she ignored it and planted her hands against Nero’s chest for better leverage as she pushed him backward into the sand. He was stronger than her, but rarely resisted, so she sprawled atop him easily enough and hummed. “I love you too,” she agreed with a deep purr rising in her chest. Headless of the affectionate moment being on display, Karina tangled her fingers in Nero’s dark, silky mass of hair as she leaned down and kissed him. Her gills huffed gently as she pressed more firmly against him and purred. His hands came up to cradle either side of her face. His palms had always been a little rough, not unlike the thick, stretched scales of his tail, but they were warm and his grip was tender, and Karina would never dream of pulling away from his touch.

  She knew Rebecca and Ixion were still there, and that it was perhaps rather rude what they were doing, as she and Nero were now ignoring his parents completely, but she was fairly certain they did not mind. Though she and Nero had been bonded for a few cycles now, her pregnancy made it feel brand new all over again and she could not help the level of affection she craved. She needed it, she needed him, and though neither of them had voiced the renewed desire, she knew he craved it too. So much could go unspoken between them now, they had reached a level of understanding of one another that things often did not need to be announced.

  So Karina kissed him. She kissed him because she loved and cherished him, but also because her life was so much better with him in it. She kissed him because he had given her a home, and although the sting of her loss would never truly fade, neither would the joy she felt at having a place with him. He had given her a home, his love and attention, and a family. A family that would soon be getting just a little bit bigger.