Hi all, sorry it took me 1000 years to update this. But this is the last chapter! I've kind of run out of steam ngl so I'm just gonna polish this off!

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on the most recent chapter and commented during this long hiatus!

Enjoy!

…

"Oh, my son and daughter!" Sahuna exclaimed.

Sara was immediately met with a hug from Sahuna, a motherly squeeze that had tears immediately filling her eyes.

Hormones, she knew. That, and the longing for a mother figure long gone.

She pressed her hands to Sara's stomach.

"Your child will be a blessed addition to our family."

Sara shrunk a little at the attention, but it was welcome to have someone coo over her like that. Sahuna looked her over with a scrutinizing gaze, cupping her cheeks and looking over her figure.

"Let us get you to the transport to our doctors," she said. "All respect to your Nexus doctors, but they will see your child and tend to it well."

She nodded dumbly, stepping aside as Jaal and Sahuna shared in an embrace. She ignored the slightly miffed expression that Lexi gave at Sahuna's comment.

"And my son. I have missed you," Sahuna said.

Jaal ducked his head. "I have missed you, Mother."

They shuffled into a speeder to take them to the small hospital near Jaal's home.

As soon as they arrived and stepped out, there was already a crowd formed of people wanting to see the Pathfinder, the bearer of an angara child. Jaal wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tucking her close to him. His rofjinn served as a curtain, hiding her from prying eyes.

"I've got you, dearest one," he murmured.

He nuzzled her hair. In a past life, she wouldn't have been a bit uncomfortable with the public affection. She blushed and tucked her head closer to him.

Havarl should be safe for her, but she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. It wasn't just about the people around her, but also the impending appointment.

Sahuna was right. Lexi could only tell her so much about her child's development. Lexi only had the experience of human children. This needed to happen. She just hoped that whatever they saw was normal or could be considered normal.

They were sent into a room as soon as they stepped into the hospital. It was clear that they were ready for their arrival. The room itself was just big enough that Sara wasn't immediately overcome by claustrophobia, but it was a tight fit with Jaal, Sahuna, and Lexi. It would only get tighter once the doctors arrived.

Sara put on the loose set of drawstring pants and shirt that sat folded on what she could only assume was the examination chair. It looked like the standard reclining bed from Milky Way hospitals. The familiarity was a balm as she situated herself on the bed with her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

When the three angara, introduced as the human equivalent of Ob-Gyns, entered the room, everyone seemed to stiffen at attention.

From there, it was fairly business-like. Hands pressed over her hips and her abdomen, gentle and probing. She rucked up her shirt as they powered-on the various machines that surrounded them.

"SAM?" Sara called out over the private channel.

"This looks to be the equivalent of an ultrasound machine, but there are additions that seem to be tailored for angara biology."

"Will it work on me?"

"From my estimations, yes. Proceed with caution," SAM said, adding the warning in an afterthought. There was little going back now.

"Now, we shall begin with creating an image of the child," one of the female doctors intoned.

She pulled a strange metal mesh from one of the nearby drawers as the other doctor slathered cold gel over Sara's stomach.

She knew about the ultrasound gel. The rest, well, that was foreign to her.

"Jaal?"

He was immediately by her side, clutching her hand in comfort.

"You are doing well, my love."

Sara remained still as they worked over her. Jaal was a beacon, keeping her grounded.

The metal webbing rested over her abdomen and wrapped around her back. Lexi watched with wide eyes, documenting everything that happened into her omni-tool. Sahuna watched as if she had seen the same thing a thousand times and Sara realized that she was simply going through the same thing pregnant angara went through.

"Activating now."

Warmth seeped in from the wires and onto her skin.

"Are you okay, my dearest?" Jaal asked.

She nodded, releasing the tight grip she had on his hand. "Yeah, it's fine. Feels warm."

She watched as the doctors fiddled and calibrated the machines that she could only assume the webbing was attached to.

For several agonizing minutes, she lay there as the doctors murmured to themselves. Sahuna watched Jaal. Lexi watched the doctors. Jaal had eyes only for Sara. That was some comfort.

Finally, there was a faint hum and she could feel the current like static electricity over her skin.

"We will be showing you pictures of your child soon, Pathfinder. Only a few more moments."

Indeed, within seconds the monitor flickered and glowed as a fuzzy, indistinguishable mass became clearer and clearer. For a moment, it looked little more than the ultrasound images he had seen on the Tempest. This was more defined. Maybe it was partly because of the time since she had gotten an ultrasound, but some of it had to be the angara tech.

"It's a little ball," she breathed.

As the image turned, they could see the contours and ridges that were the baby's body. Its arms and legs were curled close to the bulk of the body, just barely distinguishable from the whole.

There was a colored aura around it, but it didn't seem to be a part of the display.

"What is that? Why is it glowing?" Sara asked, pointing at the image.

"The child is giving off bioelectricity," the lead doctor said. "This is a good sign, to be sure. We had been worried that since it is part-human, the angara part would be starved off."

The doctor drew their finger around the child's outline before turning to Sara. "You should get more exposure to sunlight. It will benefit your child. Perhaps you could install a lamp while you are on your ship?"

Sara nodded, already thinking about how much sunscreen she would have to wear to keep herself from burning to a crisp.

She swallowed around sudden nervousness. "Otherwise, my child is healthy?"

"From what we can tell, yes. We are in uncharted territory, but from all our estimates, the child is healthy. Your asari doctor has seen no issues when looking at the child as human and we see no issues looking at the child as angara."

"I have uploaded the angaran database on fetal development," SAM said over their private channel. "I will develop a program to approximate the child's growth."

Sara almost sighed aloud in relief. Maybe he had to combine knowledge of human and angara development and go from there.

They took more images, storing some in a drive that they pressed into Jaal's hand.

"This is so you may look upon your child when you are away from Havarl."

Lexi cleared her throat. "If I could also have the specs of that device, that would be appreciated. Or, if you have a spare lying around, so we can use it."

Lexi wandered off with one of the doctors as the others wrapped up.

"What you have been doing so far in keeping yourself healthy has been to your child's benefit. While I request that you continue the same in the future, I would also recommend eating some angara food to give your child a taste of it."

"I shall assist with that," Sahuna offered.

"I would appreciate it," Sara replied, though she shuddered at the thought of consuming endless amounts of angara food.

She made good on her offer, all but corralling Sara and Jaal back to the family home. It was a two-fold reason, which was made apparent by what seemed like dozens of angara who filled the home.

"They wanted to see you again, the family. Now that you are to have a child by one of our sons, you are one of us. That is irrevocable."

They feasted in celebration of their new family member. Even while Scott was many lightyears away on Meridian, she didn't feel bereft of family.

…

The child continued to grow as the Tempest soared across Andromeda.

Sara found herself in her quarters more often than not, though she tried to keep appearances as Pathfinder. It was exhausting work, especially as the symptoms of her pregnancy were in full-force.

She could take comfort at the end of the day, lying in bed with her lover and speaking or sleeping or being silent in their thoughts.

This night found Sara wide-awake. Jaal lay face down on the bed, sheets pooling around his hips. Sara watched as his muscles shifted with each breath, trying to find sleep in the rhythm in his breathing.

"I can feel you staring, my darling."

Sara started when he spoke, blushing in embarrassment.

"I'm admiring the view," she murmured, half a lie.

Jaal shook a little in laughter.

"Admire away," he mumbled. His voice was garbled by the pillow and his tiredness.

Sara rubbed his back until his breaths evened out into sleep. She stroked her fingers over the ridge that carved out between his shoulder blades.

She wondered if their child would have the same. From the images they've seen, the baby was forming and growing. Humanoid, but also like an angara.

There was always that fear that something would go wrong. That one day the baby would just die inside of her, the mixing of two species, two genomes, incapable of producing viable life. As far as they knew, the brain, the spine, the limbs, the organs, were all slowly shaping in whatever could be considered 'properly'.

Her eyes went to the little SAM node on her desk. SAM might have been helping. She didn't know how SAM might have been interacting with the child, maybe even keeping it alive.

"How are things?" Sara asked over their private channel.

She didn't want to say anything aloud. She knew how much Jaal worried, more than he ever expressed openly to her.

And really, she shouldn't be worrying either. Or, she really should. She didn't know what to feel. How she should feel. She was carrying a child that wasn't quite human.

And there was that near-omnipresent panic that would steal over her heart. Every time, she would turn to SAM, asking for an update, expecting the worst. But always, always, SAM would tell her that nothing was wrong. She had nothing to worry about.

It was both a boon and a bane. She would always know how her child was doing, but she would always have the urge to ask how her child was doing. It would be more difficult to nag Lexi every hour of the day over how her pregnancy was going.

SAM was inside her, same as the child.

There was a pause and she refused to let any fear steal over her heart. If he were awake, Jaal would probably be able to tell if her heart rate suddenly picked up, since they were laying so close together.

"SAM?" she tried again.

"Everything seems to be fine, Pathfinder. I am almost certain that the fetus is fully functional."

She almost laughed aloud. SAM made it sound like this child, her child, was like a little machine or device, no different from the implant that kept SAM in her head.

"Please quit calling my child a fetus."

"Very well. The child is fully functional. I would suggest eating more, in general. You are, as one might say, eating for two."

Her lips twitched upward.

"Eating for three, really. Counting you."

"But I am an AI—ah, I see. You are making a joke."

"Yeah. I guess those humor algorithms are still a work in progress. Even after all the time we have spent together."

"I indeed have grasped how humans use humor to deflect when they are in stressful situations."

Sara flinched at the pointed comment, glad that Jaal couldn't see her. She didn't like showing him that she was anxious, stressed, terrified over the whole pregnancy thing.

The situation wouldn't be much different if the kid was fully human. She would still probably be freaking out.

Jaal already felt guilty, seeing as he was half of the cause. But they were equally to blame for causing this. They should've been smart and used birth control.

"It's stressful. I'll give you that."

"But you are surrounded by people who care about you. They will help you get through this process."

"And you?"

"I will be there, of course. I must admit, it is a learning experience sharing this body with another being. I wonder what it will be like when the child is capable of thought."

"Will you be able to communicate?" Sara asked.

"I don't know. I am connected to your consciousness and can reach the child through the umbilical cord. However, I will not touch the child's mind."

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"I am sure Dr. T'Perro would be able to give you that information, but I can perform a genetic analysis. However, I recall you stating you wished to wait until the birth. Have you changed your mind?"

Sara's face twisted.

"No. It's fine. I think we will find out the natural way. You know, after the baby has left my body."

"I see. Some parents wish to not know the sex of their child until it is born."

"Gotta leave something a surprise, right? Besides, you know, whether or not this child can breathe and such outside the womb and everything."

Her breathing hitched silently in her lungs, the sudden thought of a newborn struggling to breathe immediately after birth. How could she do that? How could she allow that to happen?

"By my calculations, the child will be able to breathe. Since both you and Jaal's genes allow for breathing in an oxygen-rich atmosphere. If not, there is technology that would allow for the child to live outside the womb until other measures can be put into place."

She sighed, fingers still running absently over the planes of Jaal's back.

There was a lot being left to chance. She didn't like it but what choice did she have?

"Thank you, SAM. Really."

"Of course, Pathfinder."

…

"This is all your fault. This is all your fucking fault," she panted.

Jaal hummed against her skin, tongue flicking over where she was most sensitive, and Sara arched. A litany of garbled pleas and curses left her mouth with every pass of his tongue.

She needed him every which way the past several days. There was an itch she couldn't scratch no matter how hard she scratched, no matter how many times they fucked. It had been that way for days and it was maddening.

SAM had so helpfully informed her that it was simply hormones, that it would abate. 'Eventually' were the words he used.

"Apologies, my love," Jaal said, pressing a kiss to the inside of her thigh.

If he wasn't making her feel so good, she probably would have kicked him. Instead, she sat up and ran her fingers over the folds on the back of his head.

Jaal hummed against her clit, a chill running through him. She knew what buttons to press with him, just as he knew with her.

"In me, now," she breathed.

Jaal was on her in an instant, slotting their hips together, arms braced next to her head.

"My pleasure, my dearest."

He slid into her and she immediately came around him. Jaal groaned as she tightened around his cock, waiting before she relaxed limply against the bed before thrusting into her.

"You are very sensitive," he murmured against her throat.

She hummed, still riding the high as Jaal fucked her.

While she knew that increased libido was a side-effect of pregnancy, it was almost embarrassing often she found herself with Jaal or a vibrator between her legs.

While Jaal made a point of being gentle with her, she always urged him to be at least a little rough with her. She wanted his fingers digging bruises into her hips and his mouth leaving marks on her throat. There was no need to hold back.

This time, she didn't even need to ask. He wrapped one arm underneath her hips, changing the angle so he thrust deep inside of her. Sara thrashed and moaned as they came together.

Jaal loomed over her for a long time, even as he slipped out of her.

His hand spread warm over her stomach. Her hands joined his. Her stomach was getting big, enough to be noticeable. It had grown to the point where Jaal's hand couldn't cover it. Soon, it would be big enough where Sara would have difficulty standing and walking and lying down.

She was already technically on maternity leave, which were still words that she never expected would be applied to her. Technically, in that she coordinated missions from the relative safety of the Tempest. Cora, as her second, was the de facto Pathfinder.

Soon, she would have to stay on Meridian, perhaps officially give Cora the rank as Pathfinder for good. Or, at least, until she could go back into the field again.

Jaal rolled off of her with a thump.

It was a comfortable silence. Soon, they would need to get up and clean themselves. Of course, that was for later.

Sara jerked in shock when she felt a visceral flutter in her abdomen, tearing a gasp out of her mouth.

Jaal turned to face her in an instant. "Is something wrong?"

Sara shook her head, swallowing back a lump. "I just felt the baby move."

She thought to joke about their previous activities and how that could have helped, but emotion choked it back.

His hand returned to rest over her stomach.

"Do you think our child will do it again?"

"Give it a little bit."

They waited almost an hour before they fell asleep. Right as the morning came, Jaal pressed his hand to her stomach, kissing Sara's mouth before kissing her stomach.

"Good morning, my loves."

As if hearing their father's greeting, the soon-to-be parents felt a kick.

…

They had been on watch for the start of Sara's labor for what felt like ages.

There was no real way of calculating exactly when she would go into labor. All of the ultrasounds pointed to that the child was practically fully-formed as a late third trimester baby would be for either species. That meant next to nothing because the child wasn't one or another species, but both at the same time.

Angara pregnancies were slightly shorter than human ones. She had already passed the time mark of a normal angara pregnancy, marching slowly but surely towards the 9-month mark of a human pregnancy.

She was round and her back hurt and her feet hurt and dread seemed to follow her constantly. All of the estimates said that the baby would be fine. Its metabolism and connection with her were compatible to that of a human pregnancy. The lungs would function outside of the womb, in theory. Everything else seemed to work as well. All conjecture, all theory. They would never know the truth until the child was born.

And that was...was...

Sara gasped as a contraction rippled through her, drowning out all coherent thought. Jaal had just left to do...something. Sara couldn't remember.

"Okay, SAM, was that a real contraction?"

"I am not sure, Pathfinder. I believe—"

Sara groaned as another ripple passed through her and suddenly wetness soaked her pants, cutting off SAM's response.

"Retracted. I think you may be going into labor."

"You think?" she spat.

"Shall I alert Jaal and Dr. T'Perro?"

She sagged into the nearest chair, pain and panic warring inside of her. She was going to become a mother soon. It was really happening.

"Yeah," she breathed. "Yeah, if you could call them over, that would be great."

She tried to remember all of the techniques she learned from those holos about labor and giving birth. There was always a lot of talk about breathing, which Sara thought was dumb because of course she needed to breathe.

"Ah! SAM! Do something!"

"I cannot, Pathfinder. I worry that interfering with this process may do harm to you and your child."

"Find Lexi faster, then."

The med-center was so close and yet so far from their little apartment. They had been given great access in preparation for this day, but what use was it if she couldn't walk?

Sara yelped when there was a sudden thumping at the door and almost wept with relief as Jaal swept into the room, closing the distance between them.

"Is it time, Sara?" he said.

"Jaal, it hurts."

He hushed her softly before taking her in his arms.

"I will take you to the med-center. I believe Dr. T'Perro shall meet us there."

"Hurry," she groaned.

From there, it was a blur of Jaal carrying her. At some point, they may have gotten into a speeder, or maybe that was the motorized bed that greeted them when they approached the med-center. All the while, she could feel herself getting closer and closer to giving birth, while trying to tamp down the urge to just push and get the child out as soon as possible.

There had been a plan, but all of it clearly went to shit. There was no timing these sorts of things.

They couldn't even give her painkillers as they rolled her into one of the med-bay rooms. Everything was pain and a strange feeling of static electricity and oh stars she was going to be a mother.

"Sara, you're going to have to push," a voice said.

That felt like the most obvious thing. She needed to squeeze this baby out of her.

Jaal was by her side, holding her hand, as the doctors poked and prodded at her as she lay in bed.

"Our child is coming soon, Sara. You are being so brave," Jaal whispered.

At some point in the chaos, Lexi had arrived and snapped orders at the Nexus doctors that surrounded her.

"Why is she lying on her back? If you had taken one look at her chart, you would have seen that this was our plan from the beginning!" Lexi all but shouted.

The doctors had the decency to look chastised as Lexi and Jaal helped her to her knees. While the pain stayed the same, suddenly, it seemed almost too easy to push out her child. She turned her face towards Jaal and pressed against his chest.

"It's happening, Jaal. We're going to be parents."

Lexi positioned herself in front of her. "Okay Sara, time to start pushing."

Sara sighed in exhaustion, already gleaming with sweat and feeling absolutely terrified.

"You can do it, Sara. I'm right here," Jaal breathed into her hair.

Sara nodded and started to push.

Time smeared together into seconds, minutes. Perhaps even hours passed as she pushed and howled. Soon, she could distantly hear people yelling around her about the baby's head and shoulders. All she could do was push.

Until, finally, a keening wail pierced the air.

Sara sank back down onto her back, gasping for air, as Lexi cleaned off a squirming, purple-blue baby.

"Dr. T'Perro?"

Jaal shifted towards the asari doctor, but he was unwilling to leave Sara's side.

"A girl. Sara, Jaal, it's a girl."

Lexi handed Sara a squirming, wailing bundle.

"A girl", Sara breathed.

"Isa. We were going to name her Isa if it was a girl."

Sara nodded, looking down at her daughter. She was smaller than what she assumed was the average human newborn. Her skin was pale pink around her face, down the front of her neck and disappeared underneath the blanket. The rest of her was purple, just like her father.

Her fingers grabbed at the air, all 5 fingers on each hand.

"Hello, little Isa."

The baby cried and Sara cried and it seemed like there wasn't a dry in the room. When Jaal took the child and cradled her in his arms, Sara couldn't help but think that despite the fear and hardship that they had gone through, it was all worth it.

…

While Lexi had said she was going to let visitors trickle in, it was clear that she had failed to keep the Tempest crew out for very long.

The room had been cleaned up and looked less like a murder scene had gone on. Sara was grateful for that, as well as the gentle bath after all was said and done.

It still felt strange, hooked up to monitors and on a small dosage of painkillers, her stomach a bit deflated, but still looking vaguely like she was still pregnant.

Scott came in first, pressing a kiss to Sara's forehead before looking over his niece.

"Look at her. Strangely, she looks like you and Jaal at the same time."

He tickled the baby's chin.

"I'm sure that's how genes work," Sara intoned.

Scott eyed her exasperatedly.

"Can I hold her?"

Now that her daughter was in her arms, she didn't want to let go. She relinquished her hold, hoping that Scott had at least glanced at the vids that taught someone how to hold a baby. Scott awkwardly rocked Isa in his arms, stiff and vaguely panicked now that the realization of what he was doing took effect.

"I'm not going to drop her. I'm not going to drop her."

"That does not inspire confidence, Scott," Jaal intoned.

Scott blushed. "Sorry, didn't mean to say that aloud."

The rest of the Tempest crew filed in shortly after, cramming into the room with barely-contained energy.

Sara couldn't help the little sliver of fear that coursed through her as Isa was passed around the room, each getting their turn to coo over the newborn. She could see the gentleness in each person, something she had come to appreciate after the Archon was defeated.

Vetra cradled her with ease. "Reminds me of holding Sid when she was little. Less pokey, though," she murmured.

She passed her over to Drack, who grunted in agreement.

"She is a little squishy, ain't she?"

Isa seemed to take particular enjoyment with Drack, make a soft squeaking sound as he gently cradled her.

"I dunno, I think she'll start crying if I take her from you, Drack," Liam said.

Drack rolled his eyes. "Funny, kid. You have a turn."

Liam held Isa, babbling something nonsensical before passing her to Gil.

Sara blinked back tears at the sorrow that faintly crossed past his face before the joy returned. Jill had been trying again to have a child, well underway the second attempt. They were cautiously optimistic, but Sara knew what kind of stress they were under.

"She's real cute, Pathfinder," Gil said. "She is lucky to have you as a mom."

Kallo and Suvi both cooed over Isa with relish while Cora didn't seem to be too enamored by the presence of the infant, but still rocked her gently when it was her turn to hold her anyway. Peebee huffed and puffed, giving Isa a few cursory rocking motions before searching desperately for someone else to hold her.

Lexi was last, tucking Isa close. She looked at her with all the wonder and awe of someone who had toiled for months to keep something alive, to see all of the efforts come to glorious fruition.

"We owe you everything, Lexi. You helped bring her into the world," Sara said.

The asari doctor smiled shakily.

"It was my pleasure. And I can tell she will do many great things."

"She's going to see the stars," Kallo added. "We're going to make sure of it."

Tears burned anew in Sara's eyes, very happy tears.

…

As soon as they were discharged from the hospital, Sara and Jaal found a quiet spot on Meridian and got married.

There was no announcement, no pomp and circumstance. Sara had pulled on a soft green sweater and Jaal had discarded his rofjinn in favor of his undersuit. There was still some pain, but nothing that she couldn't handle with the assistance of some medication.

Scott and the Tempest crew assembled in a quiet garden. Isa slept peacefully in Drack's arms as Jaal and Sara exchanged their vows and signed the paperwork that would officially marry them.

"A picture! A picture!" Peebee shouted, pulling out a camera out of nowhere. "With the baby too!"

Vetra handed over Isa, who had just woken up and seemed happy to just look around and get used to the world she lived in.

Sara and Jaal, their child nestled in Jaal's arms, smiled as the camera snapped photo after photo. The best picture of them all wasn't the one where they looked at the camera, but when their eyes were only for the squirming baby who stretched out her hand to take hold of her mother's finger.

…

It took about a month before they figured that something was wrong with Isa's legs. For a while, the doctors had insisted that it was something that would correct itself within the weeks after birth.

Weeks passed, and the lower segments of Isa's legs were bent at awkward angles with almost non-existent musculature.

Something was wrong.

Isa kicked and cooed from where she lay on the table, not even wincing as the scanners flashed over her body. Sara hovered close by, offering a finger for Isa to grip as Lexi ran calculations.

"From our projections, her legs could not fully form in the womb."

Sara doubled over, like the air had been taken out of her lungs.

"Will she be able to walk?" she gasped as she sank into her chair. Isa burbled softly, unaware of her mother's distress

Lexi looked at the charts again.

"I'm not sure, Sara. Her upper legs have formed fine, but from her knee downwards, the bones and joints don't look like they could support her weight."

Blood roared in Sara's ears, drowning out Lexi's theory that the mix of human and angara genes did not allow for the baby's legs to determine whether they would be like her mother's legs or her father's legs. That left it in an in-between state.

The thought that something else could have happened with something more vital to Isa's biology, her heart, brain, nervous system, turned her stomach.

"I'll tell Jaal. We'll deal with it."

Sara collected Isa into her arms and tucked her close.

…

"Isa ama Darav!"

Isa rushed down the hall, crutches clacking rhythmically.

"Yes, mom?"

Sara pursed her lips at the child who ambled up to her, eyes wide and innocent.

"I heard a thump when you were in your room. What are you doing?"

Isa had the decency to look guilty as she looked up at her mother.

"Throwing my dollies at the wall."

"And why were you doing that?"

She shrugged. "Don't know. Makes a funny sound."

Sara sighed softly.

"Alright, well, how about you join me in here? Sit with mommy?"

Isa didn't answer, instead hopped onto the couch and leaned against Sara. Sara couldn't help but stare at the braces that wrapped around Isa's lower legs, keeping them straight and stable enough to walk on with crutches. They would need to be replaced again when she got taller, which happened often, but Isa practically thought it was a game after the amount of times they had visited the orthotics center on Meridian. There was also an ice cream shop nearby, so Isa could be easily convinced to go to her appointments with the promise of a treat later.

"Baby," Isa said, patting Sara's stomach.

Sara hummed.

"That's right. Your baby sibling is right here."

It had taken a while for the breeding cycle to line up again, allowing for another child. While Sara and Jaal were not actively trying to have another child, when the opportunity presented itself, they jumped to it.

Any contemplation the young angara had over the prospect of a new sibling was interrupted by the lock turning at the front door of the house.

Sara gasped and turned to Isa.

"Is that Papa? Go see!"

Isa face immediately brightened. "Papa!"

She immediately clamored to her feet and rushed to the opening door. She wrapped her arms around Jaal's leg, giggling as he dragged her along as he moved further into the house.

"Ah, my little one."

Jaal reached down and lifted her into his arms, resting her on his shoulder.

"How are my darlings today?"

"Wonderful," Sara said, walking up to join her husband and daughter. She wasn't far enough along that walking was difficult. Now that she knew what a large pregnant belly was like, she was not quite looking forward to it. Since she had a 4-year-old to wrangle, she needed all the agility she could get.

She leaned on Jaal's chest and kissed him while Isa made a grossed-out sound.

"And how are you, Jaal?"

He hummed, smile on his face. "Happy to be with my family."

Sara couldn't agree more.

…

Ta daaaaaa! Baby fic!

Thank you so much to everyone who has followed this story since I started writing it almost 3 years ago! All feedback is much appreciated!

Cheers!