Page 17 of Not So Stranded (Delaney’s Sea Monsters #3)

Blinking open my eyes, I saw sunrise and Serion. I smiled at them until I realized that they held me when it should be Zenori. “What’s hap—” I cut myself off with a grunt, feeling like I’d been punched. “Serion?”

“Don’t worry,” they soothed. “You have begun your labors to expel the hatchlings.”

“But it’s only been a day!”

“It’s been seven.”

“What? How?”

“Michael is fond of saying that time flies in all circumstances.”

I grunted again, feeling my cock extend below me now. Oh, god, they were right. My hatchlings would soon be born. “But where’s Zenori?”

“Helping Kit. Your labors began at the same time, but his seems to be progressing much faster.”

I couldn’t help the pitiful whine that left me as Serion turned us and I caught sight of Kit, my mate, gripping the arms of a chair, his teeth clenched and body straining.

Zenori was between Kit’s spread legs, but I couldn’t see if any eggs had come out yet.

Dad was standing behind Kit, talking low and rubbing his shoulders.

I hadn’t expected my parents to be here for this, but I was glad that they were now that I could see how complicated we’d made everything.

“Is Kit okay? Are the hatchlings?”

“Yes, he’s fine. No eggs have emerged yet.”

I felt their tentacles trying to remove mine and realized I was practically smothering Serion. “I’m sorry,” I said as I eased my grip on them.

“Let’s go closer,” they suggested.

Even though another contraction gripped me, I grabbed onto Kit’s chair and hauled myself over to him. I got there in time to see an egg pop free of his poor stretched hole. Both of us flinched. Without a word, a very focused Zenori went under the surface to help free our first child.

“This is fucked up,” Kit said, “but oh, my god, that’s a baby!”

I laughed until a contraction stopped me and blinked through tears at the tiny little cecaelia hybrid that crawled into Zenori’s hand.

They stuck our baby’s tentacles to their abdomen and directed the baby’s thumb to their mouth.

And Zenori had thought they wouldn’t know what to do…

The hatchling closed their eyes and rested their head against Zenori’s skin, calm and safe.

“There’s another one coming,” Kit said through his teeth.

I wanted to reassure him, but I suddenly felt an egg of my own begin traveling down my cock to freedom. “Oh gods, Zenori, I’m sorry.”

“All is well,” they said, the words sounding automatic. But then they looked over as I aimed my cock toward them, the egg making me widen my grip as it passed through. “Ah, I see.”

And damn if they didn’t reach over and ease the egg further still, gently massaging it free of me while also keeping an eye on what was happening to Kit.

Then me and Kit were giving a holler at the same time, two eggs appearing simultaneously.

Zenori seemed entirely unfazed as they opened one egg with their fingers and the other with a pair of tentacles.

We were never doing a double pregnancy again. What had we been thinking?

“You were excited,” Serion said from behind me. “Just focus on this moment.”

I hadn’t meant to say any of that out loud, but I bit my tongue as Zenori freed both hatchlings and stuck them on their abdomen as well. Tears fell over my cheeks to see the three of them tangle together, smiling at each other.

I also lost count. “How many?” I strained to say as another egg began to make its way out of me.

“Two for Kit,” Dad said, “and four for you. Everyone’s doing so well!”

Kit cursed, and I moaned as Zenori helped that egg leave me. I wanted to watch them open the egg, see our next child smile for the first time, but the eggs were coming faster now. Two of them were making my cock contract this time and, oh gods, that hurt so much!

“Easy,” Zenori said, looking me in the eye and massaging me. “Just let this happen.”

I nodded, feeling someone’s tentacles caressing my back and my own tentacles where I had them bunched beneath me. I tried to relax, unclench, and could when both eggs popped out. Finally, I could take a deep breath!

But the relief was short-lived because another egg was coming. Someone gripped my hand, and I opened my eyes to see Kit slouching in his chair.

“You can do it,” he said, sounding exhausted. “You’re almost done.”

Moving toward him, I tucked my face into his neck and cried out as that third egg neared freedom and the fourth started following it. I was stretched too wide and I’d have believed it if Zenori told me the eggs were covered in spikes. “I’ll never be able to use my cock again.”

Kit chuckled weakly. “Open your eyes. Look at the babies clinging to Zenori.”

I did. “Oh, look at them…”

“We’re totally going to do this again,” Kit said before he kissed my forehead.

That fourth egg left me, five in total, and I panted and whined, done now.

Kit petted me, and I tried to give the same back to him, but I felt clumsy and more exhausted than when the elixir had been coursing through me.

I watched from Kit’s chest as Zenori attached the last hatchling to their abdomen, and then leaned in to kiss me and Kit.

“Look what we’ve made,” Zenori whispered with a grin, one hand hovering over all of our children protectively.

My heart felt so big, but I had to tell them, “You’re amazing. The best mate ever.”

“Yes, I know.” They patted me and gave me a kiss.

Kit chuckled with me.

As was tradition, the hatchlings’ first meal was canned tuna handed out to them by each of us and their grandparents.

I’d seen so many hatchlings over the years, but these were mine and I couldn’t get over the fact that I’d made them.

It was a sentiment Kit shared because he kept saying, “We made babies. Real life babies of our very own.”

Zenori and I cuddled around Kit, using our tentacles to create a safe space for the hatchlings.

Even the lagoon’s minuscule current seemed to be too much for them, so they used their tentacles to walk along ours and across Kit’s belly or legs.

He kept laughing when they’d tickle his hairs, fascinated by their human parent.

“Are you ready to name them?” Dad handed over another flake of tuna to a tiny hand.

I looked to Kit, Zenori doing the same. He’d asked if he could name them, and we’d agreed.

“Come here, babies,” he said and waved them onto his outstretched legs. They could hear him and understand, so they lined up and peered at him from just below the surface. He touched each little head and said, “Bramble, Aloe, Fennel, Oak, Sorrel, Yarrow, Clove, Thistle, and Juniper.”

“Plants,” Dad said on a chuckle.

“And not the scientific names,” I teased Kit.

Kit shrugged, blushing a bit. “I wanted gender-neutral names that were still kinda cool.”

“They are good names,” Zenori said before he leaned over and dipped underwater.

I could see them point to each hatchling, who squeaked their name. Bramble and Juniper said Bamble and Jiminper, but we’d work on that. Then all of them pointed at Zenori and said, “Zenzi!”

Zenori sat back up, laughing, and pointed at me. Every little finger also aimed my way, and I heard them say, “Hi-hi!”

“Aww…” I’d never had a nickname before, but here were my children giving me one.

“Zenzi and Hi-hi?” Kit asked. “Oh my god, that’s adorable.”

“Daddy!” they hollered with fingers pointed at Kit.

He covered his mouth and sobbed for a second before revealing a big smile as his sudden tears dripped down onto the water. “Yeah,” he kind of croaked, “I’m your daddy and I love you all so much.” He leaned into the water and kissed each little face.

I missed seeing who said they were tired, but then two agreed and four yawned one after the next. I pointed behind Dad to where the playpen waited on the grass. “Dad, can I have the playpen?”

He fetched it for me, and the three of us made room for it in front of us.

Carefully, we scooped hatchlings into it, and they curled up together under the dock-like platform in the center.

Eric had developed a thing for 3D printing items for the playpens over the years, even making the posts of the structure hollow so they could be filled with sand to weigh them down.

The screened sides were replaceable, and we could swap out the items inside to make slides, swings, and obstacles to keep the little ones engaged. But right now, it was nap time.

Dad and Serion gave us hugs before moving off to let everyone else know the kids names—and probably laugh about two idiots giving birth at the same time.

“We shouldn’t have more than one pregnant at a time,” I said as I leaned on Kit.

“The delivery,” Zenori said from Kit’s other side, “was easy compared to managing the two of you.”

“What?” I sat up to glare at them. “What did we do?”

Zenori glared back at me. “You were on the grass at least once a day.”

“I was?” I looked behind me, like there might be some evidence. “Why?”

“I don’t know. You would stay there until you dried, and then you would complain while also refusing to get back in the water.”

Kit snickered. “You’re a bitchy drunk.”

“I am not!”

“Do not tease, Kit,” Zenori warned. “That much elixir makes you quite an idiot.”

Kit flinched back and gasped.

“I spent an entire day flipping you over because you kept floating face down.”

I giggled.

“I don’t remember that at all,” Kit said with his nose in the air.

Zenori sighed, and I realized that he’d been sober and conscious the whole time. “You must be exhausted. And hungry?” I looked toward the dock, ready to holler for someone to bring Zenori a fish.

“No, your parents kept me fed. I was not expecting that. I was also able to sleep a few times.” They paused to yawn. “But now that you are both sane again, I believe I may sleep for a month.”

I reached over and pulled Zenori into the middle. “You worked so hard,” I told him, “you deserve all the rest and rewards.”

Zenori hummed, and I was pretty sure they’d already fallen asleep.

“We’re definitely not doing it at the same time again,” Kit whispered.

“Yeah, no. We’re terrible drunks.”

Kit snickered and held my hand on Zenori’s belly as we curled up together just like our children.

I kept staring at our nine tiny hatchlings and imagining the amazing life we were going to make sure they’d have.

Exploring the lagoon, the island, the ocean…

Taking trips to Pacilona Nepthis so they could learn their history and meet more of our people.

Listening as they daydreamed about finding their mates.

And someday supporting them as they became parents, too.

“It’s going to be so good,” I whispered to them before I finally let myself sleep.