Page 39 of Proslo

“We get to stay and play all day?” Mo-mo asked, looking excited. “And have lunch with the big kids?”

‘You sure do, honey,” she told him.

“Woohoo!” Maui cheered.

She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. “Okay, you guys have an extra fun day and listen to Ms. Pok, okay?”

“Yes, Mommy!” they chorused and I reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Akoni will pick them up,” I informed Pok.

The female’s face beamed. “Sure thing. And we’re all rooting for Kaia. She’s in the best of hands, so I just know she’ll be fine.”

I smiled warmly in response as Betty murmured, “Thanks.”

We stood and watched the twins follow the rest of their class into the elementary school wing.

“Come on,” I told her. “We don’t want to be late.”

“We need to let Akoni know to pick them up after school.

I tapped out a message on my kunnarskyn to the junior high school’s secretary.

“There, they’ll let him know.”

“Tell me again how this won’t go wrong.”

I kissed her temple as I led her to the bank of elevators.

“The chance of anything going wrong is so infinitesimal that it’s all but nonexistent.”

“Oh,” one of the parents said, “Is that today?”

I inclined my head.

“We’re all thinking of you,” the female continued. “I know how difficult this must be for you. She’ll be fine, but that doesn’t stop you from being eaten alive with worry.”

“It’s the parents’ burden, always worrying over our children,” another commented.

I was glad when we were able to get off on the next floor and walk to Sickbay.

“Hello, Mom and Dad,” one of the trainee medics, Travis, greeted us brightly. “Follow me to the conference room and I’ll seat you where you can observe everything.”

“Thank you,” Betty said. “I know it’s not what’s done usually, but -”

“But it’s your kid and observing is part of your training anyway,” Travis finished for her. “Trust me, if I was in your shoes, I’d fight tooth and nail to be observing as well.”

We took a seat and Travis asked Xeranos to patch us into the sterile surgical unit. Kaia reclined on the table’s padded surface.

“Look, Kaia, there’s your Mom and Dad,” Lithir told her and she looked back at us, waving.

I squeezed Betty’s hand, needing her to comfort me just as I was her. My head knew she would come out of this whole and healthy, ready in mere days to ride the new bicycle we had hidden in our study. Emotionally, I was a mess, however. I had been ever since the day the kids became ours and we discovered her plight. The closer today’s date came, the more I felt compelled to do something, anything, to ease my anxiety. Despite everything, it all came down to this - having to wait to see that the impossible hadn’t come to fruition despite all of the odds. After all, .00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000132 of a percent was not zero.

I’m going to take a nap now,” our brave little young said, eyes shining, “and when I wake up, I’ll have my new heart and not even have a scar, just like magic!”

“Say goodnight now,” Lithir told her softly, reclining the head of the table down.

“Goo-” she didn’t get to even finish her sentence as Lithir placed her into stasis.