Authors: LaVenia R. Boswell
Mark said goodnight as he headed upstairs to his room.
Melody and Jon took their shower together again. As she was brushing her hair she heard some lovely music being played through the speakers in the walls. She started to get up to ask about its source when Jonathan pushed her shoulders back down and he began to brush her hair.
“Mel, you know you told me that it was my eyes you first fell in love with? With me it was your hair. You have the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. Then when I saw your beautiful face beneath all that windblown hair I knew I could never love anyone but you.”
They made love once more that night and fell asleep secure in each other's arms.
Melody awoke to the sound of her small watch alarm. She had set it the night before so that she would be dressed and ready for her little surprise.
She tiptoed into the closet to get her clothes. Then when she entered the bathroom she quietly shut the door. After she was all dressed and ready she went to the bed to wake Jon.
“What's wrong Baby?” He muttered when he saw her already dressed.
“Nothing's wrong. I just had an idea last night for us to surprise Mark in
his
room this morning.”
He loved the way her eyes twinkled when she was excited. Pulling her onto the bed beside him, he teased her, “But Darling, I wanted to surprise you this morning with this!” He flung back the covers to reveal what had become his constant state.
Laughing and tickling him she made him promise to get up and get dressed.
“What are we going to do, just walk in and say, ‘Nah, nah, you can't touch this’?” he teased, running his hand up the inside of her leg.
“Jon! Sometimes you're too much,” she laughed as she tried to move his hand away. “We're going to serve him and ourselves breakfast, right there in his room. He’ll be the one undressed and bewildered.”
Quickly jumping up, he laughed and stated, “I like it! What a great idea, Sweetheart.”
“Will he be surprised?”
“Oh, he definitely will be surprised,” he yelled back from his bathroom.
She could hear him relieving his bladder with the loud sound of urine hitting the water and the door was open. Men, she thought, none of them are civilized!
He marched back in, proudly flaunting himself and asked, “Are you sure I can't interest you in a little tryst this morning?”
Seeing she had become undecided, he hugged her. “My dove, here you are all dressed and excited wanting us to surprise a friend, while I ruthlessly tease you. You are really a wonderful wife. Have I told you this morning how much I love you or just how breathtakingly beautiful you are?” Smiling sadly he added, “Poor ole Mark, he wants to find a woman to get bonded to so bad he aches. Now that I
know
the joys, I don't blame him one bit.”
She pulled back to look at his face and honestly asked, “Why can't he?”
“I have to have an heir before anyone else can get married.” Jonathan had feared her asking and didn't know what he would say.
“That's not fair Jonathan! It puts far, far too much responsibility on me. What if I can never have children?” She was deeply distressed.
“But, you can sweetheart, I know you can, the doctor said you could. We'll just have to work harder at it.” He smiled laughingly into her eyes. “Now, as Mark always say's, let's get the show on the road.”
He quickly dressed and she showed him the cart in the hallway. They avoided further discussion about conception.
“Who is it?” Marked called sleepily.
“It's a surprise!” Jonathan yelled back. “Be sure you're decently covered.”
Mark slowly opened the door. “What's this?!”
Jonathan pushed the loaded cart into the room. Both enjoyed the surprised look on Mark's face.
“This my dearest and best friend is Melody's surprise for you. We're serving you breakfast today! We'll also have some ourselves,” he said, picking up a piece of bacon and munching on it.
“Melody, you really didn't have to.” Mark was truly shocked. No one had ever served him breakfast in his room, except when he was sick once.
She tried to match the pathetic look he had given her yesterday, “If you really rather I didn't?”
Mark hugged them both. “You two are really great! Thank you.”
While Melody was looking through his music collection, Jon noticed that Mark had also awakened with excitement in his loins.
“Mark, I need to talk with you later,” Jonathan said.
Melody overheard and said, “Jon, you and Mark go ahead, I have to look over a couple of my sketches before I order material swatches. I wanted us to select some fabric later this evening.”
After breakfast she hurriedly left feeling sorry for Mark. His early morning rise had not gone unnoticed to her either, that's why she kept wondering around the room, she'd felt uncomfortable looking at him.
Melody threw herself into her work but made special efforts to include time for Jonathan. His preoccupation with her meals had been getting on her nerves a little bit. After a few weeks he suddenly quit following her around with juice and a sandwich.
As time past Melody finished decorating most of the downstairs. Jonathan was spending more and more time in the labs helping with projects he had found interesting. Melody was relieved to see him so happy and full of energy every morning.
They had started receiving guests two weeks after their wedding. Melody performed her role as their official hostess without flaw. Jonathan was constantly praised for finding such a beautiful and charming wife. He already knew his pride and love for her was beyond description.
Melody woke up one morning feeling sick. She didn't want to let anyone know because of the fuss it would cause, especially with Jonathan.
She knew that she had missed her period and it was almost time for it again, but the idea that she was pregnant didn't enter her mind. She thought that because of the excitement of the whirlwind courtship, then the marriage and deeply moving lovemaking had just got her hormones messed up. Worriment or excitement had done it to her all her life. Jon hadn't asked her about her period so she hadn't told him.
Jonathan had been living in the fear that somehow the conception had been lost without Melody knowing that she had ever been pregnant. He had even questioned her some about the idea of women from her country being able to tell such things. Her response had been as he feared, they didn't have the control over the fetus that H'trae women had.
He had been trying to act normal around her but he had been secretly grieving for over two weeks. Jonathan had even attempted to cause a re-conception but something had gone haywire and he just knew it hadn't worked. He worried and fretted, assured that there was something wrong with him, he'd even discussed this problem with Mark.
Poor Mark, he had been grieving right along with Jonathan. After Jon and Melody had started receiving guests Mark noted with despair that Melody showed none of the signs of conception that he knew anything about. He knew why Jon wouldn't discuss this with anyone, he feared they would be disappointed in their new Prince, a Prince that couldn't make heirs.
Melody began having mild mood changes. Jon had found her crying one day in her study. Upset, he had tried to find out what was wrong. All she could come up with was that she was so happy it made her cry. She frequently got aggravated with her sketches and would be despondent for hours.
Melody didn't know why she was feeling so strange, she didn't dare tell Jon, he might take it as her loss of love for him.
“Mark, would you tell Jon for me that I have to go to a showroom and get some more fabric pieces?” Before he answered she went to the wall console and called the kitchen, “Could I have some more of that banana ice cream for dessert this evening? Thanks.”
Mark commented, “You've been eating a lot of banana ice cream lately, I never really developed a taste for it.”
“It's delicious Mark, I can't seem to get enough.” Then looking down at her bulging waist line she called the kitchen again, “Better cancel that ice cream order, it's making me fat. Shrimp bisque soup and a plain salad will be enough for me tonight. Thank you again.”
Mark left to find Jonathan.
Melody suddenly began to feel dizzy and her heart began pounding strangely, she grabbed hold of the back of a chair. That's the last thing she remembers doing.
Jonathan was in the lab when he felt a strange sensation, he tried to ignore it but it increasingly became an emotional warning that something was wrong with Melody.
He bumped into Mark in the hall as he was dashing down the corridor. “Jon, what's wrong?” Mark called out after him.
“Melody! Something's wrong with Melody!”
Mark quickly said, “I was just with her, she wanted me to tell you . . . .”
Jonathan interrupted him with, “Something’s wrong, Mark, something serious!”
Mark chased after his friend realizing that bonded couples do have that kind of understanding with one another.
As Jonathan burst into her study, his heart broke. There lay Melody, she looked dead.
“Ohhh . . . noooo! Noooo!” He fell down beside her crying. As he lifted her head up, his face became a picture of troubled excitement. “Mark, she's breathing! My baby's still alive!”
Mark barely heard as he was loudly ordering a doctor to get there immediately. Before he turned around someone called back.
Mark knelt down beside Jonathan and said, “Jon, they said you shouldn't move her.”
Jonathan didn't hear, he kept holding her in his arms rocking her. Mark tried to reach him again, it was useless.
In Mark's desperation he ran out into the hall and screamed, “Where in Hades is everybody when you need them!”
A doctor came running toward him with a trail of other people right behind. Mark showed them into the room, the beautiful room that Melody had so lovingly decorated.
Mark saw that the doctor was having a difficult time trying to get to Melody with Jonathan refusing to let her go.
“Jon, Jon! Let them help her!” Jon, finally looked up at Mark and seemed to hear him, at least he turned her around so that she was propped up on his chest. Jon was holding her head up with one hand and himself with the other.