"Aura told Ribbon you wanted to see me?" Her eyes searched the room, and
seemed relieved that Waylene was alone. Waylene knew why she probably was
relieved.

"I sent Trak to watch the kids. What I have to say does not have anything to
do with him." Waylene told her, "Did you speak with C'tain?"

Lakoda nodded, they'd had a long talk and had decided for now to leave
things as they were. For there was no way Koda could travel right then. Not
as far along as she was with her pregnancy and the risk of losing the baby
if she over worked or worried herself.

"You don't have to discuss that with me," Waylene assured her. "Did he
mention whether or not he was coming here to join us?"

Lakoda nodded, "He didn't seem happy about it, but I think he'll be here."

Waylene sighed in relief, "I'm glad to hear that. Koda, you have to know I
don't want to lose him or Sina .. or you."

She nodded, but didn't have a chance to respond as C'tain pushed
unceremoniously through the door, followed by Sina. He looked at Waylene,
"Where's Traknor. I assumed he'd be here to apologize."

Waylene ignored the jab, "Please sit."

C'tain looked about to protest, but Sina pulled him to a chair. Lakoda took
one as well.

Waylene moved to the front of her desk and leaned back against it taking a
deep breath before beginning. "When I came to Marrid, I was young and scared
and I failed to join to a dragon. I was treated cruelly by my father, and
taken in by the kindness of the people here. People who didn't know me from
the next person.

Koda wasn't sure where this was leading, but she didn't say anything. She
was working to hard to keep what little she'd had for breakfast down as it
was threatening to come back up.

She sighed. Something the man sitting beside her had thankfully not noticed.
Wasn't she suppose to be over the worst of the morning sickness by now? Hell
she only had a few more months to go. 

She sat there for a while listening to the two go back and forth with their
arguing, until finally she couldn't take it any longer.

"Damn it stop! Both of you!!" Koda stood up as fast as her gravid body would
allow her too. When C'tain moved his hand out to help her, she pulled away
from him. Her face wore a look of hurt as she looked from one to the other.
"Stop talking about me as if I wasn't even here damn it! I am. And I have
been able to speak up for myself for a long time now, thought I thank you
love for caring."

She glanced down at the man beside her for a few brief seconds  then her
smile disappeared and she looked again at Waylene. 

"You were wrong with what you just said about me being a dragonrider first
and a healer second," she told her. "I am now as I have always been a
Healer. Someone swore to go whatever I can to save lives. Not take them. But
I can see you and I are never going to agree on that so what's the use of
even arguing about it."

"Koda... you have to think of Ribbon..." Waylene started to say but Koda
rounded on her.

"I do think of her!! I think of her every time this comes up. I think about
her and wonder why she ever picked me to join with. I'm not a fighter. I'll
never make a good fighter so our pairing is a wasted on that level. But I am
a good healer and I know that some of the people I've saved wouldn't be
alive today if Ribbon hadn't of picked me. Having her with me... is the only
reason I've been able to save some lives that should have by all right died.
Oh yes I think of her."

"Then you have to agree that being trained to protect yourself and Ribbon in
more then just the fundamentals is important."

"You heard her," C'tain spoke up. "She's a healer not a dragonrider."

"No Tain.. in some ways Waylene is right... I do ride a dragon..." she held
her hand up when he would have replied. "I am.. with Ribbon and I joined
there's no way we can deny that fact. But you Waylene will have to agree
that since I will not be going out and flying with a wing during an attack,
that to continue having me train as if I were would be a waste of time."

"But Koda don't you see..?"

"I do see... but not in the same way you and Trak do," Koda kept her voice
level. "I've been doing some thinking on the matter and while it's not the
training itself I'm so much opposed to... it's the type of training I'm
being force to participate in that I find objective. ...no hear me out please.

That comment had been meant for both of the other people in the room. 

"I do not object to training with Ribbon to learn how to protect both
ourselves and any wounded riders we're sent out after... I agree that the
knowledge is a good thing... but having to train with a fighting wing and
being made to be part of the force going out fully loaded with flame with
the total intent of killing... that's where I drawl the line. I will learn
to protect myself, my dragon and any patient I have... but I will not take
any part of being placed in a Wing that is responding to
call to fight."

She looked at both of them to try and gage their reactions. 

"I will be ready to respond if the call comes in and we are needed," she
calmly clarified her thoughts. "But I will not be a part of the main Wing
and go with them when they leave to fight. Someone will have to be here in
the Warren to get the medical center set up and have the healers ready for
when the injured do start to arrive.""

"But Koda don't you see? There are others who can do that," Waylene told
her. "And you would not be expected to join a wing if there's an alert. Gods
forbid woman... you're much to valuable for us to risk you in that way!"

"But he is not the head of the medical center," Koda reminded her, and had
to hide a grimmest when the baby chose that second to remind her mother that
she was still there. "I am... Or I am suppose to be. As long as I am not
expected to fly out with the Wings... I don't see where I'll have much
problem with it. But we'll see later when I'm able to go back to it."

Waylene didn't answer right away. Koda could tell she was thinking over what
she had said. Then after the silence had grown so long that Koda feared
C'tain would say something about them just packing up and leaving the Warren
again, Waylene finally spoke. 

"I'll consider what you have said and let you know what I decide."

"That's all I can ask for."

"But Koda she hasn't said..."

The healer turned to the man she loved and forced a slow smile. "It's all we
have for now love... I'm sure if we sit down and talk this thing through
some compromise can be reach that we'll all be happy with."

Her eyes begged him to understand. A move right now would be dangerous for
her and her unborn child. Besides which she really did like it here in
Marrid and didn't want to leave. She liked the idea of having a stable home
to raise her child in, and Marrid suited her just fine.

"Tain... I'd like to speak with Waylene alone for a bit," Koda turned to
look at the man beside her. "I've a few things to talk to her about dealing
with Tina's ...Queen... or whatever she may be. Would you mind?"   

He left, but she could tell he wasn't happy about it. Sighing deeply she
turned back to the woman behind the desk. 

"He says he loves me... but I fear that my being Ribbon's rider will come
between us at some point. He explained how it was with his son's mother and
I just don't know what to do."

She sighed again and moved her body around trying to find a more comfortable
position. 

"But that's not what I wanted to talk about," she told her. "I am worried
about the beast, and what's happening to her. I don't know how this change
in her will effect the eggs she's carrying. Or even what the final out come
will be."

"I guess that's something we'll have to wait on and see when it happens,"
Waylene told her, and Koda could do nothing but nod her head in agreement.

........

A week or so later while she had been clearing Carrie to go home and leave
the med center, she got the call that Shella was in labor and that the
Metallic beast was in the process of delivering the eggs she had carried. 

But something was wrong.

Still later after giving the dragon a sedative to make her sleep, and
finding someone to dispose of the five hardened eggs Shella had born, Koda
was still concerned over the beast. The latest blood test she had taken
right after the birth had changed even more from the one she's taken just
five days ago. 

She compared the last one to the first test she had taken so long ago, and
couldn't believe her findings. It was as if the two samples had come from
two totally different Dragons. 

Worried more than a little about it, she boxed up small sample of both
samples of the blood, and sent then off with a copy of her notes to her
father in hopes that he might be able to shed some light on the matter.

Larsine sent back a note with the messenger she'd sent saying he'd look into
it and let her know what his findings came out to be. He'd also inquired
about her health and the development of the baby she was carrying. 

Her parents had at first been upset to learn of their daughters condition,
but had come around and had been very supportive in her choice to try and
carry the baby to term.

It didn't stop them from asking abut her heath with each and ever letter
that past between daughter and parents.
They had even gone as far as making her promise that they would be informed
as soon as she suspected that the time of birth was emanate.

Kodin, like any good mother wanted to be there to help out when her
grandchild made its way into the word. And she had no plans of missing the
wonderful event.

.......

Things with C'tain over the next few weeks had been both wonderful and more
then a little stressful. While Koda fully understood his fears over their
relationship, they had both worked to try not to let it come between them. 

He in his way had tried to be supportive of her bond with Ribbon, but she
could tell his fears had never left him. 

She didn't know what else she could do to convince him that they could have
a good life together, but be patient and hope he came around.

........

Her back was hurting when she awoke and she tried to shift to find a more
comfortable position, but it was impossible. 

"It shouldn't be to much longer love," a warm sleepy voice said from beside
her. 

Koda turned her head to the side and found him laying there, dark eyes
grinning in sympathy as he reached for her hand. Having him beside her at
night holding her was something she was fast becoming addicted too. 

Though they had not repeated their one encounter of loving eachother since
they both knew what could happen if they did, Koda still felt loved just
having him there with her. Holding her while she slept. That closeness was
almost as good, better in some ways. But she knew they'd have other times
after the baby was born and was looking forward to them.

"Well I'm more then ready for this little one to decide they want to be
born," she sighed, then moaned when his hand began to rub her shoulders. 

"That feels so good," she sighed again.

"Why don't you stay home this morning and rest a bit more," he told her,
thinking she'd been working to hard as it was lately, and ready to use any
excuse he could to get her to agree. It surprised him when she agreed
without her usually *I'm fine* and went into work anyway.

"You know... I think this morning I may just do that," she grinned when she
saw the look of amazement come over his face.

"Just like that... no list of reasons why you need to go in?" he asked.

"No list of reasons," she chuckled and then groaned as the baby kicked. "I
swear this kid loves to torture me when she knows I need more sleep."

"I'm sure it's just letting you know that it's, it's mothers child...
stubborn....pig headed..."

"Hey...." she pouted. "Just for that I think I'll go ahead and go into work
this morning...." she started to threaten, but just then Ribbon's warm
thoughts entered her mind and the moment of teasing was over when C'tain
recognized what was happening. 

"I'm going to shower and get ready for work," he said, getting up from the
bed without looking back, and walked to the dresser to pick out a new set of
clean clothes.

Koda sighed yet again, but this time not in pleasure.

<<Yes love... what is it?>>

<I'm sorry my rider... but there are men who wish to see you and their
dragons say that it is important.>

<<Who are these men?>> Koda asked as she struggled to get out of the bed.
Man was she going to be glad when this babe decided to make it's appearance.

<Porthios and Grall's riders. They say they need your council on a medical
matter.>

Wondering what could be wrong with T'rend and D'nar, Koda hurried as quickly
as her gravid body would allow, to dress and ready herself to go and meet
with them.

Fine thing when someone wakes a healer up this early in the morning on the
one day she decides to try and sleep late....

<Humm.. my rider... it's nearly late afternoon... you slept through the
morning.> Ribbon chuckled. 

Koda stood there holding the shirt she'd just retrieved from the dresser
drawer. <<What do you mean that it's afternoon? It can't be! I ALWAYS wake
up early>>

<Well you didn't this time...C'tain had one of the other riders ask his
dragon to ask me to let you sleep. I agreed because I know how tired you
have been and it's not good for our hatchling if you are tired all the time.>

<<He did huh?>> Koda knew she should have been upset by their combined
meddling, but she wasn't. She just shook her head and laughed. <<Well I
think you and I are going to have to have a little talk about...>>

<We'll talk later, but Porthios said his rider wishes you would hurry a bit.>

<<You tell Porthios to tell his rider that I'd like to see him hurry at
eight months pregnant.>> the healer quipped as she drew on the padded boots
made for colder weather.

<He said something about being *in a pigs eye*. Do you understand what that
means?> the dragon asked. <Why would he want to be in a pigs eyes?>

Koda couldn't help but chuckle. <<You'd have to ask Porthios that my love.>>

Aloud she called out thought the door to the bathing room, telling C'tain
where she was going. Then after hearing him tell her to be careful, she left
her apartment and mounted Ribbon for the short flight to the green to meet
up with D'nar and T'rend 

"Ribbon said Porthios and Grall said you were wanting to see me about
something?" she asked the pair after they'd come to help her dismount. 

She took a good look at them both and was puzzled when she didn't see any
signs of injuries.

"Yes healer Koda," T'rend spoke up first and between them they told her
about what they had found.

"And the weird thing was that there didn't seem to be any signs of injuries
on either of them Healer."

"Yes it was strange," D'nar agreed. "Like nothing we've ever seen so we left
everything there and came back for you. thought you might like to have a
look at it for yourself and see if you could figure it out."

She wanted to go... but that would mean that they would have to teleport.
And she was not suppose to do that... but surely she'd made it this far
along and she'd been eating right and getting enough sleep. Surely a short
teleport wouldn't harm the baby?

"Okay let's do it," she said slowly and sent up a silent prayer that she
wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life.

"We're just waiting for ..."

"D'nar a word with you if you have time while you're waiting for the others
to arrive," a voice called out and Koda turned to see Trak striding up to
them. He was doing a lousy job of trying to hide from her the fact that he
still wasn't mending the way he should have been.

She'd have to get him in and do a full exam on him soon to find out why?

"Others?" she asked.

"Yes Healer," Trak turned to look at her. "I'm assigning a couple of riders
to go with you and T'rend as I have need of D'nar here."

Koda knew he was expecting her to argue with him, but surprised him by
agreeing. "It'll be good to have a few extra pair of eyes out there since we
don't know what to expect."

"Look Trak if it can wait a little while I really do need to find Waylene
and tell her about this," D'nar told the injured Wingleader. "I mean someone
should tell her about D'zall and Rainy dying and I'd kind of like to do it
now before she finds out some other way."

"Fine... I'll see you after that. right now I'd better go see where Kendal
and Ranon are," he said upon seeing Talitha and her dragon landing by the
others.

It didn't take long for the others to arrive and they were soon on their
way. Koda felt some relief that they came out of the teleport with no pain,
or discomfort and waited until Kendal and T'rend helped her down off of
Ribbon before being shown to where the body of D'zall and his dead dragon
Rainy laid beside eachother. 

It didn't take her long to discover the cause of the rider's death. Her head
bowed as she observed a moment to grieve. She knew the rider having felt
half his soul emptying of life at as the dragon had died... had chosen to
take his own life rather then live as half a man without his life mate. 

<<Oh Ribbon.... If anything happened to you....>>

<We are here and we are together... do not let what will not happen could
your thoughts of what you must do right now.>

She stood up, intending to go have a look at the body of the dragon, and
take a few sample to examine when she got back to her labs, but something
felt funny. She felt a sudden lightheadedness and the world began to swim
around her.

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!!" Talitha yelled to the others. "Take the healer with
you T'rend and get her back to the warren NOW !!!"

"What about her Dragon?" Kendal shouted even as he moved to help T'rend half
carry the healer towards Grall. "You can't mean to leave Ribbon here!"

"Of course not you idiot!" the female rider shouted back even as she was
vaulting onto her own dragon. "I'll make sure she gets back to Marrid."

Seconds later the purple dragon was seen to be struggling her feet as
Talitha and her dragon urged her on, and then just before Kendal and T'rend
blinked out they saw Ribbon jump into the air and saw her pop into the skies
above Marrid just as they were landing in front of the med center. 

"It's Koda... something's happened to her...." Kendal told the woman who he
was pulling after him, after having run inside the med center.


The purple dragon was being support on both sides by the two remaining
dragons and everyone watched with half an eye while Koda was lowered to the
grown and placed on a stretcher.

"It's the baby... the pains are coming to close...." she cried as Sina
motioned the orderlies to wheel her inside.

"Someone go get C'tain," Sina yelled.

Koda reached up and grabbed her arm, refusing to let go until she could get
out what she wanted to say. 

"My parents.... could you send someone... to master healer hall to get
them.... Promised I'd tell them when the baby came."

"Don't worry about that now Koda... the baby is on it's way and we need you
to help us see that he or she makes this easy on her mama."

"Easy... you have got to be kidding...." Koda groaned as a strong
contraction hit her. 

"Breath through it Koda... you know the drill..."

They'd arrived at in the delivery room and it took them only a minute to
transfer her to the med bed. 

"You have to send someone for my parents...You don't know hat my mother
would do to me if she misses this!" Koda said in a near panic.

She was trying to think about anything she could to keep from thinking that
the baby was coming a few weeks early. 

"Someone!!! Anyone... I need a rider to go get her parents so she'll calm
down!!" Sina yelled and T'rend popped his head inside the room.

"Where are they? Tell me and I'll go after them myself."

He was given their names and told that they resided in the Master Healer
Ha;;, then T'rend turned to leave and nearly got run over by C'tain who was
rushing to find out how Koda was.

"We're going to have a baby love," she grinned up at him. "Looks like it
decided today was as good a day as any."

He reached up and gently pushed back a strain of damp hair from her brown.
"It'll be fine Bit... you'll see. Sina and I will be here with you the whole
time."

Another contraction hit her just then so she didn't see the worried look
that pasted between sister and brother. 

Nothing was said to Koda about Ribbon outside. And no one would as long as
she didn't ask. When the others had helped the purple to the Warren floor,
she had collapsed as soon as her feet hit the ground and right at the moment
there were several dragonhealers attending to her.

Even with her contractions coming as close together as they were, the baby
was in no hurry to make it's arrival. Which turned out to be a good thing
because just as she felt the baby shift, the door of the delivery room
opened and she turned her head to the side to see her mother and father
enter the room.

"Looks like we're just in time," her mother commented warmly as she moved up
to the other side of her daughters head. 

Five minutes later the baby decided it had waited long enough and gave her
mother a break by being born.

"Congratulations daughter," Larsine beamed as he held up his granddaughter
after Sina had handed her to him. 

"Oh she's beautiful," Kodin cooed as she stepped back and admired the
newborn with the eye of a grandmother. 

"Welcome my little one," Koda said softly, her voice full of wonder as she
wrapped her arms around the tiny bundle her father placed on her deflated
stomach. Her eyes searched the room until they found the warm eyes of her
lover. 

"Come love... come meet Talera."

=========================  

Okay this should catch me up..... 

Jill I figured when Koda went down Talitha would suspect something was wrong
and then want her out of there before anything could happen to her... or
anyone else.... and she couldn't leave Ribbon behind now could she.....:)

Ribbon will come up sick with something that they can't figure out.....
Which Koda will become very involved in trying to find out.....

everyone else who went along for the ride.... I figure they were there for a
short time... but if you want to have your riders explore while they are
there... have fun with it...

*****Submitted by: *****

Lakoda & Ribbon
Head of Marrid Medical Center
Talera the newest member of Marrid
Kodin, (Koda's mom)
Larsine (Koda's father)
Marrid Warren

aka
Barbara