Stunned, she couldn’t breathe as her brain tried to make sense of this.

“Yes, Lee-lee,” Dancer said from beside the bed. “That’s your mommy.”

Kalea threw herself against her. “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”

Sumi couldn’t breathe as tears flowed and she sobbed in happiness and gratitude. Her baby was home! This was her daughter!

Closing her eyes, she savored the sensation of finally holding her baby against her.

Hauk caught Kalea and pulled her away. “Careful, baby. Mommy’s been hurt.” He turned on the intercom. “Syn! Run!”

Sumi looked down at the blood that had spread over her bandage. But honestly, she didn’t care. She reached for her daughter. “Please, Dancer…”

He carefully returned Kalea to Sumi’s uninjured side. “Don’t jump on Mommy.”

Kalea touched Sumi’s stomach. “I’m sorry, Mommy. Kalea didn’t mean to.”

Completely unperturbed by it, Sumi wrapped her arms around her again and held her close as she finally rocked her. Never in her life had she been happier than she was right now. “I don’t mind, at all.” She looked up at Dancer and saw the warm tenderness in his eyes as he watched them. In that moment, she wanted to pull him into her arms and never let him go. He had no idea just how much this meant to her. How much he meant to her. “I love you so much! Were you injured?”

He shrugged with that Andarion nonchalance that would never allow him to admit to pain. “Blast to my thigh, but it’s just a flesh wound.”

“And you didn’t bother to tell me last night?” Syn growled as he came in.

“I knew you wanted to see Shahara.”

Syn rolled his eyes. “You haven’t slept either, have you?”

“I’ll sleep later.”

Syn broke out into a round of Ritadarion that Sumi was glad she couldn’t understand.

Kalea gasped as Syn lifted her shirt and she saw the sutures on her side. “Mommy! You’re really hurt!”

“I’m okay, Kalea.”

“That looks bad, Mommy.”

Tears continued to flow down her face as she savored the little girl with her. “Right now, nothing can hurt me.”

Kalea frowned at her. “Why?”

“’Cause I have you and your daddy with me. Everything’s wonderful.”

Kalea put her hands on Sumi’s face and smiled a smile that made her weep even harder. “I have a very pretty mommy. And a pretty daddy.”

Sumi laughed then groaned as Syn touched her wound. “Yes, you do, sweetie. He’s the best ever.”

“I wanted hair like Daddy… but… but Daddy said no.”

Sumi frowned. “We can braid your hair like that, baby.”

“That’s not the hair she wanted.” Dancer tapped his chin.

She laughed and moaned again. “Oh. Daddy’s right. You can’t have facial hair. We hope, anyway.”

Kalea scratched her head. “But Aunt Mari has face hair. Why does she have it?”