The Typhoon ~Vash x OC AU~

Chapter 15: Lean

Leilani

~1 Week Later~

"This is incredible," Luida gasps as the glow of her tablet's translucent screen gleams in her eyes. She looks at me, smiling. "Well, good news. Because of the plant DNA in your system, your body was able to heal and repair itself quickly." She taps at her screen. "Your labs all came back perfect, and your scans show that you are all healed up. Lucky you. Most women have to wait at least six weeks before they're anywhere near your status."

I tilt my head, looking at her warily. "So, I'm...cleared? Ya know, to...?"

"You can have sex," she exhales tiredly. "But unless you're planning to have Irish twins, I suggest using condoms."

I knit my brows. "Irish...twins?"

A small smile lifts the corners of her lips. "Apologies. I keep forgetting you're from the surface. You don't understand all of our sayings from Earth."

She's not wrong. Here on Ship 3, they say some odd things. Things I've never heard before. Irish twins is only one of several.

She pats my hand. "I'll go ahead and give Vash and you a little supply of condoms to start. With your body still adjusting to the plant DNA, it's probably best if we don't place you on any birth control right now. But only for now."

I sit, nodding.

Honestly, I'm relieved to hear everything looks good. Even better, I'm all healed up. Had that been the only good news, I think that still would have been a win. But even more so, I've been given the clear.

Vash and I can have sex again.

My cheeks burn at the thought of rekindling our physical intimacy. Not that it ever really died. Holding hands, kissing, snuggling – we've never stopped doing that. But sex? We haven't done that since early on in my pregnancy. We haven't touched each other with desperation since then, and I miss it.

But I'm also anxious.

My body has changed ever since having Greywynn. It is softer and fuller in places like my hips. The stretchmarks are still etched across my skin, reminding me of how my stomach had once stretched to house new life. It is not the same body that Vash once touched, and I guess that makes me nervous. More than I care to admit openly.

Luida must take note of my quietness because she looks up at me, observing me through her lashes. Then: "Are you alright? You're awfully quiet right now."

I blink. "Oh, uh, yeah, sorry. I'm just thinking, is all."

She continues to watch me, then places her tablet on her lap. "I'm sorry."

This strikes me. "For what?"

"For what I said last week," she answers. "About trapping you if you tried to go after Nai." She knits her brows. "Surely, that is what's on your mind, right?"

Honestly, it wasn't. After our initial conversation last week, I had sat, seething in my emotions until clarity found me. It took my daughter's presence to ground me, but it eventually came, and I realized how both Vash and Grey are my current life. They are my now – my priority.

But I suppose there had never really been an amends between Luida and me. I never came up to her and told her I was being an idiot. And nor did I ever explain anything to her about my mindset. Of course, she would think I'm still hung up on that.

"It wasn't right of me," she continues, shifting in her seat. "I had no place to say anything like that, and I apologize. However, please know that I was coming from a place of concern. For both you and Vash, and for Greywynn, of course."