Mila's Loss - The officers 4

Chapter 11 - More dead

~~~ Mila

Once the Marines and even the pilots left along with the ship Mila ended up in her room again. There was someone with her at all times. If it wasn't Kitty and Sulong, it was her friends Cassie and Luke. Occasionally Nacy and Kyrill. The last two helped but also hurt knowing Nacy had her mate with her. Leo and Raven spent the occasional night with her. Others in the pack did also including Jace's mom and the Pride closest to her. She tended to wake piled under kittens most mornings.

It took her several weeks before she came out of her room other than for meals. It was one thing Raven demanded. Mila was not going to hide in her rooms like she had originally. Raven understood how she was feeling and at first it was acceptable. She needed to have the pride surrounding her to support her. They needed to help her as much as the Marines had.

The first morning she came down she didn't even bother trying to smile. It really felt like when she'd lost Holcum again. She felt utterly lost with out the Marines. Cassie and Luke were carrying two of her kittens while she had the third. Leo settled down next to the three and he took Holcum, "Eat Mila. You need the food so you can feed the kittens. I'll have the senior nursery Pride member come and talk to you. They're getting close to being able to start adding bits of solid food to their diet." Now that the kittens were older, he was playing keep the finger away from the kitten. They did have sharp claws.

She accepted a plate the chef brought over for her. He was ensuring she had what was needed to take care of the kittens and what she'd loved in the past. It was something he'd done before with some of the pregnant women. It was for ones like Mila, their mate had to be away, and other reason. He did make sure all the pride members who delivered had a special meal with their mates when both were available. It was rare for a he-cat to be away when their mate was pregnant, but it did happen occasionally.

She sent him a thanks as she started eating. It was obvious to everyone she was almost forcing the food down since she knew she needed it. Eventually she was done and asked to be excused before going back to her room. As she was walking Gladys joined her, "I'll sit with you. You can relax while the kittens are sleeping. I'll be here for you Mila." It gave her something to do. She lost Jace and his mate and now had to worry about her other girls and Janel's mate. She needed the comfort also.

"Thank you, Gladys. It really scares me to be alone. I haven't been alone since my Pride was destroyed so many years ago." She opened the door and waved Gladys in and smiled as Cassie and Luke settled the kittens in their crib, "Thanks, if I need you, I'll send to you." When Gladys settled at one end of the couch Mila settled down and rested her head on her lap. She'd pulled her braid around her head and played with the dangle on the end. For some reason today it was a couple of cute butterflies.

"I can understand. I'd lived with my husband for so many years to not having him near really upsets me. I hate what he did, but I do still care for him. I know that might sound oxy-moronic, but I do mean it. We had good times since nothing is always bad. I knew his objection to what he called cross species' mating. I know why but won't say anything about it. What I'm trying to say is keep in mind the happy times you and Holcum had. Playing, hunting, even mating and your having his kittens." Gladys was stroking her hair as she was smiling as Mila was playing with the end of her long hair.

"Sorry for what happened. Jace kept some of us updated on what was happening. Not why since he either didn't know or learned about it by what he became." She rolled over so she was looking up at Gladys, "I will ask this of you, if you do find someone is your mate don't say no as a knee jerk reaction. Give the other a chance to prove they'd be a good mate and take care of you. Think Jace and Danal or Nacy and Kyrill. There was a great deal of hurt there but their mates helped. As you know Jace and Nacy were an item for most of the Academy. It hurt both to find their mates, but the hurt was replaced by loving their new mates." Mila closed her eyes and relaxed.