Oni gently took the baby and reminded Alexis to cut the cord. He grabbed the sanitized scissors and completed the task, tying string around both ends while Oni cleaned away his birth fluids.

Alexis leaned down and kissed me. He looked into my eyes with eyes full of tears. I had never seen him with tears in his eyes. "You have given me a gift more precious than anything in this universe, a gift even more valuable than my immortal life."

My heart melted, and I reached up ...