Dancing In The Moonlight

13. Fuck!

Eight Months Later

"Jake, lad, I'm fuckin' telling ya, you can do it a hundred percent."

A slap hit the back of her head as she gazed at her husband. She didn't even flinch. Neytiri knew her swear words and didn't like that Mairi had such a loose tongue around her son. She'd began to slap, punch or kick Mairi whenever the words slipped from her, just depending on what mood she was in.

Jake was looking between the two of them with fear in his eyes, the baby tucked into one arm, his tiny mouth inches from Jake's nipple.

"Mairi, I have no fuckin' idea what I'm doing, sweetheart." He held the baby out precariously, his son lying in his large palms. "Take him."

Mairi narrowed her eyes. "No."

"What do you mean no?" Jake asked incredulously, his voice a pitch higher.

"Jakey, baby," Mairi cooed, placing a palm on his cheek. "He's yours too. You got this. I promise. We'll only be gone a couple of hours."

He brought the baby closer to him, leaning back slightly so that his son's face was nuzzled into his neck, his arm wrapped over the boy's tiny back and legs, his hand delicately cupping the back of his head. "I can't."

The baby was about two weeks old. He was still tiny. Mairi had been referring to him as the General, and Jake had been calling him the tiny tatertot, or Triple T. It had incited so many arguments between the two of them because Mairi insisted that tatertots were a stupid name and potato croquettes were the proper terminology.

Two weeks old and he still didn't have a name.

It didn't feel right to name him an English name. The General had been born with, to Mairi and Jake, a genetic mutation, giving him only four fingers and four toes on each hand and foot. Exactly the same as the Na'vi. Max figured that the native DNA was perfectly split from the both of them in the womb that had caused it. And because of this, baby boy was still nameless.

They had been toying with Na'vi names that Neytiri and Mo'at had thrown out. But none of them had felt right.

Mairi had forgotten the name that Neytiri had given her so many months ago at the Tree of Souls, and she was too scared of her to admit it. After everything that had happened, her mind had just blanked out that entire period. She was pretty sure it started with an N, but she drew short every time she tried thinking about it.

"You can," Mairi insisted. "The General trusts you." She leaned in and brushed her lips over his, putting her hand over Jake's. "I trust you. You got this."

Jake leaned in and nipped her bottom lip. He moved his head forward ever so slightly so he was touching her nose with his own. "You can always make me feel better."

Mairi huffed out a low laugh and stepped back, squeezing the top of his thigh as she went.

"Stay up for me and I can make you feel even better."

A tug on her tail made her hiss and spin around. Shit. She'd forgotten Neytiri was even standing there.

"Do I have to wait all night for you?" she teased. Mairi grinned widely.

"No, I'm coming."

"That's what she said," Jake muttered as he shifted the General in his arms, bringing him up so that his head was resting against Jake's cheek.

Mairi just scoffed and pushed his forehead, quickly stepping away. Jake chuckled softly as he glanced down at his son. And his amusement grew as his gaze drew to her legs.