“For dinner?” He tried to force aside his alarm and concentrate. “Just flodan pastries.”
“And?”
“That was all. She said she liked them the best.”
“You let her eat nothing but sweets?” Abigail rolled her eyes. “No wonder she threw up. I should make you clean all of this up.”
“Of course I will. But that is why she is ill? Because of me?” Shame and horror filled him. How could he have failed at his responsibilities so badly? He looked down at Tiana, sleeping so trustingly in his arms. Would he fail her as well? “I am unfit to be a father.”
“It’s just a rookie mistake—a new parent mistake.” Abigail began stripping away Lucie’s night garments, her face serene. Did she really not blame him? “Why don’t you put Tiana in the bassinet and go grab some clean bedding? I’m going to pop Lucie in the shower.”
He gave the little girl a worried look, but she was already looking better. While Abigail bathed Lucie, he hurried to obey her request, remaking the bed with clean, sweet smelling linens. He then washed at the small sink in his office and changed his own clothing. When they returned, Lucie bounced up to him, her usual humor restored.
“S’okay, Leonardo. Mama said I shouldn’t a let you give me all the good stuff.” She made a face. “I has to eat vegetables and yucky stuff so I can grow up big and strong.”
Her words didn’t help. “I stunted your growth?”
Abigail gave him a soft smile. “Hrebec, it was only one meal. She’s fine.”
“Mama says all the bad stuff is gone now,” Lucie said cheerfully.
“I’m very glad.” His knees were weak with relief.
“Me too. I don’t like feeling yucky.” Lucie sighed. “No more sweet stuff.”
Her little face was so woebegone that, even in spite of the evening’s events, he wanted to promise her she could have whatever she wanted. Fortunately, Abigail intervened.
“I said you could have dessert—after you ate your vegetables. Now back to bed, you little minx.”
Lucie jumped up on the bed and gave him a pleading look. “I’s awake now. Tell me a story.”
He looked at Abigail, and she nodded. He sat down on the bed and Lucie snuggled against him. While he told her the story of the princess, Abigail moved quietly around the room, tidying up as she went. Lucie fell asleep before he finished the tale.
“Are you certain that Mekoi doesn’t need to see her?” he asked as Abigail returned to bed.
“It was just an upset stomach. You saw for yourself how quickly she recovered. Children are very resilient.”
“That was not been my experience.”
“I know, Hrebec, and I’m very sorry.” She carefully moved Lucie to one side so she could curl up next to him instead.
As she ran a soothing hand down his chest, his body immediately started to respond, but his worries still consumed him. “How am I going to take care of Tiana?”
“You’ll learn. Every parent has to do it.” She yawned and snuggled closer. “As long as you love her, it will be fine.”
A few minutes later, she was asleep. He gently disengaged her long enough to bring Tiana back to bed with them. The infant’s eyes opened, dark and serious in the quiet room.
“I will take care of you,” he vowed.
A toothless grin dissolved into a yawn as her tail came up and circled his wrist
His chest ached. “I love you, little one.”
Lucie made a soft noise in her sleep and his tail automatically moved to pat her shoulder while Abigail settled more fully against him.
“I love all of you,” he whispered, studying his sleeping girls. “And I’m going to lose you.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, Abby insisted that Hrebec try feeding Tiana again. He eventually succeeded, although not without Abby touching the baby. Even then, she didn’t feed well and her tail gripped Abby’s wrist the entire time. She tried not to let it worry her—it was only the second time he’d tried—but she felt an underlying sense of panic. Hrebec looked equally as worried.
“Why don’t you take her with you today?” she suggested. “You can still bring her back for feeding times,” she added hastily. “But this will give her a chance to spend time with you.”
“I cannot carry her the entire time.”
“You could take her bassinet.” When he cast it a look of acute dislike, she said, “Or we could rig up a snuggy?”
“A what?”
“A sort of sling. To carry her against your chest.”
“That would be acceptable.”
Together they managed to wind a length of material around his chest and form a pouch for the baby. He should have looked ridiculous, but the sight of the big warrior with the tiny baby tucked to his chest made her heart—and other parts—warm. From the heated look in his dark eyes, she suspected that he had detected her arousal. He took a step towards her, but Lucie interrupted.
She pointed at the sling. “I wants Leonardo to carry me that way.”
To Abby’s surprise, he answered perfectly. “But you’re a big girl now. Big girls ride differently.”
Abby choked and turned away, cursing her dirty mind.
“Perhaps after the mid-shift meal, you can spend some time with me?” He glanced at Abby. “If your mother approves.”
Lucie was already bouncing up and down. “She will, won’t you, Mama?”
Two sets of dark eyes looked at her, one human brown and the other reptilian black, but their pleading expressions were identical.
“Fine,” she laughed. “Tiana can come and take a nap with me.”
Hrebec left with Tiana, but not before giving Abby a kiss, just long enough to arouse her interest.
Lucie giggled. “Leonardo’s kissing Mama.”
She then proceeded to repeat her observation to the girls when they gathered for breakfast in the ready room. They had agreed to meet there since, as TeShawna put it, “They didn’t need no man staring at them before they had their coffee.”
While they didn’t actually have coffee in space, there was a pale beverage with a slightly salty taste that had the same effect. Abby almost choked on hers when Lucie repeated her earlier comment.
“Nice that someone’s getting some,” TeShawna muttered.
Abby gave her a worried look. The girl looked tired and annoyed, her usual good-natured bravado absent.
“She had a fight with that doctor last night,” Cassie murmured quietly, but TeShawna overheard.
“Damn right I did. I don’t need another jealous asshole in my life. ‘Specially when most of ‘em have a girl in every port and a wife at home anyway.”
“Damn right, damn right,” Lucie sang.
“Lucie, those are big girl words,” Abby told her. “You mustn’t repeat them.”
Her little chest puffed out. “Leonardo says I’m a big girl.”
“You’re not that big yet,” she said firmly. “Now, why don’t you go with Miss Cassie and let her make you some new pants?”
“I don’t want pants. I wants a dress.”
“Come on, little bit. I bet there’s enough material for both.” Cassie drew Lucie to the other end of the room.
“It’s not like that with these men, TeShawna,” Abby said quietly. “Their women died.”
“What?” A look of unwilling sympathy crossed TeShawna’s face. “You mean he lost his wife?”
“No. I don’t think he was ever married. There was an illness and they lost all of their women. As far as they know, Tiana is the only one.”
“Is that why they’re giving us the bum’s rush?” TeShawna’s words may have been cynical, but Abby saw the sadness in her eyes.
“Poor Jedan.” Elaina’s eyes filled with tears. “He’s so good with Ginger. He’d make a wonderful daddy.” She smiled ruefully, and Abby noticed that she, too, looked pale and tired. “I coulda used his help last night. Two babies are a lot to handle.”
“Two? Molly didn’t help you?” Ab
by looked around and saw the girl slumped against the back wall, staring out at the stars.
Elaina shrugged her shoulders. “I went to find her, but she was gone.”
“Damn. She must have snuck out while I was putting that ass—doctor in his place.” TeShawna sounded more sad than angry.
“She wasn’t gone that long,” Amber volunteered. “I tried to tell her that Elaina needed some help, but she wouldn’t even look at me. Just crawled into bed and put her face to the wall.”
Abby hoped that meant that Ribel had told the girl that there was no future between them, but looking at her, her heart still ached for the young girl’s obvious pain.
“Just like Romeo and Juliet,” Amber sighed.
TeShawna clicked her teeth in disgust, but a new worry intruded into Abby’s thoughts. Surely the girl wasn’t so far gone that she would try and kill herself? Looking at the despondent little figure, she couldn’t entirely be sure.
Biting her lip, she turned back to the other girls. “Let’s have breakfast. Then we can do some more sewing.”
The morning continued quietly enough and Abby eventually managed to coax Molly into eating a few bites.
“Is there anything you want to talk about, Molly?” she asked, but the girl glared at her with furious resentment.
Abby suspected that Ribel had told her why he wasn’t going to see her again. She sighed, deciding to drop it for the time being. It was best to give Molly a chance to cool off before she tried to press the issue again.
Turning to Lucie instead, she made sure that her daughter had fruit and some kind of cereal-like dish for breakfast instead of more pastries. After the meal, they resumed their sewing. It wasn’t until she saw Elaina pick up a shirt, wrinkle her nose, and put it back down that she thought about the previous night’s conversation.
“Elaina, was there something wrong with that shirt?”
“Nah. It just didn’t seem right.”
The girl shrugged, but a few minutes later, Abby saw her pick up another identical shirt. This time, she smiled and kept it. Curious, Abby picked up one of the garments from the communal pile. Even before she raised it to her face, she knew she didn’t like it. There was nothing specific, just an overall feeling of rejection.
As the morning passed, she realized that TeShawna had the same reaction, going through several shirts before she picked one. Abby was willing to bet it belonged to Mekoi. Neither Amber nor Cassie seemed bothered by any of the garments, but Molly picked one up and immediately discarded it. She picked up a second one, then hugged it close as she started to cry.
Abby went to her and put her arms around the girl. For a moment she stiffened, then she gave in and sobbed against Abby’s shoulder.
“He thinks I’m too young,” she said finally. Her look was worse this time, filled with betrayal rather than anger.
“You are young, Molly,” Abby said gently.
“But I’m not a child.” Her hand went to her stomach as she snorted a bitter laugh. “Doesn’t this prove that?”
“You don’t have to be grown up to get pregnant, honey,” Elaina said.
“But I’ve never felt like this before!” Molly wiped her eyes and sat up. Abby wished she had a dollar for every girl that had said the same thing, but there was an earnestness to Molly’s speech that she couldn’t ignore. “Before, with Bill, I always felt small and helpless, and he made me feel safe. But with Ribel—he still makes me feel safe, but I also feel stronger. Like I’m better when he’s around.”
“Ain’t you forgetting he’s an alien?” TeShawna broke in. “Doesn’t matter how he makes you feel. We’re going back to Earth, and he can’t come.”
The blunt words cast a pall over the rest of the morning. Abby was conscious of the same feeling of depression, no matter how ridiculous she told herself she was being. TeShawna was perfectly correct. The Cires were aliens and they were humans. There’s no future here, she told herself.
Her words rang hollow, especially when lunch rolled around and once again, she helped Hrebec feed Tiana. Despite their differences, they felt like a family—a feeling that was only reinforced when he took Lucie for the afternoon, swinging her up on his shoulder for her “big girl” ride. She squealed with delight and clutched his head.
“Bring her back to our—your cabin in a few hours. I want to talk to you.”
He nodded gravely, then shrugged his shoulder to bounce Lucie and making her squeal again. As they turned to walk away, Abby saw that his tail and his hand were holding her daughter firmly in place. A warm glow filled her. Hrebec would never let her fall.
“Where do you want to go, Princess Lucie?” Hrebec asked as they left the dining hall.
“Where does you drive the ship?”
“It’s called the bridge. I’ll take you there.”
When he walked on to the expansive bridge, there was a startled silence for the second time that day. His men had been more than a little surprised when he’d appeared with Tiana earlier, although that hadn’t stopped them from gathering around to admire her. The infant looked at them with her wide-eyed gaze. She didn’t seem afraid, but her tiny fist remained clenched in his shirt and her tail wrapped around him every time he adjusted her position.
“A Cire female,” Maraq breathed. “I never thought to see one.”
Hrebec remembered that Maraq had been on duty the previous day and had missed the joint meals, but he found himself surprisingly annoyed. “She is my daughter. She is not an object of curiosity.”
“Yes, Captain. I didn’t mean it that way.” Maraq hesitated, then said cautiously, “Your daughter?”
“Unless we find that she has living family on Trevelor.” Even the thought made his chest ache. He couldn’t bear to lose not only Abigail and Lucie but Tiana as well. Pushing the unwelcome possibility aside, he frowned at his men. “Don’t you have work to do?”
The morning had proceeded as normal after that. Despite more than a few glances in her direction, Tiana had been so quiet that it had been easy for his men to maintain their routine.
He suspected Lucie would be another matter—a suspicion that was confirmed as soon as they walked on to the bridge.
“Hi!” she called cheerfully, and loudly. “I’m Princess Lucie, and Leonardo is my horsie!”
Inzen came up and bowed to her. He was the chief engineer, and another senior member of the crew. “How do you do, Princess Lucie?”
She beamed at him and waved an imperious little hand. “I’m just fine, thanks.” Her attention was drawn to the huge screens that lined the front of the bridge. “What’s those? Are they TVs?”
“They are screens that let us see where we are,” Inzen said. “I think I know something you would like to see.” He went to his desk and worked at his controls for a few seconds before the screens lit up, showing an array of planets with a brilliant pink nebula shining beyond them.
“It’s so pretty,” Lucie gasped, then relapsed into silence, her arm clutching his head as she stared and stared. Hrebec stood there, letting her take in the sight, seeing the magnificent display as if for the first time through her eyes.
Eventually, she wiggled. “Does you have Frozen?”
“Frozen?”
“The movie? With Queen Elsa and the ice palace?”
He wasn’t entirely sure what she was asking for, but it sounded like entertainment of some kind. “I’m afraid not, little one.”
“You can’t see any other shows?”
“No.”
“This is a good one,” she said. “But I like singing ones too.”
He had the most ridiculous urge to sing for her. Instead, he lowered her down to chest level. “Would you like to see what we do here?”
“Okay,” she agreed, her sweet smile lighting her face.
He hugged her, his tail curled around her back, before taking her from station to station and introducing her to the rest of the bridge crew. When she got bored with that, Inzen handed her a tablet and showed her how to play a
simple game.
When Lucie became engrossed in her game, Hrebec settled her into his chair before strolling over to Inzen. “I wasn’t aware that Reserve tablets were equipped with children’s games.”
Inzen’s cheeks darkened, but he shrugged. “I just wrote a little program. If she likes it, I can make more.”
Hrebec clasped his shoulder. “Thank you, my friend.”
“There is no need for thanks.” Inzen’s eyes went to Lucie. “It does my old heart good to see a child again, especially such a happy one. I will pray to Granthar that she is always this content.”
“As will I,” Hrebec said, following his gaze. For as long as she was with him, he would do everything in his power to ensure her happiness.
Chapter Nineteen
Lucie pouted when Hrebec said it was time to return to their cabin, but Inzen consoled her when he assured her that she could keep the tablet. Instead of returning to her seat on Hrebec’s shoulders, she ran ahead of him, her voice echoing through the corridors as she skipped along singing an incomprehensible song about letting go. As soon as they reached the cabin, she rushed inside.
“Mama! Leonardo’s got TV but he only gots a pink show, not Frozen. And I’s got a present.”
“You do? What is it?” Abigail smiled at her daughter from where she was sitting on the couch, sorting through a pile of clothing.
“It’s a game! Inzen gave it to me. I like him a lot! But ‘course, not as much as Leonardo.”
“Of course not,” she agreed solemnly.
“Do you like him best too, Mama?”
“Yes, sweetie. I do.” She looked directly at him as she spoke, and joy coursed through him.
“Do you likes us best too?” Lucie asked him.
“Yes, I do,” he assured her.
“Good,” she said, around an enormous yawn.
“Time for a nap, sweetie.”
“I’s not sleepy, Mama.”
“You can still go lie down,” Abigail said firmly. “And you have to be quiet. Tiana’s asleep.”
With a defeated sigh, Lucie turned to him. “Carry me, Leonardo.”
He obeyed, carrying her into the bedroom and laying her down in the center of his big bed.
Mama and the Alien Warrior Page 11