by L. M. Brown
"Two hours?"
"It's a busy port," Delta replied. "And you still haven't paid me."
Jax nodded towards their luggage. "He has got us here. How much did we agree on?"
"We didn't," Cal said. "We have two hundred credits, but that leaves us with nothing to get us passage elsewhere."
"So, where are you heading in such a hurry?" Delta asked.
"We've not decided yet," Ty replied. "We're free spirits, but we're rather short of funds, so it'll probably be what we can afford after we've paid you."
"I thought you said you were taking the expectant father home," Delta commented.
"Er…"
Delta shook his head. "I don’t want to hear it. I don't care where you're going. It's none of my business. But if you're going to be telling more lies on your travels, you might want to make sure you keep your stories straight. Now, about my payment…"
"We can't give him the whole two hundred credits," Cal complained. "We're going to be stuck at the spaceport if we do."
"Or you could get a job?" Delta suggested. "These places are always looking for workers. It'll be an interesting experience for your mates, won't it?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ty asked.
"Well, you are a high noble, aren't you? Nobles aren't exactly known for doing a full day's honest work."
"What makes you think he's a high noble?" Jax asked.
"Because the two of you are all over the C.I.N."
Jax was glad he was already seated. He didn't think his legs would have held him up. He realised how careless they had been, using their own names in front of Delta, and assuming because he appeared to be a loner, that he wouldn't keep up with the news.
Ty seemed to have more of his wits about him. "Have you informed anyone that we're on board?"
"No," Delta replied.
"Can we believe he's telling the truth?" Cal asked.
"Why would I lie? It's not like your people are offering any reward for information about you. Besides, the reports say you've been abducted by canines. If I report I have you on board, they'll probably accuse me."
A whimper from the nearby crib, crammed into the room despite the lack of space, drew Jax's attention to his babies. He hurried to see which one was upset. "What's the matter darling? You hungry?" he asked. They hadn't decided on names for the trio yet.
He picked up the younger boy and lowered his toga from his shoulder. He guided the baby to his breast and his son latched on to the teat.
"There you go," Jax cooed.
"Interesting markings," Delta commented as he looked into the other cribs. The implication of his words was clear. "Two solid whites and one patches. And your dye is starting to run."
Jax quickly checked and saw Delta was correct. A glance at Ty revealed that his wasn't much better. No doubt their exertions and the cramped sweaty conditions on the craft had something to do with it.
Without disturbing the feeding baby, Jax stepped in front of the cribs, blocking them from Delta. He cursed himself for being so careless. He should have known better than to speak so openly in front of the canine.
The canine took a step back. "There's no need to be so jumpy. I was just making a casual comment."
"Well keep them to yourself," Jax snarled. "Ty, Cal, start getting our things together. I want to be ready to leave as soon as we're docked."
Delta sat on the bed as Ty and Cal gathered their belongings. "So, where's the father?"
"What part of keep your comments to yourself didn't you understand?" Jax snapped.
"That wasn't a comment, it was a question," Delta replied.
"I'm the father of Jax's litter," Ty said.
"Do you think I'm blind?" Delta asked. "None of them have your stripes and neither of you are patched."
"One of my grandparents was patched," Jax said.
"I don't believe you. And if you're planning on dishing that lie out to your own people, you're a bunch of fools."
Jax exchanged a worried glance with Ty and Cal. While they'd not decided to name a specific ancestor as an explanation for the babies' markings, if they couldn't convince a stranger, what hope did they have of fooling their families?
The child at his breast finished feeding and Jax returned him to his crib. The others were still sleeping soundly, but he knew that could change at any moment.
Delta returned to the flight deck, leaving the three of them alone with the babies.
"I'll follow him," Cal said. "To make sure he isn't communicating our presence to someone at the docks."
Ty sighed and nodded.
"He could already have told someone about us," Jax said. His stomach churned at the thought of what might be waiting for them when they docked.
"I know."
"What are we going to do?"
"We get off this ship and find another one to take us somewhere else."
"With no credits?"
"Delta is right about there being plenty of work to be found at these places. Not sure I'm qualified for much, but I'll do whatever job it takes to keep us all safe."
Jax's worry and agitation seemed to rub off on the babies, and by the time they docked, the boys were both whimpering and his daughter was screaming at the top of her lungs.
Cal managed the luggage alone while Ty and Jax tried to settle the babies.
Delta shook his head as he poked his head in the cabin. "Oh, for the love of the moon."
"Your credits are on the table." Ty pointed at the bedside table and the bag containing all the credits they had.
"You really think I'd take your last credits and leave you with nothing?" Delta asked.
Jax shrugged. "We've not met many canines, but the ones we have would."
Delta shook his head. "Where are you planning on going once you leave the ship?"
"To find work or passage," Ty replied.
"Where to?"
"We haven't decided yet."
Delta pinched the bridge of his nose as though he might have been getting a headache. "I can't believe I'm going to suggest this, but I'm heading to Falcair to collect my next cargo. If you help me unload the one I have, and load up when I get there, I'll let you come with me."
"Why would you do that?" Jax was unable to keep the suspicion from his tone.
Delta gestured to the cribs. "If you're desperate enough to be travelling through space while carrying a litter, instead of relaxing at home, I'm guessing you're in some kind of trouble."
"So what if we are? What do you care?"
"I'm not heartless," Delta barked. "You all just caught me at a bad time. I’m not usually so bad-tempered."
"No?" Ty asked, with obvious scepticism.
Delta's glare made it clear he wasn’t going to elaborate. "So, do we have a deal?"
Cal shrugged and Jax turned to Ty. "What do you think?"
"Falcair is as good a place as any, but don't you have family there?"
Jax frowned. "Yes."
"Canines' families help each other when they're in trouble," Delta remarked.
"It's not a question of whether she'd help us," Jax replied. "It's whether those looking for us would guess that we might go there, because I have family on the planet."
"And I take it the father of your babies is who is after you?"
"I'm their father," Ty repeated.
"Sure you are," Delta replied sarcastically. "Lie to me if you want to, but I'm not stupid. You've claimed as a mate a feline carrying another male's litter, which you intend to try to pass off as your own. Now you're on the run from the one who has the rightful claim over your mate. Does that sum it up sufficiently?"
"No, it doesn't," Jax snapped. "Yes, we'll come to Falcair with you. Ty, will you watch the babies while I go help Cal and Delta with the unloading?"
"What?" Delta gaped at him. "You've just given birth. You can't be lifting and carrying crates. I'm sure Cal and Ty wouldn't want you to strain yourself. They can do the lifting."
"He's right," Ty said. "You stay
with the babies and relax."
"No, he's not entirely right," Cal remarked from where he stood blocking the door. "You shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting either, remember?"
Delta glanced at each of them in turn. "Are you saying what I think you are? But Ty's a high noble, isn't he?"
"I am," Ty confirmed.
Delta stared at his stomach, blatantly assessing his waistline.
Jax met Ty's gaze and shrugged. "It's five weeks’ journey to Falcair. It's not as if you'll be able to hide it by the time we arrive."
Delta sighed. "Just tell me that he isn't likely to give birth on the journey too."
"We'll be there long before I'm due," Ty confirmed. "I'm nearly two months along."
"Since when are high nobles dual-gendered?" Delta asked.
"Since me," Ty replied. "Now, is your offer still open, or do we unload our belongings and make alternative arrangements?"
Delta shook his head as he headed out of the door. "I'll get you to Falcair, but if you think for one moment I'm going to take you anywhere else, you'd better think again. This ship might be big enough for you six, but I draw the line at any more of you. Now, come on Cal, help me unload and I'll allocate you some rooms to stay in for the journey. I don't intend to give up my cabin for the whole five weeks."
Jax turned to Ty. "I hope we're not making a huge mistake trusting him."
"Me too, but the fewer people who see us, the better. If we have to search for work here, then travel on a passenger ship, there's a huge risk of someone seeing and recognising us. Leaving on a commercial ship, in Delta's name, is far less risky."
"What if they're looking for us on Falcair?"
"I think we have a little time," Ty replied. "Remember, they're searching Lupalia at the moment. Until they've tracked down the canines who took our tech, they won't be looking anywhere else. With a bit of luck, that holo-player has changed hands a few times already, giving us more time to put distance between us and the planet."
Jax pulled the holo-projector out of the luggage and checked the network for news. "There's an update from your parents. Your mother seems really worried about you."
Ty sighed and read the story over Jax's shoulder. A recording of Ty's mother had been attached and he activated it. It didn't tell them much more than what he already knew.
"Do you think we should risk going home?" Jax whispered.
"Not until the babies are old enough that we can convince people they were conceived after the festival."
"Then, do you want to send a message to your mama?" Jax suggested. "You could send one from the station."
"And have them trace us to here in a matter of hours?" Ty shook his head. "I won't risk it. You and the babies are my top priority."
"Sometimes I feel as if I've stolen you from your family," Jax admitted. "You had a good life on Furyne, with a family who loved you."
"And we'll return there soon," Ty replied. "And I still have a family who loves me. I also have you, Cal and our babies."
"But—"
"No, Jax. I won't let you blame yourself. Besides, the good news is that they believe the abduction ploy, which means our contract is still valid in their eyes."
Jax leaned his head on Ty's shoulder. "I just wish you hadn't been forced to leave everything behind, just because of me."
"You're worth it all," Ty whispered. "Now, I think someone over there is hungry."
Jax smiled and went over to the cribs. He took his daughter into his arms and put aside the thoughts of Ty's parents. He was a parent too, and he had to do what was right for his children, which meant keeping them safe from Lyndon and his uncle. He wasn't sure he trusted Delta, but they had little choice other than to take a chance.
Chapter Twelve
Delta had found them a nice, large room on his ship. Technically, it was part of the cargo hold, but nowhere else was big enough for the six of them.
They had taken the mattress from the co-pilot's cabin and placed it on the floor. Since Delta had no co-pilot, it wouldn't be missed. The mattress was far too small for all of them, but they had worked out a shift pattern for sleeping. Jax missed curling up between his two mates, but he didn't complain. It was only temporary, and once they arrived on Falcair they would be able to sleep together once more.
Not that he was getting much sleep these days. As soon as one of the babes started to cry, the noise set the other two off. Consequently, sleep was a luxury they didn't have. Jax suspected Delta might have given them their current quarters because the room was farthest from his own cabin.
Almost as though Jax's thoughts had summoned him, the canine appeared in the doorway.
"We're parking in a designated safe zone for a few hours so I can get some rest."
Jax nodded. He wasn't sure why Delta was telling him this. It was his ship and of course he wanted to take regular breaks on the journey. It wasn't as if he could stay at the controls for the whole five weeks.
"It seems fairly quiet in here." Delta nodded at Ty, who was sleeping and Cal, who was rocking the boys in their cribs.
Jax smiled at his daughter. They should decide what to call the babies, but a part of him still worried that they were going to be taken from him. He had named the three babies of his first litter, but for all he knew they had been given new names by the family raising them. He couldn't bear for the same thing to happen again.
Cal and Ty were being wonderful in not pressuring him to decide, but he knew he could not put it off forever.
Delta disappeared back out of the door, as unsociable as ever. Jax still wasn't sure why he had agreed to help them. He didn't seem like the generous type. Though, Jax reminded himself, Delta had waited at the spaceport while they tracked down a healer to check over the babies. The canine had spent most of the two days at a small gambling hall, and hadn’t seemed to mind the delay to his own plans.
Since he had more than his fair share of worries, Jax put concerns about Delta’s motives to the side and concentrated on the rest.
"What's bothering you?" Cal kept his voice low so as not to wake Ty.
Jax shrugged. "What isn't bothering me would be a better question. Mostly, I keep wondering about how my sister will react to us showing up at the nest."
"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."
"I hope so."
"Why wouldn't she? You said yourself that your uncle treated her as badly as he did you, even worse in some ways."
Jax carefully placed his daughter, asleep at last, into her crib and sat at Cal's feet, leaning on his leg. "I can't lose them, Cal."
"I promise you, no one is going to break up our family."
Jax glanced over at Ty. "I also wonder if we should have sent a message to Ty's parents before we left the spaceport. Just to let them know he's all right. His mother seemed really worried on the news report."
"If we sent a message it could be traced back to where we sent it from."
"I know, but I've spent over three cycles wondering where my babies are, and I hate to think of Ty's mama going through that."
Cal squeezed his hand. "Your litter was newly born, Ty is a grown feline and capable of taking care of himself. His mother is well aware of that. I've known Ty and his family all my life, and I can assure you, even if it hasn't occurred to his mother, his father will have figured out what Ty's plan is."
"You mean his father knows that he's just trying to avoid honouring the contract?"
"Probably."
"Then why would he go along with the abduction story?"
"I doubt he had a choice in the matter."
"Maybe we should have just stayed at the lodge. Perhaps Lyndon wouldn't even care if I had another litter that was his. It wasn't like he wanted to claim them last time."
"Do you really believe he'd have just worked quietly in the background without a word to you?"
Jax shook his head.
"I'll tell you what he'd do if we were at the lodge with him. He'd be hounding you every waking minute. He'd be makin
g threats and tormenting you every chance he could. He would punish you for rejecting him any way he can, and you know the best way he could think of to do that."
"He'd take my babies from me again," Jax whispered.
"Exactly." Cal hugged Jax close to his side.
*****
Ty didn't put up any form of protest about taking things easy when they arrived on Falcair. There was no questioning his condition now, and his back certainly wouldn't have been able to cope with any heavy lifting.
Even Delta had glared at him when he had picked up one of the smaller bags. The canine had become something of a friend during their journey. Like Ty, Delta had family obligations that didn't fit into how he wanted to live his life. The two of them had bonded over their similar issues and Ty had every intention of repaying Delta for his kindness as soon as he could safely access his credits again.
Instead of helping the others load the cargo, Ty watched the babies while he searched the Falcair directory for Jax's sister. He was surprised how many felines there were on the avian world. Then again, this world was similar in climate to Furyne, and like his home world, had lot of trees and plants. Some may even have been suitable for harvesting milk from for young felines.
He renewed his search of the directory. Jax thought that Blanche's avian mate was named Manu, but Ty could find no trace of a nest owner with that name where there was also a feline listed. Ty was therefore searching for any felines, but without much joy.
"Any luck?" Jax asked as he and Cal approached with their luggage.
"Not yet. There seems to be a lack of names of felines in the directory. It just lists the nest owner and the species of the nest members."
"Are there a lot of felines?"
"More than I thought there would be," Ty admitted. "I think we'll just have to start trying them one by one."
"Let's find a place to stay first," Cal suggested. "I suspect this could take some time."
"You're right," Ty said. "Come on, there's got to be a cheap place to stay close by."
"Are we that short of credits?"
Ty nodded. "I gave Delta some credits to cover our rations on the journey. He wouldn't accept any more than that, but I insisted. We'll have to take care to conserve what we have left."