Sunlight Moonlight

by Amanda Ashley

  Lainey shook her head, knowing he was offering her a way out in case she changed her mind, in case the baby died and she decided life with an alien was more than she could bear.

  "I don't want to wait, Micah. No matter what happens, I don't want this child, born of our love, to be a bastard."

  Gently, he drew her into the circle of his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. Would she still look at him with that same depth of love and devotion if the baby was born horribly deformed or dead? Or would she look at him with hatred and revulsion, recoiling from his touch? Would she then be sorry she had agreed to be his wife?

  "I love you, Lainey," he murmured fervently. "Love you, love you."

  And love her he would, he thought. No matter what happened in the future, he knew he would love Lainey St. John as long as he had life and breath in his body.

  "You're awfully quiet," Ralph St. John mused as he slid into the flow of traffic on the freeway.

  "I'm not quiet," Dolores replied. "I'm stunned."

  "Yeah, it's a little hard to swallow all right, but, hell, you can't doubt the truth of your own eyes."

  "He's an alien, Ralph. From outer space. And he's going to marry our daughter. Our only child."

  Ralph glanced at his wife, a wry grin on his face. "Honey, they've already done everything but say the words."

  "I know, but…" Dolores toyed with the folds of her skirt. "Ralph, she's pregnant. I've never been in favor of abortion, you know that, but don't you think we should have discussed it with her? I mean, there's no telling what the baby will look like…"

  "I know. I thought of it, too. But, Dee, she looks so damn happy, I just couldn't say anything to ruin it. Besides, she's too far along for an abortion, and even if she wanted one, she couldn't very well waltz into her doctor's office and tell him she's carrying an alien baby."

  "Ralph, be serious. What if… what if it's dangerous for Lainey? What if…" She couldn't say the words aloud.

  Ralph reached over and took her hand in his. "She'll be fine, hon, I'm sure of it. She's a strong, healthy girl."

  "I know, but… but we don't know what effect having this alien's child could have. What if it's…" She took a deep breath. "Fatal?"

  "Don't even think that!"

  "I can't help it, Ralph. I'm afraid."

  "I know." He squeezed her hand. "I am, too. But you want to hear something funny? Of all the guys she's dated, he's the first one I've ever liked, and that includes that loser she married."

  "You want to know something?" Dee asked, grinning at him. "I feel the same way. I just wish…"

  They looked at each other and smiled. "… he wasn't blue," they said simultaneously.

  "She's happy." Ralph said, pulling off the freeway, "really happy for the first time in her life."

  "I know." Dee wiped a tear from her eye. "Imagine, an alien for a son-in-law, and I can't even tell the girls at the beauty parlor."

  Micah couldn't sleep that night. Lying in bed, he stared into the darkness. He could feel Lainey curled up close beside him, her body warm and soft against his. Gently, he placed his hand on her belly and felt a little thrill of exhilaration as his child stirred beneath his hand.

  A child. Before knowing Lainey, he had never given any thought to having offspring beyond the physical act of joining; would never have agreed to join with Adana on Xanthia if joining had not been required of all healthy males. But now…

  A surge of love, of protectiveness such as he'd never known, swelled within his heart as he felt the child kick again. His child, a child born of his love for Lainey. A child he would be able to touch, to hold in his arms. He would watch it grow, watch it learn to walk, to talk. He would be there to soothe its hurts, quiet its fears, share in its laughter, its accomplishments.

  He remembered sitting in the restaurant with Lainey, watching a woman bounce a baby on her lap while a man looked on, smiling with pride. A family. A wave of excitement swept through Micah as he realized that he was about to have a family of his own, and that it would encompass not only Lainey and the baby, but Lainey's parents, as well.

  Beside him, he felt Lainey stir. He knew the moment she came awake.

  "Is something wrong?" he asked.

  "No. The baby's kicking a lot, that's all. It woke me up."

  Micah drew her into his arms, massaging her back with one hand. "I love you, Lainey," he murmured. "I don't think I realized how much until now."

  "I love you, too."

  "I know." His throat felt thick; tears burned his eyes. "I know."

  In all his life, no one had ever loved him. He'd had friends on Xanthia, people who had admired him, friends who had respected him, but no one had ever loved him.

  Lainey brushed her hand across Micah's cheek. She drew back, startled at the dampness she felt there. "Are you crying?"

  He squirmed uncomfortably, then nodded, afraid to speak for fear he would completely lose control.

  "It's all right," Lainey whispered. "I won't think less of you if you cry."

  "I will."

  "Why?"

  "It isn't… men don't…"

  Lainey shook her head. Men! They seemed to be the same no matter what their planet of origin. "Cry if you feel the need," she urged softly. "You'll feel better for it, I promise."

  Heaven knew he had enough to cry about, Lainey thought as she wrapped her arms around him. He'd left his home, left everything he knew, to be with her. She tried to imagine what it would be like to leave her home and her job and settle on an alien planet where she could only be herself in Micah's company, where she would have to spend the rest of her life in disguise so no one would know who she really was. It was beyond comprehension, and yet Micah was doing it, for her.

  She was comforting him now, her hands stroking his back, caressing his cheek. Her kindness, her sweetness, was his undoing. Silent sobs rose in his throat; silent tears coursed down his cheeks, and he was helpless to stop them.

  He wept because, even though he didn't want to, he could never go home again.

  He wept because his heart was so full of love for Lainey and their unborn child that it was almost painful.

  He wept because he was happy for the first time in his life, because Lainey loved him unconditionally.

  He wept because he knew that happiness, like life itself, was fragile and easily destroyed.

  "Lainey…" He clutched her to him, ashamed of his tears, and yet he did feel better for having shed them. "Forgive me."

  "There's nothing to forgive." Lifting a corner of the sheet, she wiped the last of the tears from his face, then kissed him lightly on both cheeks. "Better?"

  Micah sat up, drawing Lainey up beside him. "Better."

  "You know what?"

  Micah smiled down at her. "You're hungry."

  Lainey nodded.

  "I'll go get you something."

  "No, I'll go." She patted her stomach. "I have to go to the pregnant ladies' room anyway." Sliding out of bed, she pulled on a robe and left the room.

  A noise outside drew Micah's attention and he shook his head. It sounded like the neighbor's cat was in the trash again. A few minutes later, he heard what sounded like a pan falling to the floor. He thought of going into the kitchen and offering to help, but he needed a few moments alone to regain his composure.

  Propping another pillow behind his head, he stared up at the ceiling. He had cried in Lainey's arms. Cried like a frightened child, yet she didn't seem to think less of him for it. In all his years on Xanthia, he had never seen a grown man cry. Never seen a woman cry, unless she was in extreme physical pain.

  With a sigh, he dragged a hand across his jaw. He had a lot to learn about life on Earth, he thought with a wry grin, but he wouldn't be alone. Because of Lainey, he would never be alone again.

  Lainey… where was she?

  Throwing the covers aside, he got out of bed and went into the kitchen. The lights were on, steam was rising from the tea kettle, there were eggs scrambled in a bowl on
the sink. He picked a frying pan up from the floor. "Lainey?"

  Frowning, he went into the bathroom, but she wasn't there, either.

  Alarmed now, he walked through the house, checking the guest room, her office, switching on the lights as he went. She was nowhere to be found. Lastly, he checked the garage, but her car was still there.

  Returning to the kitchen, he glanced around the room again, looking for a clue of some kind. It was then he noticed that the back door was slightly ajar, and that the lock had been forced open.

  The noise he had heard outside earlier suddenly took on ominous overtones.

  Swearing a pithy curse word he had heard on television, he ran back into the bedroom. Dressing quickly, he went outside, his gaze sweeping up and down the sidewalk, his mind screaming Lainey's name. Silence was his only answer.

  Red Hair. With grim certainty, he knew that Red Hair had abducted Lainey.

  Quivering with rage, he stared down the dark street, remembering a cold metal table and thick iron straps. Lainey!

  Micah's hands curled into tight fists as he tried to remember where Red Hair had taken him. But he had been unconscious on the ride to the laboratory, and barely coherent when Lainey had rescued him. He had no clear idea of how near, or how far away, the laboratory might be or where it was located, only a cold certainty that Lainey was there, and that her life was in danger.

  Ralph St. John flipped on the porch light, then stared through the peephole.

  "Micah!" he exclaimed, opening the door. "What are you doing here at this hour of the morning? Is something wrong? Where's Lainey?"

  "She's gone."

  "Gone!" Ralph stepped back so Micah could enter the house. "Gone where? What happened, did you two have a lovers' quarrel?"

  "No." Micah dragged a hand through his hair. "She's been taken."

  "What is it?" Dolores called from the bedroom.

  "Nothing, Dee," Ralph said. "Go back to sleep. Sit down, Micah, I'll get some coffee."

  Micah followed Ralph into the kitchen, too agitated to sit still. "I know who has her," he said. "It's the same man who captured me."

  Ralph swore under his breath as he filled two cups with instant coffee, added hot water, and handed one to Micah. "Do you know where he's taken her?"

  "No. I mean yes, but I don't know where it is, how to get there."

  "What's going on?" Dolores stood in the kitchen doorway, wrapped in a fluffy pink robe. "Where's Lainey? Is it the baby?"

  "Sit down, Dee," Ralph said. "Something's happened."

  "We've got to call the police," Dolores said after Micah explained what had happened.

  "And tell them what?"

  "That Lainey's missing, of course."

  "You have to wait twenty-four hours to file a missing person's report," Ralph replied. "Micah, do you remember anything about the place they took you?''

  "No." He stared into the dark liquid in his cup for a long moment. "The building was old. Dark wood. It was at the end of a long, narrow driveway."

  "Were there houses on the street?"

  Micah frowned, then shook his head. "I don't remember." He stared at Lainey's father through eyes dark with anguish. "I don't remember."

  "We'll find her." Ralph St. John laid his hand on Micah's arm, thinking he had never seen such anguish in a man's eyes in all his life. If he'd had any doubts about the depths of Micah's love for Lainey, they were gone now.

  "Ralph, what are we going to do?"

  "There's nothing to be done tonight, Dee. Why don't you make up the bed in the spare room for Micah? Tomorrow we'll go to the police."

  Micah shook his head. "I'm going back to Lainey's house."

  "You're welcome here," Dolores said. "Please stay."

  "No. I want to be there, in case…"

  "That might be a good idea," Ralph agreed. "Someone should be there in case she comes home. Or in case they call…" He wrapped his arm around Dolores. "Maybe she's fine and we're worrying for nothing."

  Micah and Dolores exchanged glances, then looked at Ralph.

  "I was just trying to look on the bright side," Ralph said. He looked at Micah. "You'll call us if you hear anything?"

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  She woke to darkness. There was an incredibly vile taste in her mouth; her head felt as if it were stuffed with cotton. The mattress beneath her was hard and unfamiliar; when she tried to sit up, she realized her hands were cuffed to the headboard.

  Terror bolted through her, clearing the cobwebs from her mind. Where was she?

  She tensed as she heard someone slip a key into the lock. A moment later, light flooded the room.

  "So, you're awake."

  Lainey stared at the man, recognition washing over her in cold waves of fear. "You!" she exclaimed.

  "So, you remember me," Red said, rubbing the back of his head. "I, of course, have good reason to remember you. What did you hit me with?''

  "A tire iron."

  He chuckled softly. "I admire your spunk, my dear." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a syringe. "I've got to go out for a little while," he said, "so you'll have to go back to sleep." Lainey stared at the needle, her stomach churning with fear and revulsion.

  "Wait! Why am I here?"

  "All in good time, my dear." He wiped her arm with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol, then inserted the needle into her arm.

  "Where's Micah?" she asked. "Is he all right? Please… tell… me…"

  Her words grew thick, and then darkness engulfed her once more.

  Micah paused in mid-stride, his head cocked to one side. For a moment, he had imagined he heard Lainey's voice in his mind.

  Going to the window, he stared into the night, his mind probing the darkness. Lainey? Lainey, can you hear me?

  Hands balled into tight fists, he listened intently, but he heard nothing, felt nothing, sensed nothing. And yet she was alive. He knew it with every fiber of his being.

  She was alive, and he would find her.

  When next she woke, it was daylight. She could see a thin stream of light filtering through the heavy black cloth that covered the room's single window.

  Filled with an all-encompassing lethargy, Lainey stared around the room. A bed pan and some medical instruments, including a stethoscope, were strewn on a metal table at the foot of the bed. There was nothing else in the room except for a battered four-drawer dresser.

  Lifting her head, she stared into the other room, felt her stomach clench with horror as she saw the skeleton in the corner. She was in the laboratory where they'd taken Micah.

  Her head fell back on the pillow and she closed her eyes. Why had Red Hair brought her here? Was she bait? Or part of some bizarre new experiment?

  The answer came in a flash of intuition. It was the baby. Red Hair was interested in the baby, the first to be conceived by the joining of an Earth woman and an alien man.

  Fear for her own safety was suddenly unimportant. She had to get away from here!

  But she was so groggy. It was hard to think coherently, hard to think of what she should do. And then Red Hair was there, an evil grin on his face as he gave her another injection.

  "I'm almost ready for him," Red said. "The two of you are going to make me rich beyond my wildest dreams. Books, movies, endorsements—why, I'll be famous." He laughed softly. "Rich and famous. Who knows, I might even cut you in for a share."

  "Micah…"

  "I know all about your alien," Red said, gesturing at the skeleton in the other room. "We've studied his kind for years, wondering if it was possible for our races to interbreed." He patted her stomach lightly, then grinned. "Now we know it can be done."

  "You can't do this," Lainey exclaimed, her horror growing by the minute. "It isn't right."

  "Right! What has right got to do with it? Do you realize what an opportunity this is? All we have to do is wait and see if you've conceived a child or a monster. Either way, you'll go down in the medical journals, my dear. Why, your life story will probably be a mov
ie of the week. I might even write it myself."

  "No…"

  "Yes." Opening one of the dresser drawers, he withdrew a camera and snapped several pictures. "I've spent twenty years researching alien phenomena. I have photos and medical data on two alien males and one female. Unfortunately, they all died before we could do any extended research. But the one you call Micah promises to be a most interesting specimen. He's young and healthy…"

  Red walked around the bed and took another picture. "And he has a lot to live for."

  Withdrawing the needle from her arm, Red left the room, whistling softly as he closed the door.

  By tonight, he'd be ready. He checked the cage one last time, made sure there was a new videotape in the camcorder.

  History was about to be made.

  Lainey stared at Red suspiciously as he ushered her into the laboratory and instructed her to lie down on the examining table.

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Just relax, Miss St. John. I'm only going to take your blood pressure."

  Her gaze darted to the gun snugged in the waistband of his pants.

  "Don't even think about it," Red warned in a congenial voice. "Lie back now. This will only take a minute."

  Reluctantly, she did as she was told. To avoid looking at him, she closed her eyes as he wrapped the cuff around her arm.

  She was thinking of Micah when Red grabbed her wrist.

  Lainey's eyes flew open as he fastened a thick strap around her left wrist, anchoring her arm to the table.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Baiting the trap, my dear."

  "I don't understand," she lied, hoping he would tell her what he intended to do, hoping that, somehow, she could warn Micah.

  "You will." Whistling an upbeat tune, he unlocked the front door. "My partner. Gene, believed that Xanthians were telepathic. We never had a chance to prove it, until now."

  "What do you mean? What are you going to do?"

  "I'm going to perform a C-section."

  "What?"

  "You heard me."

  "No!" Adrenalin surged through Lainey at the thought of harm coming to her child. Struggling to sit up, she slapped Red across the face, hard. "Let me go, damn you!"