Callisto: Bound to the Alien Commander |18+

Chapter 33

Pouting beneath my blankets, the events of last night play over and over in my mind. It's a reel I can't stop replaying.

The dream was bad enough but to have him come here, like that, hard and sweating and so irritatingly good-looking. I'll never get over the embarrassment. He knew I was dreaming about him? Humiliating.

Rolling in the bed until I'm wrapped in the blankets several times, I wait, hoping that all of the oxygen will turn to carbon dioxide and I'll pass out.

A quiet knock on the door startles me. Sitting up, I close my eyes, searching for any Sa'nu, heartbeat, or shared blood bullshit. When everything feels normal, just the same familiar gnawing pit in my stomach and ache in my chest, I answer the door.

"Nicole," Gaia looks cautious.

"Good morning," I smooth my hair down.

"Will you come with me?"

"Sure," I eye her suspiciously. "Give me a second."

Running to the bathroom, I do the best that I can to make myself look less like someone that just fell out of a truck full of hot garbage.

She leads me down a hallway and into, what I'm fairly certain is her office. When we step inside, a woman is already waiting.

"Nicole, this is Operational Director," Gaia introduces us. "I am here to translate for you."

"O-Ok, translate what, exactly?" I'm so lost.

While she opens her mouth, a faint squeak from beside the desk draws my attention to a white dome floating in the air. It looks like an egg the size of a pillow.

Operational Director speaks and the egg floats toward us. As it approaches, I can see that it's open on one side and hollow. My heart pounds in my chest as the retaliation of what it is hits me.

"This is Stark. He will be two weeks old tomorrow." Gaia translates.

"Oh my-" I gasp as a huge, stupid smile that hurts my cheeks spreads over my face. My eyes feel wet and I can't stop the giggle that bursts forward. "Oh my god."

My hand reaches forward on its own but I pull it back, holding them together against my chest to keep them from trying to touch him.

His hair. He has a full head of thick, silver hair that looks so soft I want to nuzzle my face into it.

He looks slightly larger than a two-week-old human, but only by a few pounds. I study his tiny nose and lips, the slight movements of his chest when he breathes. He is a perfect baby.

"He is so beautiful," I gush, meeting his mother's smiling face.

She says something and reaches into his carrier.

"Do you wish to hold him?" Gaia asks as Operational Director brings his little sleeping body into her arms.

"Oh my- of course, I want to hold him! If she's alright with it, yes, please!" I feel giddy. The heaviness that has been weighing down my chest for weeks is lifting. As soon as his soft, warm body is placed in my arms, I know that everything is going to be alright. I stare in awe at the minute changes in his facial expression, and the tiny, cooing sounds he makes.

So, this is an alien baby.

He looks... so human.

Without the muscles and staggering height, with his eyes closed, he looks like any other baby. But he's not. He's a miracle. A baby born here, on Earth, years after the end of the world.

As the minutes pass, I feel a fragile peace bloom in my chest. I don't know what the future holds or what will happen with us but I need to get my shit together.

"Gaia, is Olexa here? Can you ask her to come find me when she has a few minutes?" I smile down at Stark as he starts to move and stretch in my arms.

Reluctantly, I pass the baby back to his waiting mother. "Thank you so much. I can't explain to you how much it means to me to meet him. Thank you." I blink back the mistiness in my eyes.

"Olexa will be here momentarily," Gaia sits behind her desk after Operational Director leaves us alone.

I nod, awkwardly staring at my hands. I don't really know how to act anymore. Does everyone know why Ronan and I are fighting? Do they all think I'm being completely unreasonable? He sees his statements as fact, not opinion. My objections are emotional and ridiculous. Do they feel the same way?

She makes a small, hesitant sound, like clearing her throat. When I look up, she's looking at me.

"This is not my place, I am aware, but," she pauses, "you and the Commander-" she sighs. I can tell she's torn. Whatever she wants to say, she's not sure she should. "What happened?" The words finally spill out.

"We had a fight, a big one." I chew my lip. If he's not telling them, I probably shouldn't either.

My internal debate, tell her or not, is interrupted by the door sliding open. Olexa gives me an excited smile.

"Would you like me to take you to Ronan?" Her enthusiasm is obvious and it makes my heart sting.

"Um, no," I clear my throat.

"Oh," the disappointment in her face and voice is making me regret asking to speak to her.

"I want to learn An'eoc."

The change in the room is immediate. They both light up, pleasantly surprised.

"I will teach you!" Olexa volunteers immediately.

"Really?" I didn't expect her to b so willing to add more to her already busy days.

"Of course, we should begin now," she jumps up and starts touching the wall, pulling up different screens.

"I wish to help, as well," Gaia speaks into the room and the chairs move themselves to face the screens.

"Um, before we start, I also was wondering if there is someone I can talk to about work. I'm not sure where I would be useful but I know I can be, somewhere. I want to help, to pull my weight."

"I have a position that you can fill." Gaia taps the screen and pulls up a picture that comes out of the screen, another hologram.

"You're the Chief Engineer, would I be qualified for the position?"

"My team specializes in the stabilization of Ulaar, our energy source," she starts to explain.

"I know a little bit about it."

"I will explain the details. If you want the position, you can have it."

In just a few hours everything is looking much less gloomy. Regardless of where I stand with Ronan, I can still be useful, I can still learn and grow and use the life that I have. I want to add value, even in the smallest increment.

"First lesson, our alphabet," Olexa points to a symbol on the screen.

Taking a deep breath, I set my mind to the task at hand. I can't let him creep in and distract me. Pulling in the same laser focus that I had after my parents died, I'm ready in an instant. I'll stay up every night studying if it keeps him from absorbing all of my energy and attention.

"Let's do this," I nod with a smile, renewed purpose settling in my chest. I'll make myself useful, no matter what.

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