The Alien Commander's Surrogate

Episode Twenty

Episode Twenty

Hillary

Nothing on this trip was going according to plan. Ghantlan had given me an update on the loss of power that continued to be a problem for the ship. I was supposed to take a ten month nap, wake up outside of Trenzian with credits to spare and more freedom than I'd felt in my life.

But everything had changed. I was lying on a stretcher, my hips aching a little against the firm quality of the bedding. Salex must feel my discomfort, at my side, I can practically feel him vibrating with frustration. The screen above me flickers with a variety of numbers, shapes, all things that unfamiliar with me. Unease flickered in my belly.

His fingers tighten on mine, and I feel the dulled edges of his claws as he rubs a thumb against my hand. It makes me smile a little. Who would've thought this growling, towering would have such a soft spot.

"Are you almost done?" Salex's boots shuffled against the floor.

I almost giggled at the way Lylta jumped a little at his commander's tone.

"Eager to see your youngling, Commander?"

My smile melted away. That made sense, more than Salex being soft for me. He was caring for me out of obligation to his youngling that I carried. It made perfect sense, so why was my chest sinking down as I stared up into his now familiar face.

Before Salex could do anything other than grunt at Lylta, a projected 3D image appears above my belly. At first its just a whirling shapeless blob, then slowly more and more details become prominent.

"Now remember, this youngling is only about fifty percent gestated. They have a long way to go," Lois's voice is soft, gentle. She still reminds me so much of my grandmother. And I throw a quick smile at her direction before looking back at the form above my belly.

I could see the outline now, the limbs of the infant taking shape. I wasn't sure what to expect from this baby I'd never planned to meet, but since I woke up, I'd been inexplicably drawn to the little life. I could blame hormones, or the Trenzian bond that I knew Salex was still worried about accidentally forming. But it was more than that.

I pressed a hand low, my fingers now comfortable with the firm line of the mound between my hipbones. "Look at you, baby."

"Baby," Salex murmured the word, and I tore my eyes from the ultrasound image to watch the expressions on the commander's face. "That word...."

"I'm sorry, I meant youngling."

"No," Salex's face relaxes completely, a hint of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "I like your word too. It is sweet on the tongue."

My heart aches a little at the way he says it. "I like both words."

Salex's gold eyes meet mine. "He looks perfect," his sharp chin jerks up to Lylta. "Does everything look appropriate?"

Lylta is writing down a few things, but he's nodding in a very human way. Relief and pleasure thrummed in my mind as we enjoyed a few more moments of the image in front of us. The baby, the youngling was moving a little now, opening and closing a blurry looking mouth as tiny arms curl around the torso.

They were so alive, this little part of me and Salex.

And when Lylta announced that the ultrasound was over and began to power down the machines, I couldn't help but feel something else rising in me.

Panic.

Because I had struggled for months with the plan to give up a baby I would never have known. But now, this baby, I would know them more intimately than any other creature in the universe. And in a few months I would have to give them up forever.

My eyes filled with tears and I swung my legs over to avoid looking at anyone else in the room. Not only would I be giving up child I carried. But their father as well.

AUTHORS NOTE:

How are you guys liking this? Another new scene coming tomorrow!