2619: Salvation: Pull From The Sea

Chapter Seven

    Sebastian crawled around the Laurier home, really more a lab than home. Louise was upstairs setting up his brand new nursery, while Anderson tried his best to baby-proof the lab and supervise the aforementioned baby.

Chubby little hands grasped a bottle of cleaner from under the sink, Anderson running over in a panic and picking him up. "Sebby-Sebby no!" He said firmly as he yanked the bottle out of Sebastian's tight grip. "You have plenty of toys in the baby area, why can't you stay there and play? Cleaner is dangerous for babies!"

Sebastian stared at the cleaner during Anderson's spiel, utterly enthralled. Anderson put the cleaner back under the sink and carried Sebastian to the small corner of the room covered in blankets and pillows, with a small handful of baby toys that the Lauriers had either bought or been gifted by their students.

"Andy, how's it going down here?" Louise questioned as she walked into the lab. "Has he been much trouble?"

"As much as he could be." Anderson laughed. "I'm almost done, just need to baby proof the sink and the rest of these tables, and I'm done. You done upstairs?"

"The furniture is all built and the paint on the walls is dried. And I was thinking, we could ask Mitchie if she could make wooden letters in woodshop that spell out Sebastian's name. We could paint them all ocean themed, and hang them over his crib."

"Oh that would be so precious," Anderson cooed. "Would you like that Sebby?"

"Oh!" Sebastian yelled, followed by a string of babbling.

"Aw, you're so precious," Anderson said, scooping Sebastian up and rocking him in his arms. "The most precious, most darling baby I have ever seen."

The doorbell rang throughout the house, echoing into the lab.

Anderson frowned in curiosity. "Oh who could that be?" He wondered aloud, walking towards the door, Sebastian sneezing as he answered it. "Hello?"

Eleanor stood on the other side, looking utterly out of place against the lush jungle. She swatted bugs away, stepping inside without asking, shutting the door behind her.

"Eleanor, what....a surprise," Anderson said awkwardly, holding Sebastian a little closer.

"Goodness what a quaint little lab." Eleanor said, her nose wrinkling up. "I'm here to offer you a proposition."

"Oh?" Anderson said, shifting Sebastian closer to him uncomfortably.

"I want to offer you both careers at my lab in Parkwood. I can even provide temporary housing until you get settled." Eleanor gave a saccharine smile. "The jungle is really no place for a baby, now is it? And publishing your findings under my name-my, my company's name that is, would carry so much more publicity and help bring you the notoriety in the scientific field that you currently...lack."

"I don't really think that's something Louise and I would be interested in," Anderson tried to refuse. "We aren't really doing this for fame or anything like that. And Sebby loves living close to the ocean. The bugs aren't so bad with some spray and citronella." He opted for a polite smile. "Now, I really must ask that you go home. It's nearly time for Sebby's dinner."

"Oh but Parkwood is plenty close to an ocean. How could you raise a baby in a jungle anyways? The closest school is hours away, and there are no daycares." Eleanor insisted.

"Homeschooling is a good option, and Skylar's always been sweet with him," Anderson deflected.

"Shouldn't she be in school full time after break?" Eleanor recalled immediately. "She's a student, not a live-in nanny. And your student. Isn't it odd you take her on these...field trips and constantly make her take care of your child. What would the public think?"

Anderson's resolve started to waver, flustering a little. "I don't make her do anything, and she comes on these trips to do research," Anderson defended. "She's one of my top students, no one should think anything more or less of her because she sometimes helps with Sebby."

"I'm just saying most respectable teachers keep their students on a further leash." Eleanor says indifferently. "But as long as it's innocent, right?" Her eyes sharpened to knives.

"I don't-whatever your implying is incredibly inappropriate, Eleanor," Anderson flushed, utterly panicked and overwhelmed at being targeted. "You need to leave."

"Fine. I left Evelyn in the car so really I must be going." Eleanor said, feigning disinterest. "Let me know if you change your mind." She turned and left, the wind picking up and shaking the trees. Anderson watched from the door as her car drove off, disappearing as the small road twisted through the trees.

"I don't know what to do Sebby," Anderson said despondently, sitting down in a chair, Sebastian held close in his arms.

"Andy, what are you thinking for dinner?" Louise questioned as she walked out of the lab. "Hun? What's wrong?"

"Eleanor stopped by," He said, chewing his lower lip. "To offer us jobs. And she...she made some ridiculous claims that my relationship with Skylar is inappropriate." He bounced Sebastian a little, absently twisting his blond curls. "I can't even imagine why she could think something like that. Not only is Skylar practically half my age, she's a lesbian, and she's dating Mitchie. And I'm married to you, and I love you more than anything. I would never do that."

"I know love." Louise nodded. "Eleanor is ridiculously, utterly and completely. She gets one idea in her head and then tries to say and do anything to make it happen. She's so-well, frankly her head is so far up her own ass it's a wonder how she's so renowned in the field. Like threatening you or making accusations would make us want to work for her."

Anderson sighed quietly, his upset partially assuaged by Louise's words.

"She wants it so badly, I don't understand." Another knock sounded at the door.

"I ought to knock some sense into her." Louise grit through her teeth as she pulled open the door. But it was not Eleanor that stood on the other end. It was Metanite.

Anderson scrambled to stand, looking at him open mouthed. "Metanite-"

"I got your call." The superhero said, surveying their home as he stepped inside. "Good hideout you have, I'm sure only a few people would know how to get this far out into the jungle. Is that the baby?"

Anderson looked almost surprised, looking down at Sebastian almost to confirm he was in fact holding his son in his arms. "I-yes-this is Sebby. Sebby, say hello to Metanite." Sebastian babbled.

"I've looked into some potential planets using the information you gave me. Unfortunately with a case like this we can't rule out distance. A regular meteor can only travel so far before hitting something, but one powered by a super could theoretically travel an infinite distance." He explained, holding out his arms. "Mind if I look him over?'

Anderson hesitated, glancing at Louise for a moment before slowly handing Sebastian over to Metanite. "Be gentle with him."

"He's humanoid." Metanite noted. "Anything out of the ordinary features wise that his clothes are covering? Feathers, scales?"

Anderson quickly shook his head. "No, no, nothing of the sort."

"Not an Acanthian then, or any known fish-like alien in my records, but being sent to Earth as a child did hinder my knowledge of the solar system as others of my kind know it." Metatnite said as he carefully examined Sebastian. "How is he eating?"

"Fine-well," Anderson said, almost unsure of how else to answer the question. "He doesn't want anything out of the ordinary. Just regular human baby food."

"Very well then. Keep emailing me his checkups, notify me if anything at all out of the ordinary happens." Metanite instructed as he passed Sebastian back to Anderson. "I'll start narrowing down the planets until hopefully he's figured out."

"Alright-thank you," Anderson said, eyes still wide as he cradled Sebastian close in his arms.

Metanite left without further niceties, Anderson and Louise left to fuss over Sebastian as they ate dinner.