Erasure and Affirmation (Hypernaturals 11)

He is That Dumb

I ate every last morsel of Nakoma's lovely leftovers, then made myself a sandwich, then had a big glass of milk, then finally thought to ask "What time is it?"

"Three in the afternoon." Nakoma said. "I hope you didn't ruin your dinner."

I peeked into the bedroom, saw Helen and Rachel curled together and asleep. "They had the shift earlier." Denise whispered.

Out in the living room, I listened. "Where are my other kids?"

"Jessica and Morgan took them to the movies." Denise explained.

"They have been taking shifts and working to be sure that the girls didn't know you were sick. Grandma had the shift before me, so she and Grandpa are asleep too.

"Danny and Lori are at work. Marvin and Skye came by all the time too. Lori will be home any minute." Denise answered the unasked questions.

"Crap. This probably screwed up Danny getting his surgery." I said

"J-Mom and Grandma have been studying up on microsurgical techniques and required equipment while they were doing their shifts. Danny said he wants THEM to do it." Nakoma said. "I get to assist. Lori will show me all the support things you have to do in surgery, AND I'll get to see them do it. How cool is that?"

Denise looked at Nakoma with a funny expression. "At your age, kids are usually dissecting frogs, not diving into microsurgical repair of ... Whatever the hell they are fixing."

"Lots of things. I have been researching it too. There is the vas deferens and..."

"Nakoma. You are one of a kind." Denise cut off the recitation of ducts and blood vessel names.

"Grandma, Lori, and I are getting these awesome magnifying headsets so we can get close in looks at the microvasculature..." Nakoma finished anyway

Nakoma's enthusiasm started to bug me, but I gave it no voice because I heard Lori's car.

Once Lori was in, hugged, settled, and we could talk about things other than my latest misadventure, I asked her "Lori? You and Danny decided on the surgery rather than turning?"

Lori gave me a Lori look. "You are asking that because something about that is bugging you. What? Knowing you it is not directly obvious."

"We learned from the Ninovan's that Diana, Rachel, and Laura will more than likely turn in their mid twenties. For Nakoma, that is going to be a choice she must make. Not immediately, because as an Astral she is gifted with a longer than normal human lifespan, but NOTHING like a Vampire one. If you have kids as humans..." I trailed off and left it there.

"I see." Lori said.

"I'm turning, dad." Nakoma said. "I decided that a long time ago."

I said nothing about 'a long time ago' because that is relative. Compared to Denise's life span, Nakoma decided that yesterday. This morning, even.

"I am glad, honey. That puts a huge worry I have had out of my mind." I told her, and it is.

Lori listened to that exchange with an expression of realization. "You know. I knew I have the option to turn, Same with Danny. I never really thought about it like this though. That if I have a human kid now and then I come over, I will have to face the possibility of them deciding not to turn. That would be bad. Really bad."

"I would say turning puts a real cramp into my plans to be a Doctor, but then I look at Dad and I realize I'll just have to study harder, weirder shit." Nakoma said.

"You have picked up Helen's dirty mouth." Lori said.

"Examples my parents set: be asses about their personal medical care, get into trouble all the damn time, and cuss like a sailor." Nakoma said.

"Two of those are YOUR example, Adrian." Lori pointed out.

"I am my father's daughter." Nakoma said.

"You are going to be pregnant before you are 18 if you follow all of the examples." Denise told Nakoma.

"Don't be silly. Dad and I had the talk. Also J-Mom. Also M-Mom, who explained her rules when she was a human. If I get active, the lover I have selected is wearing a condom. As M-Mom explained: not optional. She carried them with her. Two sizes even."

Wow. Nakoma really did have the talk. I idly wondered if she got a version of 'The Three Dicks' like I did since that is part of the genesis of why Morgan carried two sizes.

"God, was my childhood different than yours." Denise said with a shake.

"Is that a bad thing?" Nakoma asked.

"Oh, hells no. By your age, I was a prostitute." Denise said with no little passion.

"How was that?" Nakoma asked, curious. Seems Morgan transmitted a lack of judgmentalness around sexually-oriented professions as well. or Angel, or both. Probably both. Angel was a nude waitress. Morgan protected nude dancers from the vice squad. Yeah. Both of them.

"When I was human? What I remember is that it was horrible. If you are going to be in a sexually oriented business, much better to be a Vampire first." Denise said. "Put another way: Turn Vampire before you turn tricks. No worries about customers getting weird on you. No worries about disease or pregnancy."

Nakoma rubbed her chin. "I can see that. Don't put my way through medical school selling my current body you are saying."

"No. If your dad won't give you money, just let me know." Denise said.

Nakoma gave me a shit-eating grin. "You heard that Dad."

"I did. Your collage and medical school are already paid for. Account opened, funded, and ready for you to crack books and ribs." I told her with a dismissive wave.

"It is?" Nakoma asked, not expecting that answer.

"Just because we made you build your own car doesn't mean we are going to make you pay for everything yourself. You can work and go to school if you want, or you can only go to school. I am sure you'll want to intern someplace. That is both learning and working at the same time. Your choice." I explained.

"You didn't tell me any of this." Nakoma scolded me.

"Helen opened the account. We all put money in. Now it's growing because Helen invested and manages it. You still have another year of school before it came up. Supposed to be your graduation present. Surprise!"

Nakoma hugged the living hell out of me. "We all put in money. Not only me." I said.

"Yes, but you are the one here right now. I'll get to everyone." Nakoma said.

She sat down at the table and looked pretty happy.

"Denise. Tell me about the Op. How are we going into the building?"

Denise glared at me. I am not scared and passively waited for her to accept her fate. Me on her Op. Better than me running a side Op she does not know about.

"He is going. You know he is. Short of you locking him in that cell with that Sandy creature." Nakoma said.

Lori agreed. "He is that dumb, you know."