Chapter 6
6
M aax strode toward the nursery, his long legs eating up the distance as he checked the time again. He was running late, and Emily would be waiting. The thought of his daughter sitting alone, wondering where he was, made his chest tighten. She'd already been through so much in her young life that the last thing he wanted was to give her any reason to doubt that he would always be there for her.
"Maax!"
He barely contained his grimace as Aisha stepped out from a side corridor, right into his path. Her painted lips curved into what she probably thought was an alluring smile. As a mate program candidate, he was technically off-limits to her in case she matched with another, but she didn’t seem to care, and her persistence was beginning to wear thin.
"How lovely to see you." Her voice dripped with honey as she shifted closer. “I know you saw me earlier, but you seemed in a hurry to get somewhere else…”
His jaw clenched, the muscle pulsing at the corner. He had ducked down another corridor to avoid her, and he wouldn't apologize for it. The mate program might be important for the empire's future, but that didn't mean he had to entertain every female who expressed interest. Especially not when his daughter needed him.
"I was rather occupied," he said, keeping his tone neutral while scanning for the quickest escape route. The nursery doors hadn’t opened yet though, so he was trapped.
Stepping closer, she forced him to either back away or allow her into his personal space. The sweet scent of her perfume tickled his nose, too strong and somehow wrong. "Perhaps we could have that dinner you mentioned?" Her hand reached for his arm. “Get to know each other better?"
She’d mentioned it several times, not him. But before he could answer to that effect, the nursery doors opened. The assistant appeared in the doorway with Emily in her arms. His heart stalled in his chest at the tears streaking his daughter’s face.
"What happened?" All thoughts of Aisha vanished as he brushed past her without a second glance, closing the distance to Emily in three long strides. His heart thundered against his ribs as he took in the little girl’s distressed state. Tears tracked down her round cheeks, and her lower lip trembled.
"She had a little fall during playtime," the assistant explained, bouncing Emily gently. "Just a scraped knee. We cleaned it up and put a bandage on it. She's fine now."
His gaze locked onto the white bandage visible beneath the hem of Emily's dress as he took her from the assistant's arms. He cradled her against his chest. She felt so small, so fragile. One fall, one moment of inattention, and she could be seriously hurt.
"Did you check for other injuries? Concussion? Internal bleeding? Bone damage?"
The nursery assistant's expression shifted from professional concern to a barely concealed smile. "Sir, I assure you it's just a minor scrape. Children fall all the time. It's normal?—“
"I'm taking her to medical." He announced and turned on his heel, already moving toward the medical bay.
"Sir, there's really no need!"
He ignored the assistant's call from behind him, his focus on Emily as she snuggled against his shoulder. Her small sniffles tore at his heart. Each sound of distress made his protective instincts stronger.
What if there was more damage than they could see? Human children were so delicate and fragile. He'd researched human physiology extensively since taking on Emily as his daughter, but that knowledge only made him more aware of how easily she could be hurt.
The walk to medical seemed endless. Every small whimper from Emily sent another spike of anxiety through him, making his stride longer, faster, until he was almost running down the corridor.
Station personnel flattened against the walls, his expression enough to send them scrambling for cover. Bursting through the medical bay doors, he almost knocked over a warrior who was holding a dressing to his arm. The medical bay was busy, warriors and other personnel moving between treatment areas.
None of that mattered.
Only Emily mattered.
"Where is Kellat?" His voice boomed through the bay, causing several healers to turn and frown at him. A group of warriors paused in their conversation, turning to look at the disruption.
A young warrior approached, his black leathers crossed with the teal sash that identified him as a healer. "Lead Engineer, Healer Kellat is with another patient at the moment?—"
"This cannot wait." He shifted Emily in his arms so the healer could see her bandaged knee. Her small fingers clutched at his jacket, and the trust in that simple gesture nearly undid him. "My daughter is injured. She requires immediate attention."
"Sir, I can?—“
"Get. Kellat. Now."
Each word carried the weight of command, but Emily chose that moment to burst into fresh tears, the sound cutting through his anger in an instant. The warriors watching exchanged glances, but he couldn't bring himself to care about maintaining his usual composed demeanor.
"Shh, shh." He pressed his lips to her hair. "I'm sorry, little one. I didn't mean to frighten you."
The guilt hit like a hammer. His anger had frightened her more than the injury itself. Some protector he was turning out to be… he'd sworn to keep her safe, not add to her fears.
The healer shifted his center of balance, his tense expression betraying his agitation. "Please, Lead Engineer, let me examine her. I trained directly under Kellat. I assure you she'll receive the best care."
He hesitated, studying the steady hands and calm demeanor of the younger male. Emily's tears had subsided to hiccups, and she wasn't showing signs of severe pain. Then, he gave a sharp nod. "Very well."
Following the healer to a bay, he set Emily down on the examination bed. The equipment was designed for warriors of his size, so she looked tiny in the middle of it.
“Just lie here, poppet,” he told her. “The nice healer is going to make sure you feel better, okay?”
She nodded, her eyes wide as the healer started the diagnostic scan, and then smiled at the lights whirling around her. Maax kept a reassuring smile on his face, but every beep of the medical equipment set his teeth on edge.
"There now, see?" The healer worked efficiently, his movements designed to keep Emily calm and interested rather than frightened. "Just a minor abrasion. No sign of any other injury. She'll be completely healed in a few days."
Relief flooded through him, but he refused to let it show on his face. The tension eased from his shoulders. His daughter was going to be okay. "You're certain?"
"Absolutely certain." The healer smiled at Emily, who had stopped crying and was now watching the colorful lights on the scanner with interest.
“You’re a very brave girl. Braver than some warriors I treat," he added with a glance at the males still hovering nearby.
Maax gathered her up into his arms and pressed another kiss to her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. She was fine. She was safe.
"Papa," Emily said, her small hand patting his chest. "Papa, all okay now."
He lifted his head to look at her, and the guilt punched him under the ribs. His anger had frightened her more than the injury itself.
Papa.
She'd never called him that before. His throat closed up as emotion swamped him. All his fears about failing her, about not being enough, faded in the face of that simple word and he felt a hundred feet tall.
"Yes," he managed, his voice rough with emotion. "Papa's okay now too."
He held her closer, memorizing everything about this moment. He'd known from the moment he plucked her from that squalid closet that his life would change forever, but nothing had prepared him for how completely she would capture his heart, how fiercely he would love her.
Now she called him Papa, accepting him as completely as he'd accepted her.
"Thank you," he said to the healer as he stood, settling Emily more comfortably in his arms. "We'll be going now."
The warriors who had witnessed his earlier outburst stepped aside, their expressions somewhere between amusement and understanding. He ignored them and turned toward the exit, still reeling from Emily's new name for him. A curtain swished aside, and someone stepped out of a bay in front of him.
Time stopped.
The female standing before him couldn't be real. Dark hair fell in waves past her shoulders, framing a face that stopped all his thought processes. Her eyes, a shade of green he'd never seen before, widened as they met his.
She was human, that much was obvious from her smaller stature and delicate features, but something about her called to him on a level he'd never experienced before. His chest felt too tight, and his breath caught in his throat. Even Emily's warm weight in his arms seemed distant compared to the overwhelming presence of this female.
The universe had narrowed to this moment, this space, this female.
His female.
Eira stepped out of the treatment bay, her mind still processing the healer’s explanation of Kyle's new treatment plan. Along with a medication regimen, he’d outlined a physical therapy plan and assured her that he would look into the genetic condition that was causing Kyle’s illness as well. Her head whirled. The cost alone would have bankrupted them back on the colony, but here?—
A shadow fell over them and she looked up. And up.
There was an absolute mountain of a man blocking their path.
Her breath caught as she met eyes that reminded her of the raw gemstones they sometimes found in the deeper mine shafts—a mesmerizing amber-gold that seemed to glow from within. The big alien stared at her with an intensity that made her skin tingle, like the static charge before a dust storm.
A smile tugged at her lips despite her nervousness.
She knew Latharian warriors were large. She only had to look around the room to work that one out, but this one... He was huge. Bigger than the rest. His presence filled the corridor, making the huge medical bay feel suddenly cramped. Dark hair pulled into a ponytail at the back of his neck emphasized sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw. His leather uniform was well worn but clean, and the insignias on his collar marked him as someone with authority, though she had no idea what they meant.
"Emily!" Grace's excited voice shattered the moment. "Mama, that's Emily from the nursery!"
Eira blinked, finally registering the small human child in the warrior's arms. The same little girl her daughter had been playing with earlier, now sporting a bandaged knee. The warrior opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words emerged as Emily squeaked, “Grace!” and wriggled. “Papa, down. Please.”
"Ah, Lead Engineer Maax," Kellat emerged from the bay behind them as the big alien put Emily down so she could run to Grace. "I see you've met Lady Coleman and her children."
An engineer then. That explained the different insignias from the security warriors they'd seen earlier. Eira pushed aside the flutter in her stomach as she looked at the big engineer. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, but she'd only just arrived at the station, and she needed to focus on getting her children settled first. Before she started to ogle the local talent.
"Your little one made quite an impression on Grace," she said, gesturing to where her daughter was practically bouncing with excitement, her earlier shyness forgotten in the presence of her new friend.
"You should be getting back," she added softly, thinking of Emily's family. "Her mother must be worried about the knee."
The warrior—Maax—shook his head, his expression softening as he looked at Emily. “She doesn’t have a mother. It's just the two of us."
“Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“No need to be,” he shrugged. “Never met the female. I found Emily when she needed help. She needed a home." He trailed off, but the tender way he looked at the girl chattering away to her daughter said everything about his feelings.
"If you're quite finished taking up the entire corridor," Kellat cut in with amusement, "I have other patients waiting. Maax, since you're headed toward the residential section, perhaps you could escort Lady Coleman and her children back to their quarters? They're still learning the station's layout."
"Of course." His deep voice sent a shiver down her spine that she immediately squashed. "It would be my honor."
Kyle pressed against her leg, studying the warrior with obvious curiosity. "What are those marks?" he asked, pointing to the intricate patterns on Maax's collar. "They're different from the other aliens we saw."
"Kyle, they’re warriors, not ‘aliens’,” she corrected him. “We’re the aliens here.”
Maax crouched down, somehow making his massive frame less intimidating.
"These show that I'm Lead Engineer," he explained seriously. "I help maintain the station's systems."
"Like the machines that clean the air?" Kyle's eyes lit up. The boy who'd been so quiet during his medical exam was suddenly animated.
"Exactly. The environmental systems are crucial for everyone's safety and comfort aboard the station." Maax traced one of the emblems. "We monitor everything from air quality to power distribution."
"Mom fixes those!" Kyle straightened proudly and looked up at her. "The old colony ones that nobody else could get working. She made them work again when the dust storms got really bad."
"The intake valves were just corroded," she said quickly, heat creeping into her cheeks as Maax looked up at her. "Anyone could have fixed them with the right tools."
"The whole maintenance crew couldn't," Kyle insisted. "Remember when Paul said it was impossible and you stayed up all night and?—"
"Kyle," she cut him off gently. Some colony stories were better left untold.
Maax's expression sharpened with interest, but before he could speak, Kellat cleared his throat. "I have a waiting room full of warriors who managed to injure themselves during combat training. Again . Some of them are starting to bleed on my clean floors."
The healer's departure left them standing in a slightly awkward cluster. Leo, who had been unusually quiet, shifted closer to her side, watching Maax with careful assessment. She recognized his protective stance—the same one he'd developed after James died and Paul started paying too much attention to her.
"This way," Maax gestured toward one of the corridors. "The residential sections can be confusing at first."
The corridor opened into a wider passage, its walls lined with status panels and diagnostic displays. Grace skipped ahead to walk beside Emily, the two girls already chattering about their interrupted playtime. Kyle stared at a glowing panel, his eyes wide as he took in the dancing lights and scrolling information.
"Would you like to learn how to read the system status displays?" Maax asked.
Kyle nodded eagerly, some of his usual shyness melting away as he moved closer. Her heart clenched as she watched him reach up and slide his hand into Maax’s big one.
"See these indicators here?" Maax pointed to different colored lights on the panel. "Green means everything is functioning normally. Yellow means maintenance is scheduled."
"What about the red ones?"
"Those indicate something needs immediate attention. Like this one." He gestured to another panel. "The readout shows the specific system affected. This is monitoring the power flow to?—"
His wrist device chimed, interrupting the impromptu lesson. A rapid stream of alien speech emerged from it, most of which Eira's newly-installed translation matrix couldn't process. She caught fragments about "coupling" and "failure," enough to recognize the urgency in the mechanical-tinged voice.
" Draanth ," Maax muttered. "My apologies, Lady Coleman. There's an urgent matter I must attend to." He looked down at Emily. "And this little one needs rest after her adventure. Time to go, poppet.”
"Of course." Eira nodded, recognizing the weight of duty in his tone. "Thank you for showing us the way."
"The pleasure was mine, Lady Coleman." The formal title in his deep voice sent another shiver through her. "The residential quarters are just through there." He pointed to where the corridor branched. "The gardens are on the level above… they're open to all families."
Her eyes widened. "There are gardens? Real ones?"
"Yes," Maax replied, his severe expression warming slightly as he scooped Emily up. "Several different types. The hydroponics section grows food, but there are ornamental gardens as well. The environmental systems maintain Earth-standard conditions."
The thought of real gardens, not the makeshift greenhouse she'd cobbled together from salvaged parts, made her heart ache with possibility. On the colony, every plant had been precious, every green shoot a victory against the hostile environment.
His wrist device chimed again, more urgent this time. The stream of Latharian was too fast for her translator to catch more than one word in ten, but she recognized the tone of engineers with an emergency. He answered in the same language, his deep voice clipped and professional.
He inclined his head formally before turning away, still speaking rapidly into his communicator.
“Bye!” Emily waved goodbye over his shoulder, and Grace waved back enthusiastically.
Eira watched until his tall form disappeared around a corner, struck by the contrast between his imposing presence and his gentle way with children.
"Mom?" Kyle tugged at her sleeve. "Can we really grow plants here? Real ones, like in your stories about Earth?"
"I think we can, sweetheart." She smiled down at him, her heart feeling lighter than it had in months. The thought of her children having fresh vegetables, of Grace being able to grow the flowers she was always drawing... "I think we could grow all sorts of things."
Leo's hand found hers and squeezed gently. When she looked up at him, she saw the first glimmer of hope in his eyes since she'd told them about leaving the colony.
Maybe, just maybe, she'd made the right choice after all.