Chapter 27
JAY
“I came as soon as I could—and I wouldn’t have left you alone for a single second if I had a choice,” Xan tells me, breathless as he boards the scoutship with a black vial in his hand and his signature lab coat on.
He stops in his tracks when he sees Axel karate-chopping a tree stump.
“But I can see that someone has…kept you entertained.”
I hop off his hover chair and clap when the stump breaks down the middle. “Okay, so you can do that. I’m looking forward to being that strong after the hatchling comes, if I’m carrying one.”
“I brought you a substance, from my planet, that will tell us if you are,” Xan says, eyes shining with excitement as he catches his breath. “How are you feeling, Jaxus?”
“All healed up now, but slower than anyone else,” I grumble.
That just makes his eyes shine more as he wraps an arm around my shoulders and stares at my stomach. “You certainly are exhibiting the symptoms of a hybrid who will soon be a…” He trails off and suddenly looks thoughtful. “What would you like to be called?”
“What do you call Griff?” I ask Axel.
“He and Leon decided to go with Eppo customs, with their kids, in case the Earth ever did evict all NVs, and we had to go with them,” Axel says, as he rubs and kneads the hand that just won a fight with a tree stump.
“That’s why all of their nestlings have Eppo names, and Leon is called ‘pem’ because he’s the Giver in their relationship, and ‘mem’ is what we call Griff, since he’s the Seed Bearer. ”
“I’m cool with ‘mem,’” I say, liking how it sounds better than human words for parents like “dad” or “mom.” But we can’t have our nestlings using “pem” for Hex, Braxton, and Xan. We’ll need to use some human words for at least two of my Givers so things don’t get too confusing.
“‘Mem’ it is then, if your aura turns a mossy green after you drink this.” He holds up the vial and I make a grabby hand motion.
“Gimme, Doctor.”
“Wait for the captain and commander. This is a big moment they won’t want to miss. I know I’d kill them if they did this without me.”
“Where the hell are they, then?” I haven’t heard a word from them since Axel brought me something to eat.
I’m trying to be a patient, supportive little hybrid but it’s been hours, and I got so bored I goaded Axel into venturing out into the forest to bring back a stump—and prove he wasn’t just talking out of his ass about what a hybrid can do with one hand.
“The captain and commander just left the base,” Numbers informs us. “Talks with humans have ended for the day, and tomorrow morning every superpower, and their allies, will sign the treaty. Other nations are expected to fall in line shortly.”
“Bloody brilliant! If my aura doesn’t turn mossy green, we’ll still have something to celebrate.” I slide a hand over the nape of Xan’s neck and pull him down for a little tongue action.
“I’m gonna head out before that celebration begins,” Axel says, making a face as he picks up the broken stump pieces.
I wave goodbye to him without tearing my mouth away from Xan.
Hex and Braxton need to get here before I use all of my (possibly dampened) strength to carry him to the bed and rip his clothes off as fast as I can.
I wasn’t allowed to put my hands all over his incredible body for years, and now that we’re free to fuck all we want, I don’t plan on holding back whenever we’re alone.
Hatchling or no hatchling, because a pregnancy won’t stop me from swallowing his givers or sliding down on them and riding him like a—
“Doctor, Jaxus,” Numbers says, “you might want to come up for air before I open the door for the captain and commander.”
“Why?” I ask, breaking the kiss. “You don’t want anyone else to enjoy this show, you perv?”
“I did not—I was not”—Numbers stammers, then pauses before his voice turns cold and robotic—“I am opening the airlock now.”
“And then, stop the creepy spying and go focus on something else.”
Numbers doesn’t comment on that as we come apart and adjust our clothes. Maybe it’s good the AI interrupted us. I don’t want Hex and Braxton to get jealous over me and Xan starting without them.
They enter the ship with the biggest grins I’ve ever seen on their faces. They both have a bottle of champagne in each hand, and are wearing suit jackets and dress trousers that are ridiculously tight on them.
“Did the humans make you wear those?” I ask, as they set down the bottles and take the jackets off.
“They asked us to wear them for photos they took, while we shook hands,” Braxton says.
“We really should have come more prepared with clothes that would be appropriate for this planet,” Hex says, “before we made the journey here.”
“We’ll have time to have some custom-made before we attend the summits they’ve invited us to,” Braxton says. “We can go to the guy who makes Xan’s coats.”
“What is the lab-wear like on your planet?” I ask the doctor, having trouble picturing him in anything else.
“What we wear is closer to the aprons humans don when they cook. Always sleeveless and easier to throw on and off.”
“So your patients can eye your extra-sexy arms when you’re treating them?”
“They’re not extra-sexy on Eppo,” Xan says. “These arms are perfectly average on our planet.”
“Fancy that!” I’m not sure if I’ll believe it until I see it for myself: A whole planet where Givers’ lovely physical attributes are the norm. “I hope you won’t be too offended if I drool all over the place when we’re on holiday there.”
“We’ll just be sure you have our stink all over you when you go out in public,” Hex says, “so no one tries to do more than drool back.”
“Sounds delightful,” I tell him. “When will we go?”
“We’ll need to take a trip after the first little one comes,” Braxton says, “so my family can meet them.”
“And how will they feel about a hybrid being the mem of your little one?”
Braxton’s talked about them before, and they sound great, just like the doctor and captain’s families.
But they don’t talk about them much because it just makes them miss home more.
That stopped me from asking questions about them for years, but now that they’re going to be the great pems and great mems of my nestlings, I think I better learn a lot more about them (and their feelings about hybrids).
“They’ve complained about you being a bit young for me,” Braxton admits, “but that was because they were worried about you, Jaxus. Not me, or what kind of little ones we’d make. But, once you were old enough for it, they were all for us mating and bringing home a ship full of hybrid nestlings.”
Hex gives a nod. “Mine felt the same way. Givers are only ever sent on missions with other Givers, and NVs who can carry hatchlings only go on missions with their kind as well, so we can avoid dealing with pregnancies while we’re on missions.
But when I told my family about our ability to make hybrids on Earth, they were happy with the idea of me possibly falling in love on this mission, and returning with nestlings. ”
“And I’m sure mine will feel that way as well,” Xan says.
“When I left home, they expected me to be lonely on this mission and to start a family late, after my return. They’ll be thrilled when I tell them how wrong they were.
” He hands me the vial and adds, “Now, let’s find out if you’re already carrying a hatchling, or if we need to knock you up immediately, so we can give my mem and pem the best news of their lives. ”
“To your mem and pem,” I say, like I’m giving a toast, twisting off the vial cap and swallowing the dark liquid with one gulp.
It tastes cold and slightly metallic. It slides thickly down my throat, and my stomach gives a faint twist. I grip the vial tighter as my head starts spinning like it did during the change, and there’s a throbbing sensation behind my eyes.
Is that good? Bad? None of the above?
My NVs are as sweet as stolen kisses as we watch and wait to find out. They wipe the excitement off their faces and keep their expressions flat, so I won’t feel bad watching excitement turning into disappointment, if the color we all want to appear doesn’t.
My maroon aura shows itself, and everyone’s eyes lock onto it as it slowly turns…
GREEN!
MOSSY green.
Which is now—as far as this mem is concerned—the most wonderful color in the universe.