Epilogue
NOELLE
"Shit," Sara said.
"See?" Sherlock said as he practically glowed with happiness.
I couldn't help but feel the same: that warm glow of joy that managed to wash over the fear of the future, drowning it out in the happiness I felt to be so loved, so wanted, so utterly and completely cared for, even if the situation was wildly out of my control.
Sara lifted the small device off of my belly and then pointed it at her own.
"Motherfuckingimpulsivechoices," she spat out. "I need to move Mecun up on the list."
"Mecun?" I asked.
Sara let out a heavy sigh. "I… I hooked up with him, and then I thought he died, so I put him with the corpses, but he hasn't decayed, and several others have revived from that state…
I was putting it off because I wanted to hold on to the hope that he was still alive.
I need to operate on him now and remove that chip and know for certain. "
"Because…?" I asked.
"Because it looks like it isn't just Sherlock's species that humans are compatible with," Sara said.
"Yes, that is correct," I said. "Humans have markers that indicate your species has undergone genetic manipulation. Your species is compatible with cross-breeding with a great number of species that the Calicium has records on."
"I need to tell the others," Sara said. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have told everyone that there was nothing to worry about. I should have verified!"
I reached out and put my hands on Sara's shoulders.
"It's going to be okay," I told her in a firm voice.
"Is it?" Sara asked. Then her voice strengthened. "Yes, of course it is."
"We have each other," I said. "We are our own village."
"We are," Sara agreed.
The door slid open.
"I found another one!" Lyssa said, pushing a floating tray with a large alien body on it. "This one is in good condition, so we should get his chip out asap."
Sara lifted the device in her hand.
"First things first," she said, advancing on Lyssa.