Nothing had prepared her for the pain of childbirth. Of course, she wasn't moronic. Krolia understood anatomically what pregnancy entailed. She knew very well that the size of the child within her would have an influence on the amount of pain she would feel. Under normal circumstances, Galran infants were quite large, but the naturally occuring tolerance for pain made childbirth easier. But these were not normal circumstances.

The first abnormality was that the child growing within her womb was to be a half breed; half Galra, half human. Her human lover had assured her that human babies were smaller on average than that of Galra, but there was no way of knowing how those genes would actually mix. Humans seemed to all come into existence with roughly the same physical structures. Galra, however, come in all shapes and sizes, rather unpredictably as well. There was no way of knowing the physical structure of her child.

To add to that uncertainty, Krolia suspected that she herself was only half-Galra. She didn't have any form of proof, nor did she know what other species would be spliced into her DNA, but she was observant, and conscious of her physical differences. She was smaller in size. Her features were not as rugged. Her ears were smaller. Her eyes were not pupil-less like her fellow Galran females. It was very possible to her.

The final uncertainty was her complete lack of preparation. While this child was unplanned, she did not consider it an accident. That being said, she had virtually no resources. She was stranded on this alien planet, stuck hiding in a cabin, until her child was born. Because of the Earth's lack of experience with what her lover referred to as "extraterrestrial life", she had no medical assistance other than a standard first aid kit. Her lover had managed to acquire some human anesthetics, however they did not seem to be compatible with her non-human nervous system. For these reasons, delivery was quite painful physically. However, the emotional infliction was for worse.

When Krolia first heart the cries of her child, her heart filled with joy, relief, and pride. A loud baby was a healthy baby on any planet. Her lover had wrapped the child in a towel, immediately announcing with such glee that the young life was male. A son. How wonderful.

Krolia pushed herself so that she was sitting upright. She saw her lovers back to her, and heard the sound of running water. He must have been washing the baby. Krolia let her body relax. Everything was alright. She was still sore, but that pain was becoming unbearable. After what felt like too long, her lover finally turned around, presenting her son to her for the first time.

She had never felt her heart break so quickly.

Her son's body was pale, tinted pink only as an after affect of his crying. Krolia forced herself to blink a few time. She hoped it was only a trick of the light. She hoped that when she opened them again, she would see that beautiful lilac skin. Her hopes were futile.

The baby was handed to her, and she held the small bundle of life close, cradling him in her arms.

"He looks good, doesn't he?" Her lover's words only hurt her more. The moment Krolia saw her son, she knew she would have to leave him. There was no place in the Galra Empire for a child so clearly human.

Krolia's hold on her baby tightened ever so slightly. The child reacted to the more definitive contact. His little voice cracked. His constant crying was broken by a yawn. Little legs could be felt kicking within the confines of his blanket. One stuby arm managed to wriggle its way out from under the cloth wrap. Krolia's hand moved on instinct to hold her child's between her forefinger and thumb. Tiny fingers. Such tiny fingers. They formed a tight fist around Krolia's thumb. It was a strong grip. In that moment she knew that she could never do anything but love this child; her child.

"He looks like you, but he has Galran strength already." It was very likely that she would leave her son behind one day, but that couldn't stop her from feeling pride in her first born.

"He needs a name."

Krolia's eyes didn't leave her baby. "You choose one. The only names I know would be odd for this planet."

"Alright." It was clear that the human man didn't catch the subtle meaning to her words. "I had two uncles that I really looked up to as a kid. Keith and Albert. Then there was also my grandfather. But his name was Hwan."

Human names were so strange. "I like that first one best." It sounded as though it could be easily translated into the Galra alphabet. "Keith, huh? It's nice to meet you Keith."

Her lover came and sat down next to her. There were a few moments of silence, the infant finally having gotten tired of crying and was now asleep. It was peaceful.

"Do you want to rest?"

Krolia let out a sigh. "I suppose I should."

Her lover propped a pillow behind her for her, and arranged a new, clean blanket over her. He then held his arms forward, and Krolia had to pass her newborn over. She watched as the human man carried their child across to the other side of the cottage. Krolia hated to admit fatigue, but she did need rest. Her last image before letting herself sleep, was the sight of Keith, her wonderful, strong, pale, child, in the arms of his human father.

Krolia looked back at the small cottage, surrounded by nothing but the desert. It was late. The moon high up in the sky. She knew inside her lover was fast sleep. If there was one thing she was good at, it was moving about a space unnoticed. A part of her was screaming not to leave, because truth be told, she was starting to become very attached to this Earth. But her livelihood was among the stars. She went around to the back of the house where a shed stood. Within it was her vessel. A small escape pod, only meant to carry a small number of passengers. It would be a slow trip across the universe, but this small pod would move faster than anything the people of Earth flew. Krolia readied herself to enter the ship. As she approached it, she looked down, seeing her son nestled carefully in a cloth sling around her torso.

"Let's go Keith. The universe may be hard on us, but I could never leave you behind."