Sentiment was just transport, and so was dancing; he couldn't afford any of it to interfere with his mental prowess.
He honestly liked Janine; she was feisty, and beautiful, and was under no illusions about him. Part of him still regretted he never got to dance with her, even if it would have been just for the once; that was probably why he couldn't come up with any reasonable objection when she asked him to.
She was a quick learner, he had to concede as much; he truly enjoyed rehearsing with her, though he was mildly surprised that she seemed to hold no serious grudge against him for his previous deception.
It was only when she kissed him that he decided he had to put a stop to whatever that was. Even if she was foolish enough to forget how he'd used her for his own purposes, he knew he would never be able to give her what she was looking for, and he told her as much.
Janine, however, was completely unfazed by the revelation. They talked about it over and over again, until he reluctantly agreed to give their unconventional relationship a trial run; only, it was for real this time.
Truth be told, he didn't mind having her around. She could be funny when she wanted to be, and he secretly enjoyed the company as well as the physical closeness; and if that meant he had to meet her needs from time to time, he supposed he could live with that.
xxx
He realised she craved a child even before she did it herself; for all that he'd never pinpointed her as the motherly type, he was well aware that it was only natural for most women to feel that way at some point in their life.
His first reaction was to delete the unwanted information. The last thing he needed was a child poking around, though he couldn't help but wonder if any offspring of his would share some of his intelligence and talent for deduction.
'Damn it,' he muttered to himself, curiosity getting the better of him at last. Janine let out a surprised shriek when he offered to do what needed to be done, and while he wasn't particularly looking forward to the process he found he didn't entirely dislike it.
The one thing he couldn't quite understand was why she got so emotional over the whole business, as if she felt somewhat guilty as well as thankful. It was a relief when he finally discerned the signs that she was expecting.
xxx
Genetics was such an intriguing subject, he decided as he studied the little boy that clung fiercely to his mother's neck. Dark hair, brown eyes, and a lively mind that was a blend of his parents'; now that would be definitely interesting, observing the jointed effect of inheritance and external stimuli on the development of a young brain.
"He's not one of your experiments, Sherl," Janine warned him, though he always pretended he didn't know what she was talking about.
"Even if he was, I'm not going to repeat it," he replied somewhat offhandedly; as proud as he was of Michael's skills, there was no way he would put himself through the whole ordeal ever again.
"Thank goodness," she laughed merrily. "Two of you are more than enough."
He shot her a mock glare, which promptly turned into a genuine smile.