São'yan was eagerly awaiting the information he requested. It appeared that the suckling he sired with Uba, was either dead or very ill.

The cream and sienna colored yautja wanted an answer, his gut told him that the reason for the pups sickness or death lye with its bearer. This shouldn't have surprised Sao'yan, Uba was young and spoiled by her bearer. She outwardly portrayed the perfect female, but she was conniving and desired a life of ease. Sao'yan knew of her ambition to be the permanent mate of Chim'saa, one of the most powerful and influential leaders of the largest clan there was.

The only problem was the pup she was carrying, Chim'saa would not accept any other bloodline other than his own.

Sao'yan feared the worst. The thought of a female putting herself before the needs of a youngling was unnatural. The fact that it was his pup made him seethe with anger. He wasn't even informed when she became close to the birth, it was every male's right to see their offspring. Males of their species took over training when the pup was old enough to walk and feed themselves, and Sao'yan looked forward to taking the time for he and the pup to travel together, teaching him how to hunt and be self sufficient. It also made him feel rejected, he selfishly thought. He was going to find out what happened and demand that the female be punished, although he couldn't exact retribution himself he would try to gather as much evidence possible to dishonor Uba.

He was so deep in thought that Sao'yan didn't know his me'heswei Kreb had entered the communication room.

The smoke grey and black yautja was wise beyond his years, he was open minded and more tolerant than many others Sao'yan knew. He had many roles in the clan of eight that traveled together.

He was a healer, and to some he was psychic.

Kreb rested his hand on Sao'yan's shoulder and told him that waiting for a message was unnecessary. There wouldn't be one, the females bearer was covering up for Uba. And to go against a female protecting her daughter would get them nowhere. The two females status would elevate with Uba's clan leader mate. They were power hungry, and it made them insane. It was a sin that both would answer to Paya for. Kreb's spirit guide gave him a vision of a perfectly healthy suckling, and he was being cared for. By who kreb wasn't sure, it amazed him that the pup was so lucky. He went on to describe the pups location, both yautjas knew of only one place that fit Kreb's second sight, earth. The smoke colored kreb assured his freind they would find his pup and return with him safely.

Sao'yan made a silent promise to himself he was going to rip the spine and skull of the ooman that had his pup, cared for or not.

Janika was awoken by a low grumbling. The tiny alien was sucking on the collar of her shirt, and apparently very upset that he wasn't getting any sustenance from it.

As Janika checked her phone for the time, she saw Kelly had texted her. Kelly's father had a heart attack. Her best friend was leaving for Bar Harbor to be with him, and told Janika to make herself at home when she got there. Kelly told her where the house key was hidden, and that the fridge was stocked for at least two weeks. Janika looked down at her little man realized that they had only slept for two hours. This was going to be a lot harder than she wanted to admit. Her heart was in the right place, but in the back of her mind she doubted her ability to care for such a complicated little being.

It wasn't like a human baby, she had no idea where he came from. Janika couldn't help the nagging feeling that their peace would soon be broken. She had a feeling of danger coming, strong vibes of forboding energy made her feel nervous. She had to put those thoughts aside and get up with the baby to prepare a bottle and change his diaper.

Her nose wrinkled at the smell, Janika steeled her nerves and changed him as quickly as she could. It wasn't so bad, but Janika supposed that she had such a maternal bond with him it made the experience tolerable. With baby cleaned up, she started to feed him. This time he took right to the bottle and fed, the little sounds of his enjoying the nourishment were adorable.

Janika was almost startled when his tiny hand grab her finger. It was like a jolt of electricity, the love and trust surged between them. It felt right, it didn't matter he was an alien, they belonged together. Then his little legs started to kick, and his purrs calmed her fears. She could do this.

After three hours more of sleep it came time to finally get up and head to Kelly's house. Janika felt awful for not replying to her freind saying how sorry she was for her father's sudden illness. She sent Kelly a message and wished them well.

Janika and the baby went through the feeding and changing routine, and she made sure to bundle the baby up extra warm.

It took Janika a solid hour to pack their stuff into her vehicle, and with the baby strapped into his "car seat" they headed out. Just a few more hours she told herself, then when they got to Kelly's the pair wouldn't go anywhere for a while.

Her mind went over how she would manage to hide keeping a baby hidden from people. Janika was sure she had enough formula and diapers to get them through a few more days, then what?

Amazon! Janika said out loud. If she made an order as soon as they got to her freinds home, her packages should come in two days. It was a small step in finding solutions to this unique situation, but Janika considered it a blessing.

They were almost to their destination when the snow started to fall. A little early for this time of year, but the beauty of it was welcomed after so long of living in a tropical part of Florida.

As Janika drove, she daydreamed of teaching the baby how to walk and imagined his face light up at Christmas time. She didn't care that the rug could be ripped out from under them at anytime, she was going to make the most of every moment they shared together. These thoughts made her drive seem to go a lot quicker and before Janika knew it they were at their destination.

As they pulled into the half mile driveway, Janika remembered the secluded area of her freinds home and again was grateful. Pulling up to the two story Tudor style house brought back memories, happy ones.

She left the car running and went to find the hidden key. When the door was unlocked, Janika ran back to the car and took the basket containing her baby. She placed him on the coffee table and dashed back and forth two more times to get her bags. She unpacked only what they needed at the moment, the rest could wait for later. It was time for the baby to eat, and Janika realized that she had neglected her hygiene and was ravenously hungry. For the past day and a half she was running on fumes and hoped to get a good nights sleep, after eating everything in sight.

Janika looked around at her freinds home and remembered why they were best friends since childhood. They were two girly-girls surrounded by tomboys and jocks in school. They both dreamed of moving to Paris and marrying French princes. Kelly's style in decorating was shabby chic and every inch of the house was feminine. Even though Janika was an adult now, she still wanted to swept off her feet by a tall mysterious stranger that fell madly in love with her.

Those days were long gone, but the teenage girl in her wanted to fantasize that it could still happen. Janika looked down at the little alien and thought to herself he was her prince, and that's all she needed.