Chapter 10: The Guard and Danu

Thanks for the help again CD, you peeps should check out his channel, he's a good guy. This chapter took longer than I wanted it to, but I've been on a writer's block recently and didn't know what do write.

After I left the medical pod, I had to have a brace on my back so that I couldn't pop my stitches. I made my way to the canyon room with the help of Xandy, Xerxes, and Cher. It was late at night; most of the staff had left the office for their homes. Therefore, no staff was there to question their presence.

The man that was stuck to the wall of the canyon room was very tall, about six and one half feet. He was bald, had a scar on his face, and was built like a tank. I held Danu close enough to touch his face.

"Why did you try to kill them?" I asked gesturing to my Family.

"I didn't try to kill them," his voice was surprisingly sweet "I tried to make them kill me."

"He's telling the truth;" Danu said "he's in so much pain."

"Why did you want to kill yourself?" I asked.

A tear crawled its way across his face, "I've been through too much… (at this point he noticed Xandy and Xerxes behind me) …stuff… to go on."

"Tell me and I'll listen," I said to him. Danu was still in contact with the man, all of the xenomorphs could understand what he was saying.

"My daughter had cancer," he began "her name was Lucile, but she preferred to be called Lucy. She died five months ago."

Tears started to stream down both of our faces. The entire hive could feel our emotions; however, they kept it to themselves. They did not want to interrupt the conversation.

"She'd be twelve years old today," he said as Danu wiped the tears from his eyes. "I live with my mother now, she has Alzheimer's. I use my paycheck from the corporation to pay her medical bills. I hate watching her suffer, and I hate myself for not knowing what to do. I love my mom, though."

I looked at Tenebrous, "I love my Mother too."

He looked at Tenebrous, and then he looked at me. "You love them like family," he said "I'm sorry if I hurt them."

Danu leapt back into my arms, and we walked backwards with the help of Cher, she never left my side. Draig stepped forward and began pealing him off of the wall. As soon as she got him down, she gave him a hug.

"He is a very nice man," Danu said cuddling me.

"Human Child," Tenebrous said "there are several things that I need to tell you."

"What do you need to tell me?" I asked aloud.

"Firstly," she began "my Daughters and I have a gift for you: blankets for you and Danu."

"How did you know her name?" I asked as one of Draig's Sisters wrapped the blanket around us; it was the most comfortable thing I've ever had against my skin. I wasn't even concerned where they got the silk blanket, I was too happy to care.

"Cher told me that she would suggest naming the Hatchling 'Danu' to you after your surgery," she explained "and that if you disagreed, she would inform me when you returned."

"Oh," I said "carry on."

"Secondly," she continued "I feel as though I'm about to lay another clutch of eggs, I'm going to need certain foods to satisfy my cravings."

I was quiet for several seconds; Tenebrous was about to lay eggs, the eggs would produce facehuggers, and facehuggers lay embryos inside of people to grow, if the facehuggers escaped the same way Cher, Xerxes, and Xandy had escaped, then the facehuggers might use the same route to escape.

"I am about a month away from laying the eggs," she added.

What do you need? I thought.

"Metal, specifically copper," she said.

Okay, anything else? I asked.

"Meat," she said "and lots of it."

I remembered when I first wound up in this room, and the ground was littered with the skeletons of cows. I never figured out what happened to the bones, but I digress. I knew a place where I could get all of the meat that I wanted: the Deep Freeze, it's what we call the main freezer.

When Draig released the man, he picked up his handgun from the ground and holstered it he walked up to me and asked, "Would you like to see her picture?"

"Sure," I said.

The picture he handed me was of a little girl was sitting in a hospital bed, smiling at the camera. She was bald, and looked very thin.

"She's a beautiful little girl," I said barely holding in my emotions, which already were raw after Danu's birth.

I handed the guard back the picture, and he gently opened one of the pockets on his uniform, and slid the photo into it and closed the pocket.

"Toward the end, they… they wouldn't let me off to go see her," the guard said softly, almost a whisper. I felt my throat tighten. My Sisters moaned as they listened. The guard shivered, his head hanging, almost bowed. "I wasn't able to be there for her when she… when she-" The sobs were so soft, they were almost inaudible.

Draig walked up to him again and wrapped her arms gently around his neck, and then she enveloped him in her wings.

"You're little girl loved you," said Xandy. The guard looked up as she approached. His eyes went wide when he saw my daughter, obviously surprised that he was now talking to a human/ cat/ xenomorph hybrid. She was smiling at him. "She loved her daddy, and she'd want her daddy to be happy, and remember her. She wouldn't want her daddy to be sad forever." The guard stared at her as his eyes flooded with new tears. Xandy wrapped her arms around his legs, like children tend to do.

Xandy and Draig stepped back as Tenebrous put her hand on his shoulder. "All parents love their children. I understand your pain, I really do," she said softly. The guard just stared at her. "Losing a child is never easy. But we owe it to them to carry on, as hard as that can be." The guard swallowed as he gazed up at her, her hand still on his shoulder. "I thank you, for not harming MY children." The guard smiled.

"Quick question:" the guard said "why didn't they kill me?"

"They didn't hurt you, because she knew you weren't trying to hurt them," I said gesturing to Tenebrous, who softly nodded her head. Danu purred softly, her tail gently and lovingly curling around my arm. I smiled at Danu as I gently rocked her in my arms. She was my own daughter, my own little bundle of joy.

"What's your name?" the guard asked. I looked up at him.

"Patrick," I replied. The guard's face didn't change.

"Edward. You can call me Ed," he said.

As Cher helped me turn toward the door to leave, Ed spoke up. "By the way," he said "you need to shave."

I put my hand to my face and stroked my chin. I had not shaved in weeks; my beard was short, but thick.

"I'll shave when I get to my office," I said.

I grabbed the shaving cream that I kept in the desk in the office, I was planning to shave for a while, but I understandably got caught up in being a family man. I stood in front of a mirror in the bathroom and put shaving cream on my beard. Danu was wrapped around my waist and Cher wrapped her arms around my chest.

"Relax," Cher said. Her tail slithered around my shoulders and her bladed tail approached my delicate face. I trusted her, and it was worth it. It was the closest shave I've ever had, and the experience brought Cher and I closer together. After I went to my office and ordered some copper from the maintenance man, Jamie came into my office with a baby bottle of vinegar and different types of meat cut into small cubes.

"Jamie," I said "what are you doing here?"

"I thought that your little princess might be hungry," she explained "so I gathered some meat from the Deep Freeze, cooked it, cut it into little cubes, and decided to see what she would eat."

Danu dropped to the ground and scuttled toward Jamie. Cher hugged me from behind and kissed my face.

Jamie put the bottle of vinegar on the ground, which Danu grabbed and began to drink it.

"What's on the platter?" I asked.

"Some beef, pork, lamb and some cooked shrimp," she said "I also forgot to mention that I gave the Matriarch three sides of beef. She seemed to be eating vigorously."

A pink heart formed on Cher's forehead, and she kissed me on the cheek. She was being strangely affectionate that day

"How does it feel when she kisses you?" Jamie asked.

"It feels surprisingly human," I said.

Danu finished the bottle and set it gently on the floor next to Jamie. I sat on the floor, and Danu leapt into my arms. Jamie put the platter of meat on the ground, which Danu ate each cube with relish, except for one. Danu picked up the last cube of shrimp and gave it to me, and then I ate the shrimp. Danu leapt into my arms and fell asleep. It touched me that she would share her

"That's my princess," I said. She chattered and giggled at the sound of her nickname, I loved that sound. I gave Danu to Jamie and they left. Cher and I went to the bedroom and made love. We did not know the danger that would come our way.