Lum was just coming inside for a drink when she noticed that they had an incoming call. She switched on the viewscreen and was surprised to see her father on the line.

"Hi, Dad," she greeted him warily.

"Hey, Lum," Invader replied. "How are you doing?"

"I'm ok," she answered. "We're in the middle of a job right now." She wondered idly if her mother had spoken to him, even though Lum had asked her to not say anything.

"Sorry to bother you," he replied, "But I wanted to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"You know that Mendou boy pretty well, right?" Invader asked hesitantly.

"Shutaro? Of course, we used to hang out with him all the time," Lum replied, wondering where this was going.

"Would you say that he's likely to make rash decisions?"

Lum thought about it for a moment. "I guess when he gets mad," she replied. "Ataru used to get him riled up constantly. Half the time without even trying."

Invader nodded, looking worried. "Alright," he replied. "Thanks Lum, that's all I needed."

"Hold on," she interjected. "What's going on?"

"Hopefully nothing," her father replied. "But we lost contact with Earth right after he mentioned a Urusien scout ship somewhere near Tomobiki."

Lum frowned. "There's nothing we can do, is there?" she asked hesitantly.

"Not a thing," he replied sadly. "If I left Oniboshi unguarded, Uru would be here in a second. We'll just have to hope the Earthlings don't do anything stupid."

She nodded. "Ok," she replied.

Her father looked down. "Sorry, kid." The screen went dark, leaving Lum alone with her new worries.

She quickly got her drink and sat down for a moment, wondering if she should bother Ataru with the news. There wasn't a thing he could do except worry. On the other hand, she hated keeping secrets from him. It was already hard enough keeping one.

After thinking it over for a few minutes, she rejoined her husband outside. She really didn't need to be worrying about this right now.

He looked up at her quizzically. "Are you ok?" he asked. "You took forever in there."

"Sorry, Darling. My father just called," she explained. "There might be some trouble on Earth, but he doesn't know anything for sure yet."

He went back to tightening a stubborn bolt. "Is that right?" he replied in a resigned tone. "What now?"

"Some scout ship was nosing around Tomobiki, and then Dad lost contact with them."

Ataru didn't look up. "What does he think happened?"

"It didn't sound like he knew," Lum replied. She picked up her own wrench and started working on replacing another panel. "He was asking about Shutaro for some reason though."

"Mendou?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "I guess he's worried that they might start something."

"Mendou probably would," Ataru sighed. He looked up at her with a tight smile. "Well, nothing I can do about it. Let's just get this engine running again."

"Aren't you worried?" she asked cautiously.

"Of course I am," he replied irritably. "We've got a lot of friends back there. But what's worrying going to accomplish?"

"Nothing, I guess," Lum admitted. She fell silent, hoping that Darling was finally learning to cope with things better. "Darling," she started again.

"I'd rather not talk anymore about it," he interrupted.

She fell quiet. She hadn't been going to say any more about Earth, but it still probably wasn't the best time for what she had been about to say.

"Sorry, Lum," he apologized a few minutes later. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

She gave him a warm smile. "You didn't really snap," she told him. "It's ok."

He looked relieved that she wasn't angry. He was silent for a few more minutes before he spoke up once more. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," she lied. "Why don't we go out to eat for once."

That's fine," he replied. A small restaurant had finally reopened near the spaceport, and it wasn't that far away. The Neptunians who ran the place seemed to enjoy it when the two visited, so they always got a warm welcome.


The two had just left the restaurant and started back towards home when Ataru got an itch to do something different.

"Hey, Lum?" he called out softly.

She noticed he wasn't at her side anymore and looked back questioningly. "What is it?"

"Do you mind if we don't go home just yet?" he asked hesitantly.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked, looking slightly confused. Everything nearby was already closed. They had ended up working later than usual and had been lucky that the restaurant was still open.

"No where in particular," he replied idly. "It's a nice night out. Seems like a shame not to enjoy it a bit."

"Ok," she answered. Truthfully she was a bit tired, but she'd stay out all night if Darling wanted to.

Ataru strode forward and took her arm. "It seems like we work so much lately that we don't have time to just relax."

"I know what you mean," Lum replied. She hid a small yawn and leaned against his arm. "But at least we're making money."

"That's true," Ataru sighed. He started heading away from their usual path home, out into the massive fields that surrounded the spaceport. "It's not like we'd have much time if we were back on Earth either," he mused. "College entrance exams would be coming up, and we'd both be studying all the time."

"I know," Lum agreed. "But we'd still get to see our friends every day. It wouldn't be that bad."

"That's also true," Ataru replied, clasping his hands behind his head.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Ataru spoke up again. "I really miss how we could just do whatever we wanted and not worry about it."

"Like chase girls around?" Lum asked dryly.

"No," Ataru denied. "I wasn't even thinking about that."

"I'll bet," she replied. "It was nice to just live day to day like that though. But I guess it's all part of growing up."

"Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again," Ataru commented idly.

"Wouldn't you miss being with me?" she asked seriously.

"You could be a kid too," he told her with a silly smile on his face.

"I do wish I'd met you sooner," Lum mused. "You were a cute little kid."

"I'm not cute now?"

"You're my handsome Darling," she replied softly.

"If you say so," he said happily. After Lum didn't reply for a few minutes, he shot a worried glance at her. "Everything ok?" he asked.

She looked up at him with tears brimming in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," she told him brightly.

Ataru stopped in his tracks. "What's wrong?" he asked seriously.

"Nothing," she replied, looking nervous. "Why?"

"You look like you're about to cry," he replied.

She swiped at her eyes with the side of her arm. "Sorry, Darling, I guess I'm just tired."

"You should have said something," he chided her. "I wouldn't have dragged you all the way out here."

She smiled wearily. "That's ok," she told him. "This is nice."

He peered at her closely in the moonlight. "You're sure you're ok?"

"Yeah," Lum insisted. "I guess the day's just catching up to me."

Ataru offered his arm to her. "Here, you can lean on me until we get home."

"We don't have to go home right now," Lum protested. "It really is a nice night out." She looked plaintively at him. "Could we maybe just sit down for a bit?"

"Sure," Ataru replied, looking a bit worried. He hurriedly sat down in the grass cross-legged and watched as Lum immediately nestled down at his side. His wife was rarely this low on energy. "I can carry you back if you need me to," he insisted.

Lum kept her head down. "I'm fine, Darling," she replied.

Ataru's brow furrowed as the minutes ticked on and Lum remained quietly pressed against his side.

The silence quickly began getting on his nerves. "Lum, are you asleep?" he asked softly.

"No," she replied after a moment. "Just thinking."

"About what?" he asked curiously.

She didn't look up. "Nothing much," she told him quietly. "Just about us."

That didn't sound promising. "What about us?" he asked cautiously.

"Do you remember our first real date?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Of course I do."

"I remember you wanted me to look like an Earth girl," Lum murmured.

Ataru scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "I just wanted to go out like a normal couple."

She flinched at his last words. "We really aren't a normal couple, are we?" she asked sadly.

"That's not what I meant," he protested. "I just didn't want everyone staring at us all day." He lightly tapped a finger on the tip of one of her horns. "You have to admit that these made you stand out a bit."

"I wish that I had been born an Earthling," Lum whispered.

Ataru looked down. "I like you just the way you are," he muttered. "Your horns are really cute."

"I've caused you all sorts of problems," she continued in a low voice. "I didn't know how to cook, and I kept zapping you, and-"

"Stop that," he interrupted her. "None of that is important." He cupped a hand under her chin and forced her look up. It was distressing to see her eyes tearing up again.

"Hey, come on, Lum," he told her weakly. "Don't be like that."

"I'm sorry, Darling," she said, looking down again. "I think we should go on home now."

Ataru looked confused. "I don't understand why you're getting so upset," he muttered as he stood up. He offered her his hand, but she rose into the air without assistance.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I really need to go lie down."

He watched silently as she flew off into the night, leaving him alone. "What the hell was that?" he complained to himself as he started stomping back towards their UFO.


Lum squeezed her eyes tightly shut as soon as she heard the hatch open. It had taken Darling a while to walk back. He was probably pretty angry now. She had hated leaving him like that, but she knew she wouldn't have been able to keep her composure much longer.

It had been so tempting to just go ahead and tell him, but she just couldn't do it. Despite his easygoing nature, Darling was more than a bit prone to bouts of depression and anger. She couldn't put this burden on his shoulders just yet. It wasn't like he could do anything about it.

A few minutes later she heard footsteps enter the bedroom and bit her lower lip, hoping that Darling wouldn't try to wake her up. She listened to him change and felt the bed shift as he climbed in next to her. She felt him lean over, but to her relief he merely looked at her.

After a moment he laid down. She waited silently for nearly a half hour before his breathing became regular. Only then did she open her eyes. She hadn't been lying about being tired, but that didn't mean she could sleep right now.


Ataru futilely tried to wipe some of the sweat off his forehead. It was even hotter today than the previous day had been. He glared angrily at the small car's engine for a moment. This might not be a big job, but that didn't mean that he enjoyed having to do it alone.

He'd woken up that morning to an empty saucer. Lum had left breakfast on the table, along with a brief note. She'd first apologized for the night before, then informed him that she wasn't feeling well and was going to be spending the day at her mother's.

He finished putting the last part back together, then slammed the access panel shut. His customer, a petite oni girl, watched timidly as he finished up. She'd hoped to meet Princess Lum while getting her engine repaired, but instead had just gotten her cranky mechanic husband.

Ataru noticed the girl's expression and cursed his grumpy behavior. Driving away customers certainly wasn't a good idea on a planet with such a small population. More importantly he had a deep dislike of upsetting women.

Wiping his hands off carefully, he approached the girl with his disarmingly goofy grin. "Well, I'm done," he said happily.

The girl appeared somewhat relieved by his more pleasant demeanor. He took a small discount off out of guilt for his earlier behavior, and she happily paid and went on her way. Hopefully now she wouldn't go off and complain to her friends.

He watched the dust trail for a few minutes as the car skimmed off across the dry landscape. That was the last job scheduled for today. At least Lum had picked a slow day to take off.

Honestly the fact that she had left didn't bother him. It was more the feeling that she was flat out avoiding him. Lum knew if she weren't feeling well that he would have looked after her.

He had spent the morning trying to figure out what he had done to upset her, but was still coming up blank. In hindsight he realized that Lum had been acting funny for a couple of days, ever since she had returned from a shopping trip with her mother. Up until last night she'd been a little quieter than usual, but nothing serious.

He thought about calling his mother-in-law, but with Lum over there it was unlikely he'd be able to get any help from that direction. Ran wasn't an option either. The two hadn't been speaking for a couple of weeks over some petty argument.

Hefting his toolbox, Ataru retreated back inside, eager to escape the blazing heat. He stowed his tools away, then sunk down wearily on the couch. It seemed unbearably quiet without Lum. He flipped on the television and flipped through the channels for a while, but nothing caught his interest.

Finally getting fed up, he stalked over to the communications console and made the call.

Ten's face promptly appeared on the screen. "Hi, Ataru." The munchkin didn't look very happy.

"Hey, Jariten," Ataru greeted him. "Is Lum there?"

Ten looked off to the side of the screen for a second before answering. "She's here, but she's sleeping right now," he replied hesitantly.

"Is she sick or what?" Ataru asked worriedly.

Ten shrugged. "I guess so," he replied.

"What's that mean?"

The oni boy glanced around warily before continuing in a whisper. "She's acting all depressed. Did you have a fight or something?"

Ataru frowned. "I don't think so," he replied slowly.

Lum's mother abruptly appeared and nudged Ten off to the side. She smiled apologetically at Ataru, then made a sleeping gesture with her hands. She smiled once more, then cut the connection.

Ataru stared at the screen for a several seconds, getting more and more angry. "What the hell was that?" he finally exploded. He glared over at the navigation console, heavily considering flying over there and finding out what was going on.

In the end he just ended up collapsing back on the couch. Lum obviously didn't want to see him right now. She wouldn't have left so early otherwise. And as friendly as Lum's mother had looked, he had the distinct impression that she had been eager to get rid of him as well.

Ataru didn't know how long he stayed on the couch, but it was long enough for it to get dark outside. The growling of his stomach eventually convinced him to get up and stumble into the kitchen.

He peered into the fridge, not surprised that there wasn't much food inside. They had been planning to go shopping that evening after work. He thought about going himself, but decided against it. Instead he just worked with what he had and made a simple meal for himself.

After a lonely meal by himself, Ataru looked at the viewscreen for a moment, wondering if he should try calling back again. Ultimately he decided against it. He hadn't done anything wrong. If Lum was mad about something then she could just stew over it until she was ready to come back.


Lum stared pensively into the darkness through the window of her old room. She heard the door open, but didn't turn around.

"I see you're awake," her mother said quietly. "Are you feeling any better now?"

"A little," Lum replied. "I didn't sleep much last night."

"You still haven't told Ataru, have you?" Her mother gave her a disapproving glance. "He called earlier looking for you. He looked really worried."

Lum nodded. "I know," she said softly. "I should have told him last night, but I just couldn't."

"The longer you wait, the more it's going to upset him," her mother admonished. "And you're worrying yourself sick over it. That's even more dangerous, Lum."

"You think I don't know that?" Lum muttered irritably.

"Then stop moping around and go tell him," her mother insisted. "I'll give you a ride home."

"I just don't know how he's going to react," Lum protested.

"You won't know until you get it over with."

"I know," Lum conceded.

Mrs. Invader put her hands on her hips. "Come on, get dressed. I'll bet Ataru will be really happy to see you."

Lum had her doubts about that, but kept silent. If she knew Darling, he was probably in a bad mood. And once they talked it was likely going to get worse.


The sound of the door unlocking stirred Ataru from his nap. He peered cautiously over the back of the couch and saw Lum's figure silhouetted by the moonlight. She waved to someone outside before closing the door.

Ataru pushed his irritation down. If Lum was really sick, then he didn't want to upset her.

"Hey," he called out as she passed stealthily by him in the dark.

She jumped slightly. "Darling!" she cried out, obviously startled.

He got up and fumbled for a light switch. "How are you feeling?" he asked in as neutral a voice as he could manage.

Lum looked at him for a moment, trying to gauge his mood but failing. "I'm feeling better than I was," she replied, settling down carefully on the couch. "I'm sorry that I just left like that."

Ataru looked down at the floor. "Did you catch some kind of bug?" he asked tentatively.

Lum shook her head. "No, I'm not sick," she replied. "I was just really tired."

"Oh," Ataru replied. "You could have slept here, you know."

"I know," she murmured.

Ataru sighed. It looked like she was still in a weird mood. "It's pretty late," he commented, looking at his watch. "I guess I'm going to bed now."

"Darling?" Lum called out to him in a wavering voice.

Ataru stopped short of the bedroom and waited patiently for her to continue.

"We need to talk," she said in a slightly more confident tone. "Could you come sit with me?"

He frowned as he settled back down beside her. "What is it?" he asked calmly. He'd rarely seen Lum looking so nervous before, and his agitation was quickly turning to concern.

It was a minute or two before she worked up the nerve to speak again. "Darling, I'm pregnant," she finally told him in a calm voice.

Ataru's eyes widened as his body stiffened. "You aren't joking, are you?" he asked cautiously. From the way she was acting, he already knew the answer.

"No," Lum replied. "I went to the doctor the other day, and she confirmed it."

Ataru sat there dumbfounded for a second, not sure what to say. "I thought you were on birth control," he managed to stammer.

"It's never been completely effective," she explained, her voice begining to falter. "The doctor said it was somewhat rare, but oni with an electrical affinity like me have a much higher chance of it failing because my hormone levels are more unstable." She kept her eyes firmly on the floor. "I didn't know anything about that."

His mind whirling, Ataru instinctively reached for her hand. "How far along are you?" he asked.

She sniffled. "Almost two months."

Ataru put a comforting arm around her shoulders and desperately tried to think. They weren't hurting for money anymore, not as long as business stayed steady, so it wasn't a problem from that perspective. He couldn't say he was ready for something like this, but then again there wasn't much alternative.

"How come you didn't say anything the other day?" he asked hesitantly.

Lum didn't look up. "The doctor said the baby might not make it," she whispered. "She said there might be too many differences between earthlings and oni for it to survive."

Ataru blinked. It wasn't something he'd ever considered, but that it made sense. "Is that right?" he asked softly. "What kind of odds did they give you?"

"She didn't know," Lum choked out. "She said everything seemed normal so far, but there was no telling if I'd be able to carry to full term."

He nodded absently. This was the first time they'd ever dealt with Earthlings, he supposed. Even with all the data the oni had gathered from Earth, they probably didn't have much to go on.

"I guess we'll just have to hope for the best then," Ataru decided as he clasped her hands between his own.

Lum looked up at him, her eyes wide. "You still think we should go through with it?" she asked urgently.

Ataru nodded. "You want to, don't you?" he replied, hoping he hadn't misread her.

Lum threw her arms around his middle and buried her face against his chest. "Yes," she managed answer between sobs. "I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't make it, but I really want to try."

He sat there stroking her back, trying to concentrate on both calming her down and keeping himself calm. This was a lot to deal with all at once.

After a few minutes her crying had subsided a bit. Lum looked back up at him with a mournful expression. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything, Darling. I was afraid you wouldn't want to go through with it."

"It's ok," he assured her. "Next time talk to me though. We're a team, aren't we?"

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry," she repeated.

"I guess you don't know what it'll be yet, do you?" he asked.

"No," Lum replied, her voice finally returning to normal. "It's too early still." Her voice faltered again. "I don't think I even want to know yet, not until we know for sure."


A half hour later, Lum finally pushed herself back upright. "I love you, Darling," she murmured.

Ataru smiled. "I love you too," he told her gently. "You look tired."

"I am tired," she admitted, wiping her eyes. "I've been so worked up that I couldn't sleep."

He stood up slowly, his back protesting all the way. "Come on," he told her, "let's get in bed."

"I should have just told you in the first place," Lum commented as took his hand. "I know you didn't want to have any kids this soon."

Ataru shook his head. "Well, things don't always go according to plan," he told her. "We've been kind of winging ever since last summer."

She smiled. "That's true," she replied.

As they crawled into bed, Lum cursed herself for not telling Darling the news sooner. But even after all this time she found it hard to predict his reaction. She had imagined possible scenarios ranging from Darling urging she have an abortion to him running out on her. His calm acceptance and support was almost more than she could have hoped for.

She wished that she could relax now, but with that out of the way more pressing concerns were taking over. What would happen if the baby didn't make it? What if they couldn't ever have a child together? Ever since she had fallen in love with Darling, she had dreamed of a happy future with at least one or two children. Maybe that dream just wasn't meant to be.

Ataru pulled Lum close to him. "Hey," he said, interrupting her thoughts."

"What is it?" she asked cautiously.

He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Stop worrying so much," he ordered. "You've always worried about me, now let me do the worrying for both of us. You just concentrate on getting some rest."

Lum smiled. Darling had a way with words, clumsy as they sounded. "Ok," she promised. "I'm really glad you're here with me, my Darling."

"I'm always here for you," he told her sternly. "And I just know this is all going to turn out ok. It'll be a Moroboshi after all. You know how we are."

"Hard headed?" she teased.

"I prefer to think of myself as durable," he responded haughtily.

Lum giggled. "That is true," she admitted. She snuggled her head onto his shoulder. "I'm going to try to sleep now," she told him. "Could you just hold me for a little while?"

He nodded, stroking her hair with his free hand. "I hope you have nice dreams," he told her."

She smiled and closed her eyes. "I think I'm already having one."