-Chapter Eleven-

Khan secured the penthouse suite at the hotel, which had enough bedrooms for everyone. Once inside, he took Anthea and Nolan into their bedroom and shut the door.

Marla turned to Yves. "So what's wrong with her?"

"She is pregnant," the doctor said.

"Yeah, I know that. I also know that she had a brain hemorrhage after she hit me, and nearly died. I thought you guys fixed that."

Yves sank down on the lush sofa in the middle of the living area and ran his hands through his shaggy blonde hair. He, too, needed a haircut. "We did, but the cure . . . had side effects."

Marla raised an auburn brow. "What 'side effects'?"

"Marla," Barton began.

"No, I think I need to know!"

It was Kati who finally said, "Our people are genetically engineered. Khan's blood has healing properties far beyond those of normal humans. But Anthea is . . . having a strange reaction to it for some reason. Ordinarily, when administered, the blood cures the illness and that is that. But it is not so with Anthea. It keeps doing things, and we do not know why."

The only normal human in the room frowned. "I'm not a scientist, but, shouldn't this have stopped by now?"

"Oui," Yves said. "But we gave her a serum developed for Kati, not for Anthea. We were so short on time . . ."

"A serum, or Khan's blood?" Marla asked.

"Both," Yves replied.

"What did the serum do?"

Yves explained the process, why it had been developed, and what its results had been so far. Marla looked skeptical.

"Um. Okay, maybe I'm wrong, but if it changed her and then you gave her Khan's blood, and she adapted to that, doesn't it make sense that it's not the serum anymore, it's her new DNA that's constantly trying to fix things? Like, maybe her new DNA and her old DNA fighting for dominance?"

The doctor blinked at Marla, mouth agape. "That had not occurred to me," he admitted.

Marla shrugged. "You said you've never changed an adult this way before, so you don't know what's going on. It looks to me, with everything you've told me just now, that she's got Khan's healing properties, but it doesn't know whether to do old Anthea or new Anthea and is confused. Make it choose one or the other and stop switching."

Yves looked at Kati, hazel eyes wide. "I . . . Yes. I will discuss this with Khan."

"Good. I don't think she and I will ever be 'besties', but I don't like seeing people suffer." Marla picked up her bag and went into the room she was sharing with Barton, firmly closing the door.


In their bedroom, Anthea flopped back on the bed. "I hate fainting," she said.

"You recovered much more quickly from this one," Khan pointed out.

"Yes, but it still leaves a very disgusting feeling afterwards. I know I stopped that mugger, but I don't really recall doing it."

"I didn't see it, my back was turned." Khan disappeared into the bathroom to draw her a bath. "Define 'too hot'."

Anthea rose on her elbows. "Anything that would be too much for Nolan. Just a little more than warm is good. You remembered to get the regular wheat, right?"

Khan stuck his head out of the bathroom. "And the faster wheat, and potatoes, and a variety of other things. Yes. I also received a lot of tips on when to plant things and when to harvest. I know the fast wheat is fairly idiot-proof, but we didn't plant much of it to begin with, did we?"

"Didn't want to waste all of it if it wouldn't grow. We might cultivate some farmland a little ways out, see if we can find soil where the onions will grow." Anthea sat up all the way and pried off her boots. "I really like our harvester, does all the hard work for us, but we've only got the one."

"Two," her husband corrected. "I just bought a new one. Our hold is going to be so full of new things, it will take days to unload it all."

"Good. There was only so much I could cram in there with all of our people taking up so much space."

It pleased him immeasurably to hear her refer to them as "our people". Khan sat beside her on the bed and checked her for injuries. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Anthea rubbed a hand over her belly, a reflexive action more than anything. "Actually . . . for the first time in a while, I feel pretty good."

"Hmm. Take your bath, and we'll have Yves examine you now that we're in private. But if you're feeling alright, my plans are still in effect."

"What are you planning?" Curiosity was driving her nuts. "Does it involve a strip-tease?"

Khan snorted. "Maybe. If you're good."

Nolan had gotten a bit smudged himself during their disruptive day, so Anthea gently woke him and took the toddler into the bathroom with her. She didn't have any of his bath toys with them, but Nolan didn't mind. He grinned when she lowered him into the water.

"You bathe with him?" Khan asked from the door.

"Sometimes. I haven't done it much lately, especially since we've had a shower but no proper tub, and I've had to bathe him in the one for babies," she said. "I found, when he was very small, it was easiest to do."

She wet Nolan's hair, then applied some shampoo. When she shaped his hair into horns, he giggled and tipped his head back as far as he could, to look at her upside down.

"Mama!" he chirped.

Khan moved from the door to sit on the floor beside them, enchanted by the moment. It wasn't often, of late, they'd had happy, simple times like these.

Anthea finished carefully rinsing the soap from her son's hair, then she turned him around in her lap. Then she held up her hand and gasped.

"Oh, no!" she cried. "What's this? My hand!"

Khan had a moment of concern, before he realised she was playing with the baby.

"It's- It's changing!" she continued. "It's- Oh, no! It's a tickle monster!"

She proceeded to tickle Nolan, who shrieked with glee, laughter filling the bathroom. Khan grinned.

"Uh-oh," he said. "I think it's contagious!"

Reaching over the side of the tub, he joined in tickling their toddler.


When Anthea had finished bathing Nolan, Khan dried him off and got him dressed while she finished her own ablutions. Leaving her to dress for dinner, Khan hauled Nolan out into the living area of the suite.

"Khan, I wished to discuss some things with you," Yves told him. "I have been thinking about this afternoon's events, and something that Mademoiselle McGivers said . . ."

Khan put Nolan down so he could go pester Kati. "Yes?"

Yves brought him up to speed on Marla's theory, and on his own thoughts regarding Anthea's adrenaline levels. "My new theory is that adrenaline is the trigger to her . . . changes, and perhaps the answer to completing her transformation."

Khan lowered himself to the sofa and narrowly eyed the redhaired woman. It was interesting that she had come up with the idea. Perhaps she wasn't as slow-witted as he'd assumed.

"So what's your idea, Yves?" he asked the doctor. "Force her into an adrenaline rush? Inject her with it?"

Yves shrugged. "It is a theory."

Khan rubbed a hand over his face. "She seems stronger now than she did earlier," he told his friend. "She's recovered more quickly, as well. Is it possible that she would complete the change on her own?"

The Frenchman rolled his shoulders once more. "Eh. I do not know, Khan. It is all theory and speculation. We have never transitioned a regular human before."

"Too much adrenaline can be toxic, though, can't it?" Marla asked. She'd wandered over from where she'd been flirting with Barton, and she perched primly on a chair.

"Oui." Yves nodded, his blonde hair falling in his eyes. He didn't seem to notice. "However . . . if it is speeding her metabolism somehow, or . . .?"

Nolan toddled over to Khan and latched onto his father's leg. "Wass 'dwelin?"

Marla arched an auburn brow. "He's very precocious, isn't he?"

"Rather," Khan said dryly. To his son, he said, "Adrenaline is a chemical the body produces. It gives you lots of energy and makes you react quickly, but can also make you sick."

The child's small face scrunched. "Mama sick fwom 'dwelin?"

"In a way."

Nolan's head swivelled as the bedroom door opened, and his eyes went large. "Mama!" he said with obvious awe. "You pwetty!"

Khan turned, and stared.

The past few months had been about practicality for Anthea, especially with her pregnancy, and she hadn't dressed in anything fancy since she'd left San Francisco.

Tonight, she wore a drapey, fluid dress of some silver material that shifted with hints of blue and pink, her feet in silver flats. The folds of the fabric managed to mask her stomach without being frumpy, and it brought out the lighter silver in her grey eyes. Shiny brown hair fell around her shoulders, held back a little on one side by a silver clip with blue stones in it.

Khan rose from the sofa. "You look . . . lovely," he told her.

She smiled. "Thank you. I bought it on a whim last time 'round, but quickly grew out of it. Still . . ."

"It's perfect."

Nolan wrapped himself around her lower leg. "Soft," he said, of the material as he rubbed his face against her knee.

Anthea bent to ruffle his hair. "Mummy and Daddy are going out for a bit. You get to stay and play with Auntie and Pandu, and we'll be back later."

The boy looked inclined to argue, but took one look at his father and said, "'Kay, Mama."

Khan offered his wife his arm. "Shall we?"

"We'll be back in a few hours," Anthea told her sister-in-law.

"Have fun!" Kati said, with a grin. "But not too much."

Her brother snorted and hauled his wife out the door.

Marla stared after them. "I could never manage to look that . . . dignified in that dress, especially when pregnant."

"Nor could I," Kati sighed. "Ah, well. Come, Nolan, let us find some toys to play with!"