In the control block, the wind had utterly died and in the eerie stillness, a diffuse mist had rolled in to shroud the complex. Everything looked like it's underwater. There was no movement.

In the barricaded corridor, sentry guns 'C' and 'D' sat in wait, as they swiveled on their tripods, their 'ARMED' lights flashed green.

In the med-lab annex, in the surgery area of the med-lab, Ripley carried an exhausted Newt through the inner connecting rooms of the medical wing. She reached an operating room, which was small but very high-tech...vault-like metal walls, strange equipment. A cot had been set up, which displaced operating room equipment, which was pushed into one corner. Newt had her head rested on Ripley's shoulder, barely awake...out of steam.

"Last stop. Get in."
Ripley said, gently, as she gingerly set her down on the cot's edge and Newt scooted under the covers. Ripley sat down beside her.

"Scoot down. That's good. Now, you lie here and have a nap. You're very tired."
Ripley said, quietly.

"I don't want to...I have scary dreams."
Newt explained, quietly.

This obviously struck a chord with Ripley, but she feigned cheerfulness.

"Well, I bet Casey doesn't have bad dreams. Let's take a look."
She lifted the doll's head from Newt's tiny fingers and looked inside. It was, of course, empty.

"Nope. Nothing bad in there. See. Maybe you could just try to be like her."
Ripley said, as she tried to convince this small girl.

Newt rolled her eyes as if to say 'Don't pull that six-year-old shit on me, lady. I'm seven.'

"Ripley,...she doesn't have bad dreams because she's just a piece of plastic."
Newt said, calmly.

"Right."
Ripley laughed, softly, before it died down.
"I'm sorry, Newt."

Ripley turned, as she reached for a portable space heater that sat nearby, and slid it closer to the bed. She switched it on. It hummed and emitted a cozy orange glow.
"There."

"My mommy always said there were no monsters. No real ones. But, there are."

Ripley's expression became sober. She brushed damp hair back from the child's pale forehead.

"Yes, there are, aren't there?"

"Why do they tell little kids that?"
Newt's small voice revealed her deep sense of betrayal.

"Most of the time, it's true."

"Did one of those things grow inside her?"
Newt asked, quietly.

"I don't know, Newt. That's the truth."
Ripley answered, even though she thought that it was more than likely to be true.

"Isn't that how babies come? I mean, people babies...they grow inside you?"
Newt asked, innocently.

"No, it's very different."

"Did you ever have a baby?"

"Yes, I did. I had two little girls..."
Ripley answered, with a small smile.

"Where are they?"

"One of them is here. Can you guess which one?"

"Rae?"
Newt asked, quietly, and Ripley nodded.

"That's right."

"What about the other one?"

"She's gone."
Ripley seemed distant when she answered the question.

"You mean dead."
It was more of a statement than a question.

Ripley nodded, as she switched off the light by the bed and started to rise. Newt grabbed her arm. A plaintive voice in the dark.

"Don't go! Please."
Newt pleaded.

"Newt. I'll be right in the next room. And, see that camera right up there?"

Newt looked at the video security camera that was mounted above the door. It swiveled on its mount as it scanned the room.

"I can see you right through that camera, all the time, to see if you're safe. I'm not going to leave you, Newt. I mean it. That's a promise. I'll come by and check on you in a little while. If I don't come, then Rae or Masey will, alright? That's a promise"

"You promise?"

"I cross my heart."

"And hope to die?"

Ripley flinched slightly at the innocently grim expression.

"And hope to die."

Newt grabbed her in a desperate hug and Ripley returned it slowly, a bit overwhelmed at first, then with fierce emotion. The child's need was so vast, Ripley prayed she had made a promise she can keep. With a kiss on the cheek, Newt let go and laid back down.

"Now go to sleep...and don't dream."

Newt pointed at Ripley's shirt. Ripley looked down and Newt playfully flicked Ripley's nose, which elicited a laugh from Ripley.

"Sneak."