Chapter Fifty-Three: However Improbable
Sorry I didn't post last week, everyone.
There was some very complicated personal things going on
and I apologize for letting it interfere with my commitment to you.
I'm also sorry that this is such a short chapter, but I made a point to
crunch it out for you anyways.
Now for the spotlights:
Thanks to , CatLady101, and Lost Time Traveler
for the reviews!
Thanks to eBeth093 and belleoftheball95 for the faves and follows!
Thanks to supergirlpixie, Alice-okaami, bookworm675843, and
moonygilbert for the faves!
Thanks to ThaliaRose for the follow!
And thank you to everyone else for your continued support!
Damn that's a lot of spotlights.
I think I might cry.
Please enjoy this short chapter and know that
I'm not stopping just yet.
~o~OoO~o~
Seven stared at the screens, trying to decipher the information, but despite the Android's explanation, it all still seemed like gibberish. The others seemed just as awed or confused.
"Am I the only one who still doesn't get this crap?" Three threw his hands up a bit.
Four shook his head, arms crossed and a hand on his chin as he looked over the scans himself. "No, these only raise more questions."
Seven made a point not to look at him too directly. The intensity she saw in his eyes, the sudden hope behind the anguish that he'd shoved deep inside himself when the Android had supposedly confirmed the worst weeks ago, she couldn't handle it. The way he'd repressed his grief had made her felt embarrassed to show her own.
The Android perked up and began her explanation again with only slight variations from the first and second time she'd tried to dumb it down for them. "The dampening field that was supposed to neutralize the nanites in both Two and Seven only activated subroutines programed in Seven's own nanites. Under the threat of potential harm to the fetus, the nanites separated the original fetus from a rapidly constructed clone that was part of their subroutine to hinder any attempt at an early termination. They… hid the original in a cloaked bubble against the wall of the womb until the wound had full healed and thein resumed their original program to sustain the fetus' nutritional wellbeing."
"Why didn't you say anything about the nanites before?" Two asked, moving to examine the scans herself.
Big eyes blinked at them innocently. "Because no one asked."
A collective groan rolled through the crew, but Seven had more questions. "Why am I not more like Two then if I have nanites? I'm not super strong and I don't heal near as fast."
"Your nanites are only engineered to sustain and protect a fetus currently in your womb," the Android continued her explanation. "Once you have given birth they will deactivate until you become pregnant again."
"If they knew about the subroutines they programmed for the nanites, why didn't extract the original as well as the clone?" Six finally spoke up. "For that matter, why didn't they adjust the dampening field to target her nanites as well?"
Two turned away from the monitors and stepped up before the Android could go into another long winded explanation. "They probably didn't have time to extract it because when I found Seven they were still performing… surgery. They may not have had time before I killed them."
"So she's still going have a baby?" Five asked excitedly and the she looked a little worried. "It's going to be okay, right?"
"Indeed." The Android smiled a bit. "The fetus has perfectly normal physical attributes at the eighteen week mark according to my scans."
"Eighteen weeks?" One scratched his head. "What's that mean?"
"The average pregnancy can last forty weeks," the Android blinked.
Five's eyes lit up. "So that means she's going to have the baby in just a few months! Oh, no!"
The girl turned on Seven who raised an eyebrow back. "What now?"
"Don't make me babysit."
Three chuckled, but held a hand out to Six. "I told you she wasn't just getting fat, now pay up."
Seven glared at all three of them, but couldn't find the words would have ruin such a light hearted moment and didn't care to. After weeks of internalized mourning and uncertain emotions, she suddenly felt at ease. Finally she just shook her head and looked back at Four. He'd stopped staring at the scans and grinning at their antics. Truly pleased by what he saw instead of forcing a pleasant front.
~O~o~O~
He locked the door to his quarters and almost immediate enveloped her in his strong arms. Seven clung to him just as tightly, afraid that she would wake up and this would have been a desperate dream of some kind.
"Is it real?" she heard herself asking.
Four pulled her even closer, hugging her to the point of bruising. "Yes, it's real. We still have a chance."
Seven held back the tears that threatened to soak Four's shirt. "We have to keep it safe this time."
He pulled back from her, cupping her face as his lips came down on hers in light pecks. "We will."
His kisses became more intense as he maneuvered her back towards the bed, but despite the burning she felt for him in that moment she needed to know. "How?"
Four stopped, moving his hands from her face to her shoulders, and she could seem him forcing back his sudden desires so that he could think properly. "You can't go on any more jobs."
Seven frowned, but sighed. "Agreed. We don't know how many more enemies are waiting for us."
"And I need to focus on regaining my throne," he continued.
"An army or even just bodyguards?" She nodded. "Both would be welcomed right now. I don't ever want to feel that kind of fear again."
He held her close again, but not so tight this time. "I can't promise that you won't, but I can promise to take revenge on those that have caused it because that is already on my list behind keeping you safe."
"I know, I know." She murmured taking his face in hers this time and pulling him to her for another searing kiss.
He groaned against her lips and slowly moved them down onto his bed. Hands gripped and trailed over each other's bodies as they rolled across the mattress. Four's hands were peeling off Seven's shirt when the intercom interrupted their passionate intentions.
"Four, Three, Six, to the main corridor off the bridge," Two's voice commanded. "Everyone else to the infirmary. The Android's been attacked."
Four immediate accessed his comm. "By who?"
"One of the soldiers may still be on board," she responded over the intercom. "Everyone keep your eyes open."
Seven frowned, straightening her clothes. "That's impossible. We searched the ship."
"After today, I don't feel that anything is impossible," he shook his head and helped her to her feet. "However improbable."
As they exited his room, they saw Six coming out of Seven's quarters, and she asked, "What were you doing in there?"
Six shrugged. "I was looking for you. I guess I didn't expect you both to be…"
Four frowned, but didn't say anything until One came up the hall towards them. "Seven, go with One to the infirmary. He can't protect you, but you might be able to use him as a shield or a distraction if you need to."
"Hey, I'll have you know," One started.
"What?" Seven interrupted. "That you aren't as useless as the kid?"
He snapped his mouth shut and sighed, but began walking in the direction of the infirmary. Seven gave Four's hand a squeeze and followed the loudmouth as the other men took off down the opposite direction. She put that hand to her stomach as she walked and kept her eyes peeled, trying to recall the easy vibes the crew had been giving off earlier.
She sighed as she failed and her mood soured. "At least it's not Broken Ship Day again."
~o~OoO~o~
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I look forward to hearing your input.
