Title: Effervescent Essence
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis: Sequel to And You Thought Larvae Were Bad. I highly suggest you read the first fiction.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers.

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The ship shook again, pulling the new family out of their happy state. Trance looked around bewildered.

"What's going on?" she asked the two men. Harper quickly handed her their son.

"A little trouble with the Than. We'll be right back," Harper explained, heading towards Tyr who had successfully pried the doors open. As an afterthought, he turned back and pecked the child on the forehead and gave Trance's hand a quick squeeze. Smiling he ran back towards the dark corridors. Trance smiled back, and then shifted her son about to get a better look at him.

Harper headed towards the slipstream core, leaving behind Tyr who headed towards Command and passing by one of the machine shops to grab his toolbelt. Upon arrival he immediately jacked into the ship's VR matrix. Andromeda was waiting for him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Trance woke up after the baby was born. He's completely healthy." The AI sighed in relief.

"I managed to put up enough firewalls to protect my backup systems and keep fifty percent of reserve power as well as thirty-five percent of my original systems and power. I've diverted the power to all necessary systems. I'm sorry, but if we wanted to get out of here alive, I couldn't support Medical as well. The virus is slowly breaking through though," she wrinkled her nose. "Dylan, Beka, and now Tyr are in Command. Weapons and sub light engines are operational, but I can't get slipstream working. We've been trading missiles for the past twenty minutes. And while I'm holding my own, I can't do this all day."

"Well don't worry Rom-doll, that's what I'm here for." Harper walked over to a string of data and began untangling the virus from its web.

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"Ship!" Tyr yelled, firing another volley at the Than.

"It's not her fault," Dylan said, looking up as the holo appeared next to him. "How's Harper doing?"

"Slipstream is back online." The holo smiled as her voice echoed across the Command Deck. Dylan turned to the other two and smiled as well.

"You heard the woman. Tyr, lay down a field of mines in case they try to follow. Beka, once we're far enough out, take us to slipstream."

"Don't have to tell me twice," she said as Tyr deployed the mines, then turned the Andromeda to the waiting brightness and comfort of slipstream.

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"Are we safe yet?" Harper looked up as Rommie appeared next to him in the matrix. The virus was mostly erased from her systems, Harper was doing a final sweep to make sure not even a nanobyte was left in the system to spring up and trash his Andromeda again. "I mean we've only done about fifteen jumps."

"Ten, and now we're safely back as Sinti," she told him. "You can go back to medical now, my own programming is clean enough to fish out the last trances of the virus."

"Thanks Rommie," Harper told the AI before letting his conscious return to his body. Wincing, he removed the probe and put it back in his toolbelt before getting up and taking the shortest possible route to medical. Rommie, now back up and running, was standing guard over Trance and the baby like they were the Vedran Empress herself.

"Don't hog," Harper teased, and Trance obliged and handed him the sleeping baby. Somehow he had managed to look even more perfect in the time Harper had been away. Harper looked from the child, then at Trance. She understood when their eyes met.

"Rommie, could we be alone for a moment?" she asked. The android nodded and left the room to help the rest of herself with repairs. Harper sat back on the stool, and gazed back down at his son. He stared at the baby for a few minutes, trying to work out what to say.

"Harper, I'm really sorry..." Trance started.

"No Trance." He sighed, looking up at her. "It's me who should be sorry. I shouldn't have expected you to...feel the same way about me like I did about you." He gently took her hand. "You can't decide who it is you love anymore than I was allowed to decide."

"It's my fault too," Trance said. "I wasn't exactly clear with you until it became too late." She smiled and squeezed his hand. "The right girl is out there, Harper. You'll find her and the two of you will live happily ever after in that small house with the white picket fence."

Harper smiled back. He didn't tell Trance that the only person he wanted to live happily ever after with was her and their son. Right now they had formed some kind of rough peace agreement, and for once Harper wasn't going to ruin it with his petty feelings. Trance patted the space on the bed next to her, and Harper set himself there, putting their son right between them where both mother and father could touch and sense the beautiful thing that they had created.

"I think I'm gonna cry," Beka said as she ran over, disturbing the tranquility. "Not really, but this is beyond touching."

Harper rolled his eyes and got off the bed, picking up the child so the crew could see him as they came in. Beka gasped and reached a trembling hand forward.

"Can I?"

Trance nodded and Harper handed their son over, showing Beka the proper way to hold his head and body. The baby seemed to sense the excitement, because he gave an adorable yawn and blinked before looking up at this new creature that was handling him. Harper watched Beka like a hawk. It wasn't that he distrusted her, but this was the first time anyone but Trance or he had held their son.

"He's so beautiful." Beka, despite her earlier statement, looked near tears. The baby gurgled happily, amused by the blonde one. "What's his name?"

Harper's mouth fell open, and he stared at her in shock.

"In all the excitement we totally forgot!" he cried. The rest of the crew looked at him incredulously. Trance hit Harper on the arm, and he broke down into a fit of giggles. Even Dylan looked ready to kill him.

"Owen James Gemini Harper," Trance listed off for them. "Owen is fine."

"You should have heard some of the early ones," Harper said as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Nietzscheans would have been proud from all the linage and historical accuracies...."

Beka looked up as Dylan tapped her on the shoulder. Disappointed, she handed over Owen. Trance and Harper watched on as each of the crew took their turns with the baby. Dylan made cooing noises and baby talk, and Harper about choked from trying to hold in the laughter. The sight of the captain of the Andromeda going mushy over a baby was just bizarre. Rommie looked appraisingly at him. He was a miracle in her eyes. AIEs could have children, but never like this. Surprisingly, or maybe not depending on one's point of view, it was Tyr who Harper had to go over and pry the child away from. The larger man seemed hypnotized by the little life in his arms; his eyes growing distant as Owen blinked up at him.

Harper took the baby back over to Trance as the rest left on an unspoken signal. Owen had grown tired from all of the excitement. He yawned and leaned in the warmth of his mother's arms, immediately drifting off to sleep.

"I now know why you were so sad when we transferred his spirit," she whispered to Harper. "I feel empty."

Harper nodded and leaned forward to stroke the small amount of blondish fuzz on Owen's head. Trance's sadden gazed turned into a smile as his tail curled around one of her fingers.

"But I don't think I'll ever feel lonely again."