Chapter 7 -- Sleepless Night
"Jenin, you're still awake," Cole whispered, kneeling next to the bed.
She nodded, sighing. "I can't sleep. My back hurts."
He nodded and touched her forehead tenderly. "Roll over, Jenin. Onto your other side, facing away from me," he directed.
She did as ordered, sighing again. "Why are you doing this for me? Why are you both being so kind?"
Cole smiled faintly at the question, resting his chin on the edge of the bed. He tugged her pajama top up, exposing her back and gently began rubbing the sore muscles, releasing warmth and soothing energy. "Mel is being kind because this is how Mel is. When she sees people in trouble, she must help them. It is how we met, why she took me in."
Jenin closed her eyes, experiencing relief from the constant, nagging pain in her back for the first time in weeks and grateful for it. "And you? Why are you helping me, Cole?"
"Because it is the right thing to do, Jenin." He sighed deeply, his hands describing slow circles up and down the strained tissue, soothing and relaxing. "Because you and I are really no different. We have lost all the same things. No one should have to lose a child once. I can't let you lose one twice."
She bit her lower lip. "He never knew. I… He never knew…"
"I know." He sighed and moved onto the bed, carefully helping her into a sitting position. "Do you resent me for what I did, Jenin?"
"I don't know." She sighed and shrugged. "I should, maybe, but… it's your job. And… you saved his life. I am grateful to you for that."
Cole sighed and nodded, his fingertips lightly tracing the lines of her gaunt face. "I did save him. Now I will save his wife and his little girl if I can." One hand dropped from her face, hovering near her stomach. "May I?"
She nodded. "I just wish I could have told him," she sighed.
He closed his eyes, resting one hand on her stomach as the other continued caressing her face. "You still may be able to." He looked up at her, his expression sad and apologetic.
"You haven't decided yet? If you're going to Collect me or not…"
Wordlessly, he shook his head. "I just don't know, Jenin. I've tried to decide, I have…"
She sighed and nodded, covering the hand on her belly with one of her own. "I wish I could tell you what to do, but I can't. I honestly don't know which I want. See Kres again and never see my daughter or see my daughter but not Kres…"
"There's no right answer," Cole sighed.
"There's really not, and I'm sorry for forcing you to make a decision like this."
"Not your fault." He shook his head.
"I know, but… this is so unfair to you." She shook her head.
"Lay down again. I'll rub your back some more."
She nodded and did as directed. "Sir, you must promise me something," she sighed as he resumed his gentle attentions.
He nodded immediately. "If I can."
"Whether you Collect me or not… I want to hold her in my arms. I need to see her, to know that she's okay, to name her."
He nodded. Nodulians placed great emphasis on the naming ceremony. It cemented a child's place among her people. "Of course. I can't deny you that right."
"Will you be the one to help me welcome her?"
"Jenin, I'm honored." Cole's hands stilled. Outsiders were seldom asked to witness the birth of a Nodulian child, let alone to speak the welcoming words. Those words were as important as the naming ceremony.
"Your presence honors both of us. Do you know the chant?"
"Yes." Cole nodded. "Get some sleep, Jenin. The child comes soon and you should be rested for it."
"How soon?"
"Tomorrow. She'll be here by this time tomorrow."
"Guess we'll both have a long day, then. Thank you, Cole, for everything."
He smiled faintly at her. "Sleep well, Jenin." He bent and kissed the side of her head, just below her ear, then passed his hand in front of her face, putting her to sleep. He kissed her again before rising and covering her.
"You okay?" a gentle voice asked from the doorway.
"Mel." Cole smiled weakly at her, checking Jenin's life-force before joining her. "I thought you were already asleep."
She shook her head. "Jenin wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. Gwen, on the other hand, is out like a light. Something tells me that she'd be up in a heartbeat if anyone got near her, though," she added.
Gwen was indeed snoring on the sofa but, true to Mel's contention, she shot upright as they walked past, her expression wary until she saw that it was them.
"Go back to sleep, child," Cole advised gently. "Long day tomorrow."
"Right. Night, guys. Wake me if you need anything." With these words, Gwen dropped back onto the couch and was soon asleep again.
"That an Enixian thing?" Mel whispered as they ascended to the safe-house's second level.
Cole nodded. "They sleep very lightly, but can go to sleep on demand."
"Oh." Mel nodded. "You're very good with her, Cole."
He frowned. "Gwen?"
"Jenin."
Cole shrugged, stopping outside of her bedroom door. "She requires protection and nurturing, Mel. Protecting her is my job. Nurturing her… it's not difficult."
"Really?" Mel asked gently, staring up at him and shaking her head. "Because if it were me in your position, I'd be having a very hard time."
"My position is difficult, Mel, but… caring for Jenin is instinctive."
"Makes you the first guy I've ever known to claim a nurturing instinct," Mel said softly, taking his hand and drawing him into the room. "How are you doing, Cole?" she asked gently, sitting on the edge of the bed and gesturing for him to join her.
"Not well," he sighed, sitting next to her. "She is weaker than she was earlier. I may have to Collect her life-force to save her life." He stared at his hands, shaking his head. "But… I think I would like to raise this child with you, Mel," he admitted.
Mel's breath caught in her throat with his words. "Yeah, but you… aren't staying," she whispered, not looking at him. "It might be better for her not to get to know you as a father and then you just… leave…"
"I know," Cole murmured, barely audible.
It was not the first time in recent days that he well and truly hated his position as a Tracker, the requirement to bring the fugitives back… He did not want to, not when Mel would be staying on Earth, not when Mel's home had become his home. It was not the first time that he had felt that he had incentive to want to stay. If only he did not have such a reason for not staying.
"You shouldn't have to raise her alone, though, Mel," he added, sighing. "I would be honored to be allowed to help you."
"Well, God knows I'll be able to use all the help I can get," Mel noted, smiling at him. "And a kid could do a lot worse than having you for an adoptive father. I know you'll be wonderful to her." Her smile faded slightly. "As long as you're here," she amended.
"I don't want to leave," he whispered, tears in his eyes. He shook his head firmly. "Not ever."
"Cole, Cirron is your home," Mel sighed. "Of course you want to leave Earth some day." She smiled at him, ignoring her own pain at the fact, wanting to comfort him. "I understand that. It'll be great while it lasts. That's all we can really hope for, isn't it?"
Great while it lasted? Cole stared down at her for a moment before dropping his head and brushing his lips over hers and slipping his arms around her, pulling her slender body against his.
Mel returned the hug but shook her head, pressing her face into his shoulder. "Cole, don't do this. It would be stupid."
He sighed, his frustration obvious. "You talk about stupid things and about… taking advantage of me, Mel, but you can not take advantage of a man who has invited your advances." He sighed and rose, shaking his head. "Good night, Mel," he muttered, reaching for the door.
"Cole!" she protested, catching his hand. "Come on, that's not fair!"
He looked down at her hand over his, his expression conflicted. "Life is not fair, Mel. That's what humans say, isn't it?" he whispered sadly. He reached up and brushed her hair out of her pretty face. "Someone always gets hurt. Sometimes there are no right decisions…"
Mel bit her lower lip, tears pooling in her eyes. "No. Guess there aren't…"
Cole closed his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. "I wish it were easier, Mel," he murmured.
"I know you do. So do I." She smiled weakly up at him. "Maybe one of these days."
"I'd like that, Mel." He smiled down at her for a moment. "I should go now, Mel…" he sighed. "You must rest."
"You could stay," Mel suggested quickly. She flushed and shook her head, aware how the invitation must have sounded, even to the Cirronian. "I mean… nothing has to happen, but if you want… company…"
He smiled hesitantly. "I'd like that, Mel, to keep you company…"
"Good." She smiled and nodded, resting her cheek against his shoulder. "Good," she said again, resting her hand against his chest and lightly tracing random patterns over his heart with her fingertips. "Nothing has to happen," she repeated quietly, as much to assure herself as him.
"Okay, Mel." He nodded faintly, cradling her against him. "Let's get you to bed now," he suggested gently, steering her to the bed and pulling back the covers.
Mel let him tuck her in, looking up at him with wide eyes and wondering if more might not happen tonight than they had both planned.
***
Word had come just a few hours ago. The Security Taskforce was ready to force Daggon to Collect Jenin's life-force. Kettai had not yet had the heart to tell Gwen, but it had not prevented him from beginning to make provisions for a child that would essentially be an orphan. He sat in an almost-empty café, whispering his conversation with the one human that he felt he could trust in such a situation. What struck him more than anything was that he only knew that he could trust her because she had gone out on a limb and come to him, behind the backs of their superiors.
"Eallahn and Novan Starke?" Táhirih murmured, looking up at the Cirronian.
"Nodulian marine biologists," Kettai told her. "They aren't genetically compatible. They've been considering adoption for years. Only the fact that the child would have to be human has prevented them."
"Good people?"
"The best, Doctor Gibbons. Novan and I went to Academy together. She's a good woman; they love each other dearly."
"And they're willing to adopt Jenin's daughter?" she asked.
He nodded. "They are on their way from New Zealand even as we speak. Having a Nodulian child available is like a dream come true for them. It's the best of all worlds…"
"Gweny says that Mel Porter is ready to adopt the child."
"A human?" Kettai asked, shaking his head. "She's a good woman, Doctor, but she hasn't the first clue about Nodulian biology or psychology… Everything she might learn would be from Kedriss Daggon, and he is not going to be on this planet forever. She's simply not qualified."
"If I were to consult with her, take the child as a patient--"
"She invites her own heartbreak, considering rearing a child with him," Kettai interrupted, not seeming to hear her. "Tell me how they can ever be happy…"
"Andross Kettai…" She sighed and shook her head. "You are not a happy man, are you?"
He shook his head faintly. "Gwynlyn is upset. James… Thaler is in town."
"Zin might well use him as bait."
"Gwen's not important to him…"
"No, but Jenin is."
Kettai closed his eyes. "I wonder if Gweny even loves life any more, Doctor." He looked up at her. "You call her friend…"
"James' death hit her hard. You know that."
"She will throw her life away to revenge herself on them!" He shook his head in frustration. "How do I stop her?"
Táhirih considered for a moment, knowing that the Cirronian needed something. "Convince her that the greater revenge would be to keep Jenin's child safe from harm. She's Enixian. Where she may not guard her own welfare, she will guard that of an innocent child."
"You… you could have something there." He nodded faintly. "The Starkes will arrive by tomorrow afternoon. The plan is to meet them at the airport with the child and send them right back. By the time Zin realizes that she's missing, she'll be out of his reach. He'll never be able to find her."
Táhirih nodded slowly. "The Taskforce approves this plan?"
"The Taskforce… does not know," Kettai murmured. "My orders are to Collect mother and child if the Tracker refuses." He shook his head. "But the girl has no future in Migar. Both of her parents are going to spend most of their lives in prison, she has no other living relatives…"
"You do realize that disobeying a direct order from the Security Taskforce--"
"Constitutes treason." He nodded faintly. "I am aware, Doctor Gibbons, yes."
"Okay, then." Táhirih nodded slowly. "My report will indicate that… all has been handled in accordance with the will of the Security Council."
"Thank you," he murmured, nodding.
"It's the right thing to do," she said, shrugging and toying with her empty coffee-cup. "After I talked to Daggon, I could not have done anything else. I've never seen a Cirronian near tears before."
"We cry," he told her quietly, picking up a blue paper packet of sugar and emptying it onto his tongue. "In these bodies." He started folding the empty sugar-pack, shaking his head. "We do many unCirronian things in these bodies…"
"Origami right up there, is it?" Táhirih asked, smiling faintly.
He shrugged and held up the tiny blue fish for her inspection. "It's harder with paper…"
"I see." She shook her head and picked up the paper animal, turning it over in her hands.
"You've read over the lab results that Zin's people have on the child?" he asked, emptying another sugar-packet into his mouth and deftly began folding the paper.
She nodded slowly, putting the fish down between them and ignoring the urge to crush it in her hand. "Yes. And, frankly, I'm worried."
"Will the mother survive?" he asked quietly.
"Daggon says so. But he also claims that it will be by dint of sheer stubbornness."
"She wants to name the girl?"
"Or so I'm told." Táhirih nodded.
A pink frog joined the fish on the table.
"Do all Cirronians have this metabolic flaw?" Táhirih asked curiously.
"Hypermetabolism?" He nodded and reached for yet another pack of sugar. "We do. It's more pronounced in these bodies. Tell me about the child."
"She's… Nodulian. I don't know why or how, but she is."
A white mouse joined the growing menagerie. "Can you keep a secret?"
"I don't think I'd be employed by who I am if I couldn't."
"True." He reached for another sugar-packet never taking his eyes off of the human. "What do you know about Migar's policies towards eugenics and hybridization?"
"The party line? Marry whoever you want and who gives a damn about species. Eugenics is frowned upon but not illegal. Genetic manipulation… is."
He nodded slowly, folding the paper in his hands without looking at it. "It tends to end badly. Only in one case has the deliberate introduction of foreign genes via scientific channels…" He looked around for a moment, lowering his voice and leaning closer. "It's not common knowledge, but modern man did not evolve naturally."
Her mouth moved soundlessly for several moments before she managed, "Tell me more."
"Native life-forms, heavily altered using gene therapy--"
She raised an eyebrow. "Native life-forms? What are we talking? Neanderthal?"
"Australopithecus, actually," he corrected her, reaching for another pack of sugar and placing a monkey next to the other paper figures. "By the time the Neanderthal came along, the projects were essentially complete. Traits from all six Migar species, plus the locals, had been fused into one workable package…"
"So any given human is going to have genes from all six Migar peoples?" she murmured.
"Human geneticists talk about things like 'junk' DNA. They have a lot to learn."
The Cirronian held up an origami Nodulian for her inspection.
"Is the picture growing clearer?" he inquired gently.
Shaking his head, he caught all the figures in his hand and made a fist crushing them in his palm. When he unclenched his hand, his palm was coated in a fine layer of ash, the only remnant of the origami figurines.
"Strangely symbolic when you consider what Zin has planned for your people," he observed with a philosophical shrug.
"Why would your people do this?" she whispered, shaking her head. "You don't play God. It's not who you are."
"No one species could be trusted with what we've trusted this species with. So we created you, an impartial third party."
"Impartial my ass, Andross Kettai. You people have been into all things human from the beginning. All of you."
"Yes." He nodded. "Given what's at stake, we had no choice but to guide you. Your evolution, your religion, your law-codes… and occasionally even the personal lives of specific individuals of your race. But it has all been for a reason, Táhirih Gibbons."
He dusted off his hands and reached for another sugar-packet.
"It's how they can possess us? Why all six species can hybridize with us?"
He nodded. "And how a little girl conceived to ostensibly human parents can become a pure-blooded Nodulian…"