Title: Left Turn at Albuquerque
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis: Sequel to And You Thought Larvae Were Bad and Effervescent Essence. I highly suggest you read the previous fictions.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.
Spoilers: All around.

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"So the bug queen hasn't fallen to her knees and groveled out some sort of an apology." Harper narrowed his eyes at Dylan while leaning over a consul on Command. Dylan just sighed.

"It wasn't the Than themselves that did it," Dylan explained to him for the third time. "It was a small terrorist group..."

"It was two hundred freakin' ships!"

"Than have thousands of children," Dylan reminded him. "The Than have been after these alleged traitors for awhile now. There's even rumors that they're only a small part of an even bigger organization."

"Why did they attack us?" Harper wondered out loud. Dylan gave him one of those looks. "Oh right. The shoot me sign on the hull."

Harper stayed well out of reach knowing Dylan wasn't afraid to clip him. Harper would still be bugging Trance and Owen like he had been for the past nine days, but upon Trance's "insistence", Dylan had forced Harper to stay in Command for a few hours.

"So have my annoying ways gotten to you yet?" Harper added a high-pitched whine to the end of his sentence for good measure.

"I was trained by the High Guard," Dylan said. "And even they didn't prepare me for you. You're excused. I will happily let Trance break my arm for this."

"It feels good to be loved," Harper said sarcastically but with glee. He had won another round.

Harper dashed madly down the hallways and into his quarters. There was a scream and then the engineer could be seen backing quickly out of the room.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he whimpered with one hand over his eyes while the other groped for the keypad for shutting the door. The door successfully closed, more due to Rommie than Harper, and Harper uncovered his eyes. He stood outside the room, wondering if he should stay there to apologize when Trance came out or if he should try and get a head start.

He shouldn't have bothered contemplating. Trance came out a few seconds later dressed in a loose gold robe, patting a fussy Owen on the back as he was leaning on her shoulder. Harper did not like that look on her face.

"Knock."

"It's my quarters!" he said defensively. "You should put up signs when you're feeding him! And it's not my fault you wanted to do it the natural way!"

Trance rolled her eyes and held out Owen and a cloth. Harper accepted the punishment and began to burp the baby himself while she went back in the room to change into her usual clothing. The pixie was very happy to have almost regained her normal size. She was still a few pounds heavier, but Rommie was impressed. After nine days most women would just start getting back into daily routine, if even that. Trance had been up and moving after a day. The little pixie regained her strength awful quickly.

Owen finally released a burp.

"Hey, takin' after Daddy are we." Harper grinned. "You just way until we get to the alphabet. That'll come in real handy."

"Not if I have a say in it." Trance said as she came back out in her normal garb. Owen smiled and reached out for a few dreadlocks that tickled his face as his mommy bent over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Well since I can't separate you two, I'm going to go meditate in my quarters." Harper nodded. Despite Beka's earlier teasing, both Trance and he had not been prepared for the late night wailings. Trance was forced to do all the feedings, but Harper was nudged for changing and comfort. If not for Trance's daily meditations and the fact that Harper didn't tend to sleep much anyways, both parents would have gratefully let their child out of their sight for once to get some rest.

Trance hurried to her quarters while Harper took Owen back into his.

"What do you want to do right now?" Harper asked the energetic baby. All that research on feeding and nap times had gone to waste. Despite the fact their souls no longer shared a body, Owen had a connection with both mommy and daddy. True, the baby could no longer use colors and symbols to get his point across, but a mental nudge usually did the trick.

"Mr. Bluefoot? Well if you insist." Harper laid Owen down on the bed and pulled out a plush Vedran Rommie had synthesized a few months ago when Owen was still a fetus in his mother's stomach. Owen beamed as his daddy walked Mr. Bluefoot up and down his stomach, and Harper smiled because Owen was happy. The bond of father and son continued to strengthen with such little things as these, and Harper couldn't help but think nothing could ruin this piece of perfection he had finally attained.

It was not an unreasonable wish.