"Harper, are you sure about this?"
"What's there not to be sure of?"
"Well for one thing, this isn't a machine you're dealing with it's a baby."
Rhade watched as Harper gave him a weird look and moved back slightly with the child held securely in his arms. The Andromeda had come across a ship dead in space, and the only life was from a baby no more than a year old. There were no other people on board, no weapons damage, no engine damage, the ship was in fine condition; there was just nobody there.
Once on Med. Deck, Trance had given the baby girl a clean bill of health and Harper had taken to smuggling her to the machine shop. The original plan was to send her to Tarazed for adoption but then the engineer had become attached to her.
"Harper…"
"Oh come on, I take care of Caden, Cass, and Solaris all the time. They're always shipped off to engineering."
"Baby-sitting and parenting are different things Harper. And that's not including the fact that she's not entirely human; Andromeda doesn't know what she is."
"Andromeda also, as brilliant as she is, didn't know what Trance was either."
Rhade crossed his arms and looked at the child, whom Harper had named 'Mara', as she wrapped her thin tail around Harper's arm. Her large, catlike ears moving every time the men spoke to each other.
"And besides," started Harper, "she gets to Tarazed and then what? I know you guys have a lot of species intermixed there but she isn't exactly something you see everyday, pretty as she is."
"So you want to raise her as your own?"
"Well, yeah, sure, why not? Did they send you down here to talk me out of it?"
"Seeing as you've only voiced your desire to adopt her to me then no, I wasn't sent to talk you out of it."
"Good, cuz it's not happening."
"Life long commitment."
"I know."
"Temper tantrums, bed time stories, pleading and bargaining..."
"Oh come on, if Beka can do it..."
Rhade tried to cover a smile with a half-hearted growl.
"Won't you be raising her on your own?" Rhade watched Mara start squirming to be let down. Once Harper set her on the floor she tried to stand only to push off and hop, which led her to landing on the ground. Picking herself up she continued to hop and fall as she learned.
"She's like a kangaroo."
"A what?"
Harper waved a hand at him, "An earth animal."
"Where's she going?"
"She's exploring, can't you tell?"
Rhade looked back at Harper.
"You really want to do this?"
"Yes I really want to do this."
"All right then, I'm sure Dylan will clear it," said Rhade offering Harper a smile, "Congratulations on becoming a father."
"Heh, oh yeah, I guess I am a dad now. 'Dad'...that'll take some getting used to."
"Just don't lose her."
"I won't."
"You always have to watch her."
"I know."
"She'll need food and baths and..."
"Yeah, yeah, I've seen you all being parents a thousand times. Besides this way Caden will have someone to play with."
"He will won't he?"
"Mama!" Rhade and Harper's heads snapped around to the child as she proclaimed her first word to the wall.
"Mum!" Mara cooed as she started to cuddle Andromeda's bulkhead.
>>>
A/N: Happy Mommy's Day! I decided to get this chapter out, it didn't happen the way I would have liked but it went okay I think. So there's little Mara Harper's introduction! Rommie and Harper's adopted baby-girl. I can't remember where the inspiration for her looks came from but yeah I spliced her with human, cat, and kangaroo...
And yes, we're off Tarazed but maybe someday the entire Drom crew can visit Rhade's family...
Ryua Malfoy: Distracted while using a tablesaw O.o Not so distracted you lose a finger I hope!
Vana Telcontar: Yeah I liked the earlier chapters much better too. More fun when Beka and Rhade are trying to settle into a relationship;)
B.L.A. the Mouse: You are so right, thanks for pointing that out. I took a tape measure after reading your review and yeah that's very deep. I changed Chapter 20 to say that the water was more like 1 foot. It makes more sense. Thanks again.