Chapter Two, 10th December

Why does this always happen to us, Oh thought as he paced furiously in front of the large group of Boov Officers. It was nearly everyone on the force, and the rest couldn't be there; they were unavailable. Currently, Oh's mind was split into three: one part was devoted to comprehending the situation and shouting orders, the second part was creating a background noise chanting panicking doesn't help Tip, panicking doesn't help the babies over and over again, while the third part was focused directly on their link, desperately looking for a change. Any change at all, but no. Nothing.

"We cannot find the necklace, Captain," a Boov hunched over a screen shouted.

"Damnit!" Oh cursed. "Why? She appears not be out of the country!"

There was a brief pause, and then another Boov reported. "It seems that whoever took Je geliefde* is blocking the signals!"

Oh let out a string of curses in Boovspeak. This caused Lucy, who was sitting nearby, to look lost, and a lot of the nearby Boov to flinch at the words. "There are no other ways to finding her until she wakes up, then," he growled, and resumed his pacing.

There was a whisper, from one confused Boov to another. "I do not understand why this is so important." It was probably not meant to be loud enough for Oh to hear it, but he did.

The Boov Captain froze. "You do not understand why this is important, do you?" he said flatly, turning around to face his species. "Then let me enlighten you. I love her. I know that most Boov are incapable of loving someone romantically, and that we do not have any words strong enough for that feeling, so let me explain it like this: I would gladly give my own life, just so she could live."

The Boov officers gasped. Being Boov and prey, one of their strongest urges was to keep away from danger, and to protect someone from it was one of the strongest signs of lasting friendship and trust. "That is not even half of it. How many of you have Boovlings?" More than two thirds of his audience raised their hands. "How many of you care about them?" Six Boovs lowered their hand. "How many of you love them?" This time half of the remaining Boov lowered their hands, and Oh nodded sharply. "This is not only about Tip; my wife is pregnant with three Boovlings, and I am their father." Even though the majority of the officers knew this, they had a look of wonder on their faces. "If that is not a good enough reason for this being important, then consider this: Tip is not only my soulmate, my wife, my songbird, she is also my partner and best friend. She is… she is family. She is a person, and I love her in more ways than one," he finished, his voice going soft before returning to the rough-edged it'd been earlier.

There was another pause where no one said anything, and then Oh switched to English. "I want manhunts, missing posters, interviews, whatever you have to do to find her! You will search harder than you did when you were trying to find me when I was a fugitive, and that is my command as your Captain! Is that understood?" he barked roughly, barely keeping his skin purple in the process.

"Yes, sir!"

Oh nodded in acknowledgement. "Kyle!" he yelled, turning to look at the leader of the Boov Officer Force, who straightened up immediately. "You are in charge; tell me immediately if you find my inyoni, or even just clues. Immediately, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Captain JLo!" Kyle shouted sharply, saluting him.

Oh nodded sharply and walked up to Lucy. "You can stay at our house, if you wish," he told her, voice still shaking and concern finally shining through as he let his guard down slightly.

Lucy nodded. "That would be great, thank you, Oh."

It wasn't before they were behind closed doors Oh abounded his mask. "How is she?" Lucy asked quietly, as if afraid that the world might shatter if she spoke too loudly.

"Unconscious, still," Oh answered in the same hushed tones.

"Not dead?"

"Not dead," Oh said shaking his head. Then he turned around. "The guestroom is the pink door, bathroom is in there. If you need anything I will be in the study," he murmured in his Mymom-in-law's general direction before he disappeared into the purple room. He all but fell into his chair.

First then did he allow himself to panic.

After half an hour with sobbing, Oh had no more tears to shed. He spent the next half hour by staring at the wall in front of him with a flat expression, breath hitching now or then but other than that, he did not give any indications that he was alive.

After that half hour, Tip's side of the link sparked to life. It was sharp, short, and Oh had to restrain himself from crying his wife's name. Instead, he entered the meditation like state, searching for her senses. After a few seconds of desperate and wild looking, he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Panicking doesn't help Tip, panicking doesn't help the babies, that second part of his brain chanted.

Right, he thought and steadied himself, looking for the spark of green light, the thread of consciousness in the middle of nowhere. He was seeking after the warm feeling of safety and love- there, he thought and moved towards the speck of hope. There she is.

When the light engulfed him completely and it was everything he could see, everything he was, it felt like he surfaced from an ocean. It was hard to focus and see for the first seconds, but then everything came into place.

Tip noticed, of course, and a feeling of relief flooded through her as he focused on the conversation she was having. "-so what you're saying is, that if he uses the bond you believe we have-,"

She was broken off as a tall female in a long, white coat stopped her. "The bond we know you have." What appeared to be a human doctor didn't say how they knew about the bond, which was pretty bad marketing if you asked Oh.

His girl continued as if she'd never been interrupted. "Then you will be able to see it and interrupt it?"

Oh understood the message. Don't talk. Don't give any sign that you're listening.

"Yes, that is correct," the doctor said with a pleasant smile.

There was a pause, where Tip seemed to be thinking, before she looked around. She was sitting on a white bed, in what seemed to be a hospital room. "Where am I?"

"Safe."

"I didn't ask what I am, I asked about where."

"You are somewhere safe."

Tip looked at the doctor again. "Right. Why am I here?"

She smiled sharply. "You are pregnant, Miss Tucci-," Oh bristled, as did Tip, but the doctor didn't seem to care. "-and we simply want to understand how that is possible; tests show us that the father of the children you are going to have is a Boov."

"Okay, first, I'm married, so it's Mrs. Tucci, not Miss. Second; why couldn't you just, you know. Ask, instead of kidnapping me?"

The smile the doctor never seemed to let go widened. "While we will take good care of you, you are here to be experimented on."

Oh almost fell out of his chair as multiple feelings begun churning around. "What?" Tip exclaimed.

"Good bye for now, Miss Tucci!" the doctor said cheerfully, before she slipped out of the door. Tip threw herself out of the bed, but just as she reached after the door handle the lock gave a loud click.

She stopped abruptly. "There's no point in asking them to let me out," Tip muttered, and sunk to the floor. "This isn't good. I'm sorry, Oh, but they didn't tell me where I am- and, by the way, don't answer this, I'm not willing to take the chance of them not knowing."

Oh silently nodded, even though Tip wouldn't be aware of it.

He watched as his spouse got up from the floor and looked around the room, despair filling her. "This isn't good," she repeated with a shivering voice. Spotting a window, a spark of hope shot through her. She hurried over there and looked out, said hope immediately crushed to dust. "And the building is several floors high. Marvelous," she said dryly. "Well, perhaps this can give you an idea about where in the world I am." Tip sighed. "Though it's very foggy, I would suggest telling some humans about what you can see, too, since they might know more about geography on Earth than Boov. No offense," she hurriedly added, not aware of the fact that Oh hadn't taken any offense at all.

"Please find me, Oh," Tip whispered after a short pause, before she began crying softly. "Please…"

Oh wove that he would, just as he withdrew himself. The moment he was back in his own body, he shot up and rushed for the door to inform Kyle of this new information, and to find some humanspersons to help with the search.

The next eight days passed with most of the Boov Nation and at least half of Earth's population tight strung, on edge and waiting hopefully for news on Tip's kidnapping. Not only was she one of the three people that had more or less saved Earth and all its inhabitants, she was also the seventeen-year-old wife of the Boov leader.

It was hardest for Oh, though. Every hour he would visit Tip for around ten minutes to see how she was doing, and she would tell him what had happened. Turned out that the only way she'd been 'experimented' on was a test of her blood, and a test to see if she was allergic to anything. The worst experimenting, Tip had said, was going to be on their kids. It angered and worried both her and Oh.

When he wasn't talking to Tip, he helped with the searching, collected information on the search, gave interviews or stared helplessly at the wall. Smek was visiting now and then, asking how he was and bringing food. Oh had to be reminded to eat, and the only reason he slept at all was that Tip told him to.

It was eight horrible days, and then it was finally a clear day wherever Tip was.

It had come as a shock, when Tip suddenly had reached out to him through the link. "Oh! These idiots have thought about a lot, but clearly not everything! The fog has cleared; I can see the street signs down below!"

Oh didn't hesitate to enter the semi-meditative state and then to snap into Tip's senses. "You can, I don't know, type it into a GPS or something, find out where it is, and then find this building. I don't know which room I am in, but I am in the building at least," Tip said, and Oh memorized the street name and –number. Cocking her head, Tip paused and thought for a second. Her voice turned sad. "Though I won't get my hopes up. I've seen enough movies and read enough books that that's stupid," she sighed. "I assume you have all you need." She walked over to the bed and flopped down on it, pulling out a book from underneath it. As her eyes begun to scan the page, Oh withdrew himself in a repeat of all the other times Tip had some new information to give. This time, though, his body was shaking with unmistakable hope.

19th December

Oh was watching from afar, one more time looking over the landscape nearby with calculating eyes. It was a drowsy morning, with heavy and damp air despite the season. The small glimpse of nature that he could see was pale green, as if it had never seen real sunlight, or breathed fresh air. Yes, he decided again, this was definitely the place. The Boov leader gave a sharp nod in the direction of Kyle, who nodded back. They were ready, and Oh closed his eyes, found that special light inside of him and embraced it. Moments later, he could see what Tip could see, smell what she could smell, and hear what she could hear. They were like one, and it felt so right, as if this was what they'd always been meant to be.

"Tip, my dear," Oh drawled, his voice quivering in anticipation, link jumping as it had not been used in this way for a while. His life froze where she was, and looked up from the book she had been reading.

She drew a shivering breath; her eyes wide open in wonder and hope. "O-Oh?" she answered hesitantly.

"We are here."

He saw it from Tip's perspective, heard the muffled you are surrounded speech and then minutes later watched as the door opened up. Let's just say that Oh wasn't surprised when Tip rushed outside –as quick as her pregnancy allowed her- without looking at whoever had opened the door, down three flights of stairs and through more than a few hallways- he returned to his own body with a snap, jumping out of the car and waiting impatiently.

Then the doors burst open, and Tip spotted him the moment he stumbled towards her. They weren't quite sure how it had happened, but one moment they were looking at each other, feeling as if they were so close yet so far away, as if they weren't quite whole, but not fully alone either. Then, the next they were sitting on the ground in each other's arms, that feeling of missing something important gone, and in its place was contentment and safety and trust. "I missed you," Tip gasped desperately as the rest of the world ceased to exist around them. "I missed hearing your voice," she continued, and hugged him tighter. "I missed feeling you next to me, I missed your kisses, I missed you so much and it was only eight days-" She trailed off, the last word being a mere whisper meant only for him.

"I missed you too," came Oh's muffled reply. "I love you," he then said, with as much force as he could. He pulled back from the kind-of-awkward-because-hey-you're-pregnant hug and caressed her face gently, taking in her beauty after not being able to look at her for what felt like an eternity. "Not only as my wife, my inyoni, but as my best friend, too- this week was a nightmare, my dearest."

Tip didn't answer, she couldn't, as she kissed him hungrily, though that, too, was kind-of-awkward-because-hey-you're-pregnant!

Neither Tip nor Oh really cared about what happened around them after that, but arresting Tip's kidnappers had first priority; nothing they said could hinder that, anyways. The rest of the day passed in a daze, and the only thing the couple really noticed was that by the time they fell asleep, they were back in their home, in the same bed, next to each other

It was a night of dreamless, peaceful sleep, and it was the first in what felt like forever.

20th December

When Oh woke the next morning, it was to a warm body pressed up against his own and a cloud of dark hair in his face. Tip. It sent a pang of affection through him, and he tightened his hold on her, glad to have her back. "Mmm… good morning, sleepyhead," she muttered.

"Good morning," he answered and closed his eyes. He didn't have to look to know that his skin turned pink.

"I've needed to get up for a while, but I didn't want to wake you up," Tip said. "So could you please move?"

Oh pretended to think about it. "Hmm, I am quite comfortable in this position, I am afraid" he told her and nuzzled her shoulder.

She snorted. "Gerrof me, you big doof," she complained and elbowed him in the ribs. He complied, rolling over to the left and almost falling off the bed in the process. "I really need some chocolate and a green apple," Tip said as she got up and stretched.

He rolled his eyes and climbed out of the bed, shaking his head to wake up. Tip shot his loose tunic a look. "You know," she said, and placed a hand on her hip. "White really isn't your color."

"Well, I am sorry for wanting to sleep in something comfortable," The answer came with a flat look. He begun taking it off, deliberately slowly.

Tip shrieked and turned around, placing a hand over her eyes. "Oh!" she cried with a wide smile as she held out her other hand, as if trying to stop him from coming closer. "You know I can't have sex before the babies are born!"

Oh raised an eyebrow, but continued to take off his tunic. "Pity," he said without much feeling.

Cracking her eyes open, Tip looked at him again, before she hastily turned around. "Okay," she muttered. "Okay, okay, okay. You can do this, Tip, breathe…" she said as she reached for her bathrobe and shrugged it on. "Now, I'm going to brush my teeth, grab some chocolate and an apple, and then I'm going to take a shower." She eyed the bathroom door. "And then," she said sharply, "We're going to Talk. With capital T."

Slipping through the door, Tip shot Oh a regretful look before she started on her to-do list. Oh smiled as he finally got his tunic of, folded it neatly and placed it underneath the pillow on his side of the bed. Yes, a Talk sounded nice now.

Seventeen seconds later, and he joined Tip in the bathroom. Stepping onto one of the stools, he pushed the green button with a leg. As the stool raised itself from the floor, Oh grabbed for his own toothbrush. When he was on eye level with Tip, he removed his leg and the stool stopped moving. "Are you always wearing that?" Tip said around a mouthful of toothpaste, giving his Boov tunic a pointy look.

"It is tradition," Oh shrugged as he begun brushing his nine teeth. "And comfortable," he added.

"Yeah, but it's always the same colors," Tip said. Or, at least he think she said that, it was a bit hard to decipher when she had a stick in her mouth.

"Is it bothering you?" Oh asked and met her eyes in the mirror.

She shook her head and spit in the sink. "Not really. Is it bothering you?"

Oh thought about it. "Well," he decided. "It can become monotone sometimes. Why?"

Tip shrugged. "It's just. I've almost never seen you in anything else- are there anything else you can wear?"

"No, but perhaps you could come up with some designs?"

"There's literally just one design on everyday clothes?" Tip asked in disbelief, raising her eyebrows and rinsing her toothbrush in water.

"Yes. There is the loose tunic model that I sleep in, but it is for sleep only."

"I can sense a Boov problem here. We'll talk about this later," Tip said with a frown. She put away her toothbrush and kissed him on the cheek. "But now I'm gonna grab that chocolate."

"Aye, aye!" Oh called after her as she disappeared into the main room. He went to make up the beds and turn of the light in the bedroom before he joined her in the kitchen.

"Orange juice," Oh said to the refrigerator. It complied, and he filled a glass with it before he put the carton back. Jumping onto one of the chairs and repeating the thing he did with the bathroom stool, he soon found himself sitting by the table. Tip was having a thoughtful frown on her face, and she was staring into nothingness. Her apple was only half eaten.

Grabbing the chocolate wrapping paper and stuffing it in his mouth, Oh licked his lips in worry. "What is bothering you?" he finally asked, and Tip started out of her daze.

"Oh, I was just…" She looked to the side, as if embarrassed. "Contemplating baby names." She blushed lightly.

"Well, what do you think?" Oh said and sipped his drink.

"Well," Tip said, looking at her hands. She seemed surprised at the half-eaten apple, and hurried to take a bite of it. "I don't know which genders they'll have, so I've only made two lists with some names. I wanted to discuss them with you, actually."

"Shoot."

His soulmate gave him a surprised look. "My personal favorite is Justice," she muttered. "And Josephine."

Oh flinched. "Oh- that is- perhaps not the best thing to call a Boovling," he said softly. "Jossphin is a swear word in Boovspeak."

Tip grimaced. "Yeah, that's- that's not good. Do you have any suggestions?"

He nodded. "Abelardo. I know it is strange, but I like it."

"Why?"

"When I was seven," Oh said, and swallowed nervously as his skin turned blue. "There was a Boov boy. He tolerated me, not like the others. He tolerated me, and I liked him. It was- it was perhaps the first Boov that did not want to throw insults at me."

"Oh, inyoni," Tip moaned, leaning forward and taking his hand. "That's- that's both sad and good. We will definitely call one of the Boovlings Abelardo if we have a boy."

"Thanks," Oh muttered and rubbed at his eyes, willing the stinging to go away. "I always wonder what he is doing now. And- and we will probably have a boy, seven out of ten Boov are males."

Tip blinked. "Huh. Didn't know that. Do you want to talk about you past, later?"

"Later, but not today," Oh said. "Was there any other names you were thinking of?"

Narrowing her eyes at his change of subject, Tip took another bite of her apple. "Toni," she whispered after a few long seconds.

Oh took a sharp intake of breath. "Yes…" he said slowly. "He did save my, possibly our, lives… we shall see, yes?"

Tip looked up through bright eyes. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Do not cry, Tip. There was nothing we could do to prevent it." She nodded silently and sniffed.

"Sorry," she muttered. "Yeah, we- we'll se." Suddenly, she lit up. "Is- is the 'Big Brain' gene heritable?"

Oh frowned. "No, I do not think so."

"Okay," his wife said with a nod. "If- if we have a BBB, then can we call them Toni?"

"Of course. To honor a fallen friend. Though, we should have other name possibilities, too, since Bigheadedness will not show until three days after birth."

"Alright," Tip said. "Any other names?"

"No," Oh said and shook his head. "Not for the moment."

"Right," Tip said as she stood up and threw the apple core into the trashcan. "In five minutes, you will be ready at the couch for a Cuddle and Talk session with me, okay?"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Oh saluted with a grin, and then she was gone.

Seven minutes and a lot of shuffling later, and the two of them found themselves on the soft couch, with Oh half onto Tip's lap. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?" he asked and closed his eyes, wriggling a bit around to get more comfortable.

"I- I honestly just wanted to… to hear your voice again, for some time," Tip said. "I really, really missed you, Oh. I- I knew that you was there, and that you heard me, but you couldn't speak, you couldn't tell me how close you were to getting me out, I didn't know how you felt-" She had to stop herself and take a shivering breath to prevent tears.

"Tip," Oh said softly. "Dear, my inyoni, it is over now, I will not let anyone else ever do anything like that again, I promise you I will do everything in my power to prevent it. I love you, dearest," he muttered, toying with her hair and pushing a feeling of calmness through the link.

"It was so… so boring, too, without you, without your laughter, without our bickering, and I just… I realized that I probably don't appreciate you enough because those eight days felt like forever and my life would have been like that had you never invaded Earth-" She stopped herself again. "And the babies, they said they were going to experiment on our wonderful babies, Oh!"

"Shh, I know," Oh whispered, and turned around to give her a sideways hug. "I love them, too, I will not allow anyone to hurt them, or you, or mymom, because they are family and I love all of you."

Tip sniffed and giggled. "Ohana means family," she whispered.

"And family means that no one if left behind," Oh smiled.

"Or forgotten. Thanks, Oh."

"Anytime, Tip." He bit his lip. "By to the way, while you were gone, I read up on… on human pregnancy."

She giggled again. "Yes?"

"And, uhm… it kind of says that in week fifteen it could be smart to- to talk to the children, or sing to them… is. is that true?" Oh looked away from her, blushing lightly. He wasn't sure why it was so embarrassing, but… he really, really wanted to sing to the Boovlings, okay? Being able to sing to them before they were actually born was like an early Christmas gift.

Tip burst out laughing. "Yes, Oh, that's true. I take it that you want to do it?"

He blushed harder and slapped her arm lightly. "Shush with you, it is not nice to laugh," he muttered. "But… yes?"

"Yeah, Oh, it's fine, go on." His mate smiled fondly at him, and then the smile turned mischievous.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You are not making me wanting to do it, Tip," he said.

"Sing, Oh," came the stern reply.

"Okay, okay! But- but what? In English or Boovspeak or what?"

Tip rolled her eyes. "If you do Boovspeak every time, then I will do English every time. Is that a deal?"

Nodding, Oh cleared his throat and prepared to embarrass himself.

Then, he began to sing a song from the old times, from when they were necessary.

"Oh my love, you are my child,

though you bear another's name

whatever you do, throughout your life,

I'll love you still the same.

And if you should cry I'll hear you,

and if you should call I'll come

for although you were not born to me…

you are my little one."

He finished softly, and when he opened his eyes again, Tip was staring at him with a frown. "What?" he asked stiffly and crossed his arms.

She shook her head and blinked away tears. "You- you pushed it through the link, Oh, I heard the lyrics, and- and the melody and everything. It was beautiful, honestly."

Oh blinked in surprise. He hadn't meant to push it through the link, and he hadn't known that it would translate it if he did, but- apparently, yes, yes it does. "It sounded old, too, in the melody…"

"It is," Oh said. "It is a lullaby that was sung a lot for three hundred years ago."

"How do you know it, then?" Tip asked with a puzzled look.

He blushed and looked down. "I- I was kind of studying it by myself when I was younger. I wanted to know how to, just in case it would ever be needed. It never was, though," he said.

"It was wonderful, Oh," Tip muttered softly and smiled at him again. She was just smiles, rarely anything else, just smiles, smiles, smiles, all day. It was refreshing, really, after nine plus four years with just scowls.

"Thank you," he said, and his skin flushed pink again. Tip giggled. "Tip, I-" He frowned and looked away, opening his mouth and then closing it again in a search for words. "You mean a lot to me, Tip. When we invaded Earthland, I- I was not okay. I had no friends. But- but then I met you. Then there was light. You were the first, and- and after that I have only gotten more. So I- I want to say thank you, because you made me that much stronger."

Tip was looking at him with a soft expression. "Oh," she whispered. "When I thought you died… that was the worst moment in my life. Not when I was pushed down from a building, not when I was bullied at school… no, it was when I thought you died. It wasn't even that bad when you left me, because I knew you were alive to some degree. I wasn't okay either, before you almost licked my face." She smiled sadly. "And it means so much to me, that you… that you came back in the end. You just- turned a whole ship away from the original route and drove back because 'you belonged here'. And that you stayed with me, later, and that you confessed your feelings to me, and that- that you proposed…" she trailed off and looked down, not meeting his gaze after the confession.

"I was… surprised, when you said that you loved me, too," Oh said. "I honestly could not believe that someone could love me in that way, and not only because I had grown up in a society where it was impossible. I- I have a bad temper; I am not the perfect person for you, Tip, even if we do not fight much. I often feel that I am not good enough to be your soulmate, and that I am more bite than bark."

Tip blinked a few times before she frowned. "Oh." No reaction. "Inyoni," she said forcefully, and when he looked up at her she took a hold of his face and kept it in that position. "You are so nice to me; I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You risked your life to save me, and don't look at me like that I know that was what you were thinking, even though we'd only known each other for three days or something! You always want me to have the best, you care so much about me, and even when HB and Carlos poisoned you, you stayed with me because you saw that it would hurt me if you left!"

"And besides!" she pointed out. "Look around you! You got me a house. You're giving me three Boovlings to take care off, and way earlier than I thought I would become a mom, too." He opened his mouth to say something, but Tip interrupted him. "Don't apologize, that's positive!" She sighed and balled her hands into fists. "You are my everything, Oh. I love you." When she leaned in for a kiss, Oh kissed back, but it didn't last long before he was clinging to her, close to sobbing, as his skin wasn't sure if it was going to be pink, orange or blue.

"I love you, too," he whispered desperately into her neck and increased the pressure. "So much!"

"I know, Oh," she whispered back and wrapped her arms around him as best as she could. "I know."

20 weeks later, 17th May

Oh was sitting at his desk in the study, doing some dreadfully boring paperwork and almost falling asleep, when Tip, who was in the library, sent him the message. "Oh." Her voice was shaky, and she tripped over the change in letters. "My water just broke."

There goes the paperwork, Oh thought. "Okay, do not panic. I will call the doctors; you go sit down."

"I'll call mom and the other's, you just fix the doctors and It'll be fine."

Oh gave his silent agreement and reached for his Boovphone as he hurried into the main room. They'd finally decided that Tip would give birth at home, but they would have some human doctors and some Boov doctors come over.

"Doctor Jylo speaking," said the Boov on the other end of the line.

"Yes, hello," Oh answered as he walked over to the couch to sit next to Tip. :Do you need anything?: he asked as he touched her hand. She shook her head and mouthed 'not now'. "This is Captain JLo, my wife's water just broke."

There was some shuffling on the other end. "We will be there in half an hour," Jylo said, and the line went dead.

Without hesitation, Oh dialed the next number. "Daniel Vazquez, what is it?"

"Captain JLo here, Gratuity's water just broke."

"Alright, don't panic, that won't be good for the baby. Have the contractions started?"

Oh shot Tip a frightened look. She nodded and held up one finger. "Yes, there has been one," Oh hurried to say.

"We're on our way," Vazquez said, and again, the line went dead.

"What do we do now?" Oh looked at Tip for answers.

"I have no idea what's going to happen, really," Tip said with a pained expression. "Or, I know that we have to count how many minutes there are between contractions…" she trailed off.

"Okay… am I supposed to do anything?"

"Yes, you will stand there, let me crush your hand as soon as I am in agonizing pain and look cute."

Oh blinked. Twice. "Alright," he finally settled on answering. "Is that- all?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're the father, Oh. I'm the one giving birth, not you."

"So I just. I just stand there, let you crush my hand and look cute?"

"That was what I said, wasn't it?"

So he stood there, helped the doctors when they asked for it, let Tip crush his hand, and tried to look cute. He wasn't sure if it worked, but he tried. And then there was a light, light purple girl with Oh's blue eyes, and then there was a boy with Tip's green ones, and then there was- a white girl with red eyes? "She's an albino," Tip gasped when she held her in her arms.

"An- albino?" one of the worried Boov doctors asked, and one of the human doctors explained.

"Which one came first?" Tip asked Oh in a low murmur, ignoring the noises around them in favor of looking at her newborn babies.

"She did," he answered, and placed a shaking hand upon the first girl's head.

"Justice," Tip whispered, and Oh looked at her. She was practically glowing with happiness and pride. "Oh," she said and turned to look at him through tear-filled eyes. "We have kids, Oh. I'm a momma."

"Yes," Oh said absentmindedly, and gave the three Boovlings a soft look. "Yes you are."

"Abelardo," Tip smiled towards the boy in the middle. "And the last one… what do you want to call her, Oh?"

He didn't have to think long before the answer came in a flash. "Winter," he said as he took in her pale skin. Then he gasped as he noticed the pink colored mark over her left eye. "Tip, she has a Boov soulmate," he exclaimed with a bright smile. "When a Boov has a soulmate that is another Boov, they are born with a matching mark! Strange, I swear I have seen that mark before… a sickle of a moon…"

Tip gave him a deadpan look. "Are you serious with me? Boovs are literally just a Soulmate AU?"

Oh flinched. "Yes?"

His wife sighed. "Oh well. Congratulations to you, Winter," she smiled at the newborn Boovling.

She opened her bright red eyes and stared up at her mother. Justice and Abelardo did the same, and Oh felt like he might explode out of pride. He was barely containing his feelings as it was- he didn't need any more! "I love you," he said to the three newborns, pouring as much of said feelings into the words. "Justice, Abelardo and Winter... welcome home."

(*Google Translate has informed me that this means 'your beloved' in the Netherlands

Yes, that marks the end of this chapter… I'm sorry, but I'm not writing any birth scenes before I've been through one myself, and that is many years into the future, so… this one is a bit rushed. Live with it. The focus of this story is on the lives as Tip and Oh's kids, not on Tip giving birth. I'm not sure how the future chapters will take shape, but the first three years will probably be from Oh's perspective. (A three-year-old Boov may act like a seven or eight year old human). Then we will probably jump back and forward between Justice's, Abelardo and Winter's POV until I find it fit to stop.

Questions? There's a function called PM, or Private Message. Go on, it won't hurt anyone.

Thoughts or comments? There's a button a bit further down; it's called Review, tap it and do your thing. Please, this story will grow and expand and everything but updates, my will to write and how serious I take this will depend on your responses and how much you tell me about this. As always, tell me what you want to see and I'll do my very best! Because, you know, there's not really a plot, I suck at those… *sighs heavily*

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