Part 3: Learning

Holding the whimsical picture book up so it could be easily seen, Tamerin turned a page. "What about this one?" she asked.

"Fishies," Horex said promptly. "Daddy likes ta catch 'em."

Smiling, the white-skinned Imeeran slowly turned to the next page. Her eyes were on her daughter, who was leaning against her knee and watching intently, her large eyes curious. She looked content - and her little mouth looked content to stay shut. "How about these?"

"Trees, houses, sun," Horex rattled out. "An' a puppy - like me!"

He yipped happily. Thea smiled and placed her cheek on her mother's hip. "A super-smart puppy at that," Tamerin noted, making four-year-old Horex beam. "Now, how about we see if Thea can figure out the rest by herself?"

Taking the hint, Horex went quiet and watched as the picture book was angled so Thea could see it better. Her bright blue eyes blinked as they scanned each page her mother flipped to, but her short muzzle still didn't open. Tamerin felt a little disappointed as she gave up and closed the book, but at the same time she knew better than to be concerned.

She could tell by the comprehension she sensed from her daughter that Thea understood everything she had seen and heard this morning. They'd taken her in for frequent exams ever since she was born in case something unexpected ever arose, and her mental development had been evaluated as well. According to the results, she was smart - maybe even a little smarter than most three-year-olds. She had no trouble learning. She was just quiet.

Not that she didn't talk. She simply liked to save her words for when she really felt like using them.

As long as she was strong and healthy, Tamerin was happy, and she smoothed her hand over her daughter's downy head before planting a kiss between her small round ears. A second later the front door buzzed. "Company," Horex announced.

Tamerin gave his plump belly a poke, making him giggle and squirm away. She straightened Thea's pink dress and set her on the rug next to a mound of toys before getting up and answering the door. Waiting outside was a very familiar white rodent - one she hadn't seen a whole lot of recently. Not since word got around that he was going to be a daddy. "Well, hey, Vector. You need something?"

The ordinarily rambunctious half-mouse turned bashful as he answered, dropping his dark eyes and scuffing his heel against the ground. "Practice," he mumbled.

Her smile knowing, Tamerin took a step back and swept a hand toward the living room. "Come on in. Grab a kid."

Vector followed her over to the rug in front of the sofa, where he promptly sprawled out on his belly and started building a tower out of blocks with Horex. Thea was sitting quietly with the picture book open on her small lap. She turned each heavy-duty page carefully, pinching them between her stubby black claws.

"Hey," Vector said suddenly, "know what this is?"

He was holding up a crude but recognizable motorcycle shape slapped together with building blocks. Thea looked away with disinterest and picked up her favorite doll; Horex let out a laugh. "Vroom-vroom!" he exclaimed, making his best bike impression. "When I get big I wanna big bike, just like my daddy."

"All right! Hey - high five."

Tamerin sat down on the rug again and watched in amusement as the two started chattering about guy stuff. "I think those two have an understanding," she observed.

Thea rolled onto her back with a giggle. "Daddy!"

"Daddy?" Eyes loving, Tamerin stretched out on her side and propped her head on her palm as she looked at her daughter's smiling face. "What about Daddy?"

Her rolly-polly daughter giggled again. "Daddy's cute!"

"Sure can't argue that."

Vector suddenly crawled over and peered down at the plump three-year-old. "What about me?" he asked with a grin. "I'm the cutest one, right?"

Thea wrinkled her little black nose. "No," she replied frankly. "You da one dat talks too much."

Both her mother and Horex burst out laughing, while Vector went back to his blocks with a pout. "That's my girl - hey, high five."

She gave her daughter's furry, paw-like hand a light pat, then reclined on the floor beside her quietly for a while, but Thea had apparently said enough for now and played with her doll silently. The boys, on the other hand, talked nonstop. Tamerin watched them with a smirk, noting to herself that Vector seemed to have a natural feel for interacting with an older child. It was tempting to tease him about how he and a four-year-old seemed to have the same level of enthusiasm, but instead she said, "When you're ready to move on to something younger, you can always help out your sister at the orphanage."

Unexpectedly, Vector's expression turned serious as he looked up. It was an expression Tamerin wouldn't have thought he would ever wear and was still getting used to seeing, even though he'd been wearing that same look frequently for three years now. Ever since Astrid's death.

"As soon as I'm ready for that, I'll let her know."

The serious moment passed and he and Horex went back to playing. While Thea cradled her doll, Tamerin was starting to think about lunch - and then she felt her mate come home.

He left earlier without saying where he was going, but she didn't think anything of it. She had to wonder now why he suddenly decided to teleport straight into their bedroom, and why he had gone to Malteria in the first place - and why it felt like he was in pain.

"Keep an eye on them, okay?" she told Thea, before hopping up and hurrying to the bedroom. She found Throttle curled up on their bed, eyes closed and face scrunched up. He groaned quietly as she knelt on the mattress and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" Tamerin asked, her heart flooding with concern.

"Didn't want to tell you before," her mate mumbled, voice muffled against the blanket. "Not until we were sure it would work."

He shifted with another groan, while the white-skinned Imeeran frowned in puzzlement. "Tell me what?" she asked.

But even as she spoke, in her heart she already knew what this was about. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the area just below his belt. "What did you do to yourself this time?"

With a quiet whimper, Throttle gingerly turned until he was lying on his back. His arms limp at his sides, he stretched his legs out slowly. Tamerin started taking off his boots. "Dee and I have been researching permanent contraceptive methods from other planets," he explained dully. "We finally found one that doesn't just keep sperm from leaving the body, but stops it from being produced altogether. Almost like being neutered without actually cutting anything off."

He shifted his hips with a wince. "Almost feels like something was anyway."

Tamerin hesitated, her eyes searching his as her heart filled with a question. Throttle gave her permission in the same silent way, though his body tensed as his tired eyes closed. She was as gentle as she knew how to be as she briefly felt the area that had been operated on. The most important part seemed fine and normal, but as for the other, directly affected parts...

"Feels kind of...small," she noted.

Throttle snorted quietly. "Looks worse. Like shriveled grapes."

Wrinkling his nose, he wiggled around for a second before settling down again. "It's just shock. They should be back to normal in about a week. But right now it feels like they're trying to crawl up behind my pelvic bone."

Tamerin's face lined with sympathy. She leaned over to smooth his hair back. "Did you really have to go that far?" she asked quietly. "We've been doing pretty well these last three years."

After Thea was born, they started following her mother and Rimfire's example and behaved themselves for the entire month she was scheduled to be fertile. As a result, they were as intimate as ever these days, enjoying each other frequently for three months and having all the fun they could without engaging in actual intercourse for the fourth month. It was an arrangement Tamerin was content with...even if she did miss making love when she was fertile.

"I know," said Throttle, his quiet tone matching hers. His eyes opened and he looked at her. "But even though things turned out great, and I couldn't love Thea more if I tried...I don't want to take the chance that we might not get a second miracle."

Through their bond, she could feel where all of his concern lie. With her. He knew as well as she did that if she had gotten pregnant a second time she could have very well ended up in just as much pain as her mother had. Or worse, she might have been forced to endure the pain of losing her child. That wasn't something either of them ever wanted to face.

Smiling softly now, she leaned closer and kissed his forehead as she allowed the gratitude and love she was feeling to flow through her and into him. She rested her head on his shoulder and let memories play inside her mind, thinking about all the ways he had been there for her all these years. All the ways he had sacrificed and given of himself. She felt so lucky that she was able to call him hers.

And then there came a thundering crash from the living room, forcing her up with a reluctant sigh. When she went back to the kids, she found Horex sitting right where she'd left him, pointing across the room with eyes wide and a look that clearly said 'I didn't do it!' on his face. Over by the far wall, the shelf that used to be tacked there was now on the floor, its contents scattered around Vector's feet. The white half-mouse was sheepishly holding Thea, who blinked innocently despite having obviously pushed over the toy block that now rested against the wall, giving her enough height to reach the low shelf.

Folding her arms, Tamerin breathed another sigh and came to stand in front of the snowy pair. "And now," she said, "we're going to have some practice in preventing accidents that could have easily been avoided if you were just paying attention."