-1Chapter 5- Quiet beginnings

Later that night, Renton lay in bed in their room while Eureka was sitting on the side of their bed getting ready to retire for the night. Renton hadn't been himself since what happened earlier in the day. Instead of being the usual, upbeat, father that he now was, he became somewhat withdrawn and had a worried expression on his face the entire afternoon and evening. The way he had been acting and looked worried Eureka, but she understood how he felt. He was thinking about her and their future as a family, not about fighting another war. When Eureka was finally done getting ready, she turned to see him still laying there with the same expression on his face.

"Renton dear are you ok?"

"I'm not too sure, Eureka."

"Why not? What's wrong?"

"With everything that's going on and happening now, it's not the kind of future that I was hoping and planning for us."

"I know. It wasn't what I was planning on for us either, but I'm willing to do what it takes to protect all of us."

"So am I." said Renton. "It's just not what I wanted for us."

"I understand that." Eureka replied as she sat next to him. "Better than you think I do."

"I know you do." he replied. It's just that I didn't want to have to fight anymore."

"Neither do I Renton believe me." Eureka replied. "But it's our future that we'd be sacrificing again if we don't."

Renton looked at his wife with an expression of understanding. He knew she was right this time. If they didn't fight, there was no telling what would happen this time around.

"True." Renton replied. "I would hate to have to lose you again."
"You never will, my dearest Renton. I'm sure of it this time."

"So am I." said Renton. "I guess with the whole situation being what it is, I'll have some more understanding and growing up to do.

"No you don't Renton." Eureka replied. "I love you and what you have become. You've become more grown up than you think you have."

"You think so?" he replied.

"Yes I do. If you hadn't grown up into the person you are now, we probably wouldn't be here with each other right now nor would you be the father of those three children in the room next to us."

"Yeah I guess you're right dear" Renton replied. "Even if I was the first person to tell you that I loved you."

Eureka laughed a bit at that last statement. She remembered when he first said that he was in love with her at that battle over Bell Forest almost three years ago. After she thought of that moment, she said "Yeah and it took me a while to understand what those kind of feelings were. Once I did, I finally knew where I belonged, and that was with you by your side."

"So did I the very first time I saw you, even if you did destroy my room on that night." The young couple laughed at the memory of that night. It was one that they definitely wouldn't forget. The Nirvash wasn't responding well to her piloting for some reason, so the GekkoState had decided to take it to the only person that they knew who could fix it. While Eureka had meant to land away from the main building, she still somehow landed and destroyed Renton's room, and then burned the remains the next morning. After a few minutes of laughing, Renton said "Thanks Eureka, I think I needed that. I guess I have to stop dwelling on past events and just look forward to the future."

Eureka then put her head on his left shoulder, took his hand with hers, looked up at him and said "Our future together?"

"Yeah, our future, together, Eureka."

"Well, we better get some rest then, love. We have a long hard road ahead of us."

"Yeah we do, but we'll make it through it all as a family, no matter what it takes." With that said, they gave each other a long, slow good nights kiss, got under the covers and got a nice, long nights rest.

The next morning found the entire crew in the lounge discussing their next step for the upcoming battles ahead.

"I see no way around it." said Holland. "We're just going to have to join the new federation army with Jurgens. That along with the near impossible return of the Nirvash will hopefully get us through this."

"Will it work though that's the question." said Talho.

"It'll have to." Holland replied. "We have no choice."

"Sounds like the plan we used against Dewey when he was around, just on a much larger scale." said Hap.

"It basically is." replied Holland.

"Do we know what we're fighting up against yet?" asked Hilda.

"No not yet." replied Holland. "We're still waiting for reports on that, but from what we've heard so far, it's going to be about half of the military forces."

"That's not much from before." said Matthieu.

"Maybe not." said Talho. "But what they're fighting with is more advanced monsoono class LFO's. They look the same but faster and more efficient than before."
"Making it harder to fight then." said Hilda.

"Exactly." said Talho. "Which is why We're glad to have Renton, Eureka, and the Nirvash back on board with us."

"And we're glad to be back, even though we wish it was under better circumstances." said Renton.

"We know." Holland Replied. "The question is are you two ready for what's ahead of you?"

"Yeah we are." said Eureka as she took her husbands hand. "We talked about it last night and decided we would fight for all of us and all of you guys."

"And we thank you for that." said Talho. "You know we wouldn't have asked you two otherwise."

"We understand." said Renton. "We decided it was the only way to get through this situation."

"As a family." Eureka continued. "Not only for our children, but you guys are our family as well."

"Alright then," said Holland with a determined look to his face. "We'll get through this together, as a family. A family that won't be beaten, no matter what the cost. We have to get through this."

"Yes sir!" the crew replied as one.

"We won't be in contact with the army for a few more days yet. So all of you have some time off to yourselves." said Talho. "Use it well, because you probably won't be getting any more for a while."

"Everyone dismissed." said Holland. With that command everyone left the lounge. Before Renton and Eureka walked out of the lounge, Holland stopped them and said "Thank you, son. Please, take care of our daughter." What Holland said to him completely surprised him and took him off guard. He then looked up at Holland and said "Don't worry I will, I promise." That reply put a smile on Holland's face knowing that Eureka was in good hands.

The rest of the day everyone on the ship did their own thing for a change while also taking care of regular ship duties along the way. Hilda and Matthieu were in the lounge playing with their music, Renton and Eureka were in their room spending time with the kids, Doggie and Gidget went Reffing together since they we're landed at the time and Holland and Talho spent some time to themselves with their son. It was the most relaxed atmosphere that the Gekko had ever had. Later in the evening, Renton fired up the grill they had on board the ship and they all had an outdoor cookout dinner, which was more like a party to them. Matthieu had the music blaring while Renton and Eureka handled the cooking, Hilda, Doggie, and Gidget played with the kids while the rest of the crew sat back and enjoyed the festivities. By the end of the evening though, everyone was quite full and fully tuckered out.

Later that night, after Eureka and Renton carried their sleeping children to their room and put them to bed, they retired to their room to talk about the day and relax from the evenings activities.

"This was the best day ever!!" said Renton with much enthusiasm. "I really enjoyed our time together with the kids today."

"So did I." said Eureka. "I think our bond as a family definitely got stronger today."

"Yeah I think so too." Renton replied. "It's the best feeling I've ever had."

"I feel the same way Renton." she replied. Eureka then got sort of a nervous look on her face and asked "Hey Renton, would you ever want to be a father yourself someday?"

"Of course!!" replied Renton a bit nervously. He wasn't expecting this sort of question out of her this early in their relationship. "As long as it's with you dear. May it be either a boy or girl, it don't matter. Whatever nature gives us I'll love it just the same.

"Me too." replied Eureka. "As long as it's with you, Renton."

"By the way Eureka, what made you bring up this subject anyways?"

"I'm not sure Renton. I guess seeing how happy Holland and Talho are with their son, how well they get along with our kids, it makes me wonder what having a child of our own would be like someday."

"Well," replied Renton, "there are two ways to find out."

"Really? What are they?" she asked.

"Well, you can go ask Mischa and Talho and they'll give you all the details and information that you want or if you like, we can just find out on our own someday."

"Renton, do you mean what I think you're saying?" Renton let out a nervous laugh and said "Yeah I guess so."

"Oh Renton, thank you!!"

"For what Eureka?" replied Renton as Eureka gave him a big hug.

"For making me so happy!" she replied. "I'm so glad we could talk about this." Renton laughed for a minute and said "Well, if we do have a child of our own someday, when should we plan on trying for it?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure how the kids would react to the idea of us having a baby. I just don't want them to be upset at the idea."

"I'm sure they would be fine, but we'll talk to them anyways and find out what they think. I mean, they're already crazy about Talho and Holland's son."

"True, they do love him."

"Like I do you Eureka." Renton replied as he held her close and kissed her.

Eureka giggled at his reply and said "My dear Renton, whatever am I going to do with you?"

"Oh I don't know. The only things I can think of is to love me and let me be your husband." Eureka let out a little giggle at that response also. It was funny little things like that that always made her laugh.

Later on as the two lay in bed reading and relaxing from the day, Eureka gently spoke up and said "Hey, Renton?"

"Yes Eureka?" he replied. She then put down the book she was reading and looked at him with a look that he had never seen before. Her facial expressions were calm, yet there was a look of soft passion in her eyes, like she was in love all over again. That look had him in a trance, which wasn't hard for him to get into with those soft lavender eyes of hers. He then got knocked out of the trance when She said "Renton, dear, let's become one tonight."

What she just asked him caught him completely off guard and made him blush slightly. He then looked at her nervously and said "Are you sure? I mean we, you, ah, haven't, well, you know."

"It's ok." she replied with caring eyes. "As long as I'm with you, I know it will be ok. I trust you, Renton."

Her response to him amazed him. Even her level of trust in him surprised him. He had never thought things would go this far this fast, even if they were married. He wanted to take his time, earn his trust as a husband since he was still pretty new to it. But the look she gave him let him know she trusted him and that he wouldn't hurt her. It was that level of trust that he had somehow gotten to and didn't want to ever lose. He then looked back at her with the same look she gave him and said "Ok, my love, lets become one, together."

The next morning Eureka was the first one up with the morning sun. When she woke up, her head was resting on Renton's chest. Her left leg was crossing his two legs and her left arm was laying across his midsection in a hugging position. It was the most comfortable that she had ever been with him that she could ever remember. What had happened that previous night was probably the most amazing thing that she would never forget. Somehow Renton had known how to caress her, hold her, love her, and be gentle with her in all the right ways. To her, it was the most beautiful feeling the world. As she was thinking about that night and about how wonderful it was, Renton began to stir and slowly wake up himself.

"Morning, beautiful. How are you feeling today?" he asked.

"Amazing thank you. How about you love?"

"I'm great thank you." he said softly. "Thank you for a wonderful evening."

"No thank you, my dear Renton." she replied. "It was amazing."

"Yes it was." said Renton. "And I'm sure there will be many more like it."

"I hope so." she replied. "So Renton, are you hungry at all?

"Yeah I am." said Renton. "How about you?"

"Mmmhmm." she replied. "It's still early yet and I don't think anyone else is awake. How about we go make breakfast for everyone?"

"Sure!" said Renton enthusiastically. "I'm sure they'll love it."

"Lets go surprise them then!" she replied.

"Lets." said Renton. As the two slowly got up and started getting dressed for the day, Renton had noticed how beautiful she looked in the morning sunlight. The curves of her body, the color of her wings, the way her face looked, it totally made him fall in love with her all over again. It was also way more than enough to put a small, warm smile on his face. While she was getting dressed, Eureka noticed out of the corner of her eye that Renton was staring at her.

"You ok Renton?" she asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." he replied "I'm just thinking about how beautiful you look in the sunlight, that's all."

The reply he gave her put a loving smile on her face and made her blush slightly since she knew how much Renton cared for her. After he said that, she walked around their bed up to him, bent down, gave him a kiss and said "We'd better hurry up Mr. Thurston before our hungry crew wakes up."

A little later on while Eureka and Renton were in the kitchen cooking up breakfast, the crew, Axel, and the children all woke up to the wonderful smells of the food coming in from the dining hall. Slowly but surely everyone clambered into the dining room see what was going on. When they walked in, they couldn't believe what they saw on the tables:

Bacon, eggs, toast, sausage, pancakes, waffles, French toast, oj, milk, and various fruits. There was enough food sitting there to feed an army.

"Morning everyone!" said Renton.

"Hope you're all hungry." said Eureka.

"Did you two make all this?" asked Hilda

"Yep." replied Renton. "We thought you'd all enjoy a good hearty breakfast this morning."

"Well aren't you two the chipper ones this morning." said Talho as she walked in.

"Yeah I guess you could say that." said Renton with a laugh.

"Well let's eat I'm starved!" said Matthieu.

"Dig in everyone before it all gets cold!!" said Eureka.

"Man this is awesome!! A cookout last night and now a home made breakfast this morning, you can't ask for anything better than this!" said Matthieu.

"Especially with these two cooking." said Hap. "They always make the best food."

"You aren't kidding there." said Holland. "We'll all be fat when we get older with the way these two feed us."

"Don't say that, I like my figure where it is thank you." said Talho with a laugh.

After everyone on the ship had finally had their fill of the wonderful breakfast that was prepared for them, they all went to get changed into their regular clothes since they had to take care of their normal ship duties. Everyone except Talho, who noticed something different about Eureka as she watched her and Renton clean up after the large meal. "What is so different about her now? She seems more feminine than before." she thought to herself.

A little while later after Renton and Eureka had finally finished cleaning, Talho stopped Eureka in the hallway. "Eureka can we talk for a second?" she asked.

"Sure." she replied. "Renton go on ahead of me. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

"Ok." he replied and he continued on his way.

"So what's the matter Talho?" asked Eureka.

"Is there something going on between you and Renton? You seem different for some reason today."

"No there isn't. I'm just really happy today that's all." Eureka replied.

"No, it's something else about you Eureka. I just can't figure it out, but I can sense something different about you."

"Well," Eureka replied but she stopped there. "Should I tell her about last night? Should I explain it to her? Will she get mad at me or Renton if I did?" All these thoughts flooded her mind until Talho said "You two didn't do what I'm thinking you did did you?

"But how did she know?" Eureka thought to herself. "I didn't even tell her yet." It was then that Talho spoke again.

"Call it a hunch." she said.

"But how?" asked Eureka

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you two at all." said Talho. "You two are married now and I can't tell you what to do. Just be careful, ok?"

"Eureka breathed a sigh of relief and said "Ok, we will don't worry."

"Thank you." said Talho. "Well, enjoy your day."

"You too, mom." Eureka replied. That reply was enough to put a warm motherly smile on her face as Talho walked away.