A package was placed on the desk, startling the drone sitting behind it. "Delivery came in from smithing", the drone on the other end of the desk said.
"Oh, that quick?", the other drone said, "those guys down there at smithing are quick. Wasn't expecting to see it so soon, Larry".
The delivery man, Larry, nodded, "yep. Those boys work quick. This for another of those prototypes you guys got going on?".
He nodded, "Khan's got some weird idea that sounds so weird, it goes all the way back around to being cool again. Not telling you what it is though, guy wants it a secret".
"Oof, bummer", Larry said, "guy's always been eccentric, him and his daughter. Always wondered why he spends so much time still working on doors".
The other drone shrugged, "gotta have a hobby somewhere. He just chooses to have his be a whole side job".
"I guess I get that", Larry said, "not much to do as the leader here anyway. Immigrants coming in lately, but that's not much of a job. Hasn't been exciting since those murder drones got tamed".
The other drone's eyes shifted uncomfortably around before continuing, "you don't tell him this, but I don't know what he and his daughter see in them. He used to not like that one his daughter married, but the guy practically treats him like a son now".
"I dunno, the girl murder chick is kinda hot though. You don't tell her wife I'm saying that, though", Larry shrugged.
"My lips are sealed", the other drone said, "I'll admit that the girl's hot and all but-". He froze as a door nearby opened. "Oh, uh, Mr. Doorman!", he nervously greeted, "we got that part in! It's on the desk over here".
Khan faced them as he looked over at the package in question. "Oh, yes. I see it now".
"Mr. Doorman?", Larry asked.
"What is it?", Khan spoke anticipating the question.
Larry pointed at his face, "new 'stache?".
Khan nodded while stroking the fuller mustache on his face. It was very beard-like in shape. "Special day today", he said.
The other drone leaned in, "oh? What's happening?".
"Well, let's just say… this old man is going to feel much older".
The floor of the living room shook as boots stomped within it. Back and forth Uzi paced, digital sweat evident on her screen.
"U-Uzi?", N nervously asked, "a-are you good?".
"Nervous", she blurted out as she continued to pace.
N's frame shook as he fidgeted with his hands. "Y-Yeah I a-am too", he admitted.
She stopped pacing and immediately her legs felt weak. They shook as she stood in place. "How do we even start this? I know where to go, I'm just so…", unable to continue, she resumed pacing.
"I-I'm excited, t-though", N said.
"It's all hitting me again that we're about to get a baby . Oh my robo-God, N. At the end of today, we're gonna be parents ", she said from her pacing.
A fluster graced N's screen, "y-yeah! Parents! I'm… s-so excited. It'll be s-so cute". Uzi paced faster as her face also exploded into blush. N continued with, "well, I think we're r-ready". His hands shook as he continued to fidget.
"I'm so nervous, N!", she said, "am I gonna mess it up or something? I feel like some stupid teen who got in trouble when actually I'm just thinking about going down there to ask for a baby. I'm being ridiculous".
"Well…", N said, "f-feeling ridiculous isn't a bad thing. We've both never done this before, so this is gonna be weird".
She stopped pacing to hold onto him by his upper arms. "Keep talking, snap me out of it", she asked.
"O-Ok, uh. Maybe don't think about it too hard? We won't be the only ones to ever do this. Lizzy and V were there a year ago after all", he said while trying to stop fidgeting with his hands.
Uzi nodded, "that's right. It's been done before between a Worker and Disassembler. It's not gonna be weird. I'm not gonna be weird".
"Right", N added.
"N", she said as she broke his hands apart and held them in her own, "thanks. You're the best bud I could've ever been blessed with". She wrapped her hands around him, hugging him briefly.
"You're welcome", he told her, "I think that helped me too".
"You good?", she asked.
He gave her a thumbs-up, "all cool".
"Good", she said as her hands came off him. Uzi took a few steps to the door, "ok, before I get psyched out of it again, maybe we should-".
His hand flew up, "actually, one more thing to psych me in". She looked at him in wonder as he went over to the spare room and opened it. She went with him and stared at the room they had set up for the baby.
Uzi frowned, "it still looks unfinished".
"Well yeah", he said, "we don't have a baby to put in it".
She chuckled at that as she went over to the cradle. "You know", she said, "I don't think I had one of these when I was a little pill. Guess that's one thing I'm doing right. That, or I'm humaning too hard on this and the cradle is pointless".
"Nah, don't say that", he said as he set a hand on her shoulder, "it's the thought that counts".
She smiled at him before returning focus to the cradle, "looks a little rough though. Needs a little something in it so the baby's not just rolling around in it".
"Blanket?", N suggested.
She nodded and they walked off to their stored cloth. They took out several blankets too big for the job before Uzi spotted something.
"Hey", she said pointing at it.
"Oh", N said, "that? I've always wondered why you kept that around".
"Can't wear it anymore, so…", she grabbed her old hoodie from the closetspace. The thing was torn in a few places to the point it was unsalvageable. "Should be fine", she told him.
He looked at it questioningly, "is it even clean?".
"I wouldn't keep it if it wasn't", she said as she walked back into the soon-to-be child's room. He watched her place it into the cradle, the former article of clothing barely covering the whole surface of the object. "See?", she said, "fits".
He gave her an amused smile and breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, so it fits. It's kind of cute actually! Really shows that you made it".
Uzi smiled back at him, "kid'll grow up knowing the best music known to dronekind. Dead Batteries is some real music by the realest band out there".
N chuckled, "I remember the first show you took me to they played at. It only hit me at the merch table that the hoodie you always wore was their merch".
"Oh yeah, happy times", she said as her gaze lingered over the room. After a moment, she went over to him at the door, "alright, you ready?".
"Ready".
Hand in hand, they walked out of their living space and into the corridors.
Caroline sighed as she slumped over her desk. What approximated her elbow hit a key on her keyboard, causing the computer in front of her to loudly beep.
"Hey, Caro? Your computer's making that noise again", her coworker said.
She forced herself upright in her chair as she focused on her coworker in the adjacent desk, "Mark, can you please stop interrupting my unbearable boredom sessions?".
Her coworker, Mark, folded his arms, "your sessions are causing me discomfort. I get that we don't see much work anymore, but don't make it any worse for me".
"We're the nursery ", she fumed, "I get that everyone was having kids after the murder drones got defanged or declawed or whatever, but come on people! Some of you must still want kids, give us some work already! We haven't had much going on since the big reproductive rush happened!".
"Hey, hey. Caro? Let's chill out", Mark warned, "we'll get work eventually, even if we have to do it ourselves".
"Mark, what are you talking about?".
He looked at her with a timid look, "uh, well. What I mean to say is… We've been married for a while, and maybe it's about time we had-".
The door opened and they both froze as they saw who stepped in. Uzi and N blinked. "What?", Uzi asked, "yeah we're here. What's weird about that?".
"Oh, no. Nothing's weird", Mark said, "it's just about time you two were here".
"Yeah, about time", Caroline said, "it's a great time to come in".
"Cool", N said, giving the two a thumbs-up as he walked to their desk, "so how do we get started?".
Mark snapped to attention, "oh, hold on a moment. Let's get you two in the system first. Let's start off with names, not that we don't already know the chief's daughter and her husband".
"N!", N chirped.
Mark looked at him in confusion, "wait, your name is just 'N'?".
"Yep!".
"Oh my robo-God, I thought the boys were pulling my leg", Mark said, "it's just a letter ?".
"Oh, no. Not my full name, no", N said, "Serial Designation N, or just N for short!".
Mark squinted at his screen, "uhh yeah that's not gonna fit on the first name line. Is any of that your last name?".
"Doorman", Uzi cut in, "he took my last name because he didn't have one. Stupid last name…".
"Got it", Mark said after typing it in, "first name?".
"N", Uzi answered again, "just N".
Mark nodded, "got it. And I already know of you, but to make sure, go over it with me".
Uzi groaned, "Uzi Doorman".
"Got that", he said, "IDs?".
"ID?", N asked before something dawned on him, "I left mine at home. Uh, I think I remember one of them? N-0X0… uh…".
"Not that", he said, "your Worker ID number? Well, I guess N might not have one-".
"I don't either", Uzi admitted, "it's just 'UZI' for me".
Mark began to visibly sweat, "uh huh. Uh. Is that gonna index properly?". A minute passed as Mark worked with the database and once he was done he sighed in relief, "oh my robo-God it'll index. Alphabet can be used here apparently".
Uzi felt off about that. Another weird quirk about her that could rear its head to remind her that she still wasn't quite "normal". Her tail flicked. "Ok", she said, "just put N's down as N".
"Alright", he said as he got to work, "if the system crashes I know which file to look at". Uzi glared at him as he was focused on his work.
"So, uh", Caroline asked, "you two decided to have a kid?".
N nodded, "yep! We've been prepping all last month!".
"Do you know how the kids are made?".
"Nope!", N answered innocently, "so long as it's way less weird than how organics do it, I think we'll be fine!".
"File's set up", Mark said, "let's get you guys going with the kid already". N's hands shook with joy while Uzi blushed.
The workers led Uzi and N over to another room. It was large and had an industrial feel to the make of it. Colorful banners and posters and drawings covered the walls. A large assembly machine sat on the other end of the room. Caroline flipped a switch, causing the lights to come on and the machine to begin emitting a noise.
Caroline led them over to the machine, "here's where the magic's made. This machine usually makes full Worker bodies, but with some adjustments, you can get a baby instead".
"Oh wow", N said.
Mark pointed to a control panel, "we'll be doing that from there. After it's all warmed up, it'll be good to go".
"How long will making the baby take?", Uzi asked.
Caroline shrugged, "about an hour. We're telling it to do something it's not really designed to do, so it's a slow process".
"So we'll be here a bit, huh", Uzi said.
"It'll be over with faster than you think", Mark said, "in the meantime, you two can hang out in the waiting room. We got a lot of stuff you can read over".
Uzi nodded, "guess we should. N?".
"Coming!", he said as Mark led them out and into another room. This one was also plastered with all sorts of posters and drawings. A few couches were along the walls and a stand full of paper was seen. Mark spread his arms out wide, "the waiting room for expectant parents! Should be all comfy while we work on your new baby". He left them to it after he realized they had nothing else to say to him.
N flopped to the couch as Uzi took an interest in the stand. "It's all full of those books", she said, "I already studied up on these".
N smiled, "guess that means you're good to go".
She took one and sat next to N with it, "well newsflash, dork, you should still brush up on parenting skills".
N shrugged, "I already learned a lot from Chloe, I got this".
Uzi gave him a disbelieving look as she opened up the book, "Chapter 6. Your new baby comes with responsibility you might not be aware of. Once every few weeks, a baby's oil should be inspected and refilled with-".
N slammed his hand on her wrist, startling her, "what! Uzi what is it talking about? O-Oil? I-I couldn't-".
"N, chill. This is exactly what I'm talking about", she said as he relaxed his grip, "stuff I never even knew about".
"Yeah, that's a… huge understatement".
"And I get your little freakout over it. I don't have good memories involving other drone's oil too but we can do this", she told him.
"Keep reading", he asked.
She nodded, "because the baby's body is made with just the essentials, it lacks proper methods to filter out impurities within its oil. With proper maintenance, your baby should…".
The hour felt like it passed by quickly. They had made through a decent chunk of a book when Caroline came back in, "it's ready! Come over!".
The two got off the couch, digital sweat appearing, as they approached Caroline and the wrapped thing in her arm. "Ok well", Caroline backtracked, "not quite ready yet, but that's where you two come in". She handed them over two USB sticks with her free hand.
Uzi grabbed hers and immediately plugged it into a port on the back of her neck. N looked at his and at Uzi in confusion, "wait what are we doing?".
"Giving the baby preliminary data to work with", Caroline said, "these sticks take a portion of your code so the baby can use it to start forming its neural network. It's the part where the baby becomes yours".
"My data ?", N said in horror, "y-you don't need mine".
Uzi unplugged hers, the drive wedged between her index and middle fingers as she held it up between her and N. "N, it's ok. I'm putting my code in".
He shook his head, "no. Not ok. I don't wanna know what awful stuff I could feed it".
"It's just basic programming", Caroline explained, "no memories or anything of the sort".
"But that's also bad!", N protested, "I have targeting systems and other bad stuff I don't want to burden a kid with! I-I don't-".
"N?", Uzi asked in concern.
He looked at her and in a fearful whisper said, "I don't want to make another me - like how I used to be".
Uzi frowned as she considered her next words carefully, "It- It'll be ok. We'll make it ok. We're not the first ones to do this and we probably won't be the last".
"Uzi?", he asked in a small voice.
"What I mean is", she paused to collect herself, "V's done this already and her kid's alright. And… I guess I should also be worried since my own code probably isn't all that right either".
A shaky exhale escaped his mouth as he took a step back, "Uzi. Uzi no, you- You deserve to have a kid! After all that prep you did and how much you said you wanted to make things right- You- Just-".
"N, it's ok", she told him, "I think you deserve this chance to prove yourself too. I think it'll be fine. We can get through anything together".
He looked at her with pleading eyes, "...and the kid won't be messed up because it's ours?".
She looked between him, the memorystick in her hand, and the freshly-manufactured inactive child in Caroline's arms. "N", she said as she used her free hand to touch the hand he held his own stick in, "if our code affects them in any meaningful way, then we do what any parent should and support and help them. We're not… bad people for taking caution. I think good parents would accept the risks and handle whatever happens".
N's eyes glanced between his stick and the baby's body. "I hope you're right…", he said before leaning over to fidget at the panel on his neck, inserting the stick into his systems. The small drive quickly copied over a portion of code and popped out, N's hand pulling it out.
Caroline handed the baby body off to them, N receiving it meanwhile apologizing to her for the scene between the two of them. The other drone left them be as they located the baby's ports. "Found it", Uzi said as she readied her drive.
N carefully held the body in his arms as he also took his drive out, "ready".
They looked at each other hesitantly. "You sure you're ready?", Uzi asked him.
"I… Yeah, I think so. You?", he asked.
She shrugged, "now or never. You want a kid? Then let's put these in already".
He nodded, "on a count?".
She agreed. On a count of three, they inserted their drives into the body and let it absorb the data on both. A loading bar appeared on the child's face as this process happened. After several minutes, a message came up telling them to unplug their drives, the two doing such.
Uzi and N crowded around the child in their hands as processes began. They watched in wonder as the face screen removed all the busy text on it and replaced it with a pair of eyes.
A white pair of eyes that stared back at them.
"W-Wait, did we do something wrong?", N asked, "neither of us have white except-".
"Worker you had white eyes", Uzi pointed out.
N blinked, "uh, I was gonna say your dad's the only drone I know of with them, but that works too".
Uzi made a disgusted look, "we're just gonna assume the kid has your eyes". The child stared unblinking back.
"Aww, the little goober's already so much like its dad!", N cooed over the baby, "so much like daddy when he was younger~ We both had eyes!".
"...I don't think it knows how to blink", Uzi said in confusion over the child.
"Then I'll teach it to. I'm gonna be father of the year!", N boasted. He focused on the child and began blinking rapidly.
Uzi laughed, "that's gonna be an easy win for you, N".
"I know, right?", N said as he turned to her, "I'm gonna be the daddest dad to ever dad, and that's a promise".
"Alright father of the year, let the mom have a turn", Uzi said as she wrangled the child into her arms. It still wouldn't blink and Uzi was starting to feel a little freaked out over it. "Hey… baby. Uh, can you… blink for mommy please?", she asked it. Saying that felt weird. Her first time momming and she was struggling to think of how she should act.
A few moments passed before Uzi carefully held the child in one arm and used her other to point out her eyes, "see. Eyes. Now, try closing them?". She squinted a fair bit before winking.
A moment later, a blink animation appeared on the child's screen. N immediately wrapped the two up in his arms, "you did it! You're like some kind of baby-whisperer!".
"It wasn't that complicated", Uzi protested, "I just… had an idea".
The door opened and Caroline came back in, starting the newly-made family. "All good?", she asked.
"Yeah. Good", Uzi squeaked out, "it wouldn't blink, but we taught it to".
Caroline nodded, "happens a lot with newborns. Their neural network is too undeveloped to understand emotion right now, so you'll find yourself having to teach them this stuff a bit".
"...So it's just gonna stare at us for a while?", Uzi asked.
Caroline shrugged, "a couple of weeks at least".
"Aww", N pouted, "that's no fun".
Caroline chuckled, "it's a baby, it's not supposed to be fun. Anyway, let's get you folk going for release". She kept the door open for them as Uzi, N, and the baby left the room.
Uzi kept the child tight in her arms, unsure of how exactly to hold it. She noticed N's sideways glances at the two of them. This time when he looked away, golden diagonal lines decorated his screen. Dork , Uzi thought of him.
Caroline led them back to the original desk they started at. Mark was back at it typing away at a computer. "What else do they need to do?", Caroline asked.
Mark didn't take his eyes off the screen, "just cataloging the new baby. I'll set a reminder for them to come in periodically for issues".
"How soon?", Uzi asked.
"A few weeks from now", Mark said as he finished entering the data in, "we'll just check and make sure things are going ok. They usually do, so don't get worried about it".
Caroline stepped away to grab some papers out of a tray. "Here", she said presenting them to N, "these will be helpful in caring for the baby. They tell you everything you need".
"Oh, thank you", he said as he took them from her.
The wheels on Mark's chair squeaked as he pushed himself away from the desk. "Alright, and with that we're all set! Congratulations you two!". The two became flustered as they accepted the praise.
"We're good to go now?", N asked.
Caroline nodded, "yep! All good!".
He raised her a thumbs-up and then turned to Uzi, "you ready?".
She nodded, "yeah, let's get going before the colony gets super busy".
He smiled, "let's go!".
The two gave Caroline and Mark smiles before heading out, N opening the door for Uzi. The door shut, and they were gone.
"...Oh, I am definitely telling the boys about this", Mark said, "it was about time they finally came in for a kid".
"Speaking of that", Caroline asked, "what were you talking about when you said it was 'about time' earlier?".
Mark became flustered at the thought, "uh, well. Maybe another time".
Caroline stared at him for a long moment before sighing, "yeah, since we got work today, I'm not feeling like making another so soon if I can help it. Save that for another boring day and change job, let someone else do this".
Mark's mouth opened aghast. "I-I didn't think I was being so obvious".
"Honey, you are so bad at hiding it", she chuckled.
Uzi's tail twitched as she carefully held the child in her arms. Before them, the halls stretched out and several drones were seen going to and from. N nudged her, "good? I can hold it if you want".
"I'm fine", she blurted out.
"Nervous?", he asked.
"Yeah".
He urged them forward, "then let's get going".
The two carefully made their way back through the hallways. They kept close, tails rubbing each other. Several drones commented on it, specifically about Uzi having a tail, though that still wasn't as brought up as the child in her arms.
"You two had a kid?", a passerby asked.
"Just got 'em", N explained as they kept moving on.
They managed to avoid too many more questions as they made their way back to their place. Mostly. A certain familiar face ended up running into them.
"Woah! Uzi, N, what's this?", Thad asked as he walked alongside them.
N shrugged, "lot of stuff happened. We just got a baby and Uzi's got a tail again".
"Again?", Thad asked before changing topic, "well, I think it was a pretty natural decision for you two to grow a family. Little guy got a name yet?".
"We don't even know what its gender is", Uzi said, "but uh, yeah, name soon".
Thad threw them a fingergun, "sweet! Another kid to be a cool uncle to".
Uzi gave him a look, "Thad, you are not related to this kid".
"It's the thought that counts", he replied.
Much like the rest of them, the jock hadn't changed much since they were younger. A lack of opportunities for athletics in the colony led him to becoming a coach, the colony's basketball team being among the best in the area thanks in part to his coaching. He led an active life and was rarely at home.
N nudged him, "hey uh, we kinda don't want to make a scene here. People have been so nosey about us all day it's kinda exhausting".
"Ohh, no bet", Thad said, "alright. I'll let you guys go. Gonna tell Liz all about it!".
Uzi sighed, "you guys are so gossip-y. When are you getting a kid so the shoe can be on the other foot, huh?".
Thad chuckled, "no time for dates I'm afraid, though something tells me that kinda thing isn't in the cards for me, and I'd be fine with that".
"...You're sane", Uzi laughed.
"Very", N added, "this stuff is so crazy to figure out".
The jock gave them a salute, "alright. Peace out!". He quickly departed among the other inhabitants of the halls.
It took a few more minutes, but the two finally made it home. They both breathed a sigh of relief as they entered. "No more gossip. Good grief", Uzi complained.
N offered her a weary smile, "at least we're going to be able to relax now".
A grimace came from Uzi, "you got those papers still? Lotta stuff we should go over".
He dug them out from a pocket, straightening out the folded papers. "Yeah. They're here".
The two sat down on their couch together, papers in N's hands and the baby in Uzi's. N looked over the paperwork nervously as Uzi looked at the baby at a loss on what to do.
He nudged her, "hey, so… it's also talking about antivirus updates and stuff. Where do we get extra oil for oil changes".
She blinked, "uh. One thing at a time… Well actually, both of those we can probably get from the nursery".
"Right on", he said as he set the papers down, "can I hold them?".
"Sure".
Uzi handed off the baby to N who took it with great care. He began cooing at it, the expression on its screen only blinking in response.
"Well darn", N said, "Chloe responds really well to this".
"Ours is newborn. This little guy has a ways to go before more complicated expression", she said.
"Yeah… Do you think it's gonna be a boy?".
Uzi looked at him oddly, "what? Because I called it a little guy?".
He shrugged, "I guess. I don't know how V and Lizzy know they have a girl".
Uzi's gaze shifted back to the baby, "...do we pick one? They might not know either".
"Do you have any names?", he asked, looking at her carefully. Well, he didn't really need to because her face exploded into blush. N decided to ask about it, "...you have one, don't you?".
Uzi quickly crossed her arms and pouted, "I… might have given it some thought".
"Tell me! It's gotta be good!", he asked.
She was silent for a moment, "Colt?...".
N's eyes widened, "like a pony!".
"And like the cool gun", she grumbled, "it… works. It's kinda stupid…".
N nodded no, "no, I love it! I was gonna say something like Sparkles or-".
"Please don't say Goober again".
He froze and then shrugged, "uh, Uzi or N Jr.".
Uzi grimaced, "yeah no. Not doing that".
"I figured", he smiled at her, "Colt's a nice name. So are we deciding it's a boy?".
"I guess so".
N returned full focus to the baby in his arms and smiled. "This is our son…", he said before it really hit him, "I'm a dad now".
Uzi was in a similar spot. She moved closer to N so that she was sitting right against him as they both beheld the thing that contained their combined code - their new son.
She reached out and put a hand on Colt, N adjusting his hold so that Uzi and him could hold the baby together. They relaxed together as they really took in their first moment together as a family. It felt odd to really think of themselves in that light, but the physical proof of that bond was right there in their arms.
"...He's kinda cute", Uzi said.
"Really cute", N nodded, "he might even beat you in that department".
Uzi made a noise as she stifled herself from reacting. Setting that aside, she smirked, "years down the road when he's at prom all dressed up in his most dapper suit, he could look more handsome than you".
"Well that I can't imagine", he said, "he's just a football right now".
"He's our son", Uzi hissed, "not a football!".
N shrugged, "I just can't imagine him as anything but this. …What are you supposed to call this look?".
She gave him a look, "a baby?".
"And your body is?".
"Second, and final body", she explained, "after our neural networks develop well enough, we get put into these. I've been in this one since I was a kid".
That piqued his interest, "how soon can Colt be put into one?".
"As soon as he's developed enough for it", she said, "depends on the drone. Then he can walk and talk with us".
His hold on the child briefly softened before he tightened it. This was a whole person in his arms, one he'd helped make. It was an exciting thought that one day he could connect with his new son in those ways, and he hoped they'd get along great.
Oh, but… He made the kid. Part of his coding was floating around in it. That was scary to think about.
He glanced over to her, "hey, do you think he'll develop a tail? Or wings? Claws?".
"N, I really don't think our coding is going to do anything. You've seen Chloe, she's fine", Uzi pressed herself into him gently, "it'll be fine. He's not going to have those or a chompy tail or freaky wings or hand magic, none of that. He's not burdened with our curses. It's not- It shouldn't be possible". I hope .
"...I hope you're right", he said as he relaxed against her, "as much as we started not liking being normal, this is the one exception to that".
She nodded, "yeah. Yeah, good point. I just want him to live normally as long as possible. Don't get caught up in stupid curses and having your body messed with. I disassembled the stupid Solver, it better all be gone".
N chuckled, "good word choice".
"Stupid thing deserved it", Uzi boasted, "no one ever has to deal with it again and get freaky powers at the cost of their personhood".
N nodded his head in the direction of her tail. Uzi noticed and pouted, "that's the exception. I never had a tail like that, so you can't say I want to go back to being possessed and stuff".
"Just making sure", he said, "choppy tail was fun, though".
"Ohhh, don't remind me", she said, "I need to make a few tips for this tail and make it useful for something already".
N nuzzled her, "just be you, Uzi. That's all you need to be. Regardless of what happens with the tail".
She froze as fluster plastered her face. "T-Thanks".
"You're welcome", he smiled. Uzi was always so accepting of his concern. Sometimes he thought back on how things were just before he met her and the difference between the two was shocking. She was someone he could always count on, and someone who showed him that she cared for him.
He looked at their son again, the tiny thing still looking blankly at them. Whoever he grew up to be, he would be there to help his son. Fatherhood was something he still didn't quite understand, but it was something he wanted to do. He looked at Uzi thinking back on what she said about her own upbringing and agreeing with the sentiment. He never knew good parents or had any of his own, but that didn't mean he couldn't make a great dad.
Uzi's gaze also rested on their son. The newborn state would be very boring, but at least she could brush up better on her notes about drone offspring. Her gaze glanced over to N wondering how much she needed to brush up with him on childcare. Not much, she decided. They prepared well enough, and they could handle anything together just as they had since they first met.
The couple's gazes found each other and without any hesitation they bridged the gap between them and kissed.
"I love you".
"I love you too, dork".