Chapter Thirteen

Only one bed.

Convenient, I guess, considering we'll have to make a kid at some point to get out of this mess. Kai watches me carefully as I study the room. A large platform bed takes up most of the space. Various cabinets are set along the walls for storage. There is nothing personal in this room. Everything is sterile, plain, and unadorned. How did he make it two years? Do aliens not have hobbies?

I sit on the edge of the bed and run a hand over the covering. It feels soft and smooth to the touch, but very thin. Do aliens not like cozy blankets and fuzzy slippers? "Does it ever get cold in here?"

"We have complete control over the environmental controls," he says, sitting next to me.

"And if," I say, getting up the courage to say the things that have plagued my mind since I first decided that leaving Earth might be better than bringing the entirety of the universe to it. "If we had a child, where would we put it? It's not safe to have it sleep with us on the" I wave a hand at the bed, "sleeping platform."

"Everything is modular. There are ways to configure pieces stored under the floor to make a crib."

I kick off my shoes and pull my knees up to my chin. "You know, my ex, Rey–"

"The pussy?" Kai asks.

I huff a laugh. "I don't think your translator has caught up entirely just yet. Yeah, that guy…he and I tried to have a baby for a long time. For two years I took a pregnancy test every month and for two years it was negative every time."

Kai says nothing as I hug my knees to my chest, my eyes meeting his. "I don't know what they do on your planet. I'm sure they just point a magic wand and everything's perfect, but getting pregnant here on Earth when you can't…it's an ordeal. Tests and money and procedures and shots. When we finally got pregnant, things were pretty bad between us, but we'd finally gotten what we'd been trying for so long that I guess we thought we'd make it."

"I was almost nine months pregnant when the baby stopped moving. I didn't know back then that you were supposed to track its movement, count the kicks, and all that. I poked and prodded at my stomach all day, wondering why she wasn't moving, just thinking she was tired or having an off day."

"I couldn't sleep that night, so I got up and told Rey. He didn't think it was a big deal at first, and just told me to go back to bed. The next morning I was still worried about it, so he looked it up online and then took me to the ER."

I close my eyes at the memory. "She was so beautiful, so silent when I gave birth. The room, the nurses, the doctors–everything was so incredibly quiet. They let me hold her even though she was long gone. We had a different name picked out, but Rey couldn't bear to be in the room with her, so I named her Mireya after my mom. I don't know if there is an afterlife, but if there is, then I know my mom's got her namesake with her."

"It's a beautiful name." Kai says, holding out his banded hand palm up for me to take. I take it with my own banded hand but say nothing. We sit, together in silence, his hand pressed to mine for a very long time.

We spend another hour on the ship. I wander around pressing panels I probably shouldn't touch while Kai tries to figure out the fuel problem. In the workout room, I manage to find what I think might be an alien program. It features a species of creatures that look a lot like what I imagine bigfoot would look like, only they're wearing ornate clothing and playing large musical instruments. After that, I try to figure out the shower and end up drenched when a panel near the door causes the entire room to rain down on me.

"I think I've figured out our fuel problem." Kai tells me when I make my way back to the control room of the pod. "All the elements I'll need are pretty common here on Earth. The ship will be able to convert it all into enough fuel to get us to the nearest refugee planet. We can lie low there for a few years, then head back home."

"So if we're airborne before the five days are up, the pod won't disintegrate?"

He shakes his head. "No, the self-destruct procedures will stop as soon as we've escaped the atmosphere."

Suddenly I have another thought. "Is it dangerous to be here now? Are they monitoring everything we're doing?"

"No. They really don't care what happens on the pod. They only need to know one of two things–did the explorer survive the landing long enough to exit the pod and did they attempt to explore the planet? Me leaving the pod puts Earth on a list of possible planets, but nothing can be done about that now. Plus, the likelihood they'll waste another attempt at this planet in the near future is low. It's most likely going to go to the bottom of the list. It should give Earth a few hundred years to catch up."

"Or blow itself up."

"Or blow itself up," he agrees.

"How much longer do we have?"

He checks a panel by his right hand. "Approximately 76 of your hours."

"I guess we need to get home so I can pack."

Kai shuts down most of the non-essential systems and we head back out to the car, as the pod fades into the scenery behind us.

Anya, the woman Dad is definitely NOT dating, is sitting in the living room, scratching Chorizo when Kai and I finally make it home.

"Anya, this is my daughter, Araceli and her boyfriend Kai," Dad says introducing us. Thankfully, Kai is still in his work attire and covered except for his face and hands. Anya bites back the gasp that escapes her lips as her eyes land on Kai.

"It's a genetic skin condition," I tell her. "He's not contagious."

"Oh, no, I-I am sorry. I'm being absurd. I hope you don't think I'm a jerk. You just… are a surprise," she says to Kai as she takes his extended hand.

"As he is to us all. Are you two hungry? I can have something made in about thirty minutes."

Dad clears his throat. "Actually, if you don't mind, Anya was telling me about this new restaurant downtown."

I bite my lip to keep from smiling, "Oh, that sounds like fun, Dad. You never get out of the house. Let me know how it is and maybe Kai and I can hit it up sometime."

Wallets and keys are hunted down, and then Anya and Dad head out the door, arms twined so she can "help" him to her car. Chorizo huffs as the door is shut in his face. Immediately he heads over to Kai and begins to bump him with his snout until Kai scratches him.

"Are they going on a date?" Kai asks. The lost-in-thought expression on his face concerns me. I wonder how much media Kai consumed those two years. God only knows what weirdo TV shows and movies the Grays sold to his people.

"I guess it is."

"Would you go on a date with me sometime?"

"A date? Are you being serious?" I try to think back. Has anyone ever really asked me on a real date? I can't remember.

"Yes. I regret not being more sensitive to the mating rituals of humans when we first received our bonds. I did not stop to consider how overwhelming it must have been to be told that the only way to escape a person's presence is by reproducing with them."

I study Kai for a moment as he scratches Chorizo's head. "It was…difficult."

"We don't have much time. Perhaps tomorrow night?"

I'm tempted to protest. I have a million things to do if I'm going to be leaving soon, but it would be good to have a memory of going out one last time. Eating dinner in a restaurant. People watching. Talking about something other than the impending doom that awaits the Earth if this doesn't work.

"That sounds great."