Page 88 of What Makes an Alien a Dad?

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“I’LL FLY YOU HOME,” Kear said as the show ended and we walked toward a parking platform.

“You don’t have to.”

Taxi service was excellent in Voran.

“But I want to.”

“You’ll see me again, first thing tomorrow morning.” We had a day trip planned out of the city, with an early start.

An elevator took us up to the parking platform.

He paused at his aircraft. “I still would like to fly you home.”

Home.

My temporary accommodation at the Liaison Committee building never felt like home.

“Please?” Placing his hands on my waist, he lowered his head until our foreheads touched.

It was hard to resist him like that. Still I tried. “You need to get some sleep. You’ll have to pick me up early, and Anika will probably keep you up at night.”

“Then come with me. Stay at my place tonight, so we can leave together first thing tomorrow morning.” His voice was soft, his breathing shallow, like he was afraid to take a deep breath, waiting for my answer.

“It would make sense for me to sleep over, wouldn’t it?”

“You in my place always makes perfect sense,” he agreed. Cupping my face, he guided my mouth to his and sealed his words with a gentle kiss.

“I have my bag packed already. I could just send a delivery service to bring it over.”

He kissed me again. “See how practical it is?”

“And you have lots of spare bedrooms in your apartment,” I continued, thinking out loud.

“Lots,” he echoed, kissing the side of my face.

“All right, then. I’ll come with you.”

He grinned, as if I’d just handed him a huge Christmas present. Taking my hand in the aircraft, he didn’t let go all the way to the hospital.

Anika woke up the moment we arrived.

“Hungry? Again?” I smiled.

“Always hungry,” Kear lamented. “It’s amazing how much a little being like that can eat. But then again, she poops a lot too.”

I laughed, helping him unload the baby things from the aircraft. This “little being” also required us to bring along a lot of luggage anywhere she went.

Taking Anika from her bassinet, Kear held her against his shoulder. It was only his third weekend with her, but he handled her with ever-increasing ease and confidence. I caught him rubbing the side of his face against the tiny buds of the baby’s horns.

He was slowly transforming from simply a biological father to a dad. And it was a wonderful transformation to witness.

“Shhh.” He bounced on his hooves a little, calming Anika down. “Give me just a minute to get you some dinner.” He grabbed the fake boob out of the bassinet and squeezed it to test for contents. “It looks like we’re out, baby girl. You finished it all.”

Holding the baby at his shoulder, he marched through the living room toward the kitchen, then stopped in his tracks as if remembering something.

“I need to go down to the lab to get more milk,” he said, turning to me. “She ate all I had on hand. Must be going through a growth spurt.”

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