Page 37 of Alien's Love Child

I swallow hard against another wave of nausea. "Thanks for that stunning observation."

"No, I mean it. Maybe you picked something up there? That rain-soaked alley wasn't exactly sanitary."

The mention of the alley sends my mind spinning back to that kiss, to his hands, to that night when...

My eyes snap wide. "What's the date?"

"What?"

"The date, Rena. What's today's date?"

She checks her PerComm. "The fifteenth. Why-"

I'm already stumbling out of my chair before she finishes, my heart thundering in my chest. The corridor tilts as I make my way to the supply closet, counting backwards in my head.

The medkit's exactly where it should be, third shelf from the bottom. My trembling fingers fumble with the latch until it springs open. There, nestled between bandages and pain patches, sits the small white diagnostic stick.

One drop of blood. That's all it needs.

The prick barely registers through the adrenaline flooding my system. Three seconds feel like three years as the indicator light blinks.

Then it turns blue.

Positive.

The stick clatters to the floor as my knees give out. I press my hand against my still-flat stomach, where a tiny piece of him is growing inside me.

"Jesse?" Rena calls from down the hall. "You okay?"

I can't answer. Can't breathe. Can't process what this means.

A baby. His baby. Our baby.

CHAPTER 14

JESSE

Leo's silver hair catches the artificial sunlight streaming through the station's dome as he toddles across our small garden patch. My heart clenches – he looks more like his father every day.

"Mama, look!" He holds up a fistful of hydroponically grown daisies, roots and all.

"Those were supposed to stay in the dirt, sweetie." I crouch down, helping him replant them. His tiny blue hands pat the soil with surprising gentleness.

My PerComm buzzes. Rena's smiling face fills the screen. "Ready for visitors?"

"Always. Though you caught us destroying the garden again."

"That's my nephew. Breaking things runs in the family."

Leo perks up at her voice. "Auntie Rena!"

"Hey troublemaker. Save some chaos for when I get there."

I brush dirt from Leo's overalls. "How long are you planetside?"

"Few days. Got a quiet run lined up after. Nothing exciting." The unspoken message is clear – no jobs that might draw attention. "Though I did bring something that might interest you."

"If it's another toy ship, his room's already a fleet."

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