Page 83 of Alien's Love Child

"Care to share the joke?" Davin shifts Leo in his arms, our son playing with the collar of his father's shirt.

"Don't you get it?" Rena wipes tears from her eyes, smearing a bit of blood across her cheek. "Our little Taluk's got two options, and they both end badly for him."

"Three, if you count running," I correct, helping Paraxan into a chair. "But we all know he won't do that. He's too greedy."

"Exactly." Rena's grin turns predatory. "Option one: he goes to a criminal gang. They test the data, find out it's worthless, and—" She draws a finger across her throat.

"And option two?" Davin asks, though I can see understanding dawning in his eyes.

"He tries to turn it in to the Alliance." Rena snorts, setting off another round of giggles. "Claims he's got proof of bioweapon dealings. They'll throw him in a holding cell while they verify the data. And once they realize he's wasted their time..."

"Bureaucrats hate nothing more than having their time wasted," Paraxan adds, his whiskers twitching despite the pain. "They'll bury him in so much red tape, he'll be lucky to see daylight before he's old and gray."

"Either way," I say, retrieving the first aid kit from under the sink, "he won't be bothering us again. Rena, come here, let me treat that wound."

"Mama's smart," Leo declares proudly, and my heart swells.

"Yes, she is," Davin agrees, pressing a kiss to our son's forehead. "Terrifyingly so."

I sink into a kitchen chair, the adrenaline finally wearing off. The antiseptic stinks as I clean Rena's split lip, but my handsstay steady. "You know what gets me? He really was exactly what he claimed to be – just a kid way over his head."

"A kid who held your son at gunpoint," Davin reminds me, his voice sharp.

"Not defending him." I cap the antiseptic. "Just... remembering how he used to drop things whenever anyone walked in. How he'd stammer through status reports."

Rena winces as I apply the bandage. "That wasn't all an act? Stars, I thought he was playing it up."

"No, that was real." I lean back, reminiscing. "Remember when he tried to help with inventory? Knocked over an entire shelf of protein packs?"

"And then tried to clean it up," Paraxan adds from his chair, "but kept slipping on the powder?"

"Exactly." My chest tightens. "He was genuine in his incompetence. Just like he was genuine in his greed. If he'd just... waited. Learned. Built trust with us..."

"He could've been something," Rena finishes. "Instead, he's about to learn the hard way that patience isn't just a virtue – it's a survival skill."

Leo tugs at my sleeve. "Mama, was Taluk bad all along?"

"No, sweetie." I pull him into my lap. "Sometimes good people make bad choices when they're scared or desperate. They convince themselves there are shortcuts to what they want."

"There aren't," Davin says firmly. "Not ones worth taking."

"No," I agree, running my fingers through Leo's hair. "There aren't."

The kitchen'squiet except for the clink of utensils against plates. Paraxan's stew sits untouched in the pot on the stove –none of us have the heart to eat it after everything. Instead, we're picking at reheated leftovers.

Leo pushes his vegetables around his plate. "Uncle Par Par, your head still hurts?"

"Not so much now, little one." Paraxan's whiskers droop despite his reassuring tone. "Your mother's quite good at patching people up."

"Better than your cooking skills," Rena tries to joke, but it falls flat. She sets down her fork with a sigh. "I keep thinking about all those times he helped me calibrate the nav system."

"Or when he'd volunteer for night watch." My throat tightens. "Remember how he'd bring us drinks during long hauls?"

"Small kindnesses to build trust." Davin's voice carries no judgment, just understanding. "It's a common tactic."

Leo crawls into my lap, abandoning his dinner entirely. "I don't want anymore bad people, Mama."

"Oh, sweetheart." I press my nose into his silver hair, breathing in his clean, baby smell. "I'm so sorry you had to see that."

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