Page 6 of Alien Engineer's Mate

"Of course, poppet."

The stuffed toy had been his first desperate offering when she'd come home with him. She'd clutched it for days, wielding it like a shield against the world.

“‘Kay.”

She squirmed off his lap, wobbling a little as she stood. He followed her through to her bedroom to find clothes for the day. Her sleep attire, decorated with what the merchant had sworn were 'popular Earth animals,' twisted around her small frame. Getting her dressed would be a battle, especially when...

"No." Emily backed away from the warm outfit in his hands, eyes flaring with defiance. "Want my blue one."

He bit back a sigh. It was going to be one of those days, he could tell. "But you wore the blue one yesterday," he argued. "And the temperature controls are being adjusted today. You'll be cold."

"Blue one." Her chin lifted in that familiar stubborn tilt that meant a fight was brewing.

His bracer chimed again.0731.The meeting was about to start without him, his team gathering while he argued about dresses.

"Emily..." He caught himself and forced the growl from his voice. Who would have thought it, a warrior of his standing and experience bested by a tiny human female? But… the nightmare still haunted her eyes, and she needed these small choices. Needed to feel her choices mattered. Even if those choices meant wasting precious minutes arguing about a dress.

The blue dress was a wrinkled mess, stuffed in the back of the storage unit. His fingers itched to smooth it as Emily clutched it to her chest, her red dragon dangling from one small hand. He wasn’t sure the thing was even a real Earth animal.

"Will you at least wear the warm leggings underneath?"

Her small nod felt like victory.

Getting her dressed still took an eternity. The dress tangled in ways that defied physics, her hair fought the brush, and then they’d had to mount a full expedition to find Red Dragon's favorite ribbon—because he needed to look ‘pretty’ today. Maax’s bracer chimed three more times before he managed to herd Emily out of their quarters.

The station corridors pressed in around them, thick with traffic from the station’s shift change. Emily in the crook of his arm and Red Dragon riding his shoulder, he glared at everyone that got in his way. Most scattered out of the way immediately, and he growled at those who didn’t.

Another message from his second in engineering crawled across his bracer just as they reached the corridor that led to the nursery.

Where the draanth are you?

His expression tightened. He needed to respond, to explain...

"Warrior Maax!"

His spine stiffened at that too-bright voice.No. Not now.

A human female stood planted by the nursery entrance, her smile as artificial as station lighting. She'd positioned herself perfectly to intercept them… which meant she'd been lying in wait. Again.

“Good morning, Aisha,” he rumbled, trying to step around her.

"Good morning!" She stepped in front of him, blocking his access to the door. "I was just telling everyone how wonderful it is to see you taking such good care of Emily."

A cluster of human mothers behind her paused their chattering to watch, expressions ranging from curiosity to poorly hidden amusement. Emily cuddled closer to him, burying her face against his neck under his hair and trying to disappear.

"Good morning, Emily!" The nursery teacher, Mrs. Harrison, emerged from the doorway like a rescue vessel. “You’re just in time. We're about to start morning songs. Would you like to help me set up the instruments?"

Emily looked up and nodded. “Yes, please.”

He set her down on her feet, then crouched down in front of her, ignoring Aisha's attempts to catch his eye. "Remember, if you need anything, you can ask Mrs. Harrison to call me. Anything at all."

"Promise?" Her voice was small. Fragile.

"On my honor as a warrior." He touched his chest formally, rewarded by the tiny smile that crept across her face. He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Okay, run along now, poppet, and I’ll see you later.”

"Such a devoted father," Aisha sighed as Emily disappeared into the nursery. She'd somehow slithered closer while his attention was elsewhere. "It's so rare to see a man take such responsibility..."

He straightened to his full height, using it to step back without appearing to retreat like prey. "I need to report to Engineering."

---