Page 16 of Mama

“Tomorrow is too soon, but I will let you know by the time the babies come,” he tells me before walking away. I sigh heavily, and Dad pats my leg.

“He’ll come around, Cas, and then it will be up to you to see that he makes the most of it. Promise me you won’t let him settle for anything less than what he deserves.”

“I won’t, Dad, I promise.”

* * *

“Iwant Malik to join the circus. Do you think your grandpas would mind?” I ask Lila at the same time she says, “I think your brother should join the circus. I want to introduce him to Magenta.”

We’re on our way back to Skarr after a teary goodbye with my family. We promised to video chat with them the minute the babies shifted and we were back on dry ground.

Broderick was waiting for us at the shuttle, and this time the trip is just us and him. The rest of the Fluxx shifters are staying on their home planet until they are recalled for the show. We were quiet until we hit hyperspeed, and then we both started talking at the same time.

We’re silent for a moment before we both start laughing at each other.

“I would say great minds think alike,” Broderick comments from the captain’s seat.

“He’s so unhappy. Fluxx is not the best place for people who are different. Not everywhere is as tolerant as Skarr.”

Broderick snorts. “Skarr’s not all that great either. If you’re an adult and you don’t have bonding plans or aren’t already bonded, you are considered an anomaly. I can’t tell you the number of times people looked at me strangely when I told them I’m not bonded.”

“Yeah, and I bet I’m going to get some looks when they discover my partners are not all Skarrian. Apparently that’s also uncommon,” Lila points out, and the captain agrees.

“Yup, I don’t think there is anywhere in the galaxy where people are so enlightened that they are completely tolerant of everything.”

“The Celestians seem pretty cool.” Lila leans her head on my shoulder and rubs a hand over her belly.

It’s not as big as it will be, but it’s still significantly larger than it was. I can’t tell you how much I want to bang my fists against my chest and shout to the world that I did that, that those are my babies in there, and that’s my wife. I’ve never felt the animal instinct as strongly as I have since I mated with Lila. Now I just want to defend and protect, and hide her away in a cave and keep her barefoot and pregnant forever. I bet she would have my balls if I suggested that though. She is meant for so much more, and I can’t wait to be there to support her in whatever way I can.

“They are an enlightened bunch, and so are the Jelliads, but they reproduce asexually and use other people’s sex acts to fuel their own bodies, so I guess they can’t afford to be judgmental.” Broderick turns in his seat now that the ship has been locked into its coordinates and is in hyper drive.

“Reproduce asexually?” Lila looks between the two of us, and I nod.

“Yup, and to be honest, that really isn’t the weirdest way to reproduce. I mean, look at the Modovian the other night,” I point out, and Lila shudders.

“I still can’t believe one of them got on our ship,” Broderick muses, shaking his head, but Lila suddenly sits upright, paying attention.

“I was thinking about that last night. We didn’t let that information get out. Xavier went back and erased it from Tully’s and Sully’s minds, as well as the dude who was violated. The only people who know about it now are our family and Bubby here. What if once the babies come and I have my mimic abilities under control, I go undercover as the Modovian. I can report back to the Syndicate and see if I can get any more information out of them.”

“Over my dead body,” I growl as Broderick shakes his head vehemently.

“Absolutely not. We can’t put you at risk like that. We don’t even know what they want with the circus.”

Although Broderick had been advised about the intruder, he hasn’t been read into the truth about what she was really doing there. The less people who know about the orb, the better. It’s still only the family on a need-to-know basis.

Lila deflates and sags back into the chair again. “Fine, but don’t think I’m going to let this go. I’m going to suggest it once the babies are here and you’re not in complete protection mode.”

“Did you enjoy your stay on Fluxx?” I ask Broderick, changing the subject and ignoring Lila, but I make a note to warn the Adams brothers and her other mates about her crazy fucking idea.

“It was fine. Fluxxians aren’t exactly the warmest of people when they find out you’re not a shifter. They become downright frosty when they discover I’m Skarrian, but I still managed to spend some time with a few enlightened people.”

I smother the smirk that wants to form when I feel Lila shudder next to me. I guess it would be like hearing about her parents having sex, and I am way too familiar with how that feels. Mira and Murphy have no concept of TMI.

“I see that you did some shopping.” He gestures to the pile of bags that accompanied us on the return trip.

“When you have nine siblings and enthusiastic parents, it’s hard to avoid excessive gifts. Not to mention they are all thrilled for us.”

“That’s awesome. I’m so happy for you both. I know things have been a bit rough on the ship with both Xavier’s harem and Saxon’s clan, so hopefully things will be better now.”

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