23: 17 Weeks Gestation

The bump continues its rapid growth. Eve's belly button pokes out now whenever she laughs or coughs. She named the scavenger cub Fluffy, because it just looks like a fluffy ball of fur when it's curled up sleeping. Maw's milk is making Fluffy grow fat. Mr. Chan, John and Vor do most of the food gathering. This gives Eve and Evan more time together. Time that's spent practicing breathing exercises for the birth, walking, talking, swimming and basically just enjoying each other's company.

Everant and Veioray are dropping off Ben and Dr. Matos several meters outside of their village.

"I wish you could come meet my wife and other children," Ben tells Everant.

"Our presence would only make everyone uneasy," Everant looking down, "and with good reason. No need to alarm anyone or open old wounds."

"Then I expect to see you at the birth of our grandchild," Ben smiles.

"I will be there," Everant smiles, "We will meet again."

"That we will," Ben clasping Everant's forearm and then Veioray's.

Dr. Matos bids them farewell also. He and Ben watch them ride off toward their own community.

As Ben and Dr. Matos walk into the village, their fellow villagers surround them. Everyone is asking the same questions: Where is Eve? Is she alive? Why were you gone so long? Where are Charles and John? Did you find her?

"Whoa, wait a minute," Ben wanting to ease everyone's anxiety as he steps away from the crowd, "I don't know where to begin?" whispering to Dr. Matos.

Dr. Matos whispers back, "She's your daughter. You don't have to tell them anything. And what Everant said about old wounds is true. Some of our compatriots are still holding a grudge…" He moves in very close to Ben, "You don't want to say anything that could possibly endanger them."

Ben gives a solemn nod of agreement. He can see his wife running up with Erin and Nate. "I know you all have many questions, but I need to talk with my family first. Suffice it to say for now that everyone is fine. Charles and John have stayed behind with Eve." Ben picks up Nate then hugs Jude and Erin. "Bob," Ben motioning for the doctor to come with him and his family to their home.

Besides, if Dr. Matos doesn't go with them, he's going to be bombarded with questions from his fellow villagers. Adam's gaze weighs heavily upon him as he walks with Ben and his family.

It doesn't feel as good to be back in the village as they thought it would. But they are glad to be inside Ben's dwelling away from everyone.

"Erin found this after you left," Jude sets Eve's ERL down on the table in front of Ben.

"I bet she was furious," Erin knows her older sister well, "Gave you an earful when you found her."

"Yes," Ben replies smiling, "She did."

"And I missed it," Erin irritated.

"That's what she said when I told her I had scanned you for pregnancy," Dr. Matos smiles amused.

Erin cuts her eyes. She hasn't quite gotten over that yet.

Ben starts the ERL. He smiles at the "not your cue," part. But the, "your Little Pixie," part causes a tear to run down his dark honey brown cheek.

"Did you meet him?" Nate excited, "Did you meet Pixie's friend?"

"Yes," Ben answers smiling, "His name is Evan."

"Evan," Jude repeats. Everyone knows everyone in the village and there's no Evan.

"Yes," Ben confirms, "Evan, and he's a wonderful young man that makes our daughter happy. And as our insightful young Nate noted months ago, makes sure she's not lonely."

"All a mother wants for her children is good health and happiness," Jude sincere, "But I still don't understand why she kept it a secret. So while she was out exploring she met some native inhabitants of this planet. And unplanned pregnancies happen occasionally."

Ben is unconsciously shaking his head at his wife's assumptions.

"What?" Jude looking at Ben shaking his head no.

Ben looks at Dr. Matos. He doesn't know how to explain this to his wife. His calm, cool, collected wife of thirty-five years may overreact, a rare but possible occurrence.

Dr. Matos tries to prepare Jude a little more for Ben, "Jude, remember this is what you want for Eve: happiness. And you're happy for her."

"Of course I am," Jude insists.

"Good," Ben says then dives in, "Evan is a native of this planet the way Eve is a native of this planet. They were both born here. Yet neither is a true natural being of this planet. This planet may have true native residents somewhere. But as far as I know, Eve hasn't come across any… Evan comes from across the river. He's the son of Malveck Eknor."

Jude sits back in her chair. If she hadn't been sitting, she may have fell over. She's absorbing the information her husband has given her.

But Erin has it, "He's Malyon! Eve is pregnant by a Malyon. And you didn't rip one of his arms off or one of his hearts out?"

"No," Ben answers firmly.

"He stayed perfectly calm," Dr. Matos adds.

"Is she really happy?" Jude concerned.

"This is the happiest I have ever seen her," Ben answers, "She's happy, content and looking forward to living a long happy life. She absolutely glows with happiness. And she's really looking forward to being a mother."

"Ben, she's so young," Jude worried, "I was twice her age when she was born and we had ten years of marriage behind us. We're both human."

"Love doesn't know about such things," Ben replies, "There was a time in human history when our relationship would have been condemned for the different colors of our skin. Now, we know that was wrong and the reasons behind it were absurd. When you see them together, you'll know they belong together."

"Are you my father," asks Erin.

"Yes," Ben answers smiling, "and I'm going to be a grandfather," full of pride, "which means you're going to be an aunt. And you, Sport, are going to be an uncle."

Nate smiles proudly, "Yeah! Will I get to hold the baby after it's born?"

"I don't see why not," Ben answers, "Want to see a scan of the baby?"

"Yes, please," Nate is all smiles.

"Happy to be of service," Dr. Matos takes out his medical scanner. He turns it on and calls up the last scan he did of Eve and Evan's fetus. Then he hands it to Ben to show to Nate.

Nate's eyes get big. Erin actually runs around the table to see. She can't wait for it to make its way to her.

"Awesome," is all Erin can say.

"Now let mom have a look," Ben passing the scanner to Jude.

Jude takes it and gets her first look at her future grandchild. A few tears escape her eyes to streak her flushed cheeks. "When is Eve due?" wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

Dr. Matos explains, "She's approaching 18 weeks gestation. Malyon pregnancies are very short. Our best estimate puts her delivering somewhere between 22 and 26 weeks gestation. So in about another 4 to 8 weeks."

Jude shakes her head to clear it.

Erin says what her mother's thinking, "Babies aren't born that fast."

"Human babies aren't born that fast," states Dr. Matos, "Malyon babies take about 18 to 20 weeks to gestate. It's not developing quite that fast."

"Well, how fast?" asks Jude.

Dr. Matos straightens up in his seat, "A Malyon infant would be due anytime now. But it's not developing that fast, yet it's much faster than a human pregnancy."

"Ben," Jude suddenly feeling pressed for time, "We need to be there."

"I knew you'ld feel that way," Ben taking Jude's hand, "But she's really far away."

"How far?" asks Jude.

"Downstream," answers Ben, "past the waterfall where the ship crashed. It took us four weeks to reach her."

Jude knew that site was weeks away, "How did you get there and back so quickly."

"Well," Ben not letting Jude's agitation upset him, "I really pushed everybody during the tracking to find her."

"And he means pushed," Dr. Matos adds, "He got us up before dawn every morning. Then wouldn't let us stop until well after dark. Four weeks like that, but we found her."

"But you've been gone for eight weeks," states Jude, "What'd you do? Visit for 10 minutes and run right back?"

"No," Ben answers, "We stayed a week. Then we got a ride back with Everant, Evan's father, and Veioray."

"I want to go see Eve, Daddy," Nate giving Ben's neck a squeeze.

"We're definitely going to do that," Ben answering Nate. "But right now we're here. And we have a whole village of people outside our door with a lot of questions. We have to decide what we can tell them."

"You children," Dr. Matos concerned for everyone's safety, "have heard some of the adults say some very bad things about Malyons. Erin, you're more than old enough to understand that ignorance and hatred are a deadly combination. We don't want to say anything that might possibly upset someone here and put Eve, Evan and the baby in danger."

"They won't understand," Erin looking at the door for a moment. "We don't have to tell them anything. It's none of their business."

"Do you understand, Nate?" asks Ben.

Nate nods, "Yeah, it's none of their business and we have to keep Pixie safe from their ignorance and hate."

"So, what to tell them" the doctor asks.

"I don't feel I even owe them an explanation," Ben responds, "I'm afraid I'm going to say the wrong thing. I know Adam's father would go on a rampage. He's accused Eve in the past of thinking she's 'too good' for his son. Knowing Eve had chosen a Malyon over Adam…We don't want that man to know nothing… I hate to put you on the spot, Bob. But you've had to deal with everyone directly and probably have a better feel for this."

"Say no more," Dr. Matos responds, "I'll talk to them. I'm probably going to have to embellish a bit to satisfy their curiosity. But I'm not about to let any harm come to my prodigy. I would have fallen apart if I hadn't had her to teach and remind me of how Nina would have wanted me to carry on."

Dr. Matos stands up and steps away from the table, "Well, let's get this over with."

Dr. Matos steps outside the dwelling door. Jude, Erin and Ben holding Nate all stand in the doorway together behind the doctor. Questions fly at Dr. Matos. He puts his hand up in an attempt to quiet everyone and it actually works.

Dr. Matos begins, "I know you all have a lot of questions, and I'm going to do my best to answer them all in a nut shell. But first, I'ld like to remind you that this is none of your business. This is a family matter and after this I nor they want any more questions about this."

Adam's father is the first to speak, "But we all know Eve. We're all concerned for her well-being."

Adam's mother sounds angry, "We've figured out she left because she's pregnant."

"When is she coming back," is all Adam wants to know.

Dr. Matos starts with Adam's question, "Eve has no plans for returning to the village. Not even for a visit. And you're correct; she left because of the pregnancy. The circumstances under which the pregnancy occurred are different. Plus, the pregnancy itself is different. It's not progressing normally and the infant will be born different."

"What about termination?" someone ask.

"Eve doesn't consider it an option," Matos answers.

"What about the father?" another ask, "Who is he?"

"Eve wouldn't and felt she couldn't say," Matos tells the lie easily because it's necessary to protect Eve, Evan and their unborn child. Then he reminds them, "More than one of you owes your life or the life of a loved one to her. She has handled all cases with the utmost confidentiality and respect. Now, she deserves your respect for her right to confidentiality. She left because the last thing she wanted to do was cause any undo tension here in the village. Her decision to have this child would have affected all our lives. But she cared enough not to want to burden this community with her decision, so she left."

"How is she?" Adam truly concerned.

"She's as good as could be expected," Dr. Matos answers, "Charles and John remained behind to keep an eye on her just in case something goes wrong. Now, I hope your curiosity is basically satisfied, because there really isn't anything else to tell."

And with that, everyone starts to disperse and return to his or her everyday lives. With the exception of Adam, who has just one more question.

"Doctor," Adam kicking at nothing, "I just want to know…Is she happy?"

"Yes, Adam," Dr. Matos smiling, "she is. And I'm sure she would appreciate your concern."

"Good," Adam nodding, "She deserves to be happy."

Matos watches Adam walk off with his hands jammed in his pocket as he says to himself, "Yes, Adam, she does. Yes, she does," but Adam doesn't hear and he wasn't meant to hear.