Rixie sat in the pilot’s chair of the shuttle she was borrowing from Pryvani. She and Alex had concluded their business on Archavia and were now returning to Avalon- their newly adopted son in tow.

The titan swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to keep her heart from hammering so loudly, knowing that Alex- who was currently camped out on her shoulder- would likely be able to hear it. She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm herself. It worked on a physiological level, but she couldn’t quite calm the fears from which those responses originated.

She had a child now. A son. A tiny little lifeform that depended on her for everything. What did she know about raising children? She was an orphan! She’d been raised by committee. She wondered if Alex was having similar doubts. He didn’t look like he was but…

Carefully, she pulled the pocket open and peered in on the child sleeping peacefully inside. She felt her throat close and her heart twitched.

“It’ll be okay, Rix.” Alex said, soft enough that she almost jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice. “Nobody knows what they’re doing when they first start out.”

“That obvious, huh?” Rixie asked with a smirk.

“Just to me.” Alex responded softly. “This is the right thing to do, Rixie. We couldn’t leave him there, and we couldn’t send him off into a system that thinks he’s an animal.”

“I know.” The titan sighed. “I’m … I’m just worried.”

“We… we could give him to the Atlanteans…” Alex muttered quietly. “At least he’d be among other humans…”

Rixie’s heart wrenched again and her hand twitched as if to cover the tiny form in her pocket. “No…” She choked. “No. I don’t… I don’t want that.”

And much to her own surprise, it was true. They’d only had Ryan for a few days… A few, terrifying days… and yet, even in that short amount of time, the little child had managed to burrow his way into her heart and take up residence. He was even starting to say a few words… like mama…

Alex nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that Rix. I don’t want to give him up either.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, Rix… we aren’t going to be perfect at this. We’re going to make mistakes, especially since as far as I know no one’s really tried to do this before… like this… But that’s not really important. We have what matters, we love each other and- even after only a few days- we love him. As long as we have that, everything else is secondary. Right?”

Rixie smiled weakly. “Right.”

*.*.*.*

“Well, I must say, based on your description of his health when you found him, he’s done a very good job of recovering from being malnourished.” Dr. Nick Archer stood up from where he’d been examining the small boy, who was currently seated in Sophia’s lap. He was thus situated because Alex couldn’t seem to stop pacing nervously, and the holoprojectors in Nick’s office were slightly malfunctioning and couldn’t seem to manage anything beyond mere projection. So Rixie stood like a ghost with her hands crossed over her chest, even as Alex continuously walked through her.

At Nick’s announcement, both parents seemed to breathe a simultaneous sigh of relief.

“He’s still a tad underweight, of course, but you could hardly be able to fix that in the short amount of time that you’ve had him.” Nick continued. “In fact, Alex why don’t you come with me for a minute and we’ll discuss some options for helping him to gain the weight back slowly.”

The door clicked shut behind them and Rixie let out a sigh.

Sophia turned towards her with a soft smile, even as she gently rocked the child in her lap. “How are you holding up, Rixie?”

Rixie ran a hand through her braids. “The past few days have just been… what’s that phrase humans use? An emotional rollercoaster.”

Sophia chuckled sympathetically. “I can imagine. After Manto was born we were… well… First we had to adjust to the idea that Taron was the biological father. I don’t think any of us even considered that a possibility before…”

“I certainly hadn’t. Even after Sorcha had been born.” Rixie admitted.

“Exactly.” Sophia nodded. “But we adjusted. You and Alex will too. And we’re all here to help. Ironically, Pryvani has the most experience out of all of us.”

Rixie burst out laughing. “I guess she does.”

*.*.*.*

“Now, he’s very fragile Thyllia. So be sure to be gentle with him.” Pryvani admonished her younger sister.

Thyllia, meanwhile, rolled her eyes and exasperatedly blew a lock of her turquoise colored bangs away from her face. Pryvani’s younger sister had recently entered her teenage years and was doing her best to make sure everyone knew it. Paradoxically, she was also going through a phase where she rabidly emulated everything about her sister, hence the dyed hair. Pryvani, for her part, found it amusing; especially because she suspected Thyllia was merely attempting to find her own identity… in a very roundabout way.

“I know, I’ve told you all this already.” Pryvani mocked playfully. “But considering an extremely fragile life is at stake, I think it bears repeating, yes?”

She could see the retort forming in her sister’s mouth, but to Thyllia’s credit she managed to bite her tongue and nod. “Okay Pryvani.” The young teenager said, instead. “I understand.”

“Good. Let’s go in then.”

Pryvani opened the door in front of them and the two of them stepped into the dimly lit room. Rixie and Alex kept the lights of their apartment down low so as not to disturb the recent addition to their household.

Pryvani had been surprised when the two of them had returned from their recent vacation with an unusual souvenir- a human son. Of course, when they’d relayed the tragic tale of how they’d discovered the boy, it had all made perfect sense- indeed, she’d have been shocked if they’d acted otherwise. But still, as far as she was aware, the pair of them had never even entertained the idea of having a child; even after the discovery that such a thing was actually possible for a couple like them.

Nevertheless, Rixie and Alex seemed to be taking the rather unorthodox change to their relationship in stride. And little Ryan seemed to be adjusting to his new surroundings as well.

Quietly, the sisters approached the family. Rixie was sitting cross-legged on the floor, with Alex and their new son standing in the arena created by her legs. The two of them were playing with tiny toys that were almost invisible to the eyes of the titans above them.

“Oh…” Pryvani heard Thyllia coo softly at the sight of the little human child, which caught Rixie’s attention.

The Hoplite woman smiled warmly at the two of them and beckoned them closer. Pryvani, however, decided to stand back for the moment and let her sister approach instead. They were all still learning Ryan’s limits and she didn’t want to accidentally overwhelm the boy.

Thyllia, on the other hand, was all too happy to creep closer. The young woman carefully lowered herself to her knees and scooted in next to Rixie. The pair of them gazed down at the father and son duo as they played, seemingly oblivious to the giant onlookers.

After a moment, Alex looked up at Thyllia and waved at her with a grin. Thyllia returned the smile and wiggled her fingers at him in a greeting. She’d always liked Alex, who would tell her funny stories when she was younger.

“Ryan…” Alex called out to his son, who was already staring up at the newcomer with rapt attention. “There’s someone who wants to say ‘hi’ to you.”

Shyly, Ryan stepped closer to his father and pressed himself against Alex’s leg. Nevertheless, his gaze travelled up to the smiling face above him.

“Can you say ‘hi’ to Thyllia, kiddo?” Alex asked, gently and reassuringly ruffling his son’s hair.

The small dark eyes blinked, but otherwise remained fixed on Thyllia’s face. After a moment more of gentle coaxing from Alex, Thyllia saw his mouth move, but didn’t hear any sound come from it.

“He did say it.” Alex assured them, chuckling. “I barely heard it, so I’m sure you didn’t, but words did come out of his mouth.”

Thyllia felt her heart melt. “That’s adorable.” She whispered softly. “He’s so cute…”

“He is.” Rixie agreed, grinning. “Wish we could take credit for it though…”

Thyllia chuckled.

Ryan moved away from his father and towards the wall of Rixie’s leg. Thyllia and the adults watched with interest as Ryan pressed himself against Rixie’s leg and raised his arms above his head in the signal that all children everywhere used to mean “pick me up.”

Rixie’s brow creased at her son’s behavior, but nevertheless, she lowered her hand down and set it on the floor where Ryan could easily climb into her palm as he’d learned how to do.

But Ryan ignored the hand, shaking his head and emphatically saying “No!” loud enough that even the two titans could hear him. Again, his face turned skyward and his arms rose above his head. “Up!”

Rixie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and she turned towards Thyllia. “I think he wants you to do it.”

Thyllia blanched. “M-me?” She stammered. “Oh I don’t… what if I hurt him?”

Rixie shook her head. “Just lay your hand flat. He knows what to do. Then, just move very slowly and keep your hand as steady as possible. It’ll be fine.”

Thyllia took a deep breath and slowly lowered her hand until it was on the floor next to the miniscule child. Before she could even react, Ryan had scrambled into her palm and sat down, looking up at her with a shy smile on his face.

“Up.” He commanded.

Thyllia’s heart pounded, but she couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the tiny weight in her grasp all the same. She could barely feel him in her hand, but she acted like she carried the most precious thing imaginable as she raised her palm up towards her face.

“Hello, Ryan.” She whispered gently. “My name’s Thyllia.”

Now that he was closer, she could begin to pick out details of his appearance better. His dark, almost black, eyes; or the way his hair spiraled out in little curly ringlets.

“Oh my gosh…” Thyllia breathed. “Seriously, if you two ever need a babysitter…”

“Be careful.” Alex laughed from down below. “We may just take you up on that…”

*.*.*.*

Alex was awoken suddenly from the rather pleasant dream he’d been having by a scream cutting through the previously quiet night.

Rixie stirred next to him. Or rather the human sized holographic avatar of Rixie stirred next to him as it mimicked the movements of the real woman outside Alex’s tiny apartment.

“What is it?” She mumbled. She hadn’t heard the noise, she’d been woken by Alex’s sudden movements… or rather the movements of his holographic avatar in her own bedroom down the hall.

Alex bit back a curse. It wasn’t very often that their sleep schedules happened to align, or at least not often enough. It was very much a pity that their time had to be interrupted.

“Ryan’s having trouble sleeping.” Alex yawned. “I can take care of it. Go back to sleep.”

“Nonsense.” Rixie sat up and stretched. “It’s not fair if you get stuck doing all the work. Just give me a second to reprogram the emitters and I’ll be right in.”

Alex yawned again and nodded, padding out of his bedroom and down the hall to where their son was sitting in his bed.

“What’s the matter pal?” He grunted, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Had a bad dream.” The small boy mumbled; as he clutched his favorite toy- a stuffed tiger- to his chest.

Alex felt his chest tighten a little as he looked into his son’s big dark eyes. Despite being a completely different color, they still managed to remind him of Rixie’s.

“Aw, buddy…” Alex sighed and sat down next to the small boy. It was hard to judge because Titan timekeeping- and the altered aging of Titan genetic manipulation- still gave him a headache even after all these years, but Alex figured his son was physically about four now, maybe a little younger. He put his arm around the child and hugged him close.

“Was it the monster again?” He asked sympathetically. Ryan nodded mutely.

Alex pulled his son in tighter as his heart wrenched again. ‘The monster’ was a familiar feature in Ryan’s dreams. Alex and Rixie couldn’t explain it to their son, but they both knew the boy was seeing the terrifying creature that had taken his birth mother. They had both hoped that event might simply fade into the back of the boy’s mind. And for the most part, it had…

Except at night.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Rixie entered the room, tying a robe around herself. She walked over and scooped Ryan into her arms before sitting down on the bed next to Alex and settling their son into her lap.

“Had a bad dream.” Ryan repeated. Rixie bit her lip and exchanged glances with Alex, who nodded slightly.

Rixie let out a sigh.

“Sweetie… you know dreams can’t hurt you, right?” She whispered softly, gently rocking Ryan in her lap.

The child nodded and clutched his soft toy tighter.

Alex reached over and mussed up Ryan’s hair, just a little. “And that anything outside of dreams would have to go through me and your mom, right?”

The young boy nodded again, just the barest hint of a smile on his face.

“Good.” Rixie smiled. “Are you ready to try sleeping again?”

Ryan thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged noncommittally.

“Anything we can get you kiddo?” Alex asked. “Glass of water, maybe?”

Ryan seemed to think about it for a moment, and then whispered something neither of his parents heard.

“What was that?” Rixie asked.

“Want big mommy.” Ryan repeated.

Alex and Rixie traded glances over the child’s head. Rolling her eyes with an amused smirk, Rixie lifted Ryan up and plopped him into Alex’s lap.

“Okay.” Rixie leaned over and kissed her son on the forehead. “Be right back.” She stood and her image disappeared. Alex and Ryan waited in expectant silence for a moment.

“Where is she Daddy?” Ryan asked in a hushed whisper.

“Sh, be patient son. She’s coming. Listen.”

A moment later there was an exaggerated thump that shook the walls of their tiny apartment. And then another.

“Here she comes, Daddy!” Ryan whispered excitedly.

Next there were a pair of loud knocks on the roof and before Alex knew it, Ryan was scrambling out of his lap and dashing from the bedroom.

“Oh great.” Alex muttered. “He’ll never get to sleep now.” But he hauled himself to his feet with a groan and followed his adoptive son out onto his “balcony.” There he saw regular sized Rixie leaning down with their son straddling her nose, both were giggling playfully.

“Any monsters who want to mess with you gotta go through me first, and I’ll eat ‘em up!” Rixie growled menacingly. “Got it?”

“Got it!” Ryan nodded gleefully as he climbed down off of Rixie’s nose.

Alex watched as Rixie’s gaze softened and she knelt down so she could look Ryan in the eye. “All better now sweetie?” She asked quietly.

Gradually Ryan’s giggling tapered off and he nodded sleepily.

“Good.” Rixie smiled, gently stroking her son with her smallest finger. “Time for you to get back to bed, okay? I’ll see you in the morning.”

“C’mon kiddo.” Alex reached out and took Ryan’s small hand in his, leading him back into the house.

“Night mommy!” Ryan called, waving back at Rixie and blowing her a kiss.

“Good night sweet heart.” Rixie replied softly, blowing a kiss back at him.

“I love you.”