*radio static*
“Verhat,
come in, Verhat”
“This
is Verhat. What can I do for you, Aldor?”
“What
is your position?”
“I'm
in front of a house in Roaring Heights, USA on Earth. I'm getting
ready to go scan the mother-to-be and see if this human baby fits our
needs for the experiment. I just inputted the coordinates into the
computer.”
“Oh,
its coming up now. Remember, if the human has the right chemical
make-up, then you have to reverse the scan immediately for it to
work,” Aldor said as he signed off.
Verhat sighed. Yes, he knew all of
this and he'd been doing it for several years now. He'd been very
successful in that time and had won awards for his work. He enjoyed
his job and felt he was making a difference for his people.
He
lived on the planet, Tetor. He loved living there and they prided
themselves on their successful experiments. The experiments
themselves weren't very aggressive or invasive nor were the effects
dangerous or harmful. They were just fascinated by human social
behavior. They needed the results
from the experiments as their society thrived on and used them to
help make their civilization better.
He got out of his ship and walked up
to the front door. A human was standing there, covering his ears. He seemed to be in some kind of distress. He stared at him for a bit longer, but then got to work by pulling out his scanner.
He scanned the house and found the mother-to-be upstairs. He stepped backwards into the lawn and pointed his scanner towards the mother while pushing some buttons. It made a few noises and finally some numbers came up on the screen.
He smiled and quickly pushed another
button to start the reversal process while keeping the scanner pointed steadily at the mother-to-be. The numbers were even better than he
expected. This baby would be one of the best specimens he'd ever come
across. His brain power must be getting stronger at detecting
the combination of human genes needed to be successful, which promised less
trips and failure. Also, it meant this would be his last trip for
awhile. He couldn't wait to get back to his family.
After the process was complete, he ran
back to his ship, plugged in the information from the scans and set
off for home.
***********************************
Another wave was coming. I could feel
it. I tried not to scream as I clutched the curtain next to me.
Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't rip it right off the wall. I was a
little worried, too, as Caitlin was in the same room. However, when
I tried to leave, she protested, so I stayed. She really didn't seem
to notice my pain and discomfort as she continued to play her with
her toy. Thankfully, Dylan was there to help if Caitlin needed to be moved elsewhere. As
the labor progressed, there was less time in between the waves and
more pain, stronger pain. Sometimes I could barely think.
Marvin was at work. I
had called him and he said he would leave immediately. However, this birth
was going much faster than Caitlin's. So fast, in fact, that
Marvin didn't even make it home in time to see his new baby boy
welcomed into the world.
At first, I was so overwhelmed, what
with the birth and all, I didn't notice. He seemed healthy enough when he let out his
first cry and when I counted his fingers and toes.
Suddenly, my world was turned upside down! I
took a second look, it was undeniable. What would Marvin think?
***********************************
Marvin's POV
I came home from work and
dropped my stuff off at the door. Dylan met me there and said the baby had been born a few minutes before I came home.
I rushed upstairs and found
Justine in the hallway closing the new bedroom door. She looked so
overwhelmed and tired. I felt horrible that I couldn't get home any
faster!
“Justine,
honey, I'm so very sorry I couldn't be here. Are you ok? Do you
need to lie down and rest? How's the baby?”
At that last question,
she looked sharply at me. “Everything is fine,” but she didn't
look me in the eye.
I gently pulled her into
a hug, but she resisted. “Honey, what's the matter? Is there
something wrong? I know I couldn't make it, but the baby just came
far faster than we expected.”
“No,
it's not that. Look, I just want you to know that I love you and you
know I'd never be with anyone else, right?” she asked with a scared look in her eyes.
What?
I thought. She
was worried about that right now?
“Honey, I know you'd never cheat on me. We love each other and I can't imagine being with anyone else, " I said softly. Then, I smiled, "And, anyway, in this
town, I can't imagine either one of us getting away with
that. Someone always seems to be watching.”
She glanced at me, with a
relieved look, and smiled. “Yeah, that's so true.” After a
moment, she seemed like herself again. Then, she intertwined my fingers with hers and looked at me with excitement. “We had a boy!!” I
couldn't help myself, picked her up and twirled her around, gently,
of course. “That's awesome!!” I yelled.
Justine shushed me and I
put her back down. “Is he sleeping?” as I headed toward the
bedroom door. However, she rushed ahead of me and stopped in front
of the door, looking nervous. “We have something we need to talk
about before you see him.”
She leaned close to me and whispered in my ear the "something". I
almost laughed at the absurdness of it. However, her face told me
she was not lying or joking.
I slowly walked into the
bedroom and crept up to the crib. What I saw made our conversation
about infidelity make more sense. However, I knew we'd never be
unfaithful, plus there was no one in town that looked like our new
son.
So, the question that
remained: why was our baby.......blue?
***********************************
Justine's POV
After the initial shock
wore off, Marvin seemed to regain his composure. He counted all the fingers and toes and checked the rest of his tiny body almost to reassure himself. I understood as I had done the same thing. It helped to
calm our fears a little. We decided to wait to call the doctor's
office since it was after hours. He was acting normal; he just
looked different.
After we spent the evening with him, we decided to accept him
as he was. We couldn't do anything less. We made him and he was
ours, even if we didn't understand what had happened, we still loved
him. Our decision helped us finally choose his name.
Introducing London
Michael Johnson!
The next morning, we called the doctor's
office and told them what had happened. The nurse
was quite shocked and I'm amazed she didn't hang up on us. We were
told to come in right away.
Dr. Winters was an
excellent doctor and we thought highly of him. The first thing he
asked, after he saw London, was if someone could go to our house to
take environmental samples. We hadn't thought of that, but agreed quickly. Anything was possible.
He then proceeded to give London a thorough examination and did lots of tests. He said he needed to wait for the results of
everything before he could voice any opinions of the situation. Once
the results were in, he would call us. However, he did reassure us
that London, besides his coloring, seemed as healthy and normal as any other
newborn.
So, while we waited, we
tried to live as normal as we could.
London loved bath time
and seemed especially fascinated by the bubbles.
He smiled and cooed when
we played with him.
Even Caitlin seemed
fascinated by him. “Bruder”
she'd say. Then she'd sweetly kiss his head.
We even went on a walk to
the park. They both seemed to enjoy it.
While
we were at the park, we had a lovely lady take our new family photo.
She
was very picky about the picture, though. She took so long that
Caitlin started getting cranky, so we went home.
As
we walked in the door, my phone rang. It was the doctor's office
requesting us to come in at our convenience. We left immediately.
We
were ushered into an exam room and Dr. Winters came in shortly
followed by a few others. It was a bit intimidating, but he quickly
introduced them as a group of doctors and scientists who wanted to
help us discover what had happened to London. I got Caitlin settled
with some crackers and London slept as the doctor started his explanation.
“Marvin,
Justine, the results are in and besides his skin color, he is a
perfectly normal baby like I first thought. It seems during your
pregnancy, the pigment of his skin was genetically altered. It has
been altered completely, so there doesn't seem to be any lasting
effects and he will always remain blue. The science labs also ran
tests and we both agree on this.
“When
we ran the tests on your property, we found high levels of space rock
particles. Our best guess is during your pregnancy, you had an alien
visit. We have heard stories in the last few years that aliens have
visited several parts of the world. Most of the public knows nothing
about this.
“The aliens have done similar mutations to other babies around the world. The children who have
been subjected to this kind of experimentation have all grown to be
normal healthy human kids. It doesn't hurt them, leave any scars or
cause them any physical issues other than the pigmentation. We're unsure how or why the aliens are doing this, but I know
the science facility is continuing their quest to find answers.”
Marvin and I looked at
each other in disbelief. Aliens? Experiments? It was a little hard
to believe, but everyone across from us looked quite serious. They
continued to explain that he would need to be brought to the science
facility once a year to be monitored. They had high hopes of a
normal life, which relieved us immensely.
We thanked the group and
the doctor was kind to let us sit a little longer after everyone had
left. It was a lot to take in and we just needed a moment to breathe. When we left, the staff seemed unfazed by
London's look as they cooed over him and Caitlin. We hoped others
would accept him as well as the staff did.
After
the diagnosis, our lives slowly developed into a new
normal, which can be forced upon you by a toddler and baby. London
showed us that he was a typical cute, cuddly baby and as time went
on, our shock and fear gradually disappeared.
Marvin
got promoted to Vegetable Slicer and he celebrated by getting us a
shuffleboard. I always thought it was just an old people game, but
we actually had lots of fun playing it. Of course, some might think
us old...
While
Marvin watched the kids, I combed through more garbage and wrote
another report.
London
received a special doll named Peep from Tiberius. His wife,
Charlotte and him had just had a baby girl named Maggie.
We
had a nice visit with them and promised to invite them over soon for
dinner.
As
the days flew by, Caitlin continued to learn skills and read books.
She was doing very well and I couldn't believe how big she was
getting.
London
was growing like a weed, too. He rarely cried and very much enjoyed
anyone who would talk to him.
Before
we were ready, Caitlin and London's birthday arrived. They happened
to be on the same day.
London
went first.
He seemed very perceptive and noticed things before most of us. However, he frequently ran into walls and fell over. He never cried, thankfully, but we could tell he was quite the clumsy one.
Caitlin's cake caught on fire before she could blow it out.
Marvin was concerned that London would get too close to the fire, but surprisingly, London didn't seem interested in it.
Finally, it was Caitlin's turn.
She
definitely liked to perform for us and soon started showing her diva side.
The next evening as I was working on dinner, Marvin came up behind me and
kissed my neck.
“Marvin,
I'm trying to cook dinner,” I protested with a blush.
“I
don't need dinner. I just need you,” he whispered by my ear, sending shivers through me.
I
finished stirring the food and turned around. He pulled me into a
kiss, which made the butterflies start in my stomach. I couldn't believe after
our time together, he still did that to me.
“What
is that for?” I asked as I snuggled into his arms.
“We
have been through a lot lately and I just appreciate how you've
handled this whole thing. I couldn't imagine loving you more than I
love you now," he said softly. "Oh, and you are sexy barefooted in the kitchen,” he growled as he pulled me into another kiss.
I
kissed him with such passion that I think we forgot where we were for
a little bit. I'm not sure how I snagged this wonderful man, but he
made me feel loved and I was so thankful. Then, I whispered to him that he should join me
in the bedroom after the children were asleep so he could show me
more appreciation.
***********************************
Caitlin and London seemed to be inseparable. They had their moments of fighting, of course, but mostly they played together well.
Playing
with London's favorite toy...
“Look,
London! I found your boat!” said Caitlin excitedly.
“Boat,”
said London. They'd been looking for it all over the place since
London had started crying a few hours before. We had tried to distract him with other toys, but he loved that boat and could not be consoled. Caitlin finally found it
in the toilet of all places.
She
loved to give London hugs and I think he really enjoyed the attention
she gave him.
They
played peek-a-boo for hours...
Before
long, I was craving another little one. London was a toddler and
Caitlin was a child. I missed that baby smell....again.
Marvin agreed and soon enough, we were making another little one.
*lovesstorm's notes*
Well, what do you think?
First, Justine had a wish to cuddle with him before he was even in her arms. He looked weird, but the picture was SO small. I had to wait until he appeared. Then, I was completely SHOCKED! :-O He was BLUE!! At first I laughed....then I laughed some more, then I laughed again. I could NOT believe it! =)) =))
Anyway, after my laughter, I looked at Marvin in CAS. I have said that I use custom skin tones. Well, I guess I hadn't paid attention (or forgot, which is more likely) because Marvin's custom skin has FOUR different colors. A pale peach, green, blue and the darker peach. So, the game gave London Marvin's skin tone and just picked a place randomly on the slider. :))
At first, I was going to change his slider to the darker peach, like Marvin. However, I thought about it and decided against it. The game gave me this little twist and I decided it could make my story even more fun.
Once I decided to keep the blue, SOOOOO many story lines seemed to pop in my head. The alien did appear a few minutes before London was born. It was another plot twist that I could NOT leave out. I had my options written down and I've spent this last week working on a couple of them. Finally, after MUCH help from my sisters (thanks, ladies!), I settled on my story.
Obviously, because this is still a wishacy, I had to be careful with the story line. It took awhile for it to come together, too, but I feel like it was definitely worth the wait and time I took to make it work. This has been the HARDEST chapter I've written in this story so far. @-) I wish I could have looked at your faces as you read this chapter. :P I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :D
Poses
