Do The Time Warp
Chapter 5
“Time Share”
By
Brenna Dawkins
“So, how’s the married life?” Zeeke quipped innocently.
He had to wonder if Tat’iana was bored to tears by now. Seymour was
not exactly the kind of guy Zeeke considered to know how to have a good time.
The cab careened into space.
Seymour wanted to say, not what he’d expected, but he
didn’t because he just didn’t feel like being grilled by the Beak just then.
“It’s alright.” If only Stargazer would let her move in with him, it
would make things easier to ease into. But the Commander’s paranoia
kept her squarely inside Hawk Haven. He had to admit that the Commander
had a point. That neck thing creeped him out. He hoped Zeeke
hadn’t noticed his bruised left eye. Last night, he’d been sleeping
on his side, Tat’iana, still asleep, turned over suddenly in bed and that
thing around her neck whacked him in the face. Talk about a rude awakening.
It still smarted a bit but he canted his hat at an angle so that it wasn’t
that noticeable. He just wanted Zeeke to shut up so he could drive
in peace.
But Zeeke was the kind who noticed everything and wasn’t
shy when it came to talking about it. “Things get a little rough in
bed last night?”
“Knock it off, Zeeke, you can stop fishing cause I’m not
going to tell you anything you want to hear, know what I mean?” Seymour
grunted.
“Come on, Seymour. Friends talk about all kinds
of stuff. How come we never talk?”
“Because all you want to talk about is none of your business.
We can talk, talk all you like about other stuff, but Tat’iana’s not any
concern of yours!” Seymour warned.
Zeeke kept quiet until Commander Stargazer addressed them
through the comm. unit. The winged alien grabbed for the controls before
Seymour could. “What can we do for the Commander of the Silverhawks
today?”
Seymour rolled his eyes. Zeeke could be so outrageous!
“Listen, Seymour. Tat’iana’s been experiencing some
unusual pain. We’re prepping her for our scanners now. We don’t
know if it’s whatever has been injected into her from her neck device or
something else. I thought you would like to know.”
“Yes. I’m on my way. Thanks, Commander.”
Seymour’s worry meter shot up several notches. “I can drop you off
wherever you like, Zeeke.”
Zeeke’s natural curiosity wouldn’t allow him to miss out
on an opportunity to sniff out any new news. “I think I’ll go along
for the ride, thanks.”
His answer thoroughly annoyed Seymour but the cabbie knew
that once that scoundrels mind was made up, there was no one who could change
it, with the exception of Mon*Star. So Seymour pushed his cab as fast
as it could go straight to Hawk Haven. A fully loaded freighter from
the previous century could have passed them by. As they hurriedly crawled
their way towards Hawk Haven, Seymour’s imagination wrecked havoc with his
mind. What could be the problem? The Commander didn’t say what
kind of pain Tat’iana had, or where, or how severe, or for how long--- would
the Commander not tell him if he thought Tat’iana’s life was in danger?
Was she dying? His stomach was rolling with anxiety by the time they
pulled to a stop in the hanger.
He hit the deck running and didn’t wait for Zeeke who
was scurrying after him. He headed straight for the medic lab, a place
he was intimately familiar with by now. Seymour was out of breath by
the time he had made it to the lab. Stargazer just stepped out of the
room and closed the door when Seymour was about to go through it. Seymour
had to stop short to keep from running into the Commander. Zeeke wasn’t
so lucky. He plowed into Seymour’s back and Seymour stumbled forward
a few paces before he regained his footing. He didn’t even spare Zeeke
a scowl, which showed how powerful the state of his worry was.
“Commander!” Seymour wheezed and couldn’t
get anymore out. The look he saw on the man’s face confused him.
“Have a seat, Seymour. Catch your breath a bit.”
The Commander replied coolly.
Seymour complied and sat on a bench in the room.
Once his breath was not so labored that speech was impossible, he pounced,
quite aware that the ever inquisitive Zeeke was there listening to everything.
“What’s wrong, Commander? What happened?”
The Commander cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable.
“Well, do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
“Um, how bad is the bad?”
The Commander shrugged, “We really don’t know yet.”
Seymour sighed, “Is the good news a bit more concrete?”
The Commander nodded, “Most certainly.”
“Then the good, I guess.” Seymour had to wonder
what was on the Commander’s mind.
“Tat’iana’s pregnant.”
Say what? Seymour felt faint. Pregnant?
Great Goddess! “Pregnant? How long? Is that the pain she
was experiencing?”
Stargazer went on, “We’re not sure. A few weeks.
But we have no idea how that neck device is affecting the baby. It’s
pumped a large quantity of a substance we have yet to identify into her system.
That means the baby got a fair dose of it too. We don’t know what it
means in terms of the baby’s safety or Tat’iana’s. And because of the
difference between yours and hers species, we’re not certain as to when the
child will be born, if at all. We never attempted to see if our two
species were compatible or not.”
“So, you’re saying--- she might lose the baby.”
Seymour said, his mouth dry and feelings mixed.
“We don’t know what will happen, Seymour. But we
will keep a close monitor on the both of them until we can figure out more
information. But, for what it’s worth, Seymour, congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Seymour said, not certain if he wanted
to jump for joy or collapse into a faint. So he did what came naturally
and chose to faint.
“Saw that one coming.” Zeeke piped up, practically
dining on the happenings.
“Shut up, Zeeke.” Stargazer growled and hauled Seymour
back into a sitting position. “You aren’t helping.”
Zeeke sat on his tongue and watched with rising humor
as Seymour slowly regained consciousness. “Little belayed reaction
going on there, huh, Seymour?”
“Zeeke!” Stargazer warned, he was not in the mood.
“Seymour? You all right?”
“Can I see her?” Seymour rubbed his temples.
“After we finish the initial tests, yes.”
So Seymour waited--- and waited. He could have taken
his cab to Brim*Star and back before the Twins allowed him access to her.
With mixed emotions, Seymour nervously strode into the
lab where Tat’iana seemed to be peacefully resting. He walked up to
the cot and looked to see if she was awake. She was.
“Tat?” He murmured lovingly.
The Twins, still working in the background, paused when
they heard Seymour speak. They’d never heard him sound like that.
That one word was charged full of love, tenderness, and devotion, something
they had never heard come out of Seymour’s mouth. They knew him as
the gentle loner, the nice guy that always seemed to finish last, the guy
most likely to be destined to be single forever, Limbo’s wallflower in other
words. That they would have to look upon their old friend in a new
light, would take some getting used to.
She turned her head and grinned weakly when she saw him.
“Hi, Seymour.”
He smiled for her sake, he was still unsure how he felt
about being a new father. “How do you feel?”
“I hurt a little. But the Twins were afraid to give
me anything for the pain. They don’t know how it will react with the
drugs already pumped into me or to the--- to the---“ She didn’t know
if he knew yet.
Seymour understood and reached out for her hand, which
she took gladly, “I know. You’re going to have a baby.”
“Are you mad?” She asked worriedly.
“No!” Seymour wanted to do everything he could to
assure her. She didn’t need to worry about his neurosis when she had
her and the baby’s life to worry about. Besides, he wasn’t mad.
He was just nervous and terrified out of his mind. “I’m not mad!
How could I be?”
He felt that she was trembling. He squeezed her
hand, trying to convey assurance that he didn’t exactly feel. He was
still terrified but he wanted her to know she had his full support.
“How can we afford this?” Tat’iana wondered and
voiced another one of the worries he had already worried about as he had
waited to see her. He was glad that she was the one who had said it
and not him. It made him feel better to know she had a good grasp on
reality.
“We’ll figure it out. I’m sure we’ll think of something.”
Seymour muttered.
“I want to get a job, but I can’t leave Hawk Haven at
the moment.” Tat’iana was not happy about being restricted to Hawk
Haven. She was stir crazy. She was used to freedom. Now
with this mob thing hanging over her head--- she shivered again. She
still hadn’t told anyone, let alone Seymour what Mon*Star had done to her.
She couldn’t. It would destroy Seymour, she knew.
Seymour mistook her shiver of revulsion for one of fear.
“It’s okay. We’ll get through this.”
Tat’iana smiled bravely. She didn’t feel good about
having to keep a secret from her husband, but she couldn’t tell him just
now.
One week later, Tat’iana was having funny dreams.
She thought she recalled fleeting images and strange instructions that she
couldn’t understand or fully remember. They scared her. But she
didn’t relate any of this to Seymour. Dear, sweet Seymour. He
was slowly coming to grips with the pregnancy. According to him, his
kind had a relatively short gestation period. Two and a half to three
months maximum, but when you add in the human factor and the unknown variable
of the chemicals injected into her body, it was anyone’s guess.
She spent her nights with Seymour, cuddled next to his
warm figure, fearing the dreams that always came. During the day, Seymour
would have to go out and work and so would the Silverhawks. Often,
she’d be left alone in Hawk Haven with Sonic Hawk and Stargazer. She
spent her time learning all she could about Bedlama and Limbo Galaxy.
She knew she would eventually have to get a job to help support her, Seymour,
and the baby once she was allowed to live with Seymour after all the mess
with the mob got cleared.
When he could, Blue Grass showed her how to work the Sprint
Hawk. He had her take it for a few laps around Hawk Haven as well.
The first few times were a bit scary and disorienting because she wasn’t
used to flying a craft that could do more then just go forward like her old
PO2. But she eventually got the hang of it. She WAS a pilot after
all!
Tat’iana was watching a vidchip on the history of a specific
continent on Bedlama when she felt something weird happen in her brain.
She felt another presence in her mind and it frightened her. When she
got up to go see the Commander about this new sensation, she was equally
frightened to find that she no longer had command of her own body.
Instead of going to Stargazer’s office like she wanted, her body walked its
way down to where Will stored all his experimental gadgets.
Something told her to search for his latest work, the
Quantum Cube. It was still in it’s early production stage and Will
hadn’t gotten all the kinks out of it yet, but the instructions she received
in her mind told her that it didn’t matter. She grabbed up the strange
machine that looked like a metal staff about a foot and a half in length
and had a place that looked like a panel, which slid back to reveal controls.
She slipped out of the room and went back to hers and Seymour’s. Tat’iana
slid the contraption under their bed, in-between the mattresses. Then
she lay across the bed and was told to sleep. She did.
When she felt her shoulder being jostled, she woke again.
She had no idea how long she had been asleep. Hadn’t she been watching
that boring documentary on Bedlama earlier? She didn’t remember turning
the vid off and coming to her room to take a nap. She didn’t recall
anything about taking the Quantum Cube. Bleary eyes opened and she
saw Seymour there. She must have slept longer then she thought or had
planned if Seymour was back now. Tat’iana gladly greeted him.
Giving him a big bear hug, she asked him about his day,
“Was it rough today?”
“Was about to ask the same of you. You’ve been sleeping
a lot lately.” He grinned. That was usually a good sign with
expectant mothers of his race. It made him feel better and somehow
the thought of being a father wasn’t quite as frightening as it had been
a week before. He was starting to feel pretty proud about it.
His family had been thrilled after they got over the initial astonishment.
“I was catching up on stuff about Limbo Galaxy.
There’s still so much I don’t know.”
“Ugh, the vids again? That’s so boring! Cut
and dry! A lot of that stuff is just excess, you know what I mean,
not important enough to waist time on it at all.” Seymour said.
“I know. Guess I got so bored I didn’t even remember
falling asleep in the middle of it! But I still feel like an outsider.
I don’t know anything.” She said unhappily.
Seymour hated it when she talked down on herself.
“You know more about your time then any Earth scholar could ever hope to
here in the twenty-ninth century. Sure you may not know everything
there is to know about Limbo, but believe me, there are a lot of things not
worth knowing and a bunch of things I wish I DIDN’T know, know what I mean?”
Tat’iana felt better. Seymour always seemed to know
just what to say to lift her mood. “Thanks.”
“They asked for a--- a--- sample from me.” Seymour
said embarrassedly. He supposed it was to find out more about his and
a humans compatibility. It was too embarrassing to inquire after their
reasons for wanting it.
Tat’iana raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Well. You should be showing certain signs by now.
So far, lots of sleep is the only sign you’re showing. With as far
along as you are, there should be more. But,” he shrugged helplessly,
“you ARE human. You humans carry for longer, so I’m told.”
“We do.” Tat’iana became frightened suddenly.
Could there be a slim possibility that Seymour was not the father?
Did the Twins ask for a sample from Seymour because they suspected something
along those lines and wanted to find out for sure before they told anyone?
Or was she just being paranoid? The difficulty could be something as
simple as incompatibility or the result of that noxious stuff pumped into
her body.
Sonic watched this exchange quietly. Several weeks
ago, he had, at the request of Tat’iana to Will, been reprogrammed to back
off somewhat. He no longer rode perched on her shoulder or gave Seymour
the evil eye whenever the cabbie got near. In fact, at times, she often
forgot he was even there, forever watching her wherever she went. He
followed her every movement discreetly, a vast improvement from the overbearing,
eat-your-heart-out if you touch her stare he used to pierce anyone with.
Once Sonic took to roosting in the shadows, Seymour felt
more comfortable showing his affection towards Tat. He crawled onto
the bed with her and caressed her face. She kissed him deeply and was
about to start groping Seymour down below when there was knock on the door.
Tat sighed and Seymour groaned with aggravation. There was NO privacy
at Hawk Haven for a married couple!
“Yes? Come in.” Tat’iana released Seymour.
The Twins entered. Neither looked very happy.
“Something wrong?” Seymour asked.
“We finished with the tests. We know why Tat’iana’s
not showing yet.” Steel Heart said as she exchanged troubled looks
with the couple.
“Well?” Seymour prompted.
“Seymour, we don’t know how to tell you this, but--- you
aren’t the baby’s father.” Steel Will said uncomfortably.
Seymour sat up as his jaw dropped. “What?”
They had to be kidding! It was a joke, right? He wanted to say.
It had taken him a long time to get used to and feel real joy over the fact
that he was going to be a father and now they had the audacity to tell him
otherwise?
“My God!” Tat’s worst fears fulfilled themselves.
“It’s--- Mon*Star’s, isn’t it?”
Seymour’s head whipped around fast at her words.
What did she say? What was everyone saying? He felt suddenly
lost and very hurt and confused. He didn’t understand. The Twins
said it wasn’t his baby. He knew that was preposterous because Tat
would never cheat on him. But when the Twins had made that remark,
Tat hadn’t sounded one bit surprised.
“It is.” Emily said feeling as uncomfortable as
Will.
Mon*Star’s kid? Say what? Seymour felt his
chest tighten as his heart broke. What else had happened to Tat when
they were trapped on Brim*Star? “Tat?” He mumbled the question
dejectedly. “What happened on Brim*Star? And why didn’t you tell
me?”
Tat’iana began to tremble and hot tears pricked at her
eyes. It was all falling apart! She knew the longer she withheld
that bit of information from Seymour, the more it would hurt him once he
WAS told. She steeled herself because she knew that once she started
in the telling, the horrible memories would come flooding back, memories
she had worked very hard on blocking.
“When Mon*Star had me at his disposal, he would take me
from my cell to his private chambers and--- and--- he raped me. Repeatedly.
I---I’m sorry I never told any of you about it, but I was just trying very
hard to forget it ever happened. I’m sorry, Seymour!” The tears
flowed freely and she covered her face with her hands.
Seymour felt like crying himself. “Twins, could
you leave us for a while?”
“Sure, Seymour.” Emily and Will gladly backed out
of the room to leave them to it.
Seymour reached over and enveloped the young Russian with
a tight hug. Through closed eyes, he felt the tears come. He
cried for Tat’iana. He couldn’t imagine the horror she actually went
through at the hands of that mobster. He cried for the loss of what
he thought was his baby. He would be no father, at least, not biologically.
He vowed that he would still raise the baby, even though it was Mon*Star’s
as his very own. And he would make sure that the child would turn out
the mobsters complete opposite.
“You should have told me.” Seymour finally said
after they had cried themselves out. He still held onto her and she
onto him.
“I didn’t know how to.” She said through her sniffling.
“I wanted to, but I knew it would hurt you.”
Seymour shuddered, “It did. It does. I’ll
live though. Are you still wanting to keep it?”
Tat’iana paused. She hadn’t even considered the
possibility of abortion. It was a viable option. She knew every
time she would look at her baby, that she’d think of Mon*Star. It wasn’t
the baby’s fault, but she didn’t think she would be able to overcome that
obstacle. However, she couldn’t think about abortion either.
It just wasn’t in her upbringing.
“I’ll keep it, if it survives. Is--- that okay with
you?” Tat’iana asked.
Truthfully, he wasn’t sure, but he had made that promise
to himself and he intended to keep it. “I can live with it.”
He sighed. “The question is, can Mon*Star, know what I mean?”
Tat hugged Seymour a little tighter with fear. “I
don’t know and I’m afraid.” She admitted.
“So am I.”
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