Peabody and the Host

Peabody and the Host

Vic James

vicjames2@hotmail.com

Copyright 2013 by Vic James

http://vicjames.com

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You can see a list of my stories under my name at http://www.nifty.org/nifty/frauthors.html

Twenty-Three

The next day, Lin took Peabody to the clinic to check the babies. Lan went, too. One of them was his.

"They don't look like potatoes anymore!"

Lin chuckled.

You could see the head and the rear legs. The rest was a little indistinct still.

Lin ran some tests, one of which involved removing cells from the babies.

When Lin showed Peabody a long needle, Peabody said, "Lin, you are completely mistaken if you think you are pushing that thing inside me!"

"It won't hurt."

"I know it won't. That's because you aren't doing it."

"I did not know you have a needle phobia."

"That is not a needle. Needles are not eighteen inches long. It's a dipstick."

"It's that long for a reason."

"I am happy for that-thing and its reason." Peabody got off the table and headed out of the clinic.

"Peabody! I promise you that it will not hurt. If it does, I will never have sex with you again."

"Why don't we not do it? That way we will definitely be able to have sex again."

"I have to get a sample, and this is the only way. I really need to check the babies. Please, Peabody!"

"Why did you show it to him, Lin? If I didn't know what that was, I would run away, too," Lan said.

"I didn't think," Lin said. "Peabody, this is not a human needle. It is a device. It actively hunts out a route which will cause no pain and will destroy as few cells as possible in its path. It avoids nerves completely. It is this long because it is not going to travel in a straight line. Trust me, please."

Peabody sighed. He got back on the table and closed his eyes, tightly.

Peabody felt a hand on him. He kept his eyes closed. He waited and waited. After several minutes, he wondered what was happening. He thought about opening his eyes, but he did not want to watch Lin push it into him, even if it wasn't painful.

"Peabody, it's done. Look at them, Lan."

Peabody opened his eyes. Lin and Lan were looking at a display.

"The babies are in perfect health, my love," Lin said. "Your body is doing as well as an Alaphin host's would. They are developing at a normal rate."

"That's great!"

They had a little party that evening to celebrate. Peabody noticed Abbott looked sad.

"Are you sad about losing yours?" Peabody asked him.

"Yeah. I just hope-"

"I know. If you feel ready to start the supplements, do it. It is much less dangerous than what you did before. That will probably make you feel better. Emotionally, I mean."

"That's true."

Lin was sitting next to Peabody.

"Lin, will you start me on the supplements now?" Abbott asked him.

Peabody started stroking Lin's erection.

"Please Lin? I'll have sex with you," Peabody said.

They all laughed.

"All right."

Abbott became cheerful.

Lan was sitting on the other side of Peabody. He pulled him close. Lan was proud of his love.

"You are wonderful, Peabody."

"So are you, big daddy."

They kissed as Lin and Abbott headed for the clinic.

Three days after the quake, Peabody and Abbott attended the `Grand Opening' of the first park expansion, the pool.

"We decided to save time by using the same design as the other pool," Pon said.

"I think that was a great idea. It's a beautiful design," Peabody said.

The new room had a door and the front wall was a sheet transparent material Ban said was similar to plexiglass. They could look out at the park from the pool. Since it was in its own room, the temperature could be raised and lowered easily and quickly.

Peabody looked around. The room was bigger than the original pool. There were banana and palm trees in the room, giving it a tropical look. There were several chairs and a table. The room had its own toilet so they wouldn't have to go to one of the cabins to use one.

"Can the dogs swim in it? Will the dog hair in the water be a problem?" Peabody asked.

"It will be fine. The water goes through the sewage system, so it can handle almost anything," Pon said.

"Please don't pee in the pool, Abbott. That is one of my pet peeves," Peabody said.

Abbott laughed. "That will be an easy promise to keep. I didn't do it when I was a kid. The whole idea is gross."

They both admired the pool and the room loudly for their mates.

Neither human had swimsuits, so they went in nude. They spent most of the day in the pool. Oscar and Tina swam around for a while, but then went to play in the park.

The bathhouse was built between the two cabins. It connected the cabins and after they removed part of the cabin walls, they could walk from one cabin to the other through the bathhouse.

"I like that. It makes it seem more like one family and one house," Peabody said.

"I agree," Abbott said.

"There is one more thing that bothers me," Peabody said.

"What is that, beautiful?"

"Pon and Mun are sleeping all alone on the other side of the park."

"What do you suggest?" Lan asked.

"I thought maybe we could add a bedroom or two to our cabin. Mun and Pon, what do you think? Do you prefer your existing rooms?"

"I want to be closer to you," Mun said.

"I would like it, too," Pon said. "Plus we can add artificial gravity to the cabin. We can't to our new quarters in the park."

"We will do it, then," Lan said.

They added the rooms.

Both cabins were near the walls of the cavern, in a corner of the park. The new rooms were even closer to the wall. Once when Peabody was outside, staring at the rock wall, Pon walked up to him.

"We should enlarge the park here, Peabody."

"Do you think so? You will have a better view outside your window!" Pon chuckled. His window faced a rock wall.

"Yes. If you don't mind, I would like to get everyone together to discuss an idea of mine."

"Of course, Pon!"

They all met outside in front of Peabody's cabin.

"I have a suggestion," Pon started. "We have talked about expanding the park. I think we should enlarge it right here." He pointed at the wall behind the cabin. "And I think we should consider using part of the new area to grow crops."

Peabody grinned. "I would love to see that!" Peabody looked around and saw Abbott and the others seemed to like the idea, too.

"We have found that many Earth plants grow well in Martian soil. Right now, almost all the plants in the park are ornamental. There is no reason they all have to be. We have discussed growing crops. I think we should start now."

"How much time would be required to care for the crops?" Peabody asked.

"I think we should start small and expand slowly. We will learn the answer to questions like that," Pon said.

"A lot of it can be automated," Ban said.

Peabody thought about it.

"Won't the birds try to eat the crops?" he asked.

"I don't know. I suppose they would," Pon said. He paused. "I am not sure it matters that much. We aren't doing it because we need food. If the time comes when we need what we grow, we can deal with the problem then."

"I like the idea," Ban said. The others agreed.

"We'll get started!" Pon said.

Peabody walked up to Pon.

"Pon, I was just admiring part of your anatomy."

Pon chuckled. "I was hoping you would notice."

"That beautiful candy bar is huge! It's impossible not to notice." Peabody wrapped his arms around him and smiled.

"What are you thinking?" Pon asked.

"I was thinking of the first time I sucked you in the illuminated cavern."

"I remember that often."

"Do you?"

"Oh, yes!"

"This cavern is illuminated, too," Peabody said.

Pon chuckled as Peabody pulled Pon's hand and they walked behind his cabin.

"Lie down on the grass, will you?" Peabody asked.

Pon smiled and did it.

Peabody squatted between his legs and licked Pon's candy bar. Pon groaned.

"You taste good, Pon."

"I am so glad, my love!"

Peabody took his large erection in both hands and began licking it thoroughly. He then rubbed his cheek on it and Pon moaned.

"Oh, my love!"

Peabody pressed his face into Pon's groin and sniffed. It was a wonderful smell. To Peabody, it smelled like home, and happiness, and love.

Then he began sucking Pon. Pon moaned loudly. Peabody noticed motion and looked around. Mun was standing nearby, stroking his erection. Peabody was happy.

He spent quite a while sucking Pon. He wanted to make it last for him. Finally, Pon begged him to make him come.

Peabody sucked on what would fit in his mouth and stroked the shaft with his two hands. Pon moaned loudly and Peabody's mouth filled with Pon's sweet ejaculate. Peabody swallowed and Pon's erection disappeared.

Peabody smiled at the expression on Pon's face.

"How was that?" he asked Pon.

"Oh! Incredible!"

"It was! I loved it!" Peabody said.

Pon laughed and got up.

Peabody looked over to Mun.

"I don't suppose you would let me-"

Peabody chuckled as Mun ran over and lay right where Pon had.

"Fucking is great, but I have been wanting to get sucked," Mun told his love.

"You should have told me, Mun! I thought you preferred fucking."

"I love it, but I love it when you suck me, too."

"Well, I love sucking you at least as much as getting fucked. Maybe more. Just tell me."

"I will, my love."

Peabody spent just as much time giving Mun pleasure as he had Pon. By the time Mun came in his mouth, Peabody was getting tired. Once Mun was finished, he stood up and helped Peabody up. They walked around to the front of the cabin, hand-in-hand.

"I love you, Peabody," Mun said.

Peabody hugged him tightly.

"I love you, too, Mun.

"Time for a nap!"

Mun grinned at him. Peabody went into the cabin and lay down. Oscar jumped up on the bed and they took a nap together.

Before they could begin the park expansion, they needed to figure where to put all the rock they would be removing. The area where the expansion would be was solid rock, and every bit of rock they removed had to go somewhere. Ban sent a probe into cavern seventeen, where they had dumped the rubble from Peabody's Park, to see how much space was still available. The answer was, not that much. They considered all of their options: taking it to the surface, transporting it to another unused cavern, and compacting it. None of them were ideal. They were far below ground. There were no caverns nearby that they weren't using. Compacting required power. Once the power died, the rock expanded.

Ban decided to experiment with using high gravity fields to try and create permanent, much denser rock. He found that when exposed to the maximum gravity field he could generate, the compressed rock turned black and remained compressed after the gravity field was turned off. He calculated the size of a compressed block made from the amount or rock they would be removing. It would be small enough to load on a floater to be left on the surface, although it would take an enormous amount of power for the floater to lift of the ground. He started building the equipment.

The next morning, they all walked over to the wall that was about to disappear.

"I have been considering leaving this rock for last. If we work through a tunnel into the area, the noise will not be so disruptive. We can basically finish the extension before removing this last bit of rock," Ban said.

"That sounds good. I was a little worried about the noise. The cabin is right next to it."

"It won't be that noisy, Peabody," Pon said. "We aren't blowing anything up. The rock cutter uses noise-suppression to keep from ruining our ears."

Peabody nodded. He wondered if all of them would disappear like they did when they built the park. But he knew where they would be and it was only a short walk to check on their progress or just visit with them.

Abbott had no trouble with the supplements, so Lin raised the level. He was still able to handle it.

When his doses of the supplements had been raised twice, Peabody asked, "Do you feel any different at all? You don't seem to be nauseous."

"No. I don't think I have as much energy, but I feel fine, otherwise. Lin, how long do you think we should take to get me to full supplementation?" Abbott asked Lin.

"We will see how you tolerate it. I would prefer to give you at least a week between increases. When you start to feel physically stressed, we will not raise the dose until you feel better. It is up to your body how fast we go."

Abbott nodded.

A month later, Peabody was aware of the little ones inside him. His abdomen was bulging. So was Tina's. Peabody was almost as excited about Oscar's and Tina's pups as he was about his own.

"How much will my two weigh when they are born?" he asked Lin.

"Three or four pounds each. Since there are two, it will probably be closer to three pounds."

"That's small, considering you are bigger than humans," Peabody said.

"Our young are not as fully developed when they are born as most Earth mammals are."

Peabody thought bearing Alaphin was much, much easier than carrying human babies.

Abbott took Tina to Earth for a vet to check her. Peabody stayed in the shuttle with Lan. They had a lot more fun than Abbott did. Tina checked out fine.

The puppies were born and were mostly kept indoors in Abbott's cabin, with Earth gravity, so their muscles would develop normally. The three puppies were adorable. The whole colony agreed on that. There were two males and a female.

Twenty-Four

Several weeks later, Peabody walked over to view the new section of the park. He walked down the short hallway and into the open. The new section was almost half the size of the existing park. Ornately carved stone pillars had been left, scattered throughout the new are, connecting the floor to the ceiling. They were decorative and Peabody loved them. Vines would be planted on some of the pillars. The ceiling hadn't been painted yet, but the lights were on and the ground had been worked. He could see where the crops would be grown. There was playground equipment in one area. Peabody was looking forward to seeing his children on it. There was a large tarp covering something.

He walked over to the black rock. There was a fence around it. Ban saw him and walked over.

"So this is all the rock you removed?" Peabody asked, pointing to the black rock.

"Yes. It is very tightly compressed," Ban said.

"The new area is huge! It's hard to believe all that rock went into this one."

"I know, but that is what thousands of gravities can do, Peabody."

"How is Abbott?" Ban asked.

"He's fine. He is taking a nap."

"Good."

Pon and Fon joined them. Then Peabody saw the others approaching. Lan walked up to him and put his arm around him.

"Pon said you had a surprise, Ban."

Ban smiled. "We do. Actually, there are two. The section of the park where the playground equipment is has artificial gravity."

"Oh, that's great!"

"Yes. The children can play there and exercise their muscles at the same time."

"You were able to mount the gravity generator under the rock?"

"Sadly, no. I tried, but gave up. I realized the area didn't need to have rock immediately under the grass. I simply built a false floor over the generator. It is a very sturdy plastic. The soil will go on top of it, and the grass in the soil. Come with me."

Peabody and the others followed Ban. They walked over to the tarp. As they got closer, Peabody realized it was larger than he thought.

"Ready, Peabody?" Ban asked.

"No. I'm pretty sure I'm not."

They all laughed.

Several of them pulled on the tarp. It came off, and Peabody gasped. It was an enormous statue of him. He stared straight up at it. One arm was held up and the statue's face was looking down. It was looking at Peabody! Peabody shivered.

"How tall is it?"

"Just over thirty-four feet," Mun said.

It was made of polished, native rock. Peabody's brain went numb. He stared open-mouthed at it.

"Peabody?" Lan said, "Peabody?"

Lan took Peabody in his arms and hugged him. Peabody rested his head on Lan's chest. He sighed. He supposed he would get used to it, but it was-too, too much. Thirty-four feet of much too much. A life-sized statue would have made him uncomfortable. This. It was like a statue of some god.

"Is there going to be one of Abbott?" Peabody asked.

"No. Just you," Ban said.

"I'll be lonely. I want statues of the rest of you crowded around it."

Pon chuckled. "Why?"

Peabody decided not to say, "So I won't have to look at it." It would hurt their feelings. The statue made him incredibly uncomfortable, however. He would have to remember to avoid looking at it.

"Do you like it?" Mun asked.

Oh, lord! Peabody thought. What could he say? That he hated it, and would enjoy blowing it up with dynamite? Or that he wanted Ban to compress it down to a black smudge? He couldn't hurt any of them, but especially not Mun. He forced himself to look at it and he pretended it was Abbott. That helped a lot. He looked up and saw they didn't quite have Abbott's face, but maybe it was their first statue. The rock was beautiful, the pose (of Abbott) was nice.

"It's very attractive," he said, finally.

He looked around and they looked pleased.

Peabody headed back for the cabin. Lan came with him.

Once they left the new cavern, Lan said, "I knew you would hate it."

"Did you tell them?"

"Yes. Peabody, the statue isn't for you. It's for us."

"I don't understand. I'm not dead. I'm right here with you. Why do you need an enormous statue?"

"That's how we see you."

Peabody didn't understand that, and he was getting a headache.

"We wanted to have the statue in the main park, but we knew you were getting impatient when we were building the park. So now, we finally have our statue."

"Why is it so big? Wouldn't a life-sized statue have worked?"

"We don't see you that way. I know you love us, but I don't think you know how important you are. You are important to our species, not just to the six of us. We are the only colony in this galaxy. Because of you, there will be a future with Alaphin in your galaxy. That is big!"

"What about Abbott? He is doing just as much."

"No. He isn't. You are making the decisions. Abbott doesn't want to make them. He wants you or us to make them. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. If the two of you were arguing about things, it would be terrible. It is your colony, Peabody. We all agree and you agree. Even Abbott agrees. You felt that way from the start. When you met the brothers in the conference room, you made the colony yours. You said you hoped we would have a large, and very happy family. You expressed all our hopes in one sentence. Then you proceeded to try to make them real." Peabody just shook his head. "Abbott will have a statue someday, if he can host successfully. But it won't be as large."

Peabody sighed.

"OK, Lan. I don't plan to look at it, but if you like it, I am glad it is there."

As the pregnancy progressed, Peabody gradually changed his mind about it being easier than a human pregnancy. He began having trouble walking, keeping food down, sleeping, and his blood pressure was all over the map. Fortunately his kidney had not failed, even temporarily. They lowered the gravity in the house. That helped his symptoms quite a bit.

One morning a few months later, Lin was performing his daily check of them. "I can remove them now. They are old enough."

"Are you sure? I can live with it for a few more days," Peabody said.

"No, they should be fine."

Everyone was present for the removal. When Lin explained the procedure to Peabody, it sounded to him like a fancy C-section. Alaphin hosts delivered out of their single opening. Humans weren't set up to give birth through their butt, though. Lin was able to remove them without cutting muscles.

Peabody was groggy, but conscious.

Abbott was watching carefully. He was almost on full supplementation, so he was hoping Lin would allow him to become impregnated by Ban and Fon. Lin wanted him to carry only one, but Abbott wanted to carry two at a time. He really did not want to disappoint one of his mates.

Lin removed one and Peabody noticed there was no umbilical cord. Lin wiped the baby down and it coughed up blood. He held it face down and let the blood drain out of its lungs into a pan. Then he wiped the baby down again, wrapped it in a blanket and handed him to Peabody.

Peabody held his son and decided he was absolutely, completely, and totally adorable. His baby looked a lot like a newborn puppy, but with human (or Alaphin) features, also. He kept that to himself. He wasn't sure the brothers would appreciate being compared to puppies.

Lin then removed the second baby. He repeated the process and gave Peabody the second baby.

He sealed Peabody up and removed the drip from my arms.

"They're so beautiful!" Peabody said. Peabody had been looking at the babies, but then he looked up and saw all the brothers. They were ecstatic! Abbott was grinning, too.

Lan sniffed both of them and said "This one is mine! Mine!" The others just nodded.

"Have you chosen a name, Lan?"

Lin said "It is customary to wait until they eat for the first time to name them."

Lin had told Peabody they wouldn't eat until tomorrow. All Peabody had to do was hold them and they would figure out where the food was. He assured Peabody that their bites would not be painful, but Peabody still nervous about them biting him and drinking his blood.

"Do you want to try to stand?" he asked Peabody.

"I still feel a little dizzy."

Peabody knew the skin was already healed, thanks to advanced Alaphin medical knowledge. And because there were no cut muscles, he knew he should be able to move around easily.

Lin weighed them. They each weighed a little over three pounds.

After about ten minutes, he was able to walk. He let the parents carry their babies. Their third arm allowed them to carry them, while still having two arms available. He climbed carefully into the electric vehicle and Lan drove them to the park.

Peabody realized he didn't know if these were Lin's and Lan's first babies. If they had others, they were home on Tarsina, and they would never see them again. He was afraid to ask. He didn't want to open old wounds.

The babies were placed in a crib in an enclosed corner of the bedroom. When they built the enclosure with the crib, Peabody asked if it was because of the babies' crying.

"No. Our babies don't cry. Unlike adults, infant Alaphin need to be kept quite warm," Lin said.

"How warm?"

"We will keep their room around eight-five degrees."

"Oh. That must be unpleasant for you," Peabody said.

"It is normal. We expect it."

"How do you know if they need something if they don't cry?"

"What would they need? They have warmth, food, and love."

"What about diapers?"

"They won't need them. By the time they are on solid food, they will be capable of using a box." Lin paused. "It is a little like a litter box."

"Oh. OK."

Pon smiled at Peabody and said "Have you had enough? Have you changed your mind about having more? There was a time when two more of us seemed an impossible dream."

Peabody smiled at him and said "Ask me tomorrow. After they bite me!"

The brothers all laughed. Then they all shouted "We love Peabody! We love Peabody! We love Peabody!" Abbott joined in.

"I love you, too."

Peabody spent the day admiring them. Once their hair or fur dried, they were the color of milk chocolate. Their eyes were not open yet. Lin told him it would be about a month before they did. Peabody lifted their little third arms which were little more than tiny hands on their backs. He stroked each of them and got little smiles (he thought) from each. It occurred to him, at that very late point, that he knew absolutely nothing about newborns, human or Alaphin.

He chuckled.

"What is it, beautiful?"

"I just realized I have two babies and I know nothing about babies!"

"That's OK. We are the parents," Lin said. "We will tell you everything you need to know. You already know the most important thing and you are doing it perfectly."

"What is that?"

"Loving them."

"Oh, yes! I can do that!"

The next morning, Lin handed Peabody one of the babies. He smiled and said "Ready?" He laughed at the expression on Peabody's face.

Peabody took the adorable baby from him. He kissed it on the top of his head. Peabody sat in a chair next to the crib.

"Where should I put it?"

"Hold it so you are comfortable." He laughed again.

Peabody held it up against his upper body with the baby's head near his shoulder. The baby nosed around a little and then stopped. Then Peabody could feel the baby licking him. It tickled a little.

"When will he bite me?"

"He already did. You bled and the baby is licking up the blood."

"That's it?"

"Yes. I kept telling you it wasn't awful!"

"I know, but I thought you were lying!" Peabody said, laughing.

"You really need to trust me, my love! Remember the needle?"

"How could I forget your two foot long needle?"

Several of them laughed.

Lin continued, "The baby's saliva has an anticoagulant. As soon as he stops licking, you will stop bleeding. The holes are very small."

"Do you want to take the other one now, or wait?"

"You know better than I do how much blood I can lose."

"They won't drink that much. Unlike human babies, these will not gain much weight until they are weaned. Hunger is what causes them to accept other food. They will each probably want about an ounce of blood every twelve hours. Your body should have no problem producing that. If it does, there is artificial blood."

"I'll take the other one. I love them again."

He laughed and handed him to Peabody.

"They are beautiful. And they look just like me," Peabody said, with a grin.

Lin didn't say anything.

"Don't you agree?" Peabody asked him.

"Yes, they are beautiful."

Peabody laughed.

"I haven't figured how to tell them apart yet? Can you two do it?" Peabody asked.

"The eyes on mine look a little wider. You can only tell when they are together, though. They look like babies, though. Even human babies tend to look a lot alike. They will eventually look different," Lan replied.

"You and Lan look different, so I guess so."

"Everyone can't be cute," Lan said.

"Or have the biggest candy bar," Peabody added.

"Exactly."

"On the other hand," Peabody said. "Lin was my first love. Non-human, non-pet love, that it."

"And a first love is special," Lin said.

Lin leaned forward and kissed him.

"I love you," Peabody told him.

"I love you."

"So! What are their names?"

"I am naming mine Robert," Lan said, pointing to his baby.

Peabody was shocked. He had no idea Lan was going to do that.

"Thank you, Lan," he said.

"Lin, how about yours?"

"If it's OK with you, I thought I would name him John."

Peabody's eyes watered and he said "Thank you. Thank you, both." Peabody smiled and wiped his eyes.

"Oh, my love. It is you we should thank. Because of you, Mars is now a growing colony rather than merely our crash site," Lin said. Lan nodded his agreement.

The babies both finished. They just stopping licking.

Peabody took one and handed it to Lan. Then he handed the other to Lin. He watched his two lovers gaze lovingly at their kids.

"Do you feel like a nap, my love?" Lin asked him.

"Yes, I think so. Can you stay, or do you need to do anything?"

"I will stay with you, Peabody," Lan said.

"I will stay, too," Lin said.

Peabody lay down. Lan put his baby in the crib and then got undressed and joined his love in bed. Lin did the same. Lin faced Peabody and kissed him softly on the lips. Then he stroked his love's hair. Peabody was still weak from the pregnancy and fell asleep quickly and with a smile on his face, which pleased Lin.

Lan and Lin lay with him, but were too excited to sleep. All of them had secretly feared their young would not feed from a human once they were born. Peabody was externally very different from an Alaphin host. There was no fur and he smelled different. Lin didn't think it likely, but they all knew it was a possibility. Once again, their luck held. Their young looked very healthy and they fed very well.

"Did you check the teaching equipment?" Lan asked Lin softly.

"Yes. It is ready. I shudder to think what would happen if we had to teach our young. I don't think I would make a good teacher. I kept wanting to strangle students in the medical classes I took." Lan barked softly in laughter.

"I suppose you will have John learn medicine," Lan said.

"Yes, we will need to have more than one medic if the size of our family is to increase as much as it seems it will. Peabody's success means Abbott may very well be able to host successfully, as well."

"I've been thinking of having Rob learn agriculture. Now that we have a real colony and an area for crops, we should try to lessen our dependence on Earth. Relations with Earth could deteriorate at any time."

"That is true."

"What?"

Peabody woke to that shouted word. There were raised voices in the other room. He got out of bed and walked into the living room. Abbott, Ban, and Fon were talking to Lin.

"Why risk it?" Lin asked Abbott.

"I wanted to do it, Lin," Abbott said.

"What's going on?" Peabody asked.

"Ban and Fon both just impregnated Abbott," Lin said.

Peabody smiled. "Oh! Congratulations!"

Abbott grinned.

"Lin, he wants to do it. It is his life. Abbott is definitely aware of what will happen if his body can't cope. Right, Abbott?" Peabody asked.

"Right! But meanwhile, these two will each be half Ban and half Fon. We need that, Lin. More than we need clones of them."

"They aren't clones," Lin said.

"You know what I mean. Your baby is practically identical to you. These won't be duplicates of one parent. These two may have new strengths. Those strengths could be important to the colony. And the only way we could do that was to have both of them impregnate me at the same time. If I lose one, the remaining baby will still be half-Ban and half-Fon."

Peabody approved. It was a solution which didn't require Abbott to pick Ban over Fon.

"Well, it's done. There is no point in arguing about what is already done. I need to bump you up to full supplementation."

"I know. I feel pretty good and I am almost on full now. The higher level may make me nauseous, but I am willing to accept that. I feel a hundred times better than I did before, and as the babies begin feeding, I will have lower levels of the chemicals, anyway."

Lin nodded.

Pon and Mun walked into the cabin while they were talking.

"Lin, do you think I should do that with Pon and Mun?" Peabody asked.

"Do what?" Mun asked.

"Abbott just got impregnated by both Ban and Fon," Lin said.

"Oh. I think we should. What do you think, Pon?" Mun asked.

"It is fine with me," Pon said. "Peabody, that is really your decision. The host decides such things for the good of the family."

"Well, I don't necessarily know what is best for the family, but I like the idea."

"We will do it, then," Mun said.

Pon nodded.

The babies continued eating several times a day. They grew, but they didn't gain any weight. Peabody worried about that. They looked thinner and thinner as they grew.

"Are you sure they are eating enough?" he asked Lin.

"No. They aren't, but that is good. The sooner they start accepting other food, the better. They need more protein now than they get from your blood. Hunger is what makes them switch from drinking blood to eating, and going on a high protein diet after the switch will speed their growth. They are perfectly normal.

Peabody spent most of each day with the babies. He worried about neglecting his mates. He mentioned it to Lan.

"Beautiful, they need you more than we do, right now. Please don't worry about it. Alaphin hosts are the same way. We want you to love them and spend time with them."

"Lan, I hope I am not opening old wounds, but do you have other children?"

"No. This is my first. None of us have children. Aracatal was pregnant when we were stranded here, but he and our brother, whose baby Aracatal carried both died in an explosion."

They were all gathered in a conference room on Earth. The babies were six weeks old and their eyes were open. At Peabody's request, they were having a family portrait made. One of the lawyers who was an avid photographer was arranging them for the photo. Peabody and Abbott were in front with the Alaphin behind him. Abbott was six weeks pregnant and wasn't having any problems so far. Peabody was holding the babies who were watching everything with a great deal of interest. Fortunately, they were completely happy being in his arms. Neither of them struggled or squirmed.

Peabody turned around and looked at the back drop behind them. It was an outdoor shot of Mars' surface. It would be hundreds of years before they could actually go out on the surface. Still, it was appropriate, he thought. He looked down at his beautiful babies.

"All right. I think we are ready," the lawyer said. "Please look ahead."

Peabody smiled. He did.

The End