"We are getting close, the woman remembered that place," McCoy stated as he continued to look for the wreckage that was left of the Hunter-Gratzner. Soon they came upon the most beautiful scene; the wreckage was covered in green much like a rock covered in moss. Tree tops could be seen at the edge of a rather large hole in the ship. Setting their ship down not far from the unexpected sight, the five men left with high hopes of finding some passengers alive. Moving into what was left of the ship through a hole, the men saw a veritable Garden of Eden to their right and vines covering the walls around them. Walking to their left, the men came to a large room covered in vines. Strange plants lined the bottom of the wall, the men jumped when a few of them began to spit seeds onto the floor. Sharing a look of confusion, the men were not prepared to be confronted by the large birds that came to eat the seeds. Olask seemed fascinated by the creatures and moved closer cautiously to get a better look. Coor looked around suspiciously, after all nothing like this was in Carolyn's dreams. In the shadows he saw an area of long grasses that he assumed by the few smaller bird like creatures that he could see moving in and out of the area to be a nesting ground. Finally, the men moved toward the hallway to continue their exploration. Scotty quietly pointed out the fuel cell room that was in front of them before they moved through the open doorway into an unexpected surprise. Jenson gave an impressive whistle at the very homey kitchen area.
"Impressive, isn't it?" a voice asked, startling them out of observations. Coor spun around with his gun level to shoot if any threats were detected.
Harry watched the five men that had invaded their home with trepidation. 'Who are these men? Are they part of the rescue part that Carolyn swore would come for us? Or are they mercenaries out for Riddick?' Harry thought to himself as he eyed the men. One wore a uniform reminiscent of a soldier and had multiple weapons, one of which was pointing at him. Another was holding some gadget and seemed to be scanning the place possibly to detect signatures indicating life, not that it would help with all the creatures roaming around. However, the one that caught his attention was the man that was his mother's image if his mother was older and darker in features or mood. Placing his hands on the table to help steady himself as he stood, Harry cautiously approached the group. It was amusing to see the shock and fascination in their eyes as they saw his rather swollen stomach. The stuttering questions were also highly amusing. Putting up a hand to stall any coherent questions or interrogation, Harry motioned for them to sit before he set about preparing a quick snack. Olask eyed the boy, knowing immediately from those green eyes who he was, before moving to sit at the table. Jenson, seeing the recognition in Olask's eyes also moved to sit at the table. Soon they all sat at the rather large wooden table watching as the heavily pregnant boy moved around the kitchen. A bowl of dip was served with pieces of hard bread and the men graciously ate the food. Coor did take a moment to sniff the strange dip before taking a bite, but other than that Harry could see no immediate paranoia or threat from the men. They ate in silence, but the peace was soon broken when two sleepy-eyed children stumbled up from an unseen stairway whining for food. As the men watched Harry give the two children plates with some bread, dip, and what looked like nuts of some kind, they wondered why this young man responded to the children when they called him mama.
"Where is Daddy and Grandpa and Grandma and Zeke-" Ali began to ask before being cut off by his older sister.
"We get it Ali, we get it, so where is everyone?" Jack asked in a less longwinded way with a teasing roll of her eyes.
"Jack sweetie, that was not very polite," Harry scolded before answering both the children and the unasked questions of the men. "Grandma is in the garden and the others traveled to the abandoned settlement to scavenge for useful items. Their grandma is Alexander Olask, who I call mother, and their grandpa is Logan, who I call father. No he does not have a last name. Zeke and Shazza are prospectors that survived the crash."
"And who do they call daddy?" Coor asked aggressively, pulling his gun just that much closer from the relaxed position he had it in earlier.
"This little ones father is the man they call daddy," Harry answered evasively rubbing his stomach soothingly. A chuckle from the doorway caused the men to turn only to stare as who they presumed was Alexander Olask. Harry gave a warm smile before motioning him over to the table. Alex sat next to the children and stole a couple nuts from Jack's plate ignoring the loud protest.
"I don't think that is what they meant son, but I understand your reluctance to answer the question," Alex said smoothly while piercing Coor with a threatening look. The man tried to return the look so as to show he will not be cowed but becoming unnerved, lowered his weapon. Harry watched the exchange with bemusement. McCoy finished his meal later than the others and watched Harry as he moved around cleaning up the dishes and storing the uneaten food into an ingenious cooler set near the doorway along the wall. Olask was busy checking his nephew over and talking to him about his family, especially his adopted son's condition. Soon, the men became comfortable sitting around the table discussing the intricacies of their survival before and during the eclipse. Jenson watched everything in silence from his spot at the table until McCoy gathered the nerve to question Harry about his pregnancy. It seemed that the light camaraderie that had settled amongst them was shattered with the innocent query. Harry tensed a bit before he chuckled drily.
"Aren't you an inquisitive man? I suppose that you are a medical professional to be so fascinated with my pregnancy," Harry said with a raised eyebrow in the man's direction.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, but male pregnancy is exceptionally rare except for a few planets," McCoy stated in slight confusion.
"Sorry, mood swings sometimes make me react in unforeseen ways to harmless inquiry. My pregnancy is similar to that of a female except the symptoms are more extreme. There isn't much more to tell than that," Harry said as a condolence although he knew that was not what McCoy wished to know.
"Actually, it is the father that I am interested in. It is said that the man that sires a male pregnancy must be powerful for the men capable of bearing children are rather picky in respect to who can bed them. The most powerful race that was known to have male pregnancy as a common occurrence was the Furyans, although they are extinct now," McCoy said, explaining his knowledge. "Of course there were rumors that the convict, Riddick, was a Furyan."
"I am sorry, but what does that have to do with my son? Are you insinuating that Riddick is my son's partner?" Alex asked both to show he caught the subtle conclusive tone and to understand more what the men felt about Riddick.
"I am not insinuating anything, it is just that according to the memories of Carolyn Fry the only person missing from those left behind is Riddick, therefore according to, Harry was it?" McCoy paused to glance at Harry to make sure he got the name correct, "he would have to be the father. There is nothing wrong with Harry being with Riddick, per se, it is just that as Riddick is a convict their life will be rough."
"Like hell there is nothing wrong with it," Coor hissed out angrily, "That little whore should be used as bait against the convict if they are so close. Riddick belongs behind bars!" The venom within Coor's words was not what shocked the others, but more so that he was pointing his weapon at the pregnant Harry. McCoy moved to stand in front of the pregnant boy protectively. Alex tried to usher the children away without catching Coor's attention, but the man pulled out another gun and trained it on the Ali. Everyone tensed and began trying to calm the highly agitated man to no avail. Coor was able to corral everyone into the storage room in the living quarters under gun point as he had the only weapons. No one could talk him out of his hatred for the felon and all waited nervously for the others to return.
This trip to the settlement was to be their last, as they were collecting what they could to make Harry's last months of pregnancy comfortable. Logan and Riddick were working together amicably, although there was occasional tension. They found that sparing together released stress and renewed their respect for one another enough to reduce their desire to kill each other. Riddick was carrying a crib that he found in one of the homes out to the solar car to the amusement of Zeke who was arranging everything in the car to transport better. Shazza was playing with the solar model to ensure that no more darkness would be hitting for the next twenty-two years while Logan grabbed clothes off the lines and other such items. Zeke called out when he saw a ship moving through the horizon and land close to where he knew the wreck to be. Everyone piled what was in their hands onto the solar car before they jumped on to travel back. The trip was made in silence as different thoughts went through each person's head about the newcomers. 'Are they here to rescue us? Carolyn did promise that a rescue team was coming' Shazza thought excitedly, she couldn't wait to get away from this strange dysfunctional family. 'Is it really worth it to leave? This is what we have been trying to find, the simple life. Can we just give it up for the possibility of escape' Zeke thought while pondering what his wife's reaction would be if he refused to leave. Thoughts of fighting strategies and possible weapons filled the heads of Riddick and Logan as both knew that no good would come from the landing of the ship. Shazza stopped the solar car near the opening by the garden and jumped out to move into their pseudo-home excitedly. Zeke went to call after his wife, but a hand over his mouth stopped him. Looking back, he saw that it was Riddick that held the hand over his mouth.
"If these people are not friendly, we should not draw unwanted attention to ourselves," Riddick said quietly. Logan gave a small grunt in agreement.
"Do you believe that these people will start trouble, couldn't they just be the rescuers that Carolyn swore would come for us?" Zeke asked, although it was muffled by Riddick's hand.
"Could be, but there is still the possibility that they could have sent someone for Riddick amongst them. He is worth too much to take the chance of his escape," Logan said sardonically.
"We are going to take this slow," Riddick said silkily, dangerously, "my family is in there and if there is someone after me, they will not be hurt by your inability to restrain yourself. I will kill you myself to protect them, so if I cannot trust you to not reveal us than you will stay here. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, but my wife?" Zeke asked, worried for her safety.
"Stay here," Logan said annoyed with the man. Logan shot Riddick a look and the man gave a feral smirk before moving around to the wreckage to the highly unused door in the opposite hallway. Riddick moved quietly around the hull and opened the door letting him into the hallway. He heard the clucking sound of the birds and one even moved past him into the kitchen. Moving into the kitchen, Riddick saw the livestock shifting restlessly in their pen. 'Something is wrong, everything Harry draws is in tune to his emotions, so something has to be wrong' Riddick thought before he saw Shazza disappearing down the stairs. Staying in his place, he listened as she cried out in surprise and a gunshot sound throughout the metal home.
"What the hell is your problem?" Shazza said angrily. Riddick smirked as he heard the volatile woman explode on whoever shot at her.
"Who are you and where is Riddick?" an unknown voice sounded at the same time Riddick heard a gun being recharged. 'Ah, so it's one of the newer models. Those have an awful reload time' Riddick thought with a smirk.
"Aren't you a rescue party? Cause if you are just mercs than you can leave because Riddick died during the eclipse," Shazza said angrily. An eyebrow raised when he heard that, was the woman trying to fend off other groups of mercs from disturbing them or was she angry that they came for him.
"That's bullshit, if he died then this little whore's stomach wouldn't be swollen with his child," the voice stated again.
"What the hell are you doing Coor? We came to rescue these people not terrorize them," another unknown voice yelled. From the position, Riddick figured they were in the storage room. Deciding that enough was enough, Riddick made his way down the stairs. However before he fully entered the area he pulled himself up into the beams that made up the ceiling of the space. Moving through the shadows, he stopped when he was literally on top of the man he assumed was Coor. At the moment there was an argument brewing over the necessity to capture him and take him to the deepest, darkest slam known to the universe. 'Not that I won't escape it with ease, every slam has its weak area' Riddick thought with a mental snort. From what he could tell the party was meant to rescue any survivors, however, Coor tagged along using his weapons specialty as a cover for his true reasons. Those reasons being the price on Riddick's head and his half-brother Johns.
"I trusted you, I vouched for you!" a third voice yelled in outrage, "I told Jenson there was no way that you were anything but what you said you were. I promised him you weren't a merc, just had experience handling weapons…"
"You always were naïve Scotty, wanting to believe the best in people. Here's a news flash, Olask knew from the get-go I was hiding something that I wasn't in it for the same reasons. But then takes one to know one, he could see the same desperation in my eyes as was in his; the desperation of looking for a loved one not knowing if they are dead or alive. However, unlike him my desperation was more so for the hope that my meal ticket was still alive than my no-good brother," Coor stated with a smirk and a wave of the gun to get Shazza moving into the storage room turned jail room. Riddick heard Logan up above; the man was analyzing the situation and determining the best course of action. Logan moved towards the stairs knowing that to defuse the situation, they would need to take out Coor. When Shazza was close to the door two things happened: she rushed Coor and Logan had come down the stairs. In the panic, Coor shot his gun into the throng of people being held in the storage room. Riddick dropped down on top of them, using his opportunity to knock the merc out. Alex's wail alerted them to the fact that someone indeed was shot during the panic and looking into the room, Riddick and Logan could see that it was Alex's uncle. The man was clutching his chest where a dark red stain was rapidly spreading. McCoy tried to take a look at the man, but another cry caught his attention. This one was from Harry, who was being held by Riddick just outside of the room. Their children sat crying next to the couple. Looking between the two possible patients, McCoy was unsure which he should attend to.
"See about the boy, I'll be fine. It looks worse than it is, missed anything major," Olask reassured with a small groan as he sat upright with the help of his nephew. Alex put an ear to his uncle's chest and not hearing any gurgling, nodded his acceptance of the command. McCoy moved over to Harry and asked him to explain what he was feeling.
"My stomach and back hurt. Is something wrong? This shouldn't be happening, should it?" Harry asked in rising panic.
Chapter Seventeen: Births, Deaths, and Decisions
"He's going into labor, we need to move him to a more comfortable place," McCoy stated in his doctor voice. Riddick picked Harry up and started to move toward their suite with everyone following.
"What do you mean he is going into labor? He still has three months left," Alex called out anxiously as he supported his uncle. Behind him Logan was carting Coor none too gently. Shazza fidgeted guiltily as she prayed Harry and the baby turned out all right. Zeke, who had ran into their makeshift home on the second shot, put his arm around her in comfort. Everyone moved into the sitting room of Riddick and Harry's suite with only McCoy, Riddick, Logan and Alex venturing into the bedroom where Riddick laid Harry upon their blankets. Riddick ran his fingers through Harry's hair as McCoy mechanically removed the clothes covering Harry's lower body. Harry was crying softly in between bouts of pain.
"Can you stop it, why can't you stop the baby from coming?" Alex asked as he took his son's hand to help him focus on something other than the rhythmic pain.
"Male pregnancies don't respond well to the medications used to stop labor. In the best case scenario it can lead to seizures of the mother, but most of the time the mother and infants die from the chemicals. The exact reason for this is unknown," McCoy stated as he pulled a vial from a pocket in his pants leg. "You wouldn't happen to have a knife on hand would you?" Logan and Riddick raised an eyebrow at the man before he explained the need of a knife to cut the umbilical cord. Deciding not to show the man their hand, Riddick pulled out one of his many shivs. Dipping the small blade in the vial, the men were not prepared for the man to pull out a lighter and run the shiv through the flame. A beautiful blue flame surrounded the blade for a moment before it fizzled out. At the questioning looks the man explained, "The liquid was rubbing alcohol. Easiest way to sterilize something is to dip it into a flammable alcohol and light it on fire. Whatever the alcohol doesn't kill, the flame will."
"What will happen to the baby?" Riddick asked gruffly. He worried for his child that still resided in Harry's womb as much as he did for Harry if the child did not survive.
"Children born to male mothers have a better survival rate being born premature than those born to female mothers. Some believe it is because they are heartier from the harshness of a male womb," McCoy said in reassurance.
"Is that what you believe?" Alex asked, wondering if the man was just giving hope without believing his own words. McCoy set the shiv into a box that he pulled out of his pocket and gave a deep sigh.
"Yes and no. I do believe that the womb of a child-bearing male is harsh due to their bodies being different then women enough to not be automatically suited to pregnancies. That is why their symptoms are so very severe. However, I also believe that the father plays a large role. Most premature infants born to male mothers that survived were fathered by races that had a high prevalence for these types of births. Now, I have one question: Are you truly a Furyan?"
"Yes," Riddick grunted, not averting his attention from his lover. McCoy let out a relieved sigh that calmed the nerves of Logan and Alex. Although, everyone still prayed that the labor pains would diminish, they felt more secure about a birth if it indeed happened. Looking underneath the blanket that he had covered him with to preserve modesty, McCoy saw that there was no progression past the pain. Leaving the room, McCoy walked over to have a quiet conversation with Jenson. Jenson nodded his head at the end of the conversation, motioned Scotty over, and whispered some explanation into his ear before the two left. Zeke began to pay attention when Olask asked about Harry. There was not much that could be gathered from the conversation besides McCoy was preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. A light snort came from Shazza at the announcement and she asked in a self-depreciating tone, "So, which do you suspect? That my foolish heroics will cause Riddick to lose them all or that at least Harry may be saved?"
Coor felt a jolt of pain shoot through his head as muffled sounds reached his ears. His shoulders ached and lower leg was numb from the knee down. Cataloging his symptoms, he could only come to the conclusion that he had been knocked out and tied up. Opening his eyes slowly, Coor noticed that Olask sat in front of him with a gun aimed straight for him while the bitch who rushed him and an unknown man were curled up asleep not far from him. Keeping his posture the same as when he first woke up, Coor tried to gather information about his surroundings. Unfortunately, he gathered very little before a kick to the head knocked him back out. Olask opened his eyes from where he had closed them to fake sleep to see an angry Alex standing over the slumped body of Coor.
"I take it that some rather unfortunate circumstances are occurring?" Olask asked his nephew with a raised brow.
"Harry has gone into labor and nothing can be done for it," Alex said with equal parts worry and anger coating his voice. He aimed another vicious kick at the man, this time to his groin, before he went back into the other room. Olask chuckled when he heard Alex tell the doctor to not even dare worry about Coor's health. Deciding to check up on the kids, he gingerly stood and made his way to the room he saw the youngsters disappear into earlier. Ali was asleep on a pile of blankets that Olask assumed made up their bed, tear tracks were visible on his cheeks. Jack played quietly with a stuffed bear, rocking it like one would a baby while she hummed. It seemed that Ali was having a fitful sleep as he cried out in his sleep and Jack moved quickly to his side. Watching as Jack whispered reassurances into the little boy's ear, Olask felt that he was intruding on a private moment and was about to back out of the room. He stopped when Jack's quiet voice reached him.
"Is Mama and the babies alright?" Jack asked from her place beside Ali.
"Babies, what makes you think your mama is having more than one baby Jack?" Olask asked feeling very much unsure about his role in these children's lives.
"I don't know, I just think he is that's all. Is Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa okay? Is that man dead?" Jack answered while asking her own questions that she needed to be answered.
"Yeah, they are fine. Coor is still alive for now, but that is just because your mamma is more important at the moment," Olask answered before he left the children to themselves and returned to keep vigil over Coor. Turning when he heard a slight curse and strained laughter, Olask saw Jenson and Scotty walk in carrying some large medical thing between them.
"Set it over here but be careful," Coor stated without looking up at the men. The large metal box was set in the corner near where Harry lay before Jenson and Scotty left to help Olask watch over Coor. Alex raised an eyebrow when no explanation was forthcoming, but decided not to vocalize his concerns when he felt Logan wrap his arm around him and whisper 'Relax' into his ear. Riddick never took his eyes or attention off Harry, who had fallen into an exhausted sleep. It was quiet for a while before McCoy began to explain what the metal box was, "It's a portable incubator with a pull out drawer of medical supplies in the bottom. Upon setting an infant or infants on the cushioned top four panes of glass rise up on each side slowly so as to not hurt the infant if their hands or legs are flailing around. The fifth, top pane, of glass is manually added and the entire thing is sealed via laser technology. Scanning systems become active once the glass is secured and the needs of the infant are provided for. System settings can be modified to allow one of the side panes to retract for feedings and such. Basically, it is top of the line technology that we were allowed to bring in case of any unforeseen circumstances."
Riddick lay on his side next to Harry, getting some rest before Harry woke again. The labor pains had not subsided, so McCoy continued to check to see if Harry was ready to push. Unfortunately, he was progressing so there was a distinct possibility that Harry would deliver. McCoy finished setting the incubator and checked Harry's progression, only to find that he was fully prepared to push. Moving the sheet further up Harry's body to allow access, he motioned Alex over to help him in case there were any problems with the baby. With everyone in place, McCoy told Harry to begin pushing. It was slow going and Harry became exhausted, but continued with the encouragement of his mother. Hours passed before the baby began crowning and at that time Harry's screams pierced the air. Curses fell from Harry's lips as freely as the tears fell from his eyes.
"Almost there, just give me one more big push," McCoy calmly stated. Harry nodded and tightened his hold on Riddick's hand before bearing down and pushing with all his might. Alex watched as the baby finally slipped free from Harry's body. Reddish mucus covered the baby obscuring the details of its features from view. Taking the sterilized shiv from the box, McCoy cut the cord and handed the tiny baby to Alex. Rubbing the squirming little one clean with a spare blanket, Alex finally noticed that he held a little girl in his arms. Slightly alarmed by the quietness of the baby, Alex rubbed gently circles on her back. The suddenness of her cries nearly caused everyone to jump, but McCoy was busy with cleaning up the afterbirth. "It's a girl, Harry, a beautiful baby girl," McCoy commented.
"Can I hold her, please?" Harry asked before he began to cry out in pain again. Alarmed, Riddick and Logan looked to the doctor for an answer to Harry's distress. Placing a few fingers inside Harry's anus to hopefully find answers, McCoy was shocked to feel another head.
"Okay, it appears that there is another baby in there. Harry, I'm going to need you to start pushing again. Alex keep hold on that little girl, we cannot place her into the incubator until her sibling is born as well," McCoy said before preparing for another birth. Riddick moved to sit behind Harry so that Harry could rest against him. Exhausted Harry gave a small smile in thanks before focusing on pushing his unexpected second child out. When the head came out, McCoy saw that the baby's cord was wrapped around the neck in two tight wraps. Telling Harry to stop pushing, he tried to unravel the cord. As quickly as possible, he unraveled the cord and told Harry to give one last big push. McCoy immediately cut the cord and cleaned the baby, but he realized that the baby was not breathing at all. Startled by that and the blue tint to the baby's skin, he used his fingers to clear out what he could from the baby's mouth. Rubbing gently on the baby's back, McCoy ignored the concerned and panicked questions of Harry and Alex. When the baby still did not respond, he began CPR by giving two puffs of breath to the baby and compressing the small chest with two fingers. A collective sigh of relief was given when the baby gave a whimpering cry of protest. "This one's a boy," McCoy commented.
The twins were placed on the incubator cushion together and Alex watched as the glass panes rose just as McCoy said they would. Harry glanced over at the incubator concernedly before closing his eyes in exhaustion. Riddick brushed Harry's hair back from his forehead and placed a kiss to the top of his head. Logan stood and moved to stand beside Alex and see the babies for himself. Both men ignored McCoy as he placed the top pane on the incubator. The babies were tiny, although they did not seem to be struggling too much considering how early they were being born. Wisps of strawberry blonde hair covered the little girl's head; she hiccoughed while recovering from her crying bout. Meanwhile her brother, who sported a thick and wild mop of dark brown hair, lay quietly seemingly preferring saving his strength for more important times.
"Shouldn't the baby be crying? I mean the baby has to be out by now, so why do we not hear anything?" Scotty asked anxiously, he too felt guilty about the situation as he vouched for Coor to come on this mission. Shazza flinched at the question before her attention was caught by Logan and Alex, who had just exited the room. The men honed in on Coor, who was sitting bound against the wall. Logan lifted the man by the neck and slammed him down harshly. Any further assault was stopped by Alex, who commented that Riddick should be the one to punish the man as he was most affected by his treachery. However, as a parting gift Alex took up one of the guns pulled off Coor and shot the man in the shoulder. A smirk adorned Logan's face when the man cried out. Impatience colored the voice of Shazza as she asked about the survival of Harry.
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