| "I'm a Spacer, Not a Mother" by Christy Chapter 3 If you ever wanted to know what life would look like if time stopped for a few seconds, you would merely need to look in Doppler's library after Amelia revealed that she was pregnant. All eyes went wide, fixed on the captain. Their mouths hung agape as they gradually took in the news. For a brief time you could hear a pin drop. At last Doppler broke the silence with piercing scream. "EEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it!!! I can't believe it!!! I'm the luckiest man alive!!!!" He threw his arms around Amelia and squeezed her almost hard enough to choke her. "Oh my lord, I can't BELIEVE this is real!!! I'm going to be a FALTER!! Er, FATHER! Yes, yes, that's it, I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER!!!!" "You're not if you crush your children in utero!" Amelia complained in a muffled voice. "Oh...oh...sorry," Doppler said as he released Amelia from his grasp. "Well, I say, we've got preperations ahead of us, don't we?" "Yes indeed you do," said Sarah. "Believe me, I know." "Yup, she's had experience with me," grinned Jim. Amelia rolled her eyes. "James, even the experience with you will very likely fall short compared to what lies ahead for me." "Er, what do you mean, Ame..Captain?" said Jim with a puzzled look. "James, are you not familiar with the amount of offspring we felines and canines normally produce?" "Uh..you mean...your people have litters?" inquired Sarah. "Precisely," replied Amelia. "I'm having at least three. Which is a bit of a surprise, seeing as how my mum was unable to produce litters...a dysfunctional ovary or something, but apparently that trait is not hereditary." "Three times the joy!!!" shouted Doppler. "Three times the madness! Three times the..." "Three times the reasons why you should zip your howling screamer," interrupted Amelia. "Might frighten them with all your chittering." "Oh yes, yes, quite so!" agreed Doppler. "Quite so! Quite so!" repeated Morph. Jim laughed. "Maybe Morph can help you with the process." Morph immediatly turned into a really fat version of Amelia, causing Doppler, Jim, and even Sarah to begin chorteling. "That...is...NOT FUNNY!!" Amelia growled. The other three imediately hushed themselves, as though intimidated by her sharp green eyes and her stern accented voice. Even Morph changed back into his regular form and dipped behind Jim. "Much better," said Amelia with a satisfied grin. "Now if you threesome don't mind, I'm taking leave for a while." "Where?" asked Doppler. "Here, there, anywhere," Amelia said sharply. "You say that as if it's actually any of your business." "Well....Amelia," Sarah said carefully, "would you mind helping me wash the dishes? You know...a little woman to woman time." She restrianed herself from saying "mother to mother-to-be." To everyone's surprise, Amelia smiled at the offer. "I shall be glad to, Mrs. Hawkins." "All right Amelia, what's your problem?" Sarah asked in a matter-of-fact voice. "There is no problem, Mrs. Hawkins," Amelia replied without making eye contact. "Oh, I see," Sarah said lightly. "I guess felines just have a habit of drying the same dish for five minutes, right?" "If you're suggesting that I simply leave all the work to you, I shall be more than happy to," snarled Amelia as she continued rubbing a towel on the plate that she had indeed been drying for five minutes. "No, I'm suggesting that you simply fess up," said Sarah. "I know firsthand that no woman in the Etherium can honestly say they have no problems after they just discovered that they're expecting." She eyed Amelia slyly. "Not even the greatest captain the Etherium has ever known." "All right then, I'll confy my problem with you," Amelia sneered. "My problem, simply put, is that three younglings are sharing my body without my concent." Sarah nodded knowingly. "Just as I thought. Not at all uncommon for a mother-to-be." "Oh, how comforting," Amelia said sarcasticly. "Now, come on Amelia," said Sarah. "Trust a voice of experience: it'll get better with time." "Easy for you to say," replied Amelia. "You've got mother written all over yourself, and I mean that in a respectable way." "Well, you might not have said that fifteen years ago," Sarah grinned. "I find that excruciatingly hard to believe," said Amelia, still rubbing the same dish. "Now if you'll excuse me, the level of coffee in my blood has dropped to a rather nasty level." "Ah-ah-ah-ah!" Sarah scolded as she shook her finger. "No caffiene during pregnancy; it might hurt the children." "That might be the case with your kind, Mrs. Hawkins, but not with mine." "Are you saying that because it's the truth, or are you not sure but you really want coffee?" Sarah said slyly. "You're quite a shrewd observer, Mrs. Hawkins," sneered Amelia. "Normally I consider that an admirable trait, but in this case it's a sheer nusance." Sarah nodded knowingly again. "I would thank you to cease acting as if you know everything that's happening in my heart and mind," said Amelia. "As implied by one of my previous statments, you have full mother's blood, whereas I haven't a single maternal bone in my body." Sarah reached over and grasped Amelia's wrist, then she gently moved Amelia's hand so it was touching her stomach. "You don't feel anything there yet," smiled Sarah, "but the time will come when you feel the development of life. And with that, you will feel a desire to nurture the development of life." Amelia rolled her eyes. "I advise you to never consider a carreer in psycology, Mrs. Hawkins." Sarah's smile didn't fade as she looked Amelia in the eye. "I don't expect you to believe me at this point in time, but trust me, Amelia, you'll find those maternal bones." Go to Chapter 4 Back to Non-HoND Fanfic Back to Index |