Alpha Dom and His Human Surrogate - Season 5 Episode 95

My partner listens intently as I tell her, in great detail, everything that happened when the Dark God pulled me out of time and gave our gift to our little daughter. I mostly just stare at her as I tell the story of her, wondering how this perfect little angel could have even a hint of darkness in her.

But even as I wonder that, I consider what the Dark God told me, that not everything in the dark is bad.

But is that just something he said to distract me, to make me more docile and accept his “gift”?

Was it, as you suspected, a curse?

“And then I came back,” I say, looking into Sinclair’s face as he listens intently. “And obviously distracted by the insane pain of childbirth.”

Then a smile plays on his lips, but I can tell my attempt at humor has failed to distract him. He’s silent for a long moment, looking at Rafe but really staring into space as he gathers his thoughts about him.

I give him a second to figure it out, but cut him off when I can’t take it anymore. “SW?” I ask quietly. “What do you think?”

“Well,” Sinclair sighs, turning his attention back to me and our little girl, who is eating hungrily, clearly not having lost her appetite after such a dramatic early encounter. “I certainly wish the Dark God had simply sent a flower arrangement or a toy. But… I honestly don’t know. “We need a lot more information before we can plan any kind of action.”

“Action?” I ask, a little confused. “What the hell can we do? It’s done, Dominic. Whatever the gift is,” I say, pointing at her, “she’s got it.”

“Yes,” Sinclair says, nodding as he sighs and leans back in bed a little so he can rest his head against my knee, looking up at my face. “But there’s certainly more we can know. We can ask Dad to do some research, see if there’s any precedent for this, if it’s okay for you for him to know. And ask Cora to get in touch with your mother to see if she has any ideas?”

“Of course Henry can know,” I replied quietly. “And that’s a good idea, with Cora.” I sigh, frustrated with myself for not thinking of it first, but Sinclair simply sends a pulse of peace through the bond, encouraging me to forgive myself for being so clueless on this day of all. I’ve been through a lot, and even though I’m healed now thanks to Mom’s gift, I’m still exhausted.

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“But we’ll figure it out, Ella,” Sinclair says softly, lifting his long arm to tuck my hair behind my ear.

“My gut still tells me that not everything is bad, Dominic,” I say honestly, looking him in the face. “And with these gods, hunches… tend to be important.”

“I believe you,” he says, raising his eyebrows. “I’d just like all the information we can get.”

“Me too,” I say, giving him a small smile. But then, despite my desire to keep pushing, my eyelids begin to flutter. I blink hard, shake my head, and try hard to stay awake.

“Oh, honey,” Sinclair murmurs, sitting up and leaning over to kiss my forehead. “You’re asleep standing up. Or, well, your ass, but what’s the difference?”

I laugh and shake my head at him. “I need to stay awake until he’s done feeding,” I say with a yawn. “But then, yeah, after that… we’re both going to need a nap. Right, kiddo?”

Ariel ignores me, of course, and continues eating. But I smile at her and pet her tiny, perfect head with one hand, loving the way her little tuft of blonde hair tickles my palm.

“Well, focus on that,” Sinclair says, moving a plate with a simple panini and a bottle of water to the nightstand next to me. “And eat if you can, right? While you do that, I’ll get Rafe settled in.”

I nod, finally starting to feel completely drained as the adrenaline of the day begins to drain away from me. I take a lazy bite of my sandwich, barely tasting it as I switch breasts and let Ariel finish. I can barely keep my eyes open for about fifteen minutes after Sinclair has finished moving around the room, set Rafe up in his playpen with some quiet toys and books, and pulled Ariel’s sink cabinet over to my side.

I give a little squeal of protest as he takes her from my arms, not wanting to let her go, but Sinclair just laughs softly at me and murmurs that she’ll be here by my side. I take one last look at Ariel’s face and see that she, like me, is basically asleep now.

And then I yawn, calm down, and finally pass out completely.

Of course, I barely sleep, because the baby wakes me up every two hours and needs to be fed again. The next day passes in a blur, with me sleeping when I can and tending to Ariel when he needs it. I’m not totally confused all the time; I still spend time with my son,

I talk to my partner and admire my baby, but most of the time? Most of the time Ariel and I sleep.

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Sinclair is a dream during that crucial first night, taking full charge of my baby and allowing Ariel and me the space we need to get used to our new patterns. He spends time with her too, of course, holding her and talking to her while she’s awake and not eating, but I can tell he’s exhausted, too.

I’m not as exhausted as I am; I can definitely keep that title. But that first night wasn’t easy for parents either, was it? Especially when you have another little one, barely over a year old.

So, frankly, I’m surprised when Cora, Roger, Jesse, and Henry come flocking over the night after Ariel’s birth.

“Oh!” I say, blinking and laughing, pleased. “Did I… did I know you were coming?”

“Oh my God,” Sinclair says, turning to me and tilting his head to the side. “Did I really forget to tell you?”

I laughed as he slaps his hand in the face and Roger and Henry join in.

“It’s always a rare pleasure to see you make mistakes, brother,” Roger says, putting an arm around his brother’s shoulders and giving him a squeeze. 66 Though I suppose you’re forgiven for this, the first night is… a lot.

“It certainly is,” Henry says, accepting a hug from his son as Cora comes over to give me a kiss, a joyful Jesse sitting in her arms and babbling with excitement as he looks around the room.

“Hey Cora,” I say, smiling at her. “Hey, talker!” I laugh, punching Jesse in the belly, Ariel in my arms. Rafe staggers over and wraps an arm around her leg, smiling and reaching out to her or Jesse (it’s not exactly clear which).

Greetings over, I look curiously at my family. “So… what did I miss?” I ask. “Why are we all here?”

“To talk about your strange new encounter with God,” Roger says, smiling at me. “And the strange bond of our children. Life has been so much fun since you joined the family, Ella. Seriously, I don’t think I can express my gratitude enough.”

“I’m always happy to keep it spicy, especially for you, Roger,” I say, winking as I pull the covers off my nest and stand up with Ariel comfortably in my arms. Roger smiles and nods. “Do we have… new information or something?” I ask, pushing my hair back over my shoulders.

“We do,” Henry says, nodding at me. “Shall we go into the living room, where there’s room for us all to sit? It’s not bad news, but I think it would be better for us to chat.”

Anxiety washes over me as I nod and gesture towards the living room door, glancing at Sinclair with my apprehension pulsing through our bond.

“He’s not appeasing you,” Sinclair says, reaching over to kiss me on the cheek and grab Rafe by Cora’s leg, tossing him into the air as we head into the living room with our family. Rafe squeals with delight and I can’t help but smile at him. My little one, he’s already a thrill seeker.

“Okay,” I sigh, holding baby Ariel close to my chest as I follow my family through the door and close it behind me. Then I curl up in my favorite spot on the couch, with Dominic in the corner behind me, and turn my attention back to Henry.

Because I’m realizing he’s been up all night gathering information, too. And he wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t willing to share.