Levi pulled the last of the cookies out of the oven and set them on the plate before heading out to Alcott's place. Dylan hadn't messaged him, not that he was surprised, just disappointed. Alcott reminded him to wait; he was just too impatient.
He rapped on the door, and Alcott let him in with a scoff.
"You could just come in, you know," she said. "Save me the trouble of opening the door for you."
"I don't use the master code; I promised I wouldn't," Levi replied. "I have cookies."
Alcott laughed, taking the plate to set on the counter. She had chopped the cauliflower, sprinkling it with slivers of butter.
"So Dashiell interrupted my appointment today," she remarked before Levi could ask how it had gone. "He wants me to take a new partner. If I do, they'll pay for indefinite maternity leave."
Levi stopped mid-cookie to stare at Alcott.
"What? Why? Who is this partner? I didn't think you wanted anyone else?"
"I don't," she replied. "His name is Ty, I think. He's Titus's son. I'm his only match and his parents are already awake. They don't have any options."
"That's not fair," Levi objected. "To you, I mean. Usually you get a choice, right?"
"Somewhat, yes," Alcott agreed. "I really don't know how it works; I didn't have to wait for Marcus. But I know that I had other matches in cryo if I decided I didn't want Marcus. Since we were both here, we had to mutually agree on each other."
She was quiet as she placed the tray of cauliflower into the oven. Levi poured them two glasses of water while he waited. He couldn't imagine being asked to start fresh. Dylan may ignore him more often than not, but he loved her and was confident that they would be back together someday. While Alcott didn't have that, a new partner seemed cruel when she was carrying Marcus's child.
"I think I'm going to agree," she said finally. "There's...more politics involved, but Dashiell said that it's not permanent. Just until they can't put him back into cryo, so...five days? It's not a bad exchange. I don't want to worry about going back to work. I don't want you or my parents to have to worry for me."
"And you're sure it's not permanent?" Levi questioned. "This just...doesn't seem entirely sanctioned."
Alcott shrugged. "That's all the information that I have. He could stay at his parents' berth if he wanted; otherwise, I'm not using my second bedroom quite yet."
"Whatever you chose, we'll support you," Levi replied. "He can stay with me as well. What a ventingly strange situation. Does he have a file? We could message Cameron."
Alcott nodded, pulling out her holo-rib. Levi moved around the counter to check the cauliflower. It wasn't done of course, but he always felt weird letting others cook for him.
"Oh, how was Harper?" Levi inquired.
"I didn't talk to him. Esperanza seemed a little exasperated; I wish that he didn't have to stay in the medical bay."
"Cameron is busy," he pointed out.
Alcott's holo-rib chimed and she glanced at the results, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"She sent it already," she said. "Speaking of busy. How did she know?"
"Maybe Dashiell said something?" Levi suggested. "So, let's hear it. Who is this man?"
"His name is Tyson White," Alcott smirked. "What kind of name is that? White's a color, not a name."
"Didn't you say he went by Ty?"
"Yeah, that's not much better." Alcott scrolled through the rest of it. "There's not much here. He was born on Earth, which frankly isn't in his favor. All the Earth people I know are a little rotated."
"Do you think he can do anything?"
"More than you," she teased.
Alcott took another cookie, biting into it with a sigh. Levi clutched one hand to his heart and mock gasped.
"Madam, I know Latin," he said. "I'm an educated man. This, Tyson, what has he to offer?"
"Genetics?" Alcott giggled. "One pregnancy is more than enough for me. Little Marcus is so active and I am frankly sick of craving cabbage. I don't even like cabbage."
Levi hopped on the counter, reaching for a cookie with a laugh.
"Does it say how tall he is?" he inquired. "We've got a couple options by way of clothes. Lully if he's a giant. Me if he's scrawny. Harper if he's as wide as a doorway." Levi laughed. "Does his file say?"
"One seventy-eight," she said, her voice suddenly sad.
Levi glanced up from the crumbs on the table to see Alcott's face fall. He didn't have to ask if it was Marcus's height. He hopped down from his perch as she let her holo-rib drop to the counter. She didn't cry but clasped her hands tightly. Levi touched her shoulder but didn't move any closer. She shuddered once, placing her hand on his.
"You don't have to do this," Levi remarked. "No one will think less of you."
She scoffed. "Did you know that I haven't been able to make a single batch of muffins in the two cycles he's been gone? I've got the ingredients just...sitting in the refrigerator. Some of them are even in a bowl. The hardest moments I have are the moments I wake and turn in bed, and no one is there. This Tyson has nothing to do with him, but everything reminds me of Marcus."
Levi had nothing to say. Alcott didn't speak of Marcus often, and he never knew how much to say or not say. He didn't move from his position by her side, taking a moment to consider what to say.
"I'm sorry, Alcott."
It was foolishly simple, but all he had to offer.
Alcott wiped her eyes. "I'll message Madison. If I don't, I'll lose my resolve. Do you think the cauliflower is done? I'm hungry."
"I thought you were just going to eat all the cookies," Levi teased.
"I'm trying to set a good example for you," she shot back. "Moonshy boy."
He managed a smile and squeezed her arm.
"And you want help baking muffins, all you have to do is ask," he replied.
"I know. I want to make them myself, proof that I can do this." Alcott placed a hand on her stomach. "I'm going to raise a child. I should be able to mix some ingredients and it be edible."
"Lully is the exception to that then," Levi joked.
____
Short chapter, but this book has taken more research than the last two combined. Not sure why, I think because the last two were more focused on the Canary/Aeneid interactions than moving forward with science! Also, I believe that anyone with an ounce of sense would take the metric system into space, but growing up in the States has not prepared me for such a life. Any time I use metric I have to double and triple check it. So dumb. Thanks for reading!
YOU ARE READING
If Jove Stray
Science Fiction{✨Book 5✨} Earth. Light years away, and yet now that some on the base were born there, it seems so...close. As communication with the mother planet seems more and more likely, Dylan and Alcott have to wonder if Earth really has anything to offer to...
