Entering their suite, he heard Tina singing in the kitchen area. He smiled as she sang a little off-key, trying to mimic the rock song on the radio. Leaning against the archway, he watched the wooden spoon go from stirring a pot to becoming a microphone while she danced around the space. A chuckle rumbled from him as she did an air guitar and a jump in the air.

"Oh," she staggered, dropping the wooden spoon, "it's you."

"Yes, love it is," he moved forward, dropping a kiss on her lips and picking up the spoon.

"It's such a good song," she shrugged, "couldn't help myself."

"I love you can be yourself," he murmured, nuzzling his nose against hers, "I love you can cook and mostly for wanting to be with me."

"I could say all of that as well," she said, moving out of his embrace, "but before I do ... you need to shower."

Laughing and nodding, he left the kitchen area and headed for the en-suite off the bedroom.

"Dinner will be ready in fifteen," she called after him.

Tina watched him go before leaning on her palms against the countertop, inhaling, mentally counting to five and exhaling. She had barely hidden her agitation from Craig today, but something wasn't right, or perhaps it was, and she didn't know. It was understandable why ordinary human women always said to have another who had been through it to talk to was the best for the journey. There wasn't anyone who understood this world and carried offspring to term around her to help; it scared her. She didn't want to worry Craig, but she knew he had picked up her edginess today. The phasing didn't help, but that wasn't the root cause.

"Let's get something into you, Tina," she whispered, "you need to eat."

Turning to the counter, she slid the dirty wooden spoon across the surface before reaching for a clean one. She paused and gasped. The intended clean spoon hung in the air, moving toward her. Reaching out her hand and wrapping it around the handle, she moved to the pot in a daze.

What had just happened?

Was that her or the baby ... babies?

Blowing a breath out through her lips, she stirred the stew she was making.

Did she tell Craig?

Did she keep this to herself?

Not knowing made everything seem more ... worrisome ... challenging, or all of the above.

She questioned everything. Wondered about everything. Watched and tried to keep going. Tears gathered in her eyes as the overwhelming emotion clogged her chest, and she battled to control the rising panic.

"I doubt you can understand me in there," Tina looked down at her mid-drift, "but I would really like an indication of what you're trying to tell me and ... please ... no surprises. Craig needs both of us to come out alive and kicking."

A flutter followed by a sharp kick was all the answer she received. The amount of activity lately was causing her concern. Perhaps it was time to chat with Jenkins and see what was happening.

The sound of the water turning off caught her attention, it was time for dinner, and she couldn't wait to eat.

Uttering a groan, Craig gasped as his eyes sprung open, the nightmarish scene still so vivid. Looking around the room, he waited for the fighting arena to change into the bedroom of their suite. Sweat beaded on his forehead and upper lip, and his lips parted as he panted. Glancing at the luminous face of the alarm clock on the bedside table, the hands indicated it to be two in the morning. Swinging his legs off the side of the bed, he reached for a hand towel and dried his face and bare torso. Why was he having nightmares again?

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This hadn't happened for years. It had been a steady diet of sleepless nights and nightmares in the last few days. Thankfully David was repaired and taking out the patrols at night. Keeping humanity safe was a twenty-four-hour job, which made it more challenging to do it clandestinely. But with David resuming duties, he was able to spend time with Tina and ensure she was able to bring their offspring to term. She had seemed to be her old self. Even though the edginess he felt from her and the unusual displays she had manifested concerned him, along with the secret she seemed to be keeping. Everything around him appeared to be essential and necessary. Which did he choose?

Could he choose?

Should he choose?

Pushing to his feet, he sighed heavily. Guiltily he checked he hadn't woken an exhausted Tina. She lay on her back, her dark hair fanning the pillow on one side of her cheek while resting on the other shoulder. Her left arm lay over her mid-drift, unconsciously protecting their offspring and her other lay at an angle away from her body. The covers lay over her sprawling long legs. She was the most beautiful woman he had seen in a long time and the only one that had managed to break through the barrier built around him. She seemed to see through his one-line deflections and hit straight to the core of whatever the problem may be if he allowed her to see it. Usually, she saw straight through that as well, but lately, she seemed so distracted she barely reacted to the usual one-liners he dished out. The concern for her grew, twisting his gut into worry. Was there something wrong, and she didn't want to concern him? Pushing his feet into plush slippers Tina insisted they wear, Craig glanced at his laptop. He would have to wait until she was busy before checking on Jenkins's reply to his email littered with questions regarding his observations.

Quietly pushing their balcony door open, Craig stepped out into the night air leaning on the balcony wall. The dratted memories he had worked so hard to forget were filtering into his everyday life. The horror, agony and constant testing were not something anyone should go through, the tweaking of the processes they had endured. The lies told to them about what they could and couldn't achieve after each procedure and what was expected of them ... he shuddered. In all the horrifying, painful memories was one constant face.

Jaxon.

Ever since the man had arrived and reunited with his family, Craig had returned to the past and couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something. Scenes he thought long buried resurrected, playing over and over in his mind. Taunting him to find the missing piece. He knew that Tina would wonder what was happening sooner or later. Protectiveness swelled, making the decision to keep these returning issues from her.

It didn't help that he felt like everything was spiralling and kept him fighting to maintain control. Mix in his raw emotions and past memories mingling with the present. He felt like he walked through a distorted version of his life, not knowing fact from falsehood. Straightening, he pushed his hands into the large pockets of his robe. Tipping his head back, he took in the bright starlit sky.

What was he missing about Jaxon? It was taunting him, tugging at everything in his mind until it became discovered. Closing his eyes, Craig let the mingled scenes flash through his mind, not trying to sort them or stop them. It was in there somewhere. He just had to find it.

"Everything okay?" Tina's soft question came from the open balcony door.

Turning, Craig smiled, "Fine, babe just couldn't sleep."

Wrapped in a blanket, she moved toward him, "Want to talk about what's bothering you?"

"Why would anything be bothering me?" Craig asked, pulling her against him and slowly rubbing from her waist to the top of her rib cage and back, smiling as she hummed in appreciation.

"They always enjoy it when you do that," Tina smiled sleepily, "since Jax and Alexis arrived, you've been distracted. I have noticed the one-liners you've been giving me but thought that if I gave you the time, you'd talk to me."

"I have something on my mind," Craig conceded that point, "but I'm not sure what it is or what to make of it."

"You're having nightmares again, Craig," Tina said quietly. "You're not sleeping, not eating as you usually do, you're frowning a lot, and the other day, you snapped a Kelvin."

Craig closed his eyes. She saw too much and noticed everything.

"Have you been training?" he whispered.

"What has that to do with anything?" Tina asked, meeting his shuttered gaze.

"It would explain the listing of your observations," he murmured, "you sounded like Bre there for a moment."

"I have been around many people with loads of military training," she sighed, "and you're deflecting."

"Tina, I'm okay," Craig said. "If I'm not talking about whatever concerns you, it's due to not knowing what it really is. Once I understand it myself, I'll talk."

She stared at him unblinkingly for so long he thought she had fallen asleep, but then she nodded, blinked and cuddled next to him again. Craig swallowed hard, closing his eyes as he rested his chin on her head. She didn't believe a word he had uttered and knew he was stalling about something but had decided against pushing an answer from him. She shivered.

"You're cold. Let's go back to bed," Craig whispered.

Turning them, he walked them back into the room, closing and locking the balcony doors. A habit he had started of late. It helped ease the uneasy feeling dogging his every step of every day.