Lucy was piloting a recently procured shuttle toward Robert's battleship while Cleo laughed as Scott recounted his tale. "You monologued at him? Are you sure you aren't the villain? I watched my fair share of dramas, and it's never the good guy who paralyzes his opponent and then monologues!"

Scott rolled his eyes. "Well, it's usually not the hero that kidnaps his opponent's family and holds them hostage, so at the very least, I am not the real villain. Maybe an anti-hero? They're cool, right?"

Cleo snorted and shook her head. "Yeah, when you're like twelve! I'm sure when they make a movie out of this, you'll have all the teeny boppers swooning over you!"

Lucy smiled. It was good to see them in such high spirits. On the other hand, John looked positively pensive as he tried to understand what Lucy was telling him. "What do you mean Alice is different? What happened?"

With a sigh, Lucy tried to imagine how best to explain. "Well, the most important thing, the thing I want you to remember, is that she's now happy and healthy."

John's expression only became more worried. "What do you mean now? Why wouldn't she be?"

Lucy fought to keep from getting lost in the memory of the moment. "Well, a while ago, the pirates badly hurt her when they came looking for us. At the time, I thought for sure she was going to die, but thankfully, Charlotte was able to save her but to do that, she had to essentially give her a whole new body. If anything, it looks like kind of a hybrid between her and Alice, and it can be a little...difficult to accept at first."

From a little off to one side, Charlotte spoke up. "It is for that reason I've also given her a second body she can control that looks like her old one, slightly aged. If it would be easier for you, I'm sure she could interact with you primarily through that body."

Lucy shook her head. "I'm not saying I handled everything correctly or that I understand what she's going through, but we're her family. Alice should never have to hide behind a puppet for our sake. We need to try to understand who she is, not who she pretends to be for the sake of others."

Scott, who'd overheard their discussion, cut in. "Listen, you're overthinking this. Alice is Alice. A few extra legs couldn't and didn't change that. Any shock or loss you feel is only in your imagination because, as you said, Alice is happy and healthy. Nothing else matters! Hell, she's even making friends, and not just with the Vitexrā! She won Cleo over with nothing but checkers and time!"

Cleo nodded. "Yeah...if it weren't for her, I probably would have sold you out for real! But I just couldn't face Alice if I did that!"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Lucy didn't particularly find the joke all that funny, but Charlotte seemed willing to play along. "I had no doubt you'd chose wisely. After all, you know there's nowhere in this galaxy you could have hidden from Lucy or myself if you betrayed my family."

It was Cleo's turn to roll her eyes. "Oh, now you're just being mean, but I know the truth. You like me!"

Then, walking over to Scott, Cleo continued. "Do you know what Charlotte said to me?" The ex-pirate girl proceeded to sit in Scott's lap. "She told me she approved of me as your mate!"

Scott sputtered, clearly torn between wanting to escape the uncomfortable spotlight now focused on him while also clearly not wanting to dislodge the girl now sitting in his lap. "That's... No way she... That can't be what..."

Charlotte interrupted Scott's eloquent rebuttal. "I believe I stated that you were an acceptable potential mate. You are merely a candidate and still have much to prove if you wish to earn a more permanent position within our family."

Still sitting in Scott's lap, Cleo looked toward Charlotte and stuck out her tongue before responding. "Oh come on, I risked my life to sneak you and Scott aboard the ship to make sure we got Lucy and ol Johny here out safely! What more does a girl have to do to earn your approval?"

Charlotte didn't seem swayed. "Before he was your age, Scott had already discovered the first sapient alien species other than humans and established a diplomatic relationship with them. You've got some catching up to do."

Scott, whose face was now beat red, could only mutter quietly, "She's not that much older than me..."

As amusing as Scott's befuddlement was, Lucy turned to Cleo. "We're about to dock, and I think you might want to get in your own seat again."

Cleo looked at Scott and winked, "Sorry, lover boy. You heard the woman!"

John was watching the show with a mix of amusement and concern while he muttered to Lucy. "Lover boy? Just what have those two gotten up to?"

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know, but two teenagers were left together and unsupervised for an extended time, so I can guess..."

Once again, Charlotte interjected. "I can assure you, I supervised them both consistently. I learned quite a bit about human mating rituals in their time together."

With no one to defend him, all Scott could do was complain. "Oh, come on, we didn't even do anything!"

Charlotte's didn't relent. "Perhaps not, but your pheromone levels the morning after you slept together indicated a strong desire to do more."

That finally broke Lucy's calm facade. "You did what?"

Scott tried to hurriedly explain. "It's not like it sounds! We were just drunk and passed out! That's all!"

Even as she was coming in for a landing, Lucy shot her son a quick glare. "We'll talk more about this later!"

A moment later, they were docked and started to grab their things to leave. As the ramp lowered, they weren't greeted by Roberts or his crew as expected. Instead, another Charlotte was waiting with Alice. The girl was in her actual body rather than using her new human-looking doll.

Scott and Cleo descended without hesitation, each in turn giving Alice a big hug and sharing some quick comments with the girl.

Then, with uncharacteristic shyness, Alice turned toward John. "Hi, Daddy..."

Lucy was worried about John's reaction. His face was inscrutable to the normally perceptive, recently unretired pirate woman as he descended the ramp. He momentarily stopped in front of the girl before reaching out and pulling her into a hug that was only slightly awkward due to the extra legs as he sobbed. "I'm back, princess! Daddy's back!"