It's Hard to be a Man
Title: It's Hard to be a Man part 3
Author: Alsike
Fandom: X-Men/Criminal Minds x-over
Pairing: Emma Frost/Emily Prentiss
Rating: NC-17
AN/Disclaimer: Not my girls.
Word Count: 3176
Prompt: 028. Anonymous
Apologies: Christ, remember this piece of trashy porn? My head decided it needed a sequel. Baby stealing always needs a sequel. I have learned this from Soap Operas. Unfortunately I cannot pretend anymore: this is a StarTrek AU. (Although I think it was heavily influenced by Flora Segunda- which is an awesome book. And not sketchy at all, as it is Kids Fantasy.)And this was all going to be one part, but LJ decided it was too long. XP
Officers' Balls were the bane of Emily’s existence, but she went. Full dress uniform was better than a dress. Her mother said she looked wonderful, but going with your mother was worse than going alone.
She went alone.
Scott was there, a few ranks above her, a few years older, chatting with the highest brass, who were always ready to find him a promotion. Emily did her job, but she doubted she’d make it past lieutenant rankings however long she stayed in the service. She did her job, but she didn’t play politics.
Scott hadn’t come alone. He brought his wife. She had just joined him, and all the brass were congratulating him. The tight glistening white dress she wore made it painfully obvious that she was pregnant.
Emma was gorgeous. Her hair was lush and thick, her breasts and hips filling out into a woman Emily could hardly recognize, not the skinny arrogant cadet who had made her life hell. She laughed at something one of the brass said and kissed Scott’s cheek. Emily wanted to die.
“Are you going to dance?” asked Master Sergeant Garcia. Emily cringed at the thought.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Are you sure? I heard you had lessons.”
“When I was eight.”
“Come on. My friend JJ’s here, and her husband won’t dance. She needs a partner.”
Emily sighed. JJ was cute and blonde, but she had had enough of married women. Still she danced, and JJ was pleased with Emily’s poor skills, at least until an old general with beautiful footwork swept past, tapped Emily on the shoulder and cut in. JJ swept off in his arms, and Emily was faced with the one woman she did not want to speak to that night.
“Emma…”
“Hey.” It was oddly easy to dance with her. They had the same style, the same step size, and so much that they didn’t want to talk about.
“So…” Emily’s eyes flicked down, and Emma smiled wryly.
“It’s a girl.”
It felt like a punch in the gut. Emily tried not to let her grip of Emma’s hand and waist display her feelings, but it was probably written on her face.
“You’re pretty dominant, aren’t you?” Emma said musingly. “Did you have lighter hair as a child, or were you always that dark.”
“A little lighter, but only a shade or so.” Emily shook her head. “I am not in on this with you. I can’t…”
“Don’t worry. I’m a good enough liar for us both.”
“I know.”
“Would you feel less used if we were having a full blown affair?”
“We’re not?”
Emma shrugged. “I’m not lying to you like I usually do. I’m not promising to leave him. I’m not making you jump through hoops to have me.”
“I think I like this better.”
“Yes…” Emma looked at her contemplatively. “You don’t like lies.”
“I don’t.”
They slipped out of the ballroom, and Emma led her down the hall onto a tiny enclosed balcony that looked out into space. They could see the stars, Mars on its orbit passing by, but they didn’t look. Emma closed the door behind them, then turned, and pulled Emily’s hands away from her face. Then she leaned in and kissed her. Emily’s hands slid into the curve of her back, and they kissed, lightly.
Emily wanted to bite, to crush their mouths together, she wanted to leave Emma’s lips kiss-swollen and bruised. How could she lie her way out of that? How could she make it less than obvious that she had been cheating?
But what would Emma getting caught do for her? If it got around that she was sleeping with a fellow officer’s wife, she would be lucky to stay in the service. There was no way out of this, all she could do was take this moment.
Her hand slid over Emma’s stomach, and Emma stiffened. “What are you…?”
“This is mine,” Emily whispered.
Emma nodded. “It has to be.”
“I want to…” She slid to the ground and ducked under the skirt of Emma’s dress. She tugged her underwear down and dove in. Emma gasped and leaned against the wall.
“You’re insane!” Emma hissed, but then her breath caught in her throat and she shut her eyes, letting out a low moan. “God, Emily…”
She was so responsive, so hot, and she tasted so good. If Emily couldn’t have her, couldn’t mark her, at least she would make her come. She wanted to be written in Emma’s mind, if nowhere else, so that she couldn’t even touch her husband without thinking of her.
“I can’t believe you’re so good at that,” Emma said, still gasping from her orgasm, barely holding herself up against the wall.
Emily licked her lips. “It is one of my many skills.”
Emma laughed, and kissed her lightly, tasting herself. She glanced at the time. “Shit, it’s been a half an hour, I had better show my face again.” She flashed Emily a grin. “Am I presentable.”
Emily arched an eyebrow. “I dunno. I always like to see you naked and sweaty.”
“You’re no help.” Emma rolled her eyes and slipped out.
Emily sank down onto the couch and held her face. The couch next to her sank as someone sat in it. It was Garcia, looking at her solemnly.
“You’re having an affair with Lieutenant Summers’ wife.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“With his pregnant wife, Sergeant!”
“It's my baby!”
Garcia gaped. “What?”
Emily shook her head. “Fuck. It doesn’t change anything. It should never have happened. I was the fucking sperm donor, that’s all.”
“You’re not making sense, Emily.”
Emily sighed. “My mom got one of those novelty DNA resequencers, and she made me come to a party at the Summers’ with her as her escort, as a man. And…”
“You fucked the hostess?”
“I didn’t know. It was just… someone, who put her foot in my lap.”
“You’re kind of a whore, aren’t you?”
“I was a guy! I wasn’t going to just sit there with the biggest fucking boner ever and hope it went away!”
“So you fucked the hostess.”
“She seduced me.” Emily shook her head. “I think she was planning on seducingsomeone that night. I was just more untraceable, due to the resequencing, so she picked me. She wanted to get pregnant, and the good Lieutenant wasn’t up to the job.”
Garcia stared. “Are you serious?”
Emily nodded. “I know it’s a mess. I guess I just want to make sure that she’s okay. Once she has the baby, I’ll leave. I’ve already applied for a transfer. I don’t want to make trouble. I’m not going to ask her to divorce him. I’m not going to tell anyone. I shouldn’t even be seeing her anymore, but I can’t seem to help running into her.” Emily was quiet for a moment. “I screwed up, I think. She could have been mine. But if all she wants from me is sex, I’ll give that to her, until I go.”
“What happens when she has your baby and gives it to someone else?”
Emily sighed, an odd half smile on her face, and leaned back into the sofa. “It’s all right. It’s not like she was ever mine to begin with.”
* * *
“I think you’re a bitch.”
Emma paused as she stepped out of the pharmacy and saw Garcia sitting in her hovercraft.
“And to what do I owe the honor?”
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing to Emily?”
Emma blinked. “I’m… giving her lots of sex, so she can relax?”
“She’s going to leave. As soon as you have that baby, she’s going to leave.”
Emma looked away.
“You don’t care, do you? The sooner she leaves, the easier you have it. You don’t have to balance your husband and your woman on the side!”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Emma glared at her, teardrops glistening in her eyes. “Shit,” she wiped her face. “Fucking hormones. Emily is nothing that I want, but don’t tell me how I will feel when she leaves.”
“You’re saying that you really do care for her?” Garcia asked sarcastically.
Emma pressed her lips together. “I could have. That’s the trouble. But I’m married to someone else, because I knew he could give me the life that I wanted. It turned out that he couldn’t, but it’s close enough, isn’t it?” She smiled weakly. “I didn’t think this was going to do anything to me. I wasn’t supposed to get caught. I wasn’t supposed to pity her when she cried.”
Garcia shook her head. “I’m not going to tell. Just remember that you are hurting someone, with whatever you do.”
Emma nodded, slipping her hands around her stomach. “I know.”
* * *
“Don’t… don’t look at me.”
Emma cringed away from Emily’s gaze. But Emily just cocked her head and looked at her body. “There’s nothing ugly about you. I can’t believe how beautiful you are.”
Emma peeked at her and shook her head. “Scott won’t look at me.”
“This is why you need a lover.” Emily curled up behind her and held her. Something kicked out against her hand. “Oh!”
“She likes your voice.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Will she miss me if I go?”
“I’ll miss you.”
“Emma, Scott!” Jean jogged up along the boardwalk. “Oh! Major!”
Emily flushed. “Sergeant.”
“I didn’t know you two were friends.”
Emily glanced at Emma, who smiled wryly. “It's sort of a new thing.”
“That’s… lovely.” Jean smiled.
* * *
“Scott’s been called away for a fucking week, so I’m going to crash with you.”
Emily stared at the very, very pregnant woman in her doorway. “Are you… sure?”
Emma shrugged. “Jean knows we’re friends. As long as you don’t knock me up, I think we’ll be okay.” She slapped her cheek in mock shock. “Oh, wait, you already did that.”
“Fuck off,” but Emily smiled and opened the door.
* * *
“Shit!”
“What is it?”
“I think I need you to take me to the hospital.’ Emma gasped and grit her teeth. “Oh god.”
Emily dropped the plate she was holding, and didn’t even notice it shatter on the floor. “Oh my god.”
In the hovercraft she asked, “how bad is it?”
Emma groaned. “It feels like getting shot, except I don’t die. And I know it will happen again in…”
“Three minutes.”
“Fuck.”
* * *
“Is the father-?”
“He’s off planet,” interrupted Emma. “I need Emily.”
Emily watched the whole thing happen in shock. The baby came out covered in blood and a dark fuzz, but impossibly beautiful. The nurse handed Emily the child, completely unfazed by the situation. All three of them fell asleep on the bed.
* * *
“What would you think if I had an affair with another woman, Scott?” Emma asked, lounging on the bed as Scott fixed his lieutenant’s insignia into his collar.
“Why? Are you planning something while I’m off at headquarters?”
“Maybe.”
Scott shook his head. “It depends on the woman.”
“Really?” Emma asked curiously. “That would make a difference to you?”
“Well, it had better be someone I’d consider attractive.”
Emma rolled her eyes.
“Say, if you had a sexy sleepover with, say, Kitty Rasputin, that would be one thing. But if you were having an affair with Major Prentiss…”
Emma looked up, frowning. “That would be different? She isn’t sexy enough for you?”
“I’m not saying she isn’t attractive. But, she’s my colleague, my subordinate. If you were sleeping with her, it would be the same as if you were sleeping with any man. It would be a betrayal.”
Emma couldn’t meet his eyes.
* * *
“Major.”
“Lieutenant!” Emily woke up with a start and nearly fell off the bed, where she had collapsed with Emma and the baby, and slept.
“I’m told I need to thank you, for the health and safety of my wife and child.”
Emily glanced back at Emma and the child. Emma met her eyes directly, but gently. “It was my honor, sir.”
Scott smiled. “Thank you.”
Emily saluted and went to leave.
“Oh, Major Prentiss. I was given this for you.” Scott handed her a letter. “It’s a promotion, but the brass understand you may not want to accept it.”
“Why not?” asked Emma.
Scott glanced at her and then back to Emily. “It’s an active position, in Bohemia.”
“Really?” Emily looked curious and intrigued. “Thank you sir. I will respond with alacrity.”
She left. Emma glared at Scott. “You’re sending her into a war zone?”
Scott shook his head. “She’s a soldier. That’s where we belong. Now do I get to meet my daughter?”
* * *
“Why did you send her all these letters?”
Emma wasn’t sure whether she could love a child. Sofia Elizabeth Summers was a strange name to her, and the girl’s dark dark hair and dark dark eyes belied her name. But she didn’t let just anyone suck on her breasts, so she supposed she thought well enough of her. She glanced up from the girl’s thin hair and frowned at Scott. “What?”
He dropped a pile of printouts of letters and photographs. “You sent these to Major Prentiss.”
Emma stared. “Did she… send them back?” But that didn’t make any sense.
“Her effects were sent to me to give to her mother.”
Suddenly Sofia started to scream and Emma realized she must be crushing her. She quickly set her on the bed. “Is she dead?”
Scott pursed his lips. “I don’t think so. She has probably been taken prisoner, I’m just afraid she might be not high enough rank to buy back, but not low enough to let go.”
“She was captured by those barbarians?” Emma’s fingernails were buried deep into her palms. “Oh my god.” She ran to the bathroom and threw up everything she had eaten that day.
* * *
Scott didn’t ask again. He watched her, the way she pulled away from him, away from everyone, into herself. She played with Sofia sometimes, touched her face and her dark thickening locks with a reverence that Scott didn’t understand. Scott tried to be a good father, but the war was escalating, and he was often away from home. He talked to Emma about trying for a son, but she didn’t seem interested, she didn’t even seem interested in making love.
It was when Sofia was three, almost four, he started seeing someone else in her eyes, in her face. Jean, when she brought her youngest over to play, cast wondering looks at him and then at his daughter. It wasn’t possible, that was the problem, not without a trace. There weren’t any at home haploidization kits, were there? But she would laugh, and Emma would laugh in response (the only time she did), and it was someone else’s mouth, someone else’s smile.
The only person he mentioned his doubts to were his adjutant, Garcia. She gave him a long hard look, and then turned away.
“Does it matter? Right now, you’re the only father this child has.”
It shocked him. She had basically admitted that she knew that what he feared was true. And now he could believe it, and Emma acting like a widow now meant something ten times worse.
Scott found someone else, pretty, blonde, devoted, and he let Emma find out. If he had expected some strong reaction, if he had expected her to care, he would have been surprised. She didn't care. He asked her for a divorce.
“What do you expect me to do?” she asked him, blandly, as if looking for an answer, some way out of their marriage.
“Tell her grandmother whose daughter she is.”
Emma signed the papers. She walked off with half his money, but she didn’t ask for child support. The lawyers were mystified.
“Mrs. Prentiss?” Elizabeth opened the door. The years Emily had been gone had been hard on her, and she did not expect this woman to show up at her door with a small child in tow.
“Mrs. Summers?”
“It’s Frost… again.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Emma smiled. “Emily told me once that you had one of those novelty gene resequencers.”
Elizabeth cocked her head, confused by the choice of topic. “I did. It broke down years ago, though.”
“But it worked, didn’t it. You took Emily to a party once, with her changed into a man.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Your party, if I remember correctly.” She looked pensive. “Emily was always a bit difficult about going to parties.”
“I think she enjoyed that one.”
“Did she?”
“I did my best to make sure she did.”
Elizabeth frowned. “You recognized her.”
“I always notice when she’s around.”
Elizabeth stared at her and then glanced at the child. She blinked and stared. “That girl-”
“Sofia.”
“She looks like Emily as a child.”
“She should.” Emma smiled weakly. “Since Emily’s her father, and the Prentiss genes are really dominant.”
“But you, you were married.”
Emma flicked her eyebrows. “But Emily was the one who got me pregnant.” She shook her head. “And broke my heart.”
“Ms. Frost…”
“I know that you must be having a hard time with her being gone.” She didn’t let Elizabeth speak. “I have money, enough to pay for her keep. You’re her blood. Would you take care of her?”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to reenlist.” Emma smiled awkwardly. “I was trained as a reconnaissance specialist. I might as well be useful. I can try to find her.”
Elizabeth gaped, but took the child from her arms, and watched the woman walk away.
Sofia woke up and started to cry. “Where’s mama?”
Elizabeth stared at the creature who reminded her so much of her lost daughter, but wasn’t. “I’m your grandmother, Sofia, I’m going to be looking after you.”
* * *
Sofia was a skinny, bony and introverted child. She read a lot, and did not have many friends. She moved quietly, and wore dark clothing. Her grandmother was her only family as far as she knew. Her parents were in the war was all she was told. She was sent to the best schools, and signed up for appropriate lessons. She joined the junior spy corps at age 8, having a natural aptitude for subterfuge.
Her grandmother tried to give her more affection than she had given her own daughter, but it was hard, to see the girl’s parents in her eyes, her cheekbones, her infrequent smiles.
Emma sent messages when she could, all very succinct, in code, and her daughter read them over and over again, but couldn’t feel anything from the words. And then they were winning the war. One of the prisons had been taken back, and Elizabeth stayed breathless by the phone, trying to keep herself from hope.
Nothing.
Then the news that Master Sergeant Frost had been wounded in action, and Elizabeth looked at her granddaughter and wondered if she would lose all her parents to this war.
* * *
Part 4
Author: Alsike
Fandom: X-Men/Criminal Minds x-over
Pairing: Emma Frost/Emily Prentiss
Rating: NC-17
AN/Disclaimer: Not my girls.
Word Count: 3176
Prompt: 028. Anonymous
Apologies: Christ, remember this piece of trashy porn? My head decided it needed a sequel. Baby stealing always needs a sequel. I have learned this from Soap Operas. Unfortunately I cannot pretend anymore: this is a StarTrek AU. (Although I think it was heavily influenced by Flora Segunda- which is an awesome book. And not sketchy at all, as it is Kids Fantasy.)And this was all going to be one part, but LJ decided it was too long. XP
Officers' Balls were the bane of Emily’s existence, but she went. Full dress uniform was better than a dress. Her mother said she looked wonderful, but going with your mother was worse than going alone.
She went alone.
Scott was there, a few ranks above her, a few years older, chatting with the highest brass, who were always ready to find him a promotion. Emily did her job, but she doubted she’d make it past lieutenant rankings however long she stayed in the service. She did her job, but she didn’t play politics.
Scott hadn’t come alone. He brought his wife. She had just joined him, and all the brass were congratulating him. The tight glistening white dress she wore made it painfully obvious that she was pregnant.
Emma was gorgeous. Her hair was lush and thick, her breasts and hips filling out into a woman Emily could hardly recognize, not the skinny arrogant cadet who had made her life hell. She laughed at something one of the brass said and kissed Scott’s cheek. Emily wanted to die.
“Are you going to dance?” asked Master Sergeant Garcia. Emily cringed at the thought.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Are you sure? I heard you had lessons.”
“When I was eight.”
“Come on. My friend JJ’s here, and her husband won’t dance. She needs a partner.”
Emily sighed. JJ was cute and blonde, but she had had enough of married women. Still she danced, and JJ was pleased with Emily’s poor skills, at least until an old general with beautiful footwork swept past, tapped Emily on the shoulder and cut in. JJ swept off in his arms, and Emily was faced with the one woman she did not want to speak to that night.
“Emma…”
“Hey.” It was oddly easy to dance with her. They had the same style, the same step size, and so much that they didn’t want to talk about.
“So…” Emily’s eyes flicked down, and Emma smiled wryly.
“It’s a girl.”
It felt like a punch in the gut. Emily tried not to let her grip of Emma’s hand and waist display her feelings, but it was probably written on her face.
“You’re pretty dominant, aren’t you?” Emma said musingly. “Did you have lighter hair as a child, or were you always that dark.”
“A little lighter, but only a shade or so.” Emily shook her head. “I am not in on this with you. I can’t…”
“Don’t worry. I’m a good enough liar for us both.”
“I know.”
“Would you feel less used if we were having a full blown affair?”
“We’re not?”
Emma shrugged. “I’m not lying to you like I usually do. I’m not promising to leave him. I’m not making you jump through hoops to have me.”
“I think I like this better.”
“Yes…” Emma looked at her contemplatively. “You don’t like lies.”
“I don’t.”
They slipped out of the ballroom, and Emma led her down the hall onto a tiny enclosed balcony that looked out into space. They could see the stars, Mars on its orbit passing by, but they didn’t look. Emma closed the door behind them, then turned, and pulled Emily’s hands away from her face. Then she leaned in and kissed her. Emily’s hands slid into the curve of her back, and they kissed, lightly.
Emily wanted to bite, to crush their mouths together, she wanted to leave Emma’s lips kiss-swollen and bruised. How could she lie her way out of that? How could she make it less than obvious that she had been cheating?
But what would Emma getting caught do for her? If it got around that she was sleeping with a fellow officer’s wife, she would be lucky to stay in the service. There was no way out of this, all she could do was take this moment.
Her hand slid over Emma’s stomach, and Emma stiffened. “What are you…?”
“This is mine,” Emily whispered.
Emma nodded. “It has to be.”
“I want to…” She slid to the ground and ducked under the skirt of Emma’s dress. She tugged her underwear down and dove in. Emma gasped and leaned against the wall.
“You’re insane!” Emma hissed, but then her breath caught in her throat and she shut her eyes, letting out a low moan. “God, Emily…”
She was so responsive, so hot, and she tasted so good. If Emily couldn’t have her, couldn’t mark her, at least she would make her come. She wanted to be written in Emma’s mind, if nowhere else, so that she couldn’t even touch her husband without thinking of her.
“I can’t believe you’re so good at that,” Emma said, still gasping from her orgasm, barely holding herself up against the wall.
Emily licked her lips. “It is one of my many skills.”
Emma laughed, and kissed her lightly, tasting herself. She glanced at the time. “Shit, it’s been a half an hour, I had better show my face again.” She flashed Emily a grin. “Am I presentable.”
Emily arched an eyebrow. “I dunno. I always like to see you naked and sweaty.”
“You’re no help.” Emma rolled her eyes and slipped out.
Emily sank down onto the couch and held her face. The couch next to her sank as someone sat in it. It was Garcia, looking at her solemnly.
“You’re having an affair with Lieutenant Summers’ wife.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“With his pregnant wife, Sergeant!”
“It's my baby!”
Garcia gaped. “What?”
Emily shook her head. “Fuck. It doesn’t change anything. It should never have happened. I was the fucking sperm donor, that’s all.”
“You’re not making sense, Emily.”
Emily sighed. “My mom got one of those novelty DNA resequencers, and she made me come to a party at the Summers’ with her as her escort, as a man. And…”
“You fucked the hostess?”
“I didn’t know. It was just… someone, who put her foot in my lap.”
“You’re kind of a whore, aren’t you?”
“I was a guy! I wasn’t going to just sit there with the biggest fucking boner ever and hope it went away!”
“So you fucked the hostess.”
“She seduced me.” Emily shook her head. “I think she was planning on seducingsomeone that night. I was just more untraceable, due to the resequencing, so she picked me. She wanted to get pregnant, and the good Lieutenant wasn’t up to the job.”
Garcia stared. “Are you serious?”
Emily nodded. “I know it’s a mess. I guess I just want to make sure that she’s okay. Once she has the baby, I’ll leave. I’ve already applied for a transfer. I don’t want to make trouble. I’m not going to ask her to divorce him. I’m not going to tell anyone. I shouldn’t even be seeing her anymore, but I can’t seem to help running into her.” Emily was quiet for a moment. “I screwed up, I think. She could have been mine. But if all she wants from me is sex, I’ll give that to her, until I go.”
“What happens when she has your baby and gives it to someone else?”
Emily sighed, an odd half smile on her face, and leaned back into the sofa. “It’s all right. It’s not like she was ever mine to begin with.”
* * *
“I think you’re a bitch.”
Emma paused as she stepped out of the pharmacy and saw Garcia sitting in her hovercraft.
“And to what do I owe the honor?”
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing to Emily?”
Emma blinked. “I’m… giving her lots of sex, so she can relax?”
“She’s going to leave. As soon as you have that baby, she’s going to leave.”
Emma looked away.
“You don’t care, do you? The sooner she leaves, the easier you have it. You don’t have to balance your husband and your woman on the side!”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Emma glared at her, teardrops glistening in her eyes. “Shit,” she wiped her face. “Fucking hormones. Emily is nothing that I want, but don’t tell me how I will feel when she leaves.”
“You’re saying that you really do care for her?” Garcia asked sarcastically.
Emma pressed her lips together. “I could have. That’s the trouble. But I’m married to someone else, because I knew he could give me the life that I wanted. It turned out that he couldn’t, but it’s close enough, isn’t it?” She smiled weakly. “I didn’t think this was going to do anything to me. I wasn’t supposed to get caught. I wasn’t supposed to pity her when she cried.”
Garcia shook her head. “I’m not going to tell. Just remember that you are hurting someone, with whatever you do.”
Emma nodded, slipping her hands around her stomach. “I know.”
* * *
“Don’t… don’t look at me.”
Emma cringed away from Emily’s gaze. But Emily just cocked her head and looked at her body. “There’s nothing ugly about you. I can’t believe how beautiful you are.”
Emma peeked at her and shook her head. “Scott won’t look at me.”
“This is why you need a lover.” Emily curled up behind her and held her. Something kicked out against her hand. “Oh!”
“She likes your voice.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Will she miss me if I go?”
“I’ll miss you.”
“Emma, Scott!” Jean jogged up along the boardwalk. “Oh! Major!”
Emily flushed. “Sergeant.”
“I didn’t know you two were friends.”
Emily glanced at Emma, who smiled wryly. “It's sort of a new thing.”
“That’s… lovely.” Jean smiled.
* * *
“Scott’s been called away for a fucking week, so I’m going to crash with you.”
Emily stared at the very, very pregnant woman in her doorway. “Are you… sure?”
Emma shrugged. “Jean knows we’re friends. As long as you don’t knock me up, I think we’ll be okay.” She slapped her cheek in mock shock. “Oh, wait, you already did that.”
“Fuck off,” but Emily smiled and opened the door.
* * *
“Shit!”
“What is it?”
“I think I need you to take me to the hospital.’ Emma gasped and grit her teeth. “Oh god.”
Emily dropped the plate she was holding, and didn’t even notice it shatter on the floor. “Oh my god.”
In the hovercraft she asked, “how bad is it?”
Emma groaned. “It feels like getting shot, except I don’t die. And I know it will happen again in…”
“Three minutes.”
“Fuck.”
* * *
“Is the father-?”
“He’s off planet,” interrupted Emma. “I need Emily.”
Emily watched the whole thing happen in shock. The baby came out covered in blood and a dark fuzz, but impossibly beautiful. The nurse handed Emily the child, completely unfazed by the situation. All three of them fell asleep on the bed.
* * *
“What would you think if I had an affair with another woman, Scott?” Emma asked, lounging on the bed as Scott fixed his lieutenant’s insignia into his collar.
“Why? Are you planning something while I’m off at headquarters?”
“Maybe.”
Scott shook his head. “It depends on the woman.”
“Really?” Emma asked curiously. “That would make a difference to you?”
“Well, it had better be someone I’d consider attractive.”
Emma rolled her eyes.
“Say, if you had a sexy sleepover with, say, Kitty Rasputin, that would be one thing. But if you were having an affair with Major Prentiss…”
Emma looked up, frowning. “That would be different? She isn’t sexy enough for you?”
“I’m not saying she isn’t attractive. But, she’s my colleague, my subordinate. If you were sleeping with her, it would be the same as if you were sleeping with any man. It would be a betrayal.”
Emma couldn’t meet his eyes.
* * *
“Major.”
“Lieutenant!” Emily woke up with a start and nearly fell off the bed, where she had collapsed with Emma and the baby, and slept.
“I’m told I need to thank you, for the health and safety of my wife and child.”
Emily glanced back at Emma and the child. Emma met her eyes directly, but gently. “It was my honor, sir.”
Scott smiled. “Thank you.”
Emily saluted and went to leave.
“Oh, Major Prentiss. I was given this for you.” Scott handed her a letter. “It’s a promotion, but the brass understand you may not want to accept it.”
“Why not?” asked Emma.
Scott glanced at her and then back to Emily. “It’s an active position, in Bohemia.”
“Really?” Emily looked curious and intrigued. “Thank you sir. I will respond with alacrity.”
She left. Emma glared at Scott. “You’re sending her into a war zone?”
Scott shook his head. “She’s a soldier. That’s where we belong. Now do I get to meet my daughter?”
* * *
“Why did you send her all these letters?”
Emma wasn’t sure whether she could love a child. Sofia Elizabeth Summers was a strange name to her, and the girl’s dark dark hair and dark dark eyes belied her name. But she didn’t let just anyone suck on her breasts, so she supposed she thought well enough of her. She glanced up from the girl’s thin hair and frowned at Scott. “What?”
He dropped a pile of printouts of letters and photographs. “You sent these to Major Prentiss.”
Emma stared. “Did she… send them back?” But that didn’t make any sense.
“Her effects were sent to me to give to her mother.”
Suddenly Sofia started to scream and Emma realized she must be crushing her. She quickly set her on the bed. “Is she dead?”
Scott pursed his lips. “I don’t think so. She has probably been taken prisoner, I’m just afraid she might be not high enough rank to buy back, but not low enough to let go.”
“She was captured by those barbarians?” Emma’s fingernails were buried deep into her palms. “Oh my god.” She ran to the bathroom and threw up everything she had eaten that day.
* * *
Scott didn’t ask again. He watched her, the way she pulled away from him, away from everyone, into herself. She played with Sofia sometimes, touched her face and her dark thickening locks with a reverence that Scott didn’t understand. Scott tried to be a good father, but the war was escalating, and he was often away from home. He talked to Emma about trying for a son, but she didn’t seem interested, she didn’t even seem interested in making love.
It was when Sofia was three, almost four, he started seeing someone else in her eyes, in her face. Jean, when she brought her youngest over to play, cast wondering looks at him and then at his daughter. It wasn’t possible, that was the problem, not without a trace. There weren’t any at home haploidization kits, were there? But she would laugh, and Emma would laugh in response (the only time she did), and it was someone else’s mouth, someone else’s smile.
The only person he mentioned his doubts to were his adjutant, Garcia. She gave him a long hard look, and then turned away.
“Does it matter? Right now, you’re the only father this child has.”
It shocked him. She had basically admitted that she knew that what he feared was true. And now he could believe it, and Emma acting like a widow now meant something ten times worse.
Scott found someone else, pretty, blonde, devoted, and he let Emma find out. If he had expected some strong reaction, if he had expected her to care, he would have been surprised. She didn't care. He asked her for a divorce.
“What do you expect me to do?” she asked him, blandly, as if looking for an answer, some way out of their marriage.
“Tell her grandmother whose daughter she is.”
Emma signed the papers. She walked off with half his money, but she didn’t ask for child support. The lawyers were mystified.
“Mrs. Prentiss?” Elizabeth opened the door. The years Emily had been gone had been hard on her, and she did not expect this woman to show up at her door with a small child in tow.
“Mrs. Summers?”
“It’s Frost… again.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Emma smiled. “Emily told me once that you had one of those novelty gene resequencers.”
Elizabeth cocked her head, confused by the choice of topic. “I did. It broke down years ago, though.”
“But it worked, didn’t it. You took Emily to a party once, with her changed into a man.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Your party, if I remember correctly.” She looked pensive. “Emily was always a bit difficult about going to parties.”
“I think she enjoyed that one.”
“Did she?”
“I did my best to make sure she did.”
Elizabeth frowned. “You recognized her.”
“I always notice when she’s around.”
Elizabeth stared at her and then glanced at the child. She blinked and stared. “That girl-”
“Sofia.”
“She looks like Emily as a child.”
“She should.” Emma smiled weakly. “Since Emily’s her father, and the Prentiss genes are really dominant.”
“But you, you were married.”
Emma flicked her eyebrows. “But Emily was the one who got me pregnant.” She shook her head. “And broke my heart.”
“Ms. Frost…”
“I know that you must be having a hard time with her being gone.” She didn’t let Elizabeth speak. “I have money, enough to pay for her keep. You’re her blood. Would you take care of her?”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to reenlist.” Emma smiled awkwardly. “I was trained as a reconnaissance specialist. I might as well be useful. I can try to find her.”
Elizabeth gaped, but took the child from her arms, and watched the woman walk away.
Sofia woke up and started to cry. “Where’s mama?”
Elizabeth stared at the creature who reminded her so much of her lost daughter, but wasn’t. “I’m your grandmother, Sofia, I’m going to be looking after you.”
* * *
Sofia was a skinny, bony and introverted child. She read a lot, and did not have many friends. She moved quietly, and wore dark clothing. Her grandmother was her only family as far as she knew. Her parents were in the war was all she was told. She was sent to the best schools, and signed up for appropriate lessons. She joined the junior spy corps at age 8, having a natural aptitude for subterfuge.
Her grandmother tried to give her more affection than she had given her own daughter, but it was hard, to see the girl’s parents in her eyes, her cheekbones, her infrequent smiles.
Emma sent messages when she could, all very succinct, in code, and her daughter read them over and over again, but couldn’t feel anything from the words. And then they were winning the war. One of the prisons had been taken back, and Elizabeth stayed breathless by the phone, trying to keep herself from hope.
Nothing.
Then the news that Master Sergeant Frost had been wounded in action, and Elizabeth looked at her granddaughter and wondered if she would lose all her parents to this war.
* * *
Part 4