"This is something I had personally promised Admiral Anthony to do," Pierre shook his head sadly. "I had no idea when it would happen, all I knew was that they needed a TCS captain and I'm the only one so far... the mission shouldn't last longer than four months but I wouldn't dare to risk Joanna's health..."
Her pregnancy didn't show yet but Lafayette, as a doctor, could see certain signs of it. Her hair was more shining, her eyes warmer... she was glowing from the inside, looking more beautiful than ever before.
"Oh, but she can stay with me," he smiled. "I'll be happy to take care of her and the baby and I'll make sure not a hair is ruffled on their heads..."
"Would you, really?!" Joanna beamed at him. "Oh, that would be wonderful! I hated to think I'd have to be alone! Thank you so much!" She threw her arms around him.
Lafayette embraced her, laughing happily and stroking her back. Over her head, he caught Pierre's look. He didn't need to be a telepath to understand the mixed emotions his 'son' was going through. He sure was grateful but there was a trace of hesitation in his face, too. Not so much concern but...
"She'll be all right," Lafayette told him. "I promise you." And Pierre believed him.
* * *
At first Lafayette was sorry that Samantha was going to miss all the fun. He didn't dare to ask her to come back, though. He'd finally persuaded her to take this vacation for the first time in five years, since they got married. He was in pretty good shape now, enough for her not to worry too much about him. He still needed the cane to walk but these days he was strong enough to take short strolls outside the house.
Soon, he was glad to have Joanna with him. She helped him in small tasks around the house and he had someone to talk to and eat with. He'd always hated eating alone. Over the last few years, their relationship had evolved into something close to... warm friendship. At least that's how he thought about it. They'd chat over subspace, play backgammon or he'd help her edit her papers. Last year, they even spent a short vacation together and Joanna couldn't get enough of playing with the parats again.
Yes, for the first time in his life, Lafayette really felt at peace with himself. He truly enjoyed his role as a father of the family. Only Samantha teased him from time to time, making him admit that she was far too young to be the mother.
Pierre tended to keep his distance but that was something Lafayette could certainly understand and never held it against him. After everything they'd been through, it was hard to blame him for his reservations. What was more important for Lafayette, was that Joanna finally seemed to have found her balance between the two of them. Or so he thought, until one night, some four months after she came...
* * *
They were sitting at the fireplace together, Lafayette with a glass of wine in his hand. His first one that day, as he never had more than two anymore.
"Joanna, for god's sake, stop torturing me. I'm not made of stone..." he joked when she cuddled up  and started practically rubbing against him.
"I know you aren't," she purred, putting her hand on his thigh.
"Then stop it, please..." he looked at her, surprised. "What is wrong with you tonight?!"
"Don't you find me attractive anymore?" Joanna returned his glance with a flirtatious smile.
"Of course I do, can't you tell?" he snorted bitterly.
"Then what is it?" she caressed his face, brushing her fingers on his lips.
"What do you want from me, Joanna?" he gasped. "Do you want me to make love to you?!" he added, hoping to snap her out of it.
"Well, wouldn't you like that?" she replied dreamily.
"I guess I still would..." Lafayette admitted reluctantly, putting the glass away.
Pregnant or not, he still desired her, denying it was pointless. She knew him too well not to see through any lie he'd try to tell her. His own marriage was a happy one and he was also glad to hear that Joanna was just as happy with Pierre. Yet, deep inside each of them, there were still the feelings they knew all to well. It was best to leave them alone.
"But we can't, and you know it," he shook his head.
"Why?"
"We don't belong to each other, my dear. We never have..."
"I belong to you, Pierre," Joanna whispered, tickling him on the ear. "My child belongs to you, what more do you need?"
"What are you talking about?" he shook her off.
"See?" she took his hand and put it on her belly. "This is life. You and me, we're alive. He isn't."
"Who?"
"Pierre. My husband."
"Of course he's alive. You know it..."
"No. Not like you... remember that night in the laboratory?"
Lafayette sighed heavily. "How could I ever forget..."
"You shouldn't have stopped me then. It would have been your baby..."
Lafayette seized her hand as she started playing with a button on his shirt. "Joanna, what the hell...?"
"It can still be yours," she whispered suggestively. "It has your genes. Please, just..." she reached for the buckle on his belt.
"Stop it!" he shouted. "Something is wrong with you. Let me... oh!"
He finally managed to free himself from her grip and get up. "I'll be back," he told her, taking his cane.
"Don't leave me..."
"I'm not leaving you." Lafayette wished he could move faster. By the time he got to the desk, she was already crying hysterically. He took out the medical scanner and checked her. No wonder she was behaving like she was drugged. She was. By her own body. Lafayette felt his hair raise when he saw the readings. The chemical imbalance of her brain was reaching frightening levels.
He stood there for a few seconds, running all kinds of options through his head. In her condition, any intervention may have been dangerous to the baby. He could either restrain or sedate her. Preferably both, since the sedative could only be a mild one. Calling the hospital wouldn't solve anything, any other doctor would have told him what he knew already. Joanna was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and unless he did something now...
He fumbled for a pressure injector in the drawer and got back to her as soon as he could. He had to wrestle with her now.
"Take your hands off of me!" she hissed, looking at him with glassy eyes.
"Joanna, please," he begged her. "You need to calm down..."
"You've always been after me, haven't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You always wanted to take me away from him. You hate him!"
Lafayette finally managed to press the syringe against her neck and sat down heavily. "Joanna," he told her quietly. "I never hated anyone and you know it. You're not being yourself. Your brain is producing massive amounts of endorphins for some reason. Also, the levels of..."
"You hate him!" she wasn't listening. "You want to hurt our baby!"
He had to grab her by the wrist and hold her. In her current state, she could easily hurt herself or the baby and Lafayette was certainly neither strong nor fast enough to catch her if she ran away.
"Joanna!"
She slumped back on the couch, exhausted. He pulled her closer and stroked her head, then touched her cheek. What he had mistaken for arousal was, apparently, growing fever.
*What an idiot!* he cursed himself when she put her head on his shoulder and nodded off, eventually.
Lafayette rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes, cradling her in his arms. Suddenly, he felt his heart ache. *Oh no, not now!* He didn't want to get up for his cardiodamine at the moment, afraid to wake Joanna up. He forced himself to breath evenly, and the pain slowly subsided. After the last operation his condition had improved enormously but minor problems remained. He was back to square one when mild doses of cardiodamine kept him relatively well and there was no great danger. Still, his heart wasn't as new as they had hoped for and he knew he had to be careful.
For the next three or four hours, Joanna drifted in and out of sleep, either trying to seduce him or wildly reproaching him for various evil intentions while she was awake. She even went as far as accusing him of deliberately having sent Pierre away, so that he could be alone with her. Lafayette decided that, if she didn't get better by the end of the night, he would need some help. Her hysteria notwithstanding, he knew she desperately needed someone familiar at her side right now but his strength was not what it used to be and he was beginning to reach his limits.
Finally, almost at dawn, he managed to doze off for a few minutes. He was so worn out that Joanna had to shout to wake him up again.
"What?" he asked in a tired voice. "What is it now, little one?"
"It's started," she told him, terrified. "Pierre, I need your help!"
It didn't take a doctor to realize what she was talking about. She was going into labor and it was already too late for teleportation.
"I'm here," Lafayette told her calmly, forcing himself back on his feet. "I'll take care of you, don't worry."
And he did. Two hours later, he was carefully handing her the little Yoko Yvonne.
* * *
"Congratulations, Pierre. You have a lovely baby-daughter. She's just like her mother..."
"Thank you Professor! But... she was only due next month?!" Pierre's face on the monitor showed concern.
"Came a little early. It happens... nothing to worry about," Lafayette managed what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. "They're both fine, I just... teleported  them to the hospital."
"But that means that you...?"
"Yup, I took care of them. Was a little... unexpected, too but... they're both all right."
"Thank you... Pierre."
"You're welcome. You now have two... beautiful women. Take... good care of them."
"I sure will, Sir. But... you don't look very well, if I may?"
"Oh, I'm just... tired," Lafayette dismissed his concern. "I'm still going to... get over to the hospital... just to be on the safe side..."
"That would be wise, considering you've no one to take care of you at the moment. We're closing in on your system, I should be there in a few hours. I'll check on you later."
"Godspeed... son," Lafayette winked at him and broke the connection.
He wanted to call Sam and tell her the news but he realized it had to be the middle of the night on Tanarra where she was. Besides, he wasn't feeling all that well.
*I'll talk to her from the hospital,* he winced, activating the link. *Heh! She'll be furious when I tell her she's the youngest grandma in the entireHuman Alliance,* he thought, just before the teleporter beam enveloped him.
* * *
Joanna woke up in the hospital bed to see her husband's brightly shining eyes.
"Pierre!" she whispered but he wasn't looking at her. She turned her head to the small bundle beside her. A miniature human being she'd just produced, a real miracle.
"Isn't she lovely?" Pierre whispered tenderly. "She has your eyes..."
"Oh, Pierre!" she reached out to him and he leaned over to kiss her.
"How do you feel?" he asked, concerned.
"Proud and happy," she told him. "We've got to take good care of her."
"We will," he promised quietly, pulling the blanket away from the baby's face. "Look!" he waved at Joanna. "She just smiled at me!"
He must have moved too rapidly, though, because the baby started crying. Joanna pulled her closer and, for the next fifteen minutes, Pierre was virtually hypnotized, watching the miracle of breastfeeding.
When a nurse came half an hour later to take Yoko away for bathing and check up, Joanna asked him. "And where's Lafayette?"
"Joanna," he started slowly. "He was very tired..."
"I bet he was," she chuckled. "That was one hell of a night!"
Pierre looked at her. Something in his eyes made her suddenly feel very cold inside. "He was really very tired," he repeated, for some reason insisting on using past tense.
"Pierre?!"
"He got over here just a few minutes after you," he continued gently. "His heart was already failing..."
"Oh, no!" Joanna covered her mouth with her hand.
"They did everything they could for him, Sunshine," he said softly, watching her eyes widen with horror. "It couldn't have been helped..."
"Pierre!" she cried and he didn't know which one of them she was calling.
"He died three hours ago," he finished, leaning down to hold her in his arms. "I'm so sorry..."
"Oh my god, Pierre!!!"

Author's Note

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Part 17 Epilogue

Around AD 2498