Serix followed Cassie to the dining hall, where they met up with Emily and her child once more. He did an absent sweep of the room, searching for Hunter, but the human was nowhere to be found. He was probably off somewhere nursing his wounds, or perhaps he just didn’t want to face the others after being beaten up by Cassie. Serix wouldn’t have been surprised if that were true. Hunter didn’t seem like the kind of person to show his face right after taking a blow to his pride like that.

Cassie, Sarah, and Emily all struck up a conversation once everyone was seated. Not having much to say, Serix just listened quietly as he ate. He passed the time by watching the other humans socialize amongst each other. Apart from the relaxed interaction between males and females, he almost could have mistaken them for Lunairans. They chatted and joked just like his people did when they weren’t working. If only the humans could see how similar they were to the “aliens” they seemed to hate so much. He and Cassie had figured it out long ago, and they were happier because of it. He glanced at his mate who was now playing with Emily’s child, making it smile and laugh.

[b]“Do you want to hold him?”[/b] Emily asked her.

Cassie looked startled, [b]“Me? Hold the baby? Are you sure? I mean, I’ve ever really held one before.”[/b]

[b]“It’s easy,”[/b] Emily assured her, demonstrating the procedure. [b]“Just support the baby’s head and everything is fine.”[/b] With that, she handed the child over to Cassie, who copied the way she had held it a moment ago.

Cassie smiled at Serix as she child’s eyelids began to droop, [b]“Look at him, Serix... He’s so peaceful.”[/b] He nodded and she looked back down at the tiny infant in her arms. [b]“I can’t believe I’m holding a baby. Never thought I would.”[/b]

“Well, I don’t know. We haven’t—” Serix started, and then caught himself. He flushed and went on hurriedly. “I-I mean, we never knew we were going to find more humans.” He stared across the room, pretending that the rock wall was suddenly very interesting. It had been a clumsy cover up. In a moment of absentmindedness, he had almost said ‘we haven’t talked about that possibility.’ He snuck a glance at Cassie’s face, wondering if she realized what he did.

Emily laughed, “Do you want to hold him, too, Serix?”

He turned to her in surprise, “Um, that’s okay. I don’t—”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Emily rolled her eyes and gently took the sleeping child from Cassie’s arms. She held him out to Serix. “He doesn’t bite.”

“Okay…” Serix said, hesitantly taking the infant from her. He held it close to his body, the way he had seen Emily and Cassie do. The child shifted slightly, but didn’t wake up. A faint smile tugged at his lip. The infant [i]was[/i] kind of cute. He glanced at Emily, “He’s a deep sleeper, huh?”