Raina blinked back tears, still unsure of what she was seeing.

“He’s alive?” she whispered.

“Yes,” BFF20 said.

She could feel Nick rising to his feet behind her, looking over her shoulder at the same sight that held her riveted.

In the darkness of the tiny room, the small stasis pod before her glowed like a beacon.

It bore an uncanny resemblance to the one she’d spent so much unplanned time in. Except it was barely a quarter of the size.

The amber liquid inside was occupied by a tiny baby.

The baby floated peacefully, long lashes kissing chubby cheeks, fists clenched, toes splayed.

Raina felt a longing, sweet as honey, heavy as a weight on her chest.

“We have to get him out,” Nick said, his voice tense and low.

“Disturbing the pod could be exceedingly detrimental to this tiny human,” BFF20 said calmly. “His pod appears to be connected to a discreet power source.”

Raina was glad. She was already shivering again from the cold. The baby must have heat and regulation in his stasis tube.

“We can’t just leave him alone in there,” Nick said, more forcefully.

“Is there a back-up power source?” Raina asked.

“There’s a data feed in the box next to the pod,” BFF20 said. “I could analyze it, try to figure out what’s going on.”

Raina looked at the dim screen beside the pod. She hadn’t noticed it before.

She also hadn’t noticed the bronze plate at the bottom of the pod itself.

Tesla

“Oh my god,” she breathed.

“What?” Nick asked.

“Look at the name plate,” she said. “This is why he’s hidden. It’s why he’s got a power source.”

“I don’t understand,” Nick said.

“This isn’t just any baby in stasis,” Raina said. “He must be a clone of Nikola Tesla.”

She studied the baby in the pod. In her time, human cloning was a hot topic, on the cutting edge of technology as well as morality. Obviously, the people who put this baby on the ship had transcended both limitations. He looked like an ordinary baby, but coded into the delicate strands of his DNA was the potential to change worlds.

Raina had always admired Nikola Tesla. He was an explorer in the world of science, an engineer and inventor of electrical and wireless devices that were generations ahead of his time.

In his own day, Tesla had struggled to fund his experiments. He had been swindled by wealthier contemporaries and died penniless.

But this baby…

Raina tried to imagine the resources that would be lavished on him, the lives he could change if he fulfilled his destiny.

“Wait until Mama finds out about this,” she muttered.

“Who?” Nick asked.

“My captain,” she explained. “On the Stargazer.”

“Your captain is your mother?” he asked, a puzzled look taking over his expression.

“No,” she said with a short laugh. “We all just call her that. She’s taken in a lot of wayward souls. She rescued me and my friends from the unclaimed stasis pods. She watches out for us.”

“I see,” he said. She could tell he wanted to ask her more, but a look of concern had replaced his bemusement.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You’re shivering,” Nick said softly.

“I’m f-fine,” she lied, still gazing at the baby.

Her new-found suspicions about his genetics weren’t what kept her eyes locked on that little face. It was something else, something she didn’t have words for.

“Your body temperature is ninety-six degrees Fahrenheit,” BFF20 announced crisply. “Is there a reason you didn’t turn on the heat when you arrived?”

“We turned the ventilation on,” Nick said.

“It appears that the heating is controlled separately for each suite in this wing of the craft,” BFF20 said. “There’s a thermostat in the bedroom we just came from.”

“I’ll get it,” Nick said.

“Go with him, Raina, and find a way to warm yourself immediately, don’t wait for the room to heat up,” BFF20 said.

“I w-won’t leave the baby,” Raina said, her teeth chattering loudly now.

“Get her out of here, and get her warm before she sustains permanent injury,” BFF20 said to Nick. “Raina, I will stay with the small human. I can analyze his feed and try to figure out if there is a way to remove him. It will take some time.”

Her whole body was shuddering now. There was no use arguing. This time, when Nick offered her his arm, she took it.

They stepped out of the little room, through the closet and back into the bedroom.

As soon as the baby was out of her sight, Raina began to really notice how cold she was. Her feet were numb, and her scalp tingled.

“Your lips are blue,” Nick said. “Let’s get your boots off and get you back into bed.”

She nodded.

He headed across the room and tapped something into the touch screen that controlled the heat.

She bent to remove her boots, but her fingers were too numb to unstrap the toggles.

Nick moved back to her, took her hands and his jaw clenched.

“You’re not going to like this, but I think you should strip down so we can be skin to skin,” he told her. “I need to get you warm fast.”

Raina clung to his hands, not caring what she had to do if it meant getting warm.

“Do you want me to help you?” he asked.

She nodded and closed her eyes while he slid the clasps on her jacket and pushed it off her shoulders.

The cold of the room sank deeper into her and she moaned.

Nick hurriedly peeled the rest of her layers off, eased her out of her boots and left only her socks on her feet.

She crawled into the bed with his help.

Like last time, the sheets were icy cold, but she knew relief was coming.

Nick stripped off his pants and crawled in, pulling her to his chest.

The heat of him was intoxicating.

Raina pressed herself shamelessly into Nick’s big body, sliding her toes against his, sliding her hands up to rest on his chest.

He tucked the blankets around them and pulled her closer.

Raina sighed with pleasure and snuggled her face into the crook of his neck.

“Better?” he asked.

“Mmmhmmm,” she hummed in agreement.

He stiffened slightly and chuckled.

“Are you ticklish?” she whispered into his neck.

“No,” he said, wiggling a little.

“Are you sure?” she whispered against his neck.

“Roll over,” he whispered back as he pulled away.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” she said. “I’m ticklish too.”

“No, I want you to roll over because clearly the front of you is warm enough, if you’re teasing me,” he chuckled.

She rolled over and he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Raina felt the cool of the sheets against her chest contrast with the satisfying warmth of Nick’s big body curled around her back.

“You’re ticklish too?” he whispered into her hair, sending shivers down her spine.

“I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that,” Raina realized out loud.

“Mmm,” he agreed, nuzzling her hair.

His warm breath felt incredible, even as she tried to wiggle away.

But he locked an arm around her waist and held her still.

“I’m sorry,” he told her softly. “I’ll stop. You need to warm up.”

She relaxed against him, pressing her buttocks backward without thinking.

Nick gasped and his arm tightened around her waist.

Dear god…

He was stiff and pulsing against her. And from the feel of him, he was jaw-droppingly enormous.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Being close to you…”

Desire shot through her like an arrow and she was unable to speak.

Calm down, Raina, she pleaded with herself.

But Raina’s body and emotions had had enough of her self-control. She could feel her nipples pouting, her sex growing slick with need.

“Your heart is racing,” Nick breathed. “You feel it too. Tell me you feel our connection.”

She slipped his hold on her waist, flipping over to face him again.

His blue eyes were tortured.

“I feel it,” she whispered back.