Raina awoke to soft sounds.

At first, she wasn’t sure where she was. She was loose-limbed and euphoric, and the bed felt too firm to be her cot.

Then it all came rushing back.

She opened her eyes to see Nick, bare-chested, cradling a cooing Tesla in his arms and replying to his baby talk.

“Ah ma ma ma ma,” Tesla said.

“Yes, mom will wake up soon,” Nick told him solemnly.

“MamamAH,” Tesla squealed delightedly.

“Good morning, my mate,” Nick said, without looking up.

Could their bond really be so strong?

“Good morning,” she replied.

“He already knows your name,” Nick said proudly.

“I think he’s just practicing making noises,” Raina said. “But it’s lovely, a good preview of things to come.”

“He is saying mom. I heard him,” Nick said, looking offended on behalf of the baby.

Raina stretched and went to them, her little family.

Tesla squealed again and flung himself toward her.

“Careful, little one,” Nick admonished him as he handed him over. “His top half is heavier than his bottom,” he noted. “He must be more careful.”

“That’s what he has us for,” Raina said, smiling as she cuddled the delightful baby close. “Thanks for letting me sleep. How long have you guys been up?”

“Not long,” Nick said. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes,” she said, realizing she must be pretty hungry if she was eager at the thought of Stargazer fare. “Too bad we didn’t think to bring some of those supplies from the cruiser with us.”

“Perhaps Mama would allow us to raid the dining area of the ship where your friend and my brother are trapped,” Nick said.

“Good thinking,” Raina said.

“I’ll take him again while you get dressed,” Nick said hopefully, eying the baby.

“Sure,” Raina told him.

She hummed her way cheerfully through another chemical shower and dressed quickly.

The three of them headed to the mess hall together. Anna and Leo were already sitting at the table with Tolstoy.

“Are you mated, brother?” Leo asked eagerly.

Raina felt her cheeks grow warm, but she wasn’t really embarrassed. She was proud to have Nick for a mate.

“Yes,” Nick laughed.

“Well done,” Leo congratulated them, clapping his brother on the back.

“Good morning,” Anna said with a smile.

“Good morning,” Raina replied.

“Did the baby sleep for you?” Anna asked.

“He did,” Raina said. “He’s a good boy.”

“They seem a lot older than newborn, don’t they?” Anna asked, looking down at Tolstoy.

“Definitely,” Raina agreed. “I babysat a little girl sometimes when I was in high school starting when she was six months old, and I’d say they’re even more advanced than she was. They must not have been born directly into stasis.”

“Why do you think they survived when no one else did?” Anna asked, stroking Tolstoy’s blond curls.

“I don’t know,” Raina said. “I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

She’d been wondering even more about what was going to happen to them both. Mama hadn’t said anything about returning the babes to their rightful owners. She’d been too focused on getting to the third ship in time to help the others. But Raina knew the conversation was coming, and she wasn’t looking forward to it one bit.

“Raina,” Leo said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Nick says you have a good idea how to get these ships out of the web.”

She glanced at Nick, who nodded back at her.

“Well, it seems like the creature’s web is basically acting like a huge electromagnetic field,” she explained. “That’s why the ships were caught in it, and why our comms don’t work when we’re in it.”

Leo nodded.

“My thought was that if we could reach the hull of the ship and electrify it to reverse its polarity, the web would repel it instead of attracting it,” she finished.

“Gods,” Leo breathed.

“That’s very clever, Raina,” Anna said appreciatively. “I wonder if it could be done.”

“Oh, she did it already,” Nick said proudly. “Only to a small compartment of the ship, but that was the mess you saw when you came to find us.”

“Did it work?” Leo asked.

“On that part of the ship, yes,” Raina said. “We’d have to find a way to reverse the polarity of the whole ship to free it.”

“Okay, crew,” Mama said as she strode into the mess hall, BFF19 and BFF20 humming along in her wake. “We’re about an hour from reaching the third ship. It’s time to suit up.”

Raina and Anna exchanged glances.

“Don’t worry,” Mama chided. “The little ones will be just fine here with me, won’t they?” She cooed at Tolstoy, and he responded by clapping his chubby hands and squealing with delight.

“Already being spoiled by the grandparents,” Anna teased.

Nick took Raina’s hand and squeezed it in his.

She was surprised to find herself feeling excited instead of afraid.

“We’ve got this,” he whispered into her hair.

She smiled and squeezed his hand back.

“Here we come, Angel,” Anna said happily as Leo let out an enthusiastic whoop.

Raina smiled up at Nick.

With her brave mate by her side, their sweet baby in her arms, and friends to share their burdens, it felt like there was nothing she couldn’t do, no obstacle they couldn’t overcome together.