Chapter 9
“Whistle?” Shane asked wearily after a moment.
“Yes?” the being’s voice was a little breathy, and he didn’t move as he answered his Lamhulae’s question.
Shane was staring at the baby, which was still squirming but hadn’t produced any noise as of yet. “Why is he so old, Whistle? He looks like he’s eight or nine months instead of a newborn.”
“Ahh,” the blonde replied in understanding. “I chose to make him so. He is old enough to eat real food, is he not? And he’ll be able to crawl and walk quickly. I did not think that you would want to deal with a newborn, Shane, and the little one’s energies are not quite those of a normal human baby anyway. He will adapt quickly to the age he is now.”
“Oh,” Shane said. “Then there’s nothing wrong with him?”
“Absolutely nothing,” the being replied as he rolled his head on the bed to look at the baby. “I formed his body well – he is healthy and strong.”
“How much does he know or remember?” Shane asked as he began to drag himself along the bed determinedly toward the baby, not wanting his son to roll off the bed and hurt himself. “About the way he was before, I mean? Just energy?”
“He will remember something of his nature for a short time, but the longer he’s in this flesh body the more he will forget. He will become a normal human child eventually, with no ability to mold his flesh like I can. That is for the best; we are both citizens of this world now, we must abide by its rules,” Whistle added firmly.
“I see,” Shane had rounded the end of the bed and was approaching the baby. “How come he hasn’t made any noise, Whistle?” he asked in concern as he came abreast of the silent, squirming child.
“He doesn’t know how yet,” Whistle replied promptly. “He is new to this form, Shane. It will take him a short while to become comfortable in it. He will learn from observing us how to speak and make noise. Until then, he will be quiet. There is nothing wrong with him,” he added defensively, protecting his precious child even from his other parent.
“I’m glad,” Shane said as he reached out to touch the baby’s butter-soft pale skin. The crystalline-blue eyes, so like Whistle’s, looked up into his. “God, he’s cute,” Shane remarked in awe. He leaned on the bed a bit as he spoke to the baby: “Hey, little one, it’s good to finally have you here. What’ll we call him, Whistle?” he asked the blonde as he ran his fingers through the curls atop his son’s head.
The being’s eyebrows drew together a little in thought. “Call him?” he repeated.
Shane nodded a bit. “Yeah, a name. We have to have a name for him. Any ideas?”
“Oh. I had not thought… He would not receive his ‘name’ on my world until he was a bit older and had exhibited a trait he would be named after. But you humans do it differently, don’t you? You name your offspring right after they’re born.”
“Yes. We have to have a name to give my sister, if nothing else. She’s not going to believe that a baby who looks like he’s almost a year old doesn’t have a name. What would you call him right now if you were on your world?”
Whistle stared at the baby. Then he spoke in that strange language that sounded like bells ringing. “What did you say?” Shane asked curiously.
“The closest translation would be ‘a beam of light’. From the sun.”
“Oh, you mean sunshine or sunlight, right?” Shane said in understanding.
“Yes.”
The human laughed tiredly. “Well, we can’t call him Sunshine; Amanda would think we were crazy. And the poor thing would be mercilessly teased in school, too. But how about this? Sometimes a beam of light from the sun is called a ray – and there’s a human name, Raymond, that’s shortened to Ray. If we call him Ray, his name will still sort of be sunshine but everyone will think that he has a normal human name instead. What do you think, Whistle?”
“I like it, Shane,” the being replied.
“Ray,” Shane repeated as he captured one of the waving hands and held it. “Your name’s Ray. But maybe we’ll still call you Sunshine as a nickname once in awhile. What do you think, buddy?” The baby stared up at him, the little rosebud mouth opening and closing. His tiny hand tightened in Shane’s for a moment, as though he were silently approving of his new name.
Shane managed to get up enough energy after a short while to stagger down the hallway and retrieve a bassinet. He pushed it back into the bedroom and scooped the baby up, setting him in it. Pulling it near the bed, he sat down on it and then lay down next to Whistle. The being watched him with lidded eyes, clearly falling asleep. Shane put his arms around the blonde. “God, I’m exhausted,” he rasped. “Do you think Sunshine will be okay for a bit while we take a nap? I think we both need the sleep.”
“He will sleep as well,” Whistle replied simply. Then Shane ‘felt’ him do something, and when he looked over his shoulder at the bassinet the baby was sleeping peacefully in it.
“What did you do?” he asked.
Whistle sighed, turning a bit to snuggle up against him. “I told him to sleep, and I showed him how to go into that state as well. For a time, until he adapts to this physical form, I’ll be able to communicate with him mentally. That way I can show him how to eat and walk and all of the other things he’ll need to know to be a human child.”
“That’s a handy gift,” Shane said, relaxing at last for the first time in over eight days.
Whistle yawned. “Yes, he murmured, closing his eyes and nestling into the juncture at Shane’s neck and shoulder. “It is…”
With both Whistle and the baby soundly asleep, it didn’t take long for Shane to succumb too. He slept deeply for along time, finally waking up after dark. The room was nearly pitch-black, and he had to reach out and turn on the bedside lamp by feel. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling much better, as he looked at the man still sleeping peacefully up against him. Whistle’s face was adorably innocent in sleep, his long golden lashes lying on his porcelain cheeks. His open mouth tempted Shane to kiss it, so he did just that. Whistle awoke at the touch of his lips, the blue eyes opening. He smiled up at his Lamhulae. “Hello, Shane,” he said softly.
“Did you sleep well? Because I sure did,” Shane replied as he ran a hand through his lover’s golden curls.
Whistle nodded, sitting up slowly. “Yes. I don’t feel as weak now. Do you feel better as well, Shane?”
“Yeah,” he sat up on the side of the bed. The baby was still asleep in the bassinet. “Should we leave him to sleep?” he asked.
“No. I will rouse him so that we may feed him,” Whistle replied. “He will need nourishment to replenish his energy – as will I.”
“I’ll make us all something to eat, although Sunshine needs baby food,” Shane replied. “But I can make him some by pureeing some meat and vegetables after I make them for us. Everybody’ll get something to eat.” He stood up, feeling himself waver only a little.
Whistle was moving behind him, also shakily moving to get up. Shane walked over to the bassinet, leaning over to lift the baby from it. Ray opened his eyes just then, looking solemnly up at his father. “Hi, sweetheart,” Shane said tor him as he carried the baby over to the bed. “Will you stay with him for as minute while I get a diaper, Whistle? It’s a damn good thing I stocked up on various sizes, or we’d be in a world of hurt right now,” he added as he lay the baby down next to the being.
Whistle reached out to lightly trace the baby’s cheek. “I will wait. I have much to tell him anyway,” he replied.
“Okay. Be right back,” Shane left the bedroom to go to nursery and fetch some diapers from the closet there. Fortunately he even had some for older babies that would fit Ray. He pulled the box out and opened it, taking a small stack back to the bedroom along with some baby powder and lotion. He didn’t think that they’d be letting the baby sleep in the nursery for awhile anyway. He took these supplies with him, reentering the bedroom to find Whistle sitting there with his hand laying on the baby’s chest and his eyes closed. He must be communicating with the child again, Shane realized. He wondered what the being was telling their baby this time.
Whistle’s eyes opened as he entered the room. “He knows how to eat now, Shane,” he told his Lamhulae as he lifted his hand from the baby. “And how to sit up. I think he’ll be able to make some noise now, too, but I can’t be sure yet.”
“Okay. Let me get him diapered and we’ll go make some dinner,” Shane said, making Whistle’s eyes light up.
The human put the diaper on the baby, displaying the technique to the curious Whistle. The baby squirmed a bit, then made some odd cooing noises that delighted Whistle and made Shane give his son a sideways look. Not quite right, but at least the kid was now making SOME kind of noise. Amanda would have wondered if they’re produced a child who was completely mute. He lifted Ray into his arms. “Can you walk by yourself, Whistle?” he asked in concern.
The being nodded. “I will,” he said in determination.
Shane took Ray into the kitchen and pulled out the high chair. He set the baby in it, the big blue eyes studying his face curiously as he did so. He tapped the end of the baby’s nose, and to his delight Ray looked startled then abruptly SMILED. It was even more beautiful an expression on that tiny angelic face than it was on Whistle’s. “Hey, Sunshine, I’ll make us all something to eat,” he murmured to his son. “You just sit tight there, buddy.”
Whistle sat down next to the high chair. He took Ray’s fingers in his own for more silent communication. It made Shane feel kind of wistful that he couldn’t talk to the baby that way himself. But if Whistle was right he’d soon be able to talk to his son in the normal way, if nothing else. He went over to the fridge to grab a couple of steaks, some fresh peas, and a couple of potatoes. Then he set to work cooking while Whistle talked to the baby.
“I’ve been thinking,” Shane mused aloud after awhile.
“About what, Shane?” Whistle asked from behind him.
“Well, how we’re going to explain Ray to Amanda. Why he looks just like you and why he’s so old. We’ll tell her that we cancelled our plans to adopt a baby because your cousin died while you were away. I told her that you’d gone home while you were in suspended animation so she wouldn’t wonder where you’d gone, or come over here asking all kinds of questions. That way she didn’t come over at all because she thought I was depressed about you being gone. If we tell her that a look-alike cousin of yours died and left you his baby, that will explain both why he looks like you and why he’s older. We’ll have to knock off both the fictional cousin and his wife, too. We’ll say that they made you Ray’s guardian in their will.”
“Okay, Shane,” the being replied readily. He always left the creative lying to his Lamhulae, since he was too open and innocent to be any good at it.
“It’s the best excuse I can think of,” he remarked ruefully as he turned off the stove under the potatoes. “And Amanda will feel so bad about your cousin dying that she probably won’t ask too many questions. God, I hate lying to her. But there’s no choice – if we told her the truth about all this, she’d either freak out or not believe a word of it and think that we’re both crazy.”
“Very well, Shane. I shall try to remember everything,” Whistle replied wryly, clearly thinking of the times he’d nearly screwed the pooch by blurting things out in front of Amanda before this.
“Just let me do most of the talking. In this case we have a hole card - namely Ray. She’ll be so busy cooing over him that she won’t care too much about where he came from. Amanda loves babies. Like most women, she gets near one and loses her head. I think babies make women’s I.Q. scores go down about forty points or so.”
“What do you mean?” Whistle asked.
Shane laughed. “You’ll see when we take him to meet her and Matt. Maybe the day after tomorrow, since we all need a day or so to rest and get stronger. Oh,” he added as a chilling thought went through him. “Whistle? Those things, the Darklings. They’re not going to come back, are they? Because that was the scariest damn thing that has ever happened to me. When they were slithering around the bed trying to find you…” he shuddered visibly.
“No, Shane, they will not come back,” the blonde hurried to reassure him. “They, like my folk, use the Vortex to travel. And as I told you before, it is a one-way door. Once they go through it they cannot come back again. Not unless by some fluke they use the Vortex and it spits them out near this world again – and there is very little chance of that, considering the vastness of the universes in the hundreds of dimensions that the Vortex services. I think that we’re safe.”
“Great,” he sighed. He turned to look at his family, seeing that Whistle still had his fingers entwined with the baby’s. “Because I really don’t think that I could go through that again. Besides, Ray couldn’t go into that ‘suspended animation’ state, could he? And wouldn’t they think he was just a nice little snack before the main course?”
Whistle shivered, his mouth tightening. “Yes,” he replied. “The Little One is very strong. The Darklings would feed off of him with glee if they could. And he is too young for me to be able to teach him to go into that suspended state yet. I am so thankful that he waited until after the Darklings had departed to be born.” He lifted the tiny hand, and kissed the fingers in relief.
Shane didn’t even want to think about the alternative. But thank God he didn’t have to, since those horrible things had left the Earth for good. He turned to his cooking, as pleased as a man could be to have Whistle back. And to finally have his son here as well – Shane Cutler was a very happy man right now.
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“Whistle?” Shane asked wearily after a moment.
“Yes?” the being’s voice was a little breathy, and he didn’t move as he answered his Lamhulae’s question.
Shane was staring at the baby, which was still squirming but hadn’t produced any noise as of yet. “Why is he so old, Whistle? He looks like he’s eight or nine months instead of a newborn.”
“Ahh,” the blonde replied in understanding. “I chose to make him so. He is old enough to eat real food, is he not? And he’ll be able to crawl and walk quickly. I did not think that you would want to deal with a newborn, Shane, and the little one’s energies are not quite those of a normal human baby anyway. He will adapt quickly to the age he is now.”
“Oh,” Shane said. “Then there’s nothing wrong with him?”
“Absolutely nothing,” the being replied as he rolled his head on the bed to look at the baby. “I formed his body well – he is healthy and strong.”
“How much does he know or remember?” Shane asked as he began to drag himself along the bed determinedly toward the baby, not wanting his son to roll off the bed and hurt himself. “About the way he was before, I mean? Just energy?”
“He will remember something of his nature for a short time, but the longer he’s in this flesh body the more he will forget. He will become a normal human child eventually, with no ability to mold his flesh like I can. That is for the best; we are both citizens of this world now, we must abide by its rules,” Whistle added firmly.
“I see,” Shane had rounded the end of the bed and was approaching the baby. “How come he hasn’t made any noise, Whistle?” he asked in concern as he came abreast of the silent, squirming child.
“He doesn’t know how yet,” Whistle replied promptly. “He is new to this form, Shane. It will take him a short while to become comfortable in it. He will learn from observing us how to speak and make noise. Until then, he will be quiet. There is nothing wrong with him,” he added defensively, protecting his precious child even from his other parent.
“I’m glad,” Shane said as he reached out to touch the baby’s butter-soft pale skin. The crystalline-blue eyes, so like Whistle’s, looked up into his. “God, he’s cute,” Shane remarked in awe. He leaned on the bed a bit as he spoke to the baby: “Hey, little one, it’s good to finally have you here. What’ll we call him, Whistle?” he asked the blonde as he ran his fingers through the curls atop his son’s head.
The being’s eyebrows drew together a little in thought. “Call him?” he repeated.
Shane nodded a bit. “Yeah, a name. We have to have a name for him. Any ideas?”
“Oh. I had not thought… He would not receive his ‘name’ on my world until he was a bit older and had exhibited a trait he would be named after. But you humans do it differently, don’t you? You name your offspring right after they’re born.”
“Yes. We have to have a name to give my sister, if nothing else. She’s not going to believe that a baby who looks like he’s almost a year old doesn’t have a name. What would you call him right now if you were on your world?”
Whistle stared at the baby. Then he spoke in that strange language that sounded like bells ringing. “What did you say?” Shane asked curiously.
“The closest translation would be ‘a beam of light’. From the sun.”
“Oh, you mean sunshine or sunlight, right?” Shane said in understanding.
“Yes.”
The human laughed tiredly. “Well, we can’t call him Sunshine; Amanda would think we were crazy. And the poor thing would be mercilessly teased in school, too. But how about this? Sometimes a beam of light from the sun is called a ray – and there’s a human name, Raymond, that’s shortened to Ray. If we call him Ray, his name will still sort of be sunshine but everyone will think that he has a normal human name instead. What do you think, Whistle?”
“I like it, Shane,” the being replied.
“Ray,” Shane repeated as he captured one of the waving hands and held it. “Your name’s Ray. But maybe we’ll still call you Sunshine as a nickname once in awhile. What do you think, buddy?” The baby stared up at him, the little rosebud mouth opening and closing. His tiny hand tightened in Shane’s for a moment, as though he were silently approving of his new name.
Shane managed to get up enough energy after a short while to stagger down the hallway and retrieve a bassinet. He pushed it back into the bedroom and scooped the baby up, setting him in it. Pulling it near the bed, he sat down on it and then lay down next to Whistle. The being watched him with lidded eyes, clearly falling asleep. Shane put his arms around the blonde. “God, I’m exhausted,” he rasped. “Do you think Sunshine will be okay for a bit while we take a nap? I think we both need the sleep.”
“He will sleep as well,” Whistle replied simply. Then Shane ‘felt’ him do something, and when he looked over his shoulder at the bassinet the baby was sleeping peacefully in it.
“What did you do?” he asked.
Whistle sighed, turning a bit to snuggle up against him. “I told him to sleep, and I showed him how to go into that state as well. For a time, until he adapts to this physical form, I’ll be able to communicate with him mentally. That way I can show him how to eat and walk and all of the other things he’ll need to know to be a human child.”
“That’s a handy gift,” Shane said, relaxing at last for the first time in over eight days.
Whistle yawned. “Yes, he murmured, closing his eyes and nestling into the juncture at Shane’s neck and shoulder. “It is…”
With both Whistle and the baby soundly asleep, it didn’t take long for Shane to succumb too. He slept deeply for along time, finally waking up after dark. The room was nearly pitch-black, and he had to reach out and turn on the bedside lamp by feel. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling much better, as he looked at the man still sleeping peacefully up against him. Whistle’s face was adorably innocent in sleep, his long golden lashes lying on his porcelain cheeks. His open mouth tempted Shane to kiss it, so he did just that. Whistle awoke at the touch of his lips, the blue eyes opening. He smiled up at his Lamhulae. “Hello, Shane,” he said softly.
“Did you sleep well? Because I sure did,” Shane replied as he ran a hand through his lover’s golden curls.
Whistle nodded, sitting up slowly. “Yes. I don’t feel as weak now. Do you feel better as well, Shane?”
“Yeah,” he sat up on the side of the bed. The baby was still asleep in the bassinet. “Should we leave him to sleep?” he asked.
“No. I will rouse him so that we may feed him,” Whistle replied. “He will need nourishment to replenish his energy – as will I.”
“I’ll make us all something to eat, although Sunshine needs baby food,” Shane replied. “But I can make him some by pureeing some meat and vegetables after I make them for us. Everybody’ll get something to eat.” He stood up, feeling himself waver only a little.
Whistle was moving behind him, also shakily moving to get up. Shane walked over to the bassinet, leaning over to lift the baby from it. Ray opened his eyes just then, looking solemnly up at his father. “Hi, sweetheart,” Shane said tor him as he carried the baby over to the bed. “Will you stay with him for as minute while I get a diaper, Whistle? It’s a damn good thing I stocked up on various sizes, or we’d be in a world of hurt right now,” he added as he lay the baby down next to the being.
Whistle reached out to lightly trace the baby’s cheek. “I will wait. I have much to tell him anyway,” he replied.
“Okay. Be right back,” Shane left the bedroom to go to nursery and fetch some diapers from the closet there. Fortunately he even had some for older babies that would fit Ray. He pulled the box out and opened it, taking a small stack back to the bedroom along with some baby powder and lotion. He didn’t think that they’d be letting the baby sleep in the nursery for awhile anyway. He took these supplies with him, reentering the bedroom to find Whistle sitting there with his hand laying on the baby’s chest and his eyes closed. He must be communicating with the child again, Shane realized. He wondered what the being was telling their baby this time.
Whistle’s eyes opened as he entered the room. “He knows how to eat now, Shane,” he told his Lamhulae as he lifted his hand from the baby. “And how to sit up. I think he’ll be able to make some noise now, too, but I can’t be sure yet.”
“Okay. Let me get him diapered and we’ll go make some dinner,” Shane said, making Whistle’s eyes light up.
The human put the diaper on the baby, displaying the technique to the curious Whistle. The baby squirmed a bit, then made some odd cooing noises that delighted Whistle and made Shane give his son a sideways look. Not quite right, but at least the kid was now making SOME kind of noise. Amanda would have wondered if they’re produced a child who was completely mute. He lifted Ray into his arms. “Can you walk by yourself, Whistle?” he asked in concern.
The being nodded. “I will,” he said in determination.
Shane took Ray into the kitchen and pulled out the high chair. He set the baby in it, the big blue eyes studying his face curiously as he did so. He tapped the end of the baby’s nose, and to his delight Ray looked startled then abruptly SMILED. It was even more beautiful an expression on that tiny angelic face than it was on Whistle’s. “Hey, Sunshine, I’ll make us all something to eat,” he murmured to his son. “You just sit tight there, buddy.”
Whistle sat down next to the high chair. He took Ray’s fingers in his own for more silent communication. It made Shane feel kind of wistful that he couldn’t talk to the baby that way himself. But if Whistle was right he’d soon be able to talk to his son in the normal way, if nothing else. He went over to the fridge to grab a couple of steaks, some fresh peas, and a couple of potatoes. Then he set to work cooking while Whistle talked to the baby.
“I’ve been thinking,” Shane mused aloud after awhile.
“About what, Shane?” Whistle asked from behind him.
“Well, how we’re going to explain Ray to Amanda. Why he looks just like you and why he’s so old. We’ll tell her that we cancelled our plans to adopt a baby because your cousin died while you were away. I told her that you’d gone home while you were in suspended animation so she wouldn’t wonder where you’d gone, or come over here asking all kinds of questions. That way she didn’t come over at all because she thought I was depressed about you being gone. If we tell her that a look-alike cousin of yours died and left you his baby, that will explain both why he looks like you and why he’s older. We’ll have to knock off both the fictional cousin and his wife, too. We’ll say that they made you Ray’s guardian in their will.”
“Okay, Shane,” the being replied readily. He always left the creative lying to his Lamhulae, since he was too open and innocent to be any good at it.
“It’s the best excuse I can think of,” he remarked ruefully as he turned off the stove under the potatoes. “And Amanda will feel so bad about your cousin dying that she probably won’t ask too many questions. God, I hate lying to her. But there’s no choice – if we told her the truth about all this, she’d either freak out or not believe a word of it and think that we’re both crazy.”
“Very well, Shane. I shall try to remember everything,” Whistle replied wryly, clearly thinking of the times he’d nearly screwed the pooch by blurting things out in front of Amanda before this.
“Just let me do most of the talking. In this case we have a hole card - namely Ray. She’ll be so busy cooing over him that she won’t care too much about where he came from. Amanda loves babies. Like most women, she gets near one and loses her head. I think babies make women’s I.Q. scores go down about forty points or so.”
“What do you mean?” Whistle asked.
Shane laughed. “You’ll see when we take him to meet her and Matt. Maybe the day after tomorrow, since we all need a day or so to rest and get stronger. Oh,” he added as a chilling thought went through him. “Whistle? Those things, the Darklings. They’re not going to come back, are they? Because that was the scariest damn thing that has ever happened to me. When they were slithering around the bed trying to find you…” he shuddered visibly.
“No, Shane, they will not come back,” the blonde hurried to reassure him. “They, like my folk, use the Vortex to travel. And as I told you before, it is a one-way door. Once they go through it they cannot come back again. Not unless by some fluke they use the Vortex and it spits them out near this world again – and there is very little chance of that, considering the vastness of the universes in the hundreds of dimensions that the Vortex services. I think that we’re safe.”
“Great,” he sighed. He turned to look at his family, seeing that Whistle still had his fingers entwined with the baby’s. “Because I really don’t think that I could go through that again. Besides, Ray couldn’t go into that ‘suspended animation’ state, could he? And wouldn’t they think he was just a nice little snack before the main course?”
Whistle shivered, his mouth tightening. “Yes,” he replied. “The Little One is very strong. The Darklings would feed off of him with glee if they could. And he is too young for me to be able to teach him to go into that suspended state yet. I am so thankful that he waited until after the Darklings had departed to be born.” He lifted the tiny hand, and kissed the fingers in relief.
Shane didn’t even want to think about the alternative. But thank God he didn’t have to, since those horrible things had left the Earth for good. He turned to his cooking, as pleased as a man could be to have Whistle back. And to finally have his son here as well – Shane Cutler was a very happy man right now.
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