Alien Proliferation

numbers keep on increasing.” He pulled me into his arms. “You okay, baby?”
    “Sort of.” Not so much. “What did you mean when you said they did a good job?”
    He stroked my back. “The one that was supposed to be . . . me . . . it . . . loved you. The other two did, too.” I started to sob. “Shhh, baby, shhh. They were thanking God you did what you had to. The only way to save them was to destroy what they’d been tortured and forced into against their wills. They don’t hate you for doing it, baby, they love you for it.”
    Jeff moved us into bed and held me while I cried. I cried for a good long while. “They were innocent.” I was winding down and finally able to talk again.
    “Yeah, they were. And they were suffering, in a way I thank God you couldn’t pick up. It hurts to put something innocent out of its misery, baby, but doing that’s just as brave as killing something evil. Braver, in a way.”
    “I feel horrible.”
    “I know. I think I’d worry if you didn’t. But, I promise you, you did the right thing, and they appreciated it and always will.”
    I wanted to say that I couldn’t believe people could do things this horrible, but I knew better. People were all too able. It was heartbreaking to discover A-Cs were, too. Somehow, Beverly and Yates aside, Chuckie’s warnings notwithstanding, I’d managed to convince myself that all the Earth A-Cs were incapable of this kind of sick and twisted evil.
    “Anyone’s capable of it, baby,” Jeff said as he kissed my head. “You know that. It’s sweet that you convinced yourself otherwise.”
    “Sweet, not stupid or naïve?”
    He hugged me tighter up against him. “No. Baby, like I told you the first night I knew you, you’re not stupid and never have been. And believing the best in other people doesn’t make you naïve, it makes you an optimist.”
    I managed a laugh. “If you say so.”
    Jeff shifted us a bit, slid one hand up my body up to my chin, and tilted my head. “I do. Know what else I say?”
    “What?”
    He gave me a slow smile. “I say the baby’s asleep in her bassinet.” Then he kissed me, and, happily, like always, I forgot about everything else.

 
    CHAPTER 83
     
    J EFF’S HANDS STARTED TO ROAM as our kiss got deeper. He had great hands, and they knew how to stroke innocuous parts of my body until my pelvis was slamming against his. Sometimes this took a few minutes, sometimes a few seconds.
    Since we hadn’t had a real chance for anything remotely resembling intimacy for what seemed like months but was, in reality, only a week or so, it only took seconds. He moved his mouth to my neck, and I started to moan. I heard Jamie make baby sounds and I froze.
    Jeff stopped, leaned up, and looked over. “She’s still fast asleep.” He started kissing my neck again.
    I gasped. “What if she wakes up?”
    “Then we’ll stop.” He nibbled my ear.
    “I hear something.”
    Jeff smiled against my neck. “It’s my breath. The baby’s asleep. Soundly. She’s having happy little baby dreams, I can feel it.” He ran his tongue down to the point where my neck met my shoulder.
    “Uh-huh.” I wanted to howl. But the baby was right there. I clenched my teeth together.
    Jeff started to laugh softly and pulled away from me. “You want to just go to sleep?”
    “No.” This came out like a whine. “I just don’t want to wake the baby up.” I’d never been able to make love to Jeff and stay quiet. I could barely make out with him and stay quiet. A life of celibacy loomed ahead of me, and I started to cry.
    “Oh, baby.” Jeff shifted to a sitting position and picked me up so I was sitting in his lap with my legs around his waist. I was still blubbering. He pulled me against him and rocked me. “Kitty, baby, you’re just tired. Couples make love while they have babies . . . how do you think you get more babies?”
    “Everyone makes fun of how much noise I make. I’m going to wake and scare the baby. And I want to make love to you.” This came out a whine-sob combo. I sounded like a tired little kid.
    My phone rang. I didn’t want to get it, but Jeff grabbed my purse, and I answered. “Hi, Mom.” I sniffled.
    “Kitten, James told us all seems to be well.”
    “I guess.” I tried to stop crying but I couldn’t.
    “You and Jeff fighting?”
    “No.” This was on the quiet side of wail.
    Mom was quiet for a moment. “Is the baby asleep?”
    “Yes.”
    “Huh. And yet, you answered