Natasha woke to the sounds of gentle stirring beside her. “Lights twenty percent,” she ordered As a doctor she had years of waking up on the fly and ready for action. Now it was different. Yes she was tired waking up but it was a satisfied tired, a content tired. Her body seemed to have instantly adjusted to a new circadian rhythm: her newborn sons. “Hello little guy,” she said softly looking at him in the low light of the room. The baby seemed to settle a bit as Natasha stroked his cheek with the side of her finger. The contented moment would not last for long though so Nat slid from the bed, picked up the baby and headed into the living area.

Entering the living room, the first thing she saw was her husband at his desk working with only a small light turned on. “Did you really come to bed,” she asked him taking a seat on the couch. It had only been 48 hours since they arrived back on the Saracen with the baby yet that 48 hours seemed like two weeks. After being checked out by medical, Natasha, Dante, and their infant son returned to their quarters and slept for hours. This was only possible because Ally spent the last eight hours in the apartment caring for the new baby. All new parents said they could do it all but the reality was women stayed in the hospital for a reason. It was to give your body a chance to recuperate. On her own ship, Ally would have forced Natasha to comply. On another ship with a different captain, Ally was the one to comply.

“Of course I did pumpkin,” he lied to her softly, watching her take a seat on the couch and smiling at his wife and child. “I woke up not long ago and decided to let you two rest more, I had a few things to look over anyway.” He didn’t for a minute think that he was going to get away with the lie, the five empty coffee cups and crusts of a sandwich that had dried hard hours ago still sat on the desk beside him.

“You know sleep deprivation has the same effects as a heavy night of drinking and while I love you with all my heart…Dante, you look like a functioning alcoholic,” she let out a laugh. Dante was what she called ruggedly handsome. Only while in the academy had he been clean-shaven. Since graduation, he wore the slight scruff only a few men were able to pull off. His expression was often one of deep thought but his eyes always bore the tone of his mood if you knew how to read them. Natasha had learned over the years to read Dante’s mood by the look in his eyes. Right now Dante looked tired but happy.

“But I smell better than a night of heavy drinking, so it’s not quite the same.” He joked and came to his feet quietly. Their little Neonato was awake but still sleepy and he didn’t want to startle or scare the young boy. He could handle a battlecruiser and grit his teeth while a hole was torn in the side of his ship, but the little man in Natasha’s arms was now more precious to him than even the Saracen and he was still earning how to handle his new role as a Father. The reality was, Dante snored. He had avoided sleep so that Natasha and Neo could get a few hours without him summoning the hive mother. “I’ll sleep soon, I promise love. I just had some paperwork to follow up on after our vacation. How is our little Neonato?”

“So I know we don’t officially need to have a name for him before a month but anything strike your fancy? Vyktor isn’t bad,” she suggested. “What do you think? Are you a Vyktor,” she asked stroking the side of his head gently. Natasha was Russian through and through. She was superstitious and did not give up her traditions easy. The recent big one was to not celebrate or buy anything for the baby until after they were born. The IFEA carts were brimming with a multitude of item ready to be shipped the second the baby arrived. Doing so beforehand was a symbol of bad luck. The second was that no one but the immediate family met the baby before two months. Natasha wasn’t planning on that long but a month wasn’t out of reason .

Lt. Natasha Knight CMO

You want to call a baby Vyktor?” Dante grinned at her while he walked to the replicator. “That name will automatically make him the terror of the playground, you know that right? Klingon children will cower in fear of the Russian-Italian with the piercing eyes and mop of black hair called Vyktor Knight. Vyktor Knight love, did you say it out loud? It’s like calling a child Bruce, I should know, my brother is Bruce. Not you, your name is just fine.” He said to the large Lizard that had emerged from the bedroom as well and was looking at him suspiciously as he described how terrible Bruce was as a name. Bruce hadn’t left Natasha or Neonato’s side once they had returned home, and it had taken some deft negotiation to make him let Ally near his family at first. He had slept on the ground right under Neo’s bassinet since they had arrived and left the bed to the big two legged people.

Bruce waddled over to Dante and stared for a second. He was not going to let his father get away with the comment but how to exact his revenge. It had to be swift and pointed. After several moments of contemplation, he decided on the ankle lick. It was quite effective in both causing a reaction but not getting his mom or dad mad at him. Flicking his tongue out, he let it wrap around Dante’s ankle like a bullwhip. It was a weird mix of hot, wet and slightly cold before Bruce pulled it back into his mouth. The humans found this sensation to be less than pleasing which was exactly how Bruce felt about the jab at his name. Looking at Dante once he flicked his tongue out once rapidly before scampering back to Natasha on the couch.

Natasha let out a full-bodied laugh seeing what transpired. “Wow, Dante you do need sleep if he didn’t see that coming,” she rocked the baby slightly in her arms. The look on her husband’s face was priceless. Few things snuck up on him yet Bruce always seemed to find a way to play the role of an evil villain who lived to strike another day. “Come here buddy,” Nat patted the seat next to her. Bruce didn’t wait around but scampered back to the couch intent on outrunning his father.

Dante laughed as he took the cup of coffee from the replicator, the scent of the strong coffee flavoured coffee filling the room in seconds. It only took a few steps and he was with them, placing the coffee on the small table beside Natasha and sitting down beside her on the couch. “Let me take Neo my love, drink you coffee.” Gently taking their baby he cradled him on his arm and brushed a lock of hair from the childs forehead like he often did with Natasha in their intimate moments.

Natasha gently slid the baby into his arms as she reclined back onto the couch.

“Good morning my little Cucciolo,” Dante reverted to the Italian as he spoke, some words simply sounded better in his native language. “Did you sleep good, yes? I bet you are hungry, I know I am.” He looked back up at Nat as he held Neo, “I wrote a few names down. I like Ariosto as a middle name, it’s a proud name in Italy, a warriors name and a poets name.

Captain Knight, CO

“Aristotle,” she wrinkled up her nose. “You mean like the philosopher?” Natasha loved her husband. She loved how much he loved his family and his heritage but she was not in love with Greek poets. Especially when it was a name someone wanted to slap on her child. She wanted him to have a regal name like his father. It was no secret the second reason, Natasha nee Daye, cast a glance at Dante was because of his name. The first had always been his looks. Natasha would never say otherwise. Dante was hot.

“If we are going with historic names what about Ivan Knight or Aleksei,” she took a long drink of her coffee. “I mean baby we need a strong name that can grow with him. Aristotle,” she said not sure exactly how to pronounce what he said moments before, “is too.....philosophical?”

Lt.Natasha Knight