Chapter Text
He left absolutely nothing in his will for a future Recurrence, but a single note that said, “Let him suffer in the life given to him.” The rest of his estate was to be divided amongst the three most eligible Abrasax heirs, excluding Titus. Therefore, all of Balem Abrasax’s assets were offered to Jupiter Jones, Kalique Abrasax, and a religious hermit who declined her portion in accordance with her vows of poverty. Meaning, that it too was to be split between Jupiter and Kalique.
Titus sulked for a few days, before buying several new splices and disappearing with them into his chambers. But Kalique absolutely glowed with pleasure and power, arranging her new affairs with all the poise and presence her mother had instilled within her, and gently wilting and weeping when someone gave their condolences. Frankly, Jupiter was absolutely terrified of Kalique, but as long as she wasn’t causing trouble then there were other things to worry about. With everyone she trusted around her and one eye on her sort-of daughter, she began the enormous task of managing not only her own inheritance, but Balem’s as well.
But they figured it out, and things began to fall into some semblance of normalcy. Centuries blew by like dandelion seeds on the wind as Jupiter set about changing the universe. It was just three days after her 1,452nd birthday that the news came to her.
She was in her office, sifting through endless piles of paper work when the door opened. Caine stood in the doorway with the oddest expression on his face as his eyes looked everywhere but at her.
“Caine? Something wrong?”
He took a deep breath and walked slowly towards her desk, a sheave in hand. Extending it toward her, he pressed his lips together and shook his head. She took it warily, eyes still searching his face before she turned her attention to the offending item.
Name: John Doe
Age: approximately 2 weeks old
Weight: 6 lbs, 10 oz
Length: 22 in, 3 cm
Hair: brown
Eyes: grey
Found on the steps of Global Federation Social Care Building #843 in Chicago
Gene print alert: Recurrent being, seeking attention of House Abrasax
Jupiter was in disbelief, reading and rereading the information before her. “I thought Recurrences were supposed to be rare.”
“They are, Your Majesty. But the gene print doesn’t lie. It’s him.”
“Well. We’ve got to go to Chicago.”
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The receptionist openly gaped at Jupiter as she waited for the case worker to appear. She had forgotten what it felt like to stared at with such innocuous curiosity, and she smiled good-naturedly at the young woman, who then blushed furiously and pretended to find something to do on her work panel. The queen chewed nervously on her bottom lip and flipped absent-mindedly through a trashy gossip tablet.
After five or six minutes, she felt Caine’s hand on hers and looked to the doorway. A woman with a strictly coiffed grey bun, a few light wrinkles, and the posture of a noblewoman emerged, holding a small bundle. Jupiter hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until the case worker stopped before them.
“Is Your Majesty certain about this? You are under no legal obligation to care for this child. It can remain a ward of the Federation and be assigned an identity, with all of its genetic history sealed.”
Jupiter took a steadying breath and shook her head, extending her arms towards the woman. She frowned, somewhat disapprovingly, but placed the child in the queen’s arms regardless. Caine thanked the social worker quietly, and with an arm around his wife he guided them toward the door. She was totally silent, and barely breathing, unable to take her eyes off the helpless creature she held close to her chest, and remained so all the way to the lander and back to her vessel.
Once aboard, she finally lifted her head and spoke hoarsely. “Caine, please contact Kalique and Titus. Inform them of the Recurrence, and remind them that this child will not take away anything at all from their holdings. Tell them that any assassination attempts will be met with swift justice.”
“Of course, Jupiter.”
“A-and now, I need to be alone f-for a little while, with… with him.”
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She found a quiet corner of the ship, by a window where she could see the stars as they passed. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she looked again at the child in her lap.
“I haven’t seen Balem in over a thousand years, but I can still feel him hitting me and pulling my hair. You don’t even look like him yet, and I know you’re not him, but I’m so… afraid of you? No, that’s not it. You just pull up a lot of hard memories. I used to have nightmares about him choking me and threatening my family. And again, I know you’re not him, but if I’m having this sort of reaction to you before you even look like him, how am I supposed to raise you? I couldn’t very well leave you alone, down on Earth, but how do I know I’m the best answer? I wish I knew who your parent or parents were. Maybe I could fix whatever problem that led them to leave you with the Federation, and bring you back to them. But maybe it’s something that can’t be fixed. I don’t know. I’m just rambling at you and you don’t even understand what I’m saying and wow, have I given myself a headache from all this crying.”
The baby yawned and opened his eyes, those strange grey-green eyes that used to peer at her through the darkness of her dreams. He blinked and cooed and smiled, and the shard of ice buried deep in her heart began to thaw a little. Her hands soothed his hair and she hummed a little lullaby, tears still falling onto his blankets.
“I don’t want to raise you wrong. I want to give you a better life than he had. Yes, he was rich and powerful and successful, but he was alone, and his guilt drove him insane. I don’t want to be the reason you’re unhappy one day. I want to make you a promise, right now, that I will do my best to make you into a good person. To love you and laugh with you and teach you how to be kind and caring and wise. I hope I can keep my promise, little one.”
Her arms curled tight around him again and pressed him to her chest. He nestled his head in the crook of her shoulder and fell asleep, his tiny baby breaths tickling her neck.
“You don’t even have a name. I guess I should fix that. But what’s going to suit you?”
She looked out the window at the spinning stars, unconsciously stroking the baby’s back as she wondered what to call him. At this moment, she missed her mother more than she had in centuries. Aleksa would know what to do, what to say. Jupiter closed her eyes then, a small smile tugging at her lips.
“Welcome to my family, Aleksander. I hope you like it here with us.”
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She had fallen asleep against the window with the babe nestled warmly against her, when Caine appeared silently. He sat beside her, a frown pulling his face slightly downward as he looked at the baby. The child’s scent was pure. Innocent. But he too had some difficult memories of Balem Abrasax that this child awoke. He lifted a hand to smooth Jupiter’s hair from her face, thinking about the man that nearly killed her. The man he nearly killed.
His wife’s eyes coaxed open, hazy with sleep as they found him. Her cheeks were tear-stained and her smile was weary, but she looked like she was at peace.
“It’s all right, my love. I really think we can do this,” she whispered, her voice dampened with sleep and tears. “Would you like to meet your son?”
He smiled gently, and took the boy from his new mother. Jupiter took a moment to appreciate how natural it looked for Caine to be cradling a babe in those strong arms, and a feeling of well-being washed through her at the sight of her freshly expanded family.
“He’s got your eyes,” he said softly, big hands cupping the boy’s head and patting his little tummy.
“What? His eyes are grey, you silly man. You’d think after over a thousand years of marriage, you’d know the color of your wife’s eyes.”
He rolled his own eyes. “No, I don’t mean they’re the same color. They’re soft and sweet. These eyes are caring and full of wonder. I hope we can keep them like that.”
“Me too, my sweet,” she concluded, moving closer to him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Laying her head on his shoulder, she looked down at their child and prayed for the future, prayed to the stars that she and Caine could do right by this unlucky little creature.