The sensation of falling registered in her mind a split second before she realized what was happening. Twisting her body, she cushioned the baby in her arms and landed hard on her side. Pain lanced through her arm, but the cry that erupted out of Sabin was reassuring. Mel could also hear Julia crying in her crib, and that too was reassuring. She reached out her mind to her daughter and sent calming thoughts so that Julia knew she was still there. I’m coming baby, she said as she punched herself into a sitting position with one arm. Melaia laid Sabin in her lap and quickly looked him over, gently squeezing along his arms and legs to make sure nothing was injured. The boy quietened a little bit but was still crying, so she rocked him gently. Where was her husband?

Jon?!Are you okay? Is Julia okay? They had been getting the twins ready for bed and she was about to settle Sabin in after he got their daughter settled. She was still sitting in the middle of their living room floor.

The emergency lighting was dim but cast enough light to see over the red alert flashing that made her mind go on overdrive. Had the ship run into something? She almost tapped her combadge to call the bridge but then remembered it wasn’t her ship and it wasn’t her call to make. A sobering thought, but at the same time easier given the baby in her arms.

Speaking of which, her right arm still hurt quite a bit and she had to focus extra hard on soothing Sabin to keep the pain from upsetting him. Ever since their gastropod friends made her aware of the twins sensitivity to high emotions, she’d tried hard to filter hers as much as possible.

~Melaia Reez