28 December 1996

Jared always tried to make Christmases special, even now that his son was a college student, an adult. It had just been the two of them since Alyx was eight. He’d always felt he had a lot to make up for. If there was a way to make up for a child losing their mother.

Another holiday had come and gone, and he had done his best to make sure everything went exactly right. There were breakfast and gifts, dinner and a phone call to his sister and her family back in London, and there was church because that was what people were supposed to do on the birthday of Christ, though he was sure he had stopped believing in any of that a long time ago. And then Alyx had passed out on the couch like he always did, as he always had since he was a small child, about halfway through How the Grinch Stole Christmas! each time. They were both comfortable, warm, and happy, and they still had a few weeks before Alyx was set to leave Seattle and go south for school again. 

What the plan for the remainder of their holiday activities had not included was freezing rain or several feet of snow, and they were on their second day of being homebound by both.

“When is it supposed to stop?” Alyx was standing with his shoulder against the wall, holding back the curtain with his fingertips. He’d been staring out the front window watching the snowfall, since they’d finished with dinner. “I thought it was already supposed to.”

“I don’t have a clue, kid,” Jared said as he set the last fork on the drying rack and shut off the tap.

Alyx raised an eyebrow. “But I thought your job gave you special insight.”

Jared scoffed. “Not into the weather.”

“Lame.”

“If you say so.”

Alyx let the curtain fall closed and looked up at his dad. “Would you even tell me if you did?”

“No,” Jared admitted. “You know I don’t want you to be any part of it.”

“But doesn’t me knowing make me a part of it?”

“Yes, but you don't need to be anymore involved than that,” Jared said. “You need to know in case something happens. That’s all.”

Alyx didn't say anything. There was no need for him to.

Jared had a dangerous job. He was the leader of the largest underground organization ever known to man: the Societas Pacis Universalis. It was beyond the comprehension of most humans, dealing in alien powers and anything and everything else their world’s science couldn’t explain.

It was not a topic he liked to acknowledge in their home, and Alyx knew it. His family had spent generations as the center of the Societas, and he wanted that to end with him. He wanted his son to have the chance at a normal life he had been cheated out of, and he had worked too hard to start letting him into Societas affairs now.

He picked up a cookie tin and shook it. Something rattled within it, and he held it out to his son. “It’s almost empty. Eat these so I can wash it.”

His lips twisting into a smirk, Alyx crossed the room and snatched the tin from his father’s hand. He tossed the lid aside. It clattered on the table. “You say that like it’s a punishment.”

He removed the three remaining cookies, clutching them in his fist as he held the tin back out to Jared, who took it, chuckling. Outside, a gust of wind shook the house, and something slammed against the front door. They both stopped.

Jared’s eyes lingered on Alyx. He could feel that his face had gone white, and he watched as his son’s expression transitioned from unconcerned to dark and wary upon seeing the look in his father’s eyes.

He shoved the cookies into his mouth and swallowed hard. “What?”

Jared held up a finger, shaking his head. It could very well have just been the wind, but he couldn't be certain. He could never be certain.

“Don’t move,” he said and took a step toward the door. He kept his movements slow, his hand still raised for Alyx to stay where he was. His other hand reached behind the books lined up on one of his shelves, his fingers wrapping around the cold metal of his handgun.

The door shook with the force of another impact.

“Dad.” Alyx’s voice was barely a whisper. All Jared could do was shake his head and glance through the peephole. Nothing was there, but again, the door shuddered. as he reached the door and glanced through the peephole. Nothing. But again, the door shuddered.

Jared thought about not opening it. He could keep the door between himself and his son and whatever was outside. They could brush this off and go back to their mundane evening. But he could feel that even if he tried to do that, even if he kept the door shut, he couldn’t stop whatever was coming.

He unlocked the door and twisted the knob, raising the gun as he swung it open. He could see nothing but his front porch and a cloud of swirling snow.

“Do you always resort to violence so quickly, Mr. Calore?” The voice had come from the short path just beside the porch, the path that led up from the driveway. There stood someone who looked like neither a man nor a woman, wrapped in a blanket-like cloak. Their skin was an alarming shade of pale green. “I was assured you were the right person for this job, but this little outburst of yours would suggest otherwise.”

“This…” Jared shook his head and lowered the gun. “What?”

“There are few humans who have experience with our Universe beyond this galaxy, but you do. You’re the leader of the only organization on Earth that regularly deals in legitimate otherworldly powers. Are you not?”

“How would it be relevant if I was?” 

“Exodus sent me.”

Jared nearly dropped the gun altogether. Everything from strange sightings and paranormal activities to ancient mythologies and artifacts were within his jurisdiction. He was often witness to proof of the existence of life outside of Earth’s atmosphere, but only once had he met one of those other lifeforms himself. 

Years ago, at the site of a portal-like anomaly in Egypt, he had met a group of people who called themselves extraterrestrials. Among them was Exodus Lachlan, a man who looked human enough Jared almost hadn’t believed he was of another world at all. Exodus had handled the situation with practiced diplomacy, assuring Jared that his presence on Earth was merely an accident. All he needed was to return himself and his people to their home. Then, he could close the portal. That would be the end of the story. And it was. The Extraterrestrial King was a man of his word.

“My name is Blake, Blake Barringer. My king sees you as a friend, and I hope he’s not mistaken because we need you now,” the person, Blake, said.

Jared frowned. The cold air was biting his skin through his sweater, and he could hear Alyx in the kitchen, beginning to move. He wanted to turn and yell at him to go upstairs and shut himself in his room, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off of Blake. 

“You think I’m here to hurt you, but I’m not.” Blake created a small opening in their cloak. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Jared to get a glimpse of what was pressed against their chest before they closed it again. A sleeping baby. “I’m asking you to take her.”

Jared’s heart stopped. “What?”

“Things went sideways back home.” Blake had stepped onto the porch, but Jared hardly noticed. His attention was encapsulated by the child, the child sent to him by an alien king. “The Lachlans haven’t lost power yet, but they will soon. They want to ensure their daughter will not meet their fate.”

Jared could barely hear his own voice. “And they want me to raise her?”

Blake nodded. “As your own.”

Alyx had appeared behind Jared, ignoring his father’s orders to stay back. His eyes were wide as he stared at the baby, but his body was relaxed, his shoulders back and his hands dangling idly at his sides. “Okay,” he said and shrugged at the look Jared shot him. “It’s just a baby.”

“It’s not just a baby, Alyx,” Jared said. “It’s the rightful heir to the throne of another planet.”

“So it’s an alien baby.”

“I—” Jared shook his head. “I mean, yes, I guess so.”

The corner of Alyx’s mouth curled upward. “Dad, a baby is a baby. It’s like a stork—” He glanced at Blake— “no offense—just came to our house, and now we have a baby. That’s actually awesome. Can you not admit that?”

Jared’s heart wanted to follow Alyx’s reasoning.  Something deep in the fibers of his soul wanted to admit that everything happened for a reason, that this was happening because it was supposed to. This baby was supposed to be his daughter; Alyx was supposed to have a sister. But he couldn’t discount all the years he had spent working to keep Alyx away from his extraterrestrial affairs. It didn’t matter how much this baby girl needed him. The family he already had needed to take precedence over everything else.

“Dad,” Alyx said again, holding his hands out to Blake. “Can I? Please?”

Blake’s eyes flickered, as they opened the cloak again and removed the baby from the wrap she was secured in. They held her out to Alyx, and he took her. She was small—her skin not the green of Blake’s but a pale peach—still asleep despite the cold and commotion around her. If he didn’t know any better, Jared would never have questioned whether or not she was human. 

Alyx brought her toward his chest, a slight tremor in his hands, and looked back up at his father. His eyes were green, brighter than they had been before. He looked, for the first time in a long time, hopeful. “Merry Christmas?”

There was no going back. There hadn’t been since the moment Blake had opened their cloak. Jared exhaled. He could see his breath like a puff of smoke in the winter air. “Merry Christmas.”

Alyx’s face broke into a grin. In his arms, the baby had opened her eyes and was staring up at him, her mouth open and one of her little hands clutching the fabric of his shirt. He maintained eye contact with his father, as he slunk away from the door and only broke it when he received a nod of approval, reluctant though it may have been. It was all the affirmation he needed. He disappeared up the steps, his voice trailing down as he called to them, “She’s going to stay in my room until we get her a proper bed!”

Jared scoffed, but Blake’s face had relaxed, the tension between their eyebrows and jaw dissipating. A moment of silence passed between them.

“He’s always wanted a sibling,” he finally said, “but I’m afraid this isn’t the way he should be getting one.”

Blake’s face didn’t waiver. “How do you mean?”

“This is risky. I’m hiding her. What if they come for her? Whoever it is that the Lachlans are so sure they’re going to fall to. Whoever it is one of the most powerful men I’ve ever met is afraid of.”

“Exodus is not afraid. He just isn’t a fool. And as far as my world is concerned, she’s already dead. It won’t protect her forever, but it will protect her for now. Until she can protect herself. Until she realizes she isn’t aging as humans do and begins to explore what that might mean. You have time.”

Logically, that made sense, but Jared knew it wasn’t true. Time didn’t work the same when a child was involved. Not so long ago, Alyx had been a baby too. Then, in the blink of an eye, twenty years had passed, and he had become a man. “It’s never as much time as it seems like it is.” 

“Raise her as a human,” Blake said. “Don’t tell her who she is until there is absolutely no way you can avoid it. Protect her. Can you promise me you’ll do that?”

Jared nodded. “I promise.”

“Good.” Blake took a step back. It was subtle, but a signal that they were about to walk away, snowflakes in their hair and the wind swirling around them. “Her name is Aurelie, but if you are to keep her secret, you should give her another. She’s your daughter now.”

They turned their back to him. Their movements were slow enough that he could have reached out and grabbed them if he wished, but the thought never occurred to him. He let them go, watching them wander down the drive until they were out of his sight. 

He stumbled back, the door creaking on its hinges as he pushed it shut. He still had the gun in his hand, and he could hear Alyx talking to the baby upstairs. He was no longer the only child Jared had to protect.

He made his way up the stairs and down the upstairs hall to Alyx’s doorway. Alyx had created a heap of blankets in the center of his bed, and the baby was lying in it as he dangled random trinkets over her to see if anything held her attention. Nothing did.

He glanced back at Jared. “Hi, Dad. What are you thinking about?”

“Your mother’s middle name was Blanca,” Jared said. He didn’t know where it had come from, but it was the first thought that came to his mind when Alyx turned to him. Maybe it was the way he had looked at him. With the same faraway look of joy she had once had. “I think that’s what we’ll call her.”

“I like it.” Alyx smiled softly. He turned to the baby. “What do you think?” But she was already asleep again.

“We need to get stuff for her,” he said, getting to his feet.

“Yes, we do,” Jared said. There were a lot of things he had to do, from the regular baby things to taking the steps to ensure she was properly integrated into human society and hidden from the world she’d been born into. He would do his best and hope it was enough.