Mira was exhausted once the Ceremony was complete. The melatonin she had swallowed was seeping through her, and every muscle in her body was exhausted from climax.

The Council man left once it was finished, and Ezra wrapped Mira in a blanket and cradled her into his chest. He carried her through the gardens, and into the palace. She woke up enough to stand when they entered the bedroom, and she started for the shower when Ezra pulled her by the waist back against him.

"The juice needs to sit for the night."

Mira was too exhausted to argue about it. So, instead, she walked over to the bed and fell into it. "What does the sap do?" She asked with her eyes closed. Ezra climbed in next to her, letting her crawl up next to him and lie her face against his bare chest.

"It promotes fertility, and it's good for your skin in general. It does all kind of things."

"Don't you think it's kinda creepy that guy wanted to clean your cum into my mouth?"

Ezra was confused. "Creepy? No."

"Where I come from, that guy probably would be considered a perve."

"It was his job to make sure we performed the ceremony properly. The council members used to be part of the fertility drink, before humans came here and it was seen as a violation."

"You mean, they made women drink more than one guy's juice?"

"Not unless she wanted to. They usually wanted to. The more you drank the healthier the womb is for the baby. But at the very least the other participants would help please the woman."

"I see."

Mira drifted to sleep, but Ezra stayed awake, watching her dream for several minutes before his eyes fell from her peaceful face to her stomach.

For the first time in his life, he actually thought he might want what his parents did. It was strange to him, given the life he had before her. He was more than happy sleeping with girls who would never get pregnant. He liked it that way, no strings attached and no possibly responsibilities or expectations. It was just fun and casual. But with her, everything was different. He wanted to make her happy, but he also wanted to keep her for himself. It was a strange sensation, one he knew he only felt because of where she came from, and from embracing her culture. It was more than just that though. There was something about her, maybe it was her prudence or her stubborn mind, that made him never want another woman again.

He lifted his hand and gently placed it over her stomach. She traveled thousands of miles across the universe to have his baby. And as soon as she did, she wanted to go home.

But he didn't want her to leave. He realized that the moment his hand touched her stomach. He wanted her to stay, and he could force her to if he wanted, being who he was. But he wouldn't. He'd never force her to do anything. But he would do everything in his power to try and convince her to want to stay.

He dreamed about what their life could be like in ten years, the palace full of children and he waking up with her in his arms every morning.

When his eyes opened again, he was surprised to find that she wasn't in the bed at all. He got to his feet and followed the sound of her humming, finding her in the shower. He stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her use a bottle of gel used to brush teeth to wash her hair. He couldn't help but laugh, and the sound startled her.

"How long have you been standing there," she said, her hand over heart. The water rained down from sprinkles in the ceiling, and there was no shower curtain to hide her. The bathroom was all open, just like the Jayku's were.

"Long enough to see you found the tooth gel." He gestured to the glass bottle of it on the floor near her feet.

"I thought you said that one was soap?"

"No," he said, walking over to her and pulling a glass jar off the shelf beside the shower. "This is the soap."

Mira groaned, rinsing her hair out quickly. "Why did I ever try and navigate this shower without you," she laughed, and he slipped into the water with her, pulling her into his arms.

"I'm sure you'd of figured it out eventually."

"And use all your toothpaste in the process."

They both laughed, and she laid her cheek against his chest as the warm water rained down on them. She remembered the night before, how weird things had gotten. She was uncomfortable just thinking about it, but it was over. She forced the memory of their strange customs and ceremonies as far away from her front thoughts as possible, and kissed his watery lips. He worked the right type of soap in her hair, over her shoulders, down and around her breasts, and then over her stomach.

His hands paused for a moment over her belly, and as much as he was supposed to want a baby, as much as he had begun to like the idea of having a child with her, he didn't want her to be pregnant. Not yet.

"What's wrong?" She asked, turning the water to a slow mist by pulling on a rope off to the side.

"Nothing. I just wish we could go back to that beach house and stay there forever."

Her worried expression shifted to sadness. "It was nice there... But I was wondering... Do you think I could call home today?"

Home. Her family on earth. Not her new life here, with him. Something crept up into his heart and began to sting. "It's been exactly a month since you arrived," he realized. She had been counting the days, which meant no matter How paradise like their life had been so far. She was still thinking about home, still missing her sister and her family. There was nothing Ezra could do to change that, and he knew he shouldn't try. It would be wrong. She came here to help continue our species in exchange for medicine. That's all. Falling in love was not part of the contract.

"Of course you can sweetheart," he said, and he kissed her wet forehead and stepped out of the shower and into the frosty air.

Mira stood there, watching him wrap himself in a large, dried leaf that acted as a towel. She could tell something was up with him, she just wasn't sure she wanted to face whatever it was.

She finished washing herself, and she got dressed in a pair of long, white, silky pants and a pink shirt that hung loosely to her shoulders that barely covered her belly button. She found a pair of slippers that wrapped around her bare feet like thick bands of beige ribbon. When she was finished dressing, she found Ezra waiting for her on the other side of the door at the top of the platform that acted like an elevator to his room.

But he had something in his hands. He hadn't been waiting for her, he had fetched a tablet for her to call her family.

He handed her the device, a glass sheet with digital touch screen buttons. She knew how to work it because they had similar ones on earth. This must have came with her here, and she could tell just by looking at Ezra that he had it all along. But she hadn't been allowed to call anyone. That was the rules, not his rules, but the people who organized this whole selection thing.

"Thank you," she smiled, taking the tablet and backing up into the room.

"I'll give you some privacy."

She nodded, and as he turned away, she shut the door behind him.

Ezra went down to the kitchen to fetch them some breakfast, and Mira sat on the bed and pressed the button, and typed in the number for her families tablet.

It was her brothers face that appeared first. He grinned at her, but the sadness was creeping just below the surface. "The prodigal sister finally calls," he joked.

"I know, I'm sorry. They don't allow calls for the first month... to let us get settled." She rolled her eyes, making quotation marks with her fingers. "How are you, how is dad and Ava?"

"I'm good. Dads still a drunk. And Ava is completely cured, thanks to you."

Relief washed over Mira. She only had time to deliver the medicine before she was shipped off to a distant planet.

"Thank the stars," she sighed. "I've missed you guys."

"We've missed you too," Jax said, licking his lips. "How are you doing Mi?"

It felt like it had been a hundred years since he heard her brothers voice, since she heard the sound of her own nickname, since she had been home among her own kind.

"I'm fine," tears swelled in her eyes. "It's been fine." She was failing at sounding convincing. "Sorry," she sniffed, wiping away the tears from her eyes before they fell over.

"Mi," Jax said, giving her a sympathetic look. "You should have never agreed to this."

"That's not it," she shook her head, swallowing the lump forming in her throat. "I think I'm actually falling for this alien," she admitted, taking a deep, shaky breath.

Jax stared at her for a moment, confused.

"And I miss everyone so much," she laughed through the cries she was holding back.

"You will see us again, Mi."

She licked her lips, and took another deep breath. "Is Ava there?"

Jax smiles sadly. "Yeah, let me go wake her up."

Jax carried the tablet through their little cargo container home, up a flight of metal stairs, and into the room her and Ava once shared. The red metal walls were painted with all sorts of decorations and designs. Some of them were from when Mira herself was just a little kid.

"I've got a surprise for you," Jax said gently.

Ava groaned sleepily, trying to wave Jax away.

"Hey Ava," Mira said, not a hint of sadness in her voice. She was good at being strong for Ava.

The ten-year-old's head popped out of the swarm of blankets and pillows and she gasped as soon as she saw Mira's face on the screen.

The three of them laughed at her shock, and Ava practically leaped to take the tablet from Jax. She started rambling on and on about how much she missed her and how school was going and her favorite teachers and her favorite books. And Mira listened quietly, loving every moment of her crazy little sisters ramblings. After several minutes, she finally took a breath and stopped to ask Mira how she was.

Mira smiled at her little sister. "I'm awesome. This place is like a fairytale."

"Really, you're happy there?"

Mira refused to let Ava see her upset. "Mhmm," she nodded. "But I can't wait to come home."

Ava yawned. "Are you able to call us more now?"

"Yeah, of course. I can call you when it isn't the middle of the night there. Love you V."

"Love you Mi."

Mira hung up the phone, and tossed the tablet to the foot of the bed, exhaling deeply as she laid back into the soft, leaf-stuffed pillows.

After a few seconds, Ezra stepped inside with a tray of food, and he set it down carefully on the round, glass table in the corner of the room. He then turned and looked at Mira.

"They need you more than I do," he said, looking over at the wall behind the bed.

Mira but her lip, not certain what to say. It was true, her family did need her, and she needed them. But she had never anticipated how much she would care for him. "We have months before we have to think about it," she said, sitting up and taking his hands to pull him onto the bed. "Right now I just want to enjoy being with you."

He swallowed hard, laying down beside her. "I thought you might be hungry, considering you didn't eat much last night," he cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm starving," she admitted, kissing him quickly.

"Well eat then," he laughed, and he got to his feet and brought the tray to her. As she started on the fruit, he asked about her life back home. And reluctantly, she began to tell him everything, sharing memories she hadn't thought of in years. It hurt at first, talking about them, but then, slowly, it felt good to share the truth with him.