Mark shifted off Sean, letting him dress in some of his spare clothes and let him buckle the belts to himself. Mark pulled on his thermal suit again, then laid on the bed over the belted down blanket. The bed wasn't big enough for both of them. So, he was using Sean's grogginess against him to put him to bed. Forcing himself to change back, Mark ran his hand through Sean's hair to try and help him drift off. Sean's eyes were closed, but he sleepily asked him. "Mark...? Why haven't you told your mom?" Mark inhaled slowly, then told him in a low tone. "Because... I don't want her to worry. Knowing about all this... She'll live the rest of her life afraid. I don't want her to stop living out of fear. I want her to live." Sean hummed, whispering to him now. "That's a heavy secret to carry on your own." Mark smirked, leaning over Sean's ear to whisper to him lovingly. "Not anymore. Now that I have you to share it with." Giving Sean a brief kiss to his chilled cheek, Mark adjusted the heated blanket a bit to cover him better.

When he was sure that Sean was fast asleep, he slipped from the bed and gathered any floating clothes to put away. Quickly slipping out of the hatch, the Captain and the Commander immediately headed in with sleepy expressions. They could barely keep their eyes open. Mark felt a little bad having kept them from the bedroom, but they were too tired to scold him for it. Miles hugged his son, then gestured him off to join the others. Logan yawned loudly as he passed him, slipping into the room to take his father's bed with a pretty white snake around his neck. Leaving both Miles and Mark without a place to really sleep. After the hatch closed, Miles beckoned Mark over with a clawed hand. Mark floated closer, pulling himself down into a seat to buckle himself in. Miles's own grip with his taloned toes kept him down in his seat. Grabbing a full plastic bag of hot coffee, Miles handed it to him and asked nicely. "Everything good with you two?" Mark blushed, mumbling out as he turned the valve for the attached straw. "Ya. We're good. Sorry... I didn't know we were going to do that... and I didn't think we'd take so much time."

Miles chuckled very softly to himself, before replying in a distant voice. "Don't apologize. Trust me. Those moments are precious... because you never know how many more you get with them." Mark tensed a little, replying gently. "Your wife...?" Miles gave him a small smile, then answered casually. "My first mate. Logan's mom. I was working. She took him on a trip with our friends to rock climb. A skill she wanted Logan to learn. I should have done it... but there was never enough time. Logan barely knew how to do things other kids did because it's the father's job to teach them survival skills..." Mark stayed quiet, watching Miles grip his own bag tightly as he added grimly. "Logan lost his grip... She saved him... but the rock she was on gave out." Miles bowed his head, trying to hold back the water brimming his eyes. After a minute, Miles told him shakily. "After she died... Logan blamed himself and I blamed myself. Life prepares you for a lot of things... but losing someone that makes you feel whole... There is no pain in this galaxy that hurts more... because it should have been me..."

Miles draped a hand over his eyes, taking shaky breaths to collect himself. Mark reached out to touch his arm. There wasn't anything he could say to make him truly feel better. Miles wiped his eyes before the tears could float away, sniffling out. "With my daughter's mom, my second mate. I swore I'd be different... took me a long time to open myself up to her. I cherish her... and it kills me to know that I will outlast her and probably my daughter." Mark swallowed, holding back his own distress over that. No one knew how long the hybrids lived for. Most of the time their medical problems took them early in their lives. Miles hefted a sigh, drinking some of his coffee to calm himself. Leaning back in his seat, Miles told him seriously with gentle eyes. "Like I said. Don't apologize. Because I would do the same thing." Mark nodded, squeezing his own coffee bag a little when he said softly. "Logan didn't seem to turn out so bad. He killed Rip-fang on his own." Miles chuckled, stating out sarcastically. "He had help from you and your mate. And for that... I'm more grateful than I can express into words. As an Ambassador, I can reward you with anything you want. But as a father... nothing will ever equal the value of what you both did."

Mark chuckled lightly, telling him playfully. "Well, Logan did try to eat Sean... So, considering Sean is still in one piece. That is good enough for me." Miles flinched, mumbling out softly. "Ya... He told me about that. I'm really surprised. Logan has hated me and my human sympathizing for years... He even blamed me for his sister's health problems... but your mate actually has him understanding why I am the way I am. I never imagined that he'd do that." Mark smirked, replying cheerfully. "Ya. Sean is... he's a bright star in a dark world. It's hard not to be warmed by his light." Miles nodded, saying softly. "Well put. You're lucky to have him. He braved space aliens for you." Mark rolled his eyes, mumbling out. "I'd been struggling to tell him for so long... That now that he knows... I'm worried. The council... You know they are never going to stop taking humans..." Miles nodded grimly, whispering out. "I've been thinking about that too. I want to fight the system, but at the same time... We don't have the numbers for war. And if the humans knew about us... it would just make things worse."

Mark shrugged, asking curiously. "So, what do we do?" Miles inhaled deeply, before grimly saying. "They say there are plenty of fish in the sea... maybe if we up the fishing a bit... We can buy ourselves a few more years and see where things end up." Mark inhaled slowly, mumbling out just as grimly. "And if that isn't enough?" Miles glanced at the hatch, before whispering. "Then I'll be forced to cause another disaster or pandemic... and if that happens. Keep your loved ones close, Mark." Mark shook his head, grumbling out. "I don't like this..." Miles shrugged, still whispering when he told him seriously. "I don't either. But humans are just not ready... they are too divided and endlessly fighting the same battles of the past... Until they are ready to embrace a true change... It's just not safe. We are all that stands between them and extinction from our kind." Mark slumped back in his seat, grumbling out. "I understand that... but it just feels wrong..." Miles nodded subtly, before saying in a distant voice. "It never gets easier. Save many by losing a few... Or lose them all."

Mark smirked, muttering under his breath. "I think some humans would prefer to just go out fighting..." Miles rolled his eyes, grumbling out. "In the movies, sure. But the reality is that they will always be divided by something. As divided as the Reptilians are... they have a long memory and would only divide to conquer. They've done it century after century. Bringing down empires from the inside when humans revolted or offended them. The humans fall for it every time... and NEVER see them coming. Even now, there are Reptilians on earth that enjoy stirring up chaos to pick them off." Miles shook his head, telling Mark sternly. "Trust me, Mark. If you try to warn them... They'll kill each other off trying to find the imposters. It will be the witch trails all over again. And just like then... They'll kill off everyone except the intended target. It's better if they don't know." Mark turned his eyes on Miles, whispering back seriously. "I won't say thing... but Miles. You can try to keep a lid on this... but one day, its going to get out. And when that happens. Will you be ready?"

Miles shook his head, honestly answering. "I don't know. But I'm not giving up. We just have to take things slow. Starting with the reveal of the tenth planet. By the time the rotation comes around again... We can only hope the world will be ready." Miles cleared his throat, quickly changing the subject as he told him. "Enough of that. I'll handle it. You don't need to worry yourself. Now. Let me see?" Mark raised an eyebrow as Miles extended a scaly hand out to him. Hesitantly, setting his hand in his hand, Miles ran his fingers carefully over his skin. As Mark's hand relaxed, the scales rose up on the skin of just his arm. Miles looked his hand over, saying under his breath. "Fascinating... I'd seen your records, but they really don't do you justice. Does it hurt? Do you shed?" Mark shook a little, feeling uneasy as he mumbled out honestly. "Doesn't really hurt... it's just uncomfortable. Feels like a bad sunburn for a few minutes. My skin feels stiff and rubbed raw... my eyes feel strained... and then it's nothing. I don't shed like you or Logan. I shed like any normal human."

Miles looked over Mark's talons, asking him curiously. "Your father teach you any survival skills? Ever hunted?" Mark shook his head, telling him reluctantly. "No. He passed before I was of... proper age. I grew up thinking I was human... my look and stuff was... naturally suppressed. After he died though... It just kind of came back out with a vengeance and ever since... I can't turn it off. The more I suppress it... the more muscle it seems to bring out. Gets harder to put it away." Miles slid a thumb over the back of his hand to watch the scales glint from blue to red and back. His voice was completely distracted when he informed him casually. "That's normal. Most young Reptilians that grow up around humans unconsciously forget they have scales as they get older. You grow up seeing the way humans look and adapt to that look to blend in and it becomes second nature." Miles looked up into his eyes to tell him in a soft fatherly voice. "Losing him compromised your unconscious control over it. And just like opening a flood gate... it takes time and will power to close those gates from then on. The more you suppress it while your body is growing... the harder it will be."

Miles lowered his eyes to Mark's hand, telling him gently. "If it's burning now... It's only going to get more painful if you continue to suppress it without letting your scales settle." Mark raised an eyebrow, asking perplexed. "What? I already have them." Miles chuckled, releasing his hand before explaining clearly. "Think of it like this. Your body is in a way... inside out. While you are letting your human skin stretch and grow naturally. You rarely stay in your Reptilian skin for long periods. So, changing is painful because your Reptilian skin has to stretch to adjust to how much you've grown. You need to let your Reptilian skin settle. I know a group of Reptilians that run a camp for solitary Reptilians of all ages. If you go there for a day or two. You'll be safe and they'll help show you how to take care of your scales and teach you some important survival skills that could help you curb predator instincts in daily life around humans. My daughter loves it there. And I'm sure she'd love to meet another hybrid."

Mark changed his arm back with a wince but gave Miles a smirk as he said nicely. "Sure. I'll give it a try if you think it will help." Miles patted Mark's shoulder, telling him sweetly. "It will." All through the night, Mark and Miles talked about life as a Reptilian. Some of the advice was very helpful to Mark. Things he wished that his dad had been able to tell him or teach him. By the time the power came back up, they crew got up to have breakfast and both Miles and Mark jumped into bed. The days seemed to go by faster whenever trailing home. After a calming few days, they had finally arrived back on earth. However, while the Ceres landed back at NASA, the Reptilian ship stayed hidden in orbit. Miles told Mark that he'd arrange for them to talk elsewhere. The whole thing made Mark nervous, but he refused to let Sean see it. As far as Sean was concerned, Miles had a plan, and everything would be fine. While being checked out for any health problems after their space travel, both the space force and NASA wanted Sean and Logan reprimanded for stealing AND breaking a million dollar shuttle.

Miles smoothed out things that made it clear that Sean would NEVER be able to get on a space shuttle ever again or within so many feet of one, but Mark felt like he could live with that. As far as Logan went, Mark wasn't sure what his father worked out for him and it wasn't his business to pry. All Mark cared about was that after all the debriefings and contracts they had to sign to assure complete silence on the matter, they were allowed to go home. He was told by Miles that he'd be contacted when the Reptilian Delegates wanted his blood and other medical info. After that, they hopped on a shuttle bus to go home. They were dropped off at a nearby bus stop and had to walk up to the house. Mark held Sean's hand the whole way, keeping him close and listening to Sean tell him every detail of his adventure with Logan. As they reached the driveway though, Mark hung back by the car. Sean moved out to the lawn, turning to look back as he asked. "Mark? What's wrong?" Mark opened his mouth, then closed it as the door opened.

His mother gawked at Sean, asking him a little shocked. "Sean? Why didn't you call? I could have picked you up! You are lucky. The weatherman said it looks like it's going to..." His mom drifted off as Mark stepped cautiously out from behind her car. Dropping her arms from the door, her eyes widened as she uttered out in a wispy voice. "Mark...?" Mark set his bags down and crept across the lawn toward her. Flinging the door open wide, she ran down the steps and practically flew across the lawn to slam into him. Hugging her tightly in his arms, he chuckled as she cried with tears of joy. It felt good to be home. Sean chuckled, trying to sneak by as Chica trotted to the open door. Mark's mom snatched his arm though, pulling him into their hug. It was soon broken up as Chica dashed across the lawn, barking and wagging her tail with uncontrolled excitement at seeing that Mark was home. Kneeling, Mark hugged her and let her drown him in kisses. Until his mother, rushed out. "Well, let's not stand out here! It's going to rain! Come inside and tell us about your trip!" To Be Continued...