Naming the Cubs

*Kamila*

Mark's words echo in my head for a moment as I try to process what he's telling me.

King Gene has sent his warriors to kill us all.

Normally, I would laugh at something like that. It's not like Gene had warriors that he was actually afraid of. He's a clumsy idiot who can't even tie his shoes, so he would seriously doubt his ability to do anything that would actually hurt me or my kids.

But that's fair. I look around the room and see their little faces, all sleeping except Tristan's daughter who looks at me like I'm a snack, probably because I'm a snack to her, and that baby eats almost as much as her dad, but the fact that my babies are here now, I can see them and touch them with my hands, that makes me nervous.

“W-what do you mean?” I ask Mark, my voice shaking with every word.

“Damn it, Mark!” Tristan says, shaking his head at the other ET1, his hands balled into fists on his hips. —Why do you have to be so direct?

Mark's eyes widen slightly. —She deserves to know what's happening with our babies.

“Sure, she deserves to know, but you don't have to tell her like it's the end of the world,” Tristan shouts, and I know we're all on edge. It's been a stressful few days, weeks, maybe even months, and we're starting to lose patience with each other.

Reece chimes in, his tone calm as he begins to explain to me. "It's Gene, honey, so we all know there really isn't much to worry about." Only he's got a new guy who thinks he's stronger than all of us, and he's sending him to cause trouble. Believe me, like all of King ET1 Gene's men, this guy is not much of a challenge for us. We can get rid of it without any problem. All you need to do is worry about resting and feeding these babies when they start asking for mom.

Even as Reece is talking, Tristan's daughter begins to complain. I don't like to think of her as just her daughter. She needs a name. They all need it.

"Guys, before you go, and I know it's important that you get to Kelly as soon as possible, Eli, I think... we should name these babies."

“We were going to leave that in your hands, beautiful,” Eli tells me. I can tell he's distracted and wants to leave, and I don't blame him. Kelly is one of my best friends, and if something happened to her, she would be heartbroken. I hope she's just lost in the woods....

“Okay,” I say, seeing everyone nod at me. —Well, I would like each baby to have a name similar to each of you so that there is no doubt who her parents are. So...she was thinking, for Tristan's daughter, Trisha.

“Oh, I like that,” Tristan says with a smile as he looks at his curly-headed daughter. She is already sucking on his fist. -What do you think? Do you like Trisha?

“Can we call her Trish for short?” Reece asks, laughing, and Tristan, who hates being called Trist, stares at him.

"No, you can't," he says. He picks her up as she starts to growl and hands her to me to feed. Tristan leans in and kisses me quickly, and now I know this little glutton is my sweet Trisha.

As I hook her up to feed her, I say, "The other girl, Reece, your daughter, I think we should call her Reeva."

"Reeva?" he repeats, his eyes beginning to shine with tears. “I love it!” Her daughter is still sleeping, but he gently pats her chest, and she sticks her tongue out.

—Eli, how about Ethan for your son?

He nods and smiles. —Yes, that's great. Could his middle name be Kenny, after Kelly?

“I like it,” I say, thinking everyone will need middle names now. Naming so many babies is difficult....

—Mark, I've been having trouble finding a name that's similar to yours for your son. I know it's not very similar, but how about... Matthew?

—Matthew?— When he repeats the name, he doesn't react at all, and I'm afraid he won't like it.

“He will be the next king, right after you,” Tristan reminds the other ET1, and he has a point. By King Gene's decree, not only is ET1 Mark supposed to be the new king since his son was born first, his son is heir to the throne.

“ET1 King Matthew?” Mark says again. -Alright. Yes. Let's go with that.— He's nodding and seems to like the name, and I relax a little, happy to have finally found names for all my children.

“Okay, guys,” I say. —Go ahead and save the world, but be careful.

-Don't worry. “She reece and I will be here,” Tristan as...ures me.

Reece leans down and kisses me. “We won't let anything bad happen to you or our babies,” she says, and I believe her.

Eli comes closer and kisses me deeply. "We'll find Kelly," he says. —I have already as...embled my team.

Mark is the last to kiss me, and he takes his time. It's not until Tristan says, "You know my daughter is watching, right?" that Mark stops.

Mark stares at him, then says, "I'll be back as soon as I interrogate these traitors." He's got his ET1 face on now, and he'd feel sorry for anyone who crossed his path if they didn't deserve it for what they've done.

While two of my men leave, the other two sit in rocking chairs that the nurses have brought. I think Trisha is almost full, but soon, someone else will wake up and want to eat. I'm surprised that my body has the power to create enough milk to feed all of my babies, but then, I had a magical body that was able to create all of these babies to begin with, so why should I be surprised?

“We did some DNA testing, just to be sure, and we're sure which baby is which,” Reece explains to me.

It hadn't even occurred to me to do something like that, since from the moment I saw each of my children's faces, I knew who their parents were, but that makes me happy.

Despite all the chaos around me, I lean my head back and seek sleep. I'm worried about Kelly, but that's all I'm worried about right now. I know I am safe and my babies are safe too.

My ET1s will never fail us...