It had been a few days since Daniel arrived on Satri, and Amarvus told him that today they were going to the geneticists to try to figure out where he came from. They went to a building and Daniel was placed in a waiting room with other humans.
"Just call me if you need anything, I will be right in the other room. Alright?"
"Sounds good."
"Good, I will come and get you when we are called." With that, Amarvus left the room. Daniel went to sit down and one person started to talk to him.
"Hi."
"Hey."
"This is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me. What about you?"
"Uh, yeah. It's pretty wild. I'm Daniel, by the way."
"Sally."
"Nice to meet you."
"You too."
"So... how've you been with all this?"
"Ok, not the first part, obviously. That was horrible. But my guy has been nice. How about you?"
"Yeah, she's been nice to me." They talked for a while longer until someone came into the room.
"Sally! It is your turn love."
"Welp, that's me. Nice talking with you."
"You too. See ya." She walked over to the one waiting by the door and was picked up and nuzzled. About 15 minutes later Amarvus came back and called Daniel. Amarvus picked him up and took him to a room right out of a doctors' office. Daniel was placed on a padded table with that paper on it and Amarvus sat down on the chair beside it.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm ok. You?"
"Yes, I am fine." They sat in silence for a moment, then someone came into the room, her light purple hair tied in a ponytail.
"Hello, is this," she checked a screen she was holding, "Daniel?"
"Yes." Amarvus answered.
"Hello."
"Hello Daniel. It is nice to meet you. How have you been recovering?"
"Great, thank you."
"Glad to hear it. Alright, I have the list and containers here. Those go to you," She handed a box and a screen to Amarvus, "and you can take the samples here or at home, just make sure we get everything by tonight. Our drop off is always open. Any questions?"
"None from me. Daniel?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Perfect. I will leave you to it. Just come out of the room when you are ready to leave, and someone will show you to the exit."
"Alright. Thank you."
"No problem." She left the room and closed the door.
"Alright, Daniel. Do you want to do this here or at home?"
"Here is fine."
"Are you ready?"
"I guess."
"Good. We can start with the least invasive ones," he opened the box and rummaged through it until he pulled out a comb, "How about we do hair first?"
"Sounds good." Amarvus brushed his hair until he thought that he had collected enough, placed it in a tube and sealed it.
"Alright, one down!" Amarvus took out a small q-tip next, "Could you open your mouth for me, Daniel?" He did as he was asked. Amarvus gently swabbed the inside of his cheek. Most of the tests were swabs, with varying degrees of discomfort. His nails were cut at one point, and another sample Daniel insisted taking alone. They were soon through the list and were ready to go back. They thanked the doctors and headed for the monorail. "Are you ready to get home, dear?"
"Yes."
"Alright, we will be just in time for lunch." Amarvus boarded and buckled Daniel into the seat. The ride back was uneventful, and they were soon walking back through the door. The kids were right there to greet them.
"Daniel! Uncle Marvus!"
"We missed you!"
"How was the doctor's?"
"It was fine." Daniel returned the kids' hugs.
"Come on! Mama says lunch is almost ready!"
"Alright, you two go on ahead, we will be right behind you."
"Ok!" The kids rushed down the hallway into the kitchen. Amarvus stopped Daniel for a moment before they got too far.
"You were perfect dear. I am so proud of you for doing so well."
"Oh, uh, thanks. It wasn't a big deal for me really."
"You still put up with the tests well. I know they are not comfortable, and I am glad that you got through them so easily."
"Thanks." He blushed as Amarvus kissed his temple.
"Alright, how about we go get that lunch?"
"I think that's a great idea." They walked to the kitchen, where the kids were waiting at the table and Punthia was passing out drinks.
"Welcome back. How was the doctor's?"
"It was fine."
"It went well. He did wonderfully."
"I am glad to hear it. Now come and sit down." Daniel was lifted into his chair before Amarvus helped pass lunch around. They ate and chatted a bit. After lunch, they went into the living room and Daniel took his usual place with Amarvus and Punthia on either side of him, receiving plenty of attention between the two.
"Daniel, may I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure."
"You remember how you drew those plants from your home?"
"Mm-hm."
"Punthia, would you stop petting him for a moment?" She stopped, much to Daniel's disappointment. "Daniel, this is important. I need you to pay attention. Do you think you could draw your planet?"
"Yeah, I can do that."
"You can? That's wonderful!" Daniel was a bit confused. Why would he need to draw...
Oh. Ohhhh. That's a good idea.
"I can even draw the planets near mine. I can't say they'd be any good, but they'd be ok. Would that help?"
"That is perfect! Oh, this should help so much. Thank you, dear!" Amarvus picked him up and spun around, giving Daniel a kiss on the cheek before setting him back on the couch. "I have some paper and colors. Would you like me to get them?"
"Yeah, sure. In a minute. Could we stay like this a little while longer?"
"Of course we can. Come here." He pulled Daniel into his lap and began to nuzzle him, peppering kisses all over his face. It made Daniel giggle uncontrollably as he jokingly tried to fend him off. The cuddle session lasted at least an hour, the kids joining in at some point. Daniel and Oormila ended up nodding off.
"Kangi, will you go get the coloring things out and set them on the kitchen table please?"
"Ok!" He ran off to get the supplies. Punthia gazed at Daniel, who was currently sleeping in Amarvus's lap.
"He's so precious. You really lucked out on this one, Marvus."
"I know, I'm going to miss him when he goes."
"Well, you can always visit him. Might have to. I can't believe it: another world with intelligent life, and poachers found it first."
"Yes, it is impressive how far they will go to make money."
"Yeah, I guess so." She adjusted so Oormila could rest more comfortably on her. "What do you think will happen when you find his planet?"
"I'm not sure. The government will probably want to make contact, but I don't know how they would react to us. Some of them get aggressive when they are scarred."
"You think they'd be scarred?"
"We're twice their height! I would be surprised if they weren't at least apprehensive."
"Fair point. What's dinner?"
"I don't know. What would you like?"
"I don't know. We could get takeout or something."
"Daniel."
"Right, right. Do you have to be so strict about that?"
"Until we know exactly what he can eat- yes, yes I do."
"Ughhh, we could do pasta?"
"Sounds good to me. Who's making it?"
"Oh, I don't know, how about Mister No Takeout makes it?"
"Fine, I'll have to move him, though." He ran a hand through Daniel's hair. Amarvus eventually got up, carefully moving Daniel off of his lap and onto the couch. He found a couple of blankets and draped one over his sleeping form, handing the other to Punthia. He walked into the kitchen to find Kangi sitting at the table, drawing. "Alright, what kind of pasta do you want?"
"Ummm, can we have the swirly ones?"
"Sure thing. What are you drawing?" Amarvus walked over to him, looking at the paper.
"Mama. I tried drawing Daniel. Wanna see?"
"I'd love to." He looked at the paper Kangi excitedly held up. "I love it. What's the scratched out part?"
"I forgot he only has two arms."
"Ah. It's still very good." It was that moment Daniel walked into the room himself, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Hello. Did you have a good nap?"
"Yeah, thank you. I can start drawing things if that's fine."
"Oh, yes. Kangi got the supplies for you. Here, let me help you up." He picked Daniel up and placed him in his chair. Amarvus sat down with them and made sure everything was in reach. They spent some time drawing and coloring together. Amarvus eventually went to find the right pasta for dinner. He found the spirals and started boiling the water. It was soon time to eat, with Punthia helping with clearing the table and passing out dinner. They ate dinner and talked. Kangi wanted to show off his drawings after dinner. Once they had cleaned up, Kangi showed his drawings.
"Daniel, would you like to show yours?"
"Oooh, I wanna see!" Oormila got excited.
"Uh, ok." He showed his crayon renditions of Earth."
"Oh wow. I really like these. Thank you for sharing."
"Your planet looks so pretty!"
"Thanks." They decided to color a bit longer, then played a game. Before Daniel knew it, it was time for bed.
"How long does it take to get the results through?" Daniel asked as Amarvus dried his hair.
"It takes a day to sequence it, the hard part is figuring out where you came from."
"Well, how long does that take?"
"The longest I have seen is a little over a week."
"Oh, ok."
"Hey, you will see home again."
"Can you really promise that?"
"I am confident in their abilities. They have found planets with less information before."
"Thank you, Amarvus."
"My pleasure, dear. Now get some sleep." He kissed Daniel on his forehead.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, love."
A/N: Ok, 2 things:
1. School has officially started! My updates are probably going to slow down. I am going to keep trying to get these out as fast as I can.2. I have been tweaking the previous chapters and was wondering if I should edit the posted chapters. What do you guys think? Please let me know!Thank you guys for reading. I would love to know what you think!