Radioactive

"Night is the life that we hold so dear."

---

Taniss lifted Amaryllis into his arms, carrying her towards the bed. He pulled the blanket back and laid her down, pulling it up to her chest. She rolled over onto her side, throwing a hand off of the edge of the bed. He had considered leaving her on the floor so he could get the bed, but he decided against it. He grabbed the extra comforter and tossed it to the floor, along with the majority of the pillows. He finished making his spot on the floor, standing up when he heard Amaryllis let out a noise. He wandered over to the side of the bed to flip off the lamp, glancing at her one last time. Her hair was splayed around the pillow, one hand tucked up under it and her mouth parted as she let out a sleepy sigh. He didn't notice the door open as he bent down and pressed his lips against her forehead.

"Woah," Harpers voice made him jump, and he threw himself backwards away from the bed, seeing her leaning against the door frame. "Calm down in here, we've already got one baby on the way."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "She passed out. I was just--"

"Kissing her?"

"I was--"

"Fantasizing about what you guys could be?"

"Har--"

"You'd have cute kids."

"HARPER." Taniss sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He dropped his hand to his side and gave her a soft look, "could we talk?"

"Sure." She walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, patting the spot beside her.

He glanced at Amaryllis before he joined her. "I know you're probably tired and you were probably trying to fall asleep but--"

"No, Matt passed out and took up the whole bed, so I went to find a crane or something to move him. He's heavy. What's on your mind?"

Taniss fidgeted uncomfortably, tugging at his sleeve. "I have a problem."

She nodded in agreement, "you have lots of problems."

"I think I might be..." He swallowed, shaking his head.

"Please don't say pregnant." Harper interjected, earning herself a look.

"...developing feelings for Amaryllis." He finished in one quick breath, letting out a long, hard sigh.

Harper gaped at him in surprise, her eyes widening. "I think...I'd rather you be pregnant."

Taniss put his head in his hands, "this isn't funny, Harper. I'm freaking out!"

"Why it such a big deal?"

"Because it's just crazy, and I don't have time to worry about stupid crushes. I'm trying to get us all out of here alive. And now we have the baby to worry about. I don't need to be distracted by things like this!"

Harper self consciously ran a hand across her belly. "The baby wants you to tell Amaryllis how you feel."

Taniss laughed at that, "the baby is too young to want anything."

"Seriously!" she cried a bit loudly, causing him to shush her and glance back at Amaryllis to make sure she was still unconscious. "You really should tell her."

"I can't do that." He tugged at his hair in frustration. "Harper, what do I doooo?"

She sighed, patting his head reassuringly. "There's not much you can do unless you tell her. Just try and figure out what it is exactly you're feeling first, so there's no confusion."

"Maybe it's just a crush." He said, trying to convince himself. "A lame old crush."

"Yeah, like those girls you went to college with."

That only made Taniss groan and pull at his hair again. "She's not like all those girls from college. I can't explain, but something about her is just different. Somehow she got under my skin and in my head, and I can't get her out."

Harper smiled at him, "that's actually super cute." She told him, nudging his shoulder.

"Cute won't get me anywhere." Taniss sighed, "my head is throbbing, and I feel like I may throw up. I'm just gonna go to bed and I hope I forget everything in the morning."

Harper pulled him into a tight hug, "It'll be okay, Taniss. Amaryllis really is great, and she could possibly return those feelings."

He only shook his head in response, offering her a sad smile. "Thanks, Harp. But I honestly don't have time to be worrying about this. Things are what they are, I'll learn to deal. Now go to bed, it's past your bed time."

She playfully punched him in the shoulder before she got up and left. As the door shut behind her, she caught a glimpse of Taniss brushing Amaryllis' hair out of her face.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Harper awoke to a rocky stomach, and ran to the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach. When she emerged from the adjoining room, Matt was still sound asleep. She scowled at him as she shut the door behind her and started off down the hallway. Brown was already in the lab, right away, staring at a vial of something on the table in front of him with a critical look. He only glanced up when she stopped at the side of the table. "Oh, hello Harper." The way his gaze slid over her made her uncomfortable, especially since she was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt she stole from Matt. She'd picked up that he was a bit strange, but the longer they were around him, the weirder he seemed to get.

"Hello." She answered warily, turning her attention to the vial. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's something I've been working on."

"What is it?"

"How far along are you?"

Harper looked alarm at his question for a second, "Um, six weeks."

He nodded seriously, squinting his eyes at the vial. "I can't wait to see the specimen."

She glanced around the room, confused. "er, what?"

"I mean, the baby."

She protectively crossed her arms over her stomach, taking a step back. "Um, okay."

He turned his gaze on her, snapping his eye goggles back into place. "I wish I could get a closer look."

"I, uh--" she began awkwardly, her eyes widening in alarm. "Matt is uh, waiting for me, so I should like, skidaddle." She gave him nervous smile before turning and fleeing from the room.

She made it back to her and Matts borrowed room, and threw herself on the bed, shaking him. He sat up in alarm, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Doctor Brown is a major creep, get me out of here." She demanded.

Matts eyes widened, and he grabbed her by the hands. "What? Did he hurt you?" He looked her over as he spoke.

"No, he didn't touch me. Just the things he says."

"What'd he say to you? He didn't threaten you, did he? Or the baby?"

"Not exactly, he just--"

Matt sighed, letting go of her and slumping back against the pillows. "Harper, you worried me!"

"He says creepy things about the baby, Matt! It's weird! It's like, all he talks about to me."

He smiled apologetically at her, "You're just being over dramatic."

"I am not!" She insisted, folding her arms across her chest.

"Come on, don't stress yourself out over this. I don't think that's good for you or the baby."

She glared at him, "I'm pregnant, not fragile."

He let out a heavy sigh. "I can't help but worry about you. It's a natural reaction."

"If you worry about me, then you can't leave me alone with that guy. I'm really creepy out."

Matt sighed and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only 7:00. "I wanna go back to sleep." He whined, tugging at her sleeve.

Reluctantly, she laid down beside him and pulled the blanket up over her head, her back turned to him. She felt him inch closer to her and wrap an arm around her, his fingers lightly brushing over her stomach.

-*-*-*-*-*-

It turned out that Amaryllis had been extremely drunk, so she couldn't remember anything from last night. When she woke up and found Taniss passed out in the same room as her, she had to make sure she was fully clothed and so was he. She sighed in relief. She went into the bathroom to get ready. When she finished getting a shower and slid on some clean clothes, she opened the bathroom door to see Taniss reach down and grab the hem of his shirt, pulling it up over his head, revealing his toned stomach. Her mouth fell open with an audible snap, and she dropped the towel that she was using on her hair. She crouched down and fumbled around for it. By the time she grabbed it and picked it up, he was smirking at her.

"Like what you see?" He asked, lifting an arm up to try and smooth down his messy hair.

"No." She answered weakly. She cleared her throat, "seriously, put on a shirt, fatty."

He laughed. "Fatty? That's not what you were saying last night."

Her eyebrows furrowed together. "What was I saying last night?"

"You don't remember?"

"No, guess I was pretty drunk." For some reason Taniss looked a bit annoyed by this as he turned away and dug through his backpack for another shirt. "Anyways," she continued lamely, "i'm gonna go find Harper." She couldn't help but feel perplexed when she could feel his eyes on her as she crossed the room.