Earth, Sophie is 23

Mickey has always been dedicated to his kids. I really love that about him. He does everything in his power to make sure that they are happy and that they will have safe and fulfilling futures. He factors them into every decision he makes, balancing their wellbeing with his medical work, which he obviously also is really passionate about, and also the fact that he loves travelling and learning about different planets and cultures and things. It’s one reason we get along so well, we’re able to swap stories and fun facts about cool things we’ve learnt between my research and his trips. I was surprised when he decided to move to Earth, to that alien settlement off the coast of the islands in Kendari, but honestly he’s been thriving there. I can’t think of anyone who would better be able to care for the wide variety of aliens that live there, and he’s always raving to me about different places he’s travelled to with his girls on days off; Aeteoroa, Japan, Europe, India. Even the comparatively dystopian city I grew up in in Britain. The weirdest part of it for me is that at this point I’ve seen far less of my own planet than he has. So disconnected from it all.

A big ongoing issue in the Earth area of space, one which makes most human troubles look tiny in comparison, is the poverty and displacement of the Raklings due to their dying planet in the wake of the destruction their military wrought in the intergalactic war that was occuring when my people were only just discovering space travel, the Raklings one of the major players; leeching their own resources and poisoning their world so they could assert supremacy over the other planets out there, I guess. Rak is one of the closest planets to Earth, and it’s not uncommon for us to take in some refugees from their planet, since unfortunately some of the best technological advancements have not been able to do much for Rak itself. Though the Science institution’s expeditions set out in part to make up for the lack of reliable information about the wider galaxy due to that war, my father’s Eridanus ship did not go to Rak, and so neither did I. Most of what I know about it is from lessons as a child, or from Mickey discussing it with me after he started having Rakling patients on Earth, and decided to learn more about their culture and situation. I think Kris works with some Raklings too.

This has led Mickey to having contact with some Rakling aid organisations, and to the discovery that there is a sizable number of Rakling orphans that are being relocated to Earth to find stable homes for. He’s talked before about wanting more kids, about being open to adopting and opening his home to kids who don’t have family. So all of this has led to Mickey very seriously looking into adopting a Rakling child. But he tells me over a call that he’s feeling quite nervous about it, and I find myself offering to go along with him as emotional support.

So here I find myself on Earth, accompanying my best friend to his adoption appointment with this Rakling facility. I am obviously an orphan myself, but I find myself completely unable to put myself into the roles of these children. I never had time to experience the foster system on Earth, or consider the potential of being adopted by a new family. I know Rachel and Kris had a mixed experience with their foster family, the Hestersons. None of that is like what Mickey is hoping to do, to welcome a new kid into his family and take care of them as his own. Raklings are completely unlike humans or Ranigronians (Mickey’s species) in appearance. They have five limbs including a sort of prehensile tail thing. They are towering and skeletal, kind of scary looking really. Not that appearances mean anything; they’ve just adapted for survival after all of the crazy things their planet went through over hundreds of years. I personally think they look cool.

Anyway, so Mickey and I are in this facility talking to the people about the logistics of adopting a Rakling child. It’s a daunting concept, as there’s obviously a lot of trauma involved. Mickey peruses different files and I try to give thoughtful commentary on how compatible his family would be for each Rakling. We end up deciding to talk to a twelve year old Rakling girl named Zara.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to be contributing to this situation and I’m incredibly distracted by the thought that twelve is not that far off the age I was when my ammi died, and I ran away from home rather than face something like this. I feel like I would’ve resisted any new family or guardian. But then I think of Louise, and of Aldred, and I think maybe I can understand this girl’s perspective a little.

We are taken to a room to meet her, and she’s of course a huge Rakling almost taller than Mickey, but she’s also very shy and delicate. She starts off talking very softly, giving short answers to Mickey’s questions about her interests and what she thinks about Earth, and other such things. She slowly warms up, telling us she likes writing, and reading poetry, and jewellery. Her jaw splits into a bright smile at the pictures of Mickey’s daughters that he shows her. She starts asking him about his house and his job and the Alliance.

She’s very interested in what we have to say about when we used to live in Alliance Base 17. She thinks it’s very cool that I have machine skills. I say maybe I can build something with her sometime.

“So do you work at the medical centre too?” she asks me.

“Oh, no, I don't live on Earth, actually.” I try to say apologetically but the Rakling girl perks up and she looks so excited.

“So I can go to space? And live on another planet? That would be amazing!”

This is when I realise that we have done nothing to establish that I am just here for moral support, and not actually part of the adoption process.

Mickey and I exchange a swift glance, trying to figure out how to do damage control. “You don’t want to live here on Earth?” he asks her gently.

“I don’t mind.” She says. “I like the idea of visiting different places though, you’ve done lots of travelling right?”

“Yes I have.” he says, smiling fondly.

“So I could live with both of you? Take turns maybe? And maybe we can go to other places together?”

We stare at each other, astounded by this boldness. But I can see that Mickey likes this girl, and honestly I do too. I feel bad telling her no, and the cogs are turning in my head.

“We’ll see what we can do.” I say, and when the meeting is done Mickey debriefs with me.

“Is that honestly something you’d be okay with?” he asks. “Adopting her together and coparenting?”

I shrug. “I don’t see why not. Well… I’d need to talk to Abigail first of course. I don’t know what she’d think. But if Zara likes the idea of it, I don’t have a problem. I mean, I don’t know much about parenting but she’s already a teenager. I can’t mess up too badly right? When I was her age…” I don’t finish the thought.

Mickey puts a grasper on my shoulder. “You’d be a wonderful parent, Sophie. But let’s not discuss this any further until you talk to Abigail then.”

So I get out my communicator and I explain the situation to Abi. She hums and huhs thoughtfully and although it’s kind of crazy she is nothing but supportive and okay with the situation. She briefly talks to her parents about it who are also weirdly cool with the idea. Abigail and I haven’t really talked about kids before, her brother has three kids who are fun and of course we love Mickey’s girls but I don’t think either of us had been like, desperate for kids of our own. But this is a teenage girl, an alien, someone we’d be coparenting with Mickey. It’s a crazy idea but it’s not that crazy. I still have some reservations though.

“Mickey seems to think I’ll be a good parent and she seems so excited but I don’t know. I feel like I’m gonna just mess it up somehow.”

“Don’t be silly, Sophie.” Abigail says. “It’s a big responsibility but you've done so many incredible things in your life. You have so much to offer her, you really do. It will probably help too that you're human, since her and Mickey are both still adjusting to living on Earth.”

“I mean, I barely-” I bite down on the stupid sounding thing I was about to say but of course Abigail catches it.

“Barely count as human?” She finishes for me, sounding amused. “Even if that were true, it sounds like this girl is interested in you as a parent, not in a human.”

Of course I know she's right, as she always is. So I go back to Mickey, and tell him we’re committing to this. We have to deal with all sorts of important administrative business, but by the end of the week we are showing Zara around Mickey’s unit within the floating settlement. It's at the top of the complex so half submerged and half exposed to the surface. She introduces herself shyly to the three girls, who are overjoyed at the prospect of a new sister. We have discussed logistics and decided that she will settle in here for at least a month before visiting Flauraan.

Much later, Zara is sitting on her Rakling adjusted bed in her room in the unit and I am sitting at her desk, muddling over dimensions and thinking about how to alter the guest room in Abi's house to accommodate her. Luckily Abi’s parents, though surprised, are willing to roll with this new arrangement. Mickey is sorting out bedtime with the other girls.

“Sophie?” Zara speaks up suddenly and I jerk out of my focus and look over to her. She is looking at me thoughtfully.

“Yes, what’s up Zara?”

“What should I call you?” Zara asks quietly. “Mickey said I can call him dad, but I don't know what to call you.”

I smile at her. “Whatever you want. I don't mind.”

“What did you call your parents?”

My smile gets a bit fixed. I get up and sit down next to her, taking this more seriously. “You can call me ammi, if you want to.” I tell her softly.

“Okay, ammi,”

My chest hurts for some reason.

The night before my inevitable return to Flauraan, with all the girls asleep, I sit with Mickey in his room, hands wrapped around a mug of one of his alien teas. We've both been a bit overwhelmed with all the goings on of this week, although neither of us expected adopting a kid to be easy obviously. But still.

I notice Mickey is smiling tiredly at me and I raise an eyebrow at him, equally tired. "What's up?"

He shakes his head, still smiling. "I'm just... I'm so happy to get to do this with you. To have Zara as our daughter. Thank you so much for being there for me through all of this. I love you Sophie."

Our daughter. I haven't thought about it like that and for a second the responsibility of it all almost unbalances me but then I get over it and grin widely. "I love you too Mickey. Of course I'll always be there for you. And Zara. And your girls." I trace the lip of my mug as I struggle to put into words what I'm feeling, but it's difficult to say out loud. "You've always been like family to me, now it's just slightly more official."

I know that he knows what a difficult topic family is for me, and so I don't even blink back the disobedient tears that start to gather in my eyes as he sweeps me into a wordless hug.

I don't know. I don't know. A very real part of me is so scared to have taken such a big leap and taken even partial responsibility for a living breathing person. It's almost astounding how terrified I am. But an equally real part of me feels that this is right, that I'm doing something right, and I just need to trust that feeling and do what I can to make it true.