How Green Becomes Wood

"No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Cooger said quickly, waving his hands, "I mean there'll be screaming and blood but it's all normal and healthy, you know? The body is made to open up and all that, nobody'll be surprised by it or nothing, and it happens real slow, which is why she's been going through it since early this morning!"
 
Xander lifted his head to give Cooger a look of pure, face-contorted horror. "Body... open up?" he rasped weakly. He dissolved into vague squeaking noises as he waved his hands in disbelief, vaguely conveying what he thought about the body having to open up amid blood and screaming that was not related to alien attacks.

Alec gave Cooger a faintly exasperated look and put a hand on Xander's shoulder. "Look!" He pointed at the screen. "Alien fights! Oooo! And see the guns? And the really cool lady taking care of business? Isn't that cool?"

Xander glared at him and whispered hoarsely, "I am not five! Even if that is really cool!"
 
"Well, I mean, y-yeah?" Cooger replied, holding his hands up slightly as he looked between the two. There was a reason he didn't want kids! "But you knew that, Tarot said she took you to an exhibit...? It doesn't like, rip open or nothing," he had enough tact not to mention how women could tear during the process, "but it expands so everything is big enough. Like a balloon or when you use a car jack to lift a car."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "But hey, we don't ever gotta go through it! And people keep having babies so it can't be that bad!"
 
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"I think I am going to be sick," Xander said in a faraway voice.

Alec gave Cooger the dirtiest look he could muster. "Shh!" he scolded. To Xander, he said, "We don't have to talk about it anymore, okay? It's all gone. It's all going to be over. Everything is going to be just fine. Just breathe. And please don't be sick. You're going to be fine."
 
"You wanted to watch the movie!" Cooger exclaimed, not knowing what to do and not able to ask about it. He looked around a bit frantically and then just pet the dog, murmuring, "You should drink some water."

Ironically, as Xander expressed he felt he was going to be sick, Daizi actually was.
 
"You're the one who drew parallels my innocent kid brain hadn't even thought of," Xander shot back. "Let's just... see how it ends. There's only one chest... only one of those. So. Yeah." He moved to the far end of the couch and slumped down, pouting and still pale.

Alec sat between them, not really sure what to do. "Okay... I guess we'll watch the end... and I'll go get some water."
 
"How was I supposed to know you hadn't thought of it!" Cooger replied, settling back in, "it's only the most common joke people make about the scene. But you won't have to think about it for the rest of the film, so that's good. It's a classic!"

He tugged lightly on his beard, having certainly under estimated the reaction Xander would have to his joke. Hopefully the kid didn't want kids, or if he did, wanted to adopt or used a surrogate who wanted her family around and not the baby's family, because if he ended up with a wife in labour, she'd probably sock him in the nose. Best case scenario. It wouldn't be fair to him or nothing. But it'd happen.
 
Xander sat on his end of the couch, trying not to pout and somewhat failing. This was supposed to be funny to scar Alec, not turn it into another learning/enlightening experience for him! Maybe someday he'd face this phobia, but it sure wasn't going to be today thanks to some stupid sci-fi movie. Gradually, though, he relaxed and let himself enjoy the rest of the movie.

Alec hugged his knees, eyes wide, gasped each time someone died, crooning a little for each death. It was so tense! It was so horrifying! None of it was even as gruesome as the chestbuster, just tense.

For the last fifteen minutes as they watched Ripply fight to survive, Alec and Xander drew together, hanging on tight and barely breathing as they waited to see what would happen.
 
Cooger finally settled down when it seemed both twins did, while the storm only picked up and the rain came down harder.

As the credit rolled, he checked the time, "It's later than I thought it would be. We should probably head to bed, lads."
 
"Alright, bed," Alec agreed, trying to keep his voice from trembling. "Night time."

Xander nodded. "Yes. Bed time."

They didn't move for a bit.

"Can Enkidu stay in the bedroom with us?" Alec suggested.

"If he'll allow it. I don't know if he will," Xander agreed.

They stood up and started moving together to get ready for bed.
 
"It'll be okay," Cooger assured them, "you slept in Tarot and Dark's house when you barely knew them, right? And before that you slept on the streets. I know this is unsettling and weird, but it's also nothing you can't handle." He got up, making a show of also going to bed, "and Enkidu is pretty much the most loyal dog in the world, and he sleeps in bed with Dark and Tarot. I'm certain he'll follow you if you call to him. Hell, he'll probably take up more than his fair share of the bed."
 
Xander and Alec glanced at each other. It wasn't staying in a strange house that bothered them. No, that was something they were well accustomed to. No, it was the idea of an alien crawling around on the walls and trying to sneak up on them. That was far more terrifying than sleeping on the streets. On the streets, at least there were dumpsters. No one ever looked in the dumpsters. They were the safest place to be - if also a last resort, especially if there was school the next day.

They just smiled and nodded and went to brush their teeth and change into something comfortable for bed. They let Enkidu into their room then curled up on the bed together, assuring each other it was just for warmth, that was all, and not because they were acting like small children after watching a scary movie. Nope. That wasn't the reason they nestled up together and pulled the blankets over their heads, not at all.
 
Cooger went to bed, not thinking about how the movie was affecting them, since he had been told before about how Alec had some nervousness about sleepovers and going on overnight vacations.

It wasn't hard for him to fall asleep, that had never been a problem for him. But a few hours into his night's rest, his phone rang, waking him up. They didn't speak long, although he wanted to, and only about ten minutes after the call, he hung up, and went to the guest bedroom, somewhere between groggy and alert. He knocked on the door, but expecting to find them asleep, walked in anyway, "Hey, y'all up?"
 
Xander actually relaxed and fell asleep rather quickly once he'd gotten settled down with Enkidu and Alec. He didn't sleep deeply, but he did sleep.

Between the scary movie and the unfamiliar surroundings, Alec barely managed to doze. He was used to, in the past, sleeping wherever they could manage, but he wasn't used to that anymore, and just because you're used to something doesn't make it easier to do, just easier to handle. Now, well out of practice and with a lot on his mind, every creak woke him with a start. The alien was going to eat him. Daizi was suffering with the baby. The alien was after Xander. He needed to be home with Dark. All of it swirled in his mind like a cloud.

When Cooger let himself in and spoke, Alec sat bolt upright. "Please don't alien me!" he squawked, waking Xander.
 
"Don't worry," He held up his hands, "Not gonna alien you or nothing. Everything's okay. Actually, everything is okay. I just got off the phone with Dark. The baby's been born. Both she and Tarot are doing just fine. Apparently she's tiny, but she cried and everything. But he said because she's so young they have to take her to the hospital to help her out a bit-- Don't freak out, she's doing well enough that Dark said we're able to go to the house and meet her now, or wait until morning to meet her in the hospital."
 
"Who are we meeting?" Xander asked groggily, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes.

Alec grabbed his arm and shook it. "The baby's here! We can go see her!" He frowned, biting his lip. "But maybe... is it better to let Dark and Daizi take their time with her?"

Xander shook himself awake. "It takes forever to get to their house from here. That's enough time, right, Cooger? Come on. Let's go see if the fuss was worth it."

"You're horrible sometimes," Alec said dryly before scrambling out of bed to get better dressed. "Oh, dear. I didn't pack my best."

"Why would you pack your best?" Xander asked.

"First impressions are important!"

Xander hesitated then pulled out his clean shirt and brushed it off carefully before putting it on.
 
"If you two had said you wanted to wait and go in the morning, I would have gone without you," he admitted, "but you don't have to worry about giving them time, she was born over an hour ago."

He watched them go to get dressed and sighed, realizing he should probably change out of his pajamas too, so he walked out to change, sending a quick text to Dark to let him know they were coming. After he changed, he walked out and caught back up to the twins, "Ready to go?"
 
"An hour ago? She's already an hour old?" Xander frowned.

"It takes time to clean things up," Alec said carefully. "Besides, he had other things on his mind. Like holding her and helping Daizi hold her."

"Good point," Xander admitted.

They hurried to the front door and waited for Cooger. "Will we be coming back? Or can we stay home?"
 
"I have no idea," Cooger admitted, being smart enough not to mention they also had to wait for the placenta to be delivered. When they stepped out, he glanced to to the sky, it was only drizzling, then, "I think that's up to them. You were only with me because she was in labour, now she's not. But I think it's better to leave Enkidu here for now."

He got into the truck, starting it after the twins got in, and began driving to the house, going a bit faster than maybe he should have, but not so fast as to be dangerous.
 
The twins both gave Enkidu assurances that they'd be back then climbed into the car, the rain dampening their hair as they did so. Alec leaned forward in his seat, peering forward as if he could see through the rain to their home even from here. Xander sat back, arms folded, silently dealing with the flood of emotions battling inside of him. There was a lot to deal with!
 
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