The Family Reunion

Conrad was in the midst of his most alien-feeling situation yet.

He had regained consciousness in a tremendously comfortable bed. For the past several minutes, nothing was showing up to bother him, maim him, kill him, trick him into combat, or even make him get out of bed. Conrad could have sworn that Nana said this particular trial would test him to see how sincere his compassion was. But all he was experiencing at the moment was a profound sense of security and warmth. Unfortunately, this only served to feed into his sense of paranoia, as he was too familiar with Nana's schemes to expect this to last.

The truly alien part of this situation did not stem from his comfort, though. Even during chapters of great challenge and risk of death, Nana had set him up in a situation where had a bed available to him. It wasn't like he anticipated outright cruelty. No, his bizarre circumstances stemmed from the body that he was inhabiting at the moment.

Nana had put him into the body of a woman.

Glancing down at his body, he confirmed that Nana had indeed decided to seemingly challenge him to live as someone outside of his own gender. This didn't seem out of line with what he knew of Nana, though. Forcing Conrad to experience the daily struggles of a variety of different types of people had been what she had done consistently thus far.  But for whatever reason, he hadn't considered that she may do this to him at some point.

"Be mindful of where you touch. This isn't your body, so it would be questionable to get a little too...handsy."

Conrad groaned. He glanced up at the ceiling, and saw Nana floating there lazily, sticking her tongue out at him.

He groaned, looking to the side. "Do you really consider me so uncouth, Nana?"

Nana placed a finger to her cheek, glancing off to the side pensively. "Uncouth is not the term I would use to describe you, no. I would not put it past you to be curious, however."

A sudden cry rang out through the room next to Conrad. He turned to the side, surprised, and realized that a young infant was in the room with him. He got out of bed, rather unsteadily, and moved over to the crib next to him to check its contents. As expected, there was a young life waiting there.

The infant in question continued wailing aggressively, reaching its tiny limbs out in search of comfort. Gingerly, carefully, Conrad pulled the young one into his arms. Going off of instinct, he cradled the youngling close to him, and rocked it slowly until it began to gradually settle down. Glancing around the room, he checked for any items on-hand that he could use to help manage the baby. A small bag with extra cloth diapers was nearby, something Conrad took note of immediately. He also spotted a bowl of porridge, though he was uncertain how long that had actually been out in the open for.

As if reading his mind, Nana piped up. "That's fresh. This woman's husband left that there immediately before stepping out for a while, and he hasn't been gone for too long."

Conrad nodded, smiling. "I appreciate the help. You're normally quite stingy with that."

Nana made a dismissive gesture. "It's for the baby's sake more so than it is for you. Trust me, it is absolutely in your best interests to ensure this child is healthy."

Conrad sat down with the infant and began to slowly, carefully feed it the porridge. "I believe you, but regardless, I want to make sure it's okay for its own sake. It's helpless right now, apart from whatever care I can give it."

"Too true. Go on, then. Let me watch as it drives you mad."

And so, the next few hours passed with Conrad doing his absolute utmost to keep the child from wailing at the top if its tiny lungs. When feeding it didn't work, he moved on to comforting and coddling it, and vice-versa. He experienced his first time having to change an infant's diaper, a process that was exactly as unpleasant as he suspected it was going to be. It was followed up shortly after by more swapped diapers, leading Conrad to wonder how full-time parents had the patience and stomach to do this so often. On more than one occasion, he glanced up at Nana, who merely smirked down at him, as if to silently ask her if she had any interest in taking over.

"I know what that look means, Conrad."

"Is that so, Nana?"

"It is. You're getting exhausted of this." She grinned, and shook her head in mock disappointment. "Don't let me down, Conrad Walters. Where's the grand compassion for your fellow human being you were telling me about? Did you leave it up in Earth's atmosphere?"

"I wouldn't go that far. I just figured you would enjoy the opportunity to help nurture a child."

"And what led you to believe that?"

"Aren't you already like a mother that oversees my whole species?"

"Ooh, clever boy. I hate to break it to you, Conrad, but the maternal feelings I have are a little different than that. I don't exactly like seeing humans in discomfort, but I also know that discomfort is necessary if you are to appreciate happiness too."

Conrad lowered his gaze. "Indeed. We had a heated conversation about that once."

Nana nodded slowly. "Well, the young one's settled for the moment. It should be fine to take a moment's rest yourself."

Half an hour later, Conrad heard a door open downstairs, and a voice boomed out.

"Sorry I was gone for so long, dear. Took me a while to find all the supplies that I needed."

Conrad had been lying in bed, enjoying a very brief nap. He slowly closed his eyes again, realizing the man that had just walked inside very clearly wasn't hostile.

A man walked into the room, one with a short beard and strong arms. He smiled fondly at the sight of his wife lying in bed comfortably, and walked over to the crib. He pulled the infant out of its crib, and placed a brief kiss on the top of its head.

"Your mother and I love you very much, Carmela."

Conrad's eyes slowly opened, and he watched the man exit the room, humming to himself. He slowly turned and stared at Nana, shock painting his features. Nana simply smiled back at him serenely. Conrad sat up in his bed.

"Nana. Please do me a favor. Summon a mirror for me."

"Only because you asked nicely."

Despite her teasing words, Nana's voice was low and gentle.

Waving a hand, Nana summoned a full-length mirror for Conrad to look into. And what he found looking back at him forced the tears straight out of his eyes. She was younger than he remembered. Less wrinkled. But the face was unmistakable, unforgettable. Conrad stared into his reflection, not caring in the slightest about how wet his cheeks were getting.

"I've missed you so much, Cassandra," Conrad whispered.