Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story. It's all thanks to Didi.

Chapter Eight: The Option
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"Come on, Key," Amber mumbled, her eyes trained at the couple sitting on the bed. "Ask her already."

"I think her need to breath outweighs his need to ask her about the healing stones," Minjong mumbled back dryly.

"And how are we to help her if we don't know how?" she replied, her eyes full of annoyance. Though she would never admit it out loud, she was just a little more than bothered to see the two together so comfortably. Luna was tiny and delicate, so in need of protection. So unlike Amber with her regale pose and robust health. She knew better than most how men liked to play the knight. And from here, Luna looked just a little too perfect as the helpless princess.

"Yeah but how is she going to answer if she can't talk," Jonghyun pointed out.

"She could nod her head," Sulli suggested quietly and then blushed as Krystal stared at her in shock.

"Will you guys quiet down! They'll hear us," Minho hissed at them.

"They'll hear you before they hear us, Minho." Krystal offered a tentative smile. "You whisper too loud."

He offered her a smile for her effort in keeping things light before turning to Taemin. Their leader was currently staring into the window, eyes glassy with some unseen thoughts lurking the in the recesses of his mind. "Taemin?"

"She's growing weaker," he muttered softly. "I can see it even from here, all the light is going."

"What are you talking about?" Minho asked, his eyes frightened for a moment. When Taemin didn't answer, he reached over and shook him. "Yo, wake up!"

Taemin turned suddenly. "We need to do this fast. She's growing too weak."

"We can see that," Jonghyun pointed to the window. "The question now is what to do about it."

Taemin watched the window again for a moment. "Other than Minho, everyone else go back to the hotel. We don't need so many people here keeping an eye on things, too conspicuous. Sheriff Minjong, can you see about digging up some food?"

Minjong eyed the boy for a moment, hoping he wasn't going to let his heart rule his head. But Minho would be there; he could keep Taemin's head the way Taemin could keep his. "Okay kids, let's go."

"Hey," Krystal protested, not willing to leave yet. "Why does Taemin get to make the decisions? And why does he get to stay?"

Turning dark, intense eyes on her, Taemin replied, "Cause it's my wife and child in there."

The others stared, stunned at the reference even as Taemin turned back to stare through the window where Key rocked Luna quietly as the pain subsided for the moment. It was the first time he had acknowledged his connection to the blonde stranger among them. Always before, he had denied the past, the one that he shared with her in a distance planet, in another life. Always, she had been the one to remind them of their alien past, their connection to another place and another duty, she had been the one that was on the outside of the circle. Now Taemin not only blurred the lines, he's got one foot over them.
 

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"Can I get you anything?" Key whispered, his eyes on the drapes that he had insisted upon when they moved into the low-rent shack. The added a splash of color in the otherwise dismal place. Now he was doubly glad for them, cause they were currently distracting Luna from seeing the frequent heads that pop up and down the sill. *Why did I think they were going to keep away?*

"No," she replied hoarsely, her eyes already drooping with exhaustion. "I'm okay."

"Liar," he admonished gently, brushing back damp lock of hair from her brows. "Some water maybe?"

"Water sounds good," she smiled and opened one tired eye. "Thank you."

"Anytime," he grinned and shifted her back on the bed slowly, careful not to jar her. "How is the baby?"

Luna's tiny hands went to her abdomen. For a moment, her hands glowed gently before flickering out. Her face crumbled and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. *This is for the best, baby. I know it is. We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good, and this is yours and mine.* She swallow the painfully hot tears. "We're going to be fine."

"We both know that's not true but..." he touched her face to gain her attention. "Can it be?"

Her eyes clouded for a moment. There was some urgency in his eyes, an almost desperation that she didn't quite understand. "What do you mean?"

"Luna, we've never really talked about it but..." he glanced over his shoulder, sensing the ears that were pressed to the wall. "But is there any way that the baby can survive on Earth? I know that you said that its biology is completely different and he needed an environment that Earth's atmosphere cannot provide but..."

"It wouldn't matter," Luna replied her eyes sad. "The baby and I are meant to die and..."

"You are not meant to die!" He stood and paced the tiny room in agitation. "You are choosing this path to walk on, so let's not pretend otherwise. You didn't have to turn the granilith around. You didn't have to return to await death. Your baby would have been fine if you had returned to Antar."

"And leave Taemin with no defense against Kris? Let that despot raise my child?" Her blue eyes flashed with anger, alive for the first time in days. "NEVER!" She started at the sound of her own voice, as if not realizing that she had shouted the last word. "Key, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

He smiled at her. "Mother's instinct, that's what." He went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. "Luna, can you change the baby so that he can breathe the air here?"

"What?" her eyes went wide with disbelief. "Why would you think that..."

"I've seen the amazing things that you and Taemin and Amber and Minho have done over the past 2 years." He shrugged his shoulder. "Some of it is like magic. Bringing Jonghyun and Sulli back from the dead, that's... Why can't you do the same for your flesh and blood?"

Luna turned her face away, staring at the wall.

"Luna?"

"It's not the same." Her voice was filled with unbearable grief. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't." She turned to swallow the tears that came. *Damn it, girl. You are Changmin's child. You don't cry. You don't get to cry.* She took a deep halting breath. "I'm not strong enough and I don't have the healing stone that is needed to channel that energy to rearrange the baby's DNA."

"But if you did have the healing stone?" Key’s eyes were intent on the blonde curls, silently urging her for the answer to their prayers. "Then you could..."

"No, I couldn't," she turned to face him, wiping her eyes as she did. "I told you, I'm growing weak. And even at full strength, I wouldn't have the power to do it. You need a healer, a protector and someone to channel that energy through the stones."

Taemin nodded his head slowly. "Taemin the healer, Minho the protector and Amber the..." He frowned. "What is Amber?"

She couldn't help herself. "The love of your life?"

He frowned at her and blushed, hoping that Amber hadn't heard that. "Be serious here."

"I am," Luna nodded and shifted in bed. "And no, it doesn't necessarily have to be Amber though the other two is correct. Taemin is the healer; his powers were always to fix the wrongs in the universe. Minho is the protector; the external force of his powers makes him ideal to safeguard the king. Amber and I have introverted powers, which is why we have mind powers, her dream walking and my mind warps."

"The difference in ?"

She shrugged. "Who knows why but that would appear to be the case won't it?" She smiled and reached out to touch this hand. "Hey, let's talk about something else?"

"Luna," he held her hand and asked seriously, "Would you do it if it was an option open to you?"

Glancing at the hands that held hers tightly, she looked up frightened as an unbelievable thought occurred to her. "Key, tell me you didn't try to contact Taemin and the others."

"Luna..."

"Tell me you didn't call them," her eyes wide with fear.

Key nodded his head. "I didn't call them."

For a moment, she tried to read his eyes for the truth. When she saw the clear untainted truth there, she fairly wilted with relief. "For a moment there I thought..." she laughed weakly. "Of course you wouldn't betray me." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I know I can trust you with my life."

He swallowed hard. *Please forgive me, Luna.* He forces his lips to smile for her. "Luna, I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt you. I'm only trying to help."

"I know," she leaned back in bed and sighed. "I know that you care."

"And don't you forget it," picking up the dishes. "Luna, you didn't answer me."

Bright blue eyes turned to look at him with regret. "The option isn't open to me so it's not even something I want to contemplate, it hurts too much." She smiled at him with longing. "It's a nice dream though, to think they'd try to save me and my baby." She sighed and closed her eyes.

Thinking she was falling asleep, he turned to leave.

"Key?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for the waffles."

"Any time."
 

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Taemin leaned against the wall, heart pounding with anticipation. Grabbing Minho's arm, he moved around the house stealthily. He forced open the front door without trouble and waited for Key as he washed up the dishes in leisure.

Key wiped his and sat down in the beanbag that acted as sofa, couch and overall decoration for the room. "Well? Did you hear?"

Minho made a face. "Yeah, we heard." He turned to Taemin. "When?"

"I'd like to do it tonight, but it won't be too safe to do so." He looked toward the door that was slightly ajar.

"Key," Key assured him with a save of his hand. "She usually sleeps like the dead after an attack. She won't be stirring for another hour or two."

Frowning, Minho moved to take a peek at the girl. She was a deathly pale face against white sheets surrounded by a halo of springy curls. "Do they come often?"

"More frequent now than before." Key turned to Taemin. "Why not tonight?"

"Energy gives off light, especially the healing stones when activated." Taemin explained even as he too moved to stare at the vision not obscured by fluttering curtains. "God, she looks so helpless."

"Yeah," Key sighed and rubbed his eyes. "That's probably because she is. Taemin, she's getting weaker by the hour, I can feel it."

He nodded and motion for Minho to follow him. "We'll go back and get the stones and Amber. You said that she'd sleep for some time, right? It'll be another hour before sunset. Maybe we can pull this off while she's sleeping."

"Yeah right," Minho shook his head in disbelief. "No way in hell she's going to sleep through it Taemin. And once she wakes up, the first reaction is to toss the lot of us out on our ears, literally." He looked to Key. "Tell me her mother's-instinct isn't going to blast us from here to kingdom come before she realizes what's going on."

"He's right," Key pointed out and began to make himself a sandwich. "You're going to have to get her agreement to do it. Otherwise, you're looking at a fight here."

Taemin nodded slowly, seeing the logic in it. "Okay, then maybe I need to have a talk with my wife."

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Anyone here who knows a TUNA fic i can read? These days Minho is getting in the way and disrupting my TUNA feels and add the WGM thing w/ Naeun... even though i don't watch it or purposely check updates on it i somehow read about everywhere... I wanted to post some Minho/Luna interactions so bad here but since it's TUNA i can't.. I'd have to update MUF to do that....

Comments!!!!!