“We must contact the others, now that they are all free," Kee said seriously.

In the past, at Least one of those families would be men that were good at Keeping and training children during the day. Hodlen's family didn't want to use unrelated Child Keepers if they had an option. Family would be the best to care for the young.

“Things are going back as they should be," Rynal said happily. "This is how we always wanted to live. We have dreamed of this a long time."

Our conversation was cut short as the boys grabbed our attention.

"Daddy," Jonathan suddenly wailed loudly, "I want to swim! We didn't get to swim enough this morning!"

We all looked at my upset Little boy. The tunnel to the bathing pool was coming up and Jonathan obviously remembered that.

“There might be aliens," Mycah said as his eyes lit up with excitement and then I saw the fear.

“Do we need to fight the aliens in the water to swim every time?"

“They might catch us!" Rees intoned sounding alarmed.

Niah's little teeth grew and I saw him getting upset. The boys were caught between excitement and trepidation. They wanted to swim, but the big aliens were something to worry about.

Damien's calm voice settled the boys as the men picked them up.

“The aliens that got inside are gone now and won't come back," Damien said.

“We barred all the entrances they were using. Men protect those entrances now, also. There are no aliens to fight and none will catch you. Your older family will protect you. In the morning we will swim again

The little ones looked around at the ten powerful men. It eased the distress that they had been feeling. Mycah in particular seemed to relax in Spartian's strong arms. He wasn't solely responsible for his small family anymore. My family realized how much better this life would be for our boy. He and his Brothers should grow up protected and loved.

“My Brothers and I cannot swim," Tos said as we passed the damp tunnel leading to the bathing hall.

“We lived in a dry area. There was very little underground water and none above ground. We have never learned."

Evan shrugged and patted the other man's arm in reassurance. There was no shame in this lack of ability. Certainly this family would have much to teach us. We would share everything with them.

“We will teach you, cousin," he said simply.

We took our evening meal in the dining hall early tonight. Hodlen's family was hungry after the long trip here. Damien thought they might be tired, also. Since they would have to work for the camp tomorrow, we should give them food and let them rest tonight.

After our meal we retired inside our private rooms. There were lots of men in the main communal area, but none of us wanted to be around such activity. Despite Hodlen's initial reservations about Damien and his Brothers, I got the impression he felt a duty to this extended family. His family really wanted to know my husbands.

Hodlen and his Brothers had brought toys for Mycah and his Brothers, which I was glad to see. The small wooden swords would be useful for practice later when the young ones were healed. They had also carved small figurines of animals. The boys played make believe games with those as we talked. It kept the Little ones distracted and happy.

The mats that the other men used for sleeping were spread on the floor around our fire pit. The men sat on them or sat in the few chairs we had. They Lounged and started to get to know one another