Chapter 38
Flange Orphanage, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2022, Planet: Grimoire
Once comfortably dressed in sleeping gear and ensconced in a cozy armchair, Doyle enjoyed a peaceful meal in solitude next to a crackling fire. Distantly he heard thunder rumbling and caught faint flashes of lightning. Doyle didn't envy anyone who was caught outside in that horrible storm. No doubt there would be reports of flooding too, if he wasn't mistaken.
Even while eating, Doyle thought about his next steps. No matter what kind of weather was happening outside, he really needed to return to the orphanage the next day. Any further delay would be counted as willful negligence, and he didn't need that ding to his already tarnished reputation as a playboy.
A sigh escaped Doyle. "How did I manage to get a reputation on par with the Commander? At least I haven't impregnated anyone." He'd made damned sure of that. Doyle had even found out that he was sterile. Sterility aside, some reports could be falsified, and he hadn't wanted to take any chances with any affairs he'd indulged in the past.
Doyle thought about something else. "Hmm, I wonder when Tesha will give me the results of the blood tests done earlier." He glanced at the box occasionally and after inspecting it, shook his head.
Something had to be done about their temporary accommodation for the night. The kiddos were too cramped in there. If he wasn't wildly mistaken, they'd already doubled in size. Doyle studied them with shock.
Maybe that had to do with their unique lineage? If indeed they were all of the same bloodline. Speculation aside, Doyle began noticing they had distinctive features that were not at all common to quadruplets.
He shook his head dubiously. "I think I'm too tired if I'm comparing them so minutely." Despite that, he had noticed something from the beginning of discovering all four of them.
Grifton stood out as not looking like the other three at all. Well, whatever, Doyle dismissed that observation for another subject to ponder on once he'd gone sufficient sleep.
"I need to move them to something else, but what?" Doyle surveyed the room with a sigh. It hadn't been set up with hosting babies that was for sure. Though now he wondered if perhaps that was intentional from the one who'd prepared it. "Nope, not going down the paranoid rabbit hole. That is going too damned far."
Doyle rubbed his face with one hand. "As for a solution, hmm, what in here is comfortable and only needs a small bit of rearranging?" This was going to drive him crazy until he could get them out of that box.
Doyle continued looking around the room and then grimaced slightly. So far there was nothing he could find. His eyes lit upon two almost invisible chairs, and he perked up. "Ah, these two chairs will work just nicely for my purposes."
He surveyed where the two chairs were located. Yes, indeed, they would suit his needs perfectly. After pushing a couple of chairs together and padding certain areas with cushions to prevent any squirming bodies from escaping. Doyle put all four babies into the makeshift crib.
Not to his surprise, they all squirmed as he figured they would, and then curled up in small balls after literally putting a small amount of space between them.
Now that he could see them in a brighter light, suspicion hit Doyle hard. "Hmm, unlike what I thought earlier, he doesn't look like the others at all." Could it be his assumption about them being siblings was incorrect? Well, that would be resolved once the blood tests were completed, Doyle shrugged nonchalantly.
Knock, knock, knock.
What the heck? He wasn't expecting visitors this late. Doyle glanced at the clock. Uh yeah, it was nearing midnight. Who was up this late still? Well, other than him of course who was ready to collapse from exhaustion by now.
"Who is it?" Doyle peered at the intercom image. He wasn't about to open the door to whomever it was that came as a guest to Tesha's house.
"It is Tesha." Tesha put her face where he could see it.
Doyle unlocked the door. "Forgive my cautious nature." He allowed her to walk inside. "If I may be so bold to inquire. What did those visitors want?"
After sparing him an amused and startled glance, Tesha shrugged. "Well, at first they thought to interrogate you as to how you'd managed to hear the wailing of the singular infant that still had working lungs."
Doyle grunted. "So, who were they?" Though he had a fairly decent idea but wanted confirmation.
Tesha scowled at him. However, noticing the obvious exhaustion in his gaze. She decided to humor Doyle anyway and rolled her eyes. "That was the Governor Jedidiah Hemsworth and aide Stenton Aryx."
Bah, Doyle grimaced and folded his arms. "Since I wasn't summoned, I'm assuming someone else put an end to their attempts." They were disgusting deviants but managed to keep that part of their nature well hidden, he recalled. Someone must've exerted extreme pressure to make them back down.
Tesha nodded. "Commander Darmono and 1st Lieutenant Brinton." She surprised Doyle with that information. "They provided enough evidence that the child was heard clearly because he'd been the most sheltered of the four from the elements." She sighed. "Evidently there is some speculation of whom they're related to, besides potentially you, and the Commander Darmono."
Well, hell, so much for being exonerated because of public records. Doyle shook his head. He was not going to stand being made someone's father when that was impossible.
Tesha clearly wanted him to give her a good reason why he shouldn't be named a father it seemed.
"Eh, being related to me was a bit of a stretch." He shook his head when giving an explanation somewhat halfheartedly. "I have little to zero draconic blood," Doyle grunted when Tesha signaled that wasn't good enough with her eyes glancing back at the door.
Doyle sighed heavily. "The wee bit that I do have is firmly locked into my heightened hearing." He tapped his ears. "The other being extremely sensitive to the weather and emotional atmospheres around me."