Bri chuckled and shrugged. "I ask myself that all the time. Being on the run kept me busy enough not to think about the fact that we were losing Mom and Dad every day."
Sheena nodded. "I know. I've often wished they'd had us when they were younger. I never understood why they waited until the end of their lives. Mom would never really discuss the matter with me."
"Me neither."
Sheena sighed and closed her eyes. "All this trauma has made me tired. I think I need a nap before I meet anyone new."
Bri drank until she found the bottom of her mug. She did feel better. "Okay. What are we supposed to do with your walking vibrators? Are you going to share the secret code to run the good stuff?" She inclined her head until it pointed at the wall.
Sheena laughed and closed her eyes. "Stop joking. They're not programmed for anything sexual. I can't believe I forgot about my special boys."
"Are they really robots? They seem pretty lifelike."
"Not robots … androids," Sheena said softly. "They're far more intelligent than robots. And they'll be fine standing there. They can take turns shutting down and recharging while I nap."
Bri nodded. "Okay. I'm going to head back to Erin. Angus is with the aliens. We'll be back in a few hours."
She smiled when her sister nodded and gathered her bags. She waited to leave until her sister had gone into the spare bedroom. Now she'd be able to torment Darcone into telling her why he'd kissed her. She opened the door and there stood a handsome giant with chocolate eyes and silky brown hair sweeping low over one eye.
"Berg is here."
Damn the cowardly, pointed-ear bastard for running away. It was all Bri could do to be nice to the pleasant guard.
"Hi Berg. I need to go back to Erin."
Nodding, the very polite giant walked silently beside her.
Chapter Two
Since Brianna's quarters had limited space, Sheena sent the SDDs to the docking bay for the night. Even with the four giant male protection units now gone, the space was still too small for the four rather large people currently attempting to share it.
Sheena put a hand to her knotted up stomach and rubbed. Bri had predicted her reaction correctly. Seeing the copies of their parents unnerved her. If this was a nightmare, she wished she could wake up from it. She inwardly cringed when Brianna pointed to her for the introduction.
"This is my sister, Dr. Sheena McNamara."
"Hello," Sheena said formally, trying not to stare at them. Brianna had been right about their appearance. They were a perfect match for the picture her mother had put on the shelf in her sitting room at the castle.
"Goddess, I'm being rude, but I can't help staring at ya." Erin walked closer to the woman Brianna had brought to meet them. She held up a hand when she halted. "It's just that ya look so much like me. It's a bit more than my brain can handle believing, even though my eyes know it for truth."
Angus walked up closer too. He looked at Sheena, then at Erin. His gaze went back and forth several times. "I can still tell the difference. It's not all that hard. Ya could definitely pass for sisters though."
"Or mother and daughter," Erin said, revealing the twist her mind had taken. If she and Angus had ever conceived a child together, the girl might have looked just like Sheena McNamara.
Angus smacked her arm lightly and brought her back to reality. "Told ya Bri was a real McNamara. Looks like Sheena is an O'Shea. I knew the girls weren't adopted. Nate's lost his fecking mind."
Erin snorted. "Go on with ya. This is not a fecking joke, Angus. These women came from our other selves. Doesn't it make yer head spin?"
Sheena turned to look at Brianna who wickedly grinned and mouthed "See?" as she lifted a hand. Finally, she turned her gaze back to Angus and Erin. She needed to take control of this strange situation.
"Could we talk about something?" Sheena asked.
"Sure, lass. Let's all sit," Angus suggested.
She was a bit alarmed when they immediately headed to the sofa to sit next to each other. As Brianna had said, it was like looking at a younger version of their parents-a version neither of them had known except through pictures.
Sheena exchanged a glance with her sister. Long ago, their parents had asked them to keep their birth stories private. When she'd met and married Nate in medical school, she'd told him the story her parents had insisted she tell everyone about her being a normal surrogate birth.
Bri's creation over forty years later had allowed her to be part of the intricate process, at least in the sense of studying it at the time. The story they told about their births was the truth from a certain perspective, but she and Bri had always known they were more biologically McNamaras than the world would ever know. Her father had been more a genius than she could ever hope to be.