That Doodle Earlier Got Me In The Mood For Some Domestic Fluff And Also A Little Bit Of Lore Drop. So

That doodle earlier got me in the mood for some domestic fluff and also a little bit of lore drop. So prepare for some tooth rotting domestic shit with Ford and his alien fish family.

Quick thing: Wrote this bit previously before I wrote the actual drabble and oh shit. I may have gone slightly more into the horror side of the lore than I intended.

So, TW for horror imagery around pregnancy, aliens(?) and brief mention of possession (it's Ford, what more do you expect?)

Ford laughs softly as he tries to pry his daughter's tail out of her mouth for the X time today. Penni had been teething recently and was trying to chew on anything she could get her tiny little six-fingered hands on. Obviously, her own tail was the easiest thing to grab and chew, but her favourite thing to chew was his glasses.

She was an accident borne of an interspecies miscommunication between him and Nimirylov that, despite having been sorted now, had been the biggest strain on their relationship they'd ever had. Nimirylov's species had an interesting way of breeding. The weaker of the partners would carry the child. This is because of how consuming pregnancy is for their species, meaning that the stronger partner needs to stay aware to protect their partner and child.

Ford had been completely unaware of that until suddenly there was something off with him. Nimirylov had simply thought Ford was freaked out because it was an unplanned baby. Meanwhile, it felt like a borderline horror experience for him as alien instincts overtook his body and his mind. At the worst of times, it was eerily reminiscent of being possessed. That disgusts him more than anything else.

It's unfortunately not an inaccurate description, though. These instincts were alien to him, quite literally, and he was totally at their mercy. Pregnancy was quite obviously never something that Ford had expected for himself and therefore never prepared for. Especially not one like this.

It lasted a total of fifteen months, and the last five months of it are, admittedly, a total blur to him. He'd been told later, once he'd finally been able to regain control over himself, that the way he'd acted was completely normal, if not subdued or later than what a member of their species would display pregnancy symptoms.

Arguably, even worse than the pregnancy itself, was the aftermath because then Ford had nobody to blame for how he was feeling or acting but himself. He's been reassured countless times now that the way he felt was completely normal, but at the time, it was terrible. All he wanted was to feel like the him he'd finally been able to become in this world again.

Nimirylov had had to hold him close so many times, reassuring Ford with words his instinct ridden brain could barely process.

It takes Ford by surprise sometimes now, when he looks down at his innocent little girl, that she could've caused that much terror. She's just a tiny little thing who depends on him and his fiancee more than anything. She's the one thing that finally made Ford realise that he deserves to be happy and loved.

He gently takes his glasses off and places them on her little face, watching closely as she giggles wildly as if he just did the funniest thing in the world. Ford had never understood children before, he'd barely understood people before, but his little girl was just special.

Standing up from where he'd been crouched down beside Penni, Ford considers going to see how much of his princely work Nimirylov has gotten done. After all, Nimirylov had lovingly but bluntly banned Ford from their kitchen after his last disastrous attempt at cooking. Therefore, Nimirylov was the sole chef of the house since they'd moved to a small cottage away from everyone else not long after Penni was born in order to just be the three of them for a few years.

Before Ford can leave the room to go and check on his fiancee though, his attention is demanded back by Penni.

"Dadadada," His baby girl babbles and Ford freezes.

"Nimirylov! Come here, quickly!" Ford calls loudly through the house before bending down to pick Penni up and hold her closely in his arms.

Nimirylov rushes into the room a few moments later, a look of panic on his face. His long blue hair that had been so perfectly tied up this morning is now a complete mess. Just as he's about to ask what's wrong, Ford holds Penni out proudly and announces,

"She just spoke! She said dada!" The pride in his voice is something that previously could've only been found within Ford's rambles about his achievements. All of them pale in comparison to the pride he has for Penni.

Nimirylov's eyes widen with joy, and he pulls Penni from Ford's arms to cradle her in his own arms.

"Oh, my darling little minnow, you're so smart, aren't you?" Nimirylov coos softly, poking Penni's little nose. His charisma and skill with spoken words is something Ford could never even dream to match, not even with their daughter.

"I suppose I win then," Ford says after a few moments, a slight smug look on his face.

Nimirylov had jokingly started a competition between them to see which one of them Penni would name first. Which is part of the reason as to why they're both going by human names, both in agreement that English would be an easier language for her to start talking with, seeing as she's a hybrid.

Playfully glaring at him, Nimirylov bounces Penni in his arms before trying to coax her to say "papa" as well.

It continues throughout the rest of the night until they put her down to bed. At which point Nimirylov complained, with no real upset behind it, about how Penni had stubbornly refused to say anything but "dada."