"They want to make families," he said firmly. "Any fool could make a baby, if that is all they wanted. How many times have they said that they want to go 'back to family values'?" He asked, bowing his head slightly to try to make eye contact with her. "That is where they made the biggest mistake. Compatible biological compositions mean nothing in a family." He thought back to their earlier conversation about what they were in this situation. "I said before that we are rats in the experiment, and you said we weren't. It is possible you were more right, we are more than that, because this is more than just for making babies. It has to be, if we are to be back to family values." Aleks wasn't completely sure that he even believed what he was saying, but it didn't matter as long as the sudden shine on her eyes wasn't what he feared it was. He didn't think he could handle a weeping woman.
He didn't like the way she was speaking. He knew a bad guy when he saw one, and her husband was just that. Jared was the sort of person who paid other people to do the things he didn't want to dirty his hands on, it was obvious from a split second glance. Or, it was to Aleksey. He'd known plenty of men like him back home, weasels, every last one of them. He frowned and shook his head as he listened to her speak, but before he could speak himself she started to cry in earnest.
This situation was rapidly deteriorating, and he was falling into deep waters. He slowly looked away from her in order to put his thoughts in order. If he had any sense at all he would get up and leave right this instant. No good could come from this. "Cip," he started, looking back over at her. No woman should look so beautiful while they were crying, it wasn't fair. He placed his hands on her face slowly - so slowly that she had every chance to move away if she wished it - and brushed away the fallen tears with the pads of his thumbs. "You are being human. It is not stupid," he held her face in his hands for a beat more and looked at her, into her, then pulled her closer towards him so that he could wrap her into his arms. He rubbed her back in slow strokes, and rested his head on top of her own. "You are allowed to be human."