“What did one of those nutballs do to you?” Her father was worked up. “I told you to become a chef. Cooking is much safer. I warned you how dangerous it is to work with crazy folks.”

Oh boy, not this again. He always thinks everyone I deal with is a serial killer. She sighed.

“Enough,” her mother ordered. “What happened?”

“I’m fine,” she repeated, knowing they’d overreact when she gave them the rest of the details. She was their only child and they were very protective. “I was grazed by a bullet.” That sounded better than stating she’d been shot. Silence. She winced. “It’s a scratch.” Another lie but she could live with it.

“What hospital are you at? Honey, get dressed.”

“Dad? I’m not at a hospital.” Medical at Homeland wasn’t technically one, at least not that she was aware of. “I don’t need you to get out of bed and rush to my side. I wanted to tell you that I’m fine before you see it on the news.”

“The news?”

Joy pulled the phone away from her ear. “Don’t yell, Mom. There’s one more thing I need to tell you. I’ve been seeing someone recently that you don’t know about. Our relationship is kind of new so I wanted to wait until we figured out where it was going before I introduced you to him.”

Joy hated feeling as though she was fifteen again but she did. It was her job to counsel people on how to relate to others but her parents had a way of negating all her training.

“Kind of new?”

Dad had to pick up on that, didn’t he? “Well, we only started spending time together recently,” she hedged. “He was with me when I was shot at.” She chose her words with more care. “His name is Moon and he saved my life.” She was pretty sure Douglas would have taken more shots at them if he hadn’t ended up unconscious and bleeding on her living room carpet after Moon was done with him.

“Moon? What kind of name is that? Are his parents hippies?” Her dad didn’t sound happy.

“Tell me he’s not some rock star or actor,” her mother pleaded. “They always pick odd stage names and I read about them getting divorced all the time. Your father and I want you to have what we do.”

She bit her lip, muffling a groan. They seemed to have forgotten she’d been shot at but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. She knew them too well.

“Marriage is a serious commitment so you make sure the boy is going to treat you right,” her dad stated. “Does he have a good job? Are his parents still married?”

“He didn’t ask me to marry me. Why are you even talking about this?” Joy kept her tone calm. “I called to tell you that I was hurt but I’m fine. I also wanted to tell you about Moon. He—”

“Are you having intercourse with him?” Her mother whispered the words. “Are you being careful? Are you using condoms and did you have him tested for those diseases you young people get these days?”

“Oh my god.” Joy wanted to bang her head on the bedrail. “I’m not pregnant if that’s what you’re going to ask next. I’m a responsible person and my sex life isn’t up for discussion. Will you let me talk? Please?”

Their silence indicated they would.

“Thank you. He saved my life,” she repeated, hoping they’d focus on that. “He’s really nice,” she rushed on. “I think you’d like him if we keep seeing each other and you get to meet him.” She paused. “He’s New Species.”

Her father responded first, sounding stunned. “What?”

“Moon is a New Species,” Joy explained. “He’s super sweet and not scary at all.” She tried to imagine what concerns they’d have to address before they spoke again. “We’ve been seeing each other and I’m hoping you’ll be okay with that because I’m serious about him. I know you don’t know much about them but I do. They are really good people. I love him.” She waited to see how they’d take the news.

Her mother surprised her. “I like them. Is he handsome?”

“Very. I think so anyway.”

“What kind is he?” Her father didn’t sound upset.

“Does he have those cat eyes?” Her mother sounded excited. “Those are so pretty.”

“Canine,” Joy offered. “So no, he doesn’t.” They were taking it way better than she expected and she was grateful for that.

“Dogs are very loyal. That’s really good.”

“Dad!” She was aghast that he’d said that.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, honey. It’s a compliment.”

“I know. Please don’t ever say that if you meet him,” she pleaded.

“We want to meet him. Isn’t this wonderful?” Her mom laughed. “Our baby is dating a New Species.”

“I can’t wait to tell the guys on my bowling team. I’m so sick of hearing about Bob’s son dating some author. This is way better.”

Joy did groan then. “Come on, Dad. Really? You’re going to use Moon to impress your bowling buddies?”

A familiar deep snarl came from somewhere down the hallway of Medical.

“I said no! Get out of my way!”

Joy almost dropped the phone when a loud crash followed. Moon was nearby and he sounded furious. She remembered her parents then.

“Let me call you back. I love you both.” She hung up before they could protest, shoving at the covers to free her legs so she could swing them over the edge of the bed.