Chapter 13

**

"I still don’t understand all this stuff about a non-notational currency. The last thing I remember from my high school econ class is Philip Whitehouse falling asleep and then falling out of his desk, Jennifer. I don’t have the dang degrees you do!" I shift the hungry baby from one side of my chest to the other; this little drakensis doesn’t just want to nosh a little, I think, he wants to nosh a whole lot! Thank god he doesn’t have teeth yet… these tiny gums are tough enough.

"Listen, I’ll explain it one more time, if you’ll listen this time instead of making faces at me, girl," replies Jennifer, sighing in exasperation. She puts down her papers and marker, and takes the tiny bundle Marie Claire’s handing her. "While we’re both relatively motionless, let’s get this theory straightened out in your head. No matter what Philip Whatever did in your econ class aeons ago…"

She begins explaining the world economy to me, with admirable restraint; her temper is pretty darn impressive when it gets riled. I grin and bear it, thinking all the time about things I have to get done, meetings I have to have, reports to prepare… but I actually do learn a thing or two, to my surprise. Evidently, to Jenny’s, as well, since she leans over and gives me a peck on the lips as encouragement. "See, you actually can learn something about economics and finance, Erin, given some, well, motivation…" She hoists the sleepy baby girl up onto her shoulder and pats until a surprised-sounding burp comes from the tiny bundle.

I laugh, having just done the same for _____, who is lying contentedly in my lap, ready for a back rub and a long nap. That sounds pretty darn good, I think to myself, for me as well as you, kiddo. I bounce him gently, watching bright blue eyes go wide in surprise; little fists ball up and wave in the air.

"Yeah, yeah… economics, schmomonics…" I duck Jenny’s half-hearted slap, and stick my tongue out at her. The baby in my lap chortles with happiness. Marie Claire takes the two children from us for their naps, and I relax, stretching my arms above my head in luxurious slowness. Joints pop and tendons creak; it’s been a week since the birth, and I need to get back into working out, soon.

"Having one of those intensely academic discussions, I hear," comments Gwen, as she walks across the patio toward us. Jennifer blushes but I don’t; I wink broadly at Muhmis, who smiles back hungrily. "Hmmm…"

"That was a horny-sounding ‘hmmm’ if ever I heard one," Jennifer says under her breath, knowing that both Gwen and I have heard her. The trees, some Bradford pears, are tossing in the autumn breeze, and the sky is an azure blue, speckled with fluffy white clouds. I close my eyes for a moment, just enjoying life, and feel Gwen’s hand stroke through my thick, slightly grey-streaked dark blonde hair. I sigh in contentment, and then stretch out a couple of toes, pinching Jennifer on the calf.

"Ow! Hey!" She laughs, reaching down to tickle my foot. I hear Gwen’s purring chuckle as she stands there, between us, watching. I also feel a rising tide of arousal, and part of me calmly assesses that Muhmis must be letting lose on her pheromonal control, usually held in a fairly conservative grip. A blush begins to spread down my face, to my throat, and beyond, and I know Gwen’s watching and enjoying the effect she’s having on her two saafn.

"Why don’t we adjourn to my quarters? I think we could have an equally interesting discussion there, don’t you?" Muhmis’ hand on my shoulder squeezes slightly, and I squeak.

"Hey, anything but another discussion about the world economy, Muhmis! I couldn’t bear that…"

Jennifer pouts a little. "I didn’t think I was that bad at explaining things, but maybe to someone whose brain is apparently made out of computer chips and cornbread…"

Chuckling, Gwen tugs us both to our feet, and then easily hoists us, one to each arm, our bodies resting firmly against hers. I feel muscle move under my fingers like machined steel through oil as I caress the nape of her neck, stroking the fine red hairs there. God, it feels so different from a human being, I think, but so damn freakin’ good… Gwen kisses me, long and hard, and then does the same to Jennifer. "I think I can explain some concepts of physics and human physiology this afternoon… and I think you’ll enjoy the lecture, as well as the practical demonstrations…"

Carrying us easily, she walks through the shaded patio area, and then through one of the back entrances to the house, and on to her quarters, on the third floor, purring all the while. I whisper in her ear, "Will we have to pass an exam at the end, or is this a practicum?"

As Muhmis tosses the two of us gently onto her oversized bed, and begins to strip, she’s still laughing. "Oh, we’ll just see how you do with the practical applications…perhaps an exam, later…"

Jenny speaks up as she ducks under the covers shyly. "What’s the extra credit question going to be like?"

Gwen’s aroused growl answers, and the two of us humans are tumbled into sensual heaven by our Draka mistress that morning…

**

The leaves have begun to turn, and some are sprinkling the pathway with orange and red as I slowly ride the horse toward the house. We’ve been out for a good ride; I only fell off once, and that’s because I was reaching for some pretty leaves, I reason internally. The horse, an Appaloosa mare named Betty, has gotten used to my rather unhorsewoman-like demeanor, and merely waited for me to pick myself up and climb back on board.

"Come on, Betty, this part’s level—let’s go for it! I’ve got a carrot and a sugar cube waitin’ for you at the stable, too," I say, kneeing her into a gallop. I hang on for dear life, and the horse merrily gallops down the sunlight-dappled path, leaves scattering at our approach. We seem to rocket past some of the farm workers, harvesting the grapes for the last wine pressing of the year, and then the barns are looming up in front of us.

I begin to sit back on the saddle, pressing down, signalling Betty to slow down; she responds immediately, almost throwing me over her neck. "Yeah, that’s it, stop on a dime, why don’t ya? Last time I tried to slow you down, you took forever… crazy ole horse," I mutter affectionately, patting her white and brown shoulders. She whickers and begins, on her own accord, to trot towards the stables.

Bret’s leaning against one of the doors, looking over a piece of leatherwork, but keeping an eye on me, too. Muhmis is there, on her huge horse. She’s decked out in her riding attire, and looks, well, incredible, I think, as I urge Betty to slow down some more. Betty prances a little, maybe showing off for the other horse, and I grip the pommel tightly. I grin at Gwen, who’s watching me with amusement.

"You may be a sailor, but you’ll never fool anyone about being a horserider, darlin’," she says, as she moves her horse to one side. The gelding she rides, Windfire, is taller than Betty, and is eyeing her with some grumpiness. I’ve been through the "I’m on a horse that meets another horse who doesn’t like the horse I’m on" scenario before, and quickly dismount, rather ungracefully, but successfully. I lead Betty into the stables and put her in one of the stalls, unhooking the saddle.

Before I can do anything else, one of the stable girls is there, and I’m basically shoo’ed out of the stalls and out of the stables, but not before giving Betty her carrot and her sugar cube. Wiping my hand on my jeans, to get some of her horse spit, I come back out into the sun, and blink for a minute.

"Have a good ride, though?" asks Gwen, stepping down from her horse.

"Only fell off once," I reply, grinning. "My fault, not Betty’s…"

"That’s usually the way it is," Gwen agrees, touseling my hair affectionately. "But you are getting better, I’ll give you that much…"

"She rides a horse like a pig flies…" murmurs Bret, eyeing me. "Not very gracefully…" He smiles, and winks at me. I blush, remembering the times in the corral, with him leading the horse, and me just trying to hang on. Hey, I’m a swabbie, not a jockey, I think, and wink back at him.

"I’ll fix this for you tonight, Muhmis, if that’s all right…" He holds up the leather work, and I can see it’s part of a bridle. "Need to supervise them kids getting the hay in, and check on the construction of the new stables, down over yonder…" He nods, using his head to point in the direction of the new building.

"That’s fine, Bret. I’ll check with you tomorrow about it. Thanks," Gwen says, and takes my hand. "Let’s walk back to the house the long way, Erin, and do some talking."

"Okay," I wonder what she’s thinking about… the negotiations with the Samos, maybe, or something political about the Archonate... or maybe just Household stuff. I hope she doesn’t ask me about the most recent global warming figures, since I don’t have them together yet, I worry to myself.

"Hey, why so tense now?" Her husky voice breaks me from my revelry. She closes her fingers around my hand, which is enveloped in her larger one, and I smile up into her tanned face. Leaf-green eyes twinkle back, but there’s a slight frown on her brow.

"Um… well, I was just going over in my head things I don’t have ready for you yet, and I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me about them. Sorry, didn’t mean to tense up. What, if I may ask, Muhmis, did you want to talk about?"

" ‘If I may ask’… you’re always full of questions, girl, one of the things I like about you so dearly…" Gwen smiles. "I was thinking about the negotiations, and the upcoming face-to-face meetings we’re going to be having. Do you and Tom want to go, or should I take a couple of servus instead? The last meeting you two had with the Samothracians wasn’t very friendly, and it seemed to upset you and him both. Tom possibly more than you, though."

As we walk along the lane, hand in hand, I close my eyes for a moment, remembering. We had met them on a temporary base on Titan, and the meeting had been… tense. Actually, the Samos had stared at us two like we were fleas with bubonic plague, or something similar, I think. "Um, well… It did upset Tom more than me, I think, Muhmis. But it wasn’t pleasant for me, either. They really hate us."

"They can’t understand you."

"Maybe I can’t understand them, but I don’t hate them, Gwen."

"What don’t you understand about the Samos, Erin?" She turns to look me full in the face, eyes full of curiosity and interest.

"Well…" I pause for a moment, to collect my thoughts. "Hmm. I don’t understand people that intelligent doing what they’ve done. Which is," I go on in response to her tilted head, "become basically the thing they hate the most, so they can somehow destroy it. They’ve designed their whole society around the destruction of another. That doesn’t seem to make a lot of long-term evolutionary sense to me."

"How’ve they become the Draka, younglin’?" Gwen sounds amused at the thought.

"They’ve just chosen a different route… y’all chose biology, altering your genes, and becoming homo drakensis. They’ve chosen technology, and become some sort of cyberhumans. They’re no more human than you or the servus are, Muhmis."

"True… they’re not human like you archaics. But genetically, they are homo sapiens…"

"Yeah, under the hood they are…" I look up, to see some puzzlement in her face. "Sorry. Old reference, to automobiles and their engines. Not like I know a lot about those, either. This is just some stuff I’ve thought about, and talked with Tom about." I grin.

"Go on…"

The fields beside us, hemmed in by split-pole fences, are russet in the afternoon sun; the wheat waves lazily like ocean swells as the breeze moves over the tassles. I stop for a moment, picking a leaf off a sassafras tree to nibble on. A hawk cries, high above us, and I watch as Gwen’s head smoothly tracks the bird’s flight, when I can’t see it at all in the bright blue and white sky.

"Gwen… it’s just that the Samos seem so caught up in wanting to destroy the Draka, and anything and everything connected with them. They’re just as brutal as the Draka can be; the Draka, however, at least think about other stuff to do besides whale the hell out of the Samos. They’d kill all of us, here, and not feel very bad about it, if they could. So they’re just as much a danger to the human race as…"

Gwen turns to me from where she was leaning her arms on the fence. "As we Draka are?"

I meet her eyes. "Yes."

"Some Draka, anyway…" She turns back to the field, and stares out over it for a few moments, silently. "Not all of the Race want to destroy humanity, merely to bring it under the Yoke…"

Which is almost the same thing, I think silently, oh so silently, to myself. "That’s good to know, Muhmis. I think you’re one of the Race that feels that way, and you’ve got quite a strong political backing now."

"Yes, which can be a good thing as well as a bad. But that’s another issue. Why do you think the Samothracians hate us so much, Erin?"

"It’s easy to say you hate someone if you’re afraid of them. You don’t trust them, they’re different than you are, and you see them as a threat. Which, of course, the Draka are. Same-same for the Samos, Muhmis. But somehow, someday, it seems like it would make better sense to move past all that, and let history be history. Learn from it, and move on. Adapt, instead of trying to refight the Final War all over again. All that means is more dead people."

"Especially now, youngster."

"Yes, especially now. And that’s one reason I gave Tom for why we’re working so hard for you, for the Race. You’re a chance we have, we humans, to get off this planet and go places. If we don’t support you, even if we tried to fight you, which would be suicidal and stupid, the Samothracians still wouldn’t ever really accept us… if we survived at all. We’d still be ‘those serf humans’ who ‘collaborated with the Race’. We’d end up just as enslaved as we are now, only maybe worse. You folks seem able to see some good in us."

Gwen reaches out a hand to mine, and the heat from it seems to calm me down a little. I curl my fingers around hers and look down at the grain of the wood fence for a moment, fighting my anger. Between a rock and a hard place, girl, the old, old story… "Heck, Gwen…"

"Hmm?"

"At least you haven’t forced us to become like them. Like the Samos, half human and half computer. I mean, we’ve got these doohickeys," I tap behind my right ear, indicating the transducer, "but that’s about it. You’ve provided medical care, technology, peace… time to think. Maybe that’s what we needed, time to think. No matter whether we’re Chinese, American, Japanese, British, Iraqi… to you, we’re all the same. Maybe we needed to see that. We are all the same—we’re human. But when you don’t have anything else to compare it to, it’s easy to forget that, and just see these surface differences."

"Interesting." She turns to me, and the lowering sun strikes highlights into her deep red hair. My heart still catches, after all these years, I think, at how beautiful she is. Amazing. "You do think a lot about this, don’t you?"

"Yeah. I have to find some way to make this have meaning. That’s a human need, maybe even a need that goes beyond mere humanity. Draka need that; you find it in conquest, exploration, domination. But even your thinking has begun to change, a teensy bit. Maybe there’s more than just those things out there that make life have meaning. That’s where I see the Samos as being stuck. Life has no meaning beyond destroying the Draka. God forbid they ever do—if that happens, besides all of my hopes being crushed, and me and you being killed, which would be inconvenient, I don’t know what would happen to them. They’d lose their meaning. They wouldn’t have anywhere to go."

"They’d find something."

"Maybe…" I shrug. "Life’s too short to spend it hating. That’s a waste of power, of energy."

"Energy?"

"The way I see it, each life form has a certain amount, X, of energy. That’s it. What you choose to spend on regrets, or hatred, or fear… that’s just that much more you don’t have to invest in positive things, like love, and learning, and exploring… and you can waste your whole life that way. I almost did. Both after losing my friends on the Nimitz, and then losing Peter… I almost invested all my energy into missing what was gone, irretrievably. It’s so easy to fall into that trap…"

"Yes, it is, indeed. But it’s also a little simple-minded to think that you can just talk people out of hatred, a hatred that’s almost bred into the race."

"You said that with a little ‘r’, didn’t you?"

Gwen nods. I go on:

"The Race, with a big ‘r’, you can’t hate?"

"Oh, we can, on a personal level, but on a higher level, no, we don’t hate. We don’t hate the Samos, we just plan on either destroying them or conquering them. There’s not a lot of hate involved. It’s colder than that."

"Oh."

"Yes." She smiles, but it’s not a happy smile. More like a predator, eyeing a trapped enemy, waiting for the moment to strike, I think. I shiver a little, and chew the sassafras twig some more.

"I just don’t see a big survival link to hatred. It leads you to take chances, to put more resources into one thing than another, than you would otherwise. It’s a tricky emotion, and I just don’t see it as a basis for government, or philosophy. There are enemies, and if you have to destroy them to save yourself, then that’s what has to be. But is that all there is?"

"Life’s a struggle, then you die? Sometimes it seems that way, Erin. But I see what you’re saying, too." She grins whitely at me. "Do you hate the Samos? Or the Draka? Or both, perhaps?"

"You really want me to answer that? Won’t Schalk come down here and zap a controller band on my head if I answer the ‘wrong’ way?"

"No, no… that won’t happen!" Gwen grins again, and then becomes more serious. "I demand your honesty; you know that, my wench. Answer me, and please don’t be afraid. Just tell me what you think. You know me well enough now to know you’re safe with me that way…"

"Okay…" How do I say this? I wonder frantically. Oh, well, hey-diddle-diddle, straight up the middle, as Sergeant Strong used to say, on board the Nimitz, crazy old leatherneck he was, I think. "Um, well… I don’t like the fact that the Draka have enserfed us. I don’t like that, and never will. In fact, I think it’s kind of a weak point of the Race, that they have to enserf anyone else they meet. That’s a drain on their resources, and not a very positive way to treat people. But I don’t hate the Race. I don’t hate the Samos, for that matter. I don’t like what they would like to do to us, or to you. I don’t know…"

I pause, and look out over the field of wheat. "Hell, Gwen, I’ve only hated three people in my life before the Arrival: Chief Grey, and my so-called parents. After the Arrival, I’ve hated three others—the survivors of the terrorist group who killed Peter and Ruthann, and tried to kill Alexandra. I didn’t really hate Stan Phillips, that guy who tried to kill me when I was carrying Ariadne. It was more like he was a wild animal that I had to fight off or something. Not the same thing as hate."

"Can you serve me productively in an atmosphere like the one at the meeting on Titan?"

"Yes, Gwen, I can. And I’m intensely curious to hear it firsthand, too. Can’t deny that. But Tom, on the other hand… he’s still dealing with the dislike we sometimes run into here on Earth. Getting it both from here and from the Samos was sort of devastating for him, since he’s got such an idealistic vision of what the Draka have done for the planet."

She smiles at me, this time a warm one, full of affection. "And you’re not idealistic, too?"

"No, not the same way Tom is. He wants to save the planet, even if it means losing some lives to do it. He has that ‘true believer’ fanatacism behind those ideas, too. I don’t. I guess I’m a fatalist, or somethin’. I ain’t been to fancy ole schools like Jennifer. She’d know what to call it. I try to be a realist. You’re here, y’all ain’t going away, and we may as well deal with it and try to do the best we can for the largest number of folks. Get folks medical care, food, housing, education… maybe even get us to the stars, without us blowing each other up first. That’s the way I see it. I don’t like it, but I live with it. I’d rather have this than nothing, or what the Samos would probably turn us into, Muhmis. And that’s the truth."

"You’ve got dreams for your race, little ‘un. You, in your own way, are an idealist. But you’ve got your beliefs pretty firmly anchored around the value of human beings, while Tom has his tied to the value of the planet. I can see the difference, now. That’s fine—we need a mixture of both. And both of you have been invaluable to me, that’s true. I think I’ll take you along, and Andri. Tom can live without him for a bit, don’t you think?"

There’s a twinkle in her green eyes as she says this, and I grin back. Tom and Andri have become quite the partners, which is good in a way, I think. Tom hasn’t ever really spoken about losing Peter, with whom he was deeply in love. Andri and Tom have a lot in common, and it’s even convenient for Gwen, since she likes both of them a great deal as prettybucks, I chuckle.

"Oh, Muhmis, Tom’ll be sooo pitiful when you announce that Andri’s going with you!"

Gwen laughs. "I’ll see that Tom’s suitably rewarded for his sacrifice in giving up his favorite prettybuck for a few weeks…" She takes my hand again, and leads us back to the path. The shadows are getting longer, and I’m becoming rather aware of the fact that a feeding for the baby has to come, and soon. Gwen stops us just before we reach the House, and kisses me, firmly. Her hands rove over my body, and she chuckles softly in pleasure as I arch my back, pressing against her and returning her kisses with interest.

"I would have been quite sad to leave you behind, my sweet…" Muhmis murmurs into my ear as her hands caress my back, and down… "Quite sad, indeed…"

I shiver with delight, and whisper back, "You and me, both, Gwen!" Hand in hand, we walk into the House where dinner awaits us, and a certain hungry young Draka is awaiting me, dinner for him. The sun sets rapidly, leaving the moon to light the pathways outside.

**

"So you’re off to space, are you? I always said you were kinda spacey, chick!" says Alice, her arms around me in the dark. I wait for my pulse to quit thumping in my head before I reply; Alice has a way of chasing everything but her out of my head with a few kisses and then some more…

"Gee, thanks!" I roll from under her arm, and pull the sheets back up. The cool autumn evening is getting late, and the sweat from our exertions is drying, making me all goosebumpy. I snuggle back against her, and whisper, "I’ll miss you. I wish you could come, too, Ally."

"Hey, I know…"she murmurs, hugging me tightly. "I know. You’ll be fine, and it’s not really going to be that long, this time, now is it?"

"Long enough for another goodbye?" I hint, kissing her fingertips. She smiles in reply, and moves to slide on top of me. Our bodies begin to move in ancient rhythms, and the night goes by…

I wake to find the bed empty; I stretch for long, luxurious moments and then pull on a sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. I pad down to the nursery, where a sleepy Jennifer is feeding her little cuckoo; I take Alois from Marie Claire and sit in the rocker next to Jenny. Happy, the baby in my arms coos and then begins to feed, lustily. I grin, and stroke the thick blonde hair on his head. His eyes are so light blue they’re startling,I think, and he closes them in contentment as he suckles. I sigh, feeling relief flood through me; my breasts were getting sore earlier in the morning, but I was too darn sleepy to get up.

"You look… mmmh…" Jenny yawns. "Awake. I’m not…"

"You sure aren’t! Have a late night last night?" I smile over at her.

Another yawn. "Reports, mostly. Trying to get all this stuff done before you, Andri and Muhmis take off on your little jaunt to Titan is giving me a massive case of heartburn, too…"

"It’s no vacation trip, believe me. I’ve been pulling some long days, myself, trying to get ready. I think we’re there, though."

"Taking Alois?"

I shift the baby up onto my shoulder and commence patting. "Yes, and Rosta’s going to do nanny service for me. She’s been itching to get off planet again, so now she’s got her chance. It’s not exactly Selenopolis or anything, but it’s better than nothing, right?"

Jennifer laughs. "But what will Alice do for a shopping pal?"

"Oh, she’s got plans for you, my pretty, and your little dog Toto, too… ahh heh heh heh heh" I laugh, imitating the creaky voice of the Wicked Witch of the West. Both babies stop what they’re doing and peer uncertainly at me, and I immediately stop. A crying baby drakensis isn’t a joyful thing to be around, as I know from previous experience. Jennifer begins to hum an old Yiddish folksong, and rocks her baby along with the tune, and soon I find myself patting Alois’ back to the same beat. The babies calm down, and soon two tremendous burps reverbrate through the nursery.

Marie Claire looks up from her holodesk, and grins. "I’ll check them and then put them down for a nap, how’s that sound?"

"Fine with me, dahling!" I reply, handing Alois to her and then giving her a quick peck on the cheek. She blushes a little, under her dusky, cinnamon-hued skin, and gives my shoulder a squeeze. Jenny hands ______ over to her once Alois is tucked in and sound asleep; soon both tiny drakensis heads are off in dreamland, dreaming whatever baby Draka dream about.

"Ready for breakfast?" I hold out a hand to Jennifer, and she shakes her head no.

"I’m going back to bed for an hour or so… I’m sure not very hungry. I just feel worn out. Okay? You won’t be leaving before lunch, will you?"

"I don’t think so, but then I’m not exactly sure when we are leaving… I’ll say goodbye before we go, though. Go get some more sack time—you really do look tired. You should get your assistants to do more, honey… it shouldn’t be just all you. You’ll wear yourself out, girlfriend. Maybe Yannan could help you some."

"Hmmm…" She blearily rubs her eyes as we walk down the hallway. "Does he have an eye for detail?"

"Yeah. He’s really good at the stuff I assign him to do; I’ve never once been disappointed in anything he’s done, and he’s very reliable. I’ll talk with him before I leave, and he can come and have a visit with you sometime today. How’s that sound?"

"Okay…" She stops, leaning one hand against the oak-paneled wall, eyes shut tightly.

"Honey? What’s wrong? Jenny?" I put my hands on her shoulders, trying to support her and look her over at the same time.

"I’m just tired… really, really tiiyaad…" Jenny slumps into my arms, eyes rolling back into her head. Oh, jeezie petes, what do IMuhmis. Hey, Muhmis, I need help here…it’s Jennifer, she’s passed out, help! Shawonda, hey, send some corpmen, didi mau! I ease Jennifer to the carpeted floor, and lay her out flat.

"Jenny, come on, honey… wake up. Jenny?" I pat her hand, and then feel dumb. I reach down and take her pulse, and it’s barely there, weak and sort of thuddy-feeling. Muhmis’ voice comes into my head, firm and reassuring:

I’ll be right there. Is she breathing well? Her pulse is off… Shawonda and a medteam are on their way, too. Just make sure she’s breathing all right, Erin. Muhmis will be there…

Shawonda’s voice cuts in, too. I’m on the way, Erin. Do like Muhmis says, keep her breathing okay. We’re at the front door now. Hang in there, squid!

God, why don’t they hurry up, I think to myself. Jenny, come on, you can’t do this to me. What the hell’s wrong, how can I fix it?

My friend is deeply unconscious; I peel back an eyelid and see blank, glazed brown eyes looking up at me. Her breathing is growing more ragged by the minute, and I loosen her clothes as much as I can. "Hey, Marie Claire—" I call, and the young woman pokes her head out the nursery door, a puzzled expression on her face.

It changes to concern, and fear, and I raise my voice to cut through all that. "Bring me a blanket, sugar. Hurry!"

"Okay, Sera Erin!" She disappears back inside the room, and then a few seconds later bounds out, running down the hall with a blanket in her hands. We spread it over Jennifer’s prone form, and I show Marie Claire how to hold the unconscious woman’s feet slightly elevated. It’s all I know to do, I think, and it’s not damn well enough…

I hear the medteam coming up the stairs, just as Muhmis reaches us. She’s naked, but I don’t really notice; all I’m focused on is my best friend on the floor. Gwen nudges me aside, and listens carefully for a moment, shushing me when I start to say something.

I hang my head and wait, red rising in my face despite my years of learning to control it. The medteam, headed by Shawonda, slides to a halt next to us, and begins work. Gwen moves aside with an agile bounce, and grips me by the upper arms, raising me to face her.

"I know I made you angry, telling you to be quiet, but I needed to hear her heart. Understand me, wench?" Her eyes are full of concern, but there’s an iron warning in her voice. I know not to ignore it, too.

"I’m sorry, Muhmis… I was just going to tell you what happened… I’m sorry I got mad for a minute. I didn’t mean any disrespect. You know that. How is she—what’s wrong? Is she going to be okay?"

"She’ll be okay once we get her to the clinic. It’s looking like a fairly mild heart attack, Muhmis, a myocardial infarction. She should come around here in a second or two… I’ve got the medcomp stabilizing her right now. Jenny? Hey, Jennifer, wake up now. Can you open your eyes for me?" Shawonda leans over the floating stretcher, her voice strong and loud. Jennifer moans and blinks…

"A heart attack? But… how? I mean, why? We were just talking and then she said she was really tired. She said it funny, too, with a real strong accent…" My hands are shaking, and Gwen shifts her grip from my arms to my hands, her larger hands encompassing mine completely. She holds them steady, and I feel comforted by her strength.

"Well, we’ll have to run some tests… she passed her last physical, before the baby was born, with flying colors. I don’t know, Erin… but she’ll be okay. Hey, there, girl. Jenny? Hey, look at me, now. That’s good, no, don’t try to get up. You’re going to be fine." Shawonda gently pushes my friend back to a prone position, and nods for the man at the head of the floater to move it down the hall. "We’ll go ahead and take her to the clinic, Muhmis…"

"That’s fine. Jennifer, you’re going to be fine, just fine, sweet. Everything will be all right," Gwen says, slowly, distinctly, to Jenny. The young woman nods sleepily and they take her smoothly away. Marie Claire sniffles softly, behind us, and Muhmis turns to her. Pulling us both close in a hug, she kisses first my forehead, then Marie Claire’s.

"You both did an excellent job… you kept her from suffering too much from shock, which was basically all you could do. She’ll be fine, really. We’ll find out why she got ill, and fix it. Shhhh, now, no more tears. You were both very brave. I’m proud of you."

There’s a burble from the nursery, and Marie Claire, after standing on tip-toe to kiss Gwen back, hurries in to check on the infants, leaving me alone in the hall with Muhmis. I sag against her, and she holds me tightly.

"Why, Gwen? She’s so healthy…she can outlast me five minutes on the stair master machine! She’s never sick…"

"She’s been working herself too damn hard. That’s one reason. Exhaustion. I’ve been lax on supervising you two, since the births went so well. I should’ve been more aware…" She shakes her head, frowning. "My saafns’ health is my responsibility, and I should’ve known she was pushing it too hard. Have to work on that…"

"But you’ve had all this planning and political stuff to do, Gwen. I should’ve been helping her more, too. I just didn’t think she was that tired…"

"It surprised all of us, and her most of all, darlin’," Gwen says, smiling down at me. "But she’ll be all right. Shawonda’s an excellent physician. We just need to slow Jennifer down a bit, that’s all. We’ll work on that when we come back from Titan. Sound like a plan?"

"Yes, Muhmis," I say, snuggling against her. I feel sort of woozy now, with the adreneline wearing off. God, if Shawonda hadn’t gotten to her, if we didn’t have the medical facilities we have… Jennifer could be dead right now, I think to myself, and shudder.

"Ssssaaaa, sweetlin’… it’s all done now, and you did make me proud. Fast response, and good thinking." Gwen rests her head on top of mine, her arms firmly around me. We stand like that for a few moments, me relishing the warmth and strength of her, and I think she was probably enjoying it, too. Her grip loosens on me slightly, and I look up into her leaf-green, ancient eyes.

"Thanks, Muhmis…not the most auspicious start to the day, hmm?"

"No… but it could have been worse. I’m just glad you were with her. Thanks, to you, too, Erin. Come on, now, let’s get breakfast."

"Don’t you want to get dressed first?"

"Whatever for? I plan on undressing you immediately after I finish breakfast, darlin’…" she chuckles, and I blush down to the soles of my feet. Chucking me playfully under the chin, she takes my hand and walks me down to the first floor, and the dining hall.

**

As I wait on the front porch for Gwen and Andri to join me, I rock Alois. "Guy, we just have to work out a way to keep Jennifer from getting worn out, you and me…"

He burbles back something important, chubby fists waving in the sunlight. He’s wearing a little jumpsuit Alexandra bought for him before she and Patrick went off to school in Archona. I miss her, I think; she was just getting past the hormonal frenzy part of adolescence, and was actually fun to talk with again. So was Patrick, for the most part. His hormones are still running high, though; one minute he’s on top of the world, and the next the world’s on top of him. Oh, well. Been there, done that. Didn’t get a tshirt.

I grin down at the baby. "Oh, all the fun stuff you’ve got ahead of you, swabbie-mine. Oh, boy!"

"He’s got his whole life ahead of him, darlin’…what a wonderful thing, indeed," says Schalk, from behind me. His hands slip over my shoulders, and one finger dangles playfully in front of his son’s hands. They make semi-coordinated grabs for it, much more together than a human baby’s reaches would be at the same age. I sigh and lean back into the Draka behind me, and look up at him.

"Yeah, but I was thinking how wild things were here with two teenage Draka girls… just think what it’ll be like with a boy and a girl…"

"Sounds like Gwen better make sure her household staff is young and spry, to me!" Schalk laughs, running a hand through my hair gently. "They’ll probably all be sitting down carefully for a few months."

"If they can find time to sit down at all," I reply, grinning.

"Yes…" He looks up from me and the baby as Gwen and Andri come onto the veranda. Andri’s lugging his favorite satchel, probably full of those silly romance viddisks he’s addicted to, I think. I wink at him, and he mugs at me and the baby, who chortles happily.

"All ready, my saafn?" Gwen says, hands on hips. She’s wearing her walking blacks, something she hasn’t done for quite some time, and she looks very focused, very intense. She was after breakfast, too, I remember, and blush. She smiles at me, that odd, closed-in curve of her lips that makes me wonder what she’s thinking about.

"I’m as ready as I’ll ever be," I say, getting up and hoisting Alois to my shoulder. "Could you…"

"Certainly," Schalk De Lange says, and helps me put Alois into his baby carrier, slung in front of me. The baby whimpers a little, but then finds a teething ring, and begins sucking, noisily. That makes me make a face, thinking, oh, hell, there goes my blouse…wet spots again. Gwen grins, and strokes through the baby’s thick blond hair lovingly.

"Is Rosta ready?"

"Yes, Muhmis, she’s down at the floater, flirting madly with the young Draka woman down there… or rolling in the grass with her, or both…" I laugh. Andri joins me, and Gwen swats him on the fanny as he precedes her down the steps. He yelps a little, and grinning, jogs down the drive towards the waiting aircar. Schalk gives Alois a resounding kiss on the forehead, and then gives me one, too, and Gwen takes me by the hand, walking slowly with me down the raked gravel drive.

"Jennifer’s going to be fine; no serious damage to the heart muscle. It was a very good thing you were there, though, since she could have had problems." Gwen squeezes my hand gently.

"I’m sorry she’s been so overworked. I really didn’t realize how stressed out she was, Muhmis. We all try to help each other out around here, you know."

"I know, and I certainly appreciate it. Your work has been excellent, and so has the majority of the other staff member’s. But we will have to get together on this and fix the problem before it grows any worse. I don’t need my saafn falling over from exhaustion."

"No, that’s not very much fun."

Gwen grins. "Feeling a little tired yourself?"

"After you holding me upside down for forty-five minutes? Nah." I squeeze her hand back, and blush. My ears feel hot in the cool autumn sunlight, and I know I’ve turned cherry red. Gwen’s low chuckle makes it worse, too.

"I’ll try to make sure all of you get a rest every now and then, darlin’," she whispers in my ear as we approach the waiting aircar. Her tongue flicks into my ear as well, leaving a fiery trail of arousal behind it. I giggle, softly, and dodge a baby fist aimed at my nose. Gwen catches Alois’ hand, and kisses it.

"Off to Titan, then, youngsters…"

**