16.3.2114
Sabra Manor
Afternoon
The beach party was setting up nicely- Shawn and Mahree's
father, Ethan, had brought two large pigs for roasting- one
Hawaiian-style on the beach, the other barbecued in the normal
fashion. Everyone had brought stuff for the party- Raven and
Chris, Robin's parents, brought barbecue sauce and other fixings,
and the other guests brought appropriate items.
The day was flawless- warm, clear, and calm, thanks to
Stormlord, who also attended. He kept an eye on the little girls,
Naia and Willow. A small band setup was near the boathouse,
and Shawn, Mahree, and Robin played a few sets, with others
joining in when they felt like it. When the sun went down, some
of the fang gang showed up, and things really went into full
swing.
The party lasted well into the night, with fun, food, and
frolic. Raven was pleasantly surprised over how pleasant Shawn
was to be around. "I hope he learns to do this more often- he can
be more effective like this, but he regards being a bodyguard as a
holy mission, and he acts more like a shark than as a man." Raven
said quietly to Chris and Junior.
"I know. I've noticed how much he scares people, especially
people he shouldn't scare. When he's around, people don't want
to get too close to Brett, and that's wrong. He's going to get his
comeuppance soon." Junior said, looking at Raven.
Raven looked back at Junior- his tone and attitude showed
that he knew something she didn't, but, she let it slide. Turning to
Chris, she asked, "Have you spoke to Robin yet?"
"Briefly. I just told him that we needed to speak- after the
party. This is their time- let them enjoy it." Chris said, taking a
drink from his mug of beer.
From the firepit came two voices, pleading to be allowed to
have more roast pig. Ethan and Chad were both on strict diets,
being very overweight. Melody, Ethan's wife, and Sophie, Chad's
mother, both were heard loudly telling their boys that they had
eaten enough today. Raven laughed to herself as both of them
went off to sulk, wearing identical expressions.
"Sophie told me that she has to keep a close eye on Chad-
the past six weeks, he's gained thirty pounds." Chris said. "The
boy's getting too fat for his own good."
"He's ready to hit puberty- I can smell it." Raven said
quietly.
"Let's hope he has a good manifestation- like his father. He's
bigger than Evan was at that age." Sophie said, joining the circle.
"He won't stop eating, and he's getting too heavy for his joints-
without his knee braces, he can't walk!"
"Trust me- he'll be all right." Junior said.
"Thank you, Uncle Fred, I needed to hear that!" Sophie said
with relief. Chris handed his daughter a beer.
Raven got up to walk the party as Sophie chatted with her
father and foster uncle. The band was playing, with Shawn doing
an excellent rendition of Tommy Roe's 'Jam Up and Jelly Tight',
with Mahree on lead guitar, Robin on keyboards, Evan on drums,
and Remmy on horns. Evan and Sophie's triplets, Alwyn, Byron,
and Delwin, were sitting on the sand, listening to the music.
Simon was also there, holding on to Naia and Willow's tethers as
the girls floated.
Raven looked out to sea, admiring the calm. Then, she saw
two people rise out of the water and stand, hip-deep in the surf,
watching. She recognized the two- one was her oldest 'child',
Carcharo, the Shark King, and the other was Poseidon himself!
"Hello, Mother. Just checking on my most promising
student." Carcharo spieked.
"When he's ready for more instruction, we will be waiting
for him." Poseidon sent. A wave of well-being washed over
Raven and the rest of the party, thanks to Poseidon, then the pair
sank back into the water.
Turning back to the beach, Raven saw Chad making another
approach to the food table. She, using her preternatural speed,
headed him off.
"You've had quite enough, young man." she said quietly, one
hand on his wrist.
"But, Grandma, I'm so hungry! Gotta have some more!" he
pleaded.
"Chad, I know it's difficult, but, you're getting too fat. You
have to control yourself."
"I know, Grandma, but it hurts! It hurts when I'm hungry,
and it hurts to walk! Mom took my bottle away, and now, I'm so
hungry, I can't even think straight!" he moaned, his stomach
rumbling.
Raven looked straight into Chad's eyes and said, "Ignore it.",
putting all her suggestive force behind it.
Chad blinked, muttered "It still hurts.", then walked away
from the food table. Raven put her arm around him comfortingly.
"I know it does, but it will be over soon." she said.
The rest of the night went smoothly, a good time being
enjoyed by all. As the cleanup was underway, Raven approached
Robin. "Have you talked to your father?" she asked casually.
"Yeah. He wants me to take his position when Brett takes
over. I'll do it, but I'll miss VS training. I like it!" he said.
"Later, come over- I'll awaken the memories in you, then on
Monday, I'll test you like I did Shawn."
"I'm not going to like this, but, it's for the better." Robin
muttered.
Raven hugged her big son. "It will hurt, but I'm confident
you'll make it."
Later that day, with Naia and Chris still asleep, Raven woke
up Robin's genetic memory of VS procedures and tactics. She
told him to go home and sleep, because, in the morning, the tests
will tax him to the ultimate.
The tests did indeed almost kill Robin, taxing him to the
utmost. While Robin was recovering, Raven examined his test
scores, and discovered something interesting. His scores, in all
areas, matched his father's scores exactly.
Looking at the results with the Grey Rose, they noted the
correspondence. "Are you pondering what I'm pondering,
Blackie?" Janice said drily.
"I don't know, Grey, he's too big to fit into Chris' shoes!"
Raven said, imitating an old comedy routine.
"Definitely tea rose material, with lots of potential!" Janice
said, rising. Then, Raven heard a crunch from Janice's right knee
as she let out a groan.
"Is that why you've been ducking your physical?" Raven
asked.
"That's right- I don't want to take the time off, nor do I want
to tax our healers unnecessarily. Stanley's going to want to get
this fixed." Janice said, with a grimace.
"Let's go." Raven said, putting her shoulder under Janice's
and helping her up. "We're going to get this fixed tonight- my
way."
"Whatever you say, Blackie. I won't argue." At Raven's
surprised look, she continued, "What's the point? You'll win if I
do or don't."
"True." Raven said as they arrived in an exam room. Dr.
Stanley Brzinski, chief of medicine, VSHQ, came in. He looked at
Raven, who telepathically filled him in. She noticed that he was
looking a little weary, as well as a little pudgier than usual. 'He's
at it again- keeping too many hours. He always overeats when
he works too much.' she thought as he scanned Janice.
Finished with the scan, Stanley straightened. Looking at
Raven, he said, "I want to do an arthro on that to clear the dead
tissue before I administer your blood. You can draw the blood
yourself, right, Mother?" he said. [Stanley's mother was a senior
VS operative who died when he was 6. For five years, he lived
with Raven and Chris, leaving when Sophie was 3.] At her nod,
he put a nerve block on Janice while Raven got out the
phlebotomy gear.
"You know I hate taking this from you, Raven." she said.
"The regeneration always itches where I can't scratch!"
"It saves time, though. This way, you'll be back at your desk
by tomorrow noon." Raven said, bleeding into a bag.
Thirty minutes later, Stanley finished the surgery, Raven gave
Janice the blood, and Janice was put to sleep and put in a
recovery room. When that was done, Raven took Stanley to his
office.
"How long have you been on duty?" Raven demanded
forcefully.
Stanley blinked, then stammered, "Since Sun- Sun- Sunday
after- ter- ter- noon." He blinked, and Raven could smell he was
having another seizure.
"Focus through it, kid. Focus." she quietly encouraged as
Stanley shuddered and blinked, fighting off the seizure.
When it passed, he sank weakly into his desk chair. "You
better eat something, kid." Raven suggested.
"No- I'm trying to shed some weight." he whispered,
indicating his straining shirt buttons. Then, he literally stopped in
position, looking at nothing.
"I better check the records- he's over achieving again." she
said as she checked the records. She found that he had actually
arrived Saturday morning at 10, and it was now Monday night at
11. Digging deeper, she found that he had fudged the records- in
three years, he had taken seven days off, ignoring the mandatory
vacation rules.
While looking, Raven found something disturbing- the dead
area of his brain, which was caused by a bullet to the head when
he was 2, had enlarged and turned cancerous.
'The stupid little idiot.' Raven thought to herself as she
looked at Stanley's medscans. 'No, I take that back- he's
definitely not stupid! Misguided, conniving, driven, but not
stupid!' The scans showed that he would not live to see the fall,
and he had used his director's codes to hide the data from peer
review. Raven sat back and waited for Stanley to awaken from his
fugue.
Thirty minutes later, he blinked, then sagged. "Have a nice
siesta?" Raven asked with an edge to her voice.
"No, I didn't see Esther, I saw Allison." Stanley said in a
dreamy voice. Then, he fully woke up. He looked at Raven and
said, "I blacked out again, didn't I."
"Yes, you have." Raven put the medscan printouts on his
desk. He looked at them, then at her. "So you know." he said
simply.
"How long have you known?"
"About three months. It's too malignant to cure without
destroying the re-routed areas of my brain. I'd rather die than
become ordinary! I like being who I am, and I'm going to go out
my way!" he declared, summoning up some spine, looking his
foster mother in the eye.
Memories flooded through Raven's mind, of other children
facing impossible odds, even death itself, and not looking back.
"You're not going out at all, not soon. I'm going to fix you up,
then you're going on an enforced vacation, young man!"
"You and what army?" Stanley said stubbornly, then, he
began to twitch. "No- no- no- not- not- now- now." he stuttered.
Raven took the opportunity to force his short-circuiting mind
to sleep. When he did, she summoned the duty doctor, Laura
Abbott.
When Laura arrived, Raven told her that she had command,
and filled her in on how Stanley had been cheating. "I knew that
he had been putting in a lot of hours, but every time we
questioned him, he had written permission from both you and the
Gold Rose." she said.
"Well, help me get him down to Surgery Six, and isolate the
area. After that, find Allison and have her report to me there. You
are now Chief of Medicine until I tell you personally that he is
back on duty." Raven said.
"Yes, Ma'am." Laura said as she summoned a wheelchair,
helped Raven put him in it, and wheeled him to Surgery Six.
Inside, after Laura left, Raven touched a special button on
her watch, which summons her uptime physician and grandson,
Andohar. However, someone else arrived, carrying the black bag.
He came through the door to the scrub room. "Hello,
Grandmother." said Dr. Jordan Jerome Harris III, Andohar's
cousin.
"J. J.! What are you doing here?" Raven said with some
surprise.
"Percy got caught with his paperwork undone, and Aliera
grounded him until it gets caught up."
Raven laughed at that- she knew how much Andohar hated
to do paperwork. "Guess I'll be seeing you for a while."
"That you will. Let me see- this the patient?" he asked,
indicating Stanley, who was still sitting in the wheelchair. At her
nod, J. J. put Stanley on the table and looked him over. J. J.'s
talent is to instantly diagnose a patient's problem without
resorting to using instruments.
He looked at Raven, alarm showing in his eyes. "I have to get
him into the bag, immediately. The tumor's on the verge of
metastatizing. If it does, he'll be dead in a month."
"Do it." she said. J. J. and Stanley vanished, then an image of
Stanley appeared on the table.
Five minutes after the pair went into the bag, Allison Lane
entered the room. She is one of the VS operatives detailed to
keep others stable- psychology degree plus a body that does not
quit. Along with that, she has had a crush on Stanley from the
day he became Chief of Medicine. "You called, boss lady?" she
said with a yawn.
Raven filled Allison in on Stanley's condition. "I'm putting
him on three weeks enforced vacation, minimum. If he needs
more, I'll leave that up to you. I want him rested and at peace
before he reports back to duty. He's all yours. Where do you
want to take him?"
Allison pondered the situation, not without a little joy
showing through her outward calm. Finally, she said, "Barbados.
I'll call Lisa Tomey and set up a cottage on the north shore. No
holds barred?" she said hopefully.
Raven just shook her head. "Just leave him to me. Daily
reports?" Allison asked. Raven just nodded. "At last- I've got him
where he wants me!" Allison laughed. At Raven's wave of
dismissal, she left to make her arrangements.
When Allison left, Raven could smell that Stanley was back
on the table. J. J. came out of the scrub room, removing his
rubber surgical gloves. "Good news, Grandmother. I've removed
the tumor without destroying his special qualities. He is right-
conventional surgery of this era would have destroyed his
abilities. Thanks to our intervention, he will lead a happily
married life, living until the age of 92, with five children, twelve
grandchildren..." J. J. trailed off when he noticed Raven's glare.
J. J. smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Grandmother. I do tend to
overprepare and talk a little too much, don't I?"
"You do. If he's all right, when will he wake up?"
"Dawn. I tubed him for three days after the surgery, to take
care of some other problems. Do you want me to stay with him
until you get back from his apartment?"
Raven just glared at J. J., smothering a laugh, before she
transported to Stanley's apartment to pack a bag or two or three.
There, she got a signal from Allison that the cottage was ready.
Sending the bags, Raven transported back to Surgery Six. J. J.
was there, changed into a clean suit, bag in hand. He had
inherited his great-grandfather Stephen's sartorial elegance-
combined with being a neatness freak, led to his success as a
ladies man.
He moved to hug Raven. "It's been so nice to see you young,
Grandmother. I'll be seeing a lot of you, so, don't hesitate to
call." he said quietly.
Raven returned the hug. "Better get going." she said. "I'm
sure you have a case backlog building."
He nodded, then he stepped back, waved goodbye, then
tapped his heels together, fading from sight as he did so. "Bloody
damned showman." Raven muttered with affection- she liked the
kid!
After J. J. left, Raven had Stanley transported to the cottage
in Barbados, an unwitting victim for Allison's charms. She then
went to collect Robin and bring him home. She put him in his
bed and crept out of the room without waking him.
As she shut the door, a voice came from in front of her. "You
could have used the front door." it said, in Groucho Marx's voice.
"That's not my style, Shawn. Where are you hiding?" she
asked casually, extending her senses, and not finding him!
"I won't tell you- that's not my style." the voice said simply.
"Find me, if you can." The quiet arrogance in the voice set Raven
on edge. She came to a decision.
"All right, Shawn, outside!" she snapped, putting enough
snap in her voice that Shawn could not disobey, and he didn't.
Once outside, Raven cast the protective spell over the house.
Turning to Shawn, she growled, "If you want to act like an
animal, live like an animal. Get past me, if you can."
Shawn nodded agreement, and the battle was on. Shawn
tried everything he could to get past his grandmother, but she
wasn't in the mood to play. She beat Shawn nearly to
unconsciousness, then carried his limp form to the shore. Holding
him in the water, she told him, "You are a human that can assume
a shark's skin, not the other way around. You're hurting Brett
with your behavior. Go- you need some more lessons!"
Shawn shifted into shark form and slowly swam out to sea.
Raven sat on the beach, allowing her clothes to dry. By the time
they were dry, Shawn came walking out of the surf. Extending
her perceptions and empathy, she felt something strange coming
from him- shame and embarrassment!
He staggered up to her. Falling to his knees at her feet, she
could see the tears streaming down his face. "I'm so sorry,
Grandmother. I was only doing what I thought was right. The
King reprimanded me for my wrong thinking. I'm so tired." he
wept as he passed out at her feet.
As she picked him up, she heard a voice in her head. It was
Poseidon! "He will sleep most of the day, assimilating his
lesson. That is his penance. He will be all right tomorrow
morning." the voice said.
Raven carried Shawn inside and put him to bed. She flicked
home, left a message with Sophie to watch her little sister for
another day, then changed into a dark suit and shades. That day,
she replaced Shawn as Brett's bodyguard, staying with him all
day.
That night, Raven filled Christian in on the events of the past
few days. "So that explains some of the email in the Gold Rose
box." Chris mused. "I'm glad I told Sophie to watch Naia for
another day- we need some time together."
"We do, love." They stayed together that night and into
Wednesday. In the morning, Chris went to the office, and Raven
went to collect Naia. At Sophie's, she noticed her slightly
frazzled condition, and made a quick decision. Excusing herself
for a few minutes, Raven made some quick arrangements.
Coming back to the table, Raven told Sophie that she would
take the kids today-to the zoo in the morning, and the Science
Centre in the afternoon. Quietly, she told Sophie that she wanted
Chad that night- a manifestation was imminent.
"That's fine by me, Mom. His hunger has been getting almost
uncontrollable- I'm not sure who's been sneaking him food." she
told Raven.
Calling the kids together, Raven told them about the day
plans. Everyone liked the idea, in their own ways. Raven told
Chad that today would also be a driving lesson for him, because
he was almost 16 bio, and eligible to learn.
They had a fun day at the zoo, and at the Science Centre,
with the kids getting to try all sorts of new devices and gadgets.
That night, Chad was put up in a guest room at the manor. He
went to bed early, because he felt bad.
After Chad went to bed, Naia was tucked in. "Chad not
feeling good." she told her mother.
"No, he's not, honey."
"He get better soon. I don't have to use my purple to help
him, do I?" she asked sleepily.
"I don't think so. I can call the doctors to help him."
"Okay. He need help now- he gettin' real sick." Naia
mumbled as she fell asleep.
Raven went to Chad's room, where she found him in the
bathroom, sweating profusely. "I feel terrible, Grandma." he
moaned.
Raven could smell the hormonal shifts running rampant in
his corpulent body. "We better get you to the holodeck now." she
told him, slipping an arm under his shoulder.
"Okay." They managed to get to the holodeck in the nick of
time- Raven could feel his body tension slipping away. On the
table, Chad literally melted, his stretchable body losing all
tension.
Raven touched the special button on her watch, and J. J.
walked through the door. He went straight to Chad and put a
mask on his face. "This is to prevent him from sucking in too
much air- his body will try to re-establish tension that way." he
said almost absently.
"Why don't you just appear in the room like Percy does?"
Raven asked irritably.
Jordan administered an injection into Chad's body. "Because
I don't work that way, Madame. Everything must be done
properly." he said formally.
"Don't get all formal and proper with me, J. J.! You're just
like your great-grandfather, without the accent!" Raven snapped.
Jordan turned quickly and, removing a small mask and bottle
from a pocket, tossed it to Raven, who caught it easily. "Go stand
in the corner and breathe through that, Madame- his pheromones
are affecting you!" he snapped back to her, a rather forceful, no-
nonsense expression on his face.
Taken aback by his display of temper, Raven complied with
the doctor's orders. In moments, she did find herself calming
down.
When Raven was calm again, J. J. went on with his diagnosis.
"The fellow, first off, is going to lose half his body weight. At his
current size, that's a blessing. Next, he's losing some of his
strength and stretching abilities- not much, but enough so that
he'll know. Next, he's gaining the ability to morph his features-
the term, I believe, is 'Face Dancer'. He's going to need physical
therapy to tone and sculpt his normal frame. Your challenge is to
keep him from overdoing it. Any questions?"
"One. What about his brothers?"
"This time tomorrow. Their parents will have to make a
tough decision then, so prepare them. As to this one, he will start
resuming a more natural shape in a couple of hours.
"You really don't need me here any more today. I'll be back
tomorrow." J. J. started to tap his heels together, but Raven
stopped him.
"What should I be preparing Sophie and Chad for?" she
asked.
"If they want three boys, or one. The three want to be
together, but they will obey their parents. One is better, because
he would take after me!" he said as he vanished.
Raven waited patiently for Chad to wake up, marveling at the
visible changes happening to his once-grossly overweight frame.
When he finally did awaken, Raven helped him get up, and
helped him walk upstairs to bed. He was marveling about how he
didn't hurt anymore, how he didn't feel hungry, and that he now
could see his feet without stretching them out past his huge belly,
because it was gone!
After she tucked him in, Raven told him about how his
powers have changed. "So that explains some of the funny
feelings I have." Chad said sleepily.
"It does. Sleep well, little one." she said, giving him a kiss on
his forehead.
" 'Night, Grandma" Chad muttered as he fell asleep. Raven
spent the rest of the night with Chad, only leaving him at
breakfast time.
After breakfast, Raven called Sophie and Evan to the house,
asking them to bring the rest of the boys. She let them see Chad,
then, she told the boys to go swimming with Naya and Willow
while she talked to their parents. Raven especially looked sharply
at Byron, warning him, "No snooping!"
Byron took the hint. As the children played in the pool,
Raven told her daughter and son-in-law about the boys. The
couple looked at each other, communicating without words. After
a moment or two, they looked back at Raven.
"We will support their choice. Having the three has been a
delight as much as it has been a chore. But, if they wish to
become one, we won't stop them." Evan told Raven.
"Besides," Sophie said with a faint smile, "if they merge, we
won't have to hear the floorboards groaning as Alwyn walks
around the house! Chad was big, but Alwyn's too big!" They
looked out to the pond, where Alwyn was allowing his fat body
to be used as a raft by everyone else.
Chad woke up around noon, and, after lunch with his
brothers, joined their games. By dinner, the triplets were showing
signs of wear- Alwyn was getting very grumpy, Delwyn frustrated,
and Byron was withdrawn. Raven, smelling the change was
imminent, hustled them to the holodeck. J. J. was waiting for
them, and after tossing Raven a filter mask, managed to guide
them through their merger, becoming Timothy Duane Chambers
in actuality. This accomplished, Raven handed him, his brother
Chad, and 'sister' Willow back to Sophie and Evan, along with
Naya, because she was simply exhausted.
Going upstairs to bed, she left a note for Chris, saying she
was going to take a nap, and not to wake her. Downing a bottle of
high-test, she thought to herself, "This has been one hell of a
week." Raven didn't wake up until Monday, sleeping almost 90
hours.