Title: Late Nights
Rating: M for (non-graphic) sex
Category: gen, het, romance
Pairings: All aboard the good 'ship Goddenport.
Summary: While T.J. had long suspected that the man who personified Space was a romantic at heart, she seemed to forget that her capable students were still children at heart. (A continuation of the "Challengers" series.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Space Cases. I just miss it a whole lot.
Late Nights
T.J. looked up from grading essays on her compupad to find her five students looking as bored as ever as they finished their latest exam. She was used to Suzee completing her test early and staring off into space, and it was not rare for Bova to fall asleep in class after finishing his work, but now even Radu couldn't be bothered to conceal a yawn.
The past few weeks had been blessedly uneventful, allowing for T.J. and Seth to explore and nurture their relationship under baseline "normal" conditions aboard the Christa. They hadn't yet told the students of their decision to become a couple, but the kids had noticed something was different about T.J. and commented on the difference in their once-uptight teacher's behavior. And yet some things never changed: Davenport reverted back to the same strict disciplinarian the moment she set foot in her classroom. It was a habit that she couldn't seem to break.
She scanned the glum faces of the young adults before her and sighed in defeat. "This just won't do. Class dismissed. Forget about the exam. I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."
Harlan leaped out of his seat with a triumphant "Yes!" and raced to the door. Rosie, Radu, and Suzee followed suit, hoping to leave quickly before Davenport changed her mind. That left Bova, who was still sleeping; his mouth hung open as he snored softly.
T.J. approached the young tactical officer and gently roused him with a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Bova? Class has ended."
He woke up, bleary-eyed with a yawn, and realized what had happened. "Huh? Oh. How many demerits do I get for the day?" he wondered casually.
"None today. I'll grant you a reprieve."
"Huh. Cool." The Uranusian wiped the sleep from his eyes. "You okay, Miss Davenport?"
The question surprised her. "Yes, I am fine. Why do you ask?"
"You've been acting nicer than usual lately. I thought you might be taken over by some sort of alien virus or something. Hoping not, but you never know. It's happened before, and it's about time something creepy and dangerous happened around here.
She disagreed, stating, "I think it is rather refreshing to have a break from the chaos."
"The lack of weirdness probably means we've slipped into a parallel universe where everything is normal and boring."
T.J. shook her head and smiled fondly at the pessimistic boy. "If that ends up being the case, I will not say you didn't warn me."
Bova shrugged and headed out the door, offering, "Whatever. See ya."
T.J. collected her compupad and took the jumptubes to her quarters to revise the class schedule for the following week. She settled in on the small sofa in the corner and allowed her thoughts to wander. It was becoming quite challenging to construct lesson plans for the students. They'd grown to be bright young adults who excelled in their studies when they applied themselves, and T.J. meant to discuss the matter of cutting back on class time and extending command post training.
Her attention was torn away from her work when the doors to her rooms parted, revealing a perplexed Seth Goddard. She smiled and gave him a polite "Hello" before turning back to her work. He entered but didn't move much further from the doorway as he watched her.
"Seth, is everything quite all right?" She could feel herself blushing. "You're staring."
"The crew said you cut class short. That's not like you. I was worried and wanted to make sure you were okay," he answered.
"Yes, I am fine. I suppose I'm just a little flummoxed is all."
"Flummoxed, huh? That's not like you either." He crossed the room and took a seat next to her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong per se. In fact, the students have been doing very well with their studies. They are nearing the end of the approved Starcademy curriculum, and we have already reviewed some more advanced topics. Their individual tutoring sessions have been progressing very well too. Plus, the experience they've gained from this journey is proving to be invaluable." She sighed. "I suppose I am afraid I do not have much left to teach the crew."
"T.J., even if you don't conduct formal lessons with a set curriculum, you still have a lot of wisdom to impart. Teaching and learning don't stop outside the classroom. And you offer way more than just knowledge. You're someone we can all look up to." He paused to put his arm around her. "No one can provide the same level of love and encouragement you do. I've said it before: you are the heart of our weird little family out here."
"No, I merely have a supporting role," she decided.
"Teej, we've talked about this."
She sighed, leaning back and resting her head against his shoulder. "Agree to disagree, at least for now."
"You'll come around to my way of thinking sooner or later," Seth predicted, before placing a kiss atop her head.
T.J. hummed thoughtfully. "It is nice to know my presence is valued. However, at this juncture, I think it would be beneficial for the crew to have more command post training in lieu of formal classes, if you are willing."
It was Goddard's turn to sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared off in thought. "Y'know, I think I've taught the crew as much as I can, too: STARDOG regulations, flying maneuvers, almost everything I learned in field training and command school. They've all had the opportunity to work at each post and master the controls. Maybe it's time we let the crew learn from each other. I mean, who'd have thought Bova would be almost as good a pilot as Harlan?"
T.J. chuckled. "I suspect Mr. Band is still a little miffed."
"And possibly flummoxed," Seth added playfully, "but he'll get over it. Bova has been very vocal about the fact that he doesn't even enjoy flying the ship, so Harlan knows there's no threat of him commandeering the helm."
"Thank goodness that's sorted," T.J. quipped. "I suppose the only thing left to do is fix Thelma."
"Doubt that'll happen anytime soon. We've studied her schematics, her data crystal is irreparable, and we risk wiping her entire memory if we give her a new one. We'd have to reteach her everything." He paused to consider, "Of course, that could be a project for you, if you want to get back to teaching full time."
T.J. shook her head. "No. I rather like where we are in terms of our progress...for the most part."
"There are still some things you would change, huh? Care to share?"
T.J. smiled up at him and kissed him on the cheek before settling into his arms once again. "Very soon, I should think," she answered.
Seth knew there was no point in trying to tease the information out of her, so he shook his head and asked lovingly, "Anyone ever tell you how stubborn you are?"
"Yes: you. On a semi-regular basis," she quipped. "Anyone ever tell you how utterly ridiculous you are?"
"You're not just 'anyone,' and you don't seem to mind."
"You've caught me out. In point of fact, I find it rather endearing."
"When I'm ridiculous?"
"Yes."
"Well I think you're rather endearing when you get all worked up. You huff a bit and you get this pout—"
"I do not pout!"
"Yeah, you do. You're doing it now."
She swatted at him, realizing he was right. "Oh, shut up."
They sat together in a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's company as he held her close. Seth spoke first. "I could fall asleep here."
"You could."
"But I should leave you to finish your work, right?"
"Or..." She pressed a hand to his chest to prevent him from sitting up. "You could stay."
He pulled back and stared into her shining hazel eyes as she gazed into the depths of his questioning blue ones.
"Spend the night, I mean," she whispered, almost ashamed of the request. "I know you've been waiting quite patiently for me to initiate."
He took a few additional seconds to process her statement. "Teej, are you sure?"
"Quite sure," T.J. answered without hesitation. "Unless you don't want—"
"I do want," he clarified quickly. "One hundred percent want." He cringed and hung his head. "Those were sentences, right?"
She chuckled through a sigh of relief. "Oh, Seth. The words made it out in some semblance of the right order. You were perhaps missing a few parts of speech, but they were implied."
"I sounded like a caveman," he lamented.
"But a rather endearing one," she reassured him, earning her a smile. "I never thought anyone would render you speechless, least of all me. But I'll take it as a compliment, shall I?"
"That's how I meant it."
"I'm sure."
He sobered for a moment. "I want you, T.J. But I want to do right by you, you know that."
T.J. recalled his promise with a warm smile, "You'd give me as much time and space as I'd need. You wouldn't ask for anything I wasn't ready to give." Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. He was such a noble idiot: her noble idiot. And she could tell he was struggling. Hell, he looked like he was about to combust as she pulled herself into his lap. His hands settled on her hips as she leaned in, about to kiss him. She stopped a breath away to whisper, "I think the time has come, don't you?"
She pulled back just enough to see the expression on his face and was certain the desire in her eyes mirrored his own. He gulped, and his voice was husky when he spoke next. "Teej, I just need it to be one hundred percent clear that you want—"
"I do want," she interrupted, cheekily and completely self-assured. Her voice was seductive when she teased him by adding, "One hundred percent want."
"Why does that sound so much sexier when you say it?"
She did her best impression of his lopsided grin and kept her eyes locked on his as she unzipped her jacket and shrugged it off her shoulders, allowing the garment to fall to the floor. She straddled him for a moment, needing leverage to push herself off the sofa and stand. Seth appeared too stunned to move, and she quirked an eyebrow as she took his hands in hers. "Unless you are quite content to just sit there."
He squeezed her hands and allowed her to hoist him up. The resulting momentum, however, soon left him crashing into her.
A memory resurfaced.
Seth grinned wolfishly at her, much as he had done ages ago, before twirling her around, pulling her close, wrapping his arms around her and playfully dipping her to the floor. She was ready for the maneuver, and had gripped onto his shoulders with a joyous laugh that he muffled with a passionate kiss. He set her upright again, and she shucked another layer—this time, her vest—and looked expectantly at him before bending down to take care of her boots.
"Your turn," she prompted, straightening back up. "Unless you require assistance."
He quickly divested himself of the same layers, and T.J. couldn't help but chuckle as he stumbled over his own feet when he got to his shoes.
It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other like this before; they both frequently went without their outer layers, especially at the end of the day when they would meet in the galley or one of their rooms for their late night chats. Their discussions had become more uplifting, and T.J. no longer felt like an angst-ridden mess after. In fact she treasured these moments with him. Seth would crack jokes, and she'd serve a lighthearted quip back. He'd freely offer stories about his past, going all the way back to his childhood, no longer putting pressure on T.J. to come up with a long list of questions for him to answer. She'd speak of growing up on Mars: about her tumultuous relationship with her mother and sister and spending time with her father. Oftentimes, Seth would grant her insight into his private conversations with James Davenport and the encouragement T.J.'s father was able to give him when his own dad refused. Sometimes T.J. and Seth would fall asleep cuddled up on the couch in his or her quarters after reminiscing—that had been happening more frequently as of late.
But this was new. Seth approached her and tilted her chin up so her lips met his in a chaste kiss that quickly took on a life of its own, spiraling as T.J. pressed herself against him and they fought for breath.
She pulled away first, her lungs burning and her head dizzy. Seth held her tightly, noticing her eyes were unfocused, and he wondered if she was okay.
"It is rather cliché, but you did seem to literally take my breath away for a moment," she admitted.
"Well, then. While you catch your breath..." Seth took the opportunity to move his kisses to her neck, and she sighed.
"Space hates a tease," she whispered, her eyes fluttering closed. "I appreciate you taking things at a leisurely pace for my sake, but this is far too slow for my liking."
"Noted." Seth chuckled into the crook of her neck before kissing her forehead and meeting her eyes again. "And to think, there was a time in our history when you'd have threatened to trap me in the airlock if I even alluded to making a move."
T.J. felt a pang in her chest as she contemplated the sentimental phrase, "Our history?"
"Yeah. The history of...us. Our relationship. How we started versus where we are now." Seth's eyes were on the frame at her bedside, currently displaying an image of their first kiss in the command post. When T.J. turned to look as well, he added half-jokingly, "I just hope the ship isn't too much of a voyeur."
"She should know better," T.J. said pointedly to the ceiling. "Our history," she mused again. She gave Seth a brief but passionate kiss before quipping, "Well, I assure you the threat of trapping you in the airlock would have been an empty one; I needed help managing the students at that point, and confining you there would have been counterproductive to those efforts."
Another kiss as he untucked her shirt and fiddled with the hem. "And that's the only reason you wouldn't have followed through, eh?" he teased her.
And another as she did the same. "Indeed. There was also a time I would have given you demerits for being out of uniform, but now..." His hands crept under her shirt and ghosted up her sides in a gentle caress, and she giggled. "Seth, stop. That tickles." She retaliated by running her fingers through his hair, lightly raking her nails over his scalp.
"You're not playing fair," he said through a groan. "But I admit your spontaneous side is earning you a lot of brownie points."
"Well, I tend to be one who aims to please. We shall see which one of us earns the most brownie points by the end of the night."
"Challenge accepted." He smiled at her, and he was surprised when she pushed him down onto her bed and straddled him. Then again, she had always been particularly demanding, so he shouldn't have been too surprised that her attitude carried over into this arena as well. He grinned and flipped them over, and she yelped in surprise but started laughing against his lips as he pinned her down on the bed and kissed her fervently.
They fumbled to undo the fastenings on the rest of their many layers: zippers, buckles buttons. "These uniforms are highly impractical," T.J. complained as Seth helped her free her arm from the cuff of her long-sleeved shirt.
He tossed the offending article aside and paused when he saw the creamy white lace bra that was underneath. "That...can't be standard issue," he said slowly.
She grinned. "How perceptive of you."
"Where...?"
She grinned wickedly. "Surely you'll let me keep some of my secrets." She loved the feel of his weight on top of her as he moved his kisses over her jawline in light touches, then continued down her neck and chest. She was putty in his hands. "Trousers. Off. Now," she managed as she arched up against him, desperate for more contact. He obeyed with a cheeky "Yes, Ma'am" and divested both of them of their remaining garments until they were both stripped bare before one another.
He drank her in as she finally lay bare before him and committed every freckled pattern to memory as he would constellations in the sky. "T.J., you are stunning," he declared.
She shook her head with tears in her eyes. "I'm really not."
"You're perfect."
"No."
"I wish you could see yourself the way I see you." Deciding something then and there, he declared, "I'm going to try my damndest to help you do just that."
Hands roamed and mouths explored. Their foreplay was competitive: Instead of witty barbs, they battled by aiming to please, fully aware that one would reward the other for doing so. Brownie points, indeed.
She finally surrendered to him as he hovered over her. He kept his eyes locked with hers, and she gasped when he entered her, achingly slow. Her eyes fluttered closed and her head lolled back into the pillows as she stretched to accommodate him inch by inch. He paused and begged her to look at him when he heard her whimper and felt her nails dig into his shoulders.
"Teej? Are you all right?" he asked. "Please. I need to know."
"Yes." T.J. gasped in pleasure as she relaxed and he slid infinitesimally deeper.
"Tell me what you need." His voice was husky and low.
Hers was breathy. "Please. I need you to move. I need more. Just...more."
Their lovemaking was slow at first. The kisses were tender and the touches, gentle. Their bodies found their own rhythm of ebb and flow as they continued. Both knew that one would try to best the other, and in doing so their lovemaking grew more intense as they coaxed each other to the peak of pleasure, riding out the aftershocks and the maelstrom of emotions that washed between them and holding each other as they came down from the high.
Thoroughly satisfied in every way possible, T.J. nestled into Seth's side, and he draped an arm around her.
"You okay?" he asked once he caught his breath.
"More than okay," she replied with her body still humming.
"Enjoying the afterglow?" he teased.
"Hush, you're ruining the moment," she scolded him through a sleepy smile.
"I just like to wind you up."
"Hmm, I never would have guessed."
He studied her as she looked up at him through hooded eyes and long lashes. Her eyes contained the utmost adoration, as if she was gazing at the most amazing thing in the universe. "You look happy," he said simply. He was thankful, but he also refused to believe she would ever hold him in such high regard.
She knew him too well. "Because of you," she reassured him. She ran her hand through his severe case of bedhead, pausing to play with the grey at his temples. "You look happy too. As well as thoroughly debauched."
Seth merely chuckled. "And whose fault is that? Y'know, anyone who found out about this would think you canceled class so you could have—"
"Seth!" T.J. gasped, scandalized. "I sincerely hope you do not plan on informing the students of our change in relationship status and," she fumbled for the right phrase and cringed when she regrettably settled on, "extracurricular activities."
He laughed even harder as her cheeks burned and she tried to hide her face in his chest. "We are not calling it that."
"That was the most unfortunate turn of phrase, wasn't it?"
"I just meant that, at the rate gossip flies around this ship, someone's going to find out sooner or later." He tensed for a moment as he considered, "With Radu's hearing..."
"Oh goodness!" T.J.'s entire body blushed as she buried her head into her pillow.
"'Change in relationship status', hmm? So how would you define us now?"
T.J. propped herself up on her elbow and ran her fingers over the silky fabric of her sheets as she considered the question. "I suppose I don't quite know. We have not been on an official date per se, calling you my boyfriend sounds juvenile, and calling you my lover sounds scandalous. We have known each other for quite some time and were friends first, but whatever we are now is..." she trailed off. "How would you prefer to define us?"
Seth contemplated this for a moment before his eyes lit up with certainty and he was ready to give his answer. "Promise you won't laugh?"
"That phrase does not inspire much confidence, Seth. But given the fact I just used the term 'extracurricular activities' in this context, I'll allow you to continue with some word-finding of your own."
"You are my partner. In every way. You're my partner in command, verbal sparring partner," he paused, hoping to get a rise out of her when he added, "sexual partner" and was not disappointed when she blushed again and playfully swiped at him. Grinning, he continued, "You are my romantic partner and my partner in life. You help me keep my head on straight when I want to go off and do something stupid, you calm me down when I get worked up, you raise my spirits when I'm feeling down..."
"You do the same for me."
"It's second nature for me now. You are the most remarkable woman I've ever known, T.J. You really are my better half. And we're in this—this relationship, this adventure—together as equals, as partners. How's that? Does that inspire confidence?"
She smiled serenely at him. "I've long suspected that the man who personifies Space is a romantic at heart," she quipped. "You do not disappoint."
"I just speak the truth. I look at where we started and where we are now. Back at the beginning, I never thought I'd have a chance in hell with you."
She echoed his earlier sentiment as she shifted to nestle against him again and rest her head on his chest, "Seth, we've talked about this. And you will come around to my way of thinking eventually."
"Hmm. Guess I'm just lucky."
"I thought Space didn't believe in luck."
"Well what does it believe in, then?" With a surprisingly coy smile, Seth added, "You're becoming quite an expert on the subject."
"Space may claim to hate many things, but Space loves and believes in even more," she answered. "It believes in me, in us, in second chances... Shall I go on?"
"Normally, I'd say yes, but I can barely keep my eyes open. You wore me out."
"We will table this discussion for tomorrow, then." She gave him a peck on the cheek before settling in for the night wrapped in his arms.
"Teej?"
"Yes?"
He placed a kiss in her hair: a gesture of affection that he'd used with her even before they realized how much they truly meant to each other. T.J. snuggled closer, resting her head against his chest: her own significant gesture of affection.
"I love you," he whispered.
She could feel the tears forming in her eyes and somehow successfully blinked them back.
She couldn't take another loss.
Not again.
Not him.
Swallowing down her fears, she concentrated on the present: the feeling of being loved and cherished and protected in his arms and the comforting sound of his heartbeat. She responded with her truth: "I love you too, Seth. I love you too."
T.J. and Seth entered the galley the next morning to find the students almost finished with their breakfast. Goddard headed directly for the food wheel while Davenport went to brew some tea.
"Good morning," Harlan offered, smugly. "Late night?"
Goddard dropped his tube of powdered food, spilling the contents on the front of his uniform. T.J. lost her grip on the teakettle and it clattered to the floor.
Rosie scolded him. "Harlan, be nice." Turning to the adults she jumped up and down and squealed, "I'm so happy for you!"
"Assuming it went well," Bova added drolly, causing Suzee to dissolve into a fit of giggles and Radu to nearly choke on his food.
T.J. managed a shrill "I beg your unbelievable pardon!" while Seth remained speechless, his mouth opening and closing as he failed to find the words to properly express his shock.
"Don't blame us. Blame Thelma," Harlan said, folding his arms across his chest, still rather pleased with himself.
Upon her name being uttered, Thelma appeared by the Earther's side with a dutiful "Yes?" causing him to jump in his seat.
"It's not anyone's fault," Rosie said, albeit with an apologetic smile. "We didn't mean to pry, honest. You two were late for breakfast, so we wondered what was keeping you. And, well...Thelma told us kind of, sort of, exactly what was keeping you."
"For the first time in forever, I lost my appetite," Bova announced, rolling his eyes. "Thanks, Thelma."
"You are welcome, Bova." Thelma flashed a mechanical smile as she announced to the group, "And it has come to my attention that this means I have won The Bet. Therefore, as per our agreement, you are all in charge of my duties for precisely one week."
T.J. blinked. "I honestly don't think I want to know."
"You're right: you really don't," Bova affirmed. "And you can't say I didn't warn you."
Goddard shook his head. "I'm going to regret asking this—"
"Yes. Yes, you are," Harlan interjected with a sly smile.
"But I am going to ask anyway: Thelma, what bet?" Goddard continued, "And why are the kids taking on your responsibilities?"
The android answered, "The nature of your relationship with Miss Davenport intrigued the crew. A few weeks ago, we placed bets as to when you had first 'hooked up.' " Thelma made a mechanical approximation of air quotes. "We determined that the losers would then have to do the winner's chores for a week."
"Goodness. I haven't fainted in months, and this is what will do me in," T.J. mumbled to herself, leaning against the countertop.
Rosie confessed, "You've been spending more time together and stuff, so we wondered if there was something going on. I was convinced you two started a relationship right after the commander got out of the healing chamber." She bit her lip and played with the fingertips of her gloves. "You were in your quarters for a while that morning and then asked for privacy after."
T.J. gasped. "Rosie!"
"It was sweet!" the Mercurian defended herself. "The thought of you two reunited and professing your love for one another was so romantic."
"It seemed like something significant happened after the commander's expedition: right before we left the planet," Radu admitted. "You were protective of each other in a way that seemed different from before."
Suzee was flippant in giving her answer: "I was convinced you guys hooked up after the thing with Reaver. No one knew where you were that night."
Goddard glared in warning. "Suzee..."
"What? Cat placed her bet on the night after we crash-landed." Suzee whipped her head around to glance at the empty space behind her. "You did so!" Turning back to Goddard, she added, "She totally did."
"And I had a theory you guys were already a thing back at the Starcademy and had a weird breakup or something," Harlan admitted. "Thought that's why you were acting strange around each other and got on each other's nerves so much."
"Well, that wasn't the case, Mr. Band." Goddard cleared his throat. "Not that it matters."
"That's cool. A lot of the other teachers will probably be disappointed when they find out though. They had a running bet too."
T.J. was horrified. "Well, I'm sure when the headmistress found out, she put a stop to it!"
Harlan smirked. "Who do you think got everyone talking in the first place?"
T.J.'s jaw hit the floor. "You can't be serious!"
"I didn't place a bet," Bova announced.
"Well, thank you, Mr. Bova." T.J. folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at the rest of the students. "At least someone has some decency and tact."
"I just figured the whole thing was gross and wouldn't happen at all," the Uranusian offered, causing T.J. to sigh very loudly.
"And I believed you required more time to work on your relationship as friends before slowly realizing you meant more to each other. Only then would you decide to be in a committed romantic relationship," Thelma declared with a nod.
Both T.J. and Seth glanced between each other and the android in shock.
"That is very astute of you, Thelma," T.J. offered.
"Thelma was the only one who bet on sometime in the future. Who'd have figured the android would be the one to understand human emotion?" Harlan said with a shrug.
"Yes, I expected far better from all of you," T.J. blurted out. "Not to say I expected you to be placing such bets, but if you were to do so..."
Even Goddard quirked an eyebrow, interested as to where she was headed.
"Oh, never mind!" T.J. snapped.
"Miss Davenport helped me learn about human emotion after she emerged from the Christa's computer, and again when I had questions after her sleep teaching experiment," Thelma revealed. "However, I am less familiar with human mating rituals. Do you wish to procreate, or was this sexual encounter purely recreational in nature?"
Harlan slapped the table and howled with laughter. Suzee fell out of her chair, Radu appeared somewhat confused, and Bova pretended to vomit. Rosie looked as mortified as her teachers.
"Thelma! You can't ask that!" Rosie squeaked. Turning to T.J., she whispered, "Although as your physician, if there's anything you'd like to discuss with me..."
"Baby Goddard betting pool!" Harlan announced gleefully.
"No! Just stop! Everyone, this conversation is over," Goddard protested. "Shut this down right now."
"Yes, if you will excuse me, there are some duties to which I must no longer attend," Thelma announced before plucking the crystal from her helmet and powering down.
Goddard sighed through gritted his teeth. "I didn't mean literally." He eyed Thelma for a moment before his frustrated scowl turned into a smug grin.
"Seth...?" T.J. knew that look of his. She glared at him and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
He knew that look of hers. "Don't worry, Teej. I've got it under control."
"Teej, huh?" Harlan repeated.
Goddard ignored the young Earther and instead addressed the group, "So, do any of you actually know how many things Thelma does around the ship on a daily basis?" Their smiles faded immediately, and his grew wider. He continued, "And when any of us call for Thelma, doesn't she instantly appear wherever she's needed to lend a hand or fulfill a request?"
He was happy to see four faces grimace when they realized they'd unintentionally devised their own punishment. As for the fifth and sixth...
"What about Cat and Bova?" Harlan wondered. "By saying nothing would happen, didn't Bova technically place a bet?"
Bova shrugged. "That's fair, I guess. I figured this whole thing would backfire somehow anyway." He turned to Davenport. "See? This is what happens when we get bored, alternate dimension or not."
"And I cannot say you didn't warn me," T.J. remembered.
Suzee whirled around again. "Cat, stop laughing! When we switch back, you know you're going to have a pile of classwork and demerits waiting for you because of this." Turning back to the adults, Suzee rolled her eyes. "She says, and I quote, 'Worth it.' "
"I mean, is it so bad we wanted you guys to figure out you made each other happy? And that we thought it would happen sooner rather than later?" Rosie offered.
"By placing bets on our lovelife, Miss Ianni?"
Rosie winced. "Okay, I suppose when you put it like that, it sounds bad."
"Well, congratulations or whatever," Bova offered with a shrug.
"You know, you still haven't answered Thelma's question," Harlan pressed.
T.J. was exasperated. "Of course we haven't answered. It was highly inappropriate!"
"Plus, we haven't really talked about kids yet," Goddard added. As soon as the sentence left his mouth, he knew he was in trouble. He could feel T.J. glaring at him without even looking at her. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Heh. Whoops."
"Indeed." T.J. folded her arms across her chest. Addressing the students once again, she added, "I should think taking care of the lot of you is enough work as it is: five children plus an android and an invisible girl is certainly a handful."
Suzee grinned. "So you finally figured out you guys are Commander Dad and Teacher Mom? Why didn't we place a bet on that?"
Seth quirked an eyebrow. "Commander Dad?"
"Well, yeah. You guys are the closest thing we have to parents out here," Rosie explained. "I mean, sure we're a crew. But we're also a family."
"I've never had a real mom or dad," Radu spoke up. "But if I did, I think I'd want them to be like you."
"Awwww!" Rosie cooed.
T.J. and Seth were honestly very touched by Radu's candor, so much so that they almost forgot to be upset.
Almost.
"That is very sweet, Radu," T.J. admitted. "But that doesn't excuse your earlier behavior, of course."
"It was worth a shot though." Bova offered.
"Man, you guys are good," Harlan whined. "Any kid of yours wouldn't stand a chance."
Suzee shook her head. "Nah. That kid would be spoiled rotten. Adorable and intelligent and probably a bit of a sneak, but really spoiled."
"One of us! One of us!" Harlan chanted.
"It would be so much fun to be an aunt!" Rosie exclaimed.
T.J. and Seth glanced between themselves and the students, who were now discussing the hypothetical child in great detail.
"We are still in the room," Seth reminded them.
Harlan grinned. "C'mon, Commander. Admit it: you would love a little partner in crime."
"And, Miss Davenport, teaching a miniature version of you everything about the universe has got to be at least a little appealing," Suzee offered.
"Wha— No! We are not discussing this!" T.J. huffed before turning on her heel to leave.
"Wow, she was so upset, she forgot to hand out demerits," Harlan realized.
Goddard was left on his own against five kids—six, he reminded himself, as Suzee focused on the empty space next to her and chuckled. "Dare I ask what Catalina has to say?"
"Miss Davenport said 'We are not discussing this,' and so Cat said, 'A little less conversation...' "
Goddard groaned and put his head in his hands while the rest of the kids laughed at his expense.
"Ten demerits. Each," he announced.
Bova rolled his eyes. "There are your demerits, Harlan."
"Are we grounded too?" Harlan joked.
Goddard shook his head and left the room. As the doors closed behind him, he heard Radu say, "So...I have some questions..."
Seth decided to walk faster.