Ben walked toward the mess hall. He was starving. He had hit a growth spurt and had grown a couple of inches and now he was craving mashed potatoes and gravy. Pope had taught some of the guys how to make good gravy, and he couldn't wait to eat some.

He nodded at a blonde teenage girl who was walking down the street. As she passed him he got a flash in his mind of warm pink flesh and a white ball. The thought made him feel warm and he stopped in his tracks. He turned around and started to follow her. Then he asked himself why and realized there was no reason why, so he turned back around and headed into the mess hall.

He tried to shake off the weird experience while he got some food and sat down at a table. Hal was, of course, already there and eating. Ben tried to be quiet and just eat his food. He was almost done when Lourdes walked by making eyes at Hal. She did that whenever she got the chance. As she walked behind Ben's back to lock eyes with Hal, Ben had another flash of pink flesh and a white floating ball... What was this? It was like a weird vision. He shook his head. Hal was giving him a look.

"I think I've had enough to eat." Ben got up and gave his tray to the lady whose job it was to wash dishes today. He hurried outside. What was this? There had been some strange things happen to him, but this was inexplicable. There were no skitters around so no one was putting thoughts into his head.

He hurried outside to go sit beneath the liberty tree and collect his thoughts. He had been sitting there for about thirty minutes when Jeanne came over to him. "Are you okay Ben? You don't look so good." The flash of the floating white ball came again and suddenly Ben knew what it was. Jeanne was ovulating, she was ready to mate. He was sensing an egg inside of her fallopian tube. He could have offspring with her.

"I think I'm getting too hot, do you want to go with me to that building over there and get out of the sun?" "Sure, you don't look too good."

As Ben walked to the building he wondered what he should do. He suddenly had the urge to kiss Jeanne like he had never had the urge to kiss anyone, it was almost undeniable. But he did deny it. He sat down on a ledge inside the building and after 10 minutes said he was feeling better. Jeanne said she had work to do, and if he was sure, she would leave to get started. Ben said yes and said he'd sit for a little longer. He waited until she was out of sight then raced back toward the barracks hoping to catch his brother Hal. He would talk to him and see what he said. Maybe this was something that just happened. No, he was pretty sure he'd never read about having telepathic understanding of when a girl was ovulating in Sex Ed.

Now what should he do? He decided to go to his room where he could be alone to think. He was struggling with his thoughts when he nearly bumped into Lourdes. She had stepped out into the hallway as he was going towards his sleeping quarters. "Oh sorry Ben! I didn't see you there." Lourdes was wearing a blue tank top with a white button down shirt, that was unbuttoned, and a pair of almost new blue jeans.

"That's okay." Ben managed to say before the vision of the white ball flashed across his mind again. "Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you about something. Do you think we could go somewhere quiet and talk?"

"There aren't a lot of quiet, or private places, around here to talk Ben." Lourdes looked apologetic and cute. Suddenly Ben had an idea. "Why don't we go to my sleeping quarters? Matt is in school and Hal is probably on patrol, or cleaning weapons. We could be alone for a minute."

Lourdes looked distracted, "Yeah I think Hal is cleaning weapons with Maggie. We can go to your room." They started walking that way. This time Ben's mind was made up. He couldn't deny his impulses anymore. They were too strong. When they got to his room he let Lourdes in and shut the door. She turned around to face him with a smile that told Ben she had no idea what was going on. He took a chance, not knowing what to say, and just grabbed her. He put one hand on the back of her head, in her hair, and put the other one on her hip as he kissed her. It was a hot messy kiss.

She jumped a little, put her hands on his shoulders and pushed back on him. "Ben! What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, you just- just- smell so good!"

"I do?" She asked surprised. She had taken a shower two days ago, did she still smell that good?

"Yes. I have always thought you were pretty, and today I thought I should tell you how I feel." He still had his left hand on her hip, and had moved his right hand to her neck. "I know you kind of like my brother, but he is infatuated with Maggie. Why don't you give me a chance? I'll make you happy."

"Whoa! Slow down cowboy. What has gotten into you?" She didn't looked scared, just surprised. Ben didn't know what to say. So he kissed her again, this time slower and softer. To his surprise she didn't back away or slap him. She simply stood there. When he stopped to look into her eyes, he could tell that she wasn't scared.

"Wow I didn't realize... that you..." It seemed that she couldn't find the words either. So Ben kissed her again and this time she pressed against him fully enjoying the kiss. Ben had not had much experience with girls, but it was like another secretive part of his brain took over as he slipped Lourdes shirt from her shoulders and threw it on the floor. He broke the kiss to pull her tank top up. Lourdes looked at Ben in wonder. "Looks like I've been chasing the wrong brother."