Beka certainly hadn't been expecting this! Rhade must be even angrier than she had anticipated. Still, the man did know how to kiss. Must have been all that practice in Seefra. When he finally did let her go, she held on to him to keep her knees from buckling.
"Are you all right, Beka? Maybe you need to lie down."
She blinked up at him, feeling rather brainless at the moment. One of the matriarchs hurried forward with concern. "Our apologies, Beka. We should not have kept you up for so long. Please forgive us."
"Hmm?" She was feeling more than a bit light headed, not a good thing to be in a room filled with back-stabbing ubers. She shook her head, more to clear it than in denial. "No, I'm all right." Rhade gave a soft chuckle.
"Beka, how long have you been going? Don't lie to me. I can always tell."
She looked at him, her eyes narrowing in silent warning. "I… may have been at all this a little hard, but it's nothing I can't handle."
"Meaning you didn't even stop to get anything to eat." He made sure to keep his tone teasing and scolding all at once, but gentle. It had the desired effect of making no fewer than three of the matriarchs start to quietly chide the alphas accompanying them for taking up so much of Beka's time, especially after she'd already told them that she had selected a husband. He took advantage of the chaos. "I'll handle things from here. You should get some rest."
It took her a second, but she recognized a way out when it was offered. She gave him a grateful look before bidding her guests farewell and stepping out into the corridor, the doors sliding shut behind her. "Oh, Thank God!"
"Telemachus Rhade to the rescue?" Rommie was waiting for her, Doyle standing by her side.
"Yes! I knew I could depend on him."
Doyle tilted her head inquiringly. "But didn't you just abandon him in a room filled with alpha males who want to take his place?"
"He doesn't have a 'place', and he can take care of himself. Rhade knows how to both fight fair and fight dirty. Those other guys wouldn't stand a chance against him." She turned and began walking down the corridor. The androids fell into step on either side of her. It was Rommie who spoke first.
"Where are you going?"
"To the Maru. I need some sleep."
Doyle put a hand on Beka's shoulder. "Beka, you just told the leaders of the major prides that you're married to Rhade."
"Yeah. So?"
Rommie turned her so that she was facing another direction. "Don't you think it will look suspicious if you sleep in the Maru rather than in the same quarters he does?"
"Oh… right. My room, then."
"The one with the small bed?" Doyle grinned. "Rhade's is bigger."
"How would you know how big Rhade's bed is?"
Both androids blinked and looked at one another before Rommie answered. "We know everything about all the crew quarters. They're inside of us."
Beka looked from one to the other. "Uh huh. Right then. Where is Rhade's room?"
Doyle pointed down the left hand corridor. "That way. We already moved some of your things in there so you don't have to explain why you're moving from one place to the other to change clothes."
"How thoughtful of you."
"Oh, Doyle, I do believe that was sarcasm."
Beka shook her head in disbelief. "You know, I think I prefer the relationship between Doyle and your Core AI. The one where they don't get along so they don't tag team me?"
"I am aware of a certain level of tension between my core operating system and Doyle. If you will recall, however, I have also had my share of difficulties in dealing with the core operating system. May I also point out that Doyle is the first AI, other than myself, who is a member of this crew? Also, since Harper built us both we're something like sisters. I find having her here a pleasant change."
"And we get along beautifully."
"That's the part that bothers me. Now, if you two will excuse me, I need some peace and quiet for a change." Beka didn't wait for a response. She just walked down the corridor until Andromeda's voice chimed in to tell her she'd walked past Rhade's door. With a snarl of her own, she walked into the crew quarters and shut out the rest of the ship. Okay, so Doyle and Rommie were right; Rhade's bed was much bigger. He had taken over the First Officer's quarters since she had never been interested in them. The bed was twice as wide as her own and he had a decent sized shower.
Taking note of the facilities, she decided that she might as well make herself at home if she were going to have to pretend to be a happy little wife until their guests left the ship. Having a ship with efficient filtration and recycling capabilities was something she appreciated all the more now that they were out of that drought-plagued nightmare called 'Seefra'. She indulged herself with an extra long shower in an attempt to rid herself of the stress that had built up ever since Dylan had shot his big mouth off and ratted her out to the Nietzcheans. She would shove him out an air lock if she weren't afraid that Andromeda would do something in retaliation.
The sharp rapping of someone knocking on the shower door made her yell in surprise. "Are you gonna be in there all night?"
"Rhade! What are you doing here?"
"It's my room!"
"I'm trying to take a shower in here!"
"Yeah, I noticed. You've been in there for ages. Hurry up, will ya? In case you've forgotten, I've been out playing the hero while you've been here having a tea party with the leaders of the Nietzchean race. I'd kinda like to clean up before bed myself."
"They let you go all ready?"
"It's not me they're interested in. After you left, things got boring real quick, although I might have to watch out for a knife in my back from a couple of broken hearted hopefuls."
"Sorry about that." She couldn't be any more grateful that the glass walls were steamed up as she shut off the taps. "Toss a towel over, would ya?" Two came flying over the top of the shower wall. "I said 'a' towel."
"I thought you might like one for your hair." She could see his outline as he rested his back against the shower. "You know, Beka, it would have been nice if you had discussed this little plan of yours with me before including me in it."
"I didn't have time, Rhade. It never occurred to me that they would want me married. I would have thought being the mother of all of them would have been enough to exempt me from this." She wrapped the spare towel around her hair and used the other one to cover the rest of herself.
"It's not procreation they're concerned about, it's protection. They feel that a strong husband will be able to keep you from doing anything rash or stupid." She heard him laugh. "They should have talked to me first. I could have told them that's a losing battle."
"Thanks for the support, Rhade. It's good to know who I can count on."
"Don't worry, Beka. I'm on your side."
"You don't sound like it."
"I am, though. To prove it, I'll warn you now that you'd better appear bright and cheery in the morning."
She frowned as she tucked the end of the towel in to secure it. "Why?"
"Because after that apparent near fainting spell earlier, the matriarchs are convinced that you're about to be the mother of another Nietzchean."
Beka froze for a second before opening the door to the shower and leaning out. "What?"
Rhade turned his head to look her direction and grace her with a smug, little smile. "They think you're pregnant."
"You told them I'm not, right?"
"I told them that I had detected no change in you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
His playful look turned into a condescending one. "Beka, I've been a father before. Trust me, a woman's scent is entirely different when she's expecting."
"Okay, so no biggie. You told them I'm not."
"They don't believe me. They think I'm trying to protect you by keeping your condition a secret." He banged on the shower wall again. "Get out. My quarters, my shower, my turn."
Beka glared at him before stepping out of the shower. "You're a rotten husband, Telemachus Rhade."
He shook his finger at her. "I've been married before, Beka, and I happen to know that I'm a wonderful husband." He put a hand on the small of her back and gently pushed her from the lavatory. "You're just a rotten wife."
