Don closed the door to his cabin. The emotional rollercoaster he had been on the last twenty four hours caught up with him. He was so angry with Dr. Smith for the hell he had put them through he wanted to physically harm the man. The fact that Judy was the victim of his diabolical scheming just added to his fury. Had John not stopped him, he is sure he would have killed him. Once he gained his composure, he thought he would be able to keep his feeling under control. That was, until John and Maureen gave him that look of disapproval he had all too often seen when they were on Earth. He had felt his anger start to well up inside of him again. He decided it was best if he just got away from them all…including Judy, preventing him from saying or doing something he would later regret.
He lay on his bunk and closed his eyes. He remembered how he felt when John grabbed Judy in the Chariot and they realized that Judy had been replicated. That Judy's eyes relayed nothing but her anger and hatred towards them. Don felt as if his heart was being ripped out of his body. He thought his Judy was gone forever and he would never be happy again.
As he tried to bury his feelings, the lifeless image of his Judy lying in the cyclamen plant flashed through his mind. He felt the tears form. He rubbed them away with his hand. When they found her, he had held his breath until she actually spoke to John, to which the relief of hearing her beautiful, sweet voice made him say a silent prayer of thanks. She was alive. He had never been happier than he was at that exact moment. Once she was brought back to the ship, Don had not been able to get close to her. All he wanted was to put his arms around her and hold her, feel her warmth of her body against his, but he was unable to do so. Her family wouldn't let him. They got to hold her, kiss her and caress her, everything he wanted, needed and yearned to do. For the first time in a long time, he felt like an outsider, and it hurt.
Don thought about the conversation in the Galley. He saw the look in Judy's eyes when they told her that the duplicate was so perfect a replica of her that they were all deceived. Those blue eyes spoke volumes to him. She was disappointed. Disappointed that those people who loved her were unable tell that the being with them was her duplicate. It overwhelmed her. "How could I not know she was a duplicate?" It scared Don that he was not able to tell the difference. Judy was supposedly the love of his life. "If I love her that much, why didn't I know? I should have known." Don's emotions got the best of him and the tears flowed freely down his face. For a moment, he questioned his love for her then realized that John was right. Their emotions had blinded them. They were all so relieved that she was back that they were willing to overlook the obvious warning signs that something was wrong. Judy would never have talked to Maureen the way she did over something as trivial as a salad. Don assumed Judy was still mad at him for banning Smith from camp when she would not let him walk her to her cabin that night. "We…I... let you down Judy. I'm so very sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise I will." Don tried to erase the negative thoughts from his mind, and after awhile drifted off into a restless sleep.
Don was walking down the path to the cyclamen garden with Judy by his side. It was a beautiful evening. A slight breeze, unusual for Priplanus, was blowing and the vegetation was lush. The two moons were large and full, and the sky so full of stars that twinkled so bright that he felt as if he could just reach up and pluck one out of the sky. As they walked, Don looked down at his and Judy's hands intertwined. He brought them up to his lips and kissed her hand ever so gently. He looked at her and she smiled at him, her beautiful blue eyes full of love for him.
When they got to the garden, the searched for the perfect spot where they could be alone. They chose one by a boulder near one of the larger cyclamen plants. Don sat down on the spongy moss like grass and leaned up against the boulder. He reached up for Judy's hand and invited her to sit next to him. They spent a good while talking about their day and what tomorrow's tasks were. Judy laid her head on his chest and Don ran his fingers through her silky blonde hair. She closed her eyes and breathed in rhythm with his strokes. When he stopped she looked up at him. He put his hand under her chin and leaned down to kiss her gently. She eagerly returned his kiss, parting his lips with her tongue. As the kiss deepened he pulled her up into his arms, holding her tightly against his body.
When the kiss ended, they looked into each others' eyes. Their breathing was heavy and Judy started kissing Don's neck. He closed his eyes and leaned in as she started at his ear and made her way down to his collar. Everywhere she kissed she left a fire burning. Her touch was ecstasy to him. She laid her head back down on his chest as he held her body close to his and closed his eyes. He never wanted the way he felt at that exact point in time to ever end. They remained that way for some time, no words being said between them. Finally Judy softly spoke.
"Don?"
"Hmm"
"Do you love me?"
"With all my heart and soul."
"I love you too."
"I know."
"Don?"
"Yes?"
"Make love to me. I want and need you to make love to me"
Don looked at her and pulled her into a tighter embrace. He kissed her eagerly, their tongues performing a ballet in their mouths. He laid her down on the soft moss and pulled the zipper down on her shirt. He laid a series of kisses down her neck that ended where the zipper did. Judy's hand guided his to her breasts, where he caressed each one tenderly. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. She kissed his ear, his cheek, his eyelids, his nose and chin. She teased him with her tongue and he lusted for more. He was hungry for her kiss. When she finally found his lips he returned her passion. Their short kisses grew longer and stronger until both were losing themselves to their unbridled passion.
Judy helped Don remove his shirt and reached down to undo his belt. As her hand went for his zipper, he grabbed it. "Judy, are you sure this is what you want?" Don swallowed hard trying to catch his breath.
"Yes, Don I'm sure. Don't you want to make love to me?"
Don could only nod his head. Judy smiled. She finished the job of removing her clothes. As she laid there naked, Don stared in amazement at her incredible beauty. He couldn't believe how incredibly lucky he was. They had waited so long for this moment that he didn't want it to end. She helped him off with his clothes and pushed him down on his back. She proceeded to explore his body with her hands, tongue and mouth. He was surprised at how sensual and light her touch was and how sure she was of her actions. She had him at the brink of ecstacy when he rolled her over on her back to reciprocate her actions. She emitted moans and soft cries that grew deeper and louder as his actions took her to the edge.
He pulled back to look at her in the moonlight. While doing so, he noticed that the cyclamen plants started resonating sounds that sounded like a symphony. Judy's eyes looked back at him and pleaded with him to take her over the brink. He lost all sense of time and space as he abandoned himself to the moment. His moans and cries echoed hers as their ecstacy peaked. The cyclamen symphony sang in rhythm with their actions.
When he opened his eyes and looked down at Judy, she was looking back at him.
Her beautiful blue eyes were full of love and contentment. He smiled back at her and kissed her lips. He pulled himself up on his arms and softly spoke.
"Judy, I love you more than I can ever express."
"Really Don?"
"Yes, I really do."
Don looked into her eyes again and noticed that they had changed. They were not the soulful blue eyes he was used to. They were harsher and empty. Judy started to laugh. Don shook his head in disbelief. When he looked back at her again, her eyes emitted the same anger and hatred that they did the night they discovered Judy was duplicated.
It wasn't his Judy…it was her plant duplicate. He didn't know. He had made love to the wrong Judy!
Don had realized the deception too late. Plant Judy had started transforming herself back into her natural state. Her arms and legs became vines that wrapped around Don, tighter and tighter each moment. He found it hard to breath. Her head and chest slowly lost their features as they transformed into a cyclamen flower. He tried screaming but he couldn't. The cyclamen leaves had formed a muzzle over his mouth and a blindfold over his eyes. The cyclamen symphony had become an eardrum shattering chorus of sound. Don fought with what little strength he had left and tried free himself. He felt himself falling into a hypnotic trance….
Don bolted up. He reached up to turn on the light. He was alone. His hands were trembling, his body sweating and he was breathing hard. He reached over and looked at his clock. It was 3:00 am. He had been dreaming. He ran his hands through his hair as he tried to compose himself. "Calm down…it was just a dream…a nightmare…it didn't happen…just calm down." Don walked around his cabin for a minute then walked to the lavatory. He hoped cold water would bring him back to reality. After drying off his face, he walked back out into the Galley. He stood there and looked at the door to Judy's cabin.
He walked over to her cabin and slowly opened the door. Judy was asleep, looking as peaceful as she should. He took in her beauty for a moment and before closing the door, looked at the arm hanging out of the blanket covering her. There were no green chlorophyll marks. He exhaled a heavy sigh. That was his Judy. It had all been just a dream.
He went back to his cabin and settled back into his bunk. Knowing the Judy he loved and adored was safely on the ship, he fell into a sound sleep.
As he closed the door to Judy's cabin, Don failed to hear the soft sobbing coming out of John and Maureen's cabin. John was holding his wife tightly in his arms trying to comfort her.
