Chapter* 22
"... it's going to remain hard for me if I have to keep looking at you, and thinking about you." – Deborah Haddon
"I want to expand my world. I'm just not so sure how to do that." – Doug Beckett
=/\=
Chip Masterson sat up.
He couldn't believe how kind people had been. And they so didn't need to be. But they had been, and not only was he okay, but so were his wife and Beth and the others.
No one had hurt them. No one had ratted them out to the Empress. At least, they hadn't yet. He was always wondering, worrying, when the other shoe would drop. Not if, but when.
But at least, for now, they were all right.
And that doctor – what was her name? Miva? She had been so kind, and so professional. He had had nothing to pay her with until Charles and the others had returned. They had brought in a small elekai, and had shared the meat with the doctor. She had laughed a little, unused to bartering, but it was all that they had. Then she'd heard that Charles was a tinkerer – well, not a tinkerer, he was more skilled than that! And she'd asked him if he could, perhaps, take a look at her cooling unit when he had the time. He had promised, and so that's where he was now, and Jennifer had gone along with him.
And right now Chip, he was back in the cave, sitting with Lucy, who still was in some pain a bit from her leg fracture, but was going to be fine, it was obvious. The kids were pushing each other a little, and he'd had to struggle, sometimes, to get Charlie to stop pulling his daughter's hair, but they were okay and things were, at least for the time being, pretty good.
Maybe they'd be able to get some better clothes. Maybe the kids could finally get some shoes.
Shoes, dropping shoes. Chip's thoughts, as they often did, returned to the Empress and her legions and her ship and her conquests. He had been a conquest, too, as much as the Xyrillian home world had been. When she'd worked her wiles on him, he hadn't thought it all the way through, and she'd ended up pregnant and suddenly there were twins and he was somewhat tied down.
That, of course, had been her plan. She'd go after the higher up men, have a kid with them, and that would keep them around, assuming the men were even one-quarter of the way decent and actually gave a damn about the children they'd fathered. Torres hadn't cared one way or the other, and perhaps that had been better, but Chip wasn't cut from that cloth so, when the twins arrived, he had begun to plot how to, somehow, get them away from her.
And with Lucy, it was even more urgent, as he had fallen for her, hard, and she for him – at least that seemed to be the case – he was often questioning, but it was his insecurities rather than any indications on her part that were causing his doubts – and then they had really needed to leave.
The opportunity had arisen, very recently, and they had escaped. And there were no more birth control shots out in the wilds, so Lucy was expecting, and Beth was expecting again, and they'd end up with a dozen kids between them if they didn't watch it, and Miva had been kind and practical enough to suggest that maybe the next thing they should do, once those two kids were born, would be to get shots so that they could raise this generation without everyone starving.
It wasn't a great life. There was no art, no entertainment, no comfort, and no ease. He and his family were dressed in rags. When the hunt didn't come in, he and the other adults sometimes went without food. He had no idea how the kids would be educated, although Miva had said that they could be put into any of the area schools with no trouble.
But at least they were free, and he was more than grateful for that.
Living in a cave, and eating whatever had been brought down by his friends – brothers and sisters, he had to figure they kinda were – well, freedom was the most precious thing he had, after the family he could see next to him.
Now if he could only get Charlie to quit pulling Takara's hair.
=/\=
"Well, don't lose yourself in the process." – Pamela Hudson
"Easy to forget lots of things." – Doug Beckett
=/\=
"You're distant again," she said.
"It's getting more complex," Q replied.
"Well, do you really need to be here? I mean, drop off if you have to."
"No," he said, "This also affords some meager protection for me."
"Oh," she said, "But you're not endangering us in the process, are you?"
He didn't answer her, but she noticed a small red stain on the left side of his uniform, and it was spreading a bit. He groaned a little.
"Are you hurt? Is that even possible?" she asked, alarmed.
"I am and, of course, yes," he said, a bit angrily.
"Take Miva out of molasses time. She can help you."
"No. She cannot," he said, "I will heal up soon enough."
"Are you injured on that end, during Kathryn's time?"
"Yes, but in a different place," he said.
"Huh. Are you in danger of being hit again?" she asked.
"No. Kathryn has gotten me to a safe camp."
"All right, that was good of her."
"Yes," he admitted, "I should have been the one doing that, not the vulnerable one."
"But you were. You've got, I think, a few conceptions of how things should be. But they're being challenged."
"By you."
"And by events, too. I think you need to let go of some of your ideas, as much as you need to let go of your fellow, uh, Q. In order to move on, that is, and really do this, really be together yet apart, and become individuals."
He was distant for a second, "Another main event," he said, "It would be safer."
"This friendly camp – it's composed of other Q? The ones on your side?"
"Some of them, yes."
"But you're still in some danger?"
"Yes. So we'd best go. In this one, he," Q indicated the baby "is living with two women."
"But it's negative, right?"
He nodded, she picked up Declan and off they went.
=/\=
"Maybe we're not meant to, to fix everything. … Maybe you're just supposed to be with her, even if you cannot make it all go away." – Malcolm Reed
=/\=
It was a kitchen, with blue walls and a large dining table. There were a few pans hanging from hooks from the ceiling, and a few small paintings of still lifes – mainly varying-colored olowa, but also some pears and the like. Lili looked at the pictures and they were signed DR or D. Reed, "He's very good," she said.
There was a PADD on the table, and it scrolled, again, through the familiar and the not so familiar. There was a picture of a young Malcolm, with Mark Latrelle, horsing around at school. Another was of Tommy being promoted to Major. Another was of Joss and Jia with their two children. Yet another was of Melissa, pregnant, probably with Tommy. Then there was a short movie, of a young Marie Patrice kicking a goal at a soccer game. Another picture was of herself, pregnant with Joss.
Two people walked in, from separate areas of the house, "Is she up yet?" asked Declan, who was one of the two people.
"Not yet," said Norri, who was the other.
He set about making coffee, and Lili looked at the clock on the wall, as it cycled through the time – oh nine hundred hours and then the date – March twenty-seven of 2209.
"I, this is one hundred years since my birth," Lili said.
"You know," Declan said, also looking at the clock, "my mother would have been one hundred today," he looked and sounded so much like Malcolm, even down to the accent. Lili did a quick calculation and realized he was the same age that Malcolm currently was, so far as she was concerned.
"I miss her, too," Norri said, "It's been almost seven years and it doesn't matter."
"Too true," he said, "I still have the last shopping list she wrote – she used to write them out by hand. I think she would improvise, thinking about whatever was in season, and then would write out her list and go. She needed brown rice."
"No wonder you always seem to have it," Norri replied.
"I guess I want to show her that I can take care of things," he said.
"Dec, we should talk," she said.
He poured the coffee, and they sat down together, "What's on your mind?"
"I think that Yifep should come here more often," Norri ventured.
"I see."
"Look, I know you want to take care of everything, Dec, but it's getting to be too much. I, well, it's harder for me to physically handle her, particularly when she gets frustrated."
"Well, tell me when she gets frustrated, Norri."
"It's not just that," she said, "She gets frustrated all the time now, or at least it seems that way. And, and, I can't handle, uh, I hate saying this, but it's getting tougher and tougher for me to handle the messiest of the chores."
"Ah," he said, "Changing her. I can do that."
"I – please understand. This is my great love. I still, God help me, sometimes see her as a sexual being. And she makes advances, you know. And I usually refuse her, but I sometimes don't. I mean, I love her. But I always feel terrible afterwards, like I've just violated a child. And, and then having to deal with changing her, well, it's the same body parts. It's hard to reconcile in my head, from desire to being her parent to just being, well, just being tired of it all."
"Let me do it," he said, "I mean, you do understand that I love seeing naked women. But I don't look at her that way. Not even when she, uh, she's made advances to me, too."
"You?"
"Yes. She gets me confused with my father more and more now. I don't know if she did anything, for real, and is reenacting it. Maybe after, after Doug died. I don't know. My father, I know, he would've been mortified. He was so devoted to my mother. So I doubt that she tried when she had all her wits about her. But now, she doesn't have the inhibitions."
"She calls Joss Doug, too, and sometimes Neil as well. Do you think she's, uh, trying anything with them?"
"Not that I know of," Declan said, "I, um, I can see why this is so hard for you."
=/\=
"You do love her. Even if it's only a little bit. You do. There's one day, when you're fine. And you're minding your own business. And then, suddenly, the next day, you're in love. And you didn't plan it and maybe didn't want it. But it's happened." – Lili Beckett
"But, well, these are the kinds of things that people who love each other say, and these are the kinds of things that they, that they do." – Malcolm Reed
"I don't want some icky boy in the bed I share with Norri. Well, I don't. You guys have germs and stuff." – Melissa Madden
=/\=
"Did she ever hook up with Malcolm?" Lili asked, shifting the baby Declan in her arms a little.
Q was briefly distant, "No," he said.
"So this is just wishful thinking on her part?"
"And it's the disease. She forgets not only names and dates and places, but also decorum, and how to interact with people," Q replied, "Watch."
"What bothers me the most," Norri said, "is that I said forever to her. I said it more than once. And now that it really is coming down to forever, I can't handle it. Dec, I changed plenty of diapers in my life. Yours, even. Why are hers are so impossible for me?"
"To change a one-year-old's diaper is normal," he replied, "And it's not so horrible because it's hopeful, you know. You just, you know they won't be like that forever. With a seventy-five-year old, well, it's a different story."
She was about to reply when a voice came from the next room, "Special thing! Special thing!"
"That's Melissa," Lili said, following the sound of the voice.
Melissa was in a bedroom, nearly completely dressed. Her clothing was mismatched, but it was at least appropriate. She had selected bright colors – a child's ensemble. She was standing in front of a small video cutout, watching the slide show as it passed. There was a picture of herself, much younger, wearing Doug's bracelet. And another, of Malcolm, with a beard. And another, of Lili wearing a lacy top that showed a little of her calloo. Melissa smiled at the pictures, and clapped with delight when the short movie of a dancing Malcolm and Lili flashed by, and then when the movie of Marie Patrice kicking the goal played. She then opened up a jewelry box and took out a small item which Lili couldn't see, "Very special thing," Melissa whispered, and then put it back and shut the box. Then she walked into the kitchen, and Lili followed.
"Good morning!" Norri enthused.
"H-hello," Melissa said a bit tentative, "Belinda?"
"Belinda?" Declan asked.
"No. I'm Norri," Norri said, "Dec, Belinda was my mother's name."
"Oh," he said.
"Malcolm!" Melissa enthused, "Have you brought presents?"
"No, I'm afraid I haven't," Declan said, "And I'm Declan. But I can make you breakfast. What would you like?"
"Pancakes!"
"All right. This will take a little while. Sit, sit down and we'll get you some juice," he nodded at Norri, who got up to do just that.
"Where's Doug?" Melissa asked.
"He's ... not here," Declan said as he set about mixing up the ingredients for pancakes.
"Lili told me he could come over. I mean, you're here, Malcolm. So it's only fair," Melissa said.
"Here's your orange juice," Norri said.
"Thank you, Belinda. Is Norri around?"
"Yes. Right here," Norri said.
There was a flash of recognition, "Norri!" Melissa exclaimed, hugging her, "Sit and have a sandwich with me. Malcolm's making sandwiches."
Declan continued making pancakes.
"You know, this is a very important glass," Melissa said, "It was brought here by my ancestors. They came over in big, big ships and they were very rich and they got here and they had to sell all of their glasses because they were made of diamonds. Except for this one."
"Yes, Melissa," Norri said wearily, taking an identical glass from the shelf and pouring herself some juice, "It's very special."
"Oh! Special thing! Special thing!" Melissa enthused, and ran out of the room. She passed the cheery yellow hallway and returned to the bedroom, and Lili followed. Again, Melissa opened up the jewelry box and took something out, and then put it back. Then she returned to the kitchen.
"What is the special thing?" Declan asked.
"Spec –" Melissa began, and tried to get up. Norri put a hand on her arm.
"Tell us. Please?" Norri asked.
"Special," Melissa said, as if that answered things.
"What is it?" Lili asked.
Q just directed her back.
"I have got pancakes for you, Miss," Declan said, presenting a plate with two on it.
Melissa grinned, "Malcolm, you make good pancakes. Doug's are better. And Lili's are best of all. But yours are good."
"You wouldn't kick my pancakes off your plate, then?" he asked, then went back to make more.
"Why isn't Doug making pancakes? Lili said he was coming over. She promised."
"What do you want to do today?" Norri asked, changing the subject and pouring a little maple syrup for Melissa.
"Football," Melissa said, mouth full.
"All right," Declan said, "I bet Neil would like to play."
"Ah, good idea," Norri said, opening her communicator, "Neil," she said, once the connection was made, "can you come over and toss around a football a few times today?"
"Uh, sure. But I need to get to work in about an hour. Be right over. Neil out."
"Neil's coming," Norri said, "He's going to play catch with you."
"Who's Neil?"
=/\=
"And thank God I walked in first." – Leonora Digiorno
=/\=
In the cellar, in 2161, things were a bit different.
"How do you think we should do this?" Norri asked.
"No kids," Doug said softly, as the children began to awake.
"I dreamt of playing soccer," Marie Patrice said, yawning.
"Did you win?" Malcolm asked.
"No," she said, "But I did kick a goal."
"Well, that's still good," he replied, "You don't win every time."
"Hang on, kids. We grownups have to talk a little," Melissa said. She shepherded the other three to a corner, "So, what are we doing?"
"I figure, we can throw or kick Dino here into the funnel, perhaps past it," Malcolm said, "Can't say as it will do anything but, if the toy is shredded, no one will be harmed by shrapnel."
"Huh. Good thinkin', Reed," Doug said, "We should film that, too."
"Let's not involve the kids at all. Too many distractions," Norri said.
"All right," Melissa thought for a moment, "Here's my idea. You three go up. I'll stay here and, uh, I'll tell them a story or something. But you need to toss, film and the third one will be there in case things really go bad – that one will be by the door. Make sense?"
"Sure," Doug said, "Everybody about ready?"
"Stay safe," Melissa said, kissing him. Then she kissed Norri.
"I figure I'll be on door detail," Norri said.
"I can film," Malcolm said.
"Uh, no," Doug said, "I think kicking will be better than tossing. I'll film. Okay?"
"All right," Malcolm said, "Shall we?"
They left. On the front porch, it was odd. The area was calm. Except for the fact that there was a huge, misshapen funnel cloud around the house and all its contents, there was no reason to think it was anything other than a perfectly lovely day. The swirling snow would occasionally break slightly, and you could see blue skies beyond, and the neighbor's house. Workmen seemed to be covering it with something – plywood, perhaps – it was tough to tell. The workmen did not appear to be working with any sense of urgency. It didn't seem as if the plywood was being added to protect that house in any way. The workmen seemed oblivious.
The three of them positioned themselves. Norri stood within the opened doorway. Doug stood off to the side, and started up the PADD's video mode. Malcolm was at the edge of the porch, holding the green stuffed dinosaur toy, "Are we all ready?" he asked.
Doug nodded, "Ready," Norri said.
Malcolm dropped the toy down and kicked it straight at the funnel cloud.
It was a magnificent kick, but the toy ricocheted off and Norri ended up catching it in both hands, "Ungh!" she exclaimed, air leaving rapidly from the force of the ricochet.
Doug stopped filming. He and Malcolm came over, "You okay?" Doug asked.
"Yeah," she said, "And so's Dino."
"It's as if the toy just hit a wall," Malcolm said, "Any damage to it that you can tell?"
"No," said Norri, "Let's go back to the cellar."
=/\=
"This is what you get for falling in love with someone who's bi. Temptation is all around." – Melissa Madden
=/\=
Neil arrived soon and, as promised, he and Melissa went into the back yard and began throwing the football back and forth. After a few rounds of this, she got bored. Lili walked out to watch.
"Doug! Let's play something else," Melissa said.
"Uh, no, thanks, Ma. I gotta go to Reversal now," Neil said.
She came up close to him and Lili heard her whisper, "Tonight, then, Doug. Everybody will be sleeping. And then you and me, we can do it."
Neil reddened, "I'm Neil, Ma."
"Neil?" she asked, "I like that name."
"Norri!" he called, "I gotta get back to Fep City and go to work."
Norri came out, "Thanks for coming. I know it's not easy."
"It's okay when we're just playing catch," he said, "I can almost believe that she's okay. Or I can justify it; it's like playing catch with Marty or Jenny."
Declan came out, "Thank you. Our best to everyone."
Neil nodded and left.
"Where did Doug go?" Melissa asked.
"Doug's gone," Norri said absently.
"No! Doug is fine," Melissa insisted, "He's not dead."
Norri turned white, "What did you say?"
"I want pancakes. Or, no, no, I want a sandwich. Can I have a sandwich?" Melissa asked.
Declan held onto Norri's arm, "She doesn't know. Explaining doesn't do any good."
"I need to get a very special thing," Melissa said, starting to walk back into the house.
"Find out what that is," Norri said to Declan.
He followed her, and so did Lili. Again, Melissa opened up the jewelry box, took something out and then put it back. She then left the bedroom. This time, Declan opened the box and took out the item.
Norri got Melissa into the parlor where there was a view screen, "Lemme see. Would you like to watch something with people dancing in it?"
"Yeah."
"All right. How about Grease? Let me put it on for you," The music started up and Norri was able to join Declan in the kitchen, "Have you got it?" she asked.
"Yes," he said, "Look," It was a tablet. On one side, it was stamped with the letters Tri-C, "I looked it up on my PADD. Have a look."
Norri scrolled through, "My God. Do you think she remembers why she has this?"
"Probably not," Declan said, "Tricoulamine. A nerve toxin," he sighed and put his head in his hands, "She's, well, at some point, she meant to kill herself."
"And now she's forgotten what it's for," Norri said.
As if in response, Melissa began chanting, "Special thing! Special thing!" again, and got up and went into the bedroom. Once again, she opened up the jewelry box. But now the tablet was no longer in there, so she began to wail.
Declan and Norri ran in, "What's the matter?" Norri asked.
"Spec –, spec –" was all that Melissa could stammer out, between sobs. Finally, she whined, "Belinda, where is it?"
"Come into the kitchen," Declan said, "C'mon."
"Okay, Malcolm."
The two women sat down, and he brought the tablet over, "Melissa, do you know what this is?"
"Special thing!" she was excited to see it again.
"Yes, but what does it do?"
"It's ... special."
"Yes. But what do you think it does?" he asked, insistent.
She thought for a while, "Sleep. Forever. I can see Doug again."
"How does it do that?" Norri asked, voice trembling a little.
"I wouldn't breathe. Not anymore," Melissa said.
"I see," Norri said, "When did you get it?"
"Can I watch my movie?"
"Sure," Declan said, leading her back to the parlor. They spoke a bit, but it was tough to hear them clearly. When he returned to the kitchen, he said, "You know, it's funny. She has these moments of clarity. Like just now. She told me that she knew how the movie turns out. And she's right. So there are some things she still knows."
"Are you thinking of giving her the tablet?" Norri asked.
"I don't know. A minute or so of clarity – it's really not a lot," he said, "But we can't get anything more than that out of her these days."
"Understood," Norri said. "I'm of two minds about this. I know that assisted – I can't even say the word – but I know it's legal. But only if the person knows what's going to happen to them. We can't just give it to her if she doesn't know. It would be like, well, like her believing that your plain old cheap juice glasses are somehow unique and made from diamonds."
"It would be like killing a child," Declan said, "But I don't think she wants to go on."
"I can't tell," Norri said, "And I don't want to promote my own agenda. And, at the same time, huh, I figure I will feel guilty either way."
"We need to make sure. If she understands, then we can let her have it, right?" Declan asked.
"Yeah," Norri said, "I don't wanna do this. I don't want to be responsible for the end of her, her existence," she started to cry.
Declan held her for a while, and then walked back into the parlor, "Come with me," he said to Melissa.
She followed, and they sat back down in the kitchen.
"Tell me what the special thing is," he said, holding the tablet so that she could see it.
"Medicine," she said, "Make me, uh, to make me die."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"Yes. I need to do this before I forget everyone, and everything. Help me, Dec," she said.
"Are we in agreement?" he asked.
"Yes," Norri said, "I'll, I'll get a glass."
He started to fill it with water, but Norri stopped him, "No. Give her orange juice. Let the last thing that she ever tastes be something she really likes," Norri started to cry again, and was startled that Melissa put her hand on her arm to comfort her.
Declan hugged Melissa and told her that he loved her. Then Norri kissed her lover and told her the same thing, "Forever. Really."
Declan gave Melissa the tablet and the glass of juice, and she took the pill. There was just one little gasp. He then put his hand on her neck, "It's done," he said.
=/\=
"I am riddled with imperfections, through and through." – Pamela Hudson
"You are a worthwhile person. With or without imperfections." – Malcolm Reed
=/\=
They were back in the hospital room.
"You turned out well," Lili said to the baby, and kissed his forehead, "A good, decent man."
"He ended her life," Q said.
"Yes, he did. Such as her life was," Lili said, "She wasn't going to get any better. And all that would have happened, if they had waited a day, or a week, or a month, would have been that her consent and her knowledge would have gotten more and more suspect. At least, by doing it then, they had a fighting chance of her understanding what could happen."
"So they saved their skins, at least according to the human and Calafan justice systems."
"It's more than that, and you know it, Q. It's about her knowing what was happening. Otherwise, well, Joss becomes a veterinarian, right?"
"Yes."
"And he has to euthanize animals sometimes. I'm sure it's difficult. And the animals usually don't know anything that's happening. That's mainly their own limited reasoning capacities, but it's also how it's done. The animal is given a sedative. If it thinks at all, it thinks it's going to sleep. It probably knows that any pain it's got disappears when it sleeps. So it may even think that it's going to stop feeling pain, at least temporarily. But that's it."
"That's an awful lot of anthropomorphizing."
"I know. Melissa, even in her condition, was presumably, at least some of the time, more intelligent than that. Certainly she was capable of higher reasoning, but only in small doses."
"Dose. An interesting choice of words."
"Yes, I know. But she knew she was getting worse. She was confusing everyone with those who were already gone. She must have missed Doug. And I suppose she missed Malcolm, too."
"And Leonora's mother, as well."
"I guess so. This is the very essence of letting go. They gave her the thing she wanted and needed more than anything. She left on her own terms, as well as she could. It was bad enough. Were they supposed to wait until she had no mind at all, and then it would be machines pumping air into her lungs? You say our medical care is primitive, yet we can abuse people with it just fine, just like pros sometimes. They will live with that, you know. But they also know that they did the right thing."
"Letting go," Q said.
"Yes. And they had to respect her choice as an individual. For Joy, and for you, people have to let you do what you think you need to – even if it's not the most wonderful thing. If you're competent – or, at least, in this case, transitively competent – you should be allowed to trip and fall if that happens. With my children, I've watched them learn to walk. And it sometimes takes a lot out of me to keep from putting my hand out and guiding them or catching them. But I can't, always. And I try not to. Of course, if they are in any real danger, I'll protect them. But they need to fall a bit, and learn what that's like. The world isn't all soft landings. I wish it was, but it's not. And they need to get it that some landings aren't so nice. But they still have to be able to try new things, and without my interference. Because I don't always know best. Are you staying together in the Continuum because, maybe, just maybe, you all can't bear to see the others fail?"
=/\=
"I never did that with a guy before." – Melissa Madden
"I'm committed. Really, committed. In love, happy, the whole nine yards. And then, suddenly, I've been unfaithful. And then again, and again. And it makes me wonder – because I couldn't resist it – what's really going on. And I figured, yanno, I should totally hate myself, and hate the person I'd been unfaithful with. To my mind, that's what all made sense. And then, heh, suddenly I realized that that person isn't awful at all. And I don't hate myself. And I don't hate that person." – Doug Beckett
Chapter* 23
"… you do not have to tell me anything, of course, but, uh, I just gotta say, I bet she's a hellcat." – Tripp Tucker
"I can't go back to that when we've moved so far forward in the past two years. I'll just have to stay away." – Doug Beckett
=/\=
She walked through the halls, a vision in her midriff-baring uniform. She was looking good after the last one – definitely still a hot little number after having six kids!
At least, that was what she thought of herself.
Andrew Miller was a good find – attentive, better than average-looking and even a decent Science Officer. He was even a bit gallant and sometimes funny. That was all good.
As for child care, she still had Aidan MacKenzie, and even brought him in for some of the fun at times, but he had other interests and – horror of horrors! – even sometimes threw her over for the new teacher, Miss Cheshire. It was daring on his part, and that made her want him even more. As for tossing him into the agony booth for his insolence, she had considered it, and even done it at times, but it always degraded his performance. Plus, she needed him to care for her four remaining kids.
The other two of the six were, so far as she knew, dead somewhere on Lafa II. The twins. Eh, well, she would have liked a daughter, she had to admit. But this was one of the main reasons why she'd produced such a large brood to begin with. It was an heir and several spares, and they could and would fight over the succession once she was gone. No sense in giving them any ties to each other, save the all-important central blood tie to her. That blood tie was not only undeniable, she figured it would keep her alive for many years after they'd all reached the age of majority.
She would teach them well. She already was teaching them, and Aidan and the teacher – what was her name? Suzanne? No, Susan. The three of them were teaching the four children, and Miller even, at times, threw in a few tidbits. They were learning to fight, and to torture, and to collect a generous cut of the winnings from the wagers laid during the weekly Game Night, along with the three Rs. They were learning to treat their inferiors like dirt.
In short, they were learning to be emperors and, if she could just have another one with Miller, she'd have a good basis for the future and could rest a lot more easily.
As she sauntered down the halls, sloe eyes beguiling every comer and turning every gaze into either a withering put-down or an inviting come-on, the Empress Hoshi Sato smiled and had not a care in the universe.
That is, until a small, greyish-white blur brushed her foot as it raced from one opened door to another, mere seconds before it slid closed.
A mouse.
They had been loose on the Defiant ever since Hayes, Cutler and Tucker had departed, never to return. That was, what? 2157.
Yes, her four remaining sons – Jun, Kirin, Arashi and Izo – they were learning many things. If she had a fifth one with Miller, perhaps she'd name him Nezumi –mouse– and he could learn how to be an exterminator.
She hated mice.
=/\=
"Unless you, uh, go for an older woman." – Travis Mayweather
"You will try to reassemble your lives. You'll put your, your puzzle back." – Malcolm Reed
=/\=
"What do you think just happened?" Norri asked as the three of them returned to the cellar. They had pillows with them, and more bread and water, the pretexts for having gone up there so as not to scare the children or generate too many questions.
"Uh, what happened?" Melissa asked her quietly.
Malcolm showed Melissa the PADD, with the clear little movie of him kicking the toy into the funnel cloud and it bouncing off, "Huh," Melissa said, after she'd reviewed it a few times, "It's like the cloud isn't a cloud at all."
"Yes," he said, "But I can't say what it truly is. And without access to the grid, we don't even have a means of contacting a meteorologist and asking."
"You really think this is a weather phenomenon?" Doug asked.
"No, I don't," Malcolm said, "It's just that that's the first specialty that popped into my head. But of course, well," he sighed, "I suppose it doesn't matter. I just wish I wasn't missing so much of Declan's first day."
"I know," Norri patted his arm, "And I can't tell you that there will be other days, even though we all know that there will be. It's this first ever day. And you really didn't want to miss it."
"No," he said, "I do, I want to be a good father to him. I just fear that this is, well, it seems inauspicious."
"I bet a lotta things started out oddly and turned out all right," she said, "I understand you and Lili didn't exactly have a conventional first, er, well, no specifics in front of the kids."
"Understood," he said, "And we most certainly did not. And I am led to believe that such was true between Doug and Lili and between Melissa and Doug as well. I suppose the only truly conventional first meeting was you and Melissa."
"Yes," Norri said, smiling a little, "I suppose that's true. Kids, let's get the bedding all set up for later."
=/\=
"Lili is here, and real. I don't have to fall asleep in order to be able to touch her. Not anymore." – Doug Beckett
"... it's a marriage. And by definition there are only two pieces, and they only fit together in one way." – Malcolm Reed
"This is, it's going to come up again. We're not the first, and we won't be the last." – Doug Hayes
=/\=
"Fear of failure?" Q asked.
"Yes. Are you all together and clinging because you're afraid that everyone's going to venture out and just fall apart or something?"
"I don't know," he admitted, "At least, I know of myself that I am ready to go out and, and meet the challenges of, er, the challenges."
She smiled at him, "Did you have a childhood, parents, that sort of thing?"
"No."
"Has anyone in the Continuum?"
"There have been children born. And DNA has been introduced before."
"How long ago?"
He thought for a moment, "About a billion of your years ago."
"Holy cow," she said, perhaps a little too loudly. The baby woke up and began to cry a little. She picked him up and rocked him a little.
"What, uh, what is distressing him?" Q asked.
"I have no idea," she admitted, "Sometimes, it's just a mystery. He isn't wet and I don't think he's hungry. I think he's just tired, and he's being pulled around a bit too much."
"That pulling around is not going to end. We, uh, remaining here is not necessarily the safest thing to do."
"I see," Lili said, "But quickly, a question – how long have you and Joy been together?"
"Uh," he thought for a moment, "about four billion of your years."
"When you said you had history, you meant it."
"Indeed I did."
"So if the universe is, what, around fourteen billion years old, and you came into being within, let's say, a year or so of that, then you've been with Joy for a good third or so of your life, yes?"
"That's more or less accurate."
"It's a long time. It looks like Doug and I are together for a third of my lifetime, or close to it. And with Malcolm, we're together over forty years, right?"
"Forty-three."
"And I'm over ninety when I pass."
"Ninety-three," Q said.
"So that's almost half. And if you count the nights, well, it's even longer, I guess. You can count the nights, right?"
"I don't see any reason why not."
"These are, without a doubt, significant connections. And yours to Joy, it's a significant one as well," Lili said, "She matters to you, even if you don't say so."
He was again distant, "Matters," he said, "You mentioned failure."
"Yes," she said, "And I bet Joy's successes and failures mean something to you – possibly as much or even more than your own successes and failures."
"She's a Q. She doesn't fail."
"Oh, but you do. Or, at least – no disrespect meant – you can misjudge things. So I suspect she can as well. And you both, as you try new things, well, they might not always go the way you want them to, yes? But your saying this, it bodes well. I am not saying that you should look at her with rose-colored glasses, but seeing her mainly in a positive light, well, it means that you do care."
"You have imperfections," he pointed out.
"Countless ones, I'm sure. Yet they're more or less overlooked by the people who love me."
"Yes," he said, "You bare your midriff even though it's not as flat as it was when you were younger."
"That was in a dream with Malcolm. I know I have a bit of a belly. And I've had three children now, so things aren't going to just snap back, not without a boatload of work. But I'll go shopping for a bikini, when I've lost some of the baby weight. I'll go with Norri, and probably Melissa as well, and we'll pick something out. And I will wear it."
"Because Malcolm wants you to?"
"In part, yes. But also because, well, I think I want to. To hell with anyone who thinks I shouldn't be wearing one. So what?! Life's too short."
"That is an attitude that I cannot cultivate," he said, "For life isn't short."
"Too true. Do you think Yipran was right, that there will be another Big Bang, and that the one you came just after, that that one wasn't the first one?"
"I can't say," he said, "No more than I can tell you what is on the other side of the bridge."
He was distant again, "Come, we need to go to another main event. It's not safe here."
She picked up the baby again, "Another negative?"
"No," he said, "This one, I believe this one will be very positive."
"Good," she said, "My heart can't take another negative right now."
=/\=
"There is nothing like paper." – Leonora Digiorno
=/\=
It was a lecture hall, filled with people. They were backstage. Norri was pacing, "Dammit, dammit!" she muttered to herself.
A clock on the wall behind her scrolled through the time – seventeen hundred hours and fifty-eight minutes and then the date – October first, 2211.
"Norri's, um, seventy-five?" Lili asked.
Q nodded.
"Oh, Neil, thank God!" Norri exclaimed, "Have you got the slideshow ready?"
"Of course, Ma. Take it easy. It'll be fine. You'll be great."
"I am terrified," she said.
"They will love you. Trust me," he said. He kissed her cheek. He indicated the stage, "You're about to be introduced."
A Master of Ceremonies was on stage. He was a copper Calafan, and he said, "And now it is my privilege to introduce to you the author of the new book, The Human Pioneers of Lafa II. Please give a big round of applause for Leonora Digiorno!"
The audience applauded. Quietly, to herself, Norri said, "It's show time," she walked onto the stage. Lili and Q followed, staying discreetly to the side.
"I ... hello," Norri said. The audience laughed a little bit, "I guess I wasn't expecting so many people. I do, I appreciate your coming. So I thank you."
She sat on a stool that had been set up on the stage, "I know that some of you may have already read my book. Or at least parts of it. So what I'm about to say might not be news to you. But I'll say it anyway," she smiled, warming up.
The audience, indulgent, laughed a little.
"She's a natural," Lili said. Q just directed her back.
She continued, "It began, not with a quest for religious freedom, or a grab for land, or a desire to create a utopian society or even on a lark, with people just looking for adventure and a change of scenery. No. It began with a kiss."
She sipped a little water and continued, "It was – let me go back – to the very beginning. It was December third, 2102. And a boy was born, to Jeremiah and Lena Beckett Hayes. They named him Douglas Jay. This was Ganymede. But it wasn't the Ganymede you and I know, for it was another universe, another side of a proverbial pond. The radiation band – unlike our twenty-one centimeters – it was twenty. And in a place where the odds were about three to one that you'd have a boy, a boy was born," she paused for a second, "And two days later, also on Ganymede, but on our side of the pond, a boy was born, to Jeremiah and Lena Beckett Hayes. They named him Jay Douglas. The boys were what we call counterparts. They were, physically, identical. But on the side with so many boys, there was a comparable spike of testosterone, and so things were skewed. And on our side, where literature and art and agriculture and peace are valued, on the other side, war and fighting and violence and exploitation – those things were valued instead."
She sipped again, "The boys grew. And on March twenty-seventh, of 2109, a baby girl was born, to Declan and Marie Helêne Ducasse O'Day. Both sides of the pond welcomed this girl, on the same day. She was named Charlotte Lilienne O'Day. And on our side, she was called Lili, because she was a small thing, and her mother – who had named her, in part for her mother-in-law – didn't want to call her daughter by her mother-in-law's name. And on the other side, we don't know what she was called. So, for the purposes of today, and to make things easier to understand, I will call that counterpart Charlotte," she paused again briefly, "Both girls grew, and two years later, but only on the other side, a baby brother was born. He was named Declan, just like his grandfather. At age seven, Douglas Jay was sent away to school. This was the Triton Day School. So while Lili and Charlotte were infants, Doug was already separated from his parents and living in what were essentially school barracks. As for Jay, he lived with his parents and attended a regular elementary school. In 2116, Doug took exams, which were required for all fourteen-year-olds on that side. There were only a few possible outcomes. Some would become artists or the like. Others would go into science or medicine or engineering. And a few would go into politics. But the vast, vast majority, they would become soldiers. Doug was one of them. But he scored very well, so he was sent to West Point, on Earth."
She paused again, "Now, we call our home planet Earth. And West Point isn't for teenagers. But that's not how things were there. And the home planet wasn't even called Earth. It was Terra. As for Jay, he continued living his life. And Lili and Charlotte, they lived theirs. Charlotte, she must have started school that same year. But we don't know where she went. So on the other side, the mirror side of things, you barely saw your parents. You'd be back for a weeklong holiday every season. And in 2118, on June twelfth, Charlotte was back. Little Declan, I suspect, had not yet started school. As for Lili, she went to her mother's parents – Richard and Lilienne Ducasse – for an overnight visit. And this is where things really begin to diverge."
She smoothed her hair back for a second before continuing, "In both O'Day homes, a kitchen fire broke out. And, in both, it went out of control. And, in both, everyone in the home perished. On our side of things, it was just Pete and Marie Helêne. Two victims. And on the other side of the pond, there were four victims – the parents and both children. So Lili lost her counterpart that day, although she had no way of knowing that. Fast forward, to February thirteenth, 2154. It was the Xindi War, and Jay Douglas Hayes was on board the USS Enterprise. He was a Major, in charge of the MACOs. And he was sent out to rescue Communications Officer Ensign Hoshi Sato. He was successful in his mission, but he was shot by a particle weapon in mid-transport. This killed him, in the presence of his friend, Malcolm Reed. And so on that day, Doug lost his counterpart. But he had no way, at the time, of knowing that, either."
She shifted her position a little, "Fast forward again."
"There's more, of course," Q said.
"Shhh, I wanna hear," Lili said.
"And," Norri said, "The mirror side ended up with the Defiant, an advanced ship. And their Malcolm Reed – you remember him? He passed, as a victim of a bribe given to the Chief Medical Officer. It was, apparently, in many people's best interests for him to not survive. So Malcolm – who I will tell you of in a moment – he lost his counterpart."
"Really, you know this," Q complained.
"It doesn't mean I don't enjoy hearing it," Lili said, "C'mon."
"So we have our five principals. Doug, Lili, Malcolm, Melissa and, well, me," Norri smiled at her audience, "And here's where it gets interesting."
"It's about time," Q said.
"Honestly! If you can hang around some place for a half a millennium, you can sit through a two-hour book lecture, Q."
"It was October twenty-eighth of 2157. Lili was a sous-chef on the USS Enterprise. The ship was approaching the Lafa System. It was the first human ship to be there, although Vulcans had been there before. The System was of interest because it's near Klingon space, it's not too far from Andoria, and there are four suns. Lili had worked hard that day, like she always did. She was a gifted chef, but fetched and carried, and chopped and cleaned up, for she had little confidence in her abilities and no one to share her life with. She had no one, really, to celebrate the good times with, and she had no one, even, to complain to. Unbeknownst to her, there was a small Calafan coin stitched up in the bottom of her mattress. That night, like every night, she retired for the evening."
Norri took another sip of water, "And Doug, he went to bed as well. But he wasn't alone. His girl was Jennifer Crossman, who had a counterpart serving on the Enterprise. That Jennifer was Lili's roommate. Now, I have no idea whether Doug even kissed his Jennifer good night. It's entirely possible that he didn't, for they were on the rocks and he felt trapped. But he, it turns out, was sleeping on the same mattress, for the old Enterprise equipment, some of it was repurposed for the Defiant, and that mattress, and another one, were shoved together to make a bigger bed for two people to share. So he, too, was sleeping on an old Calafan coin. And both of them were sleeping not ten feet away from a woman named Jennifer Crossman."
Norri smiled, "Now, this is where, you see, things are so precarious. For if Doug's Jennifer had preferred the left side of the bed, or if Lili and her roommate had switched beds, then things would have turned out far differently. Jennifer would have met Jennifer, shrugged and, perhaps, battled. But that's not how it happened."
=/\=
'One good love story deserves another. – Hoshi and Chandler.' – inscription written inside the flyleaf of Jane Eyre
"Well, we write our own love story. With a few twists." – Melissa Madden
"Yeah, the twists. I'm not so sure I like the twists." – Leonora Digiorno
=/\=
"There was a collision," Norri continued, "But it didn't involve metal or glass. It was of people. And they both remembered it similarly, but differently. You know, it's how any couple remembers their first meeting. Lili remembered being shoved into a wall, and then kissed. Doug remembered pushing back on someone who he initially thought was an attacker, but then he realized that that person was a lot shorter than he, and he then recalls that person reaching up and taking his face in her hands and kissing him. But either way, I suspect that it doesn't matter a lot. Either way, it progressed rapidly, for they both thought it was a regular old dream. So clothes flew away, and, well, I know there are children in the audience. So I won't go into specifics. You see, this is the way I get you to buy my book."
The audience laughed, "All I can tell you is, they both told me, it was really good. And I mean, really good."
The audience laughed some more, "The next day, Lili chopped oranges all day long. And that's significant, because a steward leaning over to ask if everything was all right was when Malcolm sat up and really took notice. And he realized that this steward, who he had passed a thousand times in the halls and hadn't given a second glance, that she, was someone he might really want to know. As he said it, she smelled like sunshine and happiness. And Doug noticed it; too, for the first word he ever said to her, that word was oranges," Norri sipped more water, "Funny how the same thing was noticed by both men. But that would not be the last time that they were both beguiled by her."
=/\=
"She'll deny it up and down, but she's in love." – Joss Beckett (Sato)
=/\=
"And now, I do hope you'll indulge me. But I have some family photographs," Norri said.
"Wait, Q, what did we skip?" Lili asked.
"You have seen this," Q said, "You lived it."
"Huh. I suppose so," she said, adjusting the baby in her arms.
"All right. First, a few quick ones," Norri said, "Let me see if I can get this thing to work right."
She fiddled with the controls a little, "There. Now, this first one is of me, actually. This is when I was twenty-one, when I first met Melissa.".
Norri continued, "As you can see, I am now twenty-five," she grinned at the audience and brushed back her grey hair, "Okay, so I'm seventy-five. Can't blame a girl for trying, eh?"
She clicked, "This next one is of Doug, from right around the time that he first crossed over," she paused, "Wasn't he a looker?"
She clicked again, "Here's Lili, back when she was pregnant with Joss, so it's when they were first married."
She advanced the slide show, "Next is Malcolm. This is actually a photograph taken by his old girlfriend, Pamela Hudson, when they were dating. It's from sometime in early July of 2158."
She smiled, "He was a looker, too, but in a different way."
She advanced the slides again, "Next is Melissa. This is from when she was pregnant with her – our – eldest son, Tommy."
"Ah, my beauty," Norri said, "Now here are some from when the arrangement first started, which was in August of 2159. You may be wondering why we're not all posing together. This is because, except for Lili and Doug, and, for a little while, Malcolm and Melissa on the Enterprise, and then Mellie and me together on Ceres, no one actually lived together. Gotta love the Calafans – they made most of it possible. So, first up is, I hope you'll indulge me, as it's my ugly mug again."
She thought for a moment, "I was, um, twenty-three then. Next on the hit parade is Malcolm. He's forty-six here. This is an official Starfleet photo, so my thanks to them for allowing me to use it."
"He's got that look like, I can think of sixty different ways to kill you but I just don't feel like doing it right now, eh?" The audience laughed, "The next picture is of Lili, and this is actually Doug's favorite photograph of her."
"She never thought she was pretty, but she was. Fifty years old there, too! Doug used to call her the white-hot flame and I think you'll agree with that assessment, eh? That's just after Marie Patrice was born. Next is my lovely Mellie again."
"Of course she was just barely pregnant with Tommy then, and only twenty-five. And last is Doug, who was fifty-eight years old, can you believe it? This is my favorite of him."
"He was so serious. I wonder, I bet he was thinking – what the hell have I gotten myself into?" The audience chuckled again.
She sipped some more water, "A few more, if you will be so kind. A few family favorites, if you will," she clicked a bit, "Here's probably my favorite one of Lili," she breathed, "You can't see the calloo there, but you can see, she's got the key charm on. She was very confident, finally. I think she was around fifty-two or so here."
"Here's Lili's favorite picture of Malcolm, taken when he was on family leave to care for Declan."
"I do wish Starfleet had been more lenient when it came to facial hair. Man, oh man!" Norri pretended to fan herself.
"I think this one is my favorite one of Mellie. You can see she's wearing Doug's bracelet. She became more pensive after Kevin's short life. It changed her."
"Here she is with Doug on the hunting trip when she conceived Neil. It's a happier time, but the photo shows Doug distracted. I get the feeling he was thinking, take the picture already, so we can get outta here and make a baby!"
"Just a couple more, please," Norri said, clicking, "This one is Melissa's favorite one of Doug. It's from, um, I think around 2164 or so."
"Last one. This is Malcolm's favorite photograph of Lili and it's Melissa's favorite as well. You can kind of see her calloo here. She's about fifty-four or fifty-five here."
"So that's, um, that's us. There are more pictures in the book. See, this is another shameless ploy of mine, to get you to buy my book," Norri said.
=/\=
"You were very strong. A fierce lioness. You protected him." – Malcolm Reed
"I don't know what you'd call Norri to us. A good friend, a sister, even, I guess." – Lili Beckett
=/\=
They were back in the hospital room.
"Oh, that was sweet," Lili said.
"Even though some of the information was incorrect?"
"Well, it's not perfect. It's her perspective, not mine. I mean, I remember the time with the Witannen differently. Norri wasn't there."
"But the record is not right," Q insisted.
"I imagine a lot of other historical records are pretty bad," Lili said, "It's okay."
"But –"
"But nothing," Lili said, "She got the names and the places right. And most of the dates are correct as well. It's not perfect. But it's still delightful and sweet and it evokes us, possibly better than we really were. I don't need absolute accuracy. So she didn't perfectly succeed. Again, I say, so what?! Lafa II will continue spinning, even if a detail or two here and there is imperfect. The gist of it is there, the essence survives."
"Scholars will read this book, and they will not have a clear picture."
"I know that we have no real idea how the ancient Egyptians really lived," Lili said, "We've got tombs and we've got some artifacts, but we don't really know how they told jokes or scolded their children or flirted or anything of the sort. I suppose only someone like Rick Daniels would ever really get the complete picture. And maybe he sees the transitions as well, as we slide from time to time, and era to era. I think we can see them now, too. But the details fall away. You said you don't look at details, and you don't get into our heads. Same difference here, eh?"
"Transitions – those are the decisions that pull the timeline along the universe's true course," Q said.
=/\=
"But – my father's family was from Massachusetts. It's an Indian word. It means, 'Place where they don't pronounce their Rs'." – Lili Beckett
"She – uh, Lili – she always said that all names are meaningful. Not just their meanings and translations but also what they mean to the parents who provide those names to their children." – Malcolm Reed
Chapter* 24
"I want to talk to someone who knows about more than just conquering things. Someone who's read a book or two. And maybe kiss that woman a few times, too. And more if she'll let me. Will she?" – Aidan MacKenzie
"I don't go by half-measures. And I will love and support you both day and night, kiddo, like I have ever since we met." – Leonora Digiorno
=/\=
"Transitions and errors," Q said, "Yours, perhaps, are minor ones. But ours – they can affect the entire galaxy."
"Yes, collateral damage, right?" Lili asked.
"Correct."
"So you need to be careful. I mean, when Doug and I fight, we're careful so that the children don't hear. I imagine Malcolm and I will need to do the same."
"You also, you don't always get along with Melissa, either."
"That's right," Lili admitted, "There's push and pull there as well."
"Push and pull."
"But – is there a peacemaker among you?" she asked.
"Yes. For the most part, it's Joy," he said.
"But you've fought with her at some point, right?"
"Not often," he said, "Although it does happen on occasion. And you have a peacemaker as well, right?"
"Yes," Lili said, "It's Melissa, actually. She – well – recently Doug and I had quite a row. It was about Joss's schooling. Doug wanted Joss to go to a regular school. He argued that Joss is too big, and too smart for a pre-school program. But he's only three, you see, so I argued that Joss should be home. Melissa is the one who got to the bottom of it, for Doug and I were too busy picking at each other to get to the heart of the matter. And it was, well, Doug was concerned that Joss would be so big, and he'd be bored by the lessons, that he would bully the smaller children. And my end of it, it was that I was seeing my little boy growing up so fast, it bothered me. I mean, I know it'll be a long time before the nest is empty, but I hated – I still do – that they grow up so quickly. It's the mirror genes. Joss is three, but he looks and acts about twice that."
"And the outcome?"
"We sent Joss – he just started – to a regular preschool."
"So you won the argument?"
"No, well, not really. It was a compromise. And Doug got something he wanted, which was for Joss to also go into Little League. And, well, he now hits a tee ball with kids who are, chronologically, one to two years older than him. But it's good for him, as he works off any frustrations he may be having. He's a sweet and gentle child, and I can see the future veterinarian in him. But he's also a big kid, so yeah, if he loses his patience, he could hurt another kid. This works out best for everyone."
"And in the mirror, during the alternate timeline, he was a ballplayer anyway."
"That's right," Lili said, "But that was also because, on that side, they don't exactly value vets. He, it's pretty obvious, he grows up well," she picked up the baby, "This is the only one who's going to remain a child for as long as he should."
"You'll have more diapers to change."
"That's true. And I can't say that I'll never complain about that. But it's all right," she said.
He was distant again briefly, "We should go soon. Another event."
"This one will be negative, right? It's Norri's death."
Q nodded as the room began to transform.
=/\=
"I'm no teacher, but I can clean the erasers or something." – Aidan MacKenzie
"I know why you fell so hard, and so fast. It's 'cause, you just know." – Jennifer Crossman
"I guess we're gonna be parents. You, me and him." – Leonora Digiorno
=/\=
It was a crowded bedroom.
Lili counted eighteen people. There were Joss and Jia, off to the side, with their two kids. Jay looked like a young man; Shaoqing was a teenager. Then Tommy in a Major's uniform, sitting on the edge of the bed, and Declan behind him. Then she saw Marie Patrice with Ken Masterson, and Kelly, who was, perhaps, about thirty or so. And then there were Neil and Ines, with their two kids. Jennifer Leonora was a young woman. Martin Kevin was about eighteen or so. Yinora was there, with her husband and her three children. There was also a silver Calafan nurse who would pop in and out on occasion.
Lili looked at the clock on the wall – September second, 2212 – and the time was sixteen hundred hours.
"Malcolm's centennial," she said, "And Joss – he's, um, fifty-four today."
Q just directed her back.
"I bet you're all waiting for me to say something really profound," came a trembling voice, and Lili saw the nineteenth person. It was Norri, in the bed. She looked shrunken, tired and sick, "But I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you all."
"You won't, Ma," said Tommy, and she reached up and tousled his hair.
Lili went over to Shaoqing as she saw that the girl had a PADD with her that had gone into sleep mode. It scrolled through photographs – Kelly Masterson's High School graduation, and Joss and Jia's wedding and the Bat Mitzvah photo of Lili with Malcolm and Declan and the Shapiros and their two daughters. Then there was the short movie of Marie Patrice kicking the soccer goal. Another photograph was of Doug and Lili's wedding. Another was of Declan in front of the Eiffel Tower, and another of him in front of the ruins of Pompeii, painting.
"Got room for one more in there?" asked the nurse.
"Sure," Norri said.
It was a woman, in her late thirties perhaps, with thick black hair and greyish-blue eyes, "Sorry I'm late," she said, first to Declan, and then she came over and kissed Norri on the cheek. Then she went back to stand next to Declan.
"Who's that?" Lili asked.
"Hang on," Q said. He brought her over to where Shaoqing was standing, and indicated the PADD. Q flicked a finger near it and it returned to the Bat Mitzvah photo. From left to right, in the back, Lili saw Ethan, then Karin, then Declan, then her and Malcolm. And in the front were the elder Shapiro daughter – the Bat Mitzvah girl – and the younger one. And Lili noticed something she hadn't before – that the younger daughter was poking Declan in the ribs.
"Who is she, Q?"
"Rebecca Shapiro," he said.
"She's how old in the photo?"
"Eight."
"And Declan was twenty-two, or almost, if I recall correctly. So, this young girl has a crush on him. It's pretty obvious from the photo that she's flirting. And he thinks nothing of it, and goes off to live his life. And he marries."
"Yes, he weds Louise Schiller in 2187. The, uh, that photograph is from 2183."
"But then he gets a divorce," Lili said.
"In 2190."
"And he goes on, and he mourns the end of his marriage and he loses his parents and – I am guessing recently – he heads off to Europe."
"Yes. It was at Leonora's insistence, after Melissa's death."
"I thought you didn't pay attention to details, Q."
"An exception," he said, "Nothing more."
"Did he go with her?" Lili asked.
"No. They – well, here. There are photographs," he flicked his finger again and the PADD showed four photographs, all in four quadrants. There were the two she'd already seen, of Declan in front of the Eiffel Tower and another of him painting the ruins of Pompeii. Another was just of Monet's water lilies, at Giverny. And the last one was of Declan and Rebecca, standing in front of Tower Bridge in London. He had his arm around her and it seemed a little tentative.
"When was the trip?"
"Last summer. 2211," he flicked his finger again and the photographic slide show went back to a random mode, and a picture of Marie Patrice with Andorian, Calafan and human models in front of an MP Fashions sign slid by.
"So they're together for less than a year."
"Yes. Watch."
=/\=
"Thank you for making me a mother. I can't imagine life any other way." – Leonora Digiorno
"Sharing your time – I suspect it's not always easy for him. Much like sharing Melissa's time may not be so easy for Leonora to do. But we persevere. The rewards are too great to not make the effort, my love." – Malcolm Reed
=/\=
"I suppose the occasion calls for some profundity," Norri said, "But instead I'd like to tell you a story. Way back when, before any humans were here, it was 2157, in May. And there was this girl. She was barely twenty-one, and had just gotten her BA from Oklahoma State, in English literature. And she didn't know much. She knew she was twenty-one. She knew she loved books. And she knew she was gay. And that was about it," Norri smiled, "So she went on vacation, to Ceres. It was the first time she had ever been away from home. And, you gotta understand. Ceres is the very essence of a budget vacation. There is no skiing like on Charon. No great architecture, like there is on Triton. No one talks with a pretty drawl like on Titania. There's no view of Saturn like on Dione. There are no beaches like on Ganymede. There are no old human homes like on Mars or the Moon. It's just a view of a lot of other asteroids and not much else. So this girl, she went there. And she didn't have a lot to do with herself. So she ate a lot of Room Service, and she hung around. And not much else."
She paused for a breath, and Tommy took her hand, "And then on May eleventh, she was sitting in the hotel bar. And this group of pilots came in. And there was this one pilot. She had brown hair, and dark brown eyes, as big as saucers. And the girl, the one from Oklahoma, she realized that, right in front of her, was everything she had ever wanted. But she was scared, so she sat in the back of the bar, and said nothing, worried that she would say the wrong thing, and kicking herself for blowing her chances. But the pilot, she saw. And so she did this," Norri slowly raised her hand and crooked her finger once, "And the girl came over. And she never left. And now the pilot is gone. And that girl, she is no longer a young girl. And she will see the pilot very soon."
"No, Ma. You're gonna get better," Tommy said.
"No," she said, "Yifep said, and I know she's right. It's why you were called here."
Norri looked at all of them, her glance lingering, "This is my family. We are young and old, male and female. We are straight, we are bi, and we are gay. We are tall and short, fat and thin. We are Mexican, we are English, we are Italian, we are French, we are Polish, we are Calafan, we are Greek, we are Chinese, and we are Irish, so don't mess with us. We are Protestant, and we are Muslim, and we are Catholic, and we are Buddhist, and we are atheists, and we are agnostics, and we might be Jewish, too," she smiled, "We are from Earth, and Ganymede, and Lafa II, and Titan, and I bet someday we'll be from Andoria and Vulcan and the Xyrillian home world, and any number of other, as-yet undiscovered places. We are designers, we are healers, we are chefs, we are artists, and we are defenders. And we are sports people, and nurses, and business people, and architects and writers and everything else, because we can do anything. Beware of falling in love with us, for we play for keeps, and we will not let you go. When we say forever, we mean it."
She seemed to gather her strength in order to continue, "Tom, I have earrings that your mother gave me. I want you to have them. Get a piercing. I don't care where. And if you wear even one of them, you can have a dream, the kind they have here. And maybe you can see someone, and, and be happy. I know Starfleet won't let you wear them with your uniform. But you can wear one to bed, right?'
"Yeah," he said, "I can do that."
Jia buried her face in her husband's chest. Lili heard her whisper, "It's like when my father passed. I, I can't watch."
"I have books, as you can all imagine," Norri said, "The electronic ones, I hope you will all pass them around. But there are physical ones, made of paper. Tommy, I have Future Shock and 1984, so dystopic. I hope you'll read them, and think about how things could have turned out. How different things could have been."
He nodded.
"Marie Patrice. I want you to have Jane Eyre. And I also want you to have the bracelet that your father gave Mellie. You know, the one with the oval charm with the three circles. Because, like Jane and Mellie, you are the strong, independent heroine of your own life."
"Yes," replied Marie Patrice.
"Neil, I have a book by Samuel Richardson, it's called Pamela (Or, Virtue Rewarded). Since you're related to Pamela, I would you like for you to have it. Maybe read it with her. She's lonely, and I bet she'd be amused by the company."
"Of course," he said.
"Related?" Lili asked.
"Yes," Q said, "Pamela Hudson is the widow of Yinora's uncle."
Norri said, "Joss, I have a Bible, both Old and New Testament, and I have a Koran. Those were all owned by my great-grandmother in Sicily. And I have Dante's Inferno, The Purgatorio and The Paradisio. I hope you will read these, and begin to understand just what your father struggled with, from what he had done, before he knew your mother."
"I will do that."
"Declan, I have Charlotte's Web, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass," she paused, "I give these to you, not only because your mother was Charlotte, and because of the connection to a distorted mirror, but also because these are three of the most important classic works of children's literature of all time. And I hope, although I cannot know it for sure, I hope that soon you will be reading those books to someone."
Declan didn't answer, but Lili saw him squeeze Rebecca's hand.
"Marie Patrice," Norri said, "I hope you will continue to spin out beautiful things," she smiled, "Tommy, you are going to go out there, and you'll see things that none of us have ever seen. I do hope you can go in with clear-eyed optimism, and see most species as potential friends, and not hostiles."
He nodded, and Lili could see that he, the toughest guy in the room, was crying.
Norri looked up, "Out there, it's as crowded as it is in here. My brother Phil, with his violin and bow. And there's Kevin, laughing and chasing another boy. Kevin has dirt and a small plant in his hands, and he's trying not to drop it. And the other boy, he's got a baseball glove."
She looked back around the room again, "Declan, give yourself up. It's time."
Declan just stared straight ahead and swallowed, "That's the thing he's most afraid of," Lili said.
"Neil, one day, Reversal will close for good. And it will not be from anything you said, or did, or anything you didn't say, or do. It'll just happen. But it will be remembered well. I can guarantee you that."
"Thanks, Ma."
"More people, and it's clearer, too," she said, looking back up again, "First, the men. Two are tall, like they were. Jay, with a hammer. And Doug with both versions of Malcolm, I can see them. The mirror Malcolm, he has a wrench. And between Doug and our Malcolm, they are carrying, it's one of those saws that you need two men for. And they can't be unequal, for the sawing would become messy and uneven. So they must work together, and push and pull in tandem."
"Push and pull," Lili whispered, "How could she have heard?"
"She didn't," Q said.
"And what I can tell is, for four men, who spent so much of their lives destroying, killing and creating all manner of mayhem, those men, instead, now, they are charged with a task. And that task is to build. For that is what they are doing. They are building a home, and it's for all of us. The mirror Malcolm and Doug had to; they had to work off their debts. The people they saw when they got here, and they didn't recognize most of them, I know who they were. They were the ones, the slain, and their families, all from the other side. But their debts are paid, and now they can work on this."
"How could she know that?" Lili asked. Q just directed her back.
"White hot flame," Norri said, "Carrying a wooden spatula and a key. And that will be the key to that home. And my darling Mellie. So strong, so beautiful, so smart. She has a bow, and on her back there is a quiver full of arrows. For she is going to bring home dinner, and Lili will cook it. And for two women who didn't always get along, they will work together, and they will provide and they will fill that house with all good things."
Norri paused to take a deep, wheezing breath, "And I see what I am being given. For you are what you did, and what you wished for, and what you can do, and what you dreamed of doing. And I am being given a PADD and a stylus. For it is my task to record all of this, and be the historian and the one to add perspective and try to make some sense of it all."
She looked up for a second and then back at all of them, "Joss, be good to everyone, even when they annoy you."
And that was it.
=/\=
"We can be very kind people to each other when we want to be." – Malcolm Reed
"I think all we can do is make them the best home that we can, and rise above our baser natures. The five of us are partners, right? If we work together, with what's good from each of us, then I think we'll be really all right." – Leonora Digiorno
