The tension in the air was palpable, but Scott thought it was just because his parents were worried about what had happened the day before.

Jenny kept casting nervous glances at Paul. Paul was going about his morning routine, trying to act as if everything was normal. Inside, though, he was roiling. Emotions were bouncing off of each other. This would be the first time in several years that he would be in his true form. The thought both terrified and exhilarated him.

Scott said bye to both his parents, then left to catch the school bus.

Jenny paced the kitchen, moving little things around the counter, knowing they weren't out of place but needing something to do.

Paul stood up from the kitchen table, and Jenny turned toward him. "Let's do this," Paul said, remembering that he'd heard that saying somewhere, but not remembering where. How can I not remember something? he wondered to himself. Then thinking, I must be having one of those senior moments I hear people talk about.

Jenny followed Paul into the bedroom, where he took off his shoes and laid down on the neatly made bed. Jenny sat on the edge of the bed, taking Paul's hand. Paul smiled up at Jenny.

"If I'm not back in an hour..." Paul let the sentence drop, took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Paul's breathing became almost imperceptible. Jenny had to place her hand on his chest to feel the gentle rise and fall.

* * *

The energy being that had become Paul Forrester let himself rise out of the body. The being had no sex, but had been in the body of Paul Forrester long enough that it now considered itself male.

He instantly missed his body, missed the feelings, both tangible and intangible, associated with it.

In the instant that he left the body, he knew he could never return to his planet. Earth, with all its feelings and flaws, had become his home. He would eventually have to communicate this to his people, so they wouldn't wonder what had become of him.

He brought himself back to the job at hand. He replayed the distress call, homing in on the source. Within moments, he had flown the short distance and was in the room, next to the ship fragment.

It hummed a high frequency note, acknowledging his presence, querying his needs. The fragment lacked the higher computations necessary to know that it was no longer a whole ship.

Paul ignored it, concentrating on the building around him. A pinpoint of light several floors up caught his attention. He flew toward it, moving through the tiniest places to get there.

He found himself in a hospital style room. A pregnant woman lay in the bed, thumbing listlessly through a magazine. The light came from the child within her. Paul quickly studied mother and child, both were healthy.

Paul knew time was growing short, so he made a quick buzz through the rest of the building, taking note of the number of people in the building, and any apparent security measures.

He stopped briefly outside, studying the building and the surrounding area, so he could find the place later.

* * *

Paul gasped, his whole body shuddering, his hands clenching and unclenching convulsively.

Jenny sat up straight, squeezing Paul's hand.

"Not so hard," Paul managed between gasps.

Jenny loosened her grip, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. "Are you all right?"

Paul's breathing had steadied, the color returning to his face. "I'm okay," Paul struggled into a sitting position. Jenny pushed pillows behind his back, helping him prop himself up.

Once Paul had had a chance to recover from his experience, Jenny asked, "What did you find out?"

"I'll show you." Paul stood up, taking his sphere out of his pocket.

Jenny stood next to Paul, taking his left hand in hers. Her eyes full of concern, she asked, "Are you sure you're ready? You don't need to rest for a while longer first?"

Paul smiled down at her, "I'm fine."

Paul concentrated on his sphere. They were suddenly standing in a blue, swirling tunnel.

Jenny gasped, as memories of her first experience in this tunnel came flooding back to her.

"You all right?" Paul asked her, ready to release his concentration on the sphere if Jenny said she wasn't.

Jenny smiled up at Paul reassuringly, "I'm okay."

"Okay, here goes."

One side of the tunnel blanked out, then came to life, running through everything Paul had seen during his out-of-body experience.

When they got to the part where Paul had moved outside the building, Jenny gasped.

"What is it?" Paul asked.

"That building. I know it. That's where Fox took me, after you left."

Paul released his concentration on his sphere. The tunnel disappeared and they were back in their bedroom.

They both sat heavily down on the bed.

"A baby," Jenny said in wonder.

"Another of Fox's schemes," this was the only plausible explanation Paul could come up with.

"But how?" Jenny wanted to know.

"At Peagrum," Paul said, knowing he wouldn't have to explain further.

"Does this mean he's given up on trying to catch you?"

"Even if that's the case, we can't leave the child there. You know what Fox would do!"

"I know, that was selfish of me. I'm sorry. We have to find a way to make Fox stop looking for you, though. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of running."

"I am too," Paul pulled Jenny into his arms, holding her reassuringly. "We'll find a way to get Fox to leave us alone.

"But first, we have to find that woman and get her out of Fox's grasp."

* * *

Paul and Jenny told Scott everything when he got home from school later that afternoon.

"That is so low," Scott sputtered angrily. "How could Fox even conceive of this!"

"He's getting desperate. The government is probably threatening to cut his funding, especially after what happened at Peagrum," Jenny patiently explained. Her calmness helped to calm Scott.

"How are we going to get her out of there?" Scott wanted to know.

"We don't know yet. We'll have to take a few days to come up with something," Paul replied.