CH52

Kate was smiling and yet wistful at the same time. They were in a travel pod to get from the base that Rick used to fly from headed to the office of the Director. Claire had offered to come and keep little Rick happy after finding out that Kate wanted to name her son after her own. Now she was sitting there holding him, cooing soft things to him and murmuring about what a happy a baby he was. Kate kept his ability to show he was unhappy to herself for now.

They were familiar with where they presently were as they walked into his front office where Beverly sat. "Welcome Castle family, he's expecting you. You can go right in." She motioned to the large wooden double doors. Rick held the door open for everyone and followed behind them. "Castle!" Bail Organa was up out of his chair behind his desk and strode to them holding out his hand. He greeted Kate first followed by Alexis then Rick. "And this must be the next Castle." He stood in front of Claire and smiled down at the peaceful baby.

"We have something for you. Brooke Carver sent it." Kate's words brought his attention back from the baby. He took the pad from her and began to read. "Do you know what's on this?" he asked them. "Some but not everything," Kate replied. Rick and Alexis were content to let Kate lead for now.

"We've been cleared to create a colony on the moon which we'll start the planning phase immediately." He downloaded that bit of information and sent it on its way. "And I see you want space there," he commented and then pulled up the design that they and the Carver family had worked on. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like this place." He downloaded it and sent it on as well. Then he went back to reading and raised an eyebrow when he reached the part about the Carvers wanting a home on Xerxes. He set the pad down. "I can allow you to stay here for a short time. However, we're going to need to find you someplace to live for a couple of years before sending you to your new home," Bail Organa informed them. "We know, Brooke explained our options to us." Rick didn't want to lose his son anymore than Kate or Alexis did.

"Actually I have a thought about that." Kate got the attention of the others since she hadn't said anything about this. "I was wondering if we could spend the time on Earth? Give us a way to get there. I still know my account numbers to the money I used to have. It's more than enough for us to live on for two years." She was willing to spend every last dime she had. "I want to show my family where I was born and grew up." She saw the look of shock on Rick's and Alexis's faces. Alexis went from shock to excited anticipation almost instantly while Rick was still stuck on shocked. The Director leaned back and contemplated as to how he could grant her request.

"We still have Vincent and AMEE. They're both up on Rick's father's ship," Kate told him not knowing if that would help him any. Actually for Bail Organa it did. "A ship," he murmured to himself knowing that Earth was only five days out. "Beverly, see if JD is available; I have a favor to ask him." He looked at them. "This will not be a pleasure ship," he warned and Kate nodded, agreeing. "Just so long as it allows us to get there and not so big that it can't be hidden away." She would have been happy to have the ship Rick had come to get her in years ago.

JD suddenly showed up on one of the wall screens. "Bail, what's on your mind today?" JD was curious as to what he needed. "I have the Castle family in my office. They would like to go to Earth for the next two years before transferring out to a new colony in the Xerxes system." Bail was hopeful that JD could come up with a solution for them. "We've got plans for Commander Castle and his ships so he's out. Actually he's leaving tomorrow, he just doesn't know it yet," JD remarked. "Great!" Claire moaned. "Sorry Mrs. Castle. Unfortunately, Bail, no new ships with the new drive will be ready any time soon. Though at only five days out..." JD tried to think about what he had available.

"I was thinking about the Viking," the Director said. "Corvette class! ...A little big maybe and while she's completed testing she hasn't completed her tour trials. She hasn't as yet been offered to a crew, either." It meant she was free to be used by someone else. "She's also going to be the last of her kind." The new Fold Drive had made every ship they presently had obsolete by light years.

"All right, she's yours. I'll send you the access codes, what bay she's sitting in, and have her stores stocked up. Two years it is. Let me get to work and she'll be ready to go by tomorrow at the earliest." JD ended the communication.

"Corvette?" Alexis didn't know they had any of those. "The Viking is a little bigger than the ambassador's ship, heavily armed, usually has a crew of twenty. So she might be bigger than you need, however, you'll have lots of bedrooms to choose from, a main kitchen meant to feed her crew, weapons and shields, the latest in scanners. She can scoop for fuel and with a little programming, your Vincent should be able to pilot her alone if need be. She's also capable of atmospheric flight and since she's small she's also fast. For two years, she's yours. She doesn't have a shuttle so you'll have to solve that problem. Beverly?" the Director called. "Already organizing all of the paperwork the Castles will need for a two year stay on Earth as well as for the utilization of a military ship." Beverly beat him to it which had Bail Organa chuckling. "I don't know what I'd without her," he admitted. "I heard that sir," she said smartly, which made him laugh outright. "Now I need to find the money to give her a raise." Bail kept laughing. "Thank you sir," she added.

"Can you include me?" Claire asked out of the blue. "Mother!?" Rick and the others turned to look at her as she cradled her grandson. "They could use a babysitter. Martin's going to be jumping around all over the place by the sound of it and I'm tired of vomiting into a paper bag. Plus I've never been to Earth and I haven't spent much time with my own son in years." Claire pleaded with all of them with her eyes. "Babe?" Kate looked at her husband and saw the answer she was hoping for. "We'd be happy to have you. Maybe you could share some stories about Rick while growing up." Kate grinned while she watched Rick's face change. "I'm dead." He hung his head. "I'll tell you anything you want to know dear. Provided you tell me about your parents. It seems only fair," Claire countered. Talk about her dead parents? Talk to her mother-in-law about her parents, about the loss that had broken her. Kate swallowed hard and caved in. "All right."

"Beverly," Bail called. "Already added sir." She walked into the room carrying a number of pads. She handed one to Claire, Kate, Rick, and Alexis, followed by handing one to Bail Organa. You have to sign out the ship sir, and the Castles have to sign as well," she informed him. "Just don't lose this ship, I don't make that much," Bail bantered as he signed for the Corvette Viking. She took his pad and all of the others. "An apartment in the Satai West Wing has been set up for you along with a near limitless account to purchase items in the East Wing," Beverly mentioned on her way out.

However, she was soon back with access cards to the apartment for all of them, including Claire. "You better go shopping, you leave tomorrow," Bail warned them and stood to escort them out of his office. "Oh, and thank you for all you've done. You're going to be in our history books. Four potential colony sites in two years." Bail was just happy to be a part of it. "YES!" Alexis was happy.

Kate was content to let her mother-in-law hold her son while they took a travel pod to Satai and went looking for their single-night-only apartment. It turned out to be completely different than their last one. This one was far more modern looking and while Claire, Rick, and Alexis liked it, the decor just wasn't to Kate's taste. It also didn't have a lot of wood like their previous apartment.

Kate needed to nurse her son and change his diaper. "You three go. I have clothes on Martin's ship that I can have transported down. We'll be fine, I know what to do with a baby," Claire assured Kate. "Call us if you have trouble." Kate still wanted to be informed. "We'll be fine, you three need clothing and baby things."

They each knew where they were going but weren't used to shopping for baby items. They were at about their two hour limit just as they entered their apartment laden down with clothes, shoes, coats, a breast pump, diapers, and countless other baby things. "We're going to need another ship just to carry all this stuff," Kate moaned as Rick struggled to get the box that he was hauling around through the front door. She and Alexis dropped their bags in the living room while Rick leaned his box up against a chair and dropped his bags just as his mother came out of what they later learned was a bathroom. "Is there anything you three didn't get?" Claire was impressed. "We don't have everything." Kate collapsed on the sofa with Alexis slumping down right next to her.

"He's sleeping in one of the bedrooms surrounded by what I could find to hold him in place." Claire pointed to the baby monitor. "The front desk sent one up after I asked," she replied to the questioning look Kate was giving her. Kate was content so she just relaxed.

"Do you three have a plan?" Claire inquired just as an alert sounded at the front door. Since she was up she went to answer it and motioned for the young soldier to put her bags anywhere. "Thank you my boy. Please tell my husband I'll contact him later." Claire was pleased to have her own things. "I'll inform him ma'am." He left and she closed and locked the door.

"I don't have ID cards anymore since they were all on our ship, so I need to renew at least one of those. However, to do that I need money so going to a bank is first. I have my account number memorized, but I need an ID to go with my account number to get the money I need to pay for the ID," Kate said. "Great, we're doomed before we even start." Alexis had caught onto the vicious circle Kate was ensnared in.

"I have a plan assuming the right person is still working at the bank. We're going to need a place to stay for two years so I was thinking about renting a home. I can afford that but I can't afford to buy something. Anything in Manhattan is going to be ungodly expensive to purchase and not inexpensive even to rent. If we stay anywhere else we'll need a car and while I have the money to purchase a vehicle, I'm not sure how hard it will be to get one."

"We need to see New York, Hawaii, and Disney World most definitely. Maybe a tour to Europe. We have a lot to see. I'm just not sure how we're going to hide a spaceship." It was another worry that Kate didn't know what to do about. "You leave that to us Mom." Alexis had an idea of a plan and just needed to discuss it with her father.

"Where do we need to go first?" Rick asked since that would tell them where they would initially land. "Money is paramount so Manhattan first though we'll need to walk a lot to reach the bank since I won't have money for a taxi until we get to the bank – another vicious circle. Then over to the closest DMV to get an ID. We could probably get you three one also. It'll be just a picture ID, but it should be enough." Kate tried to think it through.

"We have to get packed and ready for tomorrow." Kate sighed when she heard her son cry, letting everyone know he needed attention. She groaned a little as she stood up after what already felt like a long day and went in search of which bedroom her son was in. "Is she all right?" Claire was more than a little concerned for her. "She's fine Grams, just tired." Alexis immediately came to Kate's defense. "We spent a long time just trying to stay alive Mother; that planet was not a pleasant place to stay." Rick was beginning to feel the tiredness seeping into his bones. The need to relax and stop fighting to remain alive was overpowering.

"I'll show you Grams." Alexis began pulling up pictures and video that she had taken using her watch. "WHAT IS THAT THING!?" Claire thought it was frighteningly hideous. "Mom calls it a T-Rex. It's a meat eater." Then she showed her a raptor attack. "Oh, my!" Claire was just beginning to respect what her son and his family had been forced to endure.

"You should probably go rest. I'll wake you all up in time for dinner. Hopefully I can get your father to join us." Claire watched them shuffle wearily down the hallway to a bedroom. Once they were gone she used her watch to call her husband. "They're all sleeping. We're headed for Earth for two years. Should be interesting." She wasn't sure what she was going to do to keep herself occupied but she would think of something.

"Do you know what they were given to get them there?" Martin asked her. "Something called a Viking I believe. It sounded military," she replied. "A Corvette, interesting. I'll see if I can come up with a way for them to hide their ship. You're sure that's where you want to go?" He would prefer to have her with him on his ship. "I'd love to go with you dear, but I've had enough of your new drive and they could use a babysitter. It'll be like raising Richard all over again." Claire smiled, momentarily reminiscing. "Can you make it for dinner tonight? We leave in the morning most likely after Kate nurses her son." She desperately wanted to see him before they left.

Martin started nodding. "I'll be down in the lobby waiting," he assured her and ended the transmission. "I hope one dinner is enough for you two," she murmured. Claire wanted her husband and son to have time to talk, forgetting that her husband could be in Earth orbit at a moment's notice.

While Rick and Alexis were allowed the freedom to rest for a few hours before dinner, Kate on the other hand, was the only one who could nurse her son. So she was up, went to sleep briefly, only to be up yet again. Finally Rick walked in. "Did you get any sleep?" He kissed her and touched his son's hand. "Catnaps here and there. That will change once I can pump." She wasn't sure how she felt about pumping. It would free her from being the one that had to get up every time, allowing Rick to take some of the load. But pumping her breasts to get the milk seemed so ...impersonal. Kind of like she was nothing but a cow. That the only thing that mattered were her breasts. "Wait until he learns to crawl followed by when he learns to walk then finally run. Alexis had me on my toes for months, years even. It only gets better."

"Great." Maybe having a child wasn't such a good plan. "And then there are the days when you watch him hold his head up on his own. The day he calls you Mama. The day his smile shines so brightly that it has your heart flying and beating wildly. The day he falls and cries out only for you to make it all better and you will because you love him. There will be a lot of firsts and each of them will take up residence in your heart."

"Then he'll turn sixteen and you'll wonder where all that time went. Where the child that used to be your baby went and left you wondering if all you have left are memories." Rick wasn't talking about his son and Kate caught that instantly. "I'm twenty-four, almost twenty-five, babe and yet I still wish I had my parents. I need them, want them, ...miss them so much." She was an adult now and wished for something she missed out on and would never have.

"You get to show us where you grew up. The planet on which you were born. Your daughter wants to learn. Show us your home; you've seen ours." Rick offered her his heart all over again. "Yeah." Kate started smiling. She had a family.

"The skybridge is on the twenty-eighth floor, Mother." Rick pointed out an error from going down to the lobby where they got their apartment from. "We're picking up your father in the lobby." Claire stepped out into the lobby where she found her husband out of his military uniform, wearing a suit. She hugged him and gave him a kiss. "Talk to your son," she murmured. "Don't screw this up."

Dinner was mostly simple talk about how their lives had gone and Claire and Martin learned a lot about their son's wife. "We should have been there, should have been there when our only son finally got married." Claire didn't know how she was going to recover from that. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm sorry, my pride and our family history blinded me and you're right, we should have been there." Martin reached for his wife's hand and squeezed it.

"I have pictures and a short video, all in 3D," Alexis offered, slipping off her watch. "It's all in there." Alexis handed it to Claire who in turn handed it to her husband. He took his watch off and transferred everything in her watch into his and then did the same for his wife. Claire held her watch like it was the most precious item she owned and tried holding it to her heart while putting it back on her wrist. She knew she was going to view their wedding hundreds of times till she had it completely memorized.

Of course Kate couldn't eat her dinner in complete peace as her son announced that he was either hungry, or needed a new diaper, or just wanted attention from his mother. "Excuse me." She grabbed her diaper bag and went to the restroom. "I'll help." Alexis stood up and went with her. It turned out it was both. Kate got ready to nurse him while Alexis changed his diaper. Alexis gave him to Kate, cleaned up, and used the facilities herself, then waited for the baby to finish.

They were surprised to find them at the entrance while Martin and Rick hugged and clapped each other's back. Claire simply stood off to one side and held her hands over her mouth while she softly cried. It had taken years to get this far.

"You're headed for Earth tomorrow while my squad is scheduled to jump back to Xerxes; we're going to do some scouting of the surrounding area. Maybe we can put a stop to this before it leads to war," Martin told them in the lobby where he met them. "I expect to hear everything, my love. Take pictures, take videos, tell me everything. Remember, I can be there in a moment's notice. You're only one jump away no matter how far away you think either of us are." Martin kissed her sweetly.