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Chapter 24 - Chapter 24 - Recklessness

Arles and Kelly left the beach party and went to the yacht. Arles moved the yacht out to the open ocean and anchored them, miles away from everything.

He walked up the steps to the top deck. Kelly sat on a chair there, looking up at the stars overhead. "Arles, this is wonderful."

Arles spread out a blanket and motioned for her to join him. They lay down and Arles pointed up. "And there is the Big Dipper. See there?"

She laughed. "Yes. And a lovely storm cloud."

"Ah. That's not a storm cloud."

"Wishing it away?"

He turned his head and smiled at her. "Maybe."

She sat up and leaned on her hands.

Arles sat up next to her. "I should have gotten us something to drink while I was downstairs-"

She smiled and shook her head. "It's really alright. I'm fine."

He nodded.

"You only teach one class a day?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Well, yeah. Now. The school only just opened and there are twelve students currently."

"Oh." She realized. "Okay, that makes sense."

He lay back on the deck and smiled. "Yeah. As time goes on, we'll have to actually have several classes a day. It's something I put together this morning for the Head Mistress."

"A schedule?" She smiled and looked back at him.

"A what?" He laughed. "That's not how you say that."

"It is if you're American."

"I am American, and I don't say it that way."

She leaned down and kissed his lips. "You sound English."

He smiled, "I'm that, too. You can be both."

She sat up and smiled. "I love being out here. Seems like, all of my problems are just….miles away."

Arles propped his head up on his arm. "What problems?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to really get into it."

He grinned. "You know, I have this friend."

She looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"She's really easy to talk to. You might find you want to talk to her."

"Like in a mirror or something?" She teased.

He laughed. "Works for me."

"Do you talk to yourself in the mirror?"

"Who doesn't?"

She nodded. "You know. You're interesting."

"So are you."

"I want to know more about you."

"Okay." He smiled. "What do I get out of this?"

She giggled and turned back to face him. "You answer a question, and…"

He watched as she unbuttoned a bit of her shirt.

She looked back up at him and smiled. "What do you think?"

He grinned. "Ask me a question and let me see how this works."

She giggled as the wind blew her hair around her head. She pulled it back. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

He rose his eyebrow, "Like, a steady girlfriend?"

"Yes. Not just a friend?"

He rubbed his chin and looked at her chest.

She cleared her throat, "Arles. I'm up here."

He looked at her face and smiled. "Yes."

She nodded and opened her shirt.

"What? You're not taking it off?"

She laughed. "It might fly away up here!"

He smiled and took off his shirt. He opened a box to the side and tossed it below the deck. "And there. That's the sitting room below us."

She giggled. "Alright."

She took off her shirt and handed it to him. He tossed it down the hole.

"Why is that there?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. We use it to push drinks, towels, sun block through the floor. All of that. Keeps you from having to leave the air conditioning and walk up the steps."

She laughed. "Makes sense."

"Design flaw that works. Brilliantly."

She leaned back on her hands. "So, I'm easy to talk to?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Arles? That's an odd name."

"No, it's not."

"I've never heard of anyone named that."

"Never?"

"No. Where's that from?"

"I don't know. Where is Kelly from?"

"Phhh. That's really common."

"Grace Kelly. You probably don't know who that is."

"Of course, I do. And yes. That's actually where it comes from."

Arles rose his eyebrows in surprise. "Grace Kelly? That's your name?"

She laughed, "Yes. I just go by Kelly though."

He looked impressed. "Wow. Good guess."

"Oh, Karen told you that-"

He laughed, "She really didn't!"

She smiled. "What's your middle name then?"

"Ummm. Well-"

"Come on. You know mine."

"Lovell."

"Like the astronaut?"

Arles looked surprised. "Astronaut? What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Gosh. He was on the Apollo 13 Mission and several others. I know that's the one he's most known for."

Arles leaned back, "I suppose it could be. Interesting."

She giggled and moved closer to him.

He ran his fingertips under the strap of her bra. "I think it's safe to be out here without sun block."

"At night? I would hope so." She teased. "Don't want to get a moon burn."

He laughed and met her lips to kiss her.

She smiled and looked into his eyes. "No expectations-"

He shook his head, "No expectations, Kelly. There are two bedrooms and you're welcome to either-"

She crashed her lips into his and began to snog him.

He felt her take his hands in her own, and bring them to her breasts. He looked down at her chest as she unfastened her bra and let it fall between them.

Just then, it began to pour rain on them. They both laughed.

"I thought that was a storm cloud."

"It's just rain." He told her as it continued to pour on them.

She looked up and smiled, "It's warm."

He kissed her and whispered, "Have you ever made love in the rain?"

Had he said 'love'?

She wrapped her arms around him and began to snog him again.

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Samuel tossed a towel in the basket as he walked out of the bathroom wearing a pair of pants.

Karen sat up in the bed, watching television. She was wearing one of the night gowns they had gotten on Plentitude.

He glanced at the telly as he walked by. "What is this?"

"Oh, something….stupid." Karen groaned and turned it down.

Samuel sat on the side of the bed and ran his hand through his hair. "Oh, tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"Which I've been thinking."

He lay down next to her and smiled. "Tell me what you have been thinking about."

"You need to get back to the ship to work on your experiment."

"Yeah?"

"What if I taught Arles' class-"

"Maths? You hate that!"

"I do. And I'm terrible at it."

He propped his head up on his fist. "What's this really about?"

"I know you are going to have to start teaching more. And with this Vitex meeting now, and the experiment that you won't tell me about-"

"Baby, that's something I can't talk about."

She nodded and he could see tears forming in her eyes.

He quickly sat up, "I've got it. You want to help. Yes? So, I'll be finished sooner."

She wiped her eyes. "Yes."

"Perfect! You teach my science class and I'll teach Arles' maths."

"Samuel, I don't know anything about science-"

"Oh, yes you do. It's history!"

"What?"

"Yes! It is. Tell me about…what was it you were talking about? The yellow fever…thing."

She groaned. "Samuel, you know more about that than I do-"

"I don't! It happened closer to your time than mine."

She groaned. "Walter Reed led a team who discovered that the mosquito was the cause of Yellow Fever when they were digging the Panama Canal back in 1901."

Samuel smiled proudly, "And that's what you should teach. Teach them how he did that. The method he used. How he went about it to prove his theory."

"That's history."

"That's science, Karen."

She smiled at him.

"All of the subjects are really the same thing. Maths. You could do that, of course. Arles as just been doing formulas since we have such a broad group of ages. Once they are broken into years, it will be easier and we'll teach from a book. Most likely."

He wiped her eyes, "See? I have an extra hour tomorrow. We'll spend it together. What would you like to do?"

She shook her head and laughed, "I really don't know."

"Am I doing too much? Do I need to be at home more?"

She sighed. "No. I'm just….emotional. Gosh. I thought PMS was hard. This is….ugh. Is this normal? I feel like I'm on the verge of tears all of the time."

"Completely normal."

She took a deep breath. "I really wish I had got to see Dad. I want to tell him about the baby."

He smiled and caressed her face. He didn't want her to know he had already told him. "Do you think Anne may have told him?"

"She said she didn't. Oh, and I need to help you-"

"Oh, I'm fine-"

"Seriously, you need to practice." She told him and turned off the telly.

He groaned and lay back on the pillows. "Practice?"

She sat back and looked at him. "You said you move things under the skin using….what?"

"Telekinesis. That's Dad's theory."

"Have you done that outside of the body?"

He grinned, "Have I had an out of body experience using telekinesis?" He laughed.

She playfully smacked his chest. "Stop being a pain. That's what you're going to practice."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

"Tonight?"

"Right now."

He groaned and pulled the pillow over his face. "I think I need to sleep, instead."

She rolled her eyes and pick up her phone off of the side table. She turned on some music and sat it on his chest.

"What song is that?" His muffled voice asked from under the pillow.

She turned it up and he could hear it was Toni Braxton's 'You're Making me High.'

He laughed and moved the pillow off of his face. "That's sexy song."

She rose her eyebrows at him. "I want you to change the song, without touching the screen."

He scratched his chest and considered what she had said. "I like this song."

"Samuel."

"You're making me high." He sang in a high pitched voice.

She laughed, "You are crazy."

He sang along to it, animatedly, causing her to laugh. "Don't listen to your crazy Daddy, Halley."

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her as he continued to sing. She smiled and pressed the button to skip to the next song.

"Hey! I was singing that." He complained.

"Samuel. You need to practice. Come on."

He groaned and sat on his knees. "Karen-"

"There's nothing to be worried about."

He looked up at her. "What if, I can't do it?"

"That's the reason you practice. You try."

He sighed. "What is this song?"

She moved the phone away from him and looked at it. "Oh, that's a terrible song. Next one."

Justin Timberlake's song 'Future Sex / Love Sound' began to play.

"This is a very sexy song! Let me see this playlist, woman. Geez."

She rolled her eyes as he took her phone and lay back on the pillows. "Prince, Tina Turner, wow. I like all of this. The Black Keys. That's my Dad's favorite group. He took us to see them about a million times."

She lay back on his shoulder. "Give me this."

He handed her the phone. "We like all of the same things. Isn't that odd?"

"I don't think so. There are things we both don't like."

"Name five things." He insisted.

She looked through her music. "I'm sure there is something. Those purple cherries."

"I like those."

"But, I really like those! And in the brownie batter. Damn it. Now, I want that."

"That's Halley talking. Not you."

She groaned, "Samuel. I don't think it's strange. You like science, and I like history."

"It's really the same thing!"

She sat up and sighed. "Look. You are getting out of practicing. I know what you're doing."

He grinned, "The Black Mumba has caught me."

She turned back on the music on her phone. Prince's 'When the Doves Cry' began to play.

Samuel grinned, "Very sexy song."

She rose her eyebrows, "Focus. Change it to the next sexy song."

He took a deep breath and held out his finger.

"You can't touch it." She insisted.

"I have to at least point at it. Imagine that I do touch it." He explained.

"Oh. Sorry."

He held his finger up, about a foot away from the phone.

Nothing happened.

He looked confused, "I don't get it. This works when I move things under the skin."

"It's because I'm here."

"I don't think it is."

She sat the phone down and let it continue to play. She held her hand up in front of him. "Put your hand on mine and move the fingers."

"You can move your fingers-"

"You are practicing! Do it."

He put his fingertips to her hand and felt of her muscles. He watched as her finger moved as he pulled one of them.

He stopped and looked back at her. "That didn't hurt, did it?"

She smiled, "No. Now, doing the same thing, try to press the button on the phone."

"But, I'm not touching it."

"You're not touching the muscles, either. Have you thought of that?"

He rubbed his head. "Not really. No."

She smiled. "Next song. Go."

He closed his eyes and concentrated. The song continued to play.

"Karen, I don't get it. This should work."

She put the phone back on the table and turned off the music. "We should try something else."

"Like what?"

She lay down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "I'm thinking."

He kissed the side of her head. "When I figure out this experiment I'm working on, we'll need to go Andromeda. Queen Ashena will have us stay there as her guests."

Karen sat up and looked at him in surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I actually have a room there. Well, I did. Or do. Or whatever. Probably not."

She took his hand in hers. He threaded his fingers with hers and kissed her hand.

"This has to do with your new job, then?"

"I'm a Princeps. It's just a title thing. It's not like anything really changes. I shouldn't be away more because of it."

She nodded and looked at him sadly. "Samuel. It's really as if I'm having to make a conscious effort, not to be upset."

"Well, I've given you a lot to be upset about. Why haven't you shouted at me yet?"

She sighed. "What good will that do?"

"It may make you feel better."

She groaned and shook her head. "Something I learned from my parents, is those few times when you are together, you push that aside."

"They are rarely together! You and I….ugh. Karen, if something is bothering you, please tell me-"

"Why did you attack that Vesous!?" She shouted.

He rose his eyebrows. "You are cross about this."

She took a deep breath. "And then, Lance came to tell me you were hurt. Samuel…."

He rose up and put his forehead to hers. "I'm alright."

"And then your Dad found all of this other stuff wrong."

"Like what? He hasn't told me."

She was crying now. He held her shoulders and kissed her forehead. She wiped her eyes.

"He said your back had been broken."

He nodded, "Yeah, it has."

"How are you walking?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's a mystery. I wasn't able to for a while."

She reached over and grabbed a box of tissue.

He leaned on his arm and helped her wipe her tears. "You want to know how that happened."

She held her hand out at him. "Of course I do."

He sighed. "I don't-"

She took a deep breath and pointed at him. "Was it you being reckless?"

He ran his hand through her hair. "A bit. Yes. I don't think you want to know about this-"

"Samuel. I want you to be more careful. I'm already scared to death about this baby, and Dad, and now you-"

He wrapped his arms around her and lay back down on the bed. He kissed her head as she cried into his chest.

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Finally back! Now for updates to the Doctor soap opera saga. LOL!

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