Disclaimers: Ol' red eyes made me do it.

Author's notes: Bless everyone for reviewing. Bina, your reviews are especially inspiring. Thanks! And don't forget to review more. (I'm greedy, aren't I?)



The door opened with a quiet hiss that was completely covered by the sound of Gustav Holst's symphony, 'The Planets'. Callisto stepped inside, looking in confusion at the chaos. There were articles of clothing flung across every available inch of space. It looked like someone in a hurry had searched the room.

Callisto drew her Gauss pistol, and scanned the quarters in case the searcher was still foolishly present. She edged around the bed and moved to check the half open clothes locker. It was big enough to hide a person, two if you were friendly. She flung the door open the rest of the way with one hand, pistol ready to fire in the other.

The empty hangers shifted in the sudden breeze made by the rapid movement of the door. They rattled against one another mockingly. There were more signs of the rush job to be seen in the bottom of the locker. Clothing and shoes jumbled together without reason.

A sudden noise from the bathroom spun Callisto around, pistol at chest height. Her finger tightened on the trigger as she waited, watching the door.

"No, no, no, no! Ohh, this is hopeless!" Callisto was startled to realize the voice belonged to Regina.

She eased off the trigger and holstered her firearm just as the door banged open, and Regina came out. She was pulling a green halter-top over her head and cursing under her breath. Callisto shook her head in confusion. What was going on?

"I see I was right to be concerned when you didn't show up in medical. What the Hell happened in here?" Callisto asked as Regina dropped her arms and balled the top in a wad.

Regina jumped. She had been so distracted; she hadn't heard Callisto come in. She glanced around at the disaster area that her room had become, and shrugged. "I couldn't decide what to wear."

"Usually, as long as it matches and is practical, you don't care what you wear. Why has that suddenly changed? Could it be because of someone named for the Norse god of war and justice?" Callisto asked pointedly.

"What would make you think that?" Regina bluffed. This conversation was exactly what she had been hoping to avoid. She had taken to long deciding what to wear, and blown her window of escape.

"Captains have to see what's going on around them, and know their first officers very well. In this instance, I also have parental radar to assist me. Give it up Regina; you can't hide your interest in Tyr from me." Callisto scooted some of the clothes and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I wouldn't say it was difficult to ascertain that. I hit on him in the bar for Frigg's sake." Regina shrugged.

Callisto narrowed her eyes, Regina invoking the goddess of marriage? Of course, her usual swearing of choice was 'Tyr's gut, may the ammo hold out' which could be confusing now. "Yes you did. You also moved on, however reluctantly, once you found out he was Nietzschean. With that in mind, I had assumed you meant not to act upon your attraction. Then I come in here and find you throwing clothes on and off like it's your first time being in public since you became fertile."

"Surely I didn't make this big a mess that day?" Regina jokingly questioned as she looked around the room.

"I think you did. I distinctly remember a bra dangling from where it caught on the sword you've always hung over the bed. This looks like it'll take the same amount of cleanup." Callisto chuckled heartily at the face Regina made at her.

"Thanks a bunch, I can always count on you to remember things I'd safely forgotten." Regina grimaced.

She started looking around at the clothes. Maybe something would magically appear in the mess that she hadn't seen the first time around. She was certainly no closer to figuring out what to wear than she had been fifteen minutes ago.

Callisto correctly interpreted the hapless look and decided some advice was in order. "Why don't you wear the green dress? You've only worn it for one formal dinner, the one for the Shiarr trade pact agreement."

"Don't you think it's a little, well, formal?" Regina asked.

"Depends. If you're doing what I think you're doing, then no. It would be appropriate. It would also signify that you take this seriously." Callisto hoped that she was interpreting the signs correctly.

"What do you think I'm doing? It's not going to be serious on his part, and I'd look like a fool if I did." Regina shook her head in denial.

"Why do you think it won't be serious on his part?" Callisto looked sideways at her, wondering what was going on in that head.

"He hasn't displayed for me, we just made an agreement to meet. Nothing more, nothing less." Regina tried to keep her voice neutral, but the disappointment was still audible to the discerning ear.

"Is that what you think? Regina please, pull your head out. The man saves your life in the bar, carries you all the way to the Boadicca, fights with you full out to display his skill in an area you consider important, then fights the raiders at your side. How much more of a display do you really need?" Callisto threw her hands in the air.

Regina looked at her with hope. "Do you really think that's what he was doing?"

"He asked you point blank if you were considering mating that human from the bar. He also asked if you would have looked favorably on the man if he had stayed and fought. I think that's why he stayed and risked being shot when we were attacked. He was displaying for you." Callisto said, trying to contain the urge to speak slowly and with small words.

How could any Jaguar female be so ignorant about male behavior? Ok, to be fair, Regina spent most of her life on the Boadicca. They visited Jaguar Pride often, but never for long periods of time. Then add the fact that Regina was used to human men, who didn't want to mate, and it suddenly didn't seem so odd.

Regina reached for the green dress to avoid Callisto's eyes. She knew very well she was being insecure. It wasn't like the human men she picked up. That was very casual, no commitment, no risk. If Tyr was displaying for her, he wanted more than just an opportunity to field strip his lance.

Of course, Callisto could be wrong. Tyr was Kodiak, not Jaguar. The Kodiak had fallen long ago, and Tyr had grown up outside the Prides. He could have picked up the more human approach to sex. He may very well want to get laid without the commitment of a mating.

Regina hesitated for a moment, and then slipped the dress on over her head. It fell around her in a soft cascade of emerald silk. No matter what the situation turned out to be when she arrived, there was no reason not to look her best.

"Good choice." Callisto approved as Regina smoothed the dress over her hips. It was an excellent color for her. The simple lines of the dress were flattering and sophisticated.

"I'm so glad you approve." Regina said dryly as she hunted for the totally impractical shoes that matched the dress.

"You'd better be. I could make this very difficult for you if I didn't." Callisto held out a pair of dyed-to-match slingback heels with ankle wrap straps.

Regina rolled her eyes and took the shoes from her outstretched fingers. "Why wouldn't you approve? I'm finally interested in a Nietzschean male, which should please you to no end."

"Only if you come back wearing a helix on your arm will I be pleased to no end." Callisto felt the need to clarify.

"I think you're getting a little ahead of the situation here. I am not going to just walk in there and offer him a helix band." Regina said in horror.

"Why not? It is your right to offer. I do not think he will be inclined to refuse you. Remember that Nietzschean males want to be mated. It is very desirable to them, and it isn't unusual to offer the band after a short acquaintance. Especially if the situation has fortuitously displayed the prerequisite characteristics the female finds desirable in a mate. Which he has done, or you wouldn't be going anywhere near him." Callisto said calmly. Her daughter needed a crash course in what a true male desired, and she had a feeling she was about to get one.

"All right, so I think he's perfect. That doesn't mean we'll be a mated pair by morning. We may not be anything. Don't get your hopes up. He has the right to refuse, even if I were to offer." Regina sighed, thinking about the last time she'd contemplated taking a mate. That had not worked out well at all.

"Are you going to take the helix bands in case you're wrong, and he is willing to be your mate?" Callisto queried.

Regina growled as she twisted her hair up in its habitual bun and anchored it with a pair of steel and malachite hairsticks. "You are the most persistent woman I know. The only way I'm taking those bands is if I can fit them in an overnight case. Then there's no pressure. If we both decide that's what we want, I can get them out."

"Well, while you're packing things, don't forget to take your ship link. I want to be able to contact you at all times. Also, you're not leaving this ship without an escort. It has not escaped my notice that both attacks have centered on you." Callisto said firmly.

"Yes Captain." Regina nodded resignedly. Just what she needed, an audience. On the other hand, she could make one of them carry her case. Just walking in these shoes was going to be enough of a handicap without the burden of a bag as well.

"Ice, pull two off the security rotation and have them assigned to Regina. She will be leaving the ship in ten minutes." Callisto spoke into her link.

"It shall be as you command, Captain." Ice replied.

Regina stuffed a green singlet into the bag, a change of undergarments, normal boots, and then reached under the bunk for a small box. She really didn't know why she kept it, until now she had never thought to open it again.

The golden helixes were a gift from Callisto on reaching sexual maturity. It had been a wonderful feeling, finally being accepted as an adult. She had been filled with the heady power of being a woman. How quickly that had faded underneath Machi's scorn.

She opened the black case to find the helixes untarnished by time or memory. The bands really were beautiful, and the clasps were fashioned to look like the chimera she had chosen as her personal heraldic device. She lifted them from the box and wrapped them in a silk scarf. Then she set them in the bag and closed it. She took a deep breath. "Ok, I'm as ready as I get."

"It's about time." Callisto said, her tone implying that it had been years in coming.

"Har har. Give me a minute to contact Tyr, then you can walk me out if you wish." Regina turned and shut herself in the bathroom.

Callisto eyed the closing door with a grin. She was going to be a grandmother yet.

Inside the bathroom, Regina keyed the whisker link, "Tyr?"

"Regina" his voice was like honey, even through the link.

"I am free of obligation for the evening. Shall I come to you, or are you still dealing with that security issue?" Regina said softly. She was trying to keep the fear that he was going to call the whole thing off from showing in her voice.

Some of her insecurity must have made it through the link because Tyr's response was more detailed, "The security issue is as settled as it may be. Come as soon as it is possible for you to do so. I will be counting the minutes until your arrival."

"Hopefully you will only need to count to ten." Regina smiled into the link.

"One…" Tyr's reply was teasing.

"Ok, I'm going! Demanding male." Regina chuckled as she opened the door.

"You have no idea how demanding I can be." Tyr purred, the implication bringing a flush to her cheeks.

Callisto heard the last part of the exchange and smiled even wider. She would be bouncing a grandchild on her knee in a year, she'd bet her last credit on it.