Was It A Dream? Part 36-End

The church was beautiful when the women arrived and peeked into the sanctuary. Besides its lovely and other-worldly design and stained glass, there were flowers and candles everywhere in jewel-tones that covered the spectrum.

"Suzie get back here, the guys are coming in through another door and they'll see you if you continue to stand there."

"Just one glimpse of him, Aunt Susan." Sue begged.

"You'll get all the glimpses you want in about five minutes." Her godmother told her, before kissing her cheek and following the other ladies to their seats up front. Only Mason, Cheryl, Libby, Dee and Amy stayed in the back vestibule with her.

"The pastor is up front and the string quartet is about to begin." Mason warned. "Everyone ready?" Amy, as bride's maid stood first in line to walk down the aisle and then Dee and Libby, as co-maids of honor and finally Sue, with her parents on either side of her.

As Amy stepped forward a few white rose petals started floating down over the aisle...out of nowhere. As Dee and Libby walked forward the flurry of petals increased, but only looked more magical to Sue and her parents. By the time the bride stepped forward, the floor was covered in white and only a few petals fell around them.

'No prankster with his model plane flying around, dropping rose petals on us needed this time!' Alex whispered to his friends over the Connection and was answered by grins and some soft giggles, as the eight of them remembered their own weddings.

Sue did not here anything and her eyes were locked on Phillip's as he stood at the front of the church, with Marc Guerin as his best man and Matt and Shaun as his users, beside him. When they reached the front, Mason and Cheryl hugged and kissed their daughter and gave her hand to Phillip, who clutched it tightly.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

"Susan Elizabeth Blair, you were my brave Amazon Princess, when we were seven and we have been linked to one another, ever since. I was attracted to you right away, on that first day I saw you again, in History 101, three years ago. I fell in love with you from afar, as I saw your sweetness, intelligence and humor. I know you so much better now and admire all of your strengths and your inner beauty. I pledge to continue being your partner, to become your husband and lover and always be by your side through the good times and the bad, as long as we both shall live."

"Phillip Jeffery Evans, you were my brave White Knight, when we were both young and we have been linked to one another ever since. I was attracted to you as soon as is saw you again, that first day in History101, three years ago. I also fell in love with you from afar as I saw your kindness, intelligence and humor. I know you much better now and admire all of your strengths and gentle manner. I pledge to continue being your partner, to become your wife and lover and always be by your side through the happy times and sad, as long as we both shall live."

'I've been noticing that our rings look like an Antarian version of the Claddagh ring; traditional and yet individualized for just the two of us.' Phillip observed, silently as he slipped Sue's ring onto her finger and she placed Phil's onto his. As Phillip drew Sue into his arms for their kiss, she could here him continue to whisper to her.

'Oh my Suzie, you are mine now and I am yours; I will love you for ever and ever...'

'I have loved you for such a long time and now we are one and will remain so for ever and ever...' Sue replied, silently.

'And soon we won't need physical touch to speak to each other, sub-vocally.' Phil wiggled his eyebrows at her, as they broke their kiss and backed away a little.

"May I introduce to you, their Royal Highnesses, Prince Phillip and Princess Susan...Evans." The pastor called out and then joined almost everyone in bowing low before them.

'I didn't know he was going to introduce us like that.' Phil told Sue, as they blushed and waited for everyone to straighten up. 'Oh man the Honor Guards are moving into position, they're going to cross their pikes for us to walk under.' He warned her.

'Crossed pikes?' Sue asked.

'Ever see an Army wedding, where they make a tunnel out of their crossed swords for the bride and groom to run under? This is the Antarian equivalent.'

Half of the congregation had already left their seats by the side aisles, to walk outside and find a good place to stand and see the Royal Couple come out of the church. The other half waited until most of the wedding party walked by, starting with the grandparents and parents; then Amy and Shaun; Dee and Matt; and then Libby and Marc walked back down the aisle. Phillip and Sue waited a few moments and then followed their friends.

Sue saw Dee tugging Matt out through the church door and Libby and Marc scurry through as well, just before she and Phillip reached the Honor Guard, who lined both sides of the aisle. They each carried a four-foot long staff in their hands, one end of each staff resting on the ground. Suddenly a bolt of energy shot out of the upper end of each staff, creating what Sue could only describe as an energy rod. Phil gave her hand a comforting squeeze as they passed under the radiant archway and exited the church. They stood on the top steps, under more pikes for a few moments while their friends and family took pictures of them, before running down the steps, through the hail of birdseed, which was thrown at them and over to their family, who led them into the community's fellowship hall, where their reception was to be held.

"Oh man, what was that?" Mason asked Dee, as he, Cheryl and Matt stood nearby, outside the church.

"Those are the Honor Guard and they're holding energy pikes for Phil and Sue to walk under. On Antar, the Guard was the elite company who protected the Royal Family. Even though all of those people are a part of our security force, here in Airatan, this ceremony of theirs is mostly honorary; in memory of relatives who served in the Antarian military and Honor Guard, as well as a way for them to show their respect for my parents and now for my brother and his bride."

"Oh boy!" Matt exclaimed, quietly.

"Will they do that for you, whenever you get married, Dee?" Cheryl asked.

"Probably not; my sister and I are only heirs to the heir; we aren't so close to the throne that we would garner such special treatment, which is just fine with me, I wouldn't want all the responsibilities that Phil will be taking on in eleven years."

"What happens in eleven years?" Matt asked.

"That, God willing, will be when my father abdicates his place on the throne and my brother will be made king." Dee explained. "Come on, let's go into the reception." She said and led them into the hall.

"Grandma Amy, I love the wedding cake you baked!" Her grandson, Marc exclaimed, a while later. "No plain white cake for you; this carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is delicious!" He said through a great big bight and gave his grandma a smacking kiss on her cheek.

"You're welcome sweetie; weren't Phil and Sue cute when they cut the cake? They reminded me so much of Max and Liz; both being so careful and neat when they fed each other a piece of cake."

"Unlike my parents; I've seen the pictures of how they almost started a food fight at their wedding by smearing the cake over each other's faces!" Marc said with a big grin on his face.

"Well, if you plan to follow in the footsteps of Maria and Michael, at your wedding Marcus Guerin, you can just go buy one of those tasteless, white cakes from a bakery. I'm not having my hard work smooshed all over Libby's face!" Grandma Amy warned.

"No way Grandma, I wouldn't do that to one of your wonderful cakes. Anyway I haven't had the courage to go to Mr. Evans and ask for his permission to marry Libby yet...much less actually proposed to her, but when the time comes and it will; could you bake your white chocolate cake with raspberry filling?"

"Of course, sugar, I'll keep my cake pans handy! Oh look, Sue is ready to throw her bouquet." And they both turned around in time to see...Dee catch the flowers.

"Oh man, Sue's brother, Matt caught the garter!" Marc exclaimed. "The tradition must be way off this time; I've seen those two fighting and snipping at each other whenever they're in the same room. No way would they ever marry each other."

"I have news for you; your own parents snipped at each other all the time, before they married and haven't you noticed...they still do." Amy told Marc, before going over to congratulate Dee and Matt.

"Sue, come with me, love; there's some important people I want you to meet." Phil said, as he came up to his bride and then guided her over to a table where ten elderly people sat, enjoying the reception.

"Hey Phil, when are you going to take your bride out onto the dance floor so the rest of us can start dancing as well?" Nasus asked, smiling.

"Just as soon as I introduce my lovely bride to the rest of you." Phil answered, kissing the old lady on her cheek. "Sweetheart, you've met Nasus and Olaus Petersen; but this is Tage Petersen." Phillip introduced the rest. "Tage is the oldest of the five children, who traveled with my parents from Antar to Earth. They crashed in Sweden, came out of their pods immediately and grew up there, before my father was able to contact them.

"It's a great pleasure and honor to meet all of you, at last." Sue said, glancing over the whole table. "I'd love to hear your life stories sometime; they must all be fascinating; coming to a whole new world and growing up here. Have any of you written your stories down?"

"No we haven't, but maybe that would be a good idea." Tage said thoughtfully. "Perhaps my son, Eric could help us write our stories down."

"That would be a great idea." Phil agreed. "We need to remember what happened to all of us; document it somehow...but for right now, I'm going to dance with my bride; Nasus, I expect to see you out on the dance floor, later." Phil said, before leading Sue over to the cleared space for dancing and heard the band switch into a dreamy waltz, before he drew her into his strong arms and held her close.

"How much longer before we can leave?" Sue asked, desperately, as she felt Phil's sexy body brushing against hers.

"Soon, love, soon." Phil said, as he felt her soft form squirm against his. "Very soon, I promise."

Dee and Matt stood on the sidelines watching, as Phillip and Sue danced together. When many of the other couples moved onto the dance floor to join the newlyweds, Matt turned to Dee.

"Well I guess we're supposed to dance together, come on let's get this over with." He said and then took Dee's hand and dragged her out into the crowd.

Matt kept Dee at a proper distance from his body; he did not quite understand why he was so reluctant to dance with this beautiful young woman in his arms. He loved to dance, he was very good at it and he was attracted to Dee, but a stone wall still seemed to encircle his heart, keeping him from displaying his emotions to her.

Dee could find no pleasure in finally being taken into Matt's strong arms to dance, because he seemed to resent the necessity of dancing with her so much. He was a great dancer; graceful and sure, but his gorgeous lips had been pulled down in a frown the whole time and he barely even looked into her eyes. When the dance ended, Dee was so disappointed that she stomped off in a huff, to ignore the bore for the rest of the reception. Matt sighed in disappointed relief and slumped off the dance floor to quietly replay the moment when he had been able to touch Dee's calf as he had slipped Sue's garter up her leg and then the feeling of holding her in his arms as they danced and he inhaled her sweet scent.

"May I dance with my daughter?" Mason asked and Phillip reluctantly let go of her and went to find his mother for their traditional dance.

"We are so happy for you and proud of you!" Mason exclaimed, quietly in Sue's ear as they swayed together. "You have a brilliant career and future ahead of you. You've become a strong, intelligent and beautiful young woman and you have found yourself a good man to fall in love with and to marry."

"Thank you Daddy; that means so much to me to hear." Sue whispered back as she laid her cheek on his broad shoulder.

"Phillip!" Liz exclaimed, as her tall, strong son came up behind her and swung her into his arms for a dance.

'My mother is so tiny; has she always been this tiny?' Phillip wondered to himself, as he guided her around the dance floor. 'I guess her strength of character; intelligence and love have always given her a few extra inches in my eyes.'

"You look a little lost honey, is everything alright?" Liz asked her son.

"Yeah Mom, I'm fine...it's jut that...you've always been a person I looked up to; your intelligence, loving heart, your strength...it's all still there and don't get me wrong, you and Dad will always be my...heroes, but just now, dancing with you...you seem so tiny to me, as if I need to protect you...although I know that you need no protection...I don't know how to explain it."

"Perhaps you've just stepped into true adulthood; become the man you were meant to be...you're no longer my little boy, but my grown son. Your instincts to protect are growing and you feel the weight of responsibility...of becoming a married man, starting a family, your future birthright...But don't worry, Phillip, your father and I raised you so that you would be strong enough to carry all of these responsibilities...And you have exceeded all of our hopes and expectations for you!" Then Liz switched over to sub-vocal speech, so that Max, who was on the other side of the room, could join her in speaking to their son.

'I am so proud of you, my son.' They both said. 'And so would Welmas and Belisa; you carry their spirits within your heart and have grown into a fine young man. You cared enough to be drawn to and to help Sue overcome what Giuliani did to her and found your soul-mate at the same time. We love you and your new bride, very much.'

'Mom, Dad, thank you so much for telling me all that. I love you both so much too; you have been the best parents any kid, anywhere could ever have." Phil hugged his mother and then his father, who had been making his way through the crowd as the three of them spoke sub-vocally.

"Now why don't you grab your lady-love and slip out of here?" Max suggested with a grin. "Your bags have been taken to the hotel and everything has been prepared for you."

"Good advice, Dad, thanks." Phil said and slipped through the crowd towards his soul-mate.

Max and Liz watched, arm in arm, as Phil stepped up behind Sue, got her away from her current dance partner and then whispered in her ear. Sue blushed and then nodded, before leaving Phil's warm arms so that they could separately sneak through the crowd, towards the door. They almost made it to freedom, when a spot-light came out of nowhere and everyone heart trumpets sound a salute.

"Oh I thought they'd make it unseen." Liz whispered.

"Yeah, but I guess that the prankster couldn't resist having a little fun." Max replied.

Phil and Sue stood in the spot-light, smiled and waved good-bye to their friends. One thoughtless guest was going to take this moment to draw Phillip into conversation, when all of a sudden, he bumped into an invisible barrier; his hands pressed against the force-field as he tried to find his way past it. A startled set of newlyweds looked around for signs of who could have put up the invisible wall and then shrugged, grinned and hurried out the door, while they had the chance.

Part 37

Phil helped Sue into the car, which had been left for them outside, got in behind the wheel and took off.

"Thank goodness Antarians don't go into writing 'Just Married' in shaving cream, on the bride and groom's car!" Phil sighed in relief.

"Or tying cans or old boots to the bumper!" Sue laughed along with him, as they drove the short distance to the hotel.

"Here we are, Mrs. Evans." Phil said, as they drove under the canopy, which stretched out from the front door.

Phil helped her out of the car and they walked arm in arm into the hotel. The few guests who were in the lobby at the time, stopped to stare and grin, when they saw the young married couple come in. The hotel owner came forward and shook their hands.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Evans." He said, formally, only just stopping himself from calling them Your Highnesses, as he would have liked to, on their wedding day, if it hadn't been for his Human guests standing nearby. "What a lovely wedding ceremony you had; I'm so glad I was able to attend it, before coming back here to make sure that everything was in perfect order for you."

"I'm sure everything will be great, thank you." Phillip told the hotelier. "The reception is still going on; maybe you can slip away and put in an appearance there as well."

"Perhaps, but let's get you two settled first; this way, please."

They all rode the elevator to the top floor and the doors opened onto a private hallway, which led to the bridal suite. Their host opened the double doors and Phil picked up Sue in his arms to carry her over the threshold. They kissed passionately before he let her slide down his body to stand beside him again.

"Oh this is beautiful!" Sue exclaimed, as she finally looked around the living room.

A seating area with an overstuffed sofa and chairs faced a stone fireplace. Huge windows on either side of the fireplace gave a fabulous view of the valley and a small table-for-two was placed in front of one of them. The color scheme in the room was restful with soft greens everywhere and some large, leafy plants arranged in the corners and by the windows.

"Oh man, a fake fur rug...Rumor has it that Dee and Libby were conceived on a fake fur coverlet, my parents had on their bed." Phil told Sue, looking over to the rug, which lay in front of the fireplace.

"Through here is the bedroom." Their host opened a pair of folding doors.

The room was large and all in creams and whites. The huge bed was placed on the far wall with a perfect view of the raised fireplace in the living room. White, filmy drapes hung from the canopy and stirred gracefully in the breeze from the opening of the doors. The floor was covered in ankle-deep, angle-soft white carpeting.

"Here is your closet and dresser; everything has been unpacked for you and the bathroom is through here."

Where the bedroom was virginal, the bathroom was anything but; fashioned of black marble, every surface was mirror smooth and curved, almost fluid in appearance. Despite its large size and color, the bathroom was warm and looked infinitely relaxing, especially the Jacuzzi-tub; big enough to swim in, with a bay window surrounding most of it, giving a spectacular and private view of the valley. Even though there was no one to look in, more large, leafy plants had been placed around the tub, but ample green-filtered light came in anyway and fragrant, flowering vines swung like garlands around the room.

"This makes me think of some secret, underground grotto, but with sunlight still filtering in; it's beautiful, the whole suite is!" Sue exclaimed.

'It's just as I envisioned.' Phil praised their host, silently. 'Thank you for making these special arrangements for me.'

"That's the magic of staying in an alien-run hotel, almost anything is possible, sir.' Their host said, before quietly leaving them alone.

The newlyweds spent their honeymoon loving and discovering each other, talking, while lounging in front of the fire, eating the delicious food which the hotel's room-service delivered and taking long walks, hand in hand, but they kept to trails which were rarely traveled. They attended Max and Liz's New Year's Party, happy to see their families but by no means tired of spending time together. They would fly back to Cambridge and their tiny apartment the next day, ready to start their new life together.

Part 38

While his sister and brother-in-law were holed up in their honeymoon suite, Matthew Blair spent the rest of his holiday by exploring the valley. Marc and Shaun were pretty friendly to him and had spent time with him in between hanging out with their girlfriends, Libby and Amy. Between those two young men and Sam Jones, Matt had been taught the basic rudiments of horseback riding. Now, on New Years Eve Day, he felt confident enough to go riding by himself, along the beginner trails, which circled Airatan.

He was trying to puzzle through his reaction to Dee Evans. He was attracted to her; she was sweet and funny...but she was also an...alien. Why was he so leery of getting closer to her, when he had no problem spending time with her parents and friends? He was even happy that his sister had married one.

Was that the key he wondered? He did not think of Phillip, Marc, Shaun, or Mr. Evans as aliens...first. They were friends and in-laws who happened to also be aliens; But he saw Dee as an alien first and then as an attractive young woman. Was that because she was the only one of them who had used her powers in front of him? ...And in a violent way, as well. She had grabbed the rug out from under him, literally and then tied him up in it...without placing one finger on him and, he realized...that scared him.

Matthew Blair had never really been afraid of a woman before. Although he had met many, powerful and intimidating females in his time, he had always felt capable of charming them into liking him and doing what he wanted them to do. Dee was nothing like any woman he had ever met before.

Even though Dee had argued that her people were peaceful artists and had eventually understood his feelings and worries about his sister marrying Phillip; the fact that Dee had alien powers and could, quite literally throw him across the room, made him wary of her. Even though he was attracted to her; who and what she was kept him from pursuing that attraction.

Dee saw Matt from where she reigned in her horse, on an upper trail. She knew that Matt liked his space; his peace and quiet, but she also knew that he would be flying back to New York tomorrow and this might be her last chance to try and fix things between them. She was very attracted to him and she was sure that he was attracted to her, but whenever they came anywhere close to each other, he froze her with his icy personality or started a fight with her. Dee could not let him go without trying one last time, to speak to him.

"Hey Matt." She called, as she maneuvered her horse down the slope, towards him.

"What do you want, Dee?" Matt asked, wearily.

'Must I be bombarded by her tempting presence to the last?' He wondered.

"I wanted to talk to you." Dee said. "I know that you don't like me, but our families are linked now and I have a feeling that we'll be seeing each other a lot at the holidays and I wanted to try and come to some sort of truce."

"What makes you think that I want a truce? Maybe I like snipping at you."

"Why do you like making me miserable? What have I ever done to you?" Dee asked.

"What have you ever done to me? Let's see...you pulled a rug out from under me...while you stood at least ten feet away...and I landed flat on my back. Then you tied me up in that rug and got me to my feet, still without touching me. You did all of that using your creepy alien powers and I don't want to give you another chance to do that to me again!"

"If I hadn't been taught to keep control of my powers, I'd, I'd...turn your hair purple and your skin green!" Dee exclaimed, angrily. "That instance at your home was a desperate try on my part to keep you from leaving the house. I was afraid that you planned to go out and blab what you knew about us, to all of your friends, or, or to the Press."

"Yeah, like I'd ever do something dumb like that." Matt yelled.

"I didn't know how you would react; you just looked so desperate and angry." Dee replied. "Look, you were the very first person that we've told the truth to, who had any sort of negative reaction. We'd never seen anyone behave the way you did. I was worried and I overreacted; I may never become queen of the Antarian people, but I will protect them any way I can, even to my last breath and if rolling someone up in a rug is what I have to do, to keep them from possibly going to the Press, then that's what I'll do!"

Dee was yelling right into Matt's face, as they sat on their nervous horses; knee to knee with each other. Dee's index finger was jabbing into Matt's chest, her eyes were hot and angry, but Matt could see tears starting to swim in them.

"Oh what does it matter, you'll think whatever you want to think." Dee exclaimed and wheeled her horse around and started riding away.

Dee's determination to protect her people and the vulnerability he had seen in her face, in that last instant, before she had turned her horse away, had Matt urging his horse forward.

"Dee, wait." He called out, not seeing a small log in his path.

His horse, not being given any instructions by his rider, did his best to jump the obstacle. The animal landed on the other side safely, his rider did not; unbalanced by the unexpected movement, Matt was thrown from the horse. Luckily, his feet did not get stuck in the stirrups; unluckily, his head hit a partially buried rock, as he landed badly and rolled down a slight incline, beside the trail.

Dee heard Matt call her name and turned her head to reply with a sarcastic retort, but that reply died on her lips as she saw Matt's horse safely take the jump and Matt take the fall.

"Matt!" Dee yelled as she turned her mount around and trotted back to where his horse had stopped, after losing his rider.

She dismounted; tied both horses' reins to a nearby bush and ran down the hill to where Matt lay, unconscious.

'I need help on bridle-path three. Rider has fallen off horse and is unconscious.' Dee called over the Connection, automatically falling back on her first-aid training, before kneeling down next to Matt.

"Matt, oh Matt." Dee cried, as she passed her hands gently over his body.

"Everything's going to be alright." She said, trying to reassure Matt as well as herself.

Dee found a bump, the size of a golf ball, on the back of Matt's head and a bad break, just above his left knee.

"Oh Matt, could you open your eyes for me...please? Please Matt, open your eyes for me; it will make it easier for me to start healing you if you'll open those gorgeous amber eyes of yours." Dee pleaded.

But Matt's eyes didn't open, so Dee placed both of her hands on either side of his head and struggled to make a connection anyway, to allow her healing powers to seep into Matt's body. She didn't stop, or look up when she heard two people come running up behind her.

'Have you been able to make a connection?' Her father asked softly, even in sub-vocal speech, so as not to startle Dee and cause her to lose her link.

'Yes, but it's difficult, with his eyes closed.' Dee replied.

'Marc and I will help; transfer our energy to you and more help is on its way. Use the Connection to gather more energy as well.' Max reminded his daughter.

'Okay, that's better, thanks.' Dee said, as she felt the infusion of new energy. 'The swelling in Matt's head is going down...'

Matt came back from the cold, dark place he had been knocked into when his head hit the rock, but couldn't open his eyes, or makes a sound. Every part of his body hurt, but his head and his leg were in agony. Then he felt warmth, concern and love overflow him and encircle him, as if he were being wrapped up in a soft quilt. Incredibly, the pain in his head began to ease and with the lessening, Matt was able to sense more of what was going on around him.

He felt two, soft and gentle hands cupping his head and he heard several people come running up to where he lay, but then nothing else; no voices asking questions or giving instructions. He did however, sense emotions; they were washing over him like waves upon the shore and as his head cleared, he started to make sense of them. Worry and sorrow were the top most emotions; so much concern for him and what had befallen him...and a deep sorrow from a heart which was in the process of being broken...by him. Underneath these surface emotions, Matt sensed attraction, admiration...and love; but a bruised and hurting love...Hurting because...he had not...loved in return.

Matt could not, for the live of him, think of a person who loved him that much and would be able to heal him at the same time; the healing ruled out his parents and sister...so who could this be? Matt struggled to crack his eyes open, just a little. It seemed to take forever, but after blinking several times, to help clear his vision, he realized that he was looking into the beautiful face of Dee Evans. Dee did not see that Matt had cracked open his eyes at first, because her own eyes were swimming with tears, concentration, worry...and love. Matt could not believe what he was feeling or seeing. How could all of these feelings be coming from Dee? His thoughts slowed down enough for them to clearly ask a question.

'Are all of those emotions for me; the tears and worry? And am I responsible for her sorrow and wounded heart as well?'

Dee heard Matt's thoughtful questions and her eyes shot to his and focused. She did not answer his query, but Matt could see her response in the eyes she locked with his and sense her emotions more clearly, through their visual connection.

Dee was then flooded with Matt's sense of wonder, amazement, joy...riding side by side with his guilt, sorrow and...attraction, admiration and...love...for her...She quickly closed mental doors so that no one else, nearby, or linked-in through the Connection, could hear their private conversation, as she bravely took the first step to clarify their thoughts for each other; she had, had enough misery and it was time to end it.

'Have we been working at cross purposes; hiding our true feelings from each other?' She asked.

'I...I think so.' Matt admitted, hesitantly. 'How can we be speaking to each other...in our heads?'

"It's just something Antarians can do; create a mental connection through physical touch, but don't worry, we can't read your mind or anything.'

Matt nodded, slightly and then winced.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, let us finish healing you and then we can talk, okay?' Dee asked before focusing on her task at hand.

Matt then noticed that there were several other people standing around him; their eyes closed and a hand extended to touch Dee on her back or shoulders. He recognized Mr. Evans and Marc, but none of the other three men and women who surrounded him.

'What are they doing?' He asked.

'The others are giving me some of their energy, so that I can heal you.' Dee explained, as she shifted her gentle hands down Matt's neck and arms.

'Your touch is so gentle; I wouldn't have thought that possible of someone who could literally throw me across the room.'

'We'll talk about that later; just relax and let me finish healing you.' Dee said again, as she paused for a moment to brush some of his hair off of his forehead.

Matt sighed as he felt the pain leave him, closed his eyes and relaxed. He savored the feeling of Dee's gentle touch as she ran her hands over his body.

'I'm touching you for clinical reasons.' Dee's voice broke into the fantasy his tired mind was weaving. 'Get your mind out of the gutter, you're distracting me.'

'I thought you couldn't read my mind.'

'I can't, but you're broadcasting your thoughts; I've had to shut some mental doors, so that the others; my father in particular, doesn't hear them. Please control your fantasies so that I can open the doors again; I need their energy to finish this.'

Once again, Matt relaxed and just tried to envision his broken bones meshing together; his skin mending itself.

'Very good, that helps a lot.' Dee remarked. 'Almost done...There, how do you feel?'

Matt did a mental inventory and stretched his muscles and wiggled his toes.

"This in incredible, all of my pain is gone! My head, my leg and everything in between! I saw how screwed up my leg was and now..." Matt slowly lifted his leg and bent the knee. "It is completely healed!"

"Why don't you try slowly sitting up." Max suggested and supported Matt, as he sat up. "Any light-headedness, pain or blurred vision?"

"No, I feel fine!" Matt replied, grinning, and then he looked at Dee. "Thank you...very much for healing me...all of you." Matt dragged his gaze away from Dee, to look around him at the smiling faces, above him.

"Do you feel like you could stand up?" Max asked, still concerned.

"Yeah, I think so." Matt said and got to his feet, with a little help from Marc and Max.

"Still okay? How's the leg?" Dee asked.

"It feels great; you do great work, Dr. Evans!" He grinned at her and ran his hand up and down her arm.

"Doctor, huh? Does that mean I can bill you?" Dee joked back.

"Oh man, how much do you charge?" Matt asked, half joking, half wary.

"Why don't we go and discuss that?" Dee asked, taking his arm. "Dad, could we use your vehicle and would someone please take the horses back to their stable?" Dee asked and was answered with understanding nods.

Dee drove them back to her family's home, but instead of leading him inside, she led him out back to the old tree house.

"Do you think you can climb up there? I think some neighboring kids left their sleeping bags up there, so we'll be warm while we talk." Dee said.

"Sure, I can climb up there; it doesn't look nearly as high off the ground, as it looked when I was seven years old."

They both climbed up and there were indeed two sleeping bags rolled up in one corner. They unzipped them and half sat on them, half snuggled into them. After an awkward pause, Matt started.

"Um, maybe I should start, by apologizing for the way I've been treating you. Even if you hadn't needed to heal me, I owe you an apology." Matt sighed deeply. "These powers of yours and the way I was initiated to them, really threw me for a loop! Knowing a girl, who could do what you can do...um...unmanned me...I guess." Matt couldn't look up at Dee for a moment.

"Any of us can do what I can; it's not just Antarian girls who can...um...throw guys around a room!" Humor sparkled in her eyes and then dimmed. "I need to apologize as well. I shouldn't have used my powers against you like that; we don't use them to harm..."

"You were trying to protect your people." Matt cut in, understanding. "I'd say let's just call us even, except I know that there's no way I'll ever be able to repay you for your healing me."

"There's no debt, we would do that for anyone..." Dee said reaching out to touch his hand and Matt turned his so that he could clasp hers.

"Do you...really feel...all of those things...for me?" Matt asked, softly.

"Do you...feel those things...for me?" Dee asked in reply.

"Yes!" They said together, as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes.

Neither of them realized that they were moving closer, until their lips brushed...and then clung. Their arms came up to encircle each other.

'How can this be happening; this love at first sight?' Dee asked, as she opened her lips to Matt's passionate mouth. 'We've only known each other for a short time and most of that time we've spent fighting, but even so...'

'Even so, when I first met you, I felt an instant attraction to you and soon after that I was falling in love with you.' Matt finished for her, telling of both his and her first reactions to the other.

Quite a while later, Matt and Dee came into the house, hand in hand.

"Hey, where have you two been?" Libby asked. "Marc told me what happened; are you okay?"

"Yes, Libby, I'm just fine, thanks to all of you." Matt reached out and shook Marc's hand.

"So...what's with the hand holding, puffy lips and messy hair?" Libby asked coyly.

"Um, well...Matt and I...talked...about our true feelings for each other and we..." Dee broke off, blushing and Matt finished for her.

"We realized that we love each other!" He exclaimed happily, gazing into Dee's beautiful, big eyes. "We know that we still have a lot to learn about each other; and that, that will be difficult; our living in two different states, but we'll work something out."

Marc had watched all of this silently.

'Oh man, I never would have thought that Matt and Dee would ever fall in love, much less have the guts to admit it, after all of their spits and spats.' He thought for a few minutes. 'But if they can do it, why can't I be brave enough to tell Libby what I want for the two of us?'

"Hey Libby, would you like to go for a walk?" Marc asked, all of a sudden.

"Um, sure, Marc." Libby agreed, hesitantly. "We'll see you two later." Libby told her twin and Matt.

Dee and Matt snuggled into each other's arms in a corner of the sofa, as Libby and Marc walked out through the French doors.

"Hey, didn't you say that the little Tupper kids were playing in your tree house, the other day?" Marc asked Libby. "Don't they usually leave their sleeping bags up there? Would you mind sitting up in the old fort while we talk? That way we can be comfortable and private." Marc asked.

"Um no, the fort sounds nice." Libby agreed.

They walked over, climbed up to the upper level and unrolled the sleeping bags, which had been stored in one corner, so they could half sit, half snuggle into them.

"Hey, wait a minute, these sleeping bags are warm!" Libby exclaimed. "Do you think that this is where Matt and Dee have been all this time?"

"You don't think they...?" Marc asked, ready to jump out of the sleeping bag if Libby answered with a yes.

"Of course they didn't...make love; here or anywhere else. They aren't even engaged. I'm just sensing a lot of...kissing. That okay with you, Love?"

"Sure." Marc agreed. "What do you think about us...following their example?" He suggested.

"Oh yeah, I'd like that...only I had the feeling that there was something you wanted to talk to me about." Libby said.

"Oh man, you had to remind me." Marc joked. "Yes of course, I do have something I wanted to tell you...and that is...that is...Libby, I've known you all of our lives; we've always been best friends and now we've been in love with each other for..."

"Almost our whole lives, as well." Libby finished for him and Marc looked gratefully and wonderingly into her eyes, as he heard her confirm their feelings for each other.

"Yesss, we have, haven't we? Well anyway, I've been wanting to ask you this for a long time..." Marc rose to kneel on his sleeping bag. "Liza Belle Evans, I love you with all my heart; with all my mind and with all of my soul; will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?" Libby launched herself into Marc's arms, even before he finished his proposal.

"Marc, yes, yes, yes!" She cried happily, as she kissed him all over his face and neck.

"I, I haven't spoken to your father yet and I know that he'll think you're too young..."

"But we'll work something out!" Libby assured him.

"We?" Marc asked.

"Of course, 'we'!" Libby said. "Come on, let's go talk to him now!"

"May I have your attention, please?" Max called out over the noise of his extended family and friends, later that night. "Before we make the final count down to the New Year, I would like to make an announcement." Everyone became quiet, as Max looked over to Libby and Marc and then to Liz who was already smiling.

"It is my great pleasure to announce that Libby and Marc are engaged to be married!" Max had to wait a few minutes, as everyone started cheering and clapping. "They will be getting married one year from now; and they will let you all know when they've picked the actual date.

"I thought your family had short engagements, Max; after what you and Liz went through, waiting just six months!" Grandpa Phillip asked.

"One year was a compromise." Libby explained. "Daddy thinks I'm too young to get married..."

"You are; you're only nineteen." Max reminded her.

"Yeah and you wanted us to wait two, whole years, until I turned twenty-one and graduated from college...and Marc and I would like to be married no later than next June..."

"So after much arguing between father and daughter, I suggested a compromise of one year." Marc finished and everyone laughed.

'Hmmm, one whole year for use to get to know one another; maybe we'll want to join Marc and Libby at the altar, in one year!' Matt suggested to Dee, sub-vocally, as they held each other's hands and grinned at the other young couple.

'Maybe we will!' Was all Dee would say in return.

Part 39

2037, 6 Years Later

Five-year old Jason Blair looked through the rails of the crib where three, one-year old toddlers were supposed to be taking a nap. Jason stuck his small hand through the slats and gently stroked the downy-soft cheek of little Judy, who was wide awake and gazing back at him with just as much interest in her big blue eyes.

Judy slowly stood up on her just-learning-to-walk-feet, held on to the side of the crib with one tiny hand and stretched out her other towards the boy who had come to visit her. Judy's palm glowed just as she touched Jason's cheek and left behind a tiny silver hand-print after she withdrew it; both children giggled as Jason brought up his own hand to rub over the silver mark, which he knew was there.

"Hey there buddy." Matt Blair greeted his oldest child as he quietly came into the nursery. "I thought you were supposed to be taking a nap as well."

"Couldn't sweep." Jason told his father. "Ju'y couldn't either."

"So I see." Matt said, as Judy lifted up her arms to him.

"Up, up." She cooed.

"Up, up." Matt repeated, as he swung Judy up in the air before cuddling her close to his chest. "There you go sweetheart; well your diaper doesn't need changing." He muttered after checking quickly. "Why don't we go find your mommy and daddy, huh? Let them figure out why their daughter isn't getting her beauty rest."

"Mm, mm, d, d, d." Judy agreed.

"Up too, Daddy." Jason said.

"Okay sport...argh!" Matt made a noise as if Jason were too heavy to pick up...as he easily picked up his son in one strong arm and carried both children out to the Evan's family room.

"Hey Greg, Audra, look who I found wide awake and flirting with my son; she even put her mark on him!" Matt joked, as he carried both children in on his arms; both with their weary heads resting on his chest.

"Oh Jason, did Judy leave another silver hand-print on you, honey?" Dee Blair asked and saw her son nod happily, if sleepily.

"Here Judy, come snuggle with your mommy and daddy." Audra came over and gently took her third child and only daughter out of her friend's arms and walked over to sit next to her husband of five years, Greg Hamilton, who encircled his wife and child with his arms.

"Our Judith does like to leave her mark." Greg remarked. "It's her way of saying 'hello' or 'I like you'."

"I don't know which 'greeting' I prefer best; Judy's hand print, or our Anne's habit of making things glow." Phillip replied. "Whatever she grabs hold of, starts to glow; your nose, your ear, your finger...!"

"That's what our twins, Martha and Mary liked to do; say hello with a glow!" Amy and her husband of five years, Shaun Murphy chuckled together.

"Paul preferred leaving his mark...in the strangest places." Phillip remembered what his and Sue's three-year old used to do as a baby.

"I wonder why our children show their powers so early; Mom and Dad have told me that we never did stuff like this." Amy asked.

"Neither did we." Phillip replied. "But Dad and I looked through the historical records and they say that it's a normal part of a child's development; to show their powers so early."

"Then why didn't we?" Phillip's sister, Libby Guerin asked.

"Mom thinks it's because we picked up on their nervousness, that it was instinctive for us to sense how worried our parents were, that we would do something dangerous out in public. They didn't have to say anything; we always seemed to understand that we must not betray our people." Dee explained.

"We were the first generation to grow up here in Airatan and our children are the second; I think we feel a lot safer and secure than our parents did." Phillip added and prayed that it would always be so, within this select, little community of theirs.

"What are you two lady's looking at?" Matt asked Dee and Sue. While he had been checking up on the sleeping children, his wife and sister-in-law had opened up a bunch of picture files on the computer and were organizing them on the TV.

"I would think that's obvious, Matt." Sue razzed her brother. "Since we're celebrating Phil and my 6th wedding anniversary and yours and Dee's and Libby and Marc's fifth anniversaries, what do you think we're looking at, pictures of Mom and Dad's latest movie?"

"Pictures of Mom and Dad? I'd love to see those!" Matt teased back. "I know, you're looking at pictures from one of the happiest days of my life." Matt said, seriously, glancing over to his beloved wife, Dee.

"Right answer, sweetheart." Dee approved. "Come sit back down next to me so you can see too."

Matt did so smoothly, not wanting to wake up his now sleeping son. Greg, with little Judy in his arms and Audra; Libby and Marc and Amy and Shaun all moved their chairs or came to sit on the floor so that they could watch the slide show and home movies.

"I still can't believe what you two wore to your own weddings!" Sue laughed at Dee and Libby.

"Hey, we wanted to keep it simple." Dee reminded her friend and sister-in-law. "And we looked great, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah, but to just wear your robes with only a long-sleeved, turtle-necked lace body-suit, a garter belt and lace stockings and-that's-all-underneath is really, really simple!" Phillip agreed, laughing.

'And very easy to get you out of, once we reached our hotel room!' Matt reminded Dee, silently, but they both started to laugh at their shared memory.

"What's the laughter for?" Sue asked.

"Nothing really, just a private joke." Matt said, trying to tone down the grin on his face.

"Uh huh." Everyone else said.

"We started a trend back to our Antarians traditions." Libby reminded them.

"I'll say, now every couple who gets married here, only wears their robes, as they used to on Antar; unless it's winter, then they wear a little something underneath for warmth, but not much more." Phillip replied, resigned.

"Matt and Dee; and Libby and Marc started the trend, but we brought it to fruition at our weddings; we were the first two couples to wear only our robes." Amy said; looking at her husband, Marc and two friends, Audra and Greg, who had all been a part of the trend-setting ceremony.

"At least our brides continue to wear garters, or I might never have met my Audra." Greg remarked and then kissed his wife, sweetly.

"I keep on forgetting that you didn't grow up here, Greg; you fit so well into our little group." Phil said.

Greg Hamilton and his parents had lived on one of the planets within the Unified Alliance of Planets. His parents had come to Earth several times over the years, to speak to Max and Liz, but had never brought their only child with them. He had however, been taught English and Earth customs, as he grew up. When he was eighteen, his parents decided to move permanently to Airatan and Greg, now a young adult had come with them. To earn money for college, Greg had worked as a waiter for the better hotel in town, which catered Matt, Dee, Libby and Marc's wedding.

"Oh man, I have video footage of that, let me find it!" Sue exclaimed and quickly searched her video catalogue and then opened the proper file.

"There's Dee, throwing her bouquet and Audra catching it." Amy called out, as they all watched.

The guys sang some strip-tease music as they watched Matt taking off Dee's garter, which had been placed high up on her thigh.

"Now Matt's throwing the garter..."

"Why can't you throw that well when we play baseball, Matt?" Phil joked.

"...and there it sails over all the bachelor's heads to land on...Greg's serving tray as he passed behind them, to serve some drinks!" Sue finished and everyone laughed and cheered for their newest friend, Greg.

"It's a good thing your boss was such a romantic." Audra remarked. "He let you take an extended break so you could put Dee's garter onto my leg and then you were able to dance with me for a while."

"That was one of the best moments in my life." Greg remembered, gazing deeply into Audra's eyes. "I had only come to Earth a few months before; I was working and studying hard, everything was new and different; then I'm working at this reception and I see an angel sitting up at the head table. I can't keep my eyes off of her...and nearly two hours later, she's in my arms, we're dancing and she tells me that she hadn't been able to keep her eyes off of me either!"

"I love hearing that story, no matter how many times I hear it." Libby sighed happily, watching the video of waiter-Greg and bride's-maid-Audra dancing closely together.

As he watched the videos, Matt thought back over the last six years. After Sue and Phillip's wedding, all the Harvard/MIT students had returned to college and Matt had returned to New York; his classes, rehearsals and performances. For the first six months, he and Dee had called each other once a week and one of them would drive to see the other over the weekend, once a month and had really got to know each other well.

Over the last half of that year, the phone calls gradually became longer and occurred more often than just once a week. Spending time with each other became so addictive to them that their grades started to fail and they had to back off a little so that they could keep their grade point average up. But always, Matt had counted the days, hours and minutes until he could speak to Dee again, see her lovely face, kiss her sweet lips and touch her soft skin.

After they were married in the same ceremony with Libby and Marc, Matt and Dee had both transferred to the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque and finished up their Bachelor's degrees. Dee attended law school there and Matt jointed the Airatan Theatrical Troop. They built their home and then started their family soon after.

"Before we float away on feminine tears, why don't we take a break and prepare everything we're going to need for our fondue dinner tonight?" Phil suggested.

"What's to prepare?" Matt asked, coming out of his own memories.

"The different kinds of cheeses need to be cut up into cubes and so does the bread: then we'll want to wash the fruit, get the marshmallows out..."

"Marshmallows in cheese fondue? Oh man!" Matt groaned.

"Dimwit, I know I told you that we were having cheese fondue for dinner and then chocolate fondue for dessert!" Dee playfully swatted her husband.

"Oh yeah, now I remember. I knew there had to be a good reason for me to be here with all of you!" Matt jokingly made it sound as though being with his friends was a real sacrifice.

"Yeah that's one of the minor reasons and if you don't start acting more friendlily, you won't get any strawberries to dip into the chocolate!" Dee warned.

Matt immediately started running around the room and hugged everyone.

"Is that friendly enough? May I have some chocolate-covered strawberries, please, oh please, please?" He begged his wife.

"Man, no wonder you're such a great actor, Matt; you're such a ham!" Phil slapped his brother-in-law on the back.

"Is that cheese-covered ham?" Matt didn't give up.

"Only if we get the ham off of your skinny back-side." Sue laughed.

"Ooh, ouch!" Matt side-stepped away from Sue and Phillip.

"So how's the theater season going so far?" Shaun asked Matt, to change the subject, as everyone got up and moved into the semi-attached kitchen.

"Really well; all of our performances are sold out and we may have to add some matinees." Humans do seem to love Antarian theater."

"That they do; the Troop has been growing and becoming more popular each year." Phillip, Airatan's CEO stated.

"How do you like teaching, Professor Evans, or is that Doctor Evans?" Audra asked Sue, who had just received her Ph.D. in microbiology the spring before and started teaching last fall.

"I love teaching; the kids, who call me Professor Evans, by the way, are just great; so enthusiastic and full of life! My colleagues call me Doctor Evans even though I'm a Ph.D. and not a M.D."

"Aren't you doing any clinical work; you know; experiments?" Amy asked, anxious to understand what her friend had been doing lately, since she had graduated.

"I've been able to do some, but I'm new at the tricky process of applying for grant money; besides, teaching takes up most of my time, which isn't already filled with taking care of this lot!" Sue said, nodding to her beloved husband and thinking about their son and daughter, in their rooms, taking naps.

"I have always loved this house, especially this kitchen." Audra told Sue, as all of the friends worked together, companionably. "It's no where near as large as Max and Liz's house; it doesn't need to be, but it's so well designed that all ten of us can work in here or at the table and not get in each other's way."

"I do too." Sue agreed, happily. "Max and especially Liz helped us a lot when we were designing it, so that it's worked very well for Phil, the kids and I and it should also suit Max and Liz's needs when we switch houses with them."

"When you switch houses...?" Amy asked.

"Yes, this house was always meant to be a starter-house for us, while our children were young and then a home for Max and Liz when they retire in five years and...you know, Phillip...and I...um, take their place as king...and queen. Their house was designed to be the home of the Royal Family and this way it can continue to be just that." Sue explained and the other girls nodded.

"Are you ready to be queen, Sue?" Audra asked.

"No, not yet, but I'm getting there. Phil and I have been studying with Max and Liz; Antarian law and customs, ever since we were married, more so since we moved back here, four years ago."

"That'll certainly be a ceremony to see; when my friends become my king and queen..." Amy said dreamily, before they went back to their dinner preparations and then had a great time spending the rest of the evening together with their friends and children.

Part 40 The Conclusion

2042, 5 Years Later

Tage and Nasus were reading over the last chapters of each other's life stories, which Tage's son, Eric had helped them write. All of the elder Antarians had been working on this project of documenting their history, off and on, for eleven years and now everything would be ready for the ceremony and celebrations, tomorrow.

"The two of us are the oldest, surviving Anatarians, my friend." Nasus said. "What we and the other elders have seen in our long lives..." She shook her head in wonderment.

Tage Paterson could only nod in agreement; no words could easily describe what they had both seen in their one hundred twelve years of living; an old age, for an Antarian, but by no means a record. Tage's memory traveled back through time...

"Mama, Papa, is today the day? Are we really going to the Palace today?" An eleven year old Tage asked his parents excitedly.

"Yes son, today is the spring opening of the Royal Gardens and our new king and queen, Welmax and Belleisa, have invited us and many others to come; and they especially wanted all of you children to attend." Tage's mama answered.

"So you must be on your very best behavior." Tage's papa said and Tage nodded solemnly.

He knew that it was a great honor to be invited to the Palace; he would do his very best not to embarrass his parents that day. When he, his parents and his two sisters arrived at the gardens, later that day, Tage walked between his parents as they wandered down the trails, which meandered their way through the many, many different types of flowers, bushes and trees; his sisters ran a little ahead of them. Tage's eyes would have spun around his head if they could, to allow him to see everything they passed by; all the colors, shapes and textures.

Finally, they reached a large open area by the Palace. All of the children were encouraged to come to the front of the crowd, so that they could see and Tage left his parents. Shortly afterwards, a murmur went through the crowd as they saw King Welmax and Queen Belleisa casually walk out of the Palace and up to the balustrade of the upper patio, so everyone could see them.

Tage looked up and saw his rulers for the first time. The King was tall and handsome, with shoulder-length brown hair; he wore a long, white, sleeveless ceremonial robe, which showed off his muscular arms and some of his chest. The Queen was also tall and lovely, with long, straight blond hair; she also wore her robe, which showed off her slim form. Both robes were edged in gold and they also wore their gold circlets around their heads. In their arms they both held a child. Tage knew that these three-month old babies were the Crown Prince Zan and the Princess Velondra. The baby prince had a cap of straight brown hair and the princess had golden ringlets.

"Lovely morning to you, good Antarians." King Welmax called out.

"Lovely morning, Sire." Everyone answered, happily as they all bowed low.

"Thank you for coming to our first official ceremony." Welmax said; indicating for Belleisa to continue.

"The King and I and our little prince and princess would like to welcome you all to the opening of the Royal Gardens. May all of the flowers, bushes, trees and other living things within, grow strong and beautiful and we pray that you will all enjoy their lovely scents, colors and shade."

The royal couple raised their free hands, gesturing for everyone to wander around the gardens freely. Musicians started to play; some danced their way among the plants and Tage's sisters and many of the other children followed them on a musical and magical tour of the flowers. Acrobats and other performers started entertaining children and adults alike, who opted to stay on the Green. Tage's eyes grew large and round as he saw the King and Queen walk down the stairs from their balcony...and strolled over to...him.

"Hello young-one, what is your name?" Queen Belleisa asked in a gentle voice and with a kind smile on her face.

"Tage, Your Highness." He responded as he had been taught.

"Tage, it is very nice to meet you." Welmax said in his soft, gentle voice. "May we introduce you to Zan and Velondra?" The King and Queen gracefully knelt down next to him so that he was eye to eye with the babies.

Little Zan reached out a tiny glowing hand and grabbed onto Tage's pinky finger, which he had stuck out towards the babies. Tage grinned as his digit started to glow.

"It's an honor to meet you, Prince Zan." He said.

Then baby Velondra touched his cheek and he could feel the warmth of a silver hand-print forming on his skin.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Princess."

Both royal parents grinned at the small boy and then at their precious children, before standing back up.

"Enjoy the gardens, young Tage." Belleisa told him and Welmax smiled good-bye before they strolled off to meet some of their other subjects. Tage took off running, to find his parents and tell them what had happened.

Six Years Later.

Tage's mama was looking over his educational marks for the year.

"Top of your class again my son; your papa and I are so proud!" She kissed him on the cheek. Just then Tage's papa came into the room.

"Look at the marks our son has received for his education this year!" Mama held the form out to Papa, who took it and studied it.

"Well done, my son; well done in deed!" Papa praised Tage, but there was a worry hidden within his thoughts and his wife sensed it.

"What's wrong?"

"There is to be an important announcement from the Palace in one hour; it is recommended that only adults and children over fifteen years link in to see it."

"Oh my...an age limit? There haven't been age limits on Royal announcements since the last wars, millennia ago. What could this be about?"

One hour later, Tage, his two sisters and their parents linked into the Community's Connection to see the announcement. When he saw the King and Queen's expressions, Tage knew that they were about to deliver very serious news indeed. All softness, gentleness and kindness had been wiped off of their faces and out of their voices. Their whole demeanor was controlled; no emotions were allowed to leak out, but Tage could sense them boiling together behind the mental walls of control.

"Good Antarians, the King and I have some very serious news to give you." Belleisa started. "Once again, we recommend that no child under fifteen be linked-in for this announcement. It will be better if you explain the situation to them, after we are done here."

"The Queen and I urge you to remain calm." Welmax said. "Our scientists have made their final reports to us; these reports are the culmination of hundreds of years of solar observations and study. To put it simply, our sun, Antaria is dying." A visual representation of their solar system came up behind the royal couple.

"Something is wrong and Antaria will go nova much sooner than a star of its type should. We don't know the reasons, only that it will do so and that when it does, Antar will be destroyed as well."

Tage and his family could feel the calming minds of the Antarian Peace-Keeping Forces and those of all relevant scientists, working to keep order within the Connection, as an uproar could be sensed across the planet. But the Peace-Keeping Forces did their jobs very well; calming everyone so that the King and Queen could continue.

"As we all struggle to deal with and accept this information in our own ways, let us give you all one ray of hope." Welmax continued. "We do have limited space-travel capabilities. We have always sent unmanned probes out into space, to explore the galaxy and send information back to us. Our scientists believe that these probe-craft can be modified to carry one child or small adult, each, away from Antar and to land on another planet, where it would be safe for them to live."

"This is what we must focus on now, good Antarians." Belleisa said firmly. "We must all band together to modify the probe-craft and build more so that we can save as many of our children as possible."

"There is enough time to accomplish this, but only if every one of us gives his or her all to this imperative endeavor. Will you help?" Welmax asked and he was gratified to hear many voices shouting "yes!"

He had, at least for the time being, focused everyone's minds onto the positive; the work every one could be kept busy with. As the months flew by, the work and the Connection would be what kept every one sane. Antarians were such a community-oriented people; they had always worked closely together; the Connection quietly acting as a conduit for information, solidarity, strength and calm. If someone started to panic or become depressed, another person would always be there to help lead him or her back to the light of purpose and calm.

As it became evident that there would not be enough space craft to save every child, age restrictions were given, as to which children would be allowed to escape. It was reasoned that older children would be better able to take care of themselves once they reached their destinations. When Tage heard that only children older than ten years would be able to go, he instantly thought of Prince Zan and Princess Velodra, who were only six years old.

"Mama, Papa, what will happen to Prince Zan and Princess Velondra, or even King Welmax and Queen Belleisa? They will be able to escape, won't they? Antarians can't be a whole people without the Royal Family, can they?"

"I don't know about the children, but the King and Queen have already announced that they will stay with Antar to the last." Tage's papa answered, but his question started to pop up in many conversations in the days to come, until a planet-wide cry built up to save the Prince and Princess.

"Good Antarians, we will heed your cry and send our Prince and Princess away from Antar with the other children." Belleisa said. "Because they are so young, we will send them with two of their best friends, Rath and Ava, the children of our Royal Counselors and along with the four will be sent a protector. We will send them all in the proto-type space craft, which has only just been completed and perfected."

"We thank you for your concern for us and our children and heirs." Welmax said. "May all of our young ones who leave us, travel with the same strength of character, courage and concern for others, that you all have shown and may they all find safe and loving new homes."

Wellmax and Belleisa would repeat those words one month later as Tage and the other children were readied to be placed in their stasis chambers. Somehow, his and all of the parents remained dry-eyed as they told their children how much they loved them and how proud they were of them; these words and actions helped Tage and the other kids be brave as they were put into a deep sleep and then placed into their stasis chambers...

The next thing Tage knew, he was waking up within his stasis chamber; incredibly, he realized that a great deal of information had been added to his memory while he slept. He knew that he and the others had covered millions and millions of miles and landed on a planet called Earth; he now had access to several different Earth languages, a basic world history and an understanding of where on this world they had landed. It was incredible, the amount of information that probes sent to Earth had been able to learn.

While Tage was accessing his orb and the probe's computer for more information, he was informed that two of his companions' probe-craft had landed badly and that they were wounded. Since they had all been naked when they were put into their stasis chambers, to allow for nutrient absorption through osmosis, Tage quickly got dressed and opened the stasis chamber and probe hatch. He met his two sisters as they exited their probe-craft at the same time.

"Are you two alright?" Tage asked them after he took his first good look at all of their craft. It turned out that none of them had landed well.

"We're fine, but my orb told me that the others are injured; but what happened to the proto-type craft with the Royal Four and their protector inside?"

"I don't know, we can look for them after we see to the others. Let's change our clothes into something warmer and get to work." Tage said.

They did so and then went to open the hatches of their friend's space craft. They were hampered by the darkness, for they had landed at night; and by the cold for it seemed to be winter, with snow on the ground and not a building or tree to be seen for miles. They worked together to heal their friends as well as they could and get them dressed in warm clothes. Then they accessed their orbs to find out where they were.

"We have landed in a place called Sweden." Tage said. "There is a small town just a few miles from here. Luckily, Swedish is one of the languages I was taught, along with Spanish."

"I was taught Italian and Japanese." Christina, one of their friends who had been injured, said.

"I was taught German and Russian, which might also come in handy." Christina's brother said; he had been the other friend who had been injured and they both were still weak.

"I was taught Cantonese and Hindi." One of Tage's sisters said.

"I was taught English and French." The other told them.

"Well we better all set our orbs to teaching us more of the native and neighboring languages as soon as possible." Tage instructed and they all did so. "Now, let's also check our orbs for the whereabouts of the Royal Four." He said.

"The instruments can't tell where they went after they veered off from us while we were still out in space." Christina said a few minutes later.

"We don't even know if they are alive." One of the others said, worriedly.

"No need to give up hope yet." Tage told them. "We need to find shelter and then we can try to find them after that. Let's transfer all records and information into our pods, get our packs, destroy the ships and get going. We have to get out of this cold."

One hour later, the five friends reached the outskirts of a small town. As they saw inhabitants of the town from some way off, they changed their own clothing to match, so they could blend in. When they heard a woman cry out, up ahead, Tage left the others to run and see what had happened. The others came more slowly, helping Christina and her brother, who were almost out of strength. Walking had been difficult, through the snow, cold and wind, while helping their injured friends along.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" Tage asked as he ran up to the woman, who was sitting on the ground, cradling her wrist.

"The wheel on my cart fell off and threw me off balance, so that I fell. I put out my hand out, to break my fall, but I think that I've broken my wrist instead and now I'll never get my groceries home." The older woman said.

"Please, let me help you." Tage said and he carefully felt her wrist. "I don't think it's broken, but let's wrap it in this scarf to mobilize it, just in case." Tage created a scarf as he pulled some cloth out of his pocket and gently wrapped the woman's wrist up in it. "Which way do you live? I'll be happy to push your cart home for you." Tage said, after he temporarily fixed the wheel.

"Thank you, young man. My name is Mrs. Petersen; Mrs. Hedvid Petersen. May I know your name?" Tage quickly took a name out of Swedish history and silently urged the others to do the same.

"My name is Tage, Mrs. Petersen." He told her as they arrived at her tiny home. "You wouldn't happen to know where we could find someplace to stay, would you?"

Mrs. Petersen looked around at these five young strangers.

"You can stay with me. My house is tiny and we won't have much room, but you are most welcome." She said, somehow knowing that these young people would be no danger to her and that it was the right thing to do.

And that is how five young Antarians found their first home on the planet Earth. They took care of Hedvig Petersen as she took care of them; helping them finish their education and get jobs and they eventually took her last name as their own. She never knew where they came from, but always knew that "her kids" were special.

Tage remembered the next five years, living with Hedvig. They tried to make contact with the Royal Four or their protector, but were never able to do so. Two of their five orbs had been destroyed in the crash. Five years after the crash, Tage and Christina had married and bought their own tiny home. Tage remembered each time one of the others fell in love with a Human and then told their soul-mates the truth about who they really were and the anxiety they all felt until that special Human would set their worries to rest by accepting and loving them all even though they were "different".

He remembered trying to call out, using his orb each year, for thirty years and never getting any answer, from the Royal Four or from anyone out in space. He and Christina had born and raised two children of their own and seen them married themselves, before Tage had finally given up and accepted that Prince Zan and Princess Velondra, their friends and protector must be dead and that the five of them were the only surviving Antarians on Earth. He would have slumped into a deep depression if his first granddaughter hadn't come into the world just then. From the first time she made his pinky finger glow, she had owned his heart and made it beat with joy again.

"Have you been remembering?" Nasus' voice gently broke into Tage's thoughts. "You've been quiet for almost an hour."

"Yes, I'm sorry my friend; what with the ceremony taking place tomorrow, I can't help but think of the past."

"I know me too." Nasus admitted. "I had just reached my memories of when Max first made contact with us."

"Me too, so my memory comes first." Tage told her about it." We were all so worried that the military had figured out how to work an orb somehow and that it was a trap, when we received his message. Some of my family didn't even want us to try and make contact, but they were voted down and we answered the message. When we found out that Max Evans was actually our prince..." Tage paused for a moment, one hand covering his face as he tried to compose himself.

"We had tried for thirty years to make contact with the Royal Four or anyone else for that matter, without any results. The five of us thought that we were the only survivors on Earth and we wondered if anyone else had made it to a hospitable planet."

"To have thought, even for an instant that you were the last Antarians...anywhere, must have been awful." Nasus empathized.

"And then to find out that we weren't the only ones, not to mention that it was our prince and princess and their friends who had survived...it was as if we came back to life! Now we had a future as well as a link to our past. That was one of the best days of my life; finally being able to see them again...was the best...at least until we made contact with all of you, out in the Alliance."

"That was by far my happiest day so far in my life as well." Nasus said. "We weren't quite so lost, out in the Allliance. Many of us were able to live close by each other and we never had to hide who we were...but there was always a hole in our hearts where the nine of you belonged. Our artistic souls were starving though; immigrating to Earth and arriving in time to see Max and Liz crowned as our king and queen...and recreating the Connection, which had been broken with the death of our people and our home...was my happiest day. Nothing else has surpassed that!"

"Now we've come full circle though, don't you think?" Tage asked. "Every, single Antarian has made their way to Earth for Phillip and Sue's coronation tomorrow; even some of the members from the Alliance Council are here. We are a people joined together in one place again, for the first time in ninety-five years!"

"Yes this will definitely be a time for every Antarian to remember!" Nasus agreed. "Even though some of us will be returning to their homes back in the Alliance, after this ceremony is over, an even stronger link will have been created."

"Grandma Cheryl! Grandpa Mase!" Six-year old Anne Evans and her four year old brother, Fred yelled as Mason and Cheryl came into the Evan's family room with their older brother and cousins, ten-year old Jason Blair, eight-year old Paul Evans and Shiri Blair.

The five of them had been having a lot of...wet fun with water balloons while the younger two were taking their naps. The soaking five had come in to change into some dry clothes; Mason and Cheryl had borrowed some of Max and Liz's clothing as they had done once or twice before.

"You know, you guys are incredible; how can you tell us apart from your Grandma Liz and Grandpa Max? I've always wondered; especially today, Grandma Cheryl and I are exact twins of your other grandparents, our hair is the same, our voices are the same, we are even wearing their clothes, but you can always tell us apart!"

"We can always tell the four of you apart, Grandpa Mase." Paul explained. "Even when we were younger than Freddy is now, we could tell you apart because we couldn't talk to you in our heads like we can Gran'ma Liz and Gran'pa Max. We always say 'hi' underneath first before we say 'hi' out loud." Mason hit the heal of his hand against his forehead in exasperation.

"Why didn't I think of that after all these years?" He asked himself and everyone laughed.

"I wan'na see Mommy!" Fred said as he got up off the floor and headed towards the library.

"You know that you can't go see Mom and Dad in there right now, Freddy." Paul reminded his younger brother. "Remember, tomorrow is the very important day when they become King and Queen and Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Dee and Aunt Libby are in there with some of the Alliance Council members, talking about it."

"Hey Freddy, let's go out to the tree house and swing set!" Mason suggested in an excited voice, to get his grandson's attention and entice him outside and away from his parents.

"OKAY Gran'pa!" Fred yelled excitedly and ran outside on his short, little legs; all of the other kids and the grandparents ran after him to spend some enjoyable time playing on the swings, monkey-bars; in the tree-house and play-house.

The day of Phillip and Sue's coronation arrived; it would be a warm, sunny day, perfect for the ceremony and the festivities, which would follow, afterwards. In anticipation of Sue, Phil and their children moving into the larger "Royal Family house" and Max and Liz moving into the smaller "retirement house", after the coronation, much of their belongings had already been switched, but the last things would be moved during the reception.

It would be a welcome change for all involved; the challenge of Phil and Sue's new role and the larger house for their growing family; the letting go of responsibility, which Max and Liz had carried for thirty-five years and a simpler life in the smaller house. It was still a little bitter-sweet though, when Max and Liz helped Phil and Sue change the genetic-code lock on the secret drawers, hidden in the master bedroom, which held the Royal Circlets. Liz hugged Sue, who had tears in her eyes.

"I'm so happy that you decided to retire now...rather than Phil...and I having to...take your places...later, after you..." Sue sniffed. "But it must be hard to step aside."

"A little." Max admitted with a smile as he hugged his precious daughter-in-law. "But we wanted to be able to pass these circlets onto you under the best possible conditions; things are going well for our people, Liz and I are in good health, so we can enjoy our retirement and yet we'll be here if you need any help, not that we think you will."

"Now we had better get changed into our robes." Liz said. "Yours have been placed in your old room, Phil. Michael, Tess, Libby and Dee will be here soon to escort us down to the Green by the church."

The four of them split up to get changed and indeed, just as they got ready, the past and future Royal Counselors arrived. Max and Liz came out of their room, wearing their robes and circlets and Phil and Sue came out similarly garbed, but without anything on their heads and holding hands.

"Ready?" Michael asked and the four of them nodded.

They walked out of the house in pairs; first Michael and Tess, then Liz and Max, with Dee and Libby coming next and Phil and Sue coming last. The Honor Guard had strung itself out along the path down from the Royal House to the Green. Each pair of guards held two energy pikes and the eight walked under each archway along the way. The Guard alternately stepped in behind or before them, as they walked by.

When they reached the Green, there was an enormous circle made up of Antarians and other Airatan citizens. The town gates had been closed the night before and were still locked to ensure privacy; the Connection assured them that there were no unauthorized people looking on from any vantage point. The eight walked through an opening in the ring and out into the center.

"Can you believe this?" Max whispered to Liz. "At our coronation there were a little over two hundred Antarians in attendance; now, with every Antarian here, there are at least two Thousand! Three hundred children escaped from Antar; ninety-five years later, there are two thousand of us!"

"I guess that means that you are Not so different after all, Max." Liz whispered back, grinning.

"That's what you taught me, Liz; I can do anything as long as you're beside me and I'm not that different at all. I love you, so much Liz. None of this would have been possible without you. You are the one who brought Tess, Isabelle, Michael and I together; you reunited my father with his long, lost brother, Isabelle's father and you helped us build this community." Max drew Liz into his strong arms.

"I...we can never thank you enough for everything you've done for all of us." Then, while both of them wore their circlets and were standing in front of all of their people and dignitaries from the Alliance, Max kissed her deeply, sweetly and with all the love in his heart.

Everyone in the circle, who had heard what Max had whispered to Liz, over the Connection, broke out in spontaneous applause and cheering, until their Royal Couple finally came up for air.

"Are you two ready to begin?" Michael asked them quietly and both Max and Liz nodded.

"Will everyone hold hands and link into the Connection, so that we may begin." Max called out, loudly and everyone did so.

"I, Zan, now named Maxwell Phillip Evans hereby state that I wish to abdicate the crown and kingship of the Antarian people and I freely relinquish all rights, responsibilities and privileges of that royal position from this moment forward."

"I Elizabeth Claudia Evans hereby state that I wish to abdicate the crown and leadership of the Antarian people and I freely relinquish all rights, responsibilities and privileges of that royal position from this moment forward."

As soon as Liz finished her oath, both of their circlets lifted up off of their heads and floated over to land in Michael and Tess' hands. The former Royal Counselors then turned to Dee and Libby and handed the circlets to them. The two young women in turn stepped to face Phillip and Sue as they began their part of the Oath of Royalty and Community.

"I, Phillip Jeffery Evans, son of Maxwell Phillip Evans and Elizabeth Claudia Evans, former king and queen of the Antarian people, hereby state that I wish to be made the new king of the Antarian people, wherever they live and of the citizens of Airatan, New Mexico." He looked to Sue and nodded, smiling.

"I Susan Elizabeth Evans, daughter of Mason and Cheryl Blair, hereby state that I wish to be made the new queen of the Antarian people, wherever they live and the citizens of Airatan, New Mexico." Then, everyone, including their parents, but not the Alliance Council members, said.

"We, the Antarian people, wherever we live and the citizens of Airatan, New Mexico, hereby state that we wish to make Phillip Jeffery Evans and Susan Elizabeth Evans our new king and queen."

The circlets in Dee and Libby's hands floated up into the air, but stopped halfway between Counselors and Royal Couple. Phil and Sue said together.

"We hereby vow to guide our people by the Antarian Ways of Living: Honor, Justice, Love and Kindness." The people answered.

"We hereby vow to heed your guidance so as to follow the Antarian Ways of Living: Honor, Justice, Love and Kindness."

The circlets moved until they hovered over the heads of Phillip and Sue and the two of them continued.

"We vow to be your link to the past, to the future and to each other."

"We vow to link through you to the past, to the future and to each other." The people said and with that final vow, the circlets settled gently onto Phil and Sue's heads. A surge of energy flowed through the Connection just then.

"The Connection just reestablished itself; sort of rejuvenated itself to continue while we are king and queen." Phil explained to Sue.

Sue barely noticed his words though, because she was totally distracted by seeing the enormous ring of over two thousand people bowing low before them...even Max and Liz.

"Mom, Dad, you don't have to...you shouldn't..." Phil tried to say but Max interrupted him.

"Just this once son, let us show our respect to Antar's new king and queen." He said softly, so that only the four of them could hear.

"Just this once." Phil warned.

Seeing the man and woman he most admired, who he called mother and father and also who he had called his king and queen...bowing before him...really moved Phil, as well as Sue. As soon as everyone straightened up, Phil took Sue's hand in his and they bowed in return to their people, but mostly to Max and Liz.

Tears were flowing on many faces as everyone burst into cheers and started to clap. Slowly the ring of people broke up and the festivities were organized. Alien powers were used greatly to produce hot and cold food and refreshments for everyone to eat and drink. Phil and Sue walked over to where their three children were standing with Mason and Cheryl.

"Thanks for watching our little princes and princess for us, Mom and Dad." Sue told them, as they all hugged and then Sue picked up Freddy in her arms and Phil picked up Anne, while they both put their arms around Paul.

"Mommy and Daddy are wearing crowns!" Freddy exclaimed, gazing at the shiny gold rings around his parents' heads.

"Yes they are kiddo." Libby told her nephew as she, Dee, Matt and Marc came up to the group. Libby was looking closely at Sue's circlet.

"Am I mistaken or are there fewer markings on your crowns than there were when Mom and Dad were wearing them?" Phil looked more closely at Sue's circlet as well.

"Yes, I think you'are right, Libby; well there are far fewer Antarians living out in the Alliance now, most of our people live here." He explained.

Max and Liz had wandered over to their friends, Johann and Louise. Johann was their skilled pilot of plane and helicopter and his wife and co-pilot, Louise had been Liz's college roommate.

"I was remembering the first time I met you, Max." Louise said. "You had just saved Liz from being run over by a car and carried her up to our dorm room, because she had sprained her ankle, when I got home. You were so shy back then. You scurried away quickly...but you kept on coming back; dating my good friend here, until you finally asked her to marry you." Max and Liz were grinning, remembering themselves as young college students.

"Now look at you two; you've built this community of which I am a fantastically happy citizen, ruled over it for thirty-five years and now your son is taking your place!"

"We have been the luckiest people alive." Liz said, as she gazed up at her beloved, still incredibly handsome husband. "To have found each other, found our other friends and the rest of Max's, now my people as well. We live in the best place possible and are greatly blessed with so many friends and a healthy, happy family." Liz could only sigh, happily and grin as Max bent down to kiss her again...

The great-grandparents; Phillip and Diane Evans, Nancy and Jeff Parker, Amy and Jim Valenti and John and Judy Evans, were grouped together chatting and having a great time.

"I've been remembering how our kids brought us back together again." John Evans told his twin brother, Phillip. We had totally lost touch with each other; I didn't even know where you were living, but everything connected when our Isabelle met your Max's girlfriend, Liz and they put the pieces together. Next thing I know, I'm seeing my brother for the first time in over twenty years!" John remembered, happily.

"Those were incredible times." Phillip agreed. "We learned a lot about our kids just a short time later, when the six of us and all eight kids gathered in Roswell for Thanksgiving. I'm sorry that you weren't a part of that, Amy and Jim."

"We started sharing stories about our kids." Diane continued. "And realized that Max, Isabelle, Michael and Tess had all been found out in the desert, when they were six years old."

"And we admitted that we had seen our kids do some pretty strange things..." Judy said.

"And then the eight of them were standing in the doorway; they had heard our conversation and they all looked so frightened that we would think that they were freaks or something." Nancy said.

"As if we'd ever think that." Jeff added.

"What's incredible is what we found when all of us drove out to the desert and eventually found the pod-chamber..." Diane said.

"That message from Wellmax and Belleisa still sends a shiver through me." Judy said.

"And look where we are now; eight parents instead of just six, watching our grandchildren being crowned or becoming Royal Counselors!" Phillip exclaimed, chuckling.

"It's been a great life!" Diane agreed, hugging her husband and they all toasted each other with their non-alcoholic champagne.

Phil and Sue were still sharing memories with Sue's parents, godparents and Phil's sisters and their husbands.

"What I remember most is meeting my Phillip for the first time, when we were both seven. He made the cutest knight-in-shining-armor..." Sue sighed.

"And you were the cutest and bravest princess..." Phillip responded.

"That whole afternoon, playing with you, Libby and Matt was so much fun...and then that night, when you took me out to the clearing...that was so cool! And even though you were younger than all of the other kids, you caught on faster than both of the two boys you had gone with and they were older than you were!" Sue told her husband, proudly.

"And you weren't scared at all." Phil responded.

"But then when we had to go back to your house, you asked me to forget what I had just seen...I couldn't forget though; I didn't want to forget." Sue remembered.

"So I made a keep-sake for you out of five pennies with a map of Airatan on it, to remind you of your promise, to not tell anyone about what you had seen."

"Hey sis, is that the pendant you're wearing now? Somehow I never knew the story behind that before; even though you were it all of the time." Matt said.

"I lost it for a long time and because I couldn't find my copper-V, I wondered if this whole place had been a dream. It was all so magical and unreal." Sue smiled gently, remembering her younger self and the confusion that she had felt.

"So Sue, tell us finally; is Airatan real or is it just a dream...something like Brigadoon." Phillip asked her and Sue looked around at her friends and family.

"It is a dream come true!"

And they lived happily ever after!

The End.