CHAPTER SEVEN: Dangerous Truths

PART ONE…Sweet Charity…

"Really, Meryl. If they're such a problem for you, you shouldn't invest so much of your time helping them out. After all, they ought to just go to the medical bay – instead of calling you two over to tend to them." Salem shook his head, gripping her hands more tightly. "Friends don't demand stuff like this of one another, you know."

Meryl rolled her eyes. "You just don't understand! They're weird people, and their religious beliefs won't let them…In good conscience, we can't just…ah…Oh, forget it." She tugged her hands from his stubbornly and wrinkled her nose. "It's none of your business if we want to help them out this much."

Salem stood from the bed and paced. "And I can't meet these deeply religious weirdoes because…? Why, Meryl?" He turned, making a sour face. "You're not cheating on me, right?"

Laughing sharply, Meryl shook her head. "Yeah, right. Seriously, Salem. They simply need our help. And they'll only accept ours because they trust us. They don't trust strangers. Strangers like you. No offense, but we've known them for a hell of a lot longer than anyone else, including you."

"No shit." Salem suddenly became serious, adopting a deep tone. "Yesterday, I went to meet this Vash guy, after his afternoon class. Really friendly guy, very polite and loved by many of his students. But that was at first…He certainly seemed uncomfortable when I mentioned your name. Tell me Meryl, why is that?"

"Because his wife doesn't want us over, I think," she explained, brushing his comments aside. "She's a strange one. Not really friendly."

"Vanessa?" he asked, remembering Meryl's vague comments in the past. "And that's because she has a long history of abuse from strangers, right? Wait, did you say wife? She's not his wife. Right?"

Meryl nodded. "But she may as well be."

"Religious but they're not married. That's freakin weird."

Again, she nodded, looking away. "Regardless, it's true."

OXO

Holding the bottle to Tessla's mouth, Vash turned onto his side on the bed. "Done yet?" he asked hopefully.

Vanessa didn't pause her relentless tapping at the keyboard. "Nearly," she murmured.

"'Cause I'd really like to have the girls over, and I was thinking-"

Scowling, she tapped a few more times and stopped. She let her weary arms fall to her sides, leaning against the chair. "Bringing them into this is trouble enough. No one's coming over until we have this squared away. And, unfortunately, because you've chosen to let them know so much more than they ought, they'll need to be briefed as well."

"I still don't see what's got you so frazzled," he whined. "I mean, it's not like they didn't already know we were plants. As for Tessla, they had to know, so they would help us out. The details didn't change a thing." He took the empty bottle from his daughter and wiped her lips. "Isn't that right, baby bear?" he asked in a playful voice, tickling the tiny child until she giggled. "You're people too!"

"No we're not," Vanessa quipped, leaning forward again till her nose grazed the display. "And, nothing changed? Wrong again, Vash. For one thing, it was a matter of privacy. And more importantly, witnessing it all dehumanized us completely. The less human we seem to them, the less respect we hold, in their eyes. They know we're not human. We're not mammals. But now they've seen excellent examples of how very different we are. Subtle, but it's a very big deal."

"They also witnessed what I can do, what I did to the moon," Vash whispered reverently. "But still, they didn't abandon me. It was difficult for them to not see me as a monster, but they don't anymore."

"This isn't getting us anywhere. What's done is done." She turned from the projection screen and addressed him more directly, staring blankly, as always. "Luckily, we have an alibi, of sorts." Tossing a little box to him, she waited.

He caught it easily in his hand, and read the label. Vash's face went white. "You…uh…You…No. No, Vanessa…"

She blinked several times, unable to see him clearly enough. "I didn't use any. The important thing is that they don't know that. According to the preexisting medical records, just before we boarded I was healthy and pregnant, and before I left the exam I asked for the pills. Good thing I did, it seems."

Vash sat up, holding Tessla close to his heart. "Good thing? Chemical abortion pills, a good thing for us, how?"

"A good thing, because we can claim that the pregnancy was never brought to full term. So far as the records will show, I never gave birth on the ship. I terminated the pregnancy, and so we will avoid the question of why our daughter is developed, when we leave the ship."

"We'll still have Tessla. She wasn't with us when we boarded."

Vanessa nodded slowly. "Yes, she was. This computer system is amazing, but people...Well, I found an ID with password literally 'password.' So, I've changed some things. Now, according to all official data, we boarded with a six-year-old girl, who will – as shall be visibly true – be around eight when we land about a year from now. This will have to be confirmed by the girls, now that they're a part of our lives."

"Right. I'll tell them; they won't let anyone find out," he agreed, remembering to burp Tessla as he thought. "But the pills, Vanessa. You thought this far ahead? Or, they were because of - in case of - him? Was that why you asked for these?"

"More or less," she answered, choosing to stare off at the wall instead of at Vash. "But, what if we were discovered before, and I had reason to believe that she would be born only to serve as a guinea pig to them? Or if the pregnancy were to commence in such an abnormal manner that it could alarm people of our nature? I'd have to protect us. I did. I am."

Vash frowned, pausing to reflect on the negative aspects of her plan. "What about Tessla? For the next year she'll grow so rapidly, but she's not going to appear six until at least seven more months, you know."

"She's not our daughter until she does. Until then, if anyone ever sees her, she's not ours. She's a friend's."

"She needs to mingle with the other children," Vash demanded. "I can't let her stay in here for the first year of her life."

Vanessa shrugged. "If you think of enough explanations for where this girl came from and why her real parents aren't around, you can have her amongst the children. Otherwise, it's in everyone's best interests that she remain away from suspicious eyes. This isn't the ideal situation. We can't make it ideal, Vash."

"I wish we could," He replied, gazing into the innocent face in his arms. "I'll do the best I can for you, Tessla."

Standing, Vanessa wobbled over to the bed, crawling into it to regain her strength. She breathed heavily, proof that she was still weary from the birth. Pulling the covers about her tightly, she turned to Vash and Tessla. "Do your best Vash, but one little mistake will ruin her life forever."

Vash laid beside her, laying their now sleeping daughter between them. "She deserves more than my best," he whispered, watching them as they slept. He waited until Vanessa was deeply asleep before opening the communications circuit to Meryl.