ZEDD - A LITTLE OVER A WEEK LATER

Well, the week at the palace didn't go badly over all. A couple little minor incidents that were, thankfully, easily handled. Although Gina wasn't pleased that her offspring were involved, it was truly by their own doing by not following the rules. Shaking my head as I recall having to search the woods for Megan and Dylan almost falling out of a turret, I'm thankful that it was my children who actually 'saved' them. It will certainly add to Gina's feelings of security should the children be let loose on Eltar.

My thoughts are disrupted as my husband slides his arms around my shoulders. "How's it going, Zedd?"

I turn just enough to accept his kiss before I answer, "We're almost there."

Before I can continue, the chatter of the children and Gina interrupts. "Papa, can we see it yet?"

"Saved by the bell" Thomas murmurs in my ear before releasing me.

I shoot him a questioning look before I answer my daughter by activating the view screen. "What? That?"

The humans quickly fall silent in awe much as they had at their first view of the planet where the palace resides, not to mention the palace itself. I can't help but shake my head that they were less awed by the view of their own home planet. Thomas explained to me that there are many pictures of Earth from space that they've seen before, but still I would have thought it would have been fairly amazing to them to have seen it for themselves. I sigh as the communications line signals an incoming call.

I trigger it. "Go ahead."

The picture changes from the planetary view to my mother. "Hello, Zeddic."

"Mother."

She smiles warmly at the others and switches to English. "I apologize. I didn't realize that you all would be there."

Gina glances at Thomas, who shakes his head. "No, Gina. The formal greeting you were taught would only be used in person. The greeting for this is a little different."

"And wholly unnecessary as you well know, Tommy" Mother chides him gently. She turns her attention to our guests. "I do hope that Tommy and Zeddic are planning to bring you by while you're here."

Thomas steps in. "Actually, Mara, we've not gotten through all the proper behavior for gatherings of that sort. If you don't mind, perhaps you and Kerch would like to come to our estate for dinner one night instead."

"Word will spread faster if I host" she argues. "Not only that they're under Zeddic's and your protection, but by ours as well."

"If I may" Gina speaks up "perhaps it would be best if you were to meet us before you decide to extend your protection to us."

Mother barely represses her smile. "My dear, if Zeddic and Tommy have decided together to bring you and that you will be suitable, I have no reason to doubt their choice. They temper and balance each other quite well. However, if it would make you feel better, then by all means. We will come to meet you and then host the gathering at our home later in the visit."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Tommy, would two days be all right?"

Thomas grins at her. "Oh come on Mara. You know you're just dying to see Mara Jane and Jacob. Why don't you and Kerch come over tonight?"

Mother gives my mate a sly look. "I suppose that all depends on if you're making dinner, Tommy."

He glances at his watch and bites his lip as he thinks. "Well, I know what you'd like me to make, Mara, but the only way I could pull it off in time is if we get landed and unloaded in the next two hours or it would have to be a late dinner."

Mother looks at me. "Zeddic?"

"Landed, yes. Unloaded, no."

"I'd be happy to loan you Talic and some other staff if that would help."

Thomas laughs. "Your cook hasn't figured out how to make those dishes yet, has she? That's why you're so eager for me to make dinner!"

"She has tried. Even with Goldar sending some of the other recipes and mastering those, she just cannot get these to turn out right!"

Thomas laughs again. "Send Talic to help with the unloading and send her over and I'll teach her."

"You just concentrate on dinner tonight and you can teach her another time. Two hours, Zeddic and Talic will be there."

I sigh. "All right, Mother, but couldn't you send someone that I can intimidate when I get frustrated - as we both know I will?"

"Do you want someone who can work effectively or someone who cowers and is useless?"

"Can't I have both?" I grin at her. She laughs back and we disconnect, while I make adjustments to our speed and direction.

Several hours later, we're landed, unloaded and Gina and the children shown to their rooms to unpack. Dar thought ahead and made some basic maps of the house for them so that they can find their way around at first. As I head for the kitchen to check on Thomas, I find Gina near the front door frowning at her map. "What's wrong?"

She shows me her map. "What are these crossed out areas?"

"Those wings belong to Pina and Dar and Kira. It would be like going into their houses without permission."

"Are they coming?"

"Pina and Dar will be coming along later. I don't know about Kira. When she's not working for me, she pretty much goes her own way. Where are you trying to head to now?"

"I thought that I'd see if Tommy needs any help."

"Probably not, but as that was where I was headed as well, I'll show you."

She takes another look at the drawing in her hand. "If I'm reading this right, we need to go that way. Right?"

"No." I take the map from her and turn it correctly.

She sighs heavily and heads off in the correct direction and I follow. "I forgot to turn it. I can't imagine having a house so big that you need a freaking map to get around."

"We were going to have something smaller, but we thought letting the others have space completely separate from us, even this close by, was a good idea."

Suddenly, I catch the smell from dinner and my mouth immediately starts to water. Admittedly, this is my favorite meal that Thomas makes, although with the time and effort involved, I understand why he doesn't make it often. I stop and take a deep breath, savoring the smell. Gina looks at me curiously before sniffing the air herself. "Wow, that smells good."

We step into the dining room on our way to the kitchen and I note that, while the dishes and such are set out, the table is not set. I click the button on the intercom for Mara Jane's room. "Mara Jane, please come set the table for dinner and remember that your grandparents are coming so set it accordingly."

"Coming, Papa."

Gina and I head into the kitchen and I'm not at all surprised at its current state. My mate is bouncing quickly between several things. "Need a hand, Thomas?"

He doesn't even turn or look at me. "No, kalleimat. We both know that your primary goal is to taste test."

Well, that's true enough. "Normally, yes, but you are a bit pressed for time and-"

"They aren't here already, are they?"

"No and even if they were, you know I would keep them occupied."

Seeming to ignore my statement, Thomas starts talking, mostly to himself. "Dinner's not even close to ready, the table needs to be set, probably will need the extension in the table." He glances at the clock. "Need a fresh pot of coffee and make sure the sugar bowl is filled for Mara."

He hurries over to the stove, stirs something and then checks something in the oven. I back out of the room, not daring to try and stop him. A quick look at Gina and she nods and steps forward as I leave. Mara Jane and Megan have moved the dishes off the table, pulled the chairs back and are now attempting to pull the table apart to insert the extensions. Unfortunately, every time Mara Jane pulls on her end, she ends up pulling the table and her friend.

Gently, I nudge Megan aside and take her place. Signalling Mara Jane to wait a minute, I reach under the table and release a latch that keeps the two parts together. She grimaces. "I forgot about that."

"Obviously" I answer, amused. I signal Megan to return to her half of the chore as I go to fetch the extensions. In short order, we have the extensions in and the table locked together once more.

As the girls rearrange chairs, Mara Jane asks, "Do you think we need the tablecloth, Papa?"

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Your grandparents - both of them - are coming for dinner and Daddy is making The Meal. What do you think?"

She looks at the table. "I think that I'll be surprised if Aunt Pina, Uncle Dar, Aunt Kira and Aunt Serena don't show up before the meal's over and we won't have enough chairs."

I can't help but laugh. "Odds are they'll smell it from several planets over" I agree. "Fortunately, Daddy always makes sure there are plenty of leftovers."

She nods in agreement as she gets the cloth out of the sideboard. I decide to go check on the boys since Mara Jane has this well in hand with Megan's help and Gina is helping Thomas in the kitchen. Dylan is setting up his video game system and Jacob is talking to him about some game or another. Feeling rather unneeded at the moment is odd, but not entirely unwelcome. Deciding to take this to mean that things are going well so far, I head back in the direction of the kitchen.

I had told Gina that Dar and Pina would be coming along later, however, I'm not sure how far behind us they actually are. Pina wanted to gather some of her medical supplies to have on hand until the new ones she ordered for here actually arrive, particularly with Thomas having already been implanted with our newest offspring. About a year and we'll have our new child. Hopefully we can get the move completed by then. It almost amuses me to think that - while all the children will be born at the palace - they will all start their lives on different planets.

As I reach the dining room, I hear Mara Jane. "I can't set this up properly - there's the wrong number and ratio of people."

Her frustration is clear and out of habit I react quickly. "What's wrong, baby?"

"I can't get this right! We'd need another female to have this balanced correctly and even then-"

I interrupt her gently. "It's not a formal dinner party, Mara Jane. It doesn't have to be perfect and you know that we don't expect it to be so."

"But you said that my grandparents are coming and I know that Grandfather prefers it to be so."

I understand what the problem is now. "I only made a point of mentioning it so that you'd remember that you won't need all the same dishes as you would if it were only your grandmother."

She sighs. "Because he doesn't drink coffee and she uses sugar in hers. Okay, right." She bites her lip and studies the table again. "Okay. Megan and me on either side of Grandfather on that side, the boys on either side of Grandmother on this side, Papa at the head of the table, Daddy at the foot and Miss Gina..."

Megan pipes up. "Better put her next to Dylan so she can remind him of his manners if he forgets."

"That'll be fine" Gina says as she comes in. She sets down the things she's carrying. "Your dad says you need these things."

Mara Jane nods and starts moving things around to accommodate the new items with the seating arrangement. Again feeling unneeded, I leave the room and settle in the living room with the paper to await my parents arrival.

Half an hour later, I'm putting up the paper on the way to the door to let my parents in. I'm still rather amazed at how well we get along these days, although I have no doubt that it's thanks to Thomas' influence - not only on me, but on them as well. I open the door and smile at my parents. "Mother, Father. How are you?"

"We're well, of course, Zeddic. Although I can't help but admit to a certain amount of curiosity regarding your guests."

I lead them toward the living room as I ask, "Oh? How so?"

"Wondering what it is about them that has you so willing to add them to your household - particularly in light of your position on this planet and the fact that they are human."

I shoot my father a dangerous look. "So was Thomas, once."

"Calm down, Zeddic. He only means that with their short life spans and the tendency of some of our people considering them lesser, he's uncertain how that will work out."

"Zeddic, you yourself often used to say that many humans don't do well on their own planet."

I mix a couple of drinks as I respond, "Gina is not like most humans. While she may not have the education that some of them take the time to acquire, she is still quite intelligent and fairly resourceful. And, truthfully, that's the entire reason for this trip - so that she and the children can see if they would even be interested in living here long term."

"And where is the children's father?" Mother asks. "Will he be coming later?"

"No. He is on Earth and there he shall remain if I have anything to say about it." They both give me questioning looks and I sigh. "Families are not the same on Earth as they are on Eltar. Apparently, it's not all that unusual for parents to separate and one gets primary care of the children while the other sees them occasionally and provides financial support. Their father is no longer a major part of their family unit. Not to mention I find him to be quite bigoted and insulting."

"How so?"

"Well for one he finds fault in my relationship with Thomas, due to the simple fact we are both males."

Taking the drink I offer him, Father frowns in a mixture of annoyance and curiosity it seems. "What does your gender have to do with it?"

"Apparently some humans still feel males should only mate with females and vice versa. Most have become enlightened enough to realize the flaw in that logic, however some still cling to primitive beliefs like her former mate. Not to mention the fact that even his limited acceptance of Thomas and myself still included him daring to refer to Thomas as holding a female role where we are concerned, insisting we could not both hold the role of male in our relationship."

"And you let him live?"

"Reluctantly."

Before I can say any more, my children rush into the room, greeting their grandparents joyfully and affectionately. Gina's children however hang back. While they have been taught what to do, they still seem uncertain and almost shy. After a few minutes of excited chatter between my children and parents, Mother turns her attention to them. "So, who do we have here?"

Dylan and Megan exchange looks, take deep breaths and, as one, bow deeply and greet my parents in formal Eltarian. Mara Jane and Jacob both look rather proud of their friends, having done a good bit of the coaching. Father smiles and speaks in English. "That was very well done."

They sag slightly in relief. Mother continues, still in English. "While we do appreciate the effort, the formality is unneeded. Relax children."

Jacob speaks up. "They practiced really hard though."

"And it shows" Mother hastily assures them. "You don't have to continue though."

Megan speaks in careful Eltarian. "Thank you. Wouldn't you prefer to speak in your own language? We have been working hard to learn that as well."

Father shakes his head. "If you wish to do so to further your own practice, that's fine, but we've had many more years of practice in speaking your language, child."

Gina hurries in. "Zedd, Tommy wants to know-" She stops short, seeing my parents. "Oh, um. Sorry." She repeats the formal greeting to my parents.

Mother sighs softly. "As I mentioned before, the formality isn't needed, but thank you. Your children did it perfectly, you have done it perfectly. Now, let's let all of that go and we've agreed to speak English unless you'd like to practice your Eltarian. You had a message for Zeddic?"

"Actually, Tommy just wanted to know how much time he had before you arrived. He's run into a bit of trouble with dinner."

"Oh dear. I didn't mean to put him to any real trouble" Mother responds.

"I'll go help him" Gina answers back. "It'll be all right." She hurries out of the room.

"Perhaps we should sit down and talk for a while" I suggest, unsure of what else to do at this point.

Thirty minutes later, Thomas comes in the room. I can't help but notice that he's completely changed clothes. "Sorry I took so long" he apologizes with a slight smile. "Dinner's ready now."

"I'm so sorry, dear boy. I didn't mean to put you out." Mother gives him a hug in greeting.

Thomas returns her hug. "Minor mishap, Mara, that's all. Don't worry about it. Hello, Kerch."

They shake hands as Father responds, "You know, if you didn't have such a soft spot for my wife, you wouldn't have had to rush to do this today."

My husband shrugs lightly. "Can't help it. Come on. Let's go." He leads us to the dining room and turns to Mara Jane. "You set the table, sweetheart. Where does everybody go?"

Mara Jane is quick to inform everyone of where they will be seated before the food is quickly passed around, it being clear to everyone that whatever minor mishap that occurred has done nothing to spoil any of the dishes Thomas had been working on.

Sometime later, the meal is over and Thomas and Gina are finally joining us in the living room. Thomas insisted on putting up the leftovers and - knowing him - dealing with the dishes before joining us. We really are going to have to get more staff here - especially before Thomas has the baby. I want him to be able to relax and rest as much as possible in those last few months. Still, I feel rather content as I look around. The girls are chattering with Mother, Dylan seems to be in a rather intense conversation with Father and Jacob is curled up with me on the couch. Seeing his father come in, Jacob starts to move, knowing he's in Thomas' customary place at my side. Thomas merely smiles at him and shakes his head, indicating that our son can remain where he is for now.

For a brief moment, all chatter dies - just in time to hear Dylan say to my father, "Well, that's stupid."

The rest of us freeze, all eyes turning to the pair. As Gina opens her mouth to - no doubt - chastise her son, Father says calmly, "Yes, it is. I myself used to think that way though. I have learned, however, that it's simply untrue."

Wait - someone challenged Father on something he's said and he's not offended or raging? Dylan looks almost - disgusted, I would guess. "It's not just untrue. It's unfair and wrong. My dad does that all the time and it makes me mad."

As Thomas and Gina find seats, Father responds. "Sometimes you have to make a snap decision with very little information to go on and occasionally that information can be faulty. So you have to make choices based on what you do know. And yes, sometimes you're wrong and when you find out that you're wrong, you have to deal with the consequences. However, when you are able to get more information, it's always a good idea to do so, even if it does take time so that you have the best chance of being correct."

Dylan nods slowly. "You said that you used to think like that. What changed that made you stop?"

"Not what, who" Father corrects him. "Zeddic and Tommy changed the way I think."

I exchange a confused look with my mate. We did what now? Before I can ask the question, Mother steps in. "You see, Dylan, a very long time ago, Kerch wanted Zeddic to go into the family business. It wasn't what Zeddic wanted, so they fought rather frequently. Zeddic often got in trouble and finally he left home - his father being only one of the reasons."

I nod. "That's when I joined the Evil Alliance like we told you."

Mother resumes her story. "We heard news from all over the galaxy about what he was doing but didn't bother to follow up on any of it. Pretty much just trying to raise the rest of our children and not wallow in what we thought of as our failure as parents. Then the power wave came and removed the - excess - evil from him. When he almost died, I-" She stops and clears her throat.

Gina steps in quickly. "You don't have to tell us this."

Father shakes his head. "Your son asked and the explanation is long overdue, I think."

Thomas protests, "Kerch, it doesn't matter. Really."

Father ignores this. "After some years, Zeddic contacted us, wanting to introduce us to Tommy. I was so caught up in Zeddic's history, what all he'd done with the Alliance, not to mention what I'd perceived as his rejection of me, I really wanted nothing to do with either of them. When they arrived, I talked to Zeddic about how they met, started courting and so on. I was certain that he was lying to me about much of it as I felt there were far too many holes and inconsistencies."

"While Kerch was talking to Zeddic, I was getting to know Tommy. Between Kerch and I, I was certainly the more open minded one." Mother shoots a grin at my husband. "The conversation was - enlightening - since I'd never spent time with a human before."

"Oh, it was for me too" Thomas agrees with a laugh. "All embarrassment aside."

Father shakes his head at the pair. "Anyway, I was fully expecting to find that Tommy was actually a slave or pet or some such thing."

"Pet?" Mara Jane interrupts. Her eyes narrow as she, no doubt, recalls things like that being mentioned in the past - mostly thanks to Jax.

Father nods. "Again, I was influenced by my poor opinion of your father at the time, not to mention my low view of humans in general. However, Tommy passed my test quite easily, not to mention his calm defense of Zeddic's version of their history at the time."

I raise an eyebrow at Thomas, who smiles at me with a small shrug. "I simply pointed out that anything you left out was because you might not have felt it important or any of his business. While you and I experienced many of the same events, we perceive them differently. Some things that are important to you aren't that important to me and the reverse is true as well."

"Like what?" Megan questions, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Like him eating the filling out of a pie and putting the crust back in place for one thing" Father remarks giving me a slightly indulgent look.

"It was cute then and it's still cute now."

Ignoring me for the most part, Father explains a bit more in detail however, "While I was more concerned with how Zeddic had actually acquired a power holder, why he felt the need to bring him to meet us, and why his behavior toward him was very subdued and protective. Zeddic, again, wished to talk about his eating habits, what movies he liked to watch, and how he talked in his sleep. None of which I perceived as being important at the time and assumed Zeddic was only even mentioning in an effort to distract me."

Father continues. "However, by the time Tommy finished giving me his version of events, I found myself rather confused. He was not the unintelligent, primitive species I had believed humans to be. His story showed me a side of Zeddic I didn't think existed - one that could care for others. It took me days to come to the conclusion that maybe my preconceived ideas about Zeddic and humans in general were wrong. Once that occurred to me, I went back over the notes I'd taken when the two of them had told me their stories. I tried to look at it like a businessman - as if I'd never met them before, instead of looking for lies and holes."

"And?" Mother prompts him.

"And I realized that - put together - their stories really did give pretty much the whole picture. Not only had I treated my son unfairly, I had allowed my prejudices to take over where Tommy was concerned as well." He smiles broadly at us. "I've never regretted taking that second look."

"Well pretty soon you'll have another reason to be thankful you did" Thomas begins, giving me a knowing smile.

"Oh?" Looking at us curiously, Father can tell something is up by our conspiring looks and grins.

"Should we tell them?" I question, mostly to just draw out their curiosity.

"I suppose so. I mean it would be rather evil of us to keep them wondering what we've been planning and plotting these last few months."

"And put into affect five days ago" I add, smirk growing as both my parents narrow their eyes at us.

"What are you two up to now?" Mother questions.

"You didn't change your minds about moving back here, did you?" Father adds with a note of concern.

"No, we definitely didn't change our minds, especially since it's for the safety of our three children more than anything else" Thomas assures him, waiting calmly to see if he'll pick up on his wording.

They seem to catch it at the same time. "Three?!" they speak together. Mother continues alone. "Who's carrying this time?"

"I am" Thomas grins at her.

Quickly, she stands and hugs him as Father does me before they 'trade' us. "What are you having this time?" Father asks.

Thomas and I both shrug. "We decided that since we already have one of each, we'd let the fates decide. Even Pina doesn't know yet."

Mother has a gleam in her eyes. "We'll have to get you some proper maternity clothes while you're here, then. There's a lovely shop across town that caters exclusively to men."

"That's not necessary, Mara" Thomas assures her hastily. "I still have my clothes from when I was carrying Jacob and we'll be on Earth for most of it and the styles aren't the same."

Mother comes dangerously close to pouting. "But, Tommy, I didn't get to spoil you or Zeddic during your other pregnancies."

"Mara, I still have a hard time sometimes letting Zedd spoil me on occasion."

Turning to Father as they continue their debate of sorts, I say quietly, "I can't wait to see how this goes."

He considers this for a moment. "Odds are, your mother will take him shopping, but Tommy will put a limit on how much he'll accept."

Sounds about right. "Probably" I agree.