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CHAPTER 32 – THE STARES

Jack and Elizabeth entered the cafeteria the next morning with renewed optimism.

Last night, Jack had explained to Elizabeth that the three known pregnancies in the history of space travel, which had no serious problems, meant that there were zero cases of birth defects due to space flight. No known side effects. No known adverse consequences.

As far as scientists knew, Elizabeth had the same chance of having a healthy pregnancy as every other healthy female of her age and physical fitness living on Earth.

And since the chance of having identical quintuplets was only one in 14 billion, there was really no realistic reason for Elizabeth to keep rubbing her belly and crying. Or sob uncontrollably that her body wasn't meant to give birth to a litter -which she had done for five minutes until she started to get a headache.

Their mantra was simple. No woman had ever given birth to a child with defects due to being conceived and spending months in utero in deep space. It was as simple as that.

Reciting this mantra over and over again, the couple ignored that fact that no woman, other than Elizabeth, had actually ever conceived in deep space in another galaxy.

"Should I tell Abigail?" Elizabeth whispered as she pushed a plastic tray along the metal counter in front of her as she stood in the cafeteria line. If Elizabeth couldn't have her mother and sisters with her, Abigail, who had elected not to renew her assignment in Coal Valley for another term, was a wonderful substitute.

"If you want, but it's still really early," Jack noted quietly as he pushed his tray in front of her. "I thought women like to wait a while until they tell people."

"Pancakes. Two, please", Jack said to their friend on the other side of the counter. "How are you this morning, Abigail?"

"Good," Abigail responded. She seemed to keep her gaze on Elizabeth longer than normal for a morning food rush and then she busied herself with putting two perfectly round pancakes onto a plate.

"Same here, Abigail", Elizabeth ordered her breakfast with a smile. "I love your pancakes."

"Sorry, Elizabeth," Abigail said pleasantly. "No pancakes for you today. I have buckwheat with flax, spinach, and berries for you. I just made it a few minutes ago."

Elizabeth gave Abigail a perplexed look as the woman handed her a bowl filled with warm brown mush topped with blueberries which had been grown using hydroponics. The green flakes visible in the the mush were likely spinach but they looked like mold to Elizabeth.

"That's sweet of you, but I don't want that", Elizabeth said in confusion. "I'm fine with pancakes. Really."

"Doctor's orders," Abigail said as she stared at Elizabeth and continued to hold out the bowl with an outstretched arm.

"Excuse me?"

"The doctor gave me your menu for the next four months," Abigail explained apologetically.

"I don't know what is going on " Abigail added hurriedly in case the couple thought she had pried. "He wouldn't tell me anything due to doctor-patient confidentiality – he just gave me the menu for the rest of the voyage."

"My menu?"

A stunned Elizabeth took the bowl from Abigail and set it on her tray before she turned to look at Jack. "My menu?" she said in a hushed voice.

"It's heavy on fruits and vegetables." Abigail spoke up. ""Here's you drink. It's a mixture of tomato and kale juice."

Jack took the drink-box from Abigail and set it on the tray in front of Elizabeth, who stared at her bowl as if it was some strange entity which wasn't meant for human consumption.

"Thank you, Abigail. Have a good morning," Jack said with a smile.

"Is everything okay?" a worried Abigail asked before the couple could walk away. "I'm just concerned."

"Everything's fine. And I'm sure your buckwheat and juice are delicious. Thank you for making them," he said with another smile as he ushered a bewildered Elizabeth along the cafeteria line.

"I want pancakes. This is disgusting!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she and Jack walked away from the line of food options. "And did you see the way Abigail looked at me?"

"We'll talk about it later. In private," Jack said as they made their way to a familiar table.

Jack and Elizabeth recognized many familiar faces from their first voyage and their time in Coal Valley as many passengers were on the same length of assignments as the Thorntons.

"Hey, there," Jack greeted the diners sitting at a round table as he and Elizabeth set down their trays and pulled out their chairs.

"Morning everyone," Elizabeth, having decided that she was not going to let her buckwheat breakfast ruin her morning, said cheerfully.

A chorus of morning greetings rang out as the couple sat down amongst the group. Six-year old Tess smiled and started to say something to Elizabeth, but her mother quickly covered the girl's mouth with her hand.

When Elizabeth looked curiously at Colette, the woman rolled her eyes in disgust and then looked away.

I must be imagining it, Elizabeth thought.

Why would Seth's wife be upset with me?

Elizabeth noticed it again during the meal. Twice she caught Colette staring at her only to then quickly avert her gaze when their eyes met.

"Jack, did you think Colette was a little cold to me this morning at breakfast?" Elizabeth asked hours later when they finally had a chance to talk as they walked down the corridor to the cafeteria. It was lunch time and Elizabeth was hoping her meal was a marked improvement over her breakfast.

It had been a busy morning. Elizabeth had spent hours with the students while Jack had kept busy introducing himself to crewmembers and researching his new assignment in North America.

"I didn't notice. Why would she be cold to you?"

"I don't know. She just stared at me. And glared at me."

"Stared and glared?" Jack said with a chuckle.

"And Abigail was looking at me oddly. I really should tell her about the baby. She'll just worry thinking there's something wrong with me if I don't."

"That's fine," Jack replied as he took Elizabeth's hand in his as they walked.

"Oooh, I forgot to tell you, the strangest thing happened to me earlier," Elizabeth said. "I was coming out of that room that I'm using for a classroom, and this crewmember approached me and started staring at my feet."

"Your feet?"

"Well actually it was my shoes. And then he asked to see one of them."

"Who was it?"

"I have no idea."

Jack stopped walking and gave Elizabeth a quizzical look. "Why did he ask to see one of your shoes?"

"I have no idea."

"What did you do?"

"I gave him my shoe," she answered with a shrug. "I figured he must need it for a reason."

Elizabeth gently tugged on Jack's hand and they began walking again.

"What possible reason could a crew member need for your shoe?" Jack asked.

"I have no idea!" Elizabeth said for the third time. "I was too surprised to ask him. I just reached down, took off my shoe, and handed it to him."

Jack looked towards the ground and noticed Elizabeth was wearing a stylish white tennis shoe on each foot. "And he just gave it back?"

"He took down the size, and bounced it in his hand for a bit, and looked for the wear and tear, I guess. Then he handed it back to me and walked away. It was so odd."

"I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe they're just taking a survey or inspection of passenger footwear."

Two days later, Elizabeth had almost forgotten about the stares from Colette and the mysterious shoe man, but was still wondering if she should tell Abigail about the pregnancy. She hated the concerned look that her friend gave her every time they saw each other. To her credit, Abigail didn't pry.

There were two seats left at their favorite table so Jack and Elizabeth made their way across the cafeteria with their trays of food. The room was crowded with passengers relaxing after their day's schedules. Elizabeth tried to pretend the food on her plate was as delicious as the veggie lasagna on Jack's plate but she doubted it.

I'll give Colette a big smile, Elizabeth decided as she noticed Seth's wife at the table and remembered the awkward feeling she had the other morning. Despite the size of the transporter, the two women had managed to avoid being alone together.

I wonder if she's upset with my teaching.

That doesn't make sense. I've been teaching Tess for more than a year.

It probably has nothing to do with me. She probably just didn't sleep well.

Yes. I'm sure that's it. The small living quarters and an exuberant child can make a person grumpy.

Animated talking and laughter carried around the passengers as they devoured their meals.

All except Elizabeth, who had hungrily eaten a banana and a carrot, but was now slowly stirring a bowl of gruel. Technically, it wasn't gruel. But it wasn't exactly delicious stew or veggie lasagna either. Elizabeth still wasn't sure that the green inch long strips peeking out of bowl weren't mold.

Elizabeth put down her fork and surrendered to hunger for a bit longer.

"It was crazy," Bud exclaimed as the table's occupants reminisced about their first voyage. "No one has ever had a flight as interesting as that one."

When Jack reached over and put his hand on Elizabeth's, giving hers a little affectionate squeeze, Seth's wife abruptly put down her drink.

"It's time to go Tess," she said firmly as she stood up from table and gently pulled Tess from her seat.

Elizabeth wouldn't have thought too much of it, except she swore that Seth was now giving her a steely glare.

"For Pete's sake, could you guys watch yourself. She's only six years old. I'd like to keep her innocent a little longer," Seth said in a huff as he got up from the table and followed after his wife and daughter.

Jack and Elizabeth gave each other bewildered looks, and then Jack stood up and hurried after Seth.

"Hey, hold up. What was that all about?" he said as the caught up to his former roommate. The men allowed Colette and Tess to continue walking before Seth answered.

"Look, I know you guys are in love. And I remember sharing quarters on a voyage here. I don't expect you to keep things strictly platonic in your living quarters now that you're married, but for god's sakes, do you have to be all over each other?"

"What are you talking about? I just touched Elizabeth's hand," Jack declared.

"This time. Just remember that we're living pretty close for the next four months. I think Tess has seen and heard enough mature behavior already," Seth said before walking away and leaving a puzzled Jack standing in the corridor.

"What did Tess tell her parents about us?" Elizabeth questioned Jack. They were in the living quarters, speaking softly so that the occupants in the room which shared the bathroom wouldn't be bothered.

"Beats me. But she told them something."

"Remember how Tess walked in on us kissing the first day? And she said that we're always kissing. Maybe she's been telling her parents that we are constantly kissing. You know how kids are. They think kissing is yucky or romantic or full of cooties."

"I suppose. I just never realized how Puritan Seth and Colette are," Jack replied. "Let's just watch ourselves around Tess and your other students on board. I've got to go to a meeting with the First Officer. I'll see you later."

"Okay," Elizabeth replied as she accepted a kiss on the cheek from Jack before he walked out.

Jack had only been gone five minutes and Elizabeth was still debating if she should go to the gym or read a book on her computer when her messenger bracelet buzzed.

Her eyebrows crinkled when she read the displayed message.

The infirmary?

I wonder what the doctor wants to tell me. He already said I'm definitely pregnant.

There's no need to bother Jack. I'll go by myself.

Probably something about my stupid menu. I should make the doctor eat it.

Elizabeth sat on her bottom berth and stared at her feet. More precisely, she stared at her shoes.

The doctor's visit hadn't gone at all as she had expected. The man didn't even want to discuss the menu which he had simply declared was mandatory when she started to bring up the subject.

He had wanted to talk about shoes.

The doctor had been professional as usual but she swore he was more excited than he had ever previously been around her. In fact, if she had to guess, she would say he was thoroughly enjoying her pregnancy and the idea of a scientific paper he could publish about it.

When the man had handed her a clunky pair of shoes and instructed her to wear them for the next four months, she had been totally confused.

"I already have shoes. Comfortable shoes. Cute shoes", she had declared as her hands sunk under the heavy shoes he had offered.

"I had these made especially for you by one of the engineers onboard. They have an extra two pounds of weight added to them," the doctor had explained as he had prodded her to put them on.

"Why?!" she had asked with a horrified look.

"As you should be aware, the transporter's gravity device does not exactly equal Earth's gravity. It's about eight percent less. Gravity on Earth is responsible for keeping our organs in the proper place in our body and actually compresses our spine slightly. Astronauts without gravity actually grow about an inch while in space due to the lack of gravity. Back on Earth, the spine condenses again and they return to normal height. In your case, I don't want your body doing any unusual expansion or condensing – other than your belly," the doctor had explained.

"Why are they so suctiony on the bottom?" she had asked pensively as she pushed on the sole of one of the shoes with her finger and felt the rubbery texture bounce back. It reminded her of the bottom of a mat for a shower or tub.

"That's to help keep you on the floor when we have slight gravity fluctuations. We don't want you lifting off the floor even a centimeter and then falling down."

"I have to walk around for the next four months with two-pound weights added to sucky shoes?!"

When Jack came back to the living quarters hours later, he didn't seem the least bit concerned about Elizabeth's footwear and actually thought it was a good idea. In fact, he was happy that the doctor was taking such an interest in her pregnancy.

Elizabeth paused in the doorway and stared at Jack who was sitting on one of the top berths. He had taken off his shirt to get ready for bed but then had gotten sidetracked by a tune running through his head, and had picked up his make-shift guitar.

The instrument was tight against his body as he strummed the strings using a piece of thin plastic as a pick.

He's so handsome, Elizabeth thought as she watched him. Jack was oblivious to her as he concentrated on changing chords.

Who knows how long I'll have this body and will be feeling this good?

.. . . And we didn't do it the last few nights because we were exhausted with working out in the gym, and busying reading, and getting to know the crew, or the night when we had our fight and all that worrying.

The next nine months can't all feel this good. I should take advantage of the opportunity.

Gosh, he's sexy when he sings. Shirtless. With his hair falling over his forehead.

Elizabeth pulled her tee-shirt over her head, tousled her hair, licked her lips, and leaned against the door frame waiting for him to notice her.

When he didn't look in her direction, she adjusted her breasts in her lace-lined bra and cleared her throat.

An oblivious Jack finished the song and then began singing the lyrics again as he concentrated on getting just the right sound.

Elizabeth decided a more direct seduction was in order.

Taking a running leap, she reached out her arms to hoist herself onto the upper berth.

At least she tried to. With her heavy suction shoes, which she had momentarily forgotten about, she managed to get her feet only two inches off the floor before she stumbled forward.

"Ouch!" she yelled as smacked her face on the edge of the berth.

"You okay?" a perplexed Jack asked as he paused and looked up from his guitar.

"Fine", she grumbled as she pushed her hair out of her face and rubbed her forehead.

"What were you doing?"

"Trying to climb into bed with you. But these stupid shoes got in the way. I hate these things. And I bit my tongue," she whined as she tasted blood.

"Why are you trying to climb in bed with me?"

"Because I thought we might have a little fun."

"I think we should sleep separately. But I should finish getting ready for bed", Jack noted casually as he jumped down and moved past her.

"Why? Why should we sleep separately?" she called out after him as he headed for the sink. She followed him into the small bathroom.

"I don't want to get you pregnant again," Jack replied simply,

Elizabeth gave Jack a confused look. "Jack, you can't get me pregnant again. I'm already pregnant. It doesn't work that way."

"You could have two wombs," he replied with a shrug as he began brushing his teeth.

"Two wombs? What the heck are two wombs?"

"I read about it when I was doing research on pregnancies and women. Some women have two wombs. Which means that they can get pregnant twice at the same time. A baby in each womb. And they can be conceived at different times so they may be a week or two different in ages."

"Those are women who are born with two wombs! It's a congenital defect. I don't have two wombs," Elizabeth scoffed.

Jack spit into the sink. "How do you know? You've never seen the inside of your body."

"Because I had a complete check-up before we left Earth," she answered derisively.

Jack shrugged. "That was before space. You've been subjected to gamma rays and other stuff. You might have two now."

"Don't be stupid."

"I don't want to risk it."

"What risk?!"

"We already have one bun in the oven. We don't need another."

Elizabeth tilted her head and looked at him with raised eyebrows. "It's not a bun and I am not an oven. Now, can we please just have sex."

"We already have a baby in one womb, I don't want to risk putting a baby in the second one. That would wreak havoc on your body."

"There is no second womb!" Elizabeth declared adamantly.

"There might be."

"No, there might not be! I do not have two wombs!"

Jack wiped his face with a washcloth and then moved past Elizabeth. Reaching into his locker, he took out his shorts and began changing.

"I'm not willing to risk it," he said plainly.

"You have got to be kidding me! You are not going to have sex with me because I might have two wombs?! "

"I'm just trying to be prudent. Sensible."

"You are being neither!" she exclaimed. She thought about putting her hands on her hips to look sexier as she stood there in her bra but Jack had already turned away and was climbing up into one of the berths.

"I just think it's best. There are two top berths. We might as well use them," Jack said.

"The other morning, you were practically crying like a baby when you thought we couldn't have sex!" Elizabeth reminded him.

Jack scowled. "I wasn't crying like a baby."

"I thought you were going to hyperventilate," she retorted.

"That was before. Before I did research. Until I know that you don't have two wombs, we're not having sex again."

"You have got to be kidding me?!" Elizabeth huffed as Jack fluffed his pillow.

She immediately kicked off her shoes and then scrambled out of her jeans. Standing in front of Jack in her bra and panties, she knew that her body looked toned and firm after more than a year of continuous exercise.

He can't reject this.

"I forgot to turn off the bathroom light. Will you get it? Good night, Elizabeth. Love you, " an uninterested Jack said as he zipped his blanket around him and lay down.

Elizabeth walked a few feet into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Leaning her forehead against it, she gently banged her fist against the metal over and over again in frustration.

Ugly shoes that feel like I'm wearing ski-boots.

People staring at me.

Awful healthy food.

Two wombs?!

Elizabeth took a deep sigh.

All I want is sex and a healthy baby! Is that too much to ask for?!

Women on Earth must have it easier than this!

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