Chapter 33

Martian Consulate
Washington DC

Six weeks after his poisoning Spencer had to admit, he liked living with other aliens.

After some discussion it was decided that he didn't need to travel with the Mrr'tani. When he was at work or on a case he still had Sin, and Luke was backing him up, and the rest of the team was around him. When he went out on week-ends it was either with Sin and someone from the team or Sin and Cass, and Lira took Mrr'tani guards in Cass' place, since as Consul General being in public with obvious aliens was more expected. But more often than not he and Sin "double dated" with Essa and Nar, or triple dated with all of them.

And he was okay with that.

He always thought of himself as an introvert, a loaner. Someone who was perfectly okay without anyone else around, just himself and his thoughts. Now he found a group he liked to spend time with, to share events and experiences with. But a big part of that might be that when they did go out Essa and Lira tended to also be quiet with their thoughts much of the time. It was the other three that kind of kept everyone moving in the same direction.

Or maybe they were talking to each other telepathically. Hard to tell.

All he knew was that they could go to, say, an art gallery and he could stand there and contemplate the art and not have to keep up a conversation of small talk. And yet at the same time not be alone.

And the same thing happened at the consulate. He could put on headphones and sit in the living room and read, and not have anyone disturb him, curious if he was dealing with negative emotions or perhaps becoming ill. No, he was just being Noble, and someone, likely Sin, would gently poke him when there was fresh food available.

That was one side benefit of spending more time at the house. When he was safe behind a screen of electronic security and Mrr'tani guard Sin could go pursue his own interests without worry or guilt. Spencer made sure to build a large chunk of time during the week when he was home so Sin could do that. After some observation he noticed that Lira and Essa did the same. When he asked Essa he said it was considered the polite thing to do.

There was only one time he tried to go out without Sin. That was to Henry's school concert. After all, there would be two other teammates and an DCPD detective in attendance, he ought to be fine. But when he got to the concert he felt something move in his waistcoat pocket. He peeked and saw a small mouse, only with horns. It winked at him and he gave up.

Yes, living with aliens was better than not. He had to admit it. It was nice to not be alone any more.


Sunrise House
Silver Springs, MD

"Your Aunt Kris is coming for a visit." Diana said.

Spencer continued to make a point of visiting his mother for an hour or so every Sunday, usually between a post-church brunch with his godchildren and picking up his library order and his dry cleaning. Sin would either stay to visit or go visit the other residents, just because they enjoyed the company and liked to tell war stories, which he enjoyed hearing. In this case he was once again perched on the small sofa, visiting right along with him. Now Spencer looked confused. "Aunt Kris?"

"Kristadoron Marcall. She was going to marry your Uncle Lorrick."

"Uncle Lorrick?"

"Your father's companion. Bryn ran into her at the market and gave her my address. We wrote and now she's on her way."

"On her way. From another planet."

"Dude, once you're out of a gravity well it's like hopping on a plane." Sin said. "Companion?" He asked Diana.

Diana nodded. "She never bonded with anyone but she still considers herself House, so she's coming out to check on me."

"Sweet!"

"How is she getting here?" Spencer asked.

"Nobles and Companions, and some Commoners depending on the job, can take empty spots on military flights. Oh, there's a term for it…"

"Space Available, Space-A."

"That's it. Anyway, she's taking that to New York and sorting it out from there."

"Let me know when she's close. I'll get her a train ticket."

"Oh, that would be helpful. Thank you."

"Is she thinking of staying?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Oh, don't look at me like that, Im too old and set to bind anyone. But she is retired, she's a former nurse, and this is a much nicer place to retire to than anywhere on Rigel. Besides, you'd be able to send those nice agents back to something more important."

"They don't mind." Spencer considered this. "You know, I never thought you might be lonely here. We should have you over to the house more often."

"Nonsense. You have your cohort and I have mine, that's the way things should be. If Kris does decide to stay they have two bedroom apartments here, we'll set one up."

"All right."


Union Station
Washington DC

Two weeks later Spencer, Sin, Cass, and Diana were at the station waiting for the southbound Acela Express from New York. "I'm kind of nervous." Spencer admitted to Sin.

"Why?" The other man asked.

"Family. I'm not used to it."

"It's going to be good."

As Spencer watched his mother's face went from concern to shock. Happy shock. "Kris!"

A woman in the crown turned at the sound. She was about Diana's age, athletic, with short, iron gray hair. Only the gloves made her stand out. That and the shocked, delighted look on her face. "Dina!"

The two of them fell into each other's arms, babbling just like long lost relatives separated by war might. "Now that is nice." Cass said. "This sort of thing really makes you feel like shit's getting better, you know?"

"That's the other thing that's weird." Spencer said. "I completely missed the war. I mean, I know it changed everything but I wasn't aware until it was over."

"You didn't miss much." Sin said.

"Nope." Cass agreed.

The two women were walking over, arm in arm. "Dina." Kris said, suddenly serious. "What happened to the baby?"

Diana smiled and turned to look at her son. "I had to give him a Terran name." She said. "Spencer, this is your Aunt Kris. Kris, this is Spencer."

Kris looked him over and tears came to her eyes, "Oh." She said. "Oh, you look just like your father. Oh you really do. I probably shouldn't ask but do you do hugs?"

"Absolutely." And he opened his arms.

Maybe things were getting better.


To: SReid
From: SR .mp

Did your aunt make it in all right?

To: SR .mp From: SReid

Yes, she did. How did you know?

To: SReid
From: SR .mp

It's kind of my job. But even if it wasn't I would have helped anyway.