Détente?
The two of them stared at each other in silence. Two hundred (give or take) babies – powerful babies – all of them in need of caretakers. Who was going to feed and clothe them, let alone teach them? Melinda broke the silence first.
"Do you think Powers has thought of this already?"
He frowned.
"Maybe, but I doubt it. She's been busy getting the school back in shape and figuring out what to do with Gwen's three cohorts. Not to mention dealing with parents who aren't happy about what happened."
She winced.
"Ouch. I hadn't thought of that. Well, Gwen could be an absolute pain…no pun intended…but she wasn't stupid. She planned."
"Yeah, and its not like she was lacking in resources either."
"We need to talk to someone about it. She had to have help, and I'm not talking about Penny, Lash, or Speed. I wouldn't trust those three to take care of a field of cacti, let alone a bunch of babies. I kind of doubt she already had her school up and running."
He shook his head.
"No – it would have been hard to hide that. It's more likely that she'd recruited people. You could space a bunch out with 'guardians' and put the remainder in an 'orphanage.' It could work."
"I guess – who would she have recruited though?"
He shrugged, but before he could say anything, her phone rang. She hastened across the kitchen to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Melinda! It's Layla. Majenta and I were wondering if you could come over tonight."
"You're having a get-together on a weeknight?"
"Well, actually, we're at Will's with the others. We're trying to get some homework done, but the science is stumping us."
Melinda realized this made a perfect opportunity.
"I should be able to come by. Would it be all right if I brought someone with me?"
"Sure! We'll see you in a bit then."
She hung up the phone, shaking her head. Angling a look towards Warren, she smiled.
"That girl is perpetually cheerful."
His mouth quirked.
"Hippie?"
She turned towards him, hands on her hips, and gave him an exasperated, if amused, look.
"What is it with you and people's names?"
He just grinned.
"I take it you're going to her place?"
She smiled innocently. He frowned and leaned back like a wolf scenting danger.
"Actually, you're taking me to meet her and Maj."
"Okay…."
He stretched the word out, still seeking the catch.
"They need some help with homework."
"And…"
"They're at Will's."
She managed to keep her composure, but it was a near thing. He looked like someone had knocked the air out of him.
Where is my camera?
When his face closed up once more, her amusement fled. She sat back down, her face taking on a more solemn look.
"Warren, I know going over there makes you uncomfortable, and I understand…no, I know why. I'm not going to claim to understand. Sooner or later you are going to have to do this, and wouldn't it be better with the whole group of us there?"
He leaned towards her, glaring.
"I have hated the Commander for years. I doubt he's had any kinder thoughts about me. On Friday, everyone was too relieved to have the mess dealt with – he didn't have to deal with me. This…confrontation isn't a good idea. It'd be better if we just stayed out of each other's way."
She rolled her eyes.
"You can't hate someone you don't know. You hated what he did, you've disliked who he appears to be, but that's entirely different. It doesn't have to be a confrontation. It just needs to be a meeting. And it does need to be dealt with! I don't know if you noticed earlier, but they were determined to sit with you at lunch – even when they had to ignore the vibes you were giving off. You stepped up to help Layla – you didn't abandon them at homecoming – you even acknowledged their abilities. Call it a hunch, but I sincerely doubt they're going to just go away. Unless you decide to be a real jerk about it, you're going to be dealing with them from now on, and that includes Will. Thus, you are going to have to deal with his parents."
She sat down as she finished, flushing because she could not remember when she had stood up during her rant. He had stared at her as she had lectured, using her hands to express herself and count off her points. As the silence stretched out, she took a deep breath and looked at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off the deep end there. If you really don't want to go, that's fine. I can make my own way over there. It just occurred to me that you might find it easier breaking this particular piece of ice with some backup. We'll all be there, and we trust you."
He took a breath in return and put his face in his hands, rubbing his temples. After a moment, he looked up.
"All right – we'll try it your way. Don't blame me if you get stuck finding your own way home."
She gave him a wide, brilliant smile.
"Just let me grab my shoes."
Another wild ride later, they pulled up to a two-story house in a quiet neighborhood. Warren turned off the engine, but made no move to get out of the jeep. Melinda took off her seatbelt and pulled her legs up. Wrapping her arms around them, she rested her chin on her knees. She waited, giving him space.
"I don't like this."
"I know."
"We could leave."
"Nobody's seen us yet."
Another long moment of silence passed. Finally, he sighed. He opened the door and swung his long frame out.
"Lets go."
She smiled and climbed out. They walked up to the door and rang the bell. Josie Stronghold opened it.
"Why, hello Melinda. They just told me you were coming over. Science, I suppose?"
"Good evening, Mrs. Stronghold. Layla said they needed some help. This is Warren."
Melinda stepped to the side, letting both of them get a good look. Mrs. Stronghold's smile never faltered. Without missing a beat, she held out her hand.
"Welcome, Warren. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Shaking her hand, Warren managed a small smile.
"Please come in, both of you. The rest of the kids are in the living room."
As they walked into the room, a chorus of welcomes sounded. The others were scattered about with books and papers everywhere. Zach had given up the homework in favor of describing his new video game to an equally unmotivated Will. Maj sat on the floor at the table, drawing fantastic designs on her book covers. Only Layla and Ethan appeared to be attempting to finish their homework. Despite his discomfort at even being there, Warren did manage exchange a look of amused exasperation. Freshmen. Both of them sat down on the couch behind Maj.
"Hey, guys. Before we get into your apparently enthralling science work, we need to talk."
Everyone looked up at her, frowning as they caught her serious expression. Even Zach sobered – to the extent that was possible. Will locked eyes with her.
"What's wrong?"
She sighed and glanced at Warren. He nodded and lounged back against the cushions. Taking a deep breath and sitting straight up, she turned back to the others.
"Something suddenly occurred to me this afternoon…something we missed on Friday. Gwen had pacified around two hundred people. What was she going to do with that many babies?"
Silence descended on the room. Everyone traded startled looks. Layla opened her mouth as though to speak, but shut it slowly, shaking her head. Will held up a hand.
"Before this goes further, I think I'd better call in my folks."
Although Warren stiffed a bit, she could see him nodding.
"Good idea, flyboy."
She stifled a giggle at the expression on Will's face. He hadn't expected that response. Will shook his head and then called in his parents. After hearing the recap, the two of them exchanged quick, speaking looks. Removing their glasses, they laid aside their covers and focused on the group of teens. The Commander and Jetstream were in the house. He nodded at Melinda and Warren.
"You kids have come up with an extremely valid point. She would have needed more help than just Stitches and the other three students."
Warren snorted softly.
"She wouldn't have trusted those three with a Chia pet, let alone a bus full of babies."
"That effective, huh? Who would she have trusted then? Did she have anyone else from school?"
"Depends on who she played. Other than Penny, she didn't have friends – just groupies."
Jetstream spoke up.
"Sue Tenney had a truckload of family. Steve and I can start digging there."
The rest of the room remained quiet. No one wanted to interfere with the small truce that appeared to be building between Warren and the Strongholds. Melinda, Layla, and Maj traded looks and hid grins. Détente was a beautiful thing.