The Balance of Life

Part One - Discovery

Chapter 4 - Part 18--- NewHome

"Think you're pretty cagey, don't you?" Norm asked Ralu when she humiliated him with a quadruple jump of his last four pieces in their tenth game for supreme domination in Pandora's first planet-wide tournament of checkers.

"I rule!" Ralu burst out as she shoved her closed fist in the air to signal yet another victory over the puny human contestant.

"You must have cheated," Norm grumbled.

Norm should never have lowered his eyes. Ralu was on him, shoving him over backwards, straddling his chest before he even saw it coming. Laughing like a lunatic, she pinned his arms and looked down at the softest eyes she had every looked into. Physically there wasn't a single similarity between his human eyes and that of his avatar's. The expression she read in them however was identical. Pure Love. Very much like the love in Neytiri and Jake's eyes when they looked at her, but with something extra.

"I see you," she said quietly, her voice catching on the boundless feeling she had for him. She had lost her father, for whom she would always grieve. Now she had a new father, and another that was something very special in her young girl's heart.

"I see you, and I see me through your eyes." Norm placed one of his hands, which she had freed, gently on the side of her face. "If I get through this ordeal without my heart breaking it is going to be because of you. I haven't the words, Na'vi or English, to tell you what you mean to me. If you were my own daughter, I couldn't be more proud of you, of who and what you are."

When her throat closed, making any answer impossible, Ralu lowered herself to lie beside Norm and rested her head on his chest. Listening to sound of his human heart she let his scent fill her, stored it away as a memory she would always be able to bring back.

"It's getting late," Norm began, knowing it was time to try and get some sleep, but fully realizing he probably wouldn't. "I need to go to bed if I'm going to be any kind of match on the basketball court tomorrow."

"I don't want you to go." If force would have worked she would have simply sat on him until he agreed to stay the whole night.

"I know, but I do need the sleep. I'll be alright." Norm began, sounding quite pitiful. "If I start feeling too sad, I'll think of you trying to sleep on that hard old gurney while I snuggle into my nice soft bed."

"Hey!"

Before Ralu could respond further, Norm rolled her over and began tickling her. Caught as off guard as Norm had been moments before, she shrieked with uncontrollable laughter.

"All right children. You're hurting my ears," Neytiri said as she stood over them, frowning at them.

Getting to his feet, Norm held out a hand and pulled Ralu to her feet when she placed her hand in his.

"I want to thank you again for getting permission to bury Karen with Grace. It means a lot to me. I know it's unnecessary, but I will thank your mother next time I see her."

"It is the least we can do," Neytiri answered.

"Jake, old man. Try and get some rest. Max will probably let you outside tomorrow if you look up to it."

"I'll be ready. Just make sure you are."

"Good night, sleep well. I'll see you all bright and early."

Giving Ralu one last hug, Norm hurried from the room before he changed his mind and just slept on the floor.

Entering the bio lab Norm found Gary and Zoe sitting at the master console. "Everything going okay?" he asked.

"Everything is under control, at least for the moment," Gary replied.

"Where is everyone?"

"Buck and Abby are sleeping. They should be here in about an hour. I think the rest are in the cafeteria or the game room." Zoe answered.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep," Norm began. "If I don't, I'm going to fall flat on my face."

"One of us will be here all night. Just call if you need anything," Gary added.

"Will do. See you in the morning."

Gary and Zoe watched as Norm walked away. "I hope he will be able to get some sleep," Zoe offered after Norm left the lab.

"I think he will. If for no other reason than sheer exhaustion," Gary added.

"I'm going to check on Kyle and Judy's pods," Zoe said as she got to her feet. "Susan should be here shortly to take the next shift."

"I've setup all of our rooms, and the cafeteria on quick-call, just in case whoever is on shift needs to get a hold of us. I'm not expecting any problems, but it pays to be prepared."

Fifteen minutes later, Susan and Max entered the lab.

"You are officially relieved," Susan told Gary when she came over to where he was sitting. "Anything I need to know?"

"Nope. All's quiet. Zoe logged the pod readings for Kyle and Judy. Haven't heard a peep from Jake or Neytiri. Ron relieves you at two, right?"

"Right. If he doesn't show, I'll send Rocky after him. That will get his skinny ass moving."

"You're all heart Susan," Gary said mockingly.

"No, I'm not. Now you two get. Max is going to stay awhile, check on some research he's been looking into."

"All our rooms are on quick-call," Gary pointed out. "See you tomorrow."

Waiting for Zoe, Gary headed for the lab's inner airlock to the rest of the complex.

"Hungry?" Gary asked Zoe once they were through the airlock. She seemed nervous to him. Unable to remember when the last time she had eaten, he figured it was probably just low sugar.

"No, not especially. Gary, I don't want…I want to sleep with you."

Well so much for being nervous from low blood sugar Gary thought to himself. "That's handy, as I want to sleep with you too. Just to be clear, are we talking about sleeping or sex?"

"Sex first, then sleep," Zoe answered looking directly into his eyes. She had debated with herself off and on all afternoon and evening about just out and out asking him to have sex with her. Now that she had asked and he had welcomed the idea the tightness in her throat eased.

"My I ask why you want to have sex with me?"

"A number of reasons I suppose," Zoe began as he took her hands in his. The intimacy of the gesture further settled her nerves. "Top of the list is that life can be very, very short. That in itself is not a good enough reason to just jump into bed with anyone. I have a great deal of respect for you. For the load that you carry in worrying about all of us. The past few days my feelings for you have grown quite a lot. Part of the reason may also have to do with not wanting to be alone. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I need you. I think you need me as well. We can support each other on a personal level as well as a working level. As I have never been in love before, I don't know if my feelings for you will grow to that or not. If they do that would be nice. If not, I still think we can provide comfort and support to each other."

"That's quite a speech, from someone who doesn't talk a great deal." He was moved by all that she had said to him, both with words and with her eyes. Placing his hands gently on the sides of her face he bent down to run his lips gently across hers. "The only thing left to ask is…your room or mine?"

Author's Note:

A short post. Keep the fires burning during week nights.

A number of comments in reviews have asked for more Na'vi language and culture. These will play a big part of the next book when the Omatikaya rebuild their home and their lives. Less dramatic action, but still enough to not let the book just wallow. Love is a big part of our lives, but so is daily living, and for the Na'vi daily living is survival. Cameron didn't delve into a lot of the realities of a Neolithic level society and the rigors of that life-style. A culture without writing has some very basic limitations. The one thing truly different for the Na'vi is their physical connection to Eywa and their environment. That may be the reason they have been content to live the same life for eons. If the spark of curiosity bursts into flame, their world will be changed forever. It will be interesting to see what effect the remaining humans and their interaction with the Na'vi will have over time.

For those of you who have reviewed, Thanks. As always I enjoy hearing from you, so please review when you can.

Enjoy.