"Of course you may stay with us for as long as you like," Arkady told Will and Deanna. "Please, make yourselves at home."

Through their Imzadi connection, Will could sense how frightened Deanna was. "It'll be all right," he told her.

"But I've never even visited the twentieth century before!" she exclaimed.

"But we did go to the nineteenth century once," Will reminded her. "The twentieth can't be much different."

"But I don't know a single word of Russian!"

"So we'll learn. Take a crash course. You learned English just fine."

"My father spoke it to me often when I was a child, so I had a head start." She thought of something. "How did you learn English, Irina?"

"I learned it in school. Arkady and I both did." she smiled. "Since the last time we saw you, we've learned some very happy news. We're to become parents in about seven and a half months!"

"Congratulations!" Genuinely happy for the twentieth century woman, she gave her a hug.

"We'd been trying for about a year," Irina continued. "We were starting to think about looking into alternatives, like adoption."

"I'd love to be a mother some day," Deanna replied. She wondered what a child from herself and Will would look like and suddenly realized that she wanted that very badly. But how to broach the subject with him? He'd never even mentioned marriage, and she knew that if she came across as if she were pressuring him, it would only drive him away.

"I hope that it happens for you as it did for us," said Irina.

"I wish I knew how to help you," Arkady said to Will. "I am an investigator, but I'm afraid astrophysics is a bit beyond the scope of my knowledge and ability."

"That's all right. I expected as much," Will replied. "I'll just have to be patient and wait for my friends to come back for me. I'm sure they will soon."

"In the meantime, Irina and I would be happy to show you around our lovely city."

"We've already seen quite a bit of it," Will replied. "What I'd love to do is to hear all about your family. Irina's, too. I'd also love to see any photographs you might have."

"Oh?" Arkady looked surprised. "Well, we certainly have plenty of those."

Fifteen minutes later, the four individuals sat poring over boxes of photographs. "This is the very last photograph of my mother ever taken," Arkady announced. In it, Arkady's father stood proud and tall, while his mother stood beside him with a smile on her face but a distant look in her eyes. Arkady looked happy, oblivious to anything being amiss, his grin showing his missing two front teeth.

"She's beautiful," Will remarked. "I can't believe how strongly she resembles my own mother."

"Tell me about her," said Arkady.

"I can barely remember her," Will replied. "I was only two when she passed away from a sudden illness."

"What of your father?"

"He and I were never close. I was on my own from the time I was fifteen. We had a reconciliation of sorts a few years ago, but we haven't been in touch in a long time."

Arkady nodded as if he understood. "My father was one of Stalin's highest ranking generals. I don't like to talk about him very much."

"Stalin?"

"Certainly you've heard of him."

"One of the bloodiest dictators of the twentieth century."

"Right. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps and join the Red Army. He ridiculed me when I refused."

"I'm sorry." Will didn't know what else to say.

"That's all right," Arkady replied. "I've put it behind me and moved on."

"So have I," said Will. He couldn't believe that he had so much in common with his many times removed ancestor.

"One thing I've made up my mind about is that I'm going to be a completely different kind of father myself."

"And I as well...if Deanna and I ever have a child." It was the first time the idea of having a child with Deanna had ever occurred to him.

"He's an excellent trombone player," Irina said to Deanna. The two women and Arkady were sitting at a table at the lounge where Will had just landed a job as a trombone player.

"He is," Deanna agreed. "He can even play 'Night Bird' perfectly now." 'Night Bird' had been the song that Will had had the most trouble learning to play.

"Do you play any instruments?" asked Irina.

Deanna shook her head. "Unfortunately, no, although I've always admired those who can." She looked forward to being able to work as a counselor, but she knew that she'd have to become fluent in conversational Russian first.

Several days later, Arkady was at work and Will and Deanna had gone out, so Irina was alone in the apartment when she heard a strange yowling sound from just outside the apartment and went to investigate. She saw that a small grey kitten with an injured paw was on the other side of the door. "Oh, you poor thing!" she exclaimed.

Instantly a hood was pulled over her head, she smelled something strange, and then everything went blank.