The next four years passed without any major event. The wasteland continued to prosper, Arhome grew, and Scott became even more determined to find and destroy Calli. The fact she had married his brother and taken him from the wasteland made him even more of an enemy to the small woman.
Calli and Hawk had completed a deal at the Citadel trading post. It hadn't gone as well as Calli liked. The little trader always came out ahead, but sometimes she just didn't have her heart in it. This was one of those times. Her mind was elsewhere.
Calli was worried about Nathan. It was five years next month since he had left the wasteland to take up his position in Arhome. She knew he loved his job and his children but he seemed distant lately. He hardly paid any attention to her and sometimes he even fell asleep on her when she returned from the wasteland. She feared he was getting restless or losing his passion for her. The challenges just didn't exist in Arhome that were out here. What if he wanted to leave? He would never leave his kids behind.
"Calli."
"Yeah?" She looked up at her partner, distracted by her thoughts.
"I'm going over to the Black Stone. You want to come?", Hawk asked.
The big guy was well known in the local pub and had a lot of friends there. He just wanted to gossip. She shook her head.
"No, not right now. I think I'm going to go see Dr. Loris over at the clinic", she said.
Hawk frowned. She had seemed distracted a lot lately. "Are you all right?", he asked.
"Sure, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about Arhome", she said with a vague smile.
"Okay, see you later," he said and took off for the pub.
Dr. Loris was sitting behind his desk going over some paperwork when she came in. He looked up, glad to see her. He hated paperwork.
"How's it going?", Calli asked as she took a seat.
"It's busy as ever", he sighed.
She considered. "I don't know whether to say if that's good or that's bad. It's probably not good for the patients."
Dr. Loris laughed.
"Was there something I can do for you?", he asked. Calli did sometimes just drop in to visit and pick up local gossip, she loved gossip, but he felt she had something more on her mind.
"It's Nathan.", she said worriedly. "He's been overwhelmed lately. I was just wondering. Don't you have an apprentice, a young woman, I think her name's Jewell? She should be in her last year of training. Do you think she would want to finish her training in Arhome under Nathan? I'll have to ask him of course but I think he needs to have someone in the clinic with him."
Dr. Loris was one of the few outlanders who knew all about her and Arhome. He had kept in touch with Nathan after he left the wasteland for Arhome and he too had felt Nathan was growing restless. He frowned. If Calli was worried, then there must be something to be worried about. In spite of the fact she was a cold killing machine when it was required, he knew her for a kind, loving and considerate woman.
"Yes, Jewell Standish", he responded. "I took her on three years ago. She was one of the apprentices sponsored by the Lelland Trading Company fund. I would think she would be excited to be offered training under Nathan. Dr. Halliday is a legend in the wasteland. His work with the ghoulification process was largely responsible for the drop in ferals since the process can be stopped or moderated if it's caught in time. People still ask for him even though he stopped visiting the wasteland two years ago. I'm sure Jewell remembers the talks he gave when she first came here. You know, any of the 3rd year students would give his eye teeth to train under Nathan. How about Mike Parks? He's very good."
Calli smiled. "I think I'd prefer Miss Standish. She's the best, isn't she? I want the best for Nathan. Would you talk to her for me? I'm going to be in town for a couple of days. We're staying at the Citadel as usual. Let me know, okay?"
Steve smiled to himself. She was still so in love with her husband. Only the best had ever been good enough for him. He wondered about the hidden city where he stayed now. Someday maybe he could go there. He didn't think it could stay hidden much longer.
"Sure, I'll be in touch as soon as I have her answer. By the way, Reilly's applied for ghoulification. She put you down as her reference to attest to her state of mind. We have to be careful you know, we don't want to ghoulify anyone who might end up going feral. Do you think she's stable enough?", he asked.
"Reilly? Yeah, I saw her and Charon last week. They were talking about it then. She's getting old, Steve, and losing her strength. I agreed to recommend her. I actually suggested it to her. She's been with Charon for over 30 years now. I think he'd be lost without her, don't you? The populace are pretty accepting of the ghouls now that ferals aren't much of a problem. Have the forms ready and I'll sign them when I come back", she said.
Calli bought some time on the Citadel shortwave to contact Nathan in Arhome. She paid well and whenever she bought time it was understood all others left the room. Her transmissions were always private. She kept them short as protocol demanded.
Nathan came on the radio in short order. "Hey, Calli, what's wrong?," he asked anxiously. There was no time for niceties on a radio call and she rarely called unless there was trouble.
"No, nothing wrong," she assured him. "I just have a request. Dr. Lorin has an apprentice here that has a year left on training and he wants to take on a new, promising apprentice. How would you feel about completing the last year and certifying a new doctor?"
Nathan thought rapidly. He hadn't taken on an apprentice before because Arhome hadn't offered many opportunities for training, but that had been changing. Arhome had grown tremendously and with the number of Arhome residents now coming and going in the wasteland the clinic had become overwhelming for one doctor. He often went home exhausted and sometimes had to leave the kids in the evening or night to handle an emergency. He knew he hadn't been paying enough attention to Calli these last months but he didn't even have enough energy to take care of the kids the way he would like. He hadn't even been in the wasteland for several months. He simply didn't have the time. He had been planning on discussing this with Calli. He needed help and this sounded like a good solution.
"I could do that," he agreed.
"All right then", Calli said. "I'll see what arrangements can be made but I may be bringing another person to Arhome. Signing off." Nathan signed off. Calli sounded suspiciously happy.
Nathan seemed less agitated over the next 15 months. Between overseeing Jewell's internship and now being able to make a trip into the Citadel clinic to work with Dr. Loris when the Tradewind II was in, he was feeling less constrained. Even though Jewell handled a lot of the routine work and he could be more attentive to Calli he felt she was growing more restless and distant. She was spending most of her time on business ventures, doing books, making rounds and teaching self-defense classes. She spent a lot more time in Arhome with the kids. She hadn't gone on an extended job in weeks.