Chapter Eleven: Black Coffee in Bed

"Dad?"

'Ey, Spider Cat."

Little Cato slipped into the cabin, a slim and silent little shadow. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

"Sure, kiddo. I can't promise I'll make any sense, though. I dunno if Ventrexians can get concussions like humans, but they can make us pretty stupid. I also reserve the right to fall asleep without warning."

He approached Gary's bunk and sat on the edge, looking closely at his adopted father. Gary's face was heavily bruised and swollen in places, but aside from being a touch more off-kilter than usual, his spirits were good. Bodek may have done a number on him, but he'd returned the favor and the score was still Goodspeed 2, Bodek 0.

Little Cato gave in to the urge to fidgit as he said, "I was wondering . . . I don't really remember a whole lot about my dad when I was four. I mean, I was four and he was still new to the whole second in command of the empire thing, so he was away more than he was home."

"Where was home?"

"Tera Con Prime. I hated it, but now I see why Dad couldn't send me back to our family on Ventrexia. The Lord Commander wouldn't let him."

"Yeah, we know where that lead. So, what were you wondering?"

"How do I talk to him? I mean, I know he's my dad and I'm really glad he knew me before when the Scoti got out, but . . . Gary, in these past months since Zetakron Alpha, I've almost spent more time with you than I spent with my dad in my whole life!" He sniffed and let Gary pull him down so they were lying close and warm on the bed. "He was away defending Ventrexia while my mom was alive, and then . . . then . . . "

"The Cosmic Tic-Tac happened."

"I hate him so much. I'll hate him forever."

"I know. That's okay. I'm right behind you . . . unless your dad cuts in line. Avocato never wanted to leave you. He used to beat himself up so bad for not being there for you."

"I know he couldn't help it. I mean, now I do. I didn't so much on Tera Con Prime. I spent a lot of time pretty mad at him. I don't mean to blame him."

"Oh, he cornered the market on blaming Avocato. And it's okay that you were mad. You had a lot to be mad about. Take it from an expert." He winced and gingerly rubbed his aching head. "What was the question again?"

"How do I talk to him?"

"Tell him about yourself. He's gonna think it's the coolest thing ever that you're fourteen, and you can give him some pointers on what you do and don't like and stuff you want to do."

Little Cato sparked to this suggestion. "Good idea. I wonder if that's how I got all those target shooting and martial arts lessons."

"Could be. Listen, I know you're anxious. I'm anxious myself."

"Hi, Anxious, I'm Spider Cat."

Gary groaned at walking face-first into a dad joke after he'd unleashed so many on his unsuspecting child. Little Cato, who had walked into all of them at some point or another, chuckled wickedly at his little triumph.

"Touché," ceded Gary. "You win this round, Monsieur le Pussycat, Jr. But seriously, you've got a great chance to just enjoy your dad. He's finally got time, and he'll need all our help. So, why not just . . . be with him?" He smiled faintly to himself, feeling heavy as sleep moved to reclaim him. "When I was little, my dad was away a lot, too. The best times were when we just hung out together."

"Yeah," agreed Little Cato, remembering rare and precious days like that. "Maybe we can drag him into a game of 'The day I met Octoprime Rex.'"

Gary chuckled at the mention of the very silly game they had devised one day when they were almost dead of boredom where each player described a ridiculous adventure involving themselves and the eight-sided enhanced T-Rex. "Or poker."

"We'll have to teach him how to play. Could be fun."

"Yeah, we – waitaminute." Timelines fell into place and the truth dawned. "If we teach him how to play poker now, he's going to know the game when he comes onboard the Galaxy 1 and – oh, that stinker! No wonder why he beat the pants off me! It wasn't beginner's luck; he already knew how to play!"

"Well, now's your chance for payback," Little Cato laughed and gave Gary's arm a gently squeeze. "Thanks, Dad."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Nightfall sipped from one of the mugs of steaming coffee she carried as she walked through the Crimson Light to Gary's cabin. Up until their adventures on Darga Space Port, Gary had shared this space with Clarence. After that little ratsnake had betrayed them, shot Fox, and stolen their dimensional keys, Gary was relatively alone in the room. Mooncake could usually be found here during downtime, and Chuckie often slept here since space was limited in the overcrowded ship, but Nightfall knew that Gary, her Gary, always slept better when someone was close by. How many times had she woken as he reached out just to touch her, to lay his hand on her arm or back, just to reassure himself that he was not alone? She treasured those moments, those touches, those memories.

"AVA, dim the corridor lights and open his door for me, please," she requested. Immediately half of the lights in the hall went out and the door slid soundlessly aside. The cabin – which Gary had purged of all things Clarence – was neat only in that its occupant owned nothing that could be classified as clutter. What few things he did own were scattered about in a style best described as early dorm. At least it was clean, since the ship was equipped with an automated cleaning system and AVA had no reservations about telling them to pick up after themselves. The only light in the room came from a small lamp set beneath Gary's bunk. His aching head could not abide anything brighter, and voices louder than a whisper were a no-no.

"Hi, Mooncake," she cooed to the little green alien as he soared up to greet her. "Want a sip?"

She offered up the second cup of coffee. It was sweeter than hers and she knew it was more to Mooncake's taste. Also, Gary didn't care who drank his coffee or whose coffee he drank, so long as some caffeine reached his system.

"Ooooh! Chookity!"

Mooncake took a quick sip and snuck in another before he snuggled close in thanks, then looked at her questioningly.

"Fox and Little Cato are almost done fixing HUE if you want to go supervise."

"Pok, pok, pok!"

He flipped in mid-air and zoomed off, chirping in excitement.

"Thanks," Gary said softly from the bunk. "He was getting antsy."

She reached over and handed him the coffee. "Careful. I just made it."

"Thanks." He wrapped his hands around it in appreciation of the heat, closing his eyes with a sigh.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, studying him. He had some vividly colorful bruising on his face, and his mouth and eye were badly swollen.

"Like I lost to a world-class wrestling champion."

She smiled. "Only you didn't lose."

In the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Medbay, Avocato had collapsed. Just like that, hit a switch and he was so out cold that Gary declared himself almost jealous. The only thing that kept the general from face-planting into the deck was the fact that he landed on Gary, who was in turned saved from face-planting by Little Cato. For a little while the younger Cato was in charge as AVA had alerted Nightfall. She had returned from the spaceport markets at a run, Fox and Ash at her heels. The medbay was a mess, Gary and Avocato even more so, and nobody really cared about what state Bodek was in, so long as he stayed unconscious long enough to dump back in his cell.

Avocato had re-broken his arm and leg and aggravated almost every other injury he possessed, landing him right back in the recovery pod from whence he came. Gary could have used a spell in the pod himself, save that Avocato needed it much more, and Nightfall informed him that the moment Avocato was out, Gary was in. For his efforts in defending his friend against a lizard twice his size, Gary had scored a major concussion, extensive cuts and bruises, whiplash, multiple sprains, a greenstick fracture in his right arm, and basically if he had one, it hurt. A lot. He was laid up in his bed, good for little else than sleeping and keeping quiet.

"How's Avocato?"

"Purring along nicely. AVA estimates he'll be able to leave the pod the day after tomorrow. Once he does, it's your turn."

"No argument. Bodek?"

"Looks like he got hit by a lawnmower. We gave him a layer of medgel and locked him up again, this time with a force screen over the doorway, not bars. He can't reach through."

"Where'd you get a force screen?"

"Fox bought an upgrade for AVA so she can produce them now. She thinks they're tasteless and the program is ten years old by her standards, so for her it's a downgrade."

"Wow. Snotty ships."

"I heard that," AVA said.

Gary chuckled, but stopped with a wince after just a few seconds. "I wish he'd just run off," he sighed. "I would have let him. We could have left him here and gone on our merry way and I wouldn't feel guilty."

"I hear ya. After what the general did to him, I think he's wishing he'd thought of that, too."

"Is HUE okay?"

"He'll be fine. Fox picked up a bunch of spare parts in the market this morning. His body is an old model, so anything the boys do to fix him will be an improvement. Bodek ripped off his legs and head, but HUE's data core wasn't damaged. He should be up and about later today." Nightfall savored her coffee. "We're staying planetside until you're back on your feet."

"Is that safe?"

"Safer than wandering around space trying to figure out what to do next. Besides, most humanoids heal better in natural gravity."

"We have to come up with a plan."

"Well, we've got one for now – get you and the general better, then figure things out. You focus on recovery. That's your only priority now."

"Yes, Mom."

"If that's the case, consider yourself grounded, Goodspeed. Stay in your room."

He smiled at her teasing, then brought up what was really nagging at him.

"Bodek called me by my name. He figured out who I am."

"The infamous Captain Goodspeed. I guess you built yourself quite a rep over the next ten years. Enough for the history books, at least. We just can't give him a chance to use what he knows."

"Question is, what does he know?"

"Don't worry. We'll figure this out."

He smiled, too tired to argue. "How's Little Cato?"

"I had a good talk with him. I don't think you need to worry. I think he's sort of . . . compartmentalized all these different versions of Avocato. So long as you're there as an anchor, I think he'll be okay."

"Thanks. He stopped by earlier and I got the same vibe off him. I just needed to hear it from someone who isn't concussed."

For a few minutes they just sat and drank their coffee, enjoying one another's presence. Nightfall described some of the more notable things and people she'd seen in the spaceport markets to keep him entertained for a while. Finally, Gary set the drink aside and settled into the pillows.

"Sleep?" she asked, rising.

He nodded, clearly in the throes of a headache. He had them almost constantly now. "All I'm good for."

Shaking her head, she helped pull the blankets over him more snugly. "I disagree. I'll check on you later."

"Thanks."

She knew that he'd sleep the day away. It was just as well. He needed it.

Coffee in hand once again, Nightfall went to take her turn guarding Avocato. She hadn't argued when Gary had first ordered a constant watch because she suspected he was just giving himself and Little Cato a good excuse to hang out in medbay. After this dust-up, she saw the sense of it. Avocato's presence was a danger to them all, but that didn't mean she'd let anything happen to him. Or Gary. Or Little Cato.

Ash looked up from where she was adding to her voodoo doll. "Hey."

"Hey. Any signs of life?" She gestured at Avocato's prone form.

"No. No signs of death, either," Ash added, sounding a little disappointed. She set the doll atop the pod's canopy. "How's Gary?"

"Sleeping. Again."

"Good. Call if you need anything. I'm going to go bother Fox. I'll see you later."

Nightfall nodded, her attention back on Avocato. She knew a good part of his history, though the young general before her was not yet responsible for the xenocides for which he was infamous. Soon, though. She wondered if they dared warn him off such actions. They already knew he trusted Little Cato enough to listen and believe something as outlandish as coming from the future. What course would history take if Avocato's one-man rebellion against the Lord Commander came a few years early? Odds were good Avocato would be killed outright, but what of the universe? Would things be better or would disaster follow? If she had her time machine still, they could find out. Then again, they wouldn't be here now if she still had it and Avocato would be dead.

So perhaps what was happening was what needed to happen . . .

If she thought about it much harder, she'd be joining Gary in his headache. The lack of Time Swap Sammie popping in to chew them out about messing with time was pretty telling. Drawing closer to the recovery pod, Nightfall leaned over to consider the Ventrexian. He was handsome enough by any standards in the same way Gary was cute by any, but looks weren't enough to sway her. He was smart, too, she knew, with an unparalleled genius for all things military and a ruthless capacity to carry out any order no matter how brutal.

Avocato was also, perhaps, the only being she hated more than the Lord Commander. The reason was simple and selfish: he was the only person capable of coming between her and Gary.

Hated him, and loved him, too.

It wasn't really his fault. If anyone, the fault lay with Gary and his desire to charm and be charming. He was too good at it. It was one of the things she loved most about him, but it set a dangerous precedent, because Gary also liked to be charmed. For whatever reason, Avocato and his moods turned Gary's crank. In all the universes where Gary had Avocato, he was closest to the Gary Goodspeed she had won . . . and lost. She hated that she loved him with Avocato. But where Gary had Avocato, Quinn had to share, a skill Nightfall had never really developed when it came to the love of her life.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's you and not Gary who pulls us together," she said softly. "He'd move heaven and hell for you. I've seen him do it. Look at him flying into a burning ship just to save your tail."

Though she wouldn't admit it out loud, in all fairness, Avocato would do as much or more for Gary. And it wasn't necessarily a romance she had to contend with. It was something she couldn't fight. Avocato and Gary had the bond known only to those who have shared a foxhole, who have faced life and death together, who stood by one another no matter the cost. They were devoted, dedicated, and having known them together, Nightfall could not imagine them apart.

Not that she hadn't tried . . .

Leaning over, she studied Avocato's profile as he slept, watched his chest rise and fall, and silently cursed and blessed him. Finally, she stood upright, her eyes narrowed.

"Hurt him and I end you, General. Promise."