Ch 8
Joan handed Harry $5000 for retrieving Bob and Malinara, and offered Anne $2000 more. The Sheriff let her accept it, then they left. Leaving the Sheriff's Office, Joan steered Bob towards the garage. Allison, Malinara and Tenya followed.
"Let's see if they got your truck done yet." Joan told him.
"They are making me a whole new truck?" Bob asked.
Joan explained, "No, we found the pieces, so they are rebuilding most of it. It was weird, I wasn't blown up like in a big explosion, more like it all the parts were suddenly taken part and scattered all over the place."
"That's strange," Bob noted.
Joan giggled. "Bob! Everything about your last trip had been really strange!"
Allison asked Tenya, "So what's your story?"
Tenya noted Allison seemed friendly. "I was caught by a wall falling down, Robert dug me out of the rubble. He had to dig deep to get me out with just the head of a shove, but he did it. I would have died if he hadn't."
"The right thing to do." Allison said with a nod of her head. "Your own people didn't come to rescue you?"
"Eventually, someone would," Tenya replied. "The thing is, without Robert and Malinara, I would have been by myself, and I really hated that idea. Plus, now I get to see Earth! I also left a note where we were going, so it's OK."
Bob turned to look at her. "Tenya, you know it's going to be close to three years before anyone can come get you."
"Right, so I get to spend some time here and learn things before I go back to school," Tenya replied with a bright smile.
"I don't think they're going to be happy with you," Bob said firmly.
"How was it where you were just at?" Joan asked.
"Wet, constant rain had started and we had to forage for food and had no way to even make any clothes," Tenya grumbled.
"It was miserable," Malinara added. "Our best sleeping arrangements was inside an artillery gun."
"Then you were right to come back with Bob and Mal," Joan stated.
Malinara huffed out in a tired voice, "His name is Robert."
"Our Bob," Allison said and giggled. Malinara stuck her tongue out at her.
Tenya grinned. She had an idea being here was going to be fun.
At the garage, the Terminator there showed them Bob's mostly completed truck. It was still missing a tail gate and they had a wiring harness on order to replace the one that had gotten ripped apart. Other than needing a paint job to cover a few welds, it didn't look that bad, since it had been in pieces.
"What are we using to transport stuff now?" Bob asked.
"Mom's letting us use the EV." Joan said. "That works OK, but it takes diesel fuel, so we have to fill it up at the station in town."
"Yeah, they love seeing that come in," Allison said with a grin.
"At least we have something to use." Bob noted.
"JJ's not happy, since we're buying diesel, we're not trading fish for alcohol." Allison told him. "The populations on the lake are really growing too. Plenty of food for everyone."
"You have fish?" Tenya asked.
"We do. After that bomb was dropped on us, that lake was pretty scarce. It's doing find now. Do you swim?" Allison asked.
"I do!" Tenya beamed. "Living by a lake sounds wonderful!"
"How many gators we got now?" Bob asked.
"Just the four," Joan told him. "They are getting bigger. Enel goes out and hunts with them."
"Enel is a gator-lover," Allison told Tenya. "You'll meet them."
Leaving the garage, they went to the back of the store where the EV-2 was parked at a dock. Tenya noted it had a cargo bed, but was on high tracks. "This is an RV?"
"Most of the time," Joan told her. "It's good for going just about any place." Joan hopped up on the dock and went inside briefly. She came back out an walked a track to the cab.
Bob frowned. "We only got 4 seats in that. I'll ride in the back."
"Can I?" Tenya asked. "I've never done that before."
Bob shrugged "It's OK by me."
"Then ride in the back with me!" Tenya beamed.
Joan and Allison eyed her, then Joan said, "Everybody in!"
Bob got in the back with Tenya. Instead of sitting down, she stood up in the back. Bob stood by her to make sure she didn't fall.
Inside, Joan drove out easy and asked, "Mal, what's up with Tenya?"
Malinara looked back then said, "She's stuck to Robert like glue. She's young, and a little scared I think since all the rest of her people where we were died, her parents included."
"So Tenya is female," Allison noted.
"She is a lizard-based female. A young lizard-based female." Joan noted, "So I don't think she had any sexual intentions with Bob. Most likely, she sees him as support."
"He has been her only support for a while." Malinara agreed. "And since he rescued her, I'm sure she sees him as her hero."
Joan frowned slightly. "Well, if it's going to take nearly three years for someone to come get her, we're going to have to support her until they do."
Tenya had never ridden standing up in anything. In any conveyance, she was always strapped in, inside for safety. This was fun! She had a great view, the breeze blowing over her and everything she pointed out and asked Robert about, he told her what it was. She had a nice ride up to a large building. Beyond it was a large lake. That also made Tenya smile. Outside, and going into a building, a woman in a powered chair paused and waved. She looked odd.
"Robert, who's that?" she asked.
Bob waved, "Hey Ellen!" He told her, "That's Ellen, she's a mermaid. Her kind live in the water. She had a house on the water over there. That chair lets her move on land so she can come into the hotel," he explained.
When Joan stopped, Ellen came over to them and held her arms up. Bob got down off the EV and hugged her. He helped Tenya down then explained to Ellen who she was. Ellen waved her webbed hand. Tenya waved back.
"I can't quite understand her," Tenya said.
"Mers have different vocal cords, designed more to speak under water," Bob explained. "Ellen speaks a mix of her own language and English. Once you get used to hearing her, I'm sure you'll pick up what she's saying. She just welcomed you here."
Tenya beamed Ellen a smile. Ellen smiled back. She understood that.
They all went inside. Joan said, "Tenya, I'll take you to your room then we'll down and get you some clothes, OK?"
"Yes, thank you!" Tenya got on the elevator with Joan. "There are many species here, isn't there?"
"Yes, there is. Possibly more here than anywhere else," Joan replied.
While Joan took care of Tenya and Allison went into the dining room with Ellen, Bob went into their room, got a shower and put some fresh clothes out to put n. Malinara came in with him.
"It's great to be home," she said with a sigh. She also washed his dick for him.
"Ah, Mal, you know Joan and Allison are both going to want some of that," he reminded her.
"They'll get it," she assured him as she soapy stroked him. "Most likely for a few days on end. We did it what, twice the whole time we were there?"
He could tell she was feeling a little needy. Being home and able to relax, he was too. He helped Malinara clean herself, outside and in. OK they screwed their brains out.
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Joan took Tenya down to the clothing store in the Jeep. Not that business as picking up again since money came back into the economy, they had more stuff for sale. Joan had Tenya looking at dresses her size when a call of "JOAN!" sounded out.
Joan looked over to see Karen hurrying over to her. Karen said in an excited voice, "Joan! Please tell me you and Allie are free enough to play football this next summer!"
Joan paused. "I don't know, we still have much work to do, but it's getting better."
"Coach Baker told me, we come back and we'll be getting a big sign on bonus. We got enough people working on the farm now so I can go. I really want you and Allie to join us."
Tenya asked, "What kind of work do you have to do, Joan?"
"We got gardens to take care of in town, and the hotel here. The cleaning up from the bomb is all pretty much done except for our house near the small lake. We haven't gotten to that yet."
"Let me help!" Tenya asked, "If I help, will you be able to go play football?"
"We should be back in time for harvest," Karen coaxed.
Joan pondered briefly, then said, "I have to talk to Allie and Bob first."
"OK, but let me know soon. Coach Baker really wants us back. And frankly, I could use the money."
Joan snorted, "With having to pay taxes now, we could use it too. I'll call you later about it."
"Great!"
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There was one thing Bob hadn't been counting on. Duncan and Connor assured him that being an immortal, he could not have children. He accepted it, since no one had gotten pregnant after Ellen did. One thing they hadn't thought about was the nanites Joan had been giving him. It wasn't much at first, but getting nanites from Joan and Allison over time, restored his ability to have kids. Maybe it was the length of time since he'd last had sex, but in their tryst on the crane before he came back, he'd fertilized Malinara. They would discover that soon.
With a load of new clothes in a new garment bag, Joan had gotten Tenya a few dresses, shirts, shorts, pants, skirts and socks, and two pairs of shoes. She then took Tenya down and got her a pair of boots. It was getting later in the day, so they headed back to the hotel.
"Tomorrow we can go up to my parents house and see if there's a spare mermaid tail for swimming too," Joan told her.
"Why a mermaid tail?" Tenya asked.
"So you can swim with us and the mers. It's a bunch of fun," Joan beamed.
Tenya grinned. "OK! I'd love to try that."
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Getting back to the hotel, Tenya put her new things in her room, then went down for dinner and got a nice surprise. They had fresh fish and a reddish brown meat that tasted really good! There was a whole gaggle at the table, including the four alligators who came in for a snack, as was Ellen and her son, Enel. Although the alligators had big teeth and were long reptiles, they didn't hurt anyone, only leaned up on people for some food. She met everyone here, and no one was anything but curious about her. Tenya began to wonder why this place had such a bad reputation with her people.
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Prince Graden searched for the fastest way to get to Earth and recover his niece before something happened to her. He found the ship factory that was putting in the 8 new Weaver engines that was gotten on the last trading trip. The trader that acquired them assured these engines worked well and could speed galactic travel to twice of what their current fastest ships could do. Earth already had four of these ships on line, and one had already proven long distance travel by logging in over 8000 light years in one trip. He'd have to wait three weeks for their first ship to be completed.
Talking with the emperor, Graden was approved to take this fast ship to Earth. After the delayed start, he was assured the trip would only take 1.2 years instead of 2.7 years.
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Talking about getting back to playing football in the LFL, Bob could see the light in Joan and Allison's eyes. That night they did have a great tumble together, and he assured them he could handle to work around here with Malinara and a few terminators.
In her own room, Tenya was loving the soft bed and the television. She knew Robert and his wives were close by so it didn't bother her sleeping alone now. She knew she was in a safe place. Finding a music channel, she listened to it and saw a big concert Bob, Joan and Allison was part of. It was great just to lay here and listen to music. Another thing she'd never done before. When she fell asleep watching it though, it did give her some odd dreams.
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The next day, Joan and Allison went to retrieve their football uniforms from their house in the small lake, taking Tenya with them.
Stopping by Joan's parents house, she was actually surprised to find all three of them home. Joan and Allie greeted her parents, then introduced them to Tenya. "Tenya's a Draco, from really far away in the galaxy." Joan told them.
Cameron said, "Hello Tenya. How did you get here?"
"Robert saved me and brought me back with him. So far I am really liking Earth," Tenya said with a smile.
"That's good," Delilah offered. "None of your people came to rescue you?"
Tenya sighed. "The only ones who came were officers of the law. They said we couldn't be on that planet, they couldn't take us off, nor could they allow any other ships to land and come get us." she explained.
"That's why Robert brought her back here when Anne was able to get him back. Tenya's still a child. She would have been there by herself not knowing if or when someone was coming for her." Allison explained.
"I did leave a note, so if anyone does come they will see it and know I'm here instead of there," Tenya added.
John asked, "Do we know anything about the Draco race?"
"Nothing," Cameron replied.
"Then be very careful with Tenya," he told Joan. "You don't want to do anything that might hurt her. Something that's normal to us, may damage her."
Tenya offered, "So far I haven't seen anything that could hurt me."
"You might not see, or realize something may be a threat to you," John explained. "Something as simple as a food we normally eat, may be damaging to you. Be careful, OK? You look similar to us physically on the outside, but there may be internal differences. I'm not trying to scare you, just be careful before to try something you're not familiar with."
"Dad, what could possibly hurt her?" Joan asked.
"Tenya, have you ever had ice cream?" John asked.
Tenya shook her head. "What's that?"
"It's a milk product. Being reptilian, I'm guessing, you've probably never had milk. Mammals, that's what we primarily are, are raised on milk," John explained. "Ice cream is a summer time treat for many, but since you never had any, you might have a bad reaction from ingesting it. It's sure fish , meat, vegetables, things like that should be all right for you, but something you've never had before, like milk or a milk product, or even nanites may be harmful to you."
"Nanites are used to heal," Joan said.
John nodded. "Us, yes, but as I said, they may be harmful to Tenya. You don't want to find out the hard way if something is harmful to her."
"John is right, Joan," Cameron said. "Tenya will be counting on you to watch out for her. I'll ask John Henry if he can provide us with any information on the Draco race."
"Thanks Mom."
Delilah spoke up. "By the way, Joan, Allison, I was at your house here the other day. The inside looks untouched, but you're going to need to work on the roof, new doors and windows too. A new paint job would also be a good idea. The good news is life is coming back into the lake here. Slowly, but the water's clear again and I've seen small fish in it and a turtle."
"Great!" Joan beamed. "Can we swim in it?"
"The PH is 6.9 when I last checked, that should be OK."
Tenya offered, "When we were on that planet, I was told to try just a bit of something new just to make sure it was OK to eat. If I got sick from it, don't eat it again. Robert and Malinara did that too."
"That is a good way if you have no other," John said. "I do think getting a DNA and enzyme profile on you would help more, that would tell you better what's safe to eat here and what isn't."
"John, I know the lab our Marine Biologists worked with. I can get a sample to them and see what they say," Cameron offered. To Tenya, she said, "I'll need a hair, saliva and blood sample from you to do that."
Tenya nodded, then said, "I don't have any hair."
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Delilah took Tenya down to the unused lab to get the samples while Joan and Allison went to inspect their house. Taking the girl out to Christine, Delilah had Tenya stand by the car before they got in. "Christine, this is Tenya, she's from another place. She will be under our care for a while."
Only then did the open the passenger side door and let Tenya in. When Delilah got in and started the car, Tenya asked, "Why did you introduce me to the car?"
Delilah grinned and said, "So she'd let you in. Christine doesn't like anyone but family riding in her."
Tenya looked at the dashboard and controls. "This has to be the most ancient vehicle I've ever seen. It has AI?"
"No, Christine is alive, dear." Delilah explained.
As Delilah started up the driveway the radio came on by itself.
Lean on me, when you're not strong.
I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on.
For, it might not be long, til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on..
"Christine does that," Delilah said with a grin. "That's her way of welcoming you."
Tenya didn't quite understand how such an old mechanical vehicle could possibly have any sort of intelligence. Still, this was Earth, things were different here. It was something she'd have to accept.
The Marine Biologists house was lit only by sunlight coming in the windows. Delilah did find the sample kit and got a saliva sample. Tenya winced at the needle to get a blood sample, but bore it without a sound. Once Delilah packaged those samples along with a note to the researchers, she got a small skin scraping to add, then boxed the samples up with ice to mail them.
Driving down to the post office, Delilah had the package send overnight delivery to the marine research center in Florida.
For how old this vehicle was, Tenya noticed it rode nice and quiet. She watched the town as they went through. "Delilah, what are those stone markers in the yards?"
"That's where people are buried. So many died so fast after that bomb hit, that was the best we could do for them."
"People did die from that nuclear explosion," Tenya said.
"Many did. Every normal human who lived here." Delilah told her. "The only ones who survived were immortals, terminators and some semi-humans like Malinara, Anne and Kaede who were able to resist the radiation."
"I was told when that bomb hit, no one here died."
"That's wrong. Where did you hear that from?"
"My Mother. Then again, I'm finding out Mother was wrong about a few things. Like it was very dangerous to come here, but everyone here has been nothing by nice to me," Tenya said.
Delilah snorted. "I'm surprised living so far away, you know anything at all about us."
"I think what I heard at home was mostly rumors and exaggerations."
"I think you're right. Still, it's surprising you even heard of us here. Do you know where these rumors came from?" Delilah asked.
"Traders. Mom led a group that traded with different planets. Earth is one they traded with.
Delilah tipped her head slightly. "I take it your Mother isn't alive now?"
Tenya shook her head. "No, Malinara killed everyone else. I lived only because a wall fell on me and Robert dug me out and saved me."
"Why did Malinara do that?" Delilah asked, listening closely now.
Tenya winced. "One Draco went to see Robert and shot him. Malinara thought he killed Robert and she went insane and wiped everyone out."
Delilah nodded. "I can see that happening." Seeing Tenya was watching the floor, she said, "Tenya, that is what we do. If there is a threat to us, we get rid of that threat. The ones who dropped that bomb on us, we tracked down everyone in that organization and got rid of them. We made sure it wasn't going to happen again. Malinara did what she knew to do when faced with a threat. We did the same with those one who shot Joan and kidnapped and tortured Allison. While most people who live here are good, decent people, there are those who for greed or hate, cause trouble. We don't run from trouble, but face it and get rid of it. It may seem harsh to you, but we found it keeps others who want to cause trouble away from us."
"You have those who don't follow the law." Tenya concluded.
"Yes, and those who will do anything to get what they want, regardless of who it hurts. It's something we must deal with from time to time."
"I am sorry your live is like that," Tenya offered.
Delilah offered her a smile. "We are too. We like being friendly and helpful. Sometimes, we just can't be."
"Because humans can be so unpredictable," Tenya said with a nod.
"We've found it's not just humans," Delilah told her. "We have another race here that's from another world, the Atlantians. My brother JJ lives with many up on his farm. They are peaceful to the point of self harm. They hate any violence at all. Other Atlantians are cruel and selfish. So far, we've been able to keep those types away. Going to their planet, we think there's an environmental factor that makes the violent ones like that. We've yet to discover what that factor is."
Tenya took on a thoughtful look. "Do you think maybe there is an environmental factor here on Earth that makes some humans mean?"
Delilah chuckled. "Oh, how I wish that were true! Then we could end all kinds of difficulties. As far as I know, it has more to do with how humans grow up and who their role models are. Angry or violent parents usually have angry or violent kids. Unfortunately, politics seems to help that along."
"That's the bare truth of it," John agreed.
In a mussing tone, Cameron said, "I think they go into politics because no one else will hire them."
That caused a round of laughter. Tenya smiled, and thought that sad that their leaders were such people.
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After their visit to their parent's house, Joan drove them down to their house on the small lake. Going though the house caused some sadness. Everyone's rooms that were gone now were just like they left them just before the bomb dropped. Allison paused at Hanna's room, then decide she didn't want to see any others except her, Bob and Joan's old room. Mostly some clothes and checked the old mermaid tails to see I one fit Tenya. They were all too big.
They did get a few things out of their old room before they left. Joan also drove back the other way instead of going past Ruce and Jo's house, or Allison's parents house. She could see Allison was looking sad already.
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While the girls were out on their trip, Bob drove up to JJ's farm to see Mr. Nader. School was in session, Mr. Nader had the Atlantian kids in class, so he just poked his head in to ask Mr. Nader if he could teach Tenya also. Mr. Nader assured him that he's come up to the hotel to meet Tenya and find out what she needed for education while she was here.
JJ still had a few bottles of grape juice for sale, so Bob bought a couple before they went home. At the hotel, they didn't have any left.
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Dinner time at the hotel was again, everyone that lived there Tenya had met. There was a new addition to the fare. The purple juice many people had, Tenya wanted a taste of. Following the 'sample before indulging' John Connor had suggested, Allison let her have a small amount in a glass.
Trying a mouthful, Tenya found this tasted very different and it was good. Still, for the rest of the meal, she drank water. She did as she was cautioned and waited to see if she had any bad reaction to the grape juice. During and after dinner, she didn't feel any ill effects. Once dinner was done, she helped clean up and felt nothing bad from the grape juice.
They had a visitor not long afterwards. A big sturdy looking man came looking for her. Bob explained this was the teacher in town. The man acted a little stiff, but sat and talked to her about what she knew so she could continue her education here. They discussed math, science, how much English she knew and general information about the bodies in the galaxy. Tenya was curious about Earth history, so Mr. Nader assured her he would add that to her studies. Liking the taste and having no ill effects, Tenya had a small glass of grape juice as they talked.
It was getting on bed time by the time Mr. Nader had the information of how far along Tenya was, knowledge wise. She said goodbye to him when he left, then headed up for her room.
She was also feeling warm. Going up to her room, she began to think about Robert. He was her hero. Yes, he as mostly human, but she liked him. When he'd held her on his lap in that crude bath, and when she'd had a nightmare, he comforted her by letting her sleep with him. She really liked that. She wanted to do it again, just to be there with him. Going into her room, she pondered on the idea, and began to wish he'd come lay down with her so she could cuddle up to him again. She also began to wonder how humans mated. In bed, she dreamed about being compatible enough to copulate with Robert.
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