Crash

Chapter 7

Epilogue

It is two years later.

Kate was pregnant with their second child and couldn't be happier.

Alexis was now almost seven years old, attended school, and ate the weird food, sometimes with gusto.

Rick was still helping to build things. His latest assignment was helping to build an apartment complex, a three-story apartment building.

Their apartment where they lived was finished, though they would soon need a larger one, thanks to Kate's pregnancy.

It may seem like a wild difference from what they were doing on Earth, but circumstances here and on Earth dictated what they did. His original job was in construction, so he was doing what he planned to do here. While on Earth, that job wasn't for him, so he chose to write.

Kate was a teacher, so she was doing what she intended to do. She didn't need to teach on Earth, so she was a cop. Kate went through the Academy and became an officer. But she decided to quit that job to spend time with Alexis, and home-schooling was a product of her original choice of work.

Alexis was taught their language and easily adapted to speaking it instead of English. So Kate was right in teaching it to her.

Rick came through the door, glad to be home. Kate looked over and smiled at him. "Hi, babe. How was work?"

"Same old, same old. Nothing new happened, which is good since that means there were no accidents," Rick said. He ran his hand over her expanded belly. "How are you and the baby?"

"I'm fine, and so is the baby. I went to the doctor today just to make sure. I had the day off work, so it was a good time." Kate rested her hand on her belly and felt the baby move.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." Rick kissed her, and she kissed him back. "Where's Alexis?" He didn't see her.

"She's in her room doing homework, so leave her alone."

"Yes, Ma'am! So what's for dinner?" She wasn't in the kitchen cooking, nor did it look like she intended to cook anything.

"I thought we would go to that new restaurant, give it a try." Kate waited to see what he thought.

"That suits me just fine. Did you make a reservation, or are we waiting for a table?"

Kate glared daggers at him. "Of course, I made a reservation." As if she would put up with waiting for a table! They might still need to wait for a table, but the wait should be less.

Rick held up his hands and tried to defend himself. "Just asking, Kate. That's all." Her mood swings could be tough to take sometimes.

Alexis emerged from her room and got hugged by her father. "Hi, Daddy." She hugged him back.

"How old are you, sweet pea?"

She looked at him like he should know that. "Almost seven, Daddy."

"I'm just checking. Are you ready to go to dinner? Your mother has made reservations at a restaurant." Rick watched a smile light up her face.

"I'm ready," Alexis confirmed.

"We need to wait for a bit. I didn't know when your daddy would be home, and he still needs to shower." Kate wrinkled her nose. "He's pretty stinky."

Alexis piled it on. "You're really, really stinky, Daddy."

"Okay, okay, I'll go take a shower." He looked at Kate. "Do I get only two minutes?"

"You can take up to five minutes. We have enough water in the catchment system."

"Then I'll be right back." Rick gave Kate another kiss and kissed Alexis on the top of her head."

~oo0oo~

They were seated at the restaurant, and they had menus in hand, trying to make a decision.

"There's a lot to choose from." Rick was amazed that there could be that much. He was so out of touch with how food was made here. How big the fields were, how big the farms that grew the animals meant for slaughter were.

"I noticed. These people must be getting good at farming," Kate suggested. "Have you made a choice?" She directed her question to Alexis, who just nodded. "That's more than I have," Kate said. However, when their waitress returned, she told her what she'd have, as did Rick. It was just a waiting game now.

The waitress appeared with something for Alexis to do to keep her busy. Kate smiled at her. "Thank you."

~oo0oo~

They were in bed but not yet making love to each other. "Do you miss Earth?" Kate asked as she played with his hair.

Rick thought about that. "A little. What I don't miss is all the pollution. It was everywhere. All the trash littering the streets. The air pollution. The noise. And don't get me started on Gina."

Kate raised up on her elbow. "That bitch deserves her own place in hell! I do miss all the food options. No matter the price, thanks to Lucile. Speaking of Lucile, have you heard anything about her?"

He shook his head. "No, nothing. She's probably doing a job on a ship somewhere."

"Yeah, probably." Kate sighed. "I miss her, though. Even if we don't need her for anything, it would be nice to have her."

"I can ask about her if you like?" Rick looked at her, waiting for a reply.

Kate's face lit up, and she kissed him for that. "Yes, please. Even if it's only to tell us which ship she's on. I would like to know that she's okay."

~oo0oo~

By morning, Kate forgot about Lucile and went to school and taught. Alexis was one of her students. Then the day came – her water broke, and she was about to give birth. Thankfully, she was at home with Rick and Alexis at the time.

She went to the hospital, was given a room, and told to wait. "Hello, Kate," a voice said. Kate thought she knew that voice. "Lucile, is that you?"

"Yes, it is. I was assigned to this hospital," Lucile responded.

"LUCILE! It's wonderful to hear you." Kate began asking questions. "How are you? Where have you been?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I wasn't assigned to any ship afterward and ended up here. I run the systems here. I like it. It gives me something to do," Lucile said.

"It's so good to hear you. I… AHHH!" Kate gritted her teeth and cried out during her latest contraction.

"I will alert the doctor," Lucile told her, and almost instantly, a nurse appeared.

Eventually, Rick showed up, having left Alexis with a neighbor. He was just in time to be there for the birth of his little girl.

"Hi, Lily, I'm your mother." Kate cuddled the tiny baby in her arms. "She's beautiful, babe. And she has hair!"

Rick tried to save himself. "Yes, she's just as lovely as her mother."

"Nice try, Rick. But this is the last child I'll ever have. You're not getting me pregnant again."

"Yes, dear," Rick said though he knew better.

Three years later they had identical twin sons...who didn't have hair.