The red cat woman who’s name appeared to be Penance had to be sedated yet again by guards. It was reported by Elliot that the radiation levels associated with the girl seemed to rise in parallel symbiosis with her state of agitation.
Union nurse Mera Harperr was doing the best she could to keep the girl calm; but it was necessary to subdue her to keep her from hurting herself or others. Mera regretted that it was necessary – but sometimes in her work, which seemed more and more depressing lately, it was the sort of thing she had to do.
When Bliss asked Mera how repairs were going on the elevator, Mera remembered that Asche Drachhenn had asked her to get a new belt for it at the market... Shad Grey and his sister Mara both consulted with Mera telling her not to worry. Mara had contacts in the black market; she would ask around and see what she could come up with. Bliss asked what size belt she needed for the elevator; but said she’d keep her eye out for anything that came her way and Mera confirmed that Asche had said it needed to be a belt with a two foot diameter, and a width of 4 inches.
Mara said that she needed to get back to the orphanage so she left them to their work. Shad told Mera he’d do what he could on the belt and come back as soon as he found anything. As he was leaving, Garth Lowinn was asleep at his guardsman’s desk and appeared to be dreaming. In his sleep, he murmured something. Both Mera and Shad focused their attention on him and heard, "Huh? Hmm? But I don't want to be all powerful and rule the world... I just want to...to...dance, mom..."
Mera giggled and hid it behind her hand while Shad quirked a thumb at Garth, winked at Mera and said, "Sleeping Beauty." Then made his way out of the hospital. Mera decided to mess with Garth’s head a bit and leaned down to hum softly into his ear a few bars of a waltz.
"See, mom, ballroom dancing is great!"
Mera chuckled softly and returned to her work when a man she didn’t know slowly made his way through the doors into the hallway. Behind him on the ground a small collection of metalic items trailing his every step. Mera watched him as she lay her datapad on the desk. His boots were in his hands and several of the metallic seemed to stick to his bare feet. Wiping his hand across his nose, he looked around. As his hand passed his face, his hair began to stand on end lowering itself down against his head as his hand was lowered again.
With the clattering noise of the metal trailing on the floor, he made his way towards the cafeteria.
Mera couldn’t help it. "What *is* that?" She asked him, meaning the clinking and tinkering noise. He stopped unsure, looking as if he thought she thought he was doing something wrong by going into the cafeteria. She greeted him with a pleasant hello and a warm smile. He shyly forced a smile to his lips. Its depths didn’t reaching his eyes. She could see it. Well, he wasn’t the first to build walls to protect the self deep inside. "Can I help you with something?" Mera asked him.
Standing there, he seems a bit lost and slowly nods..looking down to his feet, where a collection of small metallic items has formed a short trail behind him: She looked down again at the gathering at his feet as he began to stutter an answer. "I.. I... ggggot hit bby... L... L..." He closed his eyes trying to force the last word out but without success. "L… l… l…"
"Lightening?" She supplied, bending down to get a better look at the trail of things. She couldn’t help but smile, amused by the sight. This wasn’t something one saw everyday, even at NRMH! "Are you all right?"
Slowly he nodded, then, changing his mind, shook his head. "M....m....my...n… nnose... bleeds… n... nnnow… and… th. then."
Mera nodded. "Well...if you are hungry, there is stew in the cafeteria...and some fresh water." She said she’d have a doctor look at him if he liked. Maybe there was something they could do about the nosebleeds. He nodded in turn and moved to go to the cafeteria, the trail of metalic items followed his every step.
A soft chuckle left Mera’s lips. "The poor guy." :
Busy snoring and dreaming of dancing, Garth suddenly snored a bit too loudly, and jerked himself awake. "Huh? What?" He rubbed his eyes trying to wake up and Mera just started laughing.
==
Lex Berikk was spending his day in the marketplace.. picking up junk to convert into any useable technology he could. He turned to his Syrynykk companion and said, "I think we've wasted enough time here, Chukka.. let's go by the Hospital.. "
Chukka nodded his scaly head and said with something of an exaggerated hiss to his lizard’s voice, "Yessss, Shann'dakk." In the midst of haggling, arguing and other noise, the huumunn and the Syrynyk made their way calmly, companionably down the street toward Memorial.
Bliss Lovejoy’s adopted son Daimonn blinked awake with a slow yawn in his room, letting his young eyes focus. Downstairs his mother leaned back in her chair relaxing. "Mr. Camera guy?" he said, rubbing the sleep from his tired eyes and looking up toward Elliot's camera.
Elliot’s red light that indicated the camera was on was something like a steadily glowing eye. Daimonn found it comforting. "Where's my momma?"
"Bliss Lovejoy is in the hospital lobby," Elliot’s singsong voice told the boy. "Would you like me to relay a message?"
"Oh." He said, laying back down. "I just wanted ta tell her I was done sleeping... I'm hungry..."
In the lobby, Elliot said, "Bliss Lovejoy, Daimonn Lovejoy has woken up."
Bliss looked up and said, "Does he want me for something Elliot?"
"He wishes something to eat and that you be told he was awake."
She pulled herself to her feet, slowly. "Tell him please, that I'll be right up to get him." Elliot relayed the message to the child and Bliss began her trek up the stairs. It was a long haul, but she was excited about her adopted children and made it in record time. She popped her head into the room. "Someone in here hungry?"
Daimonn scooted up to sit, a big smile on his face. "I am!"
"Well, then lets go down stairs and get something to eat."
"Can I? Really? I can go out?" Dai was all excited.
Bliss grabbed his robe and handed it to him. "Shrug into this and I'll get Keag." Dai scooted off his bed and ran to his robe, tryin ghard to get it on. When Bliss turned to the other boy, Keaghann was already standing there with his robe on.
"I’m ready!"
Seeing that Daimonn was having trouble with his robe, Bliss turned back to him and assisted him with it. She spoke as she helped him wriggle his little arms into the sleeves. "We have to take the stairs tonight. If you get tired Dai, you tell me and I'll give you a ride down the stairs.okay?"
"Hurry up," Keag said moving around them while waiting for his mother to get his brother into the robe. "hurry!"
"Sure," Dai said. "I will I promise!" Success with the robe was finally had and Dai tried to pull Bliss into the hall. Closing the room door behind them, Bliss laughed and headed to the stairs with the pair. "Why can't we take the box thing?" Dai asked as they went.
"Elevator is broken." They moved down the stairs slowly so that Daimonn could keep up. He was smiling and very excited doing his utmost to keep the pace. Bliss ruffled his hair and said to her other son, "Don't get too far ahead Keag."
"No Ma'am," the boy said, proceeding to rush down the stairs as fast as his little legs would carry him.
By this time, Mera was finished with her shift and was making her way up the stairs. She smiled as Keag shot by her. "I think Dai has the right idea," she said to Bliss as they passed? " Which is…?" Bliss said.
"Life doesn’t wait," Mera winked and watched Bliss grab armfuls of Keaghann so he wouldn’t bowl Mera over. Daimonn came down a few steps behind, just tring to keep up with his brother.
"Boys, boys," Bliss said, rolling her eyes to Mera’s laughter and following them down the stairs. "No need to hurry, there’s plenty of food!" Keag wriggled away and Bliss turned to assist Daimonn who grabbed her hand and tugged.
"Hurry up!" He said and she said that she was hurrying! They laughed the whole way down the steps. As they reached the lobby, Daimonn whirled around looking for Keaghann. "Keag!" He shouted.
The other boy peeked out from behind the stairwell door. "What kept ya?" He grinned and Daimonn rolled his eyes.
"Momma did," he said, perturbed. "She’s so slow!"
"I am not," Bliss told him. "Now walk, and I do mean walk to the cafeteria."
"Dis way Dai," Keag said and trotted off through the lobby for the Café. Daimonn tugged free of Bliss and grabbed for Keag’s hand to head to the eatery.
Bliss trailed along behind and to the big bad, ex-Freeman who was working as a hospital guard, "Nice to see you are awake, Garth." Lowinn nodded to her and muttered to himself about needing more sleep, then went about his business, binding his silver hair back in a rubber band.
Daimonn was saying to Keag quietly as they approached the cafeteria, "I can't believe I finally get to come out of the room..."
"But we have to be good or we won't be able to come come down here," his brother reminded him.
Daimonn nodded. "I'm jus' hungry... what they got here to eat good?"
"Lots…"
Daimonn grinned and rushed into the cafeteria, "Let's eat then!"
==
Josef Jansenn was sitting quietly in the cafeteria contemplating his own confusing life, when a man, by the name of Luca Styx entered. Jansenn watched as the man stopped in the doorway and cautiously glanced into the room. His hand wiped over his nose again and his hair stood from his head to tickle his hand in a static fashion. He moved toward the counter that held the food and water. Luca stopped in front of the counter and reached across to get a cup for water when a spoon leaped off the surface of the counter and stuck to his arm. He jerked his arm back and made a few other utensils drop to the floor with a clattering noise.
"Excuse me," Jansenn said. He rose and moved over to where the strangely magnetized man was who turned to stare at Jansenn. "You seem to have built up a static electric charge," Jansenn said to the man’s bemusement.
"A..c....cc....charge..?"
Jansenn nodded, smiling kindly. "A static electric charge, yes. Do you work around electricity?"
Luca shook his head, as he glanced back towards the water pitcher, then back to Jansenn "N-n-no. L-l-lightning.." he forced the words out.
Jansenn nodded again and said gruffly, but still kindly. "When you’re finished eating, come see me, I think I have a way to help you out with that."
Luca stared until Jansenn returned to his own seat. He once again reached for the cup, this time he able to retrieve it. He filled the cup with water and peeked over the rim of the cup at doctor. Setting the cup on a nearby table, he turned to the pot on the heating plate and curiously stepped closer to it. Lifting the lid, he glanced inside at the stew, then placed the lid next to the heating plate. Suddenly a bluish-white flame made contact with his hand. With a scream he jerked back violently and the lid clattered to the ground.
Jansenn looked at Luca and announced, "Never mind dinner we need to break that field as soon as possible."
Luca stumbled into the table behind him. When he came to a stop, he was shaking. "N-n..." He extended his hand at Jansenn in defense.
"It's OK. It’ll be OK. It won’t hurt you; but, we can't have you releasing static shocks like this."
"N...No!" Luca’s tone was clearly determined now.
"Please," Jansenn said, his bedside manner perhaps the best it’d ever been. "Come this way. Come with me. I won’t hurt you."
"N.... N..." Luca shook his head violently. "N-no… elect... elect... electricity."
"No, I won’t make you more electric. I promise. This is a field that should drain the electrical charge from you by using powerful magnets. If it works it will drain and weaken the charge on you. If it doesn’t, you’ll be no worse off then you are now."
Critically, Luca eyed Jansenn, then nodded slowly. After all, what did he have to lose?
"Please. Come with me," Jansenn motioned in the direction of the hallway and the elevators beyond. With shaky legs, Luca moved towards the direction the doctor indicated. Jansenn stayed a few feet away from Luca to avoid any more buildup of static and guided the man out of the cafeteria.
==
In the lobby, Garth Lowinn glanced over to see a woman he knew named Jena. It was the first time in a few nights that he’d seen her sitting there in the NRMH lobby. "Why did you let me fall asleep?" he barked at her.
"You looked like you needed it," she told him with hardly a defensive tone in her body.
He snorted. "Do I ever." Garth grabbed up his now trademark clipboard, and made a few notations on it. "Blue Team really screwed up a few nights ago, having their alarm turned off."
"I heard about that...what did you do to them?"
Garth shrugged. "Gave them double duty, and Red Team double time off...not much you can do."
"No I guess not... but you did know that Elliott is messed up, right? That’s why they didn't hear."
"Messed up?" Garth raised a brow.
"Yeah," Jena told him. "Went a bit haywire... the elevators are messed up, he's reporting info all wrong..."
"Huh." Was all he had to say at first. Then after a few moments thought, he went on, "Well, guess I can't punish my men for mechanical failures now can I?" He hefted the clipboard more comfortably again, and set to working out the duty roster once more.
"No, you can't." The girl agreed quietly. "Just not right," she smiled warmly, her green eyes lit up, but her superior never noticed. Before she could think about it, or maybe she’d thought about it for far too long, the young woman said, "Garth, I’m … I’m in love with you."
At that, he stopped his writing, and turned to look at her. "Excuse me?" He said it as if he hadn’t even heard her. In the containment room, Elliot had checked the radiation levels and had let Penny out. Garth was far too stunned by what he was hardly certain he’d heard to even notice that Penance had found her way to the desk once more and had hidden herself under it.
"I… I never knew how to say it," she told him and looked away. "I'm sorry," her voice indicated that she was on the verge of tears.
Garth just sat there, his mouth open, staring at the back of her head.
"I need some air," she stood and took off toward the ambulance bays. Garth watched her leave, then when she was gone, he shook his head, clueless of what do to and looked around the lobby.
"Anyone mind telling me what just happened here?" He said it to no one in particular, because no one was really there. And like a typical, clueless grunt rather than a man who’d been in charge of Special Operations missions one after the other, he blinked a few times. Then he stood and made his way over to the cafeteria doors, hesitating a moment before entering, half-dazed.
Without seeing any of those in the cafe, he made for the coffee pot, poured a cup and sipped it while staring totally forward. His Super Soldier thought processes were apparently still trying to catch up with something that the minds of ordinary mortals dealt with every day.
==
A figure entered the cafeteria, wearing a desert burnoose. The headgear covering his face was augmented with a pair of old riding goggles. Buckled boots adorned Asher's feet, and leather gloves his hands. The young man paused after walking in to remove his hood and hat, as well as his goggles. His hair was dark, and so were his eyes. He looked at several of the tables, seeing that they were barely occupied. He settled onto a seat and then looks up at a child running by.
Bliss ushered the boys to a table, past the curious eyes of Asher. "Sit down and I'll get you both some food." She went to the serving line to get them some dinner. Young though she was, she went heavy on any greens they had. Her charges were growing boys and she’d see to it they were well taken care of. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the man who had the utensil "attack" his arm and watched him while she got the boys food. She noted too that Jansenn had his eye on the man and when the pot lid crashed and the man screamed, she let Jansenn handle things.
Daimonn watched Bliss, practically wiggling out of his chair as she got them water and food. When she brought the bowls of food to the table, she set them down in front of the boys.
"There you go. Remember to chew." She smiled and put the water down beside their bowls.
"Thank you," Dai said, sitting up properly while Keaghann dug in like a little kid should dig in. He nodded and scarfed up his food quickly. Bliss couldn’t help chuckling, then settled into a chair with a cup of coffee. Private Alexia of the Legion of Freemen entered. Bliss waved to her and Alexia, got herself a cup of coffee, gulped down a swallow or two and found a chair before she waved back. The children continued to gobble up their food as if they’d never been fed before. Alexia smiled at them, indulgently.
Asher continued to look at the children and heard Daimonn ask for more as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. The woman told him to use his napkin; but that, of course, he could have more. The other boy laughed at Dai, around his food, and the first, very carefully wiped his sleeve off with his napkin. Then he apologized to his Mother who smiled lovingly, gathered up his bowl and went back to the food line.
As she filled his bowl a second time, Asher got up and intended to walk over to them, but waited until Bliss had returned to her children before going to stand politely by her chair, so that she would see him and acknowledge him. He heard her admonish the boys to eat slowly; heard Keaghann ask Dai if it was good and heard Dai say it was. Not only that, Daimonn thanked his mother for the food.
Finally, Bliss looked up at him and said, "Can I help you?"
"It's, um... amazing, that children can survive in such a world."
Keag cranked his head around to see who Bliss was talking to. Daimonn, eating more slowly, looked at Bliss as well and watched the man. Under the table, he elbowed his brother covertly.
Bliss smiled, proud. "Well, we managed it," She told Asher. "So will they with a little help."
"I apologize for my rudeness, of course, I just, ah, saw that you had two children here, maybe your own, and it just made me think about how the world has made children, um, adapt. But that... managing... It takes extra effort. Quite remarkable."
"Well, these two have adapted to the food here."
Asher nodded with a smile. "Depending on the child, that can be the hardest adaptation." He knew the boys were watching him closely as they ate.
When Daimonn finished, he whispered to Keagahnn. "What is there ta do here, Keag?"
Keag downed the rest of his water. "Uhm, bug people," he answered, grinning impishly.
Daimonn began to smile, incredulous. "And we won't get inta trouble?"
"Stay out of trouble," Bliss said to them, with that mother’s insight. "You can look around but don't leave my line of sight."
"Okay.." Keag said and Daimonn said, "Okay, momma." He slid out of his seat and waited for Keag before pointing to the cafe doors as if to say, "there okay?"
Keaghann hopped off his stool and said softly, "Just don't try to go outside, Mom'll freak."
"I don't wanna go outside." He frowned. "There's nothin' but dead stuff out there." Keaghann grabbed his hand and started showing him around the cafeteria. Keag shyly wiggled his fingers at Alexia as they passed her and Dai asked him who she was. She waved to them both and Keag informed his brother that their mom talked to her sometimes and that her name was ‘Lexia. The Freemen Private tried not to laugh as she winked at the two boys and Dai stuck close to Keag looking quickly away from Alexia.
"But raising a family is difficult in any age, perhaps, requiring a safe location. Did you hole up in a small community? Or have you lived in the city?"
Bliss looked back at Asher. "Keaghann is from the city. I don't know where Daimonn came from. I just sort of found them."
"Oh? Found them. Even more amazing that they lived so long."
"Hmmm.’ She nodded. "Keaghann was a mess when I found him. Daimonn nearly died of an illness, but as you can see the hospital has worked wonders on them."
Asher nodded, "Yes, I've heard of the miracles that this place works. I wonder how they made it. Do they seem... unaffected by it? Normal?"
"Depends on your idea of normal," Bliss countered. "They are playful little boys, but also terrified that I'll leave them." Keag meanwhile was showing Dai where the yummies like apples were kept in the kitchen.
Bliss and Asher talked quietly. She invited him to sit down and they discussed what was "normal" in these troubled times. She told him what her hopes for the boys’ future were while Dai questioned his brother in the kitchen. "And we can have anything we want?" He said looking at the fruit.
Keag handed Dai an apple. "Yes."
Dai took it and grinned. "I like this place..." His brother nod-nodded and bit into his own apple. Then they came fruit to face with Penance, the strange cat-girl some suspected was Nuclear Messiah Church created.
"What is that?" Dai asked Keag in hushed tones, pointing to Penny. "She looks funny..."
Keag blinked. "Don't know, never seen her before."
The red cat-girl dropped into a crouch under the table, only mostly seeing peoples' legs from her vantage. Keaghann hunched down a bit to get a better look at her and her blue eyes went from foot watching to locking gazes with the boy. Daimonn bent down to look with Keag, holding tightly onto his arm.
"What do you suppose she's doing down there?" Keag whispered.
"I'm still tryin' to figger out what she is..." Dai said, fear tickling the back of his throat.
"Well, she ain't a lizard..so she's gotta be a huumunn…"
"Yeah... she don't look like any of the lizards that lived with us..." At this point, Penny lowered further into her crouch as the boys continued to stare at her and whisper in words she didn’t understand. Then Keaghann wiggled his fingers at her and she trembled. Her body seemed to gather and she began to look… dangerous.
"Whut's she doin'?" Dai asked, squeezing Keag’s arm.
Keag narrowed his pale eyes. "Don' know but I think we should move away." There was no argument from Dai and the girl pulled back her lips in a silent hiss until they backed away some; whereupon, she visibly calmed.
"I think she is afraid of us," Keag said with some surprise. Dai said he was afraid of her too and backed up. "Let’s go back to Momma," Keag suggested and the two of them hurried to Bliss wrapping their arms around her from both sides.
"It is quite harsh," Bliss was telling Asher. "Hopefully they've seen enough of that harshness for a while. They are slowly starting to gain a little trust, I don't want to see that damaged." She smiled, ruffled their hair and said, "Something up?" Daimonn pointed to Penny who was watching all of them from her low crouch under the table. Bliss wrapped her arms around Dai and said, "Red," Meaning Penny, "is scared of people, just stay clear of her okay?"
Keag snuggled closer. "Okay Momma."
"I will, momma." Dai said. He decided he was staying right there with Mom and kept an eye on "Red’s" face. She looked confused while she in turn watched them. Keaghann instead was watching Asher.
Bliss rubbed her hands over the boys backs. "Be calm little ones, I won't let anyone hurt you."
"Where's her momma?" Dai looked up at Bliss questioningly.
"I don't know Darlin. She just wandered in here one day."
"Perhaps I should introduce myself, after simply appearing and talking to you," Asher said. Bliss nodded while soothing her boys. Penny edged out from under the table, intrigued by the closeness of Bliss and the children. Dai was calmer now and Keag had squirmed up into Bliss’ lap. "My name is Asher, of Aureniss. I doubt you've heard of the community from which I took my name. Very small group of people, gone now, out to the west of New Rydynn."
"Nice to meet you Asher, I'm Bliss Lovejoy, this blonde fellow is Keaghann and the other is Daimonn." The boys greeted him. Dai climbed up onto her other leg while she introduced herself in turn.
"It's nice to meet you, Bliss, Keaghann, Daimonn. Bliss Lovejoy... I myst say that's a cheery name."
"It's a family thing. Cheery first names to go with the last one."
"And Lovejoy set you up for something like Bliss?"
She nodded. "Yes, and my mother was named Harmony..my grandfather Hopewell."
Penny was edging closer every minute, watching the boys climb into her lap the same way she had with Asche.
Bliss lay soft kisses on the boys cheeks. "Keaghann is named after my great-grandfather. His name means little and fiery."
Though he didn’t know them, Asher said, "Well, it must fit him. I myself was named for my great-grandfather."
Penny kept moving toward the 4 until she was only a few feet away.
"It does.. and Daimonn after another ancestor, his name means soother." Dai tugged on her arm to get her attention and said, "momma," softly so that she would look. Penny was coming closer.
"I won't let her hurt you. ::smiles warmly:: Don't be afraid. She’s just curious." Asher turned to look as well, and immediately looked away from the girl. Keag an’ Dai tried to get closer to Bliss in her lap.
==
Elliot detected that Penance’ radiation levels were safe enough for her to roam and he released her from the containment room. She lurked to the lobby and hid under the desk while Garth and Jena talked. She took a halfhearted swipe at Garth as he, dazed, passed by. He never even noticed her.
Not seeing any of those in the cafe, he made his way to the coffee pot, poured a cup and sipped it. His super solider brain was still trying to catch up and he sat, still dazed, staring straight ahead. It took a few sips of the heavy coffee before he could look around him. When he did, he wanted to speak badly to Bliss, but never said a word to her. She would never know that he wanted to talk to her. He wanted as well to kill something. He couldn’t figure out why those two feelings were connected or why they were in any way connected to what had happened in the lobby … When he saw Alexia, he went to her table to thank her for saving him a couple weeks ago. He had questions for her then and thought he might ask them now.
She was slightly startled by his staring at her and said, after a moment of her own brain playing catchup, "It wasn't a problem," in response to his "thank you."
Garth set the coffee down, and remembered the words of Cmdr. Drenikk a few nights back regarding this woman. "Who are you?" His tone, after thanking her, was accusing. Never let it be said Garth stood on ceremony.
"My name is Alexia Artmann," She told him.
"You called me Cmdr. Lowinn out there that night. I was in the Freemen High Command..." he said then; which wasn’t precisely true. "I know all the commanders and I know what a prize I was to them, and a prize I would be. I know they resent my leaving...and I know they want me back."
Private Artmann raised her brows, indeed, she has heard this diatribe before. She listened intently, however and sipped her coffee again, nonchallantly.
"While I don't know you personally, Pvt. Artmann...I am familiar with the lists of intelligence agents. So I know the name...you can go back to your superiors ad tell them to stick any ideas they have about bringing me back to the fold up their collective asses. I was poked and prodded when I was a baby, I refuse to experience that again as a man." He sat in the nearest chair with a heavy sigh.
The Private tried not to look taken back, and nodded. Her superiors had said nothing about wanting him back for poking and prodding. He was an asset to the Legion, that was it. So long as he remained stable, he was an asset. Word was he was not at all stable and that’s why his resignation was accepted in the first place. anymore. She’d heard that orders had come from Gideonn himself about Lowinn. Keep tabs on him, report his location whenever it changed. That was it. She sniffed softly and said, "I’ll see what i can do," and then she added the whispered, "Sir."
"My name is Garth Lowinn...Security Head for the New Rydynn Hospital. Not, sir." He stood up. "Don't get me wrong...I respect the Freemen and all they are trying to do... but I also know my personal abilities and what an asset I would be to them... and what an asset a hundred of me would be. I can't let that happen, Alexia, and I hope you won't either."
She looked upward to him and said, "as i said before, I’ll see what i can do." Simple answer, no promises.
He grabbed his coffee cup. "Just tell them exactly what I said, Alexia...thats all I ask of you... and to do whats right when the time calls for it." With those last words he turns and heads back to the lobby and his desk chair.
The Private watched him go, wide eyed and begining to feel a little weak kneed. She rose from her chair quickly, and disposed of her cup. She tightened her trench coat a bit as she walks as quickly as she could out of the cafeteria. She turned to scan the room one last time before she rushed out into the lobby where Garth was just taking his chair at his desk and with a shiver she pushed open the hospital doors. Once outside, she broke into a run and disappeared into the darkness of the city.
==
"Garth!"
Strung out a bit by his confrontation with Artmann and with what Jena had told him before, he nearly jumped out of his boots. "What?!" Some security…
Bliss turned her head. "Thought you wanted to meet the boys." She chuckled, liking the fact she made him jump.
While Bliss introduced Garth to her sons and to Aureniss, Terra Lowinn came out of the elevator, her spry self, breathless, rubbing her lower back. She looked as if she would explode at any moment with the pregnancy. She checked the café’ and when she didn’t see Garth there, she continued on to the lobby. She found Penny crouched not far from the Boys and Bliss where Garth was being introduced all around. Her smoky eyes took in the scene a while. Daimonn seemed then not to feel very well and while Bliss situated him for a piggy back ride up the stairs, Terra consulted with the desk nurse. But, she overheard Garth saying how he’d like to take the boys outta the hospital, needed to talk to Bliss about a few things and how much he’d enjoy getting out with her and the boys. Terra took a few deep breaths and just waited for her husband to get around to noticing her.
Daimonn didn’t want to go anywhere close to outside. It was his contention that there was dead stuff out there and no one could dissuade him from that supposition.
Bliss said good night to Aureniss and took the boys up to bed.
For his part, Auerniss went to get himself some food. He convinced himself it had to be better than dead jokann and had a bowl of the stew. When he was all done, he left his bowl in the bin for cleaning and made his way out.
==
"Hey Terra " Bliss smiled as she strolled by carrying Daimonn, Keag in tow. "Good evening Bliss." Terra said kindly and then, "hello you two," she smiled to the boys. Keaghann waved to the round lady, remembering her from before.
Penny made her own way into the lobby, then bolted toward her room down the hall, where she would bed down for the night.
"Who that?" Dai asked.
"That's Terra, Garth Lowinn's wife and one of the fine doctors around here."
"Oh..."
"Come on you two, I'll read you a new story tonight." Bliss said and made her way up the stairs.
==
Garth turned and headed back to the desk after Bliss left. He smiled at his wife and said, "Just the person I was going to have paged."
She ran a hand through her hair, and her smile brightened as she saw Garth. "Oh? and why is that?"
He leaned over and kissed her lightly. "You're not going to want to hear this." He plopped down in his favorite chair, belatedly offering the one beside him to her.
"I'm not," she said stoically. "Well, don't keep me in suspense, then." She stared at him slightly for sitting before helping her sit, then eased down into the chair.
"You know Jena, right? My assistant?"
"Yes.. what about her?’
She told me she's in love with me."
TerraLowin: ‘Oh and this is a surprise to you?"
He was stunned. "Well, frankly, yes."
Terra gave him an exaggerated roll of her eyes. "Then you must have been the only one who didn't notice."
"You knew?"
"The way she would fall all over … of course. I am pregnant not blind."
"Fall all over what?"
Her brow furrowed and she stared at him again. "You can honestly say you didn't notice?"
"Swear to Sabbatt."
Terra looked as if she were thinking, Some Super Solider with the smirk that slipped across her lips. "It is obvious to many, the way she would act around you, Garth." He looked as if he were trying to recall and she said, "C’mon. You really don't remember?"
"I guess...I just...never noticed..." He was properly stunned at his own stupidity. "Can't believe...I didn't notice..."
Terra sighed. "How did you find this out?"
"She just blurted it out...I was sitting there doing duty roster...and bam...I love you Garth."
"So, what are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know what to do about it!" Finally, his daze melted away enough for him to grin. "Ask her out?"
Terra just looked at him like he’d grown a phlupp eye. "Excuse me?"
"I'm kidding, Love." He chuckled softly, trying to make her smile.
"She isn't however...
"Yeah, I guess not…" It was a good thing he wasn’t in the Legion. Inter rank fraternization was frowned upon there and with good reason. It was permissible to marry within the Legion, but regulations prohibited higher to lower rank marriages, generally. There were, of course, always exceptions, but marriage within the Legion was necessary. After all, it was where non-coms came from, or so went the old joke.
"I have heard tales she is quentari's sister," Terra continued, hiding the sparkle in her eye.
"I just..." He raised a concerned brow, his thoughts having drifted. "Now where did you hear that at?"
It was her turn to chuckle. "It’s just a joke, Garth."
He snorted, "At least you're not experiencing mood swings tonight."
"No, not yet...I think .. I am starting early labor actually..."
"Really?!" He sat forward, urgently, taking her hand in his.
"The very early stages love," she said, smiling at his excitement.
"It’ll probably happen in the next few days…" She sighed softly.
"Thats great!" He said, hardly aware of her fears.
He began to talk about how it would be, to have their own children around and he completely missed her soft, "I ..just don't know if I'm ready..."