Anthony, umbrella in hand, watched the dock master slug slither off in one direction, the monkey driven bus with its cargo of Earth tobacco driving off in another. Rain, unchanged in the hours since they first braved the elements, fell in sheets around him. Again, he thanked whatever gods ruled this world for the lack of wind.
"So..." Hannah stood next to him, umbrella actually a bit under his, causing its runoff to just miss his arm. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are we staying here? Sure, now we have money, but the kids are born. I assume we're not hanging around until Alicia and I pop ours out."
He laughed. Things changed so quickly, concrete plans tended to be nothing more than future suggestions. Daium, on his other side, just shook her head under her own umbrella.
"If we're not planning on coming back here, we might as well spend all this money we now have." Anthony saw her finger the stack of plastic bills in her hand, as if it was burning a hole. "We have the driver's number. Maybe go into town tomorrow?"
"It'll involve splitting us up," he warned. "I doubt our mothers will be in any shape to leave the ship, and Chuck's not leaving their side."
"There's no way we can have landed here and NOT let Mary see her first alien planet," Hannah said. "I think it'll be safe leaving Moms and babies on the ship."
"Morning it is, then. And I like how you lumped Chuck in with the babies there.
****
"You two don't fool me."
Chuck looked down at his two wives, disgust clear on his face. He shook his head. The two evil females in question lay next to each other in the center of their bed, nude, a sleeping few hours old baby on each of their chests. Despite exhaustion clearly showing, Rinda and Melinda grinned back at their husband wickedly. Melinda gently cupped the back of little Carol's head.
"Why don't we fool you?" she asked, almost managing not to break out laughing while using a little girl's voice. Chuck growled, large finger touching his daughter's incredibly small hand, marveling at the smoothness of the pink skin.
"Come on. Rinda pops out little Jeli there, and you just HAPPEN to go into labor a half hour later? You two had this planned, didn't you? Or were you jumping up and down to try and squirt Carol out so Rinda wouldn't hog up all the attention?"
"He's got us," Rinda loudly whispered to Melinda, shifting their son a bit so he wouldn't slip off. His little black fists were clutching her fur, head snuggled between her breasts.
"Damn straight. I know you both too well." Chuck, sitting on the edge of the bed, reached over and smoothed out the dark blue hair on his son. Or was it fur? Time would tell. Rinda reached her own black skinned hand up to take his, fingers intertwining.
"That you do..."
"Yeah," Melinda added, taking his other hand, fingers joining as well. "We can't pull anything over on you..."
"And don't you forget it."
Chuck gazed at his family. Family... he had a family. Pulling his hands away, he removed his clothing. The girls shifting apart on the bed, he moved over to lie down between them. Weight changing the gravitational pull of the mattress, they slid down against him, giggling. He put his arms around their shoulders, pulling each in for a sweet kiss. His arms would probably soon be numb and tingling, but he didn't care.
Some pain was worth it.
****
Nona sprawled face down on her unmade bed.
Pillow. She needed a pillow. Her head, pressed against the mattress by the evil gravity, was not on a fluffy surface. Where was her pillow... ah. Yes. It was up at the top of her bed. Where else would it be. But, she was down here. Her head was a good two feet short of that fluffy goodness. Could she move up to the pillow?
...No. She was too tired to move. Two babies. She had delivered two babies in three hours, mind terrified the entire time. To have four lives in her hands! God, she just wanted to sleep...
A soft knock came from the bedroom door.
"Nona?"
Nona instantly moved, rolling over and up, sitting on the edge of the bed, one hand supporting herself while the other went to her forehead. Dozens of post birth complications ran through her head.
"I'm up! What is it?!?"
The door opened, a surprised and chagrined Tammy quickly poking her head it.
"I'm sorry! Everything's OK! Everything's fine!"
Strength once again left every limb of Nona's body. She fell back onto the bed, feet still on the floor, bouncing once. She heard a groan. It may or may not have come from her mouth.
"What do you want?"
Her voice was tired. Or were her ears tired? Could it be both? Maybe. Hard to say. Her mind was tired.
"I'm sorry, Nona. I... I didn't think you were asleep. I thought you might be thirsty. I brought something. I'll... I'll put it over here..."
Drink. Did Nona need a drink? She swallowed. Dry. Her throat was dry. And tired. Drink would be good. It would require movement, though. Movement upwards. Maybe Tammy could just pour it into her mouth...
OK, this was getting silly. With a loud groan, which to her ears was embarrassingly theatrical, Nona first pushed herself back into the bed, then forced her body upward. She sat up, stopping as she achieved a vertical sitting position.
"No, no, don't go... drink would be good..." She shook her head, trying to wake. Her straight black hair continued the movement for an extra second, before settling into place. She blinked. There was the sound of things being put places, liquid being transferred between containers. A weight settled on the bed next to her. Looking, she saw Tammy, still, like her, in their Bells ship uniform, holding two clear glasses with a dark red liquid. Nona reached for the offered glass with her right hand, paused to consider how much she liked her nice bedding, and used both hands to grasp the drink. There was a light touch on her bare arm. Looking up, she saw Tammy smile and raise her glass.
"To the babies, and a job well done."
Nona blushed. She kept her glass still while Tammy clinked hers against it, then took a deep drink. To be honest, they weren't sure what this stuff was. They found it five planets ago, an incredible combination of fruity red wine and beer. Served cold, as this was, it went down like water and refreshed even as the alcohol did its thing. Not only had they filled an entire storage room with bottles of the stuff, they had left that world with seeds, plants, and every book on brewing they could find. A test crop was already sprouting in the garden.
She lowered her glass, already half empty. Tammy topped it off.
"I didn't do anything, you know," she said, sighing. "Just stood there, like a catcher. We were lucky..."
"No," Tammy replied, shaking her head. "You did a lot. You kept the girls calm. Focused. You had the right kind of pain killers for Melinda, and used them well."
"God she's a screamer..."
"I think we ALL knew that," Tammy laughed. That did get a chuckle out of Nona. Everyone always knew when Melinda was getting some from Chuck, or Rinda. Or from...
Nona blushed. Looking away from Tammy, she took another swig of her drink.
"You... you helped too, Tammy. Thanks for being my nurse."
"Oh, my pleasure. I'm sorry I wasn't dressed for the occasion. I'll have to see if I can have a naughty nurse outfit ready when Alicia's due."
"OK, question." Nona, drink in her right hand, raised her left forefinger as she looked back at her friend. "Why is it there's only naughty nurse outfits, and not naughty doctor ones?"
Tammy cocked her head, barking out a laugh.
"Ha! Do you want Hannah to make you one?"
Nona could feel her ears burning. She couldn't answer that. Who would she wear something sexy for? Not herself. She really wasn't the kind to do that. Not Danny. Who would she want to dress up, or down, for? Why had she even ASKED the question, and to Tammy of all people?
There was a light touch on her bare arm. Every nerve end, every hair, seemed to react. Nona kept her eyes down in her lap.
"I'm sorry, Nona. Bad joke. I shouldn't have..."
"No, it's OK." Nona shook her head. "It's... hell, I wouldn't even look good in one."
There was a moment's silence. Her eyes closed. If Tammy agreed with her... oh, God...
"Hey."
A smooth, strong hand touched her chin, raising it. Her face was gently turned, eyes forced to meet Tammy's. The look she saw in her face... Nona trembled.
The hand began to caress Nona's cheek.
"You're beautiful, Nona."
Her face had to be glowing, blood from the rest of her body seemingly rushing to re-enforce the blush. Her eyes... couldn't leave Tammy's. She should look away. Say something, take another drink, something...
Tammy's eyes, her face, seemed to be getting bigger. Closer. God, was she leaning in to...
No.
Tammy wasn't moving.
Nona was.
Her head jerked back, eyes wide, half empty glass dropping from her hand to the rug. A growing patch of blue carpet turned purple.
Tammy let out a breath, seeming to deflate. In that moment, the entire atmosphere of the room changed. Something... had been lost. Something Nona wanted. Needed.
And had rejected.
"I'm sorry, Nona. I'll go..."
Tammy stood, weight leaving the bed. She was going. Nona's mind whirled. Tammy was leaving. Everyone was leaving her. Mom. Dad. They had gone. Left her alone... No. She had left THEM, and now they were gone. Forever. And, now, Tammy was... Nona was making her go...
"Please..."
It came out as a whisper. She didn't even know if she had said it aloud, let alone if it had carried across the void to Tammy. Nona wet her suddenly dry lips, trying again.
"Please, Tammy... stay."
Silence.
The mattress creaked next to her, weight returning to it... not so close this time. Nona's eyes refused to look at her friend. She didn't want to see the... disappointment in her face. Or, worse... affection...
"What do you want, Nona?"
There were so many layers of meaning to that quiet question. So many answers, all true, yet not. Her right hand went to her forehead, trying to contain the sudden throbbing.
"If I knew that, do you think I'd feel this way? Do you?" She was going to cry. She knew it. Cry again, like she had the other night. The night Tammy had held her...
"Were... were you going to kiss me, Nona?"
Her other hand joined the first on her forehead.
"I don't know!"
The words hung in the silence. Nona felt the bed shift next to her. Tammy's voice, still soft, came from somewhere closer.
"Do you want me, to kiss you?"
"Yes..."
The words were out of her with no conscious thought. Her eyes shot open. Oh, God, what had she just...
Two warm, soft hands took her own, pulling them away from her face. Nona's head slowly turned. Tammy sat there, eyes wet with tears. She was beautiful. Nona had always known that, always thought that, but... had never UNDERSTOOD it. She did now. God forgive her, she understood.
Tammy. Beautiful Tammy. Athletic. Graceful. Understanding. Loving.
She leaned forward. Nona sat still, frozen, only to realize she too was slowly leaning into Tammy. Her eyes closed...
Something soft, silky, touched her lips... and was gone.
Her eyes slowly opened. Tammy was looking at her with... awe. Her own expression must have mirrored it. The older woman took a moment to compose herself, then stood. She bent down, limbs moving in ways Nona would never permit herself to really see before, picking up the fallen glass. Handing it back to Nona, whose hands took it mostly by instinct, Tammy grabbed the bottle off the nightstand and refilled it. She then raised the wine to her lips and took a long swig. Letting out a sigh, she dropped her arm, holding the bottle loosely with two fingers. She looked down at the Malay.
"I am on my way to being drunk, on you, and on this stuff. Neither is going to help us." She laughed, shaking her head. "OK. I need to go. I'm going to go back to my room. For the next... twenty minutes, no make that half hour, I'm going to be busy. After that I'll get dinner going." Tammy made a move to leave, paused, and dropped down into a crouch before Nona. Her free hand lightly touched Nona's skirt covered knee.
"Whatever you want between us, Nona, I will accept. So long as you keep me in your life."
Tammy rose. A moment later, the bedroom door closed.
Nona was alone.
Only now she wasn't. Her left hand slowly rose, fingers touching lips that still tingled.
"First kiss..."
****
"Aww, does little baby want to be fed?"
The two girls giggled. Mary, sitting legs crossed on Goldie's bedroom rung, picked up the stuffed bunny. She had seen it before, a lifetime ago, next to baby her in photos. It was supper soft and supper squishy. With a grin, she mashed the bunny's face into her left boob.
"Hey!" Goldie yelled, "Don't hurt the baby!" She picked up a stuffed rag doll, with red yarn hair and patched clothing, raising one of its arms in protest. "Be careful with my sister!"
"She's just hungry!" They both laughed. Mary pulled the doll's face back an inch, made a belching sound, and put her back. Goldie fell over backwards, laugh turning hysterical.
Mary just shook her head, grinning. Goldie was fun. She didn't act like she was a year older. Heck, at times she didn't even act like a ten year old. Like now: it had been YEARS since Mary had played with dolls. She still had them, naturally, but only as decorations. Mary had even used some of her saved up money to buy a new china doll she had seen at a craft fair, with a beautiful handmade body and dress. It sat at home on her dresser, and she had dreams of filling all her shelves with dolls like that. But, playing Mommy with dolls? That was so elementary school! Yet when Goldie had asked her into her room to play, she had done so without a moment's thought. Because, well...
It was fun.
Goldie sat back up. She tried to match Mary's position, sitting on her butt with legs Indian style. One leg she got positioned correctly, but the other just would not bend.
"Mary?"
Putting her now fed baby down, Mary slid over to her friend. She grabbed the disobedient leg. The problem, it seemed, was the hip joint. It just didn't want to allow both legs to point outward at an angle that would let them then bend in and the ankles cross. Holding the furry leg in the air, she considered.
"Maybe lift up your butt a bit?"
Goldie did, hands out behind her to support her weight. This had the effect of emphasizing her chest. Mary couldn't help but look. They were bigger than hers, for one thing. More, though, they were a reminder that Goldie was naked. Heck, when she had grabbed the leg, she had seen her opening, not quite hidden by the fur. What would it be like, to be able to walk free like that? Part of her liked the idea...
"What's the matter? Something wrong with my boobies?" Goldie brought a hand up, as if to check them. At the same moment Mary finally brought herself back to the here and now, moving the leg again.
"Oh, wait!" Goldie began to totter. Her left hand, all that was holding her up, slipped on the carpet. Her right, instead of going back, shot forward to grab Mary for support. Mary, already precariously balanced on her knees...
Down they went, shrieking and giggling as Mary fell on her friend.
Goldie was furry and soft. Like a dog. Her boobs, though, were NOT dog like, and feeling one press into her neck had her rolling off the girl making laughing "Ick!" sounds. Goldie, laughing, helped shove her away, her clawed fingers and toes lightly scratching her. They ended up on their backs, looking up at the ceiling.
"Did you paint that?"
Mary's eyes tried to take the entire scene in at once. There were clouds, looking as if they were drifting over head. The shapes and sizes didn't look... quite right, or at least not quite like Earth. The sky, above them, wasn't quite the right shade of blue. But... it was so real!
"Yeah. You like it? Chuck found the paints for me, your mom made the brushes."
"I love it! Did it take you long?"
"Weeks! I just did a few hours a day, though. Had to give it time to dry before bedtime, as I was afraid wet paint would drip down on my nose during the night!"
"Heh!"
"Gonna do the walls, too, but I haven't decided yet."
Mary sighed. She had never been able to do anything like that. Cartoons, yes, but nothing you'd ever mistake for reality. Writing, she could do, but art...
"You're good."
"Thanks." Goldie rolled onto her side, looking at her. "When they get your room all done, do you want me to paint it for you?"
"I couldn't ask that! You still haven't finished yours!"
"But it would be fun! You can help too! We'd both do it!"
"I can NOT paint like that!" She laughed. "It would be easier just to share this room with you!"
Taking her gaze away from the clouds, her head fell on its side facing Goldie. The young girl was biting her red lips, blue all too human eyes seemingly... worried.
"What?"
"Um, Mary? Would you... well, do you want to room with me?"
Shocked, the almost fourteen year old pushed herself up on her side, facing the older girl. The idea...
"You... sure?"
"Yeah." Goldie nodded, clawed hand reaching across and touching Mary's. "I always slept with Danny, but when we came here he wanted his own room. And, it was fun, for a bit, but... it would be nice to have someone to talk to, at night. It's not that I get lonely, or anything, but..."
Mary giggled.
"It would be like a slumber party!"
"What's a slumber party?"
"It's when a bunch of girlfriends go to one girl's house and spend the night. Talk all night, about boys or something, listen to music. Girl stuff!"
"I wanna do girl stuff..." Her voice sounded so wistful. Mary's heart almost broke. Goldie had grown up with no friends, no sisters. Mary had friends, but no mom. Maybe they were meant to be friends...
"I need my own bed, though. Yours is a bit too close to the ground!"
"I wouldn't want to sleep WITH you anyways! Yuck!"
****
It was still raining the next morning.
Alicia looked out the bus window, sighing. It had been three weeks since they were last under a sun. Rain was nice, don't get her wrong. But, you couldn't go out in this rain. This was the wet equivalent of a blizzard, to be enjoyed inside a nice warm dry building with large picture windows. Or overhead dome. But, still, she was disappointed.
That's why she wanted them to find a planet to call home, to be honest. So they could have a sun over them every day. For everything else, she actually wouldn't mind spending the rest of their days on a spaceship. But she needed the sun...
The sound of the rain on the metal roof intensified. No wonder slugs evolved on this world.
Justin let out a sigh next to her.
"It just seems wrong not to have Chuck here."
Daium nodded.
"And Rinda. Splitting up on a new planet..."
"We'll be fine," Anthony put in from the other side of the bus. He sat with Hannah and Danny. Mary, Alicia noticed, was over in the corner with Goldie. Well. Those two had bonded quickly. Shifting her eyes to the other corner, she saw Tammy and Nona sitting somewhat closer than normal. The dark girl's expression was... well, who could ever tell what Nona was thinking? Not her, that's for sure. Tammy seemed happy, though. She looked back at Anthony.
"How long till we get to Monkeyville?"
"Half an hour. He said there's a large indoor shopping place."
"A mall!" Laughing, Alicia raised her right fist. "To the mall!"
****
Mary looked around in frightened wonder.
Aliens were... everywhere!
Most were the four armed monkeys, which after seeing the driver twice she was somewhat used to, and there were some slugs slithering down the wide mall walkways. But, there were others! Strange tall humanoids with rectangular heads, goats with three horns wearing striped dresses... she took a half step closer to Mom. Hannah put a hand on her head.
"Remember what we've told you. WE are the aliens here. Look, but don't stare. Don't bump into anyone, they might take offense. Stay close. Danny, stay with her."
Mary was going to object. Say that she didn't need a babysitter, or that she could just stay close to her. That, though, was before she saw the two legged reptilian thing walking by, fur hat the same color as Mary's own hair.
Well, she could always push Danny between herself and danger if it came down to that.
****
"Are there always so many... kinds of people?"
She was talking to him. Mary was actually talking to him! She was walking at his side, soft bare arm swinging just a few inches from his own. Goldie trotted on the other side of her, the two siblings forming a protective guard for their newest companion. The adults were walking ahead, deciding which stores to hit first.
Reply. He had to reply. Chuck's advice came back to him. Just talk to her. Talk to Mary like he'd talk to anyone else. Become her friend. Find something to say...
"Not always," Goldie said, looking around. "We're near a spaceport, though, so most of the non-natives are from other ships just like we are."
Danny winced. He was too slow. Was there something he could add, though?
"The planet Anthony found us on, the city was almost all from elsewhere. The locals lived underwater, and built the floating town just for aliens."
"It almost feels like this planet is underwater..."
He had talked to her, without sounding like an idiot.
Damn it, maybe Chuck was right...
****
"I'm not sure about this fabric. Tammy, what do you think?"
Anthony took a step away, sighing. Nothing was more boring than the girls talking clothing. He almost longed for the days when they just had a couple pairs of outfits, and for the ladies that was just skimpy bikinis made out of aprons. Damn it, he had liked that fashion statement. Why couldn't they go back to that? Or, at least, more revealing styles.
He looked around. For example, that creature over there. It was a red squirrel, maybe four feet tall, body a little slimmer than the creatures back home. Clearly female, thanks to the two breasts, she wore what seemed to be two white rectangular cloths, one front, one back, attached just by some string tied on the side. The entire side of her body was exposed. Now that, he thought, would look good on Hannah. Especially once the pregnancy was over. Hmm, maybe he could get Hannah to role-play "slave and her master". Then again, it looked a bit like some fantasy priestess getup...
The squirrel glanced up from the bin of thread it had been contemplating. Her head swung away, as if she was looking for someone, then swiveled back. Her almond shaped black eyes fell on Anthony.
Her entire body shot around to face him, claw grabbing the wooden display as if she was about to collapse. Her other hand went to her mouth.
Anthony's eyes widened.
She had seen humans before.
"Justin! Come here, quick!"
At the sound of his voice, the girl's other hand shot up to her mouth. She fell to her knees, trembling. He sensed the others come up next to him.
"What is she?" Hannah asked. The squirrel's head jerked to face the source of the new sound. Her eyes widened even more. Facing Anthony once again, she fell forward, red furry arms outstretched on the ground towards the humans.
"Don't know, but keep your eyes peeled for a Moose…"