Maddy waited until food was in front of them before moving her gaze back and forth between Leah and Kaelen. “You refused to say where you went yesterday, but I put it together so, spill. How was Michigan?” Then she paused and winced. “Oh shit, sorry, Kaelen. I’m guessing if you’re here alone you struck out.”
Leah gave her a cross look. “How did you even discover where we went anyway?”
“Mom.” Maddy stuffed a large bite of omelet in her mouth when Leah looked like she was going to ask another question.
“Of course, she did.” Leah put her hand on Kaelen’s arm. “Darling, I know it’s probably still hard to come to terms with it all. You don’t have to explain to anyone if you don’t want to.” She noticed Maddy’s raised eyebrow though her sister didn’t say anything. Yet. Leah was reveling in the fact that she was able to touch Kaelen as much as she liked, rather than constantly worry she was sending the wrong signals.
Kaelen sat with a large stack of pancakes in front of her, and she appeared to be torn between answering Maddy, answering Leah, or eating. She grumbled and set down the fork before addressing Maddy. “It’s okay. You are part of my Earth family, and I don’t mind if you know. We did find the ship and the young boy who came to Earth in it. His Argonian parents were stationed on the orbiting platform and they put him in a pod before it’s destruction. His ship navigation system synched with mine but due to a spatial anomaly, he arrived ten years ago.”
“Holy shit.”
“Michael, his adoptive name, has been living with the Millers this entire time. They were his family and there was no way I could bring him back to Los Angeles. To satisfy my guardian duties as head of Dolem-Ra and thus the Thinker Guild, I created a kuz ashum between our houses.” At Maddy’s confused look, Kaelen explained, “You would call it a fostering contract. That will allow him to stay with the Millers until adulthood.”
Maddy paused her eating and stared for a moment. Then she moved her hand across the table to grasp Kaelen’s and gave it a squeeze. “It must have been hard to leave the last of your people behind with strangers.”
“Yes. It was hard but the truth is, Michael is also a stranger. While he may physically be Argonian, he is a child of Earth in both mind and heart. I showed them how to use the AI sent with his ship. He will begin receiving the education of our people from his Tuk. As for the rest…with no more guilds or way to induct into one, he will never be an heir to the House of Xe or a registered adult of Argon. I am the last.”
“I’m sorry, hon.” Maddy gave the hand another squeeze before retreating to her side of the table. “I wish Tasha could have been here today. She’s a lot better at knowing what to say with this stuff.”
“Stuff?” Kaelen looked from Maddy to Leah.
Leah rolled her eyes, understanding her sister quite well. “She means feelings. Brilliant though Maddy is, I think she was emotionally stunted at birth.”
“Says you.”
“Says the girl who met you when she came to live with the Tucks, newly-orphaned.” Leah knew she could say it because they’d come to terms with their rocky start ages ago.
Maddy lifted a finger, ready to protest, then put it down again and gave a nod instead. “Okay, fair enough. I was a total asshole back then.” She cut off another bite as Kaelen started in on her pancakes.
Leah noticed her eating significantly faster than a normal person and put her hand beneath the table to rub Kaelen’s firm thigh. Her new girlfriend tensed, then choked at the caress, but managed to slow her eating once she recovered. It wasn’t that no other aliens or Chromodecs existed in the world. But Kaelen was adamant about hiding how special she was from the general populace and Leah respected her wishes.
Kaelen suddenly looked at her and smiled when they locked eyes. “Is this acceptable?”
Leah knew exactly what she meant and felt an upspring of emotion. Sweet Kaelen was worried that it wasn’t a good enough first date for courting when, little did she know, Leah would have been happy to sit through a courtroom deposition as long as it were Kaelen by her side. She leaned over and kissed Kaelen on the cheek, then took her hand, keeping them clasped together above the table. “It’s perfect, darling.” She knew exactly what she was doing and mentally counted the seconds in her head until—
A fork clanked across the table and Maddy interrupted their private communication. “Okay, you two…what’s going on?” She pointed at their hands, then at Kaelen’s cheek.
Kaelen answered for the both of them, proudly proclaiming, “This is our first date. The House of Lockheed has accepted Dolem-Ra as a potential match.”
Maddy gaped at them. “Really?”
Leah studied her sister carefully. “Yes, really.”
“Is—” Kaelen turned to Leah, then looked back at Maddy. “I don’t know Earth protocol. Were we supposed to consult with your family first?” She turned a worried gaze toward Maddy. “Is this okay with you?”
“Okay with me?” Maddy’s voice rose on the last syllable.
“Do you have something to say, Maddy?” Leah wasn’t sure how Maddy felt about Kaelen in regards to that sort of relationship. She’d only spoken with Ellie about her feelings for Kaelen on a few occasions. Ellie was supportive but Maddy had always been a bit overprotective. A lot overprotective.
She shouldn’t have worried. Maddy snorted and grinned. “The only thing I have to say is it’s about time! We were all—whoops, ignore that last part.” She abruptly pressed her lips together.
Leah narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Who is we, and what were you all doing?”
“Uh, we as in the entire found family, as Kaelen calls us. We’ve been watching you two pining for each other separately for months. Nalla was going to take drastic measures. She said she even spoke with you about it, Kaelen.”
Kaelen’s brows wrinkled with worry or confusion, and Leah wanted to reach across the space between them and smooth it. “Nalla did speak with me. We had a strange conversation about Leah. But she told me to make a move and I was confused. I thought she liked me and I’ve grown fond of Los Angeles so I didn’t take her advice.”
Maddy burst out laughing and Leah bit her bottom lip so she didn’t do the same. Maddy got control of her mirth to explain. “She was telling you to make a move— uh, ask Leah out on a date. You’d been going nowhere in regards to a relationship, so in that context make a move was not about moving away, but about—”
“Active pursuit of romantic connection.”
“Uh, yeah. That.”
Leah took a sip of her cooling coffee. “So is Mom in on this too?”
“Who do you think started the betting—shit, this is why Tasha doesn’t let me leave the house by myself.”
“Betting pool! Madison Shiloh Tuck, you better not have a spreadsheet going about when we would get together. You know I’m not a fan of that level of scrutiny on my private romantic life. I’m pretty sure you learned the hard way that speculation leads to hurt feelings, right?”
Maddy held up her hands. “Yeah, sure. I remember. And for the record, I don’t have a spreadsheet.” She muttered beneath her breath, too quiet for Leah to hear.
Kaelen quickly tattled. “She said that Nalla has the spreadsheet.”
Leah pointed at her big sister. “You better not spill the details to everyone until we can tell them together.”
“Of course not.” She smirked. “Now, who asked who first?”
Kaelen grinned. “I confessed my feelings last night, but Leah told me to wait a day and ask again in the morning when I’d had sufficient sleep. She was concerned that my interest could be mistaken for emotional overload. We agreed to be girlfriends this morning before meeting you.” Kaelen suddenly realized that Maddy had begun texting during her happy explanation and Leah watched with glee as she narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me, Maddy, but did you ignore what Leah said sixty seconds ago?”
Maddy abruptly stopped texting. “Uh, what did she say?”
“Hey, Kaelen,” Kaelen turned her gaze to Leah. “Since we are courting, and Maddy is my sister, would you like to let her in on the pinky swear?” Beneath her breath, where she knew Maddy wouldn’t hear, she added, “We can mess with Maddy a bit if you tell her your secret. Is there something discrete you can do that would seem intimidating to an ordinary human?”
“Hey, what are you mumbling over there?” Kaelen nodded and Maddy said, “What pinky swear?”
“You remember when we were kids? Every time we told each other a secret we’d pinky swear on it.”
“Yes.”
“I have a secret I shared with Leah and she pinky swore that she wouldn’t tell another without my permission. I like you, Maddy and I think you are safe to share this with.” Kaelen paused. “I think Ellie would be acceptable too.”
Maddy leaned forward. “So, what is this secret?”
“First you must swear.” Kaelen held up her hand, with the pinky raised.
Maddy groaned but curled her pinky around Kaelen’s. “Fine. I swear not to tell anyone about your secret unless you give me permission.”
“Thank you. I’m not like ordinary humans.”
Maddy snorted. “No shit.”
“I have powers that are beyond anything else on this planet.”
“What?” She glanced at Leah, who nodded. “How is that even possible when Earth is full of Chromodecs and aliens already?”
Kaelen carefully reached across the table to pick up Maddy’s butter knife. She rolled the thick metal utensil until it resembled a silver cinnamon roll and placed it on the table again with a thunk.
“Uh…”
“I also have extranormal hearing, as you already know, and…many other powers.”
Leah added, “She has x-ray vision, oh, and she’s very protective of me too.” She narrowed her eyes at Maddy. “Very protective. Even more than you.”
Maddy looked as though she were torn between fascination and intimidation. Her gaze darted from the knife, to Kaelen, then down to where Leah and Kaelen’s hands were once again clasped together on the table. She swallowed and looked up at Kaelen. “Really?” Kaelen nodded. “Which arm did I break as a child? There will be a bump where the—”
“Bone fused together. Yes, I can see it clearly on your left humorous, above the elbow joint. That must have hurt immensely.”
“Holy shit! Oh, and yes it did. Have you ever broken anything? I see the scar next to your eyebrow.”
Kaelen closed her eyes, perhaps to bring up the memory of the event. “I fell during a science expedition to Thanjee when I was ten. We weren’t near any of the shuttles, so it healed for a week with only basic medical aid. My father offered to have it repaired with a regenerative serum when we returned to Argon, but I liked the reminder of the trip so I kept it.”
Maddy nodded. “Given how careful you are around everyone, I doubt you’ve so much as stubbed a toe here on Earth.”
“Actually, I can’t be injured on Earth.”
Maddy sprayed a mouthful of water to the side. Luckily there was nobody nearby when she did it. “What?”
Leah smirked to see her so rattled, though honestly, she didn’t know that particular detail about Kaelen either. “What about the Argonian regenerative serum?”
Kaelen conceded, “That’s only because it absorbed galactic cosmic radiation and the two flasks were the last in existence.” She paused and added, “I’m also susceptible to high decibel sound because of my enhanced hearing. Regarding the rest, Wex says I have a nearfield of invulnerability. I’m also extremely strong.” She pointed at the butter knife. “That is the real reason I’m so careful. I don’t want to accidentally hurt anyone.”
“Oh, fuck. I’m sorry Kaelen,” Maddy said. Leah could see the wheels turning in Maddy’s head. “That must be hard.”
“It is, but I enjoy the hugs others give me. A lot.”
A loud scraping sound echoed through The Bean Bag as Maddy slid her chair back. She circled the table and threw her arms around Kaelen. “Welcome to the family, kid. You can always count on a Tuck to dole out hugs.”
Kaelen’s eyes fluttered shut and Leah’s heart swelled to see it. That was the sister she’d grown to love over the years. “Thanks, Maddy. You’re the best.”
Maddy straightened again and returned to her seat. She gave Leah finger guns. “I know.” Leah rolled her eyes but delighted that the news had gone so well.
* * * *
The following Monday, near mid-morning, Leah, Einstein, Kaelen, and Ellie were all downstairs in the SPL. Because of the experimental and somewhat invasive nature of the nerve regeneration nanobots, or NRN as they’d been calling them, and the emotional damage it could cause if they failed, Leah made an executive decision to be the first person injected during the phase one trial. She reasoned that as soon as they began to see results, they’d go forward with the rest of the vetted volunteers.
“Honey, are you sure about this? No matter what previous tests have shown, the human immune system may react differently with the NRN.”
“Yes, I know and I’m absolutely sure that this first needs to be me. I’ve already explained about the emotional risks and depression associated with giving false hope to people who expect full recovery—”
“But aren’t you also someone who would risk depression? If this doesn’t work on a larger scale…I would hate to see my friend suffer.” Einstein was lining up the syringes they’d use for the injections when he interrupted Leah’s explanation.
Leah turned to Kaelen, who was checking the controller program one last time. “Kaelen?”
Kaelen was listening to the conversation but wanted to make sure everything was perfect for the test. She looked up to see the other three watching her. “Yes, zhee?”
“You’ve been on the program for nearly a year with us and I trust you implicitly. Will this work?”
Kaelen met the gaze of each one, then nodded. “This will work,” she held up her hand to forestall any other comments, “but, I must caution you all that full success could take much longer than it did with the rats, even with the additional lab twelve serum injection. It will take at least a week before we can establish an estimated timeline of repair and recovery.”
“See,” Leah waved toward Kaelen and smiled triumphantly. “she says it will work but we can’t prove it to the world unless someone is fully recovered. I’m ready.” She shrugged and gave them all a wry grin. “If for some reason it doesn’t work, I’ve had plenty of therapy for dealing with depression.”
Ellie conceded. “Okay. Let’s position you on the table.”
They’d done one final round of tests and thorough scans first thing that morning. They had a baseline before starting phase one. The two injections didn’t take long but they were painful. Kaelen snapped the stylus she’d been holding when Leah gritted her teeth through the discomfort. Einstein carefully removed the tablet from her other hand.
Leah was on her stomach because they determined the injections would work fastest if done at the last point of sensation, closest to the original injury. There wasn’t much else to do afterward except go about their day.
Ellie fussed over Leah once she was fully dressed and back in her chair. “Remember to log your stats every two hours during the day, as well as right before sleep and right after waking. If you feel anything out of the ordinary, even if you think you ate some bad pot stickers—”
“There’s no such thing.” Leah was adamant about her favorite food.
“Then I want you to log it and call me for a more thorough physical.”
Leah sighed. “Yes, Ellie. I promise you’ll be the first to know. Well, actually, Kaelen will probably be the first to know, but you’ll be a close second.”
Ellie smiled fondly at her. Kaelen always appreciated the interaction between the two women. It was different from what she’d shared with her own mother. She loved Clovi Ze-Est a lot, but she was much less approachable. Kaelen was never sure if that’s why she spent so much time with her father, or if following in his footsteps is what pushed her mother away. It was a question she’d never learn the answer to.
“Are you sure you still want to fly to New York the week after next? You know I can lead the shareholder meeting in your stead if you like. We’ll tell them you’re under the weather.”
Leah scoffed. “And let those pompous old vultures speculate that I’m suddenly unable to perform my duties? I don’t think so. Jenna scheduled the smallest company jet for that Monday night, the other one is already booked. I’ll send you the finalized itinerary and flight plan when I get back upstairs.”
One of the many things Kaelen admired about Leah was her drive and brilliance. But she knew that Leah’s intense focus on work wasn’t always a positive or healthy one. They’d shared many conversations and Leah admitted one evening that she constantly felt the need to prove herself, to show the board, the investors, and the world, that she could do anything regardless of whether or not she had a disability. Unfortunately, she was prone to overworking herself when there was a problem to be solved.
“Leah,” Kaelen said. Ellie had already gone back to her office and Einstein ran upstairs in search of sustenance for his organics, so they were alone in the lab.
“You better not lecture me either. I won’t push myself, but I’m also not going to wrap my body in cotton while I wait for results.”
Kaelen moved so she was next to Leah. “I was merely going to request permission to listen to your heartbeat as an added measure of monitoring while you participate in the trial. However, I’m aware that you may not appreciate such an invasion of privacy.”
Leah tilted her head and stared back at her. Kaelen wasn’t sure if she should have made the request. She’d taken out the communicators the previous week. Instead of always having Wex’s voice in her ears, she created a custom app for her smart phone that would allow her to stay in contact with the AI. Wex offered to reprogram the entire device to run more efficiently, and Kaelen agreed for the sake of expediency.
“And if I asked you not to?”
Kaelen frowned at the question. “I would obey to the best of my abilities. We’ve spoken before about times when your heart races and something in my automatic reflex tunes in. It’s not intentional but I think a part of me is reassured by your heartbeat and instinctively listens anyway.”
“I appreciate your honesty. I don’t feel comfortable at this time having you consciously monitoring my heart rate. I’ll simply trust in your instincts, you know, in case something bad happens.”
Kaelen was disappointed but she also understood about autonomy and privacy. “Fair enough. To broach another subject, how long will you and Ellie be in New York?”
Leah looked at her watch then nodded toward the door. “Why don’t you follow me up to my office and we can order lunch. Do you need to log out of the workstation or clean up first?”
“The workstation logs out automatically after ten minutes and all the syringes are empty. I’ll drop them in the biowaste receptacle on the way out.”
Kaelen watched as Leah texted Jenna to call in their usual order as they rode the elevator up to the top floor. Back in her office, Leah logged in to her own computer. “I’m going to send the itinerary for the trip to Ellie then I want to show you something.”
“Okay.”
Three minutes and a few clicks of the mouse later, the large screen on one wall of Leah’s office powered on and displayed a set of prototype designs. Kaelen moved closer to the screen, taking in all the parts. “Is this the desalinization machine that you were telling me about on the way to Zeeland?”
“It is.”
“But we still need to work out the power and battery efficiency, correct?”
“Yes. I’m going to email the designs for our most current solar arrays and electric batteries later today. While we are waiting for results on the NRN, I want you and Einstein to look into the next project. If you’d rather focus on one side or the other, I can always assign half the project to lab ten, they’re wrapping up the underwater breather and sending it off to R&D for mass-market testing.”
“Lab ten!” Kaelen sneered. “Einstein says lab ten is full of unevolved fungus and not fit to design paper bags.”
Leah burst into laughter. “Oh, come on. Do you think Lockheed would employ minds like that? Einstein has been biased against lab ten since the donut incident.”
Kaelen was unsure why such a delicious treat would embitter her friend against an entire lab of scientists. “Donuts?”
“Yes. I think it was about two years ago. Einstein’s motorcycle was in the shop for a few weeks. Nalla gave him a ride to and from work each day. On the second day of her waiting down in the lobby for him, one of the engineers from lab ten, Chad Gant, decided to bring the pretty woman a donut and ask her out on a date. He had no idea that she and Einstein were a couple.”
“She didn’t agree to the date, did she?”
“Of course not. But Einstein was pretty irritated when he found out that night. He went up to lab ten and challenged Chad to a duel of wits for his disrespect. He set it for first thing the next morning. Chad agreed and said Nalla was a beautiful woman who deserved better than some ‘sparkly robotic freak’ which obviously didn’t set well with our friend, Mister Trog. If I remember correctly, they called lab eight down to bring the most difficult questions they could think of, as well as moderate.”
Kaelen raised her brows with disbelief. “Clevna Trog is a twelfth caliber intellect. It wouldn’t be a fair contest in any capacity. Nor is it polite to ridicule someone for their physical makeup or atypical mannerisms.”
“Yes, well, in the end none of it mattered. Chad didn’t know that Einstein was an alien android. He was calling names based on rumors he’d heard. He lost the challenge so badly that he actually grabbed one of the laptops nearby and hurled it across the lab.”
“What? Surely that level of volatility wouldn’t go unpunished.”
“Of course, it didn’t. He was fired immediately. Last I heard, he went to work for Guardian Technologies.”
Kaelen scoffed. “I had Wex research that company. It was less than reputable.”
“That’s one word for Donald Guardian.”
“Hmm, may I use your desk phone?” Leah gave her a curious look but waved Kaelen toward it. Kaelen hit the button for speaker phone and dialed the SPL.
“SPL, Clevna Trog speaking.”
“Hi, Einstein. Leah and I are discussing her desalinization project. Do we want to work on improving the battery, or increasing the solar power efficiency?”
“Curious. Could we not work on both? I believe that in this instance, we have an advantage between our two cultures. Donbothians are known for mobile power storage and Argon used a lot of sun-based energy. It stands to reason that if your people can make solar power efficient and workable with such a low energy red sun, you could do wonders with our yellow one.”
Leah tapped the desktop with a single manicured nail. “You make an excellent point. I told Kaelen I’d send the rudimentary schematics down to SPL. I want you to split the project. Einstein, you see if you can improve battery storage. Kaelen, I want you to look into more efficient solar conversion.”
While Einstein wasn’t particularly emotional, nearly the opposite of Nalla or even Maddy, Kaelen had learned the inflections in his voice after nearly a year of working together and could tell he was excited about this next project. “Stellar! I shall look forward to your email after lunch.” He hung up before Kaelen or Leah could say any more.
Leah turned her gaze toward Kaelen and smirked. “What should we do with ourselves while we wait for the food to arrive, hmm?”
On one hand, Leah’s words indicated a wish for further work. On the other hand, her expression and overall demeanor led Kaelen to believe she was seeking less serious pursuits until the Thai Guys delivery arrived. Instead of assuming one way or another, Kaelen had learned that it was always best to ask. “What would you like to do?”
“I would like to go out on the balcony with my girlfriend.” She pointed toward the reinforced glass doors leading to a large, enclosed space very similar to the one she had at her home. “Then I’d like to kiss her while enjoying the beautiful day.”
Kaelen grinned. “I would never say no to kisses.”
“Really? Any kisses, any time?”
Leah’s words filled her with doubt about her inflexible declaration. “Uh…”
“Any place?”
Kaelen swallowed. “Perhaps I spoke too soon. What I meant to say is that under normal circumstances and in the place of our choosing, I would never turn down kisses from you specifically.”
Leah smirked. “Better answer. Let’s go kill some time.”
Even thinking about kissing her love made Kaelen’s heart race and stomach flutter. She suspected that her reactions were hard to control because they were tied to emotions. When it came to Leah Lockheed-Tuck, her feelings were like a tidal wave battering her heart. “As you wish, zhee.”
“Mmm hmm. Come along, darling.” Then Leah backed away from the desk and zipped over to the balcony door, clearly expecting Kaelen to follow.