Karim watched the group of teenagers from the kitchen door, and wondered for the fifteenth time if he was wise to let this celebration take place.

Sophie had suddenly decided, two weeks after her birthday, that she wanted to throw a party and invite all Dover's teenagers. It had only been two months since Helena's death, and although Sophie seemed in good spirits generally, Karim welcomed anything that proved life was returning to normal. Besides, Sophie had just turned sixteen; that was worth celebrating.

Karim could see Sophie moving through the small group of kids in the living-room. Most of them were younger than her, with the exception of Nick Collins, and Jean-Michel and Celestine Castellano. Sophie's hair was swept up into a fashionable bun, and she was wearing a long black Empire-style dress she had convinced Karim to order from Celestine's mother. With an added touch of makeup, it made Sophie look a lot older than she was. As she moved through her more casually-dressed contemporaries, Sophie looked like an empress visiting her subjects.

She was coming towards her father. Karim drew back into the kitchen, as if to show that he hadn't been keeping an eye on her party at all.

"Daddy, everyone is here," she said. "When are you supposed to go to Layla and Neil's?"

In other words, push off. Karim smiled indulgently.

"I'm not due there for another half hour," he said. "And I promise I won't come back until 2400, so you and your friends can have a good time."

"You just wanted to keep an eye on us first, right?"

Karim spread his hands. "Like it or not, until you're eighteen, I'm responsible for your health and safety. Besides, I was curious to see who would come... I do wonder how you're going to dance with that dress. You look just a little bit as if you're going to a ball rather than a teenage party."

Sophie shrugged. "It's my birthday party. I wanted to look my best. Besides, Tadeusz says I look great."

"I'm sure he does," said Karim bravely, though his heart wavered at the idea of some spotty teenager complimenting his young daughter. "You do look great."

Sophie seemed to hesitate, but then smiled. She was still very young, the very last stages of puberty leaving her body thin and her skin complexion uneven. But Helena had always said that Sophie would grow up to be a beauty, and Karim could see she was right. He felt sorry that Helena couldn't be there to see it happen.

"Why did you make me invite Celestine?" asked Sophie, glancing through the open door. "She's one of your operatives. I don't see what she's doing at my birthday party."

"Well, she's third generation too, and she's only three years older than you. I don't think it's right for her to be hanging around with us old fogeys. Besides, I think she promised her parents that she would keep an eye on her little brother."

Sophie grinned. "Oh yes. Jean-Mi Casanova, Thi Hoa's loverboy. Well, I'd better go back. I have better things to do at my own party than hang out with my old Daddy."

"Hey, less of the 'old'," called Karim as she left.

His slate rang and he picked up the connection. It was Basia Poniatowski, one of the operatives who was running Dover's Command Centre while Karim and Becky were off on compassionate leave.

"Um, Karim. I'm having some trouble with the projector in the conference room," she said.

"Can't you get Technical to sort it out?"

"Well, they're not going to be too pleased: it is after hours, after all. Besides, it's the same problem you fixed last week. I just can't remember what you did."

Karim sighed. The problem was simply a false contact in the screen video connection. A simple twiddle had fixed the problem the previous week. Since the problem didn't reoccur, Technical wasn't called out.

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes," he said.

There was no sign of Basia when Karim reached the conference room. In fact, the room was in darkness when he opened the door. He flicked the light on.

"Surprise!" exclaimed a dozen people, abruptly illuminated.

"Surprise?" repeated Karim.

It looked like a birthday celebration. There was even a cake and some drinks on the conference table in the middle of the room. All Karim's colleagues and senior staff were present, including those who had been on compassionate leave since the accident. Becky came towards him, holding out a glass of champagne.

"Ten years in office, Karim," she said with a tired smile. "Don't tell me you forgot."

He had. Completely. With Helena's death and his prolonged leave from work, Karim had completely forgotten the anniversary of his first day as Cadmin of Dover. He smiled when Becky handed him the Champagne, though he had to struggle to keep the smile when he remembered the conditions of his accession as Cadmin. If it was ten years since Karim started the job, then it had to be ten years since Tony Verdeschi's death.

"Sorry for the subterfuge," said Basia as Becky guided Karim into the congratulating crowd. "We couldn't think of a better way to get you here."

"Well, it's certainly a surprise!" he exclaimed. "I thought I was going to spend the evening with Layla and Neil."

His sister and her husband were both present; the surprise party was evidently the result of much collective effort. Karim really wanted to talk to Becky, since he hadn't seen her for weeks, but he found that Basia was difficult to shake off. Becky hovered beside Karim for a while, but then went off to talk to someone else.

"Are you looking forward to coming back to work, Mr Habibi?" asked Basia, her little blue eyes bright with interest.

"Oh yes," said Karim. "Though I must say I've been having a good time with the children."

"They must have been so upset when their mother died," said Basia sympathetically. "And it must be so difficult to cope when your partner is suddenly gone like that. I went through quite a difficult phase of adjustment when my husband left. Obviously, it wasn't as hard as actually losing him for good, because I know he'll still be there for the children as they grow up. But I can sympathise with the difficulty of raising children on your own."

Karim half-shrugged. "Well, you know, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I think the fact that they're quite old helped as well. I mean, the eldest is sixteen and the youngest is eight, so they all pretty much understood what was happening, and I think they tried to help me as well."

"Six children in eight years," said Basia. "I only managed three in ten years. Your wife was a brave woman."

"She thought it would be better if the children were close in age," said Karim uncomfortably. "Halima kept making dire threats about the health risks Helena was taking, but it was water off a duck's back."

"Well, they're lovely children, so I'm sure they were worth the effort." Basia flashed a bright smile at him.

"Hmm." Karim nodded and finished off his glass. Basia was an attractive young woman; tall, blonde, strongly built, with a large bumpy nose and small bright eyes. Her eyes were ice blue, an unnatural-looking colour which Karim found fascinating.

He had first met Basia two years earlier, when she transferred from Alpha to Dover with her children. She had been working as an operative in Main Mission, and successfully applied to the same position in Dover's Command Centre. Rumour had it that she had left her husband after he was unfaithful to her, but Karim had never investigated the matter further. It was none of his business after all.

"It's my rest day tomorrow," continued Basia. "Since it's the school day off, I'm going to take the children out onto the lake to skate. Perhaps you and your children would like to come with us."

Karim loved ice-skating and Basia obviously knew this. The Cadmin nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll ask the children what they think when I see them this evening." He noticed that Becky was standing alone at the drinks table. "Now, ah, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to someone."

Basia didn't look pleased, but Karim flashed his most charming smile at her and she returned it, apparently mollified. It was a mystery to Karim why she would suddenly be so interested in him. He had noticed similar attentions from other single women at Dover in the past few weeks. He had originally dismissed this interest as friendly concern following his recent loss. But he was now wondering if it wasn't the perspective of being the next First Lady of Dover, rather than altruistic solicitude, which made the women so interested. It wasn't as if he had suddenly become good-looking overnight.

Leaving Basia to talk to Duncan, Karim tried to reach Becky. He would have succeeded, but he noticed Astrid standing not far away. Karim had only talked to the nurse a couple of times since her brother died. She turned just as he passed her.

"Hi!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you for ages. How are you doing, Karim?"

"I'm fine," he said with a smile. "I've been spending a lot of time with the children. That's why you haven't seen much of me lately."

Astrid nodded sadly. "It's been a hard time for all of us. I still find it difficult to believe that Friedhelm is gone. It was just him and me, you know, and now I've lost everyone. My parents are gone, and my only sibling. It doesn't seem right... Sylvia has been working like a maniac, but I know she's taken it hard too."

"Yes. I saw her the other day. I went to see her." Karim paused, remembering the awkward visit. "I think she'll pull through, though. Sylvia is a lot stronger than she looks."

"You're right," said Astrid with a tender smile. "Friedhelm used to say Sylvia is a sparrow with the heart of a lion. And she has all the children to help her; Thi Hoa and Petra are old enough to take care of their siblings for a while if Sylvia needs to be alone. I think she'll be okay. But she must miss him so much. I know I do. I feel so lonely sometimes."

"I understand."

Astrid lowered her eyes and Karim patted her arm consolingly. He couldn't think of anything more to say. 'I understand' seemed so lame, even though he could indeed understand some of what she was going through. He had just lost his wife, but maybe that didn't quite equate to losing a beloved brother you've known since birth.

Looking over her shoulder, Karim noticed that Becky had finished her drink. She was talking to Trevor, but her body language suggested she was preparing to leave.

"I'm sorry, Astrid," said Karim after an awkward pause. "I need to talk to Becky."

Astrid glanced at Becky and nodded. "Now there's someone who isn't bearing up so well," she said in a low voice. "I do Jorge's physio, and I can tell you he's become a right bastard. We're all trying to help him through it, but he's having a really hard time accepting what's happened to him. And I think he takes it out on Becky. Certainly, if he gives her half the flak he gives us, he must be impossible to live with."

"Poor Becky," said Karim. He had been so wrapped up in his own grief and concern for his children that he had barely enquired about Jorge's condition in the past two months.

"Well, poor Jorge too. He's lost his legs and his job, and he's still not off the hook as far as that Alphan bunch are concerned."

The Alphan investigation team had recently published their preliminary report. It questioned Jorge's decision to use an old Eagle for such a dangerous journey, even though they admitted that the evidence showed the Eagle had been brought down by exceptional circumstances. Their findings attributed the crash to some kind of freak lightening strike, though Karim had a feeling they didn't seriously believe their own theory. He still wondered if the smooth ravine was an artificial construction, perhaps even defended by some kind of weapon. Alex Koenig had moved back to Alpha for the winter, but Karim knew that the scientist was dying to explore the area when it became habitable again in another three years.

"I think Becky needs a break... or at least a friendly word," continued Astrid. She patted Karim on the back. "Go on, I'm sure it'll cheer her up."

Karim needed no further encouragement. He approached Becky just as she seemed about to go. Trevor greeted Karim politely, and then left them alone.

"How are you?" asked Karim once he was gone.

"Oh all right," said Becky vaguely.

She really didn't look well. Her hair had evidently remained undyed since the accident, its pale strands marred by darker roots. She was wearing makeup and one of her most elegant long dresses. But she looked tired; Karim could see the bags under her eyes and the general lassitude of her demeanour.

"How are you coping with Jorge?" he asked. "It can't be easy when he's so severely injured. Astrid says you're having a hard time."

Becky's bitter little laugh took him by surprise. "A nervous breakdown is more like it. He's driving me mad."

"You shouldn't let it get to you. There are people who can help..."

"Help? How? They don't live with him. They don't have to put up with his constant bitterness and... his... injuries." She wrinkled her nose in disgust and took a gulp of wine. "Oh, Karim, I hate him so much. I can't stand him. I can't bear the sight of him. The mere sound of his voice makes my skin crawl... And I feel so guilty."

She looked away as she continued, staring into the distance with a tragic look which broke Karim's heart. "I mean, I'm married, right, and I did say 'for better, for worse', and here's the worse. But I didn't expect it to be so hard. When he had the accident, I thought I could be the little wife, you know, nursing my husband back to health. But he isn't even my husband anymore. The guy I married was a nice guy. He was sweet and he loved me. But now, he's just this deformed monster who keeps having a go at me. He even bites Colette's head off if she so much as breathes on him."

"He's just lashing out at you both because he can't accept what happened to him."

"I know that," snapped Becky. "So you can spare me the psychobabble. That doesn't help. I mean, I feel awful, but I know it's nothing compared to how he must be feeling. But... he's making our life a misery." She paused and shook her head. "I don't know what to do. I can't leave -- what kind of a bitch would I be if I dumped a handicapped husband? Oh, Karim, I don't know what to do."

Karim didn't have any suggestions either. He could understand Becky's dilemma, but couldn't see any way out of it for her. She would either do the right thing and end up miserable, or abandon her sick husband on the hope of some possible happiness elsewhere.

"I have to go," she said. "He'll go mad if I'm gone too long."

"Becky..."

She smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Happy anniversary, Karim."

He wanted to ask her if she would be coming back to work soon, but she pushed past him before he could ask. He watched her go and fought the impulse to follow her. Instead, he talked to Layla and Neil, and then got caught by Basia again. But all the time, Karim was thinking about Becky.

Despite his concern about Becky, Karim was feeling cheerful when he got home that night. He had spent most of the evening talking to Basia; not deliberately, but she just seemed to always be around when he felt like talking to someone. A few drinks had finally convinced him that her attentions weren't so unwelcome after all. He had no intention of embarking on any kind of relationship at this point, but at least it was nice to know he had some possibilities.

Sophie's party was over by the time Karim reached the flat. The only people left aside from his own children were Celestine and Petra, who were helping clear up. The young people looked tired; Sophie was sitting on the couch with her feet up. It must have been a good party.

"Oh, Daddy. There you are," she said as he came in. "How did the anniversary party go?"

"It was great fun. I didn't even remember it was my anniversary."

"I didn't think you did." Sophie smiled brightly. "It was all Ms Poniatowski's idea. She caught me after work the other day and said she wanted to put on a bash for you."

"So, did you enjoy Basia's bash, Daddy?" asked Antonio, coming to join them from the kitchen. He seemed to think that the sound of 'basha's bash' was amusing.

"Yes, it was fun," said Karim. He hoped none of his other children were going to turn up and ask him about the party. He didn't felt like repeating 'It was fun' six times. "Where are the others?"

"In bed," answered Sophie with a yawn. "Zaineb dropped off at about nine o'clock, Eric and Trevor got bored and went to play with their train set about two hours ago, and I think Maya is in bed too. So no one has gone missing."

"Right..."

Karim wondered if he should leave the young people to clean up, or if it would be acceptable if he stayed around and asked about the party. While he was deciding, Petra and Celestine came out of the kitchen.

"Good evening, Mr Habibi," said Celestine respectfully.

Karim couldn't help noticing the contrast between Celestine and Sophie. While his daughter's sophisticated dress and hairdo made her look older than sixteen, Celestine's casual attire actually made her look younger. Her dark hair was down, but curled, and she was wearing trousers and a loose shirt. Perhaps Sophie, on the brink of adulthood, wanted to make herself look older, while Celestine, already an adult, just made herself look comfortable. Karim decided that women his age were easier to understand.

Petra greeted him as well, though she looked at Antonio as she continued. "I have to go now," she said. "Mum doesn't want me out too late. I have work in the morning."

There was a moment's silence. Antonio glanced at Sophie, who lifted her eyebrows at him. He looked at Petra and smiled awkwardly. "Oh, ah, I'll walk you to the lift, Petra."

This was evidently the response the girl was waiting for. She gave him a bright smile as they walked out of the flat. Karim felt an ambivalent tug at his heart. His little boy evidently had a girlfriend. Not so little either; Antonio was taller than him and, like Sophie, had inherited good looks from some unknown source in their Vincent-Habibi ancestry. The good fortune of the Cadmin children had unfortunately stopped there; Maya Souad, Trevor and Eric all looked as if they would turn out plain, and little Zaineb was unlikely to fare any better.

Karim went into the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to find it tidy, if not actually clean. He fixed himself a cup of tisane before joining his daughter and Celestine in the other room. Karim expected Celestine to leave, but instead she carried a tray of used cups into the kitchen.

"Ms Poniatowski and her children are going ice-skating tomorrow," he told Sophie. "She was wondering if we'd like to go out with them. It'll be one of our last days out."

"Yeah." Sophie looked as if she was going to say something else, but then shrugged. "This dress is really uncomfortable. I need to change. I'll come back in a minute."

She got up and disappeared into her room. Karim reflected that it would probably be some time before she came out again. It occurred to him that Celestine was still lurking in the kitchen. He decided to go there and see if he could speed her on her way.

"Oh, Mr Habibi!" Celestine seemed startled when he entered the kitchen. "I'm sorry. I'll be off in a minute. I'm just washing a few dishes."

"You shouldn't be doing that," he said. "Let Sophie do it in the morning. You should go home."

"Yes... I suppose I should," she said with a nod. She wiped her hands on a cloth. "I hope you enjoyed your anniversary party. I really wish I could have come, but... well, when Sophie invited me here, I thought I might as well come. Jean-Mi was very enthusiastic, and I do like dancing."

"Well, there was no dancing at all at the other party," Karim assured her. "You would have been bored to tears."

Celestine nodded gravely, but she still made no move to leave. "I don't think Jean-Mi had a good time after all," she said. "He and Thi Hoa have split up. She's been understandably upset for the last couple of months, and I think he found that just too hard to handle. I think we're all still experiencing the aftermath of the accident."

"You seem to be bearing up well."

"Yes, well, there's nothing wrong with me. Just grey hair, and that's easily fixed by hair-dye."

"It's still grey? Even after two months."

The young woman smiled sadly. "My aunt thinks it may be permanent. But it's nothing. It could have been a lot worse. I look at Salvatore and Jorge and I know I have nothing to complain about."

"Salvatore doesn't have much to complain about either," said Karim. The young man merely had a couple of coffee-coloured burns on one side of his face -- barely noticeable in artificial light.

"I keep having nightmares," said Celestine, raising her eyes to Karim's. "I have these stupid dreams about what would have happened if you hadn't saved us."

Karim shifted uncomfortably. "Mrs Verdeschi saved us. I didn't do anything particularly heroic."

"Well... I didn't say it was heroic," Celestine specified. "But I do think you saved my life. I admire you a lot, Mr Habibi."

"Yes..." Karim turned away and emptied his half-finished tisane into the sink. He had already noticed Celestine's 'admiration' after the crash, and it made him very uncomfortable. He had hoped she was beyond the stage for teenage crushes. On the other hand, she was still a teenager.

"I suppose I should be off," she said with a sigh. "You're coming back to work on Monday, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Okay..."

She walked out and Karim followed her to the front door. He opened the door for her, but his heart sank when she turned toward him and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Happy anniversary, sir," she said in what was presumably supposed to be a seductive voice.

Karim sighed with relief when he closed the door. His relief was short-lived when he turned towards the living-room and saw Sophie standing there, a shocked expression on her face.

The knock wasn't answered, but Karim was certain Sophie was still awake.

"Sophie, listen, it's not what you think," he said, trying to sound calm. "Look... Sophie. Let's just spare ourselves the soap opera scene. I don't want you to go and get the wrong idea. Celestine is the last person I want to get involved with."

There was a pause and then the bedroom door opened. Sophie was in her pyjamas, looking at her father dubiously.

"Why not? I thought it was every man's dream to have some teenager in their bed."

"You've got the wrong kind of man. I go for women, not girls. Especially not girls who are barely a couple of years older than my own daughter. Believe me, I have some pretty stringent principles and that breaks several of them."

Sophie seemed unimpressed. "Yes. You've been telling me a lot about your principles. I'm not sure that you really follow them, though."

"I do," said Karim, before realising that was a lie. "I try to, at least."

That seemed to amuse Sophie. She smiled a sinister little smile and crossed her arms. "So is it all right if I only try to apply some of these principles you keep telling me about?"

"Not until you're eighteen."

Sophie sighed and rolled her eyes melodramatically. She went to sit on her bed, leaving the door open. Karim took the invitation; closing the door behind him, he sat down at her desk. The room was decorated with prints and drawings, mainly set designs and costumes that Sophie had dreamed up. The floor and every other available surface in the room except for the desk was covered in items of clothing. Karim averted his eyes from a piece of underwear on the floor in front of him and looked at his daughter.

"It's time you tidied up in here," he said.

"I know," she said with a sigh. "I'll get around to it. I haven't really felt like it since Mummy died."

"I can understand that. But life goes on and I don't think living in a pig-sty will bring her back."

Sophie smiled. "We could give it a try," she said brightly.

Karim didn't say anything. Sophie kicked a couple of garments off her bed. She lay back and sighed again.

"It's funny," she said. "Mummy was a horrible person. Nobody liked her. But I loved her."

"Of course you did. She was your mother. And no matter how horrible everyone says she was, she did love you. It's only right for you to miss her. I miss her too."

"You do?"

"Of course I do. She was my wife."

Sophie seemed to think about that for a while. She rubbed her eye, evidently forgetting that she hadn't removed all her makeup. Mascara and eyeliner left a black smudge on her cheek.

"I can't imagine you and Mummy getting together. I mean back then, before you married."

Karim remembered his courtship of Helena and decided their daughter didn't need to know the whole truth about it.

"Well, we'd known each other for ages, and then we went out. And in those days, it was pretty much a given that if you were past your eighteenth birthday and going out with someone, you had to get married." He realised that sounded too cynical. "We were in love, so it seemed a natural thing to do."

Sophie nodded gravely. "In those days, yes. I won't do that, though. I want to have loads of boyfriends before I'm married. I think that's the only way I'll be able to tell which one is the right one."

Karim smiled at her pragmatic view of romance. "Oh, I'm sure you'll be spoiled for choice."

"I am already," she said, with a matter-of-fact shrug. "Tadeusz and Jean-Mi were virtually fighting to dance with me tonight."

"Jean-Mi? As in Jean-Michel Castellano, who was going out with Thi Hoa?"

"Yes. He's split up with Thi Hoa, you know." Sophie looked down at her nails, picking off a shard of polish. "He split up with her tonight, actually. Anyway, I'm not really interested, but if I was, the last thing I'd want is for my father to be dating my boyfriend's sister."

Karim made a face. "I can see why that would bother you. Believe me, if the situation ever arises, I'll try not to stand in your way."

"So the situation is likely to arise?" Sophie didn't look pleased.

"Well, probably not that particular situation. I mean, you going out with Jean-Michel and me with Celestine. I'm not interested in Celestine. She's a sweet young woman and a good operative, but... just not my type. The point is that if you were going out with a boy and I happened to like his mother, for instance, I'd let you get on with your life before worrying about mine. I wouldn't like the love of your life to turn out to be your stepbrother."

Sophie didn't seem to be listening. "But this means you're going to be dating?"

"Yes." Karim was surprised, but then realised it was perhaps natural for his daughter to be shocked. "I know that's not what you want to hear, baby. I love you all, and I'm going to do everything I can to be the best possible father. I'm certainly not looking to replace your mother, and I definitely don't want to set up a second family. You're my family, and that's enough. But on the other hand I'm only thirty-six. I'm still a young man, and I don't see myself spending the rest of my life alone."

"You're a young man?" said Sophie with an amused grin.

"Well, let's just say I'm not middle-aged yet," conceded Karim. "I might not be as young as you are, but I won't admit to being old until my hair is grey and I start getting serious wrinkles."

Sophie eyed him sceptically. "But you think someone would actually want to go out with you?"

Karim grinned as he remembered the party. "I can think of one or two people who might at least attempt a date with me. Basia Poniatowski for one. And possibly Astrid Buchanan as well. To be honest, that party was a bit like that film The Night Of The Living Dead. You know, with all the bloodthirsty zombies closing in on me."

"That's not a very nice thing to say about Ms Poniatowski and Ms Buchanan," protested Sophie, though she was smiling. "I rather like them! I suppose if you're going to be going out with women like that, it won't be so bad. Okay, so Taddeusz is Ms Poniatowski's nephew, but she'd probably make quite a nice stepmother. Same goes for Ms Buchanan. Though again, it looks as if Antonio is interested in her niece Petra. I guess it's going to be difficult to find true love in such a small pond."

"There are plenty of Alphans and Ceresians you haven't met yet," said Karim. "As for Basia and Astrid, marrying either of them would probably be more like a merger than a marriage. I'd end up with nine or ten kids to worry about. Six is quite enough."

Sophie nodded gravely, though a wicked little smile curled her lips. "Actually, seeing as you're a widower with six children, I probably don't need to worry about a stepmother. No one would be crazy enough to take all of us on!"

"That's true," admitted Karim. "Well, now that my theoretical love life is sorted out, I think it's time we all got some sleep."

He went over to kiss his daughter.

"Whatever happens," he said, "I promise that if I fall madly in love, I'll make sure to ask for your opinion before I do anything rash."

Sophie's face lit up with a glorious smile. "I'll hold you to that, Daddy."

Created: February 2000 - Updated: April 2000