Silver Lining

The two young men rounded a corner and walked toward her. With identical shorts, workboots and wide-brimmed hats, it was almost impossible to tell the two apart. They had the same build and stride and were deeply involved in an animated conversation with each other, both using similar hand gestures. Their skin was equally well tanned. Dinah wished she would tan like that instead of simply burning and peeling over and over. Fortunately the children took after their father and after being here at Morrow for a month were deeply tanned and happiest in the sunshine.

As the two men approached, Alex looked up and waved at her. She waved back from her chair under the awning where she was using her slate to try and get some work done this afternoon.

Alex and Evan joined her in the shade and Alex leaned over to give her a kiss before dropping to the ground beside her. Evan sprawled in the other chair pulling off his own hat to reveal jet black hair where Alex’s was already bleaching even whiter from the sunshine. How odd that Evan was the child who looked the most like his father, Dinah thought. Other than the coloring, Evan and Alex both looked very much like John Koenig, and very much alike despite the fact that they were only half-brothers.

“How are the trees?” 

“Well, we took some more samples. I think it’s a fungus of some kind, but Evan thinks it’s something else.”

“Like what?” Dinah asked. 

“Like some kind of parasite. I think has more in common with that puffball of Alex’s, but he won’t let me dissect it to find out,” Evan grinned.

“Not a chance,” Alex retorted quickly. “Puff’s a member of the family.” 

Dinah rolled her eyes. She had known that Alex and his puffball were a package deal when she had married him, and was fond of the little creature, but she didn’t have the devotion to the little guy that Alex did.

“Where are the kids?” Alex asked. 

“Out playing on that ATV you said they could use. I think Bella would simply drive by and collect food and be gone again if she could get away with it.”

Evan grinned. “When I first got here and Charlie told me I could use it whenever I wanted I felt the same way. I’d be on it at dawn and come back just at dark. It’s something about having all this space to explore.”

Alex nodded. “We were that way too, anytime Mom and Dad brought us down. We couldn’t wait to get outside and off on our own.”

“It’s strange,” Dinah said. “I would have thought growing up on Alpha, or C-2,” she nodded at Evan who had spent most of his childhood on the mining station. “That you would have been nervous about all this open space.”

“I think Koenigs are explorers at heart,” Alex said. “Give us uncharted land and we’re perfectly happy.”

Evan nodded. “At first I thought our father was punishing me, or trying to hide me when he sent me down here. And I thought of it as a kind of prison. But Charlie never treated me as a prisoner, and there was never much that needed to be done. It was a good place to be to think about things. And I spent a lot of time trading slatenotes with Dad. Talking about things I hadn’t ever thought about before.”

“Dad should have told you—told all of us—a long time ago. Mom was way off base telling him to stay away from you.”

Evan shook his head. “No. I thought that too at first, Alex. But your mother was right. You never knew my mother. She had…problems. I never realized that when I was growing up. I never had anything to compare her actions to. She seemed normal to me. But she worked so hard to keep me isolated. I know she loved me, but sharing me with Dad would never have worked. She would have caused problems—for Dad, for your mom and even for us kids.”

“I still can’t believe your mother did all that. And then lied to you,” Dinah said. Her relationship with her own mother was so close, it was hard for her to believe that someone’s mother would lie to them. “You never suspected that Alex’s dad was your father?”

Evan shook his head. “It never crossed my mind. I was little when we left Alpha. I guess I must have been nine or ten before I asked any questions about my father and she went on and on with this long explanation that she had used donated sperm and never knew who my father was.” He grinned. “Sometimes, when I’d whiz through a math class I would make believe I was Victor Bergman’s son, or maybe Paul Morrow’s. But never Commander Koenig’s son. Why would he have donated any sperm? He had kids. 

“Then when she told me that he even knew about me and sent us away, I just went crazy. I felt so completely alone and unwanted.” He leaned forward in the chair, lacing his fingers together and staring at the ground in front of him. “I wanted to hurt him back. I never realized that he checked on me constantly and took chances to see me discreetly every time he came to C-2. He always visited the school, but never singled me out or anything like that.”

They had visited the forest station regularly over the years, but this was the first time Dinah had heard Evan talk so openly about his parents. Alex had been the first in the family to try to get close to Evan after the truth came out—aside from John—but Evan had always been politely distant when Dinah was around. She knew that Alex was quite fond of this second little brother. Alex had always been close to Richard, but Richard was so busy with his own job and family they didn’t see much of each other. The pace of Evan’s life here was slower and allowed more time for contemplation and conversation, and in the off seasons he worked on Alpha in the same department as Alex, growing the seedlings that would be transplanted here. Dinah wasn’t surprised when Evan changed the subject.

“That new strain of trees we’re trying is growing quite well, don’t you think? “ he asked his brother.

“Quicker than I’d anticipated. They should mature and produce some seeds before we need to harvest them.”

“Do you think we could choose the hardiest half dozen and try transplanting them to Dover?”

“We’ll have to talk to Karim about it and see if he has room somewhere.” 

“How about the Eagle hanger? It has pretty high ceilings.” 

Dinah laughed aloud, thinking about what Emma’s reaction to trees in an Eagle hangar would be. Both men looked at her. “I was just thinking about Emma,” she said with a smile that turned sad.

Alex took her hand. “Eagles and Emma will always go together. You’re right. She wouldn’t have wanted trees in the hanger. With some careful pruning we should be able to use one of the greenhouses and allow the trees to continue to mature.”

Evan considered that carefully and nodded. 

Before the men could continue to talk shop, Dinah spoke up. “Your father said to tell you both hello and let you know he hopes to see all of us at the beach next week. You too, Evan.”

Evan shrugged but didn’t comment. He was still rather reluctant to join family events.

“When did you talk to him?” Alex asked. 

“About an hour ago. I’ve been trying to get some work done all day, but couldn’t keep a decent signal long enough to transmit any data. I spent about an hour talking to various departments on Alpha. Communications referred me to Technical. Technical said they were waiting on Transportation. Transportation said they didn’t know there was a problem and sent me back to Technical, so I called your father.”

Alex sighed. “Di, you know how I hate it when you pull strings like that. It makes it look like we get special favors because of Dad.”

“Nonsense, Alex. It’s not like I want that commsat fixed for my own personal recreation or something. I have work to do too, you know.  Besides, your dad was interested. And he would be whether I’m married to you or not.”

Evan laughed, “she’s got you there, Alex. He’ll make sure it gets done.”

“I notice you didn’t call him and ask for it to be fixed,” Alex responded.

Evan shrugged. “I don’t transmit much data. Don’t call many people for that matter.” He turned to Dinah. “When’s dinner?”


“It’s cooking now and will be ready in about an hour,” she said with a smile. “The children had better be back by then. I’ve set an alarm on all three slates.”

“This is great Dinah,” Evan said. “Usually I just grab something when I get in. I always eat better when you guys visit.”

“Oh, it’s easier to cook for a crowd than for one, and I enjoy it,” Dinah smiled, appreciating the compliment.

“We have time to take a bath then,” Alex said speculatively. 

Dinah laughed. “I think Alex likes to come here to use that hot tub you’ve built.”

Evan shrugged. “Gave me something to do in my spare time. I think I’ll go get a shower, myself.” Evan stood and headed inside the cave that had been used as a base here at the Forestry Station.

Alex looked at his wife. “Care to join me?” he asked quietly. 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Dinah said with a smile. She leaned forward and kissed her husband. “Are you terribly mad at me?”

“I suppose not,” he said with a smile. He stood up and held out his hand to her.

“If Emma were still there, I’d have called her.” 

Alex pulled his wife into his arms. “I know. And she would have fixed it without getting Dad involved.”

Dinah leaned against her husband. “I miss her so much, Alex.” 

“Yeah, I know.” 

Alex kissed her neck. He wasn’t in the mood to talk about his sister, and Dinah knew that. She smiled and relaxed against him. He picked her up and kissed her, then steered her up the hill toward the entrance to the base. She laughed. Evan had discreetly left and the children wouldn’t be back for nearly an hour. They could put that time to good use.

Nearly a half hour later she was drowsily floating in Alex’s arms. Alex’s hands lazily roamed over her body, finding all her favorite spots.

“Alex?” 

“Mmm?” 

“You think we should have another baby?” 

He sighed. “You really want to?” 

“Don’t you?” 

He buried his face in her damp hair. “The kids are just hitting a point where they’re sort of self sufficient. We only have fourteen years before they’ll be grown and gone and I’ll have you all to myself.”

Dinah smiled. How could she argue with logic like that? Before she could respond the door to the room bounced open and their three offspring burst in.

“Can we get in too?” Bella called, already peeling off her shorts and shirt.

“Hold it!” Dinah called. “Shower first. You guys are filthy.” She pointed to the shower in the corner of the room.

“Aw, mama!” Deep called. He glanced down, and tried to brush some of the dust off.

“You know the rules. You don’t get the tub water all dirty,” Dinah said firmly. She stood and climbed the steps out of the tub, ready to enforce the rules and make sure they each scrubbed all the dirt off. Evan had carved steps and seats into the rock and piped in water from a hot springs further down in the cave. He’d also carved the edges in a delicate leaf pattern that was just beautiful, complimenting the patterns in the rocks.

The children removed their dusty sweaty clothing and surrendered to their mother’s scrubbing. At age nine, Bella didn’t need much help, just a close eye to be sure she complied. Dinah gave six year old Deep a good scrubbing and sent him along to the tub while she turned to four-year-old Owen. When she reached a dark streak on his left leg she scrubbed harder.

“Ow, mama, that hurts,” he complained. 

“You cannot get in the tub until all the dirt’s off,” she insisted, scrubbing harder.

It didn’t come off. She turned the little boy around so she could see the streak in better lighting and frowned. It wasn’t dirt. It looked thicker and slightly shiny. She frowned. “Alex, come take a look at this.”

Alex came and joined them. He looked closely and asked. “Where’d you pick this up, Sport?”

“I dunno, Daddy.” The little boy looked down at his leg with a puzzled expression. His curly dark hair dripped water on his father’s hand as he leaned over to look at the spot on his leg. The brown streak was an oval about three centimeters long and one centimeter wide.

Alex looked up at his daughter who was standing beside him. “Go get your Uncle Evan, Sweetheart.”

Bella nodded and ran off quickly. Dinah pulled on her shift and handed Alex his shorts. He had barely pulled them on when Evan appeared. He knelt next to Alex and looked at the two of them. Dinah asked. “What is it?”

“We need better light. Let’s take him to the workroom,” Evan said, concern evident in his voice.

“Did you notice anything like that on Bella or Deep?” Alex asked. 

“No, why?” 

Alex and Evan looked at each other but neither said anything. It was beginning to scare her. “What is it?” she asked again.

Evan stood and picked up the little boy. Alex leaned toward his wife. “It looks like the same thing that’s effecting the trees. Take the kids to the workroom and check them over good. Make sure there’s nothing like that on them. If you see anything, don’t touch it.”

Dinah nodded. She herded the two children ahead of her and they all went to the workroom together.

Crystal left the boys’ tent and joined Helena by the small campfire. 

“I didn’t think they’d ever go to sleep,” she said as she sat next to the old woman.

“None of the boys sleep much. When Preston was first born, Alan kept asking why didn’t the baby sleep? I think they just don’t want to miss anything.”

Crystal smiled. It was beautiful here and she was glad Richard had talked her into coming. She had needed a change and the Carter boys certainly were different from her usual charges. “Where is Preston?”

“Playing chess with his grandfather.” 

Crystal nodded, but didn’t say anything. She watched the fire in silence, not wishing to say anything or carry on a conversation. Helena sat next to her watching the fire silently herself. The strange little Lokian puffball sat in her lap and she stroked it slowly as one would a cat. Helena didn’t appear to need conversation. Crystal found that quite a relief. When Richard had asked her to come along with his parents she had hesitated. She was tired of taking care of old people. He’d insisted that his parents didn’t need looking after, but his mother did need someone a bit more energetic around to help with the twins. A year after Emma Carter’s death, Helena Koenig still hated the thought of being too far away from Emma’s boys, but the three year old twins were quite a handful. On Alpha, Richard and the rest of the Koenig family made sure that Helena had plenty of help, but Richard couldn’t get away for the full three weeks that Helena and John intended to spend on Loki. Crystal’s father had passed away a few months ago and Crystal was feeling some stress of continuing to work with her elderly patients. She needed something different.

Richard and Crystal had begun studying medicine together when they were barely in their teens. Both helped out in Medical Center, running errands, changing linens, readying trays of instruments. Crystal had seen herself as training to become a nurse, but Helena Koenig had included her in all of Richard’s studies and training sessions. When she had shown an interest in surgery, Crystal still was considering herself to be training as a surgical nurse. Helena had other ideas, and had spoken seriously with her about training to become a surgeon. Crystal found she liked the idea, and began taking her training sessions even more seriously.

Then her father got ill. He had nearly crashed an Eagle with Emma Koenig on board, and that had resulted in a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. It was degenerative and incurable. It had also changed Crystal’s life. Her mother had been the main caretaker at first. Crystal was only fourteen at the time, studying everything she could about the human body and observing every surgery performed. She had also dated Richard Koenig, but more because they were good friends with a common interest than because of any romantic attraction. She remembered when she let him kiss her the first time and thinking that there must be something more to it than this. Richard left for C-2 when they were sixteen and she had said goodbye without any tears. The slatenotes he sent her were more about medical things than personal matters, and she wasn’t surprised when he brought Suzi Potter back with him to Emma and Alex’s weddings.

While Richard was away, she began to spend almost as much time caring for her father as she did in Medical Center. Instead of surgery, she began to focus on diseases and disabilities of the elderly. Their medical library alluded to more information than it contained. With Helena’s support she took on more and more responsibility for the infirm elderly. Crystal had proposed changes in the area around Medical Center, placing those who needed extra care closer to the medical facilities. She also instituted a ‘day care’ area for her father and three others who had also developed Alzheimer’s. She did her best to continue to hone her surgical skills, but that became a definite second priority. Her personal life was nonexistent. She had dated Billy Reilly for a little while after Richard left, but his easy-going manner
didn’t match well with her serious nature or circumstances. She dated a few others, but didn’t have time to give proper attention to any of her suitors, who disliked having their dates interrupted when she was on call. She eventually turned down enough offers that new offers weren’t forthcoming.

Her father’s worsening condition left her with less and less time anyway. He sometimes became frustrated and violent. Her mother was at her wit’s end and needed all the help she could get. Few of his friends came to see him. Alan Carter had been one of the most faithful. Especially as he began to turn more and more duties over to Emma he had come weekly for an afternoon, giving Crystal and her mother a much needed break. He had also been a wonderful source of anecdotal information. His grandmother had suffered from Alzheimer’s. Although he had been away from home most of that time, he had a close relationship with his aunt and uncle, who were her main caregivers. They had kept him informed about her condition and the trials they had with her. Alan’s passing had been a blow to Crystal, although her
father didn’t even notice the absence of his old friend. By that time, he recognized no one, and when he spoke it was of things long ago, and made no sense. Perhaps the fact that it was Alan’s sons that Richard had asked her to watch over had tipped the balance when she had decided to accept his request.

Helena had also been her mentor, teacher and co-worker for many years. Crystal knew she certainly didn’t need a caretaker, nor did the Commander, who was as energetic and vital as his grandsons. Despite her long professional association with the commander’s wife and son, Crystal had never known Commander Koenig well. She had thought of him as a rather distant, and sometimes scary, authority figure. It had surprised her to find him a gentle and caring husband and grandfather, with a lively sense of humor and the most wonderful blue eyes. With eyes like that, it was no wonder Helena still became a bit dreamy-eyed in his presence. It was uplifting to be around two old people whose minds were still intact.

The door to the Eagle opened and the object of her musings strode purposefully down the stairs and over to the small cheery fire. He knelt beside his wife’s chair and lifted her hand to his lips.

“What is it?” Helena asked in concern. Crystal wondered why she suspected something was wrong, but it appeared to be the correct conclusion.

“I just got a call from Alex. There’s a problem at the forestry station.”

“One of the children?” Helena asked, alarmed. 

“Alex and Evan have been investigating something that is infesting the trees. Owen appears to have gotten one of these… things… attached to his leg somehow. Alex is asking if we can send someone to remove it—surgically.”

“What kind of ‘thing’ is this, John?” Helena’s alarm seemed to be warranted.

“Come talk to him.” John said, standing and pulling his wife to her feet.

Crystal followed. She had not been included in the conversation, but the outcome would definitely effect her, and she hadn’t been told to stay behind.

Preston was sitting at the communications console watching the monitor. He slid out of the chair as his grandmother arrived. Alex Koenig could be seen pacing back and forth in some kind of lab.

“Alex?” Helena said as soon as she was seated. 

Alex returned to the chair in front of his own screen. “Mom? Did Dad tell you what’s happened?”

“Just a bare description. What’s on Owen’s leg?” 

Alex sighed and reached over and touched a button. A still picture replaced his face. It was a close-up of a brown shiny object on a patch of skin. “We’ve found these things on the trees. I thought it was a fungus, but it does show some animal-like tendencies. We have a few samples of them attached to trees, but honestly, it never occurred to us that it might attach to a person. It’s about three and a half centimeters long and one wide at the widest point. It’s solidly attached to him, and may actually be growing and embedding itself into the muscle.”

“Dear god,” Helena murmured. 

“And you’re sure no one else is effected?” the Commander asked. 

“Yes sir. We’ve checked each other over very carefully. Owen has the only one. Mom, we’ve got to get it off of him, but none of us have anything more than basic first aid training. I don’t want to bring this thing to Dover. If it effects our trees, it could most likely effect crops too. It’s not spreading very quickly here, but trees may not be the ideal host.”

“And some other plants might be,” his mother finished the thought. 

“That’s right.” 

Helena looked at her husband. “How long will it take to get me up there?”

“About two hours from here, but I’d rather fly by Dover and drop off Crystal and the boys. To get packed up will take another couple of hours.”

Crystal could see Helena hesitate. She was well aware that Helena had not been that far away from the Carter boys since their parents died. And this could very likely put her at risk of being quarantined and away from the boys for weeks, or even months. She spoke up quickly, “Why not take me, instead?”

Both the commander and Helena looked at her in surprise. They had obviously forgotten she was there.

“You could send for someone to come get Helena and the boys while you fly me up to the forestry station,” she said to the Commander. Turning to the doctor she continued, “I am a trained surgeon.”

“And I’m more expendable,” Helena said quickly. 

Preston stepped up to his grandmother and put his hand on her shoulder. Helena patted his hand gently. “It’s not likely to come to that, Pres, don’t worry.” Preston didn’t look comforted or persuaded. The boy had experience with people not coming back from what appeared to be routine trips.

Crystal tried again. “You could land and let me off while you stay suited up and in the cockpit. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about being contaminated.”

“Crystal,” Alex said. “I appreciate the offer, but are you sure you understand that if we can’t contain this, it could be…” he hesitated and glanced at his nephew in the pickup. “It could be dangerous,” he finished lamely.

“I understand, Alex.” She turned to the tall man standing next to her. “It will be quicker to take me up there.”

Helena glanced up at her husband. “Then I’d suggest you take the Eagle back to Alpha and follow full decontamination procedures.”

“Mom?” Alex asked. “Could he take Bella and Deep back with him? If he’s going through decontam quarantine himself, surely the kids would be better off there than here where they might still pick up this-- infection.”

“Is this one organism or a lot of micro-organisms?” 

Evan appeared from off-screen. “Helena, we’re not certain yet. The preliminary results show this is probably some sort of colony lifeform with each cell depending on the others. Perhaps like Terran coral.”

Helena considered then looked up at her husband. “If Crystal is willing, you should take her up there as soon as possible. If this is some sort of microorganism that’s infecting him, time is of the essence.” 

John nodded and looked at Crystal who nodded back . “Preston, contact Dover and let them know I need to speak to Mr. Habbibi. I’ll help your grandmother get things packed up for pickup in the morning. Crystal, pack whatever you’ll need. We leave in fifteen minutes.”

“We’ll be expecting you,” Alex said. “What about Bella and Deep?” 

“Have them ready to leave when I get there. Keep an eye on them until then,” the Commander said. “I’ll return to Alpha with them as long as they have no sign of infection by this thing.” He said the last reluctantly. If they developed any sign of the infection, it might be impossible to bring any of them back to Alpha or Dover.

Helena, John and Preston worked smoothly to get things ready for them to leave. Crystal dashed to her tent and stuffed her few clothes and personal things in the duffel she had brought them in. Before she had finished, Preston was scratching on the door of her tent. “Crys? Grandpa’s ready to go.”

“Already?” She looked around, wondering if she should roll up the bedroll, and feeling scattered.

“Leave the gear,” the little boy said seriously. “We’ll pack it up.” 

Crystal crawled from the small tent and looked at the child. In the light from the lantern he carried he looked older than he should, his eyes hooded. “They’ll be all right Pres,” she said.

“I know you’ll do everything you can.” The boy said cautiously. He paused and continued, “Crys, thanks for volunteering so Gramma can stay with us.”

The little boy in front of her seemed so grown up. She wanted to hug him and wipe the seriousness from him. Usually he joked with her and smiled a lot, but she saw now how close to the surface the pain actually was. He stepped forward and gave her a shy kiss on the cheek then led her to the Eagle.

The Commander invited her to sit in the co-pilot’s seat. She hadn’t done that since she had been very small, and allowed to take short flights with her father. Her slate chimed and there was a letter from Alex with all the information they had gathered about the parasite. She began to look through it while the Commander flew north.

The time passed quickly and soon they were landing. The monitor showed three people waiting by a small ATV near the landing site. The two children stood to either side of the man, who wore shorts, workboots and a wide brimmed hat. She assumed the man was Alex, and the children Bella and Deep Koenig. As soon as they touched down she and the Commander headed for the rear of the Eagle. The three had approached closer by the time the door opened. The sun had just set here. It was still twilight. The two children dashed up to the Eagle and into their grandfather’s arms.

“Hey!” he said, pleased to see the two children. 

“Owen’s hurt, Grampa,” Deep said seriously. 

“I heard about that. I brought Dr. Crystal to help make him better.” 

Bella was quiet and serious, but held tightly to her grandfather. John untangled himself and stood. “Evan?”

“Hello, Dad,” Evan said quietly. “We’ve checked Bella and Deep carefully. They’re fine, but Owen is beginning to feel some pain. Alex and Dinah didn’t want to leave him, so I brought the kids down.”

Crystal stepped out of the Eagle with her duffel over her shoulder. The landing site was a cleared area at the base of a hill. Spread through the valley were rows and rows of trees, growing in green lines that followed the rolling contour of the land. A narrow path wound up the hill, and was lost in the growing dark. The tall young man in front of her smiled and nodded at her. “We need to get back up to them right away.”

He looked at her with eyes of the same blue as the Commander’s. She smiled and nodded.

“Thank you Crystal, take care.” The Commander said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded to the Commander and allowed Evan Pulcher to lead her to the ATV. They had barely left the landing area for the path up the hill when the Eagle’s engines whined to life and the ship headed back into the sky.

Evan remained quiet as he drove the vehicle with a quick, skilled style that reminded her of the way the commander flew the Eagle. “You said the child is feeling some pain?” Crystal asked. She needed to know as much as possible about what she was walking into. 

He nodded, and began to describe Owen’s condition in concise well-defined terms. The boy had begun to feel pain shortly after they had spoken to her at Rainbow Valley. At first he had described it as ‘itchy’ but the pain was spreading and the boy was saying that if felt like something was ‘biting him from the inside’. So far they had been reluctant to administer anything for the pain.

As Crystal realized that Evan seemed to be quite competent she began asking more detailed questions. He answered most questions quickly and completely in a calm quiet voice. Crystal couldn’t help comparing him to his brothers and father, all of whom were more verbose and impatient. Evan appeared to be much more reserved. 

He led her into the cave that served as a base here at Morrow. The corridor was well lit, and they entered a wide area that obviously served as kitchen and living area. Through another door, they were in a laboratory area with shelves and trays for different seedlings down the center of the room, and a long desk with a computer connection along one wall. A small bed had been placed against one of the counters, and Owen lay on the bed, his mother sitting next to him.

The child was obviously in distress, his dark curly hair damp with sweat, his face flushed. He tossed his head from side to side while his mother cooed softly at him. She looked up as the door opened and pulled a lock of dark hair from her face that had fallen out of the tie that held her long hair off of her face. “Crystal, thank you so much for coming.”

“Hello Dinah. I’m glad I can be of help.” She knelt beside the bed. “Hi Owen. Can I look at your owie?” She used the word that she’d heard Helena use with Denys a few days ago and wondered if she would ever have a chance to have children of her own like these precious little ones in the Koenig’s family.

The little boy looked at her with wide blue eyes like his father’s and grandfather’s. He nodded somberly.

Alex appeared at her elbow. “Have you been over the information I sent you?”

“Yes, it was very helpful.” She pulled on a pair of gloves he offered her while looking at the boy’s leg. It was already different from the pictures he had transmitted two hours ago. The skin around the brown patch was red and swollen. The brown patch looked slightly larger as well, but this was the first time she’d seen it in person so she wasn’t sure. She touched the area around the brown patch which seemed to be very tender.

She gave Owen an encouraging smile. “I’ll take care of it soon, Owen.” 

She stood and stepped back by Alex and Evan. “Before I do anything, I’d like to have some sort of internal scan—see what I’m getting into. Do we have an ultrasound here?”

Evan shook his head. “No. It’s not something we need here. I don’t even have any kind of x-ray equipment—“ he snapped his fingers. “Wait a second. I do have a small portable imager. They use it for rock samples. When that geology team was through here a few months ago it was broken so they left it behind for me to fix.”

He headed to a work table on the other side of the room. He opened the cabinet beneath the work bench and began pulling out a case and setting it up. “I’ve got it fixed, but it’ll need to be recalibrated. It’ll take about twenty minutes.”

“We need this as quickly as possible,” Crystal said quietly. 

Evan turned and looked into her eyes. “I won’t take any longer than is necessary to give you accurate data.”

Crystal couldn’t argue with that. She nodded. 

“He won’t take long,” Alex told her. “Before he became Alpha’s resident tree expert he trained as a bio-med technician. He can fix anything.”

While she waited, she and Alex fixed up a section of the worktable to use as an operating area sterilizing it as best they could. She had packed all the equipment they had on the Eagle with them, and Alex helped her locate more in the lab. She had some local anesthetic from the med kit aboard the Eagle, and didn’t want to use a general anesthetic on the child anyway.

“I’m ready,” Evan said quietly. 

Alex picked up his son and carried him over to the counter where Evan set up the imager. There was a screen next to the equipment. Alex spoke softly to his son, explaining that they were going to take a picture of the inside of his leg and pointing out how they were going to be able to see it on the screen. Owen clung to his father, but remained calm. Evan ran the equipment while Crystal looked on.

The imager showed that the outer covering of the organism shielded an ovoid about two centimeters deep into the leg. From this body there were three tendrils that looked like roots that burrowed further into the muscle. There appeared to be damage to the muscle around the ovoid. The tendrils seemed to be dissolving the muscle tissue around them. Crystal frowned and exchanged a look with Evan who was also watching the monitor.

“Owen,” Crystal took the little boy’s hand. “I’m going to give you a shot so that you can’t feel your leg any more. Then I’m going to get this thing off of you, ok?”

Owen wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like shots. Even when Gramma gives them to me.”

“Well, it’s really important, Sport,” his father said. “Your mama and I will be right here with you.”

Owen nodded reluctantly, and Crystal wished for a general anesthetic, but she knew there was no time to waste. Alex carried the child to the work table and they settled him with one of his parents on each side. Dinah looked pale, but she didn’t give any sign of her fear to Owen, and spoke cheerfully to him as Evan fashioned a screen so the child and his mother didn’t have to see the surgery. Evan also quietly and efficiently got ready to assist her while the Alex and Dinah concentrated on their son.

Dinah and Alex kept up a string of chatter with their son while Crystal administered the anesthetic and prepared the area. Once the area was deadened, Crystal found the organism was extremely resistant to her scalpel. She had to cut into the tissue around the organism. The tendrils seen in the scan were also tough although they had secreted some sort of substance that had literally dissolved the muscle tissue around them.

She said quietly to Evan, “I need some kind of magnification.” 

“I have a lens I use when working on equipment. It hasn’t been sterilized.”

“No time. I’ve already got some bleeding just below the skin. None around the tendrils, but where I had to cut into tissue…”

“I’ll get it.” Evan moved away quickly. He was back just as fast and helped set the large lens over the leg. He explained how to best use it, and adjusted the height for her to the optimum focal point.

“What kind of frame is that, Evan?” She asked as she continued to follow the tendril into the muscle tissue.

“It’s wood. I carved it from some branches I pruned from the trees. When the wood is green, it’s very flexible. People used to make lots of things out of wood.”

“It not only works well, it’s quite pretty,” Crystal said. Although concentrating on the surgery, she still needed to talk about something else, to fill in the cracks of her imagination, leaving only enough of her mind to deal with the problem at hand, and not think too far ahead. It was a method that had always annoyed Richard Koenig, who wanted to focus completely. But Helena had long ago explained to her that plenty of truly imaginative doctors used OR chatter to cover a case of nerves or overactive imagination and it wasn’t a fault in her.

Evan spoke softly but continued the conversation about wood. They interspersed their conversations with the technical details of the operation. It took nearly a half hour to remove the organism from the boy’s calf, placing its body and tendrils in a glass dish for Alex to investigate later.

Crystal was very concerned about the amount of muscle tissue that was either dissolved by the organism or removed by her in order to make sure that the organism was completely gone. She could hear Owen’s conversation with his parents about their upcoming trip to the beach. His father was promising to show Owen a cave where they could play pirates. It was a trip that would probably have to be postponed for a while. The boy’s leg would need quite some time to heal.

She closed the wound and Evan helped her to clean and bandage the leg. Crystal looked up at the boy and his parents. “I’m all finished. Owen, I want you to try and get some sleep now. Your Dad will move you back to the bed. When you can feel your leg again, it’s probably going to hurt a lot. You just tell us when you feel any pain and I’ll give you some medicine.”

Owen nodded. Alex and Evan gently moved the little boy while Crystal spoke with Dinah. “I don’t want to give him more pain medicine than is necessary. What I’d like to do is have a bit of a chance to rest, then I’ll sit with him while you get some rest. You can wake me up when the anesthetic wears off.”

“Will he be in much pain?” 

“I had to remove a lot of tissue. That’s going to be very painful, there’s no doubt about it. I’ll also want to scan the leg again in the morning and make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

Dinah reached out and clutched Crystal’s hand. “To have that thing eating into my baby! Oh Crys.” Dinah looked as if she were about to break down and cry.

Crystal put her arm around Dinah. “Hang in there Dinah. I need your help here.”

Dinah nodded. “I know. I’ll be okay. It’s just that the children have always been so healthy. I’ve never really had to deal with anything like this.”

Alex joined them “No one has. Di, I’m going to start looking at this thing, and the other specimen we have from the trees. I’ll figure out what it is and we’ll be able to deal with it.”

“Let me show you to one of the spare rooms here, Crystal.” 

“Mama!” Owen cried. 

Evan was sitting beside him, but obviously an Uncle wasn’t good enough for the little boy.

“Coming dear,” Dinah said, rushing to the boy’s side. 

Evan approached Crystal. “I’ll show you some place you can rest.” 

“Thank you,” Crystal collected her duffel and followed him from the room.

Evan led her down a hallway to a closed door and opened it up for her. “This is one of the spare rooms we use for workers when we harvest. I usually get it aired out before it’s used.”

He pointed back in the direction they had come. “Across the hall from the lab is a dining area. I’ll have some coffee ready for you when you wake up.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate that,” she said. 

Evan nodded and left her to herself in the small bedroom. 

The rock walls were whitewashed, and someone had drawn a mural on the wall opposite the door. It was painted to look like a window, complete with lace curtains blowing in the breeze. Outside the window was a valley with tall trees growing in it and an Eagle hovering in the sky. The bed was just a small single cot. There were no sheets on the bed, but investigation of the chest of drawers provided a blanket, sheets and a pillow in the bottom drawer. There was a desk against the wall by the door, and both a power and data connection for a slate on the desk. She pulled her slate out of her bag and plugged it in. That would recharge the batteries, and she called up the scheduling program and set it to wake her with music in two hours. She was fairly certain she would be needed about that time.

A door on the left-hand wall led to a small washroom. The shower was just big enough to stand in, and there was a child’s t-shirt hanging from the towel rack. Another door led out the other side of the washroom and she cracked the door and peered into another bedroom.  This one was no bigger, but it held two small cots. There were a few toys scattered about the room, and the drawers to the dresser were not shut all the way as if someone had left in a hurry. This must be the room Alex and Dinah’s children had been staying in.

She returned to her room, stripped off her jumpsuit, made the bed, and stretched out on it. She willed herself to sleep even though her thoughts were travelling at light-speed thinking about the operation, the boy’s family, and Evan’s marvelous blue eyes…

It seemed no time at all before the music began playing on her slate. She rolled over, eyes still closed and listened to the chiming of different clocks as the song by Pink Floyd started up. It was one of her favorites. With her eyes closed she could imagine being in a room filled with all those different clocks, each chiming in its own way. As the bass line came in strongly she sighed and sat up. She had seen pictures of antique clocks, and her father had owned a tiny replica, complete with an alarm. It resided in a place of honor in her own quarters now. Remembering the discussion about wood with Evan last night, she thought perhaps she could tell him about the little clock with its wooden housing.

She headed for the bathroom, singing along with the band, “clicking away, the moments that make up the dog days. Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way…”

There came a knock on the door at almost the same moment she opened it to go in search of coffee. Evan was standing there, looking as if he had been awake the entire time, which he probably had. He was holding a mug of coffee. He held it out to her.

“I brought you this. Owen is beginning to complain of the pain. Dinah is beside herself with worry.”

“Thanks,” she moved into the hall with him. “If we got it all, and it doesn’t come back, I’ll be perfectly content. But he is going to be in a lot of pain.”

Evan nodded. “I have everything set up for another scan. We could leave him on the bed for it this time. The equipment is portable.”

Crystal nodded as Evan opened the door into the lab for her. “That would be great. Is Alex still working on the specimen?”

“He’s wrapping things up for now. I think he’s planning to try to get Dinah to lie down for a while.”

“Good. Have you had any sleep?” 

Evan shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll help you get things the way you need them then grab some sleep myself.”

Crystal nodded and headed for her small patient. 

By the time they left the atmosphere and John had set a course for home Deep was nodding off, and Bella was blinking bravely. It was time to settle into the routine of the journey home. There had been a time when John had recoiled at the idea of children on Eagles. Even when his children were little the idea had intimidated him, and he always preferred having reinforcements along to deal with the children on long flights, usually Helena or Alan, ideally both. But somewhere along the line between parent and grandparent he got used to traveling with kids. He knew Bella and Deep were good kids and had all the experience from his own children to back him up.

In reality, Bella and Deep were much easier to deal with together than Emma and Alex had been. His grandchildren actually got along with each other. Bella was protective and supportive of her little brother and Deep adored his older sister. Alex and Emma could never be in the same room for fifteen minutes without finding something to argue about. The only hope with them was to keep them too busy to interact with each other.

John looked at the two children belted into the co-pilots seat. Bella sat with her arms around Deep, his sandy blond head leaning against her shoulder. He caught Bella’s eye. “Let’s get some sleep, pumpkin.”

Bella nodded and unfastened her seat belt. She prodded her brother and he crawled over her and into his grandfather’s arms. Bella opened up a bunk in the back and John deposited the sleepy boy on the bunk, removed his shoes and covered him with a blanket Bella silently handed him. She was already unfolding another cot and was pulling down the third cot by the time John had kissed him and tucked him in. He turned and tucked in the exhausted Bella in her own bunk.

She blinked and stared up at him. She whispered, “Grandpa, will Owen be okay?”

He sat next to her on the narrow bed and pulled a strand of blond hair from her face. “Your Daddy and Uncle Evan will be doing everything they can to find out what’s hurting him. And Dr. Crystal is getting that thing off of Owen right now.”

Bella bit her bottom lip and nodded. John kissed her and she threw her arms around his neck and held him tight. John hugged her back and settled her into bed. John lay down on the cot between the two children and dimmed the lights with his slate. Bella reached over and grasped his hand. They dropped off to sleep, hand in hand.

Owen weathered the operation without complication. He had some pain, but Crystal monitored him carefully and kept him on pain meds, consulting Richard, Helena and Halima frequently, as all of them had more experience with pediactric medicine than she did.

Their main concern was whether Crystal got everything and whether it would grow back. Alex was also working hard to find out what this creature was, how it operated and what it was doing to the trees and human tissue.

They ran scans on Owen’s leg every six hours. Dinah stayed by his side constantly. Crystal could tell she was terrified that this thing would devour her baby. Alex asked Evan to find further evidence of the organism. He wanted to know how many trees were effected, and where they were located. They had to find out where this organism had come from, what kind of habitat it had in its normal environment.

The first two days Evan went out alone, spending all the daylight hours outside making notes and marking trees. Crystal could see his progress in the lab because Alex had set up a grid system in the computer and as Evan marked effected trees, they showed up on the schematic in the lab. It was a tremendous area to cover tree by tree. After the second day of this Crystal asked if she could help examine the trees.

At first Alex was against it. “We don’t want you getting one of these things on you.”

Evan disagreed. “I could use the help Alex. And we need you in the lab and Dinah won’t leave Owen.”

“Can’t leave Owen,” Crystal corrected. Owen would allow his father to sit with him while Dinah fixed meals, but other than that he insisted that his mother be at his side. She was the only one who could comfort him when the pain got bad. Crystal was doing her best to reduce the pain with meds, but short of putting the child on some sort of electronic anesthesia and keeping him unconscious she was unable to find anything that truly stopped the pain. “right now he needs her. But he doesn’t need me hovering over him too.”

“Besides, she’ll have on pants and boots like me, and we’ll inspect her every evening to make sure she didn’t pick up anything.” Evan added.

Alex winked at Crystal. “I think Evan is volunteering to give you that nightly inspection.”

Crystal had grown up around Alex and was used to his teasing, but she noticed Evan blushing furiously. Crystal simply reached over and cuffed Alex on the arm as she had frequently seen Emma and Richard both do when they were growing up. Alex grinned and laughed as Evan stammered that surely Dinah could help Crystal check for these leech-things.

It was like watching a light bulb go on in Alex’s head. His eyes lit up and he sat up straighter, fingers snapping. “Leeches! That’s it, little brother. I knew there was an Earth animal they reminded me of. It’s leeches.”

“Weren’t they some kind of insect that sucked blood?” Crystal asked. 

Alex was already calling up information on his slate. “That’s right. They were a parasite. They would attach to a host, and had developed a secretion that allowed their bite to be relatively painless. They would stick to the legs of an animal or a person and suck blood out of them.”

Evan was also looking up leeches in the computer. “It says early doctors used to try to cure people of things by actually putting leeches on them and letting them suck out someone’s blood. That’s… disgusting.”

Crystal nodded. “That’s why I remember hearing about them. It was disgusting, but that was what early medicine was like. Helena made us read about all kinds of bizarre procedures that used to be valid medical practice. But this thing is actually dissolving and absorbing muscle tissue,” Crystal said.

“That’s because we—and the trees—aren’t really part of the food chain it evolved in. Owen didn’t have any pain until we cut it off of him. Not until it got really big and his body began to fight it. They might be adapted to certain native plants in the area, and our blood sugars or the tree’s sap doesn’t truly satisfy its needs, so it continues dissolving them. I really need to find its native habitat.”

“That’s all the more reason for me to help Evan.” 

Alex finally nodded reluctantly. “Okay, tomorrow you can start. Crystal? Could we move Owen into my bedroom for the nights now? It would be a lot easier on Dinah.”

“That should be all right. At this point, it doesn’t matter where he is. If we were on Alpha I’d be encouraging you to get him out and keep him distracted from the pain that way.”

“Except we can’t go back to Alpha, or even anywhere else on Loki, until we get a handle on this leech and its effect on Earth plants,” Alex said grimly. He looked at the other two. “We may be here for quite some time.”

The other two nodded solemnly and began to make plans for the next day. 

Alex’s father was echoing that same phrase to two restless grandchildren.

“But why?” Deep asked. He had just talked to two of his friends from school who were going to play soccer.

They had made it to Alpha without incident and landed at the isolation lab. There was a landing pad for the Eagle, a boarding tube on the surface, and an underground observation room big enough to hold an Eagle and whatever cargo it brought. There was also a test lab and two small sleeping quarters and a commons room with a small kitchen and grow window. The isolation lab had its own power and life support system so that if anything went wrong here, the rest of the base would not be effected.

“Until your dad finds out just what that thing on Owen’s leg was, we have to stay here at the lab. Come on, Sport, we can take the ball out into the lab and play some there.” John shepherded the two children out into the observation tube. Owen sighed and kicked the ball toward the door. Bella, always an enthusiastic soccer player fielded the ball by the door as it opened and dashed through it. The two children laughed and played, kicking the ball to their grandfather and taking it easy on him, and chasing the balls he kicked back to them with little finesse. Soccer had never been his game. The children laughed and told him it was called football, not soccer, when he explained that he would be happier playing baseball. Owen dashed back to the room he was sharing with Bella and returned with baseball and gloves for all three. John grinned. Bill Fraser had stocked the lab for them, and had included plenty of toys and clothes for his two
grandchildren. His old friend not only knew what their grandchildren liked, but also knew John’s tastes.

For the next two days Crystal tramped through the trees with Evan. They stayed within sight of each other, and covered plenty of ground once Crystal learned what she was looking for. The smooth dark leech slipped into the cracks in the rough barked pine trees. Evan had already covered a large area and they were beginning to find more and more trees that were infected. Each evening, Crystal stripped down and let Dinah help examine her for signs of the leeches.

During the day she and Evan would stop and share lunch in the field. Evan began to relax a little more around her and she began to realize that he had a sense of humor despite the current emergency and a terrific imagination. Right now, their overactive imaginations were giving both of them plenty of ‘what ifs’ concerning these Lokian leeches. Evan confided his concern for the trees in his charge, as well as what these things do if they were let loose in Dover or on Alpha. Crystal could only grasp Evan’s hand and shudder at the thought.

Owen began to feel a bit better. His leg still hurt, of course. Crystal continued to consult with Helena, Richard and Halima. She was afraid there was nerve damage, but she would need equipment from Alpha detect and treat it. There was no sign of any re-growth of the creature on Owen’s leg. The adults all found that to be a promising sign. Evan helped Crystal devise a cushioning boot for Owen’s leg.  He was encouraged to get up as much as possible. It was hard to put his weight on it, though, so Evan also fashioned a small crutch for him.

On the third day they moved down a ridge into a low wet spot. The trees split to either side of a small streambed. Evan moved to one side and Crystal to the other. At lunch time Evan crossed the stream to Crystal’s side, pushing through bushy underbrush along the stream. He pushed aside a thick bush and a dark spot on a branch caught his eye.

From the bank above Crystal asked, “What is it?” 

“I think I’ve found one on a native plant.” 

“I’ll call Alex,” Crystal said, pulling out her slate. 

Alpha’s tree plantation had been expanded upon each season. This year was the largest yet. Evan and Alex had developed a strain of pine trees that grew quickly and they had spent the last winter starting thousands of the tiny seedlings. In the sunlight of Loki’s spring with the warm rains that swept regularly across this section of the northern continent, the trees were now all more than twelve feet tall. They were lush and green and covered hundreds of acres. In another year they would be harvested and used for furniture, paper and various needed chemicals. The Alphans could still use twice as many trees as were planted here.

Two evenings later Dinah had dinner ready for them outside, under the canopy. Alex carried Owen out to join them. His appetite was good and there was no sign of secondary infection. Loki was an odd place. Some of its few creatures they were finding were harmful to humans, like these leeches. But microbes didn’t seem to like the Alphans’ flavor and infections were rare, more commonplace on Alpha than Loki where all the germs from Earth simply could never be filtered out.

Alex was spending most of his time in the lab trying to determine the relationship of the leeches to the native plants and seeing if there was some way to deter them from attaching themselves to the trees. He ate quickly and returned to the lab. Owen grew tired and Dinah took him back inside. Crystal volunteered to wash up, and Evan said he would help her, but when the others left they continued sitting on the bench at the table looking out over the forest below them, the sunset, and the smudge of smoke against the sky, remnants of the burned trees.

Evan slipped his hand over Crystal’s and she smiled softly at him, moving closer to him on the bench.

“I love to watch the sunsets,” she said quietly. 

“I do too. It’s one of the nicest things about being here.” 

“Funny, we both grew up in space, you would think we wouldn’t care for them.”

Evan nodded. “I’d never been here until my father brought me here when I was nineteen. I didn’t think I’d like it. But by the time I was supposed to go back to Alpha, I couldn’t bear to leave it.”

“Alex said you were a med tech? I don’t remember seeing you in Medical Center.”

“I worked on C-2 first. And I didn’t stay on Alpha long. When I did go back, I worked with the trees in hydroponics. Richard tried hard to get me to come back to Medical Center, but I didn’t want to give this up.” He held out his hand to encompass the trees and the view.”

“It’s beautiful.” Crystal looked up at him. “Despite the circumstances, I’m glad I came.” He had incredible blue eyes, like his father and older brother.

He bent over and touched his lips to hers. “I’m glad you came too.” He kissed her again, and she leaned against him enjoying his touch and his taste. In some way, she felt very at ease, very much at home, here on the mountainside in the sunset.

When they came up for air, Crystal asked, “Do you think I can come back some time? Like when you need help harvesting?”

“I’d like that a lot,” he said with a charming crooked smile that reminded her of his father. He was a very handsome man.

They stayed under the canopy until well after sunset and both of them enjoyed washing up the dishes much more than they ever had before.

When Crystal woke the next morning and joined the others in the lab area Alex was talking eagerly with Evan and Dinah.

“You don’t have anything bigger?” 

“There’s some things tucked away in the kitchen. We use them when there are more people here helping with the harvest,” Evan replied.

“That’s what I need. Di? You can cook this up, can’t you?” Alex was asking.

“Cook what up?” Crystal asked. 

Evan put his hand on her shoulder as she walked up beside him. “Alex has created a concoction that seems to counteract the leechs’ secretions that allow it to attach itself to the trees.”

Alex looked at her. “I want to paint it on the trunks of the trees in the infected area. Then we can monitor them for a while and see if any additional infections occur. I also want to see how it effects the organisms that are already attached.”

“Is the stuff toxic?” Crystal asked. This could be the answer they needed.

“No, not at all. If this works the way it did on the specimens here in the lab, this should be the answer to the problem. I’ve already talked to Dad, and I think we can let them out of isolation. If they had any of the leeches with them, they would have grown by now.”

Crystal nodded. The worst seemed to be over. Owen was recovering, and they had found something to at least save the unaffected trees. Whether this could save the infected trees would remain to be seen.

“We can also get some volunteers from Dover to help treat the trees,” Evan said.

“Yes, we’ll just need to stay watchful and wear protective clothing. We’ve all been in the area and haven’t picked up any of these things.”

“Evan and I can still get started treating the trees as soon as you have some of this stuff brewed up, right?” Crystal asked. The crisis was over, and she knew she could probably leave on the Eagle that would bring others from Dover, but she found that she didn’t really want to go.

“Of course,” Dinah said. “Let’s go see what kind of pots Evan has stashed away.”

Dinah pulled her toward the kitchen. “I think you would kind of like to stay around Evan for a while longer,” Dinah said to her when they were alone.

Crystal blushed. “Well—yeah.” She admitted. “I like him.” 

“Good, because he seems to like you, and Evan is awfully sweet. It’s time he met a nice girl and settled down.”

“I said I liked him, Dinah. You’re already trying to marry us off!” 

“Oh come on, Crys, you two have obviously hit it off. When Alex first told us he’d come up with something to deal with this, the first thing Evan said was, ‘will Crystal have to leave?’ He doesn’t want you to go.”

“Dinah, I’m going to need to go back to work soon. I can’t stay here indefinitely.”

Dinah was opening cabinet doors and peering under counters. She got down on her knees and began pulling pots from the back of a cabinet. She handed them out to Crystal. “You can stay for a while. And come back for visits. And Evan doesn’t have to play the hermit down here all the time. He could visit you too.”

Crystal took the pots from Dinah and set them on the counter. “Dinah, I don’t want to fall for someone who’s going to spend all his time on another planet!”

Dinah turned and sat on the floor, legs criss-crossed. “Honey, I think you already have. Now we just have to find ways to get you two together.”

She had to laugh. “You make it sound so easy.” 

“It’s never easy. If I were given my way, I’d come down for a week’s vacation at the beach and never touch Loki otherwise. But I’ll probably be here for most of a year, because this is where Alex wants to be.” Dinah reached in for one more pot then stood. She checked them all, obviously finding more dust than she wanted, and began to run hot soapy water in the sink.

Crystal found a towel in a drawer and prepared to dry the pots. “I’ve spent most of my life having to do what worked out with someone else.” She shook her head and added. “I don’t know that I want that sort of complication now.”

Dinah turned and looked at her. “That was your dad. You had to take care of him. It’s different with a husband. Believe me.”

“I guess,” Crystal said with a smile. “You and Alex do seem to get along well.”

“Oh, we have our differences occasionally. He knows I’d rather be on Alpha, and that I think the kids need to be around other kids more. But behind it all, we’d rather be together than apart. So we compromise. To be honest, I prefer the off seasons, summer and winter, when he has to be home.”

“Another year until summer comes. You’ll be here until then?” 

“Here, Dover, a few other really remote places. I may actually send him off to some of those while the kids and I go home for a while. But I always miss him terribly when we’re apart, and I worry that he doesn’t eat right and take care of himself. He’ll get so caught up in his projects that he literally forgets to eat and sleep.”

“I guess he’s lucky to have you around to keep him in line.” 

“And I make certain he knows it,” Dinah said with a laugh. 

The next two weeks were busy. They began to coat the trees as soon as some of Alex’s coating was ready. An Eagle brought a half dozen people from Dover, all of them temporary workers from Alpha. Crystal and Dinah had the rooms ready for them and Crystal and Evan showed them how to coat the tree trunks using tanks and sprayers that Alex had asked Karim to send up to them.

They received a message from the Commander that he and the children were returning to Loki with Richard’s family and meeting Helena and the Carter boys at the beach as they had planned. Crystal waited for him to ask for her to meet them there. She was, after all, along on this trip to help with the twins. She wondered if Dinah had perhaps spoken to him. Or maybe Alex or Evan had asked that she be allowed to stay and help.

They worked hard during the day, but she and Evan found time to exchange smiles, and usually they managed to take a walk together at sunset.

By the end of the week, all the trees had been sprayed. Dinah, Owen and Alex were ready to leave as were the helpers from Dover. Crystal packed with great reluctance. There was a tap on her door as she zipped up her jump bag. She turned and opened the door. Evan stood there looking solemn. “Alex said he’s ready to leave.”

“I’m all packed,” she said, stepping aside and silently inviting him in. “Are you coming with us?”

Evan shook his head. “I can’t right now. I need to keep an eye on things up here.”

“I guess so.” Crystal stepped closer and Evan slid the door shut as he pulled her into his arms.

“I’ll miss you,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. She put her arms around him and he held her close.

“I’ll miss you too. You’d better write to me.” 

“I will. But it’s not the same.” He kissed her again. 

“No, it’s not. Can I come back again?” she asked. 

“Any time you can.” Evan took her bag and walked her to the waiting Eagle.

Dinah and Owen were already on board. The other Eagle, bound for Dover, had already left. Evan glanced toward the door and pulled Crystal back out of sight of Dinah and Owen and gave her a last kiss. Crystal took her bags and walked up the steps. She was glad the emergency was over, and relieved things worked out as well as they did. And she marveled that she and Evan seemed to have found something special during such a time of stress.

Evan stepped back and waved as Crystal turned. The door closed between them, but they both hoped that another door had opened up, and would remain open.