Alan headed home to his quarters. He was looking forward to a quiet evening with his family; or, at least as quiet as it gets with a 3 week old infant and a three-year-old preschooler. He was tired and the usual bounce in his steps was missing. It had been a very long day working on the installation of the new Eagle simulator. Still, the challenges of childcare would be refreshingly different from the mechanical grunt work of getting the hydraulics to mesh correctly with the honorably retired Eagle command module, not to mention the challenge of getting Computer to oversee it all. Right now, the old bird zigged when he wanted it to zag and the gravity generators kept cutting out at the wrong times. Alan had to smile at the memory of Bill Fraser turning green when the command module had shimmied in a funny rolling motion, kind of like a fish doing a belly flop. Whoever would have thought a former RAF fighter pilot was prone to sea sickness? At least that wasn’t a problem they faced in space.
Rounding the final corner, Alan was surprised to see Alibe coming from the opposite direction holding hands with a tearful Danae. He went down on one knee and held out his arms to the little girl who ran to him and buried her head in his shoulder. The recent scare of Danae’s abduction by a mentally ill Alphan still caused Alan to worry at any sign of distress in the child. Helena and Bob said to simply watch her and be supportive and let her talk it out, but Alan worried about what long term scars the event might leave.
“Hey there, what’s wrong?” Alan spoke softly and ran his hand down her long, silky silver hair.
“Horse is lost!” The cry came out between sobs and sniffles.
“Horse? Where did you see her last?” Horse was Danae’s much beloved stuffed animal, a handmade gift from Maya on her first birthday and Danae’s constant companion. Alan couldn’t recall Danae ever having left it behind before. It was almost like the two were surgically attached. Alan looked up to Alibe who shrugged.
“I was bringing her home as a favor to Maya when she simply started crying in the travel tube. I thought Sandra might know what to do.”
“Thanks anyhow, Alibe. I’ll take it from here.” Alan smiled his gratitude as the data analysis tech turned to leave and then he sat down on the floor cross-legged to face his daughter.
“Alright, now. I bet your Mum and Richie are sound asleep, so why don’t we try to figure out where Horse might be on our own. Deal?” In fact, Alan knew Sandra was asleep. He had left Eagle Bay 3 with enough time to check in quietly on Sahn and the baby and then go get Danae from the crčche and keep her entertained. He wanted Sandra to nap as long as the baby would allow.
Danae nodded, a patently miserable expression crumpling up her little face.
“Now, let’s think, you had Horse when I dropped you off at the crčche this morning, right?”
“Yes, Papa.”
“Good enough, let’s start there.” Alan unfolded his long legs and stood up, swinging a startled but no-longer crying girl up on his shoulders. Attempting a trot down the corridor, he headed to the nearest travel tube, relieved to hear the happy laughter above his head.
Danae loved the travel tubes. Sitting next to Alan, she would hold his hand and lean into the motion and sway happily in the curves enjoying the feel of the mild acceleration. Yep, she was his daughter.
The doors opened to a corridor near the hub of Alpha and they took the elevator down to the childcare center on level seven near the Command and Medical Centers. It was certainly not the most convenient childcare center to the Carter quarters, but this was where most of Danae’s little friends could be found and Alan and Sandra felt it important to keep her routine as normal as possible after the recent fright.
The doors to the creche opened to Alan’s commlock and Danae ran ahead to search the converted storage space. Although Annette Fraser had been the adult on duty this morning, now a member of one of the construction crews not very familiar to Alan was watching the two children waiting for their parents.
“Hello, Jack. We’re on a missing horse hunt. Happen to see a small stuffed one about so big?” Alan held his hands about fifteen centimeters apart.
Anyone involved with childcare knew about Danae’s stuffed Horse, and the man shook his head in negation. Just then Danae walked up to Alan, tears standing in her eyes. Well, this place was a no-go then. He lifted Danae and settled her on his hip, a smile on his face.
“Hey, we’ve only started, little love. Where did you go next?
Danae screwed up her face in concentration. “Mrs. Collins came in to get Adam and she called Mommy and Mommy said it was alright to go with her to look at some plants.”
Good grief, thought Alan. Shermeen could have taken them anywhere in the hydroponics sections or underground to the catacomb farms. This was not looking so good. “Do you remember which plants you looked at?”
“Uh huh, the flat ones that have all the pretty white flowers. They smelled really nice.”
Alan smiled widely. Those could only be the espaliered orange trees over by Nuclear Generating Facility 1. It was felt that area was out of the way enough and secure enough that the kids wouldn’t bother the fragile plants.
“Can we trot again, Papa?”
And a few minutes later, Yasko was surprised to see Alpha’s chief pilot trotting past Command Center with a silver haired jockey.
The corridor by NGF 1 was curtained off with a transparent lightweight polymer covered with the old international sign for no entrance superimposed upon a crudely drawn rendition of a honey bee. Shermeen must have moved one of the hives here to help pollinate the flowers he could see covering the small trees. Alan loved oranges, but the thought of hand pollinating all those blooms was daunting. Thank goodness for those Russian kids and their low gravity honey bee experiment. He remembered ferrying those ten queens up about four months before Breakaway. At the time, he had lived in fear one of them would get loose inside the Eagle, but now he sent up a prayer of gratitude each time he heard the little low pitched buzzes when he visited the farms.
“Do you see Horse in there, Danae?” Would they see the stuffed animal if it was behind the portable hive?
“She’s not there, Papa.” There was enough certainty in the girl’s voice that Alan was willing to accept that as fact.
“Where did you go next, love?”
“Lunch!”
That made sense. Pilots and preschoolers ran on their stomachs he had discovered over the years. Especially the preschool offspring of pilots. He picked her up again, this time settling her on his hip, and walked off in the direction of the main cafeteria. Several elevator trips later, he turned down the corridor to the main dining hall when Danae lifted her head off his shoulder and looked around.
“No, Papa. Our cafeteria.”
Alan knew Danae meant the auxiliary cafeteria by the pilots’ ready room by Pad 1. “Mrs. Collins took you there?” Few people other than pilots, the Eagle maintenance staff and their families used the small facility.
“No, but Adam wanted to see it so I took them. He wanted to see an Eagle.”
Well, you couldn’t see the Eagles from the small cafeteria, but one of the more artistic maintenance techs had painted a nice rendition of one on the wall.
Changing directions once again, Alan hopped a travel tube for the short trip over to their new destination.
It was close to the end of the regular dining hours when one could get a hot meal, although dietary always did keep this location well-stocked with sandwiches and fresh fruit given their irregular hours of the pilots.
The door opened and Alan swung Danae down to the floor. She ran over to the table under the painted Eagle and looked around. No luck. Alan sighed and looked over to the dietary workers and was happy to see Juanita and Maisey on duty here today. Not much slipped past Juanita.
“G’day, ladies. We’re hunting for Danae’s Horse. Have you happened to see it today?”
“No, sir.” As always, Juanita spoke up first. “We got busy there for a while when Danae and Mrs. Collins and little Adam came in, but I didn’t see no little stuffed horse left behind. Did you Maisey?”
Alan looked at the thin, pale dietary aid, Juanita’s faithful shadow, “No, Mr. Carter. I would’ve kept it safe if I had.”
“I know you would’ve, Maisey, but thanks all the same.” Alan turned around, hands on his hips as he surveyed the table and chair cluttered room for his daughter. He felt a tug on his jacket and looked down. She was standing immediately in front of him but was peeking around him and waving to the dietary techs.
“Where next?” He had a tired smile on his face. For a small child, Danae had a more interesting social life than most adults.
“Kevin took me to see the sim..u..la..tor.” She said the new word slowly and distinctly.
“Kevin did? Where did you meet him?”
Danae turned and pointed to a table. “There, Papa. Mrs. Collins had to go back to work so she called mommy and mommy said I could go with Kevin and he would take care of me.”
It made sense. Kevin Taylor loved kids and was a frequent volunteer in the crčches, but why hadn’t he seen the girl and the pilot?” He’d been working on the simulator all day. Oh… he had stepped out after lunch to meet briefly with John over an issue of a flight drill schedule for one of the pilots who could never seem to find the time. Namely, John.
“Alright, off we go.” And with daughter in one hand and a carrysack sandwich meal in the other, they headed off yet again.
It amazed Alan that Danae showed no apprehension about entering the simulator chamber off Eagle Bay 3. This had been where Rachael Simms had held her hostage for those terrifying hours only three weeks ago. But, then again, the little girl had been mercifully unconscious for most of the time and seemed not to connect this place with that event.
Alan and Danae poked about unsuccessfully and then, as a special treat, climbed into the battered command module and sat in the pilot’s seat. Danae curled up in Alan’s lap, too tired to push all the interesting buttons like she usually tried to do. Alan was becoming seriously worried. If they couldn’t find the silly thing, what were the odds of getting Maya to make another?
“Did you go anywhere else, Danae?” Alan felt the tired girl nod her head against his chest.
“Medical Center to see Aunt ‘Lena.”
Alan was no longer surprised at the places the child had been to. “How did you end up there, love?”
“Kevin was taking me back to the crčche when we saw Roberto. He was crying and holding his arm funny so I told Kevin I would go with Roberto and hold his hand to make him feel better.”
Well, the next stop appeared to be Medical.
After sharing the sandwich with his daughter, and then giving Danae the cookie he had found included by Juanita, the two Carters headed out to the nearest travel tube.
Medical Center was unusually quiet. Auntie ‘Lena was no where to be found, but Ben Vincent helped them with their unsuccessful search. Danae was close to tears. As Alan again picked up the little girl and settled her on his hip, he turned to the doctor. “How is Roberto, Ben? Danae said he hurt his arm.”
“He’s okay. Helena said it was just an elbow dislocation that was easily reducible.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“We went to Command Center so that Roberto could see Auntie Maya.” Danae did not even bother to raise her head off Alan’s shoulder or even open her eyes as she volunteered the next stop on her day’s perambulations.
Alan looked at Ben with a tired grin. “See ya’, Ben.”
As they headed down the corridor to the Command Center, Alan thought he had better check in with Sandra soon. She might be getting worried about her missing family members. But, then again, all she had to do was call him once she woke up. He really didn’t want to wake her if he didn’t have to.
Command Center had changed over to night watch mode. The lights were lowered and several of the senior techs were running routine status reports. Alan thought quickly. Yes, John was the command officer on back-up call tonight. Good. He would be ready for bed once he and Danae got back to their quarters. He gently put Danae down and joined the now familiar search once again. At least Command Center was a lot smaller than the old Main Mission. It would have taken a while to completely search that old vault.
Danae pulled out the chair at her mother’s station and climbed up on it. She turned around and sat down, tears running down her face. “Papa, what if we never find Horse?”
Alan squatted down in front of the sad child. “Did you go anywhere else?”
The girl shook her head no. “Alibe took me home and then we found you. Papa?”
“Don’t worry, love. I’ll think of something, but let’s go home. I bet your mum is starting to look for us.”
Danae just nodded her head and lifted her arms for her father to pick her up. Home was too far for her to walk. Once again, she snuggled trustingly on Alan’s shoulder. She just knew her papa could fix anything,
Alan nodded goodnight to the duty staff and left Command Center. He spent the silent trip back trying to think through the negotiations necessary to get hold of some of the old beige uniform cloth and then have Maya make a new horse. By the time he approached their quarters, his shoulder was soaked through by the quiet tears of the crying child.
The door opened to Alan’s commlock and he stepped inside. Sandra was curled up on the sofa feeding Richard an early evening bottle. Her face bore a happy, contented look.
“I was almost ready to call you…” She smiled up at Alan and Danae but quickly became concerned at the distraught tears on Danae’s face.
“Horse is lost!” wailed Danae.
“Lost? No, it is not. Danae, have you forgotten? Aunt Annie took it this morning to fix the tear in its back.” Sandra watched Danae’s and Alan’s faces change to delighted relief and flabbergasted amazement respectively. Looking back and forth between her daughter and her husband, she laughed at their expressions. “Have you been looking for it?”
“All over bloody Alpha,” Alan muttered into Sandra’s ear as he leaned over to kiss her and admire his son. Sandra stifled another laugh.
Just then, the door chirped, and after quickly checking to see who it was, Sandra pointed her commlock to open it. Annette Fraser walked in with a newly patched and washed Horse. She had used some brightly colored patches made from discarded uniform sleeves and it gave the little animal a lopsided, whimsical appearance. She had even added a mane and tail.
“Horse!” Danae squealed with delight as she took the repaired toy from Annette and danced around the room, all the earlier despair forgotten.
“Ready?” Annette asked Sandra.
“Yes for Richard. I have not had the chance to feed Danae.”
“Done.” Contributed Alan as he watched with growing confusion as Sandra passed over a small overnight kit filled with kid supplies. He looked between the two women. “Am I missing something?”
Sandra looked at him with mild exasperation. “Annette and Bill offered to keep the children tonight. We did discuss this this morning. Unless you have other plans, that is?”
“No.” It seemed the prudent answer. Alan walked into the bedroom to shed his coat and shoes. He stopped when he realized what Sandra had laid out across their bed. He walked over and ran work-chaffed fingers along the silky folds of her golden sleep shirt and over all the tiny mother of pearl buttons down its front. Ah… Sandra did have plans for tonight. Memories of other nights Sandra had worn this special shirt flitted through his mind. Yeah, she definitely had plans for tonight. For the two of them. Alone. And it had been three weeks since Richie’s birth…
A slow smile crossed Alan’s face. Right. He dropped off his coat and shoes and rejoined the organized chaos in the front room.
“Ready, Danae? Thanks much Annie, we’ll return the favor.” He gave Danae a good-night hug and kiss and a gentle peck on his son’s forehead.
Sandra looked over to Alan and they shared a smile of anticipation.
“Bye, Papa.” And completely comfortable with this change in plans, Danae happily left with Annette, one hand clutching her beloved Horse and the other holding trustingly onto Annette’s. The door closed and peace abruptly descended.
“You forgot,” Sandra accused Alan with a small smile.
“Yeah, well, I had a missing horse to round up.” Alan walked over to Sandra, but she placed a hand on his chest holding him at arm’s length. Looking down at her and grinning he asked in mock contrition, “And what will it take for you to forgive me?”
Sandra smiled back, but then ducked away and headed to their bedroom, her body language showing she was still a bit miffed with him.
Alan watched her pick up the sleep shirt and enter the bathroom. She couldn’t be all that put out with him, then. He dimmed the lights, turned on Sandra’s favorite music and pulled off his shirt as the fatigue of his day slipped away. He stood still, just enjoying the music and the quiet when Sandra silently walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. The feel of her silky garment against his bare skin and the memories associated with it caused him to be instantly and fully aroused. He turned around and looked down into her beautiful face to see that she had finally forgiven him. He ran a hand down her soft hair.
He bent over slightly to share a wonderfully slow and deep kiss. The feel of Sahn’s hands on his back dipping lower and lower finally spurred him into action. He swept his lover off her feet and carried her into their bedroom where he planned to enjoy himself immensely undoing all those tiny buttons.
Tonight was going to be simply wonderful.
26 January 2006
MGK