Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

Part 19 - A Living Gift

The dogs settled into life on the NX-01. There were too many of them, and they were often underfoot, so most of them were quickly shipped off to the still-unnamed planet. Karin Bernstein-Rosen – for she had married Josh – and Jonathan found a great deal of satisfaction in training a lot of the new canines. They could get them all to sit and stay, and come when they were called. They had simple names, like Champ. The two retrievers were black – Midnight and Shadow. The ship joined in the namings and it seemed that everyone got a chance, even the Ikaarans, who were amused by the special bond between humans and canids.

Time off the ship had been good for the captain, and for Esilia, who had joined them. It had been a few months, and the air was decent and not recycled. But the lighting was somewhat dim there without artificial light, which was a power drain. Their efficiency was as good as they could possibly make it, but it was still difficult to grow crops there, despite their best efforts.

Back on the ship, they sat together for lunch. The captain had adopted the little tricolored dog and had named her Daisy. She sat, hoping for a morsel or two to drop. Brian served. "Another BLT, sir?"

"No, no, that's all right," he said, "You?"

"Oh, no, it is already too much. After so much want, to be around so much plenty, it is easy to overindulge," Esilia explained.

"Can I come back later for the dishes, sir? I, uh, I want to see my girl, if that's okay."

"Of course," allowed Captain Archer. Brian practically ran out of there. "He really likes Izquilla."

"I am certain that she appreciates him. Do you think he will give her a living gift soon?"

"A what?"

"You must have known this from the last time, Jonathan," Esilia explained, "When you give someone a living thing as a gift, it is to propose marriage. It is a very intimate act."

"I see. Here, Daisy," he beckoned the dog over with a small morsel of bacon and got on one knee. Lifting up the little dog, he stated, "Daisy, Esilia is your new mistress. I am giving you to her because; well, because I love her."

"I accept your living gift, and all that it entails," Esilia answered, "I will love you until the decline takes me."

"Let's hope that's a long time from now."

=/\=

Lili was in the galley, chopping vegetables. Despite her higher ranking, she still did that; Will almost never had, but her management style was far more relaxed and she didn't mind preparing or cleaning up.

As Ian had predicted – although she didn't remember – the little tan dog was hers. The mongrel dog had been named Cocoa, but Lili often called her Cokie. Cokie had had three puppies in Sick Bay but, to keep them from getting in the way, they had been transferred to a little boxed-off area in the galley. There had been a contest to name the three female puppies and Meredith Porter had won, with Windy, Breezy and Stormy.

Cokie's mate was evidently a pit bull, and had been named Sparky. He was technically Craig's, but he spent his time mostly with his little family and that meant the galley. He and Cokie were intently watching the vegetables, probably wishing they were meat.

"MACOs are down on Amity's surface, looking to catch procul. That's why you guys were brought on board in the first place. But I don't think any of you, personally, will be herding procul. I think the five of you will just be pets, like Daisy. Probably Shep and Champ and Duke will do the herding, eh?"