"Geordie, it's time to put your blocks away," Esperanza told the boy.
He looked up at Esperanza with his chubby cheeks and little pout, ready to ask for five more minutes. But she had already been too lenient this evening. She had let him have two cookies and stay up nearly a half hour later than his bedtime. Esperanza had a hard time saying no to the little boy. His blocks were piled into some structure that looked like a ship with the curves of the base. She hadn't asked because last time he had rolled his eyes as if it should be obvious.
"'speranza," Geordie sighed.
"Here, I'll help you," she offered, kneeling down to pick up the blocks and put them back into the bin.
They cleaned up quickly and Esperanza found Geordie's nightclothes. He brushed his teeth as she lifted him up to the sink and then he spat out the paste, spraying nearly everything in the bathroom. Esperanza shook her head, but wiped it down with a laugh. Geordie tried. He considered himself to be a grownup, despite his age and size.
"When will Blair be home?" he asked.
"Soon," she promised. "I'm sure he'll wake you up, pas mal?"
He nodded, wiping the toothpaste off his face and then crossing the room to the small bedroom. Blair had packed a bin of toys and clothes for his son as if Geordie was staying one week and not one day.
"Will we play tomorrow?" Geordie asked, pulling the covers back and snuggling into the bed.
"You aren't tired of me?" Esperanza teased.
"No," Geordie yawned, closing his eyes.
Esperanza slipped out of the room though left the door cracked so she could check on the boy. Lully and Blair should be back any minute now, so she took the time to clean the berth back to pre-four-year-old levels and stored the leftover cookies in a tub. Lully could take them to work with his lunches if she could keep him from eating all them right now.
She heard the door slide and she looked up to see Lully and Blair enter the berth. They were both sweaty, but that didn't stop Lully from scooping her up in his arms and nuzzling her cheek with his beard. Every time he did something like this, she wanted to shave it off in his sleep.
"How was baskets?" she inquired, squirming out of his arms to retrieve some cups for water.
"Sunshine," Lully said. "We missed you telling us to take water breaks; Emerson almost passed out. But no one got hurt," he added, when Esperanza put her hands on her hips.
"And for you, Blair?" she asked.
Blair nodded, managing a smile. "It was fun. The rules are weird, but fun. Was Geordie all right?"
Esperanza nodded. "He was great. We made cookies, we played with blocks, and he went to bed. He's a good kid, Blair."
"With you, he likes you," Blair scoffed. "I can't get him to explain why he gets into so much trouble with Anita. He punched a kid last week. He's four; I don't think I knew how to throw a punch at that age let alone aim for the solar plexus."
"I'll ask?" Esperanza offered. "Maybe he'd tell me."
Blair glanced toward the small bedroom and sighed. "I guess we should head out; I don't want to keep you."
"Don't be moonshy; you and Lully haven't had any cookies yet," Esperanza protested. "Unless you're done with us, of course. But we don't mean to run you off."
Blair looked conflicted. Esperanza knew he wasn't eating much and so this would be a good way to make sure he had consumed something today. He was so thin and hollow, as if Victoria's absence had taken something out of him. Lully seemed to pick up on her worries and clapped Blair on the shoulder, leading him to the couch.
"If we're very good, maybe my partner will let us break out the rest of our wine."
"Unless I drank it all," Esperanza laughed.
Lully pouted at her. "Petal, you didn't."
"I didn't," she agreed. "Here, take the plate and I'll get the bottle."
It was the rest of what Levi had purchased a week ago. Esperanza hadn't quite understood why Levi had insisted they take it, but she hadn't argued. Lully had been trying to save up credits for more work at the lake, not that it matter right now with no more materials.
"So are you excited about the expedition?" Blair asked Lully.
Esperanza divided the wine into their former water glasses and took a sip of hers.
Lully shrugged. "Not really. I'm just babysitting the printer while Emerson tests materials and gets to do other exciting things. I understand that not all of the work we do is glamorous, but I'm going to be kilometers from the base, sitting under a tent running diagnostics and tapping my foot. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather be in my office. At least then I'd be able to come home to Esperanza."
"I'm supposed to go," Blair remarked, wine glass in hand. "But, it means that I'd have to leave Geordie with someone, and I'm not thrilled about that. Madison says someone from medical has to go, but Esperanza works with cryo, and Florence just got her partner, and Madison obviously can't."
"I could talk to Madison," Esperanza suggested, a plan forming. "Then I could go with Lully and you could stay here with your son. We would both be happier. Cryo can live without me for a week or two."
Blair glanced toward the small bedroom and sighed. "Only if you want," he said. "But I would be in your debt. I already can't thank you enough for watching Geordie."
"Nonsense," Esperanza told him. "You are my friend, and you don't deserve how this cycle has treated your family. I'll talk to Madison in the morning, and I'm sure Lully is already plotting to convince Vertov it's a better idea for me to go than you."
Lully chuckled. "You know me too well, Esperanza. And you're right, I would much rather see your face everyday than Blair's. No offense."
"None taken." Blair sipped his wine. "Based on the rumors I've heard about you, we'd end up in a ravine somewhere fighting off native killer vines or something equally absurd."
Lully groaned. "You get shot once and people think you constantly run into danger's arms. It was only the one time."
Esperanza rolled her eyes. Lully had only stayed out of trouble because Esperanza kept him from continuously checking on their wayward friends. Harper and Cameron were a mess unto themselves, but Dylan and Levi weren't any better. Esperanza wanted a partner to come home to and worried that the others' antics would get more people killed.
Blair set his glass down and yawned. "Thank you for the evening, but I should get Geordie home now," he said, rising from his seat. "I'll see you tomorrow, Esperanza. Good night, Lully."
Esperanza set her own glass down and opened the door for Blair to pick up his sleepy son. He looked down at the box of toys and clothes and frowned.
"I'll bring it in the morning," Esperanza promised. "Good night, Blair."
Lully gave him a smile and a wave as Blaire left their berth. Esperanza sighed and returned to sit next to Lully who handed her wine back to her.
"Do you want to come on the expedition?" Lully inquired. "I don't want to bully you into it."
"I do," she yawned. "I'd love to see more of the planet, and it'll be lonely here without you."
She snuggled up next to him and Lully put his arm around her shoulders. As they sat there, the room seemed quieter and their home emptier; the earthstorm was ending. The silence was eerie after weeks of roaring wind outside the base. It always amazed Esperanza how they could get used to such a loud sound.
"We'll leave soon," Lully remarked, his voice sounding loud and strange in the quiet. "I'm sure Vertov will stage it in parts; there's no sense in medical coming out until we have some shelter set up. And we can't just leave one of our printers exposed to the wind and other elements. I bet builds and exploration are prepping now; we can't waste any time."
"I'm sure Vertov and Curie are handling it," Esperanza told him, tilting her head up to kiss him. "We'll have our turn to frantically prep I'm sure."
He laughed and took a sip of his wine. Esperanza watched her partner with a frown. There was a conversation they had been avoiding, and while she hated to ruin the good mood, she wanted to talk about kids again. She loved watching Geordie, but mostly because Esperanza wanted her own children.
"Lully, I need to tell you something."
"Oh?"
He quirked his mouth into a smile as she watched him contemplate all the things she could want to share. She wished her news were happier.
"I took my birth-control out," she said, rotating her arm to show the scar.
Lully sat up straighter. "Petal, I thought we were going to talk about this first."
"Let me finish," she requested. "I took my birth control out before Landing Day. Madison and I talked about it and I didn't want to upset you unnecessarily. But it's been cycles, Lully."
"That doesn't mean anything," he told her quickly.
"Oui, it does," she replied gently.
Lully's face fell. Esperanza hated seeing him looked so crushed and knew that she should have involved him from day one. But she hadn't wanted to get his hopes up; that would have been worse. "But Lully, we have another way. Madison has been trying to think of ways around our genetic pool shortage and she wanted to try in vitro fertilization. She was hoping we would be interested."
Esperanza explained some of the broader details of the procedure, hoping that Lully would be amenable. She knew that he wanted kids, they both wanted kids and now they had the chance to help the base and start a family, even if it was with some help. Esperanza had known that the surgeries and transplants had diminished her chances of getting pregnant, but Lully had been so optimistic that she had remained hopeful for far longer than was practical.
"And it's safe?" Lully inquired. "For you and the baby?"
"Oui, and Madison will be with us every step of the way," Esperanza promised. "She wanted me to start treatments now, but we can wait until after we get back from this expedition."
"We've waited this long," Lully agreed. "Why didn't you tell me, Esperanza? I wish I would have known before now."
She dropped her gaze to her empty wine glass, feeling guilty about keeping this information to herself.
"Petal?" he pressed.
"I didn't want to make you sad," she told him. "And you never wanted to talk about the possibility of not being able to have children. I'm sorry, Lully."
He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
"Don't be sorry," he replied. "I'm the one who put you in that position."
Esperanza could feel Lully's damp shirt through her own clothes and she wrinkled her nose, looking up at him.
"Why don't you shower and we'll go to bed?" she said, tugging him up from the couch.
"Shower? You don't think I smell nice?" he laughed.
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Welcome to the new book! It's going to be slow going because I'm super embroiled at work, but I believe firmly in consistent updates. If I'm behind, you guys will know it. Thank you for reading and supporting me!