Thwack! Thwack!
Two phase bows fired at almost the same time. One quantum packet of light hit its target, flashing acid yellowy-green on a tree. The other missed and flew out to parts unknown.
"No, no, Melissa. You've gotta keep your elbow up," Doug said, "Watch."
He aimed and fired, and the acid yellow-green light again hit the tree. It didn't make a permanent mark, just showed where he had hit and then vanished.
"Okay, okay, sheesh! You're such a pain!" she said, "This thing is heavy."
"I got you a lighter one. I didn't get you a kids' version, though. You won't be able to hunt effectively with a kids' version. Now, here, I'll guide you."
He got behind her and held her elbow up, breathing gently. She fired again, and missed again.
"Your form was better that time," he said, "but why are you still missing?"
"'Cause you're close by, Captain Beckett. It's ... distracting."
"Oh," he said. He turned and faced her, and kissed her, "We still have to bring at least one of these things down before we're done. Otherwise, Lili won't have anything to serve on the sixth."
"It's only the first," she said, "So I was thinking. We could spend our time today doing something ... else."
He smiled at her, eyes a bit more crinkly and hair a bit more steely-looking these days, "What do you suppose we eat tonight if we don't bring down a perrazin?"
"One of those little scampery things."
"A linfep? There's a reason they're called that."
"Which is?" she asked.
"The name means little mouthful. The fep part of a Calafan word always meanslittle. So we'll need to catch a lot of them in order to have any sort of a decent meal at all. Plus they're fast."
"But they can't outrun a quantum light packet, right?"
"No, they can't. But you still need to aim better. Now, let's try again. Elbow up. Aim for the tree."
She shot again. This time, she hit the target.
"Much better that time," he said, "Now let's take it off the lowest setting."
"It's still heavy."
"Yanno, we practiced this while dreaming, Melissa."
"I know. And we did a lotta other things as well," she smiled, "But I always dreamt of a phase bow as being lighter than it really is. Huh."
"Okay, my bad. I shoulda given you that info before we started hunting at night. C'mon, you're strong. You can lift a phase bow. Aim for, uh," he looked around, "Shh. Over there," he pointed to where the undergrowth was slightly disturbed.
She shot again. There was the slightest of rustles in the undergrowth. She reached in and pulled out a linfep. It looked like a rabbit – more or less, if rabbits had tusks, "Dinner is served," she said triumphantly.
"Okay. Much better," he kissed her, "Let's head back to camp."
"And let's eat later," she said.
"Ah ha. You have plans?"
"Of course I do."
"You really want another baby, Melissa?"
"I do indeed. And with you, you icky boy."
"Me?" he smiled at her as they walked, "You sure you don't wanna do the whole lab thing? I gotta figure your partner would prefer that."
"She's not the one having the kid. Let's conceive this one in love."
"That'll work for me," he said, "Lili's winding down anyway. This one should be my last child."
"That's a little bittersweet to you, eh?" Melissa said, "What do you think of Neil as a name?"
"Neil? We haven't even done it yet and you've already got a name picked out?"
"It's to honor Norri. Somebody should be kinda, sorta, named after her."
"Then you should name the kid Leonard or something, for Leonora."
"Ha, no. Reed is, like, the only person she seems to let call her that."
"Ha, Reed. He's at my house by now," Doug said, stopping for a second.
"You jealous, Doug?"
"Nah. Well, a tiny bit. I work on that," he said, "Now, let's go make a baby."
=/\=
Malcolm was there. The shuttle had let him off and he stood at the end of the little path leading to the house's front door. She wasn't outside yet, probably getting a little face washed or something like that, he figured. He held a duffle in one hand and presents in the other. And the smallest present was in one pocket. He had checked and double-checked to be sure it was there, and intact. It was in the pocket right over his heart, which was pounding like a schoolboy's.
"C'mon, Joss! Let's go! Marie Patrice! Let's go!" he could hear her say, a slight tremor in her voice betraying her own excitement.
She came out with the two kids, hand in hand with each of them. They struggled to get free so she released them and they hugged him excitedly, "Mackum! Mackum!" they both yelled.
Marie Patrice, the daughter, was a toddler of a year's age, with blonde curls and chubby, rosy cheeks. She looked and acted like a three-year-old. Joss was older – almost exactly two and a half chronologically, but he looked and acted as if he was already five. He was shedding his baby fat and looking much more like a little boy than a baby.
Malcolm knelt down to greet them. He smiled up at Lili as she came over, "They have not talked about anything else since you and Melissa agreed to come over. I'm glad the Enterprise could get close by."
"Lili-Flower, you look wonderful," he said, "A glorious sight."
"Even though I've got peanut butter in my hair?" she said.
He straightened up, and they hugged, "More later," she whispered in his ear, "When we get to the hotel."
He nodded and smiled a little, a private signal between the two of them, "Who wants a present?!"
The two children jumped up and down and shrieked.
"All right. We'll do this in the house if you can wait a few moments," he said, "I need to put my other things down."
They followed him and Lili in.
The house was small and there was a new addition, partially constructed, to the side. Malcolm noticed it and asked, "What's that going to be?"
"Marie Patrice's room. Right now what we're using gets a lot of light. So somebody doesn't sleep that well. We'll convert her old room into a sunroom I think. Or maybe it'll be for guests. Right now, it's turning our lives upside down."
"I can imagine. All right, now, let's see," he exaggerated a careful perusal of the presents, "Here's one that says Marie Patrice on it, I think. And we all know it was her birthday recently, so she should go first. Can you read that, Joss?"
"M-A-R...," he read off slowly, "Yes! It says Marie Patrice."
She tore it open and looked at it, "Ball?" she asked.
"Yes. It's a soccer – sorry – football," Lili explained, "You can kick it. But only outside."
"J-O ... this one is mine. Thank you, Mackum," Joss said.
"He's very responsible," Lili said, "Marie Patrice, what do you say?"
"T'ank you," she took her treasure and ran outside.
"One of my second-favorite girls," Malcolm said.
"It's a shuttle model!" Joss exclaimed.
"Yes. And you can also configure the pieces to make an old-fashioned train if you like. See the picture?" Malcolm said, "And the pieces aren't small. No worries with Marie Patrice."
Joss took his gift outside, "Empy! Empy!" he yelled, "Come see what I got!"
"Empy?" Malcolm asked.
"M. P. is Marie Patrice – he couldn't say her whole name when she first arrived on the scene," she smiled, "It's just us. Come close a sec, before they get back here."
He did, and they kissed.
"Oh, I have missed you," he said.
"You see me every night."
"I know, my love. But it's different in person. Why is this meeting happening at all? No complaints, I'm just wondering."
"Melissa wants to have another baby. Didn't she tell you?"
"I think I filed that information away. The last bits of the Earth-Romulan war were rather ... busy," And bloody.
"I was so worried about you," she said.
"I'm all right. And so are most of the people you know," he smiled, "The war's over. Time to get back to the best parts of our lives."
They were about to kiss again when the door opened.
"Ah, Yimar!" Lili said, "Thanks for taking them for a few days."
"Oh, they're not a lotta trouble. Hiya, Malcolm," she said. She was a native Calafan girl, eighteen years old and becoming poised and confident. Her silver arms shimmered.
"You're looking very mature," he said.
"Yeah, I guess so," she said, "The kids are excited that we're gonna go ride on the big transport."
"We're gonna take the car," Lili said, "Call me if you need me."
"They'll be fine. We're gonna go see the big animals at the zoo on Lafa IX," Yimar said, "Don't tell them. It's a surprise."
"Not a word," Lili said, "Joss already knows what he wants to be when he grows up."
"Oh?" Malcolm asked.
"A veterinarian. Although he can't quite say it right yet."
"C'mon, who's going on the transport with me?" Yimar opened the front door and called outside.
The children ran back, Marie Patrice kicking the ball. She didn't have good aim yet, but a lot of power.
"I said no kicking in the house," Lili said.
"Yes, Mommy," Marie Patrice said, "We're going to Lafa uh, nigh-yin," she explained to Malcolm.
"Yes, I understand that. You're going to have a wonderful time," he said.
"Come with us!" Joss said.
"We have, a, uh, a grown-ups holiday planned," Malcolm said, "Very dull for such clever children as yourselves."
"C'mon, let's head to the transport," Yimar said. After many hugs and kisses, she departed with the kids.
"Just about ready to go?" Malcolm asked, just a tiny bit anxious. He really wanted this vacation to go well. The littlest gift was still burning a hole in his pocket.
"Yes. I do have a quick question for you. You give the greatest presents, Malcolm. And you have been so kind to send peanut butter and all sorts of jams for the kids. They never seem to run out."
"I don't want them to," Malcolm said, "They aren't mine and I know I don't need to provide for them, but I do care about them. And if they can have their peanut butter sandwiches then I know that it makes things easier for you, my love."
"Thanks. It definitely does," she kissed him, "But the lone jar of orange marmalade. You know I love it but I think there's more to it than that, in particular as it's the only one from Fortnum & Mason."
"Oh, you noticed that," he smiled, very, very pleased, "Of course it has significance. It's the oranges. Do you recall, a few years ago, when you were still working on the Enterprise, there was this one day when Chef made everything with oranges in it?"
"Of course I remember," She said, "I chopped oranges for hours that day. It was the morning after I had first made contact with Doug."
"Yes. And you were suddenly, you were switched on. You turned into such a lovely creature suddenly. That was, it was the day that I realized I was, well, I was developing feelings for you."
"Really?"
"Oh, yes. That morning. You were, uh, you were wearing that chef's uniform you used to wear."
"Chef's whites."
"Yes," he said, "And I was eating with Captain Archer for some reason or another. And there you were, in chef's whites and this New England Red Sox baseball cap to keep back your hair. And you leaned over and you asked me if I had everything I wanted. It was, uh, there was French toast."
"Yeah. I probably put orange zest in the batter," she said, "What did you say back?"
"You just, you smelled of oranges. And it was like sunshine and, and happiness. And I subconsciously began to understand that I was tired of darkness and shadows and wanted the sunlight. So I, I stumbled a bit over my words and I said, 'Almost.' Ha, and you asked me if I wanted syrup and all of that and I can't recall how I saved face and what I said to you but it became clear to me that I didn't have everything I wanted, because I wanted something new," he kissed her.
"We better get to the hotel in Fep City," she said, "We gotta respect Doug's boundaries."
"I know. And I do respect them," Malcolm said, "Sharing your time – I suspect it's not always easy for him. Much like sharing Melissa's time may not be so easy for Leonora to do. But we persevere. The rewards are too great to not make the effort, my love."
"There are very great rewards," she said, smiling at him and grabbing her bag, "Once we get to the hotel, I'll make sure you get more than a few."