Wife woke up at 0011 complaining of aches and pains. She also had – and has – a fever. One of our weekend pharmacists says influenza is endemic in central Ohio right now. Boomers panic and go to the hospitals, so now there are no beds. It’s the fookin’ flu. Yes, it sucks, but maybe it’s your time, Mr. and Mrs. “We’re spending our childrens’ inheritance.”

So, I’ll post what I have as I’m not sure when I’ll be back to the keyboard. With this RealLife illness, I also mention how Graf was sick early in their mission.

With Mindy’s Intended there, I now have a fresh set of eyes to look at what is going on. He’s obviously not comfortable with the Graf/Pai/Alix situation, but is quickly distracted in hearing of Fusions. And, Graf and Min’s father experiences a little healing, thinking what future might be for his grandchildren.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

“Right!” Graf called.  “My family inside!  Say hello to your other aunt and her Intended, Mister Sendberg.  But!  Before that, everyone wash your hands very well.  You’ve all been around strangers – yes, the legionaries are the best – but still strangers, and I can tell you from the trip I was just on, picking up a new germ is not remotely fun.  I was as sick as a dog.”

“Are you okay, now, Daddy?” Suza asked, eyes wide.

“I’m fine.  Your Auntie and some new friends got me better.  Now, go wash up!”

“Me, too, Graf?” Alix purred, leaning into him.

“Especially you, since you have the most physical contact with our kids.” She took Tér from Pai and went inside.

“Right,” Pai said, walking toward the trucks, “back in a sec.”

By the time she returned, and what took twenty minutes, he wondered, washing and introductions were over.  Min and Joe were setting platters onto the dining table as they heard their father come in from the back door.  Dirty from the farm, he did pause at the kitchen doorway.  Graf watched his features relax into something he’d not seen in years.

“Full house, today, Father,” he said, taking his hand and giving him a half-hug.  “Looks like dinner and after will be many stories.”

“Stories!” Suza shouted before being told to finish with the flatware.

With his cleaned-up father at the head of the table, the opposite remained open in memory of his wife, Graf was at his right with Suza next to him, then Alix and Tér in a booster.  To his left was Mindy and Joe.  No words were spoken, but Alix did briefly lower her head to mutter.  With no reason to eat, Pai was cleaning up the kitchen but would keep an eye on the table to bring more of whatever might be needed.

“Short version,” his father asked, pouring beer into a glass.  “How was your trip?”

“Very interesting,” he began, with a look to his wife.  “I think most of this is not classified…?”

“Just one.  And you know what,” she said, eyes down, drying a pan.

“Right.  We began southeast of here, about halfway to the imperium, in a town called Fort Wayne…”

“You began when you argued with me about my little shrine to the Empress,” Alix interrupted, messing about with her greens.  “So, I’ll start.”

Once she finished and returned to the veggies, why is she not eating the huge roast?  Graf resumed.  Fort Wayne, getting sick, Buenos Aires – a glance to Pai, who nodded – with their talk with Ildi and Doe.

“Wings?  Are you kidding?” Joe could not take it anymore.

“Yes.  They call their new race Fusions.  Sort of flashy demi-humans,” Graf explained.  “Look, until I saw one in front of me, I thought it was all made up, too.”

The San Diego story was short as he left the entire Gordon part out, looking over at the sink to see his wife staring at her hands.  She is still wracked with guilt over it.  Onto Redding and Luce, the most egotistical of the new race they met.

“After a report to Aur… the Empress, we’re on leave.  After all this excitement, I wanted the entire family together.  Not knowing it was getting bigger!” he laughed at Sendberg.  “And, speaking of family, is your stomach upset, Alix?  You’ve barely eaten any meat.”

“You toast- er, your wife has taught you much about paying attention.  Recall you could not even tell us apart when you surprised me…”

“I bet that was uncomfortable!” Joe smiled.  Graf was glad Alix did, too.

“Yes,” she agreed before looking entirely too sly, “but won’t be a problem much longer.”

What?

“Anyway, carrying Suza was easy,” she kept on, now with her hand on her lower gut.  “Tér, love him though I do, was not.  Given how easy I’m getting sick these days, I’m betting another son.  For all of us.”

Joe was choking on his beer and Min thwacking his back.  Never did get to give that explanation on the front deck.  I’d better this evening, after dinner.  It sound as if he and Min are staying around here, so we don’t need weird rumors about us.  Now I just need to find out what secrets my two women are keeping.

“Well, if there’s anything you need…” he waved out the back window, “Pai’s got a rather fast ride and can get you meds or to a doc.  On this world or off it.”

There was a pause in the conversation.  Graf looked to see if his father had a question, but his eyes still wandered about the table.  And into the kitchen now and again.  Pai gave him a jaw-splitting grin with a red flash of her eyes.

“So,” Joe cleared his throat, “y’all have been off the Earth?”

“Me?” Graf shook his head.  “Just suborbitals to get where we needed to be, very fast.  If you want to talk to a real spacer, that’s the LT reservist, here, Alix.  She’s now five trips to the Moon under her belt.  So to speak.”

“And,” she spoke up, “now that you are getting married, Mindy, shall I put your and Joe’s name in for Martian colonists?”

Shocked, the young man stood fast enough to knock over his chair.  Pai picked it back up.

“Uh yu kiddinth me!” he said rudely, with food in his mouth.

“Lots of tests, physical, genetic, mental,” she admitted.  “But, no, I am not.  I made such a promise to this odd family, years ago.  Now I can act on it.  After all, I do have the strangest connections…”

There was a sound Graf had not heard in so long, he did not know what it was.  To his left, he thought his father might be having a medical crisis…  Pai came behind him and put her cheek to his, her arms about his neck.

“Feels good to laugh again, doesn’t it, Father?” she asked.

He was laughing?  Not since…

“My grandkids might be Martians.  I don’t think I believe any of this, but it seems I have to.” Looking emotional, he stood and excused himself, saying he’d be back in a bit.

Pai watched him leave then turned back.  “Seconds, anyone?  Then who wants pie?  And no, Husband!  I do not mean me!”

“Pie!” Suza shouted.  Tér nodded.

Graf and Mindy were trained young that food was only for the kitching and dining table.  Crumbs elsewhere could attract unwelcome visitors.  It was only after they were eight were they allowed to take the local apple or berry juice out into the living room.  It had been warm until sunset, but the temperature dropped fast from the ice to the north.

With their father back, he indicated the loveseat for the engaged couple, the main chair – avoiding the exposed spring – for himself, and the couch for the younger Winsteads, a woman on either side of him, although Suza looked bored and Tér was beginning to nod.

“There’s not that much more to say, well, that we can,” Graf apologized.  “This was, after all, a bit of a scouting mission, assigned by the Empress herself, to get an idea how much this, well, new belief has spread.”

“Northern California to Argentina seems pretty far to me,” his father noted, having been brought another beer by Pai.

“Yeah.  And it sounded like Ildi and Doe were stopping at Panama and the Philippines on their trip home.”

“And where is home?” Joe prompted.  Curious fellow; I think Min made a good choice.  “And, I don’t mean to be rude, but I am having trouble imagining what they even look like.”

“I’ll field that,” Pai said, restanding and going to where their rucksacks were.  Not needing to enter code, she glanced at the black surface, which lit up, and handed it to Sendberg.

“Good Lord!” he breathed.  “They do look like angels.  No, these guys look very badass, excuse me, Min.  I’d certainly not like to tangle with them.”

“Built on a demi-human chassis, so to speak, they are only as strong as humans,” Pai explained.  “Better reflexes, though, so they could shoot or stab you before you were aware of it.  I, and unless my mother is hiding something from me, don’t know what else may be the extent of this new race.”

Tér leaned over onto Alix, breathing soft and regular.

“Well,” she began, “that’s…”

“Time for me to have a sleepover with the kids,” Pai said, picking up Suza and tossing her just to the ceiling.  “Right, Little Niece?”

“Sleepover!” But with a huge yawn.

“My newest nephew ruined my rival’s dinner,” she went on with a look.  “I think you to should do something to wake him up.”

Not knowing what his sister’s new man might say to this, Graf noted his eyes had never left the tablet.  Welcome to a new world, kid.  He turned to Alix.  “That sounds fine, doesn’t it?”

“I think so,” she smiled.

Graf looked across the coffee table.  “Where is Joe staying…?”

“He’ll be going back home, here in just a bit, if he can ever get his eyes off that electric do-dad,” his father said.  He cleared his throat.  “Not everyone is a playboy, Graf.”

He had never, once, heard his father say something like that.  No smile, but his eyes were like before he left the dinner table.

“Thank you, Father.”