Chapter 10

Laura and Simtare lived in a rather less than ideal neighborhood, inconveniently far from the transit lines. The houses were all well cared for, though, and the streets clean. It was far better than the equivalent regions of Glasgow, where I'd grown up, even if it was nowhere near the quality that even a student on a limited housing allowance could manage.

Despite the hour, the girls were still up. Simtare looked frustrated, and her expression got worse when she saw me. She didn't say a word to me, though, confining her remarks to Laura.

"They've been nearly unmanageable since you let slip that you were going to see him. Every five minutes, it's 'Is Sean going to come to see us?' and 'When can we see Sean again?'. It's driving me insane."

Simtare seemed stressed far beyond the level that two active three-year-olds could provoke. Clearly Laura wasn't the only one who was worried about her relationship with me. Of course, where Laura feared it would fail, Simtare feared it would succeed.

Speaking to nobody in particular, I said, "It seems to me that certain little girls should be in bed right now. Maybe, just maybe, if they cooperate with their mommies, right away, there might be time for a story once they're in bed."

In a flash, the two little demons headed for the back hall, and their mothers followed, Laura with a smile, and Simtare with a frown. A few minutes later, Laura was back, and beckoned me to join her. I found Simtare standing over a small bed, with two cute little heads peeking out from under the covers. An old-fashioned storybook, printed on actual paper, sat open on the bed beside them.

Fortunately, it was written in English, and quite brief. I mustered my feeble dramatic talents, and read the story, doing different voices for the different characters. I was aiming for enough energy to draw their attention to the story, but not enough to excite them to the point they would resist their bodies' need for sleep.

I achieved my goal, because when I finished the tale, I looked up to find them both asleep. I looked up to the watching mothers, and saw tears in Laura's eyes. Even Simtare had backed off considerably from her initial hostility. She didn't look at all friendly yet, but I had clearly convinced her I wasn't a wild animal bent on destroying the limited sanctuary she'd scratched out in a hostile universe.

I stood quietly, and found the spot where the book normally resided. I shelved it, and turned to leave, waving the ladies ahead of me. We went down the hall to the main room, and I carefully settled down on the couch. Nervously, Laura settled in next to me, pulling my arm around her. She seemed at a loss for words, so I decided to take the bull by the horns, and started in.

"As must be obvious, Laura and I have reached the point where we are seriously considering marriage. She told me about her history with Roger, which necessitated telling me about your history with him. I do not believe in 'racial guilt', so I will not apologize for him, but neither will I allow myself to cause further damage to a life he nearly destroyed.

"I love Laura, and wish her to become my wife. She remains conflicted, afraid of further harm should I not prove to be the man she hopes I am, and afraid of harm to you, should she leave you to join with me. It seems clear to me that the two of you, in alliance, have established a viable household, perhaps even a family, that neither of you could sustain alone.

"If I take Laura away from you, you will suffer. If I bring you into my household against your will, you will suffer even more. The only acceptable option to me is to determine what you will require in order to be comfortable with the idea of living under the same roof as a member of the same species as the monster that killed your mate and destroyed your happiness and the happiness of what I suspect is your only human friend."

Simtare hadn't met my eyes once while I spoke; she'd been watching Laura instead. What she saw there seemed to take something out of her. She spoke with a resigned bitterness.

"Or you could just leave, go back to your pets, and let us live our lives unmolested." The word 'pets' was spoken with a particularly bitter tone.

In as matter of fact tone as I could manage, I said, "The idea of a fur-less ape shoving his reproductive organ into an opening reserved for the elimination of waste products repels you. And the concept that someone could allow it, let alone enjoy it, disgusts you. Personally, I'm not interested in being on the receiving end, and I confess that a considerable part of the attraction in doing it to someone else lies in the fact that it is unnatural, and an expression of power over them. Since I enjoy doing it, my sense of fairness doesn't allow me to think badly of those who like to have it done to them.

"Unlike you, however, I've never had someone try to force himself on me, in that way or any other. And I've never had an unsuccessful attempt end in the death of someone I loved. While I do not claim to understand the depth of your pain, I can accept its existence, and try not to add to it.

"If I am forced to choose between losing Laura and causing you pain by taking her away, I will reluctantly choose my needs over yours. But in doing so, I would cause her pain, so I am willing to go to great lengths to prevent it. She loves you, as she would love a sister, and if you love her the same way, then I believe you will be willing to at least try to find a solution.

"I do not expect to convince you tonight, so I'm going to go now. Think about what I've said, please."

I looked down at Laura and told her, "We're not going to be intimate until we've solved this, but I still want to see you as often as you can stand; at the very least, I want to hear your voice. If you try to convince her, be very careful not to force her hand; no threats, no extortion. If she yields under threat, it will only make matters worse down the road."

I guided her face to mine, and kissed her. Then I gently disentangled her from me, and stood up. I looked at Simtare one last time and said, "Someone who has survived the pain you faced must have strength enough to make a very dangerous enemy. I hope that I don't become your enemy, but if I do I am prepared to defend myself and my mates as fiercely as you avenged yours."

There was still some hostility in Simtare's eyes, but I thought I saw something else, something that hadn't been there when she first saw me. I might be reading too much into her expression, but I thought I saw a certain amount of respect there.

Laura spoke up from the couch, her voice trembling with emotion.

"He's right about how I feel about you Simtare; I love you like a sister. But I love him too, and I would hate to have to choose between you. Before you force me to, remember that we have less than a year before Lisa's fourth birthday. When she turns four, they'll send me back to Earth, and you'll be alone anyway.

"If I marry him, his student visa will keep me here for a few more years, and we'll be able to help each other that much longer. Tarmant thinks she can help him get his grades high enough to reach High Honors, and citizenship, and if that works, we can be together forever."

If there was hostility in Simtare's eyes when she looked at me, there was only love when she looked at Laura. Again, I might have been fooling myself, but I thought I could see the first faint cracks in the wall. I decided to leave before I inadvertently gave up some of the ground I'd gained.

"I love you, Laura," I said, "Call me tomorrow."

"I will. I love you, Sean," she replied.

I turned and left.

My membership in an oppressed minority as a child had led to several mild obsessions. One had been the history of oppression. Another was the martial arts, which had given me the confidence and tools to resist oppression without actually resorting to combat. And, in a combination of the two, I'd studied the various freedom movements where a repressed minority sought to overcome the forces that 'kept them down.'

It was that last study that formed my actions the next several days, as I undertook what the old strategists called 'battle-space preparation.' I maintained near-constant contact with Laura, ostensibly merely in support as she struggled with her demons and Simtare's, but in fact also supplying motivation to 'close the deal' and obtain the rewards of physical intimacy to match the emotional bonds we'd already formed.

I also obtained an inexpensive but not unimpressive ring with which to seal our upcoming betrothal. Finally, I researched the history of Parnam's and Roger's deaths and Simtare's trial. I didn't want to pressure Simtare in any way, but I wanted to know everything I could about her history so that I didn't trigger her defenses. I was careful to keep that last aspect away from Tarmant, because I suspected she wouldn't be nearly as scrupulous.

One night, everything I'd done since waking up that morning with two furry strangers in my bed came together in a single massive coincidence.

Laura had been particularly tender on the phone that day, and apologetic when she said we couldn't get together because she and Simtare had plans for a rare meal out together. I'd done the noble thing and encouraged her, knowing full well I was binding her that much closer to me by 'allowing' her some freedom.

Tarmant's proud announcement that she was definitely pregnant led the three of us to plan our own celebration. I decided, with the full concurrence of my mates, that dinner at Rorke's would be appropriate.

When we got there, the place was packed, and we squeezed into a table tucked into a back corner of the room. We were having a very good time indeed when I heard a bitter female voice with Craxill overtones say, "Perverts!"

Things got quiet around us, and I looked up to see a sneering young female glaring at us. I glanced around, and saw a considerable amount of embarrassment on the faces of the onlookers, but at least a little sympathy for her position.

There was a table of three adults and two small children some distance away, with an unfinished meal sitting in front of an empty seat. The adults were a rather tall, dark-skinned human male, a fair-skinned blond human female, and a rather delicate-looking Craxill male. The children where a chocolate-brown baby girl, and a Craxill boy who strongly resembled the young woman who was glaring at me.

I turned my gaze back on the aforementioned female, and let my anger show.

"Were you speaking to us?" I asked in the coldest tone I had.

Suddenly nervous, she nodded silently. I indicated the table I'd noticed with my eyes and said, "And that is your family?" Again, she indicated assent, obviously cowed.

"How dreadfully ironic. Return to them. Tell your lord I would like to speak to him, if he is of a mind to do so."

She fled, obviously glad she'd somehow survived, and I saw her speak to the human male, who glanced sharply in my direction, then stood and came to our table.

When he reached us, I gestured to the empty chair at our table, and said, "I am Sean Mac Chen. Please, be seated."

Puzzled, he did so, and said, "My name is Martin Roberts. Nilwint said you wanted to talk to me."

"A pleasure, Martin. Did she perhaps say why I requested your presence?" He shook his head, and I continued. "I am an Earth citizen and currently unmarried. I have bonded to these two, who have mated, and are expecting a child. Tarmant is a drone, and Naltort is not. One or more of these facts offended Nilwint enough that she accused us rather vigorously of being perverts."

Martin looked rather displeased. I wasn't sure if it was because of my recitation of my sins, or at his bride's lack of taste in pointing them out.

"I take it from your manner and your accent that you are native-born. Does your family happen to be one of those that pass their history from Earth on to their children?"

Martin nodded, and said, "I am, and we do. My people come from Atlanta, in what is now the New Confederacy."