Chapter XI

“Okay, for the record, this is not what I was hoping for when you talked about us being sprung,” Eden grumbled to Eli as they piled into the vehicle that was waiting for them.  Eli just grunted at her.  It had been a long and eventful night already, and it wasn’t over yet.

************

Mary had gathered them together in the hallway almost the moment they had stepped from the elevator – doing the same to everyone until the entire contingent of candidates was gathered together.  She met their eyes, conveying the seriousness of her demeanor, then in short, clipped sentences, informed them of the change of venue.  Before anyone could think to question or protest, three young men – all of whom were military by their bearing and attitudes, and two of whom obviously belonged to the woman who had just finished speaking – stepped in front of her, giving Mary the opportunity to slip away.  The taller of them walked forward just a bit, and clapped his hands together to get their attention.  Then he held up his hands to forestall their questions.

“My name is Ian Wellesly – my brother Nathaniel and his husband Joseph,” gesturing to the two men standing beside him.  “I’m going to assume you all know the rest of the security team that has been with you for the last few months.  I know you all have questions and concerns, and they will be addressed in due time.  But right now, we’re on the clock.  Mama doesn’t make decisions like this lightly, and she’s not going to explain anything until she’s convinced of your safety,” his firm tone causing them to glance around at each other.

“So, in that vein, you have fifteen minutes to pack your things and be ready to move out.  Anything you leave behind will be stored, but you will have to do without it until such time as this matter is resolved.”

“And the matter is?” Eli asked.  Ian smirked and arched his brow at his brother who grimaced.  He should have known better than to bet against his mama.

“The matter is we need to move you to a more secure location.  That is all you need to know for now.”

Gray eyes hardened.  “And if we refuse?”

“You won’t, Eli,” holding his composure when Eli’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped just slightly.  “You know Mama wouldn’t do this without a reason, and everyone will be watching you to follow your lead.  Besides, you’re all leaving here tonight if we have to physically move you.  Of course, you won’t have any of your personal belongings to get by with, but that won’t be anyone’s problem but yours.”

“Have you always been a hard ass?”

Ian laughed and even Nathaniel and Joseph sniggered.  “Trust me, Eli – I’m the easiest going of Mama’s kids.  It only gets worse from here.”

“Wonderful,” she murmured.

“With that in mind, go pack your things and be quick.  The sooner we get everyone settled, the sooner you’ll get some answers.  Oh,” he added before they could fully turn away from him, “your comm devices have been disabled for now.”

“Are you serious?”

Now Nathaniel stepped forward and met Eden’s eyes.  “Deadly.  The point of moving you is to protect all of you.  To do that, you have to disappear from the grid for a while.  That means you can’t tell anyone – even your families - what’s going on.”

Eden studied his hazel eyes for a long moment, then nodded.  “All right.  How much time do we have left?” looking at Ian.

“We’ll give you fifteen minutes from right now.  But sooner is always better.  We’ve still got to get you divided up into your groups for traveling.”

“We don’t get to choose who we go with?”

Ian shook his head.  “Mama has already split you up.  Now get a move on – the clock’s ticking.”  That was incentive enough, and soon the hallway was cleared of candidates, and only the security teams remained.

The security team, long used to Mary’s methods, had needed very little time to prepare – only one member of each four person team was still upstairs waiting to accompany their group to their vehicle.  Mary’s boys had arrived ready to go, barely having time to exchange hellos before the candidates had started congregating for Mary’s announcement.  Now it was a matter of waiting for the candidates to return to the hallway so they could be segregated into smaller groups and moved downstairs where the vehicles and security personnel waited to sneak them out to their new, hopefully very temporary locations.

It didn’t take them long to reappear, and true to the pronouncement Mary made to her sons, Eli was among the first out of her room.  Mary signaled Eli to stand beside her, but otherwise there were no words exchanged between them.  As each candidate emerged in the corridor, Mary instructed them which security member to stand with.  When a group was complete, they immediately headed downstairs... except for those with Mary.  They would, by virtue of her position, be the last to leave.

Arianna was among the last to appear, and was somehow unsurprised to find herself with Eli, Eden, Danny and Isaac.  She didn’t say anything and kept her eyes down, having seen the anger and frustration in Eli’s before Eli could pull her mask firmly into place.

They could hear Mary speaking to the other units, but none of them could hear what was being said.  And then it didn’t matter – their belongings were being removed from their possession and they were being propelled into a vehicle and whisked away into the night.

************

“So what were you hoping for, Eden?” Mary asked from the front of the vehicle.  Eden’s eyes widened in surprise – she hadn’t realized anyone other than Eli could hear her muttered comment.  She cleared her throat awkwardly and shrugged slightly.

“Um... honestly?” watching Mary simply cock an eyebrow in her direction.  “I was hoping to get sprung to the transport facility. You know, because the Committee decided to announce the Alpha team that I was part of?” smiling when Mary gave her an understanding smirk.  “Barring that, I’d have been happy with practically anywhere else besides where we’ve been stuck for the last few months.  I’d prefer to go back to the compound – at least we had work to do there.”

“That seems to be the consensus among you kids,” Mary said.  “Not that I blame you for the sentiment.  It’s not like any of you have been away from your respective sciences for this length of time before, and there is such a thing as too much downtime.  And as has been pointed out to me, you haven’t even been given the opportunity to study the discoveries you’ve already made.”

“So what’s the real story, Mary?  Where are we going?  And why?” Eden asked.  Mary shook her head.

“I can’t tell you where... for your own safety,” gesturing at the windowless sides of the vehicle.  “What I can tell you is that you are being removed from the current facilities as a precautionary measure.”

“Someone made a threat against us?” Arianna asked.

“Nothing so blatant.  This is anticipatory on my part.”

“And what does the Committee think?” Eli queried.

“I’ll let you know.  I haven’t informed them yet.”

There were gasps from most of the candidates; Eden, however, snickered.  “I would love to be a bug in the rug when you share that bit of news.”

Mary blinked at Eden’s colloquialism, then smiled.  It still got the point across.  “I’m fairly confident I can predict their reaction.  They will demand that I return all of you so they can complete their interviews and make their choices.  When I refuse, they will threaten me with vile and unspeakable consequences.  And when they realize that I’m not budging and there’s nothing they can do without causing an interstellar incident, they will make a decision and we can move on from there.”

“You’re forcing their hand?” Arianna inquired.

“Not exactly,” Mary replied.  “I do expect that to be one result from having moved you away from their physical presence.  But that would just be a bonus in my book.”

Eli snorted and rolled her eyes.  “Ours too.”

“So you expect us to be wherever here is for at least a week?” Isaac cut in.

Mary shook her head.  “The period of this ‘exile’,” motioning at the candidates, “is of yet undetermined as to its actual length.  It depends on any number of factors that are currently in play.  I was simply giving you my take on what the Committee’s response will be to the fact that you are no longer readily available.  I never offered a timeline to that scenario.”

“You’re as tired of this as we are, aren’t you, Mary?” Danny asked, his eyes studying her closely.

“I won’t pretend that I’m not going to be happy to see this project come to a successful close in the next few weeks, but I will miss you kids when you finally do get to actually begin your great adventure.”

It was silent after that, and in a few minutes they pulled up to their destination.  The driver and other two security personnel left the vehicle while Mary turned back to her charges. 

“All right – when I say go, I want you to leave the vehicle one at a time and make your way inside the building.  Once we’re all in, I’ll show you to your rooms and I want you to stay there until someone comes to get you in the morning.  Tomorrow I promise I’ll give you the full tour, but tonight, I’d like for you to try and get some rest.”

“Are you sure...?”

“Trust me, Arianna. I’m going to take the very best care of you that I can – like you were my own kids.”

Without another word, the five glanced at one another and reached a decision.  Then Eli nodded.  “All right, Ms Wellesly – let’s do this.”  And they headed out of the darkened van only to be swallowed up by the darkness of night.  Then they were in a corridor with five more of their compatriots and waiting for further instructions.

************

Mary was surprised that no one made an issue of the fact that some of their number had joined them or that most of their comrades were missing.  She figured they were suffering from sensory overload by that point and were happy to be shown to their rooms.  They weren’t quite as thrilled about the prospect of sharing space – six in one room and four in the other... thank God for bunk beds – but they managed to sort themselves out without too much difficulty.

Now she was sitting in her daughter’s living room with the rest of her team waiting for Joy to return with her last agent.  They had taken the vehicles back to the underground garage of the hotel the candidates had been living in; it was the best place to hide them.  Joy had picked up the drivers in shifts and returned them to their new posts; she only had to drop her brothers and Joseph off, then she would be returning to her home.

************

It wasn’t the worst family reunion she’d ever had, but it certainly ranked among the screwiest.  She stopped her vehicle to let Joseph out, stepping out to collect the hug she’d been waiting ages to receive.  Joseph got to her first, and the big Navy man lifted her off the ground and held her tight for a long moment.  Then he put her down without a word and moved back.

“You stay safe, Joyfulness,” he said with a teasing grin.  She cocked her eyebrow.

“You too, Joey – you don’t want Mama coming after you for breaking Nat’s heart because you did something stupid, right?”  He gave her a kiss and a smirk, then turned to kiss his husband goodbye.  After a moment, he was inside the building, and they were on their way to the next holding facility to drop Nathaniel off.

It didn’t take long, and Joy emerged from her vehicle once more to get her hug from her youngest brother.  “I’ve missed you, Big Sister,” he said, carefully taking the tiny woman in his large embrace.  He kissed her cheek.  “It’s been too long.”

“I’ve missed you too, Baby Brother.  So you be careful.  We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

He kissed her again and set her on her feet.  “Yes ma’am,” he replied.  “You do the same.”

Joy smirked.  “I’ve got Mama at my house.  Really, Nat??”

He chuckled deprecatingly and shrugged.  “Point taken.  Love you,” he said, opening her door and closing it behind her when she was seated.  He ducked his head and met Ian’s stare.  “Eyes open, Brother.”

Ian nodded sharply.  “You too.”  And then they were off and headed to Ian’s assigned duty.  When she pulled under the portico, Ian was out and around the vehicle before she could actually put it in park.  Once that was done, she stepped out and walked into his arms, holding tightly for a long moment before releasing him.

“Be careful, Ian.  The holidays are coming, and plans are already in the works.  So don’t you go mucking them up, all right?”

He snorted.  “Like Mama or Prue would allow it.  Now go – before Mama sends the hounds out looking for you.”  He lowered his head to meet Ephraim’s gaze.  “Keep an eye on this one, will you, Eph?  She’s pretty special,” ducking the swat from Joy he knew was coming and grinning at Ephraim’s light blush.

“Will you get out of here so I can go home?” Joy huffed.  Ian chuckled and leaned forward to brush a kiss over her cheek.  Then he ran up the steps and waved goodbye before closing the door.  Joy climbed back in the vehicle and rolled her eyes at Ephraim who simply cracked a smile at her.  Then she put it in gear and they headed back to Joy’s home to talk to Mama and the rest of her team.  It would be nice to have the whole story before the fallout started.

************

Mary had already sent most of the agents to bed by the time Joy and Ephraim walked through the doors.  She had given them their instructions, and sent them to bed, wanting them to get sleep while they could.  So Mary was sitting alone in the relative darkness of the kitchen when she heard Joy pull into the enclosed garage and shut off the engine.  In moments, Joy and Ephraim were walking in.  Ephraim looked around and noticed the silence – he locked the door behind them and took a seat.

Joy looked at her mother and Mary just smiled and jerked her head towards the front of the brownstone building.  When they were standing at the base of the stairs, Joy turned back to Mary.  “Mama?”

Mary took Joy in her arms and held on for the longest moment, relishing the embrace.  Like with her brothers, Mary had missed having Joy’s physical presence in her life in recent months.  Even being nearby, most of their contact was done via comm unit and the odd cookie delivery.

“I’ve missed you, Baby Girl.  It’s nice to be here... even with all the crap going on.”

“I’m glad you’re here, regardless of the reason.  And as a bonus, I finally get to meet some of the kids you’ve been telling me about.”

“I should warn you then – you already have a couple of fans among them.”

“Are they dancers as well?”

Mary smirked.  “They are both aware of your reputation as a dancer, but they are huge fans of your cookies.”

Joy’s eyes widened.  “Mama!!”

Mary shrugged.  “What?  They needed comfort, and I had your peanut butter cookies and milk.”

Joy shook her head, but hugged her mother again.  “Do you ever stop being the mama?”  Mary arched her eyebrow and Joy just chuckled.  “Are you sure you’ll be all right down here with just you and Ephraim keeping watch?”

Mary nodded.  “I trust Ephraim to watch my back just like I would his father.  Caleb trained him well – just like he did with your brothers.”

“But just the two of you?”

“No one knows we’re here, and I’d prefer to have a majority of my guys looking out for these kids during the day.  I want them to be able to get out a little at least.  The Committee is driving them crazy and I’d like them to be able to take advantage of this bit of freedom while it lasts.”

“How long do you expect to be here?”

“Depends on how long it takes Gideon and his team to find my link.  I’m pretty confident that one will tie into the other.  Then it’s just a matter of tying all the pieces together.”

“So what does this mean for the holidays?”

“Nothing, I hope... other than I expect we’ll have a house full of kids to celebrate with.”

Joy nodded.  “Good. Prue and I have already been making plans.”

Mary kissed her daughter’s forehead.  “Good girl.  I knew I could count on you.  Now get on up to bed.  I don’t know when these kids are going to be up and moving, and I know how proprietary you tend to get about your kitchen.”

Joy rolled her eyes and snorted.  “Hello, Pot... this is Kettle,” skittering away and laughing when Mary took a swing at her head.  “Goodnight, Mama,” easing her way upstairs to the only room in her home she could claim as her own for the next little while.  Mary stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched Joy go.  It was only when Joy entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her that Mary turned away and walked back to the kitchen.  Ephraim met her smile and offered her a cup of coffee.

“Thank you, Eph,” Mary said with a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for letting me watch with you, Chief.  You don’t know what it means....”

She patted his free hand.  “You’ve earned your place here, Eph.  Never doubt that.”

“Enough that I would be considered a good match for Joy?” he asked, meeting Mary’s eyes squarely.

Mary studied him carefully, taking his measure.  “You talk to Joy.  If she’s interested and thinks you’re a good match for her, you have my blessing.”

Ephraim relaxed and smiled at her words.  “Thank you, Chief.”

Mary took her cup and nodded her head.  “Good luck, Ephraim,” she offered with a small smile and a twinkle in her eye, then moved back to her post at the front of the house.


Chapter XII

Eli was the first to awaken, and she blinked her eyes rapidly as she tried to orient herself.  Then she remembered their unexpected relocation under the cover of darkness the night before, and she let her eyes close and pushed her head deeper into the pillow until she regained her equilibrium.  When she was satisfied she was stable again, she sat up slightly and looked around the large room.

It reminded her a little of a dorm room – aside from the fact that she was one of six bodies occupying it instead of two.  It was also a little like summer camp, though not nearly as big.  Eli smiled.  She had wonderful memories of summer camp when she was a child.  And college had been a great experience as well.  So maybe this temporary living experience could turn out all right as well.  It would certainly be one for the memoirs... if she ever got around to writing them.

With a wry smile, Eli sat up and eased herself from the upper bunk in an effort not to waken her lower bunk mate.  She ducked her head – she wasn’t even sure who had ended up in the bed below hers.  Last night she just wanted to sleep and had basically instructed the rest to find a bed and crash.  She figured any issues could be ironed out in the light of day.

She glanced down at herself clad in drawstring trousers and a long sleeved t-shirt and shrugged as she escaped the bedroom.  She would probably regret the lack of footwear later, but she didn’t want to risk slipping on the stairs in her sock feet.  Not only would it be embarrassing, she’d probably end up waking the rest of the household.

Eli followed her nose and her memory and made her way into the kitchen. Mary was there of course – honestly, did the woman save up all her sleep for a once a month dalliance with the phenomenon?? – as well as their driver from the previous night and two of the agents who had ridden with the other group.  She nodded good morning, and headed straight to the coffee pot, glad there was a stack of cups sitting beside it.

She poured hers and prepared it, closing her eyes and releasing a deep sigh when the first taste hit her tongue.  The others in the room chuckled quietly, and Eli’s eyes popped open and focused on Mary, eyebrow arching in question.  She smiled and waved a hand.

“Your reaction to caffeine this morning kept the streak alive.  Every one of us did the same thing.”  Eli smirked.  Mary tilted her head thoughtfully.  “So what brings you downstairs at the butt crack of dawn, and why aren’t your feet covered?” instantly becoming the mom again to the amusement of her agents.  “The floors are freezing!”  Mary looked around the room and gave her team the stink eye.  “And no comments from the peanut gallery, thank you.”

“Why, Chief?  We think it’s cute when you go all ‘Mama Bear’ on one of us.  Glad to know you do it to the kids as well.”  Mary muttered under her breath, but turned her attention back to Eli, an expectant look on her face.  Eli swallowed and met her eyes.

“I didn’t want to tumble down two flights of stairs.  Pretty sure that would have brought the entire household running, and we’ve had enough excitement for at least a day or two, I think.  And since the only socks I had out weren’t the non-slip sort....”

“And digging through your bag would have woken the rest of your room up?”

“More than likely,” Eli replied wryly.  “I would have needed to find my bag first.  I’m fairly confident it’s in the same room I slept in, but given the way we crashed last night, it’s hard to say for certain.”

Mary didn’t have to turn to know Martha had already left the room.  In another moment she was back, and placing a pair of warm, comfortable non-skid socks in front of Eli.  “Put them on,” she instructed quietly.  “It’ll make the Chief happy and if the Chief’s happy....”

“...everyone’s happy?”

Martha clapped her shoulder lightly.  “You catch on quick, kid.  You can return them later.  More coffee?” she offered as she stepped away, noting Eli immediately moved to cover her cold toes.  Eli nodded as did Reuben and Mary.  Ephraim shook his head.

“No.  I’d like to get a little sleep at some point today.”

“Not before you’ve had some breakfast,” Joy announced from the doorway.  “That goes for all of you, and what are you doing in my kitchen?” glaring slightly and raising an eyebrow in her mother’s direction.  Mary just smirked.

“We were having coffee.  You can mostly expect the pot to stay on for the duration of our stay.  The kids drink some, but you know my team lives on the stuff,” smiling when Joy rolled her eyes and nodded in acknowledgment.  “By the way – Joy, this is Eli... a fan of your cookies.  Eli, this is my daughter, Joy... baker extraordinaire and sometimes prima donna.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Eli.”

“You as well, Joy.  Will you be offended if I tell you that I enjoyed your dancing, but I loved your cookies more?”

Joy laughed.  “Not at all.  Dancing I do for me.  Baking is something I do for everyone else.  If they make you happy, it’s all good in my book.  Now, how many waffles can you eat? It’s what we’re having for breakfast.”

“Actually....”

“Unless that sentence ends with a nice, round number, I’m going to advise you to rethink your answer before you speak,” Joy informed Eli, pointing a wooden spoon in her direction.  “Everyone in this house starts the day with a healthy breakfast.”

“Even the prima donna?” with a smirk.

“Especially her.  Do you know how many calories I burn an hour in practice?  Granted, I usually don’t start with something as filling as waffles, but today is a special day.”

Eli met Joy’s brown eyes, smiling when she realized they were smiling back at her.  She shook her head and chuckled.  “All right – how big?” eyes widening comically when Joy spread her hands about thirty centimeters across.  “Um... can I have half?”

“Sure – that’s about what Mama eats.”

Eli nodded but didn’t reply to that.  Instead, she asked, “Is there anything...?” motioning around the kitchen.

“Actually yes,” Joy said with a decisive nod.  “And don’t take this the wrong way, but I need all of you out of my kitchen.  Refill your coffee cups and go, but get out of my kitchen.  I can’t work with all of you underfoot.” She looked at Mary.  “And please catch the rest of your kids before they come in.  I will call you when the kitchen is ready for invasion.”

Eli and the security team members watched as Mary stood and headed towards the door.  Just before she reached the threshold, she turned back and gave each of them a look.  “Well, come on, ladies and gentlemen.  You heard her, and it’s her kitchen.  If you want to be eating more than pre-packed military meals, I suggest you hop to and move it.”

As a single unit, the other four jumped from the chairs, not even bothering to refill their cups before following Mary out the door. Mary motioned them towards the stairs so they could sit and catch everyone else on their way down, but before she could take a seat herself, Eli lightly touched her arm.

“Ms Wellesley?  Could we talk?”

Mary nodded at Eli and gestured her towards the living room at the front of the house. Then she turned back to her agents.  “When Joy calls, you’re welcome to go back into the kitchen and share breakfast with her and whoever else is up by then.  If the kids complain about not being able to have their morning dose of caffeine, tell them – her house, her rules.  And around here, if you snooze, you lose.  They’ll be able to get it shortly.  Ephraim, if you’re done eating before I’m finished in here,” jerking her head towards the room Eli was waiting in, “do you know where your bed is?”

“Yes, Chief.”

“All right then.  I’ll be back shortly.”  And Mary headed into the next room and closed the door behind her, knowing a confrontation was coming.

************

Eli was sitting calmly on the divan, hands folded in front of her and her eyes closed. Mary could tell by the depth and speed of her breathing that she was meditating, and she took a seat in the overstuffed easy chair to give Eli the time she needed to center herself.  Mary propped her elbow on the arm of the chair and rested her head on her hand.  It had been a long night – both eventful and quiet – and she was tired.  But there was still work to do and things to take care of, so she patiently waited for Eli to speak.

Eli knew the moment Mary entered the room.  The scent of coffee would have given her away even if the slight whisper of sound hadn’t.  But she didn’t yet have the control she sought, so she kept her eyes closed and her breathing even.  After a few minutes, she opened her eyes to find Mary regarding her benignly.

“Why?” she asked, her voice low and level.  “Knowing what you know about us – what I told you and what I’m confident she probably shared, I want to know why.  I think I’m entitled.”

Mary’s eyebrow shot up with Eli’s use of the word ‘entitled’ and she bristled slightly.  Nothing irked her quite as much as someone believing they were entitled to something, although admittedly, Eli had a better reason than most for wanting an answer to her question.  She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“You believe you’re entitled to know why I put you and Arianna into the same group, knowing it could be days or even weeks you were forced to share living space?” Mary asked coldly.  Eli’s eyes snapped up to meet hers, surprised to find a hint of anger in the brown eyes that met her gray ones.  It made her bite her lip pensively, but she refused to break Mary’s stare as she nodded slowly.  “I wanted you together where I could keep an eye on you myself.  You’re here together because in my mind, you are the two candidates that cannot be replaced on this project.  Arianna for obvious reasons, and you for your ability to lead and organize on top of your scientific skills.  And I feel better about being able to watch out for you myself.” 

Eli’s brow furrowed.  “Excuse me?”  She held up a hand.  “Wait... let me finish please.”  Mary gestured for her to continue.  “You brought us to your daughter’s home together thinking we’d be safer than if you split us up and put us with other agents.  Did you ever consider that you made it easier for someone to find us??”

Mary’s eyes flashed her rage, but her voice was as calm and collected as always.  “I started this security agency for the sole purpose of protecting my daughter.  I asked her father to remove the singular physical threat that was made against her before we had safeguards in place to eliminate that kind of issue before it became a problem.  Do you really think anyone would believe I would willingly place her life in jeopardy – for any reason?”

Eli released a deep breath.  “I didn’t realize,” she replied.  “And keeping us together?  Surely it would be safer if we were in different locations.”

“I don’t think that’s true in this case because this is the safest location in the world.  You’ll understand a little better after the full tour.  But keeping you and Arianna is as much for the two of you as it is for my peace of mind.”

Now Eli’s eyes darkened to a flat slate gray.  “You had no right.”

“Actually, I had every right,” Mary replied smoothly, studying Eli with an unflinching gaze until Eli dropped her stare to the hands clenched in her lap.  “Let me ask you something, Eli,” waiting for Eli to agree.  “If it bothers you now – being forced to share accommodations when it’s necessary for your safety - how are you going to survive living together for years once you leave here?”

“I would have had a few weeks warning to prepare,” Eli ground out.  “It wouldn’t have been an overnight change of circumstance.  And once we arrive at the asteroid, we will be working in rotating shifts for months trying to establish the colony.  When we can finally ease off on our initial work efforts like we did at the underground facility, we’ll have created enough space that I won’t be sharing with anyone.  I will have a sanctuary.”

“I see,” Mary nodded.  “Well let me suggest that you get to work preparing on sharing, because that eventuality is a very long way off.” She paused for a sip of coffee, never taking her eyes from Eli’s.  “I understand your position and how you feel about your situation with Arianna – I do.  I may not agree with it, but I respect it.  However, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re going to have to get over it and yourself to make this project work.  You might as well start now instead of waiting until the Alpha team is announced.”

“It’s not as easy....”

“I never said it was going to be easy.  But you need to decide on a course of action and stick with it.  You’re confusing the hell out of everyone right now.”

Eli frowned.  “How do you know that??”

“I’m a mom, and it’s my job,” Mary replied smoothly.  “Frankly I think....”  She started, then trailed off, pinching her nose before rubbing tired eyes.  It really wasn’t her place.  They were all adults, after all, despite her inclination to refer to them as kids.

“You think what?” Eli asked, breaking into Mary’s train of thought.

Mary sighed.  “Do you really want to know?”  Eli nodded.  “I think you would be better served to try to salvage your friendship with her at the very least.  It would go a long way towards smoothing out the situation for everyone.  Barring that,” Mary continued before Eli could object, “keep it strictly professional.  Only interact with her when necessary for the sake of the work getting done.  But don’t blow hot and cold.  Don’t try to include her in group activities and then turn around and leave. It’s not fair to her; it’s not fair to you; and it’s not fair to the rest of the team. You did your part to make sure that everyone knows she needs to be included.  Trust them to pick up the slack on a personal level if you decide to keep things professional.”

Eli kept her eyes on Mary, but her focus was elsewhere.  Mary was content to let her remain that way for however long she needed to reach a conclusion.  Finally, Eli blinked and returned her attention to Mary.  She took a deep breath and sighed.

“Thank you, Ms Wellesly.”

Both of Mary’s eyebrows slid into her hairline and her eyes widened in question.  “For what?”

“For being able to see the big picture.  I seem to have lost sight of that in this case,” Eli offered with a small shrug.  “Is it okay if I go outside?”

“As soon as Joy calls breakfast, yes,” smiling at Eli’s confused expression.  “The short version?  You can go out into the backyard without an obvious escort, but the only way for you to access it is....”

“... through the kitchen?” seeing Mary nod.  “Got it.”

“As soon as everyone is stirring around, I want to go over a few house rules for the duration of our stay.  After that, I have a little surprise to share with you kids and then....”

“... a nap?”

Mary laughed aloud, and Eli smiled sympathetically, even though she had no clue why Mary was laughing.  “Sorry,” Mary apologized.   “But that was funny.  My ‘nap’, as you call it, isn’t scheduled for about another six hours.  I still have to deal with the fallout from the Committee on your disappearance.”

Eli winced.  “Oh, I’m sorry – I forgot all about that.”

“Trust me,” Mary said wryly.  “I would too if I could.”  She heard Joy call from the kitchen and stood.  “Is there anything else I can do for you Eli?”

Eli cocked her head.  “Maybe,” she answered honestly.  “I’ll let you know.”

“Well, you know where to find me,” Mary offered as they exited the room together.

“I do.  Thanks, Chief!”  Her address caused Mary to stutter stop and Eli to smirk before slipping into the kitchen.  Mary just shook her head and smiled, then headed into the kitchen herself.

************

“So where is everyone else?” Isaac asked as the candidates took places around the living room.  They had finished breakfast only moments before, and Mary had motioned them into the living room for a conference.  Several of them had protested the need to help Joy clean up.  But Mary had assured them that was part of the conversation they needed to have and promised they could return to help as soon as they were done with the meeting.  Now they waited for Mary to answer Isaac’s question, but all they got was a shake of her head.

“That’s need to know, and you’re not on my list for that information. Next question.”

“Are you serious?” Eden asked.

“As I can possibly be,” Mary responded without batting an eyelash.  “I’m sure this seems very mystery spy thriller-ish to each of you, but this is my job and your safety,” not wanting to seem too melodramatic about the whole thing, but needing to convey the gravity of the situation to them.  “It doesn’t get more important than that, and I take it extremely seriously.”

They studied her a moment, and one by one nodded their agreement to her words... both heard and unspoken.  Mary let her gaze wander around the room, not surprised when Eli stepped into the breach.  “So what can you tell us, Ms Wellesly?”

“Not much more than I shared with you last night on the way over.  My guys have shared the same information I gave you with the members who were not with us,” directing her comment at Eli who nodded.  “I just wanted to set a few ground rules for our time here,” meeting each pair of eyes to be sure she had their attention.  When she was satisfied, she nodded slightly and cleared her throat.  “This is my daughter’s home – please respect that.  She allowed ten people to move in with her practically overnight, and even though she knew it was always a possibility, it’s a bit of adjustment for her as well.  The kitchen is her domain, so if she asks you to leave, please do so.  She will be cooking for all of us for the duration of our time here.”  This statement garnered cheers and excitement and Mary smiled.  Joy would appreciate the enthusiasm.  “However, she would definitely approve of having help to clean up.”

“I have already started a schedule for that, Ms Wellesly,” Eli interrupted.  “I worked on it after we ate.”  They had eaten in shifts to accommodate those who had risen early and those who had overslept.  “And we’ll try to make more of an effort to coordinate our schedules to hers.”

Mary nodded and saw the surprise, then acceptance on the faces around the room.  “Thank you, Eli.  I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.  Are there any questions so far?”  Mary looked around the room, but no one spoke.  “All right.  Let’s move on.  There are a few more things you need to know.”


Chapter XIII

Mary led them out to the living room and to a door behind the staircase.  When she opened it, there was a set of stairs leading to the basement.  “Follow me,” she commanded, then headed downstairs.  She walked to the far wall and stood back and watched the expressions of the kids as they looked around the massive room slowly.  When they’d had a chance to examine the space visually, Mary cleared her throat and waited for their attention to return to her.

“This is Joy’s practice studio.  This small area still is,” motioning to the cleared space.  “You’re welcome to be here while she practices, but unless she invites you into this particular area, please keep this space clear for her use.  The rest of the room is yours to enjoy... including the two extra bathrooms,” watching brows rise in question.  “She’s held practices for her dance troupe here – trust me... she needed them,” garnering grins from everyone.

“This door and that one,” gesturing to a small door almost hidden in the shadows across from her. “IF something should happen to cause me to call for an evacuation – you’re to head downstairs immediately.  These doors will take you outside beyond the boundaries of this building and there will be someone waiting to move you to another location.  It shouldn’t come to that, but better to be prepared.  And before you ask, no - you can’t use this access to sneak out.”

“How did you...?” Isaac asked, frowning.

“She’s a mom,” Eli said before Mary could respond.  “And it’s her job.”

“And if you do decide to try, you’d better run far and hope I don’t catch you.  Because what I’ll do to you will be far worse than any outside threat that could possibly be made against you.”  Mary looked at them sternly.  “Please don’t make me be the bad guy - because you’ll be removed from the project... period.”

“You can’t....”

“I don’t want to, but I can and I would.”  She paused, then spoke again.  “If you don’t believe me, and you’d like to test me, you’re welcome to try.  But please understand that I won’t allow any one of you to jeopardize everyone else’s lives and futures.”

“So we’re as much prisoners here as we were before,” Titus stated bitterly.

Mary sighed.  “If you want to look at it like that,” she agreed sadly.  “I can’t change many of the elements that are already in play here until they reach their conclusion – the ones that kept you confined to the hotel and the ones that forced us to break you all up and move you around are still very much a concern.  I’m doing my best to get this wrapped up quickly so your lives can return to a semblance of normalcy before your mission takes you off the planet and puts you back to work.  At least here you’re welcome to spend time outside in the backyard if that helps at all - there will always be someone watching over you even when you’re unaware of them.”  

“Guys,” Eli cut in.  “She’s on our side.  Cut her a little slack, all right?”

“So you’re okay with this arrangement?” Eden asked Eli derisively.

“It wouldn’t be my first choice,” Eli admitted without hesitation, meeting Eden’s black eyes and not letting her gaze waver.  “But neither was being stuck in interview hell for months on end.  Let’s face it – we would all much prefer to be getting ready to leave on this mission as opposed to still waiting for the Committee to make a decision.  But barring that, our circumstances could be much worse.  We actually get to spend time outdoors; our hostess is a fabulous cook; we have a place to sleep and take a shower.  And we’ve got the Chief watching our backs.”

“The Chief?” Arianna spoke up.  Eli stiffened and Mary stepped into the breach.

“It’s what my team calls me,” she volunteered.

“Is there a story behind that?”

Mary smirked.  “Yes, and it’s not for your tender ears.”

“Aw... c’mon, Mary,” Jacob wheedled.  She cocked an eyebrow at him.  “Maybe another day?” he relented with a charming smile and a shrug.

“Maybe when you get back from the mission.”

Danny cocked his head at her and cupped his chin in his hand.  “How is it you know?  Why are you so certain that we’ll all be part of the Alpha team?”

“It’s her job,” Arianna and Eli replied in tandem.  Their eyes met for a startled moment before they both looked away in embarrassment.  Mary nodded her head and replied, hoping to take attention away from both of them.

“I’ve been with this project and you kids for a lot longer than most of you know.  It’s given me a lot of insight... and some really good stories,” she added with a smile, chuckling when everyone flushed just a little at her words.  “I have one more thing to show you down here and then we can go back upstairs.”  She walked over behind the stairs and waited for them to join her.  “It’s not much, but it was the best we could manage under the circumstances.”

She pressed her palm to the pad and after a moment, the door popped open and Mary gestured them across the threshold.  The first motion brought the lights on and they each entered slowly, walking the corridor before coming to a dead halt.  Eli, who was the first into the spacious room, gasped and turned to meet Mary’s eyes.  She just shrugged.

The room was a rudimentary lab – not much... especially compared to the state-of-the-art technology these kids were used to working with.  But it was the first science they had been near in months and they looked around in awe and wonder.

Arianna, who was the last to enter and therefore the closest to Mary, turned to her with tears in her eyes.  “Ours?”

Mary shrugged again.  “Such as it is, yes.  It’s all yours.”  She barely had time to brace herself before Arianna flung herself into Mary’s arms.

“Thank you, Mary!  Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!!”  The rest of the candidates cheered and clapped and stomped their feet in support of Arianna’s reaction.  Mary returned Arianna’s embrace for a moment, then gently set her back on her feet and cleared her throat.

“We do need to go back upstairs to go over a couple more things, but then you all can come back downstairs and....”  She waved her hand in the direction of the lab.  “Do whatever it is you do.  Just please don’t blow anything up or catch anything on fire.  Those things would actually draw attention to your presence here, and we’re trying to be inconspicuous,” drawing laughter from everyone in the room.  “Besides, you’d piss off my daughter if you destroyed her home, and you really don’t want to know how much like her mother she is, okay?”  They laughed again and obediently headed out of the large room, though not without several backwards glances.

When they were ensconced in the living room once more. Mary rubbed a hand over her face.  “Okay, so... you’ll be helping out with the household chores – mostly cleaning up the kitchens and the bathrooms you’re using.  You might want to decide who is using which bathrooms for showers and then each smaller group will be responsible for keeping their own clean.  We’re trying our best to make sure you won’t be here that long, but with so many people using them, it won’t take them long to get messy if you don’t stay on top of things. ”

“Although I hate that we’re imposing on your daughter, I have to say that I’d rather stay here than go back to the hotel even when things do get cleared up,” Titus said honestly.  “With that lab downstairs....”  He looked at Mary.  “How did you do that?  Do you have any idea...?”

Mary smiled.  “I started setting up safe houses as soon as you kids went to the underground facility in the desert... just on the off-chance we might need them.  Better to have and not need....”

“Thank you, Mary,” Titus replied sincerely.  “Suddenly this is less a prison than an opportunity, and I for one am overwhelmed to have it.”

“It’s not much... especially compared to what you kids are used to working with.  But it might help pass the time a little.”

“Well, I think I can safely speak for all of us when I tell you that we appreciate it.”

“Ms Wellesly?” Isaac interrupted before Mary could respond to Titus.  She tilted her head and waited for him to continue.  “If we are here for more than a couple days, can we request things for the lab... you know like tools and parts and stuff?”  Everyone rolled their eyes and Jacob reached out and slapped Isaac across the back of his head.  Isaac put his hand up to cover the stinging spot and turned to glare at Jacob.  “Whaddya do that for?”

“Because, dumbass – just having a lab should be sufficient.  Mary’s already gone to a lot of trouble for us without us asking for more.”

“I know that.  What I meant was....”

“It’s a legitimate question,” Mary cut in before things got more heated.  She looked at Isaac.  “You can certainly ask, Isaac.  Whether or not I can do anything to accommodate you is something else again, but we could at least discuss it.”

“Thank you, Ms Wellesly,” making a face at Jacob who just rolled his eyes in response.

“Of course.  Is there anything else I can answer for you guys before I leave?”  She looked around slowly, and saw the hesitation in Eli’s eyes.  But when she didn’t speak, Mary nodded in satisfaction.  “All right then – you’re free to go.  Please don’t forget about helping Joy clean up the kitchen and you might want to sit down and decide on your bathroom and shower schedules before it gets lost in everything else.  If you’ll excuse me, Reuben and Martha will be around if you need them and Matthew and Sarah will be joining them later.”  Without another word, Mary left the room and headed upstairs to take care of her business with the Committee privately.  She didn’t think the rest needed to be exposed to what she knew was coming, and figured Eli would find her when she was ready to talk.

************

“You know those kids are going to be furious when they find out you’ve crammed them into two rooms when you and the team are using the empty buildings on either side of Joy’s place to sleep and shower, don’t you?” Gideon asked Mary over the secure channel she had long ago installed in Joy’s office.  Aside from Joy’s bedroom, this was the only other untouched room in the house, and the door remained locked to ensure it stayed that way.  She couldn’t risk one of the candidates getting in here and trying to hack into her system.  It would create havoc they might not recover from.

“They can’t complain too much – they have heat, hot water and Joy cooking for them.  There’s no power in the other two buildings except when the construction crew is in there working, so heat and hot water are in short supply.”  Gideon winced at Mary’s matter-of-fact tone.

“Ouch,” he murmured sympathetically.

“Yes, well... we all make sacrifices, right?” she asked giving him a wry smile.  “If everything goes like I’m hoping, we’ll be able to use the space during the holidays.  At least the remodeling will be done by then.”

“Something to look forward to, I guess.  Does the building crew even know you’re there?”

Mary shook her head.  “I had them redo the attic area in both places first, then sealed it off.  They don’t even go up there now.”

“Very clever, Chief.”

Mary shrugged.  “Maybe.  What have you got for me, Gideon?”

He sighed and shook his head.  “Not as much as I’d like, Chief – certainly nothing concrete.  But....” he said slowly for dramatic effect, smiling when Mary arched an eyebrow at him.  “I do have a few good leads.”

“Such as?”

“Chairman McMurtry has been in his vicinity several times.  Member Bartolo has also been in his general area on more than one occasion, though that could be related to the fact that they are from the same planet.  We are digging deeper into that angle.  He was also seen talking to associates from the staffs of Members Mein, Tortuna, and Yesu.”

Mary let her gaze go inward as she absorbed the information Gideon had just conveyed.  Gideon just waited in silence, allowing her to process.  Finally she met his eyes again and Gideon straightened and waited for her to speak.

“If you had to draw a conclusion based solely on the information you have now, what would it be?”

He smirked.  “Other than I need more information?” waiting for her nod before allowing his expression to become serious again.  “My first inclination is to look deeper into Member Bartolo.  I understand that they could naturally be in contact on a regular basis to ensure their princess was taken care of – except we know how the Prick felt about Angel.”  He shook his head.  “There’s just something off about the whole thing.”

Mary nodded thoughtfully.  “What about the other candidates?”

“Chief?”

“Gideon, we know the other candidates didn’t like him – they made no secret of that fact.  Is there anyone who stands out above the rest in wanting him gone?”

“Aside from Princess?”

Mary pinched her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger.  “Including Princess,” she corrected gently.

“I’ll take another look,” he promised.  “And I’ll send you what we’ve got so far.  We’re still working on it though.  There’s a lot of information here to cover.”

“I know; just do your best.”

“We will, Chief.  And we’ll be as quick as we can.”

“As long as you’re thorough.”

“Always.”

“Good man. Now I need to go and deal with the Committee,” Mary announced.  Gideon grimaced in sympathy.

“Sorry about that, Chief.  Hope it goes okay or goes away.  Someone will be available here anytime if you need us.”

“Thanks, Gideon,” by way of dismissal as she cut the link.  Then she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes briefly, wondering if there was a way to speed things up to get them over with.  Then her comm unit chimed and she sighed.  Time to deal with the Committee.

************

“I don’t think you understand, Ms Wellesly,” Chairman McMurtry said calmly through gritted teeth.  “I’m not asking you to do anything.  I’m telling you what is going to happen.  This is not up for discussion or debate.”

“Well, you’re right about that last, Madame Chairman.  But the candidates are not returning now nor at any time in the foreseeable future.”

McMurtry sat back in her chair and crossed her arms firmly over her chest.  “You seem to have outlived your usefulness, Ms Wellesly – quite impertinent thinking you are more here than you actually are.  Consider yourself fired.”

Mary looked at the screen that showed each of the Committee Members attending the meeting.  Some were nodding their heads in agreement with McMurtry’s words, while others remained neutral or shook their heads in disbelief.  She didn’t let her gaze waver from the Chairman’s, however, and was unsurprised to see a hint of confusion in her eyes at Mary’s lack of reaction.

“That’s fine, Madame Chairman.  I’ve had about all of your political crap I can stand anyway.  However,” she overrode McMurtry when the woman would have jumped in to protest, “that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not returning these kids to the hotel or the Committee until I’m convinced it’s safe and in their best interests to do so.”

“You’ll be charged with interstellar treason and kidnapping.”

“You’d have to find me first, and you’ll have an interstellar incident on your hands long before that happens.  Because I assure you these kids will be in contact with their home worlds and explain exactly what kinds of games you’ve been playing with their lives.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” flatly.

“Why not?” Mary countered.  “I have nothing to lose – you just fired me, remember?  And I took this assignment to protect these kids... nothing else.”

“And removing them from this secure location accomplishes that how?”

“It is highly possible someone got to Malcolm there, Madame Chairman.  That puts the threat closer to there than here, and until I’m satisfied that the threat is gone, the candidates will remain hidden.  No one can afford the fallout that will occur if steps aren’t taken to protect these kids until the threat is found and eliminated.  They are more secure where they are now.”

“Doesn’t that make it your fault... that someone was able to breach your security?”

“I don’t believe my security has been breached,” Mary replied smoothly but didn’t deign to explain further.  She wasn’t about to give the perpetrator any advanced notice of her suspicions that the individual in question was among their number.

“And what of us?” Member BraveHeart asked when the silence grew uncomfortably long.  “What about our protection?”

“Frankly, Member BraveHeart, that’s not my concern and never has been.  Each of you is as replaceable as I am – there are any number of people on each of your planets who could step in and do the job you’re doing as well or better than you’re doing it.  But the candidates who are vying for a place on the Alpha team and the teams to follow – they all bring unique qualifications with them.  Replacing them to make them fit would be a much more difficult proposition.”

Mary smirked in satisfaction as she watched them squirm under her directness though she kept the expression to herself.  She was ballsy... not suicidal.  Chairman McMurtry looked around at her fellow Members before focusing her attention back on Mary, who regarded her with a patient air and a raised eyebrow.

“So where does that leave us, Ms Wellesly?  We seem to be at something of an impasse.”

“Not at all, Madame Chairman.  You have enough information on each candidate to make a decision if you have not already reached a conclusion,” Mary stated calmly, though her tone indicated where her belief lay in that regard.  “When you are ready to make the announcement – even if the threat has not yet been eliminated – the candidates will all have access to it.  Once that is done... well, it depends on where we are as to what will happen then.  But this circumstance does nothing to hinder your ability to do your job.”

“There will be consequences for this, Ms Wellesly.”

“Count on it, Madame Chairman,” Mary replied as she cut the connection before putting her hands to her temples.  She had one more communication to make, but first she needed some coffee.


Chapter XIV

The kitchen was already spotless and empty by the time Mary made her way back downstairs to retrieve another cup of coffee.  She took a deep breath, glad for even a moment’s respite.  She stood still and listened for a moment before a frown crossed her face as she recognized the silence for the trouble it could mean.

She stepped to the back door, opening it and glancing out.  Reuben glanced up at her briefly, but otherwise kept his attention on his surroundings... even though the yard remained empty.  Mary closed the door and headed to the living room – also empty – before spotting Martha by the door.  Mary cocked her eyebrow in question and Martha just gestured towards the basement door.

“Is someone down there with them?”

“Of course, Chief.  Sarah and Matthew... and Joy, of course.  She’s the reason they went down in the first place.”  Mary’s second brow shot up her forehead to meet the first.

“Really?  They didn’t rush down to play in the lab?”

“Eli asked them to give her an hour or so to sketch out a schedule – you know, to make sure everybody gets equal time and access.  So Joy invited them down for practice.”  Martha shrugged.  “It’s been quiet, and no one’s yelled for backup yet so I’m guessing it’s all good.”

“All right.  I need to go talk to the doc.  He should have the first round of test results back.  Then I need to figure out how he can test the rest without giving away our positions.  I wouldn’t put it past the Committee to have him followed to find us,” snorting in agreement with Martha scrunched up her expression in distaste.  She rubbed her face.  “I need you and Reuben to stick around for a few minutes when Michael and Dorcas get here.”

“Problem?” Martha inquired quietly.

“Could be,” Mary stated.  “Let me go call the doc.  Maybe I can put a couple minds at ease today anyway.”  Martha nodded and turned her attention back to the door, and Mary made her way back to the office.

************

“Hi, Tom,” Mary greeted as soon as Morris’ face filled the screen.  “How’s it going?”

He snorted.  “I take it you know the kind of ruckus you’ve raised around here taking all those kids out of here.”

“I had to do it, Doc.  They weren’t safe there anymore.”

“Maybe,” he agreed noncommittally.  “But you won’t be safe if you come back here.  McMurtry’s having a genuine come apart.  What did you say to her?”

“Me??  I didn’t say anything – well, except to refuse to bring the candidates back.  She fired me.”

“Yeah, pretty sure that won’t stick.  You obviously don’t believe it,” Tom added with mirth twinkling out of his eyes.  “So since neither of us believe you’re actually fired, that makes this an official communication.  What can I do for you, Chief?”

“I need to know what the test results were, Doc.  I’ve got kids waiting to hear their outcomes.”

“I’ll send them to you.  The usual address?”

“Of course.  Can you give me a hint?” wincing slightly at his glare.

“They’ll be there before I could tell you anything,” hearing the ding over the speaker as his sent mail arrived in her inbox.  “See?  Would it kill you to learn even a little patience??”

“Me?” Mary asked innocently as she minimized the screen enough to bring up the enclosed results.  She looked over them briefly before giving a nod of her head.  “It would probably get others killed if I had to learn patience, Doc.  Really not a good thing all the way around. Are these conclusive?” motioning to the other side of her screen.

“As much as can be at this point.  The couple of names that I highlighted need to have tests run in more depth, and everyone needs to be tested again in six months.  But for now, that’s where we stand.”  He paused and met her eyes and she maximized the screen again to be able to see him better.  “I still need to test another half dozen or so, Mary.  What are we going to do about them?”

“I know, Tom.  I’m working on it.  As soon as I come up with an equitable solution, I’ll be in touch.”

“Be careful, Mary.  Something’s brewing around here and I don’t like it.”

“Keep me informed.”

“You know I will,” Morris promised, then closed the connection between them.  Mary watched the screen flicker dark for a moment before the email he’d sent brightened the screen once more.  She let her eyes rove its contents again, then moved it to an encrypted file before shutting down her computer.  Now to go talk to Arianna and Eli, she thought before leaving the office and locking the door closed behind her.

************

A knock on the doorjamb brought Eli’s head up, her brow furrowed even before she knew who was requesting her attention. When she realized it was Arianna waiting to speak to her, she struggled to make her expression impassive.  She glanced down at the Pad she was currently composing the schedule on and took a deep breath.  When she felt sufficiently under control again, Eli met Arianna’s eyes for an instant and beckoned her forward.  Then she waited.

Arianna studied Eli a long moment – with her gaze focused anywhere but on Arianna, it was impossible not to take advantage of the opportunity.  Still, she didn’t linger, knowing Eli would become defensive and coldly aggressive if the silence dragged on too long.  Just as she saw Eli’s lips part, Arianna stepped into the room and started talking.

“After I left you waiting to speak to Dr. Morris yesterday,” she began as she sat down on the sofa across from Eli, “I realized that you were concerned about the possibility of having acquired the AIDS virus from me... because of Malcolm.”  Arianna clenched her hands in her lap and kept her eyes trained on them.  “I wanted you to hear it from me personally that it isn’t even a possibility.”

Arianna felt Eli’s head jerk up but she refused to meet the stare she could feel burning a hole into the side of her face.  “How could you know that?” Eli hissed.  “Did Mary say something to you about your results?”

Arianna shook her head.  “No.  But I know it’s not possible.”

Eli rose from her chair and moved to stand beside Arianna, gripping her chin firmly and raising it until their eyes met.  She was careful not to hurt, but her eyes were filled with fury and Arianna flinched away instinctively.  Eli growled.  “How. Do. You. Know?”

“Because I was never intimate with him – not before we were betrothed, not any time after!” Arianna almost shouted, then covered her face with her hands.  This time, Eli released her grasp, then turned and marched out of the room.  Martha watched her leave, knowing Reuben would take over the duty as soon as Eli set foot on the back porch.   She stayed where she was... turning her back to allow Arianna some privacy for her breakdown.

************

“What are we going to do about them?” Jacob asked into the silence that fell after Arianna raised her voice.  They couldn’t hear what was said, but it was obvious what was happening – Eli was the only other person missing from their group.

“Why do you have to do anything?” Joy asked as she picked up a dry towel.  “Isn’t whatever is going on between them, you know... between them?”

Eden shook her head.  “If only it was that simple.”  Joy cocked her head in a listening pose and Eden blew out a frustrated breath.  “Think about how it would be if your whole family lived here – Mary, your brothers and their spouses, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins – fill up every room with at least two different family members... more if you need to for lack of space.”

Joy’s eyes widened but she nodded gamely.  “Okay.”

“Right.  Now you have to share this space with all of those people for the next five years – you’re not allowed to leave... not to go outdoors; not to go shopping; not for any reason can you leave this building.  You’re stuck sharing this space and only this space for five years.  Even communication is practically cut off for part of that – your world is literally only you and the people that live here... no one else.”

Joy held up her hands in surrender and shook her head.  “I see your point.  Talk to Mama,” she advised.  “She might be able to help.” 

“You think Mary would...?”

Joy shrugged.  “It’s worth a shot.  At the very least she might have some insight to share.”

“I agree,” replied Esther as Danny nodded his concurrence.  Eden looked around to find the rest in harmony and turned to Joy.

“Do you have any idea where I could find Mary?”

“Yes.  C’mon... I’ll help you find her,” Joy offered as she wiped her face with a towel.

“We’ll wait here,” Jacob and Titus said in tandem, then regarded one another warily.  Then Jacob cleared his throat.  “And see if you can find Eli,” he directed towards Eden.  “It would be nice to get into the lab today.”

“Will do,” she agreed, and headed up the stairs at a jog behind Joy.

************

Mary hadn’t heard the altercation, but like the rest, she heard Arianna raise her voice at Eli.  However, she was determined to try and stay out of it, so she motioned to Martha that she was headed to talk to Eli to give Arianna a chance to recover herself.  She walked through the kitchen and opened the door, not surprised to find Eli laying in the yard looking up at the bright blue sky.

Mary stepped out and spoke to Reuben, then made her way down the steps and through the crunchy brown grass, thankful snow hadn’t yet started falling this year.

“I suppose you heard and are here to lecture me?” Eli’s pained whisper cut across the silence.  Mary shook her head and sat down cross-legged beside Eli’s prone form.

“I just got off the comm with Dr. Morris,” knowing the instant Eli’s attention shifted from the outside world to her words.  “Your test results came back negative,” feeling her sigh of relief.  “You will need to be tested again in six months, but there is no indication of you being anything more than a healthy, young woman.”

“Thank you, Ms Wellesly,” Eli replied softly after a long moment.  Mary kept her focus on the yard, not wanting to embarrass the woman beside her.

“I’m glad to be the bearer of good news,” she replied with a smile.  “Everything else all right?” she probed after another few minutes of silence.  “It’s mighty chilly to be laying outside looking up at the sky.”

“It’s very different from the sky on my world,” Eli said by way of response.  “I’ve never seen a blue quite like this one.  At home, it’s always a pale green unless it’s storming – then it becomes a very deep green shade.”  She sat up and brushed off her arms.  “I miss being outdoors,” she added with a shrug.  “I thought I should take advantage while I have the opportunity.”

Mary nodded and slapped her legs before slowly standing to her feet.  “Just don’t catch a chill.  I don’t know what you do for a cold on your planet, but there’s nothing happy about the shot you’d have to have here.”  She shuddered dramatically, drawing a small smile from Eli’s lips.  “They should outlaw needles that large... just saying,” Mary added before heading back indoors.

************

Arianna was no longer in the living room when Mary returned indoors.  Martha pointed her towards the stairs and Mary sighed.  Hotel living had softened her and running up and down the stairs was wearing her out... not to mention the thirty hour day she had currently going.  Resolutely she trudged up the stairs again, wishing they’d been able to put the bedrooms on a lower floor.  Still, it was only two flights instead of three, so she kept her mutterings to a minimum as she stopped in front of the closed door she suspected Arianna to be behind.

A knock revealed her assumption to be correct, but Arianna refused to open the door.  Even when Mary insisted Arianna would want the information she had to share with her kept private, Arianna still refused to answer the door.  So Mary sighed resignedly and informed Arianna to let her know when she wanted to know what Dr. Morris found out and turned to head back downstairs.  It sounded like Joy was getting ready to start lunch.

Before she made it to the landing, however, the bedroom door swung open and Arianna was standing in front of her with a fiercely determined look.  Mary gave her a gentle smile.

“It’s all right, Arianna.  You tested clean,” seeing her almost go limp in relief.

“You’re sure?”

“Oh yes.  This is too important to screw up.”

Arianna straightened and sucked in a deep breath.  “Thank you, Mary.  It’s a weight from my shoulders.”

“I can only imagine.  I’m glad it was good news,” Mary offered before she disappeared down the stairs.  Arianna watched her go before slowly closing the door and retreating to the silence of her bed.

************

Eden and Joy arrived in the empty kitchen, and Joy decided to start lunch, knowing her mother would come from wherever she was to investigate.  Eden noticed Eli outside and slipped from the kitchen at Joy’s nod.  If nothing else, Eden should be able to get the schedule from Eli so the rest of the candidates could start enjoying their time in the lab.

She strolled out into the yard, her footsteps muffled by the brisk wind that had picked up.  Eli jumped when Eden kicked her lightly with the tip of her toe, and leaned up on her elbows to give Eden a glare.

“Eden!!  What was that for?”

“For one thing it was to bring to your attention the fact that it’s cold out here and you don’t need to be laying on the ground.  I know you warrior types thrive on misery and all, but that’s enough for today,” she stated unequivocally.  “The other thing is we’d like to have the schedule so we can start playing in the lab downstairs.  You said an hour and it’s been a little longer than that.  So cough it up, Boss. I know you wouldn’t be out here if it wasn’t done.”

Eli sighed, but held out a hand, knowing Eden could pull her to her feet with very little effort.  A moment later she was standing, and they waved to Joy as they passed through the kitchen on the way to the living room.  Eli recovered the Pad she’d been working with and passed it to Eden.

“Post it by the door.  Without the comm ability, it’s pretty much useless to me right now.”

“Yeah, we all feel the same.  My makuahine isn’t going to be happy if that ban doesn’t get lifted pretty quickly.  She thinks we need to talk every day to make up for the time we’re going to miss once I leave.”

Eli smiled.  “I think all MaTbs are like that.  They only want what is best for their children... no matter what age they become.  Look at Mary – what she did for her daughter... and her sons are bigger than her and yet she still worries after them.”

Eden shook her head.  “I think good makuahine are like that, but I don’t think all makuahine are good.  Some people are just not suited to be parents.”

Eli placed a concerned hand on Eden’s shoulder.  “Is everything all right, Eden?  Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Eden shrugged.  “I’m sure there are a number of things I’m not telling you – some for your sake and some for mine,” she added with a smirk to lighten the atmosphere briefly.  “But this?  This isn’t mine to tell.”

“Do I need to know?”

“Probably.  But you need to hear it from the source.  In the meantime, I need to get this downstairs before Jacob starts telling ghost stories again.  You know how well that went over the last time he tried it.”

Eli nodded and clapped Eden on the back gently.  “All right.  But if you need to talk....”

“... I know where to find you.”

Eli watched Eden out of the room, then dropped onto the couch and stretched out.  She was thankful everyone else was downstairs at the moment.  It was nice to have a few minutes of peace and privacy in the warmth.  Despite her warrior upbringing, Eli had learned to appreciate her creature comforts, and was happy to indulge that hedonistic tendency now.  And even though she wasn’t sharing a room with Arianna so there was no chance of running into her upstairs, not having to move was a bonus.  She never realized when she drifted off.

************

Mary had called an emergency meeting of her security team the moment she was certain all but the few working nights were up and functioning.  Luckily, it coincided with lunch for the candidates, so it worked out well for everyone.  Talking into a computer screen so everyone else could hear her was less so, but it was also necessary.  This was something they all needed to be aware of.

“Just to let you all know – Chairman McMurtry and I got into a pissing contest this morning when I refused to return the candidates to the hotel.  She fired me.”  Stunned silence so Mary continued speaking.  “I don’t expect it to stick – I don’t think she wants it to, but for now, we’re technically not employed though we are still working.  Questions?  Comments?”

Everyone remained silent and Mary nodded her head.  “All right – that’s about the reaction I expected from all of you,” getting the smiles she knew her words would cause.  “Any problems I need to know about?”  Silence again – they had all been through this kind of thing before at some point.  It was just a matter of tailoring it to a larger company.  “Good,” she said again.  “Then I need to talk to Nathaniel, Delilah and Caleb.  The rest of you are free to go back to working while unemployed.  I’ll let you know as soon as things change again.”

Most of the screens darkened after her dismissal – only the three requested agents remained.  It wasn’t the ideal situation, but the candidates waiting for the test results deserved a swift response and this was the only way to ensure that.  No one should be left to wonder for longer than necessary.


Chapter XV

“Mama?” Mary sighed when she heard Joy’s voice over the intercom, but answered anyway, glad her daughter couldn’t see her rubbing her face in an effort at wakefulness.

“What’s up, Baby Girl?”

Joy blushed.  Mary didn’t know she was calling from the kitchen that was still full of candidates who were eating in silence so Joy could speak to her mother.  She glanced at them, and blushed a little redder when she caught their grins at the address.

“I was just wondering if you were going to come downstairs for lunch or if I needed to bring something upstairs for you.”  They had missed each other all morning, and Joy knew Eden was anxious to talk to Mary before she went to nap.  Eli had snapped when Joy had awakened her for lunch, and though she had immediately apologized, Joy agreed wholeheartedly that something needed to be done now to fix the situation that was affecting everyone.  And Joy knew Mary was the right one to ask for advice about it.  If anyone could solve this... she could.

“Oh, Sweetheart – I’m just getting ready to head to bed.  I can eat la....”

“Mama, don’t you even try it!  You know what the....”  Joy swallowed the words when she remembered her audience.  “You’re the one who implemented scheduled mealtimes when we were kids – you don’t get to skip because you’re an adult.  I know you need to sleep, but you need to eat first.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“No ma’am, I’m not.”

Mary sighed.  “Then if it’s not too much trouble, I’d appreciate it if you brought something to the office.  Not much, though... please?  I really do need to get to bed soon.”

“Trust me, Mama.  I’ll have something ready in a few minutes.”

“Thank you, baby girl.  Love you,” Mary said before closing the connection.  Joy took a deep breath and turned back to the table where the candidates sat finishing up their meal.  Arianna rose with her plate and moved to stand beside her, putting her plate on the counter and taking Joy’s hands in hers. 

“I hope Mary knows how lucky she is.”

Joy shook her head.  “I’m the lucky one,” she corrected.  “Who do you think taught me?”

Arianna nodded.  “Can we help you get something ready for her?”

“I’ve got it covered,” Joy assured her, “but perhaps once the kitchen’s been cleaned, those of you not scheduled for lab time might want to join me back in here to make cookies.  I have a feeling I’m going to need more than a single batch for the lot of you.”

“Ooooh... I’m definitely going to be a part of that,” Arianna exclaimed.  “Lab time or not.  I want the secret to those peanut butter cookies Mary shared with me.  I’ve never had anything so....”  Arianna stopped and frowned, searching for the right word.

“Melt-in-your-mouth,” Eli supplied at Arianna’s hesitation.  Arianna whipped her head around to meet Eli’s eyes, but Eli turned her focus to Joy.  “I hope you have a good supply of milk, though.  Water just isn’t the same, and they were very rich.”

“I’ll see what I can do about the milk,” Joy replied, breaking the tension before it could escalate.  “But first I need to get something up to Mama before she falls asleep at the desk.”

Eli motioned her on.  “Go ahead.  We’ve got this covered,” she promised.  And Joy started laying things out on a tray as those with kitchen duty began their detail.  The others cleared out of the room pretty quickly  - some headed for their time in the lab; some headed downstairs to play games; and the rest slipping outside to enjoy the frigid air and chilly sunshine.

Joy picked up the tray and walked out of the kitchen... only to nearly drop it when Eden stepped up and took it from her hands.  Joy glared and took a deep breath, trying to calm her raging heart, and Eden shook her head in apology.

“Sorry,” she muttered.  “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I figured this might be the only chance I got to talk to Mary for a while.  And I think it’s important.”

“I agree,” Joy said as she motioned Eden up the stairs in front of her.  “You just surprised me.  I didn’t realize you were there until you took the tray from my hands.”  They stopped in front of the closed, locked door.  “Let me go in alone first.  This is Mama’s sanctuary when she’s here and she may prefer to keep it that way.  She’ll still talk to you – she just might rather it be somewhere else.”  Eden nodded and Joy knocked on the door, waiting for Mary’s beckon before she keyed in the lock code and took the tray from Eden.  Eden got the barest glimpse into the room before Joy closed the door behind her.  Eden shoved her hands into her pockets and took up her post against the wall across the hall... and waited.

************

Joy crossed the room - tray in hand, eyes focused on her mother.  Mary sat leaned back in the chair, eyes closed, but still acutely aware of Joy’s presence.  When Joy was close enough to set the tray on the desk, Mary opened her eyes and sighed.

“Thank you, Baby Girl,” she offered with a tired smile.  Joy removed the contents of the tray and placed them in front of Mary.  She moved the tray from the desk, then brushed Mary’s hair from her forehead.

“How are you, Mama?  I was in the kitchen with your kids when I called you, so I didn’t want to ask.”

Mary shrugged.  “Nothing a few hours of sleep and finding out who’s behind this wouldn’t cure.  How are you doing with all this?  You’ve never had to share quite like this before and it’s been a while since you’ve had to share at all.”

“Ask me again if you have to stay longer than a few days.  Right now I’m enjoying the company.  You were right about these kids – they’re bright and eager and frustrated.  But they’re trying so hard to make this as pleasant as possible.”

Mary swallowed her bite of sandwich and cut her eyes at Joy.  “Who’s causing you an issue?”

Joy shook her head.  “Nothing like that, Mama... I swear.  But Eden is waiting outside to speak to you,” jerking her head towards the door.  “I told her this was your refuge. I think you should talk to her, but would you rather it be elsewhere?”

“Does it need to be private or is it something like needing more lab supplies?”

“I think it probably needs to be handled privately.”

Mary folded her napkin and placed it back on the now empty plate.  Obviously she’d been much hungrier than she’d realized.  She picked up the glass of milk her daughter had thoughtfully included.  “Invite her in.  If she needs private, this is going to be about the only place in the house I can guarantee it.”  Joy nodded and put the plate back on the tray before she walked to the door and opened it to motion Eden into the room. 

Eden didn’t even bother to look around as she crossed the threshold, intent on speaking to Mary.  Joy closed the door and leaned against it.  She’d learned to wait for a dismissal, and Eden had asked for her help.  Mary cocked an eyebrow at her, then met Eden’s stare.

“I understand you need to speak to me in private.  Would you prefer Joy leave or do you feel comfortable...?”

Eden waved a hand.  “She knows why I’m here – everyone knows... except for Eli and Arianna.”  Mary closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.  Eden chuckled.  “Yeah... that’s about the way we all feel at this point.  That’s why I wanted to talk to you.  Please, Mary – do you know of anything we can do to make this more tolerable?  It’s wearing on all of us, and if we don’t figure something out soon, it’s gonna ground us before we even get chosen.”

Mary rubbed a hand over her face and gestured Eden to take a seat.  She did so, leaning forward and clasping her hands between her knees.  “I’ve already talked to Eli – told her she needed to choose a course and stick to it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Either she interacts with Arianna on a professional basis only, leaving the rest of you to pick up the slack in the friends department.  Or she sucks it up and reintegrates Arianna into her life as a friend again.  But she can’t keep blowing hot and cold – it’s bad for everyone and confusing as all hell.”

“And if she doesn’t?  Or does?”  Mary frowned and Eden waved her hands.  “Sorry.  That was a stupid way to put that.  I mean... what if she doesn’t choose one or keeps bouncing back between the two.  What then?  Is there anything we can do?”  She sighed and looked up to meet Mary’s eyes.  “Mary, I know we need both of them, but the rest of us can’t live like this.  We’ll end up killing them... assuming they don’t kill each other first.”

Mary regarded her for a long moment, then released a slow, deep breath.  “Can I give you my answer tomorrow, Eden?” not wanting to reveal her code name.  “I have an idea, but I’d like to think about it, and I have got to get a few hours of sleep before it’s time for my shift.  I promise I won’t string you along or draw this out any longer....”

“Mary... Chief... it’s okay.  I didn’t expect you to have an answer right this second.  I’m just asking for some help – because we can’t figure out what to do either.  We just know something’s got to give, and the way things are going, it’s gonna be our sanity.”

Joy chuckled and caused two pairs of eyes to swing her way.  She covered her mouth with one hand and held up the other in apology.  “I’m sorry,” she finally gasped out when she had her laughter under control.  She met Mary’s eyes.  “It reminded me of Nat and Joey before the wedding.”

“Nat and Joey?” Eden asked, looking between them.

“My son Nathaniel and his husband Joseph,” Mary said, shaking her head at Joy.  “That wouldn’t work in this case... except to ensure two dead bodies instead of ten.”

Eden frowned.  “I don’t understand.  What happened?” Mary waved her hand at Joy to continue.

“It was about six weeks out from their wedding, and they got into a screaming match about something – I don’t even remember what anymore.  But it was something completely stupid.  They both stormed off and refused to speak to each other.  It went on for almost a week – we knew from talking to Joey’s parents that he was miserable, but determined to make Nat be the one to apologize.  Meanwhile, Nat was moping around vowing that Joey would break first.”

“So what happened?”

“Mama.  She locked them in a room together – told them to figure it out because they weren’t leaving the room until they did.  They tried protesting that they had school – they did, by the way – and she told them that they’d better get to it then, because if they failed....”  Joy turned and looked at Mary.  “What did you threaten them with exactly?”

“I didn’t have to,” Mary replied smugly.  “They knew that scenario would be much worse than either of them having to say ‘I’m sorry’ first.”

“So why can’t we do that to them?” Eden asked.

“Because they’re not in the same place in their relationship.  Nathaniel and Joseph were secure in their love and committed to one another – they were just having a case of nerves.  Arianna and Eli have trust and communication issues aside from the betrayal and anger concerns that are plaguing them.  Forcing them in that manner would only cause hatred and resentment with the rest of you and cut them off from your support.  We want to make this better... not worse.”

Eden bit her lip as she nodded her head.  “Good point.”

Mary shrugged.  “Lots of practice.  However, if you’ll both excuse me, I think it’s about time for a nap.  I hear my bed calling my name.”

Eden immediately jumped from the chair and scooted to the door.  “Thanks, Mary,” slipping out with a wave before Mary could respond.  Joy cocked an eyebrow, and walked over to pick up the empty tray.

“Are you going to be able to sleep with the construction going on over there?”

Mary shrugged.  “Most of the noisy work should be about done.  I’ll put the plugs in and let Dorcas and Michael know in case I am needed.  Hopefully, I can get a few hours of quiet.”

Joy nodded.  “Make sure you come say goodnight if I’m settled in when you get up,” waiting for Mary to open the door.  Then she walked out and headed for the staircase going down while Mary went to the staircase going up.

“I always do, Baby Girl,” Mary said with a smile as she headed towards the attic.  “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Mama.”

************

“So what’s the word?” Titus asked as Eden stepped into the lab.  He and most of the others were gathered downstairs by the time Eden had finished talking to Mary.  Those that had gone outside had gotten cold fairly quickly, and they had naturally congregated in the basement.  A few remained upstairs to get in on the cookie making, but for the most part, everyone she needed to talk to was gathered together in the lab.  And fortunately, the two that she was trying to avoid weren’t present.

“Az is in the kitchen?”

Jacob nodded.  “With Danny, Esther and Isaac.  We promised to fill them in later.”

“Isaac?  Isn’t that like a recipe for disaster?”

Jacob shrugged.  “Maybe, but if it keeps Eli and Arianna from joining us down here until we’re done, I’m not too worried about it.  Pretty sure Joy can keep him contained – Mary’s managed to for months.”

“Where’s Eli?”

Hannah lifted her hands.  “The last I saw she was still outside.  It’s like she can’t stand to be inside if the opportunity is available to be outdoors.”

Eden frowned.  “I’ll kill her later... especially if she gets sick from this.”

“Eden?”

She waved her hands and shook her head.  “Talking to myself – it doesn’t matter.  So I spoke to Mary,” watching the rest straighten and give her their attention.  “She has an idea, but asked for a little time to ponder it.  Considering she’s been going since yesterday morning, I agreed.  She did instruct me that we can’t just lock them in a room together and force them to do something, so give that idea up,” she commanded with a stern look at Titus and Jacob.

“How did you know?” Titus asked.

Eden snickered.  “Easy.  I wanted to do the same thing.”

“So how long do we have to wait for her to tell us?  Mary, I mean.”

“Not long, I would imagine.  She told me she’s already talked to Eli... which means she knows there’s a problem and it’s serious.  Since she’s already said she has an idea, I doubt she’ll drag things out.  As soon as she’s comfortable with sharing, we’ll know.  My best guess?  Tonight or tomorrow morning.”

“So we just what...?  Let it go?”

“For now,” Eden agreed with a sharp nod.  “As long as they’re separated, it should be fine, and I’m fully confident that Joy can handle them if it becomes a problem with them sharing the same space for any length of time.”

“Why Joy?” Jacob cut in.  “I mean... they’re our friends.  Why don’t we get to handle things?”

Eden gave him a look.  “Really, Jacob?  You really want to get in the middle of all the crap between Arianna and Eli?”  She gave him a knowing look as his eyes widened and he shook his head rapidly.  “Exactly.  Besides, as Mary pointed out to me, we’re their support – we’re not supposed to make this worse.  And we can’t support them if we try to force anything.”

“But why Joy?  I mean... she seems like good people and all, but she doesn’t know us or anything about us.”

“And that may be for the best.  Can’t those on the outside looking in at all the circumstances surrounding something sometimes see better than those who are in the middle of whatever the situation is?  Besides, we don’t know that she doesn’t know anything, Jake.  She’s Mary’s daughter – who knows what Mary might have shared over the months we’ve been here?  But even if Mary hasn’t said a word and Joy doesn’t know us, this is her home.  That gives her the right to say something.”

“She has a point,” Titus said, nodding his blonde head.  “Besides, I’m willing to wait to hear whatever idea Mary has.  As long as they’re not together, we should be all right.”

“Eden, do you know what Mary said to Eli?” Mordecai asked softly.  She whipped her head around to look at him and he shrugged apologetically.  “Sorry... I just....”

“No – it’s a valid question.  She told Eli to pick a position and stick with it – that her indecisiveness was unfair and confusing to all of us.”

Hannah’s eyes widened.  “She really said that?”

Eden smiled.  “Yeah.  It’s one reason I agree with her about us not locking them in a room together and forcing them to work this out.  It hasn’t come to that yet, and if it does, Mary’s willing to be the bad guy.  She’s already crossed that line, and since she’s not part of the team, it doesn’t actually matter if she pisses them off.  She won’t be stuck with them on an asteroid for the next five years.”

“About that – has she heard anything?”

“Not that she’s shared,” Hannah spoke up before Eden could reply.  “And I know she talked to the Committee this morning.  They fired her.”  Exclamations broke out among them and Eden held up her hands for quiet and turned to Hannah with an unspoken directive.  Hannah shrugged.  “I only overheard part of the discussion.  I left the kitchen just as lunch started, remember?” seeing the others nod.  “As I was returning, I overheard Mary say that they had been fired and would be working while they were unemployed.  She apparently refused the dismissal.”

“Well, that makes things a little more interesting now, doesn’t it?”


Chapter XVI

“So why baking?” Danny asked Joy as he stirred the ingredients in front of him.  “I mean... you’re a dancer – someone with strict dietary requirements, I would have thought.  So what possessed you to do something that goes completely against that mindset?”

Joy smiled and passed the peanut butter chips into Arianna’s waiting hands.  Isaac leaned over and stole a couple out of her bowl with a grin.   Arianna rolled her eyes, but couldn’t keep the smile off her face at his playfulness.  “Oh, they’re quite strict,” Joy agreed, adding vanilla to each bowl.  “That’s why Mama and the boys end up with a majority of my creative output, so to speak.”

“So you do this for creative purposes?” Esther asked.  Arianna looked up to watch Joy’s expression; Isaac ignored the conversation, trying to keep all the ingredients in his bowl as he stirred vigorously.  He concentrated on not embarrassing himself with his natural clumsiness.  Joy concurred.

“When I decided to take a break from the stage, I gave up my creative outlet.  And no matter how much I practice to keep in shape, it’s just not the same.  Baking, however, let’s me exercise that creativity freely – unlike ballet which is so structured, I have the freedom to try new things and do them a little bit differently every time.”  She shrugged.  “It makes me happy.”

“It made me happy too... when Mary shared those cookies with me,” Arianna confided with a smile, getting a smile in return.

Joy nodded.  “That’s another thing I like about it – I still get to share with others like I did with dancing, only I see the results on a more personal level, because I know the people I’m sharing with.”

Arianna chuckled and Danny, Esther and Isaac exchanged surprised glances. “Mary said you were trying to fatten her and your brothers up.”

Joy gave her a droll look.  “Have you met my mother and brothers?  I would go bankrupt trying to get anything to stick long enough to be seen, much less actually put meat on their bones.”  She snorted.  “I’d have better luck trying to grow wings and fly.”

Arianna blinked.  “I didn’t know that was possible for people from your planet.”

Joy cocked her head.  “It’s not.  I don’t know of anywhere that it is.”

“It is,” Arianna commented.  “I’ve seen it,” and despite the looks in her direction, she refused to elaborate.  Instead she turned her attention back to Joy.  “Can I ask you something?” waiting for Joy to nod.  “Why did you leave the stage?”

Joy tilted her head and regarded Arianna for a long moment.  “Honestly?  I was tired.  Dancing had become a chore for me, and if you don’t love what you’re doing, then why do it?”

“Do you miss it?”  This from Danny.

“I do,” Joy replied without hesitation.  “It’s always been a part of my life... for as long as I can remember, anyway.  But this break has been good for me.  I’ve found happiness again – in dance as well as other aspects of my life.  I’m looking forward to going back actually.”

“Well, I for one am glad you took the time off,” Arianna confessed.  “These cookies are totally worth it,” she said with a smile.”

Joy laughed.  “I’m glad you think so.  Besides, as Mama has reminded me on more than one occasion – there’s a reason for everything and everything happens in its own good time.  I think this is probably one of those times when that’s true,” motioning at them.  Joy set cookie sheets in front of each of them and showed them how she made her cookies the same size and shape.  They watched, then tried themselves... with less-than-perfect but somewhat hilarious results.

“Well, they may be funny looking, but I bet they taste all right,” Isaac said as he dug out a portion with his finger and stuck it in his mouth.  “Das weal goo’,” he said around his mouthful.  Danny, Esther, Joy and Arianna just laughed at him and Isaac grinned in response.  He scooped another bite and pulled Arianna into his body – her back to his front – and offered it to her just as Eli walked in from outside.  She looked at them and bristled – hurt and anger prevalent in her eyes before she glanced away stalked out of the room without a word.

Arianna jerked out of Isaac’s grasp and moved to the other side of the room with her arms crossed over her chest defensively.  Esther and Danny met each other’s eyes and shook their heads.  “That could have gone better,” Esther commented.  Then the timer went off and they went back to focusing on the rest of their baking.

************

“What makes things a little more interesting?” Eli demanded as she crossed the threshold into the lab.  Her movements were still jerky with her anger, and she took a deep breath to calm herself before hanging up her coat and walking further into the room.  Everyone grew silent and turned their attention to Eden, knowing she would answer Eli’s question.  Eli looked around at each of them before letting her gaze rest on her second.  “Eden?” she quietly demanded.  “Something you’d like to share?”

Eden cleared her throat.  “Yeah, actually.  Apparently Mary and her security team got fired this morning.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“I did.  But I’m not sure I understood.”

Hannah put her hand on Eden’s arm and arched an eyebrow in question.  Eden simply nodded and motioned her towards Eli.  It only took Hannah a moment to repeat to Eli what she had overheard earlier. Then she went back to her work, though she waited for a response from Eli like the others.  Eli stood silently absorbing the information for so long that Eden finally felt compelled to speak.

“Eli?  You all right?”

“Yes,” she said slowly, though her gaze and her tone remained distant for several minutes.  “It does make me wonder about the angle though.”

“Angle – what angle?  Whose angle?” Jacob questioned before Eden could ask.  She cut her eyes in his direction, but he studiously avoided looking at her for fear of what he would see.  Eli bit her bottom lip, ignoring the by-play between Eden and Jacob.  She shook her head.

“Likely several angles, and several players.”  She pulled up an empty stool and seated herself, propping her elbows on a table so she could rest her chin on top of her linked hands.  “There’s the Committee’s angle - why would they feel the need to fire Mary so close to the end of her contract?  And there’s Ms Wellesly’s angle - why would she continue to protect us if she’s not required to... or if she and her team aren’t being compensated for it?  She pulled her sons out of school to help with this assignment after all and brought us into her daughter’s home.  And then of course, there’s the angle of the person or persons who forced us into hiding in the first place,” motioning around her.  “Not that we’re all not very grateful for the fact, because let’s face it... we’d all much rather be here than where we were, but still.”  She shook her head again.  “I don’t know.  I’ll have to do some thinking about it.  But you’re right – it does make things more interesting to contemplate.”

“Maybe we should just ask her,” Titus commented.  “Mary, I mean.”

Eden smirked.  “Yeah, I’m sure that would go over well,” rolling her eyes at the questioning looks she got.  “Like we don’t trust her to do her job?”

“But if she’s not being paid, is it really her job anymore?”

“If she hasn’t given any indication that she’s done protecting us, should we jeopardize the one stabilizing influence we’ve had through the whole interview process?”

“Actually,” Eli said thoughtfully, pulling attention back to her again.  “Ms Wellesly and her team have been around a lot longer than we’ve been aware of their presence.”  Eden cocked an eyebrow at her and crossed her arms over her chest.  The others stopped their work and waited.

“I keep hearing that, but how do you know that for sure?  If we’ve been unaware of their presence, how can you possibly know they’ve been around longer?”

Eli sighed.  These were her friends... her team – the people she expected to call family for at least the next five years.  They deserved to know the truth.  She just hoped Mary wouldn’t feel she was betraying a confidence with her sharing.  She shrugged.

“Ms Wellesly told me.  When we confronted her the other morning, I asked for further clarification about what was going on,” hoping they would catch her point without her having to mention Arianna by name.  She still avoided that when at all possible.

“What did you learn?” Eden asked.

“Not much in regards to what I was asking about.  But I did learn a little bit about Ms Wellesly and her family... including her security team.  She’s been around since this project was still in the idea stages.  Which brings us back to her being discharged.  Why?  Who benefits from her dismissal?”

“Whoever threatened us,” Arianna replied from the doorway, causing Eli to stiffen and give Eden the stink eye.  Eden held up her hands in surrender.  It wasn’t like she could actually see Arianna in the short hall before she appeared in the doorway.  Arianna ignored the interplay as she moved further into the lab carrying a tray of still warm cookies.  Danny and Esther followed carrying pitchers of cold milk and Isaac brought up the rear with glasses for everyone.  Arianna continued speaking as if nothing untoward was going on.  “Assuming there is a genuine threat and Mary didn’t remove us for the purpose of forcing the Committee’s hand, the person who benefits the most from her removal would be the one who wants to do us harm.”

“But why?” Eden cut in.  “Why now?  Why not at the beginning?  Or once the Alpha team is chosen?”

“Unless we’re a secondary target,” Eli replied as Arianna set the tray down in the space Mordecai had made.  Isaac placed the glasses down beside the milk and they took turns helping themselves to the snack.  Silence reigned for a few minutes as they took the opportunity to appreciate the treat.  Only once their first cravings had been satisfied did the conversation resume.  “Let’s face it – the infected candidate could easily have spread it to any number of people outside the program.  Even as sequestered as we’ve been, we’ve been in contact with plenty of people who aren’t part of the project at all – housekeeping, wait staff, personal shoppers... anyone, in fact employed by the hotel that wasn’t a candidate or security.  In that regard, it could simply be an act of terrorism for the sake of terrorism itself.”

“But you don’t believe that,” Arianna stated flatly as she met Eli’s eyes.  She extended her hand and Eli accepted the glass of milk, careful not to touch Arianna in any way.  She let her eyes wander around the room as soon as the transfer was complete, noting that they were all watching the interaction closely.  Arianna didn’t move, but waited for Eli to answer.  Eli sighed and shook her head.

“I don’t.  Frankly, if Ms Wellesly felt concerned enough to involve her family in protecting us, I think the threat against us is serious.  Which begs the question – who is the real target?  Is it just one of us – retribution for something that candidate did perhaps and the rest of us are simply collateral damage?  Is it those of us who are expected to become the Alpha team – to ensure that others are chosen in our stead?  Or does it not matter as long as the program dies?  I think in the end that will need to be answered for the culprit to be found.”

It was silent for a moment as they pondered Eli’s words.  Arianna passed the tray around again until the cookies were gone.  Then she resumed her place close to Eli, which also happened to put her nearest the exit.  She took a deep breath and spoke softly.

“I need to share something with all of you – you deserve to know.  I hope it won’t change how you feel about me, but....”  She twisted her hands together and studied the floor intently for a moment.  Eden glared at Eli, but when she made no move, Danny stepped forward and lifted Arianna’s chin until blue eyes met brown.

“What’s up, Sweetie?  You can tell us anything, yeah?”

“I hope so, Danny.”  She took another deep breath and glanced around the room to find eight pairs of sympathetic eyes turned her way.  Only Eli kept her eyes on the ground.  Arianna shook her head and cleared her throat.  “Malcolm was the infected candidate,” she blurted, grateful when Danny didn’t yank his hand away; instead he moved to cup her face gently.

“Are you all right?” he asked softly.  Arianna nodded.

“I’m fine – my tests came back negative and Dr. Morris gave me a clean bill of health.”

“Good – that’s the important thing.  The rest... not a problem for us.”

“Just that simple?”

“Just that simple.”

Arianna blew out a breath of relief and smiled shakily.  “Thank you.  You don’t know how much....”  She broke off for a moment to clear her throat, then continued.  “But knowing he’s the one who was infected, does that change any of our theories?  Could someone have hated him enough to do this to him without any concern for what might happen to anyone else?”

Eli cleared her throat.  “Is it possible he was infected to target you specifically?”  Her words caused the rest to freeze and Arianna to meet her eyes.  Eli didn’t flinch away.  “Since he was your betrothed....”  She let the thought lie, but Arianna immediately shook her head.

“No – not unless whoever infected him was stupid beyond words... ignorant of both the customs of my world as well as the consequences of the virus and its cure.”

“Yeah, well... no one ever said terrorists were the brightest lights in the shed,” Eden said with a smirk into the awkward silence, causing the others to chuckle in relief.

“So is there anything we can do?” Esther asked after a moment.  They exchanged looks, then as a singular body they turned to look at Eli.  She pinched the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb and blew out a breath.

“I don’t think so... other than try to make things as easy for Ms Wellely and her team as we can.  I wish we had a way to talk to the other candidates.  I’d be curious to know what they’re hearing, if anything.”

“Maybe we can ask Mary if we can – I mean, as long as we’re not trying to contact our families, maybe we could....”  Mordecai stopped talking when Eli shook her head.

“I don’t think so, Kai.  There are too many variables, and it only takes one going wrong for us all to end up in a bad place.  We all know that from up close and personal experience,” she added with a smile, causing laughter to ripple around the room.  They’d had a few close calls at the desert compound – funny enough now, but rather chilling while they’d been happening.  “I don’t think Ms Wellesly would be willing to risk our safety.  She’s worked too hard to protect us.”

“So how long do you think we’ll be here?” Jacob asked.

Eli shook her head.  “I don’t know,” but before she could continue the thought, Dorcas stuck her head in the door. 

“We need you guys upstairs for a few minutes.”

Eli frowned and slid from the stool.  “Is something wrong?”  Dorcas shook her head. 

“I don’t think so.   I was just sent to down here to fetch you all.  So please...?” motioning to hallway she stood in.

Eli sighed and nodded, then walked out the lab door with the rest following along behind her. 

************

Mary yawned and rubbed her eyes.  Obviously she had used up her allotted sleep for the rest of her life... or someone decided that it was illegal.  Honestly, she would have been satisfied with just a few uninterrupted hours.  She scrubbed her hands over her face, then shook her head when Michael offered her a cup of coffee.

“I’d like to try and get a little more sleep when this is done.  Where are the kids?”

“Dorcas went to get them from downstairs.  Joy said they took a batch of cookies down to share.”

Mary nodded and closed her eyes, then immediately opened them as she heard the candidates file into the room.  She let Michael direct them around the space while Sarah contacted the rest of the agents.  When they were ready, Dorcas touched her shoulder and nodded.  Mary stood in front of the candidates she was in charge of, but she was also reflected in the screen behind her.

“Good morn....”  Mary blinked and squinted at the clock.  “What time is it anyway?”  She waved her hand to say it really didn’t matter.  “Has everyone checked in?” looking at Sarah for confirmation and bobbing her head in acknowledgment.  “All right – I apologize for my incoherence.  I was sleeping when this came in, but it’s urgent enough to warrant this immediate communication.  I have heard from the Committee and the Alpha team selections have been made.”  She heard the buzz and gave the candidates a minute before holding up her hands for silence so she could continue.  “We’ll let you hear the message, and then I’ll let you know what will happen from there.”   Mary nodded her head and Sarah started the message.

“Hello, Candidates,” Chairman McMurtry offered with a smile surrounded by the rest of the Committee Members.  “In light of recent events, and in an effort to help expedite and facilitate the project’s launch, today we are notifying the remaining candidates as to which of you have been chosen as members of the Alpha team.  The formal announcement will not go out until it was scheduled to at the end of next week, but this early notice will allow our Alpha team members more time to prepare and will give us the opportunity to begin forming the beta and gamma teams, though it will be some time before we institute their formal training.

With that in mind, we are pleased to appoint the following candidates to the Alpha team.”

Mary observed with proud eyes as one by one McMurtry named the candidates she expected to be chosen.  Ten of the fifteen were seated in front of her and she watched their reactions with a smile.  There were cheers and tears and hugs between most of them, though, as expected, a few did refrain from interacting with everyone.  When the Chairman was finished, she offered a few closing remarks and signed off.  Mary expected that she’d heard from the woman privately later, but she had business to wrap up and a nap to finish first.  She reappeared on the screen.

“I know this is not the news some of you wanted or hoped for, but at least you have an answer now and can begin working towards your future.  I will be in touch with your security team leaders and we will begin making arrangements for each of you to return home.  If you have any questions, please direct them to your team leaders and I will address them as soon as possible.”

Mary nodded to Sarah who cut the transmission.  Mary yawned again and covered her face for a moment to steady herself.  Then she looked back at the kids who were regarding her with concern.  Jacob stepped forward.

“You all right, Chief?” the moniker getting attention from the entire security contingent.  They watched Mary for her reaction, but she just laughed. 

“Nothing a little more sleep couldn’t cure,” she promised him.  “I’m sure you all have questions.  All I ask is that you relay them to one of the team here.  I will address them, either tonight or in the morning.  But for now, I’m going back to finish my nap.”

“Good night, Mary,” the kids chorused together, garnering them a smile and a wave before she disappeared around the corner.  Then they sat back to discuss their good, great fortune.


Chapter XVII

They didn’t celebrate too long – there was a lot of work to be done in the next few weeks, and Eli’s attention naturally turned in that direction when the first rush of victory faded.  Arianna was the first to notice her absorption, but given the precariousness of their interactions recently, she nudged Eden instead... and got a glare for her trouble.  Only when she jerked her chin in Eli’s direction did Eden’s gaze soften, and she nodded in acknowledgment.  She patted Jacob’s chest, and he unwound his arm from her shoulders so she could stand and cross the room to take a seat next to Eli.

Eli remained oblivious to Eden’s presence until Eden shoved her hard enough to almost push her over.  Eli turned angry gray eyes to meet Eden’s twinkling black, and she huffed impatiently.  “Something I can do for you, Eden?”

“Well, that’s kind of what I was wondering.  The rest of us are over there,” pointing in the direction where everyone else was currently gathered, “celebrating the fact that we’ve been chosen as part of the Alpha team.  I mean... even though we all expected it, it’s still kind of exciting to know for sure.  And yet you’re sitting over here alone, brooding.  What the hell, Eli?  Can you not be normal for more than ten minutes without breaking or something?”

Eli glared at Eden for a moment, then snorted.  “Bitch,” she muttered, but offered Eden a smirk that was returned with a full-blown smile.  “For the record, I’m not brooding.  I’m making a mental list of things that need to be accomplished before we leave here – the planet... not Joy’s home,” she clarified before Eden could ask.  Eli chuckled when Eden’s eyes widened comically as the meaning of Eli’s words sank into her consciousness, and she nodded.  “Exactly.  That’s why I was sitting here.”

Eden cleared her throat.  “Well, in that case....”  She rose from her spot beside Eli and put her fingers to her lips, the whistle shrill enough to bring the security agents running from their various posts.  Eden shook her head and motioned them out again.  “Sorry, guys – there’s nothing wrong.  That was just the quickest way to get everyone’s attention,” motioning to the members of the Alpha team sitting quietly with all eyes focused on her.

“Mission accomplished,” Sarah commented wryly.  “Try not to do it again though, huh?  We automatically think the worst, and it was loud enough to wake the Chief,” smiling when Eden clapped a hand over her mouth.  “You didn’t, and we’d like to keep it that way, okay?”  Eden nodded.  “All right, then – we’ll be around if you need us,” and the agents returned to their duty stations.

“Definitely still on the job,” Eden muttered as she looked around at her compatriots who still had their attention focused on her.  “So Eli was sitting here thinking,” her words drawing a chuckle from everyone else... even Eli, who stood up and shoved her out of the way. 

“Let me tell this.”  Eden stumbled theatrically and took her seat beside Jacob again, snuggling in slightly when he wrapped his arm around her once more.  Eli looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.  “Are you all settled?  Can I talk now?”

“Please, Fearless Leader,” Eden said with a magnanimous air, “do tell on.”

Eli snorted and shook her head.  Whatever else, she could always count on Eden to have her back... even if it was just to infuse a little humor into a situation.  “In that case....  Eden wanted to know why I was brooding by myself while everyone else was reveling in their appointment to the Alpha team.  I wasn’t brooding, actually – I was thinking.  And while I know that sometimes they’re the same things in my case,” shrugging deprecatingly with a grin as the rest laughed, “in this instance it’s not.”

“So what were you thinking about so hard, Girlfriend?” Esther asked curiously.  “Good thoughts?”

“Well, they certainly started out that way,” Eli confessed.  “I was thinking how wonderful it felt to be vindicated, you know?  Like all the hard work I’d done all my life… and that we’d done together... had finally paid off.”  She smiled as all of them nodded their agreement.  “Then I thought about my MaTb and how proud she and my clan would be, and how excited I would be to share this with them.”  Her eyes dropped to the floor for a moment and she sucked in a deep breath.  “I miss them, and I’m looking forward to getting to spend some quality time with them before we leave.”

“I think it’s safe to say we’re all on the same wavelength here, Eli,” Titus assured her, missing the looks Danny and Eden cast Arianna’s way.  Arianna kept her attention on Eli, though Eli’s focus was turned completely away from her.

Eli shrugged, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked up to meet his eyes.  “But that’s what got me to ruminating so deeply.  As much as I want to go home to spend time with my family before we leave, I don’t think it’s possible.”  She felt the laser-like intensity of the stares that locked onto her, and Eli made a point to meet each pair of eyes – even Arianna’s, though she saved her for last and didn’t hold them very long before turning her attention back to the room in general.

“Okay,” Isaac said slowly.  “Why?”

Eli cocked her head at him.  “I don’t think it’s in the timeline – I don’t think it ever was... at least not for any length of time.  The amount of time the Committee took to make their choice leaves us with less than two months before we are scheduled to leave.  And because of the restrictions we lived under during the interview process, we weren’t able to do any of the work that must be completed before launch when the mission officially begins.  So in the time we have left, we have to make *all* the preparations for the trip, and given the fact that some sort of threat has been made against us and the program, are we really going to leave that for anyone else to take care of?” watching as understanding bloomed in their eyes.

“Well, that sucks,” Eden muttered, pulling away from Jacob and crossing her arms over her chest.  “My makuahine is gonna be very unhappy about that.”

“Maybe we should look at it as practice for the real thing,” Mordecai offered.  “It’s not like we will be able to be in regular communication with them once we leave here.”

“We know that, Kai.  But I think we were all expecting that last little bit of time with our families before we said goodbye,” Eli replied gently.

“I suppose,” he said with a shrug.  “Maybe we could talk to Mary.  She might be able to do... something.”

“Has anyone else wondered about her?” Isaac spoke up before anyone could reply to Kai’s words.  Everyone’s attention turned to him and he shrank back just a bit but didn’t withdraw his question.  He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged.  “I mean is it possible that she might have something to do with us being threatened?”

Eli’s brow furrowed.  “Why would you think that?”

“Well, why not?  I don’t know what her motive would be, but she’s certainly in a position to pull off this kind of thing successfully.  She has the access and the ability to move us around without questions; she defied the Committee and is keeping us here despite the fact that she was removed from her position as security chief; and are we really certain a threat has been made against us?  All we have is her word – she hasn’t actually told us anything other than that we’ve been threatened.”

Eli could see the doubt forming in several pairs of eyes at Isaac’s accusations, but before she could refute his words, Arianna stepped into the breach.

“How dare you,” she reproached him with a heated glare.  “How dare you make indictments like that without a shred of proof!  What gives you the right...??”

“I’m a scientist!  I question everything.  It’s all just a little too convenient in my book.”

“I don’t believe you!  After all she and her team... her family... have done for us.  Where’s your gratitude?  Where’s your trust??”  Arianna looked at him with disgust a minute longer, then stormed out of the living room, slamming the doors to the basement behind her a moment later.  Isaac moved to follow her, but Eli shook her head.

“Let her be.  She’s got a point.”

“So does he,” Eden returned quietly, flinching when burning gray eyes turned her way. 

“I don’t believe you – any of you.  What a bunch of ungrateful....  You know what?  Figure it out for yourselves.  I’m done,” she growled before leaving the room. 

It was silent for a full minute following Eli’s exit, then Eden sighed.  “Well this is turning out to be a hell of a day,” rubbing her forehead, then turning to glare at Isaac.  “Is there a reason you brought this up beyond looking for a reaction?”

“It’s a viable concern, Eden.  Some of us were talking about it earlier – I just thought it should be brought up to the whole group since we’re supposed to be a team and working together.”

“Well, if nothing else, it might put Eli and Arianna on the same page for a change.  Because they obviously agree with one another about this.”

“What about you, Eden?  What do you think?” Titus asked.  “Because Isaac does have a point.”

“I know he does,” she replied softly, rubbing her forehead again.  “But I just don’t.... I wish Gay was here.  She’d be able to tell.  Personally, I don’t think Mary is our issue.”

“Do you think the threat against us is real?”

Eden looked around the room at the expectant faces and sighed.  This was why she liked being the second and not the boss – there was a lot less responsibility in the second chair.  “I think that Mary believes it’s real and that we should act accordingly.  That isn’t to say we shouldn’t keep eyes and ears open for any information we can get,” arching an eyebrow at Hannah and receiving a nod in response.  “In the meantime, we need to start figuring out the preparations we need to make.  We’ve got a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to get it done.”

“What about Eli and Arianna?”

Eden sighed.  “If this gets them talking or better, then I can’t say I’ll regret the blow-up too much.  But for right now, we’re gonna leave them alone and let them cool off. I’ll talk to them after that.”  Her black eyes met Danny’s blue ones and he nodded subtly, understanding her unspoken request.

Esther just shook her head.  “Glad it’s not me,” she confided.

“So are we stuck here in the meantime?” Jacob asked.  “Since Arianna went downstairs and Eli undoubtedly disappeared outside again?”

“That’s probably our best choice for now,” Eden confirmed.  “It’s not like we can’t start making our lists here.  And if the silence goes on too long, I’ll make sure they come in here so we can use the other areas as well.”

Eden looked around as she spoke and saw the approving nods.  She nodded back to them, and everyone returned their attention to the news... and the preparations they needed to make.

************

Eli stormed through the kitchen, barely nodding at Joy as she snatched her coat from the hook and shoved her arms into it.  Then she pushed open the door to the backyard and stomped out onto the porch, determined to put as much space and cold air between her and her teammates as she was allowed.  Only when she reached the fence line did she realize she wasn’t alone.

“Oh,” she stopped short and gasped in surprise when she recognized Arianna’s tiny form leaned up against an old oak tree.  Eli took up a similar position against the far side of the same tree.  Arianna didn’t bother to glance her way and Eli returned the courtesy by keeping her gaze on the ground.   “I thought....”  Eli cleared her throat.  “I thought you went downstairs to the lab.”

Arianna snorted.  “I was going to.  Then I decided Mary and Joy would probably not appreciate it if I blew their home to my planet and back.  Given my state of mind, it’s not only within the realm of possibilities, but highly likely.”  She shrugged.  “I slammed the door in frustration and came out here instead.  You?”

“This was my first choice, actually – I’ve been in and out all day.  I’ve missed being outdoors so much.   I mean... at the compound we at least had the gardens and the conservatory, but here, we’ve had nothing but recycled, reconditioned air.  It’s wonderful to get out into actual atmosphere and just breathe... even if it’s a little chilly.  I find it refreshing.”

“I find it frigid,” Arianna replied with a shiver.  “I do not understand how people live in these sorts of conditions for any length of time.  I am fairly confident it would cause my death.”

Eli snorted.  “Only if you ran around in it wet and naked,” feeling Arianna turned her head and glare.  “It could definitely make you miserable until you adjusted to it, though.”

Arianna sighed.  “What are we doing, Eli?” knowing Eli shifted until Arianna was in her line of sight.

“Commiserating about the weather?

Arianna huffed.  “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Now Eli sighed.  “Just let it go, and accept it for what it is.”

“But what is it?” asked with frustration clear in her tone.

“Two people thrown together because they share an unpopular opinion.”

“So you don’t think Mary is behind all the upheaval?” shuddering as a light breeze blew by.

“Of course not!  I spoke with her at some length the other morning, and I don’t know how to explain it, but she just didn’t come across as an individual with that kind of agenda. Besides, no one could completely hide treachery of that magnitude in close quarters – Gay would have sensed something disturbing without anything being projected.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Arianna questioned softly.  “Remember, I already believe in her innocence.”

“As do I.  I’m trying to marshal my arguments for the rest, because you know eventually they’re going to want answers.  It’s in their nature.”

“Ours too,” Arianna quipped. 

Eli chuckled.  “Ours too,” she agreed.  “Maybe I should just go straight to the source and ask.”

“Do you think she would tell you?  You don’t think it would be dangerous to let her know what the others suspect?”

Eli shrugged.  “If she is, by some stretch of the imagination, involved in some vast conspiracy designed to destroy us in some manner or other, we are already in serious jeopardy.  As they say, knowledge is power and at least we would know the identity of our enemy and could try to find a way to defeat her together.  If, however, she is innocent as you and I believe her to be, then she deserves the chance to defend herself.” 

“You know what bothers me the most?” Arianna said after a few minutes of silence passed thoughtfully, but surprisingly not awkwardly.  She turned her head to find Eli regarding her and their eyes met briefly before they both looked away.  “I can’t figure what Isaac’s angle is.  He has to have one to make accusations like he did, but what is it?  What was the point of bringing it up?  And please don’t blame it on scientific curiosity – that only goes so far, and not at all about something like this.”

Eli shrugged.  “I don’t know.  He said some of them had been talking, but who are the some?   I know I wasn’t included in that discussion.”

“Nor was I,” Arianna agreed with another shiver coursed through her body.  She jumped when Eli gently clasped her elbow and pulled her away from the tree before dropping her hold and wrenching her head back towards the house.

“Come on.  It’s too cold out here for you to endure for the sake of your anger.  It takes a while to acclimatize to something so drastically different than what your body is used to.  Let’s go see if we can find something warm to drink and when Mary is awake, we’ll sit down and talk to her.  Maybe she can make the rest see sense.”

Arianna just nodded and followed her inside.

************

Joy greeted them with a warm cup of tea, but otherwise remained silent.  She wondered at her mother’s fortitude some days, because just one day of watching these two bounce between extremes in their interactions made her normally calm, collected self want to knock their heads together in an effort to get them to see the truth of them. And she knew Mary had been correct when she pointed out that they had to solve their issues for themselves... even if it drove the rest of them crazy.  Joy just hoped Mary really did have an idea to help them along like she’d implied she did to Eden.  Otherwise, she might be tempted to help them lock Eli and Arianna in that room together.

Looking at them now, though – she wondered why they were even fighting what was so obviously there between them.  Even sitting silently across from one another at the table with their attention focused solely on the cup of tea in front of them, their intensity almost singed her... and they were doing their best to ignore one another.  She sighed.  She was only a few years older than they were, but she suddenly felt ancient compared to them.

Joy slapped her hands against the table, causing them to jump in surprise, then glare at her in reaction.  She bit her lips to hide her smile and met their eyes unflinchingly.  “If you’re going to hang out in my kitchen, you’re going to be conscripted into kitchen duty.”

“Cookies again?” Arianna asked with a hint of mirth and a twinkle in her eyes.

Joy snorted.  “One track mind, I swear.  Nothing so glamorous, I’m afraid.  Peeling potatoes and making salad.”

Eli stood and rolled up her sleeves.  “I’ll start peeling the potatoes.”

Arianna snorted.  “Only because you don’t like dicing tomatoes.  Or cucumbers. Or....”

“I get the point,” Eli replied wryly as she accepted the potatoes from Joy.  “And I see no reason to become proficient at something I can’t abide to do if there is already a professional around to do it for me.”  She pointed the peeler in Arianna’s direction.  “Always delegate tasks to the person who can accomplish them best – it’s the mark of a good leader.”

Arianna rolled her eyes, while secretly cheering the banter.  It had been too long since Eli had really spoken to her at all beyond anything work-related, much less so familiarly, and she was determined to relish it for as long as it lasted.  It was as if some part of Eli wanted to be friends but she refused to risk the possibility with Arianna again.  And every time she caught herself, she locked up tighter than before.  So Arianna had no doubt circumstances would change again before morning, and she was determined to make the most of it now.

“More like the rest of us are marked with some sort of invisible ink proclaiming us to be the pushovers we actually are.”  Then she turned and accepted the knife and cutting board Joy thrust in her direction and set to work.


Chapter XVIII

Dinner was... awkward, to say the least.  Aside from the three schools of thought prevalent – those who believed in Mary’s guilt; those who had no opinion either way; and those who proclaimed her innocence – there was also the fact that they were sitting at Joy’s table eating her food.  Kind of crappy when they thought about it and it wasn’t far from anyone’s mind.

Joy exchanged concerned glances with the security team, but they just shrugged and shook their heads.  They had heard everything that had been said, of course – it was their job and Sarah had been posted right outside the door keeping an eye on the team and the front door.  But for now the agents were content to watch and wait and see how the team members would handle the disagreement.

Not that they didn’t want to jump in and pummel Isaac and the rest that believed they and their boss were capable of such deceit.  It had in fact been their first instinctive reaction.  But cooler heads had quickly prevailed knowing Mary would be less than thrilled with that sort of rejoinder.  So they settled in to remain in observation mode for the duration.

The only plus – at least as far as Eden could see – was that Eli and Arianna didn’t seem to be quite on edge with each other anymore.  It wasn’t like they were besties again, but at least the tension level between them was tolerable to the point of being almost non-existent.  She wondered how long it would last, but for now it was enough.  It was one less thing to have to worry about anyway.

Still, since Eli had helped Joy prepare dinner, she was the first done, and immediately excused herself from the kitchen.  She beat Arianna by a full five minutes, and she searched the room until she met Reuben’s eyes.  A slight nod of her head, and he followed her from the room without comment.  The action garnered everyone’s attention and frowns from several team members, though they kept their comments to themselves.

Eli went up two flights of stairs with Reuben right behind her, both silent as they went.  Only when they shut the door behind them when they reached the room Eli was bunking in did Reuben turn a questioning glance in Eli’s direction. 

“I need you to take me to Mary,” watching his second eyebrow shoot up to join the first, but otherwise Reuben gave no indication he was surprised.  “I’m sure you’ve already heard what happened downstairs this afternoon.  She deserves to know.  It will give her a chance to plan for the worst if things get nasty.”

“Why?” he asked frankly, then held up his hand.  “I know why the team is loyal – we’ve been through hell and high water together and Mary has never shirked from that.  She’s been right there in the thick of things with the rest of us.  But you – why do you believe in us... in her?”

Eli shrugged.  “She hasn’t given me a reason not to, and every reason to try.  Besides, she reminds me very much of my own MaTb.  I would like very much for them to have the opportunity to meet.”

He considered her for a moment longer, then nodded once sharply.  “But you have to promise that I can be there when you introduce those two.  I would very much like to see for myself how much alike your mother and Mary really are.”

Eli smiled.  “You have a deal, Reuben.”

He reached out to open the door, which opened slightly with a knock just as his hand touched the knob.  He jerked it wider, nearly catapulting Arianna headfirst into the room.  Only her grip on the doorframe kept her from stumbling into Eli.  She gave him an evil glare before she could school her features into something more neutral and Eli had wiped the grin off her face by the time Arianna straightened.  She cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Are we going to see Mary now?” Eli cocked an eyebrow at her and Arianna rolled her eyes.  “Please, Eli... I’m not stupid.  I want to be there.  I know you want to warn her before the others can start demanding answers.”

Reuben coughed.  “Yeah, demanding from Mary won’t get them anything but grief.”

Eli chuckled.  “Learned that the hard way, did you?”

“Only once,” he confirmed.  “But once was enough.”

“Sometimes once is all it takes,” Eli agreed.  She turned to Arianna.  “Why don’t you let me handle this?  There’s no need to separate yourself any further from the rest – they’ve just welcomed you back into their company.  They need you to be a part of them... especially now.  You’re a key component to this team, and....”

“And you’re not?!  Don’t play games with me, Eli.  I deserve better!”

Eli’s gaze hardened at Arianna’s words, but she closed her eyes and brought her head around to Reuben before opening them once more.  “Come on, Reuben.  We need to do this before the others go looking for her.”

Rueben looked between them and then led the way out the door without another word.

************

Mary expected to sleep until someone or something woke her.  So it was with more than a hint of surprise and aggravation that she found herself staring at the ceiling for no particular reason other than the fact that she was wide awake.  She glanced at the clock, realizing dinner should either be in progress or commencing momentarily and sighed.  She’d hoped to sleep a little later, but a person didn’t always get what they wanted out of life.

Mary pushed herself upright, turning to fluff the pillows behind her before scratching her hands through her hair.  She was confident it didn’t help the look, but at least it was all going in mostly the same direction.  Then she leaned over and grabbed her Pad, curious to know what she had missed in the few hours she been oblivious to the world.

There were several messages – which made her frown… surely they didn’t have that many emergencies crop up in the few hours she was sleeping – and she opened them up one by one. 

The first couple were concerns that non-selected candidates had brought to their team leaders.  The next was from Gideon asking for a conference as soon as she was awake and functioning.  She appreciated the caveat – awake and functioning were two entirely different operations in her book. 

The last though... the last was from Sarah and it made her blood boil hot enough that she wanted to storm next door and just....  Mary closed her eyes and focused on the meditation techniques Edward had taught her a quarter-century before.  She could hear his whisper in her ear as she went through the paces, and it made her smile.

When she felt relaxed again, she closed the Pad and tossed it back to the bedside table.  Then Mary pushed the blankets aside and stretched before rising and stumbling towards the bathroom.  A shower would make her functioning, and then she’d be ready to tackle her day... which in this case would be at night.

************

Eden watched Eli go, followed by Arianna a few minutes later.  When she and Danny had gone searching for them earlier, they’d found them in the kitchen working side by side with Joy.  A quick, whispered conversation had them deciding to leave well enough alone.  As long as they were maintaining some semblance of pleasantness with one another, they would wait to step in.

After dinner though, since neither of them had dish duty, Danny and Eden silently agreed to try to find them.  Not because they expected anything bad to have happened yet – though as volatile as the two of them were, it wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibilities – but out of genuine concern.

Danny more than the rest knew how fragile Arianna actually was beneath the strength and bravado she showed the world, and he wanted to know for certain that she was all right.  Eden wanted to know what Eli was thinking – about Mary, about Arianna... even about Isaac and the situation that was likely to develop because of his mouthing off.

So they searched the whole house except for the two locked rooms – Mary’s office and Joy’s bedroom – and concluded that they must be in private conference with Mary.  They knocked on the office door, and when there was no response, they briefly considered breaking the code.  Then Eden thought about her words and Arianna’s about trusting Mary and she took Danny by the arm with a shake of her head.  He pulled his arm from her grasp and looked at her askance, crossing his arms and waiting for an explanation.  Eden tugged him towards the stairs again, and he reluctantly followed until they were out of hearing of Mary’s office.

“Either we trust Mary or we don’t, Danny.  There’s no middle ground here.”

“So you don’t think we need to be concerned?”

“I don’t... not yet.  Eli trusts her and that’s enough for me.  We’ll look for them before we go to bed.”

Danny nodded.  “All right.  I’m going to trust that we’re not wrong about this and keep my fingers crossed.  And I’m going to go down to the lab and play a little while.”

Eden nodded and watched him down the second staircase before entering the bedroom and climbing into her bunk.  She wasn’t really that tired, but it felt good just to stretch out in total quiet for a few minutes.  Maybe she’d just wait here until Eli returned. 

************

Eli and Arianna exchanged glances, but didn’t utter a word when Reuben led them up into the attic.  He led them to a door on one end and turned to meet their gazes with serious intent.  “I am trusting you,” he instructed softly.  “None of your number are supposed to be aware of this, but I feel your need is important enough to break protocol.  Please don’t betray my trust by sharing this secret with the others.  There’s a reason it’s secret.”

Eli nodded and Arianna followed her lead.  Then Reuben turned back to the key panel and punched in the code for the door.  After a moment, the door swung open and he motioned them through ahead of him so he could close it behind him.  There was another locked door at the other end, and he scooted past them to open it as well.  He stepped out first this time and gestured them towards the attic stairs.  Then he led them down to stop in front of a closed door... and knocked.

************

Mary stepped out of the shower with a sigh of relief.  Cold water certainly wasn’t her first choice, but it would suffice.  She was functioning... however slowly... and she could feel herself coming to life again.  She pulled on a robe and grabbed a towel to dry her hair, intent on looking somewhat human when she talked to Gideon.  She lit a few candles and grabbed her Pad from the table, but before she could expand it or call up Gideon’s contact information, a knock sounded at the door.

Mary frowned – all her agents should be next door watching the now chosen members of the Alpha team.  It must be some sort of an emergency for someone to be here... now... knocking on her door.  She tucked the Pad into her robe and draped the towel around her neck as she threw open the door.  Mary met Reuben’s apologetic eyes, and clenched her jaw when she realized he wasn’t alone.  She took a deep breath and opened the door wider.

“Please... come in,” she invited, though her eyes warned him they would be discussing any number of things later. He nodded his acceptance and ushered Eli and Arianna into the room ahead of him.

“Chief, would you like me to stay or...?”  Mary turned her attention to her guests.

“Would you prefer a witness to this discussion or would you like to keep it private?”

“We would like to keep this private,” Arianna said before Eli could speak.  “But please don’t be upset with Reuben.  This was the only way we could ensure we could speak to you expediently, and it was important enough to break a few rules for.”

Mary tilted her head.  “I will ultimately be the judge of that,” she informed Arianna in no uncertain terms, making her face flush with embarrassed heat.  “However, I’m certainly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and hear you two out before passing sentence.”  She looked at Reuben.  “I know your shift is almost over, but you should return to Joy’s until it is.  I’ll make sure they get back safely.”

“Thanks, Chief.”

“Thank you, Reuben.”  Mary waited until the door was closed behind him, then turned her attention back to her unexpected guests.  “I’m sorry I can’t offer you any sort of hospitality or even much of a place to sit, but I would advise you to wrap up in a blanket and take the only seat available,” gesturing to the bed which was the only furniture besides the table.  “There’s no heat in the building except for solar and the panels aren’t finished being installed.”

“Well, that explains why I feel so chilled,” Arianna mumbled as she accepted the blanket Eli offered.

“It also explains why the ten of us are confined to two rooms at Joy’s instead of being spread out into this building instead.”

Mary nodded.  “Had the work gone as planned, it would have been ready well before we needed it.  But there have been a number of delays trying to bring it up to code without destroying the historical integrity of the building itself.  However, I am confident that Reuben did not betray my trust so that we could discuss the reasons you have been sequestered in such small living quarters. What can I do for you ladies?”

Eli pulled her blanket tighter around her body and met Mary’s eyes squarely in the flickering light.  “First I want you to understand that Arianna and I do not believe this nonsense.  I cannot speak for the rest because I walked out as soon as I called them out for their stupidity.  Arianna actually walked out before I did.”  Mary nodded and motioned for her to continue even as she walked over to her carry bag and started pulling out clean clothes.  Eli kept her eyes focused in front of her to afford Mary a modicum of privacy.

“Right, so – you should know that at least some of the candi... I mean some members of the Alpha team are questioning your legitimacy.  If there is really a threat against us and if it is possible that you might be behind it.  We know that you were fired by the Committee as security chief and, well....”  Eli shrugged, not sure how to end.  “There are just a lot of questions going around over there and we wanted you to be prepared.”

“And you think... what, exactly?”

“I think you have your reasons for bringing us here, and that you genuinely believe a threat has been made against us.  I don’t understand why – why you brought us here or what the threat is or why you’re still protecting us after having been dismissed from service – but I do understand the honor that drives you and I trust that you have our best interests at heart.”

“Why?  Why do you think that?  Why would you risk it?  Because if you’ve guessed wrongly and trusted where none is warranted, you’re risking your life and that of your team.”

Eli nodded slowly.   “This is true, but I’ve learned to trust my gut on most things and only very rarely has it ever let me down,” not glancing in Arianna’s direction.  “My gut says you’re someone to trust.  The fact that you remind me very much of my MaTb helps.”

Mary nodded and turned to Arianna, whose eyes remained locked on her lap.  “And what of you, Arianna?  Why do you trust me?”

“Because you’ve never given me a reason not to, and in fact have gone out of your way to protect me and the others on more than one occasion.  The fact that you did nothing to call attention to this fact only cements that school of thought.  Selfish people don’t tend to risk themselves for others... no matter what the reason is.”

“Ms Wellesly, is there any way to share enough with the others to calm their doubts?  Without causing a security breach?”

Mary walked back into the bathroom to hang up her robe and towel and grabbed her comb.  She shivered as the comb pulled droplets of cold water across her scalp, but continued the movement in an effort to remove the tangles. 

“I could,” Mary replied easily.  “But I’m not sure it’s warranted or deserved.  Trust is a two-way street, ladies, and if they don’t trust me, how can I trust them?”

“Do you need to?” Arianna asked.  Mary glared until she realized to Arianna it was a legitimate question.

“I do.  Because if the details get out to the wrong people, it puts not only the Alpha team in jeopardy but all the candidates who are still here.”

“And you think someone here would do that?”

“Perhaps not intentionally.  But it only takes one wrong word to the wrong person for things to go haywire.  However,” she continued before they could pursue their line of questioning, “I will see what I can do to offer some reassurance to your doubting Thomas colleagues.”  She gave them a wry look.  “Should I guess the ones who are having issues?”

“We only know of one for sure, because he brought all this up.”

“Isaac or Titus?”

“How did you...?” Arianna started, then glanced at Eli.

“It’s her job,” they replied in tandem with a snicker.  They refocused their attention on Mary.  “Do you know who else...?”

“Of the people in this house?” Mary asked, waiting for their nods.  “They’re my two biggest doubters.  Mordecai, Esther and Hannah won’t believe them without proof one way or the other; Eden and Danny don’t want to believe, but have questions now; Jacob thinks everyone is a little nuts.  That would be my guess anyway.  No way to know for certain unless I talk to them.”

“And will you?  Talk to them, I mean?”

“If they bring their concerns to me, of course.”  Mary glanced at her chronometer and sighed, shoving her feet into shoes with a groan.  “Come on – it’s late and I need to get you back to Joy’s.”  She trotted back to the bathroom to snatch her Pad from the pocket of her robe, then motioned them to the door. “You can take the blankets if you need to, but you shouldn’t need them once we get into the passageway.  Eli and Arianna shared a look, then scrambled out of the warmth and towards the door.  Mary took the hint and hustled after them and up the stairs to the attic.  The sooner she got them back to Joy’s, the quicker they’d be in warmth.

The trip back was swift, and in moments, they were standing in front of Mary’s office door.  She unlocked it before turning around to face them.  “Is there anything else I can do for you ladies this evening?”

“No, Ms Wellesly.  Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.  And please don’t be too hard on Reuben.  He was just looking out for you... and us.”

Mary nodded, but made no promise.  Instead she said, “Goodnight, ladies.”

“Goodnight,” they called as she stepped into the room and closed the door firmly behind her.  Then they split up and headed to their rooms.

************

Mary opened the Pad as soon as the door was sealed and immediately brought up Gideon’s information.  A moment later, his face filled her screen and she could tell by his expression she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.  It was shaping up to be another long night.


Chapter XIX

“Are you sure about this, Gideon?” Mary asked as she rubbed her eyes.  It was a futile attempt to keep the headache she could feel forming behind her eyes at bay.  “I have to be able to back up any accusations I bring to the table.  And this still doesn’t tell me who infected Malcolm.”  He waited until she looked at him again before responding. 

“We’re still working on that bit, Chief.  There are a lot of things we have yet to investigate in any depth as far as he’s concerned.  Because of the sexual proclivities of his culture, it’s kind of slow going.  As for the other, I’m as sure as I can be without having actually witnessed the agreements as they happened, yes.  It’s a cock-up any way you look at it, Chief.”

“How did the Council miss this??  How did all the planetary governments involved miss this??”

“The same way we did, Chief – they weren’t looking for treachery on this level... or of this magnitude. Because from what I can figure so far, they are each involved for a different reason.”  She cocked an eyebrow and he elaborated.  “One for greed, one for ideology and one for principle.”

“Do you think the kids are still in danger?”

“Until we know who infected Malcolm and why, I’d have to say yes.  But from the others?”  Gideon shrugged.  “I don’t think so.  They want the program killed... I don’t think they want people hurt.”

Mary sighed.  “I don’t get paid enough for this.”

Gideon snorted.  “Given that we’ve been fired, Chief, I’d have to say you were right.”  She glared and he held up his hands in surrender.  “Have you heard any more about that, by the way?  Do we know why she did it?”

“Aside from making a power play?” Mary asked.  “No.  But with what we know now, I can make an educated guess.”

“And that would be?”

“The Committee made the decision to fire me before I even talked to McMurtry.  Remember, we had already removed the kids from the hotel by the time I talked to her and the Committee knew it.  More than likely, one of our suspected perpetrators suggested it and the others supported the idea vehemently enough that the rest went along with it.  Because to them, *I’m* the one in the wrong here.  I acted without their authorization and I refused to produce the candidates on demand.”

“So now what?”

Mary shrugged.  “First we’ll take care of moving the Alpha team to the transport area so they can begin their prep work. Then we have to get the candidates who weren’t chosen back to their homes. Once that’s taken care of, well... we’ve still got a few things left to do on this assignment before we can turn our attention elsewhere.  You and Ruth keep digging on Malcolm.  We need answers.”

“Will do, Chief... as fast as we can.”

“Thanks, Gideon.  I’ll be in touch.”  Mary switched off her Pad and rose from her seat, her grumbling stomach making clear its lack of satisfaction.  Before she could get around the desk, though, a knock sounded at her door.  She dropped her head to her chest and sighed.  Then she crossed to the portal and opened it... to find Eden standing in front of her with a tray in her hands.  Mary smiled.

“Is this like your regular assignment now, Eden?” Mary asked as she motioned her into the office.  Eden went directly to the desk and set the tray down before returning to stand in front of it.  “Making sure I get fed?”

Eden chuckled and took the seat Mary gestured her to as Mary stepped behind the desk once more.  “You do seem to need a full-time assistant for that particular duty, don’t you?” she returned with a light laugh of her own.  “But in this instance, like yesterday, I volunteered so I could have a chance to talk to you privately.”

“About?”

Eden frowned.  “I was hoping you might share your idea with me – you know, to help Arianna and Eli get along better.”

Mary tilted her head.  “In fairness, someone already managed to utilize my initial idea.”

“Which was...?”

“To give them a common focus.  I wasn’t necessarily aiming for them to bond over a perceived enemy, but I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.”

Eden shifted uncomfortably in her seat.  “You heard about that already, huh?”

“From more than once source,” Mary confirmed.

Eden sighed.  “I don’t think he meant to cause a problem, because I can sort of see his point.  It doesn’t make him right, but....”

“But it did serve to unite Eli and Arianna... however unexpected or temporary.”

“You don’t think it will last?”

“I don’t think it can,” Mary said without hesitation.  “Not for the sake of team dynamics,” holding up a hand when Eden frowned at her and taking a long drink of milk before she continued.  “As necessary as it is for Eli and Arianna to find a consistent way to interact with one another, it can’t be done at the cost of someone else on the team.  The whole ‘team’ concept kind of fails if there are factions within it.”  She shook her head.  “It would have been better team-wise if they had agreed with him – if you all had.”

“You want us to believe...?”  Eden stared hard at Mary.  “Is Isaac right?”

“No... not at all.  But at least if you all felt I was guilty of that which I stood accused by him, you’d be working together to do something about it instead of fighting to prove which of you is right.”

Eden leaned forward until her elbows were resting on her knees and ran her hands through her hair.  “So what can we do?  Isaac’s accusations aside, it was nice to see Eli and Az... I mean, Arianna interacting almost friendly again.  I’d like it to continue.”

Mary wiped her mouth and leaned back in her chair as she picked up her glass again.  “Is there anyone aside from the two of them that you trust completely?  Someone you could share a secret with and know it would be held in confidence?”

Eden’s brow furrowed.  “Yeah... a couple people I guess.  Why?”

“Do they want to see Eli and Arianna work things out?”

“Mary, we all want them to work things out just to create a more palatable atmosphere to live and work in.”  She sighed.  “You have to understand – at first, at the compound, it was really awkward for all of us.  I mean most of us tend to be the eggheads we are – living in our own heads and ignoring everything else around us.  No one really knew anyone else, but we knew we had to try if we were going to make this project work.”  Mary nodded, but said nothing.  “Arianna... Arianna was difficult – more than most of us combined, actually, but Eli saw something in her that the rest of us didn’t see... until it was shown to us.  And for those few months, we could have accomplished anything.  Did you know that most of our discoveries were made during the time they were together?  When they fell apart....”

“You lost your glue?”

Black eyes met brown when Eden caught Mary’s glance.  “Exactly.  We lost our spark.  So we need them to settle their differences if we’re to have any hope of making this mission successful.”

“All right,” Mary conceded, “let me ask another way.  Is there anyone on the Alpha team that doesn’t want them to be a couple again?  After all, it is conceivable that working out their differences means they would resume a professional only relationship.”

Eden sighed.  “There are a few that don’t care how they resolve things either way as long as we don’t have to continue to live with the tension of them being at odds with one another.  But no one has indicated to me that they shouldn’t be a couple.”  She bit her lip.  “That being said,” she drawled a little slower.  Mary waited.  “I don’t know,” Eden finally admitted.

“Fair enough.  In that case, talk to the ones you trust – the ones who will keep a confidence *and* who want to see Eli and Arianna find happiness together again.”

“That’s important?”

“I think so, yes.  By your own admission just now, they were the inspiration for creativity and discovery when they were happy together.  It stands to follow that a resumption of that facet of their relationship will be beneficial to everyone.”

“Got it.  So what do you want me to talk to the others about?”

“Part of the problems between them stems from the fact that they still don’t know one another... not like they should.  You need to encourage them to acquire the knowledge they need.”

Two black brows shot up into an equally dark hairline.  “Encourage them how?”

“Talk – about yourselves, your planets, your customs.  Share with them and have them share with you.  It will be good for team dynamics as well.  After all, shouldn’t you know the people you’ll be living with for the next few years?”

“We do... know one another, I mean.  We did this when you first arrived at the desert facility.”

“Really?” Mary replied dryly.  “So if I asked you Gabriel’s favorite color or the name of Esther’s best friend or what deity Naomi’s people worship - you could answer those things?”

“Um... no?  But....  Is that really necessary?”

Mary shrugged.  “You tell me.”

Eden sat pensively, reviewing what she knew about those who were part of the Alpha team, and remembering Arianna’s recent curiosity about the sexual behavior of her teammates.  Eden’s shoulders slumped in realization.

“Crap,” she mumbled, snorting at Mary’s smirk.  “Not helping,” she complained.  Mary wiped the smile off her face and donned a stoic expression.

“Sorry,” she offered. “Better?”

Eden chuckled and shook her head.  “No, not really.  But that was a pretty cool trick.”

“Three kids and years of practice,” Mary assured her solemnly.

“That explains a lot, actually,” Eden agreed.  “So how would you suggest we do this?  Because I think calling a meeting so we ‘learn about each other’ is a little too blatant.  Eli would call foul before we even got a chance to start sharing things.”

“That’s where your trusted compatriots come into play.  First you need to sit down and decide what topics need to be discussed.  Personally, I’d work on the cultural aspect, but I’m not the one having to work this into casual conversation.  Because that’s what you need to do – be casual about it and make it part of the discussion you’re having when they’re around together.  They don’t even have to participate all the time... as long as they’re listening.  And with a few of you to steer the dialogue, you can involve everyone in smaller groups without most of them being aware of any manipulation.”

“You’re a rather sneaky individual, Chief,” Eden said with a grin.

Mary smirked.  “It’s my job.”

Eden smiled and shook her head, then stood and shoved her hands in her pockets.  “Can I ask...?” waiting for Mary’s tacit accord.  “What are you going to do about Isaac?”

“I’m going to wait for him to come to me.”

“And then?”

Mary shrugged.  “That’s up to him.”  Eden nodded and turned towards the door before halting again when Mary called her name.  “What do you think?  About Isaac’s accusations.”

“My first thought?  I wondered where he got the idea.  Don’t get me wrong – Isaac is brilliant in his field.  But he’s not particularly observant out of it.  And though he relates to people well enough I suppose, he doesn’t really give them much thought, you know?  If it’s not laid out for him, he doesn’t generally see things beyond the surface.”  Eden cleared her throat.  “Still, he or whoever he was talking to made a pretty good argument.  And looking at it from our angle, we ask questions and search for answers as a way of life.  That’s what science boils down to.  And you are a mystery.”

“I always have been as far as you kids are concerned.  Until a few days ago, none of you even knew I had children older than a good portion of the candidates.”

“True, but now we do, and that opened all kinds of curiosity on our part about you.  The circumstances that brought us here just add to the confusion.”

“So you think he’s right?”

Eden tilted her head and let black eyes study brown for several long minutes.  Mary didn’t flinch or look away and Eden gave her a satisfied acknowledgment.  “No, I really don’t.  I may be an idiot, but I trust Eli and Eli trusts you.  And the truth is,” she continued before Mary could interject, “it’s a little too easy to make you out to be the villain here.  I mean, if you were clever enough to get this far without anyone knowing, why would you break out into stupid now?  No... not buying it.  The clever part, yes – the stupid... not so much.”  She shrugged.  “That’s my take on things anyway.”

Mary held her gaze a moment, then nodded.  “I appreciate it... and your candor,” she said as she stood.  She placed her used dishes on the tray and scooped it from her desk.  Eden immediately opened the door and passed Mary through before closing it behind them.  “And I’ll see what I can do to help with the dialogue as well.  And I know my boys will help.”

“I know they’re twins, but even in the short time I met them, they really seemed nothing alike.”

Mary chuckled and motioned Eden down the stairs in front of her.  “I’ll tell them you said that – they’ll love hearing it.  They worked very hard to cultivate their differences to be seen as individual people and not half of a set.  The only thing they ever agreed on without argument was protecting their sister.  And woe to the idiot that tried something against her.”

“Sounds like you have stories,” Eden said as they entered the kitchen.

“Stories about what, Mama?” Joy asked as she rose to take the tray.  Mary gave her a look but relinquished her hold.  Joy smiled in triumph and move to the sink.  Eden leaned against the table and crossed her arms over her chest to observe the women who had obviously forgotten her presence.

“Your brothers,” Mary replied as she picked up a towel to dry the dishes Joy was washing, “and their protective mentality towards you.”  She stumbled when Joy bumped into her, and turned to glare.  Joy just returned the look.

“Uh huh... and who gave them that mentality, hmm??”  She looked at Eden, who was covering her mouth with one hand.  “I’m still afraid to bring anyone home for them to meet.  I don’t think anyone will survive that interrogation.  And that’s assuming they make it past Mama first.”

“How lucky for you I’ve already given my approval then.”

“Mama??” Joy whipped her head back towards Mary and queried with startlement making her voice squeak.  Mary just shook her head and looked at Eden.

“Yes, I do have stories, and maybe after we get the Alpha team delivered safely to the transport station, I’ll share some of them with you.”

“Mama??”

“I’d like that, Chief,” Eden said with a smile.  “But for now, I suppose I should go find the others.  There’s no telling what I could have missed since dinner.”

“I’ll go with you,” Mary said, hanging up her towel and edging her way towards the kitchen door.  Joy slapped her hands on the counter in frustration.

“MAMA!!”

Mary turned and blew a kiss at Joy and headed towards the living room.  Joy rubbed her forehead and left the kitchen with a huff, heading upstairs and hoping for a few minutes peace.  She had a feeling she was going to need it.  She never even noticed Ephraim in the corner of the kitchen watching the tableau with great interest... and a small smile.

************

When they left Mary at her office door, Eli and Arianna had walked towards their rooms without a word – it was only when they reached their doors that Arianna turned to Eli to speak.  Eli held up a hand and shook her head, letting her gaze lock on the floor.  “Please don’t,” she whispered.  “I can’t do this again... not with you.”  Eli took a deep breath.  “Mary told me I had to choose a path, so I tried to choose the warmer one.  But I can’t do this with you.  I can’t be your friend.  I will do my best to be fair, but professional behavior is the best I can offer.  It’s all I’ve got left to give.”

“Eli....”

“I’m sorry, Angel – I really am.  But I can’t go through this again.  I won’t.  I wouldn’t survive this a second time.  Please, Arianna... just let me go.”

“I can’t, Eli.  I can’t.  You can’t just leave it like this.  You can’t!”

“I can.  Even if I have to walk away.”

“You’d leave the Alpha team to avoid being friends with me?”

Eli met Arianna’s eyes, forcing herself not to wince at the pain so visible in the brown orbs.  “If that’s what it takes,” she replied without flinching.  “I don’t want to – I think the team needs both of us to achieve its greatest success, but I cannot offer you more than professional courtesy.  If you cannot do the same... if you can’t be professional with me, I will remove myself from the project.  The Committee can choose an alternate to take my place.”

“You hate me so much??” tears flowing unhindered down tan cheeks.

“I don’t hate you at all.  But I refuse to be put into a situation that will destroy me.  So you make your decision and you let me know, all right?”  And without another word, Eli turned and headed down the stairs and out the kitchen door into the darkness.


Chapter XX

Michael was sitting at the front door now and he smiled when he saw Mary, then rose to greet her.  “How’re you doing, Chief?  Did you get any sleep at all?”

She gave him a wry grimace.  “Apparently all I needed.  I woke up wide-awake.  Just as well, though... from what I can gather.”

“Well, it hasn’t been dull around here, if that’s what you’re asking.  For the kids’ sakes, I hope things settle down soon, or it’s gonna be rough going for them for some time to come.  Things seem to be a little volatile.  Maybe that has something to do with them being sequestered in such a confined space, but I’m telling you, Chief... something’s gotta give.”

“How are you guys doing?” Mary asked.  “Martha and Reuben are next door already?”

“Shortly after dinner, Chief.  Matthew and Sarah have another hour or so.  Matt’s downstairs with Dorcas and Sarah’s out back.  I think she needed to cool off again.  She’s still pretty hot about Klutz’s accusations this afternoon.”

“And the rest of you aren’t?”

Michael shrugged.  “We didn’t actually have to listen to him spew and keep our game face on.  Besides, we figure you’re gonna put him in his place hard and fast, and none of us want to ruin that for you.  They don’t actually notice us, and that would bring attention that we don’t want.  Sarah told me she just needed a couple minutes to remind herself of that.” He frowned, but Mary spoke before he could voice his concern.

“Have you seen Ephraim?”

“Yes, Chief.  He was downstairs before dinner ended.  He offered to stay in the kitchen to keep an eye on the door since no one is outside at this time of night.”

Mary closed her eyes and nodded, wondering how she had missed him – and curious to know if he had spoken to her daughter.  Though judging by Joy’s reaction, he had yet to make a move.  She scratched the back of her neck.  “Anything else I need to know?”

“Yes ma’am, now that you ask – Sarah’s been gone for the better part of fifteen minutes.  You might want to have a looksee... make sure she’s all right.  I know she can handle herself, but it’s just weird.  And we don’t need weird at this point.”

“No, we don’t.  Thank you, Michael.  I’ll go find Sarah, then I’ll be back.  I need to go downstairs and see if I can clear things up before we start moving these kids tomorrow.”

“So that’s a definite go?”

“Yes.  We can’t deprive them of their prep time – they’re going to need every minute they’ve got to be ready to launch on time.  I will be talking to the Committee once we get the team settled, and the fallout from that should cause enough uproar to allow the Alpha team to proceed without injury.”  She cocked an eyebrow at him.  “Besides, they’re not going to be where most people expect them to go.”

“So not to the transport site?”

“Not yet.  *That* will happen unexpectedly.”

Michael rubbed a hand over his beard.  “I’m glad you’re the boss, Chief.  That kind of crap makes me crazy.”

Mary waggled her eyebrows.  “You could be like me then.”  He laughed and she turned back to the kitchen.  “I’ll be back with Sarah in a few.”  He saluted and she rolled her eyes before disappearing into the other room.

************

Ephraim was still sitting in the corner, though now his entire focus on what was taking place beyond the closed door.  He’d been eating when Sarah rushed through the room and out the door without so much as a by-your-leave.  He’d let her go without comment, knowing she wouldn’t leave the yard and would be alert. Joy met his eyes, but he shook his head and shrugged.

The kids on clean-up duty finished the dishes and Joy thanked them and sent them on their way for the evening.  Ephraim polished off the remainder of his meal and washed his dishes before Joy could argue.  Instead, she left to find out if any of the agents needed more coffee, knowing her mother would make fresh when she was ready for it.  Ephraim resumed his seat and his watch.

When Eli came storming through, he nearly stopped her, but the look in her eyes informed him of just how bad a decision that would be – for her and for him.  So he held the door open for her and she offered him a curt nod.  Then he took his place again, keeping an eye on both women... even when Mary and Eden crossed the threshold.  He knew eventually Mary would learn what was going on and would be back.  And hearing her tell Joy he had her blessing – even if Joy didn’t know yet – made Ephraim smile.

He heard Mary enter the room and cross the floor to look out the door.  “Who’s with her?” she asked without removing her attention from the two figures she could just see near the fence line.

“Princess,” Ephraim replied without hesitation.  “She came storming through here a few minutes before you and Wonder came in.  I only let her go because Sarah was already out there, Chief.  And I’ve been keeping an eye on the two of them.”

Mary pushed both hands into her hair, pulling almost painfully in an effort to keep from ranting and raving like a lunatic.  She took one deep breath and then another, focusing on calming herself and feeling her heart rate slow.  She hadn’t gotten this frustrated when she’d heard Isaac’s accusations.  She wondered what had happened in the short time since she’d seen Eli and Arianna together focused on warning her about his allegations to send Eli for sanctuary.

“How did she seem?”

“Sarah or Princess?” asking for clarification.  But before Mary could answer, he gave a response for both.  “Sarah was flustered... like she was angry.  Princess?  She was a little harder to read, Chief.  She was... upset... or hurt – very unhappy.”

Mary sighed.  “All right,” she said, snatching up her daughter’s jacket and closing it as tightly as she could manage.  “I’m going to see what’s going on.  Either Sarah or I will be back inside in a moment.”

“I’ll wait right here, Chief.”

Mary nodded and slipped out the door.

************

Sarah had been leaning against the banister when Eli came tearing out of the house.  She actually expected the door to slam behind her, until she realized that Ephraim was holding it open.  Their eyes met and she gave him the slightest nod.  He bobbed his head in return and closed the door gently behind him.  Sarah smiled when Ephraim took his seat, knowing he was in a perfect position to observe everything; then she turned her attention to the young woman who was leaning against the trees at the fence and followed her, taking a place close to Eli but not touching.

“You all right, Princess?” reaching out a hand, but stopping when Eli whirled on her and glared in her direction.

“Don’t call me that!” she spat.  “My name is Eli – use it!”

Sarah held out a placating hand, harnessing her previous anger and letting it bleed out beneath the swirl of emotions she could see in Eli’s eyes.  “All right, Eli – I’m sorry.  We’ve always used code names for all of you and we haven’t actually been introduced.  I’m Sarah.”  Eli nodded but didn’t say anything, biting her lip and keeping her focus on something beyond sight.  “Aside from leaving you alone, is there anything I can do for you, Eli?”

“No.  Just please....”

Sarah nodded, though she doubted Eli could see the action.  But her silence said enough and she could feel Eli relax just a little.  She wondered what had driven the young woman outside so late, then figured if it was her business, Eli would share.  Sarah couldn’t give Eli the physical privacy she sought, but she could respect her need for it and allow her to keep her own counsel.

Sarah pondered how long she’d been outdoors, knowing from the chill in her bones that it had been more than the few minutes she’d promised Michael.  But she couldn’t leave Eli alone out here... even if Ephraim was watching.  Sarah wasn’t about to be the one to explain to Mary how something had happened on her watch.

She heard the door open, and turned her head, slumping in relief when she saw Mary headed towards them in the darkness.  A jerk of Mary’s head had Sarah moving indoors, glad for the chance to warm up again before leaving the warmth of Joy’s home to return to a frigid room.

Sarah turned once as she reached the top step, noting Mary had taken her exact spot and seemed to be looking up at the stars.  Then she shook her head and went inside, thankful for the cup of coffee Ephraim held out to her as she crossed the threshold.

************

Eli stiffened when Mary approached, then relaxed slightly when she realized it wasn’t Arianna.  Still, she didn’t speak, and Mary seemed content to let her keep her peace.  She felt Mary move closer than Sarah did before sliding down the tree trunk until she was sitting on the cold ground.  Eli remained standing with her eyes focused on the heavens above.

Even as a child the stars had fascinated Eli.  Though the stars she had gazed on at home were much different than the ones above her now, Eli felt a familiar comfort wrap itself around her as she stared at them.  It was humbling to realize just how small and inconsequential each individual really was – that their lives and troubles really had no effect on the grand scheme of things.  But despite that insignificance in the universe, everyone still had a role to play – their uniqueness important to someone, somewhere.

Eli breathed deeply and questioned why Mary had sent Sarah away if she was going to remain mute... until she understood that Mary was waiting for her break the silence she had demanded from Sarah.  She cleared her throat, but Mary didn’t move, content to be still and wait for as long as necessary.

“I, um... I took your advice,” Eli said in a whisper, the sound carrying through the stillness.  “And I spoke to Arianna.”  She cleared her throat again, hoping to ease the tightness.  “It is highly likely that I will be turning down my appointment to the Alpha team and returning home.”

That garnered her Mary’s piercing gaze when she turned her head to give Eli her full attention.  “Should I plan for that eventuality then?”

Eli nodded slowly as she considered the question.  “Yes... I believe you should.  I have given Arianna the opportunity to make her choice, but if she cannot accomplish the task in a timely manner, I will simply submit my resignation on my own and go home – to give the new member sufficient time to prepare.”

Mary’s eyebrows flew into her hairline, but she managed to curb her tone into something dispassionate when she spoke.  “You asked Arianna to choose whether she goes or you do?”

Eli chuckled sadly and shook her head.  “Nothing so extreme.  I would walk away without a word before putting her in that position.  No.  I thought about what you said... about blowing hot and cold.”  She sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly, forming smoke rings with the vapor.  “I come from a cold climate, you know – I’m quite comfortable in it.  So making the choice I needed to in order to survive this ordeal means I will interact with Arianna in a professional capacity only.  Anything more is simply out of the question for me.  I can’t burn like that again.”

“So you told Arianna...?”

“That we can be colleagues, but not friends.  And if she couldn’t manage to make that differentiation, then I would leave the project so she could remain.”

“Harsh,” Mary commented, but there was no accusation in her tone.  Eli shrugged.

“Maybe.  But it’s all I know to do, Ms Wellesly.  I will turn to cinder otherwise, and I’ve already proven that I’m not the Phoenix of lore.”

“All right,” Mary agreed.  “But do you think we could take this inside now?  I wasn’t thoroughly warm to begin with, and now I’m just downright cold.  And I can’t leave you out here alone.”

“Is it wrong that I’m looking forward to that?” Eli asked as she extended a hand down to help Mary stand.  Mary cocked her head in question and Eli continued.  “I am looking forward to being able to be alone again... no offense.”

“None taken,” Mary replied as they turned towards the house.  “I of all people can appreciate that need – I have a locked room in my daughter’s house for just that purpose.”  Mary shook her head.  “Those ballet kids get up to some interesting parties sometimes.”

Eli chuckled.  “Are you serious?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” opening the door and letting Eli walk in ahead of her.  “You can never be too sure about what’s hidden beneath a tutu – that’s all I’m saying.”  She moved to the coffee pot and held it up, but Eli shook her head.  Though she had no illusions about sleeping tonight, she didn’t think adding more caffeine to the mix would be her best choice of options.

“I should probably go upstairs.  It’s getting late and I don’t want to wake the rest if everyone has settled down for the night.  Goodnight, Ms Wellesly.”

“Goodnight, Eli,” Mary returned, then carried on.  “And Eli?” waiting for gray eyes to focus her way.  “I need a decision soon.  We begin moving everyone tomorrow.”

Eli bit her lip and nodded her comprehension, slowly and thoughtfully.  “I understand, Ms Wellesly.  Thank you.”

“Of course, Eli.  Goodnight.”

Eli waved and walked out the door, and Mary inhaled the aroma of her coffee deeply before taking her first, satisfying sip.  Only once she swallowed and re-opened her eyes did Ephraim speak.

“Everything all right, Chief?”

Mary shook her head.  “I’m sure it will be...eventually.  Has it been quiet otherwise?”

“Yes, Chief.  Sarah resumed the post at the front door until Dorcas came up to relieve her when her shift ended.  She and Matt have already gone next door.  Most of the kids are still downstairs.  I haven’t heard anything, so I don’t think there’s an issue.”

Mary sighed.  “It’s my next stop, so I’ll let you know.”

“Good luck, Chief.”

She raised her cup to him and walked out the door.  Dorcas glanced at her when she exited the kitchen and Mary called out to her.  “Dorcas?”

“All good here, Chief.  I left the door open,” jerking her head towards the basement.  “Since it’s just us here.”

“You think they would be that stupid?”

“I don’t know,” the dark-haired woman replied honestly.  “But better safe, right?  Besides, they made it clear they were waiting to talk to you.”

Mary looked at her coffee cup and wished for something stronger.  Then she sighed and shook her head.  “Guess I’d better get down there and see what kind of trouble I can stir up tonight.”  Dorcas snorted but didn’t deign to respond verbally.  Mary just chuckled and headed downstairs.

************

Danny had gone back upstairs after only a little while in the lab.  He couldn’t focus on what he was doing, and he figured that would be the most likely place for Arianna to return to after speaking with Mary.  Besides, his skin desperately needed lotion, and he sighed in relief as he rubbed it in.  The climate on this planet was different enough from his own that his exposed skin tightened and dried at an alarming rate if he didn’t moisturize regularly.  So he took his time, so engrossed in his task that he jumped when the door slammed open and closed again almost instantly.  He looked up to find the disturbance and immediately forgot his routine.  Arianna stood curled into herself, arms wrapped tightly around her stomach as she bit her lip.

“Arianna?  Sweetie?” his blue eyes meeting her brown ones and almost crumbling under the sadness that muddled them.  “Oh, honey... what’s wrong?” crossing the room and pulling her into his arms.  She fell into his embrace, staggering him unexpectedly even with her slight weight.  He scooped her up and moved them to the bed.  “Now, tell me what’s wrong, Sweetie.”

“She hates me, Danny.  She hates me.”

Danny frowned.  “Who, Arianna?  Who hates you?”

“Eli,” she wailed before tucking her face into his neck and letting the tears flow.  He tightened his grip around her and let her cry, knowing she needed the release before he would be able to get any more answers out of her.  Gently, he rocked them and spoke soft nonsense into her ear.  Finally, he felt her tears slow and her clasp on him relax.  Only then did he brush the hair away from her face and look down at her.

“You ready to talk to me now?” feeling her nod.  “Good – why do you think Eli hates you?  Because I happen to know without a doubt that she doesn’t.”

“You didn’t hear her a few minutes ago, Danny.”  Arianna took a shuddering breath.  “She can’t be friends with me anymore – she won’t even try.  If I won’t allow a purely professional relationship between us, she will leave the project.  She would rather give up the opportunity of a lifetime than be friends with me.”  She tilted her head to look into his eyes.  “Am I really that horrible?”

“No, Sweetie – of course not!  What did she say exactly?”  Arianna repeated what Eli had said to her, her voice a whisper in an effort to not resume crying.  When she was done, she looked at Danny expectantly.  He kept his eyes on the far wall and bit his lip to keep from speaking too hastily or rashly.  Finally, he responded, keeping his voice soft and even.  “She doesn’t hate you, Arianna – she told you as much.”

“Then why is she so willing...?  What is so wrong with being friends with me??  Malcolm’s not even an issue now.  There’s no reason we can’t go back to being friends.”

Danny sighed.  He didn’t want to have to be the one to enlighten Arianna, but if it had to be done, he certainly wasn’t going to do it alone.  He shifted Arianna from his lap and stood, extending a hand that she automatically accepted.  He pulled her to her feet and tenderly wiped away the traces of her tears, then tugged her towards the door.

“C’mon,” he invited.  “We need to find Eden.  Maybe between us, we can figure something out.  Because none of us want to lose Eli from the oddball family we’ve become.”  Arianna nodded and followed him out the door.

Part 3