Sam snuggled closer to his bedmate, listening to the reassuring beat of his heart and smoothing the dark curls on the broad chest beneath his cheek.  He knew they had to get up but hoped for a little more time before he had to open his eyes.  Smiling against his lover’s warm skin, he took a surreptitious lick of salty skin

 “We have to get up.”  Seth’s voice was sleep roughened.

 “Not yet.”

 The chest he was snuggled against rumbled under his cheek.  “Did that work when you were a kid?”

 Sam thought about it.  “Nope.  I guess we have to get up.”

 A warm hand rubbed his back, the calluses on the strong fingers teasing his skin.  “Maybe we can talk the Ikiiri into donating a few of these beds for Moon Base.  I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well.”

 Chuckling, Sam levered up onto one elbow and looked down into amused green eyes.  “I don’t think it’s the bed so much as it is . . . us.  The last time I slept like this was back at Marag’s.”

 “And at Victoria Island when we took that nap.”  A little wrinkle appeared on Seth’s forehead.  “That could be awkward on Moon Base.  I don’t know how open we can be among so many unknown people.  I was kind of hoping we could live together.”

 Sam shook his head and frowned a little.  “I know.  I was hoping that the mix of peoples would provide some cover.  Part of me was even wondering if we could simply move in and live together as . . . partners.”

 “In a more perfect world, Sam, we could.  But we’re the same people with the same old prejudices.  We’re just moving them out into the stars.”  Seth stroked a hand across Sam’s shoulder and down his arm.  “Perhaps living and working together over time will ease the fears most people have.  I wondered about your father but he seems to have accepted us.”

 Sam leaned over and kissed him softly.  “A lot of old beliefs bit the dust in the last few weeks.  If someone had told me a month ago that I’d meet aliens, take a male lover and move to the Moon, I’d have certified him as crazy.  But here we are.”

 “Here we are indeed.”  Seth deepened the kiss, pulling Sam up to cover him like a blanket.  They feasted on each other, still finding new spots that produced shivers or whimpers.  Sam shivered when the nape of his neck was stroked and Seth groaned when the skin inside his elbow was licked.

 After a few moments, Sam pulled back a bit.  “Seth, you would tell me if I was doing something wrong?”

 “Wrong?  In what way?”

 Sam blushed.  “I mean . . . if what we’re doing is enough?”

 Seth relaxed and gentled both hands down Sam’s back.  “We’re doing just fine.  We’ve got plenty of time to learn about each other and expand our repertoire over the next fifty years or so.”

 “You’d tell me?”  Sam couldn’t quite let his insecurity go.

 “If either of us have a problem, I expect us both to mention it.”  Seth punctuated his statement with a kiss.

 “Yes, Sir!”  Sam wiggled slightly and watched those green eyes go sultry.

 “I like the way you say that.  And if we didn’t have to be somewhere in about 25 minutes, I’d explore a couple of possibilities.  But unfortunately my watch says we’ve got a staff meeting over at command central.”  Seth rolled them over to their sides and kissed him gently before unpeeling their bodies.

 “Another shower?”  Sam swung his legs over the side of the oversized bed and pushed himself up.

 “We’d better.  Although I have to say that I’m going to miss water showers once we get settled in up there.”  Seth led the way into the room between after checking to make sure that it was empty.  “Remember to keep your mouth closed this time.  I thought you were going to hit the roof when you got that shock.”

 Sam grimaced and nodded.  He had two teeth with filled cavities that reacted to the sonic burst with a stabbing pain that shot him out of the shower stall with a yell.  He’d figured it out pretty quickly but he was in no hurry to repeat the experience.  This time they just set the controls to a fast wash of harmonics and were back out to redress in a matter of moments.

 They made the meeting on time and listened to Ruth’s decision to move the entire Mescalero tribe to the Moon.  Sam made a mental note to himself to give everyone a physical before they left.  It joined the note about asking his father whether or not his parents would be going with them.  And seeing his brother reminded him to get Toby alone and ask him why he was looking so down.

 “For now, we’ll need to be ready to visit Moon Base tomorrow.  I need to see it for myself.”  She hesitated for just a moment then continued on with a laundry list of items that needed doing.  Everyone there had another task to add to their agendas before she dismissed them.  A look from her kept Sam there when the others left.

 She gestured to one of the chairs and joined him.  He waited for her to speak, noting the ongoing tension tightening of her jaw and the paleness of her skin.  Of them all, she bore the brunt of the decision making and he was willing to bet that each problem solved simply multiplied what had to be done.

 “We don’t have enough people to do this, Sam.  Terana needs to take her salt and head home within the week.  She’ll make sure the wormhole is stabilized by then and at least half the base should be complete.  With the dome secured so we don’t try and breathe vacuum.  Peter is doing the job of five men.”  She rubbed her cheek absentmindedly and he caught her hand in his.

 “You’ll rub your skin away if you keep doing that.”  He teased her, hiding his shock at the icy coolness of her hand.  “Is that why the tribe?”

 She drew her hand away.  “They need a home.  I did a healing of all those who came to speak, probably about half the tribe but I need to finish the rest before we leave.  They’re dying out, Sam.  Diseases, alcoholism and depression are just a few of their problems.  I know I can’t save everyone but damn it, I’ve got to try.”

 “When you heal with the crystal, how does it work?”  He’d wanted to ask her since he’d heard Wolf’s story but there hadn’t been time.

 She quirked a corner of her mouth.  “I wondered how long it would take you to ask.  Your father already quizzed me about it.  He saw me do the techies when they came in.  All I can say is it’s a question of harmonics.  Certain crystals have it but most do not.  I have to use part of my . . . being . . . to balance out their bodies.  Disease is like a black hole that sucks in all energy and leaves none for healing.”

 Sam thought about it for a moment.  “Does it harm you when you do it?”

 “Very perceptive, Sam.  It borrows from me for the initial healing and I must replace that energy soon or even I could get sick.”

 “Like you did in Boston?”  That illness had bothered him after he came to realize what she was capable of.

 “I was ill before I got there and had no way to get to a place where I could feel the earth beneath my feet.  With no crystal to focus the healing, I was lost to the raw negative energies of the city.  I could have died there if She hadn’t taken a hand and led Joe to me and then to you.  She doesn’t believe in coddling her Avatars.  I knew that from the beginning.  It was a good lesson for me.”

 “A lesson that could have killed you.”

 “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of the old saying.  What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”

 “I’ve never found that very comforting, Ruth.”

 “The truth never is, sweetheart.  I try to learn my lessons the first time so I don’t have to repeat them.”  Ruth sighed.  “For now though, I need to know what to do about Toby.”

 He sat up straight.  “I knew there was something wrong.”

 “Not exactly wrong but certainly disappointing.  Your parents will not be going with us.  Peter is committed and so are you.  Your mother is fighting for Toby to stay home, safe and far away from danger.  Mei Ling is on her side.  He’s caught in the middle and I’m part of the problem.”

 “Damn.  I was afraid of that.  Mom really came unglued when we all left.”

 “She needs to keep him close and even though she’s pleasant to me, I know she feels that I’ve come between her and all of you.  The knowledge that I was his mother in another life threatens her at a very basic level.”  Ruth sighed and went back to rubbing her cheek.  “But there is something I can offer him as an inducement to stay in school.  I just don’t know if I should.”

 Sam thought about his parent’s reactions to all that had gone on.  Their world had been torn apart and reassembled with pieces that didn’t fit anymore.  Aliens, past lives, government conspiracies and who knew what was to come.  His own sexual awakening had surprised him and disconcerted the family.

 “Oh, Sam, I’m sorry to dump this on you.”  Ruth clasped her hands in front of her instead of touching his arm the way she usually did.

 In fact, she had been keeping her hands at her side or rubbing them against each other both during the meeting and after.  The icy touch he’d felt a few moments ago reminded him of what she’d said about using part of her own being to affect a healing.  Making an intuitive leap of galactic proportions, he reached over and laid both his hands over hers.  She tried to pull them back; her face set in a mask of denial.

 “No, Sam.  I’m fine.  Really.”

 “I don’t think so, Ruth.  Correct me if I’m wrong but I think you have the ability to transfer energy from one source to another.”

 Her eye fell to their clasped hands and her whisper was so soft he could barely hear it.  “I try not to, I really do, but I’m like some horrible energy vampire.  When I use too much of my own essence, I seem to suck what I need from anyone I touch.  It’s so wrong but I can only control it if I stay away from others until I can ground myself in earth.”

 His mind raced through all the implications even as her hands warmed and his grew cold.  “And what happens if you take too much?”

 Her voice was flat.  “The power to heal and the power to kill are two sides of the same coin.”

 “And what if I know what will happen and offer anyway?”  Sam lifted his hands from hers and watched her hastily stand and move away from the table, clutching her arms and shivering.

 “It doesn’t matter.  Don’t you see?  If they knew, they’d be afraid of me.”  Her laugh was harsh and joyless.  “Well, more afraid than they already are.”

 “You represent the unknown future that is happening now.  Not in some distant time when we’ll be ready to stride forward, but right here today when all we can seem to do is stumble ahead.  Most of us want it and fear it at the same time.”  He arose and stood before her, waiting patiently until her eye met his.  “I trust you, Ruth.  From the beginning, you told me the truth unsparingly.  It would be so easy to just let you do everything, make all the decisions and map our moves like some chess match.”

 “I can’t do that, Sam.  If this is to succeed, the people have to be involved on all levels.”

 “I agree.  And this level may be a rather restricted one but we need to know when you need us.”  He pulled her stiff body against his.  “Don’t be so stubborn, Ruth.  And for heaven’s sake, don’t be a martyr.  Let us help you for a change.”

 For one terrible moment, he thought he’d pushed her too far then her body melted into his arms and he heard a sniff from under his chin.  He rocked her gently for a while but didn’t protest when she finally pulled away.  Scrubbing her face with her hands, she pulled a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose.

 “All right, Sam, you’ve made your point.  If I need a quick fix, I’ll ask you.  Do you think Seth would mind?  I promise I won’t take much.”  She sent him a hesitant glance.  “I find that lovers energies are especially potent.”

 He blushed and laughed out loud at the same time.  “I’ll be sure and ask him.  How could you . . . never mind, I don’t want to know.”

 “It’s in your aura, like a lovely green wash of color.  The two of you are becoming mirrors of each other’s energy.  It’s so beautiful, I wish everyone could see it.” Her wistful gaze was so unlike her normal practical persona, he wondered for the first time if she’d ever been in love.  She was such a self contained person that it hadn’t occurred to him before that she might have the same needs he had, especially the need to be loved and to love in return.

 “Before we got side tracked, Sam, we were talking about Toby.”

 “And what were you going to tell me?”  The voice from the entrance startled Sam.  Toby’s face was set in granite and Sam held back a groan at the well-remembered reminder that his brother could be even more stubborn than Ruth.

 “We’re going to be needing some good archaeologists in about two years time.  If you stay and continue your studies, you’ll be the right person at the right place to begin the excavation of Atlantis.”  Ruth could have been inviting him to a tea party for all the emotion she showed.

 Toby returned her gaze, his face a blank.  Then color seeped in slowly to his pale cheeks.  “You know where it is.”

 “Yes.  In approximately twenty five months an earthquake will hit the Pacific and thrust the island back to the surface.”

 “And I could join the dig?”

 “I’m counting on it.  You and Mei Ling will be a good team.  You’ll make us all very proud.”

 “Thank you.”  Toby reached out and hugged her so hard she squeaked.

 “You break my ribs and I will personally see that Dean Johnson finds out who put the cow dressed in a pink tutu in his office.”  Her smile contradicted her threat.

 “Yikes, how did you hear about that?”  Toby let her go, smiling ruefully.

 “I have my sources.  Will you stay behind and make all of us happy?”

 The battle was in his eyes, Sam decided.  Toby’s twin passions of flying and digging were at war with each other.  But the love of the past was going to win, his big brother hoped, which would go a long way to reconciling his parents to his own departure.
 “I promise.”  Toby sighed but smiled.  “If I can’t do both then I guess staying won’t be so bad if I know what’s coming.”

 “You can’t talk about it, Toby.  I don’t want there to be a treasure hunt before we’re ready to go after my old homeland.  It needs to stay between the three of us.”  She held up a hand.  “I know, I know.  You can both tell your SO’s.  I’m not idiot enough to think you could keep something this important completely to yourselves.”

 “Thanks, Ruth.”  Toby gave her another hug.  “I’ll go tell the parents.  I know they’ve been worried.”

 “Well, what ever you do, don’t tell them I had anything to do with your decision. That’s two secrets I need you to keep.”  Ruth stepped back and shook a finger in his face.

 “You’ve got it.  See you later.”  Toby saluted his brother and Ruth before dashing out.

 “That boy has energy to burn.”  Ruth shook her head and moved back to the table to look at her notebook.  Turning back two pages, she crossed off Toby’s name.  “Now to get back to our deployment plans.  Sam, if you’d take charge of the tribe, I’d appreciate it.  I’m going to be busy with a few other details.”

 “No problem, Ruth, I’ll head over there with Dad.”  Sam patted her shoulder and left while she was making more notes.

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

 Dawn tinted the mountains pink and flooded the desert with pale light.  The air chilled each breath and Sam shivered from within his jacket.  Six Ikiiri ships sat waiting to transport the 326 humans to Moon Base and the mood was tense.  Sam stood with his family dreading the good-byes that were to come.  Toby was silent and he could see the regret in his eyes even though the rest of the family was euphoric at the young man’s decision to stay on Earth.

 “You take care of yourself, Sam.  And give your brother a hug for us.”  Julie smiled with only a slight quiver in her voice.  “Tell him to come home for a visit as soon as he can.”

 “I will, Mom.  But it’s not like he’s been incommunicado for the last week.  You talked to him every day.”  Sam hugged her tight and felt her arms squeeze him in return.

 “It’s not the same, sweetheart.  Better than nothing but still not the same.”  She stepped back with an approximation of her old teasing tones.

 “Keep a journal, son.”  Edward held him close, patting his back with the little circles that had warmed him when he was little.  “You’re starting a whole new branch of medicine and you’ll need to draw a map for the doctors that follow you.”

 “I will, Dad.  We’ve had applications from three doctors already so I won’t be the only doctor for very long.”  He returned the hug before stepping back and pulling out some papers.  “I copied their app’s for you to do some research for me.  I didn’t recognize their names but their schools are impressive.  I don’t want somebody who’s only reason for going is to make a name for themselves.”

 “I’ll get right on it, Sam.”  Edward took a quick look at the names then folded and put them away.

 “Be safe, big brother.”  Toby hugged him next.  “Sooner or later, I’m coming up for a visit and I’ll expect the grand tour.”

 “You’ve got it, Toby.”  Sam dropped his voice to a whisper.  “Thank you, Tob’.”

 “Yeah, yeah, I’ll study hard and make you proud of me.”  Toby’s eyes were bright but he kept his voice teasing.

 “I’m already proud of you, little brother.  One of these days, you’ll be a famous archaeologist.”  Sam punched him lightly in the shoulder before turning to Mei Ling.

 She hugged him and her whisper was for his ears only.  “I’ll take care of him for you, Sam.  You take care of Seth.”

 He laughed and dropped a kiss on her cheek.  “I certainly will, Mei Ling.  It’s a good thing you’re staying here.  We’d have had to double our food supplies if you’d decided to go with us.”

 She punched him before joining in the laughter.  “Just for that, I promise I’ll eat your share of the cookies your mom bakes next.”

 The sound of a bell stilled the conversations around them and all eyes turned to the small figure with the shock of white hair.  “Time to go, people.  You’ve all got your ship assignments.  Finish your good-byes and take a deep breath of Earth air.  When we get off the ships, it’s going to be Moon air.  Those of you who are staying, I wish you peace and safe journey home.”

 She jumped down off the chair she’d been standing on and disappeared into the first ship, Joe following her like the Shadow some of the unit members had nicknamed him.  Sam turned back to his family and realized that it might be months before he saw them again.  His mother was silently weeping and he hugged her one last time, stepping away and turning resolutely to his assigned ship.

 He had members of the Mescalero tribe to shepherd and he turned his attention to their care.  Some of the children had questions and he did his best to answer them while keeping an eye on their elders sitting silently in the ship’s corridors.  Their stoicism contrasted with the enthusiasm of their young.  Take off occurred before he even realized it.  The only warning was a feeling of extra heaviness that passed away in a moment.

 The children redoubled their questions and he flagged down one of the Ikiiri healers with whom he’d worked.  Korath was a green dragon and he good-naturedly sat down to explain to them what was happening.  His syllables hissed but the translator kept his explanations simple.  Sam noticed the elders leaning forward to listen as well.

 By concentrating on others, he was able to calm the flutters in his own stomach.  He tried not to think about what the conditions would be like on the Moon.  He’d been so busy learning Ikiiri biology and taking care of the myriad of small accidents that plague any community living cheek to jowl that he hadn’t had time to find out what kind of home he was headed for.

 Sam wondered how Seth was getting on in his ship with his unit and the techies.  Sighing, he decided to not think about their living arrangements and the ‘surprise’ that Peter had promised him in their last chat.  He mistrusted the glint in his older brother’s eye and the little smirk that accompanied the promise.  He really should have had a little talk with him in the Arctic but there simply hadn’t been time.  Now he was wishing that he’d made some time.

 Another question distracted him and he sat down by Korath to answer it.  Pretty soon he had a little girl in his lap and two little boys on each side.  One particularly brave boy was sitting in the dragon’s lap while a little girl was curled in his tail.  Holding the solid weight of Dakota in his arms reminded him that he wouldn’t be having any children of his own.  For a moment that was a sorrowful feeling that made him ache with emptiness.  Then his common sense kicked in.

 He hadn’t planned on kids anyway except as some amorphous dream that would happen ‘some day’.  Sam looked down into dark brown eyes that sparkled with laughter and held Dakota through a fit of giggles.  There would always be children to play with and watch grow up into adults.  Being an uncle had its compensations.  He could always send them home with their parents.

 A sudden heavy weight pressed them all into the floor and he realized that they must have landed.  Checking his watch, he discovered that only an hour and a half had passed.  Maybe there would be more trips back and forth than he’d thought.  One of the kids jumped up and almost hit the ceiling.  Korath caught him on his way down.

 “Gravity isss not what you are usssed to.  Walk carefully until you are inssside the bassse.  The gravity there isss Earth-like.  Are you ready to sssee your new home?”

 The ‘yeahs’ were shouted.  Getting up carefully, Sam discovered that he had a limpet attached to his leg.  Dakota held onto his pant leg tightly with her other hand’s thumb stuck firmly in her mouth.

 “Would you like to walk with me, Dakota?”  Sam gave her grandmother a reassuring shake of his head.

 “Un-uh.”  She nodded shyly.

 “Okay.  Why don’t I carry you then I won’t bounce up to the ceiling like Billy?”

 The gap toothed grin and vigorous head shake answered for her.  Picking her up gently, Sam held out his other hand to her grandmother, Mary Two Feathers.  They walked off the ship together into the giant airlock.  Once they were all within, the outer doors closed and the inner doors opened with a slight hiss as the pressure equalized.  On the other side of the door, Peter was waiting with Queen Terana.

 The smooth gray and green walls, floors and ceiling of the hall welcomed them.

 “Welcome to Moon Base.”  His brother smiled.  “Welcome home.”

 Sam smiled when he saw Seth behind Peter, waiting for him.  If home is where the heart is then he was indeed home.

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End of chapter twenty-one