She stood there, trying to get the memory of the dancing, of just standing, clearly in her mind. Finally when the warning bell rang, she had no choice. With one last twirl on her feet, she crawled in and pulled the cover closed over her head.
The next thing she remembered the young woman dressed in black was picking her up out of the sleep chamber and taking her down into the courtyard, floating in the cold Chicago night air. A few minutes later the woman put her down in her wheelchair, saluted, and left.
Dot looked at her old, wrinkled hands in the dim light, then felt the deadness in her legs. Had she been dancing on those legs? Had it happened?
Had she just dreamed it all?
She needed to try to find out the answer to those questions.
She moved her chair out into the hall and through Brian’s door. He was in bed, his head turned so that he could see her as she rolled up beside him. Even in the dim light, she could see his smile and the twinkle in his eyes.
“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” she said, “before I’m really going to believe that all happened.”
He laughed. “I felt exactly the same way at first. And every time I end up back here in this old worthless body, I wonder if I did everything I remember doing.”
“So it was real?” she asked, looking around the nursing home room, so far from the ship on the edge of the borders between Earth’s space and other aliens races.
So far from the battle with the Warsticks.
“Very real,” he said. “And very important. We’re the only ones that can go out there and defend this planet. We’re the only ones old enough to withstand the time travel length. Earth needs us. Amazing at that may seem.”
A shiver ran down her back. “I thought I was long past the point where anyone would ever need me.”
“A few years ago,” Brian said, “so did I?”
They sat in silence for a moment.
Finally she took a deep breath and realized just how tired she felt. She slowly pushed her wheelchair back and turned it toward the door. “Join me for Christmas breakfast?”
“I’d love to,” he said, smiling. “And maybe soon we can go dancing again.”
“Do you think that’s possible? Really?”
“We usually are called for a mission at least once a week, if not more often,” he said. “I think a dance or two just might be arranged.”
“Thank you, Captain,” she said. “For the best Christmas present anyone has ever given me. I will see you at breakfast.”
“The pleasure will be all mine,” he said.
She wheeled herself across the hall and to her bed. A few moments later she was on her back, staring at the ceiling, remembering the feeling of standing, of walking without help, and of dancing.
Especially of dancing.
She so loved to dance.
Tonight hadn’t been a dream. She knew that now. She had fought aliens for the Earth Protection League.
And she had danced, and she would dance again.
For the first time in years she actually had something to live for. Tomorrow at breakfast she’d talk to Captain Brian Saber about all the wonders out there in the universe.
And about her duties and what Earth needed from her.
It felt wonderful to be needed again, especially on Christmas.
She closed her eyes after a few minutes and drifted off to sleep. And for the first night in a very long time, she didn’t need to dream of dancing.
About the Author
Bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith has written more than 100 popular novels and well over 200 published short stories. His novels include the science fiction novel Laying the Music to Rest and the thriller The Hunted as D.W. Smith. With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. He writes under many pen names and has also ghosted for a number of top bestselling writers.
Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.
Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books. He now is an executive editor of Fiction River.
Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.
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