by Jay Toney
"You are starting labor."
"You told me we didn't experience labor or pain."
"You still believe that? When I gave birth to you, it was the most painful thing I ever felt. I was in labor for nearly 23 hours with you, before you were born."
I called Doc to let him know we were on our way. "I am not having my baby. It must be the pancakes I ate for breakfast. I ate more than normal." She wasn't going to be easy to convince, so I scooped her up and carried her to the transport tube. The car was there, waiting for us.
I set Persephone down on the seat, then selected sick bay on the car's menu. The car lifted slightly on its repulsor field and sped down the transport tube. I pressed the emergency override button, and the car bypassed the passengers waiting at the tube stations we passed along the way.
We came to a stop at the tube station closest to sick bay. Doc and Miranda were there waiting for us with a wheelchair.
"This isn't necessary. I am not having my baby yet. It's just motion sickness from coming through the wormhole."
"I think you are. Let's have Doc and Miranda check you out. If you are not having your baby, we can go back to our quarters, and you can rest."
"I need to be on the bridge cataloging the star systems."
"You are, at least an aspect of you is busy doing it."
"It's not the same."
"It will only take a few minutes to make sure you are okay." I picked Persephone up again and carried her to sickbay before she could protest further. I ignored the waiting wheelchair. If I set her down, I would have to argue with her again. This way she couldn't refuse. Besides, she liked it when I carried her.
I had no doubt that it was time for her to have her baby. The pain hadn't started yet, but the backside of her dress was wet, and she was dripping fluid. Her water had broken whether she realized it or not. She couldn't deny her baby was on the way any longer.
I set Persephone on her feet next to the waiting autodoc unit. Miranda helped her remove her dress then helped her into the waiting autodoc unit.
Doc cycled through the autodoc's menu:
"Sex... Female.
Condition... Pregnant.
Procedure... Cesarean Delivery."
The lid closed and an anesthetic gas filled the chamber. Persephone fell asleep instantly.
"How interesting? We haven't used technology to deliver our children for thousands of years," Demeter said scaring the hell out of me. She wasn't here moments ago. Now she was here, just in time to witness the birth of her granddaughter. "This is much more advanced than the equipment we used to use before we stopped using technology." Demeter watched fascinated by the medical equipment.
The autodoc made its first incision low on Persephone's belly. A second incision followed the first opening her uterus. The autodoc's robotic arms reached inside Persephone and gently eased her daughter out of her. Clamps were placed on the umbilical cord, then the cord was cut. Next, the autodoc finished the delivery by removing the amniotic sac, the umbilical cord, and the placenta. The uterus was stitched closed, then the abdominal wall and skin were closed. Nanites programmed for tissue repair were injected into the wound to begin mending the incisions. In 24 hours all signs of the cesarean delivery and her stretch marks would be gone. The incisions were already healed, and the scar and her stretch marks could be seen fading.
The anesthetic gas was pumped out and replaced with fresh air. The lid of the autodoc opened. Miranda took the baby, cleaned her, and wrapped the baby in a small blanket. I picked up Persephone and carried her to a bed in the recovery area. Miranda covered her with a blanket and laid her baby in her arms.
"That was incredible," Demeter said.
"By this time tomorrow, you will not be able to tell she had surgery or was ever pregnant. There will be no scar, and her stretch marks will be gone," Miranda informed Demeter.
"Your technology is much more advanced than I realized. Did my daughter feel any pain?"
"None whatsoever. All she will remember is getting sleepy, then waking up with her baby in her arms. Nathaniel, have you and Persephone chosen a name for your daughter?"
"Persephone wants to name her daughter Demi, after her mother."
"I can't wait to tell everyone about my granddaughter, and your bond. Zeus always said that if there ever was a goddess of gossip, it would be me. That is why we separated. He couldn't stand all of the gossips." Demeter vanished.
Persephone woke and saw her daughter sleeping in her arms. "See, I told you. My daughter is here with me, and I didn't feel a thing. I hope she likes pancakes as much as I do. When can I go back to my room? I feel much better."
"You have a clean bill of health, you can leave whenever you feel ready."
"I want to leave now," Persephone said standing.
"Perhaps you should dress first," Miranda handed her a hospital gown.
"This is too ugly. I will make my own dress." Persephone envisioned the dress she wanted, but it didn't appear. She tried a few more times before reluctantly taking the gown and tying it in place. Miranda helped Persephone into the wheelchair and helped bring her back to our quarters.
It had been over nine months since I last slept in my own bed. I started with sleeping on the floor and was finally able to move onto the couch after Persephone's and my bond lessened. Amber and Jewel were asleep in the Nursery with our children. I was going to celebrate by stretching out in my own bed.
Persephone put Demi down in a bassinet at the foot of our bed, then she removed her borrowed gown and climbed into bed with me. She snuggled up to me, draping her left leg over me and wrapped me in her arms. I didn't mind, in fact, I liked it a lot.
"Don't think that because I am sharing my bed with you that I am going to lay with you like a mortal woman."
The thought had crossed my mind, but Amber and Jewel were just in the next room. They already had accused me of sleeping with Persephone, but new better now. Amber and Jewel had become very close friends with Persephone since they invited her to stay with us and after finding out how she became pregnant with my child.
"I hope you don't mind my holding you while I sleep. This is how I have always slept. Amber likes to cuddle, but she doesn't like to be held. Jewel doesn't mind being held while she sleeps."
"She used to hold me and drape her leg over me much like you are. It helps me to feel loved and secure when I sleep. I've missed it since sleeping apart from them."
I moved closer to Persephone, holding her tight against my body, then I made love to her, our first time together. Not only did she not mind my making love to her in the mortal fashion, but she also enjoyed it and continued holding me close to her while we slept.
Amber and Jewel entered the bedroom and sat on the bed waking us. "The two of you couldn't wait, could you?" Jewel said smiling." The smile let me know I wasn't in trouble for cheating. Amber and Jewel frequently shared their partners, male or female, with each other. In my passion, I forgot they also shared the feelings I felt while I was making love to Persephone.
"Demeter visited us this morning and told us about the bond you and Persephone share. Do you want to separate from the two of us? Demeter said she can do it."
I didn't hesitate even the slightest bit with my answer, "No way in hell. I love the two of you, and I want us to spend the rest of our lives together."
"We were hoping you would say that," Amber said kissing me. "We can't have sex with you for a couple of months while our bodies adjust. Doc and Miranda both told us that our bodies would try to get pregnant again, even with our birth control implants. Persephone can't get pregnant in the mortal fashion, so it's okay to have sex with her."
"Amber, Demeter, and I have come up with a sleeping arrangement that we think can work for all of us. Amber sleeps with you and Persephone on Mondays and Wednesdays. I share the two of you on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You and Persephone have each other to yourselves on Fridays and Saturdays," Jewel explained.
"What about Sunday?"
"You two will have to behave yourselves. That is when Demeter will be visiting her granddaughter. She will be staying all day and all night. In exchange she has agreed to babysit for us anytime, we need her."
"The three of you came up with this plan?"
"Actually it was mostly Demeter. She was considering changing you into a spider. When you told her about naming her granddaughter after her, she had a change of heart."
"She wouldn't actually do something like that."
"That is what we thought until she introduced us to Athena and Arachne. Athena is a goddess, just like Demeter and Persephone. She is an artist, known for weaving the most beautiful looking tapestries. Athena can do anything with cloth and makes the most beautiful dresses and scarves. She showed Amber and me a couple of the dresses she made. We just had to have at least one. I offered to pay their weight in gold, but she wouldn't let me pay for them. She let Amber and me chose a dress to keep.
Oh, sorry... Arachne made the mistake of bragging that her weaving skills are even better than Athena's. Arachne's boasting about being better at weaving tapestries angered her. Athena challenged Arachne to a weaving competition. The two ladies each wove their best tapestry in the contest.
Athena's tapestry had all of the great gods woven into the border and Athena herself weaved into the center of the fabric, shown winning the competition. The edges of Arachne's tapestry had all of the mortals who foolishly challenged the god's. The center of Arachne's tapestry showed various gods taking on different forms to seduce mortal women.
Both works of art are magnificent. Athena showed them to us. She doesn't just weave, she also paints, does pottery, and sculpture. She is going to paint a portrait of Amber and me for your birthday. Damn it, I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Where was I? Oh yes, Poseidon declared Athena, the winner of the competition. Athena was still pissed off from all of Arachne's bragging and decided to punish her by changing her into a spider. She still keeps Arachne with her as a keepsake.
"Wasn't Arachne a mortal woman?"
"She was, but Athena convinced the fates to give Arachne immortality to prolong her punishment. She doesn't ever plan on restoring Arachne to her human form. She is Athena's most prized collection. She makes Arachne weave a different web every night, no two are allowed to be the same."
"Maybe Demeter could turn me into a spider, but I don't think her daughter would allow it, at least not for long."
"I wouldn't bet on that stopping her. She doesn't like men in general, and she hates Hades. You lie somewhere in between. The only reasons why she acts like she likes you is to humiliate Hades, and she loves her granddaughter more than anything else."
Persephone and I went to the bridge. She carried her daughter with her in her arms. Amber and Jewel remained in our cabin, caring for our children. They felt like they could resume their duties but didn't argue when I told them no.
Nugget and Astrea were on the bridge. It was rare to see them apart since they started dating. It was a strange relationship. Astrea was a goddess. Nugget was a royal born Keshian who had the ability to change his form at will. His race lived much longer than most humanoid species. I didn't have a clue as to how old he is or how long he would live. Those were two questions he refused to answer. I knew he separated from five wives and I thought he had given up on being married. The way he and Astrea were spending so much time together, it looked like he was working on number six.
Persephone changed our viewscreen to show the star map she was working on. We were in open space with the nearest sun being a blue super giant, ten light years away.
Persephone started her briefing:
"The data we collected from the journals we took from the library, in the Aldebaran System, do not show a single route. The three starships each arrived by a different route and system of origin. It is unclear if any of them came from the Sol System. We will have to choose a course and hope we find more information along the way. It is possible we will have to retrace all three routes with none of them leading us to Earth.
The first route takes us to Epsilon Aquilae then to Theta Hades." She showed the path on the star map she was in the process of creating. "I don't have enough data yet to show more of the star systems that the Starship Discovery visited on its way here.
The Starship Hope took a different route. I was able to retrace its route to Delta Aquarii, Epsilon Utwig, and Delta Librae." Its path joined the information on our viewscreen.
"The Starship Voyager took a much different route coming from Alpha Leonis. It appears to be a rogue system possibly originating from another galaxy. Then it came from Beta Leonis and Beta Andromedae." She added its route to our star map.
"The astrogation book that Nathaniel found has the location and names of several star systems but no information about them. It doesn't have a location for the Sol System, nor is it mentioned in the journals.
After we finish making our repairs, we will have to choose a route and hope for the best."
Decisions
Persephone started the morning, smiling and full of energy. It was Saturday, and we had just spent our first night together using our new sleeping schedule. Instead of tolerating sex or as she put, "laying with her like a mortal woman," she was enjoying it for the first time in her life. Her experience with Hades was not a happy one. Sex with him was not consensual. Daily and sometimes more often, she was forced to submit to his desire, willing or not. We had one more night alone together before her mother arrived for the day.
Persephone dressed our daughter in a toga instead of the simple outfit I had laid out for her. "You have to start dressing them up early in life if you want your children growing up with a sense of fashion."
"Heels or flats?" I said jokingly.
"Definitely heels. They go much better with the toga. Sandals were the rage for awhile, but they are out of style now."
"Don't forget Demi's makeup and perfume."
"Don't be silly, she won't need makeup until she is three years old. That is when my mother started putting makeup on me." Persephone picked up our daughter and her new diaper bag. After hearing about the birth of our new babies, the crew took up a collection, gifting us with all the essential baby items we needed for a while; diapers, clothing, bottles, formula, and much more. One of the rooms in the nursery was being used for storage now.
Persephone took my hand. "Let's try this again. You need to learn how to teleport properly." The last few times I tried didn't work so well. Persephone wouldn't give up on me. This time we would be attempting it together. I had to be especially careful with my daughter coming along. "Spool your energy." I didn't know what she meant by spooling my energy, but I gathered as much as I could hold. "Concentrate on being in the ship's cafeteria." I could smell the freshly cooked bacon and taste the fluffy pancakes already. "Now will yourself there."
I was getting closer. We materialized in the ship's laundry. I wasn't sure why I kept failing to materialize where I wanted. The last time I ended up in engineering and the time before that I materialized in the shuttle bay.
"You are not channeling and storing your energy properly. We will work on that later. My daughter and I are hungry and want to eat. Let's take the transport car."
It took us nearly 10 minutes to get to the dining facility. The restaurant's servers recognized us and seated us at a table. They brought our breakfast to us, instead of allowing us to serve ourselves at the buffet. We ate here regularly, so there was no need to take our orders. They brought two trays of pancakes for Persephone, and a plate of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast for me. They also brought a decanter of coffee, orange juice, and plenty of sugar for Persephone.
The server who seated us brought a stack of blueberry pancakes topped with blueberry syrup and whipped cream to me. "These were made special for today. I thought you might enjoy a serving."
They looked great. I couldn't wait to dig into the pancakes. I got about two bites out of the stack of pancakes before Persephone zeroed in on them and devoure
d them thinking they were hers. I hardly got to taste them before they were gone. They must have been delicious. The blueberry pancakes stopped Persephone from finishing the rest of hers. "Those were the best pancakes I ever had! I've had my pancakes; now it's Demi's turn." Persephone leaned back and relaxed, while Demi fed from her. She let Demi feed until she had her fill and could eat no more, then she repositioned her dress. "My mother used to make sure I got plenty to eat. She saw to it that I was fed at least six times a day." The poor woman, I thought.
We went to the bridge, and I began reviewing the star map. Thousands of stars already filled our screen with more being added every few seconds. Each star's color matched its spectra. The stars we could verify with the astrogation data we collected had names identifying them, most of the stars didn't. We had no way of knowing whether they were unexplored, occupied by nonhumanoid races, or simply of no interest.
So far, the Sol System remained a mystery. Our star map only contained a small percentage of the stars in the area of the spiral where we drifted. The Sol System might not even be in this spiral arm of the galaxy. It was possible that the system might even be located closer to the galaxy's core. There were several clusters of stars, near the center of the galaxy, rapidly orbiting a super massive black hole.
There was no way to know which or if any of the routes would lead us to the Sol System. I got 30 plastic tags and carefully wrote the names; Aquilae, Aquarii, and Leonis each on ten different tags and put them in a coffee mug and shook them to mix them up.
"Is that how you are going to decide which route we take," Nugget laughed, and Astrea joined in the laughter. "When do we get under way?"
"Not until after mother's visit this Sunday."
For some reason, he found this hilarious and fell to the floor laughing. I found no humor in having Persephone's mother visiting us, especially after hearing about her considering turning me into a spider. I hate spiders and always have hated them.
As soon as Nugget was able to contain himself, I held the coffee mug out to him. "I have given up trying to decide which system to visit first. I'll let you have that honor." It was my turn to laugh at him. The name he withdrew from the mug was Aquarii.
