A One Way Ticket on the Neo Kosmo

Chapter 12: Hope of a Future (Part 1)

Rhea stirred, squinting against the bright, unshielded morning light of Lamperi Gi. She rolled over to where her husband would be, finding his side of the bed empty, and lifted her head to see him standing at the door with two cups of coffee in hand. She groaned in disappointment. He was fully dressed. "Is the fun over already?"

Rahmi sat down on the edge of the bed and put the hot mug next to her. "Good morning, my love," he said with a smile.

Rhea sat up and brushed her hair from her eyes. Given its current state, no one would guess how carefully it had been styled for their anniversary last night. Because of their differing wake-up priorities on arrival, it had been months before Rahmi was finally thawed, and this was their first anniversary together since arriving on Lamperi Gi fourteen months ago. Last night marked four years together – 504 if they counted the time they had been in transit on the Neo Kosmo – and she had been determined to make up for it.

"Where did you go?" she mumbled drowsily.

"Accompanying Amir to his prayers. He appreciates the morning chat. Don't worry though, you've got plenty of time before work."

She sipped her coffee and looked out through the bedroom window at the grassy plateau that lay beyond the outskirts of Armstrong. A light breeze must have been blowing as the long grass danced, casting long, waving shadows across the plains. "How is he doing? I guess he misses his kids."

Rahmi let out a long sigh. "Yeah. He's processing it though. He made the last days with them well worth it. And," he smiled, looking at Rhea, "the way he talks about them – so much pride and love. It's amazing to hear."

She smiled back over the rim of her mug. "I expect the same from you in the future."

"And from you." He cocked his head and paused for a moment, "Speaking of which, I suppose we should decide when to start trying."

Rhea nodded and considered it for a moment. Their home was ready, her job was stable, and Armstrong was thriving. She stole a quick glance at the time and sat back slightly, pushing her coffee mug to the side. With a cheeky smile she shrugged. "If you hadn't got already got dressed we could start now," she let the sentence trail off. Rahmi considered it for barely a moment, then leaned over and moved the mugs away, kissing her as he joined her on the bed.

Her hair still wet from the shower, Rhea arrived late to the Armstrong Hospital. She threw on her white coat and hurried to her office, nearly careening into Clarissa on the way.

The other doctor stumbled and then lit up, "There you are! Remember that today is the photoshoot for the Maternity Wing?"

Rhea blinked, confused. "That's today?" When Clarissa nodded she quickly unlocked her office and led the two of them inside as her terminal booted up. The Armstrong Hospital Maternity Wing was the Mayor's current project. With things reaching a point of relative stability and people starting to think about their own long-term plans, Gabriella Beatriz had decided that population growth – planned or not – was likely the next step. At fourteen months since they had first awoken from their 500-year cryo-sleep, Rhea considered themselves lucky not to have needed maternity facilities already.

"I can't wait for it to be finished," Clarissa said, a far-off look in her eyes that Rhea recognised.

"Oh, you and Suzanne are ready?"

Clarissa shrugged. "We just need the IVF equipment up and running in the new ward, then we're going to start."

"Have you decided who?"

"Yes. Suzanne will carry. I've seen more than enough to know that I don't need all of that."

"Fantastic!" Rhea exclaimed, tapping out a few commands on her terminal to inform the nurses' station that she was available to see patients. As she did, she mused to Clarissa, "I wish I could make Rahmi carry. Not sure he'd be so keen though."