The Three of Us

Part 36 - Ghosts

On Amity's southernmost continent, Meridia, two shadowy figures scrabbled along.

They did not have much. The only hair on the entire planet was their own, so there were no furs. Their clothes were tattered. At some point, they would simply become naked as everything was far too threadbare to last for much longer. It had been over a year and a half – even longer than the longer sentence would have been. Yet they were still out there.

They watched as a shuttle took off, not too far from them. "They're outta here, it looks like," said Dan Chang. He was barely recognizable, with a beard that looked like it could nest a flock of birds.

"I don't think we can really relax, Dan," said Tristan, who was just as heavily bearded.

"Well, of course not. We'll be on the run forever."

"Or until everything finally wears down," Tris said. "I mean, how long are we gonna have any sort of power to dampen our biosigns?"

"It was a good idea to conserve while they're away. Any time they head back to Paradise, they can't spot biosigns to save their lives! The green beans are good eating. Pumpkins, too! Hell, we've got way more than we ever need out here, so long as we're careful to make it look like weather damage."

"You miss Sandra at all?"

"That bitch? What? Are you nuts? I miss girls, sure. Hell, at this point I'd probably take one of them notch-noses, show 'em a thing or two about human lovin'."

"What about Kimmy?" asked Tristan. "Don't you miss your own daughter?"

"Only a little," Dan muttered. "It's better for me to not think about such things. Is the raft still okay?"

"Sure. But we need to be careful. In that last storm, we almost got punctured. You know there's nothing to repair it with."

"Right."

They were on high alert, as always, so they heard a twig crunched underfoot.

=/\=

On board, Lili was ready to undergo another Cesarean. Again, she was to have a girl. This time, the name was her choice. She decided to honor her parents, Peter and Marie Helêne, so she had her heart set on Pamela Morgan.

But she wasn't alone in Sick Bay, as Doctor Phlox and Doctor Miller – Andrew was finally considered to be qualified – had been able to successfully hybridize humans and Ikaarans. Hence Bithara and Ebrona were also in there, along with their anxious husbands. In contrast, Lili, along with Jay and Malcolm, was a model of calm. Their children were with them.

"If Madeline is the sensible girl," Lili asked as she was being prepped, "What's Pamela going to be?"

"The wild child," Jay smiled to himself. He knew that would mortify Malcolm, and the thought made him laugh a little. "C'mon, Joss, don't bother the doctor while he's working."

"It's all right," said Andy, "but maybe keep him not so much underfoot."

"Come along, now, Joss," said Malcolm, and "let everything get squared away. Mummy needs to be prepared and all. And then you'll have another brand-new baby sister."

"Don't want another sister!" whined the child.

"Well, Mister Joss," Lili said to her son, "we can't exactly order them to be one way or the other, yanno. C'mere and give me a kiss before I get a little sleep, okay? You know I love you and Maddie."

"Love you, Mommy."

Jay brought Madeline over. "Mommy!"

"C'mere, love," Lili said, kissing her daughter. "It won't be long now."