Lyon's Legacy: Catalyst Chronicles, Book One (9 page)

We finally had to come up for air. George cupped his hand under my chin and gazed at me. “You…you look different,” he said.

“Must be the TwenCen dirt. I can still smell cigarette smoke in my hair.”

He shook his head. “That’s not it. You don’t look so angry at the whole world anymore.” His mouth quirked. “So, did you kill your great-granddad or make peace with him?”

I let out a rueful laugh. “I came close to changing history a couple of times, but he’s still in one piece.”

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want Pluckenreck forcing you to take his place.”

“Would you come after me if she did?”

“Of course, no matter how backward the TwenCen is.” George drew me closer to him, close enough for me to feel his chest rise and fall with each breath. “But we can talk about that...later.” He stroked my back in a way that meant he was interested in something else. So was I, but I needed a shower almost as much as I needed George.

We compromised; we showered together, so I could get clean and dirty at the same time.

Later, we huddled together on my narrow cot, and I told him not just what I’d shared with Pluckenreck, but about Sean’s song and my breakdown afterward. Even remembering the experience brought tears to my eyes. I clutched George’s hand for strength, then decided it was OK if I let the tears fall on his shoulder. I didn’t weep as hard as I had before. Maybe I’d got the worst of it out of my system.

When I finished, George looked me in the eyes and said, “Sounds like the trip did you good. Did you warn Sean about his upcoming m
urder?”

It felt right to trust him. I nodded. “Not directly, but I sent a warning to his wife.”

“What happens if he doesn’t marry her?”

“Then he won’t become involved in Filipino politics and get himself assassinated later.”

“That makes sense.” George sat up. “The physicists say this is a parallel universe, so there’s no reason why the alternate history has to follow ours.”

“Except to keep the wormhole open so the travelers can exploit this world.”

For a moment, the only sounds came from the spaceship. I thought about the samplers I’d surrendered to the tech back on the base. Would they send them to the lab, or keep them somewhere else on the ship?

“So, now your uncle gets to create his Sean Lyon clone.” George eyed me as he spoke, as if afraid I’d do somet
hing.

I shook my head. “No, now I have to figure out how to keep him away from the child.”

“Jo, you know I can’t tamper with Sean’s DNA sample.” He hesitated. “You said Lizabeth told you how Professor Murakami distorted my work, right? If I’m implicated in another scandal like that, it would kill my career.”

No; it wasn’t fair to ask him to do that. And if I ever wanted to work in the genetics lab on the
Sagan
, I couldn’t sabotage them myself. That left the motherhood option, but George wouldn’t like it. I’d never asked him about kids, but he’d want his own. I braced myself for a lonely trip back home.

“There is a way I could reclaim that sample.” I raised my chin to look at George. “If I volunteer to be the child’s mother.”

His eyes widened, and a half-laugh, half-gasp came out of his throat. For a moment, I considered ordering him out before he could reject me. Then I remembered how unpredictable Sean had been, and I decided to give George a chance, even though it would hurt more in the end.

“I—I never thou
ght you’d want kids,” he said after a couple of minutes.

I shrugged. “I don’t know anything about them.”

“Then what makes you think you’ll be doing the child a favor?”

“You think I’d be worse than Uncle Jackass?”

“No, no.” He laid his warm hand on mine. “It’s wonderful of you to even consider the idea. I’m just saying you should think it through before you commit yourself to it.”

Well, it wasn’t an outright rejection, but he wasn’t enthusiastic about it either. I wished I hadn’t mentioned my plan at all. B
ut it still seemed better than letting my uncle twist the poor kid.

“Whatever you decide to do,” George said, “I’ll be there with you.”

He stared at me, mouth open as if he meant to say something else, then he shook his head and kissed me. I wondered what would happen when it was time for me to return to Earth, but for now, all I wanted to do was lie there in his arms and not worry about the next day.

* * *

The next morning, George and I returned to the genetics lab, and I regaled the other scientists with my adventures. Now that I’d completed my mission for the travelers, I was free to work full-time in the lab. “You could even start work on your dissertation, if you have a project in mind,” Lizabeth said.

I grinned
until I remembered this was a short-term assignment. “What do I do when I get back to Earth? Do you think you can recommend me to some other genetics lab?”

Lizabeth and George exchanged glances. “We’ll see,” she said finally.

I wondered what they were keeping from me, but I didn’t have time to probe or fret about why they didn’t want to give me the recommendation. I was due next door in the medical facilities to discuss the possibility of me becoming the surrogate mother for Sean’s clone. Dr. Allnan ushered me into an exam area and drew the curtains so we could talk in private.

“I was sent here to collect a DNA sample from my famous ancestor,” I told her. “When my uncle recruited me for this project, he asked me if I was interested in donating my eggs and/o
r hosting the pregnancy. I told him no, but—” I looked down at my fingers—“I’ve changed my mind.”

“And you want to start right away, I take it?”

I nodded.

“We can do it here on the
Sagan
.” Dr. Allnan set her handheld down to stare at me with dark eyes. “But you realize once the child is born, your uncle will expect you to turn it over to him?”

I bit down on my lip. That was the sticking point. “I never signed the agreement. We’ll have to discuss it once we return to Earth.”

She sighed. “I’m not a lawyer. Maybe it’s best if I don’t get involved in the legal issues. We should wait until we obtain permission from your uncle. Technically, he owns the DNA sample—”

“Oh, he does, does he?” My voice rose, and the doctor raised her eyebrows. I forced myself to take a
couple of deep breaths to tame my anger. Rage wasn’t going to help my cause, no matter how justified it was. “I’m also a member of the Lyon family, the one who obtained Sean’s DNA. Yes, I got it for my uncle, but I haven’t been paid yet. So until I see the credits, I figure I have some say about what’s done with the sample.”

She still didn’t look convinced, so I smiled as naturally as I could. “Trust
me, my uncle is very eager to start the process. He’ll be even happier if I return with a child already on the way than if he has to wait another six months.”

“It’s not so much about making him happy as making sure he doesn’t sue me.”

I wanted to tell her not to worry; he’d take it out on me first, not her. I leaned forward. “Do doctors still swear to do no harm? Because if he gets to raise the clone, the boy will suffer a lot more than he would as my child.” Assuming I could figure out the whole mother thing before I dropped the baby, or forgot him somewhere, or did something else equally stupid....

Dr.
Allnan rose and inspected the medical supplies in the cabinet, but she didn’t select any of them. After a few minutes of silence, she turned to me. “All right. I’m still not sure this will work out the way you think it will, but we’ll try it.”

I wanted to scream
with joy and jump up and down like one of Sean’s more ardent fans, but I didn’t. Instead, I grinned as easily as if I did it all the time.

The doctor smiled at me for a moment before her face became serious again. “I should warn you, this won’t be easy. Si
nce you’re young, I’m assuming your eggs are in prime condition and that your overall health is good, but I’ll still have to test you first. If you pass, we’ll induce superovulation with hormones, then harvest your eggs. We’ll probably be able to create several viable embryos, but getting one—hopefully only one—to implant successfully is the hardest part.”

I’d already reviewed this information before breakfast. “Might as well get started, then.”

I spent the rest of the day in the sterile-smelling med lab, doing my best to lie still on the cold table while they scanned me with every medical instrument you can think of. Dr. Allnan returned after I got dressed. “It’s a go. When was your last period?”

“About three weeks ago.”

“Then we can start the hormone treatment with your next cycle.”

I grinned. “Thank you, Dr.
Allnan.”

“You might not feel so thankful after two weeks of PMS and shots in the butt every day,” she said wryly.

I was glad George wasn’t around to hear that.

I returned to my cabin to rest and check
my messages. To my surprise, there was another holo from Dad. My first instinct was to trash it. Even if it was something important, he could have one of his lawyers contact me. Then I remembered Sean hadn’t been the enemy I’d thought he would be. Maybe it was time to stop treating my father like one too. For the first time in I don’t remember how many years, I listened to one of his messages.

Dad’s image appeared above my handheld. It’d been so long since I’d seen him that I was shocked by how weary he lo
oked, with sunken-in eyes and iron-gray hair. He was too young to look that old; he was only in his forties. “Hi, Jo.” Even his voice sounded defeated. “I know you might never listen to this, but I keep hoping someday you’ll respond. If you’re listening, I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of being your father.” He hesitated. “You’ve probably heard by now we lost your mother. We couldn’t stand each other in the end, but she was the first woman I ever loved. Even now, it still felt like I lost part of myself with her….” He sighed. “I just wanted to find out how you were holding up. You were always closer to her; I’m sure this isn’t easy for you….”

I
paused the holo. “It’s about time you realized that, you…you…” For once, I didn’t have the heart to call him names. He hadn’t been the best dad in the world, but that was a problem generations in the making. Time for a Lyon—me—to step up and be a better parent. Maybe that meant I had to look backward to my dad instead of just forward to my soon-to-be-son. I resumed playing the holo.

“But if there’s anything I can do for you, or if you just want to talk, message me. You know how to contact me if you want to. Maybe you don’t, but as Grandpa said, the future starts now.” He smiled ironically; Sean had
said that in one of his final interviews. Dad looked directly into the holorecorder. “Love, Dad. Ian Lyon out.”

The holo ended. I stared at empty space for several moments before playing Sean’s “Father, Farewell” song and thinking about his performance at
the White Knight. I didn’t cry this time, but my handheld trembled. I had to place it on my desk so I could record my own message. I stared at my handheld for a few minutes before I was able to reply. “Hi, Dad. Yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” I choked back a laugh. “I’ve got a lot to tell you.”

I told him about George, my work on the
Sagan
, and my encounter with Great-Granddad. Then I paused the recording. Did I dare tell him about my plans to mother Sean’s clone? If he told my uncle, he’d find some way to take the child. But Dad was the only person I knew with enough credits and clout to help me. Finally I took a risk and revealed my plan. “I know Uncle Jackass won’t like this; he’ll try to take the boy from me,” I said at the end. “But he needs a chance to grow up normally. We know firsthand how hard it is to be Sean’s descendants; let’s not make this kid go through that. Dad, if you can manage a miracle and change Uncle Jackass’s mind, or block him somehow, I’d really appreciate it.” I took a deep breath. “I haven’t been the best daughter either, Dad, but I still love you. Joanna Lyon out.”

I sent it immediately, before I could change my mind.

Chapter Nine

I was glad I sent Dad my message before I started the horm
one treatments. They were as bad as Dr. Allnan had said they’d be. The shots had to be given every twelve hours, and they made my back sore. I used pillows and wedges to keep me on my stomach at night. I gave up caffeine—one of the worst sacrifices I’ve ever made, and I bloated like a retired supermodel who’d just discovered chocolate. I could deal with all that, but my moods were out of control. One day in the lab when I discovered one of my cultures had been contaminated, tears gathered in my eyes. I refused to cry over something so trivial, even if it did throw off my experiment. I blinked hard, then threw the Petri dish into an autoclave bag with enough force to shatter the plastic.

“Just wait, George,” Lizabeth said after she returned a tray of culture
s to the incubator room. “You think she’s bad now, wait until she’s eight months pregnant. She’ll get stuck between the benches, and she’ll bawl like a baby!” She winked at me, but I didn’t respond. By the time I was that far along, I’d be back on Earth, my trip a memory.

A look of alarm crossed George’s face. “I hope we’re stocked up on ice cream,” he said. I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not.

“Screw both of you.” I slammed the autoclave door. “You think it’s so funny, Lizabeth, why don’t you get pregnant?”

Her expression became serious. “Actually, Olivia and I have been talking about getting inseminated. If we’re going to have kids, we should do it before we get
too old. We can’t decide which one of us should carry the baby.”

“Why not both of you? Miser
y loves company.”

“Maybe we’ll do that,” Lizabeth said.

“That’d be nice.” It was too bad we wouldn’t be able to keep in touch real-time.

The next morning, after Dr.
Allnan finished examining me, she said, “Well, it looks like we’re ready for the harvest. Feel up for it? It shouldn’t be too bad. I’ll give you a light sedative and local anesthesia, but you won’t feel like working afterwards.”

I notified Ferdie, who wished me luck. They sedated me and placed me in front of a scanner. I watched the monitor as
a tech stuck a syringe in me. He delicately probed several follicles, popping them like balloons as he sucked out my eggs. “We got eight, Dr. Allnan,” he said after he finished.

That was one of Sean’s lucky numbers; I knew it was probably a coincidence, b
ut I still hoped it was a good sign.

Ferdie kept me scrambling in the lab the next three days, and Dr.
Allnan refused to tell me anything. When she finally summoned me, George came along to hear the news.

“One egg wasn’t usable, and four of them didn’t di
vide after we added the foreign DNA.” She showed me the lab reports. “But the last three eggs are developing nicely. We even introduced some mitochondria from the samples, so the child will carry both yours and Sean’s. If you’re ready, we can inject the embryos into your uterus right now.”

“Three of them?” I raised my eyebrows. “I don’t want triplets! One Lyon is more than a handful as it is.”

“That you are,” George said. I stuck my tongue out at him, but he grinned.

“Odds are they won’t all implant correct
ly,” Dr. Allnan explained. “We do this to increase the chances of a successful pregnancy.”

George and I looked at each other; it struck me there’d be no turning back after this point. “Well?” I asked him.

“It’s not up to me; I’m not the one who’s going to be pregnant for the next nine months. Are you sure you want this, Jo?”

I only hesitated for a few seconds. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

The procedure was even easier than the egg harvest: a local anesthetic, a carefully aimed injection, and that was it. George held my hand as I lay still for half an hour afterwards. I put my hand protectively over my stomach as we left.

“Why don’t we go somewhere private for dinner?” he asked.

“Sounds good.” Someone could jostle me in the mess hall and dislodge an embryo. I told myself that was silly, but I had someone else to worry about now besides me.

George led me to a
holoroom marked “Reserved.” Inside was a simulation of a beach. Deep blue water lapped the beach on three sides, while the fourth side was a jungle complete with monkeys and brightly colored birds scampering among the tall trees. In the center of the beach stood a picnic table; steak and chocolate smells wafted from it.

I stepped forward, taking it all in. It was warm enough to make me wish I’d packed a b
ikini. The sand didn’t crunch under my feet, but if I focused on the sights and sounds of the holo, it was a convincing illusion. “Did you program all this, George?”

His ears turned pink. “I wish I had. This is one of the preprogrammed holos.”

“It’s still lovely.”

He offered me his arm, and we strolled around the beach. The view shifted as we moved. He finally led me back to the table and attempted to pull out a bench, but it was attached to the table. I slid in and looked up at him. He’d never done anythi
ng like this before. Either this was a distraction from all the medical tests and procedures I’d subjected myself to lately, or else something major was about to happen. I had a feeling it was the latter. Even so, I held my breath as George sank to his knees in front of me.

“Joanna.” He looked up at me, eyes wide as if he’d forgotten what to say. He gulped as if he needed to recapture the words. “When I first met you back at the beginning of this trip, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever s
een. And as I’ve gotten to know you, I’ve seen that you’re just as beautiful inside as well. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

I sat there, speechless. I finally found my tongue. “But...but I might be pregnant.”

I don’t think he was expecting that answer; he looked at me as if I’d asked him what DNA stood for. “Um, I was there, Jo.”

“But not in that way.” I took his hands between mine. “It doesn’t matter to you that it’s not yours?”

“He’ll be ours. We’ll find some way to raise him—together.” He lifted an eyebrow. “If you want me with you, that is.”

I leaned forward and looked him in the eyes. “Oh, yes,” I whispered.

He beamed for a moment, but then his smile faded.

“Something wrong?” I asked. I hoped he hadn’t had a change of heart.

“It’s just...I wasn’t expecting to meet someone like you on this trip, and I don’t have an engagement ring.” He squeezed my hand. “I promise I’ll find one as soon as we land on Earth.”

I couldn’t resist teasing him. “You planned all this, but you couldn’t find a place
holder ring?”

“Like what?” He patted his pants pockets. “All I have on me is my handheld and some autoclave tape....”

He pulled the roll out of his pocket. The inner core would have fit around two of my fingers. He looked back and forth between the tape and my hand.

“Don’t tell me you have an idea,” I said.

“I won’t do it if you think it’s stupid.”

“Just show me what you have in mind.”

He tore off a piece of tape, folded it over itself to cover the adhesive, and played around with it until he molded it around my ring finger. I couldn’t help staring at it.

George’s mouth drooped. “You don’t like it?”

It itched, but I resisted the urge to scratch my finger. “I love it. Just as long as you don’t expect me to autoclave my hand.”

“Let’s see how heat-resistant it
is,” he said in a rough voice.

His kiss was hot, but dinner was cold by the time we got around to eating.

* * *

I was supposed to take it easy for the next ten days, but I
still managed to stay busy. George and I planned to marry as soon as we returned to our own Earth. Trying to arrange details when we’d just passed through the wormhole was more complicated than visiting the TwenCen. Ferdie and I also discussed my future; he was so pleased about the way I’d handled the mission that he wanted to keep me in the lab. “This way, I make sure George sticks around too,” he said. “A happy couple is more likely to stay in space than someone still looking for love.”

Even a wedding, a
dissertation, and a new job couldn’t distract me from constantly wondering if I was pregnant. What if the procedure failed? I’d have to go through the whole damn process all over again, maybe several times. And if I wasn’t pregnant by the time I returned to Earth, Uncle Jackass might refuse to give me any rights over the child.

Day eleven post-implantation, I returned to the medical lab as soon as Dr.
Allnan was on duty. “Can I test yet?”

She smiled. “Yes, impatient one.”

“Great.” I looked around the exam room. “Where’s a pregnancy test?”

She plugged a needle into her medical handheld. “I was planning to do a blood test since it’ll be more sensitive, but if you want to pee in a cup like generations of other women, you can do that too.”

I was over-prepared for the traditional test; it was hard to keep still enough for her to withdraw a few milliliters of blood. I rushed into the head and relieved myself into the specially coated cup. I forced myself not to look until I’d washed my hands. A giant red “P” had appeared on the bottom.

My hands trembled as I picked up the cup,
then pushed the door open. Dr. Allnan had assured me the false positive rate for modern tests was virtually nil, but I wanted to make sure. But all the confirmation I needed showed in her grin.

“Congratulations, Joanna, you’re pregnant.” She held out her handheld to me, but I couldn’t make out the results. “I can’t normally say this so early in a pregnancy, but…it’s a boy.”