Second Chances (51 page)

“Fair's fair, so have you and everyone else,” Janet said with a shrug. “So, what's on your mind?” She asked, up to her elbows in suds.

“We're really connecting. The passion, the sex...it's so fun. Like we're teenagers. Sneaking around was fun until the creepies came out,” she shivered. “I am so not pulling him into a closet again,” she growled.

Janet snickered. “I heard about them,” she said. “We've had some bugs, but nothing now that it's winter. Weird that they are out again.”

“I know,” Sandra said. “Hopefully the boys will figure it out if the armadillos don't finish the job. I don't want another scorpion case!”

“Me neither. Did you get that toxin solved?”

“We've got Toki Oshiwa the Japanese biochemist working on an antivenin. She made a quick and dirty one, but it's far from perfect. She has got some promising leads on refining it, but of course we can't test them until someone gets stung and infected.”

“Well, let's hope she never gets the chance to test it,” Janet said, shivering.

“Here, here,” Anne murmured.

“Cold?” Sandra asked, concerned.

“No, just freaked. You aren't the only one who hates those things,” Janet replied. “Change the subject. Please!”

“Gladly,” Sandra said, looking about. She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.

“So, boy trouble...what's he done this time?” Janet asked, turning a copper scrubber onto a pot, using a lot of elbow grease to get a stubborn bit of food bugger off.

“It's not so much what he's done it's why he's doing it. Usually he's quiet, reserved and busy. He's busy all day, but in the evenings...” She smiled.

“He's making up for lost time?”

“Something like that. But he's been letting go lately. He was coasting, I thought we were settling in or even going stale, now this.”

“Keeping it lively?”

“Yeah, and the whole...” She squirmed uncomfortably. “I mean, I'm the one who seduced him,” she admitted. “I don't regret it, not in the slightest.”

“Are you asking yourself if you did it for the right reasons?” Janet asked, now concerned.

“Oh I did. He's worth keeping. Trainable,” Sandra said wickedly. Janet sniffed in amusement. “And definitely a good partner and provider. And the heights of passion the man can bring me to...” she fanned herself, smiling.

“Braggart,” Janet growled, splashing suds her way.

“I'm not sure about his taking the back seat though. I mean, it's...different. I seduced him because I was sick and tired of waiting but...” she shrugged uncomfortably.

“You're a good girl. Good girls let the guys lead?” Janet asked, smiling. Sandra nodded thoughtfully. “You do realize this is modern times, right? He's a bit of a product of that generation even if you aren't. So maybe he's sharing the spotlight? Or he's just turned on by a lady who knows what she wants?”

“That...” Sandra frowned. “Yes, that could be it,” she mused, nodding. “I'm not sure though. He just throws himself into letting go sometimes, following my lead. Passive,” she said.

“Does it throw you off?”

“A little,” Sandra admitted, biting her lip.

“I think he's maybe compartmentalizing things. Work and home,” Janet said, looking up and away as she thought about it. “When he's on the job he's all business. He has to find an outlet. A way to let go. This is just a theory; you need to talk to him about it,” she said.

Sandra winced and then nodded.

“I think his letting go, letting you take the lead in the bedroom is his way of spicing things up but also a release valve. Not to mention a major show of trust. He's showing you he's comfortable with you and trusts you,” Janet said.

“Get that off a relationship show?” Sandra asked.

“No, I'm just remembering some of my psych classes and talks with my mom,” Janet said. Sandra nodded. “He's in charge here, and it's hard. I get that. He's not comfortable with it, and he's definitely not comfortable with groups. You can see him gear up for them when he has to face a crowd.” She shook her head. “Being trapped inside all winter was probably hell for him. He's too used to doing something all the time.”

“Being boss and being bossy are two very different things,” Sandra said, nodding. “I know the pressure; we get that in medicine where lives are literally hanging on the line and time is of the essence. But he had some of this back on Earth.”

“Yeah, where he delegated a lot he probably knew he couldn't handle, hired good people, that sort of thing. And yeah, the pressure was bad. I'm wondering if he got an ulcer? Or heart issue? Would the aliens screen for that?”

“Um...” Sandra frowned thoughtfully, now concerned. “I think he's okay, but I could do a checkup.”

“Fun playing doctor and naughty nurse,” Janet teased. Doc blushed scarlet then laughed.

“Maybe.”

“I think he's letting his hair down a bit, letting you see he's okay with you. I'm a bit envious,” Janet said. “I've known the guy longer.”

“It's funny; we spent a lot of time conspiring to get the guy to relax and unwind. Now he's playful. I have to admit, sex with him...is fun. And he's got the energy. It's not slowing him down...much,” Sandra said.

“Rub it in,” Janet growled, eyes glittering. She threw a towel at Doc. Doc caught it and then started drying dishes. “Just go with it?”

Doc nodded. “I think so. It is fun. I like being in charge and seeing his eyes light up when I am in charge, it builds the passion up. I think just relaxing is good for him. Just being...not being in charge. I'm okay with it if he is.”

“Good for you. Both of you,” Janet murmured. “Get what you can, when you can. Live for the living, for tomorrow we may die and all that,” she said.

“You're not getting all morbid on me are you?”

“Me? No! Well, it could be the pregnancy,” she said, looking down at her belly.

“Regret it yet?” Doc asked mischievously.

“No, well, a little. I think with the twins maybe I should have put it off more,” Janet admitted. “Anne's got her hands full,” she said, shaking her head. “But on the other hand, no; I think now is a perfect time,” she said, rubbing her tummy as she looked down.

“Have you felt a kick yet?” Sandra asked softly.

“No, more’s the pity. Soon though, I hope,” Janet murmured softly. She reached down to touch her belly with a wet soapy hand before she went back to work.

Sandra watched her, saw the motherly glow, and smiled to herself as she continued doing the dishes.

Chapter 28

Mitch had to divide his time between handling the fuel and power issue with the new possible bug infestation. One of the things Brian had dredged up was the manufacture and installation of Fresnel lenses over the solar panels to increase their efficiency. The lens focused the diffused sunlight and channeled it to the panel. Half of their solar panels had the lens built into them but many did not. Brian got the Ling and Summerset family involved in the planned manufacturing.

They kept calling Mitch in to get approval of every step, however. The gunny and chief were also investigating the insects; apparently a few people had also seen some of the insects but hadn't reported them. Then there was the chemical works; someone had to keep an eye on the various processes at all time. He tried to hand off some of the tasks to the others, but he kept getting called back and forth. Eventually he tried to solve issues over the radio, but it was hard to get initiative going. Brian was finally poked by Lisa and others and started to exercise some initiative. After that Sam and Vance followed suit with the install of the lenses.

“We can figure this out,” Lisa told Brian quietly. “Come on. We've got the manual; we've got some help,” she said, indicating the others working on the project. “We've got the plans; let him focus on one thing at a time,” she said.

Brian frowned. She poked him harder. “Okay!” he said, surrendering. She pursed her lips but then cocked her head to the pump assembly laid out on the table. He nodded and went back to work.

Travis, Vance, the gunny, and others took over checking the base for more intruders. Travis pointed out he didn't need a babysitter at the next breakfast meeting. “We've got this,” Travis said.

“We do?” Vance asked doubtfully.

“Yes,” Travis said, looking at the kid briefly. “You have the blueprints; you helped build this place right?” The teen nodded. “Good.” He nodded to the gunnery sergeant. “We've got it. Don't we?”

“Damn straight we do. I'm not letting these things stick around,” he growled. “You need to learn to delegate,” he told Mitch bluntly. “You need to be one or two steps ahead of everyone, coordinating, not in the thick of it,” the sergeant warned him. The others agreed with a share of nods.

“I'm handing the lens project off to Candy Summerset. She knows more about the manufacturing than I do,” Brian said. Candy nodded. “She's passing the products on to Sam to install when they've got enough on hand.”

“Until then I'll be working with the crews to plow the area and keep the panels and wind turbines cleared,” Sam said with his own nod. He sipped a steaming beverage. “Any idea when we're going to get more coffee? One cup just isn't enough of a wake-up for me,” he said with a grimace.

“You can't rush coffee production,” Hejira said, shaking her head. “We only have so many plants as it is. We've got the processing down now, so that shouldn't be a problem. But the beans...” she shrugged.

“We need it in larger quantities. More bushes,” Sam said.

Hejira's eyes flashed. “I tell you what, you don't tell me how to do my job, I won't tell you how to do yours,” she growled. Ivan put a hand on hers. She looked at it and then looked away, jaw set.

“Sorry,” Sam muttered.

“Unfortunately, coffee, like a lot of our plants, are warm weather plants. We're just not suited here,” Mitch said. “The greenhouses can only take it so far.”

“We need plantations somewhere south you mean.”

Mitch nodded. “Pretty much. The same goes for the sugar cane, latex and other warm plants. He looked at Hejira. The woman nodded curtly. “But until we make contact with someone south and set up some sort of regular trade, we'll just have to make do with what we got. And to keep it fair, we'll have to ration what we've got,” he said.

Sam grunted but then nodded. He turned to face the botanist. “Sorry,” he said again. She looked him in the eye, then looked away, pursing her lips. “I know I hit a nerve, but...”

“Da, you did,” Ivan said quietly. “You aren't the only one to complain,” he explained. Hejira nodded.

“We have some teas but again, not enough to go around. We'll just keep doing what we're doing,” Sandra said. She slapped her thighs. “Moving on,” she said pointedly, looking expectantly to Mitch.

Mitch cleared his throat and then nodded. “Right. The lens project has taken precedence with our manufacturing priorities. Care to elaborate a bit?” he asked, turning to Candy.

The woman looked startled, then nodded. “Sure,” she drawled slowly. “I'm game for the spotlight,” she said, getting to her feet to draw attention to her. “As the boss said, we've switched priorities to the lens project. They aren't that hard to produce, just clear plastic really. Once we got the formula right it's just a matter of keeping the mold clean and timing. We should have a dozen ready this morning. Once we've gotten the hang of it, we'll ramp up production. How many do you want us to make?”

“One for every panel plus spares,” Sam said. “But I'm not going to take them one at a time. Call me for pickup when you've got a stack so we can do a bunch at once,” he said.

“Okay, but don't let them backlog too much; we don't have the warehouse space,” Candy said frowning. He nodded in reply. “Okay, well, we don't need everyone on plastics, so I talked it over with the Lings and we're going to put half our people on breaking out the carbon fiber molds for the aircraft and vehicle parts. It'll take a bit to get started, but Tao told me he's done it before so they'll figure it out.” She frowned, looking down at the notes at her tablet before she nodded and looked up. “We're working with the smelter to deal with the stockpiled aluminum. We've got the pipe bender up to make pipe for the kids play area, I think we can transition to making structural components for the aircraft and light vehicles once we've rigged the jigs properly. Brian and Lisa are giving me a hand there by measuring the vehicles we've got on hand as comparison models. About the trucks...”

------*------

“This is so cool,” Vance said, sounding excited. He checked his gear, then rechecked it. The gunny had him jump in place, then adjust a couple loose straps.

“The entrance is here,” the chief said, pointing to the hologram. Vance turned, seeing the map of the caverns below. “You said an airlock system was set up here?”

“Here and below. There are tanks on the level below this one, you know that. Mitch set up an airlock there, and another below that as...” he frowned, unsure of the right words to use.

“A man trap. Good. Good man,” the chief said. He nodded to Akira and Tina, then turned his head and frowned thoughtfully at Phyllis, Arby, Gina, and Chuck. Chuck Atom was their local spelunking expert. He had played tour guide in a couple caves and worked in a salt mine when he had been younger. He was a squat guy, quiet, but apparently happy to be in his element.