hit her femoral artery. Nothing my dad could do but watch.”
“That’s terrible.” But it did explain why Niall was so upset by my behavior.
“Captain Harrison broke the news to me. I’d volunteered to stay on the ship that first day.” Niall huffs. “Elese was climbing the walls days before we obtained orbit. I could wait another day.” He pauses. “I went down for the funeral, though. She wanted to be cremated and…”
The silence stretches. I glance up at him.
Niall’s gaze is on one of the paintings. “This is going to sound strange, but to me it makes perfect sense. She wished for us to mix her ashes with paint. Mom gave me a canvas with a landscape drawn on it in pencil. It’s a picture of her favorite place in the Galaxy. I’m supposed to paint that landscape with her paint.”
Wow. No wonder Radcliff had been so against Niall using his talent—not only reminding him of his wife, but of her request. “It sounds rather morbid,” I say.
“I know. But she always said she put her heart and soul into her paintings so why not be a painting and brighten a room, maybe make someone’s day a bit happier. Mom would say, “Better than being shoved in some ugly urn or buried in the ground and forgotten.’”
When he put it that way… “You’re right, that does make sense.”
“You would have loved her, Mouse.”
“No doubt.” This earns me a brief smile.
Then his smile fades. “I haven’t painted her landscape. It’s just too hard. And frankly, creepy.”
“I understand.” Not that I’ve any experience with cremated remains, I imagine if it’s mixed with paint it would be thick and gritty and crumbly when dried. Like a Warrior heart! Did the aliens who built the Warriors literally put their hearts and souls in the statues? An interesting thought. Too bad there’s no way to test that theory. Just like all my ideas.
“Do you think you’ll ever paint it?” I ask.
“Eventually. There’s a museum on Earth that has a bunch of her paintings on display. I promised them a dozen or so more for their collection. One of those is going to be her painting. I figured she’d love it there, being with the people who appreciate her art the most.”
“That’s lovely, Niall.”
He meets my gaze. “I haven’t told anyone about the museum, not even my dad. Thanks for listening to everything.”
“Anytime.” I’m rewarded with a kiss. It’s tender and sweet and if he keeps it up, I’m gonna melt right in his arms. My birthday can’t come soon enough. And if you’re the type that believes I should wait until marriage, honey, I might not live that long!
A harsh clearing of the throat interrupts us. Radcliff is standing in the threshold.
Niall and I break apart.
“We’re having a team meeting at oh-seven-hundred tomorrow. You’re both expected to be there.”
“Yes, sir,” we say in unison.
Radcliff hesitates, but then shoots Niall his heavy stare before leaving.
Unaffected, Niall chuckles, but he stands. “You need your sleep, Mouse.”
Grrr. Radcliff has rotten timing. And I don’t want Niall to leave, so I do what I used to do as a kid when I wanted my mom to stay longer. “Can I ask you a question?”
He stills as if wary. “Sure.”
“What is colony fever?”
“Oh.” He blows out a breath. “It’s very rare, but occasionally a colonist realizes that he is millions of kilometers from home. And he can’t go back. Even if he manages to return, all of his friends and family that he left behind are long dead. So he snaps. Some with colony fever kill themselves, others go on a rampage. It’s a mental state and not a virus. It happens on space ships as well.”
“Ship fever?”
“Yeah, not very original. There’s milder cases of it. Like Elese. She was new and our trip to Omikron was the longest time she was on a ship. I doubt she would have snapped, but she was driving us all crazy with her inability to stay still.”
“And standing guard for hours…”
“Pure torture.”
That I believe. I lean forward and take Niall’s hands. “I’ve one more question. It’s really important.”
His grip tightens. “What is it?”
“Are there any more pudding cups left?”
He laughs. “Good night, Mouse.”
“I’m serious!”
He turns off the light.
Not everyone on the security team is in the conference room the next morning. Bendix and Ho are guarding the pits. Morgan and Tora are watching detention. My parents are in the meeting along with Drs. Gage and Jeffries. Wondering if Beau purposely took the seat