considerably while they were in the lab, and Abby had noticed that she and Mekoi seemed to gravitate towards each other. By the time the women were ready to leave, his tail had been wrapped around TeShawna’s wrist for quite a while. The girl had looked almost startled when she went to leave and seemed to notice it for the first time, but Abby saw her give it a quick stroke before she unwound it from around her wrist.
Now she tried to bluff. “What, the bottles? Those are for Cassie.”
“Not those. What you put in your pocket.”
Abby sighed. She had intended to discuss birth control with Hrebec first and then bring up the subject later with the girls, but TeShawna’s sharp eyes put an end to that idea.
Resigned, she pulled out the packet and showed her the four small white pills. “Mekoi said they would act as birth control pills.”
“Why, Miss Abby, you dog!” TeShawna gave her a look of mixed admiration and jealousy.
“I don’t know that I’ll need one, but you know what I always say...”
“Better safe than sorry,” TeShawna recited wryly. “But won’t you need more than four?”
“He said each one would be good for at least six months, perhaps longer.”
“Then why do you need four? Oh.” TeShawna blushed, her cheeks darkening. “I don’t need one of those things.”
“Can you honestly tell me that you don’t have any feelings for Dr. Mekoi?”
The blush intensified. “He’s an alien. A bossy older alien.”
“And?”
“I guess he’s all right. That body sure don’t look old.”
Abby didn’t say anything, waiting patiently.
“Oh, fine. I like him, okay? Even if he did get all jealous for no reason,” the girl finally muttered.
“I don’t think they have a lot of experience with women,” Abby said thoughtfully. “He didn’t understand that you were just being friendly.”
TeShawna’s eyes widened. “No experience? You mean he’s a virgin?”
“I don’t know, but remember that they don’t have any women? He wouldn’t have had many opportunities.”
“A virgin? Who’d a thunk? But yeah, I can work with that. Train him up right.” Her smile turned dreamy before she saw Abby looking at her. “Not that I’m planning on doing nothing… Fuck, give me one of them pills.”
Abby handed it over, praying that Mekoi’s machine was as accurate as he claimed. When she retrieved Lucie, she passed one along to Cassie as well.
Cassie frowned at the little pill. “These aliens are nice enough, sure, but I’m not interested in them. Or any other man, for that matter,” she said with a shudder. “I’d be just fine if no man ever laid a finger on me again.”
Abby bit her lip. She knew that Cassie had been abused, but her contempt for the male gender troubled her. “I understand where you’re coming from, but not all men are bad. You can’t judge everyone based on your past experiences.”
The words echoed in her own head. Didn’t she have the tendency to do the same thing? But this wasn’t about her and she gave Cassie a concerned look.
“No?” Cassie shook her head. “I’ll admit that these guys seem all right, but I still don’t know them.” She grabbed a pill. “Better to be safe than sorry. Just in case.”
Once Abby had Lucie and Tiana settled in the cabin, she knocked on the door next to hers.
Elaina opened the door, blushing when she saw Abby outside. “Oh, hi, Miss Abby. I was planning on coming to talk to you.”
She stepped to one side and Abby could see that she’d followed Abby’s lead. Both babies napped in bassinets made out of the large storage containers. The room was smaller than Hrebec’s, with only a small seating area in front of the bed—the only bed.
Elaina’s blush deepened when she saw where Abby’s gaze settled. “It’s not like you think. He’s just helpin’ me with the babies.”
“But you want to be here, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” The girl turned away, fussing with a blanket. “I’ve never known anyone like him. Well, duh, I know he’s an alien, but he’s just so sweet. And big. Kinda makes me feel safe, you know?”
“I know.” Abby knew only too well how good it felt to be tucked up against Hrebec’s big body. She sighed and showed Elaina one of the pills. “This is a birth control pill. It should be good until we get back to Earth.”
“Back to Earth? But we’re not goin’ there yet, right?”
“No. It could be another three or four weeks.”
“Good.” She blushed again. “I mean, it’ll be nice to have the help.” She