wait for Big literally.
It was tempting to go search for him on the station, but it was huge. He could be anywhere. She made a mental note to ask him to leave her a physical one, next time he left before she woke. She took a seat on the couch to wait in the silent apartment. There was a huge screen on the wall in front of her, but that was something that she’d need to be taught. How to use whatever passed for entertainment. Future people had to have some form of it. At least, she hoped so.
The door opened about ten minutes later and she stood fast, relieved to see Big. He grinned and rushed toward her. She saw excitement in his eyes as he grabbed hold of her and lifted her right off her feet, hugging her tight.
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I guess you missed me too. Where were you?”
“What may I make for you?” Magna had come out of her closet.
Big’s hold on her eased and he lowered Gemma back to her feet. “I was in the shuttle to see if any messages had come through. One did. I got a data burst from Fig.” His smile faded a bit, and she saw a hint of worry flash in his blue eyes.
She tried to stay calm. He’d been smiling when he’d come home, so it couldn’t be bad news. “Is a data burst bad?”
“It’s a written transmission. I’ll get to that.” He took her hand and led her to the island, helping her take a seat. His gaze went to Magna. “Pancakes with sausage for me.” Then his gaze returned to Gemma.
“I’ll take the same, only with bacon instead of sausage. That’s all.”
Magna spun away to begin breakfast.
“While I was there decoding the message from Fig…” His smile returned. “I got pinged.”
Gemma still had a lot to learn. “Uh-huh. And that’s a good thing? What is pinged?”
“Someone wanted to open communications with me. It was Blade. He’s alive!”
Gemma lunged for him, hugging his chest and nearly slipped off her stool in the process. Big kept her from falling and hugged her back.
“I’m so happy for you! I know you were worried.” She released him and got her butt settled on the stool again. “Did he apologize for not contacting you? Where has he been? What happened to him?”
“No on the apology, and I have no idea where he’s been or what he’s been up to.”
She frowned. “But you said you talked to him.”
“We have to be very careful of what we say.”
“Right. Because hackers could listen in.”
“Exactly.” Big grinned. “Coffee, Magna. Black.”
“Me too, Magna. Please add milk and sugar to mine.”
“He’s alive though,” Big continued. “And he’s coming home.”
Gemma couldn’t help but feel happy for him. He looked really excited.
“He’ll be here in two days…and he said he’s got a girl with him.” Big’s expression sobered at that news. “She’s not a clone. That worries me a little. He’s also being hunted by the authorities.”
“Are you sure she’s not a clone?”
“He would have let me know. I’m certain she’s human.”
“Isn’t that a problem?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me much. I was too happy to hear his voice, and it was a short conversation.”
“I get that.”
Big’s eyebrows arched.
“I raised two boys, remember? They worried the hell out of me more than a few times. You’re just so happy that they aren’t hurt or dead, you don’t tear into them at first for scaring the ever-loving shit out of you.”
He nodded. “I might yell at him for what he put us all through, but I’ll wait to hear the details first. We thought he was dead. Later, I’m going to contact everyone to let them know he’s alive and heading home. I wanted to tell you first.”
She stared into his eyes, warmed by his consideration. “You’re hoping the others will come back once they learn he’s returning, aren’t you?”
“Yes. You’re getting to know me well.”
“You’re my sexy pirate.”
He grinned. “I am.”
“Is he going to live in our home with us? Should we get one of the spare bedrooms ready? Maybe both of them, since he’s bringing someone?”
“No. He’ll take another cabin. There are many, and we never shared living space once we moved here.”
“I guess that’s good, since he’s bringing some woman with him. Wait. Is it a woman? Is there a chance he picked up a kid? Maybe he rescued one? He did say it was a girl, right?”
Big’s eyes widened,