by S. W. Gunn
He announced, "Well my daughter I think we should take you back to my residence for the evening since it is getting late."
She smiled at him and said, "I'm very glad to have returned because I was hoping to spend more time with my siblings."
He asked her, "How long will you be staying with us?"
Elyse turned to Jarron as if to ask him. Jarron was unsure because he knew that Hain would be waiting on them, also he wanted to start researching the Lucascorp lead.
Jarron said, "Elyse I think we should leave as soon as we can. I'm very interested in talking to the people at Lucascorp."
She nodded at him and then said, "Can we stay another day?"
"Of course, if we weren’t in danger, we’d have stayed much longer." Jarron replied.
Her father interjected, "Perhaps in the future, maybe after my daughter has children of her own, you could return? My people at the space station will be there to receive you."
Elyse beamed a smile at him and said, "We'd love that. It might be a few years though father because we aren't planning to have children for a while."
Her father nodded and said, "Well, let us go."
He guided them back to his residence. Jarron was actually happy to be again lying on the floor in the room that her father gave them because it was surprisingly comfortable. After they had finished one of their many passionate moments of lovemaking Elyse was snuggled up against him with one of her hands slowly and evenly caressing his chest.
A look of concern crossed her face as she asked, "Jarron do you worry that maybe our love is based on the unique bond caused by the fact you're a focal point
He shrugged at her and said, "I really don't care. My heart is crazy for you, bond or no bond. There was a point when we were imprisoned by Tiberius when I couldn't sense you and yet I still felt an urge to look at you all on my own. It is love, strengthened by the whole Gift and focal point thing most likely, but it's still love."
She nodded at him and then said, "Good night."
"Good night Elyse." He replied.
Jarron could sense that she was very pleased by his response. He found himself again slowly playing with her ears. It was not long until her deep breathing hold told him that she had drifted off to sleep. He closed his eyes and soon was in a deep sleep.
The next morning Jarron awoke to the sounds of children playing. He was left with the impression that seven children would be quite a handful as he heard them run, yell and bump around the house. For the first time in his life it actually made him wonder how he would do as a parent. Jarron chuckled because he doubted he would be a very good parent at all. It was probably a good thing that Elyse was going to be the other half of that arrangement. She seemed to get along with her siblings quite nicely, which made him believe she would be a great mother. She shifted herself and then awoke.
"Hey." She said.
He grinned at her at replied, "Good morning."
"So is it still pleasant to wake up to?"
"What?" He asked.
"To my face?"
Jarron laughed before saying, "Of course, I'm looking forward to many more mornings of it."
She grinned widely at his comment and then slowly extracted herself from atop of him.
"Let me go to the restroom, we should probably get up and enjoy our last day here with my family." She announced.
Jarron nodded at her. She walked through the door of the restroom and then closed the door behind herself. He had enjoyed the whole time they had spent on the two Eal'tain planets and learned a lot about the whole bond between him and her, but he was ready to see his friends and discover more about their nemesis. He made a promise to the man’s assistant and fully intended to deal with Tiberius. Slowly he stood up and collected his shirt. After he slipped on his shirt Elyse returned. She grinned widely at him as they caught eyes. He winked at her and then went to use the restroom himself.
Once he was done they exited the room and headed to the main dining area of her father's residence. Her father was waiting for them with his mate and some of the older children. The others were still running around playing somewhere else in the building.
"Good morning daughter." Her father said with a smile.
"Good morning." Elyse replied.
"Daughter what would you like to do today? I have been given the day off so I may spend it with the both of you." He asked.
Elyse looked at Jarron, who shrugged back at her.
She turned back to her father and replied, "I just want to spend time with all of you."
He smiled widely at her and replied, "That sounds wonderful."
Uaera, who was sitting next to her father, said something in their language. He replied back. Jarron could not understand them but he could tell that they were having a disagreement about something.
Elyse asked, "Is there something wrong?"
Her father shook his head before saying, "No daughter, my mate and I just are having a minor disagreement about something."
Uaera spoke up, "Just ask her Iaeth."
"Ask me what?" Elyse said.
Jarron could recognize the facial expression of her father as he relented to his mate's request. He was unhappy to ask about something.
He said, "Daughter as you know, we have one person who is a focal point here on Sethinalor. Unfortunately he is elderly and tires easily, so his work load spent healing people is very limited. While our technologies can heal much, we have found ourselves with people who have illnesses outside of technology to handle. I was wondering if you could spend some of the little time you have here providing some healing. It would be greatly appreciated, but I would understand if you did not wish to spend your last day with us healing."
Jarron knew immediately that she would never say no. It was in her nature to want to help others. She turned to him again, almost as if to ask for permission. Jarron nodded at her. He would not refuse her.
She beamed happily at Jarron’s nod and said, “Father I’d love to. Healing is something that I love to do more than anything. In fact once I settle on Terra I want to go learn more about it. Please take me to those in need and I’ll do my best to help them.”
Jarron noticed immediately that Uaera was very pleased by Elyse's response. Her father nodded firmly at her.
With a chuckle her father said, "Well I think you both should eat first, especially since you had such a late evening again."
Elyse blushed, which caused Jarron to laugh. He found himself rather liking the amount of noise she made at night. He sat down at the table and immediately started to eat the meal. This time the umi was replaced by a thick greenish colored juice and the fruits had several baked slices of some kind of meat with them. Once again Jarron decided to skip asking for information since he might not like the answer. Jarron picked up his skewer stick and just started to eat. Elyse sat down next to him and started to eat as well.
After they finished eating her father stood up and said, "If you both could follow me I will take you to the medical center. The people we wish you to help are those who have severe medical issues."
Elyse stood and said, "Father I don't know if I can heal serious injuries I’ve never healed anything greater than deep cuts and broken bones."
He chuckled in response before saying, "That is because you have yet to try my daughter. We have found that those with the Gift can use focal points to heal almost any type of illness. The greater the illness the greater effort it takes however. What makes the healing so special is that having a focal point allows a person with the Gift to even heal genetic disorders, something that no race has the technology to heal. With the bond between you both, you should be able to almost raise a person from near death."
Jarron was impressed. He had known very little about medicine but even during his time in school he remembered that modern medicine could not heal genetic disorders. If Elyse could really heal those types of issues then she would have to keep her abilities a secret or the whole galaxy would hunt them down.
She reached her hand out for Jarron to hold, which he did once he stood up.
"Lead on father." She said firmly.
He smiled slightly and then turned toward the exit of his residence. Elyse and Jarron followed him closely as they left the building and out into the clearing where her father's residence was. It was raining lightly. Jarron had suspected that it rained a lot in this planet, especially since everything was so green. Jarron casually glanced at Elyse. The rain was softly running down the sides of her face. They almost appeared as little clear liquid crystals as they shimmered on her skin on their trek downward. It gave her an ethereal appearance. He was convinced that he would have fallen for her without their bond because she was simply stunning to him. She saw him looking at her and started to reach out to poke his side.
"Tickle." Was all he said, which she responded to with a giggle and then slowly putting her poking finger down.
They left the clearing and began walking along a path through the forested area. It was not the same path that led to the landing pad. There were the same lighted beacons here as well. They walked along for several minutes before they arrived at a small building that was within the wooded area. It seemed very dreary to Jarron. It had the same design as the buildings back at the clearing, except the silver color of the metal here seemed to be tinged a weird yellow color that Jarron felt must have been for poor maintenance.
Her father turned to them and said, "This is our medical facility here. Usually the only people who stay very long are those who cannot be aided by normal means. Our friend who is a focal point comes here each day with a different person with the Gift and does what he can."
Elyse nodded at him. Her father turned away and approached the doors, which slid open as he approached. Jarron followed him and Elyse as they entered the building. It had a very strong sterile smell that he recognized from the few times he had been at a hospital on Terra. Thankfully for him it had been a rare occasion and long ago. Jarron found the place to be depressing. Near the entrances was a young Eal'tain girl hobbling on two wooden braces. Both of her legs appeared to be severely malformed.
"What happened to her?" Elyse asked.
Her father replied, "She was attacked by a virus of some kind right after birth that affected her spinal cord. We have tried twice with our focal point to heal her but it had no effect."
Jarron could tell by the contemplative look on her face that she fully intended to try and aid the girl.
"May I try?" Elyse asked softly.
"Of course." Her father replied.
He waved to the small girl, who stopped and said something to him in their language. He said something in response. The girl nodded and approached Elyse. Her father aided the girl in sitting on the floor with her legs spread outwards. Jarron could see that they had not worked properly in her whole life by how thin and frail they looked. Elyse knelt down beside her and softly reached her hands out to touch the girl on her legs. With a sudden and strong jolt of power Jarron immediately felt himself unable to move at all. He could see Elyse's hands begin to glow with power. The electrical flowing within him began to pulse and caused him intense pain. It reminded him of the first time he saw Elyse. Suddenly everything went black and he felt himself collapse to the ground.
* * * * *
Jarron awoke lying on a bed as his eyes opened to a beam of light flashing in his face. He had no idea how he got there. He could sense Elyse nearby but could not see her at first. Slowly his vision returned and he realized he was laying on one of the medical beds in the center that he was there visiting. Elyse's face appeared into view. She looked extremely concerned. She said something but Jarron could only hear a muffled tone.
Finally he was able to understand her, "Jarron are you well?"
Her concern was both evident to him in her face and her voice.
"What happened?" He asked groggily.
Her father spoke next, "You passed out as soon as Elyse finished healing Mayei."
Jarron sullenly nodded. It came back to him; he was standing by as Elyse was attempting to heal a young Eal'tain girl with bad legs.
"Did it work?" He asked.
Tears rolled down Elyse's eyes as she nodded at him. She softly stroked his cheek.
"Yes it did," She answered softly, "But it seems to have taken a great toll on you my love. I'm so sorry."
Jarron grinned weakly at her before saying, "That's good but I do feel a little tired."
Slowly he pulled himself into a sitting position.
With concern still on her voice Elyse said, "Jarron maybe you should rest some more."
He shook his head and replied, "I'm fine I guess that one caught me off guard. It felt like I was hit by lightning or something, but I feel fine now."
He slowly pulled himself up off the bed successfully. He felt a tiny bit lightheaded but otherwise he was fine.
"Could I get some water?" He asked.
Her father reached off to a nearby cart and got a cup that had some water in it. Jarron found it very refreshing. He grinned at Elyse, who still bore a look of extreme concern.
"Alright let's get back to work." Jarron announced.
Elyse shook her head and said, "I don't think that is wise since you just passed out."
"I feel fine now." Jarron stated firmly.
"No," Elyse said resolutely, "You need much more than ten minutes rest Jarron. Plus, you cut your head when you fell on a nearby cart."
"Why doesn't my head hurt?" Jarron asked.
"I healed it after you were placed on the bed." Elyse stated.
That had made sense to him. He was a little groggy at first but now he felt perfectly fine. He grinned evilly after coming up with a way to get her to go back to healing.
Wickedly he said to her, "Well either we get back to healing or you father leaves us alone in this room."
She must have immediately realized what he was hinting towards.
She smiled cunningly at him and said, "I'm going to call your bluff. Father could you please leave us alone here? We should be done quickly and on our way to your residence to give my husband some rest."
Her father laughed and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Jarron was shocked she actually called his bluff but he figured he would take advantage of the situation. He moved back to the nearby bed and sprawled himself on it. He smiled wickedly at her.
"You weren't bluffing?" She asked slightly appalled.
With a laugh Jarron said, "I was, but if I talk the talk, I've got to do the deed."
His reply got the result he was looking for because Elyse laughed loudly at him.
"Alright fine, let's go heal some people if you're strong enough for sex." She finally replied.
"Nope, you talked the talk so now you've got to do the deed." Jarron replied with an evil grin.
"But it'll be embarrassing after!" She said with her cheeks flushed red.
Jarron laughed and said, "I guess you should've thought of that before you agreed."
Elyse pouted at him before saying, "I really want to but I just couldn't stand the embarrassment."
Jarron rose from the bed and hugged her before saying, "Alright then, let's go heal some people."
She squeezed back tightly and then took his hand. She next reached out and opened the door, leading him out into the main hallway.
Her father said, "That was fast daughter."
Jarron chuckled at his words.
She blew air through her lips and then said, "Oh stop the both of you. Let's go heal some of our friends here."
As soon as Elyse and Jarron fully exited the room Jarron was virtually mugged by a crowd of Eal'tain. They were all speaking in their language and taking turns hugging him tightly. Several of the women Eal'tain were sobbing as they hugged him. Jarron was very confused as to what was going on. He looked to Elyse and she looked just as confused. Her father must have seen the look of confusion on his face
.
"Jarron they are the family of the Mayei, the young girl that Elyse healed."
Jarron nodded and then asked, "Why are they hugging me and not Elyse?"
Her father chuckled in response before saying, "Because they are Eal'tain. We know that it is the focal point that makes healing possible. The stronger the focal point the greater the ability to heal. In our culture the person with the Gift is interchangeable."
Jarron shook his head and then said, "Well I think Elyse deserves as much credit if not more than I. I just stood there and she was the one that healed."
Elyse said with a smile, "We're a team, neither replaceable."
Jarron nodded in agreement. Her father said something in their language loudly, which caused the group to also starting hugging Elyse too. They must not have known the common spacer language since they just spoke in the Eal'tain language. Jarron was not much for receiving credit for healing but he could see the joy written on Elyse's face as they hugged her and spoke rapidly to her. After the family of the little girl had their fill of thanking the both of them one Eal'tain woman offered Jarron a strange looking necklace.
"Jarron please accept it, it is a token of luck for our people. The woman offering it is Mayei's mother." Her father said.
He nodded him the woman who extended her arms and placed the necklace around his neck. Elyse was beaming with pride. He suspected his blacking out might have been more than a little traumatic for her. After the family finally dispersed Elyse took his hand again.
Elyse announced, "Father I don't think we can heal too many more maybe we should focus on one or two of the real tough cases?"
He nodded at her and then guided them through the hospital to a small room. He knocked on the door. After a moment the door opened to a very sad looking Eal'tain man. Jarron guessed that he was slightly older than himself. He wore a somber gray colored version of the clothing worn by the Eal'tain on Sethinalor. His hair was dark brown and slightly unmanaged. Jarron suspected that he was either depressed or grieving.