It was getting late. Pierre had been wading his way through a thick jungle for hours now, trying to find a clearing big enough to set up a camp. Despite the closing evening, it was still so hot that he had to stop once in a while to wipe the sweat from his forehead and catch his breath. He cursed himself for not taking a laser with him. Primitive life notwithstanding, some technology proved useful at times.
Finally, he saw a patch of blue sky breaking through the leaves ahead of him. A sign that he may have found what he had been looking for.
When he cut down the last bush blocking his way, he found himself in the open space at last. Just barely big enough to build a fire without the risk of setting miles of the forest aflame. He was about to start searching for some wood to prepare a bonfire, when something caught his attention.
On the other side of the clearing, he spotted something colorful. When he looked closer, he realized it was a body of a lying boy. Humanoid, maybe ten years old, judging from afar. He was either dead or fast asleep.
Pierre came up to him carefully. The boy was breathing. He crouched and gently touched the kid's arm. He jumped up, ready to run.
"Whoa!" Pierre said with a smile. "Don't be afraid, I won't harm you."
"How do I know?" The boy barked, prepared to bolt at the first sign of trouble. Lafayette remained still and made his voice as gentle as he could.
"If I wanted to hurt you, I could have done it while you were asleep..."
The boy thought for a moment. "Good point," he finally nodded but didn't relax much.
"What are you doing here alone?" Pierre asked.
The boy tensed again. "I'm not alone! My father will be here any minute! And his people, too!"
Pierre inspected the boy carefully. His clothes were torn and dirty, he was bruised and his lips were cracked as if he hadn't drunk for hours. He didn't look like he was only left behind for a moment.
"Where is your father, then?" he interrogated calmly, sitting on the ground, next to the kid. He had put his knife back into his pocket, not to scare him.
"He went hunting!"
"How long ago?"
The boy hesitated. "In the morning," he replied quietly, apparently losing confidence.
Lafayette smiled gently and took a flask of water from his rucksack. "Aren't you thirsty?" He asked. The boy didn't reply but his eyes never left the flask as Pierre uncorked it and took a sip. "Here, have some." He handed it to the kid.
He reached out reluctantly but a moment later he was sucking at it greedily.
Pierre chuckled to himself and took a look around. "Let's hope your father comes back for you before it gets dark but what do you say if we start a fire before that? He should be glad when he sees it's ready.
The boy gave him the flask back and nodded without a word.
"Come, help me gather some wood, then."
They both started picking up sticks and larger logs and piling them in the middle of the clearing. When there was enough, Lafayette took a tinder and flint and, after a few seconds, a first wisp of smoke rose into the air. He blew on the kindling and soon the flame was strong enough so that they could carefully add the sticks to sustain the fire. Through all this time the boy never said a word.
When the fire was burning fine, Pierre reached for his rucksack again and pulled out a furry creature, probably a local analogue of a rabbit, that he had killed earlier. "I don't know about you but I'm starving." He winked at the boy and began skinning the animal. "Oh, and by the way," he smiled. "My name is Pierre Lafayette. What's yours?"
"I'm David," the boy replied unwillingly. "David Burke."
"Well, David, I hope you like fresh meat. It's not much but we can share. What do you say?"
The kid only nodded, not averting his eyes from what Lafayette was doing.
He cut the animal in half and removed its bowels, immediately digging them in the dirt. He took two sticks and jabbed the meat on them. First, he plunged both portions deep into the fire until the smell of burning fur filled the air. Then, he handed one of the sticks to the boy and showed him how to hold it over the fire so that it roasted slowly instead of burning. David clearly couldn't wait for the meal, swallowing his saliva time and again.
Suddenly, something moved in the bushes behind them. Lafayette heard it first and tensed as it seemed like something big. After a moment, the boy looked at him with wide eyes.
"Any chance it's your father coming here?" whispered Pierre, slowly reaching for his knife. The boy shook his head.
"All right," Pierre nodded reassuringly. "Don't move, then. Big animals don't come near the fire, just don't scare them."
He turned around quietly, still crouching but ready to spring up to his feet any moment. After a few minutes, the sounds moved away and he relaxed. He took his stick and extended the meat over the fire again.
"So, David," he remarked after a while. "You're not really waiting for you father, are you?"
The kid only shook his head.
"Are you lost?"
"No..." David turned away from him and his voice trembled when he finally spoke. "Our shuttle crashed... everybody was killed... Dad tried to save everyone... he teleported me down first... and they all died..."
"How long ago did this happen?" Lafayette asked softly.
"Three days..."
"And you've been here alone for three days?"
The boy didn't reply, still with his back to Pierre.
Lafayette wanted to ask how he had managed to survive that long with no water, no food and, evidently no means of protecting himself against animals, many of which would welcome a meal of human meat. He thought better of it, though. Losing a loved one was certainly something he could understand and he decided the time for more questions would come later.
Right now he couldn't do more than feed the boy and make sure he's all right for the next couple of days. He had checked his scanner and determined that the magnetic storm raging in the upper part of the atmosphere, which had probably caused the crash, should subside within the next few days. Once the interference is gone, he will be able to launch the teleporter and take David home, wherever it was. He couldn't abandon the child here, on an uninhabited planet, full of dangerous animals.
"Here," he said, handing him the roasted meat. "I've run out of salt but if you're hungry, it will have to do.
David reached out for the meal and started devouring it, burning his fingers and mouth in the process.
*No wonder,* Lafayette mused. *He can't have had anything to eat since the crash.*
"Tell me, David," he remarked after the boy had satisfied his first hunger. "Where do you come from?"
"Carnelia IV, Sir," he replied. "Do you know where it is?"
"No," Pierre shook his head, amused. "Not from the top of my head. But once we get to my shuttle, I'll check with the computer."
David stopped eating and looked at Pierre with new hope in his green eyes. "Do you have a shuttle?" he whispered.
"Yeah. On a high orbit. Should be safe from the storms but we'll have to wait until they subside before we can teleport up there. Too much interference."
"Does it..." the kid hesitated. "Does it mean you can take me home?"
"I sure intend to. I can't abandon you here, can I?"
"Thank you, Sir..."
Pierre reached out and tousled the boy's hair. "Don't thank me yet," he said gently. "The last time I checked my readings, we're grounded here for a while. Say," he added in a more serious tone. "Do you have anyone to take care of you back home? Your mother?"
David turned away from Pierre again. "I don't have a mother," he said quietly. "She's a Cyborg drone now..."
Lafayette gasped. Everyone in the galaxy had heard about the battle with the Cyborgs five years ago. The threat had been repelled but not eliminated. All the losses, the fatalities, were bad enough but having a loved one turned into a mindless drone, thinking what atrocities they may be committing without even realizing it...
He honestly didn't know what to tell the boy now. For a moment, a thought flashed in his mind that he had been lucky to see Yvonne die rather than being... no, he pushed this image away. It was too much for him and the kid, cowering next to him, certainly needed it even less.
"Do you have any other relatives?" He asked finally.
"Grandparents," David replied. "And I have an uncle but he's Space Fleet, too."
"Don't worry, son," Pierre managed in a lighter tone. "I'll get you out of here as soon as possible."
"And you, Sir?" David turned back to look at him, his eyes dry. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm..." Pierre hesitated, throwing the remains of his meal into the flames. "I guess you might say I'm a traveler. I... I just like living in the wilderness."
It was getting dark. Lafayette tossed a few more logs into the dying fire, causing a small rain of sparkles around them, and took out a blanket from his rucksack. "Here," he told the boy, handing him the blanket. "It gets cold at nights here."
"How about you?" asked David, unrolling the blanket.
Pierre chuckled. "Don't worry about me, kid. I'm used to harsher conditions, I'll survive.
* * *
"Sir! Mister Lafayette!"
A shout woke him up. Lafayette sat up, immediately alert. Although deeply shaken from his dream, he still managed to remember who the little boy shaking his arm was.
"What..." he stuttered. "What happened?"
"You were screaming..."
"I was?" Pierre blinked his eyes, trying to get rid of the image of Yvonne's face. "Yeah, I guess I was..." he said quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"You had a bad dream?"
"Yeah. They happen to everyone sometimes, don't they?" He shook his head helplessly.
"Mom told me the best way to get rid of the nightmares is to talk about them." David took his blanket and moved back to Pierre's side, covering them both. "You can tell me, if you want."
Lafayette looked at the kid, stunned. He'd never expect such a level of maturity from someone that young. Than again, the boy had been through enough...
"Thank you, son," he smiled at him sadly. "Your Mom was a wise woman. In my case, I don't think it'd help much, though." He looked around. It was still the middle of the night. "Go back to sleep, David," he added, moving slightly away. "I'll do my best not to wake you up before dawn..."
The boy insisted. "It won't hurt to try, will it?" he asked. "Talking about your monsters might just chase them away..."
Lafayette sighed, adjusting the blanket and reclining back on the ground. The boy laid beside him, his head propped on his hand. "All right. You see... I lost someone, too. It was a few years ago but it still hurts."
"Your child?"
"No, I never had children. My wife..."
"Why do you scream, then? If you loved her?"
"I did," Pierre shook his head, fighting the tears that suddenly started building up in his throat. "I loved her more than anyone else in my life. It's just that... what I dream about is her dying, you know? I never see her alive. I never dream about the times we had together..."
"Then perhaps you should think about these times more often? If you're concentrating on the moment of her death, it won't go away..."
"How do you know so much about it?"
The boy looked at him thoughtfully. "I used to wake up at nights, too. I saw a Cyborg with my Mom's face coming to get me..." David's voice trembled. "I was scared... but then, I tried to remember how she used to read me stories, how she cooked, how we went for walks together..." He couldn't speak anymore. Finally, emotions took the better of him and he started sobbing helplessly.
Pierre watched him for a moment and then reached out and held the boy tight, putting his head on his shoulder.
"You're a very brave kid," he whispered into his ear, stroking his back. They laid cuddled up together, each deep in their own thoughts. Neither of them noticed when they finally fell asleep in each other's embrace.
* * *
Lafayette was used to getting up just before dawn. It gave him enough time to clean up the camp and find a good hunting position just before the first birds started chirping, waking the whole jungle.
He was very surprised to see David already awake when he opened his eyes the next morning.
"This is your wife?" The boy was holding a virtual image in his hand.
Lafayette tensed. "You... searched through my things?" he replied with a question.
The boy shrugged. "Sorry, Sir. I was just looking for something to eat."
"Well, kid," Pierre got up, pulling the blanket. "If you want something to eat, you've got to catch it first. There are no converters over here, you know and I don't usually carry emergency rations..."
"Who is she?" David insisted, still looking at the image.
Lafayette took a deep breath before he managed to force himself to reply. "Yes, it's my wife." The words hardly got through his tightened throat.
"She was beautiful."
"Yes, she was."
"How long ago did it happen?" David's green eyes expressed more sympathy than curiosity. Pierre knew that after what the kid had just been through, he'd understand.
"Seventeen years next month," he sighed.
"That's a long time." David deactivated the image and handed it to Pierre. He took it and quickly put back into his rucksack.
"Yeah," he nodded. "For a kid like you... how old are you, by the way? Ten?"
"Will be twelve soon," the boy replied with dignity that would have made Lafayette chuckle under different circumstances. "And you?"
"I'm forty seven."
"Geez! You look like a hundred or something..."
"I know..."
The life prolonging treatment was a relatively new achievement. Most older people, still judged the looks by the standards they had been used to for generations. According to these, Pierre Lafayette, with his graying beard and weatherworn face, looked fifty. He had looked that way since he left the hospital, almost twenty years ago. But, the boy was born in an entirely new world in this respect. For him, it was normal that people would be in their prime for years and years.
"Well," seventeen years is still almost half of your life," David didn't dwell on his looks any longer. "Don't you have a new girlfriend?"
"No. No, I don't."
"Why?"
"I guess wasn't looking for one..."
Lafayette amazed himself. He didn't remember when the last time was that he talked about his life so openly. Not that he had had much of an opportunity, avoiding people as best he could, venturing through wild places and only stopping once in a while on some more civilized planet to replenish his resources. Somehow, he felt at ease around this kid, though. Maybe because he had suffered similar losses or maybe because he was so young...
"I know I'm just a kid," the boy echoed his thoughts. "But I know something about being alone. It's never a good thing. You should find yourself a girlfriend."
"Yeah, you may be a kid but you're a pretty smart one, you know?" Lafayette moved closer to him and put his hand on David's shoulder. "You're right about being alone, but it's probably tougher on kids. Trust me, when you grow up... sometimes... it's not so bad..."
"If it wasn't so bad you wouldn't be having these nightmares, would you?"
Lafayette gasped. "Look," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "If you really want some breakfast, we should get going. Now's the best time to shoot some birds. I'll show you how to use a bow if you want."
* * *
Lafayette found the right bush and cut two long twigs, flexible enough for what he needed. Next, he took a ball of string from his rucksack and tied it hard, making two, rather crude bows. Still, they should have been enough. He took out his knife and handed a smaller pocket one to David. He showed him how to whittle other, more rigid twigs, to improvise some arrows. He had managed to make about a dozen before David finished his second one but he was proud nevertheless.
The best time for shooting birds, when they gathered in large flocks with the first rays of the raising sun, was already over. However, it didn't mean they couldn't find something tasty for their breakfast.
Lafayette laughed to himself seeing David try to imitate him as best he could. Sneaking up quietly under a tree in thick plants was not easy but the boy was trying hard. It took them a while, and most of their arrows, before they eventually had two small birds.
"Could we cook them instead of roasting?" asked David, when they were on their way back tot he camp.
"Why?" smiled Lafayette. "You didn't like our last supper?"
"Oh I did, Mr. Lafayette, I sure did," the boy hastened to assure him solemnly. "I just thought..."
"That's not a bad idea," Pierre interrupted him, making his way up a small hill. "Soups are very nutritious. The problem is, we don't have enough water to waste. I'll try to look for some edible fruits to vary our diet a little but after breakfast we'll need to move on anyway."
"Where to?" David had trouble climbing up the steep slope and gladly accepted Lafayette's extended hand. As Pierre pulled him up, he looked into the boy's eyes. "We have to find some water. It's dangerous to stay near streams or ponds in places like this for too long but, once in a while, you need to resupply your stock.
"Why is it dangerous?" David asked curiously.
"Because all living creatures need to drink," Lafayette explained patiently, struggling with a maze of thick roots now blocking their way. We don't want to meet too many big animals, do we?"
"No, Sir. I guess we don't..." the kid agreed. "But why don't you have a laser or something?"
Lafayette chuckled. "That's a good question. I ask it myself sometimes, too. But then I usually decide it would be too easy. If I took a laser, why not take a converter, home building modules and all the other stuff? Nah, I told you I prefer primitive life."
"But you do have a scanner?"
"I do. As well as a med kit and a couple of other useful things like the blanket or the string. I like nature but I'm not suicidal," he winked at the boy.
* * *
After breakfast, they cleaned up the camp and moved North-West, as per Lafayette's scanner's readings, heading towards a small creek in the middle of the jungle. When they got there, in late afternoon, Pierre made two rods for them and taught David how to fish. The kid seemed to look up to him more and more with every passing hour. For some reason, Lafayette also felt drawn to him in a strange way. Maybe because he was a child who needed his help to survive or maybe because they had similar experiences... Once or twice a passing thought hit him that it would have been wonderful to have a son like this... but he did his best to chase these thoughts away. Yes, having a child with Yvonne, some connection with her... but they had been too young to think about children when they got married. Heck, most people said they had even been too young to marry. Sure, they talked about kids but they thought they had plenty of time...
They spent the next three days wandering around the area, shooting birds and small animals, gathering fruit and fishing. At nights, they'd cuddle up together under the blanket and Lafayette would tell David stories about his previous adventures. The kid's eyes went wide every time and he'd listen intently before he fell asleep. Pierre stopped waking up screaming, too. When he spotted a clearing in the storm on the fourth day, which could have been enough for them to teleport to the shuttle and head away from that planet, he almost felt sorry, realizing he'd soon have to part with David.
* * *
When they found themselves on the shuttle, there was such a relief on David's face that Pierre's heart melted. He hugged the boy and tousled his hair. "Don't worry, son," he said softly. "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."
Things stopped looking that good, though, when he tried to launch the autopilot. Up here, the storm was still raging and, although the shuttle looked intact, many of its systems didn't work. Pierre Lafayette was many things but he was only a mediocre pilot and he knew it. Steering the tiny ship manually through heavily charged clouds was not an easy thing. It didn't seem like he had any options, though. Staying in their current orbit was equally dangerous, given the rapidly changing conditions. The storm seemed to grow bigger and was definitely closing in on their position.
"Brace yourself, kid," he shot at the boy, trying to plot the safest course. "We're in for a bumpy ride."
However, before he even managed to launch the thrusters, a bolt hit them. The boy screamed. Lafayette didn't have time to comfort him, working furiously with the controls, trying to assess the damage. Another bolt almost threw him off the pilot chair. "Get to the back and hold on to something!" He snapped at David, and launched a distress signal.
"No!" The boy shouted. In panic, he unfasten himself from his seat and clung to Pierre, blocking his view.
"David!" Lafayette tried to free himself but the child was just too scared to realize what he was doing. He screamed again when one more discharge sent the shuttle spinning down. There was nothing else Pierre could do but pray and hope someone had received his signal.
"Alright, let's go," he told David, unbuckling his own straps and grabbing the boy by the arms. He activated the teleporter back on to the surface.
It malfunctioned as well. Or, perhaps, Pierre had made a mistake. They materialized maybe ten meters above the ground - Pierre holding David in his arms. He only managed to twist in the air enough so that he was at the bottom when they hit the tops of the trees first and then the ground. The last thing he remembered was cradling the boy, trying to protect him from flashing branches, and a hard hit on the ground. After that, the world went all dark and quiet for him.

"Pierre?! Hey, Pierre! Can you hear me?"
His eyes fluttered open but his vision was too blurry to make out anything but the green.
"Where... where's David?" he managed in a harsh whisper.
"He's alright."
"Where is he?" Pierre insisted, trying to look around and figure out who he was talking to.
"He went to get some water. How do you feel?"
He ignored the question. "Is he hurt?" he needed to know.
"No, I told you he's alright."
Pierre looked up and finally a picture of a woman's face looming over his own became a little clearer.
"And who are you?" he asked. "It's... getting kinda crowded here for an uninhabited planet?"
"I received your distress call," the woman replied patiently. "The name is Harmony Drake."
"Pierre Lafayette..."
"Yes, I know. Can you sit up?"
"I... I'm not sure."
"Try slowly."
So he did. He turned his head a little and moved his arm. Everything hurt but he was still amazed he was even alive, when he remembered what had happened.
"Well, how do you feel?" Harmony repeated.
"I feel... too much," he coughed, trying to lift himself from the ground without much success. "Dizzy..." he added, lowering his head back on the grass.
"Can you move your legs?"
Pierre experimented. "Yeah."
"Good. That should mean your spine is okay."
"Do you... do you happen to have a medical scanner?"
"I do but..."
"Can I see it, please?"
For some reason he couldn't move his left arm. He understood why when he managed to scan himself. He had a dislocated shoulder, two broken ribs and he wounded his head pretty seriously. No brain damage from what he could see but he had lost a lot of blood. Other than that, just some scratches and bruises all over his body. Still, considering he had fallen from maybe ten meters, it wasn't all that bad. And, he had apparently managed to save the kid...
"Mr. Lafayette!" He heard his enthusiastic voice. He groaned when the boy jumped up to him and hugged him tight. "I thought you'd be dead..."
"That's okay, kid," he managed a weak smile, trying to free himself from the boy's grip. "I told you I won't leave you alone..."
"Mister Lafayette?" the woman asked. "I thought you were his dad?"
"Wish I were," Pierre turned to her slowly. "He's a great kid."
"So," Harmony asked, pointing to the scanner Pierre was still holding. "Do you know what is wrong with you now?"
"I'm not that bad," he replied, handing it back to her. "I'll just need some medical attention and I should be fine in no time. Can you take us to my shuttle now?"
"I'm afraid not," she shook her head. "It crashed some eight miles from here."
"Damn!"
"But I can take you to mine when the storm calms down a little."
"Yeah," Pierre snorted, making another effort to sit up. The woman supported him and helped him rest his back against a tree. "That's what I thought, too..."
"What happened?"
"I'm a crappy pilot," Pierre admitted. "I didn't manage to steer us away from the magnetic fields.
"It can't have been easy," Harmony reassured him. He took a moment to take a closer look at her. She looked young, a blond with regular features, pretty easy on the eyes, he decided.
"In that case, I guess I'll just get some rest and we can get going..."
"Going where, tough guy?" she asked.
"Well..." only now did he notice her blue uniform. "You're Space Fleet, right? Where's the rest of your crew?"
"I'm alone," she shrugged. "A short vacation."
"Ugh... you're not a doctor... Harmony, are you?" he asked, remembering her name.
"No, I'm a botanist," she told him. "And please, call me Mona."
"Well, Mona," Pierre smiled. "In that case, I don't think we have much of a choice, do we? If no one's coming to take us out from here, we need to eat to survive. Last time I checked, these storms aren't that quick to go away..."
"I have some emergency rations," she told him. "Should last us for a few days until we can get back. I think I'm not a bad pilot."
"I sure hope so..." he was beginning to feel tired. "Can I... can I get some water, please?" he asked softly.
David handed him a flask.
"Thanks, kid..."
He drank some and gave it back, panting. "Now, if you could let me get some sleep…"
"You sure it's safe?" Harmony asked with concern. "I heard that you shouldn't sleep if you have a concussion or something?"
"I don't," replied Pierre, sliding back on the ground. "I just need some rest, if you don't mind…"
* * *
When he woke up a couple of hours later, he found himself lying comfortably with a soft rucksack under his head and covered with a blanket. He smiled when he saw David and Mona sitting nearby at the fire.
"Feeling better?" she asked, noticing he's awake.
"A lot," he lied, sitting up.
"Hungry?"
Lafayette cringed seeing a standard issue nutrition bar. He hated that stuff. "Thanks," he forced a smile, nonetheless, taking it and trying to unwrap it with one hand.
"What's wrong with your left hand?" she noticed.
"I…" he started when she took the bar and unpacked it for him. "I have a dislocated shoulder," he told her, nodding his thanks and taking a bite. He was hungry and the taste was not as bad as he remembered. "You think you could help me with that?"
"I told you I'm not a doctor," she replied hesitantly, sitting back next to him. "I wouldn't know what to do."
"I'm a doctor," he told her. "I mean I was… I can still talk you through it. It's not that complicated," he added after another bite. "All you need to do is pull my arm real hard until it gets back into place."
"I… I don't know," she looked away. "You're a big man, I'm not sure if I'm strong enough…"
"You can prop your foot on my side for leverage," Pierre pointed at himself and winced, remembering his broken ribs. "It doesn't take all that much?"
Harmony didn't reply at first, taking care of her own ration. "Isn't there any other way? I wouldn't want to hurt you even more," she said finally.
Pierre sighed. "Yeah, I can try and do this myself," he said thoughtfully, looking at his belt. "But I'll need some painkillers, if you have them in your med kit. And I mean strong ones," he added looking at her. Mona nodded.
After the meal, he unfastened his belt and took off his shirt, with David's help. He strapped the belt around a tree trunk and instructed the boy how to tie its other end around his hurting arm, through the shirt. When Mona injected him with a painkiller, he smiled at her uneasily.
"I'm still not sure this is gonna work," he shook his head. "At least pull me a little when I tell you, okay? On three?"
She nodded, reluctantly, taking his other arm.
"Oh," he said. "And one more thing. "I may blackout for a moment, too. Give me a few minutes before you panic, okay?" He winked. "Ready? Alright. One… two… three!"
He jerked with all his might, pulling his arm away from the tree. The pain that struck through his entire body indeed made everything go dark before his eyes but he didn't lose consciousness. He just fell on the ground, panting heavily. The crunch in his shoulder he heard ensured him it worked but it took him a moment to pull himself together.
"Well?" David asked impatiently. He was watching the whole procedure with his eyes wide open.
"I'm good as new," Lafayette managed to smile, still resting on his knees. "You can untie me now."
* * *
For the next few days he still had to rely on David and Mona's help more than he wanted to. His ribs hurt, despite the tight bandage and he was still weakened from the blood loss. But, he proudly observed how David remembered his hunting lessons. On the third day, the boy brought them the first bird he had managed to shoot and they feasted.
As time went by, Lafayette began to watch Mona closer. She was nice and the way she took care of both of them, preparing camps, cleaning up, joking with David… The very thought of a … family pained him to no end but he couldn't escape such associations. In the evenings, when David fell asleep, he'd sit with Mona over the dying fire and she'd tell him about her career in Space Fleet, her parents and a brother who got married secretly and escaped a few years back. He told her about a few adventures of his own, too.
Slowly, he began to realize that this was something he had been missing in his life for the past years. Someone's presence. A woman's presence. Her gentleness, her kindness… yes, he was definitely beginning to like Mona more and more.
Apparently, she felt the same way because, one evening, she sat closer to him than she ever had and, when they made sure the fire would burn steadily for a while longer, she touched his arm gently. "You're a very nice guy, Pierre," she said softly.
Lafayette flinched. He looked away and drew a sudden breath.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," he replied in a stifled voice. "I just… I haven't heard that in a while," he smiled uneasily.
"I know," she whispered. "You haven't heard much at all in the last years," she added. "David told me…"
"He did?" Lafayette inspected her face. "What did he tell you?"
"Oh…" Now she wasn't looking at him. "That your wife died and that you've been traveling since then?"
"Yeah, well," Pierre forced himself to laugh. "Kids do talk too much, don't they?"
Mona leaned closer to him but he moved away, handing her a blanket. "It's getting late," he said. "We should get some sleep."
He noticed a disappointed look on her face and hesitated a moment. Perhaps it would have been better if he told her more? Maybe she was expecting him to confide in her? But he really didn't want to. It was nice to just have her and the kid at his side and not to dwell too much on the past. On anything for that matter, just enjoy the moment while it lasted. They'd soon part, anyway. Why spoil everything by calling up the ghosts from the past?
The ghosts came back haunting him anyway that night. He should have known… He woke up, shaking and sweating once again, with Yvonne's face in front of his eyes. The look on her face… the realization, the fear…
"Pierre…" he heard a whisper and, after a moment, he realized that Mona was right there, next to him, holding him in her arms. "That's alright," she told him, brushing his hair. "It was just a dream…"
He looked over her head but David seemed fast asleep on the other side of the dying fire. With a heavy sigh, he put his head on Mona's shoulder and rested a moment, trying to calm down his breath. She kept stroking his hair and back like she was hushing a child. It felt good.
"Thanks," he managed finally. "I can't… I can't help it."
"I know…"
He raised his head to look at her. She was so sweet…
Harmony wasn't the type who fell for a guy all that easily. At least that's how she thought about herself. This Pierre Lafayette was most definitely not her type. Old and scruffy, posing as a macho… but there was some softness to him, she realized. A twinkle in his eye or a tone in his voice that revealed something deeper, something more than met the eye. It fascinated her. Some kind of sensitivity… vulnerability even, which only resurfaced sometimes when he glanced at David. Now, when she looked at him…
She leaned closer and touched his lips with hers. Lafayette tensed for a moment but then returned the kiss gently, embracing her. There was more tenderness in him than passion but it still made her shiver. She broke the kiss, burying her head on his shoulder. He pulled her closer and they sat like this for a long while until she felt he really relaxed.
"Thank you, Mona," he told her softly, moving away. "You're a good friend."
* * *
The next morning a kiss on the cheek woke him up. For just one second he felt like… no. He opened his eyes after a while and managed something as close to a smile as he could. Mona's intentions were most certainly good. She couldn't have realized how difficult it was for him.
"The storm is relenting," she told him. "We can try and teleport as soon as you're ready."
Pierre sat up with an involuntary wince.
"Does it still hurt?" asked Mona, pointing at his side.
"Yeah, a little," he waved his hand. "I'll be good in no time, though." This time the smile on his face was a genuine one. "I guess we should start packing, then?" He winked at her and sprang up to his feet, ready to start cleaning up.
When they were on the shuttle, Lafayette headed for the second pilot seat but David grabbed him by the hand.
"Don't leave me, Sir," he asked quietly. Pierre understood instantly.
"Hey, Mona," he asked. "Think you can manage without a co-pilot?"
She shrugged, already checking the controls. "I do most of the time," she shot at them.
"Good."
Lafayette led the boy to the seats in the back and strapped them both in the adjacent chairs.
When Mona started the thrusters, he turned to David with a smile and asked: "You didn't tell me how that rabbit escaped you yesterday?"
David gave him a serious look. "You're trying to avert my attention, Mr. Lafayette, aren't you? So that I'm not afraid?"
Pierre laughed out loud. "I've always said you're a smart kid. Yeah," he nodded as the ship jerked and put his arm around the boy's shoulders. "Remember what you told me about the nightmares? That it's best to talk about them?"
David swallowed hard and nodded.
"Well, here's a piece of advice from me, then. If something scary is happening, you either busy yourself doing something about it or try not to think about it if there's nothing you can do… So," he added reassuringly when they started moving. "What about that rabbit. Did it find a hole in the ground?"
Mona had her hands full steering the ship. The storm was still there and the autopilot wasn't working. Yet she couldn't help but hear the conversation in the back. *Lafayette would make such a great father,* she thought suddenly.
She was only twenty seven. Way too young to think about having kids of her own. And she never had, until now. The way Pierre took care of the boy, how he spoke to him. Openly and sincerely but still achieving his goal of keeping the kid's thoughts away from the danger… She cursed herself for her vivid imagination when she almost hit another bolt that lashed out right in front of the shuttle. She managed to duck it in the last possible moment and she bit her lip trying to concentrate on her job instead of thinking too much…
* * *
Mona was a good pilot. At the very least, she was far better than Pierre. It only took her half an hour to get them out to safety and the ride wasn't even all that bad. Pierre was genuinely impressed and he congratulated her with all honesty when they were able to unfasten their straps and get down to the mess hall.
Her shuttle was the same design as Pierre's. Star class. It was more of a yacht, made for long travels with a maximum speed of 7 parsecs per second. There was a small bridge, a tiny mess hall and two crew quarters.
As they got to the converter, David was the first to shift through the menu. Both adults smiled at each other, seeing how difficult the choice was for him. No wonder. After almost two weeks spent in the wilderness, despite Lafayette's best efforts to provide them with the best food available, all the possibilities must have been bewildering. Finally, he settled for a large pizza and tomato soup. Mona ordered a Centaurian salad and Pierre got himself a double portion of spaghetti bolonese and a bottle of Cabernet. Artificial wine was not really to his taste but he couldn't have expected everyone to be a connoisseur. Mona had no real wine in stock, as she preferred whisky.
When they sat down at the table, David looked at the both of them and an impish smile appeared on his face.
"Our first real family meal, huh?" he said before plunging his teeth in a large piece of his pizza.
Lafayette cringed. He had been thinking the same thing but did his best to dismiss it altogether. Now, when David said it aloud, he started picturing another table and another woman next to him…
"Perhaps you should have taken care of your ribs first?" Mona noticed the painful expression on his face.
Pierre forced a smile. "I'm too hungry to think about it now," he told her, winding some pasta on his fork. "I'll do it after dinner."
For a while, they ate in silence. David managed to gobble down almost half of his pizza before he spoke again.
"You know what? You really look good together. Wouldn't it be great if you two got married and adopted me? We could keep on traveling together!"
Pierre choke on his spaghetti while Mona laughed out loud. Out of the corner of his eyes, however, Lafayette noticed a slight blush covering her cheeks.
"It's… it's not that simple," he managed finally, when he caught his breath. Mona stopped laughing but she didn't say anything.
"Why not?" David shrugged. "You're both lonely, I've no parents… and I like you!"
"Things just… don't work that way," Pierre tried, avoiding Mona's eyes. "We like you, too but you have your grandparents to take care of you. And for people to get married… well, it takes more than just a few days…"
"I can wait?"
"Look, David. I understand your sentiment." Pierre stopped eating and looked the boy in the eyes. "It's been one of my greatest adventures, too. And meeting you… both of you," he added, "was wonderful. I'm sorry we have to part as well. But we all have our own lives to live."
That was final. Lafayette never raised his voice but the sheer tone of it was enough for the kid to drop it. Pierre sure knew how to build his authority and utilize it when needed.
"I want to be just like you when I grow up," David added quieter.
Pierre chuckled sadly. "No you don't, trust me."
Something in his voice gave Mona a pause. She put her fork away and took a closer look at his face. And she understood.
"You can become a traveler if you want," Pierre continued in a lighter tone, seeing her glance. "But for that, you'll still need to finish school. And then you'll have to work for at least five years to earn the right to own a shuttle," he explained.
"Yeah, I know," David nodded, reaching for his soup. "I can do that."
"I'm sure you can," Pierre smiled at him.
* * *
"I know where to take David," Mona said when they finished the dinner and Pierre was rummaging through her medical equipment to find the tissue regenerator. "But where shall I drop you off?"
"Oh, anywhere, actually," he shrugged. "Any Alliance planet that has docks where I can do all the paperwork and get a new shuttle."
"So," she said slowly, watching him apply the instrument to his side and curing himself. She sat down on a chair and took a really good look of him. With all this graying hair he looked old but when he took his shirt off, she saw a body of a much younger man. He was muscular but lean and with his tanned skin, despite a few silver hairs on his chest, he didn't look all that bad. *Clean shaven and with a proper haircut, he could even be handsome,* she mused. "You intend to get back to your life on the road, huh?"
"Yeah," he shot at her, still busy with the regenerator. "I've nothing else to do," he smiled. "How about you?"
"Oh, my vacation is almost over. I'll be getting back to Base 12 to wait for my next assignment."
"As a botanist?"
"Right."
Pierre put the regenerator away and took a deep breath, stretching out and trying his ribs. Mona watched, almost mesmerized, the play of his muscles when his chest swelled. She swallowed.
He didn't notice anything until she came up to him and touched his chest gently. "Feeling better?" she asked.
"Uhm… yeah, I'm alright," he smiled uneasily and tried to move away but she didn't let him and her touch changed into a slow caress. He flinched.
"Pierre?" Mona asked softly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he replied in a stifled voice. "I… I just…"
She laughed. He looked embarrassed like a young boy.
"That's okay," she told him, moving even closer. She reached out to touch his neck but he snatched her hand and pressed it to his lips.
"Don't," he asked. "I'm not…"
"That's alright," she repeated. "Everything is fine…"
He pulled her closer and, all of a sudden, she found herself in his arms. He was gentle but she could sense his passion when he lowered his head to brush a kiss on her forehead. Mona hugged him when he kissed her on the cheek. Slowly and sensually. She turned her head before he reached her lips.
"Pierre," she whispered. "You really are a nice guy but… I have a boyfriend…"
He let go of her, immediately.
"I'm sorry," he began. "I didn't mean to…"
"That's all…" she wanted to say but he shot "I'm sorry," one more time, grabbed his shirt and he was gone. Mona shrugged and got back to her quarters.
She realized she must have made quite an impression on him and, in a way, he was kind of cute. With his looks of an elderly man, behaving like a teenager… she chuckled to herself. Yes, she did have a boyfriend but Chris… she threw herself on the bunk, thinking.
Chris was a nice boy. But that's all that he was, a boy. Not much older then herself, a young officer on the brink of his career… they didn't have much time to spend together. Long distance relationship was beginning to fade after a few months already. Not that she didn't like him. Oh, she sure did. But this Lafayette…No, he wasn't the kind of guy she'd want to spend the rest of her life with, she decided. They were too different. Still, she couldn't stop thinking about him for some reason.
* * *
Pierre got himself a mattress from the converter and spread it at the back of the bridge. David took the other room and this was where he intended to spend the next couple of nights. But it was easier said than done. He was restless. He could still feel Mona's fingers playing with the hairs on his chest and it made him shiver.
*What an idiot!* he cursed himself. *What was I thinking? She's so young! Of course she has a boyfriend. Why would she even look at me?*
He only managed to fall asleep two bottles of wine later.
* * *
For the next two days the atmosphere between them was tense. Pierre saw how it hurt David but he couldn't do anything about it. The kid tried his best to lighten the mood but nothing worked. It pained Lafayette to see how the boy was disappointed, watching his dream fall apart, but he couldn't help it.
"Please, stay in touch, will you?" David hugged Mona when they were saying their goodbyes.
"I will honey, I will," she smiled at him warmly and kissed his head.
The boy then turned to Pierre, only extending his hand, without looking at him. Lafayette kneeled down so that his eyes were on the same level as David's.
"Not all dreams come true," he said when David finally glanced at him. "You and I both know it. But that doesn't there aren't any other dreams ahead of you." Pierre was holding the boy's shoulders and looking at him intently. "And, sooner or later, some of them will come true," he finished firmly.
David broke down and threw his arms around Pierre's neck.
"Take care of yourself, son," Pierre whispered into his ear. "Don't lose hope too soon…"
"You too," David whispered back but Lafayette had already gotten up.
* * *
The next morning, he met Mona in the mess hall. He greeted her with a nod and busied himself with his plate.
"Don't you think we should talk?" she asked, sitting next to him.
He cast her a tentative glance. "About what?"
"You know…"
"Look, I said I'm sorry," he said with a sigh. "I didn't know…"
"You couldn't have."
"Yeah," he agreed, turning to look at her. "But… I acted stupid…" he whispered, embarrassed.
"No, you didn't," Mona said, brushing his hand. She felt him tremble and one look in his lovely, blue eyes, told her that he still desired her. She didn't intend to tease him. She realized that all these years he had spent away from people… away from women, must have made him vulnerable.
It dawned on her how a woman's touch must have felt for him right now. Any woman, not necessarily hers, she knew. But it was her now and the way he was looking at her… She realized what kind of power she had over him. He was practically helpless, completely at her mercy. She couldn't resist the excitement these thoughts arose in her. She shifted slowly and saw him swallow hard, his eyes locked on hers.
"Pierre," she told him, still stroking his hand. "You're a very attractive man, you know that, don't you?"
His raised eyebrows told her that he didn't. But he never said anything. "Any woman would be flattered by your advances."
"I…" he stuttered. "I didn't…"
"No, you didn't." She leaned closer, hypnotized by his eyes. They spoke of passion and desire and love… they were so warm, she felt like she wanted to drown in them, let herself go, forget everything for one, small kiss…
"Mona, please…" he whispered as she moved even closer, unable to resist the temptation. "You said…"
"Shh…" She put her finger on his lips and he kissed it. Then he kissed it again, touching it delicately with his teeth. Mona shivered. She put all her fingers on his mouth now and he kept kissing them. She knew he wouldn't resist her. How could he? She moved her hand through his beard, down his neck. Now it was he who shivered and his eyes became even more intense.
Mona bent over and brushed a gentle kiss on his lips. Pierre groaned quietly but didn't move. She kissed him again, much slower this time. This was too much for him. He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her into his lap, kissing her wildly. For a moment, she returned his passion, unable to push him away. But then his strength frightened her. Oh, he was gentle, he never hurt her even though he had, apparently, lost control of himself. Yet she wasn't sure this was what she wanted. No, it wasn't, she decided, feeling his hand start exploring her body.
"Hey!" she shouted, pushing him away. "That's a bit too much, don't you think?!"
Again, he let go off her, confused.
"I…" he panted. "I thought you wanted…"
"All I wanted was to comfort you!" she yelled at him, jumping up. "I never allowed you anything?"
"Mona… I'm so sorry…"
"Sorry?! If you can't keep your hands away from me, you'd better stay in your quarters for the rest of the trip!"
"But you…" he tried, not looking at her. "You came to me and…"
"You know what?" she snapped at him, unloading all the anger she felt, unsure why. "You're an old idiot! I don't care how much time you spent in the wilderness but you really became a… a primitive caveman! I hate boors!"
She could see that she hurt him but right now she didn't care. She was too furious.
"You're right," he shook his head sadly. "I didn't mean to flirt with you…"
"Flirt?! You're really flattering yourself if you think anyone would even want to flirt with you!" She looked him up and down with real disdain.
He didn't say anything else. He got up slowly and left the mess hall without looking at her.
* * *
When she was left alone, she didn't even feel like eating anymore. *How did he dare?!* she kept on thinking. *To provoke me like that! To make me…*
It took her a while to realize that it wasn't he who provoked her… She had. Mona may have been impulsive but she wasn't stupid. And she wasn't mean, either.
*No, he did provoke me,* she kept on thinking, sipping at her coffee, calming down with every minute now. *But he didn't do it on purpose. It's just the way he is…*
Memories started flashing through her head. The way he was so gentle around David and herself. The way he looked at her when she touched him… How he relaxed in her arms that night when he had a nightmare… How he shivered when she kissed him… She sighed. That fresh memory still sent shivers down her spine. There was something about this Lafayette that made him absolutely irresistible. But it wasn't his fault.
*I hurt him,* she realized. *He didn't deserve it…*
Mona sat at the table for a long while before she forced herself to get up and do what she knew was the right thing to do.
* * *
"Enter," she heard his quiet voice when she rang at his door.
"Pierre," she started hesitantly. He was just sitting there, on the bed, looking at her. His face revealed nothing. "I'm sorry I lashed out on you like that," she said softly. "I didn't mean it. I wasn't mad at you, I was just mad at myself, I…"
"That's okay," he smiled sadly, gesturing for her to come in. "You were right. I'm… I did act like a complete boor. I'm sorry."
"I know I provoked you," Mona came closer but stopped in the middle of the small room.
"No," he got up and went over to the window, turning his back on her. "You told me you had a boyfriend and I should have just…" his voice trailed off.
"It's not like we're married, you know?" She wanted to stand by his side, take his hand, make him hold her… but she didn't move.
"What's that got to do with anything?" He turned back and shot her a surprised look. "Married or not, if you're together…"
"That's just it. You see, I'm not even sure I want to be with him anymore. I… you…" Mona stuttered, not sure how to tell him what she felt. He wasn't paying attention, though.
"Mona, this is really none of my business, you don't have to explain," he shrugged his shoulders.
"But I want to! You are… I don't know if we could even have a chance together but…" She made another step in his direction but he stopped her.
"Please, don't play these games with me," he asked softly. "I don't understand them. I'm… I'm a simple guy. You called me primitive… I guess you were right…"
"Oh, come on! Didn't you ever break up with a girl?"
"No. Not me. I only had one girlfriend and… I married her. But I'm not an idiot you're taking me for, Mona. I know people split up sometimes. But not like that. If you don't want to be with him anymore, you should talk to him, first. Me?" he snorted. "I'm probably old enough to be your father anyway."
"Does it mean I blew it?"
"Blew?" He raised his eyebrows. "No. There was never anything to blow in the first place. And you don't need to apologize, I'm not angry. As I said, it was all my fault. I should have controlled myself better. I promise it won't happen again."
* * *
And it didn't. For the rest of their trip he barely even looked at her anymore. Mona knew she had ruined something that may have been important. Something… real. But there was nothing she could do about it anymore. He never let her.
"Take care of yourself," she told him with tears in her eyes when he kissed her palm just before she teleported him down to Earth three days later.
"You too," he smiled at her but his eyes were cold.

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Part 2 The kid

Around AD 2360