The wait was unbearable. Dee tried to keep Luke occupied, but he was so much on edge that he couldn't help but let some of it out and he found himself sniping at the little boy and becoming irritated with his constant frenetic energy. He realised that he was being unfair and, more than once he hugged Luke close and whispered apologies into his hair, realising that Luke was as worried about his father as he was.
The hours crawled past interminably and the both slowly went out of their minds.
They were down in the wood, not doing anything in particular, just being outside in the open air, breathing in the scent of the trees and, somewhere beyond, open water. Luke was crouching down, looking at a curious stone which he was poking at, with a stick, when he suddenly stiffened, his head going up to sniff the air like an animal.
"Ssomeone iss coming."
Dee snapped straight and turned in the direction he was looking, back towards the house. The path through the garden was obscured by the trees.
"Who is it?" Dee's heart was hammering, terrified that it was Jo'el come to tell him that something had gone wrong; something had happened.
"I don't..."
Before he could say another word, a voice called. "Dee? Luke? Are you there?"
"Sys..."
"Fathther..."
They were both off to a flying start, tearing through the trees until they saw him, waiting, at the edge of the trees. They skidded to a stop when they realised that he wasn't alone. Sysan was standing to one side of him and, on the other, he had his arm around the waist of a woman, who looked so much like him, she could have been no one other than his mother.
"Luke," he called, his eyes brimming with joy, "come meet your grandmothther."
Luke, suddenly shy, dropped his head and kicked at the dirt, reaching for Dee's hand. Gently, Dee took the hand and drew him slowly forward, until he was close enough for Sys to reach out and pull him into an embrace, letting go of his mother. He dropped into a crouch and spoke quickly into Luke's ear, too soft for anyone else but him to hear. Solemnly, Luke nodded and, after a short pause, looked up at the woman, holding out his hand.
"Nisse to meet you, grandmothther. I'm Luke."
The woman's smile threatened to crack her face. In a soft, musical voice, she said, solemnly, "I am sso very pleassed to meet you, Luke." But the solemnity didn't last long, and she drew Luke to her breast and hugged him, crying and speaking to him in the sibilant language that Dee was far from fluent in, although he caught a word here and there.
Dee stood a few steps back, his breath caught in his chest. No matter what happened afterwards, he knew that he would never, ever forget the look on his lover's face as he looked down at his mother and his son; at the meeting he had never thought would come. He was so beautiful; so open; so pure.
Sys raised his eyes and met Dee's. It was a moment that would live in both their hearts for the rest of their lives.
****
After the first meeting, there were many more. Sys' family visited them, and they visited the family. It was a beautiful, but stressful time.
Sys came under a lot of pressure, although none of it overt, to go back to his home. He had a life there, he was told. His father was a powerful man and Sys could make his mark, carve out a career, make a difference. He struggled, swinging back and forth, between a desire to go back and a desire to move on to a new start somewhere else.
In the end it was Luke who decided for him. The situation on Sys' home planet was such that there was still a great deal of anger towards the former royal family. All of the immediate family had been executed and the more distant relatives, retainers etc, who had noy been executed were watched very closely and their actions severely restricted. There was a lot of concern, that if it was discovered Luke was the son of the Price there could be severe reprisals, and, given Sys had been exiled, and Luke was clearly pure-bred it was quite conceivable that connections would be made. Therefore, if Luke were to live on the planet his identity would have to be, not only kept secret but actively lied about. Sys was not prepared to do this.
"Luke will never be my dirty ssecret," he said.
One day, Dee and Sys were walking in the gardens, arm in arm. Luke was with his grandparents somewhere around the complex and, for a short while, they were alone. This was to be their last day at the facility as a new home had been found for them on a planet similar to Earth, but far more accepting of alien species, who lived peacefully, side by side with the native population.
"I'm going to miss thiss plasse."
"I'm not. I'll miss Jo'el and I'll miss the fact that Luke is safe to wander and get out of our hair," Dee grinned at Sys, who was outraged at the comment, to show that he had been teasing, "but I won't miss living underground, never quite knowing if it is day or night, with very little privacy, and no direction."
"No, I won't misss ththat eithther."
"I'm ready to leave now. I can hardly wait for the transfer, to see our new home."
"Me eithther. It won't be long now, only a few more..."
"Dee, Sys." A voice hailed them from the direction of the house. The call hadn't been urgent so they were curious, rather than concerned, as they turned back.
It was Andy, a young man they'd become quite friendly with in their time at the house. He was grinning.
