This will make more sense if you read the earlier parts. Don't worry, they're fun, action packed, and build the tension. Read them first! Also, all characters in sexual situations are 18 years or older. Enjoy.
*
Everyone was gathered in the mess hall. Or, at least, everyone who was awake. There were thousands still in cryosleep. Penny sat next to Jacob with a big, silly smile on her face. She rubbed her thigh against his under the table, where her mother couldn't see.
Maureen scowled over at her eighteen-year-old daughter. She didn't like where things were going. She had been so tense lately. Her shoulders were knotted. And to make matters worse, her boobs were achy and swollen. She'd had mood swings, and her cramps hadn't been that bad since she was a teenager. It was like she was turning into a teen herself as she struggled with Penny. If they had the ability, she would pack up her family and leave that ship immediately. She looked over at Judy and Don holding hands. Well, at least that was going all right. She tried to catch her husband's eye, but he was talking with Mason in subdued tones. All the men had been so quiet lately.
"I've been experimenting with the replicator." Mary walked in from an adjoining room carrying a tray of glasses. "I want everyone to taste this and tell me if we've finally got the milk right." She passed one out to each person.
"I don't like milk," Mason complained.
"Well, of course I know that. Who do you think raised you? I think you'll like
this
milk." Mary watched Mason bring the glass to his lips and then turned her gaze around the table. Pricilla was already chugging her milk, while her husband looked skeptically at his.
Isaac took a sip. "It's warm." He put the glass down, but then picked it back up. He took another sip and another. Pretty soon he was chugging, too.
"The computer thought it might be soothing for everyone to have warm milk. Like a nice tuck-in before bed." Mary watched people drink, put couldn't keep her eyes on everyone at the table. It didn't matter, they all seemed to be enjoying the new treat. Humility gulped down hers. None of the Hendersons or their extended crew had tried the drink.
Heather took a sip and recognized the milk immediately. What was Mary playing at, serving everyone the fruit of her breast? She watched her husband bring his glass to his lips, but she didn't stop him. Her eyes shifted across the table as Penny and Jacob clinked glasses and drank together.
"Want a nice tuck-in, Don?" Dr. Cole said to the pilot. She took a sip, almost challenging the pilot to do the same. It was actually quite nice. Dr. Cole hadn't had warm milk in decades and it brought her back to her childhood. A warmth spread through her. Holy shit, this
was
soothing. "It's actually quite good." She happily drank the rest. She watched Judy shrug at Don and the engaged couple drank.
"Is warm milk a custom in your religion?" Maureen did not want milk.
"It's an Earth custom." Mary smiled and sipped some of her own milk. "You're a mother, you must have served some warm milk in your day."
"Well, yes." Maureen watched Jacob and Penny like a hawk. They seemed to be getting closer together, their heads bumping as they whispered something to each other. She didn't like it. She absentmindedly took a sip and it was like turning off a switch. Her body warmed and her nerves quieted. Why was she so worried? She gulped down the rest of the sweet stuff, and her body relaxed like she'd just spent a day at the spa. She was warm and tingly in all the right places. The replicators had really done a number on that milk. "This really is good milk, isn't it? Can I have more?"
"Oh, goodness, sorry, Maureen. The replicators only made this much." Mary turned to her husband. All the men were eerily quiet around the table. "Isaac, dear, will you do some more adjustments on the replicators?"
"I thought you asked me not to adjust the replicators." Isaac's thoughts were very far away in his head.
"Please don't argue." Mary touched his hand in a patronizing way.
Isaac stood and walked off to the replicator room without another word. The table was silent for a while.
"I'm pregnant," Humility blurted out. She was feeling so odd at the moment. She couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she carried her brother-in-law's child inside her. And those thoughts had bubbled over.
"Congratulations, sweetie." Mary clapped her hands.
"Wow." Pricilla giggled.
"Well, life does carry on even in a mostly deserted ship." Dr. Cole eyed them.
"Our sincere congratulations." Maureen watched Humility turn and give her husband a peck on the cheek. He was not very enthusiastic, but of course, he would have already known about the pregnancy. She watched his eyes go back in forth between his wife and his little brother. Maureen could never understand these religious people. Humility, on the other hand, looked flushed and so excited she might pee her pants. Maureen giggled to herself. What a silly thought. She put her hand over her mouth so no one would see her laughing.
"Yes, we're really happy for you." Judy rubbed her thighs together. The idea of a baby on the way suddenly made her more excited than she would have expected. She hadn't really thought about having children. Maybe someday she and Don would get there. But she had so much work to do. Babies ... babies ... babies ... Judy's legs trembled. The idea burned her brain. She leaned over and whispered in Don's ear, "Let's go back to our bunk." She eyed Jacob and her sister. Was she jealous of Penny for dating a Christian oddball? That was absurd. Her mind seemed fragmented. Don hadn't whispered anything back, but she was sure he was in the mood. He was always in the mood. Judy stood and pulled him by the hand out of his chair. "We ... um ... have to go." They rushed out of the mess hall.
"Young love." Mary laughed.
Maureen tried to work things over in her mind as she watched Mason collect the glasses back on their tray. Didn't their religion forbid premarital sex? Yes, she was quite sure it did. Then why was Mary so happy about an engaged couple so obviously looking for some private time? She looked over at Penny and Jacob. She was almost nuzzling his neck as they whispered together. As a mother, should she be worried about her daughter? She wasn't sure. Everything was fuzzy. Time passed and she watched as Jacob got up and left the room. Not with Penny, but with Humility. Their resident scientist. Well, that was good, wasn't it? She looked around the table. Penny looked a little dismayed, but not too put out as she got up and left. The rest of the table disbanded, everyone wandering off in their separate ways. She supposed Penny and Jacob had another date planned. And that was all right, wasn't it? How odd this ship was. Maureen stood and walked out of the room, not even noticing her husband walk off in the opposite direction. She needed a walk to clear her head.
Mary sat at the table alone, quite happy. But her eyes narrowed and clouds gathered over her happiness when she got up to bring the tray of empty glasses to the washer. The problem was, the glasses weren't entirely empty. Someone hadn't partaken. She had been so lost in the communal good feelings that she hadn't kept careful track of what the people at the table had imbibed. Who didn't drink their milk?
~~