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.