The room was peaceful and still when John woke up, and a quick glance at the ship's chronometer told him it was nearly two in the morning. During the night he'd rolled on to his back, Calara and Jade rolling with him, and they now lay asleep in his arms. He glanced down at them with an affectionate smile on his face, and looked to both sides to check that Alyssa and Dana were asleep too. The blonde was sleeping contentedly behind Calara, but his mischievous redhead was currently missing, the rest of the bed looking cold and empty.
He listened carefully to see if he could hear Dana in the bathroom, but he just heard the rhythmic sound of the other girls breathing. The last time Dana hadn't come to bed was during their time on Ashana, when she'd got caught up in the ship's refit. It seemed unlikely that she would have stayed up tonight though, as she wasn't really preoccupied with any major projects at the moment.
Carefully extricating himself from Calara and Jade's loving embrace, he moved stealthily off the bed, being careful not to wake anybody. He padded down the corridor to check on Dana's room, to see if she'd gone in there to sleep for some unknown reason. Finding her unused room to be as empty, just as he'd expected, he walked further along to the grav-tube, thinking he should head down to deck seven, and see if she was in her workshop.
He smiled to himself for a moment, thinking it would be much easier if he had simply woken up Alyssa, and asked her where the redhead was hiding, but where would the fun be in that?
All thoughts of fun and games disappeared instantly when he heard the faint sound of crying coming from the officer's lounge. He strode over to the double doors and pushed the button, the portal opening with a quiet swish. The lounge was cast in shadows, starlight from the passing systems providing the only illumination in the room. Now that the door was opened, the heartbreaking sound of a girl weeping reached his ears, and he followed the desolate lament over to the sofas. Dana was sitting on one of the seats with her feet up on the cushion, her head tilted forward, as she cried into her arms that were resting on her knees.
John strode over to her purposefully and sat beside her, wrapping her up in his arms.
"Dana, what's wrong?" he asked her, his voice echoing his concern.
"It's nothing," she mumbled between sobs.
"Come on now, you know you can tell me anything," he said soothingly.
She paused, her breathing ragged from the crying, and then leaned into his chest, her tear streaked face brushing against him. "You'll think I'm a terrible person," she whispered hopelessly.
"You know I'd never think anything of the kind," he laughed, attempting to buoy her spirits. "Tell me what's troubling you, and maybe I can help make you feel better."
Dana took a deep shuddering breath, and then chuckled helplessly. "Okay, whatever you want," she said wryly. "I'm feeling so jealous... of Calara," she whispered haltingly, looking chagrined.
"I'm sorry Dana, I spent so much time trying to impress her family, I pretty much ignored you while we were on Jericho." he apologised, feeling awful for making her so upset.
The redhead sniffled and laughed. "No, it's not that, I was proud of the way you won them over," she said fondly.
"Then what is it?" he asked her, feeling confused.
"She had such a perfect life growing up with a wonderful family, and I was abandoned; discarded like a piece of rubbish," she said, her face crumpling again at the overwhelming feelings of loss the visit had dredged up.
"What makes it worse, is her family were so caring; only wanting to keep her safe and happy, and it was like a hundred times better than I'd thought a loving family would be like. All those times I sat scared and alone, just wishing for someone to love me..." she sobbed, and broke into a fresh round of tears.
"Shush now, everything's going to be okay, we all love you," he said comfortingly as he held her in his arms, and rocked her gently. She hugged him tightly, as though clinging to him for reassurance.
"I know it's not her fault, and it's stupid for me to feel this way, but I can't help it... I guess I'm just a horrible person," she whimpered, looking up at him dejectedly.
"It's only natural to want to belong to a loving family," he told her reassuringly. "You and Alyssa had a terrible start, but everything's going to be so much better now, I promise!"
"He's right," Alyssa said to them, as she walked gracefully across the darkened room to join them.
"About what?" Dana sniffled, looking at her friend who came to sit beside her, and stroke her back gently.
"That we all love you, and that it's only natural to want to be a part of a family," she murmured comfortingly.
"But I feel so jealous of Calara, it's awful!" Dana moaned, looking forlorn.
"I know how to make all that go away, and to give you what you've always craved," Alyssa said softly. "You're part of a wonderful new family now."
"Sisters?" Dana said with a hopeful smile.
"That's right. Sisters, who all love the same amazing man," Alyssa said with a smile, as she glanced at John.
Dana looked up at John lovingly, and nodded enthusiastically, but then her face shadowed in confusion. "I already know all that, but I still feel this sense of loss," she sighed dejectedly.
"That's because you know it, but you haven't been able to truly feel it," Alyssa said soothingly. She opened her arms invitingly. "Let me make everything feel so much better, Sparks."
Dana nodded willingly, and John released her from his embrace as she turned to face her oldest friend. Dana sat in Alyssa's lap, with her legs wrapped around her friend as they hugged each other tightly, while John stroked her back soothingly. Alyssa pulled back slightly so that they were staring into each other's eyes, only inches apart.
"Let me feel how much you want to be a part of our family, little sister," the blonde girl said, staring into the redhead's sky blue eyes.
"Oh, I want that so much," Dana sighed wistfully.
*So do I,* Alyssa's thoughts carried through to her friend.
*I can feel it!* Dana gasped, the golden coronas around her pupils flaring with excitement.
*We all feel this way about you, Dana,* the blonde girl replied, as her thoughts and feelings swelled up, surrounding and embracing the redhead lovingly.
*My family...* Dana murmured, as she stared into Alyssa's piercing cerulean eyes in awe.
John watched as the girls seemed to fall into some kind of trance, staring unblinkingly into each other's eyes as their breathing deepened, and their chests rose and fell in an identical rhythm. He had seen this happen when Alyssa had bonded with Calara, and if Alyssa followed the same pattern with Dana, the girls would be unresponsive for a while. He walked quietly back to the bedroom, and returned with a couple of blankets, one of which he draped around the nude girls, the other he pulled over himself as he laid out on an adjacent sofa, settling down to keep an eye on them.
He half dozed, drifting in and out of sleep, but watching them both warily for any signs of change. After an hour or so, he noticed some movement from the young women, their blanket shifting, as they began to rouse from their hypnotic state. He threw off his own blanket, and darted over to their side, looking at both their faces with concern.
"It's okay, we're fine," Alyssa said to him lovingly, as she raised a slender hand and cupped his face tenderly.
"I feel wonderful, the emptiness is just gone..." Dana signed happily, gazing across at the blonde girl with deep gratitude in her eyes.
"Let's get you two back to bed, and we can talk about this later," John said soothingly, and gently helped them up. They rose and then embraced him, and he led them both back to his room, a tired girl leaning against him on either side.
***
John awoke later that morning, to find Jade watching him with a happy smile on her face. He looked around at the other young women, but they were all slumbering serenely.
"Let's go make them breakfast for when they wake up," he whispered conspiratorially, and the nymph nodded eagerly, and grinned at him.
John extricated himself from the tangle of lithe female arms, and then got dressed silently with Jade. He held out his hand for hers when they were ready, and she slipped her cool hand through his, intertwining her slender fingers with his own. She looked up at him adoringly, and he gave her a quiet peck on the lips that made her sigh contentedly.
They stole away quietly, being very careful not to wake the other girls, who were recovering, having just undergone a seismic shift in their relationships. They walked along the corridor into the officer's lounge, and remained quiet until they entered the kitchen.
"How are you this morning?" John asked her curiously, as he reached over to collect some eggs from the fridge. "Dana was quite upset last night after visiting Calara's parents. It made her realise just how much she'd missed out on, while she was growing up."
"Ah, that's what was bothering her," Jade said with a frown, as she leaned back against one of the counters. "I wish she'd spoken to me. I could tell she was upset, but she wouldn't talk to me about it."
"It's okay, Alyssa did that mind sharing thing with Dana last night. I have a feeling she'll be fine now, but you haven't answered my question," he said with a smile, as he cracked an egg into a pan. "Did spending time with a close family like that upset you?"
"No, I've never felt happier!" Jade replied, accentuating her statement with a beaming grin.
"Well that's always good to hear," he said with some relief.
