Teresa and Vor'ti are relaxing at the river's edge. Teresa's eyes are shut, both legs criss- crossed, hands resting on her knees. She has been like this for almost an hour. Vor'taalnis watches her with piqued interest.

  "What is wrong, Mother? Why do you sit for a long time? Why do you cry?"

  Teresa rotates her neck, as if removing a kink, and opens her eyes. She lightly tousles Vor'taalnis' dreads with her right hand.

  "Mommy has a lot to think about. What with your u'hsk being gone for so long...And sure to be even longer. Mommy has made some mistakes. Again. I think. Yau-tala is so certain that Mau-Nis and your father are coming back. She's preparing for their return with freaking L'so Elixir. And here I am...Doubting. Doubting everything. And everyone."

  Teresa pulls Vor'ti close and kisses the top of his head. She cups his chubby hybrid face, staring down into his vibrant green eyes. Eyes exactly like N-Vorl's.

  "I desperately want your u'hsk to come back. I truly do. But, I'm so afraid to hope. After what I've been through...Hope is like a foreign word. I don't think I even believe in it anymore. But...I feel like I've robbed you of hope, Vor'taalnis. Hope that your father would return to you. I really don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know why I let it go this far."

  "Mommy, doesn't need to cry. I love Mommy. And I love u'hsk. But I also love d`oij. We are a family now."

  Teresa stares at Vor'ti with a deep sense of guilt. Her poor confused childling. But she is also very confused. Loving three yautja is not an easy affair. Born killers with weapons literally attached to their person. Not exactly the kind of lover you want to double cross. Yet, she has done so. Twice. A part of Teresa hopes that N-Vorl does not return. So that things between them will have ended on a high note. In this way, the love she feels for the surly, gruff warrior will never fade.

  The moment Teresa dares to hope, a dread deeper than anything she has ever felt settles into her bones. The universe is a cruel and unpredictable place. If it can somehow trip her up, it undoubtedly will. A shiver courses Teresa's spine.

  "Mommy?"

  "Yes, Vor'ti."

  "I want to hunt again. D`oij says I am a very skilled hunter. I wish to join him the next time they hunt for vildif meat."

  "We'll see," Teresa says between a sigh and a yawn. "For now...Let's go home. It's getting on towards evening. Mifbon will be worried about us. Besides, she must spend some portion of her time with Halyiis now. We can't be selfish."

  Vor'ti chitter-giggles, his mandibles opening and shutting in excitement. He leans forward and kisses Teresa on the cheek, bouncing uncontrollably.

  "I love you, Mother!"

  "I love you too, Vor'ti. I love you to Yautja Prime and back again. Come on. Let's go home."

  Teresa climbs to her feet and offers Vor'taalnis her right hand. He takes her hand, but continues to bounce up and down. Deep down inside, Teresa misses the days when she could lift Vor'taalnis up into her arms. Their relationship had seemed more close and intimate.

  When Vor'taalnis was much younger, Teresa had lifted the chittering childling into the air and twirled him around. After each quick spin, Teresa would stop to kiss Vor'taalnis' almost human nose. No longer is she able to twirl her oldest son. His weight has nearly doubled in just the past cycle. Elder Scar's inhuman strength means that he can handle Vor'ti with ease, placing him high upon a muscular shoulder. Another reminder, to Teresa, of the stark differences between their two species.

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  "A hunt. I want to hunt. I want to hunt with d`oij!"

  "Okay, big bad hunter. Let's go."

  The setting sun is at their backs as Teresa and Vor'ti make their way to the path. When they are some distance off, Elder Scar drops his cloak. He stares after the pair with saddened eyes. The turmoil he witnessed in Teresa's heart is too much to bear.

  -

  -

  "I'm pleased you could join us for evening meal," Teresa says, nodding to Vildif and Darcy respectively.

  "Thank you for inviting us," Darcy replies with a timid smile.

  "We arrived on V'Daha the same day and I still barely know you. I kept meaning to stop over at your place and introduce myself. But with three kids, two part-time jobs, and everything else...I've been so busy. I saw you this afternoon and finally made up my mind. Today is the day. I want to hear all about you, Darcy."

  Darcy glances over at Vildif, who offers her a wide smile. The shy woman looks away and drops both hands into her lap, nervously wringing her fingers. Her voice is a soft whisper.

  "There isn't much to tell. Not really. My parents were killed when I was a very young girl. In a factory explosion. The United Conglomerate was found to be at fault. They paid for me to attend a really strict private school. That's how I got my job on Weyland Station Thirteen. There were seventeen children affected by the factory explosion. We were all basically set up for life. Any job we wanted...It was ours. I chose to work for Weyland Industries. I wanted to work in space to get away from Earth. It's so bad on Earth these days."

  Darcy looks down and her voice drops even lower.

  "I wanted a job that would be easy to do. I worked in the laundry rooms. I made the mistake of falling in love with my supervisor. He is...He was...The father of my son. Christopher killed himself when Weyland Industries threatened to fire him for undue fraternization. After I became pregnant, they said our relationship was inappropriate. I was going to be shipped out to another facility. After Chris' death, they let me stay."

  Darcy raises her eyes to meet Teresa's gaze.

  "I didn't know about the torture or the abuse, Doctor Boyd. I swear, I didn't. I only heard about what you'd gone through after arriving on V'Daha. I was just a grunt. No one told me anything."

  Teresa observes Darcy's self-deprecating demeanor with sadness and sympathy. So young to be beat down by cruelty and tragedy.

  "I never thought you had anything to do with it, Darcy. I promise you, I didn't."

  "I know how much you disliked Consuelo. I thought you were avoiding me for the same reasons. I tried to stay out of your way."

  "Oh, Darcy. No. I was just busy with my own life. And distracted. I'm sorry. I never meant to make you feel unwelcome. God, I feel so awful. I am so sorry, Darcy."

  Darcy smiles weakly and nods her head. She glances shyly around the table.

  "No need to be. When Vildif and me are married...We'll almost be like family."

  Teresa cringes at this statement. Darcy looks from Vildif to Mifbon, to Teresa. Each wears an expression which is some degree of unease or shock. The childlings have no idea what is going on, eating their food without interruption.

  "Did I say something wrong?" Darcy says, her smile fading.

  "No." Teresa says. "You surprised me. That's all."

  "Oh," Darcy responds, shy smile returning.

  She turns her attention to her plate. Stabbing a bite of y'ha root with her two-tined fork, Darcy brings the food to her mouth and chews it carefully. Vildif watches her mouth work, enjoying the movement of her full lips.

  Shifting his gaze to Teresa, Vildif catches her eye. He offers her a wide grin. Despite her better judgment, Teresa returns his grin. Staring at his face from this close distance, Teresa notices several similarities between Vildif and his elder patriarch. Vildif's eyes, shaped like Scar's but with the molten brown color of his mother's eyes--Lex. The color on the palms of vildif's clawed hands. A color Teresa has seen many times, as Elder Scar touches her face or caresses her tenderly. Then, there is Vildif's wily smile.

  Teresa bites her bottom lip and peers down at her plate. Has Vildif finally gotten over his infatuation with her? Or is Darcy a convenient replacement? What is she to make of that unbidden smile?