Page 9 of A Fool For Her Mates

H’Row seems like he’s in full protective mode, and Fancy, well, seems confused and tired. I swing my bags onto my back and scramble up the tree to join them.

“Someone opened the transport.” I look to H’Row, whose features are lost in the shadows.

“I had to. Fancy got hurt, and I needed to bandage her injuries.” H’Row puts his hand on my shoulder. “Stay calm, the damage was minor, and Fancy is doing alright.”

I swing my gaze to Fancy, who nods. She may be alright, but her spirits seem low.

“I want to hear the whole story, but first we’ve got to get on to the transportation unit and get out of here. Also, I brought food for Fancy. I now understand that humans need to eat every few hours. You must be hungry.” I hand one of the bags to Fancy and she grabs it. “I am sorry you had to wait. H’Row and I need to eat less often. But now we need to get out of here.”

Fancy looks away as if this is a sensitive subject. Has she already said no to accompanying us?

“I have some questions,” Fancy says carefully. I understand. We’ve got to explain to her who and what we are before she makes a decision.

“I did not want to have this conversation without you, V’Lin,” H’Row looks away.

I can feel the worry in his voice. H’Row sometimes struggles with expressing himself, and we both want to get this right.

“We can do it on the transportation unit. Fancy, can you come with us, just for now? We need to replace the battery and get in the air. We’ll still be able to come back to earth before we have to leave permanently.”

The plastic bag crunches as if Fancy is gripping it tight. I want to wrap her in my arms but hold back.

“Okay, let’s go,” Fancy says quietly. She climbs onto H’Row’s back without releasing the food bag. She must be really hungry. Her stomach growls as if agreeing with my thought.

The three of us make our way down the tree. From there, H’Row and I turn on our trackers and proceed towards the transportation unit.

A short time later, we trundle into the ship together. I immediately get to work trying to connect the battery. It takes a few tries, but I’m able to wire it into the transportation unit’s power system. It looks messy, with cables sprouting from all ends, but it seems to be working for now.

Fancy is in the cockpit with H’Row, and she looks totally awestruck. I guess this kind of vehicle isn’t commonplace on earth. I try to imagine how the buttons and dials of the control panel and the illuminated display window must look to her. Foreign. Amazing. Kind of like the SuperMart looked to us. She keeps pointing to things and saying, “it’s really real,” and touching us and saying, “this is really your skin.” It’s sweet but also concerning. How do we bridge the gap from “yes, it’s all real” and arrive at “let’s be together forever? “

According to the galactic authorities, we’re not allowed to make a first contact, and we’re definitely not allowed to take someone from a planet without an immigration treaty. So, everything we want to do from here will technically be illegal. I don’t care much about following the law, but I don’t want Fancy to get in trouble because of us.

Here’s the thing, our home world is way on the fringe of the galaxy and enforcement is a little lax. If we can get her through the spacegate without getting stopped, it’s likely we won’t have to worry after that. So now, that’s my top priority. Well, that and getting her to come with us in the first place.

I sit down in the captain’s chair and turn towards H’Row and Fancy. I’m not expecting the expressions I see when I face them. They’re excited. Like they’ve been planning something fun.

“I’m coming with you guys, isn’t that great!” Fancy says and pumps her fist in the air. I take this as a good sign. But it seems a little too easy.

“Yes. That is very good. Do you not have any more questions, perhaps?” I look at them carefully. H’Row looks gleeful. Fancy’s excitement has an edge of panic to it.

“H’Row filled me in. I’m ready. Let’s do it now,” Fancy says, her gaze sliding away from mine.

“Well, there could be complications. You see, there are guards at the spacegate—”

“Nope! Don’t want to hear about it. Let’s get this baby going. No worries Let’s go!” Fancy’s eyes look a little wild. Like her confidence is as brittle as those tortilla chips I swiped for her from the gas station.

“Fancy, have you thought this through?” I say quietly. Fancy pulls back as if I’ve slapped her.

“What do you mean? Have I thought this through? I’ve done nothing but think, and I feel like my mind is about to explode.” She motions with her hands as if her head is blowing up. She leans forward and spears me with a sharp look. “How am I supposed to analyze this rationally? I didn’t even believe aliens existed until about thirty minutes ago. And not only do they exist, but they’re hot guys who chatted me up at the SuperMart. And surprise! They’re my mates for life if I want them. And now I have to make a ridiculously serious decision based on something I legitimately thought was a joke.”

Both H’Row and I instinctively lean forward and touch her, sensing her confusion and wanting to comfort her. Fancy’s eyes flutter shut, and she sighs.

“And here’s the incredible part.” Her voice loses its manic edge as she leans into our touch. “I can feel your feelings and hear your thoughts in my head. You’re more real and more connected to me than people I’ve known for years. More than my actual family. It’s totally bizarre. Every cell in my body wants to stay by your sides. I can’t believe it and I don’t understand why besides that you’re gorgeous and, you know, good people. But do I have to leave everything I know behind forever to have that? To have you?” Tears shimmer in the corner of her beautiful brown eyes. I rub a gentle hand on her shoulder and I see her gaze soften some more.

“You don’t have to say goodbye to earth forever. And I think I might be able to figure out a way for you to communicate with people here at least occasionally.” I don’t want to get her hopes up too high, but I found something in the manager’s closet that might work.

“Really?” she asks.

“If we save these coordinates, we might be able to return the next time the spacegate opens, but I don’t know when that will be. In the meantime, you’ll be able to use something called a fax machine to send messages.”

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