Maria looked curiously at her and entered the bathroom. Great mirror! She leaned over to look at her reflection. Nope. She didn't LOOK any different. She wished she had not left her bag in the room outside, though. Hardly had she thought it before the bag appeared on the counter in front of her. "Very nice," Maria said approvingly.

***

Tess looked at the viewscreen. They traveled so rapidly that they would arrive in the other galaxy in a matter of hours. She would have to ask Jafra how that was accomplished. Jafra. Her father. It felt right... but unusual. Nasedo had certainly never been a father to her... just a guardian. Jim Valenti had briefly been more like a father... but they had both known that their relationship was only temporary.

As if her thoughts had summoned him, Jafra entered the lounge and came to stand beside her. For a few moments they both watched the viewscreen in silence.

"It is a miracle to have you back, dear one." He raised his hand and gently touched her hair, then curved around her cheek.

Tess was initially not entirely comfortable with this and almost told him so. As her eyes met his, however, the emotions stirring in their dark depths made her suddenly thrill to the fact that she was loved so very much. Her father loved her!

"I am looking forward to our homecoming... maybe more than any of them are...." She gestured around the room. "Most of my life on earth was outside of relationships with others."

"We have friends who look forward to your return. Larek, for one. He was always in love with you. If you had not been betrothed to Zan from the time you were born you would undoubtedly have wed him." Jafra was rueful. "You would have been safe if you had. Or safer," he amended.

Tess put her hand on his arm. "Do not reproach yourself. As you have said, we have a second chance." She smiled. "As it happens, I have met Larek! He spoke with some of us on earth."

"He will be there in person when we arrive on the moon. I am sure that the main reason he is coming is to welcome you home... And the King, of course."

"Of course." Tess knew her voice gave away some of the bitterness she had tried to hide since Max had married Liz.

"My Ava, what is it that you dislike so about the new queen?"

"Please call me Tess.... It is the name I am used to... and since the others will be keeping the names they used on earth...." She tried to evade the question.

"As you wish.... Why do you dislike her so much?"

Tess hesitated. "She is so ORDINARY. She is pretty, she is nice, and she is very intelligent. Even on earth, though, there were more exceptional people. Why her? All of my life, Nasedo trained me to think of myself as our future queen. What can she offer the people of our planet? She is merely human, after all."

"No, my dear. She is infinitely more than that." She looked curiously at Jafra's absolute tone. "She is the King's soulmate. They have an identical vibration. No one in any universe could be as perfect a mate for him as she is. Any children they have will be stronger and more perfectly attuned as a result. The future of our planet is assured by our beautifully matched young royal pair."

"I believe you." Tess totally resigned the destiny that Nasedo had insisted was hers. "I have been around them for a while now. Max has never believed that anyone else was his mate... He often spoke of creating his own destiny."

Jafra gave a little cough that Tess recognized as a laugh. "His own destiny? His lady IS his destiny... from the beginning of time!"

***

When Maria came from the bathroom, Michael moved over on the couch and, when she sat down, put his arm around her. "So," he breathed in her ear, "Did you have any idea?"

She turned to look into his eyes. The wonder in them almost took her breath away. "No. Not yet."

His lips met hers. Then his eyes searched hers and moved over her body. "I shouldn't want so badly to take a pregnant lady to bed.... Is it still OK? I mean, will we be able to....?"

Maria touched her finger to his lips. "Yes. Especially considering that I would not have any idea for some time normally and we would, of course, continue to make love the entire time...."

"A little girl.... Bet she looks just like you...." Michael was bemused.

"Hope not. She's yours too...." Her words were stopped by his kisses. He kissed her lips, then her eyelids, then her nose, then her lips once again, deeply. Maria took a deep breath. "Whoa, space boy! I don't see a bedroom here... at least not a private one!" She laughed shakily, half expecting part of the room to turn into a separate compartment. It didn't.

"OK.... But soon." Michael tucked her comfortably against him, her back to his chest, and continued to tease her by kissing her neck and ears.

***

Jafra came over to Max. "We have arrived, your Highness."

"How do you know?" Max asked curiously. "I could not feel any change," he admitted frankly.

"Ah! The captain has advised that we are ready to descend. Please follow me to the boarding chamber."

The others had heard and followed Max and Jafra to the room they first arrived in. To their astonishment, there were several other people there also, ready to disembark. Liz recognized Lucina, who smiled at her and Liz nodded.

"Who's she?" Maria asked.

"Oh... I met her in the bathroom."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Really? She wasn't there when I was in there...."

Jafra gave the group a signal and they joined hands in a circle around the room. Moments later they stood in a similar chamber of metallic blue.

A man stepped forward, nodded to Jafra, then greeted Max with the formal nod, followed by a quick embrace. "Max!"

Max smiled warmly, glad that this person seemed to know him well. He took a guess. "Larek?"

"Of course." The man laughed. He was older than Max, tall and broad-shouldered. His hair was a deep auburn and his blue eyes searched for someone past Max.

Max pulled Liz slightly forward, "You remember my wife, Liz?"

"Yes." Larek smiled politely, but it was clear that she was not the one he sought.