undomesticated
They were having that big family dinner she'd been promising everyone for days.
The house was jammed packed. There were so many that there wasn't enough room at the table. Everyone was here. Frick and Annie came bearing more purple stuff. Frey and Pensley came. He looked frail and even paler than normal, but it was good to see the pair glue back together.
Adrian and all his hoodlums were here. Damous and the boys. Haylie, Macie, and Sin. He was finally acting more like himself, and it was good to see it. Will was having a hard time deciding who to follow around, Aunt Sarah or Haylie. Since Jess couldn't ever see her aunt giving in to the poor dude, she was hoping Haylie would take pity on him. It was hard to tell just what kind of relationship she and Sin had.
Damous stared at her a lot, and she knew he was suspecting something. Dude must be getting some seriously wrong signals. At training, it was always the same, his eyes hardly left her. It would never occur to him that everything he was feeling wasn't coming from the only girl that was around.
Pensley stared at her a lot, too, when he was around her, and that was one guy she wasn't asking why he did it. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know why he was doing it.
The other Sara was here, but her picture-perfect daughter was missing. No surprise there. Bitch was smart and had to know if Jess saw her right now, she'd punch her in her too picture-perfect face.
Jetidi was here, and Jess even made it a point to sit with him and have a conversation with the freak.
He was kind of perfect for an eight-year-old.
It would have been a pretty great night if she didn't have the feeling that someone was missing.
As the night wore on, the more pronounce the feeling became. When she was doing dishes, looked out, and saw the stars, she nearly lost it.
He remembered, and he gave her the stars again.
Why?
She was having a nice family dinner with everyone she loved and cared for nearby, and he was stuck on an invisible spaceship, either all alone or stuck in a meeting.
If the universe wasn't just as screwed up as the world was, then he'd be here too.
Not wanting to ruin anybody's night, and knowing she couldn't go far, she went where she'd gone the last time. To the roof top.
She was lying there, looking at the stars, when Dez ruined her peace. "How is it you always know exactly when not to bother me?"
"My Queen, your sister Frey has been looking for you. Should I tell her you are unprepared for company?"
Not a good idea. She was in a dangerous mood, and she could use some company to distract her.
"Where is she?"
"Kitchen, my Queen."
Frey bowed her head. "My sister, my Queen, I was hoping for some of your guidance. If it pleases you___."
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes, my Queen."
She sounded doubtful, so Jess smiled. "You afraid of heights?"
"I am unsure, my Queen."
"Good. Take my hand. Stay close and trust me."
"Yes, my___."
The other girl wasn't afraid. She looked around bravely, then her eyes looked up and stayed there. "It is beautiful, my Queen."
"I think so too. Sit with me." Once they were safe, Jess shook her hand free, then she laid back. "I was just thinking about before you came here. There's a lot of us who always watched the stars. I was thinking that maybe we weren't just looking at the stars, maybe we were waiting for your people, and we just didn't know it."
She felt Frey's eyes on her and rolled her eyes. "Just a song I'm thinking of. What kind of advice are you looking for? Are you still working with Aunt Sarah?"
"Yes, my Queen. I enjoy it more than I can express. I know I have to be on call for any new guests we receive but working with the children pleases me."
"I'm glad. Pensley okay?"
"He is, my Queen. As well as he can be. His mind is strong."
"That's good. I'm glad you got all of him back, Frey."
"As am I. He is my..."
At Frey's loss of words, Jess patted her hand. "I know." It wasn't that long ago that she'd felt as lost as Frey must have felt. Maybe she still felt that lost.
"Thank you for bringing him back to me, my Queen."
"I'm glad I could help, Frey."
Jess was still wearing the drenassas that Pensley presented to her when he came for dinner. Siblings were popping up everywhere. None of them seemed to care or be concerned that she was trying to get rid of all of them.
When her nearly required sister didn't go on, she looked at the other girl. Frey was unsure of how to say what she wanted to say. "Just say it."
"I am more happy to have him back then I know how to say but... but I... wish for more."
Frey took a deep breath before returning her look. "Is that horrible?"
"No, Frey."
"I want what I felt when I touched Kellum after he found you. I want what I felt when I heard you sing for the first time. All of it. I want all of it."
"There's nothing wrong with that."
"Are you sure, my Queen?"
"Very sure." Her eyes widen. "You do mean with Pensley, right?"
"Yes, my Queen. He is my mate."
"Right." Smiling, Jess looked back up at the stars. She couldn't fix her own love life, but maybe she could help Frey. "He's going to be a tough egg to crack."
"I do not want to crack him, my Queen."
"You are going to have to trust me on this. Are you willing to do everything I say?"
"Always, my Queen."
"Okay. Operation get Frey some starts tomorrow. Enjoy your big, lonely bed because starting tomorrow you will have to give up at least three-fourths of it."
"Operation get me some what, my Queen?"
"You'll see."
