One
“That is possibly the weirdest thing I have ever seen in my life.”
Liv stared with interest at the strange alien artifact sitting on Dr. Danielle Adam’s desk.
It was a kind of thin, narrow bowl made of black volcanic glass with delicate, curling edges and a deep pink ball at the very top of its slitted opening.
“Weird but beautiful,” Danni agreed. She touched the shiny, curling edges of the bowl gently.
“Don’t get me wrong—it’s lovely,” Liv said. “But…well…doesn’t it look kind of like a vulva? Unless I’m looking at it wrong.” She walked around the desk to look at it from another point of view. “Nope. Still a vulva.”
Danni laughed.
“That’s not surprising. It’s a fertility artifact from Soluu Four. Legend has it that if you rub the pink pearl at the top and make a wish having to do with fertility, family, love, or babies—that kind of thing—it will come true.”
“So you rub the, uh, pearl to make all your baby-making dreams come true?” Liv lifted an eyebrow. “I wonder if the artist was a man who knew what he was doing or a woman who was trying to give him a hint?”
Danni burst into peals of laughter.
“Stop it, Liv! You’re so bad!”
“I’m just saying what we’re both thinking,” Liv pointed out. “Though honestly, if the artist was a woman and she was mated to a Kindred warrior, she wouldn’t have had to make this kind of art.”
Danni lifted her eyebrows. “I know, I know. Because the Kindred are such amazing lovers.”
“They are,” Liv protested. “Which is why I’ve been wanting to set you up on a date with one of them ever since you got here. Don’t just take my word for it—try it for yourself.”
Danni sighed and gave the other woman a fond smile. She and Liv had hit it off at once the minute she had moved up to the Mother Ship and they were introduced. They were both female doctors, so they got to work together in the Med Center and they always had a lot to talk about. But Danni was considerably older than Liv. It was sweet that her new friend wanted to set her up on a date, but no matter how nice the Kindred were, any kind of romance just wasn’t going to happen.
“Liv,” she said, “I appreciate you trying to find me Mr. Right, but honestly, I’m better off on my own. I’m too old to find ‘true love.’”
“Oh, please!” Liv made a shooing gesture. “You’re what—thirty-nine?”
“Try forty-seven,” Danni said dryly. “But thank you so much for that—I’ll take it as a compliment.”
“My point is, you’re gorgeous,” Liv told her. “With that thick, chestnut brown hair and those smoky green eyes—not to mention your Elite figure—you could capture any warrior’s heart.” She nudged Danni with one elbow. “Like for instance, Commander Bravik. Isn’t he the one leading your mission to Soluu Four to find out about their strange healing practices? He’s about your age—maybe a few years older. And I know for a fact he’s single.”
“Commander Bravik has exactly zero interest in me,” Danni said, frowning.
“Now, how can you possibly know that?” Liv demanded. “You’ve only met him once.”
“Once was enough, believe me.” Danni made a face. “If I wasn’t so interested in studying this culture, he would have been enough to put me off going.”
“Oh come on—he couldn’t have been that bad,” Liv protested.
“Oh, yes he was,” Danni said shortly. “He was downright rude when he found out I was going on this mission. I’m going to do my best to avoid him the entire trip.”
“Don’t do that,” Liv objected. “You should give him another chance. Maybe he’ll warm up to you during the mission.”
“Liv…” Danni sighed. “It’s not going to happen with Commander Bravik—or with anyone for that matter. I’m just not…marriage material.”
“Who said anything about marriage? I’m just trying to get you out of your shell a little.” Liv smiled at her.
Danni shook her head.
“Look, I’ve tried the dating scene on Earth and I know everyone says that Kindred males are different but there’s one thing they have in common—most of them eventually want kids.” She picked up the volcanic glass sculpture and rubbed the pink pearl reflexively as she spoke. “And that’s something I can’t give them—can’t give anyone, even though I wish I could.”
“Because of your age?” Liv frowned. “You know the Kindred have made amazing advances in fertility treatments, right?”
“Not amazing enough to help me.” Danni sighed. “Look, I don’t usually tell people this but I…I had to have a partial hysterectomy when I was in my twenties due to acute endometriosis. They left my ovaries intact, but took my uterus so you see…” She shrugged. “All the fertility treatments in the world wouldn’t help me.”
“Oh, Danielle! I’m so sorry—I didn’t know. And here I’ve been pushing you and pushing you…” Liv put a hand to her forehead. “I feel like such a jerk.”