Katja Pt. 23

"It was nice seeing the children and Vicky again." Geoff said grinning, "This was the longest I've ever been away from them. It was also nice having a real meal again, I really missed Vicky's cooking."

Erik laughed, "Yeah, that was about the same with all of us. But I think my oldest daughter is going to end up being as good a cook as her mother and aunt. She asked Katja if she could help, and it turned out really good. I guess it runs in the family."

Geoff grinned at that, then asked. "Uh... how did the rest of it go? Uh... with the thing you had a problem with that is."

Erik smiled from ear to ear, "Wonderful, really wonderful. The kids grinned all night spending time with both their mothers. Then we all talked about how we're going to do things, but it'll take a while to figure it all out, as she can't spend all the time with us." He grinned again, "She does have other responsibilities after all."

Geoff smiled and shook his head, "You know, I can't believe we're having this conversation. Or at least not so nonchalantly."

"You can't believe it? You ought to see from my perspective." Erik shook his head as he took a drink of coffee, "But, it went really well like I said. Everyone is happy, the kids laughed and played all night with all of us."

Then he grinned adding, "But apparently, the three younger feline members of the family seem to have a hard time believing it. Katja told me they didn't think humans without a tail could talk to them like Brigit did."

Geoff laughed, "Yes, I suppose that might confuse them a little." He shook his head smiling as he took a drink, "I really stopped by to give you this."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flash drive and handed it to him. "This is all the notes and things I have from Nigel, Mr. Hayes, and Nicholas."

Erik smiled as he took it from him, "Good, I should have the preliminary report to you, baring complications, by late Friday afternoon. I've already got a lot of it put down already, but now its more organizing it so it's understandable and readable."

He took another drink, "Then the final report should be done, hopefully, by the following Friday or maybe Monday latest."

Geoff nodded, "Good, that way I can send it to Captain Augustus and the others."

They talked some more about the things they found while they were there, and what could, or should come next. Then they discussed about having some people from both towns go out there to set a few things up, like they had talked about, in a month or so. The most important thing being the updating the control tower and the landing grids; as that was the only thing they knew really needed to be done no matter what happened. But, for the rest, like they had talked about when they were at the base, until the others reached the system here, there really wasn't a whole they could plan yet except for some basic things right now.

That took them up to lunch time, then Uncle Geoff told Erik he'd see him later, that he was going back to his place for lunch.

After he left, Erik did a little more, then he decided he was going to the diner for his lunch. Then once he got back, he'd stop over and talk to Helen about coming over this weekend so they could talk with her.

He saved the file he was working on, then shut the lid on his computer and headed out to the diner. As he walked, he greeted various others he met along the way and stopped to have a word with some of them, then he got to the diner and walked in greeting Sasha. She grinned back, "Welcome home Erik, how are you?"

Erik smiled, "A whole lot better now that I'm back, and Katja and children are also happy I'm back."

She grinned at that, "I guess they would be. Well, enjoy your lunch Erik."

"Thanks Sasha." Erik said smiling, then he walked over to the counter and sat down grabbing a menu to see what he wanted. As he was reading the menu, the waitress Kelya stopped and asked how he was.

"Afternoon Erik, long time no see, how have you been?"

Erik smiled back, "Hi Kelya, better now that I'm back. How have you been?"

She smiled back at him, "Pretty good. So, what can I get you?"

He told her what he wanted, then she went to put his order in and brought back his drink. He thanked her, then watched the TV they had mounted on the wall while he was waiting. Then he smiled as he heard, "Welcome home Erik."

He turned and smiled hearing Neko's voice. "Thanks Neko, it's good to be back. Hi Miki, how are you?"

She smiled back, "I'm good. So how was your trip?"

He grinned and rocked his hand back and forth. "Not to bad I guess, but lets say I'm really glad to be home early."

She grinned, "I'm sure you are, I know Katja and the kids are also. We saw them a couple days ago when Katja and Aileen stopped here for lunch."

Neko and her sat down in the booth across from him. They grabbed some menus and talked to Erik while they waited on Kelya to take their order.

In a little bit, she came out and smiled as she saw them and greeted them as she put Erik's lunch down on the counter. "I'll be there in a minute Neko." She refilled Erik's iced tea, then came over to take their order.

Erik had ordered a cheeseburger platter and he finished that quickly. When Kelya came out with Neko and Miki's order, she grinned asking him, "Did you even taste it Erik?"

He laughed, "Yes, I did, and it was very good, a lot better than what I got out in Texas." Then he turned around and talked with Neko and Miki while they ate until he needed to head back to his office.

"Well, I guess I'll see you both later, I need to head back to the office. Enjoy your lunch."

They smiled and said goodbye to him, then he put Kelya's tip under his glass and headed up to pay his bill. He paid and said goodbye to Sasha, then headed back to his office. Once there, he stopped at uncle Geoff's office first to ask Helen to come over this weekend so they could talk to her.

Helen smiled as her brother walked in, "Hi little brother, how you doing?"

He smiled and bent over to kiss his sisters cheek. "Hi back sis, and I'm doing good, just finished lunch over at the diner."

"If your looking for uncle Geoff, he's not back yet." She looked at the wall clock, "But he should be back in about ten, fifteen minutes though."

Erik smiled and shook his head, "Actually, I came to see you. We wanted to know if you could stop over at the house on Saturday? Alone."

Helen looked at him puzzled, "Alone? Why?"

Erik stepped closer, and said quietly, "Not here, why don't you stop down at my office after uncle Geoff gets back. I'll tell you there, and it's kind of important."

Helen looked at him again, shook her head and shrugged, "I... sure, why not."

Erik smiled, "Thanks sis, I'll explain it all to you once you come see me." Then he blushed, "Also, don't tell uncle Geoff why. If he asks just say you need to ask me about something."

Now she was really baffled, "Uh... okay, if you say so."

Erik smiled, then leaned in to kiss her cheek once again, "Thanks Helen, I'll see you in a bit sis." Then he whispered in her ear, "Oh... Bast and Brigit thank you also." He saw the stunned look on her face, so he winked at her and walked down to his office.

Once there, he poured himself the last cup of coffee in the thermal carafe, then sat down at his computer and started the messaging center to see if he got any new ones while he was out at the diner. Most of it wasn't important, but one of them he needed to answer, so he worked on that and had just sent it off when Helen walked in. He smiled, "Close and lock the door sis."

Helen shook her head again and did as he asked, "Alright little brother, what's with all the cloak and dagger?"

Erik grinned, "Sit down sis and I'll try to explain it to you... a little."

Helen pulled a chair up and sat down and Erik took a drink of coffee, "Thanks sis, alright, it's like this. You know who Geoff's and Ailene's other mother is and that Brigit is also my mate."

Helen nodded yes.

"Well, Brigit is now even more... my mate. Long story short, the three of us decided to become a real family and she's been... living with us since I got back."

Helen gaped at that and Erik smiled, "I know, but that's not the reason we want you to come over." Then he proceeded to tell her a little about Aron being Bast's son like Geoff was Brigit's. Then he added a little, but not all, of what they needed to talk about. "Look, I can't tell you all of it right now, that will have to wait for this weekend."

Helen shook her head again, then smiled. "Sure, I'll be there. I'll just tell Azlan it's a girls day kind of thing." She laughed adding, "Which is sorta true I suppose."

Erik laughed himself. "Yeah, sorta kinda." Then added seriously, "But it is important; since you're human, they need your... advice, on something."

Helen nodded, then stood. "Alright, I'll see you Saturday morning."

She grinned, "Say what you want, but it's never dull around here. And especially around you little brother."

Erik laughed, then as he'd said before, "Yeah, well you ought to see it from my perspective."

Helen grinned as she shook her head and kissed him on the cheek, then headed back to her office. Once she left, Erik started to finish up a couple of things so he could go and get the kids from school, then about a half hour later, he grinned as he heard and saw the door lock. Then Brigit was sitting in his lap with her arms around his neck and smiled as she kissed him. "Good afternoon love."

He smiled back as he kissed her, "You know, I'm starting to really like these afternoon visits love."

She grinned back and kissed him again, "Good, I'm glad you do, because I certainly do myself." Then she kissed him again grinning, "That was from Bast. She wanted to thank you for helping love."

Then she grinned adding, "She would have done it herself, but as I said, three of us would kill you."

Erik laughed and shook his head. "That's alright, I don't want three. I have a hard enough time keeping you two happy."

Brigit grinned and hugged him, then gave him another kiss, her tongue slipping between his lips to caress his. "Good, I'll see you at home love."

Erik watched as she stood, blew him a kiss and phased out. He smiled shaking his head and reached down to move his cock so it wasn't bent up. He grinned as he heard a laugh and finished up what he was doing until it was time to go and get the kids. He finally shut everything down, then got his stuff together and walked down to put his backpack in the car. Then he walked over to the learning center and greeted the other parents, then he twined his arm around Ariel's and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Hi sis, how are you?"

Ariel grinned returning the kiss. "Hello brother mine. How's your day been?"

Erik grinned, "A bit boring I guess, it was a paperwork kinda day. Where's Tony?"

"He's working a little late." Ariel replied shrugging. "They were doing some maintenance on one of the shuttles and he was hanging around to learn how to do it."

Erik nodded and they talked a little more until the kids came out from the center. The parents all smiled as the calls of mommy and daddy filled the air. Like normal, Erik was hugged and greeted by most of the kids, then he got his from Brigitte, Geoff, and of course, Gesa. They finally said goodbye to the others, then they walked back to his car and headed home.

Like normal, Erik asked what they did in school and they talked for a while, then they were soon pulling into the driveway. Once Erik parked, they all got out and headed into the house, and Erik grinned as he saw Katja, Brigit, Aileen, and the cats waiting on them.

Brigit grinned as her and Katja were hugged and kissed by Geoff and Brigitte, then by a grinning Erik. Then he picked up Aileen and gave her a hug and kiss before stooping to stroke Cleo and the rest of the feline family members. The greetings over, Erik made his way to the bedroom to get cleaned up and changed, and today he was followed by Brigit. Her and Katja had decided to rotate days on who went with him and today was her turn. Once in the bedroom, it was like every day as Brigit watched her mate strip and get cleaned up. Then she helped him finish up with both of them grinning as they did. Once finished, they walked back out to the living room where Katja handed him an iced tea and the three of them sat down on the couch to talk while the kids did their homework and Aileen played with Niall.

Erik took a drink and set the glass down on the side-table. "Well, I talked to Helen and she'll be here on Saturday morning. I told her about us and a little on what we wanted to talk to her about."

He took another drink, then asked Brigit, "Is Bast going to be here too? Or will you just tell her afterwards love?"

Brigit smiled back, "I'm not sure Erik, she may, but she hasn't told me one way or the other yet. I'll ask her later."

Erik nodded, "Okay, sounds good to me. Then after we get done with that, I think Katja and I will go see about the bedroom set like we talked about. That is unless something happens where you have to leave."

They talked some more with Katja asking how his day was, then it was time to start dinner. After they ate and cleaned up, they all sat down to watch a movie like normal until it was time for the kids to go to bed. Once they were all tucked in, the three of them sat together with Katja and Brigit on either side of Erik like normal until it was time for them to go to bed.

Friday morning was now what they decided a typical day would be for them as a family. After they had their breakfast, tea and coffee, Erik and the kids drove into town and he walked them over to the learning center greeting the others as he dropped them off, then he went to his office to start his day. At home, Katja cleaned up the things from breakfast while Brigit spent some time with Aileen. Then it was Brigit's turn to go to the Ether to get her daily nectar and ambrosia, then she took care of the things she needed to do. Then unless he was busy with someone, Brigit would stop in and visit Erik at his office in the afternoon to get a some hugs and kisses, and a few I love you's, then she would head home to wait on them.

After Brigit left for the morning, Katja, with Aileen helping her, would do some upkeep things around the house. Then after that, they'd spend some time together doing things or Katja would teach her a little since she was still too young to go to the learning center for regular schooling. She was really too smart to wait until she was the right age, so they thought it was better to do it now and Aileen enjoyed it as much as her brother and sister did.

Then once Brigit came home and it would be her turn to teach Aileen some things and just spend time together. Later, once everyone home, they'd all spend some time together after Brigitte and Geoff finished any homework they had to do until it was dinner time. They had decided they would do it this way for a week or so and see how it worked, then they'd decide if that was how they were going to keep doing it, or modify it a bit.

After Erik dropped the kids off at the learning center, he stopped at the town coffee shop and got a coffee and something to eat to go, then he went to his office to try and finish up the preliminary report on the base in Texas. He had almost completed it, he was at the rough draft stage of it and just needed to go over it one more time and make sure everything flowed and that the links to the pictures and other data connected right. But if worse came to worse, he'd just finish it up on Monday, then he could start on the final trip report.

He worked on it for a while, then stopped to stretch the kinks out and top off his coffee. He looked at the time, it was ten-thirty, so he had another couple of hours before he had to get the kids and take them home. They had modified the learning centers schedule so that they'd be done at 1300 on Fridays. They had started this since most of the time the work schedules went by the old one on the ship.

Fridays was mainly for clean up and maintenance for most of the Lyonness businesses and town functions, except for some of the businesses that needed or wanted to be open. The diner and coffee/ tea shop were open from 0500 -- 1900, and the restaurant opened and started serving dinner at 1800 as most people usually went to the diner during the day. The farmers market they had started was mainly seasonal, and operated from the spring until fall as that was the normal growing season in their area.

Lyonness Ultrasonic was open Monday through Friday, and had a small crew that was on-call over the weekend for emergency's. Then the rest of the businesses in town, that was mainly run by humans, were normally only open during the week, with the exception of the clothing store, and the hair salon right now.

All in all, it was working out very well for everyone. Granted, there was still some other businesses that would be opening soon, like the local branch of New Tygris Power, a store that sold household appliances like the ultrasonic clothes cleaners and some other household appliances for their homes, a small local grocery store that would sell both Lyonness and human type foods, and an electronics store that sold computers and other home electronics, that were a combination of earth and Lyonness type products.

Most of the businesses in New Lyonn were typical small "Mom and Pop" type stores and run by the Lyonness or humans that had moved to the town. Right now, they were still seeing what worked best for them and if any other stores and businesses would open there or out in the other towns. They still had empty buildings that could be used for other businesses depending on who was opening something or what type and size. They were trying not to have a lot in town itself, as there were so many different ones in the other local towns already. Right now, most of the places catered to the Lyonness and some of the other people that had moved into New Lyonn. But there was still plenty of room for the town to grow as needed.

They were also working on setting up the town media center that Victoria would run along with a few others to help her. They had planned for it to put out a small local newspaper, and would also broadcast some news and entertainment channels that was mainly geared to the Lyonness. All the ships that landed had vast libraries of entertainment videos, music, and digital books from homeworld and they had all sent copies to Victoria. So besides what the media center did, there would also be a library associated with it where the people could download music and books, both for reference and pleasure.

Erik drank his coffee as he slowly read over the report looking for any mistakes and to see how it flowed. He occasionally stopped and retyped or reworded a couple parts, and then he was finally done. He sat back and stretched once again, then he did a little final editing to clean it up, and sent it Uncle Geoff to review, then sometime on Monday, as long as Uncle Geoff was satisfied with it they'd send it out.

Erik checked the time, then started to shut down everything so he could go and get the kids. Most Fridays, he would normally get the kids, then take them to lunch at the diner before heading home. Geoff and Brigitte loved it as they got to spend time with their father and they would occasionally be joined by Katja and Aileen. But today, they were heading straight home since Brigit should be there by the time they got back and they were all looking forward to seeing her. But once they got a routine set up, they'd go back to stopping at the diner for lunch and hopefully one day soon, they could be joined by Katja, Aileen, and Brigit.

He put his computer in his backpack, and checked to make sure everything was secured and he hadn't forgotten anything before heading out. Seeing nothing, he headed down to his car and tossed his pack in the front seat and walked down to the learning center. He greeted the other waiting parents and then the children as they came out, then they headed for home. Erik grinned as he drove, Brigitte and Geoff were talking a mile a minute about seeing their other mother once again and what they did in school.