Gifts of the Future Ch. 06

Megan continued to pursue many members of Congress with that same line of questioning, and in early 1980, she was informed by one of them that they were in the process of forming a government funded program to look into the very question of alternative fuels... they called it the Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act. Its sole purpose was to work with the energy industry in exploring and developing non-petroleum based fuels.

Many people believed this was an act of good faith and that the government was finally beginning to see that the country needed to reduce its dependency on oil. Megan tried to take it as a good sign and she backed off on her tenacious pursuit of that subject. But she still had her doubts about the government's sincerity in actually pursuing alternative energy sources...

**********

On Sunday, March 9, 1980, both Brad Seldon and Jay Hanson were rushing Barbie and Didi to the hospital... both of them had gone into labor on the same day, even though they were about a week past their due dates! They had called Tom and Lynda to tell them they were about to become grandparents and Tom and Lynda called all their friends to let them know they were on their way to the hospital. There was quite a crowd gathered in the waiting area, jokingly making bets on which baby would arrive first!

Barbie delivered first... a healthy boy weighing right at eight pounds with a head full of dark hair. Brad and Barbie chuckled together at how loudly he protested while being cleaned up and then Brad held his son for a few moments, talking to him while the doctor checked Barbie over and made sure her body was recovering well from the birth process.

"Well, my boy... it's so great to finally meet you! I hope you haven't thought me too 'corny' for talking to you all this time... like you could understand a word I was saying! But, any way, we're going to have great fun, you and me... I hope you like to play sports! And I guess you'd like to know your name, huh? Well... we're naming you for your grandfathers and your Mama's brother, your Uncle Rickie. You'll get to meet them soon! So we hope you like your name Thomas Enrique Seldon... and we'll call you Tommy! Your Granddaddy Tom will love that!"

Cheers went up all around when Brad went out to the waiting area and announced the birth of his son. Tom, Rick and Rickie all beamed when he told them the name they'd chosen. Then everyone headed down to the nursery to see Brad and Barbie's handsome boy and then went to visit with Barbie for a little while until they headed back to the waiting area to await news from Jay and Didi.

A little while later, a very upset Jay came out and told everyone that Didi was being rushed in for an emergency C-section. Her labor had progressed quickly, but when she got to the pushing stage, she labored with that for over an hour before they realized the baby was simply too large and she was not making any progress. Then they noted on the fetal monitor that the baby was showing signs of distress, so the decision was quickly made to perform a Cesarean.

Everyone tried to keep Jay calm as they waited. About thirty minutes later, a nurse came out to tell Jay that he had a healthy, nine pound, ten ounce son and he'd be able to see him soon. Then Jay asked about Didi. The nurse looked nervous as she informed him that his wife had suffered some complications and was still in surgery and the doctor would come to him and explain as soon as he could.

Lynda went to her son-in-law and put her arms around him when he broke down crying. "Oh, God... please let Didi be OK!!! I couldn't bear to lose my wife... my soul mate! Oh, Mom... I'm so sorry! I didn't think that having my child would endanger her life! I didn't realize he'd grow so big..."

Lynda pulled back and took Jay's face in her hands. "Stop this, son. This is not that baby's fault! And it's not your fault, either! Things like this just happen sometimes. And Didi is a strong and healthy... she'll pull through this just fine! I know my daughter... she's a fighter! So don't you dare think the worst!"

Didi was a fighter, but the dark forces tried their damnedest to make her forfeit her life when her son was born and she was close to dying. Only a last second intervention by The Guardians once again kept another one of the "chosen ones" from dying before their destiny was fulfilled...

The doctor came out a couple of hours later with a grim expression, then he smiled faintly. "Your wife is in critical condition but it looks like she'll pull through. She had us worried for a minute... we were afraid we might lose her when she said something strange about being willing to die..."

The doctor frowned, shook his head and then continued. "When the placenta separated from her uterus after the baby was removed, some of the veins in her uterus were damaged and she started to bleed out. Luckily, we were able to cauterize the tissue and stop the bleeding before we closed her up. The only problem is... the scarred tissue in her uterus might prevent her from getting pregnant or being able to carry any more pregnancies to full term. I'm sorry for that, but she is strong and healthy and I believe she'll be fine otherwise."

Jay nodded his head that he understood and then demanded that the doctor take him to his wife... he wanted to see her and be with her when she woke up. He stayed by her side, holding her hand and resting his head on the bed beside her... he fell asleep and woke up a little while later when he felt a hand stroking through his hair. He lifted up quickly to see Didi smiling softly at him.

"Hey, my big, handsome man," she said weakly. "How is our boy?" she then asked worriedly.

Jay lifted her hand and kissed it before he answered. "He's fine, my love. Everyone's insisting that he be named after me... they all think he's going to grow up to be just as big as me... maybe even bigger! Is that all right with you?"

Didi smiled even wider and tried to chuckle and then winced as she replied, "Of course he should be named after his Daddy... because he's also going to be as strong and sensitive and loving as you!"

Then her smile faded. "Oh, Jay... for a few moments, I was so afraid he was going to die! When I saw them lift him out of my body, he was blue and he wasn't moving! And there were all these angry voices shouting at me... asking me if I would die for him! And I screamed 'YES... I would die for him!' So I let go and felt as if I was floating away... until I heard him cry. His cry was pleading for me not to leave you and him because you both needed me, so I fought my way back... for both of you! Where is our son? I need to see him!" she pleaded desperately.

Jay's eyes were filled with tears as he stood and kissed his wife's forehead and told her he'd be right back. He went out to the waiting area to tell everyone that Didi was awake and was doing well; then he went to the nursery and demanded that they give him his son because his Mama wanted to see him. He kissed his son's soft head as he took him in his arms for the first time and told him, "I owe you, J.J. Thank you for making your Mama stay with us!" he said gently as he carried him to his mother.

Didi cried softly as her husband carefully placed their son in her arms. "Jay Alan Hanson, Jr., this is your wonderful mother... who would've given up her life for you, so don't you ever forget that!" When she lifted her head to look up at him as tears leaked from her eyes, he kissed her tenderly and then said quietly, "I love you so much! Thank you for such a strong, healthy son! And I'm calling him J.J." When she frowned in mild confusion, he added, "It's short for Jay, Jr.!"

Then he smiled with her and their hearts nearly burst with joy when their son sighed contentedly as if approving of his name...

**********

On Saturday, June 7, 1980, everyone once again gathered at the Clark's mansion in Bel Air to celebrate the marriage of Rickie Estevez and Lt. Karen Moss. Lieutenants Brad Seldon and Jay Hanson led the Honor Guard in forming the "Arch of Swords" for Mr. and Mrs. Enrique Estevez, Jr. as they retreated down the center aisle at the end of the ceremony.

They paused and kissed when Brad and Jay crossed their swords, blocking their path; and then everyone got a huge laugh as Brad swatted Rickie's ass when they started forward again and said, "Welcome to the Air Force, sir!"

Their reception wasn't quite as eventful as Brad and Barbie's had been the previous year. Everyone already knew that Charlie Richards and Lily Wilson were engaged... they were just wondering when they were finally going to set the date! And the Seldon and North families were getting a kick out of watching Robbie and Crystal together... it was obvious they were likely to be the next couple to get engaged!

When it came time to throw the bouquet, Karen walked over to where Lily and Crystal were standing next to each other and kept moving her hand back and forth in front of them. "OK... which one of you wants this?!!!" she asked teasingly. Lily glanced at the hopeful expression on Charlie's face, but she swallowed and stepped back. Crystal saw a grin forming on Robbie's face so she snatched the flowers out of Karen's hand and laughed gleefully as Robbie whistled and then clapped his hands with everyone else.

Charlie and Lily stared at each other for a few moments and then she smiled tentatively at him until he smiled back. He just wished he knew why she was still scared to make their relationship legal... They both knew they belonged together... so what was holding her back?!! He sighed heavily as he went to her and took her in his arms for another dance.

At the end of the wedding reception, the bride and groom surprised everyone when they emerged from the Clark's mansion dressed in matching leather outfits. They had long ago decided that their honeymoon was going to be a motorcycle road trip down to San Diego. They had reservations at a seaside Inn... they just hoped they'd be able to make it there without having to stop too many times to have sex! Being on the Harley together still drove them wild...

They did finally make it to the Inn... after stopping twice at secluded areas off of I-5 to ravage each other! The first time, they cursed their choice of leather outfits, realizing too late what a bad idea that was and then laughed hysterically together as they pictured themselves fighting to get out of their clothes! After that, they changed into much cooler and comfortable jeans and tee shirts for the remainder of the trip.

While at the Inn in San Diego, they discovered something else that drove them wild... having sex on the beach! They snuck out several times late at night to find a quiet spot to make love. The moon was waning so there were plenty of dark, secluded places among the sand and rocks. They spread a blanket and lay down under the stars, listening to the surf pounding in rhythm with the beat of their hearts...

Karen had never felt so free to just enjoy being alive! Rickie would always be able to give her the escape she needed whenever her brain felt like it was on overload. All he had to do was touch her... and he'd been an expert at that ever since the very first moment. But when he stroked her body with his lips and tongue, she was transported to a place where time ceased to exist...

All she could do was lie back and pray that she wouldn't die from the pleasure that wracked her body as he sucked her nipples into his mouth and laved them with his tongue. Then she was floating among the stars that were hovering over them when he moved down and invaded her pussy with his soft, wet flesh. Karen writhed and moaned deeply, her legs twitching involuntarily as Rickie stroked her clit softly.

Then she cried out loudly and stars exploded behind her eyelids when her body spasmed into a forceful climax. The next thing she was aware of, her husband was over top of her and she was spreading her thighs to take his cock inside her as he smiled down at her and whispered, "Welcome back to earth, my beautiful rocket scientist!"

Karen smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and replied, "Only for a moment, my love... because you know I'll be blasting off again as soon as you launch that awesome cock rocket inside me!"

Rickie grinned sexily as he poised with the head of his cock teasing her wet flesh. "Well... engines have been test fired, all systems are a go... are you ready for blast off?"

They both chuckled softly as she began the countdown, her voice low and sexy... "Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one..." She was panting in anticipation by that time, and then suddenly, time ceased to exist again... for a moment...

Rickie grunted softly as he drove forcefully into her, causing her to arch and moan in pleasure. He groaned softly as he paused buried inside her, "And we have lift off of the Awesome Cock Rocket!"

Suddenly they were laughing and rolling together on the blanket as they made love joyously for the rest of the night. They didn't stop until they saw the sky starting to lighten as the sun was beginning to rise. It was the first time Karen could ever remember spending so many hours not having one scientific thought float through her mind... not even when they'd joked about his awesome cock rocket!

**********

Lt. Karen Moss-Estevez thoroughly enjoyed every moment of her honeymoon, but she was excited to return home. She'd been happy to learn that she was staying in the L.A. area as she had been assigned to the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles AFB, headquarters of Space Command for the Air Force. She would be working with their top scientists developing weapons systems for missiles and some new experimental aircraft being developed and manufactured at nearby Plant 42 in Palmdale.

Motorcycle Patrol Officer Enrique Estevez, Jr. was also glad to hear that his wife was stationed in L.A. He hadn't wanted to leave his job with the L.A.P.D., but he'd been prepared to apply for a job as a cop wherever his wife was stationed. He was even more pleased when Karen had basically been told by the Air Force that her current assignment would most likely be permanent... they were both happy to know that they'd always be close to their families!

Lieutenants Seldon and Hanson were both progressing rapidly in their jet pilot training... they were always earning the highest scores in their flight tests. They were always joking with each other over who was going to outscore whom. But they didn't take their rivalry seriously... Jay knew Brad's ultimate goal was to get into the STS program as a shuttle pilot. Jay had no such aspirations... he just loved flying!

Megan kept her eyes and her ears open as she surreptitiously followed the government's handling of the oil crisis. It became clear to her that President Carter was doing only what he had to in order to make the country think he had a handle on the problem. In January, he had issued a doctrine in which he'd stated that any interference with U.S. oil interests in the Persian Gulf area would be considered an attack on the vital interests of the country... like anyone really believed he'd follow through on that!

Then he proposed a phase out of the price controls on U.S. oil that had been imposed by Nixon back in 1973 when the first energy crisis had occurred when they were attempting to stabilize gas cost at the pumps. It was no wonder the American oil companies weren't willing to sell too many barrels of oil when they were being held to six dollars a barrel when in the worldwide market, the price for a barrel of oil was thirty dollars... they weren't stupid! And Carter should've just repealed the price controls instead of attempting to phase them out!

All that and Carter's ineffectiveness in trying to remedy the Iranian hostage situation that was still going on just led to his downfall. It seemed that once the November 1980 presidential election was over and Ronald Regan had won by a landslide because of his promise to launch an attack against Iran in order to free the hostages they'd been holding for over a year, the country was beginning to feel safe again and everything seemed to stabilize for a while...

The ever-expanding group of families and friends spent the holidays celebrating together as often as they could at different homes. Jonnie and Megan North had sold their oceanfront condo in Santa Monica and bought a larger house in Beverly Hills, closer to her job at the network studio. Jonathan was over two years old and was the most charming and loving little boy anyone could have imagined!

His parents and grandparents and all their friends just loved to watch as he sat with six-month olds Tommy and J.J. and talked to them like they were all best pals! Jonathan would make silly faces and then laugh when Tommy and J.J. would burst into giggles! It looked as though the boys were going to grow up to be just as good friends as their fathers were...