Three Square Meals Ch. 119

Dana glanced at him over her shoulder and grinned. Raising her left hand she wiggled her fingers and her engagement ring sparkled in the light. "I've already got just the man in mind. He's quite old fashioned though... he's planning to keep me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen."

No longer able to keep his hands off her, John closed the gap and wrapped his arms around Dana's waist. "Is that what you really want?" he murmured in her ear, as he stroked her rounded stomach

"More than anything," she breathed, her eyelashes fluttering.

He kissed her slender neck. "Is that only since you've been with me?"

Dana relaxed in his embrace and considered his question. "I remember we discussed this when I joined you. I never really thought about having kids before."

"Because you didn't want them?" he asked, wondering how much he'd inadvertently changed her personality.

Turning to look at him, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "This isn't a prelude to another guilt trip is it?"

John smiled and shook his head. "No, I promise. I know I made a lot of changes to you by accident, before we figured out what was happening, but I can't do anything about that now. You've told me repeatedly that you're happy, so feeling guilty about it is pointless... I was just curious."

Dana looked pleased, then thought about his question again. "It's not that I didn't want a husband and kids, plus the whole white picket fence thing. With the way I looked and being stuck in the ass end of nowhere, the chance of me getting a happy ending seemed so ridiculous, I guess I never gave it a second thought." She smiled wistfully and interlaced her fingers with his. "Now I catch myself daydreaming about it all the time."

He reached over to stir the sauce simmering in a pan. "We've not really talked about what happened to Karron... How are you doing?"

She leaned back against his chest and let out a heavy sigh. "It's weird thinking about it now. There's no way I ever wanted to go back to that shithole... but now everyone's gone, I can't go back." Shaking her head in confusion, she continued, "I spent my entire life hating that place and wishing I could escape, but now I almost feel sad that it's gone. How fucked up is that?"

John put down the spoon and encircled her in his arms again. "Karron was your home for eighteen years; it was all you ever knew. I've heard all the stories, so I know how miserable your life was there, but home is still home... it's natural that part of you still misses it."

"Yeah, I think you're right," she said, nodding her agreement. Dana turned slightly to look up at him. "How did you know?"

He gave her a comforting kiss on the cheek. "My situation with my grandparents was similar, although I'm not trying to claim it was anything like your horrific childhood. I spent eighteen years with them and was happy for the most part, but when I signed up with the military instead of running the restaurant, I really hurt them both. I felt so guilty about crushing their dreams that I stayed away and didn't see much of them afterwards... so it used to be my home, but I couldn't really go back."

"It's funny," Dana said softly, searching his face. "You and me shouldn't have anything in common. You're retired military and I was a gang gunsmith, but we both know what it's like to be abandoned by our parents... and how shitty that makes you feel. I hope you get all the answers you're looking for on Arcadia."

John smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Whatever happens though, the most important thing is our future. I'm going to make sure you get the home and family you deserve."

"Even if we have to make them ourselves?" she asked with a grin, running her hand over her belly.

"Oh, you can guarantee there's going to be a lot of that going on," he replied, lifting her chin and giving her a tender kiss.

***

When the door to the Dojo opened, Alyssa and Rachel were met by the sound of metal ringing against metal. They quietly entered, watching the two combatants circling each other on the training mats. Calara and Sakura were both wearing white suits of armour, but there the similarities ended. The Asian girl twirled twin ninjato in her gauntleted fists, almond eyes studying her opponent carefully for any signs of weakness. Calara held a long naginata, the end topped by a curved blade, which she was using to keep the assassin at bay.

Sakura lunged forward, identical short swords slashing back and forth as she looked for an opening in Calara's defences. The Latina had pulled back on the defensive as soon as her opponent attacked, parrying the flurry of blows with quick movements of her long spear and blocking the strikes with the staff or blade. Although neither were using psychic powers, Sakura still moved incredibly fast, and their audience were amazed that Calara managed to fend her off.

The assassin was relentless, alternating cross slashes with short stabs, forcing Calara backward on the mats. It was inevitable that the onslaught of blows would eventually find a gap in her desperate chain of parries and she froze when Sakura managed to land a stab to the torso. The sharp ring of a Crystal Alyssium blade striking Crystal Alyssium armour plating signalled the end of the fight and Calara placed the butt of her spear on the ground as she bowed to Sakura, conceding the loss.

Calara shook her head in amazement. "You're just so fast! I can't believe how many times you attacked me... all I could do was parry, there was no way I could counterattack."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Sakura said with a reassuring smile. She patted her opponent on the arm. "You've only been training to use the naginata for a couple of days, but I've been using ninjato for 75 years... you're doing brilliantly."

"I never thought I'd struggle to keep up with a 95-year-old," the Latina said with a friendly grin.

"That's the problem with the youth of today," Sakura pretended to gripe. "No stamina!"

The girls laughed together, then turned to greet Alyssa and Rachel with smiles as they approached.

"Hello, ladies," the blonde said with a mischievous grin. "Sorry to interrupt you two whacking each other over the head."

Calara pulled off her helmet, then strode over to kiss her girlfriend. "Perfect timing. You arrived just before we started the next round of head whacking."

After all the hugs were out of the way, Alyssa said, "Would you mind if we stayed to watch? Rachel and I are doing a little training of our own; we'll try not to be too intrusive."

Sakura gave them both a welcoming smile. "Of course you're welcome to stay. I'll be focused on training Calara, so please don't think I'm ignoring you."

"We'll miss your scintillating conversation, but do our best not to get too jealous," Alyssa promised, giving her an earnest look.

Sakura laughed and turned away. "Okay, Calara, use your powers this time... I'd like a challenge!"

The Latina couldn't help smiling at the prospect of evening the score and pulled on her helmet again before squaring off against Sakura. As the armoured fighters got ready for another battle, Alyssa and Rachel strolled across the mats and stood by the far wall.

"Okay, let's start with focusing your spirit," Alyssa said solemnly to her student.

Rachel laughed and rolled her eyes. "Very funny. Consider my spirit serene and in a state of harmony."

Sakura and Calara launched into another fight, with twin ninjato flashing in the air as she leapt to the attack. The Latina stumbled back a step, but Sakura wasn't going to be fooled by such an obvious feint. Instead of pursuing her for a killing blow, Sakura danced to the side in an attempt to flank her opponent... then tripped over the long pole that Calara suddenly lunged forward and jammed between her feet. Knocked off balance, she wasn't able to parry in time as the naginata's blade whistled through the air to strike the back of her neck.

"Decapitated in five seconds..." Sakura said with a look of admiration as Calara grinned in triumph. "Okay, you're far too dangerous when you can see the future. No more powers."

Alyssa watched the pair square off again, then turned her attention back to Rachel. "None of us have ever tried projecting a shield around anyone else, so I'm afraid you're on your own here. How conscious are you of your healing aura when you enlarge that to heal groups?"

The brunette nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good point of reference. I'm fully aware of the initial diagnosis and the regeneration afterwards."

Glancing at Sakura and Calara as they circled each other on the mats, Alyssa asked, "Perhaps you'd like to try it on me first?"

Rachel nodded and took a deep breath, then her eyes began to glow with a gentle grey light. The familiar sight of her healing aura appeared as the swirling mists rolled down her arm and spread out to engulf Alyssa. The brunette frowned in concentration, picturing the blonde in her mind as she instinctively began her diagnosis. With her target anchored, she reshaped the mists as she'd done before, using them to form a disc that hovered in the air between them. Rachel made a gesture and the grey aura faded away, leaving a hexagonal shield in its place.

"It worked!" Alyssa exclaimed joyfully.

Beaming at her in triumph, Rachel waved away the shield, then instantly summoned another. "Easy. Perhaps there is a kind of perverse logic to these abilities after all."

The blonde wrapped her in a hug, being careful not to accidently bash her with the shield. "I knew you could do it! That was fantastic!"

"I hated feeling powerless to protect all of you and just being there to heal your injuries after you got hurt. Perhaps now I can prevent some of those wounds in the first place!" Rachel gushed, hugging her back.

"Which would also save us from getting exhausted after healing," the blonde agreed, her grin broadening. "Do you think you can form a spherical shield?"

Rachel nodded confidently, then stepped away from Alyssa and instantly engulfed her matriarch in a protective globe of grey hexagons. "Now I understand the basic principles behind shielding, modifying the creation criteria is relatively straightforward."

Alyssa looked delighted. She darted a glance at the duellists, seeing that her girlfriend was being forced back on the defensive once again. "Quick, save Calara!"

The brunette smiled and gestured at the beleaguered Latina, enclosing her in a glimmering psychic sphere. Sakura's blow bounced off the shield, cracking one of the hexagons but not breaking through. Both fighters froze, their shocked expressions clearly visible through their clear crystal helmets.

Sakura turned to look at the smiling audience and couldn't help laughing. "What happened to not being intrusive?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Alyssa retorted. "What do you think of Rachel's new trick?"

Calara and Sakura both stared at the glowing shield in fascination, reaching out to brush their armoured fingers across the curved surface.

"Amazing..." Calara murmured, turning to look at Rachel in awe. "You learned how to do that in just one day?"

Rachel slipped her arm around her psychic mentor. "Alyssa's a wonderful teacher."

"Why don't you see if you can break through, Sakura?" Alyssa suggested.

The Asian girl nodded agreeably, "Sure. With powers, or without?"

"Without for now... if you can't get through, then go for it!"

Sakura twirled both ninjato around her wrists and grinned. She made eye contact with Rachel, who nodded she was ready. Wasting no time, the assassin rushed to attack, blades slashing back and forth as she tried to chop through the grey barrier. She cracked hexes in a dozen places, but as soon as they started to fracture, Rachel repaired the shield with new ones.

"Feeling any fatigue?" Alyssa asked the doctor, just to be careful.

"I feel absolutely fine," the brunette replied, with a confident smile. "Those sword strikes are only as powerful as that first batch of telekinetic darts you used this morning."

After a minute of getting nowhere, Sakura paused and glanced back at the audience. After a nod from Alyssa, there was a disconcerting cracking sound and glacial cold began to pour off the identical swords as hoar frost crept up the blades. When Sakura lashed out this time, she sundered a trio of hexagons as her blow struck the shield, but they were replaced before she could take advantage of the gap. Her arms moved in a blur even without psychic speed and she battered the globe, pulverising hexagons again and again.

Rachel grimaced as she tried to weather the onslaught, having to rapidly replace scores of hexagons as the blows landed in a vicious flurry. The damage quickly became too great and the shield collapsed as its integrity was compromised.

"Damn!" she cursed in frustration, wiping her brow with the back of her hand. She nodded respectfully to Sakura. "I doubt I'd be able to keep you out for more than a few seconds if you were using speed as well."

The Asian girl bounded over, her expression reflecting her excitement. "No, that was incredible!"

"But you got through in about twenty seconds," the brunette said in confusion.

Calara smiled as she joined them. "Sakura was just standing there and whaling away at my shield, she wasn't even trying to defend herself. If a bad guy tried that and I was armed, he'd be dead in two-seconds-flat."

"Oh, so that wasn't so bad then after all," Rachel said, looking thrilled.

Alyssa laughed and hugged the brunette. "No, not bad at all. Now, do you feel up to some more practice?"

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded. "Definitely. I'd like to really push myself today, I don't get the opportunity very often with psychic healing."

"You heard the lady," Alyssa said imperiously, clapping her hands. "Back to whacking each other!"

Calara and Sakura smiled at her theatrics, but moved back into position on the mat to fight again. A grey barrier appeared around Calara, then Sakura launched an attack... but this time the Latina was fighting back. With the shield in place, Calara could be far more aggressive and now it was the Asian girl being forced to parry sweeping slashes from the naginata's curved blade. With Sakura on the defensive, her attacks were limited to quick ripostes, greatly reducing the damage she could do to the shield.

Although this battle took far longer, it was obvious to everyone, both fighters and spectators, who the winner would be. Calara only needed to land one solid blow to be declared the victor, whereas Sakura would have had to hack her way through Rachel's constantly replenishing shield. After nearly twenty minutes of combat, Calara finally managed to twist her naginata as Sakura parried, the longer blade sliding through her frantic defences to glance off her helmet.

Rather than be disappointed, Sakura rushed over to hug Rachel. "Do you see the difference? It was a nightmare trying to cut through that!"

"And I barely used any energy," the brunette marvelled. "I think I only replaced a couple of dozen hexagons in that entire fight."

"Well, we have all evening and I've got a ton of energy reserves to burn through," Alyssa said with an encouraging smile. "Dana's only got until midnight as John's sex toy. Let's see what else you can do until then..."

***

John and Dana walked hand-in-hand down the corridor to the captain's quarters, then paused just inside the door.

"I can't believe today's nearly over," Dana said with a wistful sigh.

"Have you enjoyed it?" John asked, brushing his fingers through her hair, then resting his hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him with a lovely smile on her face. "It's been the best day of my life."

"It was a very good day," he agreed, returning her smile.

Dana laughed as she caressed her rounded tummy. He'd fed her twice more that evening and she still looked heavily pregnant despite it being a couple of hours since their last passionate coupling. "I've got the evidence here of how much fun you had."

"It wasn't just the sex..." he said quietly, making eye contact with her. "You reminded me just how lucky I am to have you in my life."

"Now I don't want it to ever end," she said with a forlorn pout.

"It's not over yet..."

Dana gave him a coy smile. "Get comfy, I'll be with you soon..."

"See you in a minute," he said, leaning down to give her a kiss.

The redhead sauntered away to the bathroom with a sexy sashay to her hips. Dana paused in the doorway to make sure he was watching her, then grinned and waved before disappearing inside.

John lay back on the bed and stretched, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction, right down to his quad. All they'd done all day had been catnap, have sex, then chat in the afterglow, the cycle repeating half-a-dozen times already. Being honest with himself, he'd done nothing constructive all day, but he'd never felt closer to Dana which made it all worthwhile. He'd been glad to hear that she'd had a great time, because he had too; John felt calmer and happier than he had done in years, decades perhaps. It was a good feeling and one he was profoundly grateful to Dana for.

"Hey, John," Tashana greeted him, entering the bedroom with her sister following close behind.

"Hey, you two," he said with a smile, beckoning them over for a kiss. "Had a good day?"

"Tiring," Irillith said, sighing wearily. "We've spent the last 14 hours working on a translation of the Vulkat language."

He patted the bed in front of him, then began to massage her shoulders. "Any success so far?"

Irillith trembled at his touch and murmured something in Maliri under her breath, rendered speechless by how good his strong hands felt on her tired muscles.

Tashana looked at her twin with sympathy, then focused on John. "We're nearly done. We figured out the language structure and are just working on a lexicon. Irillith's been creating a program to help speed up the translation of the more obscure terms. She's been working incredibly hard... I'm sure we'll be finished tomorrow."

"I'm so proud of you," John whispered in Irillith's ear. "Thank you for the huge amount of effort you've put into this. You're such a good girl."

She shivered with delight at his praise and turned to give him a grateful kiss. "It felt good immersing myself in work." Darting an affectionate glance at her sister, she added, "And I enjoyed working with Shan too."

Irillith's tension melted away under John's massage and she soon roused herself to make way for her twin. Tashana smiled and moved her long mane of white hair aside to give him free access to her shoulders, then let out a sultry groan when he started to ease the knots out of her muscles.

Helene and the Nymphs were next to arrive, all of them looking bright and cheerful. They each came over to greet him with a kiss, then took their places on the bed.

"What have you girls been up to today?" he asked the six exotic women.

"Counting the minutes until we can be with you tomorrow, Master," Leylira purred, her emerald eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Her Nymph sisters nodded eagerly, while Jade watched them with an indulgent smile. John shared an affectionate glance with his Nymph matriarch, who he'd already seen a couple of times that day, then turned to look at Helene.

"I've been in the Lagoon with Faye," the aquatic girl explained cheerfully. "She's been teaching me more about the different empires... it's been really interesting!"

"I'm glad you've been enjoying yourself." He hesitated, then asked, "I hope you didn't suffer from a hangover this morning? I think I remember you saying that you hadn't been drunk before."

"No, I was fine," she replied, looking bright and happy. "That was a really fun party!"

"I woke Rachel early and she took care of all of us in the morning," Alyssa explained as she strolled through the door, the rest of the girls following her inside.