Three Square Meals Ch. 093

It was a gorgeous day on Myra's world and the group laughed and joked under the bright sunshine

while nibbling at their tasty lunch. Tashana and Irillith had prepared a wide variety of Maliri rolls, wraps, and pastries, which tasted incredible with the bottles of wine that John had picked out for them. He sat back and watched the girls as they relaxed and had fun together, never looking more beautiful than they did that afternoon.

With lunch finished, he moved the hampers aside, then tapped his glass to draw everyone's attention his way. The girls quieted, watching him with smiling faces as he looked at Rachel. "I won't give a long speech, but I just wanted to say thank you for making that fateful decision to join the crew four months ago. The time you've spent with us has been wonderful and I can't even imagine what it'd be like without you here as part of our family."

"She's totally awesome!" Dana cheered, hugging her girlfriend.

John smiled and nodded, looking into Rachel's grey eyes. "That she is." Raising his glass to her, he continued, "Happy birthday, Rachel. Here's to the first of many, many more to come."

The girls all raised their glasses too and chorused, "Happy Birthday!" then drank to toast their friend.

"Thank you so much," Rachel said, blushing at all the attention. "I've had an amazing day so far. I haven't had this much fun on my birthday since... ever!"

"There's still lots more to go!" Dana exclaimed before giving her a kiss.

Putting his glass down, John reached for his backpack, then pulled out the black case. He murmured a telepathic apology to Alyssa and Jade, then shut them from his mind to avoid tipping them off. That instantly drew their full focus to him, as he placed the case in his lap, the rest of the girls quickly noticing their intrigued expressions. Soon John had everyone's undivided attention once again.

He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling nervous, and when he glanced at Rachel he saw she had a stunned look on her face as she read his intentions perfectly. There was a hushed silence as the rest of the girls realised he had something significant planned, the only sound the faint rushing of the water cascading into the deep pools behind them.

John looked around the group. "My life's been a wild rollercoaster over the last six months, with some very dark lows but also some really incredible highs. The highlights have all been because of you and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for choosing to be with me." He smiled at them and shook his head in wonder. "I never imagined I'd ever meet anyone as remarkable as each of you... Yet here I am, with eight of the most beautiful, intelligent, and loving women in the galaxy."

There were soft sighs from the girls as they glowed with pride at his sincere compliments. Glancing around the group, he met their tender gaze, sharing an intimate smile with each of them.

"We have the chance at a long and bright future ahead of us and I feel blessed that I'll be able to share an eternity with all of you." He paused for a second to fight down his nerves, then continued, "I've spoken to most of you about this individually, but this time it felt right to share this moment with all of you at once."

He took the case off his lap and placed it on the blanket in front of him, then pressed his thumb to the rune in its centre. The lid clicked and he caught it just before it flipped open. The girls were all staring at him with wide eyes now, holding their breath in anticipation.

"I want to make a commitment to all of you today: that I'll always be there to love and care for you, for the rest of your lives." He paused and slowly tilted back the lid of the case. "Will you each do me the honour of being my wife?"

There was a collective gasp as the girls laid eyes on the eight exquisite rings immaculately presented in the black velvet cloth. They glanced at each other, their eyes sparkling in equal excitement and astonishment.

John sensed their hesitation, so he smiled as he said, "How about we start with Alyssa and each of you take your rings in the sequence you joined me? I think you should be able to tell who they each belong to..."

All eyes fell to the blonde and she reached out with a trembling hand for the brilliant sapphire ring that perfectly matched the shade of her enchanting cerulean eyes. She let out a soft cry as she gazed at the intricate craftsmanship of the band, with a noble lion leading a pride of ten sleek lionesses around the circumference.

"It's so beautiful..." she murmured, happy tears filling her eyes.

The rest of the girls echoed her words as they each took their own ring.

"How did you find an amethyst with a blue spark inside it?!" Irillith marvelled, sitting next to her twin, their heads close together as they compared the two violet stones.

"Mine has a tiny red flare at its centre!" Tashana exclaimed, looking up at him, shocked by the effort he'd gone to.

"I can only claim credit for the bands," John admitted honestly. "I asked Thandrun to help me find the perfect stones and he asked one of his forgemasters to cut them."

"There are ten lionesses," Jade murmured, kneeling beside him to show him her emerald ring. "Who are the last two?"

John reached into his pocket and pulled out two more rings, which he slotted into the empty case. They were both inlaid with amethysts, but one was a deep, regal purple, while the other was lighter and had an inner luminescence to it.

"Edraele and Faye..." Jade whispered in a hushed voice.

"I would've loved for them both to be here for this too, but it wasn't to be," John said quietly. "My relationship with them is different from the rest of you; still special, but just... different. I care about Faye a great deal, but I want to wait for her to have her body, and we obviously still need to revive Edraele."

"They'll love their rings," Alyssa said, leaning in to him and planting a tender kiss on his cheek. "Just like I do..."

John returned her kiss, then looked around the group with a frown. "I'm getting a bit worried... No one's actually said 'yes' yet!"

He was immediately buried under a deluge of overjoyed women, who showered him in kisses between telling him "Yes!" in the most emphatic way possible. Much to his relief, they were all extremely eager to accept his proposal. Starting with Alyssa, he slid the ring onto her finger, watching her look of joy as she wore it for the first time. One by one, he went around the group, doing the same for each girl to mark their acceptance of his proposal.

Hugging Dana and Alyssa to him afterwards as he lay on the blankets, he smiled at them as he said, "I finally managed to give you the romantic setting and the ring you deserved, I just hope the proposal met your expectations..."

The redhead laughed, looking at him through soft tear-filled eyes. "You daft, romantic bastard... You could've given me a battered old bearing as a ring and said 'fancy getting hitched?' and it still would've been perfect!"

"It was really lovely," Alyssa agreed, holding her hand in the air and watching as the light caught the blue jewel. She ran her fingers over his chest and then leaned in to kiss him. "You're completely forgiven for blocking me out of your mind. The ring was so thoughtful. I can't believe you were able to get such detail on the band; I think I'd struggle to make anything quite so delicate..."

"It's deca-shaped, so I wouldn't call the band delicate exactly," John said with a grin, hugging her closer. "It should be able to take a battering without taking a scratch."

Alyssa frowned and hugged her hand to herself protectively. "I'll be taking better care of it than that!"

Sakura couldn't take her eyes off her chocolate-coloured diamond, tilting it in the bright sunlight to admire the white frosting interlaced through the facets of the gemstone. "Does this mean we have to love, honour, and obey you now?" she asked, a joyful smile on her face.

"Not until the actual wedding," John replied with a grin, sitting up when Alyssa and Dana moved away to rejoin their lovers.

Sakura quickly took the opportunity to sit astride him. "I plan to start early... so I can get really good at it."

He stroked her back as they kissed, holding her close as she pressed herself to his chest.

When she finally pulled back, she said softly, "Thank you for speaking to my parents first. Knowing they approved and gave their blessing makes this even more special." She blushed and held her hand over her heart. "It's like I can feel them... watching over me."

John gave her another kiss then darted a glance at Rachel. The brunette had overheard the Asian girl's words and she spotted the quick flash of regret on John's face.

Kneeling beside him, she ran her hand over his shoulder. "Don't feel bad. I know you tried to do the same for me, but you were right to hold off on asking my father; announcing our engagement would've ended badly if you'd brought it up during that visit. My relationship with him is very different to the way Calara is with her parents, or Sakura was with hers. You've already managed to repair those burned bridges between my father and me, but it might take months for us to gradually rebuild our relationship. I wouldn't want you to delay this engagement with all of us for that reason."

He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, Sakura wrapping an arm around her too and kissing the brunette on the cheek. John gazed into Rachel's grey eyes and said, "The incident at the lake, with the portal... I was trying to do the same for you that I did with Sakura."

Rachel bit her lip as her grey eyes glistened with tears. "You were going to ask my mother for her blessing, weren't you?"

John nodded, before letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry it went so wrong... It's too dangerous at the moment to try and make another attempt. I promise you though, one day we'll try again."

"Thank you," she whispered as she shuddered in their embrace, burying her face in John's neck.

The rest of the girls stroked her back and arms, offering her support as they joined in the hug. Rachel looked up to thank them and caught the look of guilt on Calara's face. She quickly pulled away from John and fiercely embraced the Latina. "Don't ever feel guilty about your family! It's not your fault what happened to me and mine, but seeing you with your parents gives me hope... That's how I want to be with my children, making them feel cared for and loved!"

There were murmurs of agreement all round and Calara looked tremendously relieved that she hadn't upset any of them, the look of guilt vanishing from her face.

Alyssa caressed her lover's back and said softly, "I also want to see you have the huge family wedding you deserve; it's what's right for you and your family. I know that's why you've been reluctant to make any plans with Maria... You know what she expects, but you don't want to risk upsetting any of us."

Calara glanced around, the look of guilt back with a vengeance. "It feels so unfair, like I'm showing off or rubbing your faces in my 'perfect family'. I swear to you, I don't feel that way at all!"

"It's okay, we know..." Alyssa said soothingly, brushing her fingers through the Latina's lustrous brown hair. "Fate had different plans for me growing up, but I'll still be able to enjoy your big wedding through you..."

Dana hugged Calara tighter. "As long as we all get to be bridesmaids!"

Calara laughed and smiled gratefully at her friends as they nodded their earnest agreement. "You're all amazing! Of course you can be my bridesmaids; that was the only thing I'd actually decided on!"

Alyssa glanced around at the rest of the girls, asking them all the same telepathic question and getting nods of confirmation from each in turn. She brushed her fingers along the back of John's neck. "John, there's something else we should talk about, while we're on the subject of wives and weddings..."

"That sounds ominous," he said with a smile, putting his free arm around her. "What's on your mind?"

"We all think that Calara should be your official wife, at least as far as the Terran Federation is concerned..." the blonde said, her tone firm.

The Latina gasped, her eyes wide with shock. "No! That's not right, it should be you!"

Alyssa slowly shook her head, her expression calm and serene. "This is like you being the Lion's second-in-command for PR purposes. What we're doing isn't exactly illegal, but John having eight or more wives would still be considered scandalous. Why bring attention to it?"

She glanced around at each of the girls in turn. "Dana just wants to be John's property, Rachel's always hidden herself from the public eye, and Sakura's past would raise too many awkward questions. As non-Terrans, Jade, Irillith, and Tashana definitely wouldn't be a wise choice; not that they ever desired that attention in the first place."

"What about you?" John asked quietly, turning from the rest of the girls as Sakura climbed off his lap, so that he could face Alyssa directly. "You know how much I love Calara, but she's right about this. You were first, you're my Matriarch, and our relationship is special; there's no point shying away from that. It should be you..."

The blonde smiled at him and brushed her fingers across his cheek. "Just imagine the awkward questions that would raise with Calara's family... and what would we gain? Being a figurehead for PR purposes doesn't mean anything to me. The only opinions I really care about are right here, aside from Faye, a sexy reporter who shows a lot of potential, and a host of blue-skinned babes. This would mean far more to Calara than any of us, so it seems like the obvious choice to me." She took his hand and placed it on her slender tummy, then reached out to caress Jade's and Calara's toned stomachs. "You know what I want more than anything..."

John looked around at the girls and asked, "Do all of you really feel that way?"

Rachel squeezed Calara's hand then smiled at John. "It makes a lot of sense. I'd hate being in the media spotlight, but I can just imagine the look of pride on Calara's face when the two of you make an official announcement. Commander Fernandez engaged to Vice Admiral Blake... the TF military will love it! One of their own marrying the Lion of the Federation."

He turned to look at Calara and saw her blushing furiously, trying to mask the thrill she felt at hearing those words. "It looks like we're outvoted, Commander," he said with a warm smile.

Alyssa laughed, and patted the Latina on the shoulder. "Go on, you're not fooling anyone..."

Calara flung herself into John's arms, kissing him soundly. "I'd love to! I've been so worried about how my dad would react when he found out about the girls, but this solves everything!"

After lots more celebrating, the girls eventually calmed down and they relaxed on the blankets under the glorious sunshine, admiring their new rings. Alyssa insisted that John lay back with his head on her lap, and he sighed with bliss as Calara joined the blonde in brushing their fingers through his hair. The Maliri twins joined him then, snuggling up on either side of him and resting their flowing white manes on his shoulders as he put his arms around them.

"I had no idea there was so much complexity involved in Terran weddings," Irillith said, tilting her head up to look at him.

"Just wait until Calara and Maria start planning the big day on Oceanus," John replied with a wry smile.

Tashana nodded and said authoritatively, "According to the Terran shows I've seen, there's usually numerous problems with the venue, the caterers, and the weather, as well as long-lost lovers trying to disrupt the nuptials. Also, if you ever see the bride in her wedding dress before she walks down the aisle in the ceremony, then the marriage is doomed to never take place! The worst problems are due to fights with the 'in-laws'... They usually reach their peak when the bride fails to turn up at the wedding, or the groom sleeps with a bridesmaid!"

"What happens when the bride and groom sleep with all the bridesmaids, then whisk them away on their honeymoon?" Calara asked, sharing an excited grin with Alyssa.

Tashana laughed and shrugged helplessly. "Perhaps the producers thought that was too outrageous to make a believable storyline?"

Irillith shook her head in disbelief. "It looks like the Maliri managed to avoid a great deal of unnecessary trouble by ignoring marriage altogether!"

John squeezed her shoulder and asked with a teasing smile, "Does that mean you've changed your mind? You don't want to be married to me after all?"

"I never said that!" Irillith blurted out, blushing self-consciously.

He brushed his fingers across her slender neck. "I did think about making you a nice collar instead of a ring... maybe that would have been more appealing?"

"I love my ring!" Irillith protested, but she hesitated then, a glimmer of excitement appearing in her eyes. "But the collar sounds very interesting..."

Tashana laughed and stroked her sister's arm affectionately, hugging her and John closer. "Maybe matching collars?"

Irillith grinned at her, nodding eagerly.

John looked down at the happy pair. "I know the normal Terran formalities regarding marriage don't really apply to you two, but I had planned on asking your mother for her blessing." He smiled for a moment and added, "She did say she'd agree if I asked, but it was just an offhand comment she made when we were discussing speaking to parents."

Irillith smiled at him and said, "I have a feeling she hasn't changed her mind since then. Our mother seems to have taken quite a shine to you for some reason..."

John returned her smile, but Tashana suddenly froze, gaping at him in shock.

"What is it, honey?" he asked, concerned to see her dramatic reaction.

"Our father... you wanted to ask him too!" she gasped, a riot of emotions flashing across her face.

Irillith sucked in her breath, looking as stunned as her twin. She knew John well enough by now to realise he'd want to do the same for them as he'd done for Sakura and tried to do for Rachel.

John hugged them closer and slowly nodded. "Yes, you're right. I discussed it with Alyssa and Edraele, but I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want to get your hopes up. I need concentrated psychic imprints left behind by strong emotions, preferably ones focused on you. We thought that the best chance would be from your camping vacations with him, but they were scattered all over Valaden."

Tashana sat up and shook her head. "No! On Geniya station!"

Irillith sat bolt upright as well, nodding eagerly. "We used to call him there almost every night! He'd tell us bedtime stories to help us go to sleep..."

Frowning in confusion, John glanced up at Alyssa. *I wonder why Edraele never said anything...*

Guessing what he was saying to the blonde, Irillith said, "Our father was a comms specialist and hacker. He masked the signal so Edraele never knew about our calls to him." She faltered then, her face reflecting her grief and deep sense of loss. "I was always in awe of the way he defied my mother... that's why I chose to follow his career."

John sat up and gathered the twins in his arms. "I can't wait to meet him, he sounds like a remarkable man. I know how proud he'll be of the wonderful women you've both become..."

Both sisters trembled in his arms as they leaned into him for comfort, the thought of being able to see their long-dead father again leaving them overcome with emotion. The other girls moved to embrace them too, Rachel and Sakura sharing a knowing glance, having experienced those same mixed feelings of soaring elation and devastating loss.

Tashana eventually leaned back to look at John and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Do you really think we'll be able to see him again?"