Andy's Fan-Fiction Archive

RESPONSIBILITY
By
Bernice Low

Timeline: On Way To New Pacifica
Author's E-Mail: drteong@pc.jaring.my

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Hello everybody..
Hope that you're all having a nice vacation and with lots of snow [I speak from the equator where we have sunshine and rain but none of that white stuff.]
I'm not too sure whether this is a good time to mail to the list with people going off for vacation but my uni e mail programme [this is what you get when it's free] can't import text onto the mail - and it's gonna take me way too long to type this all in. So I'm sending this while I'm at home and able to use Eudora [all hail he who wrote it!]
This germinated back in Summer when I finally saw 'Flower Child'. It started as another 'Morgan adventure' with lots of J and A thrown in - but I ended up writing a lot of Dev and Danz too- well more than I usually do. Hopefully I've managed to keep those two true to themselves. It remains my ambition to one day write a D and D story.
As for my theory of suppressors, there is considerable writer's licence in it - I can't vouch for it's scientific pedigree but please, critique away if it strikes you as illogical. As always, all comments are gladly welcomed - but PLEASE to my email at uni - llylbl@ccn4.nott.ac.uk.
Thanks to Laura for duplicating Flower Child for me [BTW, haven't heard from you in ages!] and this one's for all you J and A fans and to the one and only original RHM. Those who know me know I'm hopeless with titles. Hope this one works ok.
Bernice.
Disclaimer: All characters used in this work of fiction belong to Amblin. This story however remains the intellectual property of the author. Reproduction in any form shall only be with the author's permission

Responsibility 1/4
by Bernice Low
It was a hot and balmy night in the peak of the Summer cycle on G889. A lone watchman in the form of Walman sat wide awake next to a lumalight. It was too hot for a campfire, or coffee - it was too hot to even fall asleep.
Walman leaned on his MagPro and wished that he had a cold,cold beer in his hands. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck onto his shirt collar, and it prickled at the skin on the back of his neck. He wished that he could take his shirt off - he hated that sticky, clammy downright icky feeling that he had now.
Should he? What if someone walked out that moment? Walman cast a furtive look around the camp. Quiet. Not even a sniffle from Morgan.
Oh, what the heck...

In her tent, Julia Heller tossed and turned on the bed, trying to find a spot which might be remotely cool to lie on. For once, the flap at the entrance of her tent was open all the way, in the hope that some cool night air might blow in and make the night more bearable.
Fat chance, sighed Julia. The air was stiflingly still, without even a hint of breeze. She swatted impatiently at the insects which flew around her face and annoyingly buzzed in her ears.
Did I really sign up to leave my comfortable unit on the space station, with it's wonderful split unit air conditioner and nice soft bed to sleep on a makeshift bed, under a plastic tent with mosquitoes [or some G889 equivalent to your average bloodsucking mozzie] buzzing in my ear and the prospect of a 10,000km hike with numerous untold dangers ahead of me? she asked herself.
She opened her eyes, looked up at the orange plastic roof of her tent and groaned. She could hope till the universe came to an end that the answer would be no. The fact was, she was stuck here.
She propped herself up on her elbow and fanned herself with the collar of her T Shirt. Invariably, her eyes were drawn to the dozing figure at her side. The handsome face, those hidden dimples that appeared only when he flashed that Galaxy-wide-Patented smile - one hundred percent guaranteed to attract female attention. The thick jet black hair that always managed to make her feel like running her fingers through it. And the physique like a Greek god with those firm, well formed pectoral muscles that made her fingers feel like doing ALL the walking...
Heller, Heller, Heller... a little voice in her head chided. What are you complaining about?
He chose that particular moment to wake up from his dozing and his dark eyes watched her lazily.
"Can't sleep?" he asked slowly, his eyebrows raised in a blatant suggestion.
"It's too hot Alonzo." she complained, then caught his look. "Definitely too hot..." she replied drily.
He caught the end of her T-shirt and pulled it up slowly. "I can see the cause of your problem Dr Heller." he said,growing bold and inching up the T shirt even more, exposing her midriff.
She slapped at his hand.
"Not everyone is an exhibitionist.." she retorted, directing her thinly veiled sarcasm at his scantily clad state. Alonzo wore just about the barest scrap of shorts he had and it peeved Julia slightly that he was staying cool at her expense.
"Would you reconsider if we made it a closed exhibition? Viewing only to a very, very select audience..." he suggested outrageously.
She bumped him in the ribs with her elbow. "You promised to behave if I let you stay here tonight." she scolded and flopped back onto her back. She wiggled uncomfortably - despite her bare legs and arms, she still felt sticky and hot - and cursed for the umpteenth time that night at the idiot who decided that men and women had to have anatomical differences which literally, stood out.
"Julia?" Alonzo's voice drifted lazily over to her. "Hmmmm..." Julia closed her eyes.
"I've got an idea."
"If it gets me any cooler, I'm all ears." she mumbled, eyes closed. "You know that gizmo Danzinger's been working on all week?" "The one he spends all day banging about making a huge racket?" "Uh huh."
"What about it?" Julia asked, half paying attention and starting to feel that perhaps sleep might come after all.
"Wanna check it out?" he whispered in her ear. "We don't even know what it is Alonzo." she replied, slightly drowsy and debating if she should swat that tiresome bug that kept flying around next to her ear.
"It's a shower." he replied slowly. Julia opened her eyes. She turned to look at Alonzo, who was lying on his stomach, chin resting on his fingers, looking at her with a look that could only be described as 'smouldering'.
"And what did you have in mind?" she asked,trying to sound cool, though her imagination was already working overtime.
"Sounds like a good time to find out if it works." he drawled. Julia forgot for a moment all about the buzzing insects, the uncomfortable bed and the night heat. His fingers crept underneath her T Shirt slowly.
She cleared her throat.
"The two of us?"
"Wasting water is a terrible thing Dr Heller." he said as he inched closer to nuzzle her ear. Julia started to find it harder and harder to resist his suggestion. Her mind seemed unable to think of any logical reason to say no.
"Someone will see us.." she said weakly. "It's just round the corner from your tent..." he answered casually, his fingers continued to roam under her T Shirt.
Julia caught his hand before he got any further. "OK - I'll bite." she said, getting up and clambering over him to get out of the bed.
"Race you there fly boy.. and don't forget the soap.".

"No Morgan - not tonight." Bess said irritably, as she felt her husband snuggle closer to her. It was hot and sweltering enough without having to endure Morgan clinging to her and making her feel even more bothered and sticky.
"But Bess, honey..." her husband murmured. He felt amazingly virile tonight - perhaps it was something to do with the full moon outside. He uttered a low and [he hoped] sexy growl, cuddling closer to his wife.
"Honey,it's just too hot tonight." Bess repeated. Morgan sat up, slightly annoyed. "What is that? The latest version of 'I've got a headache?'" he grumbled.
Bess continued to keep her eyes firmly closed, ignoring her husband's whines about his lack of conjugal rights. It was too hot. She racked her brain quickly for a more suitable excuse before he started on more complicated issues.
Like performance.
Like adequacy.
And whatever else it is that men prided themselves on where such matters were concerned.
She just couldn't deal with a Morgan insecurity on a night like this. "Morgan - you know we can't. You had your last suppressor two weeks ago sweetie." she replied, trying to muster up enough concern in her voice.
A spluttering noise from her husband confirmed that she had hit home with that last one.
"But...but Bess, I thought you were going to talk to Julia about getting more.."
"Morgan, it's your body. It's your responsibility." Bess mumbled from under the pillow.
Morgan hunched over his knees. "I know, I know. But I mean I don't like having to ask her..." he muttered.
"You managed it fine the last time." Bess slurred, half asleep. "What did you say to her?"
Silence.
"Morgan?" Bess snapped awake, surprised by her husband's long silence. Surely Morgan wasn't EMBARRASSED about it? She sat up and touched her husband on the shoulder.
"Honey?"
More silence
"Well...you know... it was kind of embarrassing.." she heard Morgan mumble.
And Bess swore she saw her husband turn a positively bright shade of pink. "...but you always used to get them." Bess remarked innocuously. "I know - but that was different. Buying it from a mechanical vendor is a whole lot easier..." he mumbled. "You don't have to ask.." he muttered under his breath.
"Morgan... you did it the last time - I'm sure you'll manage it again." Bess said encouragingly and gave her husband a pat on the shoulder.
"But can't we just.."
"Morgan - no suppressors, no playing patty cake. Unless of course you want pitter patter in addition to patty cake.." Bess said frankly and smiled sweetly at her husband as she twisted his metaphorical arm.
Morgan winced. It was times like these that he wondered who was the real politician in the family. Kids! He wasn't ready for kids.
Morgan bemoaned his fate woefully - it was like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. He yanked the blanket over his head.He needed to think and he couldn't hear himself with those pesky bugs swarming around in his ear.
Think Morgan, think. Is there any way to get around this? Yes.
Don't ask.
Morgan smacked himself on the side of the head. Owww.
Well, perhaps that was a little bit hard. Not ask? Are you crazy? It may be god knows how many years before he saw an automated vendor again. He doubted it was very high on Devon's list of priorities - unless the woman decided to marry Danzinger tomorrow - but he was sure that wasn't going to happen - he was after all married to Eden Advance's Number One Busybody.
He sighed. After all, man cannot live on bread alone. Under the privacy of his blanket, he tried out a few lines.
"I've run out of those things.." Nope. "Julia - Bess and I ..." No, no, no. Try again. "Julia, you know those little white thingys..."
And that was all Mrs Morgan Martin heard all night. That, and her husband's moans as he recollected his first 'serious' conversation with Dr Julia Heller.

It was about 7 weeks after they had crash landed on the planet. Morgan Martin, having accepted that it was indeed reality that he was stuck here for a while, told himself that he could just about survive without all the trappings of materialism and comfort. He could live in a plastic tent, eat astronaut food. OK, OK. He'd even put up with those bloody Grendlers and Terrians.
But celibacy? That was asking too much of a man. So, determined to end this imposed abstinence, he marched determinedly to the MedTent. After all, how hard could this be?
He flipped the flap of the tent up and strode in. Clearing his throat, he drew Julia's attention from her microscope. God, the woman was practically joined at the eyeballs to her microscope, he thought inwardly.
"Julia? Do you have a minute?"
Julia turned around, and seeing that it was Morgan, resisted the temptation to scowl and wondered what the problem was this time. The last time it was Grendler drool, and the last time before last, it was chronic hypochondria. And the time before last...
"What can I do for you Morgan?" her voice was casual, only her fingers tapping on the table top betrayed a slight impatience.
Morgan clasped his hands together. Just ask, he told himself. How hard can it be to ask her for some suppressors? Come on Morgan, you've faced all the political scumbags and demons there are, she's just a doctor. She hasn't got an ax to grind with you, or a bone to pick.
"I was ah...wondering...if....ah... you had any...well...." Morgan looked at her earnestly, hoping that she would pick up quickly and get the message.
"Morgan, I can't understand a word you're saying. You're mumbling." Julia said, sharply.
He cleared his throat.
"Well, actually what I wanted to ask you is...err.. whether Bess and I... we...want to errr..." Morgan shifted from left to right nervously.
Julia sat there and sighed. Morgan you wuss, just spit it out. "Well.. you know we've been on the planet for quite a while...and err.. Bess and I....we were wondering if you know...we could start..." Morgan's hands fidgeted nervously with his hair as he tried to force himself to be more direct but he was having a very hard time spitting the words out.
"Did you want some suppressors?" Julia asked outright. From the vague phrases Morgan had mumbled, Julia gathered that was what he was after.
Morgan looked around the tent nervously and wet his lips. "Can you...get...."
Julia wiped her hands on her trousers. "It shouldn't be a problem Morgan. I think I have all the equipment I need." she remarked matter-a-factly. "How much do you want?"
"H-h-h-ow much?" he repeated, blinking at her. "Well, I don't need a specific number, just a general guideline as to how many you'll be needing every..." Julia ran some brief calculations in her head, "say month or so?" She looked expectantly at him.
"..How many..I'll use?.." he looked at her desperately. Julia gave him a suspicious look.
"Morgan, you DO know about these things?" she asked slowly, watching him carefully.
"YES! Of course!" he replied indignantly. "B-b-but not..." he paused, "..I never used..to have to err...I used to just buy...err..t-t-t-them.." he nervously pulled at his shirt and ran his fingers through his hair. He could feel his face slowly turning pink under Julia's gaze.
Deal with a real doctor. Obviously Morgan, Julia said to herself. "When can I....err... have them?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too urgent. He didn't want the doctor to get the wrong idea.
"Well, I need to know how often you'll be needing them. My equipment is not of the standard it should be so I want to be extra careful with anything I synthesize. I don't want to make too much for you because the compound may not be that reliable over a lengthy period of time." she explained, not wanting *Morgan* to get the wrong idea. People always had this idea that doctors were incredible nosy parkers - but after 7 weeks on this planet with the Eden Advance team, she was convinced that it was quite the opposite. It seemed to Julia as though everybody else was constantly sticking their nose in her affairs, especially where Alonzo was concerned.
"Well?" she drilled at Morgan.
Morgan felt like jumping up and down and tearing his head out by the handfuls. What was he to do? Should he just toss a figure randomly at Julia? If only it were that easy. Too much and she would get the wrong idea about him.
Too few?
Well, she might get the wrong impression. For the millionth time since he found himself stranded on this planet, Morgan felt pretty sure that fate had a really mean streak, and at how everything, everything, would have been so much easier if he just hadn't signed up for this damned Eden Project business. He forgot all the wonderful enthusiastic ideas he had about how the Martins would finally be able to make good, to stake their claim, to be leaders, hold some REAL political power. Instead, all he could think of was just how lousy life was treating him. This is worse than being reborn as a cockroach! he wailed to himself.
He reluctantly dragged himself back to reality with a pinch and started to rack his mind for a suitably respectable figure to give Julia, who sat there, surprisingly patient.
Finally, unable to avoid her stare anymore, he hemmed and hawed before Julia finally lost patience.
"OK Morgan, why don't I just make a batch up for you?If you need any more," she emphasised the last word, "you can just let me know." she said simply. Morgan was displaying all the symptoms of the 'Flustered Male' and clearly he was uncomfortable with this entire business, so she would just have to hazard a guess. It was tiresome because it meant that she wouldn't be able to keep to a regular schedule in dispensing the suppressors, and it would mess with her record keeping, but she could see no solution if Morgan was going to be this unhelpful.
His mouth gaping open, Morgan blinked at Julia, wondering if he had heard her wrongly. Noting his reaction, Julia feigned surprise, "Unless of course you've already decided..." she left the sentence unfinished, her eyebrows raised in query.
"No, it's fine Julia. Absolutely fine.. I have no problems...with that.." Morgan blurted out immediately. " Can I..err.." he stuck a thumb in the direction of the entrance of the tent.
"Yes Morgan, I'll drop them off to you or Bess as soon as I can." Julia's voice was saccharin sweet, only slightly betraying her annoyance and she watched as Morgan backed out of the tent hurriedly. She shook her head in amusement.
Men.
Give them a little responsibility over their bodies and they go to pieces.

Responsibility 2/4
by Bernice Low
"Hey Uly." True slowly walked up to young Master Adair, who was sitting on a cargo box, seemingly preoccupied. "Whatcha looking at?" she asked, squinting in the morning sunlight in the direction Uly was staring.
"Julia and Alonzo." Uly replied.
"What about them?" True asked in a disinterested tone. She dug the toe of her boot into the sandy ground, and started to burrow a hole.
"They're always together." he remarked, watching Alonzo planting a kiss on Julia's nose and Julia laugh playfully, kissing him back on the lips. "And they're always.." he wrinkled up his nose, giving True a slightly disgusted look.
"It's 'cause they love each other." True replied in a superior tone. Boys are so dumb - she thought to herself. Can't they figure out *anything* for themselves?
"But all that kissing stuff is kinda gross." she agreed, nodding her head as they watched Julia and Alonzo gazing into each other's eyes deeply.
"Yeah!" Uly agreed firmly with her. "Julia and Alonzo are always kissin' whenever they think no one's looking." he said to True, who now sat down next to him on the cargo box. From a distance, it looked like they were engaged in a deep and meaningful conversation.
"Like last night." Uly continued in a serious tone, as if he were discussing quantum nuclear physics instead of Eden Advance's most watched couple. He watched Julia slap Alonzo on the arm, unaware that they were being observed by the two children.
"Last night?" True asked, mildly curious. Of course she'd seen Julia and Alonzo kissing - but they always stopped whenever someone else appeared or when True came into the room. Alonzo would give her a big grin and Julia would get all hot and bothered - like her dad did when Devon called him by his first name. True never understood why anybody got so worked up about it. She thought it was all rather revolting.
"I bet they were kissing each other in that thing Mr Danzinger's building." Uly snorted.
"You mean dad's shower?" True kept up the conversation, her mind wandering to watch her dad as he talked to Devon.
"Is that what it is?" Uly asked, excited and forgetting momentarily Julia and Alonzo's nocturnal activities.
"Yeah - dad says it's the only way they can make sure Morgan doesn't smell!" True said, lowering her tone of voice, as if she was telling him a big secret.
"Morgan doesn't smell." Uly said, slightly puzzled. "What do you think they were doing in dad's shower?" she said, changing the subject now that she was mildly curious herself. Her father had not even allowed her to go in and look at it and she wondered what Julia and Alonzo were doing in the dead of the night looking at her dad's project.
"I dunno. But there were weird noises." Uly said. "I bet Yale or mom would." he continued earnestly.
"I think we should ask my dad - it's his shower." True suggested. "But Yale knows everything." Uly protested. "Yale gives really long, complicated answers." True moaned. Yale never had a short, snappy answer to give. And he *always* liked to play teacher and talk for a looooong time about anything True asked. What was that word? True wrinkled up her nose.
Comprehensive. Hmmm.
"He does not." Uly defended his tutor. "Does to." True answered quickly. "And why does everything has to be a school lesson?"
"Yale's our teacher." Uly replied simplistically. "Watch your words Ulysses Adair, he's *your* teacher!" True snapped and regretted it immediately.
"He's your teacher too!" Uly said, raising his voice slightly. "Well it's dad's project and I think he should be the one to tell us. He knows lots of things too!" she asserted.
Morgan sat nearby to the two children, trying to count ration portions, but he kept losing count. He glared over at the two bickering children, his eyes narrowing. Little brats - shouting and yelling like that - how the hell was he supposed to get anything done? Bess was already bugging him to finish doing his counting and he still hadn't been to see Julia about that whole business of suppressors - Morgan felt severely irritated.
"Devon! Danzinger - how am I suppose to work when your offspring persist in creating that racket?" he hissed to the two parents, making clear that if he had his way, corporal punishment would have made a return on G889 long ago. How in the world could Bess ever want children? Those two brats were enough to put anyone off fatherhood for life!
Devon and Danzinger looked up from their discussion but ignored his sarcasm. Striding over to the two children, they cast their sternest expressions at them.
"Hey! Cut it out you two." he said in his deep voice, firmly grasping his daughter by the collar of her shirt and gently hauling her back towards him.
"Uly - what are you and True fighting about?" Devon asked in a firm voice, kneeling down on one knee to talk to her son.
"Nothing mom." Uly hung his head down, his blonde curly hair flopping over his eyebrows.
"Nothing?" Devon asked suspiciously, raising one eyebrow in a subtle hint that she wasn't buying his 'Nothing' story for one minute.
"I just wanted to ask Yale something - but True said that we should ask her dad because she says he knows everything. She said Yale gave answers that were too long." Uly confessed in a rush of words. He ignored the 'you rat' look True was giving him.
"Dad?" True looked up at him, as if for confirmation that she was right to insist they ask him.
Danzinger stared disapprovingly at his daughter but before he could chide her, Devon interrupted.
"What was it you wanted to know?" she asked, looking at at the two children. "Maybe your dad and I can give you an answer now and you two can stop fighting." she said gently, looking at True.
"Come on True girl - now's your chance to ask." Danzinger encouraged. "We just wanted to know what Julia and Alonzo were doing in dad's project last night." True explained matter-a-factly, as if she was asking for the answer to a Math problem.
Devon turned pinker than an overboiled lobster. "What?" Danzinger spluttered.
"Your project dad - the shower? Uly saw Julia and Alonzo going into it last night." True explained with wide-eyed innocence.
"Last night?" Devon repeated, looking at Danzinger. "It was so hot mom, so I went out for a walk." Uly told his mother. "And I heard weird noises." he continued in earnest.
"Uh huh..." Devon said, and shifted uncomfortably on her heels. She didn't like the way this question was headed.
"So what were they doing dad?" True persisted. She was determined to show Uly that her dad was just as smart as Yale, if not smarter.
"Well,errr... they were..I..errr...." Danzinger stared desperately at Devon. Come on Adair, now's the appropriate time for you to boss me around and tell me how to raise my daughter.
"Dad!" True pestered her father to speed up with his explanation. When he continued to hem and haw, she started guessing.
"Showering maybe?"
"Well... " Danzinger felt his desperation grow. Devon caught Danzinger's harried expression. "Well True.." she started, bending over to look at True, ".. it's sort of like.." Then she remembered that her own son was also paying rapt attention to her every word and all of a sudden, Devon didn't know if she wanted to have this conversation anymore.
"..very technical.." she said finally, having failed to come up with a suitable answer.
Suitable answer? What suitable answer? There is no suitable answer! her brain screamed.
"It's...um... complicated.." Devon continued rather lamely. "Oh." True said, looking rather disappointed. "Maybe Yale can tell us." Uly said brightly, and he perked up at the thought.
"No son!" Devon shouted, grabbing her son's arm and holding him back then realising that she had been too hasty in her reaction. Uly looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Mom?"
Oh God, Devon moaned to herself.I never thought this day would come. Then she hit on an idea.
"Ummm but... Julia will explain it to you." she said quickly, and hoping that would temporarily keep the situation under control and distract the children from noticing just how nervous this was making the her and Danzinger.
She shifted her gaze over to Danzinger, who was silently mouthing 'Adair? What the hell?..' at her. She gave him a 'Trust me' look and he shrugged.
"Julia?" True repeated.
"Julia." Devon confirmed. "Your dad and I will go find her now. Danzinger?" she said, looking at him meaningfully.
He looked up at her and caught her thoughts. "True girl - you and Uly wait right here - Devon and I will be right back.." Danzinger said, turning to this daughter.
"- and with your answer ok?" he added quickly as he looked at his daughter.
"OK dad. Uly and I will be waiting right here." she said firmly, with an expression that told Danzinger that she wasn't going anywhere till she got an answer. Danzinger felt like banging his head against the side of the TransRover. It was too soon for all this - he wasn't ready to answer those questions, especially from his own daughter. He stepped up his stride to catch up with Devon.

"Adair! What the hell was all that about?" he asked her after they had rounded the corner away from the children and were safely [for the time being] hidden behind Devon's tent.
"Me? It was your daughter who was doing all the asking." Devon reminded him sharply.
Danzinger shook his head. "Kids say the darnest things." "I'd start worrying about those answers now John." Devon muttered, hands on her hips.
"Well at least I didn't tell them it was 'very technical'.." he reminded. "I didn't see you getting any nearer to an answer, John Danzinger." Devon snapped.
"Look, we're not getting anywhere with this." said Danzinger, realising that this was one argument neither of them were going to win.
"You're right." Devon agreed. " But this isn't exactly something that's going to go away."
"Why'd you tell them Julia was going to explain it?" he asked, scratching his head.
Devon sighed. "Well logically, she's the obvious choice - being a doctor and all to explain these things..".
She paused.
"in a....biologically..accurate way." she finished. "Biologically accurate way?" he echoed, staring at her. "And seeing that she and Alonzo got us into this mess in the first place, I should think she could at least get us out of this hole they've dug." Devon said in exasperation, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. She pushed her hair back impatiently.
"I know it's not really fair John..." she continued. After all, Julia and Alonzo did try their best to be discreet and generally they were but it was difficult when they lived in a world without doors and concrete walls.
He nodded. "They are our kids."
"Yes, and parental responsibility is part of what we took on when we brought them into the world. But I'm just not quite sure I know how to..." , she fidgeted and tapped her foot on the ground, ".. explain it all." she said finally. "Or if I want to.." she added softly.
"In other words Adair, you and I are equally chicken." Danzinger summerised bluntly,only a trace of a smile on his lips making his words less harsh.
"I just never thought he'd ask so....soon." Devon said, trying to justify her actions to herself and failing miserably.
"They grow up real fast these days." Danzinger sighed and sat down on the ground, his muscular arms resting on his knees.
"Yeah - too fast." Devon reflected, as she slumped down next to him. She felt old all of a sudden. Her son was growing up. She absent minded tugged a strand of her raven hair - before she knew it, there'd be mini versions of Uly running around and she'd be a ...grandmother. The thought shook her.
"So .. Adair?"
"Danzinger..." she replied, keeping to their 'surnames only' routine. "Who'd you ask?" he said, not looking at her, but down at the ground. Devon didn't have to look at him thought to know what he was asking.The meaning was clear.
Devon cleared her throat. " You mean about the..." "Yeah - y'know - the birds and the bees." he said, not looking up. Devon felt herself going red in the face and averted her eyes. "Well.. I sort of...". She hesitated. "..I kinda just found out." she said lamely before mumbling 'Biology classes.'
Pathetic Devon, really pathetic, she scolded herself. "Uh huh.." Danzinger nodded and she was grateful that he didn't decide to pick on that particular vague answer.
Devon looked over at him.
"What about you" she asked back slowly. "Me?" his eyebrows shot up in surprised and his deep blue eyes stared back at her.
"Yeah - come on Danzinger - I told, now it's your turn." she said, feeling her mood lighten slightly. She wasn't going to let him get away easily on this one.
"It was kind of a guy thing..erm...you know.. we just.." Devon felt a small smile play across her lips as she watched the big handsome mechanic fumble with his words - he was always usually so articulate.
"..there was this..place near where we used to hang out and one day we just snuck in and watched....uh...one of those...3 D movies..you know... those..." he said, his voice trailing off.
"3 D movies?"
"Yeah..." Danzinger said, not looking at her. "Uh huh.." Devon said neutrally, lowering her eyes and playing idly with her shoelace.
Silence.
"So..." Danzinger said finally,looking at her. "I guess we'd better get Julia." Devon said, as she looked up at him. She took the hand he held up and pulled herself up. He waited for her to dust herself off.
"I guess so."
"3-D movies huh? What were they like?" "What did you talk about in Biology class?"

Responsibility 3/4
by Bernice Low
Morgan scribbled the last figure on his computer pad and gave a sigh of relief. He'd finally finished doing those bloody ration counts. He looked over at True and Uly who were obediently sitting on a cargo crate, seemingly occupied with themselves.
"Morgan?" he heard his wife calling. "Yes dear.." he replied absent-mindedly, still watching True and Uly. I bet they're up to something, he thought to himself as he walked over to his wife.
"Have you finished?" she asked Morgan as he walked up to her, holding the computer pad to his chest.
"If it hadn't been for those two brats I would have finished a lot faster." he grumbled.
"Now, now Morgan, remember you were ten once too. And I remember your mother telling me that you were a handful yourself." his wife said to him as she studied his figures. "Quite the little Hitler."
"Have you spoken to Julia yet?" Bess reminded, not looking up from the figures.
Morgan perked up a little. "Bess honey, I was just thinking - I've been kind of tired lately you know and maybe we don't quite need.." he hinted at his wife.
"Honey that's fine by me - I'm just worried about you." she cooed, and stroked his face. "Remember what they say - use it or lose it..." his wife batted her eyelashes at him before strolling off to check numbers with Magus.
Morgan clenched his teeth. Foiled again. Time for Plan B.

Dr Julia Heller strolled into the MedTent, hands in her pockets, feeling like Cinderella after she gets her Prince. Hmmmph. That wasn't the right fairy tale. To feel this good would require the Ugly Sister getting Prince Charming and living happily ever after.
She smiled and shook her head. This was getting positively whacky. She felt so good today - and she couldn't think why. But before she had time to sit down and have a proper think about why she was feeling so good about herself, her GEAR beeped.
"Julia here." she said in an voice that sounded too cheery even to her own ears. Heavens, she sounded like a talking advertisement for anti-depressants. "Yes Morgan, what can I do for you today?" she asked, seemingly not noticing that Morgan was curiously choosing to speak to her by audio when it only took a few steps for him to see her in person.
Morgan Martin sat in his tent, surprised by Julia's tone. She sounded strangely, nice today. Almost approachable. Like she had just ingested Prozac by the gallons. Usually he got the feeling that she didn't like him; and it was always something he never quite understood.
What was there not to like about Morgan Martin? "Well Julia.." Morgan began confidently, bolstered by the fact that firstly, he didn't have to actually face Julia personally and secondly, by her apparent 'good mood', "..I've really been meaning to get round to asking you but you know how it is, busy,busy,busy always.." he rattled.
"Um hmmm.." Julia murmured, sitting at her desk and scrolling through her data pad for her records.
"..unpacking, counting rations, time just flies by in the day and I'm just so forgetful.." he babbled and knowing full well that he wasn't getting any closer to asking the 'million dollar question'.
"Quite Morgan.." she said politely on cue. She studied the records and smiled to herself. Morgan beating around the bush like that was symptomatic of only one thing - he must have run out of suppressors.
She tapped her index finger on the table and wondered if she should be nice to Morgan and spare him the ordeal of having to ask her. She could of course let him ramble on and on, but she wasn't sure if even that would get Morgan to work up the courage to ask outright. It would probably drive her to distraction first, hearing his incessant chattering.
But today was different.
Today, Julia felt....
Benevolent.
"Oh Morgan.." she interrupted him midflow. "Yes?" he asked, and thought he heard, horrors, his voice quiver a little. "I just remembered, you're due for another batch of suppressors - I'll drop it off to you tomorrow, if that's OK by you."
Morgan was momentarily speechless. He couldn't believe his ears. What luck!
"Morgan?" he heard Julia calling.
"That would be fine Julia." he gushed. "Just fine." he said, and quickly broke contact before she changed her mind.
He pulled the GEAR off his head and congratulated himself. Mission Accomplished. The nights are definitely going to get better, he thought gleefully to himself and went off to find Bess, whistling to himself.

Julia took off her GEAR and smiled. Morgan was just so incorrigible. But she couldn't help but think there was something almost lovable about him - his twitching, blustering, wimpish ways.
She caught herself. I must be in a really good mood today, she thought to herself - I'm even starting to like Morgan.
"Thinking about me?" a sexy masculine voice drawled from behind her. Julia didn't have to turn around, she knew it was Alonzo. She felt him slip his arms around her.
"Actually, I was thinking about Morgan." she said in a mock serious tone, while stroking his muscular forearm. She turned to gauge his reaction, her blue eyes dancing.
"Morgan? Now you've got me really worried - Walman, Danzinger - hey, I can deal with those guys, but Morgan? That is serious competition." he grinned, playing along.
She let her fingers run through his thick black hair.It was touching his collar now - not quite as long as Morgan's but long still.
"You need a trim..." she murmured.
"And a shave.." he said, running her other hand along his jaw slowly - she smiled at the invitation.
Her attention was distracted by the sound of voices outside the Med Tent. She stood up from her table and walked over to the tent opening. Ducking her head through the flap, she very nearly bumped right into the towering person of John Danzinger.
"Devon? John? Something I can help you with?" she inquired, noticing that the conversation had ceased the moment she appeared.She looked from one to the other. Alonzo emerged from her tent and stood next to her.
"Devon?" John immediately said, looking pointedly at her with a look that said 'This is *your* idea Adair.'
"Me?" Devon was momentarily surprised, then gave Danzinger her best 'evil stare', designed to remind him that they happened to be in this one together.
"Should we go and do something else while you two work this out?" Julia asked, tactfully, looking at both of them with raised eyebrows.
"No!" Danzinger and Devon said in unison. They looked back and forth at each other.
Julia caught Alonzo's smirk and grinned back at him. "Alonzo!" Danzinger said, as if noticing him for the first time. An idea popped into his head.
"Yeah?" the pilot responded lazily, looking at his friend. "Let's go somewhere and talk huh?" he replied, looking at Devon and hoping she understood what he was doing.
"Can't we talk about it here?" Alonzo asked, puzzled by Danzinger's sudden change in tactic.
"Nah!" Danzinger brushed off Alonzo's question quickly. Slinging an arm around Alonzo's shoulders, he started to drag the surprised pilot away as Julia looked on with surprise.
"It's one of those man-to-man things..." Danzinger explained, looking at Julia and patting Alonzo on the shoulder somewhat overzealously. "Be back real soon Julia... Promise.." he added. Alonzo held his hands up helplessly, a quizzical look on his face as Danzinger continued to pull him in the opposite direction.
"Danzinger! Come back!" Devon ordered but John seemed determined to ignore her. She could see Alonzo gesturing to him, but he refused to pay attention.
"John Danzinger!" Devon bellowed furiously but Danzinger seemed to have turned deaf overnight. Devon couldn't believe her eyes - he was leaving her to do all the dirty work!
"Devon - what are you and John up to?" she heard Julia ask. "What?" Devon answered, almost absent-mindedly. She felt like a volcano ready to explode. That bloody man - trust him to leave me just when I need him, she fumed. I'll kill him with my bare hands!
"Devon?"
"Julia..." Devon turned around to face the doctor, realising she couldn't ignore her anymore. She forced herself to put aside for the moment thoughts of a diabolical revenge on Danzinger which would involve lots of pain and suffering.
Julia looked back at her, slightly impatient. "Yes?" she said, a tinge of irritation in unmistakable in her voice. Devon was acting very strangely indeed and it was really starting to get on Julia's nerves all this beating around the bush.
Devon sighed inwardly. This was going to be sooooo bad.Gritting her teeth, she tried to muster up a friendly smile.
"We need to have a little chat you and me..." she said sweetly, taking the doctor's arm and propelling her towards the tent.

"Let me get this straight Devon - you want ME to explain to your son and True the facts of life?" Julia asked, somewhat aghast at the request.
"Absolutely - who else is better qualified than yourself?" Devon answered. A little flattery never hurt anyone.
Julia smiled weakly. "I agree Devon - I mean in terms of explaining the facts and science - certainly I'm qualified. But..." Julia tapped her fingers on the tabletop,
"...perhaps you and John could put it in better...erm....perspective..."
Pause
"Being their parents..." Julia added as an afterthought, having realised her last sentence gave rise to 'other' connotations.
Devon shook her head vehemently. "Absolutely not Julia - John and I have absolute faith in your capabilities and we really want the kids to have a crystal clear idea of what their being told and John and I really don't really know..."
"... I mean, don't think we could explain it as well." Devon rephrased after seeing Julia raise one surprised eyebrow.
"This is all rather sudden Devon." choked Julia, starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable at the thought of having to explain the A-Z of life to Uly and True.
"Well...err..you know...kids just grow up so fast these days don't they?" Devon burbled. Julia felt herself going into denial - if she closed her eyes maybe she could wish this away.
She opened her eyes.
Drat - Devon was still there, big as life inside her MedTent. And she was still stuck with the job of explaining to Uly and True all about flowers and bees. This was certainly not on the curriculum when she was at Medical school.
"Danzinger!" She heard Devon exclaim as he popped his head into the tent. "Told you we'd be back." he grinned as he hauled Alonzo into the tent with him.
"Devon.."
"Later Danzinger.." Devon replied frostily, her reply holding a promise of nasty untold tortures to be inflicted on Danzinger as soon as they were out of sight. Something with pliers...and that damned spanner Danzinger was so fond of. Oh yes, he'd be thinking long and hard about Number 7 after she was done with him.
Danzinger watched her with a suspicious eyes. Devon had gone all business-like on him and he didn't know why. He'd heard that tone of voice before - the tone of voice that made most grown men quiver in their shoes but he dismissed that thought.
Ms Devon Adair was a small problem compared to his daughter and her questions. Besides, it looked like they had achieved their objective. Julia and Alonzo both looked like they had too much spirolina for dinner.
Divide and conquer - works like a charm, every time.
He had dragged Alonzo away so that Devon could pin Julia down without too much difficulty. While Devon was hopefully working on Julia, he had informed Alonzo that considering the root of the problem had been their little expedition, perhaps he and Julia cared to explain to True and Uly the nature of their nocturnal visit to his project?
By the look on Julia's face, obviously Devon had managed to twist the doctor's arm too. It was now time to beat a hasty exit, find the kids, send them in and let the lovebirds get on with the job. All done in haste and speed to ensure Julia and Alonzo didn't know what hit them.
"I think maybe we oughta leave Julia and 'Lonzo for a while Devon.." he hinted.
Unfortunately, Devon didn't get the hint, or at least was deciding to ignore him. This called for mildly strong arm techniques.
"Adair - it's time to inspect the vehicles..." he growled and grasping Devon firmly by the arm, he frog-marched her out of the MedTent, leaving Alonzo and Julia alone.
"Is it just me or are those two up to something?" Alonzo asked Julia who was clearly lost in thought, trying to find an appropriate metaphor to use for her ghastly task. Grendlers? Kobas? A swarm of ladybirds would be nice at this time - she could just set Uly and True down in front of a jar and ask them to observe 'the facts of life in action'.
"What?"
Alonzo sat down on her bed and repeated his question. "Danzinger dragged me off somewhere and said that True and Uly saw us going into the shower and wanted to know about....."
"About..." Alonzo paused. " About...errr..." Oh boy, what a day this has been. First Devon corners me into explaining all about 'the big bang' to the kids, now Alonzo - Alonzo of all people - is going all prudish on me. What is going on? thought Julia.
"Alonzo..." she said, getting up and grasping him gently by the shoulders. "What?" he looked up at her.
Julia looked matter-a-factly at him and pronounced a single word. "Sex."
"Sex?" He looked puzzled.
"The word you are looking for." Julia explained, shaking him slightly, "It's sex."
Alonzo wrinkled his nose at her, "Do you have to be so clinical about it?" Julia slowly ran her hands up his muscular arms, over his broad shoulders and linked her fingers behind his neck. "Are you implying Mr Solace that my technique is too 'clinical'?' she murmured, as she stepped closer and leaned in.
Alonzo sat up straighter as he caught the flirtatious note in her voice and his arms curved around her slender waist
"Not at all doctor. Please, carry on."

"John Danzinger - you will unhand me this very minute!" "Will you keep your voice down!? or those two will start to realise we've pulled a fast one on them!!" Danzinger hissed as he marched Devon away from the MedTent.
"We haven't 'pulled' anything Danzinger!" Devon argued. "For once Adair, can you just accept the fact that I've seen seen through your little plan and for once, you have my unresounding support?" Danzinger cast a cautious look back at the MedTent.
"I don't see the point in running away like guilty schoolchildren!" Devon fumed, as John continued to guide her through camp.
"You got that right Adair - we're guilty as hell - we're just foisted off our parental responsibility on those two over there. If we didn't like doing it, what makes you think they will?" he reasoned.
"Are you having second thoughts?"
"Of course not, now keep walking."
They walked briskly towards Devon's tent and stopped behind it. "You think they've figured it out yet?" Devon asked. "Maybe - but if you did your job right Adair, Julia will be too busy trying to find a reason to say no to you and thinking about what to tell those two kids of ours."
"What did you say to Alonzo anyway?" Devon asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"I told him that it was all his fault that the kids started asking these questions and that True and Uly had a right to know what was going on from the horse's mouth - I told him I didn't want to give them the wrong idea." Danzinger replied and was rewarded by a small grin. "After all.." he added with a grin.
"They might have *just* been checking the plumbing."

Responsibility 4/4
by Bernice Low
"I don't believe this!"
"What?"
Julia jack-knifed into a sitting position as Alonzo rolled onto his side on her bed in the MedTent, his shirt tantalisingly undone and displaying a significant area of his chest.
"Devon!..and Danzinger!" Julia exclaimed. "I'd rather think about Julia and Alonzo." he replied drily. His fingers started to caterpillar walk up her bare arm. "You're going all clinical on me again doc.." he teased.
"Alonzo, be serious for a moment." she scolded and he sobered up. "Ok, what about Dev and Danz?
"Don't you see? They've just pulled a fast one on us." Julia told him. Alonzo looked confused. "I don't understand." "Alonzo - you said Danzinger dragged you away and told you that our visit to the shower had caused True and Uly to ask questions. He didn't tell you exactly what True and Uly asked and he was hoping that you would automatically assume it was about..."
"Yeah..." Alonzo said slowly, beginning to catch on. "And Devon told you that Uly and True had asked about the facts of life but didn't mention anything about the shower visit."
"So, you would feel obligated to explain to the kids what happened, and I would be stuck with explaining it because I'm the doctor. Danzinger and Devon have managed to neatly squirm out of doing this themselves." Julia finished.
The two of them sat in silence.
"So what are we going to do about it?" Alonzo asked. "Well, foist it back onto Devon and Danzinger if possible." Julia retorted. "No, that's not right - Devon's right - as a doctor, I am probably the person whom they should talk to." she sighed.
"Hey! Isn't this 'parent domain'?" Alonzo mused. "Definitely - but unless we can find a way to send True and Uly back to their parents asking the same question, we're stuck with the job. And speaking of True and Uly, I suspect Danzinger and Devon are just about right outside with them, waiting to send them in here." she said gloomily.
"What are we going to tell them?" Alonzo asked. "The bare essentials..." Julia mumbled. "Unless we can come up with something in the next 5 minutes."
"Maybe we should tell them we were checking the plumbing.." Alonzo mumbled. Julia looked thoughtfully at him.
"Alonzo... do you know anything about plumbing?" she asked. "Only as far as fixing the kitchen sink goes. Why?" "I think we may have a way out of this."

"They're in there an awfully long time.." "This is getting ridiculous - what do you think they're up to?" Devon wondered out loud.
"You don't think Alonzo and Julia decided to tell them *everything* ?" Danzinger asked, looking at Devon, as if for reassurance.
Devon frowned and tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. "Everything?" she queried, not following his train of thought.
"You know, everything Adair. Theory and practical." he said slowly. Devon was momentarily taken aback. It hadn't quite occured to her that Julia might tell the children... she swallowed, more. Panicked thoughts ran through her head.
"How long have they been in there?" she snapped. "About an hour." Danzinger replied. "That's way too long. I mean what in the world could they be talking about?" Devon muttered - the word 'More' floated through her mind's eye.
Just then, Walman appeared.
"Hey Danzinger - seen Julia anywhere?" he asked. "Yeah, she's in the MedTent with Uly and True. What's up?" Danzinger asked, out of force of habit rather than anything else.
"Nothing - just wondering if she's done with the hose she borrowed from me earlier. Oh yeah, and the bucket." Walman replied,
"Hose? Bucket? " A frown creased Danzinger's forehead. "Yeah - Baines and I gotta go on a water run soon. Could you mention it to her when she comes out? I've got some things to do now."
"Yeah, yeah sure." Danzinger nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. Bucket? Hose? What the hell were Julia and Alonzo up to?
They sat in silence, both caught up with their own thoughts. Danzinger scowled while Devon chewed her lip - both tried not to think about what could be going on in the MedTent.
"That's it! I'm going in there!" Danzinger exclaimed, getting up only to find Devon grabbing onto his shirt. " Adair - don't try and stop me!"
"Stop you? I'm going in there too!" she announced. "Oh." he replied lamely and they advanced together to the entrance of the tent. Just as Danzinger bent down to sweep aside the tent flap, his daughter's head popped through the tent entrance and she emerged, followed by Uly.
"True!" her father exclaimed.
"Dad - what's up? You look worried." his daughter stated perceptively. Danzinger readjusted his features quickly into a broad smile. His daughter ambled past him, seemingly non-plussed.
"Hey Uly! How about a game of VR Knights and Dragons?" she turned around to ask the little boy.
The little boy seemed to ponder True's request deeply. "Ok - but only if you be the princess first and I get to be the knight.." he said slowly.
True scowled. " Ok,ok - but I'd much rather be the dragon.." she muttered as they raced off to find their GEAR sets.
Danzinger looked to Devon, a puzzled expression on his face. The children seemed startlingly unfazed. This wasn't right.
That instant, Julia and Alonzo emerged from the tent, holding hands. Alonzo was carrying the aforementioned bucket and hose. Devon watched with suspicion as Julia stopped him to button up his half unbuttoned shirt and Danzinger noticed Julia's hair seemed slightly damp. The two smiled cheerily at Devon and Danzinger, who stood stiffly together a little distance from the MedTent, and continued their casual stroll to find Walman.
"Something's not right." Danzinger growled Devon nodded. They looked at each other before racing off to find their children.

"Hey Doc, I think it worked." Alonzo remarked, having caught an eyeful of Danzinger and Devon frantically tearing off to find their children when he cast a look backward to gauge the reaction of their little 'performance'.
Julia turned to look back and had to stop herself from laughing too loud in case they gave the game away.
"So much for the birds and the bees." she remarked. " Alonzo?" "Yeah?" he replied, turning to look at her as they walked to find Walman.
"Next time I get to play with the hose OK?"

"True!"
"Just a minute daddy..." True yelled back. Her father always picked the worse times to interrupt her. Suddenly, she found herself rudely snatched from VR back to reality.
"Dad!!!!" she protested loudly. "I was just about to slay the dragon!" "I'm sure it can wait. True girl, dad needs to have a talk with you." Danzinger said seriously, bending down so that he was eye to eye with his daughter.
"I didn't do it." she replied instantly. "Do what?" Danzinger asked in surprise. "Whatever it is you think I did." came the reply. Danzinger shook his head. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about. What did Julia and Alonzo talk to you about in the MedTent?" he asked, deciding to be blunt. His daughter had an uncanny knack for knowing when he was beating around the bush.
"Some pretty boring stuff - the demonstration was interesting through." his daughter replied rather disinterestedly.
"Demonstration?"
"Yeah, Alonzo and Julia showed us the experiment that Julia was trying to explain to Alonzo that night. Daddy - it was just some experiment. How come you didn't know about it? " his daughter demanded.
"True.." her father said slowly, feeling very close to a heart attack, "what did Julia tell you about this experiment?" he spluttered.
"Uly probably remembers more about it." she said absently, getting bored with the tack of the conversation and started to saunter off. But her father took a firm hold of her.
"Just one more question True. Can you just mention one thing Julia told you?" he asked, utterly horrified at the thought that his daughter might very well have been completely corrupted at the age of 12 and it was all his fault.
"Dad - is something wrong? You're never this interested in what I learn.." his daughter remarked, concern in her eyes. Her father was acting very strangely and he looked like he's been in the sun too long.
"True..."
"OK, OK." She paused, and bit her lip as she tried to remember what it was Julia mentioned during the demonstration.
"I think she said water finds it's own level...."

"Danzinger!"
"Adair! We've been had!" he exclaimed when they met up behind her tent ten minutes later.
Just then, a stream of water hit them and proceeded to drench them both throughly. Devon turned around to see Julia and Alonzo grinning from ear to ear, wielding the hose indiscriminately at herself and Danzinger.

It was a hot and balmy night [again!] in the Summer cycle of G889. Alonzo sat on guard, with only a lumalamp for company. His T-shirt hung on one of the low branches of the bush nearby.
Alonzo listened intently to the sounds of the night - Grendlers rustling away somewhere in the dark - probably trying to outsmart the laser system Baines set up around the perimeter. The night seemed to go by without a hint of breeze. Sweat trickled down his forehead.
He wished he could just sit there in his shorts - but that would be indecent. And Julia would probably be shocked at the thought of him sitting on guard with nothing more than his CKs. He sighed and wished he was in her tent with her.
The thought grew more tempting. After all, who in the world was going to attack on a night like this? The penal colonists would probably be busy finding a way to get cool rather than plotting attack.
Should he? It would just be for a little while. He cast a careful look round the camp. Nothing moved...
Oh, what the heck....

"Mom - I can't sleep. It's too hot." His mother uttered a 'hmmmm' from her bed. Uly sat up impatiently and looked over at his mother, who was dozing on the bed across from him. It was too hot to sleep.
He slipped his shoes on and padded quietly to the entrance of their tent. "Uly...?" he heard his mother's sleepy voice. "Going for a walk mom - it's too hot." he replied softly. "OK.." his mother answered drowsily. Just then, Devon catapulted up in bed. A walk?
"I'll come with you son.." she said, stifling a yawn. "It's OK mom - I'm just going round the camp once. I'll be ok." he reassured her but she was already pulling on her shoes.

"Hey Danzinger."
"Hey Adair."
"Too hot?" Devon asked.
"She wanted to go for a walk." he replied. They walked together in silence.
"Alonzo's gone." he remarked.
"Left the T Shirt behind though." she replied, as they passed the usual spot where the watch took place.
Just then, her son and True came bounding up to her, slightly breathless. "Uly, you'll wake everyone up." she chided gently. " What's wrong?" she asked, noticing her son's slightly stricken expression and True's equally puzzled one.
"We heard some noises. Real loud noises." he whispered. "What noises?" Danzinger asked, concerned. "They came from Morgan's tent mom. Do you think something's happened to them?"
"Mom? Mr Danzinger?"
-The End-

So? Did you like it? Too much sex?? Too little sex? Your comments are gladly 'ahem' solicited...

This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.