In the Company of Others Read Free Page A

Gabrielle. I promise.”
    Gabby rubbed his close-cropped hair fondly with one hand, her other stretched to the controls to replay the information on the world below them. All of a sudden, she needed all the reassurance she could get, unable to believe the work of the woman who had brought them to the brink of disaster could be their salvation now.
    Pardell turned out to be pleasant enough, Terran-norm of course, with deep blue seas cut into thirds by narrow, ribbonlike continents. If those continents looked a bit regular, well, everyone knew terraformers had budgets, too. Only one continent showed significant amounts of green; these were patchy areas, as though the terraformers hadn’t bothered to finish their work, or as if they’d tried a variety of seeds and only some had survived.
    They’d not had time for more than a glance during approach before clouds obscured the view. Gabby sat, silent, licking beads of sweat from her upper lip, She checked the shuttle’s fuel as surreptitiously as possible. Jer wouldn’t be the first expectant father to have forgotten to top up the tanks. She didn’t intend to stay downworld any longer than it would take for the recorders to prove her baby’s citizenship. Her eyes glistened with anticipation and her thoughts focused inward again.
    They landed without incident. Jer was a careful pilot under any circumstances, and now, with his anxiety for his wife and unborn child, the craft touched the grass-coated ground with a master’s gentleness. He grabbed the equipment they’d packed weeks before, eyeing Gabby’s pale, determined face with a decidedly suspicious look. “Can you make it?” he asked. “Do you want the grav belt?”
    Gabby didn’t think this deserved any of the air she was drawing in lightly through her nose, carefully opposing the rhythm of her contractions. She stood and held Jer’s arm in an ironlike grip. He helped her to the air lock, managing somehow not to bang her legs with any of the bags he carried. Not that she’d notice.
    The air was warm, heady with the smell of earth and life. Triumphant, Gabby allowed herself a deep breath and doubled over in pain. Jer dropped everything, put his arm around her shoulders to keep her from falling to her knees. A liquid warmth gushed between her legs, almost immediately turning into a chill dampness. “Timing . . . was never better, Jer ...” she managed to say past the smile the urgent pain couldn’t erase. At last, at last. . . .
    Jer wiped his hands dry, contented to his bones. His shoulders ached. His wrist throbbed, especially where Gabby’s nails had broken through the skin. What strength she had! Everything had happened so quickly. He’d have to watch this on the shuttle’s vid recording when they were back on the ship.
    The seed-heavy tips of the grass rustled together with every breeze, as if to remind them where they were. He drew the fragrant air in through his nostrils, trying to remember the last time he’d been to Earth and if it had smelled this wonderful.
    Welcome to your world , Jer thought to himself as he sat beside Gabby, watching her sleep. The tiny life curled between her breasts squirmed slowly, as if delighted to find no obstructions to the stretching of his limbs. Jer stroked his son’s fist, then was amazed that such a tight wrapping of fingers could uncurl so quickly, like a flower opening. He felt love welling up from his heart, love such as he’d never known before in all his life. Tears slid unnoticed down his cheeks.
    LOVE. Jer sobbed, his heart near to breaking with the emotion. Deep, warm, rich, the future, the past, his eternity, Gabby’s fulfillment—all of this beat through him, against him. The baby’s head teetered and flopped. Jer saw his son’s eyes, not quite focused, darkly blue. Another surge of love crushed him. LOVE.
    Gabby moaned in her sleep. Her eyes flashed opened,