Aftercare: General's Daughter, Book 4 (16 page)

“What are they doing?” she asked, watching the video.

“Our two generals, the scourge of the Quimby household, are
having a freaking food fight!” Rich was on the ground, watching the video over
again.

Sam’s mouth hung open. “I can’t believe this. Are you SURE
that’s really them? MY parents?”

He handed her the phone to rewatch the tape. She texted
Michael.

“WTF is happening there?”

“ROTFLMAO. R U having fun?”

“:)Y. Lots of swirls”

“I know-felt all. WOW!”

“U did not!”

“Did 2. BIG”

“TTYL LU”

She turned off the phone and looked at Rich. “I am officially
embarrassed. Mike knows you popped my cherry.” She bit her lip.

Rich grinned proudly. “There wasn’t any popping, baby. Exploding,
not popping.”

“I’ll say. Hey, are you up for a little adventure?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Night dive. You’ll have to use tanks. I don’t have one of
Michael’s masks here.”

“Too bad it’s so cold. I’d like to make love to you
underwater.”

“Warm water would be nice for that,” Sam said dreamily. “Maybe
we can go to…”

***

“The Keys,” Michael said decisively.

“You want the family to take a vacation to the Keys? Why?”
Dr. Quimby said, sitting on the lounger and beckoning to Jen. She came over and
allowed him to pull her on to his lap. “I’m sorry I was so out of hand. Scott
pushed my button,” he said, hugging her.

“It was funny. Not to worry. I liked seeing you two play
around like that.” She giggled, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. It
still surprised her about how cuddly these men were, especially given their
professions and size. She liked it. Her own father had never been very
affectionate.

“It would be nice to be in some warm water for once,” Michael
answered.

“You just don’t want to freeze your balls off when you’re
having your way with your girlfriend,” Scott commented, joining them.

“Will you please stop being so crude? If we do that, we need
to plan around hurricane season. We’re in the middle of it right now,” Dr.
Quimby said.

Michael shrugged. “We could actually fly there instead of
taking the ship. The other option is the Springs.”

“What’s that?” Jen asked excitedly.

“Manatee country. “

“Son, I hate to break it to you, but we could have a problem.
We don’t know if your sister can withstand the Atlantic temperatures or saline
levels. The Springs are fresh water, too,” Dr. Quimby reminded his son softly.

“I forgot about that. Sea World has a pacific tank for their
whales. We could keep her there.”

“I don’t think she would go for that. Although, she would
like showing off to the spectators,” Scott said grimly.

“Let me think about it. I have some ideas...”

“Uh oh, I know that look. He’s designing,” Dr. Quimby
groaned.

Scott grinned. “That’s my boy. Let’s see what he comes up
with this time.”

***

Monday morning, Michael called his sister into his office,
closing the door and drawing the shades.

She frowned. “What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, for once you’re in the clear. We need to test you for
some things. I need to know what temperature you can tolerate before having
problems. I want to go to Florida and Dad’s not sure if you can manage it.”

“I had the same idea. Maybe go to the Keys. It shouldn’t be
hard. We’ll set up a test tank with the east coast mineral levels and
temperature variations. You do remember that I have to hold my breath if in hot
water. I lose my ability to breathe.”

“We need to see what temperature that occurs at and the
extent. I also want to know why you can’t breathe in the wetsuit. There is
enough water exchange with the material that your pores shouldn’t be blocked. You
do understand that this will mean a lot of poking.”

“You’re lucky I have good veins and that I trust you. We can
also use the veterinary analyzer to read the samples so that the med lab and
Daddy don’t need to know we are doing this.”

“There’s another thing. I want to work on developing a better
breathing device. One that I don’t have to worry about putting on.”

“What are you saying, Michael?”

“I think I figured a way to use the Beta project.”

She was silent. “Daddy and Scott will forbid this, Mike. You
know that,” she whispered.

“I know. But there is merit to the gas structure. Look.” He
hit some buttons on his computer. “I broke down the chemical compound to a
stable and temporary state. It has an active half-life of 16-20 hours under
ocean conditions. If I’m correct, this will allow me to obtain a temporary
amphibious state for up to 7 or 8 hours.”

“Michael, I can’t let you do that. The risk is too high.”

“We can’t let what happened to you stop us from searching for
the perfect diving condition, sis. I’ll be careful, I promise. But I need as
much information from you as I can get.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Please, trust me. If I can do this, then I’m no longer
limited to short dives and limited depth.”

“I’m not comfortable with this. You can already dive for long
periods and excessive depths with the equipment you have.”

“Just think about it, okay? I promise not to do anything
without you knowing. I am asking you not to say anything to the folks.”

“I won’t. Will you tell Rich?”

“He wants to do it too. We would be the ultimate recon team. No
detection, no limitation.”

“Give me some time to process this. It doesn’t feel right to
me,” Sam said doubtfully.

“No problem. In the meantime, can we start those tests?”

“Sure. I’ll do a fasting tomorrow and get a baseline, then go
from there.”

***

Rich noticed her silence during chow and she claimed having a
headache. She excused herself to return to her office, closing the door quietly
and drawing the blinds. Jen tapped on her door and received no response. She
went over to Michael who was buried in the middle of a complex program.

“Is Sam all right?”

“She’s fine. I can’t talk right now, sweetheart, I need to
concentrate on this,” he said, not moving his eyes from the screen.

Jen frowned, walking over to Nick. “What’s going on here? They
are too quiet.”

“Mike’s wrapped up in that program, but I don’t know what’s
with the siren. She might really have a headache. She is human, you know.”

“I guess I forget sometimes. Okay. I’m going back to work.”

A few minutes later, Sam appeared in her wetsuit. She
whispered something to her brother, who absently nodded, and left through the
front doors. Jen frowned. Her friend usually started her dives from the whale
tank. She followed her out, watching as she sat at the edge of the dock. This
was not normal. Picking up her cell, Jen called Rich.

“Hi Jenny, what’s up?”

“Something’s wrong.” She explained the activities.

Rich was quiet for a moment. “She wasn’t feeling great during
chow. Maybe she just needs a breather. Give her some space to clear her mind.”

“Are you coming home with us tonight?”

“Can’t. I have duty. Let me know if there are any problems
though, okay?”

“Sure. Thanks, big bro.” Jen sighed, glancing again over to
where Sam sat. Her friend looked sad. Shaking her head, Jen followed Rich’s
advice and went back inside.

“What should I do, Splasher?” Sam asked the little dolphin as
he swam below her feet. “I don’t want him to do this. It could ruin everything.
He wants kids, what if it stops him? What if it kills him? Please help me. I’ve
lied so long about how I don’t care about what happened to me that I’ve started
to believe myself. I don’t want him to have to live this way. Daddy and Scott
will be devastated. I need help.” She teared up, watching the dolphin flip to
his side. He flashed her images of his bull and Ton.

“They can’t stop him. Neither can my bull. I promised Mike I
wouldn’t tell them. I guess now I really know how they feel when I do this
stuff. I can’t believe how terrible I’ve been to them.”

Splasher imaged dark swirls, slow, undulating, not at all
soothing or seductive. Sadness, loss, grief. He understood her fear. She
nodded. He then imaged the swirls being pushed towards his bull, who wiped them
away with his flukes. She sighed. “I know, Daddy can make things better. But I
still promised. Michael would never trust me again if I break it.”

With a snort, the little dolphin turned and left. Sam was
surprised; they weren’t usually that abrupt. She then sensed Ton approaching
her. The little dolphin had gone to get his adopted bull to help. Great, time
for more lectures. Ton surfaced a few yards away, then stuck his big head out
of the water in greeting. He questioned her darkness and she explained that
Michael was swimming into a net and that he could beach himself. Ton’s solution
was to break the net.

Of course. With a smile, the girl dove in next to her
companion, hugging his snout. “You are so smart. I’ll plant harmful information
into the research to get him to see the risk is too high. I also need you to
help me dissuade him. Can you touch my bull?”

Ton imaged swimming against a rip tide. It was slow and
difficult, but he would be able to do it.

Sam rubbed the skin around his blowhole, leaning against the
huge head, “I know it will be hard, especially without the band. Can you be at
my pod this evening? I’ll get Daddy to go diving with me. This way you can
contact him directly and I can honestly tell Mike that I said nothing. I love
you, my friend. Thank you.” She sent swirls into his mind. He was pleased, his
calf was learning quickly.

“Honey? Is something bothering you?” Dr. Quimby asked on the
way home. Michael shot his sister a look.

“Rich has duty tonight. I miss him,” she answered.

Scott looked around at her. “You see that boy constantly. How
could you possibly miss him?”

“If I saw Daddy more, it would be easier,” she hinted.

Dr. Quimby grimaced. “I’ve been trying not to get in your
way, baby. You should have told me that you wanted some time together. I’m
sorry. Would you like to do something tonight?”

“I need to dive, though. I’m not feeling normal. You could
come with me if you want.” She sounded depressed. She felt her brother’s eyes
on her. “I’m not saying anything, don’t worry. I promised,” she whispered.

“You better not,” he whispered back.

“We could go out to the shelf if you like. The squid are
running so it should be interesting. I want to check you out first, though. You
have me worried.”

“Okay. I just need some quiet time underneath. I’m going to
skip dinner tonight and take a nap, if you don’t mind. We can go when it gets
dark. Don’t forget to bring your camera and lights.” She yawned.

“Do what you need to do, honey. You do look a little peaked.”
Her father glanced in the rear view mirror.

“Is she okay, Mike? I told you something was wrong,” Jen
whispered. She was sitting between them. “She feels real warm.”

Michael frowned, reaching over to touch his sister’s face. She
was warm. He bit his lip, considering that perhaps she really was out of
balance and needed to go out. “Sammi? Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine. Daddy will be there. Spend some time with
Jen. Scott’s bowling tonight, so it will give you some time alone.”

“I could stay home, you know,” Scott announced. “I don’t have
to go bowling.”

“No, please, go bowling. I’m begging you,” Michael said. Scott’s
bowling nights were the occasions when he could hit something hard and make a
lot of noise, which was a huge stress release for him. In the family’s opinion,
it made life with him a little easier. Because his goal was to break the pins,
coupled with his tendency to be highly competitive, the family opted to remove
themselves from the activity. Further, he and his team would then go to Hooters
to flirt with the waitresses and get their egos stroked, putting him in an even
better mood. It was a win-win situation.

Dr. Quimby watched his daughter enter the house and stopped
his son. “Did you two get into a fight today?”

“No, sir. Why?”

“Either that or she’s sick. That is the only time I ever see
her drag like this.”

“Take her out and see how it goes. Maybe it’s her balance
issue.”

“Do you sense anything?”

“No, not really,” Michael answered hesitantly, “I mean,
nothing really unusual.”

“Please tell me if you do. I’m still so afraid that that damn
chemical is going to turn on her and kill her. I wish to God I’d never even
thought of it,” he admitted sadly, not knowing that his youngest was
concentrating on bringing these hidden thoughts of his to surface, forcing him
to verbalize his fears aloud. She had to try, in order to get him to openly
express his sorrow to Michael before it was too late.

Michael did not even suspect her interference. “She’s going
to be fine, Dad. The pod would know if she were in danger and would find a way
to notify us. Plus, there have been no further changes other than the
adjustment. Who knows, maybe it will reverse itself?”

“While she’s 300 feet down and without a tank? You have no
idea the thoughts that go through my mind, son. No idea. I’ll start dinner.”

“It’s my turn, Dad. I’ll do it,” Michael said, putting his
arm around his father’s shoulders.

Dr. Quimby hugged him. “Nah, I want to. It’s a good way for
me to get my mind off things. I enjoy it.”

“I’ll do the dishes, then.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Michael excused himself to go upstairs to change and then see
his sister. She was lying on her bed, still dressed, with her head buried in a
pillow. She looked like she was fighting a headache, but she was really
concentrating as hard as she could manage.

“Sam?” Michael touched her back, startling her into reality. She
looked at him sleepily. “Are you really okay?”