Chapter 578: Stock Car Race (2/2)

He seemed just fine to Brentili'ik and she thought about deleting the pamphlet after dinner, when they went to bed.

She woke up in the middle of the night, rolling over and almost going back to sleep before she realized what was wrong.

Vuxten wasn't in the bed.

She got up carefully, not waking either of the broodcarriers, and checked her implant.

Vuxten was offline.

She pinged one of the secmen.

”Yes, Madame Director?” one of them asked.

”My husband, do you know where he went?” Brentili'ik asked.

”One moment, let me check,” the secman said. A few seconds later he came back. ”He's in the back lounge.”

”Thank you,” she said. She put on a night time modesty gown and made her way through the hallways of the mansion, walking carefully on the stairs, and went into the back lounge.

It was a cozy room, with a Tri-Vee, a couch, a loveseat, two recliners, a coffee table, and a pair of end-tables with lamps. The rug was a woven pattern that was dark colors. The curtains hid windows that normally showed the back lawn.

The Tri-Vee was on but muted, the channel on the 'Grass Growing Channel' that Brentili'ik had always thought was a strange channel to have such high ratings. It showed grass slowly waving in the breeze, under a warm sun, with only a few puffy clouds in the blue sky.

She moved around the couch and looked down.

Vuxten was laying on the couch, in his exercise shorts. Three podlings were laying with him, cuddled up next to him, with Flopsy laying on his legs. She saw one eye open, focus on her, then close.

She stood in the dimness for a long moment, just looking at her husband.

He looks tired, she thought to herself.

Ilmata'at and Synthal'la slowly moved into the room, their ears back, their tails in front of their stomachs and chest and fluffed out.

”Shh,” she whispered.

”vuxten tired” Ilmata'at said softly.

Flopsy looked up, wagged his tail, and laid his head back down, closing his eyes. One of the podlings shifted uncomfortably and Vuxten moved one arm without opening his eyes to let the podling get comfortable.

Brentili'ik ignored the unobtrusive security agent at the door of the back lounge as she gathered up the cushions from the love seat and the chairs, putting them next to the couch. She made a motion and Ilmata'at hurried upstairs, got the blankets, and hurried downstairs.

Brentili'ik laid down, pulling the covers over herself. Ilmata'at and Synthal'la snuggled up with her under the covers.

As she laid there, she stared at her husband's face in the dimness.

------------

”Any problems, First Sergeant?” Vuxten asked the next morning as the Rigellian walked down the stairs to the Orderly Room where his office was. He hadn't bothered with morning formation, since 90% of the Company was on block leave with a minimum time of one week and a maximum time of a month.

”No, sir,” the Senior NCO said. ”Nobody ended up in the drunk tank or in the cage, nobody got drunk and slammed a car into a family of four, nobody got in any knife fights in the barracks over an argument of best girl or best waifu.”

Vuxten nodded. ”Good.”

”How was your day off, sir?” the Rigellian asked.

”Real good. Took the podlings to the park, had dinner with my family,” Vuxten said. He smiled. ”I haven't slept that good in months.”

The Rigellian nodded. ”Good to hear, sir.”

”Anything major on the docket?” Vuxten asked, pausing in the Orderly Room. There was a single Telkan private present to answer the phones.

”No, sir,” the Rigellian said. ”Mental Health wants to run some baselines, I figured I'd get with the Training Officer and schedule everyone up.”

Vuxten nodded. ”Good. Let's not have anyone get missed. It was a hard deployment.”

The Rigellian nodded. ”I better get to it, sir.”

”As you were, First Sergeant,” Vuxten smiled. He turned to the private. ”Anything important?”

”Lady Keena called. She wants you to meet her at Trevlik Green after lunch for training. She said Lance Corporal Casey and Tech Specialist Peel will be there,” the private said.

Vuxten nodded as he unlocked his office door and opened it. ”Keep me appraised of anything important.”

”Can do, sir,” the private said. When the door closed he brought back up the window of the novel about a Treana'ad moomoo and power smoker flavor smuggler.

Vuxten sat down behind his desk, then slowly turned the chair around to stare out the window. The back lot was empty except for a single ground effect cargo truck.

His implant pinged and he checked it.

471 had sent him an image. He opened it and practically busted up laughing.

All ten of the little green mantid had loud multi-colored shirts on and were holding fiberglass boards, standing in front of a blue ocean with waves. It was sunny and the sand was shining and the ten mantids just projected smugness and happiness. He could recognize 471 by the cybernetic antenna and bladearm.

All of the surfboards had the First Telkan Marine Division logo on them. It was entitled ”Till Our Daddy Takes the T-Bird Away.”

He turned back around, chuckling, and opened up the schedule for the unit, making sure that the essential people were on when they needed to be.

-------------

The sun was shining down on the grass of Trevlik Green, sparkling off of the leaves. The breeze was warm and gentle and the sounds of children at play could be heard from the on-base school.

Vuxten had his eyes closed, concentrating on what he could feel inside of him. Where there had been raw fury only a few days before there was a coldness, and emptiness, that was between him and the rage like a thick layer of armaglass.

”I don't understand,” Vuxten said, opening his eyes and looking at Lady Keena, who was leaned back slightly to take the pressure off of her belly.

As he waited for her to answer he saw a bump push out on her belly and her entire belly flex and jiggle.

”Oh my God,” Peel said from behind him.

”It is fine. He's just exercising,” Lady Keena said. She put her hand on her belly and rubbed over the bump. ”He's looking for me. He knows my voice and your voices and is becoming curious.”

”I've never seen that before,” Casey said.

Vuxten just stared.

”What is it that you do not understand?” Lady Keena asked, turning her attention from her belly to Vuxten.

”I can't reach it. I can feel it, but it's like there is something between me and it,” Vuxten said.

Lady Keena nodded. ”You have spent time with your family,” she said. She nodded again. ”It is good that it is there. That means none of this was wasted.”

”I thought I was supposed to learn to control it,” Vuxten said.

Lady Keena nodded. ”Yes. That means you also need to understand that your mind puts that there to protect you, protect your family, from that rage. I would be worried if it was not there.”

Vuxten sighed.

”We will do calming mantras today, practice coping techniques to let you deal with sudden anger and rage,” Lady Keena said.

The baby pushed and shifted, the bump stretching Lady Keena's skin. Lady Keena just smiled and rubbed the bump. ”He wants his shoulder rubbed.”

After a little bit of instruction Vuxten looked at Lady Keena.

”I got up in the middle of the night,” he blurted out. ”I couldn't sleep in the bed. I went downstairs and slept on the couch.”

Lady Keena nodded and Vuxten saw Peel and Casey both nod knowingly.

”I couldn't sleep on the bed,” Vuxten added.

”I couldn't either,” Casey admitted. ”The first time I got back, I kept sleeping on the floor.”

”I'd sleep under the bed,” Peel said, shrugging. ”The enemy had a lot of missiles, rockets, and artillery. I got used to throwing my body armor on the bed and sleeping underneath it. Took me a month or so to get back to normal.”

”My wife and broodcarriers slept on the floor on cushions,” Vuxten admitted, looking down.

”Your people used to build nests,” Lady Keena shrugged. ”Build the nest and go to sleep together. You must give it time, you are not a robot.”

Vuxten nodded.

The baby moved again and Vuxten shook his head.

”He's anxious to be born,” was all Lady Keena said.

------------

Brentili'ik watched as Vuxten moved all the cushions to the floor of the back lounge. He spread a thick blanket over the pushed together cushions and smiled at her nervously.

”It's just for a little while. Till I get used to being in a house,” he said.

Returning veterans can have difficulty adjusting to what everyone else seems as normal but was denied to them due to the deprivations induced by the deployment and duty, she thought to herself, reciting what she had read in the pamphlet.

Synthal'la and Ilmata'at moved onto the blanket covered cushions. The podlings all giggled and climbed on with them. Flopsy barked and jumped into the pile, his tail wagging happily.

Brentili'ik took Vuxten's hand and smiled at him.

”Remember when we were too poor to even afford a bed?” she asked. ”When we first got together?”

Vuxten nodded. ”Hard days.”

”I, we, survived that, we can handle this,” she said softly. She led him into the pile and pulled the blankets over everyone.

The podlings giggled as Brentili'ik turned off the lights with her implant.

When she woke up the next morning with Vuxten still cuddled up with her, Synthal'la, and Ilmata'at, she smiled in the wan morning light.