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Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three

"Ahh...help me! Help me!" He felt the pull of water on his head. He grabbed for the edge of the bathtub, but couldn't hang on. He fell back, his head plunging under the water once more. Then suddenly, fingers behind his neck and around his arm-fingers like steel-yanked him out of the water and dragged him onto the floor. Someone lay him face down and began beating his back, trying to pound the water from his lungs. He strangled and coughed, water surging up his lungs and pouring out his mouth.

Before he could gasp a response, she had encircled his wrists with her fingers. Her healing power surged through him. Almost immediately his coughing ceased and found to his relief that the wretched panic he'd just experienced was receding. He could breathe! He gagged and spit more water onto the floor. "Sara -you knew-" He started at the sudden sound of the jangling telephone.

"I knew. Now lie quietly, Sweetheart. That's probably Rachel calling to see if you're all right." She leaned over him and quickly kissed him on his cheek. Then she got up and walked into the kitchen.

He heard the gentle electronic peeping of the TTY's keyboard as she communicated over the phone lines with Daniel's hearing impaired daughter. He could almost see Sara's typed words quickly crawling across the display, probably saying something like, 'Your father is all right, Rachel. He's all right. I got here in time.' Then he heard her turn off the TTY and hang up the phone. She came back into the bathroom and knelt down beside him.

"Daniel, I thought I'd lost you."

I thought I'd lost me too." He smiled weakly at her. "Sorry to have spoiled your night with Rachel. Thank God you picked up on my predicament."

"Predicament?" Sara put her fingers to her face in a sign of relief. "That's putting it mildly. While Rachel and I were visiting, you suddenly telepathed fear to me..."

"And you instantly teleported back home with the amulet," he interrupted with great relief. He reached up to her and laid his hand on her chest.

"Yes," she whispered. "If I hadn't, you could have drowned." She took him in her arms and held him protectively. "Oh, Daniel, is it starting again?"

"I'm not sure." Daniel was sweating now, realizing just how close to death he had been. "I hope not. I hope to God it's not starting again."

"What happened? How could you have slipped beneath the water?"

Daniel said, "I didn't slip. Would you help me up?"

She pulled him to his feet and helped him dry off with the large bath towel. Then she helped him walk to the bed. He sat down heavily on it and looked up at her pleadingly. "I'm impatient. I want my strength back-now." He sighed.

She brushed the wet hair from his face with her fingers. "Well, you can't have it back all at once. You've been without your strength for thirty-nine years. You can wait a few more months." She looked at him with concern. "Now, tell me what happened."

He lay down on the bed and she lay down beside him. He gently squeezed her hand as if to reassure her.

"Please, Daniel, don't tell me it's the dreams again. If they're returning to you, they will return to me. I don't know if I can endure them anymore."

"I think it was the dream, but..."

"You're not sure?"

"I'm not sure, but something just happened to me. This was more than a dream. I almost drowned."

"Your lungs were full of water." She shuddered visibly.

"I know."

"Is it possible that you fell asleep and then slipped beneath the water?"

"If I fell asleep, it was right here on the bed. I wasn't in the tub." he said with a certainty that puzzled him.

Sara sat back and said, "I pulled you out of the bathtub, Sweetheart. You were strangling in the water."

"I know, I know. But I don't remember getting into the tub." He looked into her eyes. "I don't remember," he said softly.

"Did you...?"

"Wait," he interrupted. "I think I...saw...uh, I felt I was in danger."

"You were drowning," Sara said, exasperated.

"No, before I was drowning."

"What was the source of the danger?"

"Uh...bugs." He shuddered when he said it.

Sara got off the bed and went back into the bathroom. He knew she was peering into the bathtub as she spoke because her voice had a hollow sound as she called back to him. "I don't see any bugs." He could hear her push the drain lever and then he could hear the bath water gurgling down the drain. She came back into the bedroom and sat down beside him on the bed.

"Not much frightens you-certainly not bugs." She hugged him.

"If the bugs were big enough, they would. And they weren't in the bathroom. They were in here."

Sara put her head in her hands. "I think the dreams have returned."

Daniel couldn't sleep. The late September crickets peeped a slow cadence outside the window. He watched the moon cut its slow path across the sill and stared at the ceiling, not wanting to move and wake Sara, who slept peacefully beside him. He was afraid. He knew he couldn't hide his fear from her, especially when she was awake. Her sense of telepathy was far too strong. So he'd schooled his thoughts carefully until she had fallen asleep. Now he let his fears well up to the surface. He'd nearly drowned this evening. How had he gotten into the tub in the first place? Could he have been dreaming and found his way there in his sleep?

Daniel rolled onto his side and tried to think of other things-more pleasant things. He began to review the events of the past few months. Incredible things had happened to him this summer. First, he had found the woman of his dreams. Sara Balyang was a bright, beautiful, nurturing person-a woman his whole family had fallen in love with. She came into his life mysteriously, and for a good while Sara behaved so oddly that at times Daniel thought he was losing his mind. So much information about Sara simply didn't make sense. And then one night everything fell jarringly into place-Sara had told him she wasn't from Earth. She had come from another planet, thirty light years from Earth. But Sara wasn't a dream. She was real, and all the seemingly impossible events that went with her were real.

And he, Daniel Alan, was the luckiest man in the universe. He would never forget that first night he had flown Sara's space ship. They called it the "shuttle," because it was precisely that. Sara's father, Santoo, had brought it to Earth aboard his starship, then left it for their use. As her "bonding" present to Daniel, Sara had shown him how to actually fly the shuttle. During his first flying lesson he took command of the controls; he switched on the gravity drive, flew the ship up along the Mississippi River, and then flew it across Eagle Bluff, the small eastern Iowa town where Daniel, and now Sara, lived. Flying that shuttle was one of the great thrills of his life.

More incredibly, he had seen Sara, with the aid of her almost magical amulet, disappear from three dimensional space and then reappear in other locations. The amulet enabled Sara and anyone else traveling with her to enter and exit a dimension the quantum physicists had to date only speculated about. She had turned Daniel, the homebody, into a traveler. With Sara's help, he could now access this dimension as easily as he could step through his own front door.

Daniel had walked the deck and stood on the bridge of the huge starship Sara and her father had flown across the galaxies which separated his planet from hers. Even now, lying in the darkness, he was astonished at all he had seen; in one short summer, he had taken part in wonders that most people couldn't even begin to comprehend, let alone accept in a lifetime.

But these were only minor events in comparison to the real miracle Sara and her father had given Daniel. They had blessed him with a gift he would cherish until the very day he died. They had given Daniel an incomprehensible measure of relief from the effects of his childhood polio-a level of relief that the present medical technology of Earth couldn't possibly achieve. Sara and her father had reconstructed Daniel's cellular structure to a near-perfect level. And with his wildly healthy cells he had the potential strength and stamina of a "normal" middle-aged man of Sara's planet. His strength would be-when his muscle bundles recovered their full strength-four times that of an Earth human.

Daniel's polio had dogged him for thirty-nine of his forty-four years. The disease had ravaged his muscles so that with each passing year the remaining muscle bundles became more and more overloaded from everyday activity; fatigue and pain had become an integral part of Daniel's life. But then Sara came into his life, and with the medical knowledge she and her father possessed, had healed Daniel. And in the course of it all, Daniel and Sara had fallen in love.

He had come so very far in such a short time with this woman: she had changed his life. And the concrete proof was on the wall by his bed. Hanging there was a network of linked connections looking like something from a mad scientist's laboratory-a spider's web in human form. It was his "exoskeleton."

He reached out and touched the finely wrought framework of the exoskeleton hanging on its wall rack. Sara's father had made it for him. It fit Daniel's body like a glove, and the servos at each limb's joint-tiny motors no larger than raisins-gave him physical power and control beyond anything he'd ever dreamed, and supported his reawakened limbs as his atrophied muscles redeveloped.

In the dim, orange glow of the night light he could just make out the shape of the watch that was strapped to his wrist. This was no ordinary watch. (There was little left in his life that was ordinary.) The watch had a special circuit placed there by Sara's father. When Daniel would press a stud on the side of the watch case, the circuit in the watch would activate the servos of his exoskeleton. The result was strength four times that of a normal Earth human, plus unlimited stamina and no pain. After thirty-nine years of living in a pathetically weak body, Daniel was nearly free. In a few months, if his body responded well, he would have enough strength to put the exo away forever and let his new muscles take over.

The exoskeleton didn't change the appearance of his body, for he wore it under his clothes. He still limped. One leg was still noticeably shorter than the other. But in time his stunted leg, now growing, would catch up to his other leg. Eventually he wouldn't need his built up shoe. Right now his shorter leg and his limp would serve to keep the miracle of his healing from others, who would not understand. The exoskeleton would give him strength and comfort until his perfect cells would reawaken his atrophied muscle bundles. Then he would feel the full impact of his healing.

Only a few members of his family and one of his best friends knew his secret. They had been direct witness to Sara's impossible-to-believe technology. So much of who he was must now remain a secret to strangers. Daniel would not endanger Sara or her father or their technology. He loved them both far too much to even consider that. Nothing, not even a perfect body, was worth losing Sara over.

His new physiology required adjustment, though; sometimes he found it difficult to sleep. His new cells didn't require the physical rest of a "normal" human cell. With his cells now working at near maximum, it seemed that physically he could go forever. Someday, when his body would be more active, his need for sleep would probably increase, but Sara had told him that he wouldn't need nearly the amount of sleep he used to.

But he couldn't sleep at all tonight. Not after the scare he had. His heart was still pumping like a frightened humming bird's. Could there be a connection with his new cells and these so-called dreams he'd been having? Today's near-drowning in his own bathtub was no dream. He recalled again his near brush with death. After starting the bath water running, he had lay down on his bed to meditate. Yet, Sara found him drowning. Someone would have had to carry him into the bathroom and thrown him in the tub. Or he would have had to have done it himself. Funny, he could remember nothing past the point when he lay down. Sara's steady breathing was like a soothing mantra to him. Her body had perfect cells, too, but her brain needed rest just as his did. Tomorrow she would be interviewed for a position at BioMed Laboratories, a large research facility located outside of Eagle Bluff. Perhaps there, Daniel hoped, she could use her advanced scientific knowledge incognito.

He lay quietly, hoping that sleep would overtake him. He searched again for any clues, but he could only remember the sensation of drowning and water filling his lungs. If only he'd had his full new strength by now. Then he could have saved himself. His new life, extended two-hundred more years by the healing process, was almost cut very short.

Daniel's restless mind flickered back in time again, this time to the quiet ceremony Sara's father had performed before he headed back to the stars. He had "bonded" Daniel and Sara according to the tradition of his family. In Sara's father's eyes Daniel and Sara were now married. Daniel loved Sara so much he felt as if he had been married to her all his life. He couldn't remember his old life without her. He didn't want to remember.

Before Sara's father went back to his own planet, he had promised to return with Sara's mother in just two months to attend Daniel and Sara's second wedding, conducted according to Daniel's tradition and religious faith. Daniel was anxious to see Santoo again; he was looking forward to meeting Sara's mother, and celebrating with his friends and family; but in actuality, the wedding was only a formality.

Sara stirred. Daniel put his arm around her. He lay against her, perfectly fitting the curve of her back, feeling her body breathe against his chest. "Daniel?" Sara said softly.

"I'm awake, Sara. I'm sorry I disturbed you." He kissed her lightly on her hair.

Sara sat up in bed. He sat up with her. "Can't you sleep, Daniel?"

"I guess not," he answered quietly. Daniel could see Sara's face silhouetted against the glow of the night light. He couldn't see her face in detail, but he remembered every delicate feature perfectly.

"Perhaps we could go to the kitchen and have something to eat," she offered. "I could warm you some milk."

"Sara, I'm fine. Maybe you should try to go back to sleep. You need your rest for the interview." The clock radio showed three twenty-three a.m. They still had a couple of hours to sleep.

"Is that why you can't sleep, Daniel? Are you thinking about the interview?"

"That, and a lot of other things." Daniel smoothed Sara's soft, long hair with the back of his fingers. He wouldn't tell her about his fears; at least, not now. He hit upon a safer subject. "I am hoping you will get this research position. It's so important you be in a better position to give your knowledge to BioMed. It's important you carry on the work you and your father have begun here."

Sara and Santoo, as well as others from Sara's planet, had over the years been infusing their advanced medical knowledge into the company records and computer systems of medical research facilities around the world. Daniel couldn't even guess how many medical 'boosts' had been given to the people of Earth by Sara's people. They came in starships, covertly and unannounced. Then they surreptitiously left their knowledge for research scientists and laboratory technicians to find. "Daniel, we can carry on my father's work whether I'm employed at BioMed or not. I'm going to get this position. I'm qualified and I'm available."

"I know. The job opening that just appeared seems like a miracle. Opportunities to work out there just don't come around that often. We probably wouldn't have even heard about it if Rachel hadn't told us." Daniel sighed, almost in desperation. Then he took Sara's hands in his and said, "So much good can come of it if you get this job. With Rachel working with you at BioMed you two could really make a difference. You could guide research teams in positive directions. You could greatly speed up the research process." He paused, then said, "I wish I could work with you."

"Research can be pretty routine, Sweetheart. Even boring. Teaching sounds more fun to me."

A somewhat surprised "huh" escaped from his lips.

"Daniel, I wish I could work with you. You see people. Present earth technology will almost guarantee that I'll see rats."

"Teaching is hard work, too. And some of my students couldn't run through a maze if their lives depended on it."

Sara laughed. "Rachel and I had a nice visit tonight."

"What did you and she talk about?"

"About my job interview."

"Did she have any suggestions?"

"Not really. She's confident I'll get the job, as I am. But she's a bit nervous for me because she realizes how important my advanced medical knowledge will be."

"That's the problem. If you show them your knowledge you could put yourself in danger, but if you don't show enough knowledge, you won't get the job."

"And you're afraid that the greed of some people will place me in danger? You're afraid they'll take advantage of me?"

"You are so trusting sometimes. You don't realize how far some people will go to achieve their own selfish desires."

"Oh, but I do know, Daniel," Sara said sadly.

"Yes, I suppose you do," he sighed. "Just be careful, today, all right? You have to walk such a fine line..."

"I'll be careful, Daniel. I'll be fine. I was thinking, though..."

"What were you thinking? I can't go along with you to the interview," he laughed, "if that's what you're thinking."

"Of course you can't. But perhaps if you're curious about the appointment, we could share the interview experience even though you won't be present."

"Yeah," Daniel mused. "It would be nice if during the interview you'd send your thoughts to me." Daniel loved the telepathic link he had with Sara. Sara was such a strong sender and receiver of thoughts, she had guided Daniel to greater use of his own suppressed abilities. Even more remarkably, Daniel's daughter, though she was almost totally deaf, could also in some strange way hear Sara's telepathic messages.

"I can do something even better than send my thoughts. Think back to that terrible day last June when I came to Rachel's house and saved her from food poisoning."

"Sometimes I still dream about it." Daniel felt himself shuddering.

Daniel could just see the shadow of Sara's hand reach for him in the dark of the bedroom. He felt her warm hand lightly touch his cheek. Sara asked, "When I sent my thoughts to you that evening, did you notice anything unusual about the telepathic message?"

Daniel sighed heavily. "All I remember is that somehow I knew you were banging on the other side of the front door."

"And how did you know it was me?"

"I heard you telepath the word, 'Daniel', to me."

"Was this all you heard?-the word 'Daniel'? Someone other than I could have telepathed your name. Humans often unknowingly do this in time of crisis."

"Well, I don't know-I guess I had some sort of impression that you were out there."

"And...?" She patiently waited for him to respond.

"What is this?" he laughed softly, "quiz time in the dark?"

"No. I want you to think back when I called out to you with my mind."

Daniel said, "I didn't hear you call my name. I...saw you!"

"Exactly!" Sara kissed Daniel lightly on the mouth. "You heard my voice and saw me at the same time. I didn't try to send you an image. I didn't even have time to think about sending you an image. But under severe stress an image went from me without me thinking about it. That's what happened when I received your urgent telepathic call for help."

"Why didn't you tell me you could telepath images?"

Sara sighed. "Because I want you to think of me as a normal woman-not some person with unusual powers. I just want a normal life."

Daniel began to giggle.

"Please don't laugh at me."

"Sweetheart, I'm not laughing at you, but suggesting our lives could be normal-that may be beyond your powers."

Sara sighed. "I know."

"So-your interview will be so stressful for me it will trigger a telepathic image?"

"No, no. I thought that I would try to send you images, kind of like a video in your brain. But I have to make a deliberate effort to do so. When I have the job interview this afternoon, I'll send you a total image of my interview. You'll not only hear what I'm saying, but you'll be able to see what I see. But-you'll have to stop what you're doing and concentrate."

"So if I do, will I see it clearly, like a movie?"

"Yes. It will be just as if you are looking through my eyes."

"That could be interesting. Can I give you instructions?" he teased.

"Don't you dare."

Daniel felt an emotional rush as Sara intimately leaned against him.

"Daniel, I should have told you earlier. When I came home-when you were in danger of drowning-I saw lights. Lights in the sky."

"Why am I not surprised?" Daniel shook his head. "When the dreams come the lights come. But I still don't know how I got from this bed to the bathtub." He lay his cheek against Sara's cool forehead. "Thank you for saving my life," he whispered.

Daniel took Sara's face in his hands, and he kissed her. That was the only incentive Sara needed. They melted into one another, they became one, and then they peacefully fell asleep in each other's arms.

Daniel awoke to a pleasant late September Monday morning. The early sunlight streamed through the blinds of the bedroom window, casting lines of shadow on the quilt across his feet. With some effort he swung himself to the side of the bed. It had been a short night.

He looked at Sara's sleeping form beside him. He didn't want to wake her. She needed to be fresh for the interview this afternoon. He quietly lifted his crutch that was laying on the floor; he still needed the crutch when he wasn't wearing his exoskeleton-a small price to pay for future strength. He eased off the bed, trying to keep it from squeaking. A hand gently gripped his wrist and pulled him back onto the bed. He turned and kissed her. "It's early. Sleep a while."

"I'm fine, Daniel. Truly I am. And it's my turn to make breakfast."

"All right." Sara got out of bed, tied the sash of her robe, picked up her contact lens case and walked to the kitchen.

Daniel sat down on the side of the bed and then reached for the exoskeleton hanging on the rack. Although it looked complex, he could put it on himself. He did that, taking time with the intricate fastenings, then dressed. Now he pressed the tiny stud on the side of his watch. A warmth suffused throughout his body; it started at his head, and several seconds later ended in his feet. He could feel the sudden surge the servos gave, like warm honey pouring through him. He moved his arms, then swiveled his shoulder joints. The tiny servos were soundless as they supplied his limbs with unbelievable power. Every day he was a bit stronger. His new cells had already reestablished the lines of communication between his brain and his muscles. He loved the graceful, gliding movements of his legs. He could run with his exoskeleton if necessary. He had run for joy the night he was healed. And Sara had run with him.

Now he could hear Sara getting breakfast ready in the kitchen. He hastily brushed his teeth and shaved. "Hey, space woman," he called good naturedly, "wait up. I'll help you fix breakfast."

When Daniel entered the kitchen, Sara smiled happily at him. "You're too late, Daniel. I've scrambled the eggs, and the toast is almost ready."

"You're too quick for me." he teased.

"No," she laughed, "you're too slow for me!" She turned from him. Then she took the contact lens case off the kitchen counter where she had set it when she went in to make breakfast. She took the lenses from the case and began to put them in her eyes.

Daniel gently caught her wrist as he looked deeply into her eyes. There was much for him to get lost in because Sara's eyes were completely black-alien black. Her eyes were like cool, black marbles. Looking into her eyes was like looking into a deep, dark pool. "You don't need them now," he said gently. "Let's eat breakfast first. You can put them in later. Why are you so concerned about your eyes this morning? You know I like your eyes the way they are."

"Daniel..."

"How can I convince you that you have beautiful eyes?" he said, exasperated now. He kissed each eyelid and then held her tenderly. "You are the most beautiful woman on this planet, eyes and all. It makes me cringe to see a lens that covers your entire eye." When Sara had the lenses in place they showed white centered with a delicate blue iris. Sara looked completely human when wearing the lenses. The lenses had true working irises that opened and closed whenever the light changed-just like organic irises. The advanced technology from Sara's planet had made this possible. "Please believe me when I tell you I love your eyes," Daniel almost pleaded.

"I guess I just have the interview on my mind." Sara put the contacts back in the case and snapped it shut.

Daniel sat down at the breakfast table. He pulled two pieces of toast from the toaster and began to butter them. "You know, Sara, if you get this job-when you get this job-we'll have to go looking for another car." He handed one of the buttered pieces of toast to her.

"We don't need to hurry, Daniel. I can travel quite effectively with the aid of the amulet."

"I know, but what if someone would see you when you're using it? What if they'd see you disappear in front of them? You've had more than one narrow squeak during the last several months."

"I'm careful."

"I know, but I'm still not comfortable with how it dematerializes me and then reassembles my molecules somewhere else." He handed Sara the slice of toast he had buttered for her." Don't you see? Using the amulet to go to your job interview today is really dangerous."

"Daniel, have you forgotten what we did yesterday afternoon?" Sara looked at him as one might look at a child.

"We drove from here to BioMed so you would become familiar with the route."

"And...," she scooped her hands forward, in a circular motion, as she encouraged Daniel to continue.

"And this trip helped you establish a map in your head so when you teleport with the amulet today you'll know exactly where to go." He took a bite of his toast.

"Yes. And I do know exactly where to go, Daniel. I'll use the amulet to place me behind the Schweitzer building-the building I'm to have the interview in. I'll be out of sight of any traffic, so no one will be able to see me arrive. We've discussed this over and over."

Daniel let out a breath. "Yes, and I still sweat when I think how your father plunked us down in the middle of that restaurant in Dubuque."

"But he didn't plunk you there, did he? He saw before you materialized that the eating area was almost empty. He could have changed the target point at the last minute."

"Yeah, I know that." Daniel buried the heels of both hands in his eyes and twisted them briskly. "But I think we should buy another car. Your amulet is just too risky. Besides, everyone will wonder how you get to work."

"Fine, spend my money before I even get the job." Sara's black eyes were snapping, but she was smiling.

"I'm looking forward to a double income," Daniel said. "Then we can both spend money." He glanced at his watch and yawned. "I think I'd better leave for work, now; it's a quarter to eight."

"Finish your eggs?"

"Don't have time. I'll take the toast with me and eat it on the way."

Sara put her arms around him. "Remember, I have the interview at three. I'll send you my thoughts as soon as we begin. Wish me good luck!" she said brightly.

Daniel pushed himself away from the breakfast table. Then he stood up. He looked with love on this beautiful alien-eyed woman.

"I think you'll do great. Just don't do too great." He smiled, kissed her tenderly, and walked out the kitchen door and into the garage.

Chapter Two

Daniel maneuvered the minivan into the entrance of Eagle Bluff Community College. A quick glance at his watch told him he was running very late this morning. The large complex of buildings sprawled over green-brown spaces, and students of all ages surged out of the doors of the classroom buildings. The first classes of the morning were already over. That meant only minutes before the Achievement Center opened, and many of these students would be waiting for his assistance. Daniel could see Building Six, now-his building. He watched the windows of his work space peep open like the eyes of a tired face. Someone in the center was opening the mini-blinds. Carefully avoiding cars and pedestrians, he headed for his parking place.

Daniel liked the informal atmosphere of the center where students dropped in for his help without appointment. He thought it attracted the perfect students, the motivated students, and his days were never boring.

He knew that one of the professors in physics planned to give a major test this week, which meant a line of anxious students were probably already waiting outside the doors of the center. Daniel only hoped he would get a few moments alone this afternoon to telepathically tune in on Sara's interview.

Suddenly Daniel saw a spider scuttle across the dashboard. He swiped at it, and narrowly avoided hitting another car. He sat in the traffic lane, transfixed and unseeing. He could hear the scurrying sounds of insects. He could feel their legs flickering across his skin. He'd felt this before - last night ? A car horn jolted him out of his daze. He quickly pulled into his parking place and cut the motor, his heart hammering in his ears. He'd almost remembered something-something from yesterday. He shook his head. It was gone now. He took a deep breath, willing himself to think about something else. He settled his thoughts again on Sara's upcoming interview. Although Sara's medical knowledge was far superior to the knowledge of anyone else on Earth, she had no Earthly academic credentials to present at an interview. Together Daniel and Sara had 'translated' her studies and experience into a meaningful resume for Earthly presentation, implying that she had been educated overseas.

If Sara impressed the team at BioMed in just the right way, personnel may not feel the need to check on the validity of her resume, especially the references-names of beings not even in this solar system. It would be a bit difficult to call those scientists up, Daniel mused. He prayed her potential employer wouldn't check that far into her background.

Think positive, he thought to himself. Daniel pressed the rear hatch release button on the dash. He sighed heavily. He didn't want to do what he was about to do next, but it was imperative he protect his secret. He leaned against the inside of the car door and pressed the stud on his watch. As the exoskeleton's power-giving servos deactivated, his strength drained from him like water from a pitcher. He suddenly felt miserable, like a boneless chicken, gutted and ready for the fryer. It wasn't easy, living a life of strength and stamina and then, abruptly, living a life of weakness again. But it certainly beat not having any strength at all. He still had to devise a way to integrate his new and increasing strength into his everyday life. He wasn't sure how he would eventually explain this phenomenon to his colleagues. They'd all known him for years. He had started dropping hints that he was looking into new therapies for polio survivors, and hoped that would eliminate suspicion. Still, it was a happy problem-a problem he wasn't overly concerned about solving. At least not this morning.

He climbed with considerable effort out of the minivan and then walked to the rear of it. How had he managed all those years before the miracle of healing was given him? As he pulled the hatch open, he glanced across the parking lot, distracted by a flash of red. His good friend Roger Kennedy had parked his van in the next row and Daniel could see the red letters emblazoned on the side: 'ROGER'S HARDWARE: If You Can't Find it Anywhere Else, Try Roger's!' Roger's red curly haired head bobbed up and down as he unloaded his tool box. "Roger!" Daniel called.

Roger turned towards the sound of Daniel's voice. "Hey-hey!" Roger waved back.

"Stay there," Daniel called. "I'll be over in a minute." Daniel pressed a button on the electric lift arm that was mounted on the floor of the loading bay. As the lift motor hummed, his battery powered scooter smoothly lifted up and over the rear bumper. He pressed the 'down' button to lower the well-worn scooter to the ground. Then he slammed the hatch. He looked at his watch. Close to eight o'clock; he had to hurry.

Daniel straddled his scooter and then flipped the power switch on the battery pack. If he couldn't use his new strength all the time, at least he could get from one place to another in relative comfort.

Daniel approached Roger's van.

"Good morning, Daniel!" Roger said. Roger was of stocky build, and his round Irish face beamed with cheer.

"Hi, Roger. Doing some work here this morning?"

"Yeah. There's a plumbing problem at the day care center that apparently has gotten a little out of hand. The on-campus plumbers need some extra help. More hands on the wrench, so to speak."

"Nothing serious, I hope?"

"Serious enough for them to give me a call for parts. Bathroom problem. Not a good problem to have in a day care center." He grinned.

"Right, not so good," Daniel agreed.

"Daniel, you look worn out."

"Useless to try to hide it?" Daniel responded good naturedly.

Roger folded his arms across his chest. "Yup. Useless."

"Well, it happens every time I deactivate the watch. I feel like a popped balloon. It takes about twenty minutes before I start to feel even half-way normal."

"Must be kind of frustrating."

"Frustrating isn't the word. And it's especially bad if I don't get enough sleep. Sleep which I don't seem to-to-get-need-anymore." No sense regaling Roger with his evasive fears. There wasn't time anyway.

"Too bad you can't just be who you are, you know? I know you need to keep your secret." He waved his hand back and forth in front of his face as if to dismiss his last statement. "Still-I don't know how you do it. Must be hard-you know-up here." He tapped the side of his head.

"It gets pretty old. But I really shouldn't complain."

"You're not complaining, Dan, my man. I'm doing it for you. I'm a paramedic, you know. Nothing gets by me. You know what they say-"if you can't figure it out yourself, check with Roger." He chuckled at his adaptation of his business slogan. "Something I need to ask you, Daniel."

"Oh, oh, this doesn't sound good."

"Don't know why you'd think that, Daniel."

"I do. Whenever your eyes light up like the bumpers on a pinball machine, I know I'm in trouble," Daniel teased.

"Okay, I'm going to get you out of trouble." He grinned good naturedly, then asked, "Have you ever thought about buying a hot tub? I'll give you a good deal, and I'll install it for nothing. The free install will be Julia's and my wedding present to you and Sara."

"Roger, that is the best idea you've ever come up with. Only one problem, though-we don't have enough room for a hot tub."

"You could put it in the basement."

"Now, just how am I going to get up and down the steps...oh, I don't need to worry about that anymore, do I?"

"Nope," Roger said happily. "Just push the magic button on your watch."

"That's a fine idea, Roger. So fine, I can't believe you thought of it." Daniel chuckled warmly at his friend. "What's the catch?"

"No catch at all. Julia and I have one and we love it." Roger grinned with satisfaction. "You could surprise Sara with it."

"How long would it take you to install it?"

"Half a day, maybe. Nothing complicated."

"All right, then. I'll give you a spare key to the house. After the wedding, Sara and I plan to take a honeymoon during the Thanksgiving break. Would you mind installing it then?"

"No, not at all. I'll bring my right hand plumber Julia with me. Together we can finish the job and clean up our mess long before you two come back."

Daniel took a deep breath. Leave it to Roger to lighten the day. Daniel quickly looked up at the sound of honking geese. They sailed on the wind like a squadron of military gliders.

Suddenly the flock took on a different tone as a large bird, an eagle, Daniel now realized, dove straight down through it, scattering the geese in panic across the sky. The eagle landed squarely on the roof of Roger's van, its talons clicking on the steel roof as it touched down. Roger turned to look, his eyes wide.

A nagging feeling of fear trickled through Daniel. He knew he had seen this very eagle before. One of the first times he'd spent with Sara, she had, with her unique powers, merged his consciousness with the consciousness of the eagle. He had literally flown with that eagle. It had been an unforgettable experience.

He was sure that same eagle had appeared in their lives a second time-at a picnic. Daniel remembered so clearly the eagle dropping from the sky like a bullet and then landing on their picnic table, fixing a stunned Daniel and Sara in its icy stare.

And he knew he had seen this bird a third time, but he couldn't remember when-or where. The memory tugged at the corner of his mind as stubbornly as last night's memories-the memories he couldn't quite get a grip on. Daniel knew his fears rested somewhere in the center of that third experience, and now that fear pulled at him like the sound of scuttling feet. He found it hard to breathe at the recalling of it.

For a brief moment time seemed to stop. Then the eagle flapped its powerful wings once-and disappeared.

"Daniel!" Roger's fingers were clamped around Daniel's wrist, digging the mesh of the exoskeleton into his flesh. Only Daniel's jacket sleeve saved him from real pain. "Did you see that? That eagle disappeared! It didn't fly away into the sky. My dear God, it disappeared from right in front of us!"

"I saw it. I saw it go," Daniel said matter-of-factly.

Roger reached into the sliding side door of his van and took a clean tack cloth from his tool box. With it he quickly mopped the sweat off his face. "I guess this disappearing stuff probably doesn't rattle you much, Daniel. After all, you've seen Sara with her amulet disappear plenty of times."

Daniel smiled. "You've disappeared a time or two yourself with the help of that amulet, Rog."

"Well, yeah-right. I wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been for that FBI agent," he said defensively. "Besides, I was the one that disappeared; I couldn't see myself disappear. Wooo!" He leaned against the van, took his cap off and scratched the top of his head.

Daniel's fear slipped from him. He felt a surge of energy. He grinned with relief. "I think you did quite well, Roger, under the circumstances."

"Well, thanks for your confidence. I..."

"What's wrong, Roger? Are you all right?" The color had drained from Roger's face.

"Geez, I have to finish the hotel," he said abruptly.

Daniel stared at him. He knew what Roger was referring to. Roger and Julia had purchased an old hotel that had been quite popular at the turn of the twentieth century. The once imposing brick structure built on a scenic bluff overlooking Eagle Bluff and the Mississippi River was now in disrepair-but far from ruined. In Roger and Julia's spare time they were slowly restoring it to its original glory, hoping to retire there and open a bed and breakfast someday.

"What are you talking about? You have the rest of your life to finish it." Daniel laughed, then stopped when he saw a mysterious look of determination on Roger's face. "You're serious about this."

"I'm serious," Roger answered quietly.

"What brought this on?"

"Didn't you see how that eagle looked at me?"

"I saw the eagle. But I didn't see it look at you."

Roger gripped the front of Daniel's jacket. "Didn't you see how that eagle looked at me?" With that, Roger turned and hurried off.

By Daniel's watch it was almost 8:05. I'm late. He jammed the drive lever down on his scooter, guiding it up the sidewalk and then through the power assisted doors.

Daniel parked his scooter in his office. Then he walked into the work area, glancing at the growing cluster of students waiting for help. The room was large, and by the looks of it, it would be crowded before long. Daniel took his seat at his desk. Sue, the English tutor, winked at him from across the room. A bright-eyed young student was waiting for him. Daniel knew she wanted help with her chemistry; she'd been in many times before, seeking his help.

"Sorry I kept you waiting. I'm usually early, as you well know." "That's all right," the student said, reassuring. She laid her textbook down on Daniel's desk. "Daniel, can I pull a few more answers from you this morning? This chemistry is really confusing."

"You can if you work at it," Daniel laughed. He was grateful to get right down to business; time always flew when he was busy.

The beeper on Daniel's pocket directory went off. He glanced up at the wall clock; it was five minutes to three. Where had the day gone? Only a few moments ago, it seemed, he was eating lunch with his colleagues. He needed to get to his office quickly. "Tom, I'm going to send you over to Lisa," he said kindly to the student he was working with. "She'll help you finish up this set of problems. I've got an appointment in my office. That all right with you?" Daniel didn't want to shoo the young man away, but it was getting very close to the time of Sara's interview.

"Sure, yeah." Daniel felt a bit guilty. He hated to abandon the confused young man, but Sara's interview was important, and he needed the privacy of his office so he wouldn't be distracted when Sara telepathed to him.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." He quickly got up and hurried to his office.

Daniel could feel his heart racing as he closed his office door behind him. He sat down in his chair, closed his eyes and began his mantra, the one he used daily. This would calm him, and it would make him more open to Sara's thoughts. Ordinarily he didn't need to do this; Sara's thoughts came to him whether he knew she was trying to send them to him or not. It would just happen-spontaneously.

But now she was trying something different; she was going to send an image as well as her voice. Daniel thought this would require at least some preparation on his part. He was wrong. Before the mantra even had a chance to soothe him, he was suddenly aware of Sara. It was as if he was looking through Sara's eyes and looking squarely into the eyes of the woman who was interviewing her. Through Sara, Daniel could see that she was standing in an office, in front of the interviewer's desk. "Good afternoon, Ms. Balyang-" He could see the interviewer glance down at Sara's application and then look up again.

"Good afternoon," Sara said pleasantly.

Daniel saw the interviewer rise and then reach across her desk to shake Sara's hand. "My name is Mary Cisco. I'm happy to meet you."

Sara grasped the hand extended to her. "And I, also, am most happy to meet you."

"Please, sit down."

Daniel could see the perspective of the image he was seeing through Sara change as Sara shook the woman's hand, and then seated herself in her chair. "Now, then, you are interested in the position in research, Department 52? This laboratory is currently working on genetic alteration of host cells to make them compatible with donated organs. The use of anti-rejection medication isn't safe or cost-effective, as you are probably aware," the woman continued.

"Yes, I am," Sara said.

"That section of Bio-Med is also overseeing related project design in immune system activation, again related to host reactions to transplanted organs. I see by your credentials that you have a solid background in the areas of expertise we seek. Few people have such thorough resumes."

"Thank-you."

"Of course we would like to follow-up on your references."

"Of course. But I do have letters with me."

Sara handed the woman an envelope she took from her purse. Daniel could feel her nervous anticipation. It was Sara's father who suggested that she work at BioMed and thus, clandestinely bring her extremely valuable medical information to that company and to the planet. Sara had agreed wholeheartedly. Now if only they could get past the references, the rest would be easy.

The woman sat silently for a long time as she scanned the letters. Sara had reluctantly written them, knowing that somehow she had to prove her worth beyond the resume.

Daniel's attention again returned to Sara's interview as Mary Cisco said, "These letters are quite complimentary. Let me ask you about some of your research projects. Your resume states..."

Daniel's telephone rang. He jerked back to the reality of his surroundings. He'd lost the picture. Damn. He was torn between answering the telephone and staying with Sara's interview. At the next ring he picked up the receiver. "Yes?" he half snapped. Calm down, he thought.

"Mr. Alan? I was told to contact you," the voice on the other end said. "Is it too late to join your chemistry class?"

"No," he answered distractedly, forcing a friendliness he didn't feel. "It meets tomorrow. Be sure you sign up in the registration office, and stop by the Achievement Center at two forty-five. I'll give you a textbook and a course guide."

"All right. Thank you very much."

Through almost gritted teeth he said, "Thank you for calling." He wanted to slam the receiver down, but he stopped himself. Instead he sat back in his chair and tried to relax-to reconnect with Sara.

But the more he tried, the more frustrated he became. The image of Sara's interview was gone.

A light tapping sounded on the door. "Come in," he said disappointedly. The door opened far enough so he could see Lisa's face.

"Daniel, sorry to bother you, but there are some chemistry students out here. I can't help them with pH problems. Are you going to be long?"

"No...no, I'm coming."

He got up and went back into the center.

"You look preoccupied, Daniel."

Daniel looked up at Lisa, who was now standing in front of his desk. "I am."

"Hey, Sara will do okay," Lisa said encouragingly. "She's a bright woman. If anyone can get that job, Sara can."

Daniel's thoughts quickly fixed upon the woman he loved so much. Of course Sara was bright-extraordinarily so. But Lisa also didn't know that Sara's medical knowledge was so superior, so vast, it was dangerous to them all.

He was torn in two about the work that she would undoubtedly earn the right to do. She knew so much. He wanted to telepath to Sara. But plunging into her thoughts in the middle of the interview could distract to her. It would be best to go home and wait for her. He'd know soon enough.

When he arrived at home, he went to his bedroom and picked up the light barbells lying on a chair by his bed. With his exoskeleton still switched off, he would go through his exercise routine with just his physical muscles. He could just barely curl the five pound barbells with those muscles. But that was good; just a short while ago he could only lift three pounds. In a few months his exercise routine would pay off for him. Then he would no longer need the exo to support him.

Sweating profusely, he laid the barbells down and picked up his water bottle. Before he could raise it to his mouth, that familiar tingling joy that always signaled Sara's arrival with the amulet, surged through him. Her image, like smoke on a breeze, floated into the room and quickly became solid before him.

"Hi." She smiled triumphantly.

"You got the job."

Sara took Daniel's hand and squeezed it gently. "They hired me. I got the job."

"I so hoped they would," Daniel said, relieved. Did you have any problems with your references?"

"No. Are you surprised?"

"I didn't get to see the last part of the interview. The phone rang and I missed the rest of it."

Sara winked. "I wondered. I can sense when we're connected. The rest of the interview went very well."

Daniel lovingly reached out and stroked her cheek. "You're the best."

She smiled. "I'm the best you've got, and don't you forget it, young man." She put her arms around him and slowly pushed him onto the bed. She didn't seem to mind he was bathed in sweat...

They stood in the shower together. Sara held Daniel lightly in her embrace as the water streamed over them. "Daniel. Do you know what you are going to do now?"

"I'm afraid to guess."

"You are going to take your daughter and your wife to dinner this evening."

Daniel grinned. "I think I can handle that."

The Eagle's Nest was the most popular eating establishment in Eagle Bluff. It also was the most crowded. As Daniel walked up the short steps to the front entrance he was sorely tempted to activate his exoskeleton. Even a light brush by a person standing close to him could throw him off balance. Instead he sighed and stepped inside the door, assessing the busy restaurant dining room, and with his left arm linked through Sara's right arm reached out with his free hand to balance himself against the edge of the long oak wood lunch counter.

"Come on," he said to Sara. "Let's get seated before I end up under people's feet."

Sara quickly steered them through a gap in the buffet line. A couple was just leaving, and she quickly scooted into the booth.

"I hate it when it's this crowded," Daniel said, feeling overwhelmed. "Why don't they hire a hostess?"

Sara smiled encouragingly. "That's part of the charm. Besides, in a few months you will have gained so much strength you will glide right through this place."

"I can hardly wait for that day," he said.

Sara leaned across the table and said softly, "Rachel said she'd be here at seven."

"Pardon?" The noisy crowd made it impossible to hear her clearly.

"I said..." She sat back into the booth. "I said that Rachel will try to be here at seven."

She was telepathing to him. He loved it. Sara smiled, letting her thoughts clearly travel through the raucous chatter of the patrons around them.

Daniel, too, could telepath. Sara had shown him his ability even before his cells were made nearly perfect. His powers were weak, but it didn't matter. Sara's telepathic strength made up for what he lacked. And now that his brain cells had taken on a new life, he found it even easier to telepath clearly. Daniel smiled across the table at her.

Sara smiled back at him. "I understand you clearly."

"Good. It's rather discouraging to try and shout above the crowd. I want to tell you something that happened to me today." Daniel explained how the eagle had landed on the top of Roger's van that morning, and how upset Roger had become when he insisted that the eagle had instructed him to finish the hotel.

"That reminds me of last summer when the eagle landed so near to us. We were all upset by the eagle's visit."

"Maybe Roger remembered that day when he saw the eagle this morning." Daniel looked up to see the woman who approached their table. "Sunshine," Daniel signed affectionately.

Rachel leaned down and kissed Daniel, then Sara. "Congratulations, Sara," Rachel signed. "I'm so glad you and I will be working at the same place, even though we'll probably rarely see each other."

"I am too," Sara signed expertly.

A waitress approached. "Good evening, Dorothy," Daniel spoke and signed simultaneously.

"Hi, you all. It looks like the whole family is here tonight."

"Almost the whole family," Daniel said. "Steve is working this evening."

Daniel thought the food was delicious. As they sat talking, Sara signed to Rachel, "I begin work tomorrow."

"Wonderful. It will be interesting to see what project they put you on first. I hope we get to work together once in a while. It's a big place."

"Mrs. Cisco seemed to think I would be placed on a project related to organ transplants." Sara looked at Daniel. "We're studying t-cell behavior. Those are the cells that reject foreign tissue. BioMed wants to produce a more effective anti-rejection serum. There's another project on genetic alteration that sounds interesting, too."

"Our lab is working with t-cells, also," Rachel signed. She took a bite out of her salad. "The cure for many diseases could be found in the serums you will be creating in your lab, Sara."

"I know. Actually, I'm hoping that's what will happen, with a little help from me. I'm told most of the results are in. We should be finished desegregating them right around the time of our wedding in November."

Rachel took another bite of salad, and then with her fork still in her hand signed, "Speaking of married, have you two decided where you are going on your honeymoon?"

Daniel signed, "We're thinking about going to Chicago to soak up a little culture. Since people won't know me there, I can walk all over town with my new, perfect cells." He smiled with joy at the thought of it.

"Will you get extra days off, Sara?"

"Yes. I mentioned that I needed some extra time, and they were gracious enough to give it to me. But it's unpaid, of course."

Rachel signed, "Of course. So will you be here with the rest of our family on Thanksgiving day?"

"Sure," Daniel signed. "We plan to drive the van to Chicago. We'll leave sometime Thanksgiving evening."

"You don't plan to fly the shuttle, then?"

"Oh, Lord, no, Honey. Where would we park it?" Daniel laughed.

"Good point." Rachel's eyes suddenly lit up. "You can Christmas shop at Marshall Fields. You should see it, Sara. The decorations are always so beautiful."

Sara stopped in mid-bite. "I saw some decorations today. They were orange and black. I think a holiday is approaching, but I must confess that even though I'm fairly familiar with the customs in the U. S., I'm not exactly sure what this particular holiday celebrates."

"You mean you've never heard of Halloween, Sara?" Rachel signed, puzzlement crossing her face.

"I don't believe so. Might it be some kind of fall festival?"

Daniel signed, "That's right. On October the 31st of every year we celebrate," Daniel paused dramatically, "death!" He flapped his hands in front of Sara's and Rachel's face.

"Daniel, whatever are you talking about?" Sara playfully slapped his hands aside.

"I'm telling you," Daniel signed in his best imitation of Dracula, "people drink your blood on Halloween...ha...ha...ha...," he mimicked playfully.

"Come on, Dad. Tell Sara about the fun parts of Halloween."

"Like what?" Daniel took a bite of his hamburger.

"Like carving pumpkins and like how the children come to your door dressed in their costumes, how they 'trick or treat'." She grinned.

"Well, all right." Daniel laid his hamburger back on his plate. "On that night we will have a million kids at our door dressed like ghosts and vampires and witches, and these little beggars will want candy. It's called 'trick or treat' night. But before we give them candy-the treat-we have to first listen to a joke-the trick-that a child will tell. We laugh at the joke, no matter how bad it may be-and they are usually pretty bad. Then we give them lots of candy. Then they go home and get sick from eating too much candy."

"Oh, Daniel, that sounds hideous. What kind of fall festival is that? I swear, you Earthlings-"

"And, we have to turn on our porch light, or else the children won't come. Eagle Bluff designates 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. as the official trick or treat hours."

"I don't know if I want to turn our porch light on for that. You say the city sanctions this?"

Rachel and Daniel laughed loudly.

Rachel signed, "It isn't as bad as he makes it out to be. You'll enjoy it; it's great fun. Hey, I have a wonderful idea for you." Rachel winked mischievously at Sara.

"What would that be, Rachel?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow at work, when Dad isn't around."

"I don't like the sound of this, Sunshine," Daniel signed.

"You deserve this, Dad." Rachel grinned broadly.

In the middle of the night Daniel had a nightmare; he was trying to run. He was trying to escape the taloned clutches of the vampires that were grasping at him, but he couldn't seem to move. He screamed while he ran in place.

Chapter Three

Spiny fingers held him firmly. He opened his eyes. The face in front of him was angular. Huge black eyes gazed upon him, unblinking. He leaned away, but the fingers wouldn't release him. Don't look at the eyes! I must not look at the eyes! He felt hands firmly gripping his wrists. No! I won't look at you! You can't make me look at you! He struggled to escape from whatever was gripping him. But he was held down to...what? Something cold...Where was he?

Sara's voice came from somewhere outside himself and then slowly threaded its way into his consciousness. "Daniel! Daniel! Daniel, wake up! Daniel, please wake up!"

A light blinked on, momentarily blinding him. He pinched his eyes tightly shut.

"Daniel," the voice said more calmly. "Please look at me."

Now Daniel was fully awake. He saw black eyes-and pulled back, startled once again. But these were Sara's black eyes. She was staring at him. An involuntary shudder went through him. His face felt wet. He touched his nose. His fingers came away sticky with blood. "Ahhh!" He pinched his nose tightly shut with his fingers, trying to stop the blood flow, the blood trickling down his wrist, down his arm, and onto the bed sheets.

"Daniel, give me your wrists-now!" Daniel offered his wrists to her, almost in supplication. She took them, held them firmly, then relaxed her grip. A calmness swept through him; the bleeding stopped.

"Why...why am I bleeding? What happened to me?"

"I don't know, Daniel. You awoke, screaming."

He looked down the front of himself. He looked at Sara. "Oh, dear God, look at this mess." Daniel's pajamas were soaked with his blood. The sheets were sticky with blood. He sat up quickly. He felt light headed. How much blood had he lost? It looked like he was bleeding to death. His nose hurt as though someone had punched him. But he'd been sleeping, not fighting. Before Sara could stop him, he grabbed his crutch, put it under his arm and lurched towards the bathroom.

"Let me help you...Please wait," she called after him.

But he was already in the bathroom. Fingers sticky with his own blood, he fumbled for the light switch. The light flashed on like a bright strobe, like the strobes around the rim of Sara's father's space ship. He glanced quickly into the mirror. The eyes were there-in the background of the reflection. He leaned against the wall, shaking uncontrollably.

Sara was at the sink, running water over a wash cloth.

"Are you all right, Daniel? Please tell me."

"I see...uhh..." He put his head down, rubbed his eyes. "I see something in the mirror." He looked away from the mirror and looked squarely into Sara's face.

"It's me, Daniel-Sara. You're seeing me. Are my eyes frightening you? It's me," she said with emphasis. Sara was gripping him by his shoulders now.

"No...no. It's not you I'm seeing. I see someone..." He staggered, quickly caught himself against the sink.

Sara looked in the mirror. "I see nothing, Daniel, except a very bloody face." She began to wipe his face almost roughly, washing away the quickly drying blood. His nose was still bleeding. Sara rinsed the blood from the cloth, wrung it out, and scoured it over his hands, tugging at the shirt of his pajamas. "We have to get these bloody things off." Daniel sat down on the edge of the bathtub. He was breathing heavily. Tiny little stars randomly popped across his field of vision. The eyes, the black eyes were staring at him with love and concern. "Sara, I feel as if I'm going to faint." He clutched at Sara's pajama top to keep himself from falling to the floor.

Sara crouched next to Daniel. "Why don't you sit in the shower while I strip the bed."

"What a mess," Daniel looked down at himself.

"Sweetheart, the mess is minor. It's you I'm worried about. You don't look so good." She helped him into the shower.

The water from the shower nozzle drilled into Daniel like needles. He showered with his pajamas on, too stunned to remove them. The water ran red down the drain. Then, as Daniel toweled himself dry, Sara ran water into the tub and put the bedclothes and bloody pajamas into the water to soak.

"There...tomorrow-today-I'll throw these into the washer."

Daniel barely heard her words. It seemed as though she was talking to him from another room. She didn't look like herself. She looked like-he grappled for the memory, but it escaped him as soon as he captured it.

The morning came too quickly. Daniel awoke with a feeling of relief. At least he'd slept some. And then he felt dread. The experience of only a few hours ago burst into his mind. By the rhythm of Sara's breathing he knew she was still in deep sleep.

"Sweetheart...." He shook her gently. "Sara, time to rock and roll. Come on...up," he said gently.

A slender arm reached across Daniel's chest. "I'm awake," she said sleepily.

He felt his nose. It was only slightly tender. He had expected it to be as big as a baseball. How did he get in such a bloody mess? Nightmares were dreams. They didn't bloody your nose. If only he could remember the dream. Images flitted through his mind. Once again he felt so close to seeing them, but they evaporated. A dream that horrible would surely be memorable; why couldn't he remember it? He dropped his feet over the side of the bed and quickly strapped on his exoskeleton, pulled on his pants, and then reached for his shoes. They lay on the floor in a neat 'V'. Daniel blinked. The eyes again. The memory of Sara's black eyes unsettled him. He couldn't let her know that. A tremor rushed through him and he felt the fear returning.

"Am I going to have to get tough with you?" he gently chided, deliberately choking down his fear.

"No, Dear." Sara's voice sounded muffled in the quilt. It occurred to Daniel that until this morning, her first day of work on this Earth, Sara probably had never needed to get up and go to work like the rest of the world; she and her father had done most of their work at night, after laboratories were shut down and computers lay idle.

"Come on, Sweetheart. Welcome to the world of work," he said again, patiently.

Sara sat up, sleepily. She yawned, stretched, looked up at Daniel, then said teasingly, "How is your nose, Bozo?"

Daniel froze. Sara's eyes were exceptionally luminous this morning-exceptionally black. "What's wrong?" Sara was looking at him in confusion.

"I-think it's okay." He felt it again, then glanced into the dresser mirror. His nose looked-normal. Daniel put his arm around Sara's sleepy body. "Bozo?" he said, trying to inject light heartedness into his voice. "You called me Bozo?" he teased. You've been watching too many kid's shows on TV. Time to get you earning a living."

She glanced at the clock radio. "Oh, my, we don't have much time, do we?" She scrambled to her feet.

Daniel said, "You get yourself ready. I'm going to throw all of the bloody bedclothes in the washer." He headed for the bathroom.

"All right." As Sara stood at the sink, Daniel began to pull the bedclothes out of the tub and wring them out. Then he stuffed them into the laundry basket and headed for the laundry room off the kitchen. He enjoyed doing this simple job. A few weeks ago he wouldn't have been able to even lift the heavy, wet sheets out of the tub.

At breakfast Daniel said, "I'll come home this noon during my lunch break and throw the bedclothes into the dryer."

"You don't have to, Sweetheart. Just leave it until this evening. Or," she paused dramatically, "I could use the amulet to return briefly during my lunch."

"That's not a very good idea, Sara. We'd better keep your travel with the amulet down to a minimum."

"All right." Sara smiled warmly. "I suppose to keep you happy, I'll have to do my traveling the old fashioned way."

"Rachel will be here soon to pick you up. Promise me that next week you'll get your driver's license renewed."

"My, but you worry about me. I've driven on this planet with my expired driver's license for years."

Daniel smiled. "Every family needs an official worrier. It might as well be me. I've had lots of practice."

"It's going to be nice to work in a laboratory that stays in one place and that I can walk in and out of with security clearance. No worries about outguessing and bypassing alarms..." Sara pulled on her shoes and bustled to the kitchen as she talked.

Daniel wasn't far behind. He pressed the button on his watch and felt the strength diffuse through him like warm butter. "Wait up. My turn to fix breakfast, remember?"

"Then you'd better get moving. Some of us have work to do. Oh, and don't forget to pick me up from work this evening."

"Now who's worrying?"

At noon, when Daniel went home, he felt oddly restless. He threw the bedclothes into the dryer, then pulled a macaroni and cheese dinner from the freezer. He put it in the microwave and closed the door. A tingling sensation, like a slight warm electrical current, suddenly crawled along the back of his neck. He yanked his hand from the microwave. "Damn!" popped from his lips. He gingerly touched the microwave door, thinking the shock came from the microwave itself. But when he touched it, the current didn't reoccur.

Puzzled, Daniel set the timer and then pressed the "cook" button. The window in the microwave door lit up. He looked away as his mind began to race. Why was he so uncomfortable? The dreams he couldn't remember throbbed in his mind. The near-drowning in his bathtub, the near-tragedy of it, reappeared in his thoughts. And the bloody nose. Forget about it, he thought.

When the cook cycle ended, the light in the microwave blinked off and the glass window in the door again became dark. As Daniel opened the door he caught his own image in the shadowed glass, and embedded in his reflection, he saw black eyes. He started, jerked backwards, and winced as he backed painfully into a kitchen chair. He looked at the door again, but this time saw nothing. Something he was trying to dig out of his memory stubbornly refused to come to the surface. He sat down to eat his dinner. It felt like someone was there, looking over his shoulder as he ate.

After work Daniel drove out to BioMed's lab facility to pick up Sara. He was curious to meet Sara's new colleagues and supervisor. Ha! he thought, Sara hardly needed a supervisor. If the owners of BioMed had any idea how much she knew, they'd give her the keys to the place.

"Department Fifty-two, please?"

"Do you have security clearance, sir?" The friendly receptionist stood up behind her desk.

"No, I don't. I'm here to pick up Sara Balyang; she's my wife...."

"Perhaps I could page her. Is she expecting you?"

"Yes. Thank you." Daniel sat down in the waiting area and picked up a magazine. He wanted so much to revisit the maze of cubicles, dividers, computers and small laboratories that he knew was part of Sara's department. He'd seen them the night he, Sara, Sara's father, and Rachel had, with the aid of amulet, teleported undetected into this very lab and planted valuable medical information on this department's file server.

"Daniel, I'm on my way." Daniel loved it when Sara rescued him with her thoughts. Shortly, Sara's face appeared in the doorway. "Come on back. I want to show you my office."

Daniel walked down the hall and stepped into Sara's cubicle. He took in the furnishings at a glance. "Hey, real nice! I'm impressed. Maybe a picture or two, a plant...."

An unfamiliar face popped her head around the divider. "And I, too, am impressed. Sara's already an asset to our team." A woman stuck out her hand in a friendly, open manner; she shook Daniel's hand warmly. "Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Harriet Stanwick. I'm Sara's supervisor."

A man entered. And I'm Benjamin Stanwick, Harriet's husband. I work in this department, too."

"Happy to meet you, Benjamin," Daniel said. They shook hands.

"Harriet and I are very pleased about Sara working for us. She is a very knowledgeable woman."

Harriet said, "Sometime soon we'd like to invite both of you to our home for dinner."

Sara mumbled a That would be very nice. Then Harriet said, "You did very well today, Sara. We were throwing a lot of complex information at you, and you passed with flying colors." She smiled. Daniel breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"We'd love to come to dinner sometime," Daniel said. He turned to Sara. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

Daniel spoke his "happy-to-meet-yous", then walked with Sara out of the building and into the car. Sara looked tired, unusual for her. For once her walking pace was as slow as his.

Daniel fingered Sara's clip-on security tag. "When I think of how we blatantly broke into this place and left them information, and then when I look at this tag, I want to laugh."

Sara smiled. "Security was tight then, but I got the distinct impression today that security is even tighter now."

"Why is that, do you suppose?"

"Our department is working on something quite important. Other companies are watching, so BioMed is taking extra precautions. Big patents are at stake." Sara yawned. "I'm not used to fatigue. I think I have led a sheltered life."

"So tell me about your work so far."

"Daniel, I can't tell you very much. As I said last night, we're working with the immune system. The marketplace is calling out for improved anti-rejection drugs for use after organ transplants. The long-range work deals with genetic alteration of cells. Although the work is complex, knowing what I know makes the work quite straight-forward for me. But of course I keep that to myself. I'm afraid I will have to go in and work some evenings." Sara looked forlorn at her statement.

"Evenings? Already I'm not liking this."

"It will be all right, Sweetheart," Sara said reassuringly. She gently kissed him on the end of his nose.

"Well, at least after you get your license you can start driving yourself to work."

"I will have to give in to you and get a car, won't I?"

Daniel puffed out his cheeks and expelled a quick breath at the sudden realization of the added expense another car would bring. "Yeah, you'll need a car. We can start looking for one this week. And you're going to need a drivers' license."

"A license? Me? Need a license? I fly the universe. I don't have a license to do that."

"State law, Sara. When in Rome.... I'll pick up a driver's manual at the courthouse tomorrow."

"I have to study?"

"It's harder to drive a car than to fly a shuttle."

Sara smiled. "Would you like to fly the shuttle tomorrow night?"

"I'd love to. Say, you're perking up a little. The way you looked a while ago, I thought you'd fall asleep in the spaghetti." He leaned back in his chair and grinned wryly." I know we can't do this, but sometimes when I fly the shuttle, I want to blast across town and scare the living daylights out of everyone."

"You'd scare the daylights out of our illustrious police chief? Again?" Sara laughed. "He just recovered from last summer's light shows."

They both looked at each other. "Sara," Daniel whispered, "you and your father weren't responsible for the lights."

"Of course we weren't. But who was...?"

Daniel pushed himself up the worn stone steps of the courthouse. He paused at the top, winded. By the time the county would finally finish installing the elevator to meet FDA requirements, he wouldn't need it anymore. If only he could activate the exo without being noticed in public. Maybe soon he would try it, and see if anyone noticed him taking the steps two at a time. He entered, then walked across the wooden boards of the hallway worn slick by years and years of shoes and boots clumping over the boards.

"Hey, Daniel," a voice called from his left. He turned to acknowledge the greeting. "Oh, hi, Jack." Daniel recognized Jack Hudson, the police chief. Speak of the devil. Jack stood here, now, his tall, lanky frame almost threatening Daniel with its sheer size: Jack was more than a foot taller than Daniel.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you teachers supposed to be teaching this time of day?"

Daniel hadn't seen Jack since the night of his healing. Jack had stumbled upon Santoo's starship. He'd also shown unusual bravery when an FBI agent and government helicopters tried to sabotage Santoo's efforts to heal Daniel that night. But Jack remembered nothing: Santoo had erased the memory of the event from both Jack and the FBI agent's minds. Jack's manner was direct, as though everyone's business was his business.

"I'm on lunch break. Just here to, uh, pick up a driver's manual," Daniel said.

"Oh. Someone need a license?"

"Yes, Sara needs to take a drivers test," Daniel answered, irritated at Jack's badgering. "She-needs an Iowa license."

"Just transfer it. She doesn't have to take a test."

"She can't just transfer it, Jack. She-she's from France," Daniel answered cautiously.

"France? Hmm. She doesn't look French."

"How do you look French? I said she was from France." It was a lie, of course. How could Daniel tell Jack that Sara was from the planet Teruhl? When Daniel first met Sara she had told him she previously lived in France. If he had to suffer from that initial lie of Sara's, he would pass it on to Jack. "So, what's new in your life, Jack?" Daniel ventured.

"Nothing new. Nothing...but I'm still ticked about those lights," he said suddenly. "I see them, then I don't. If I had a shotgun with a long enough range, I'd go out there some night and just wait for those lights to show up. A little buck shot would kind of equalize things, don't you think?" Jack looked suspiciously at Daniel.

"I don't know, Jack. Those lights are old news." Daniel was becoming uncomfortable.

"Steve says you didn't have anything to do with the lights, but I'm not so sure. He's your son-in-law. Every time I mention those damned lights he sticks up for you," he said.

Daniel was beginning to sweat. "What do you mean, 'sticks up for me'?" Daniel could see that Jack was stuck in a loop. He had those lights in his head, and they still appeared to be driving him crazy. He wondered if Jack had seen the lights recently. Daniel just wanted the lights to disappear. Jack looked momentarily confused. "Well, I...I don't know, I guess." he said, frustrated. Then in a burst of breath Jack said, "I think Steve's in cahoots with you."

"Please, Jack, be reasonable." Daniel was irritated. Was Jack starting to remember parts of that night? Daniel wondered. Was Steve beginning to piece things together about Sara? He wouldn't be surprised if Steve was doing exactly that. But no, Steve wouldn't let on if he had a hunch, at least not to Jack.

He felt sorry for Jack apparently grasping at a vague memory, trying to remember his involvement with Daniel's healing. Daniel had something nagging at his memory, too, but he couldn't pull it out of his brain to save his soul. He sighed and tried another tack.

"Jack, did these lights ever act in a threatening way towards you or anyone else?"

"No," Jack said sulkily. "At least, I don't remember that they did."

"Did they ever truly frighten anyone?"

"No," Jack agreed again.

"Then just forget them. They're gone," he lied.

"They're not gone. I saw them a couple of nights back."

"Jack," Daniel said, exasperated, "if you go running around with a shotgun in the middle of the woods, you could shoot your blamed foot off!"

Jack began to laugh. "Very funny. I haven't shot my foot in years." He turned from Daniel abruptly and hesitated before he took a step away from him. "Have a good day," he said. He sauntered down the hallway, then into an office doorway.

Daniel stood in the hallway, trying to calm himself before he took another step. Then he walked into the office marked "Motor Vehicles," picked up a manual for Sara, and went back to work.

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