Chapter 27

Explaining everything that had happened while she was gone took a long time. A very long, confusing time, since as soon as she and Throttle reached the garage he and the others dove right into describing last night's battle, which of course led to them taking turns bragging about some of the stunts they had pulled. And taking turns meant they talked rapidly over and cut each other off without warning.

Tamerin's mind was still reeling from what just happened between her and Throttle and she wasn't really following what the loquacious mice were saying very well, but in the end her sleepy brain zeroed in on the points that mattered most, especially to her; the battle, while not without casualties, had been a success, the ones responsible for getting the sand raiders riled up in the first place had been caught, Vector had been rescued...and Ashlin had decided to stay right where she was.

Ashlin was a little surprised that both she and Modo had worried about her joining her rat kin. She told them that morning that no matter what else was going on, her home was with the people she loved most. And while she loved her father too, she was content with seeing him when he came to visit and had no plans whatsoever in settling permanently in rat territory.

Tamerin was so relieved to hear it she gave her baby girl a huge hug before taking a nap in the nearest chair. The sight was apparently inspiring, because when she woke up later everyone except Throttle had gone home to bed. Considering that they had all been awake for well over twenty-four hours, she couldn't blame them.

"Come on," said Throttle, as he casually lifted her in his arms and carried her out of the garage through the gaping hole still in the overhead door. "I'm going to tuck you in bed and then go pick up Mitch. We can continue fixing up the garage tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Tamerin responded with a yawn.

And that was the only real plan any of them followed for the next week or so. There weren't taking any repair jobs right now (and thankfully the bikes that were still waiting to be picked up the day the sand raiders broke in had only received mild external damage) but there were plenty of anxious bikers who needed their rides looked over after the battle, so they all made sure to devote several hours each day to getting their work space back in order.

They'd made a lot of progress already, but it was probably going to be a little while longer before they would be able to reopen for business. In spite of this, and in spite of the cleanup efforts that would be going on for a whole lot longer outside, life had pretty much gone back to normal already.

Well, normal except for the whole leaping into her mate's head situation. She'd already lost count how many times it had happened since the first time. Sometimes it was only for a few seconds, sometimes it went on for minutes. She'd yet to do it completely on purpose; it usually happened while they were apart, when she was the most apt to absently wonder what he was up to - and the next thing she knew she'd be watching exactly what he was up to and who he was with. She was just thankful that she'd managed to avoid getting a glimpse of one of his long bathroom breaks after he'd gorged himself on hot dogs, root beer, and whatever other greasy snacks happened to be on hand at the time.

Sometimes it even happened when she wasn't thinking about him at all - like when she was asleep. It was more than a little weird to wake up to the sight of her own face.

Fortunately, she was pretty sure she was starting to get the hang of it, at least a little bit. She was still learning how to properly anchor her mind down so she didn't accidentally make the jump the second she started thinking about him, but she was getting better at extracting herself.

Throttle was still a little puzzled - and a little weirded out - by all of it. He definitely hadn't developed the same ability, but they had since figured out that no matter how far apart they were from each other, he could still sense her. After they both had some time to settle into and grow a little more used to their new skills, he was able to describe to her how much more clearly he could feel what she felt - which was, as always, more clearly than she could sense him. Only now that seemed to apply to when she was touching him, too, so the only time their clarity matched was when she went inside his head.

Plus there was still only so much distance she could put between them before she was out of range of their bond. Granted, that range was a lot greater than it used to be, but it was far from infinite. She thought that was a reasonably fair trade, but Throttle was still making up his mind on whether he agreed or not.

She was busy thinking about it while she quietly swept the floor of the main room of Second Chance one morning. It was early but neither Charley or Vinnie had showed up yet, and Ashlin was - of all places - over at the military base visiting some of the wounded who were still recuperating in bed, most of them the sames ones she had helped patch up. Throttle was bored today, and he kept covering noisy yawns as he separated the garage's vast collection of tools into three piles: perfectly intact, damaged but possibly still usable, and completely broken.

Modo was supposed to be sorting through their boxes of parts, but he was only pretending to as he paid more attention to Ako, who was clinging to his arm and giggling like crazy as he tried to dodge while Modo playfully pinched his little nose. The mood in the room was a relaxed, peaceful one - at least until Vinnie suddenly came bursting in and skid to a stop, knocking over an already tired-looking sawhorse in the process. "Guess what?" he cried.

They all stopped and looked at him. The energetic mouse was even more energetic than usual, practically bubbling over with excitement and eyes shining as he adjusted his hold on Vector, who looked equally excited. Modo studied them both for a moment. "No clue," he said. "But if you grin any harder, the whole top of your head is gonna come off."

Throttle wasn't as interested in finding out what was going on as he was in teasing his old friend. "Judging by the matching looks on your faces, Vector is either very mature for almost two, or your brain has never developed past babyhood."

Instead of getting annoyed, Vinnie looked happier than ever as he hoisted his little son higher, sitting him up on his shoulder. "Go on, big guy - tell 'em."

Vector's dark eyes shone like his father's, and he let out a laugh as he pressed his excited little hands together. "I a big bruzzer!"

It took a second for that to compute - and then the other two mice were rushing forward to congratulate their friend. Tamerin stayed quiet as they slapped him on the back and joked about a job well done, thinking back to that morning a few weeks ago when she met Charley outside the garage and noticed that she smelled like she had conceived. With everything that had happened since then, she had forgotten all about it.

She was glad that all the stress Charley had recently endured hadn't been a problem, and she smiled as she murmured her own congratulations before slipping past the trio and stepping outside while they brought out and started chugging root beer to celebrate. Even if it had occurred to any of them to get her some fruit juice, she would have still left them alone; this was one of those guy moments and she didn't want to get underfoot while they swapped wisecracks with each other.

But she had only been out on the edge of the front lawn for a couple of minutes when she felt Throttle come up behind her. She was getting a little better at tracking his movements again, and she sensed his hands about to rest on her shoulders a moment before they touched her. He brushed his lips against her hair. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Tamerin smiled a little. "Honestly? I'm hoping Charley has a girl. It wouldn't balance things out around here, but it would help."

Throttle chuckled quietly, right before she felt him turn serious. As he gently turned her to face him, he said, "I've kind of been thinking about that lately, actually."

She lifted her eyebrows curiously. "You mean kids?"

He nodded once. "That, and...this whole jumping into my head thing. If we've leaped ahead to a point no one else has ever reached before, I have to wonder what'll happen as our relationship continues normally."

Tamerin had been wondering about that, too. She couldn't imagine their bond growing any stronger, but as their love for each other deepened and their emotional bond strengthened, as well as they continued to enjoy each other physically, she assumed that it would.

But as she stood there thinking about it for a second, it dawned on her that that was exactly what Throttle was worried about. She had to admit, being able to slip into his mind was going to take a long time to get used to - for both of them. And what Throttle wanted now was for no more changes to take place, either to their bodies or their minds. "What are you suggesting we do?" she asked hesitantly.

He smiled a little, but she could tell by the way he braced himself that he didn't think she was going to like what he was about to say. "I paid a visit to Dee a few days ago and we had a good long talk about it. We studied every procedure we could find, and she thinks the best, most permanent solution is a vasectomy. And because she's the genius little doc that she is, she's confident that she can perfect the operation so there's virtually no pain and little recovery time."

Tamerin felt herself turn as blank as she felt. "A what?"

Her mate wrinkled his nose in thought as his fingers drummed softly on her shoulders for a moment. "Think of it like this; it'll mean that the faucet can still be turned on, but no water will come through the pipes."

It took her a minute to figure out what that meant - and when it hit her she felt a ball drop inside her. She opened her mouth to protest, but Throttle was already pressing a finger to her lips. "I know that's a strange concept for you, but think about it; just how much stronger could our bond end up getting? I'm honestly not all that excited about finding out, in case we both wind up existing in both our bodies at once or something. I think we should just be content that we've reached a level of connection no other Imeeran ever has before and leave things where they are."

He tapped her lips before pulling his finger away, but Tamerin didn't respond other than to wrinkle her nose in distaste. Interrupting a large part of what made their bond what it was sounded strange to the point of unnatural to her...but she had to admit he had a point. "And you still don't want any kids, right?" he went on, his tone and mood gently coaxing.

She quickly shook her head. "Even if my mother's pregnancy goes well...I don't want to chance it, no. We have Mitch, so I'm happy."

"Me too. And this way we won't have to worry about that anymore."

He was going to say more, but he paused and gave her a funny look as he felt the bubble of excitement that rose up inside her without warning as a sudden thought popped into her head. "What'd I say?"

Tamerin felt her cheeks warm a little, but she said, "There's a little something I've never told you."

She'd made sure not to, in case he felt bad about it, but now she eagerly explained to him how Imeeran females went hyper-sensitive when they were fertile, and how it supposedly made sex indescribably fantastic. "Better than what I can do all on my own?" he asked, pretending to pout.

"That's what I've been told," she replied with a smirk. "And since this way it won't end my cycle, we can do something else no one ever has; experience it more than once. Over and over again."

As many times as her body could stand. The thought made her head tingle.

Throttle went quiet, his expression thoughtful. Drawing her a little closer and putting his arms around her, he said lowly, "I never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait for the next time you're fertile."

Tamerin let out a laugh and held him tight. "Me either."

"So, we're agreed, then?"

It still sounded strange to her, but when it came down to it, the pros definitely outweighed the cons, so she nodded before resting her head on his chest. "I'll get used to the idea," she said lightly, "even if I do feel a little gypped when it comes to my favorite part of your anatomy."

"Flatterer."

He chuckled, then lifted her chin and kissed her softly. "Now that we've worked that out, I'm hoping you can help me with something."

"Oh?"

"Nothing big. Just wondering if anyone back on Malteria could spare us a little more water."

She smirked again. "I'd say it's a good possibility. What do you want it for?"

With a smile, he slid his arm around her shoulders and started walking back to the garage. "I'll tell you all about it inside. But I bet you could guess."

And as they headed back in and joined their friends - their family - Tamerin was pretty sure that she already had.

EPILOGUE

Where the fence is low
And the water is rising
And the fire comes down
And the dark fills the skies in
One foot on the ledge
And I'm feeling for safety
Somewhere between sure
And I don't know, maybe
~Where The Fence Is Low; Lights

Throttle took a deep, long breath, filling his lungs with slightly damp air, then let it out good and slowly. This was the perfect way to spend a quiet evening; watching the blazing orb that was the sun as it gradually descended in the sky with his arm tightly around his mate, as they sat together on the highest point on Mars.

Well, the highest point on Mars that was both within reasonable riding distance and still low enough to have oxygen, the latter being part of the compromise he and Tamerin reached before she finally consented to him taking her all the way out here. That was hours ago, and the sun's afterglow was starting to fade from the sky enough for the glitter of stars to shine in the darkening expanse of blue above them. The air was already cooling off a little, yet his mate still wasn't showing any sign of being interested in moving.

When they first rode up here and then sat down on a flat ledge that faced the sunset, she had wrapped her arms tightly around his torso and placed her head on his shoulder, and she'd stayed that way ever since. She kept her eyes closed almost the entire time, only cracking them open to look out at the horizon that seemed to stretch endlessly before them for a second or two before squeezing them shut again. He felt her stomach flutter like a horde of butterflies every time she looked, but she stayed obstinately put as the darkness grew deeper.

With a smile, Throttle gave her hand a squeeze and said, "I think you've been up here long enough. We can go back down now, if you want."

Tamerin shook her head stubbornly. "I'm fine. Getting dizzy with fear builds character."

Snickering, he turned his head and looked down at the ground, and at their home city in the distance, which looked so small right now it seemed to melt into the skyline. Yet even from here, he could see dots of light turning on as night came...and there wasn't any sign of what had encircled it that long day, just a few short weeks ago. Every last section of the outer wall was tucked back into the ground where it belonged.

What was around the city, some small and some not so small, were pools of water. A few were casual fishing ponds (Modo had made sure they didn't forget to add fish) while others were full-blown lakes, and there were more farther out from their territory, already showing signs of grass and other life growing around them.

Throttle couldn't imagine the whole planet looking like that, and even if it was possible, it would be many years before it did. But then again, he would have never thought they would be able to come as far as they already had in such a short time, so who knows?

With another slow sigh of contentment, he pulled his mate a little closer and rested his cheek on the top of her head. He didn't verbalize that he felt ready to spend the whole night up here, knowing that she could sense the urge easily, but she didn't object. What had changed her mind about finally coming up here, or so she had told him as he half-dragged her out the door, was that after losing him like she almost did, she knew she could handle anything. Nothing could possibly be scarier than that - and no amount of fear was going to keep her apart from him.

Even so, he was pretty sure they'd enjoyed the view long enough, and gave her arm a coaxing pat. "C'mon; it's getting cold out here."

Kind of damp, too, the air smelling of moisture like it did late at night during after-dark rides back on Earth. It took a little bit for this thought to fully sink into his lazy mind, but when it did, he lifted his head with wide eyes and a thumping heart. "Did you notice what it smells like right now?"

Having noticed the change in his mood, Tamerin was already lifting her head from his shoulder and opening her eyes. Brow furrowing slightly, she took a quiet sniff. "Rain," she said. "It smells like rain."

"Uh-huh. Do you have any idea how long it's been since it rained on Mars?"

She didn't. "Do you?"

He let out a laugh. "It's been so long I forget."

Knowing what a big deal this was for him - for everyone - Tamerin tightened her arms and put her head back on his shoulder as she said, "Want to stay up here and wait to see if it really happens? I don't mind. It's kind of cozy."

He had already been thinking the same thing, but he kind of doubted that it would happen tonight, or tomorrow night either. It was still too soon...but it told him something.

Some of the choices they had made hadn't been easy, but he knew now that they had been the right ones.

~Fin~

Notes: I'd just like to send out a million-and-one thank yous to all of my dear readers, especially the ones who supported me and helped me through the rough patches I hit while writing this story. Another set of tangents will be up before you know it, thanks so much again for reading!