---

"You're gonna see it's our destiny…"

"You've Got A Friend In Me" - Randy Newman

I turned, and Gaelen was suddenly there next to me. She put one hand on Roca's back, and he quieted immediately. "Wait, honey," she said. "Let's take another look."

The three of us stood back a little to look at Star, peacefully laid out on the bed. His short pale hair stood up in spikes; his bronze skin was still warm and glowing, perhaps only slightly dimmed. His white button-up shirt was askew, due to Roca's shaking. Several of the buttons were missing now, and a vee of his muscled chest was revealed, almost to his beltline. I had been right in my first assessment; he was not breathing. But, under closed lids, his eyes expressed small jerky movements, and now and then his heart gave a slow but satisfying beat. He wasn't dead, but deeply, profoundly asleep.

Gaelen let go of Roca, who straightened up and stood, staring silently now. She bent down and smoothed Star's hair and clothing. "He looks like someone should wake him with a kiss," she observed. "But I think we should leave him be and give him time to do whatever he needs to do."

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Roca said, his usually deep voice higher and quavery.

Gaelen put an arm around his waist and squeezed. "I don't know, but I do think that all we can do is wait and see." She smiled up at him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I guess."

I swallowed. "Maybe we should take him back to the house."

She shook her head. "He'll be safe enough here. Let's give him some space." Still touching Roca, she took my hand and led us both back toward the main house. "Come on; the others will be wondering what we've been up to."

It wasn't until much later that I remembered to wonder how Gaelen had known to come to the guest house when we needed her, or how she had taken charge of the situation so quickly. However it had happened, I was grateful.

Vai was frantic when she heard the news, and she and the rest of the kids made a bee line for the guest house. Vai put a hand on Star's chest and burst into tears; even Lana telling her that she could hear a heartbeat did not seem to comfort her.

I couldn't manage much more than an outward calm myself. In spite of the fact that Star had asked for my help, it would still be my fault if he never came back to us, or if I had done him some sort of permanent harm with my meddling. Roca cast me the occasional glance, and I could see my own guilt mirrored in his eyes. I wanted to comfort him, but I had to leave that to Gaelen and Racho; I just didn't have it to give. What I wanted was to sit by Star's side until he woke up, or until we knew for sure that he would not, however long that might take. My only comfort was that his brain still seemed active, if sluggish, as evidenced by the movements of his eyes.

What had Sleeping Beauty dreamed about?

Gaelen needed her rest and, for her sake, I went to bed that night. But, for the first time in our relationship, her sweet sensuality did not arouse me, and she soon settled for cuddling, warm in my arms. I wondered how Vai was passing the night. Probably with Lana and Rowan to comfort her, I decided.

Morning dawned bright and sunny, but brought no change in Star. Upon my first visit of the day, I found that someone had covered him with a light blanket, tucked in lovingly around his shoulders.

If I ate or drank anything that day, I don't remember. I did take Roca and Lana (who both insisted I not go alone) back to Suria's place. After a very thorough search and finding nothing more than trash, thanks to Ravin's rampage, we decided it was best to gut the place, leaving empty rooms and bare walls, as though the occupants had fled in the dead of night. There might be questions from neighbors at a later time, but it would be hard to argue with an empty, clueless house.

I did see what Star had mentioned, some faint traces of energy that "felt" like the children I had once seen, but they faded near the gate to the alley. Roca and Lana had a better sense of those kids than I did, so they took a stroll for a few blocks each way to see if they could pick up anything else. I was glad they were gone when I found the door to the basement.

I'd been feeling more "depth" to the place than was immediately evident, but the door that led to the stairs was hidden behind shelves inside the walk-in freezer in the pantry. It bore a hasp with a large and heavy lock, now dangling loose; Ravin must have left it open. It was a spiral staircase, and I descended it carefully. About halfway down I could smell traces of human blood.

The place had been cleverly designed. Even someone with my abilities, or Star's, would have had to know exactly what and where to look for it. Behind a double door airlock arrangement was a cinderblock room containing a veritable playground of instruments of torture. Stainless steel manacles hung on chains attached in several places on the walls, shelves held racks of shiny blades and probes, some not thoroughly cleaned and bearing grisly evidence of former usage. There were more traditional whips and chains, but the centerpiece was an adjustable metal table with restraining straps, strategically situated over a floor drain.

Ravin's energy was everywhere, mixed with dozens of different scents that were strictly human and mostly female. My mind reeled. Of course he drank blood, all vampires did that, but what sort of monster reveled in taking such cleverly aroused pain with his nourishment? Over to one side was a hydrant with a pressure hose attached, but it hadn't been used well or often enough; the floor drain reeked, and I was profoundly glad of my empty stomach.

My notion of cleansing the house had gone from simple trash removal to nuking the damned place to atoms, but of course the former would serve. I desperately wanted something to scour the images the place conjured up behind my eyes, but nothing would rid me of those. The calm Ravin I had once seen and spoken to did not seem to be the sort of person who would glory in such depraved pursuits. Vlad had known him too, and judged him fit to release on society. Were we wrong about him, or had it been Suria's influence, perhaps with the additions of hypnosis and drugs, which drove Ravin to criminal acts, his guilt binding him to her in ways unbreakable.

I sealed all doors behind me and walked back up those stairs, my skin shivering to rid itself of every particle it might have picked up in that shining den of ugliness. I was glad that my powers did not seem to extend into the psychic; I could only imagine what agonies one so gifted might have sensed and suffered - and imagining was more than enough.

Upstairs, I searched again, this time with an eye for mind-altering drugs. In Suria's private office I found broken vials of many psychoactive chemicals, some not native to Earth. Many of these were also present in the kitchen and bathroom of their living quarters as well. I doubted that Ravin would have dosed himself with such things, or even understood what they were.

Everything else considered, I had given little thought to the man I had almost killed, only a day ago. Now I stopped to wonder if he still lived, in Vlad's and Zee's care, and I felt the tiniest bit of sadness for what Suria had made him into, what he had experienced at her hands. Ravin's body may have committed the atrocities, but the majority of the guilt lay at Suria's feet.

I could hear Roca and Lana returning, and I took a moment to erase the hidden door in the pantry, replacing it with smooth fiberglass panels as though it had never existed. In my haste, the house shook a bit as I filled the basement with packed soil and rocks, all of the equipment left below melted to slag and blended back into the earth from which it came.

There was no need for the kids to know what I had found. I doubted I would tell anyone but Gaelen and, hopefully, Star. What had they done with the bodies that must have been the natural result of Ravin's activities? There were none inside the house or on the grounds. Perhaps Ravin, if he lived, would remember, but whether he did or not, that would have to be a question for another time.

I made emptying the upper part of the house into a lesson for the kids. I showed them how to shove the wreckage into another dimension (thereby defying the laws of conservation of matter and energy, but possible nonetheless) or to simply break down something into its component molecules until it was no more than innocent dust, then I left them to practice their newfound skills. It kept them occupied, and I badly needed some fresh air, even if the feeling of cleansing it gave was only an illusion.

I tried reaching out to Gaelen and was glad to find her there in my mind, waiting for me. "Are you all right?" was a question we asked each other simultaneously, and I could almost smile. She shared that Star was as we had left him, and I told her something of what I'd discovered. I was again grateful for Gaelen's vast life experience because, though I know the news saddened her, she expressed no surprise. I told her that we would be home soon, and felt the ghost of warm, comforting arms around me, which helped more than anything else could.

* * *

I think all of us felt it at once. We had just sat down to a light evening meal of soup and sandwiches in the kitchen, when there was a change in the "feel" of things. Racho was the first to race for the door, shouting, "Dad's awake!"

And he was. We found Star sitting quietly on the side of the guest house bed, looking around with an interested expression. He smiled at Racho and shared it with each one of us as we arrived, beckoning to Roca to come and sit beside him, which he did, tears rolling down his cheeks. Roca's voice sounded almost accusing when he said, "We were so scared. Why weren't you breathing?"

Star looked at him lovingly. "I guess because an unborn baby does not need to breathe." And right there in that small white-painted bedroom with its cheerful daisy wallpaper and late afternoon sun and leaf shadows dappling the windows, Star told us of his journey.

"The command to trust all things from Lecurela was not put in place by Suria, but by the scientists themselves, about halfway through my gestation. As most of you know, my parents died before I could be born, and I was transferred to an artificial womb to finish my development. Perhaps because of their experience with Evan-" He gave me a smile. "-they decided that would be a good time to ensure my loyalty to Lecurela. I have often wondered why my experiences and actions were so different from Evan's. He seemed always to have more freedom of thought than I possessed, and this implanted command must have been the reason."

We all stood there, speechless. Vai stayed off to one side and slightly in back of the others, as though she didn't quite trust the sight of her husband, returned almost from the dead.

I guessed it made sense. The scientists had learned with me that they could not trust everything to go as they had planned; they needed insurance, and applied it on their next experiment - Star.

Racho went and sat on Star's other side. "Why did it take you so long to wake up?" he asked.

Star put an arm around him and the other over Roca's shoulders. He beckoned, and Lana and Rowan crowded around him on the bed, hugging and leaning against him. "Once Evan and Roca removed the implant, I found I needed to go back and relive every experience I have ever had, beginning even before my birth and from that time forward, looking at them all with new, unfettered eyes." He chuckled, somehow taking in all the children with one glance. "With that understanding, the wonder is that it took me such a short time, is it not?" The kids, even Roca, laughed with him. He stood and came toward me, holding out his arms. As always, we fit together like one of those split friendship coins, not exactly alike but nevertheless parts of a whole. I didn't know I was crying until I felt his tears on my face.

"Come to me later, alone," he whispered, then he stepped back, and all of us walked down the path to the main house in the gentle summer twilight.

It was the middle of July, but I felt like Christmas morning. Whatever price we'd had to pay, Gaelen and the twins were okay, Suria was gone, and Star was freed from a compulsion we'd never known he had. In spite of the ugly memories of the morning, I found that I was hungry, and all pitched in to prepare a more elaborate meal, laughingly getting in each other's way. Finally, with fried chicken and mashed potatoes in place of the dried-up sandwiches and cold soup we had left behind, as well as peach cobbler keeping warm in the oven for dessert, we sat down at the kitchen table with much to be thankful for. Even as we tucked into the delicious family dinner, I, like everyone else, took moments away from eating to glance at Star.

And Star seemed… different. It was subtle, nothing drastic. For one thing, he smiled more easily and often. As I continued my study, it seemed to me that the planes of his face had softened a little, smoothing away lines of worry I had scarcely noticed until they were gone. Suria must have leaned heavily on the implanted compulsion in those last few months. I could only imagine the strain and conflict that must have caused in his mind. I was curious what he wanted to tell me in private, but it did not stop me from enjoying three large pieces of chicken and a second helping of cobbler.

When dinner was over and cleanup finished, we all adjourned to the great room. It was too warm to light a fire on the fieldstone hearth, but the kids seemed content to bring in their homework and finish it there, even if they had to lie on the floor near Star's feet. Vai brought Vrai in to nurse him, and Gaelen and I took turns holding and burping the warm bundle. I smiled at her over the top of the baby's soft, feathery head. It wouldn't be long before we had our own babes to cuddle.

Tonight I found it easier than ever before to touch Gaelen's mind, our surface thoughts flowing together with little effort so that we shared emotions and simple ideas almost without trying. I sent her a mental picture of each of us with a babe in our arms, adding the thought that I would always share the care of them with her… until a diaper needed changing. Gaelen laughed out loud at that, and Vai gave us both a strange look. I didn't bother to let her in on the joke, I was too busy laughing at Gaelen's comment that, since she was doing all the gestating and would take care of the nursing too, I could change all the diapers.

The teenagers finished their homework, and, as the next day was Friday, we decided that full sharing of our experiences could wait for the weekend. Tonight we all needed to get some rest. For me, that would be right after I saw Star alone, as he had requested.

Had I been Vaira, I would never have let Star out of my sight that night, but I felt him call me, and we met again at the door that led down the path to the guest house. I confess I found myself a bit reluctant to make that trip with him again, so soon after the last one, but this time he led me to a bench under a cherry tree. Its white blossoms and some almost-ripe fruit hung above our heads as we sat.

"Evan," he said, taking one of my hands in his, "I must thank you for taking the risk of removing that block from my mind. I know how frightening it must have been for you and Roca. I have reassured him that he was a marvelous help to me. I know my reaction left him quite shaken."

I squeezed Star's hand. It was so good to see him sitting beside me, whole and undamaged. "You are more than welcome. You know I would gladly do anything you ask of me, my brother."

His eyes shone as he looked at me. "I do know that, and it is why I want to tell you my news first, before anyone else. I know you will understand as no one else can.

"Evan, I feel that my journey of self-understanding has only begun. You undertook that first step the moment you arrived on Earth, and I believe that you have found self-love and acceptance along the way. Am I right?"

I thought for a moment. I'd never considered it exactly that way, but I supposed Star was right. Perhaps finding my soul mate in Gaelen had done the most to help me grow up, but I'd also had to be mature enough to recognize her when we met. "I guess so, Star."

He nodded. "All these years of my life, I have been acting under a geas, not completely in control of my own actions, almost as much of a puppet as Ravin. I believe it will take a great deal more time before my transformation is complete." He smiled thoughtfully. "I wonder if anyone will recognize me when I am finally realized, when I am at last my true self." I thought he looked very lonely, all of a sudden.

"Star," I said, taking his chin in my hand and gently turning him to face me. "I will always be there for you, and I think I can safely state that Gaelen will be too." I laughed. "She already told me she thinks you're hot."

His eyes widened. "Hot? Is that good?"

I laughed again. "That's the current phrase that means sexy as hell. It you don't believe me, ask Roca, he'll tell you."

Star smiled, shyly now. "I like Gaelen very much. I would be more than pleased if she would someday share her body with me."

I stopped to picture that in my mind, discovering that the idea left me not at all jealous. I loved them both too much not to want them to be happy in whatever ways they saw fit. "Well," I said, "if it works out, I'd kind of like to be there, at least to watch."

Star laughed and hugged me. "It would not happen if you were not with us," he said with certainty. Then he sat up again and caught my eyes. "It grows late, and I have yet to tell you everything I meant to tell, so I will make the statement quickly. Evan, one of the things I discovered on my recent journey to myself is that we have a great deal more in common than I had thought. My DNA shows that I am also not male, but truly median, as you are."