Free Deep by Linda Mooney Page B

was fighting sleep.
    "I'm here, Lawn. I will always be here. Now rest."
    Smiling, she did.
    Communique 5F
    To: G.E. Coordinator Millner
    Buoy is in perfect working order. Nothing detected on the scans. Ship is also in perfect working order. No problems or foreseeable complications.
    Addendum: We are beginning to fit like puzzle pieces, mind to mind. Interest to interest. Oddly, the physical barriers are no longer an issue or a problem.
    * * * *
     
     
    90

     

Chapter 11

Filed Under "Comfort"
    She was cold. Her sense of the here and now told her she was unclothed and on top of her bedcovers, which was why she found herself huddled around her pillow.
    She reached down with one hand and fumbled for the coverlet. Almost immediately the thin blanket pulled up over her, bringing with it its automatic integrated heat.
    "Thank you."
    "You're welcome."
    The lighting brightened a bit. Lawn shielded her eyes and squinted at the figure standing a few feet away. If she didn't know any better, she would swear he had a satisfied grin on his holographic face. He still wore that odd, mummy-looking body suit, but the erection was gone.
    "How do you feel?" he asked. "Hungry?"
    Oddly enough, she did. "Yeah."
    "What would you like?"
    "I don't know. You know me better than I do. Surprise me." She added a smile. "Again."
    He walked over and sat down beside her, turning slightly so he wouldn't have to twist his neck to see her. Lawn found the attempt so humanlike, she wondered how many other humanistic traits she would discover about him in the year to come.
    The year to come.
    91

     

    A tiny chill ran through her. She tried to cover it up by plumping the pillow into her lap. She should have known better.
    frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"
    Damn sensors.
    "I was thinking." She shrugged. She might as well be upfront and brutally open with him on all things. If not, he would automatically know when something wasn't right with her.
    "About what?"
    "About what happens to us...in a year. When the year's up."
    This time when the smile came back to his face, it wasn't as bright. "That's a year away, Lawn. Don't worry about it."
    "Oh, yeah, sure. That's like telling me not to think about a big purple rhinoceros sitting up on the bridge."
    glanced upward, then back at her. "Excuse me?"
    "What are you thinking of right now?"
    "A big purple rhinoceros on the bridge," he answered.
    "Bingo." She clutched the pillow tighter as she became serious once more. "Deep, this whole thing has me totally flummoxed."
    "What part? You have to be more specific."
    She gazed at him wide-eyed. "What part? Jesus, Deep, you look like the ultimate wet dream for any woman, yet you claim to love me."
    "Which I do."
    "A-and you make love to me with more passion and tenderness than I've ever felt with any other man."
    92

     

    "Thank you."
    "But you're a ship. And in one year's time, when our year is over, we'll go back to Earth where I'll be put in some position somewhere...but what happens to you?" Biting her lower lip, Lawn cradled her head on top of the pillow. "What happens...to us?"
    A moment of pure agony crossed Deep's handsome illusion. If he had been human, Lawn would have guessed he had thought about it long before now.
    "Will they commission you to another flight out here with another crew member?"
    Hot tears appeared from nowhere and blurred her vision.
    Lawn buried her face in the pillow as she fought the jealousy which threatened to eat her alive.
    Deep with another woman? For a year?
    But maybe he'll be assigned a man. If it's a male crew member, she could live with it. Then again, chances were the Bureau wouldn't tell her anything once she and Deep were back on Earth. Once their mission was accomplished, she would be sent her way, and Deep would be outfitted for his next go-round.
    "Here you go."
    Raising her face, she saw a tray hovering before her with a bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.
    "Don't tell me."
    chuckled. "Chicken soup. Eat up, and I'll