I nodded. “I’ll get the basket,” I said.
“Neal, you go get the blanket from the bottom of my closet,” Mitchell instructed. “I’ll grab the Thermos.”
In what seemed like no time at all, we were on our way. Mitchell held my hand tightly, the other holding the insulated drink flask he called by its brand name. Thermos seemed to be one of the words that humans used both as the brand name to refer to the actual company and its products as well as that type of flask no matter who manufactured it. There were a few words in his language like that, I suddenly remembered. Band Aid being one, for those little bandages. His fingers tightened their hold on me, and I stole a glance at him. His mouth was slightly agape, his eyes darting about as if trying to drink in every inch of the corridor.
“We will take the elevator down a few levels, then to one side through a few sections,” I said, hoping that if he knew what to expect that his apparent nervousness would ease.
“I still can’t quite believe that I’m on a real live starship. This is practically every boyhood fantasy I ever had,” he gushed.
I smiled, feeling happy that our mating had brought him close to realizing a childhood dream.
“Can I tell it where we wanna go?” Neal asked. “Xeranos will take us there fast ’cause he’s my friend.”
Mitchell gave me an amused look at this. I gave him a knowing look back. Xeranos was everyone’s friend unless there was a good reason for them to be put on the list of enemies of our people. “Sure,” I told Neal. “Do you remember the name of the park? We don’t want him to take us to the wrong one.”
“There’s more than one?” Mitchell gasped.
I nodded. “Not only for recreational activities, but the plants help keep the air clean and provide great psychological benefit just by us experiencing their presence.”
We arrived at the elevator, and Neal palmed it open. “Hi, Xero,” he said as he touched the sensor. “My daddies are taking me to the park today!”
“Hello, sirs,” the AI greeted us, its camera sweeping a beam over us to verify our identity, a necessary precaution to ensure the very young did not accidentally wander unattended and to prevent unauthorized visitors. It was a precaution that had been put into place after the bombing engineered by a TV host looking to boost ratings. Utterly ridiculous, but the crazed mind of a disturbed individual often thought many extreme things were reasonable or necessary despite what they knew to be deemed acceptable by the rest of civilized society.
As my son entered the elevator and instructed Xeranos to take us to the park, my mind wandered over to Linda Takahashi. Now there was a prime example of why we needed to be cautious. If she managed to escape her cell somehow, she’d be unable to leave the cell block. And even if she did, Xeranos would stop her from being able to use any of the elevators and be able to pinpoint her location. The various cameras and maintenance bots that cleaned the floors would allow him to see her exact location and provide us with visuals so we could plan and execute her recapture safely and with ease. All without risking our cherished mates and beloved young.
“Everything all right?” Mitchell whispered, leaning over slightly so that he spoke directly into my ear.
“We’re going to have a picnic!” Neal excitedly told Xeranos as the door opened for us to enter.
“You’re frowning,” Mitchell added.
Once he said that I could feel the tension within myself. This was a happy occasion. I should not let the criminals we held intrude upon this special time, even in such a minor way. I took a deep, cleansing breath, feeling my face smooth and my muscles relax. “Sorry, I was thinking about work,'' I admitted as we got in. The doors closed, and Neal began regaling the AI about his favorite things to do at the park.
“If there’s swings at a park, you always gotta go on them! And make your legs move hard up and down so you can fly all the way into the sky!”
“That sounds dangerous,” Xero replied. “I would not recommend letting go of the chains so that you are flung into the air.”
“No, silly!” Neal giggled. “It just feels like flying ’cause it swings you up and down high into the sky and back down.” The elevator began its descent.
“I apologize,” I said softly to my mate. “It was nothing of enough consequence that I should be letting it intrude on our time together.”
“You sure?” he asked, biting his lip.
I turned my head and leaned over to give him a quick peck on the lips. “I am certain. I was thinking how bad some of the prisoners are and how wonderful the security is so we are all safe.”
“Ah, okay,” he replied, looking satisfied with my reply.
“That does sound exhilarating,” Xeranos told Neal. “It must be almost like how I feel when the sensors relay data to me when we go in and out of hyperspace.”
The elevator stopped its downward movement, pausing a split second before it began to move to the side.
“This is just like on TV,” Mitchell breathed, his eyes shining with excitement. I hoped he’d still get that look for years to come as we experienced life together.
CHAPTER18
MITCHELL
The elevator moving sideways as wellas up and down was pretty amazing, but what I saw once it stopped and the doors opened took my breath away. I stepped out, aware that I looked like a slack jawed idiot as I gaped at the wondrousness before me.
