Deb hugged him. "Mom, Molly's got a fella!" Then, she startled. Her hug nearly pulled Greg off his feet. He gave a huge smile! The older lady frowned at Molly. "Aren't you a little young for that?"

I can't tell her that I married him at 16. Stay cool. Molly smiled. "Well, I guess I'm a little young to be taking college classes, have my RN and work experience, and go to high school, but hey, Ben is already a diplomat. He's very smart and he's only 15, which is a little young to be a diplomat, right?" He went to Sigan Mas at 14 with his best friend, Theapet. He is First Prince of Fhiah, and Ryee knew from King Theaspaura that he and Theapet just came back from Sigan Mas.

Ry'nao awarded his Challenge Pin when he brought our new ship from Fhiah's shipbuilding facility. All First Princes finish four years in one year.. It sparkled like a little blue sun! Ryee let me know young Binneas has many pins, to be so young. Every one is earned, and a symbol of an accomplishment. Ben noticed Molly looking, and oranged. A modest man.

Deb thought of her patients, one at Grady Hospital expected to deliver her baby today, and Deb will be going to help. She wore green 'scrubs' similar to what Laura wore in redviolet, when we knew her.

Mrs. Bruce nodded. "I suppose you're right. I forget you're twelve because you sound grown." Her hair is brown with some silver. She's old-fashioned, Ben, Molly thought loudly. She projects well!

He bowed to her with one leg behind and that impressed her. "My father is also a diplomat, and my mother. They taught me, and I attended college abroad to learn Diplomatics and many languages. We represent the Colony of Fhiah. Not many diplomats earn this title at my age. Most are 20 at home, but there, legal age is 16, which I shall be in April on the 12th. Now Molly and I opened a formal Courtship." I heard the triple beats of his heart and hoped the others did not! Molly did.

"Wow! You sure can pick 'em, Molly! Classy dresser, too." She looked over the blue pinstripe suit with vest that he wore, and his sash with many pins laid neatly over it. Blond curls and greenish-yellow eyes, but to her, they looked green because of his telepathy. Earthans do not have such bright green eyes!

"Thank you, Mrs. Bruce. You are too kind." Binneas' choice of words brought her smile.

Molly nodded. "I will be 13 on Feb 22nd." Her red ringlets flew about.

Binneas looked at Ryee. King Ryonne~, do you think King Theaspaura would allow us? His color paled.

I keep smelling licorice, that worries me. Molly's every thought was of his well.

I speak with him. Ea, he will. He worries for your health, Binneas. Any king in Zheiea would allow it. But, I think Ry'nao wishes to avoid controversy during discussions in the UN about the Alliance Treaty. Molly, you are welcome to join us on our ship while we negotiate with your parents and Earth officials.

"The Pedersens offered to let me move in with them. They became foster parents with State Of Georgia, when Mr. Pedersen finishes their basement. But, their supervisor warned 'em that my social worker might not choose them because they live near here. My mom and Toni don't get along. She's always bugging Toni about buying one of her houses, or getting her friends to buy one, or giving her lists of her friends' phone numbers. Like she does me!" To us, she said, I'm very happy to live on your ship until Ben and I can marry.

Tan nodded. "If Molly no longer lives at home, this strengthens our case. Mrs. and Miss Bruce, I am Molly's lawyer." He explained what he knew of how Fern Brown treated her. The Bruces added much.

Mrs. Bruce frowned. "I often let Molly stay at our house while she waits for her parents to come home. She does all her homework, then reads ahead in all her subjects!

"When Greg comes over, she's asking him questions about biochemistry. He told me his graduate students don't ask him as many questions as she does! When her teachers have a workday, she goes to work with him and he shows her his research and how to do lab work. He says she's good!"

Greg laughed. "If I had a part-time position open and I could get her father's permission, I would hire her!" He lost the smile. "But, I think he would accuse me of impropriety."

Mrs. Bruce looked angry. "I'd give him a piece of my mind! He absolutely grills Molly about what she does at school around boys. I take her shopping for modest clothes, which she likes. I've never seen her even look at the kind of things her mother wears. Most girls her age just look at what's fashionable and don't think about the attention that gets them. Or, they want it. Not Molly! She'll ask me to let's go to another store if she can't find anything modest enough.

"She looks at the price tag, then tries to find something cheaper, even though I tell her not to worry about that. Nathan makes good money, and he wants me to do it. Her mother brings her clothes she won't wear. Throws out all the stuff I buy her. I just take her shopping more.

"So does Toni. The Pedersens have a lot more flak from Fern because they're Mormon and she thinks their religion is evil. I've tried to explain to her that the Mormons on TV still think it's 1898. Toni's church gave up polygamy when Utah became a state. They only had it because women didn't have rights to own property!"

Much of what she said did not make sense to us, but Ryee passed the information to his diplomats for research. Molly pictured everything she said and tried to explain, but it was too fast. Ryee understood more than I.

"I love the way Toni's daughter Angel dresses, and she's larger than Molly. When she outgrows something, she gives it to Molly. Like those straight-leg jeans and Save The Planet T-shirt. That shade of yellow just sets off your red hair, Molly."

"Thanks, Mrs. Bruce! I love these planet earrings you gave me." Molly put a finger behind the right one. She had pierced ears. Such pain, to wear jewelry there! Areonians do not wear jewelry unless it is a Tessite necklace. Most families have jewelry of gold like that, which they brought from Ohio, on Earth.

She laughed. "Those were my sister's, from the first Earth Day. I'll have to look and see if I have any more." Her sorrow came to us, of how much she missed her sister.

"Your sister's? But those are heirlooms!" I didn't know. Wow. Her younger sister died at 15. So young!

"Oh, Honey, I have a lot of my sister's things I treasure more. But my favorite is her old photo albums. Those are worth more to me than diamonds."

"I really enjoyed you sharing your sister with me. I wish I could have met her."

Molly sighed, and thought of her father's mother, who sang like an angel. Deb's mother and grandmother sing like that. Deb's parents and her parents are all people I'd love to have in my family. Dad's parents were loving people, like Deb's parents, not like Mom's family. Poor thing, being raised by them.

Molly squeezed Ben's hand.

"We're going to tell my parents about our courtship soon." She trembled and he put his arm around her. Kneaded his hand gently.

"I will help you all that I can, Love."

"Thanks, Ben!"

"Oh, I shouldn't be so rude! I'm Esther Bruce. Are you Ben's mother?"

She took my hand.

Suddenly, everything that happened in that other future showed to Mrs. Bruce, Deb, and Greg. I could not stop it, or even slow it!

Deb cried because her father had a heart attack and died. Briahh, Greg's brother died and Greg nearly died of grief.

Molly saw more future memories. Ryee put his arm around me and sent his comfort. I tried to calm myself. He offered me a bis tia and I enjoyed relief. Difficult to inhale the tiny leaf, for my Areonian body would choke!

Deb's mother got cancer, a terrible illness, shortly afterwards. Deb's grief over her mother's death made me feel ill. She and Greg bought a house not far from here. Molly went to visit and it was for sale! She missed her friends very much. Greg brought his family and they tried to change him back to Ty'nirrhan but it was too late. They also changed Deb's genetics to try to make her Ty'nirrhan. She became a slaver healer until they were left to die. I found this out long after I founded Rainbow. Molly frowned.

Unaltered Ty'nirrhans can put out complicated scents and change their skin color. Their faces are blurred because they constantly change, it's part of their language and the mindlink they all share.

The other altered Ty'nirrhans came to find anyone left behind and took Greg and Deb to live on their colony, Ry Pethe, on Mars. The colony had to flee slavers and came to Ye~, but many took their own lives when they found out this new home was mostly desert and feared slow death from thirst! We tried to dissuade Greg's sister from giving poison but half died. Greg was very disabled intellectually from what his parents did to him. All of the altered Ty'nirrhans used a process that's meant to be for a few weeks. Lived on Earth since the 40s!

Their father is a slaver. Did he have plans to take slaves from here? The device they use to send information fakes a radio signal and using it gives them cancer. Greg's father left them all here to die, but decided some of them might be useful as slaves, to experiment on any Earthans who came with them.

Molly shuddered. Greg's brother-in-law in Scotland died from that. Deb survived and became half-Ty'nirrhan. Ryee sent a diplomat to them. Perhaps Sika's husband helps her.

Deb's mother fainted, but we caught her! Greg needed healing from Ryee because reminders of his former life injured him. Deb backed away. "Who are you people? What did you do to my mom?"

Binneas hummed and she revived. Startled.

"I ne wish to frighten you! Adia sees futures. When memories come, they are unstoppable." Ryee sat on the sidewalk and held Greg on his lap. Hummed. "O, I am very sorry, my friend! Ne think, but rest."

I felt dismayed! What should I do?

He cried loudly. "I love Deb, but she will not marry me, now!"

When Deb saw her mother stand up, she came back and took Greg's hand. Maybe she saw more memories, afterwards. "Oh, Greg, I'm sorry. I do want to marry you, but we don't have to go there, do we?"

He looked down. "Briahh always said we cannot! But Earth is not safe for us. He is dying, and I work to find a solution—"

"Dying? Are you sick, too?" She hugged him. So did her mother!

"We have a Bisillipian healer, Pirad, who knows Ty'nirrhan healing. He thinks he can cure your brother, and you also. Wish you to see him?" Ryee hugged him.

"Yes! I must go to Briahh." Greg was still pale. His hand shook.

"I want to go, too!" Molly stood, and her repaired skates rolled her forward. The expression of delight on her brought our smiles.

Ryee looked around. "We may port to our ship, if you are not frightened. There is green light, then we stand there." He stood with Greg in his arms. Greg kept a hand on his forehead. Ryee kept humming.

"Sounds like fun!" Molly looked up at the full moon and said a quick prayer of thanks. I'll marry Ben and go to Rainbow! Not many stars in the city. There's Orion. I saw it too, and enjoyed it. There were old songs about constellations that I never understood until this moment.

We all nodded, and we ported. The whoosh startled Molly even though she was ready for it, and worried that Binneas' hand went even colder! She rubbed the back of his head and it was cold, too! Like we stepped into warm bath water, then a cool breeze blew on us. Binneas shivered, but as a healer, I knew it was high emotion, not failure of our comfort prog. Now we stood in Pirad's green lab, much as it was in Rainbow.