Sammie held his hand. "Oh, so it's like short for her dad's name? That's so cool! What's she doing?"

A holo came up of her helping a baby dorna to stand up. He had a leg that didn't hold, so they tried different kinds of braces.

Sammie sat up. "My aunt's a vet! Way cool! I—" She looked sick.

Quickly, Randy hummed, and she relaxed. He laid her back down against me, and I put a hand on her head, too. Rose smiled at her husband.

Marlie groaned. "I wish we could go outside. I'll die if I can't smell a flower again. When can we go to Earth, Mom?"

Cev grabbed Jason as he tried to jump out of bed! "Let me go! Dad! Oh!" He looked down at Cev's twin-fingered hand that let go of his arm, and he clamped onto it. Looked at Cev. "Fa! I'm sorry!" My son cried. Our son.

Gently, Cev pulled him into his lap. "O, nae this guilt, my bae. Healers, can we take them out to the flowers? Children need sun. Should they bathe?"

Old Orden laughed. "Cevit Ion, they are Earthan, and nae need baths—"

"I need one. I feel dirty." Sammie pulled at Randy's hand. "Will you help me? You're nice. You're not a pervert like—you can run that shower in bed thing." She smiled.

Randy picked her up and waved a finger. She giggled as she rubbed the water into her dark hair.

She giggled. "You talk like Danger Service. 'Novas, Jim! That stuff's alive! Better move two paces, my friend.'"

Jis laughed. "I saw that one. 'Diplomat Dangerous is not afraid—awf! Oh, no! My left foot's covered! I'll have to marry it!!'"

"'I'm afraid it's female, Jim. You'll have to marry it.'"

"'I can't marry alien slime! It won't wait at home for me while I go on missions. It won't leave the light on for me, honey. And, it won't sing ballads of our brave missions. I need a wife who'll do all of that. But, if I stand near Jane Genius, and it crawls on her, I'll have to rescue her. She'll feel obligated to marry me because I'll offer her my right foot, and she'll have to practice Law 301 from her prov which states that a right foot must not be alone—'" Jis waggled his eyebrows like the character on Danger Service.

"'Jim, there's not room on a DS ship for love—'"

"'Ah, but Thordes law takes precedence over DS regs. We are bound by our Code Of Honor. I was a Thordes Scout, as a boy. That's why my ship is a Scout Ship. On my honor!'"

Both of them giggled. But, Jis shivered.

Rose laughed. "She needs some bubble bath! How can we do that?"

"Cev needs a mud bath. It's the closest we have to it right now. Sammie, the mud's white, and it smells like candy."

She laughed. "Like candy? Now I know it's all a dream! Maybe I won't wake up before we get there. Run, Uncle Randy!"

He did.

Marlia gasped. "Where's he going? Sammie!"

Jis startled awake and held her on his lap. "Ejis! You are nae Sammie. Is she frightened again?"

"That purple man, he stole my sister! That way!"

Jis jumped up with her and tried to run.

Cev got up too fast and nearly fell! Jason clung to him. I steadied my husband, but Orden helped him.

We got outside, and in a marsh right by the steps, Sammie played with the mud, Marlie threw some at her, and Jis laughed.

"Ba, are you well?" Cev shook all over.

Jis smiled. "Come bathe with us, Ba! I am well."

"You tremble so! I think you nae rested enough." We walked over, and Jason smiled. We all got in the mud and had a bath in our ankle-length tunics like all Zheien do.

Sammie pushed a mound of mud over Cev's left foot. 'Oh, no, Jim! You'll have to marry it!'

Cev laughed. "O, but I am Emperor Cevitron, and I am Zheien! We never have to marry alien slime! However, I know Thordes law very well. Jane Genius, you have alien slime on your right foot. I believe the other part of it is touching Diplomat Dangerous' left foot." He smiled at Randy.

"Jane Genius, by Thordes Law, we have to marry! I, Diplomat Dangerous, invoke Law 301 from your prov. A right foot should never be alone."

Sammie made a graceful gesture with her right hand. "Ah, you know our Law? Law 301. I haven't studied that one in years! But, if I have to marry you, okay. You can sleep on the couch until our feet get to know each other better."

Then, Marlie sang, "Left feet, right feet, better get to know feet, then your feet can be happy, too! A right foot can't be happy, right can't be happy, till the left foot's beside it, my left foot's for you!"

From Anne, Librarian, an unpublished story. 

The twin-fingered and -toed Zheien can't get all of their nutrition from food, so family mud baths are a tradition in every Zheien colony. Unlike us, they don't take their clothes off for baths since they can just run a clothing former. No one shows a leg above the knee because a Zheien might faint! They wear aandats, a second skin like a swimsuit, under their clothing, which protects their bodies from germs. So, they find it shocking that we would ever take our clothes off to shower! In every Zheien colony, people openly sit in the nearest mud puddle to bathe, and often, the puddle has wildflowers growing in the sand all around it. When they stand up, the sand falls off and wind dries them very quickly, and their clothes, too. Zheien sand is about the consistency of cornstarch so it doesn't scratch or feel messy. Now you know everything there is to know about Zheien mud baths! Feel any smarter?