Chapter 9: All Souls

Under Grandpa A.J. And Dad's careful guidance, Proto-Tech and the McKesson group caused Obsidian Research to spawn Obsidian Energy Systems. We were poised to revolutionize the automobile industry and finally make the electric car a practical object. Early efforts to paint myself as the reclusive mad genius type had paid off, and I was able to minimize the usual endless rounds of PR appearances and interviews. Minimize did not mean eliminate, however, and I spent the month before the wedding very busy with OES appearances and wedding-related activities. It did mean that my fledgling beard had to go though. To be honest, I didn't really miss it.

As a practical matter it had been decided that it would be easier, given the number of people who knew Ginny and I in Angel's Camp who were not privy to our secrets, to have the wedding there. The folks from Chocowinity would 'fly in' on McKesson chartered flights, most of which were actually real. The remainder were fictitious flights as select small groups were arriving scattered throughout the week leading up to the wedding courtesy of 'Davey Express'.

I woke up early on the morning of Sunday, July 16th, one week away from my wedding, with my bride-to-be in my arms. I kissed the tip of her nose and watched as her eyes fluttered open. While her eyes were still trying to focus, her mind reached out and we merged our thoughts.

With eyes focused, and a tender smile, Ginny pulled me to her and whispered in my thoughts

<Davey/beggar boy/sweetie! I need you in me!>

A quick scan told me she was ready, and that, along with the mental wave of desire she projected had me ready. I cheated and used my gift to remove her panties and my boxers in a blink. As I moved over her her thoughts whispered again.

<I'm not on the pill anymore Davey. I could be fertile today. Make a baby in me beggar boy!>

Oh man! Talk about your incentives! With our desires and dreams driving us, we merged, Bodies, Minds and Souls. Our passion reignited that diamond/silver fusion that we had been able to experience in such fleeting measure since we had discovered it. We were bathed in Light, and as we peaked, for just a brief second it seemed as if we were Light!!

And then the world pulled us back, reclaiming us once again.

Reality dimmed into its mundane version and we collapsed, gasping for breath and a bit in shock at what we had just experienced.

"Oh Davey!" Ginny said out loud.

"Yeah!" I echoed, followed by a "Damn!"

"What?" Ginny responded.

"I just realized how hard this is going to be to top on our wedding night!"

We woke a couple of hours later, feeling more alive and energetic than either of us could ever remember. It was as if our joining had charged us both full of life. In the shower, as we played and cleaned and reveled in each other's proximity, I had a thought.

<Join me again, Blossom, lets reach for that place again. But just to touch it. It takes too much energy to stay within it.>

We joined, merged and went beyond into a fusion. Once again we saw and felt and lived as a single consciousness — almost. Just a thread of ourselves touched the Light and held. The rest of us, the part that did not quite fuse into a single 'I' remained attached to reality.

In this nearly-there, nearly-gone place, the world was not awash in that silver/diamond light. Rather we caught glimpses of it in certain angles, a drip here, a running ripple of it there, The world was itself, and we alive in it, but through our senses we kept catching glimpses of the Light behind and within it. In our almost-oneness, our thoughts were a a new, simple inner dialog.

<<We can maintain this without pulling energy from the Light!>>

<<We can do this indefinitely then?>>

<<We'll see. We have to know how others perceive us.>>

<<We'll limit it if it makes them uncomfortable.>>

I could not tell you where each thought originated, it was simply like thinking to oneself rather than to another person. We got dressed and headed down for breakfast. I caught the thought as we hit the second floor landing.

<<Go ahead. Do it>>

The part of us that was Ginny reached out with our gift and jumped us into the kitchen.

Loretta, Con, Eru, Chet and Mike were already in the kitchen. The rest of the Legion were in the new Montecristo station, happily building our database of information on the peoples of the Mediterranean region. Pete had been unable to deny his inner marine biologist, and was gleefully taking water samples and doing other basic research on the marine ecology around our island base. We poured ourselves coffee and sat at the table with everyone. We said our good mornings and exchanged pleasantries, until finally Eru spoke up.

"I am not sure what you two have achieved, but I am glad I was sitting when you arrived. Looking at you with my internal eye is making me dizzy!"

"We are somewhat joined." Ginny and I both said, in perfect synchronization.

"So it would seem!" Con stated in his best 'I-am-not-impressed' Spock tone, complete with raised eyebrow.

"We are not quite at the place where we went when we healed Borthun's wound, but we have found it possible to keep a part of ourselves touching that place." Once again we spoke in perfect synchronization.

We saw that this was causing a slight amount of confusion, especially in Loretta, so we actively tried to pull our speech centers apart a little.

"It is a new thing, as of about an hour ago, so forgive us if we seem ... odd for a while." I said.

"We see that the little stereo act is hard to follow, so we'll work on avoiding that, okay?" Ginny added.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked. "I'm starved!"

That broke the tension, and we quickly joined the rest of the crew in appreciating the pancakes, fried eggs and sausages that Loretta had fixed.

Mike, Con and Chet left well before we were finished, as they were busy helping Hoot, Beau and Asa with the building of the Jenkin's new house. We had 'swarmed' the foundation and framing part of the project with the same crew from Chocowinity that had helped with the finish work on Montecristo. With that kind of boost they had managed to get the roof and walls up in less than a month, and were busy doing interior work, with Con doing a lot of the 'jiggering' as Hoot described it, that allowed some of our Taluatan and Seeker advancements to blend in with the more traditional American construction and furnishings. Mike was actually doing all the hardwood floors, as he had spent most of his summers during high school and college working for a flooring contractor in Stockton.

I had taken note of how enthused Asa was to learn the flooring craft, and Mike's willingness to teach him, and how it seemed that this required an inordinate amount of private time. Perhaps Mike was going to find that little slice of happiness he had been looking such a long time to find. But I wasn't going to peek to see. Some of life's surprises needed to remain surprises.

With the construction crew off to their work, and Eru headed to Mom and Dad's to help with some wedding preparations, I had the perfect chore for Ginny and I. Ginny agreed as soon as the thought formed in us. Hah!, even I caught myself sometimes struggling with the awkward ways our new state of mind forced us to think and speak in describing things.

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and called Grandpa A.J.

"Hello Dave! Good morning!"

"Good afternoon, Grandpa." I replied. "Up for a little company?"

"Of Course! I'm in the library with Aaron, come on ahead!"

I hung up and put the phone back in its pocket, and Ginny and I jumped through.

"Hi Grandpa!" She said as soon as we were there, bending down to give him a hug. "Hi Uncle Aaron!" She said giving him a hug also.

"Couldn't wait until Friday to see me Dave?" Grandpa asked.

"Special trip, just for you!" Ginny and I said in synchronization.

"You too have been experimenting, I take it?" Grandpa asked.

"Yes, in a way." I answered. "Do you remember my telling you about Borthun and Yela, and the night I rescued them from Maldre's Crossing, and how Ginny and I managed to join ourselves in a new way, and heal his spear wound?"

"Yes?" They both answered.

"We want to take a look at your bad leg, grandpa, and I won't even ask to you to get naked!" Ginny said.

Grandpa and Aaron both laughed at that. "Well, you do know how to disappoint an old man, young lady!" Grandpa said.

We sat beside Grandpa, one on each side of him, and with a boost from a wave of Light that I sucked into our almost-one consciousness, we were quickly able to move into it fully.

With the world once again draped in its silver and diamond mantle, we turned our senses to Grandpa's bad leg. We ran along blood vessels and nerves and tissue until we finally found a place where things were jarringly out of agreement with their Light-selves. We washed them in light and coaxed the cells of bone, nerve and muscle to return to their normal, healthy state. I let Ginny's sure touch deal with other little knots of disturbance here and there while I guided a smaller portion of us to sweep Grandpa's veins and arteries, removing built up plaque and other deposits, and generally 'cleaning out the pipes'. We joined efforts again to guide the Light memories of healthy, calcium rich bones to restore their physical counterparts.

As before with Borthun, our efforts had required massive influxes of Light energy, both to feed the healing, and to keep ourselves going as well. With a final wash of Light, to keep us from collapsing as we had with Borthun, we moved back from our fully joined state, in a controlled manner this time, and the bright edges of existence dimmed again.

"ahhh!" we both verbalized together as we returned to our new 'normal' state. With our more controlled efforts We had managed to keep an internal eye on the time. We had been crouched over Grandpa For a full hour!

"How do you feel Grandpa?" Ginny asked.

"Amazing! Its like you managed to sneak the world's best drug into my system somehow!" He said. "The pain in my left knee is completely gone!"

"Stand up and walk." I said. Walking was something Grandpa was able to do, but it was always painful, and he wore out very quickly doing it.

A couple of quick circuits of the room later, Grandpa was laughing out loud and grinning up a storm!

"My God you two!" He said, grabbing our hands. This is incredible! How can I ever thank you?"

"No, Grandpa, you don't understand." We said together. "This was us thanking you!"

"Will you take a walk with me?" Grandpa asked.

"Of course!" We answered in unison again.

Together the four of us at first, and joined by several of the staff as we encountered them, toured the grounds. As we returned to the house from the East we saw 'Marko' as he was called, one of Irene's boys, who Irene's husband Nate had saddled with the name Marcus Octavius Filler. They mercifully had begun calling him Marko as a baby and it stuck. We ran into him weeding the herb garden for his mom.

"I used to love helping my mom in her herb garden when I was your age Marko. Can I give it a try?"

Of course Marko wasn't going to say no to A.J. McKesson, but he did manage a more or less straight-faced "Okay, but if you mess it up I"m telling Ma on ya."

Grandpa A.J. got down on his hands and knees and turned a little soil, fingering the leaves of the thyme plant where he had knelt down. He pulled his feet under him and stood back up.

"Thank you Marko." He said, patting the young boy's shoulder.

As we continued on to the back of the house Grandpa put his arms around both if us and hugged.

"I haven't been able to get down on my knees and back up unassisted like that in almost fifteen years. Thank you again."

"You're welcome Grandpa!", we both said, and we hugged him back.

Back in the house, we prepared to leave and made our excuses.

"When we did this the first time, we collapsed unconscious for several hours." We said. I forced a little separation again and added

"This was our second time, and we've managed to stay awake, but it has left us very tired. I think we're going to have to go home and take a nap!" I said.

Grandpa walked over and hugged both of us again, very tightly. There were tears in his eyes when he told us that he loved us.

Back in our bedroom on Meadow, as Ginny and I were undressing to take our nap, I thought how odd it felt to discover how Grandpa's disability had made him feel, and how wonderful it felt to have freed him of the burden of it.

Two hour naps seemed to be the new norm for Ginny and I these days, but if they are always followed by a session of baby-making, well sign me up as a charter member. We moved fully into the Light again, although our reaction to it afterwards was not as strong. Of course just like the previous time, all reactions have to be weighed next to those resulting from the emotional high of great sex with the love of your life. Where it differed was in the mutual decision to pull back even a little bit more from the partial fusion that we had settled into earlier. We separated our consciousnesses almost completely but left a small piece in continual contact.

It was past the lunch hour by the time we were showered and dressed, and of course Ginny snickered about sleeping from meal to meal, but busy days with this healing stuff mixed in were probably going to be like that unless we could learn how to insulate ourselves from the draining effects of the healing. We were fully charged and feeling a little giddy from the recent activities and I chased Ginny laughing down the stairs. The kitchen was deserted, and as I stood there thinking about scrounging up lunch, I caught Ginny looking at me out of the corner of my eye.

"What?" I asked.

"Two things. First, I think I prefer this level of separation. Yes, we can be one mind when we need to, but Davey, we're really two people, and it feels better this way."

"I absolutely agree!" I said. "I think that's really why we've been so full of energy and in such a good mood since we got up. Our souls prefer it this way, is how I think about it."

"Yeah, you've got it I think. Second thing, take me somewhere warm and beautiful for lunch! I want a meal via Davey Express!!"

I thought about it for a minute...

"Go change into your best bikini, I'll be right behind you." I said, giving her perfect bottom a nice swat as she took off.

<Cyrus!> I sent the thought.

<Dave! What's up?> He thought back.

<You've been to Acapulco, correct?>

<Yes, a couple of years ago.>

<Share your thoughts of it with me, would you?>

<Come on in, while the brain cells are fresh!> I heard him laughing in his thoughts as he sent it.

I dipped in quickly and caught the details I needed, thanked him and ran up the stairs to join Ginny.

Ginny had a new bikini! Apparently my seeing it today meant she was going to have to go shopping again to replace this key item in her honeymoon wardrobe. I slid my regular wallet into my waterproof 'beach wallet' and strapped it onto my thigh. I decided to make a fashion statement and wore my old pair of mesh legion boxers as my swimming trunks. Con had teased us all unmercifully when, as a group, we had refused to surrender our old ones when we got the replacements.

I jumped us straight into the high surf in the thick of the bathers in the middle of Condesa Beach. We bobbed to the surface laughing, as if we'd just dove through the passing wave and turned to wade ashore. I kissed Ginny as we stepped onto the warm sand.

"Welcome to Acapulco!" I whispered in her ear.

We spent a gloriously fun couple of hours enjoying the beach, swimming, running and playing on the sand and eating a variety of items from the beach vendors. We even spent some time walking up and down the Costera, actually the 'Costera Miguel Alemán ' The broad avenue that followed the beach front, souvenir shopping in all the tiny shops. It was fun bargaining in full speed Spanish with the local street vendors too!

We had been so wrapped up in everything that was going on recently that this little slice of Earth-normal fun seemed like heaven. Even if it did end with the two of us jumping back to Meadow from a public toilet on the beach.

"Thanks again!" I said to Ginny as I held her in my arms in our shower.

"You're welcome!" She said. "For what?"

"For not only being the center of my universe, but the heart of my humanity. You always find the perfect way to bring me back to myself."

Shower time baby making is an excellent option too, trust me.

That evening I sat down with and Eru and decided it was time to make another trip to the Shrine of Rhel in Taluat and visit the believers there. With only a week to go before the wedding, I had not invited anyone from that group to attend, and to be honest, hadn't been sure if I wanted to extend that courtesy, but I saw it as the perfect prelude to introducing the leaders of that group to a better understanding of the realities of who I was and what we represented. Master Lev deserved to share in my moment of happiness, if nothing else.

Since Con was at the station on Montecristo, I did not have to wait for a late hour meeting to contact those there. Instead I reached Con with my thoughts.

<Con, are you busy?">

<Davey, it is 4 am local time, I am reading 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' By Edward Gibbon. I have just started the second volume.>

<Interesting, I"m sure. Would you let everyone know, once they're up for breakfast in the morning, that I"d like you all to join Eru, Ginny and I here at the house at 5:30 pm your time. We're finally going to make that visit to the Shrine of Rhel and invite Master Lev to the wedding.>

<Ah! Excellent! Of course I will, you can count on me!>

<As I always do, Con, thank you!>

With our end of the meeting arranged, I reached out to Master Lev, and placed the certain knowledge that there would be a visitation tomorrow at the shrine into his thoughts. A large group who might enjoy a luncheon feast, I added.

So far in our interactions with the Rhellians we had limited our exposure to just Eru, Con and I. I think it was time for them to meet the Legion.

We watched a movie after dinner with Eru and Chet. We had not looked too hard at bringing broadcast or cable TV 'live' to Meadow, but if only the folks at NetFlix knew just how far their service was reaching, they'd be stunned!

Later, after everyone headed off to bed, there was more baby-making activity. I used my old tried and true Light recharging trick and gave Ginny multiple treatments before we fell asleep in each others arms.
We gathered the next morning at the house. The crew from Montecristo looking tanned and happy. It was going to be an early dinner for them and a slightly late breakfast for us, but we had done this sort of thing in the past month, 'meeting in the middle' of our time zones for a shared meal.

I jumped Eru, Con and I through first, and when we arrived, it looked as if a carnival was in progress. There were tables and tents and what appeared to be hundreds of people running around. The smells and sounds of cooking were incredible. Master Lev spotted us immediately.

"Welcome back, welcome!" He said with all the enthusiasm of a believer.

"Thank you, Master Lev. We are glad to be back. Please, you know the three of us already, allow me to introduce you to those you have not met."

I began jumping Legionnaires in, one at a time. I started with Chet and Cyrus.

Cyrus appeared to my left. "May I introduce you to Cyrus Poole."

Chet appeared on my right. "May I introduce Chet Alvarado."

"I can guess what place these formidable looking fellows have in your group!" Master Lev said with a laugh.

"You'd be surprised, I answered. These are versatile gentlemen."

I continued introducing the Legion, one member at a time, saving Ginny for last. When her turn came, I jumped her right into the crook of my right arm. She quickly slid in for a hug and a brief kiss.

"Master Lev, please allow me to introduce Virginia Parkin."

"Please call me Ginny." She quickly added.

"Of course Ginny, Welcome!"

"This is everyone. We would be happy to partake in whatever festivities it appears you have planned, but Ginny and I would like to sit down with you for a moment before anything official gets under way, if you don't mind?"

"Of course!" He beamed at us. Turning to a small knot of onlookers standing behind him, he called out.

"Preva! Would you please see to getting our new guests seated at the place of honor? They would enjoy something to drink, I'm sure!"

As the matronly woman he had addressed led the rest of the crew off to a large table nearby, Lev led us to a small cluster of folding camp chairs, very similar to what we would find back home.

"May I offer you something to drink?"

"We're happy to wait until we rejoin the others at the table, thank you."

I paused for a second, smiled at Ginny and reached for her hand. She placed hers in mine and smiled back.

"Master Lev, Ginny and I are a young couple in love, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"All the signs were there, yes." Lev said with a laugh.

"We are here today to invite you to our wedding." In Taluatan it translated more accurately as 'the uniting of our souls', but it meant the same thing for all practical purposes.

"Oh, wonderful! Congratulations!" Was his instant response.

"I have to apologize to you though. The wedding is only five days from now. I took far too long in deciding that I wanted you there to share our happy day with us."