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now?” Abby asked.
    â€œSend you away?” Kris started at the abrupt change of topic.
    â€œThere are not going to be many dress balls where you’re heading. And not a lot of snooping that a maid can do.” Abby swallowed something hard. “I figure you’ll want to leave me and Cara behind.”
    Kris shook her head. “I don’t think I could afford to break your contract. You had a good lawyer draw it up, and my mom never did have a head for legalese.”
    Abby snorted. “What paperwork have you been reading?”
    â€œMaybe it wasn’t paper I was reading. Maybe it had something to do with a human heart. If you want to come, you’ll always have a berth by my side.”
    â€œAnd Cara?”
    â€œDo you really want to take her out on the limb I’ll no doubt be sawing off?” Kris asked.
    Abby didn’t answer for a long minute. Her eyes were on the door to the dressing room, but Kris suspected, from the distant look, that she was seeing something else.
    â€œCara told me that when she was captured she kept going because she remembered Bruce saying ‘Marines never leave anyone behind.’ Poor kid, Cara was none too sure she qualified for that promise, but she kept holding to it, no matter what happened.”
    Kris nodded. She’d found Cara a major pain in the neck . . . but there had been no question that the Wasp was going after the kid. Cara was one of their own.
    â€œYou should have seen the look on her face when Sergeant Steve and his team came charging into that drug field where they had her. She’d done her best to keep her head down and be good, but she’d just done something I would have done, and her luck was all run out. Then a Marine stomps in, and all bets are canceled.”
    â€œI was kind of busy elsewhere,” Kris pointed out.
    â€œYou’ve got to change your scheduling priorities, Kris. You miss too much of the fun stuff.”
    â€œTell me about it,” Kris said with a sigh.
    â€œAnyway, for the last two, three weeks, Cara has been kind of sinking into this idea that she does have a home. She does have people who won’t leave her behind. You know what I mean.”
    â€œSort of,” Kris said. “But Abby, this is not my usual kind of mess. If it’s a choice of leading monsters back to human space and not coming back at all, well . . .”
    Abby snorted. “You done gone and changed on me, kid?”
    â€œChanged?”
    â€œYeah. I’ve followed your sorry ass through all kinds of smelly hell. I’ve seen people do their absolute best to put an end to your breathing. And you refuse their kind offers and just keep right on taking in air and letting it out.”
    â€œA habit of mine,” Kris admitted.
    â€œWell,” said Abby. “You’re mighty good at it, and I don’t expect you to fail to keep on keeping on.”
    â€œThat’s very definitely my plan.” Kris admitted.
    â€œSo, there are billions of kids Cara’s age. Billions more that ain’t been born yet. I don’t see that we’ll be any less careful of their futures if we have one of them edging around the door, looking in on us while we decide if she and they will ever have a chance to grow up.”
    â€œNow that you put it that way,” Kris said, “I don’t see any problem with you sharing your room with Cara.
    Cara bounced out of the dressing room, wearing an ankle-length skirt that chimed like a mad carillon when she spun in it.
    â€œI’ll have it put on our tab,” Nelly said without being told.

5
    â€œI brought along three replenishment ships and a repair ship to accompany the four battlewagons,” Vicky said proudly, as Kris greeted her on the USS Wasp ’s quarterdeck.
    â€œI watched that parade the Fury led in,” Kris said. “Between the big guns and the big cargo capacity, you look ready for anything.”
    â€œHer father, my