Once Ian and Lili got to the point of trying to recover from their lovemaking, he still continued laying above her, inside her, each of them sharing several kisses between short breaths. Finally, between those kisses, as their heartbeats finally began to slow, Ian found himself looking down into her eyes, and couldn’t stop himself from raggedly managing to speak once again, “Times like this, I find myself wishing I could just stay inside you forever.”

Lili swallowed a bit as he accented his statement with another kiss. Though she found herself breaking off eye contact as she whispered back, “But you won’t.”

Ian furrowed his brow a bit, though continued to wear a slight smile as he still lay above her, “Yeah, we might have to actually separate to like, eat, or something. But the desire remains.” he teased gently.

“Not really what I meant.” she murmured as she finally rolled away underneath him, to turn to lay on her side, facing away from his questioning eyes, and trying not to let herself notice the wince he allowed as her motion caused his leg to be jarred once more, after he had already forced back plenty of pain to make love to her at all, only moments earlier.

“Ok, so what did you mean?” he asked hoarsely, as the easily forgotten pain quickly rushed back, with a vengeance.

“Nothing, I’m sorry.” she finally managed as she rolled onto her back to look up at him once more, his returning pain obvious in his tone, “You’re obviously in pain, Ian.” she attempted to move the conversation away from her own statement as she reached up to brush a lock from his face.

“No, you don’t get to say something like that, after what I said, and then claim it was nothing. What did you mean?” he asked, now having moved to roll to his side, upon his uninjured leg, to look down at her worriedly.

“We should be worrying about your leg right now. Maybe we shouldn’t have…”

“What did you mean, Lili?” he asked more firmly. Though she simply turned her eyes away from him, almost thankful for the ever darkening interior of the shack as evening quickly approached outside, “Don’t tell me this is still about you thinking that I’ll somehow get tired of you and move on, still. I mean, really, Lili?” he scoffed, though tried to speak gently.

“No, that’s not really what I meant, either…”

“But?” he prodded.

She sighed softly as she tried to find the words to even attempt to explain what had honestly been in her head when the words left her lips, “I just mean, if you’re going to go look for the ship, you won’t be here, with me, at all. I mean, it’s obvious that I’m most likely not going to be going along, which means…” she just shook her head, “You three are all I have, and I know we need to find the ship, but in order to do that, we’re obviously not going to be able to all stay together any longer…and not together, not with all three of you every moment….that terrifies me, to put it mildly.” she sniffled again, her eyes still not able to look up to meet his.

Ian just allowed a sad smile as he leaned closer to kiss her forehead, “You’re forgetting, I may have guns and knives, and a few other toys, but you’ve got someone who can apparently throw huge furry critters through the air, with just the power of his mind.” he attempted to assure her.

Though his words only seemed to startle her, rather than assure her, “You’re not serious, are you?”

“About?” he asked, a little thrown by that response.

She scoffed as she pushed herself up to her elbows as she looked over at him disapprovingly, “If you have any intention of going out there, at all, you damn well are taking Jared with you. You’ll need his visions, as well as his other stuff. There’s no way you’re going out there without him.” she repeated more forcefully.

Ian just shook his head forcing back more pain as he also moved to sit up next to her, trying very hard to keep his eyes above her still exposed breasts, “If we’re arguing, could you like give me a fighting chance here, and pull the cover up?” he asked wryly.

Lili just scoffed and shook her head, though did as he asked as she sat up fully, pulling the cover up over her chest, “You’re assuming there’s room for argument?” she retorted.

Ian just let out a chuckle of disbelief as he shook his head, “To say the least.” a slight pause as he glanced back at her, “I mean, what you’re saying, all good points, but you’re forgetting the reason we brought him at all. It wasn’t because of his powers, which I didn’t even know about then. It was because of the doctor stuff, and there’s no way I’m leaving you here without our doctor, period.” he told her just as firmly.

“And if you’re out there alone, I’m going to be so upset I may even lose the baby. Guess I won’t need a doctor then, after all, huh?” she told him, her words harsh, but pointedly so.

“Lili…” he just shook his head sadly, “You can’t let me be that important to you. Not at the risk of your own---”

“Fuck you, Ian.” she growled back as she moved from his bedding, quickly reaching for her previously discarded clothing.

“Been there, done that.” he mumbled, though his eyes were still cast down sadly.

“I can’t believe you’re still making jokes.” she shook her head angrily as she made her way back into her clothing.

“If that’s what it takes.” he mumbled.

“If that’s what what takes?” she bit back, finally pulling the other half of her clothing back on.

“Don’t do this to yourself, Lili. Don’t let me be the reason you have to feel so hopeless. It’s not worth it. ”

She shook her head back at him again, “I just told you, I’m terrified of losing any of you. I’ve told you that more than once, as a matter of fact.” she reminded him, “And now, you wanna go out there and risk your life, alone, having no idea where you’re even going, and you somehow think I should be ok with that, at all, let alone, now?” she finished in a near whisper.

“I don’t know what to say, Lili.” he finally admitted with a touch of his own defeat, “I understand what you’re saying, and even agree with a lot of it, but I also know that we need to try and find the ship, and everything left on it, if we want you and the baby to have a real chance at all. I mean, you’ve gotta know that too.” another deep sigh, “It just sucks that going to find the ship will put us in just as much danger as just staying here and hoping will. I mean which choice is really less bad? Do you know? Cause I sure as hell don’t.” he confessed sadly.

It was then that Jared and Kyle both appeared around the corner of the half-wall that separated Ian’s room from the rest of the shack. Jared let out his own sigh as he and Kyle moved into the room, “Sounds like we’re having some of the same conversations, only separately.” was his quiet greeting.

Lili just sniffled again as Jared and Kyle both moved to take a seat near her and Ian, “Yeah which is worse? Staying here and waiting for the winter to starve or freeze us? Or going out and getting yourselves killed trying to find a ship that may be thousands of miles away while I stay behind getting more and more scared every day, with no doctor here to even know if that fear is taking its toll on me and the child before it’s even born? Not to mention, that if I somehow survive either choice, I then get to have a baby alone in the wilderness, which will most likely kill me and it both, anyway? Yeah, wonderful choices.” she added with another sniffle.

“We might have a partial cure for those problems.” Kyle attempted to sound hopeful, though his doubt was obvious in his voice.

“I find that really hard to believe.” she scoffed.

“I’d like to hear about this so-called cure, myself.” Ian put in.

“We’ve found a way for me to be in two places at once, in a manner of speaking.” Jared offered quietly.

Ian let out another scoff of disbelief, “Got another new power in the last half hour, did ya?”

“Not me.” Jared stated softly as he glanced at where Kyle took his own deep breath.

“It turns out that me and Jared, because of the way our brains are, we’ve got a bit more of a connection than we thought, oddly enough.” Kyle attempted to begin to explain the theory that hadn’t exactly been thoroughly tested yet.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lili asked, her curiosity finally managing to press past her worry, if only for a moment.

“Well, it seems he and I can sort of, communicate, without actual words.” Kyle attempted a further explanation.

Lili and Ian both shook their heads then, “Ok, great.” she began again, “But not really sure how that solves much.”

Then Kyle attempted to continue, “Well, in theory…”

“Oh goodie, my favorite words again.” Ian grumbled as he moved to reach for his boxer briefs again, considering he had still only been wrapped in the blanket from his previous encounter with Lili.

Lili simply looked down as he moved to painfully slide the article of clothing back on, both the other males a little caught by his just discovered state of dress, not to mention his lack of any shame about getting dressed right there in front of them.

“We could’ve like, left the room a second.” Jared managed as Ian finished at least partially covering himself, though in obvious pain as he did.

“I thought me and Lili were the only ones who might get distracted by seeing another guy naked. You guys got some more secrets, now?” he smirked.

“That’s not exactly what I meant.” Jared mumbled as he and Kyle just shook their heads as they looked downwards. Then Jared just had to speak up again, “And you really have no desire to get that leg healed right at all, do you?” he told Ian with a bit of a scolding tone obvious in his voice again.

“Well, for several, long, minutes, it didn’t hurt, like, at all.” he couldn’t help adding as he allowed a devious grin in Lili’s direction where she simply blushed, her own eyes downwards then.

Jared just shook his head as he then glanced back at Lili, “And you’re enabling his own stubbornness?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“I can be very convincing when I want to be.” Ian answered for her with another smirk.

Though, Lili’s sadness still outweighed her ability to find any amusement in Ian’s attempt at playfulness, “I guess maybe I thought it might’ve been our last chance to be together, at all.” she managed, though so quietly they just barely made out her words, causing them all to let out a consecutive sigh.

“First of all, Ian isn’t going anywhere until that leg does heal. And that’s doctor’s orders.” Jared began with a bit of force before continuing, “And secondly, that’s part of what we were trying to talk to you both about. It seems that I can communicate my thoughts to Kyle without actually having to speak them. And that should apply to my medical knowledge, too. And if I can do that, then you at least won’t really be left without a doctor looking after you, technically.”

Lili just shook her head, “Well, if that’s the case then why not just pour it all into his head right now?” she questioned, finding herself no longer even having trouble believing in such far-fetched theories any more, these days.

“No, there’s way too much for that. We’d probably both short circuit.” Jared worried aloud.

“Well, then it’s not really a solution, is it?” Lili returned, all of her worry easily still foremost in her mind.

“What I mean is that, if Ian and I go out there, and then something does happen with you. Something medical.” he added, “Then Kyle can let me know what’s going on, and I can let him know how to help you.”

“In theory.” Kyle had to add, expecting the scoff that Ian let out upon hearing those words again.

“In theory?” Lili repeated with a stammer, prodding them to explain further.

“We haven’t really tested it, over a distance, yet.” Jared admitted, his own eyes downwards, “But considering how far reaching my visions seem to be, it’s a good theory that distance really shouldn’t be a factor with this either.”

“Hopefully.” Lili finished his sentence for him.

Jared then sighed again, “It’s the best option we have, right now.” another breath, “And, we still have to wait for Ian’s leg to heal, so, who knows, maybe we’ll come up with something even better, by then.” he then moved closer to her, speaking more softly, “Remember, you promised me you’d at least try and hope. Can you please do that for me? I need you to. You’re my anchor, after all.” he whispered as he moved to place a gentle kiss over her lips, despite the other two sets of eyes in the room.

Once Jared finally moved back again, Ian finally spoke up, “It’s a good start. But if you guys figured this much out in just half an hour, and we have to wait until I’m in top form again, please try and come up with more.” he allowed his own soft breath, “We all need as much hope as we can even get right now. And you two, I have a feeling, you’re it.” he stated plainly as he moved to continue dressing, all of them then falling a bit silent as they thought about how they would truly find a way to get through such an endeavor, at all.

Over the next week, Ian tried to force himself to stay off his leg and on his own side of the shack while Lili pretended she could possibly get any rest of her own. During this time, Jared and Kyle kept trying to strengthen their powers and begin testing that mental link of sorts over longer and longer distances. Finally, at dinner that night it was noted, perhaps most quickly by Lili, that Ian seemed to be moving around with barely any pain at all. Making that mental observation easily sent her mind straight back to worst case scenarios once more, now that it was obvious that the time for them to separate was looming ever closer.

Upon Ian finally speaking up about the lack of pain he seemed to be in, and Jared once more examining his leg to determine how well healed it truly was, and finding that Ian’s body did indeed seem to be greatly recovered from the strain, Lili wanted to attempt to be happy for the fact. Though, her own fears made that nearly impossible as she simply headed inside alone, without a word to any of them even after Jared gave his positive review of the injury.

“Now the real fun part begins.” Ian stated softly once she had left them all out near the high flames that were keeping the night’s chill at bay.

Jared and Kyle both sighed softly themselves, as Kyle moved to wash out the cartons and utensils in the river, which was thankfully still flowing unfrozen as the lows were still remaining above freezing, so far.

“I’m not as completely terrified by leaving her without medical help now, but…” Jared just shook his head, rather than finishing his response to Ian’s words.

“No more visions yet, huh?” Ian sighed as well.

“I wish to hell I could turn them on and off, but, I’ve been spending so much time trying to help figure out stuff with Kyle, not to mention trying to get a better fix on where to begin our search…I haven’t even attempted to master that part of it, if it even exists at all.” Jared admitted quietly as he took a slow sip of his water.

“Well, what do you think?”

“What do I think…about what part of it?” Jared asked as he looked at Ian skeptically over the rim of the cup.

“What do you think would be better, staying here for the winter, assuming it becomes more winter-like,” he shrugged at the air around them, “Or waiting until it’s warmer, which would also mean, closer to July.” he added more quietly.

“July?” Jared asked quietly.

“Isn’t that when the baby’s coming?” Ian asked just as quietly.

“Yeah, I suppose it is.” Jared agreed.

Jared then sighed softly, trying not to let his mind wryly consider Lili’s own interest in astrology and that if born on time, and safely, the baby would most likely be a lot like him, even if it weren’t his own. Of course, upon allowing that thought, he couldn’t help allowing the other, more deeply buried thought of whether this child would honestly be like Ian and Lili, or like he and Kyle, or something even more different, considering their location as well as their air, water and food which was unknown to any pregnant human female before. On those even more scary thoughts, he mentally forced his scientist side to quiet itself, having enough sets of worries at that moment without letting that kind of scientific speculation in right then.

“Do you really think that might happen?” Kyle interrupted as he returned with the since rinsed dishes.

“What? That the baby will actually be born on time?” Jared asked as he glanced up at Kyle’s reappearance.

“No, the other thing you were thinking.” Kyle admitted quietly.

“Excuse me?” Jared responded, a bit thrown.

“Since I was at the river, I was practicing. I know I shouldn’t use it any time I feel the urge, but if this trip is really happening, I wanna be as good at this as I possibly can, right?” Kyle returned with the slightest tinge of guilt.

“What other thing?” Ian was the one who responded, his eyes moving over both of them.

“There’s a reason thoughts are private, Kyle. I didn’t think I needed to keep my guard up constantly.” Jared mumbled as he took another sip to try and compose himself in the light of the recent peer into his inner mind.

“What other thing?” Ian repeated more firmly.

“He’s worried.” Kyle allowed.

“Well, no shit, but what other thing?” Ian asked once more.

“Jared?” Kyle pressed.

“Now you won’t even let me keep my own thoughts mine, Kyle? I thought we were past this.” Jared scoffed.

“I know, and I’m sorry, but now that I heard you thinking it, I can’t stop. And you’re still the scientist. Do you really think something like that might happen?” Kyle continued, frustrated that Jared’s guard was firmly in place once more, but as he stated, the seed had already been planted in his own brain, now.

“Like what?” Ian asked more loudly.

“I was just allowing mental speculation. I’m still a scientist, it’s what I do.” Jared defended with a shake of his head, “But something that is only speculation is not really ready for public consumption. Why do you think it takes years for any scientific advances to ever come to light? We spend that time proving and disproving those theories before we let the world in.” Jared attempted to explain with another pointed look towards Kyle.

“Well consider us your new damn research team.” Ian retorted impatiently, “What are you speculating about?”

Jared just shook his head, “We really don’t need more worries added to the bunch, Kyle.” he muttered.

“Well, too late. They’re already in my head, and I’m the one that’s staying here behind with her, aren’t I?” Kyle reminded.

“Do I have to threaten physical pain again?” Ian complained loudly at their continued vagueness, “And need I remind you both that my leg’s better now?” he added for weight.

“It’s only speculation, god.” Jared mumbled before taking a breath, “I was just thinking about the difference between the children born on earth, like you and Lili, and the ones born on the ship, like me and Kyle.” another deep breath, “Just wondering how different one born to a mother who spent her entire pregnancy here, on this planet, how different they might be, that’s all.” he added with a guilt for even thinking such thoughts easily clear in his tone.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ian managed a moment later, “I really didn’t want that thought in my head, after all.”