Alien Tango

head, and Brian leaned back against her. I could see Randy out of the corner of my eye, and he looked no more pleased than Martini did out of the other corner.
    “I think it’s passing,” he said finally.
    “Great, let’s get you standing up, then.”
    I started to get to my feet when Martini’s arm went around my waist, and he picked me up, conveniently pulling my hand out of Brian’s. “I’ll help him; you’re still recovering, too.”
    Martini put his hand down to Brian, who took it somewhat reluctantly. Martini moved Brian to his feet rather more quickly than I thought was probably nice or good for Brian under the circumstances.
    But Brian just grinned. “Thanks. Still not as bad as reentry.” He turned around to help Claudia up, but Randy was already there and pointedly did this himself. Brian looked at me. “I see I’m popular.”
    “With the ladies.” Martini shot me a look that said any more jokes like that wouldn’t be taken well. “I’m going to check on Daniel now,” I said quickly.
    Joe looked far less jealous of Lorraine’s holding Chee. This was possibly because Chee was wearing a wedding ring. Lorraine had him sitting up by the time I got to them. “Daniel’s going to be okay,” she said as she stroked his head.
    Like Brian, Chee was leaning back against her. Unlike Brian, he seemed more concerned with everyone else than enjoying his backrest. “How are you? Are the others doing all right?”
    “I’m fine, Paul and Brian seem like they’ll be okay. I haven’t checked Michael out yet.” I glanced over. He was still in a ball with Alfred rocking him as though he were a small child. “Not so good over there.”
    Chee nodded. “I’m not surprised.”
    “Why so?”
    He gave me a weak smile and dropped his voice. “He’s the loneliest.”
    “Not Brian?”
    Chee shook his head. “You’re here. Even though you’re in a relationship with someone else, you two go way back, and you obviously care about him, even if you’re not going to become his wife tomorrow. Brian has been so focused on you, or finding someone to equal you, that he’s had a lot of long-term relationships. He also has strong friendships, here and in his personal life. Michael . . . not so much.”
    “The player stands alone.”
    “Right.”
    “You’ve worked with them a long time?”
    Chee grinned. “And I have doctoral degrees in psychology and human behavior as well as astrophysics.” I thought I detected some drool running down Lorraine’s chin. Dazzlers loved brains and brain potential; they weren’t so much into looks, though if they could get both, it wasn’t considered a bad deal. The younger generation of Dazzlers pretty much only wanted to marry human men, under the notion that they were smarter than A-C males. I didn’t agree, but I also felt interspecies mating was something we needed, regardless of the fact I was with Martini, so I didn’t put much effort into arguing for A-C male mental gifts.
    “What does your wife do?” I figured I needed to give Lorraine, and possibly Claudia, a gentle reminder that this one was unavailable.
    “She’s a rocket scientist. She helped design the Valiant .” He sounded extremely proud.
    “She sounds great,” Lorraine said, with only a trace of envy.
    “Maybe you’ll meet her; she’s here somewhere I’m sure.” Chee sounded normal again.
    “Jeff, can you help Daniel up?”
    He lifted me up first. “Sure, baby. What’s your plan for bachelor number three?” he asked as he reached his hand down to Chee. Martini was a lot gentler this time. Joe helped Lorraine up and pulled her next to him. I got the impression he’d picked up the drool moment.
    I sighed. “I need to help your father.”
    “Why you?”
    “Because Paul needs to concentrate on adjusting to the soon-to-be-renamed entity, and the next closest relative isn’t helping.”
    “Christopher could give it a try.”
    “He could, and so could you, but familial rivalries do not a comfort situation make.” I looked up at him. “Trust me, I’m not going to let him one-up you, at least not with me.”
    Martini sighed. “Okay, go for it.”
    “I don’t need any help from any of you,” Michael said, between sobs.
    Alfred gave me a long-suffering look. “Good luck.”

CHAPTER 38
    I KNELT DOWN NEXT TO Michael and Alfred. “Yeah, I know, tough guy. You’re good all on your own, right?”
    “Get away from me,” he snarled. At least he tried to snarl. But he was still