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joke is that they have the stones, but we have the brains.” Dr. Meevin grinned and offered her an arm.
    It was easy enough to move, and when they entered the outer room, she asked about footwear and was told that it was a little advanced, but when she was better balanced, socks and boots were waiting.
    Another Gaian was waiting for them outside the door, and while she had not met Signy before, Niika knew who she was looking at. “Hello, Lady Rothaway.”
    “Call me, Ziggy. Welcome to the Mother ship of the Nine. I see you are in good hands. Good day, Dr. Meevin.”
    The doctor inclined her head with a smile. “Good day, Potential.”
    “Call me, Niika or Nik.” It was most peculiar, the doctor didn’t pause but kept going right past the Gaian in the lovely gown, hauling Nik along.
    Nik was able to keep up with the rapid pace and that alone made her grin and skip a bit. She lengthened her stride for the first time in what felt like forever and imagined what she could do when she was able to run free.
    Inside medical, she took a step toward the table, but Dr. Meevin directed her to a strange half cylinder against one wall. “Stand there and don’t move. The scanner will close around you but relax. It is going to measure your progress.”
    “With my clothing on?”
    “It works through clothing.” The doctor gently pressed her into the scanner, and behind the tall woman, Ziggy gave her a thumbs up.
    The cylinder closed around her, and to her surprise, it tilted horizontally before a light ran up and down her body.
    Before she could work up a good case of nerves, the machine tilted once again and let her loose.
    “I will need to analyse these findings. Lady Rothaway, would you care to take your planet-mate to lunch?”
    Ziggy grinned. “Of course.”
    Cavos appeared in the doorway. “I have prior claim on her time, Lady Rothaway. If you do not mind?”
    Ziggy looked from Niika to Cavos and back again. “No, of course. I understand. You probably want to compare notes about…something or other.”
    Ziggy winked. “By the way, I love the outfit. The Stone Folk certainly are snappy dressers.”
    Ziggy turned in a swirl of skirts and left medical.
    Cavos extended his arm to Niika. “Well, Nik?”
    She inclined her head in thanks to Dr. Meevin and walked to join the grey man who had eyes only for her.
    “You are moving more easily.” His first words were uttered when they were several dozen metres from medical.
    “I am. You can increase your stride if you like.”
    “Would that bother you?”
    “No. I really need to stretch, and a little soreness tomorrow is worth the increase in mobility. Your mother tells me that I can even upgrade to shoes if I don’t fall over today.” She chuckled. “Well, fall again.”
    He smiled, and the next words out of his mouth shocked her. “Will you be my bond mate?”
    She almost fell on her face. “What?”
    “Will you be my bond mate? I am drawn to you in a way that I have never been pulled toward a woman. I couldn’t leave your side while we waited for you to wake, and you held my hand the entire time you were asleep until my mother pried your fingers from mine and banned me from your bedside.”
    She blinked. “May I think about this?”
    He swallowed and nodded. “Of course.”
    She knew that he made her smile, knew that he was good for her and protective of her. That last one was going to be annoying once she got her full mobility back. She had avoided men since her incident and had been too young before it to really get serious about someone. Cavos was the first man in her orbit since that moment. Did she really want to throw caution to the wind and make him the only one?
    Divorce among the Nine was not possible. It was a bond that went deeper than blood from what she had heard from Daphne. If she said yes, it would be a forever yes.
    They walked to a café, which seemed odd on a star ship.
    Cavos ordered for them and was looking forlorn when she said the word that