The sunset on Mars chased the pale blues away to paint the sky a lurid wash of pink, orange, and yellow. The colors enhanced the loamy soils' rusty tinge like a bloodsoaked dessert. And just like on Earth, this desert hosted little pinpricks of cacti. Part of Mark’s handiwork.

  With the childcare personnel, there would arrive a flurry of younger experts in every field. Plenty of them would enjoy the busy work she now found herself doing.

  Work she had enjoyed.

  Why?

  Beth held up the packet of pills to cover the sun.

  Was she depressed?

  Would people really help?

  At the very least, she needed a new goal. Because she had made it to Mars. Had discovered something new. And published a paper on it.

  Yay.

  Now what?

  With nothing left in mind, Beth decided to follow the Captain’s, or perhaps the doctor’s? orders.

  …

  Beth stood on the gangway anxiously.

  Every time new arrivals landed, people would volunteer to take them on a tour and help them find their room. It helped people assimilate and gave them at least one familiar face that hadn’t come in with them.

  This was the first time she had volunteered, and she was watching for someone who looked like friend material. Whatever that looked like.

  The hatch opened, and the first girl out looked nice, but she didn’t want to be first.

  A clump of people came out laughing. It wouldn’t do to interrupt them.

  Then a couple. Too awkward. It was better to be a unicycle than a third wheel.

  On and on they passed. Beth had an excellent reason not to pick each and every one of them. until there was no one left.

  She sighed in relief and recriminated herself internally.

  The next shipment was in three months. What if the same kind of people arrived? She would be stuck in this loop of failures and-

  “Excuse me.”

  Beth whipped around at the southern accent and looked down at a spry looking sixty year old.

  “Beg pardon, my name is Mrs.Mary-Beth Wyssmen. I know it’s a terrible imposition, but could you spare a moment to lead me to the dining room? I wouldn’t feed my dog what was served on that ship, let alone to a human being. This has left me a hankering for a home cooked meal, but I can’t read these blasted newfangled maps. I told them to make it paper, but they mumbled some darned excuse. But I digress. Let's get a-going before dinner starters.”

  Mary-beth linked arms with the poleaxed geologist and tugged her forward to the tune of more polite chatter.

  Beth’s mind halted.

  Restarted.

  Halted again.

  Then slowly processed what the woman had said.

  “-I had him scared more than a longtailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!” she cackled. “But enough about me. What’s your name, dearie?”

  Beth felt caught on the odd analogy, but answered. “Dr. Elizabeth Kane, but you can call me Beth. Everyone does.” Very few had reason to call her name, though.

  “Oh, what a wonderful name. My grandmother was named Elisabeth, too. Which is where I got the Beth in my name. Mary was the most famous virgin, of course. Didn’t stay a virgin for long though. Though neither did I,” Her eyes twinkled.

  “Oh?” Beth replied faintly.

  “Oh yes. Found the most handsome thing when I was seventeen years old, and we married when he turned eighteen. And even though he went into the military, we managed eight kids all told. And half of them went into the service too. The youngest works here, actually. But, pray tell, what do you do here?”

  “I study the rocks.”

  Mary-Beth paused to look out of a passing window, then continued. “Plenty o rocks here, I dare say. Though I bet there are just as many on Earth.”

  Beth hazarded an interjection, “Actually, the Earth is almost seven times larger than Mars. And the moons of Mars are significantly smaller than the Earth’s moon.”

  “Hm. Then why on God’s green Earth are you out here in the middle of nowhere when there's plenty of good rocks back home? I may be half blind, but I can clearly see that the grass is not greener here.”

  Beth shrugged, “There are different rocks here. Why did you come?”

  Mary-Beth lifted her chin proudly. "The scientists found out that having some old people around helps children. So, here I am, a trained nanny who has raised eight successful babies in various fields. And-,” she paused and smelled the air. “Oh my. Is that fried chicken I smell?”

  She surged forward and marched into the kitchen instead of the cafeteria, and dragged the mortified Beth with her.

  “Please, Mary-Beth, we eat in the next room.”

  “It will be ok, dear, I’ve been in kitchens longer than your mother has been alive.”

  Then she marched right up to the cook.

  And started to… flirt with him?

  Beth feared the reprisal, but the bear of a man took it all in stride and seemed to enjoy the woman who was half his size both ways, doting on him.

  Mary-Beth came back with two plates of scalding food and dragged Beth with her to the dining room and sat down at a table that was almost too full of people. They all glanced at her briefly before being caught by the southern apparition in front of them.

  And then, blessedly, they ignored her.

  Beth dug into the food.

  It was delicious. Though her habit of coming in late when it was all cold probably didn’t help matters.

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  Then a noise louder than the caf rang in her head.

  :BETH. Something is terribly wrong!:

  Beth looked down at Cal, alarmed.

  Was someone trying to kill him again?

  He arched his back. :See?:

  Beth ran her hands gently over the tiny scales that covered his body and frowned. On each side was a tiny lump of hard, scale covered flesh.

  Was it cancer?

  Cal certainly made enough trips outside the artificial magnetic field that blocked the Sun’s radiation. Beth stood and noticed that everyone around her had fallen silent. Including Mary-Beth.

  She suppressed a wave of melancholy and picked up the cat-sized Cal to bring to the biolab.

  There was always the next shipment.

  But Cal needed to be seen now.

  She raised her wrist and commed the most knowledgeable man on dragon physiology.

  …

  “Cal, I know you hate it, but please stay still while I take this X-ray.”

  :fine:

  Beth watched as flat on the table. Motionless as she had ever seen.

  The poor thing must be worried sick.

  Heck, I’m worried sick!

  Mark clicked a button, and then it was over. He called into the next room, “It’s ok to move now.”

  And Cal teleported to Beth’s shoulder as they watched Mark examine the X-ray image on the screen.

  He pointed out a spot in the midrib. “Here,” then he pointed to the other side, “and here. These are what I had assumed were vestigial in nature. Like a whale's pelvic bone, or the non-functioning eyes of the cave fish. But this seems to be more like the knees of a human baby, which are initially cartilage, then turn into bone as they grow older. I believe you will be fine, but I would like to check in on you every day when we are both free.

  Beth conveyed Cal’s relief and affirmation of the daily check-in. But without the emergency, she seemed suddenly out of place.

  So, she conveyed Cal’s request to have Mark explain all the particulars, then left.

  Neither seemed bothered by the absence.

  Beth walked adrift in the corridors until someone called out in a musical tone, “Bethy dear! I was afraid I would wander these halls lost until my bedtime was long past. But here you are again. Ready to guide me like God led Moses through the wilderness.”

  The young man beside her stared back at Beth in an overwhelmed manner as the woman detached herself from him and redocked at Beth’s arm.

  “Come, dear. We must be off. This nice young man was kind enough to punch directions into this hightech paperweight so that I can see my dear boy before he gets off of work. But we must make haste.”

  Suiting action to words, Mary-Beth sailed along at an admirable clip in a confident direction. Beth just followed. Too tired to resist the energetic old lady. She just let the words wash over her, listening just enough to give some answer when it was required.

  Then the corridor began to look oddly familiar.

  Beth straightened and blinked.

  “Mary-Beth, who was your son again?”

  “Oh, it’s John. And here's his office.”

  Beth gaped as Mary-Beth just opened the captain's door and marched in. The man in question happened to be inside with slightly tousled hair, papers strewn across his desk, and a dumfounded expression on his face. “Mother? What are you doing here? Who put you up to this? Who approved this?”

  Mary-Beth put both hands on her hips. “Aren’t you glad to see your dear, old, frail mother? You are the only one who I’ve not had grandchildren out of yet, and also the only one without a wife.”

  He splayed his hands pleadingly, “I'm an officer. Married to the job. I can’t have a wife, let alone kids. I just don’t have the time.”

  Mary-Beth grinned. “That's why they hired me. To nanny those poor children with too busy parents.”

  Beth had never seen Captain Archer with anything more than a bare frown. But now he looked happy, yet concerned. He stood and hugged his mother gently. A feeling of intrusion landed heavily on her, so she backed out and carefully closed the door behind her.

  And those that came after, she warned that the captain was very busy with an important guest for an indeterminable amount of time.

  …

  When the old woman left, Beth asked her why the last names didn't match. To which she was told imperiously, “Men always die before their wives. And when it happens, you must find the exception, and marry a man whose wife died first. But now I have two husbands in heaven, and don’t fancy a third.”

  And that was that.

  Beth led her to her new room, then went to her own. Head too tired to contemplate, and slept good and hard.

  …

  Cal had rushed to finish the last of the nitrogen run, which was a good thing, as his back itched something fierce. And if he got distracted while jumping, he tended to get lost somewhere in between. Luckily, that always meant falling within the solar system. And using the sun to orient himself, he could navigate to where he had originally intended to go.

  This made Beth glad that he didn’t have to go anywhere. She did have to make a discreet call to someone to retrieve and deactivate the bomb they had in place. Hoping that no one would figure it out, or take the chance to kill her little dragon while he was out of commission.

  Even so, the twin bulges on his back grew larger by the day, discolored by a filmy white. Calamity lived up to his name by scratching his back on anything that looked promising. Including some finicky equipment that couldn't handle the rough treatment.

  But even as the itches made his teleports too unreliable to risk, he constantly talked of being elsewhere.

  :Now that I’m done running errands, I want to explore other planets. Jupiter and Saturn are just gas. I want to see more planets like Earth and Mars. I want to go beyond:

  “Like Pluto?”

  :Furthur. Don’t you wish for something more in your life? To find something… better?:

  Beth walked over to scratch his hide with a pick. “Sometimes.”

  :Well, I feel it all the time. I don’t belong here, among you humans. I want to find more dragons out there, like myself:

  She switched hands. Unsure how to respond.

  :I want to be with someone who understands me. That looks like me. That wants what I want:

  Beth sighed and scratched his head with the non-pick wielding hand. “I can’t help much, but I can tell you the data and environment that led to your discovery. How about that?”

  Calamity rumbled a purr of assent.

  …

  “Bethy dear, you must leave this dingy lab. It is time for lunch, and I refuse to be late for a wonderful man’s cooking.”

  Beth dropped what she was doing and joined her adoptive grandmother. It had taken a week of prayerful nights to hope the women away, but obviously the answer had been no. But now, a month later, she looked forward to the daily walks to and from the caf arm in arm with a woman clearly capable of going by herself. Yet she chose to come with her.

  “Well, I’ve had the past out of you, what about your future? And don’t think I’ve forgotten your relationship with your mother, but like you can’t make sourdough rise fast, you can’t mend a relationship overnight.”

  Beth winced but considered it. The questions had gotten more difficult to answer as time went on. And the one to two word answers now had to be considered before she even opened her mouth. Yet, despite the difficulty, it was stimulating in a way that she couldn’t place her finger on.

  “I don’t quite know. Until recently, my biggest goal had been to make it to Mars and study new rocks here. But now I’ve done it. Have been doing it for several years now. I have thought of getting Cal to bring me rocks from other planets, but it doesn’t seem right to get someone else to do it for me. Besides, he has something else to pursue.”

  Mary-Beth nodded. “It’s best not to hitch your future on a horse going a different direction.”

  Beth smiled crookedly, “Thanks. I have also considered marriage. Your talk of children has also captured my attention. Both my parents were only children, as was I. I never considered them the joy that you clearly do.”

  Mary-Beth smiled beatifically, “It is said that a child is born every time an angel laughs with joy, and are God’s way of sharing heavenly joy with us mere mortals.”

  Beth snorted, “You would certainly have more experience than I.”

  “Of course, child, and I can say it’s true. Now, let's go back to marriage. Is that brown haired boy the one you want?”

  Beth flushed. “No. Yes. Maybe?”

  Mary-Beth looked at her sternly, “Does he want you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Despite the increased meetings, Mark had seemingly grown more distant. And her occasional attempts at connection had led to very polite and distant exchanges. Even worse, He was chatty with Cal. Which made her the necessary third wheel to their exchanges.

  Mary-Beth patted her arm gently, “I know how it feels. But it’s better to cast your line than wish for fish. Go ask him out. If he says yes, then great. If not, at least you won’t continue to fret about it like this. That's how you end up watching him get married, and all sorts of regrets. Speaking from experience.”

  Beth nodded and gathered her courage.

  The next possible opportunity she had, she would ask.

  …

  The impact of intergenerational programs on children and older adults: a review