Tania and Vasily awoke, bonded together in the misery of their mutual hangover “We didn’t do it last night, did we?”

He squeezed her tighter in his arms and just felt miserable. “No. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t up to it and I was scared of you a little bit. You were so determined to kinda rape me and I wanted our first time with you like this to be special. The end result was that I was aroused but couldn’t get it hard. I want you so badly, but I want you to want me the same way and I know the process jacks your sex drive through the roof so I wasn’t sure what to do and I just decided to hold you because I knew for sure that was the one thing the both of us genuinely wanted.”

He held her by the arms and looked earnestly into her face. “I know you had to be a woman for yourself, but I want you to have what is good for you, not what you think somebody else wants. I wanted you to be free to choose what you wanted and not feel burdened by some act you committed while you were sort of out of your mind. More than that, if we do make love at some point, I want it to be because it’s the only thing either of us want to do. I don’t want you if you don’t truly want me and I’m pretty sure you feel the same way. Tania, if you don’t want me, I will do everything I can to be a friend to you, but the truth is that I want to be your lover and your husband and anything else will leave me a useless shell of a human being. I’ve just got to ask you again, will you marry me? I know I’m not much to look at but I will do everything I possibly can to keep you happy.”

She looked into his eyes, reading his soul in his gaze. “Vasily, I am in love with you and I always will be. I have loved you since before you even knew I existed, hell, since before I knew who I was. I took the name I did to prove my love to you. I wanted it to be just the way it was, like a movie, and it was!” She sobered for a moment and kissed him on the tip of his nose, playfully. “I’m really sorry we didn’t have sex last night, you know!” She was nipping at his earlobes and kissing along his jawline. “You know, we could make up for that lack right now, if you want!”

He was squirming under her attentions, feeling himself harden in response to her ministrations. “Baby, are you sure you’re not just horny because of the process? I’d hate to take advantage of you!”

She looked down at him, rubbing her crotch against his leg. “Look,” she said “I don’t know if its an after effect of the process or what, but I have to tell you I want you just as badly as I did the first time and if you don’t give me what I want, I’m going to be awfully frustrated!”

It was only a moment later until he gave in and the couple spent the next 2 hours blissfully lost in each other. They did indeed have sex for the first time and they were both ecstatic to find that she did not have to deal with losing her virginity in the classical sense of breaching the hymen.

“Do you really mean you want to marry me?” Vasily looked up into her eyes as she finished gasping to her latest orgasm. “I’m serious, do you? Do you want to settle down with the only man you have ever known? I know I’m not the best sexual athlete or maybe even the best anything but I do love you. I loved you before you became a woman and I love you as you are now. I’m sure I will love you whoever or whatever you become. I just want to know that you feel the same way about me. I don’t want to be the mercy fuck, you know?”

“Vasily, I thought the name I took would have answered that question for you.” She was grasping his softening member within her, squeezing rhythmically. “I want you, I have wanted you since I saw you and even more since I discovered what a nice guy you are. I love you for the way you treated me back when you discovered who I was and I love you even more now that I can be who you always wanted me to be. You wanted a mother for your children and I wanted to be that mother. The cool thing is that we both get our wish. The last thing you are is a mercy fuck. You are the kind and decent man I’ve always wanted and now I have you. I’m not gonna let you go if I don’t have to.”

He gathered her into his arms and buried his nose in the cascade of hair over her shoulders. “Okay” He inhaled deeply, smelling the mingled sweat and strawberry of her hair. “I want you forever, you know that, right?”

She hummed into his shoulder and lay beside him, her breathing falling into the slow deep patterns of sleep. He gazed on her sleeping face, amazed at her beauty and grateful that she still wanted to love him. Sometime later, he fell asleep and his dreams alternated between joy of being with her and terror that she would be taken from him somehow. He didn’t know it, but her dreams were much the same.

“Well”, Sarah said as she sipped at her coffee “I think that all things considered, that went just about as well as we could have hoped.” She stared into the dark aromatic brew, contemplating the reflection of the ceiling in her cup. “I might be little hard of hearing, but I’m pretty sure the noises I heard this morning weren’t coming from you two.”

Sean blushed and looked at her sister under lowered lashes. “Er, what time would that have been? Would that be before or after we heard you and Eric going at it?” She slurped noisily at her coffee. “Cause if it was before, that was us. The one after that was them and they kept at it for like 2 hours!”

It was Sarah’s turn to look down into her coffee and blush. “Uh, well I really don’t know how long they were at it because listening to them got us all hot and bothered and then we fell asleep, like after, you know?”

The blushing was pretty much making the rounds of the table at that point, as Charlie, Leif and Eric were both practically glowing red. “Uh, well, I gotta admit it pretty much did the same for us, but I woke up when I heard them just talking. I couldn’t hear what they said, but I’m pretty sure whatever it was made them both happy. You know, as long as they are happy, I’m happy for them”

As if on cue, Vasily and Tonia appeared. It was obvious how much they were each attached to the other as soon as they tried to separate at the foot of the stairs. She almost tripped over his foot because they had been unconsciously interlacing their footsteps, an old habit of spacers. To an observer, they looked somewhat like a four-legged creature that had forgotten how to walk. They each caught the other in their arms and the kiss that followed between them was enough to melt the surface of the moon.

That prompted a round of soulful eye-gazing among the others and sighs of contentment as hands were grasped the tableau was only broken by the soprano chirp that came next.

“So what’s for breakfast?”

Sean snapped her phone closed and gestured to Vasily who was watching Tania swim laps in the pool, her newly sinuous body undulating through the water. “Hey, don’t tell Tania right now, but our cargo just got delayed by 2 weeks. Gunnar can officially marry you if we go up to the ship later today, then you two can have a honeymoon. Go anywhere you want, do anything you want. You’ve got 2 weeks to enjoy each other before you have to go back to space and she has another 2 weeks to learn to enjoy being herself before she has to report for training.” She leaned over to whisper in his ear. “You better make her happy, or you’ll have me and Charlie to answer to.”

She stood and deliberately walked away, her body revealing her tension, her internal conflict. She didn’t realize it, but her feelings were the same as those her own sister had felt toward her before her transition and just after, the fierce protectiveness of the older sister for the younger. She practically stalked toward the edge of the pool before she tensed and leapt into a perfectly pointed dive, making barely a splash as she entered the water.

For his part, Vasily was bewildered. He’d just been given something pretty close to the best news he could have had and yet he was almost ready to break out in a cold sweat as his self-doubt overtook him. He couldn’t help but wonder, deep in his heart where his fears dwelt, whether he was truly good enough for her, if he could in fact be the man she wanted him to be. He wasn’t even sure he could be the man he wanted himself to be. Suddenly his most cherished dream was coming true and he wasn’t sure he was good enough to live up to what was expected of him.

He did the only thing he could think of to do, something men have done since time immemorial. He heaved himself up from the lounge chair he had been relaxing in and went directly to Sarah. “Um, I hate to ask, but I need a ride and some local knowledge.”

She looked up at him enquiringly. “Well, I guess it depends on what you need to know on the local knowledge part, but I can surely help you out with the ride. So tell me what you want to go get!” She cocked an eyebrow at him as she slurped at her double chocolate shake.

He leaned closer to her and almost whispered. “I need to get a couple of rings. I don’t want Tania to know. Um, I know it isn’t the right way to do it, but I’m going to ask her to marry me later today on the Heyerdahl. Will you be her bridesmaid if she accepts? I want a proper wedding party for her and that means at least three bridesmaids. You’d make the third. I’ll pay for your trip. Please say yes!” His eyes were filled with his earnest feeling and she couldn’t resist.

“OK, but no god-awful bridesmaid’s dresses and Eric comes along! Now let’s go!” She practically dragged him off the lanai into the house. “Go get dressed, we don’t have much time!”

After a whirlwind tour of local jewelers and some very hard bargaining, he was the proud owner of a flawless 2 carat diamond ring. The stone at the center was held in a setting that made it look as though it had grown out of the gold and platinum, smaller diamonds encrusting the tendrils which held the jewel. It wasn’t the ring he had truly wanted to give her but it was the best he could possibly have afforded and so much more than he ever thought he would be able to give. He thanked Sarah over and over as she herded him along to their next stop.

To his surprise, it was a bridal shop. When it turned out they already had her measurements, he almost fainted. When he asked how, she simply turned to him with a straight face and said,”You know, you have a lot of cheerleaders. It took some judicious hacking, but this is the gown she looked at the longest, so I’m pretty sure it’s the one she wants. If you’re going to spring a surprise like this on her, I think you should make it as perfect as possible. Oh, by the way, these earrings were designed to go with this dress. So is this necklace.”

Much to his credit, Vasily didn’t even ask for the prices. He simply scanned his thumb to verify the transaction and took the time to make sure that the goods would be delivered when and where he wanted them. A whirlwind of shopping later, he found himself kneeling down on the edge of the pool as a blonde goddess hoisted herself out of the water, wiping the moisture out of her eyes and gazing down on him in surprise.

“Tania, I know I asked you if you wanted to marry me. What I want to know is do you want to marry me right now. Everything is all set if you say yes.” He looked up into the sun and into her eyes. “Please say yes.”

She leaned down and kissed him deeply. “Of course I say yes, my love. Now when and where do we do this?”

Sarah leapt into the conversation. “Well, when would be about 4 hours from now and where would be on the Heyerdahl. We catch our shuttle up in about an hour so you two had better get dried off and dressed right now!”

It took a moment longer for the 2 lovers to separate and begin frantically preparing for their flight. They held each other tightly all the way up until they had to let each other go to get through the hatch into the ship, arriving to find all of their fellow crewmembers gathered in the mess hall. The crew was already working their way into a raucous celebration so the lovers found themselves herded into cramped cabins to begin dressing.

An observer would have heard “But why the fuck do I have to have fake tits for this dress? I mean I want to show up with what I have! I know he likes me the way I am!”

“Now chill out, we couldn’t get the dress altered in time enough and without them it won’t fall right! Besides, this is about what they figure you’ll wind up with anyway, so stop bitching! You’ve got to admit, they really help your look!”

Tania looked down at herself and had to grudgingly admit that the prosthetic breasts really did help. “I just don’t want to be fake for him, you know? I mean I might have these for real in a couple of years, but right now I’m as flat as a board. I just don’t want to get his hopes up if I turn out to have like fried eggs for tits. Umm, that, and they are a little heavy, you know?”

Sarah smirked at her. “Um, I’ve been carrying a set of double D’s around for almost fifty fucking years, sister. I know how heavy they are. Those only bring you up to about a C cup, which is about what I had before I had my son. You wanted to be a woman, so stop bitching. And hold still, dammit!”

The shuttle ride up to the ship was fairly routine for everybody but Sarah and Eric, who had never been in space before. Sarah took to it well, but Eric had the misfortune to be horribly space sick as soon as the microgravity portion of the trip commenced. If he could have seen it, he would have truly loved the beauty of the blue planet slowly rotating below them.

Once they had docked at CGC1, the company’s space station, they readied themselves to disembark. As they filed through the hatch they were astonished to find an actual old fashioned honor guard awaiting. The formalities of boarding were redoubled for them and at the end of the line, there was a tall graceful woman holding what looked for all the world like a violin case. She stepped forward and held it out to Sean.

“This was supposed to be yours, with the compliments of the entire company. It was to be given to you after you had completed your mission, as a token of our gratitude. We took a vote and decided that now was a better time, that such a thing should be given in a spirit of renewal and hope, rather than simply one of vengeance fulfilled. With the hopes and prayers of all your sisters we present to you this priceless gift. May you forever cherish it and may the music you give us reflect all that has gone before, as we wish for a future as bright as the sun.” She leaned forward and whispered into Sean’s ear. “Kill the bastards for us!”

Almost dreading what she was to find inside the case, Sean whispered fiercely back. “Damn straight I will!” The two women hugged, an embrace that meant more than any observer would have guessed.

“Now open it!” Sean did as instructed and gasped at the contents before lovingly stroking the highly polished wood and strings.

“I can’t possibly accept this. This is meant to be played by a master, not some lowly tyro like myself. I mean, it’s a Stradavirius!”

“It is a bit more than that, I’m afraid. It is the only remaining complete example of its kind. It is not just a gift from your sisters, it a gift of the people of Japan. The Empress wanted you to have it. Yo yo Ma himself said you were the only artist he thought worthy of it. Oh, and he is here to play with you at the wedding.”

Sean nearly dropped the case. “I, I don’t, I can’t, I mean what?”

“Oh, you’ll find out the rest in just a few minutes. You thought that this was going to go unnoticed? Tania and Vasily are going to be married by the Emperor Himself. He has flown here to perform the ceremony. Don’t tell Tania, we don’t want her getting all nervous.”

“Tania, nervous? You expect me to play with Yo yo? In front of the Emperor?” Sean was practically gibbering. “I can’t do it, I’ll make a fool of myself. I’m not good enough. I’ll humiliate myself and everyone else!” Her voice was rising, going rapidly from embarrassment to anger. “How dare you spring this shit on me! I come here expecting a quiet wedding for my friend and now you’ve turned it into a goddamned state occasion and I’m expected to perform for people! Whose fucking idea was this shit!”

Sarah stepped forward. “It was mine.”

Sean rounded on her and began another tirade but didn’t get very far before being shaken by a resounding slap. “Now look, you and I both know you are damn well good enough, and better. You will do this and you will make me proud, and you will damn sure not ruin Tania’s wedding with your shit! Now take your fucking violin and go get dressed!” She held Sean’s face in her hands and looked into her eyes. “I knew you were something special, even back when you were my little brother. Now you’re my sister, but you’re still my little sister. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to arrange this, and I’ll kindly thank you not to fuck it up!”