Lime padded into the Captain's Cabin, carrying the infant up to her. Lime limped from the knocking around she took from the battle, and tried to conceal how battered she was. Catian Rose, took the baby,Sunshine, from Lime and sat down with her little girl, and put a straw in her mouth. The baby girl reached for Lime and went,"BA! Ba-ba-BAAAH!" Slicey said from the corner of the sofa,"Only eight hours with biologicals, and Lime turned my niece into a SHEEP!" She shifted around uncomfortably trying not to scratch her itching skin. Everyone laughed, as Rose bounced her new daughter on one of her knees. Rose said,"Doesn't look like a sheep to me." To Lime, she said,"I'd like to commend you for sacrificing your body to keep my baby undamaged. I know how bruised you are. I saw the recording of how you were bounced around the cabin during the battle after the baby-carrier broke free. Thank you. What do you see, looking at me, out of curiosity?" Bluebell laughed quietly, as she tip-toed over to her sleeping little brother, Upsilon, to put a blanket on him. "You better watch out,Little Lime! Mother's curiosity has NO boundries!" Bluebell kissed Upsilon on the cheek and patted him on the head, to the surprise of the others. She shrugged and whispered,"It seemed appropriate at the time! Uh-oh! The other twin is out,too. Violet just went into sleep-mode in my seat! Lazy oaf! Can I poke her,Mom?" Rose shook her head. "No...let them sleep. Upsilon is suffer from frost-bite. First case in Cyclops history." Slicey interrupted,"Hooray. Our patrol made history." Rose gave her an irritated look and continued,"AND Violet has been flying her fingers off and worrying about her twin brother and family. It's been a long day for everyone. In ANY event..." She looked at Lime, and said,"You were about to say....?" Lime swallowed and said from her heart," A woman who loves her family, and take command very seriously. You REALLY feel. You have a sense of humor and love your children. You try to be fair and have a probing mind. I really respect that." Rose nodded. Rose said, "You make quick difficult decisions in moments. You feel deeply about those around you. You are VERY smart, and have an innate grasp of technology. You are dedicated and perform duties even to the cost of your own body. I am impressed. ...In your folder, you said you have no family and just out of the teaching creche?" Lime nodded,"Yes Ma'am! Captain!" Thistledown finished wiggling his feet in the crash-couch and muttered, "Oh boy...here it comes!" Rose responded with a quick radio reply. He replied to that and they discussed the matter for a moment. Rose turned to Lime. She started slowly,"You have needs that life on a space-ship cannot fill. This is a duty, I willingly, and even joyfully accept. Lime...Would you consent to being my daughter?" Thistledown exclaimed,"I concur! She's a keeper!" Upsilon murmured,"Please be quite, I'm sleeping." Lime gasped, and looked shocked. Bluebell said,"I concur, as well. Lime has been very helpful to Narchi and Jeet. I'd welcome a new little sister into the family, even one as weird as ours." Lime grasped Rose's forearm and hugged it. She sobbed out an affirmative of some kind. Slicey said, "She needs to work on her transmissions. Noise to signal was pretty close to one on that!" Rose gave Slicey a hard look. Slicey shrugged and exclaimed,"It WAS!" Violet punched Slicey on the thigh and growled with her eye closed, "Shut up! Sleeping!" Bluebell looked over at Slicey and whispered,"We've overstayed our welcome. The family needs to sleep. Including YOU!" Outside the room,Slicey said,"She'll adopt anyone!" Bluebell yawned, and patted her cousin machine-life on the shoulder and said,"...INCLUDING you, you mean?" Slicey shrugged off the hand and stalked off to bed. Bluebell shook her head and did like-wise. --TO BE CONTINUED!--