"Soooo, is anybody having children thanks to hearing what happened in the other dimension. And is Thomas coming out?" Agatha looks over at Josette.

"Lois and Lana, Maria and Elena. And Ma and Pa. There's probably going to be younger brothers or sisters for the Covingtons, the Sanders, Principal Madison and Professor Druid, and maybe President and Mrs. Bartlett. If we're not pregnant it's not for lack of trying. After hearing what happened to them it reminded a lot of people about what happened to Earth and how healing a baby hug is." Nods from the others. "Thomas is coming out in about three years, that will be more than five since the virus was released on Earth and by then they should know how bad off they are. The death rate is increasing, not that it wasn't expected as people finally realize what's going on. They're looking at major economic problems in about ten years when schools start shutting down since there's no students. And big business realizes that people aren't buying the stuff they keep churning out, let alone when older workers retire or die and there's nobody to replace them."

"Infrastructure."

Josette nods. "Older workers are going to have to train younger ones to keep everything running. And sooner or later there won't be enough people to handle everything. Not like here where everything's pretty much foolproof, the solar panels charge the batteries or you pedal to charge them. Or tap into an alternate power source when the panels aren't charging."

"The waste units are pretty foolproof too but you're going to need people to run treatment plants and water companies unless you want people dying quicker from illnesses caused by bad water. You'll need somebody who can keep the propane or natural gas flowing to homes or you'll be freezing in the winter. Unless people have their own gardens they'll need a way to transport food and other stuff to stores. . ." Nods. "Thomas is giving them 80 years if they can't have children, just talking about what they'll need I'm thinking less than fifty. Especially as the older people die and cities are abandoned."

"Are you going out?"

"To help tear down abandoned buildings, I know they want to return to Earth if possible if those people who were offplanet at the time can still have children, but they won't need a city the size of Manhattan, LA, Denver, or DC for years."

The cookies and kits are passed around, Josette bringing out the quilts she'd been working on that year and sending the files to Agatha. Dishes, containers, and crockpots are all washed up after the leftovers are shoved in Josette's direction. Sniggering she flips everything back to the dorm and helps sort out what goes where. Everybody heads off and Josette returns to the dorm, putting everything away and sniggering as David holds a PADD over her shoulder with a message from Franklin about how there'd be at least two new babies at Four Freedom Plaza in the next year.

"Who else you think? Pat and Bethany?" Josette's 'duh' is unmistakable. "Clark and Thomas?"

"Probably. Everybody was hit hard by what happened to the other dimension. I'm sure a couple of people are pregnant on the 9th planet."

"Do you think the tenth planet will have children?"

"Possibly, Doc has his wife's body so he can use her DNA in the chambers. Pat was talking to Pat about having new babies and grown great-grandchildren." David sniggers. "Is the death rate climbing there thanks to the climate changes?"

"Yeah, between the hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic activity it's skyrocketing. They're not having the massive deaths that we did but people are holding off having children until they can figure out what's going on. Even the dimmest person can see the so-called experts 'everything is fine' nonsense is just that, nonsense. They don't know what the hell is going on and people are losing faith in their 'we can fix this, everything will be back to normal, don't worry about it' stories, especially when their 'fixes' just make things worse."

They head upstairs to feed the fish and check on the clams and other bivalves growing in the new areas before joining the others at dinner.

Doc and the others from the 10th planet take a break from getting settled in to come to the Lights Festival, the ones who hadn't come to the festival before turning around in the street to take in all the decorations.

"I wouldn't have expected winter to be so festive on an agricultural world."

"Crops are all in and people have a chance to relax."

The paella and roasted chestnuts are a hit, as is the warm cider. The news that Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad, and Thomas and Clark have babies in the chambers is met with a 'and?' look that has more than one person sniggering.

Thomas and the others are looking over locations to settle, talking to the others about what it was like coming out, Mr and Mrs Kent shaking their heads at the differences between the two farms as Ma and Pa just held their eldest son. Clark had been stunned when he saw Lois and Lana, even with a few lines in their faces and silver streaking through their hair he thought they were beautiful and Kara and Clark had taken the Kents out to locations Thomas thought the farms could be located while he and the others talked about what was happening on Earth.

Back on Earth everybody blinks when they see they'd only been gone a moment.

"That is convenient." Jonathon says.

Thomas nods. "Doc plans on commuting back and forth to his Earth. They're in the middle of climate changes similar to what Josette's Earth went through."

"Son, how difficult would it be to add onto the farm like they had?"

"Not that difficult, adding the solar panels can happen when we take care of the roof. I'm sure there's waste units here similar to the ones there that can be added onto the farm, if not we've got the schematics to build one since they'll be needed on Mars. Taking the farm off the grid might take a few weeks. You'll want some type of backup generator with another power source to make sure the furnace, stove, and hot water heater don't drain the solar panels. From what the others said most buildings that have them have them set up to automatically kick in if there's a major drain on the solar panels otherwise they kick on after the solar panels aren't producing and the batteries have been drained to a certain level."

Back on Haven Josette slides into her seat at the government building. The others look at her, David who's snickering, then back at her. "Yes, I'm pregnant, yes, it's multiples. Quads for the twins, triplets for me and Susan. Lord Apollo confirmed it just now."

The others look at Doc. "Yes, Pat and Bethany are pregnant, it should only be one child though."

"Oh really?" Sue asks when Josette grabs a couple carts and start tosses yarn and other stuff into them. She holds up a package of gift bags and Josette nods, they're put in a cart.

"Yep, the twins are having quads while Susan and I are having triplets. Pat and Bethany are also pregnant, as is Susan Richards on Archimedes while Professor Parker and Johnny Storm, Clark and Thomas, Lois and Lana, Maria and Elena, Ma and Pa, Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad, Principal Madison and Professor Druid, and President and Mrs. Bartlett all have babies in the chambers." Everybody in earshot is cackling. Josette looks at the carts and shrugs. "I can replicate more if I need it."

"Did Thomas settle on a spot yet?"

"They figure on this year. I've been bringing supplies out already but I'll bring out more once a spot is settled."

"Year after next?"

"Or early the year after that, that will be over five years on Earth. . .If somebody was able to be pregnant they would have by then." Nods from everybody in earshot as Josette sits on a stool and leans back against the counter after paying for everything and sending it back to the dorm.

"Supplies?"

"The factory is making a batch of formula, the diaper service has been told of all the expecting parents, the others are checking over the nursery and getting in more supplies. We planned on getting pregnant while we were offworld after Thanksgiving so we were getting in supplies."

Heading to the quilting stores Josette brings out her notes and starts putting bolts of fabric on the table. Marian chuckles and starts helping her cut and sort it into the bags Josette brings out.

"Good thing you go on every offworld harvest so you can afford all this."

"Tell me about it, and this is just part of it. I gotta go to Agatha's next."

"You're going to be working on your quilts for decades. And working on books." Josette sighs and nods, stopping at the bakery to get a couple bags of snacks and then walking in Agatha's. Everybody there is smirking and she knows the news has already made the rounds. There's a pile of bolts on the table and Josette grabs a few more before they start cutting everything. Josette checks out and heads back to the dorm, finding the girls in the nursery checking the now full shelves and dressers.

Putting the bags on the shelves she starts lining up the gift bags, adding a half-dozen extra for the 9th planet and Momma Clarinda who'd been giving her husbands indulgent looks when she last saw her and splits off a half-dozen duplicates that grab yarn and needles or crochet hooks and start working as she grabs a quilt bag, checks her notes, and makes a pattern on the replicator. Copying it to plastic she starts laying out the fabric and setting up her sewing machine.

The next few weeks pass and everybody but David heads to Archimedes for their first testing week. Drs. Cross, McNider, and Stark shake their heads but since Allison had a little girl over the first of the year and there's a new McNider/Cross baby in the chamber they can't say anything. Josette gets the news of pregnancies on the 9th planet and sends off a message, the Josette at the dorm looks at it and starts more gift bags. David looks at her. "Dr. Cross and McNider, Mary, Kara, Maxine, and Billy on the 9th planet plus there's at least another seven babies in the chambers." He nods. "The supplier?"

"We're going out our second testing week." They head up to the growing areas, planting some stuff and harvesting others. Josette and the others come back a few hours later and Josette merges with her other selves that had been on Haven all day.

"How is Doc and the others settling on the 10th planet?"

"Good, the crops are coming along well and everybody's getting used to sleeping with the blackout curtains. That so totally do not move in the breezes that still get through so people aren't overheated." David snickers.

By the second testing week all four girls are wearing maternity clothes and everybody starts arriving at the stores, David opening the tesseract to Atlantis. The newcomers to the 10th planet squeak as they take off. "You'll get used to it, all of us have been on the ships at least once a year when we're harvesting offworld."

"Harvesting offworld?" Pat asks.

"Oh yes, we have huge planet sized gardens that take six months to get everything in but it's food for us for the winter. With the time dilation we're only gone offplanet an hour, the food is brought out and more people start canning, drying, or storing it. After our last harvest it's passed out to us. All the planets have them to supplement the growing buildings. The 9th planet has two and Josette only brings out crews to harvest them every other year unless it's a double year since the years are so different and they don't have that many people."

"Yet." Josette snorts. "There's at least twelve babies this year." Coos and awws from the others.

"Do we have one?"

"Not yet, you've just settled on the 10th planet, the growing buildings and offworld harvests didn't go up until their second year on the 9th planet. You'll probably only need one." Josette sends over a list of what they normally harvest and then the list of passed out food after it's prepared.

"We'd be eating that for years."

"Wait until your first winter and see how much food you go through." One of the Edinborough instructors says. Nods from the others. "The communal gardens look big but you're really only getting one or two batches of food, maybe more since I don't know . . ."

"Regular size communal garden, fully planted." Josette says as she sits up. "I figure about five batches per person."

"Double year?"

"Every year the harvests keep coming in earlier thanks to the differences in years. Some years they come in so early we could harvest twice in one year, those years Josette has the robots plant cover crops of rye and barley, they harvest them and Josette just picks up the bags. A good portion of the harvests are like that, while the rest are the ones we harvest." Josette stands up and stretches back and forwards.

An hour later Bronwen chuckles as David opens the tesseract and people start coming through, taking the guest membership slips she's handing out and staring at the buildings. Maps are handed out too and they split up with the flatbed carts Josette and Bronwen are creating. On Atlantis David settles in with a movie until Josette tells him they need the tesseract opened again. Josette looks over at Ellis who's almost begging and she brings out pallets of her books. "Second book was released last year, the other two haven't yet. Marcus knows you're the only other person allowed to sell them. He'll let you know when to put out the other two."

Ellis nods in thanks and a couple employees move them with hand trucks.

Everybody drags through the tesseract ten hours later after Josette moved their purchases to various places on the ship. They settle in the cafeteria with food after taking off and talk about what they'd seen and purchased on the trip back. Josette delivers everything as the others are dropped off on the various planets and the orders for the others who couldn't make the trip are delivered to the stores. David opens the tesseract in Town and everybody walks out, heading various directions.

"Buy a lot?"

"Too damn much." Josette sighs as she joins with her other self and the memories slot into place.

"How do they get around so many buildings on so much land?"

"Golf carts."

"Take out books?"

"Yeah, Marcus knows he's the only other person who can sell the books and he'll let him know when he can put the other two out." Josette sighs and closes her eyes, leaning back against the couch. "Your hellspawn sons are tiring me out, I'm going to take a nap."

About three weeks later Mom, Mom, and Dr. Blake come out, everybody cooing at her daughter.

"Boys?" Mom asks as Josette settles into the couch.

"Yep, I'm asleep as soon as I sit down, I've always got to pee, and I haven't seen my feet in two months. Gotta be boys."

"At least the weather is getting a little better." Alice says. Josette nods. "I've been opening for windows for a few minutes a couple times a week just to get some fresh air. Splitting off a duplicate to head to the first or 9th planet for a few hours helps me feel better, but it does nothing for the lived-in pong of the dorm. Going to be worse when diapers are added." Nods from the three older women.

"Did you talk to your advisor yet?"

"Planned to after I pop these puppies out and take my finals. I wanna get in five classes for my Naval

Academy degree and get in the last four this summer." The three older women nod as Josette flies up from the couch and drops onto her feet, much easier than trying to get up normally. Dr. Blake chuckles, remembering her own attempts to get out of a chair or couch which invariably led to calling for somebody to give her a hand, dammit.

The next week bellows alert everybody to water breaking and the twins and Susan are taken to the medical unit as Josette flicks away with Lord Apollo. David sends the cleaning robots out to clean up the mess as Josette appears back with a basket in her arms. Lois sends out the alert to the diaper service who say they'll be right over with new batches of diapers.

"Identical?" Lana asks seeing the different colored bracelets on tiny wrists.

"Yep, they're three days old. I've got six bottles in the bag and they just got fed." Mary chuckles and leads Josette to the bathroom, drawing a hot bath and crushing the herbs in. Josette hisses as sore muscles hit the hot water.

"Don't fall asleep in there." Mary chuckles as she settles into the comfortable chair that took up residence in the downstairs bathroom. After the water has cooled Josette heads up to her room while Mary joins the others upstairs.

"Josette out?"

"Nearly the second her head hit the pillow." Mary looks at her son. "Pictures were already sent out, congratulations and 'we'll come over when everybody's delivered and you're up to visitors' are already coming in." Mary nods in satisfaction. By the end of that week nine girls and two more boys have joined their brothers in the nursery.

The girls take their tests in the first floor lounge the next week and Josette splits off duplicates to spread manure on the fields and garden. The 10th planet crops had come in and thanks to the help from the others they'd canned, dried, or stored everything. As Josette had said the rains had come and they'd planted afterwards.

"You weren't kidding about how much the rains help fill the cistern, we were pumping hours to fill them." Pat says when she comes out to visit Josette and see the babies with Doc. Pat and Bethany had delivered baby boys a couple weeks after the girls had delivered and Clarinda had announced that she was pregnant with twins.

Josette nods. "We've been doing it for so many years it's nothing unusual anymore. A few hours work with two people or more trading off partway through has it full."

"Have you thought of mechanizing them?" Doc asks.

"Yep, in fact the watering system on the first planet is mechanized since I'm not there all the time. A windmill supplements the solar panels to water everything since the days are only twelve hours. The reason we didn't here is the same reason we didn't build a power plant from the beginning and the robots don't handle all the offworld harvests, we want people to work for what they get. If everything's handed to them, we're repeating Earth's mistakes." Pat nods. "It's still easier that drawing pails of water to water everything, especially in the fields."

"Hey Josette?" CJ's voice is relayed by the communication system to her PADD.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to have the last batch of plastic finished by the Harvest festival."

"I'll pick it up then so we can build onto the second planet lab."

"Thankee."

"I didn't know the PADDs could relay the communication system." Doc looks at her after she's ended the call.

"Part of the latest upgrade to the dorm, it acts as a relay for the intercom, that way we can target individual people instead of broadcasting to everybody."

A door down the hall opens and Doc and Pat blink at who walks out. "Is that why you didn't look pregnant when we were in the other dimension but delivered within a month? And why you were picking up for Bethany and Pat?"

"Yep, I've been absorbing energy to split off duplicates for decades. . .it helps in the fall when we're all heading to Archimedes for our finals but the crops are coming in. I can split off a half-dozen duplicates to continue bringing in the garden and canning while I'm off taking my finals with the others. The other harvests everybody's out in the garden or canning because our first semester the crops just went in and the others don't take classes during the summer unless Dr. Blake is forcing David to get in a couple classes for his degree so he can graduate with it at the upcoming GD graduation ceremony. And the others are usually busy during the summer helping with the yearly crops and offworld harvests."

"Did you always have offworld harvests?"

Josette waggles a hand in a yes/no/maybe gesture. "We had two but one was in February while the other was in November and most of the food was sold to Earth. After some morons started causing trouble we stopped selling to Earth and the food was put away for the winter. Then we lost Earth and over the years the other planets asked us to start growing areas for them. We added a third when the first batch of students from Clark's dimension arrived since they'd be staying."

"Have you ever run out of food during the winter?"

"One year when we had a storm that dumped snow on us when we'd have been putting in the first crops. Everything was delayed that year, we actually had the Harvest Festival with the second crops still in the fields. We've harvested after early snows thanks to the domes but the snow has always melted within a couple days. We warned everybody to plant full gardens since it was unlikely we'd have a third harvest."

"And some didn't?" Pat chuckles.

"Yeah, they were used to seeing the communal gardens as a second source of food while farmers see their gardens as their first source of food. A lot of people planted the full gardens but at the end of the year pantries were looking a little empty. After that year everybody grew full gardens because if the growing areas weren't producing yet you had to rely on replicated fruits and veggies."

"How did you handle it?"

"I grew a third crop on the satellite and we expanded the fields for the animal food. The next year we kept the fields the same size."

"Hay?"

"Thankfully we had a little extra since we only had two crops that year, the last crop was cut and left on the fields as compost for the next year."

"Do you till your plants under?"

"After our third harvest, the first crops we spread manure and till it under a few days later before planting, the second crop we add compost and till it under. Same with the third."

"Have you ever thought of a canning factory?"

"Yes but we don't grow large enough single crops to make it necessary, we'd have to clean the machines between foods, we'd either have to build a factory to make cans or work on the lines so they accepted mason jars, and in the big buildings we have several foods being worked at once." Doc nods in satisfaction. "You have some cans."

Josette nods. "The manufacturing satellite makes limited runs of canned goods. Yes they can be recycled but they're single use where mason jars can be reused until they break. The lids can be reused if you run them through the sterilizing cycle that cleans them and makes the rubber ring new again but we don't use them back to back and we have tons of new lids in our supplies or can replicate new ones."

Josette gets in five classes for her Naval Academy degree over the break and slides into her seat at the government building.

"Hear from Calvin?"

"Yep, the paper was accepted, I gotta talk to my advisor while were out for the show to make an appointment to get on the schedule to defend it. Tell Pat and Bethany we'll head out to Ellis's this fall since they didn't get a chance to explore everything. I've got a membership and they can come as my guests." Doc nods.

"Naval academy?"

"Got five classes in over the break and I'll pick up the last four this semester. I finished the degree on the London blitz during WWII from Cambridge this spring, I'll finish that one this summer, and the cooking degree this fall."

"How is everybody settling on the 10th planet?"

"Good, they've got their first crops in without too much trauma. . ." chuckles from the others. "They've got their second crops in and the work on their buildings is going well. The animals are settling in well in their new environment and they're taking about half the eggs the chickens are laying so they have extras beyond the chicks they'd gotten before they came up." The others nod. "They've offered to help Thomas and the others bring out animals when they arrive."

"Granda's offered the same thing."

"Offworld harvests?"

"Off right now on one." Josette smirks. "I gotta pay for all the yarn and fabric I brought *somehow*." The others snort at her.

"Are we expecting more employees next year?"'

"Yeah, that's something Granda was going to talk to you about."

"Are the older cooking teachers heading home this year?"

"Next. They're going to be talking with others about what they've been doing. Everybody sees the classes continuing."

"Are they on the servers for the future?"

"Yeah."

The summer flies by in a round of offworld harvests and the shows in the other dimension. Josette chuckles as Dexter talks to the boys about a possible book from them before she goes off to get made up for the show. The new books sell well and Josette knows the demand at the other show will be outrageous.

Six weeks later for them they return to Haven and Josette feeds one of the boys and pumps as the other girls come in from putting their stuff away, accepting babies as Lois comes up with a batch of laundry.

The crops start coming in and it's asshole to elbow getting everything canned, dried, or stored along with the offworld harvests coming in. Everybody from the 10th planet had volunteered for at least one offworld harvest, shaking their heads during all the harvesting and seeing people accepting the food to process.

"I can see the need for these, the growing buildings help out during the winter. . ." Doc says after they've come back from an offworld harvest.

"But they're not meant to be your only source of food." Josette nods. "The offworld harvests supplement what you've been able to grow. The communal gardens are large, but spread out among so many people." Doc nods. "That's why everybody who's got a green thumb has their own growing areas and those people who kill plants just by looking at them have other duties, turning compost, spreading it and manure on the gardens before they plant and tilling it under with pitchforks or shovels, harvesting and clearing the gardens, doing more work during the canning. . . In return family and friends either work an area for them or grow extra in their own plots."

They go over for the other show, Josette not at all surprised at the lines of people buying her new book is nearly out the door and every time she looks up it's not any smaller. Six weeks later they return to Haven in time for the yearly crops and second harvest to start coming in.

Josette laughs as she walks into the dorm from picking up supplies and delivering orders in the other dimensions and sees family and friends from the other dimensions gathered around the nursery. Clarinda starts to say something and Josette holds up a hand. "I know, we all knew this would be a multiples year. But after hearing what happened with Thomas's world we weren't the only ones who decided to have more babies. Including Momma Clarinda, who's having twins." Mom Clarinda leans against Black Jack cackling. "Yeah, she's giving my fathers disgusted looks because they've got the 'I am the man' smug look going on at that bit of news. Mom, Mom, President Bartlett, Principal Madison, and Professor Parker are all giving their kids younger brothers or sisters. Lois and Lana, Maria and Elena, Ma, and Clark and Thomas all have new babies in the chambers. Pat and Bethany had baby boys. Sue Richards on Archimedes had twin girls, Billy had a boy, Kara had a girl, Maxine and Mary had boys, and there's another seven babies in the chambers on the 9th planet." They shake their heads and head to the switching chamber to go visit.

Rick looks up as his other parents tap on the door, smiling as they give him hugs. He's got Kara's latest daughter in his arms and they coo at her as she yawns, finally giving up the battle to stay awake against the singing and jiggling. Rick puts her down in the bassinet.

Blinking and yawning Kara leans in the doorway.

"She's eaten once, pooped twice, and just went down."

"Thank you Rick, I don't know why I'm so tired." Rick smirks. "Besides giving birth recently."

"Seasons are changing."

Thomas and the others he'd brought out walk the land of the area they'd selected as Josette and some of the teachers from Edinborough set up a map and lay out locations for fields, livestock barns, equipment buildings, and storage for hay and other animal supplies.

"Josette, can you come out again?"

"Yeah, we'll come out after Thanksgiving, I'll move the supplies you've been getting in and copy more stuff."

"Hay?"

"I'll cut it next year. that way you have a year's supply ahead. And plant crops and a communal garden the year after that so you've got supplies in when you come up."

"We'll have the animals brought up." Calvin says. They begin talking about what kinds of animals they'd need and Calvin and Doc start making notes.

"Josette, would it be possible to bring out a dairy as well as a library?"

"Yeah sure, you have an idea what ones you want? And where they're going?" Doc sends over the files and Josette nods. "Yeah, and with Sanders crews still on the 10th planet you won't have any lack of people to break off and work on them." They look at the others. "We can have all the changes done by the others before we leave." Thomas says. "Clark can stay with me or his parents while his apartment building is being worked on."

"Everybody should have a place that's theirs. How's the work going with the others?"

"Good, with the tech you passed along we were able to bring out buildings to Mars and some of the people who were on the satellite that day are already pregnant. The area around the watchtower is expanding. Josette, can you harvest asteroids for raw materials for us?"

"Sure, give me a list of what you'll need and when it's needed."

After the Harvest Festival Josette is busy bringing in the new students over three weeks, slumping into a chair at the dorm with a container from the chicken place.

"Was this the last offworld trip?" David asks, coming out of his room and wrinkling his nose at the chicken smell. Coming closer he sniffs again and rears back like it was a snake. Josette sniggers and takes another bite.

"Any news?"

"Pictures of my newest brother and sister are on my PADD."

"Awww, they're adorable. Is the diaper place ready for the new babies at the end of the year?"

"Yep. Everybody's got good stocks of formula in and other supplies. We're just waiting on the chambers to open."

"Dissertation?"

"Defending it next week, I've already got the classes finished."

"Are you close to finishing any more degrees?"

"I'll have two more finished next year."

"Got a floor already set up for your books and degrees?"

"Yes, and they look a little bare all alone in there."

"I'm sure they'll survive." David snorts.

"How are you on your degree?"

"Two years in and I'm getting 'you will be going on' looks from the family." Josette sniggers as David moans about how he's horribly abused by the others. Josette plays him the worlds smallest violin.

"I was looking at some of the degrees you've got on your list. 18 degrees for anime, manga, and western animation, not together . ..each?" David asks.

"They're combined degrees from a number of schools."

"Still. . ."

"I know. Japan had a rich history of manga and anime that was lost thanks to the war. . ." David pats her hand and heads back to his room as Josette takes care of the scraps and washes the container to take back before checking on the babies and heading upstairs to the third library, fifteen floors that seem to go on forever filled with all sorts of fiction and nonfiction books. Josette had added the ledger and blue pad from Josette's bus to make it easier to bring stuff out, much to the relief of the others.

"Oh tell me we don't need to enlarge this thing?" Alan moans from the doorway.

"No, not for a while thank you god."

"Is Thomas bringing out textbooks and other stuff?"

"Yeah, he's already got a good sized library from what Alex said but. . ." Alan nods. Heading to her workroom she finishes the top of a quilt before dinner. After dinner she lays out the layers and bastes them together before heading to her studio and the long arm quilting machines.

The next week Josette slumps into a seat at the school administration building an hour before it's due to close for the summer break and closes her eyes after waving the containers of mail into subspace, moving them to the ship. Jane looks at her then chuckles. "Ahhh, that's right. Calvin said you'd be defending your dissertation pretty soon."

"Gods, how can people talk for hours and never get to the damn point?"

"Practice." the school secretary snorts, everybody in earshot laughing. "So did you get it?"

"Yep," Josette opens her eyes. "I'm now officially Dr. Takahawa. . .again."

"You brought the ship?" Calvin asks.

"Pat and Bethany didn't get the chance to visit Ellis's earlier since they were pregnant." Calvin chuckles.

Josette gets raised eyebrows from everybody waiting on her, Pat, and Bethany after the purchases stop arriving at Headquarters.

"Yes, I'm officially Dr. Takahawa again." Josette says as they walk through the tesseract David opens. The others nod in satisfaction. She smirks at David. "You're up next." He grumbles as everybody laughs.

"Have you talked to Thomas?"

"Yes, they're busy getting in supplies. The baby stocks have been wiped out by them and the others. Even with the increased production because. . ."

"Oh god, we've got to have babies someday and need to be prepared?"

Josette nods. "Everybody's getting stocks in of kids clothes in various sizes, diapers, shoes, and everything else. Warehouses are stuffed and I've copied them and they've copied them."

"They're set up on Mars?"

"Yeah, like the JSA's it's got an atmosphere. But they're not actually on Mars, they've got a city started like the ships, not part of Mars and can be moved in a second." Nods from the others. "They've got a growing area there for fresh fruit and veggies while the growing area around the equator on Mars is being looked at to see if it can be expanded. Mars wasn't always as barren as it was. The moon is being worked on and they're making plans for the future. With genetic material and the chambers from Argo. . ."

"Does Thomas have similar chambers?" Josette nods.

The crops are starting to come in and soon Josette and the others head to Archimedes for their finals. Josette's also on the 10th planet with Dad bringing out the Library and dairy. They talk with the others for a few hours and arrive back on Haven before dinner. Josette joins with her other selves and she, David, and Dad talk about what's going to be needed to get them ready for winter.

"Recycling?"

"I'm taking that and some of the wheat and rice later this week once the crops are in."

"How are they coming along?"

"Nice, they've got a building already set up and shelves are being filled with jars of food. The server of recipes is getting good hits and everybody has a list started of what they want to make when they have their own gardens next year. They're also taking the cooking classes."

"How are they handling the harvests?"

"A summer kitchen like on the 9th planet, home kitchens are way too small for a communal garden. That was one of the first things I put up." Nods from the others.

The rest of the week sees the crops in and plants tilled under for the winter. Recycling and wheat and rice are delivered to the seventh planet and Josette slides into her seat at dinner.

After Thanksgiving Josette delivers students and employees to the school and delivers the last of the orders before joining the others at the house. Several weeks later David opens the tesseract and people walk back onto the ship. Back on Haven the students and employees get off before they lift off again. Several months later for them they finally return to Haven and start delivering supplies. Josette's waved up to the front table at dinner.

"Thomas?"

"Supplies are on the ship, I moved stuff to different places while I was there. The plastic factory is busy working on their orders, I'll start putting up stuff next year. I'll be cutting hay for them next year too. And starting gardens the year after that." Principal Madison nods in satisfaction. "The second planet lab?"

"We went out a couple weeks ago to add onto it. Clark and CJ already told me they'd be helping put up Thomas's stuff."

"Is he planning on coming out year after next?"

"If he does it will be later in the year, probably in time for the Harvest Festival. We'll be planting to have stuff waiting on him. They'll have most of the work they need done to the buildings so they don't have to work on them before winter. Clark's apartment building will probably come out later."

"And if they wait until the following year they have the whole year to work on the apartment building." President Bartlett says.

Josette nods. "Either way I'll have the gardens ready for them."

Back at the dorm Josette pins the binding to a quilt and takes it to the machine, popping the pins in a container as she attaches it. Abby holds it up for her so she can take a picture and starts working on the final file. The notes she'd been making as she worked on it is turned into a formal pattern before she goes to bed.

"Soooooo, are we starting another book?" David chuckles the next morning at breakfast. "You've got two years of quilts to choose from."

Josette rolls her eyes. "Yes, I've been working on them but I had a ton of backlogged quilts to choose from for the others. That's why I've been pacing releasing the books."

The question is asked again at the Albatross Nest the next week after the kits have been passed out and the quilts Josette made that year shown. The others nod at Josette's reasoning and offer to allow her to use their quilts, a list of quilts and designers is started. Back at the dorm she checks on the others getting the growing areas ready. Putting everything away she joins the others walking to the dining hall. Knocking the snow off their boots, they brush off their coats and cloaks before hanging them up. Putting the babies in the highchairs they give them bottles and start filling trays, putting them on the tables and giving the babies solid food while eating themselves.

The chambers had started being opened last week, James Percival Lane was back at the dorm being adored by his mothers while his uncle Ethan was being held by his mother and father. Maria and Elena's daughter was in their house on the other continent for a couple weeks while Principal Madison and Professor Druid were taking turns being at home with Mary while attending meals in the dining hall, President and Mrs. Bartlett doing the same with their new son. Adrian was at home in the Covington farm while Alexis is at the Sanders house being doted on by her daddy as her mother rolls her eyes at her husband's antics. At Four freedom Plaza Sue was tormenting her brother as he held his daughter, bossing him around even if he was the father of nine now.

There had been ten babies in the chambers when they were opened on the 9th planet, people scrambling to bring out more baby supplies. Josette had laughed and passed that information along to the diaper service, bringing out shipments of diapers and more pails when she came out.

Back at the dorm after lunch they get the kids settled in a room to play and settle in the living room to talk about their plans for the next year. Summer looks at her parents and rolls her eyes. "Shoo. Off with you. Between the sixteen of us we can keep an eye on the kids for a couple hours if you want to go to the 1st planet even with the rest of the family taking care of their new babies. You're going nuts here."

"How did you get so smart?" David asks, kissing her on the head as he goes off to get supplies with the others.

"Definitely not from you Dad." Josette cackles and hugs Summer. They head off a few minutes later. They wander through the rooms of the new house on the first planet, splitting their time between that and the huts and return six weeks later for them. Summer smirks as she's hugged by her parents again as they gather the kids for dinner. The others come out for the Lights Festival a couple weeks later and settle in meeting rooms at the library or admin building to hash over plans for Thomas's land. A few other buildings are added to the plans for the future, Thomas nodding at the reasoning for those.

"Did you bring out the dairy and library for the 10th planet?"

"Yep and they're working on everything now. They're a little over halfway through their third growing season so it will be ready by their winter."

"Wheat?"

"I took a good portion of that and rice to the flour factory, it should be done by the end of first semester."

"Noodles and pasta?" Josette nods. "I'll take more out after the Harvest Festival so they have it for winter."

"Corn?"

"I took some out to the manufacturing satellite along with potatoes for cornmeal grits, polenta, potato flakes, potato starch. . ." Nods from the others. "The next couple of batches will be canned, the last will probably be dried. If they want anything special, they can always come talk to the mill." Nods from the others.

After the Lights Festival Doc and Josette go to his dimension, picking up supplies and ordering stock for Thomas. Josette slides into her seat at the government building, putting a file on the screen and sending it to the others PADDS.

"More orders?"

"Yep, with the flooding they're having problems with the electrical grid. A lot of places it should have been completely overhauled decades ago."

"Thomas's orders?"

"In and I should be bringing them out this spring." Nods from the others as they talk about the increase in orders.

"How is the library coming along there?"

"Good, I've been reworking their computer system so they can scan the books they want to check out and easily add books to the system. They're going like Granda, shipments from all the publishers."

"Their degrees?"

"The server is being updated twice a year. Everybody expects it to get worse before it gets better."

"Volcanic activity?"

"Increasing, and deadly gasses are being expelled into the atmosphere in some of these blasts so the death rate is climbing."

"We forget how bad volcanic eruptions can really be." President Bartlett pats his son on the back as the baby fusses. Josette grabs the diaper bag and warms a bottle. He thanks her and checking the temperature, pops the bottle in his mouth.

"Yeah, you think of Mount St. Helen or the Hawaiian volcanos, not something like took out Pompeii."

Josette nods. "There was an eruption in Japan, they're still looking for bodies but they figure at least 36 people died. They had footage of the news of people huddled in the climber huts?" Doc nods. "You could see the ash clouds coming in, it became pitch black and debris was hitting the roof like hail." the other two men shake their heads.

They talk about the orders, Josette saying they wouldn't start until the following year and head to the communal kitchen for a late lunch. Professor Druid looks at her husband when he comes into the admin building.

"Josette brought out new orders for us thanks to the increased volcanic activity." He hands over their son and kisses her on the forehead. "I gotta talk to the factory managers." He sends out messages and joins everybody in a meeting room down the hall.

"Thanks everybody, I know some of you were at work. . ."

"More orders? We'd been expecting them."

"Yes, thanks to the earthquakes, volcanic activity, and just general age of the electric grid they've been having problems." They talk for a couple hours then make arrangements to come back later that week.

Meanwhile Josette and David have walked back to the dorm, shaking off the snow and putting on indoor shoes before they head separate directions. Josette heads upstairs to the growing area to check on plants and the aquaponics section while David heads to his room to get in a couple lessons. The others look at them when they come out to walk to dinner.

"New orders from Doc's dimension." Josette says absently. "Increased volcanic activity, earthquakes, and like ours the electric grid is getting old." Nods from the others. "How are you three coming on your theses?"

"Pretty good, I'll be finished next year along with the degree." Susan says, chuckling at the pouting the kids are giving her as they're put in strollers. "Everybody else is done with their bachelors this year?"

"Yeah, we'll be picking up more classes for our theses." Alexander sighs. David sniggers.

"Wanna bet they even give us a year before they start dropping hints about more degrees?" Alan smirks.

"Nope." Josette snickers as they head outside. Heading to the 10th planet after dinner she finds Beau grilling outside.

"Corncobs?"

"Yep. We're experimenting with different cooking techniques. . ."

"Now you have the time and room? Yeah, we did a lot the first couple years we were out on Haven. There's nothing like sitting around as your food cooks outside. Even with all the windows and doors open, sometimes you just want to be outside. . . especially after a long winter."

"When does the first batch of cooking teachers head home?"

"This year with the outgoing teachers and school employees, it will have been ten years for them. We're expecting at least two more groups to come out. . .everybody wants the chance to use fresh food grown locally and the chance to visit another planet." Chuckles from the others.

The month flies by and Josette and the others head to Archimedes for their tests.

"Everybody's going to be finished this year?"

"Nearly. David's going to be three years into his bachelors, Susan's gonna be three years into her masters next year, and the boys are going to be picking up two more classes a year for their masters when they finish the bachelors this year. That will put them a year into it next year." The three doctors nod in satisfaction. "The twins and Alan wonder if they'll have a year before the others start poking them for another degree." Snickers as the buzzer sounds and the others start coming over after hitting the bathroom.

"I heard rumors about more orders from Doc's dimension?"

"Yeah, between the volcanic activity, earthquakes, and the problems with the electrical grid because it's old and everybody depends on it for everything, they're having a lot of problems with being able to manufacture stuff."

"And with all the drain on the system, they can't just shut it down and work on it."

"No, it would be too much time and money. Not that they wouldn't be better off chucking the entire thing and building new. . ." Nods from the others.

"Are you going out to Thomas's?"

"Yeah, third testing week to bring out more stuff and move the rest to the farms or Wayne Manor. End of the semester is deliveries of orders, returning employees belongings, graduating student's belongings, and Christmas. At least I only have to make one trip out for that."

"At least you don't have offworld harvests coming in at the same time." Dr. McNider says. Josette nods. "That would be the cherry on the crapsicle sundae."

After lunch everybody heads back to the dorm, Josette leaning out an open door to bring some fresh air into the dorm as the others do the same. The furnace coming on has them all shutting but it helps a little. . .or they can fool themselves into thinking it helps. The dorms gotta be worse with more people in them and complaining roomies if somebody opens a window.

After dinner they talk about garden plans, Josette's trips to the other dimensions, and the plans for Thomas's land. In addition to hay they'll grow grain so they have a good stock in for the animals when they arrive and Josette has been copying warehouses of other animal feeds.

Midterms Josette takes the first containers back to the school, separating them into four different piles. "Students with families." Jane nods, accepting the file. "Embassies." A second smaller pile. "Employees." A larger file. "And finally the cooking school employees." Josette brings out socks and they count them together as three school employees start on the lists, separating out the containers and calling various numbers.

"Are you bringing out more for Christmas?"

"Probably, the containers were really beginning to stack up at the schools."

"And with break and Christmas the same time, families can come in and pick up the containers and their children at the same time." Josette nods as she brings out containers of socks, her and Jane counting them before they are put in boxes.

"How is everything on Haven?"

"Good, we're laying out the hay and grain fields on Thomas's land, the buildings will start go up as soon as we have enough extruded plastic. By winter we'll have a building for the hay, another for animal feeds, and a third for the food. Next year we'll start the barns, equipment buildings, and laying out and fencing in the pastures. The following year is the garden and crops."

"We'll be out for the Harvest Festival with the new employees and can help. Are you going out to Thomas's dimension?"

"Next testing period to bring out stuff for them and move others to various places there."

"What's the death rate there?"

"Climbing. Some governments are still calling the news everybody's sterile propaganda and trying to prove everybody liars by forcing their citizens to breed Surprise, surprise. . .nothing's happening. And rather than admit the truth it's deny, deny, deny."

"That sounds like most governments." Calvin snorts. Josette nods. A few days later Josette heads back to Haven, sliding into her seat at lunch.

"Bring back the mail?"

"Yeah, two batches. I'll take the containers back in a few days."

"Talk to Dad?" Principal Madison asks from the front table.

"Yeah, he's coming out with the new employees and staying through the Harvest Festival to help with Thomas's buildings." Principal Madison nods in satisfaction. The third testing week finds Josette heading over to Thomas's dimension after her tests, grinning at Alfred when he answers the door.

"Good morning Miss Josette. Masters Thomas and Bruce are in the study."

Thomas looks over at the tap on the door and smiles as Josette comes into the room.

"How is it on Haven?"

"We'll be spreading manure on our fields and garden next week." Josette passes over her PADD, the plans for the hay and grain fields. "I'll be picking up the second order of plastic after my finals. Granda's coming out early since we've got a turnover in teachers and school employees, plus we got the cooking school teachers going home this year." Thomas checks the next screen and nods at the layouts for the barns, equipment buildings, and grazing areas. A third tap has the completed layout with the fields and communal garden added.

"Nice, enough room for individual gardens. . . and plenty of room to grow."

"No use stinting when you've got room to grow. Now, what do you need me to do? And how are the others settling on Mars?" They talk for a few hours before Josette heads off to Brigadoon. She's busy seeing how things have changed since the last time Josette had been there, the information would be shared between all the ships. Josette checks the status on everything being duplicated and settles in the control chair to start moving shipping containers to various rooms on Brigadoon or to the farms. Supplies going to Mars are taken care of by the spacegoing members of the Justice League and Josette will scan them before she leaves for the 9th planet.

Josette sends the files to the Justice Society when she returns to Haven, various people gathering around in the JSA headquarters and looking over everything.

"Can we have that type of city?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't be that difficult to build once we had the raw materials. I suspect part of what Josette was harvesting in the asteroid belt went to the city and what's going up around the watchtower."

Josette slides into her seat at dinner after delivering the containers from Thomas's world to his land. The next week she's busy spreading manure on the fields and garden while laying out hay fields and tilling up ground for grain crops. Now that the ground is thawing Josette brings out the first shipment from the plastic factory, first sectioning off the fields and then starting to lay out the buildings.

Josette settles into her seat at the tables after her finals. She's only taking four classes on the school computer this semester but was picking up three semesters on teacher, including finishing a degree that semester.

"Is this the only degree you're finishing this year?"

"No, I'm a semester from finishing another one but that's it. Everything else I'm either halfway through or starting new."

"Manga?"

"It helps I've been reading and speaking Japanese my entire life, though reading the original and then the translated will be interesting. Especially when it's changed for western tastes."

"Just like when our books, movies, and tv shows were translated for other countries."

"Or we were translating old documents."

"Which is why so many scholars learned the original languages. Both in real life and in fiction." Josette sniggers, knowing Dr. Stark is talking about Buffy and Harry Potter. The others start coming over to the tables as their quizzes and tests are finished and Vincent puts down plates of food as Michael comes to his seat just as the buzzer sounds.

"Have you started working on Thomas's land?"

"Yep, we've laid out the fields, planted the grain and I've laid out the buildings. This next batch I'm picking up in a few days will start framing the buildings and marking the grazing areas."

"Another batch of belonging to take back?"

"Yeah, not as bad as it was a couple weeks ago but I've got some. The cooking school teachers will have more stuff to send back, they've been here ten years." Nods from the other. "I'm taking back orders, picking up supplies while we're gone for Christmas, and the four of us are planning a couple days in Vegas." Chuckling from the others. "I'm also going to Doc's dimension to pick up supplies for the new orders."

"When do they start?"

"Next year, that allows us time to get everything in and a batch ahead before the jobs officially start." The others nod in satisfaction.

A few days later Josette slides into her seat at the dining hall.

"Get the recycling in?"

"And the flour and pasta delivered to the 10th planet. Doc's got the woodworkers making barrels for them for the flour rice, and other bulk foods."

"There's no need for them in kitchens, put them in pantries or other rooms and bring out canisters." David says. the others nod. "I'd say put them in basements but there's no way most people could carry a 40 pound bag up a fight of stairs."

Josette nods. "The store uses a dumbwaiter to get the bags up."

Eighth day the students and employees walk out onto the school grounds, greeting family and friends as Josette brings out orders and drops off more containers of students and employees belongings.

"Did you have anything for Marcus?" Calvin asks later that night.

"Yeah, he knows he won't have much for our shows but with it being so close to Christmas this was a much better time to bring stuff out. The boys and I spent a couple days on the ship making stuff so we didn't short him by bringing everything out so early. In fact I think we delivered more than we would have in a couple months." Calvin nods in satisfaction.

Seven weeks later for them the students and employees return to the school, various family members going into the admin building and bringing out familiar containers that go in their vehicles. Back at the dorm the students line up to have their bags checked as Josette and the others head to the dorm.

"Did you go off to Doc's dimension?"

"Yesterday to finalize the contracts and pick up supplies." Over the next few weeks Josette starts laying out everything on Thomas's land with the second batch of plastic, bringing in the offworld harvests, finishing the other degree she was a semester from completing, and getting in the four classes for her online class. The crops start coming in and Josette's busy with the others for a couple of weeks. The first bales of hay are settled in the building on Thomas's land and the bagged grain going on the ships until the storage barn is built.

The second crops go in and the yearly crops start to be picked. Josette heads off to bring out the new school employees and Calvin looks over the progress she's been making on Thomas's land with satisfaction, then sits down to talk to Josette like they hadn't seen each other just a couple weeks ago for the show, let alone that day.

"Classes?"

"I've got in ten this semester, four for the the degree I'm taking on the school computer and I finished the degree from Oxford on the problems the Department of Education had. I might pick up another semester later, I'm two years into two degrees besides the one I'm taking online and I started another degree last semester. This is a mega degree curriculum though."

"You don't need to kill yourself taking so many classes." He blinks as everybody cackles. "Granda, I've been slacking. There's been semesters when I got in 50 classes, and that was back on Earth when it was only 14 weeks in the semester."

"50 classes?" Calvin moans.

"Three times." David sniggers. "And she nearly hit it a fourth time, I think it was 45 classes and that was delivering twins shortly after the semester started. And spending the whole pregnancy complaining that she couldn't see her feet anymore and giving the mischief gods a rush with her creative cussing every time she tried to get behind the wheel of her van."

"Was that the most classes you took at one time?" He sighs.

"Yes, and most of those were hands-on classes taken here at the school with the classes substituting for ones from the schools. And I always finished them by our midterms, the teachers knew me and gave me the notes for their classes and I took the quizzes and tests in their offices."

"Still counted." Alan chuckles. "Doc just sighed."

The next couple of weeks has Josette heading off to Mom Clarinda's dimension for the boys show. Several weeks later for them they return back to Haven and see how much work has progressed on the buildings even after an hour. Calvin asks Josette how much grain they produce in a year, then multiply that area by ten as well as the other things that will be going in the building.

"How are the others getting ready for their first winter on the 10th planet?"

"Good, I'm picking up orders of potato and corn starch, cornmeal, grits, polenta. . .They're getting supplies of everything in and have barrels set up for bulk foods in pantries or other rooms, filling canisters as they need it."

"Do you see them putting up a growing area?"

"Probably sometime in their spring. Right now they're seeing how the food lasts during the winter."

"Tree crops?"

"They were picking them a couple months ago." Josette reaches out and grabs David. "A pie factory?"

He makes a hmmm sound and adds that to the list of stuff to talk about sometime in the future. "Or having the bakeries and communal kitchens make them after work. It wouldn't be in use all the time."

"Or the big buildings when we're not harvesting. Sausages?" Susan asks, walking past with a fussing toddler that gets handed off to daddy.

"Making them next year. I'm sure we'll have some interest from the new cooking instructors and the 10th planet. We'll make sauerkraut and kimchee at the same time."

"The major problem I see with a pie factory is storage." Hannah says. Josette nods. "That's one of the reasons we haven't brought out a factory for frozen food, not only would we need the factory, we'd need large commercial freezers to store everything until it's sold."

"And a lot of the apple production goes to chips and applesauce."

Josette taps Benton on the shoulder at dinner. "We're probably going to have the smokehouse going next year. Make a list of what you want." He nods. "Fish?"

"Gotta check the supply later but probably, nothing will go to waste." President Bartlett nods.

"What brought this on?"

"We're making sausage next year. It will be winter so I'm sure we'll have a few people from the 10th planet interested. . .not to mention some of the new teachers at the cooking school." Principal Madison nods.

"Did the dairy find the land they wanted for a vineyard?"

"No, they're in talks with Allesandro's oldest son and I to add onto our vineyards for them. The vines are growing on the ships and we're putting up new supports next year. This will more than double the amount of grapes we're growing."

"Even with the cheesemakers. . ."

"I know, Granda wants to take more out to the other dimension." Josette chuckles before she heads off to deliver more orders to the other dimension, picking up supplies there and Thomas's dimension and moving supplies to various places.

"How is it in Thomas's world?"

"Up in the air in some places. Citizens are really cracking down on city governments, they've been failing millages left, right, and center. The governments are whining and being told to make do with what they already have."

"And they don't wike that?" David smirks.

"Yep, they tried cutting essential services to get their own way and lost their jobs. And their special projects got cut. With that gone, there was plenty of money going where it was really needed." Alan sniggers. "But that's not fair."

"Life isn't fair."

The others start coming out for the Harvest Festival, Thomas nodding at the progress being made on the land and talking about the problems happening in the other dimension after dinner one night.

"New orders from Doc's dimension?" President Bartlett asks after Thomas and Clark have headed off.

"Starting in a couple of days. That way we have some already on hand if we get socked in for a bad winter." Josette's busy bringing out new students the first three weeks of the new semester, dropping into a seat at the pizza parlor with four plates of food. President Bartlett chuckles as he sits down across from her.

"Is that all the students?"

"Yes, thank you god."

"We've got more students."

"And more employees. Plus more coming out next year."

"The dorms are filling."

"Yep. Not only are we replacing the students who have graduated, we're getting more new ones. The dorms all have students on some of the floors and by next year probably all of them. And they added onto the dorms nearly twenty years ago."

"I can't believe it's been that long some days."

Josette nods. That afternoon she's upstairs in her studio with some crayons and t-shirts.

"What are you doing?"

"Grating the crayons to make designs on the t-shirts, covering them with brown paper then using a hot iron to melt them, and then adding finishing touches."

"Why?"

Josette shrugs. "Because I can? It's something that's been done and I might end up doing enough for a book. Elaine's talking about doing it for a project in the textiles building. And it's not like it hasn't been done before when some kid forgot their crayons and they melted in the dryer.

"Thank you for not using the dryer."

"You're welcome." Josette smirks. A couple weeks later a line of t-shirts is drying in the studio and Frances and Elaine scream when they see them, running over and taking them off the line to look at them.

"Are you done?"

"Nope, I'm going to be adding some crystals and glitter to them."

"Book."

"Already making the plans for it. Pictures were taken of each step. Bronwen wants a book on my socks so I've been taking pictures as I make them. It's not going to be a patterns book, more of a 'this is what I've done book like this one will be." The two older women nod in satisfaction. "More quilts?"

"I'll have enough for three more books in a few years, not counting the others quilts. I've got lists of quilts and ideas for the books, I'm going to go over them with Agatha and Sue. I figure some of these we've got enough quilts for two or three books in the same area." The two older women nod again.

Josette's midterms she drops off the last batch of belongings to the school. Jane shakes her head. "Is this everything?"

"Should be. Yeah, I know the cooking school instructors have been there ten years and we've had students there five or six. It adds up."

Jane nods. She sends out an e-mail message to Bronwen getting a 'you naughty, naughty girl' back from her as she arrives at the house. Josette snorts and sends her another file. "Agatha, Sue, and I are going to be working on them after the crops are in, we figure we'll probably have at least five books on the quilts." Bronwen looks them over and nods. "Another few years and I'll be able to sit down and start sorting out my quilts."

"Thomas?"

"Going out after Thanksgiving when we make the rounds, no use making an earlier trip."

"How is it out there?"

"One of the smaller European countries that has caused trouble in the past for Superman tried attacking its neighbors and got their asses handed to them for it. The world as a whole is not putting up with terrorists, the head of the country, most of his government, and high-ranking followers were given the death penalty by the world court."

A few weeks later Josette returns to Haven, dropping off the mail she'd picked up and delivering supplies before sliding into her seat at the dining hall.

"Thomas?"

"After Thanksgiving when I'd normally be going out." The others nod.

"Next year?"

"A couple more buildings, I'll pick up another batch of plastic finals. The animal barns will be going up along with the equipment buildings. We got the some of the grazing areas in but not all of them. Year after next will be the crops and garden, with them coming in around the Harvest Festival or spring the following year. It all depends on how much supplies they've got stocked away, how much work needs to be done on the farms, and how bad it is out there."