Page 34 of Proslo

She shook her head. “I was in the hospital when my class was supposed to go to the palace and aquarium tickets are expensive.”

I winked at her. “We don’t have to worry about that.”

“Just be sure she doesn’t overdo it. In fact, I suggest taking a hoverchair for her to use when you take her out anywhere she’ll have to do a lot of walking.”

I nodded. “I’d planned to.”

“I’ll go make the arrangements.” He tapped Kaia’s nose playfully. “I’ll leave you to get to know your daddy better and see you later.”

“Okay. Bye Dr. Michik!”

She watched him go, then said, “This is a lot different than Queen’s. It doesn’t smell as funny and the tests and stuff don’t hurt or take a long time.”

She swallowed. “Will getting a new heart hurt?”

“You won’t feel it,” I promised her. “You’ll go to sleep for a very little while, and Dr. Michik will use nanites to help remove your heart and ferry your blood where it needs to go. Then he’ll put the new one in and the nanites will make it grow new connections.”

“But they’ll cut my chest open and break my ribs.”

I winced. “The nanites will fix those right up as well and it will be as if you’d always had your new heart and never had surgery.”

“Like magic,” she breathed, wanting to believe it was true so much it broke both of my own hearts.

Thankfully, it was true and in two month’s time, she’d discover the truth of it herself.

“It might seem like magic,” I told her, “but it’s simply advanced technology.”

“Like Star Trek,” she nodded and I nodded back at her, having heard the analogy to a human vid franchise before. “So, I’m getting a floating wheelchair and we’ll take the flying saucer back to Hawaii only we’re there for vacation and not to go back into foster care.”

“That’s right. You and your siblings have now been adopted by my mate and I.”

“So Kathleen can’t try to get us back again?”

“Only for vacation if we want to.”

“And she won’t be allowed to come see us?”

“Do you want to see her?”

She shook her head no. “She’s too messed up,” she replied sadly. “Plus, I don’t think she’d be nice to you and my new mom because you’re more regular people. You know, following government rules and stuff. She’d call you child stealers like she did my one foster mom this one time.”

“Well, you don’t need to worry about that. If you don’t wish to see her, you do not have to.” Besides, I knew from the file that she was currently in prison once more, this time for possession of illegal drugs and for vandalizing property belonging to the intentional community farm who’d taken her on in a work trade situation after she’d somehow managed to get a fishing boat to take her to the Big Island. She’d slacked off of her work assignments and failed to pay rent, so had been evicted, but not before she damaged their solar panels, water tanks, a pick up truck, and the one bedroom cabin she’d been staying in.

“Can I talk to Akoni, Maui, and Mo-mo before we go?”

“We can see if they’re available now,” I told her, knowing that Betty would have kept her tablet nearby at all times in case I called..

“Yes!” she replied excitedly.

“Xeranos, video call to Betty please.”

The wall across from the end of her bed rearranged itself to show a picture of Betty and we heard ringing sounds as if a human telephone was alerting its owners to an incoming call. I heard her suck in an astonished breath at the sight, her eyes wide in surprise.

“Hello!” Betty answered. “You caught us at precisely the right time! We just sat down to eat.” She panned the tablet around to show the other three children sitting at a picnic table outside of a food truck in a beach parking lot.

“It’s Kaia!” Maui shouted. “Hi, Kaia! Did they fix your heart yet?”

“They started to! I gotta still get a new one but they’re making mine good enough for now so I get to come back the day after tomorrow! And I’m getting a floating chair!”