A man in white ported to us. "What happened, Ryonne~? He should not be gray!"

Suma moved, and Neal sweated!

Ket pulled her to the sofa. Waved his hand between them. "Habis maif, you are linked! Sit here, so I can help him! How could this happen, to an Elshar?"

Ryee and I shared memories with him and he paled. His hands trembled as he spread them across Neal's forehead. He groaned. "Do not try to speak. Rest, while I see you."

Suma worked on holos while she rubbed his arm. Everything but the sofa vanished. Tears kept coming. I'll have to leave Earth. Is that bad? I liked living on Ye~ with him until the slavers came.

Finally, Ket smoothed his wavy blond hair. "He must rest today. How shall I call you?"

"Suma. Is he okay?"

Ket sighed. "I do not know what to do for him. Imwa! Tomorrow I shall see him again. I wrote a prog for several herbs to treat injury —"

"He is hurt?" Suma cried.

"Esta, but I think I saw him in time to prevent permanent damage. Pirad can help him, if he will not scare you. Let us go to the ship." Ket had blond hair with dark streaks at his temples. He waved.

The green left us in a room with her furniture. "Will this please you, Suma? I will put a bed for him, but you must share it, or he will fare worse." A Zheien bed appeared against the opposite wall.

Suma paled! Neal groaned. "Oh, it's okay, Neal. You have to —"

His eyes snapped open. "Ket, you can't—"

Ket held his head. "You are linked. She must touch you. I only saw Zheien in this situation! If she leaves you, both of you will die! You must marry, today."

He cried. "I can't force a maiden —"

"See my memories? You are half Ishah, so maybe that is a factor."

He shuddered, and yellow sparkled on his arm. "Imwa."

Ket touched the yellow and studied it. "Sleep. If you keep waking, you will be too ill for me to save you!"

"Suma needs —"

"She needs you alive. I can't give any more herbs. Sleep now." He slid his arms under Neal and made sure Suma came to the bed also. Ryee helped her get on the bed so she laid beside him on the leiwege. Then he bent it to hold his head up and his arms out. He sighed and relaxed.

Suma tried to put her head very lightly on his arm. Ket pushed it down. "Rest. You will not harm him. Does your head hurt?"

"I got a migraine. All those rats! There's mold."

Ket waved and an aandat appeared in a clear box, white gel that undulated. "Did they explain aandats to you?"

"Adia showed me. I'm ready." I'll never have a cold or COVID again! Or need a bathroom! A living swimsuit.

Another wave and the clear box vanished. The aandat flowed up Suma's ankle. Ket's eyes turned light. "Good. It didn't move fast. You should get telepathy in one to three days. And this should help your headache." He waved so she saw. An Elshar herb.

Her body relaxed. "Oh, that's better!"

"You can sleep. I'll be sleeping up here at your heads, in case either of you need me."

"Thanks, Ket. I won't be scared with you here."

He chuckled. "That is what healers do. I am happy Ni found you. He is a lonely man, Suma. When you wake, I will be happy to help him marry you." He tucked three leaves of yllis between Neal's lips and hummed. They slept, and Ket planned to give them first vek ea, then yllis. But that yellow glow brightened.

Neal surprised Ket by sitting up. Looked at my husband. "Could you try to separate us? Your telepathy is legendary!" His anguish came to me.

Suma startled and pushed him against the leiwege! "No! I don't want to be separated! I want to marry you, right now!"

Neal giggled. Waved an Elshar Marriage Petition. The Elshar Heizghan version had flowery language. Some Areonian Elshars did that. "Oh, just write your signature, like you would on any legal document." He waved up a web site with beautiful wedding dresses.

"This isn't just any legal document! We're getting married!" Suma sighed. She'd always dreamed of a big church wedding, but she didn't even have a church in Atlanta. This was her first job, with Atlanta Schools. Her car was an older model with high repair bills. We heard echoes of her thoughts, though she tried to control them. Without telepathy, it is impossible.

Neal assured her he would work hard to pay her bills and school loans, but Ryee showed him how to use the ship's credit card. Earthans in Rainbow always worried about their debt, so M'Naga planned ways to make Earthan money, to pay any person's debt so they could leave Earth if needed.

Ryee moved her car into her alt storage. Asked a diplomat to help Suma with her bills, so she could rest.

But we dressed in our formals and Neal now wore a white version of his diplomat's uniform. "I am sorry I could not arrange a church wedding—"

"Who would we invite? All my friends—my fosters died of COVID so I just lived in the dorms at GSU. This is fine, Love." Her eyes filled.

Ryee touched her arm, but she flinched. "We are your friends, Suma. You helped us much, in Rainbow. Molly is already on our ship, but she will leave for school soon."

"I don't see how I could help anybody! I'm an alien." She rolled her eyes. Looked down.

"I do not see you as that." Neal pulled her chin up. "You are my beautiful wife. Sign, so you may rest. Later, we will speak to your landlord."

Our diplomat smiled. "I sent them an email and a payment for the rest of your lease. They will be happy, for their waiting list is very long. I also paid all your utilities and paid off your car. Your school loan is paid in full. There are 144 boxes of dark European chocolates in your alt storage also."

Suma giggled. "Wedding present? Neal, want one?" A wave, and she held a box. "Wow! This must've cost a mint!" Her happy smile vanished. Ket pushed his finger from a lumpy chocolate to a smoother one.

Ryee caught her attention. "Ne concern. We recycled garbage in Atlanta and told officials of our plan to use the funds. They approved."

"I'm surprised!" She shook her head. Took a chocolate. Her favorite brand.

"Atlanta is grateful we have solutions for the poor. They will meet today in their City Council to discuss this. But we are free to pay bills for anyone." He smiled.

"Thank you! I feel guilty, with so many homeless people." She looked down.

"See our efforts! Many diplomats wish to practice English. Here is a large homeless camp in Atlanta."

Suma stared into the holo. This area was a sea of tents. People stood in lines at tables. One served meals. Another gave clothing. A large mobile clinic accepted patients. Other tables had signs telling of programs to provide housing. "Oh, that's wonderful! Can you help kids at my schools?"

"Give me their names, and I will send diplomats to them now."

She started to name them but records from her work computer came up. Diplomats ported to each family.

Neal pulled her wrist to the holo, still up. "Suma, dear, please marry me. I promise, when we go to Rainbow, we will have a church wedding."

Suma hugged him. "That doesn't matter! I love you, Neal!"

He hugged her back. Trembled. "Are you sure, Suma? I'm too big--"

She kissed him on the lips and we looked away, but I smiled. He trembled. "Maybe you should lie down."

Ket laughed. "Maybe he should marry you! He's all right."

"He's shaking all over!"

"He's half-Ishah! They're like Zheien in some ways. His emotion's shaking him." Ket's eyes turned light. He is not worried now.

Neal took her hand to the display of wedding dresses. "What pleases you, Suma?"

Nothing pleases me! I—he'll want a divorce! And, he—but I remembered all the times I cried and couldn't keep it from him. Neal loves me. He loved me there. He loves me now. Websites with beautiful wedding gowns. So expensive. Why waste so much money—she looked down.

Neal took her face in his hands. "Stars are pale beauty above you, who outshines the sun, Kishan in the morning, the most beautiful one." Light from the sunrise filled their room.

"Oh, that's b--" Suma sobbed.

He turned the holo towards her. "Don't look at prices. This is our wedding day, Beloved! Pick something that makes you feel like a princess. Doug will take Jen among shops with these things to know what she likes. I want to know what you like, Suma."

"Okay." She looked. "I like the sleeves on that one. Puffy sleeves, yeah! Plunging neckline, nope! That one's too lacy. I like satin--"

Neal waved up another screen. Made a satin dress with ¾ sleeves and pearls all over it! Lace on the shoulders made ruffles, but satiny puff sleeves now. Satin, and satin slippers!

"Oh, that's the most beautiful dress I ever--" His wave put it on her! Suma rose with help from a containment she wrote, and danced around the bed! The full skirt swished around her ankles. She moved gracefully.

He leapt off the bed and wore a white satin tuxedo with his diplomat's sash that had features to match the dress! Suma caught her breath! Neal danced them around the room.

"Love, you did it! I feel like a princess!"

Another wave, and he held a sparkling necklace with huge, white stones! White metal in shapes like ringed worlds. "Oh, I feel like a queen, now!"

He put it around her neck with a motion, then knelt. "Suma Marion Cliatt, School Psychologist Of Earth, I love you! Will you marry me?" He waved, and the document with a lot of decoration came near them. "I, Ni'olmai, Diplomat Of Elshar Heizgha, by the Ancient Protocols of Zhea~ and Ye~, and Atlanta, wish to marry you. How do you answer, Dear?" I liked his idea, to recite a Zheien petition. They are Yeff citizens. Ryee gave Neal and Doug citizenship when they moved to Ye~. His short father ran in!

Suma giggled. "Ni'olmai, Diplomat Of Elshar Heizgha, I, Suma Marion Cliatt, wish to marry you! Yes!"

He drew his namesign on the document on the right, a Zheien namesign, which surprised Ryee. Not many Elshars take time to design one. Suma took a golden pen and signed her name. Then they put their handprints, his right, her left. It turned blue from red. I smiled.

His father hugged them both. "Oh, I am happy I witnessed your marriage! But, Ni, you are pale! Ket—"

"Do not fear! They can rest now." He nodded, and their marriage clothing melted into white tunic and pants for Neal and a white dress for Suma

Neal's short father helped him get into his leiwege and bent it. Ket lifted Suma into Neal's arms. "Now, sleep. Tomorrow you may be alone."

Suma lost her happy smile. Neal hugged her. "Dear, I will not ask until you have comfort."

She returned the hug and they slept quickly. Ryee looked at Ket, but he smiled. "Do not worry. Pirad is coming now to reclone them."

Pirad appeared on the bed and merely put his hands on their heads and a white flash startled both of us. He is gone.

Ket smiled, so we left.

An Elshar Zheien trader passed by me and I took his arm. He saw memories. Oh, this is Asha who married Ray! He startled and ported to find her.