“14 hours?” Alyssa asked, remembering how it went for Cra.


    “Probably” John nodded in reply.


    “Sleeping off her big meal” Alyssa said fondly, gently stroking the redheads massively engorged belly, the pale skin stretched taut like a drum. She covered Sparks with the duvet, to help keep her nice and warm.


    “I haven’t forgotten about your revtion, by the way youngdy” John admonished Alyssa gently, tapping the side of his head and raising an eyebrow.


    Alyssa at least had the good grace to look guilty. He wrapped her up in his arms and she looked up at his face, watching for his reaction as theyy there together.


    “Before we get into all that, let me just say you were amazing today” he said appreciatively. “You saved us from a nasty ambush that we almost certainly wouldn’t have survived without you”.


    Alyssa grinned happily up at him, overjoyed at making him proud of her.


    “Oh and that shot that took out Seb’s hand!” John said, astonished. “I would have been wary taking that shot, but you executed it wlessly” he said truly amazed.


    “I know you disappear off to practice at the firing range a lot, but you’ve either got very good or very reckless!” he smiled, suspecting he knew the answer.


    “I wanted to be able to protect you and Cra” Alyssa said simply.


    “I know what you mean” John said, kissing her soundly. Alyssa sighed happily and her lips moved to match his tender kisses.


    They eventually parted lips and John leaned back to look deeply into her sky-blue eyes.


    *Now it’s time to talk about something else* He thought for her benefit.


    Alyssa smiled looking bashful.


    “So when did this start exactly? Have you always been psychic?” he asked curiously.


    Alyssa shook her head animatedly “No, It started off with just being able to feel your emotions” she exined “then one day I started to be able to hear your voice in my head”.


    “Why didn’t you say anything?” John asked.Têxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    “Well at first I worried I might be going crazy” Alyssa admitted “Then when I realised I was listening to your inner voice, I ended up just constantly tuning in, as it was fascinating to hear what you were thinking”.


    “Hmm” John said dubiously. He wasn’t sure if he should feel vited, or worry about his young lovers budding new abilities.


    “Oh please don’t think about it like that!” Alyssa said with rm. “I didn’t tell you, because listening to what you were thinking helped me say the right things to you”.


    John looked confused.


    “Ok, do you remember when we first went into the Commander’s ready room and you were feeling a bit intimidated about takingmand over your old ship?” she asked carefully.


    “Yes, it was hard getting used to being the one in charge” he admitted, nodding.


    “So then we had some fun and you were very masterful, do you remember?” she said gently, trying not to make it sound like she had been manipting him.


    John remembered very well that feeling of dominance when he hosed her down in the ready room. He realised with a start that from that point onwards, all lewd jokes aside, he really had felt like he had marked his territory and he hadn’t been troubled by the same feelings of insecurity.


    “Or when you’ve been dwelling on bad events from your past, I just distract you a bit, as I don’t like seeing you get sad” she exined sincerely.


    John thought back over thest several weeks and found himself suddenly aware of the dozens of times she had subtly been listening to his thoughts and then had done something to make him feel better. All those asions when he thought she was just being very perceptive. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, having gained a newfound appreciation for his young lover.


    Alyssa sighed happily, he had understood her benign motives after all.


    “Ok I admit, I love the way you’ve seemingly been able to read me like a book and react to what I’m thinking” John said, realising it was true. “but why did ite as such a shock when you read Seb’s mind?”


    “Well for two reasons I guess” The beautiful teen said, thinking to herself. “You’re inner voice feels so lovely in my mind, you’re nearly always thinking nice thoughts. Seb’s voice was angry, dark and ugly and it was unpleasant to suddenly tune into it”.


    “Also, that’s the first time I’ve heard anyone else’s inner voice except for yours, oh and the Bolon of course” she rified for him.


    “What about the Bolon?” John asked confused.


    “Oh I think they’re psychic” she told him nonchntly. “That one we met at Port Heracles spoke to my mind. He was very nice and polite” she said, remembering the kindly alien.


    “Well I’ll be damned!” John eximed. No wonder the Bolon had such a reputation as sharp traders!


    “Wait a minute” he said “What about Cra? Can you read her thoughts too?”


    “No” Alyssa answered honestly. “A few days ago I started to pick up emotions from her, but I can’t read her mind” she said casually.


    John tapped his chin thoughtfully “Do you think she’s going to develop this kind of ability too?” he wondered.


    “I don’t think so” Alyssa said confidently. “I’ve not read any kind of unusual panic or worry from her, she just seems very happy and content” the young woman smiled as she focused on the tiny presence in her mind that was currently surging with those emotions.


    “My empathic abilities manifested after only a few days and Cra’s been with us for a couple of weeks now” she exined.


    “I don’t want to keep any secrets from her, but I also don’t want her to freak out. I honestly have no idea whether we should tell her or not” Alyssa admitted.


    “Let’s just keep this between us for the moment” John said. “both Cra and Sparks have gone through a lot recently, so let’s try not to throw them any more curveballs than we have to”.


    Alyssa nodded her agreement.


    “So how does it work exactly?” John asked curiously. “Can you just delve into my mind and find out anything I know?”


    Alyssa shook her head. “I just seem to pick up on what you’re thinking about at the moment. It’s actually very soothing having you in my head, so I’ve been pushing how far I can pick up your thoughts. I hate not being able to hear you” The beautiful blonde admitted.


    John’s curiosity was peaked “So what range are you at now?” he asked.


    “nearly 500 metres” Alyssa said casually “The ship isn’t big enough to test any further”.


    “500 metres! Wow, that’s incredible!” John gasped.


    “It was hard to start with, but the more I practiced, the easier it became to extend the range. Anything up to 500 metres is effortless now” The blonde exined.


    John nced at the clock on the wall. “Come on, let’s not keep Cra waiting” he said and they both got up and stretched.


    “Thanks for being so honest with me” he said as he pulled Alyssa in for a hug. “Just let me know if anything else changes” he requested, his concern for her ringing in his voice.