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“Good morning. Good morning!” The tinny voice came over the loudspeaker.
It happened every 0700 hours, every day, since they arrived on Mars, 3 standard years ago in 2097.
It was approximately (you know Earth date) March 17, 2100, and after surviving another panic at the change to another century, things had calmed down on the station. You know other than the influx of panicked peoples who had arrived back in December thinking the world was ending. You know... back on Earth.
“Why anyone would think they wouldn’t be affected by a disaster like that here is just... stupid,” Willow muttered her half-awake brain already thinking about the day.
“Ugh... Wa??” Came from the figure beside her.
Tara had been on and off sick since the influx had arrived, bringing with them the common cold that somehow had not arrived on Mars until then. Last night was the start of the latest round when Tara complained of being all achy.
“Hey Tare-bear, How ya feeling?”
“I feel fine.” She said but it was hoarse, raspy and kind of gurgle-y.
“You are not fine Tara. This has been going on for three months!"
Willow started to get out of bed and Tara tried to follow suit.
"Oh no, you don't missy!"
Tara gave a pouty frown.
"You need to rest and I need to find a cure. In fact, I have been researching some old texts and testing samples and I have an idea." Willow imperceptibly winced.
"What is it."
"What is what?" Willow replied meekly.
"You have an idea that I *cough* am not going to like, don't you."
"I... uh... I... have to go outside."
"You can't do that."
"But I need to."
"Why?"
"Because."
Tara had to only give her a look to ask the question again with the unmentioned qualifier of 'you better give me more detail than that.'
"I need an ingredient."
Tara merely quirked her eyebrow to say 'Continue...'
"I can make you cold medicine." Willow paused only briefly knowing she would be encouraged to babble in this instance. "The tumbleweeds... I can make you cold medicine from the tumbleweeds. And before you ask, I can't use the samples we have in storage. I tried that already. It was how I figured out it will work. But the drying process loses much of the compound I need so I have to get it fresh which means I have to go outside."
As Willow explained the necessity Tara's face softened from her earlier expressions. She said simply, "Okay."
x-x-x-x
"Hey, Jude," Willow said, pressing an intercom button near the stations outside entryway. There were two main ways in or out. This was to the surface. The other was a bay to the shuttles and ships, including the short-range vessels that could be taken to the station on the other side of Mars.
"Yes, sir... uh, I mean Ma'am."
Willow snickered. He was new to the security detail and his previous experience was very military. His previous commander had clearly been male. His response was very habitual.
"I am going to need you to prep me a suit. I am going outside for a collecting mission shortly."
"Yes, sir. uh, Ma'am."
x-x-x-x
The suit was necessary but Willow hated it anyway. It was bulky and heavy but the design was crucial for the cooling system needed to withstand Mars temperatures. The design was also not very flattering.
Willow did not have to stray far from the entrance as the tumbleweeds were everywhere. It was the only thing that had started to grow on the surface. Despite the heat and lack of water, the tumbleweed, specifically the Russian Thistle tumbleweed, was the only thing that had taken root. They experimented with all sorts of plants of course. You know useful ones, but that was back before Willow and Tara were brought on the team. Back even before they had built either station and were running their experiments out of the shuttle they had landed.
The tumbleweed was unintentional of course, as it always is in those cases. But it was the only one that stuck. Maybe it would be the start for a successional change. It would take root in the soil, develop the soil to make it more habitable for other early plants which would develop it more for other plants, so on and so forth. In fact, it was Tara’s team that collected the soil samples and Willow’s lab that ran them.
Of course, they were the bosses and rarely had to venture outside anymore. Which was partly why Tara was having a fit. Also because it was dangerous. Not in a 'crazy martian monsters coming out to kill you' sort of way... No, it was more of a ‘lots of little safety precautions are taken and if any one of them go awry it can very easily become lethal’ kind of way.
Willow fumbled with her sample pouch. She brought out three, wanting to get the tumbleweed in three different stages to see if one would be stronger. Based on the dry samples she suspected she would be going for one flowering but wanted to get a younger one and a dying one too, just in case. Another stroke of luck was the tumbleweed, having no seasons or even real moisture to go off of, there were tumbleweeds of all various stages.
There was also a large number of weeds which had tumbled their way to every nook and cranny that the building design provided. Every once in a while the piles would spontaneously combust. The building never caught fire though, even if it were not fire-proofed, the flash was so quick through the tumbleweeds it didn't have time to catch anything else on fire. Willow knew from second-hand knowledge, as her predecessor had been caught up in a pile once, before when the suits were even bulkier and less fireproof.
x-x-x-x
“Hey, Jude.” The young guard had entered Willow and Tara’s suite as he had a message from Willow.
“Dr. Rosenberg wanted me to inform you she is safely back in her lab.”
“Thank you, Jude.”
“She also had me bring in the mail, Ma’am.”
Tara flipped through the mail as she sat at the breakfast nook in her pajamas and robe. The largest piece was a postcard from Earth. Sunnydale, California to be specific.
Tara tapped the center and it played.
Every postcard from their family back on Earth had started the same. There were noisemakers and party hats. And Happy whatever was yelled.
“Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!” The gang yelled, wearing green party hats.
Buffy, Xander, Anya, and Dawn all left a brief message with their usual hello’s. Filling them in on what had gone on between then at the last one they had sent. Tara was always amazed how they timed it just perfect, the arrival of their cards. They never told her Willow printed them a calendar schedule.
As happy as she was to get notification from her friends, she was feeling better enough that she wanted to see someone else. And she didn’t care if the redhead yelled at her for being out of bed. Tara disrobed, putting on some trousers and a t-shirt, and exited her suite.
x-x-x-x
Willow was happy one of her samples survived. She had extracted the compound in greater concentration than she had with dry samples. She had already prepped the concoction. She was certain it was going to work.
And Tara just didn’t have to ever know about almost being burned up. Willow glanced at her charred suit hanging at the entryway to her lab. Nope, she just doesn’t need to know.
But then the door opened.
“Oh my goodness, Willow!” Tara gasped, as the first thing she encountered was a charred suit when she opened up the lab door.
"Hey," Willow tried to play it cool but her breaking voice betrayed her. "What are you doing out of bed?"
Tara didn't bother to answer, she had a question of her own.
"Did you *cough* get caught up in a flash fire?"
"I... uh... what I mean to say is.... a little bit." Willow squeaked.
Tara was about to go off on the dangers and how Willow should have known better (a talk that she had to give Willow once before) but instead had a coughing fit. Willow rushed to her side.
"I know... I should have known better. But I got what I needed and now you can feel all better." Willow said once she got Tara to sit down and the coughing subsided.
"Here drink this." Willow offered Tara. It was still in lab-ware and looked like it was just scooped out of an algae-infested pond. Tara eyed it suspiciously.
"It looks gross but I added flavor enhancers. It should taste like green tea."
Tara closed her eyes so she would have to look at it and shot it down. Indeed, green tea.
"That's my girl." Willow said.
Tara sat for a few moments, waiting to cough. Instead, her achy muscles felt less achy, the gooey-ness in her sinuses disappeared, and she felt better.
"Hey... I feel better."
"See. Totally worth me almost getting..." Willow started to say until Tara got that concerned and irritated combination look that only Tara could pull off. The one that made Willow think Tara would make a perfect mother someday.
"I mean... hey you feel better. Great!"
Tara was feeling better. In fact, she was feeling more than better... She was feeling... frisky.
Tara smirked her sexy half-smile. "Willow... I think there may be a side effect..."
Willow, whose body automatically reacted to that smoldering look Tara gave her, was fighting with her brain at the choice of words. She was excited and concerned and it was confusing.
Tara stood up and wrapped her arms around the redhead, kissed up her neck, sucked on her earlobe and whispered "A very good side effect." The confusion was gone.
Another sexy smirk. "Race you to the room."