Chapter 43: An Old Friend.

It was the second day after Daniel's birth as Amy held her bundle of joy, nursing him according to the guidance of the hospital staff. As she watched him suckle, Rachel slowly peeked into the room with a slight curl of the lips.

"Well now, you're looking much more colorful today!"

Amy exhales with glimmering relief. "Hey there. A lot of things blurred in my mind yesterday. Did I happen to swear at you? I'm sorry if I did."

"Not me specifically, but nobody should fault any woman from swearing like a sailor during the raging seas of a storm."

Amy laughed. "I love that comparison, but I guess it's true."

Seeing how the baby mainly had fallen asleep and wouldn't keep latched onto her breast, she covered herself and held him up.

"Do you want to hold him?" she asked.

Rachel hesitated as she drew closer to the two. "A-are you sure?"

"Rachel, please," Amy assured with warmth in her voice. "You've been by my side for so many years. I trust you."

The short-haired astronomer glowed from her friend's words. Carefully, she picked up the sleeping Daniel from the mother and held him in the crook of her arm.

Her eyes softened as she traced his clear head. "He's beautiful, Amy."

"You're right. Daniel is the only thing I'll ever be grateful from that man."

Rachel clicked her tongue, keeping her eyes steady on the baby. "You don't need to speak of him. Right now, only you and your baby should matter."

"Don't say that. You matter too! How does auntie Rachel sound?"

At such a thought, Rachel stifled a chuckle to not disturb the baby. After rocking him briefly, she passed him back to his mother and shook her head.

"No thank you. Besides, he needs his mother. Not a father, not a friend, and most certainly not me."

She paused, lowering her gaze as she smiled bitterly. "Definitely not me."

"Rachel..."

The astronomer shuts her eyes tightly before leaning forward, gripping her friend's hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Look Amy, forget about my problems. Of course I'll be here to support you both however I can."

Amy giggled. "Rachel, it's not like I plan on asking you to babysit in the future, but...I just want him to be close to you as you are to me."

Rachel's eyes melt before shaking her head. "I have no idea why you'd want that."

"Why, you say?" Amy repeated before gripping her friend's hand back. "Because other than this baby, you're my only other family."

...

..

.

Family.

That's how Amy saw Rachel — a fellow researcher and friend. Although the astronomer retained doubts about herself due to her failure to grow a family of her own, Amy felt nobody was more trustworthy than her.

Nothing is more evident than with Rachel supporting Daniel after Amy's death. Thus, to Anne, immense gratitude fills her, knowing how much the astronomer had done for her sweet artist before she came to exist.

But Anne holds herself, shaking. Slowly, she manages to find her voice.

"Y-yes, I'm Anne. Welcome! I know-"

"Wait, are you okay, dear?" Rachel interrupts, concern drizzling in her voice.

Okay?

Drip...drip...

Anne blinks before noticing water trailing down her cheeks and pattering onto the wood below. Eyes widening, she turns away and wipes herself frantically.

'I forgot to empty my head!'

Thankfully, Daniel comes to the rescue, wrapping his arms around his slime mother and pulling her to the side. He chuckles nervously.

"H-hey there, Rachel! Sorry, I only just saw your text that you'd be coming. Anne was...cutting onions earlier. You know how it is."

Rachel relaxes and stifles herself. "Ah yes, those pesky onions. Sorry for arriving without calling first. Is this a bad time?"

"N-no, not at all! Come in!"

As Daniel takes Rachel's coat, Anne quickly flees to the bathroom to empty her head, figuratively and literally. With so much to process from the conversation about Viviane, meeting the warm astronomer friend was the last thing she expected.

That makes this all the more dangerous. Compared to the slime's exposure to Mary, Anne knows she can't make the same mistake twice. With such pressure, she looks at her reflection in the mirror.

"I'm meeting her for the first time. I don't know her. I can't know her. I'm... I'm not Amy."

But she is. How can she deny that part of herself as incredible memories with such a friend grip her?

Unconvinced of herself, Anne sighs and exits the bathroom. She catches the aged researcher and her son on the couch, then hides behind a smile.

"I'll make some tea for us," Anne declares, mostly to delay any conversation with the researcher.

Worry dresses Daniel's eyes over Anne's state, but he can only hope for the best while forcing his own smile. "Thank you, Anne!"

Rachel grins towards the artist as the slime mother departs for the kitchen area. "Anne seems quite the cutie. Somehow, she's just how I imagined her to be when she answered your phone that day."

Daniel clears his throat. "I won't lie, she is cuter than I expected her to be."

Rachel beams with her eyes close. "Haha, well, I'm happy you've found someone. I hope it works out for you better this time."

"I hope so too. We're pretty compatible and more than I thought after I met her on Tinder."

The cover story enables the older woman's eyes to open sneakily. "Hoho, do I hear a marriage soon?"

Daniel reddens, but such pressing questions are almost traditional around Rachel's age group, so he doesn't react too much. "Right, you're obligated to tease, huh?"

"Well, I'm not going to be disappointed if you don't," Rachel dismisses with a shrug. "Besides, marriage comes with its own problems. If it doesn't work out now, at least you can easily separate and maybe remain single like I am."

"Join the singles club, huh?" Daniel snorts.

Rachel coughs. "Well maybe I'm not the best example. After all, I have no time for such relationships! I travel too much and get buried too deeply in my work. You should know; your mother and I would stay up very late in the observatory, passing papers and exchanging captures from satellites and telescopes."

"I think that's more of a choice than an excuse."

"I won't deny that," Rachel hums. "In any case, take your time. I really thought that you and Mary meshed well, but even that didn't last despite being the longest."

Daniel shifts uncomfortably, knowing he'd have to keep his renewed relationship with Mary a secret less the astronomer finds out about him dating two women.

"By the way, are you two still talking?" Rachel asks.

"Um...yes," Daniel begins carefully. "Last she had to vent to me about a color-blind client."

"Oh dear, that sounds frustrating."

Daniel hums. "She's doing well though, so I wouldn't worry."

"That's good to know. I very much like that drive of hers."

"That aside, how long will you be staying here?"

Rachel breathes out more exhaustedly. "For quite a while, I hope. I'm not as fit to travel so much, plus I'm often repeating my explanations to fellow researchers at conferences. It'll be good just to be back in my home city and usual observatory."

"Dare I ask what's up?"

The astronomer's lips widen. "Up indeed. The latest finding my colleagues and I were presenting is of a galaxy, NGM-4242. Overall, there's nothing special about this just by looking at it. It's mostly gas, but it's..."

Rachel stops, noticing Anne towering behind Daniel and staring intently with sparkling eyes. She was so focused on the artist that she didn't see the cute girl rejoining them with a tea tray in hand.

"Do you need help with that, dear?" she asks, relaxing with a small smile. Her shift alerts Daniel to the presence behind him, equally surprised to not have noticed his slime mother.

Anne subsequently gasps, breaking from her dog-like anticipation. She hurriedly turns around to place the tray on the coffee table before them.

"Ah, sorry! I'm uh...sort of interested in this kind of stuff."

Daniel fidgets, unsure whether it's a good idea for Anne to admit that. With it already out of the bag, he grabs a cup from the tray and takes a small sip to calm his nerves.

As the crooked-smiled Anne sits next to her son, Rachel grins. "Ah, so I was correct about my feeling when we last talked on the phone! I'm sure Daniel has mentioned his mother, right?"

"O-oh yes, of course! He even shared some of the discoveries you and Amy made years ago like with the larger water content on Pasiphae!"

Rachel blinks, stunned. She glances at Daniel suspiciously. "How the hell were you able to convey those? I thought all the research Amy shared would've passed over your head."

On the spot, Daniel gulps. Rachel is correct since it's difficult for him to understand the motions of matter. While he still enjoyed listening to his mother, he couldn't follow every theory or discovery.

"Um...I just shared some notes I had in storage, that's all."

Rachel nods. "Yes, now that makes more sense."

Hurt, Anne can't help but frown at her son. "Y-you don't remember anything that I-I mean, your mother shared?"

Daniel hides behind a chuckle as he pleads to her in his mind, 'Mom, please!'

"To be fair, there's a lot," he defends. "I guess I do remember some specific things like how Europa gets a lot of direct radiation from Jupiter."

Rachel sips her tea before sighing. "That's public knowledge and not anything Amy and I discovered. Look Daniel, you don't have to force yourself to be interested in your mother's work. Having appreciation in our big universe is enough, I guess."

Daniel jerks as if stung and glances over to Anne apologetically, but his slime mother tilts her head away and harrumphs, mentally stabbing him.

While the artist slumps, broken and guilt-ridden, Anne leans forward with bright eyes on Rachel. "Anyways, please continue! You were saying about NGM-4242? If it's mostly gas, are you referring to some kind of irregular dwarf galaxy?"

Rachel raises an eyebrow. "Actually, yes! It's all relative, but compared to most galaxies, this one contains roughly five billion stars."

"Oh? That's pretty small, but if you say there's a lot of gas, then that implies it might be much older, right?"

The researcher doesn't answer immediately, unable to help but grin. "I'm surprised, Anne. You're quite the insightful one, aren't you?"

"Ah..."

Anne lowers her gaze, embarrassed. Although she admitted to being into space, she wonders if she's being too much now. Surely there's nothing wrong with being curious?

Unaware of the hidden friend's concern, Rachel continues with growing excitement. "As for your question, yes! We can say there's been a lot of supernova and shocks, but what's interesting is our theory that it was a major galaxy at one point based on the spread of gas. In fact, our models say it could've been broken up by three galaxies!"

The reveal seems to finally break Anne, who inhales sharply. She lurches forward with wide eyes. "W-wait! You're saying it might've been chipped away by nearby galaxies rather than being taken over?"

Rachel's eyes shine similarly. "That's what's unique about this galaxy! At least so far to our models, it's possible existence is of probability we haven't seen so far!"

Daniel weakly smiles as he can hear Anne's inner squeal. As much as he's worried about Anne going in too deep, he's forced to recognize a lacking aspect in himself that only Rachel can provide: the enthusiasm to explore every part of the universe and its massive history.

As such, the conversation goes on with Daniel essentially relegated to the background with no way to join in or comprehend. All he can do is observe how both of them glow, mirroring times he had seen Amy and Rachel together.

For the two universe lovers, time passes like lightspeed as they discuss various findings and theories. It's only when Rachel's phone buzzes does the astronomer snap from her engaging discussion with Anne. Taking it out, her eyes widen.

"Oh dear, it's already been an hour!"

Anne holds her breath for a moment and pulls back. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to ramble on!"

The older researcher snaps forward and clasps Anne's hand in need. "No, don't apologize! This was wonderful! I haven't had this much fun talking since...since..."

Rachel's brightness slowly fades and is replaced with a lonely, bitter smile. Her eyes glance back to Daniel, who straightens up to attention as their conversation finishes. He already knows what the researcher is thinking.

"Since mom died, I know," Daniel finishes with an equally sad smile.

Anne thins her lips as she averts her gaze. She wants to say many things to Rachel, but feeling Daniel's hand rest on her thighs, she crushingly holds back.

The hidden Amy can only comfortably squeeze Rachel's hand before departing. The conversation she achieved is far more than she could ever hope for.

Rachel leans back and takes a deep breath, rubbing her eyes. "Yes, sorry. I didn't mean to get so emotional all of a sudden. Daniel, your girlfriend is brilliant!"

"She's far more brilliant than I deserve."

"Don't say that," Anne says softly, tugging closer to her son. "You're bright in your own way."

Hearing such familiar words of comfort, Rachel stares at Anne with a heavy heart. Although she may be a woman of science, the girl in front of her makes it seem like reincarnation might be real.

"Anne, you really remind me a lot of his mother. Perhaps that's why Daniel is so comfortable around you."

The artist shuffles nervously at such spot-on observation. Not allowing it to be dwelled upon, he quickly changes the topic. "I-is there something you have to leave for?"

Rachel hums but knows she can't avoid the real reason she came to visit. Like her heart, the air grows heavier around her. "Yes, but first, there's...something I have to tell you."

She glances at Anne, unsure whether to be discussing the findings at the cemetery with someone unrelated. Seeing this, Daniel waves his hands. "It's alright. She can listen too."

Rachel nods, then narrows her eyes.

Where does she even begin?

She sighs. "Something happened to Amy's grave."

Anne and Daniel freeze. Before the artist can break out of his shock to question further, Rachel reaches into the bag she brought. Solemnly, she takes a copy of Lecia's scan and lays it on the table before the couple.

The images laid out shows a bunch of rectangles on a dark background, but most of the shapes reveal black masses inside and bones. Anyone can immediately tell they're graves.

"I have a friend who works at Sights Open. They were doing prototype testing on their new product to help archeologists examine a site with minimal disruption. The Keystone cemetery permitted them to test, and I was invited to witness."

The artist's nervous eyes follow Rachel's finger as she slides across a row on the paper.

"The coffins that are completely white are mostly metal. They can't be penetrated, but majority of the coffins are made of wood. As such, you can easily see outline of the interior and bodies, except..."

Her finger stops at a slightly grey rectangle which shows an outline of the interior...but no body.

"...this one," she finishes, furrowing her brows. "And of all things, it happens to be Amy's grave."

'Fuck.'

After cursing to himself, Daniel swallows. Although he thought everything would be okay since Anne left no traces trailing him, he never could've expected high-tech scanning to be performed.

From his Stonehenge client's company too!

He smiles crookedly and pretends to be shocked. "T-that has to be an error, right?"

Rachel lifts her eyes to meet Daniel's disbelief, then glances away with difficulty. "I didn't want to believe it either, but they ran a few more scans and there wasn't any change. Both you and I know Amy's coffin is mostly wood, so the fact that you can see an outline of the interior and nothing else means that Amy's body somehow...disappeared."

Daniel leans back a little. He glances carefully at Anne, who is more shaken. It's understandable, given she's the cause of it all. As much as he wants to trust the slime to be calm, he can't afford a misstep right now.

"Actually, Anne," he begins softly, squeezing her hand and smiling. "Sorry, but can you give me and Rachel some time?"

The slime mother flinches. Without looking at her son, she bites her lips. It doesn't feel right to hide at such a junction over her actions, and yet, how can she continue to face Rachel knowing the truth?

"Of...of course," she murmurs.

Not daring to look back at Rachel, Anne swiftly takes her leave before the emotions get the best of her. Upon the door to Daniel's bedroom shutting, the artist relaxes and focuses back on Rachel.

"Do all the coffins have something in them?"

"As far as the ones that can be seen through. After five years, at minimum bones should be expected, but the thing is, Amy went through chemotherapy. People who go through that should be even slower to decompose."

Daniel scoffs. "Then how does this make sense? We saw her placed inside. You and I carried her to the plot!"

Rachel's face wrinkles further with tears brimming in her eyes. As she quivers, her fingers dig into her knees. "I know, and I also don't understand how. I'm...sorry, Daniel. This also baffles me, so I debated whether I should even show you this."

Daniel's heart aches as the researcher holds back a sob. Rachel is someone who knows his mother better in some ways than he does, so he feels shitty for feigning ignorance.

But he has to protect Anne. Even if Rachel is a close friend, the artist can't be sure she'll be as accepting, especially if she knew what happened to his mother's body.

Sighing, Daniel pushes back the papers. "Can we check the coffin?"

Rachel shakes her head. "It would be difficult. Not only would it have to be court-approved, but the scans would have to be verified against records by the funeral home and cemetery. I've already visited the funeral home to see their records and nothing is out of place."

"Even if a grave robbery occurred?"

"There'd be some signs to the plot if that were true. Not saying it's not possible, but you've been visiting every month, right?"

Daniel nods, then rubs his neck. "Rachel, I'm sorry, but I can't take this seriously."

Rachel breathes in shakily and wipes her tears. After taking some time to recover herself, she looks firmly into his eyes. "Daniel, I know a lot doesn't make sense right now, but I promise I'll find more information. For now, please continue visiting her grave, okay?"

The artist curls, wishing to tell her she doesn't need to search, but that wouldn't sound appropriate this early on without seeming insensitive. Thus, he can only apologize to her in his mind as he smiles sadly. "Thank you, Rachel."

The astronomer stands up and huffs out in hopes to shake off her gripping worry. "Well, I have to go now, but please keep those copies for your reference. I'll make sure to keep you posted, okay?"

"R-right. I really hope it's nothing."

Rachel forces a smile. "Me too. On a lighter note, I'd love to invite Anne to the observatory at some point."

Daniel obviously has reservations about that but plays it off with a snort. "Just her?"

The astronomer shakes her head silly. "Haven't you visited enough? Anyways, give her my regards-"

"W-wait!"

Anne pops out of the bedroom room in time, unable to let the astronomer go without her knowing. She has her phone ready in her hand with an anxious smile. Thankfully, she's taken the time to mask herself.

"Can we exchange contacts?" she asks, leaning in close.

Rachel blinks before closing her eyes happily. "Hoho, of course, dear. It would be foolish of me not to!"

Daniel's mouth opens in shock, but he can't prevent the exchange. His eyes stare at Anne wildly, wondering what is going through his slime mother's mind.

"I have you saved now. Well Anne, it was pleasure to meet-Oh!"

With wriggled lips, the slime girl presses forward, hugging the researcher in a forced push. It lasts only a second before she hastily pulls away, ready with an excuse and her hands up.

"S-sorry, I just...I tend to get a little attached!"

Rachel's eyes flutter a few times from the unexpected hug before her face breaks with a giggle. Without saying anything to the adorable genius, she turns her head towards the stiff Daniel.

"May I keep her?"

The artist smiles jaggedly as he tries to rein in his apprehension. "Y-you're not the first to ask."

"Oh, how unfortunate. Well, that said..."

Rachel returns her attention back to the wavy-haired girl and extends her hand. "I hope you're okay with spending some time with an old lady like me."

Anne gasps, readily accepting her hand. "Of course! But don't say you're old. You've grown so graceful!"

"Oh dear, have I?" Rachel questions, pulling her hand away to press against her cheek playfully. "Careful, flattery is still effective on me."

The two share a small laugh before the astronomer faces the uncertain artist one last time, patting his shoulder.

"No matter what happens, your mother remains in our hearts. Let's not forget that."

Daniel clears his throat. "Um, right. Take care, Rachel."

The astronomer smiles lightly and takes her leave with a wave. As soon as she disappears through the front door and her footsteps can no longer be heard, the artist relaxes and breathes out.

He plants his hand on his forehead. "Dear god, Anne! Why would you-"

Before he can finish, Anne steps forward and buries her face into his shoulder, wailing. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't leave it like that! Mama is done for!"

"Wait, c-calm down!"

Daniel pulls his slime mother away at arm's length and sees her eyes swirling with panic and shame.

He sighs.

"Mom, listen to me. While nothing realistic can come out of this, you still need to be extra cautious. I get that you're close to Rachel because of Amy, but we can't let anyone get the wrong idea that you're something more than my girlfriend."

The slime mother bites her lips and narrows her eyes. "What if she might...understand? You know, like Mary?"

"Either she does or faults you for eating what's left of Amy. It's honestly shocking. I would have never expected her to be the one to get this close to the truth."

Anne shuts her eyes, shivering. She knows Daniel is right, but...

Amidst her doubts, Daniel wraps his arms around her, holding her tight. "So please, mom. I don't want a situation to happen where you might be taken away from me."

Daniel's words shake Anne, knowing how far and strange she exists to come back to him. Nodding slowly, she squeezes her son back and again holds her face into his shoulders. "Mama...will be careful."

Although not entirely relieved by her words, he has no choice but to accept them as he strokes the back of her head. After a few moments in silence, he lets go but not before connecting his lips against hers.

"Ngh."

Anne sweetly takes her son's love, closing her eyes. As they try to forget their worries, Daniel is shaken by his phone buzzing this time.

It continues buzzing, indicating a call. Pulling away, much to Anne's disappointment, Daniel sees Mary on his screen.

Swiping to accept, he clears his throat. "Hey, Mary. How are you feeling?"

...

"Coming over? Sure, but...are you okay? You sound exhausted."

...

"Huh...well, alright. I have a few things to catch you up on anyways so we can talk more when you're here."

...

Daniel suddenly widens his eyes and reddens. "L-love you too. Bye."

As the call ends, Anne looks on worryingly. "Mary is coming over? Is she okay?"

Daniel cools down and flattens his lips. "Yes, but...she sounds like she's fed up."

"Well, I hope we can help her," Anne concludes before smirking. "Look at my baby blushing though! It looks like you need to get back into expressing your affection for her after a long time!"

Daniel gulps, finding it odd already. He knows Mary enough that she prefers to share her affection in physical ways than words. While it's not unusual to say it from time to time, it would end up being casual and light. However, her endings words, 'Love you, Daniel', were filled with unexpected desire and warmth that would be more typical of...

He slowly stares at Anne, who blinks and cocks her head at his silence. "What is it?"