“This movie makes no sense!” Aquila declared, staring at the screen from her hospital bed. On the chair beside her, Kasumi turned and blinked. To the other side of the bed, Yuri sat in a wheelchair with Cap at her side, holding his hand.

    “What do you mean?” Kasumi asked.

    “Why does the sheriff have to fight the shark?” Aquila asked. “The solution here is simple – the people just don’t go in the water. The people aren’t getting eaten, so they’re happy. The shark gets to eat all the fish it wants without being bothered, so it’s happy. Everybody wins!”

    Cap shook his head. “You may have missed the point of the story.” Beside him, Yuri chuckled.

    “Seems pretty simple to me,” Aquila said. “People want to not get eaten, shark wants to eat fish. No need for dramatics.” She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. “Damn, that shortness of breath just doesn’t go away, does it?”

    “You got shot in the lung,” Kasumi said, squeezing her hand. “That’s going to last for a while.”

    “So, do you know when they’re taking the tube out?” Yuri asked.

    “The doctor told me it would be later today,” Aquila. “Apparently, our kind heals faster than normal, and they’re not worried about fluid in my lung anymore. But...they’re keeping me in the ICU for the full five days to monitor me anyway.”

    Yuri gave her a sad smile. “I’m jealous. Mine isn’t coming out for at least another day.”

    “She has a lot of fractured ribs,” Cap explained. “One of her lungs got punctured.”

    Yuri squeezed Cap’s hand. “Well, I got a fiancé out of it, so I’m not complaining.”

    Aquila looked at them and smiled. “Good.”

    There was a knock at the door. A short Japanese man in a dark suit stood in the doorway with a tablet. He bowed. “I’m Hajime Ito. I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’m from the Civil Affairs Bureau in the Ministry of Justice. I’m here to record your information for the Family Registry.”

    “You two go first,” Aquila said to Cap and Yuri. “I think we’re going to be the more complex pair to deal with.”

    “You first, my love,” Yuri said.

    Cap blinked. “I’m not Japanese.”

    Ito entered some information into the tablet. “That’s fine. I’ll enter you as a resident foreigner. I need your family name, given name, date of birth, marital status, names of your parents, and country of origin. I already have your current permanent address as the barracks at Camp Asaka.”

    “Okay then,” Cap began. “The family name is Markham, given name Matthew. My date of birth is March 3, 1920. My marital status is single, and I’m from the United States of America, New York state. My adoptive parents were James and Rachel Markham.”

    Ito finished entering the information, and turned to Yuri. “And you?”

    “Nakano, Yuri, born June 12, 2006 in Tokyo. My parents were Haru and Aiko Nakano. I’m single, but engaged.” She gave Cap a contented smile. “To him, in fact.”

    Ito bowed. “Congratulations! I will put in a note to issue you the certification that you are permitted to marry along with the rest of your paperwork.”

    Yuri squeezed Cap’s hand and pressed it against her cheek.

    Aquila suppressed a grin as she watched Ito finish entering the information and turn to her and Kasumi.

    “And now you two,” Ito said, bowing. “Who wants to go first?”

    “I do!” Aquila declared. “My family name is Agawa, just like hers. My given name is Aquila. I was born on...” She blinked. “When was I born?”

    “April 21, 2001,” Kasumi said. “Same as me.” She blinked. “Wait...I might already be in the system.” She frowned. “But I’d also probably be deceased...in 2017.”

    “As strange as it sounds, I’ve heard weirder since I started registering you people,” Ito said. “I’ll check for a duplication right now. What is the given name?”

    “Kasumi,” Kasumi said. “Kasumi Agawa. My parents are named Akane and Souta Agawa.”

    Aquila blinked. “There could be a version of your parents here.”

    Kasumi nodded. “I was so busy worrying about Natsuki and you that I hadn’t even considered it. What would I say to them if they’re here...if their Kasumi also...?”

    Aquila gave her hand a squeeze. “Start with ‘I love you’, and go from there. I don’t think they’d turn you away.”

    “There’s no duplication,” Ito announced. “So, I’m good to continue registering both of you. Are you twin sisters?”

    Aquila grinned. “Spouses. We’re married. To each other.”

    Kasumi stared at her. “Um, Aquila...”

    “That’s right, we’re two women married to each other – I’ve even taken her family name!”

    Out of the corner of her eye, Aquila saw Cap and Yuri trade an amused look. “And if Kasumi wants it back, it will be one million dollars in unmarked bills!” Cap quipped. Kasumi glared at him.

    Ito frowned. “This would be a problem for us. The government of Japan doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages. We could offer you a certificate recognizing your partnership issued by the city of Tokyo, however, but that wouldn’t carry any inheritance rights.”

    “That will be fine,” Kasumi said. “We don’t want to be a bother.”

    “It is absolutely not fine!” Aquila declared, her grin widening. “I will not stand to have our love and our marriage go unrecognized any longer!”

    Ito cocked his head. “Was your marriage carried out in a place where same sex unions are legal?”

    Aquila leaned back, her grin becoming smug. “Yes it was! What are you going to do about it?”

    Ito pursed his lips. “I can make this work.”

    Aquila’s grin faded. “Sorry, what?”

    Ito gave her a kind and helpful smile. “If your marriage was carried out in a location in which it was legal, then it behooves the government of Japan to make all possible accommodations for you within the law and our constitution. And, since you are being entered into the family registry, I have some latitude as far as how you are entered. So, first I will enter both of you with a marital status of ‘married’ and ‘wife’. This means that if you decide you wish to marry somebody else, the government of Japan will unable to issue you a certificate that you are eligible to do so.”

    Kasumi started chuckling.

    “Then, we’ll have the city of Tokyo issue you a certificate recognizing your union. That just leaves the issue of inheritance. However, many couples in your situation solve that problem by having one partner legally adopt the other. So, which of you wishes to do the adoption?”

    “She does,” Kasumi said before Aquila could react.

    “Wonderful!” Ito said, finishing up the registration with a flourish. “I will have all of the extra paperwork to you tomorrow morning. Many congratulations on your union.” He bowed and walked out of the room.

    Aquila blinked. “What just happened?”

    “We’re married now,” Kasumi stated, sitting on the side of Aquila’s bed with a predatory grin. She started playing with a lock of Aquila’s hair. “You’re my wife.”

    “That’s...good,” Aquila said.

    “It’s a dream come true,” Kasumi declared, twirling Aquila’s hair, her grin widening.

    “I’m very...happy...” Aquila said. “Hey, look – the shark just ate somebody!”

    “But if you think that I’m going to be content with our marriage being started with nothing more than a government registration, you’re wrong,” Kasumi said, twirling another lock of Aquila’s hair. “I want a proper ceremony. With all of our friends, including Daiki and Athena Yamato. I can’t wait to see their kids.”

    Aquila swallowed. “It would be nice to see Daiki and Athena again.”

    “And you’re going to wear the most lovely wedding dress...”

    Aquila held up her hand. “Now, Kasumi, be reasonable here. There’s no reason we can’t discuss this like civilized–”

    “...with the most lovely lace. Lots of lace.”

    “I’m not really a lace wearing person...”

    “You’re going to look so lovely in your wedding dress with all that lace...”

    “Cap!” Aquila declared. “Cap can help! Cap, you could...use your laser eyes! Yes, Cap, use your laser eyes to destroy all the lace in Japan! I’ll make it worth your while!”

    Kasumi’s grin widened to the point of becoming toothy. “Cap can’t help. Cap and Yuri are getting married, remember? You’re going to have to de-power him before their wedding so that they can have a proper wedding night. He won’t have his laser eyes after that.”

    Aquila glanced over to Cap and Yuri. Cap was doubled over in silent laughter while Yuri was grinning and blushing at the same time.

    “I’m sorry,” Cap laughed. “You’re on your own for this one!”

    A knock sounded at the door. Aquila turned to see Sayori and Yukari standing in the doorframe, Sayori holding a large dry cleaning bag. “They told us we’d find you all here,” Sayori said. “What happened?”

    Kasumi grinned. “Aquila just got everything she wanted.”

    “And the paperwork to go with it,” Aquila groused.

    “I feel like we’re missing something,” Yukari said. “Anyway, we brought the coat. Atria told us that she found it in some surplus warehouse, and it should fit you.”

    Aquila took a deep breath, but resisted wincing. “Let’s see it.”

    Sayori opened up the bag and handed the coat over. The black wool was heavy and stiff, with two rows of golden buttons running up the chest. Aquila looked it over and frowned. “It’s not as good as my old coat.”

    Kasumi gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. “I’ll draw you a new one once we’re back in the story worlds, just as I promised. Until then, once you’ve broken this one in...”

    Aquila sighed. “I guess it will do.”

    “Anyway, I have to go and make some arrangements,” Kasumi said. “Once your chest tubes are out, both of you two are going to need fresh clothing before you make your first foray out of the hospital.”

    Yuri looked at Cap. “What do you mean? What happened to my clothes?”

    “The paramedics had to cut them off you,” Cap said. “It would have been too dangerous to you to take them off any other way.”

    “I don’t remember that,” Aquila muttered.

    “You were in shock at the time,” Cap noted. “And Yuri was unconscious.”

    “Your spares are still covered in charcoal dust,” Kasumi said. “I’ll get them cleaned and brought over.”

    Sayori took a deep breath. “Now that we’re all back together, when do you suppose we’ll be able to leave?”

    “I’m sorry,” Kasumi said, “but it’s going to be at least a couple of weeks before Aquila’s ready to travel anywhere in the story worlds...and probably closer to a couple of months. She’s got a lot of recovering to do.”

    Cap nodded. “Same with Yuri.”

    Sayori frowned. “So, we’re stuck here until the world ends or Natsuki figures out some way to save it.”

    “I’m afraid so,” Kasumi said.

    Aquila forced herself to smile in a way that she hoped was encouraging. “Look, if anybody can figure out how to stop the worlds from colliding, it’s Natsuki. I know it’s hard, but have faith.”

NEXT: “Discovery”