Tia nodded, slowly, considering the ancient Alexandrian garments, how cumbersome they were and how difficult to run in. 'I think you're right,' she agreed. 'I would hate to think that the librarian was stupid.'
He laughed at that. 'You mean you'd hate to think that the great lady you were named for was stupid,' he teased. 'And I don't blame you. It's much nicer to be named for someone who was brave and heroic on purpose than someone people think was a hero just because she was too dense to get out of the way of trouble!'
Tia had to laugh at that, and right then was when she decided that she was going to like Tomas. He hadn't quite known what to make of her at first, but he'd settled down nicely and was treating her quite like an intelligent sentient now.
Evidently Moira had decided the same thing, for when she spoke, her voice sounded much less anxious.
'Tomas, aren't you forgetting? You brought Tia her late birthday present.'
'I certainly did forget!' he exclaimed. 'I do beg your pardon, Tia!'
He handed her the box he had brought, and she controlled herself very well, taking it from him politely, and not grabbing like a rude child would have. 'Thank you, Moira,' she said to the com console. 'I don't mind that it's late. It's kind of like getting my birthday all over again this way.'
'You are just too civilized for your own good, dear,' Moira giggled. 'Well, go ahead, open it!'
She did, carefully undoing the fastenings of the rather plain box and exposing bright-colored wrapping beneath. The wrapped package within was odd-shaped, lumpy. She couldn't stand it any longer; she tore into the present just like any other child.
'Oh!' she exclaimed when she revealed her prize, for once caught without a word, holding him up to the light.
'Do you like it?' Moira asked anxiously. 'I mean, I know you asked, but you grow so fast, I was afraid you'd have outgrown him by now.'
'I love him!' Tia exclaimed, hugging the bright blue bear suddenly, reveling in the soft fur against her cheek. 'Oh Moira, I just love him!'
'Well, it was quite a trick to find him, let me tell you,' Moira replied, her voice sounding very relieved, as Tomas grinned even wider. 'You people move around so much. I had to find a teddy bear that would take repeated decontam procedures, one that would stand up to about anything quarantine could hand out And it's hard to find bears at all, they seem to have gone right out of style. You don't mind that he's blue?'
'I like blue,' she said happily.
'And you like him fuzzy? That was Tomas' idea.'
'Thank you, Tomas,' she told the brawn, who beamed. 'He feels wonderful.'
'I had a fuzzy dog when I was your age,' he replied. 'When Moira told me that you wanted a bear like the one she had before she went into her shell, I thought this fellow felt better than the smooth bears.'
He leaned down confidentially, and for a moment Tia was afraid that he was going to be patronizing just because she'd gone so enthusiastic over the toy.
'I have to tell you the truth, Tia, I really enjoyed digging into all those toy shops,' he whispered. 'A lot of that stuff is wasted on children. I found some logic puzzles you just wouldn't believe and a set of magic tricks I couldn't resist, and I'm afraid I spent far too much money on spaceship models.'
She giggled. 'I won't tell if you don't,' she replied, in a conspiratorial whisper.
'Pota and Braddon are in the airlock,' Socrates interrupted. 'Shall I order the kitchen to make lunch now?'
'So why exactly are you here?' Tomas asked, after all the initial topics of conversation had been exhausted, and the subject turned, inevitably, to Pota and Braddon's work. He gestured at the landscape beyond the viewport; spectacular mountains, many times taller than anything found on Terra or any other inhabited planet. This little ball of rock with a thin skin of dirt was much like the wilder parts of Mars before it had been terraformed, and had a sky so dark at midday that the sun shared the sky with the stars. 'I wouldn't expect to find much of anything out there for an archeologist, it's the next thing to airless, after all. The scenery is amazing, but that's no reason to stay here.'
Braddon chuckled, the generous mouth in his lantern-jawed face widening in a smile, and Tia hid a grin. Whether or not Tomas knew it, he had just triggered her Dad's lecture mechanism. Fortunately, Braddon had a gift for lecturing. He was always a popular speaker whenever he could be tempted to go to conferences.
'No one expected to find anything on planets like this one, Tomas,' Braddon replied, leaning back against the supporting cushions of the sofa and tucking his hands behind his head. 'That's why the Salomon-Kildaire culture is
