Freedom's Ransom by Anne McCaffrey

replied, delighted. Rose knew how, and Amy settled into her arms as if she’d always known them. Growing up as she had with many people attending her, she had never been shy. Few of the crèche kids were. Even Daisy, whom the medics had once thought might be muted by the traumas she had lived through, now babbled away without inhibitions.
    Cherry began to sniffle and gulp back tears. “Oh, she’s adorable, Chuck. How did you two ever manage to produce such a lovely girl child?” Then she, too, put hand to lips, widening her eyes in consternation at what she had blurted out.
    â€œA happy match of compatible genes, I’d say,” Dorothy replied quickly. “We’ve actually seen a lot of that since we started increasing Botany’s indigenous population.”
    Zane, who seemed to have a special antenna for his mother’s presence, came bouncing into the infant section of the crèche and pounced on her. So she introduced him to the Mitford cousins.
    â€œThis one looks so much like his dad,” she said,ruffling Zane’s hair, “that I’m relieved we’ve found how Amy got so pretty.”
    â€œYou’re pretty, Mom,” Zane said loyally, daring anyone to defy him. “Who does Amy look like?”
    â€œVery much like Chuck’s mother, God rest her soul,” said Rose, startled at the boy’s question. “Oh, we do have a very old picture of Mary. One of the things you must rescue for us, Charles, the next time you’re back on Earth.”
    â€œIn the parlor?” Chuck asked, watching her cuddling his daughter.
    â€œOf course. In the breakfront. Lower cabinet, first on the left. Where else?”
    â€œI should have looked there first, without having to be reminded,” Chuck said defensively. “Look, I gotta get crackin’ on the mission. You two are in safe hands here, in case I don’t get to see you before I go off.”
    â€œYou be careful, Charles,” his oldest cousin said, shaking her finger at him.
    â€œDon’t worry about Chuck,” Kris replied, unable to restrain the urge. “I’ll protect him.”
    â€œYeah, you and who else?” Chuck demanded, halfway to the door, shooting her a droll look.
    â€œYou don’t need more than my mom,” Zane responded defiantly.
    â€œThat’s all too true, lad, all too true,” Chuck said with a final wave of his hand as he left.
    â€œWould he be going into danger, Kris?” Rose asked timorously.
    â€œNo more than any of us,” Kris replied. “Now, don’t you fret, ladies. You are safe here and we’re so glad that Chuck found you.”
    After listening to the two cousins cataloging his half-sister’s graces, Zane returned to whatever game he had left when he’d heard his mother’s voice.
    â€œWhat a sturdy child he is,” Rose said. “Oh, how can you leave such dear children?”
    â€œOnly because I have to,” Kris said. “But knowing thatyou might look in on Amy will relieve me a great deal.”
    â€œOf course we will. You may be sure of that.”
    â€œThen, if you’ll excuse me, I have some details to organize,” Kris said and, with a little bow, left them. She had to organize some notes for the evening’s meeting, but first she had to find out some details and so she made her way to the library.
    â€œYo, Betty? What stack are you hiding under?” she called as she came through the front door.
    â€œBetty’s not here,” said Dr. Hessian. “What can I help you find?”
    Since the doctor’s recovery from being brain-scanned by the Eosi, he had taken on extra hours at the library, helping to catalog and shelve the rather bizarre collection of books they had liberated from Barevi.
    â€œI need to know which countries on Terra produced coffee.”
    â€œNow, that is an odd one. As it happens, I once did a survey of the coffee-producing