To Clean Or Not To Clean

Dawn took the floating motorcycle back home and, after parking it inside the employee parking garage at the bottom of the laboratory area, went directly to her dad's rooms. After greeting her father when she arrived, she promptly informed him, "The meeting with the brother went well. I informed him of the rescue scenario as planned."

He sighed in relief and then, frustrated, asked, "That's good. But why did the visit take so long? You have been gone most of the afternoon."

Dawn replied, "After I informed him of the drug that we used to 'heal' her from the supposed exposure to the date rape drug and the alcohol that the guys at the bar gave her, he asked us to make it available to him during an upcoming engine test his company will be performing."

Slightly irritated, he growled, "What's so important about this engine that he can't just stand back?"

Grinning, Dawn said, "Because he's testing it in outer space. He's trying to make a rocket engine that works better than the ones everybody's always used when designing rockets and shuttles and such."

"Woo Hoo. So cool." He grumbled sarcastically, "I still don't see why he needs to be up in space to test it instead of just pushing buttons from a control center down here on Earth."

"The engine he is building has a potential top speed fast enough to reach Mars in like an hour instead of the 6 months or so it usually takes everybody else. So he wants at least 1 person on board so he doesn't have to worry about the rocket getting pointed the wrong way and crashing into like a major city or something before they can get the data and try to steer it away." Dawn answered.

When he then asked her how it worked and what made it able to go so fast, Dawn told him she had a small engine of the same type she could show him and convinced him to grudgingly follow her to where she had parked it. Once there she started it up and explained what she had been told about how it worked. Next she showed him the levitation and took him on a short ride around the mansion to show him a little bit of the thrust produced by the engine. Afterwards, as they walked back up to his rooms, she explained how they worried about the radiation dangers the crew would be facing and how them using the drug could let them know how effective it was against damage caused by radiation.

She then ended her explanation by proposing, "If he does end up having to use it and it works as well as it does on everything else, it could help us win approval more easily by having NASA and other eager space companies pressuring the FDA folks to hurry up the approval process and clear it so that they could use it officially and publicly instead of having to have a doctor telling an astronaut over a radio how to be the stand in doctor for the astronaut that has been hurt."

"We'd still have to worry about one of the astronauts having the psychosis side effects," He replied in a grumble.

"I know." Dawn soothingly replied. "That is why I told him that we would require someone to be on hand to monitor the engine test in case of someone suffering from the side effects while in orbit."

And she shyly added, "I also told him that I would go over it with a fine tooth comb and keep tabs on every ounce of the drug to make sure it was used as designed."

"Well then," her dad reluctantly decided, "since you've already volunteered and are more into the fancy physics stuff than the rest of us are, I guess you'll be the the best choice to take lead on the project. But make sure its not abused. And make sure that it's regulated, documented, and all the other usual legal stuff we have to have on hand whenever we do anything the news people and the cops can get their hands on.

Oh. And take that mini rocket thingy back to that boy. I don't want to end up having it blow up in here and demolishing half the building or something." he finished.

Dawn gave him a reluctant sounding agreement. But with the project now officially assigned to her along with him giving her an excuse to leave by telling her to take the bike back to Stephan's house, it was all Dawn could do to keep from smiling and jumping for joy while he was present. Especially given how her dad had unknowingly given her permission to repeatedly go to the city by herself and eventually even take the trip up into orbit on the space engine.

Dawn then remembered to grab a medical kit to take with her to Stephan's house. She then grabbed a quick bite to eat and rode back over to Stephan's house.

When she arrived she then quickly related her conversation with her dad and his decision to allow the drug to be used and putting the project in her control. Unable to contain herself further she couldn't help eagerly gushing about being able to now freely come to Stephan's house and business along with being able to accompany them into orbit for the engine testing. She then used the kit to collect a DNA sample from Stephan while she explained about how her and Wanda had found several genes that were common only to those that had the talents they had learned to use and how they wanted to compare Stephan's DNA to the group and see if he possessed them as well. When she then told him she should be able to generate a report on the results in the morning, Stephan invited her to go with him to his working area in the city the next day to be able to share his and Jessica's reports with him further, to which she readily agreed after a slight yawn.

Jessica then offered, "Given the lateness of the day I would usually offer a bed to sleep in but, after it took me close to an hour to find what few blankets and pillows my oh so considerate brother couldn't remember even buying, I don't see it working out in your favor. However, if you did want to stay the night, I would gladly offer you my bed and crash on the couch."

Feeling awkward at the prospect of sleeping at a house other than her own for the first time in her life, Dawn tried to consider the suggestion in a logistical manner, but kept feeling awfully shy and embarrassed every time she tried. Then, before she could offer an answer, Jessica blurted, "Oh! Wait! I forgot to also mention that my oh so charming brother would likely try to be all gentlemanly and offer you his bed. But his bed is taken up with like 2 or 3 laptops along with at least a dozen books he's reading and probably dozens of papers where he's been jotting down any ideas about all those current projects he's got or future projects he wants to try."

She then sternly stared at her brother as she finished with, "And don't get me started on his significant lack of cleaning skills when it comes to that reeking stack of dirty clothes beside his bed that he keeps adding to day after day after day."

Dawn laughed at what Jessica had said and jokingly suggested, "Would he get mad if I just stacked it all up beside his bed for him to go through later?"

With Stephan trying to form a response, Jessica teasingly replied, "Why bother stacking it? I'd just sweep it all off the other side of the bed and let him figure out what goes with what."

Stephan then finally managed to respond, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! First off, if I was going to offer my bed I would make sure it was cleaned off first! Second, I only have one computer in there and it, along with any notes and such, are at my workstation's desk I have had put in there to help me keep the clutter at least organized. And lastly, little miss clean freak, if you want to keep complaining about how I keep my house I might take it as you offering to clean the house for me as rent."

Jessica quickly leaned back with her hands up defensively and jokingly whined, "Oh no! Please don't be so cruel to me, my dear sweet brother!"

Stephan evilly grinned as he teased, "Hmm.... I wonder if I should start her off sweeping and mopping the whole house or get down and dirty and make her clean top to bottom all of the bathrooms I have here and at work?"

Realizing how late it had gotten, Dawn then reluctantly interrupted them by teasingly informing them, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to get in the way of you two working out these family issues you've got going on. And I also don't want to get in the way of any housecleaning you might want to tackle tonight. So I'm gonna head back to my own house and my own bed, cleaned by my own maid, for a good night's sleep that you two might be too busy cleaning up to get tonight."

Jessica smiled as she groaned and replied, "Oh no! Please Stay! I need backup to help me keep my feminism intact in this huge, smelly man cave."

Stephan then puffed out his chest and replied in a deeper than usual gruff voice, "I man. Man smell manly. Man cave good. You girl stay."

Dawn laughed, excused herself as she opened the door, and let herself out to head back to her nearby house while Stephan playfully complained in a whiny voice, "No! Wait! Please change your mind! I need help keeping this girl from transforming my bathroom into a perfume palace!"