The shift passed even faster than normal with Hailey's comments and questions about things. When we went back to the ship, she was waiting for us at the top of the stairs.

“You guys are so awesome!” Hailey said and tried to jump up and grab onto me. She wasn't used to moving around in a space suit that well, so she only kind of hopped on one foot. I laughed and knelt for her, and she grabbed onto my neck. “I never seen anything like that before!”

“I thought you would get bored after a while and instead you just kept asking questions and talking.” I said and stood up with her in my arms. “You made our work go so much faster.”

“I did?” Hailey asked.

“Usually it's all just quiet and we talk occasionally when moving equipment around.” Simone said. “You made us realize that there is a lot more going on and kept us thinking about how to answer you.”

“I really helped?” Hailey asked and you could hear how pleased she was.

“We learned a few things, too.” Gleas said as she and Kalina came from the cockpit. “Thanks, Hailey.”

“We're in a safe and stable orbit away from the wrecks.” Kalina said. “We're good until morning.”

“We should all get changed and have something to eat.” Simone said.

“How much of those leftovers do you have?” Jelly asked me, her voice full of hope.

“Not enough for everyone to have full meals.” I said and saw her disappointment. “I'll prep the ration trays and mix the rest in, so it's not wasted and no one is left out.”

That made them all happy, so we split up and changed out of our space suits and put on regular clothes, then I took Hailey to the kitchen and prepared the meals while mixing in my home cooked food where appropriate, so that the tastes didn't clash. I served everyone when they were done and we all enjoyed a good meal.

“Are we watching the screen again tonight or are we all doing our own things?” I asked and cleared up the trays.

“I've got some things to catch up on.” Gleas said. “Mainly the shift logs and adding personal notes.”

“Now that you mention it, I need to update the parts list we've salvaged.” I said.

“I'll do that for you.” Simone said and smiled at Hailey. “You've got more important things to take care of right now.”

“Oh, no!” I fake gasped and picked Hailey up. “I almost forgot!”

“What?” Hailey giggled.

“It's bath time!”

“YAY!” Hailey yelled happily and the women around the table laughed.

“One super sudsy bubble filled adventure coming right up!” I said and held her out as if she was flying. I made plane sounds as I flew her from the kitchen and Hailey held out her arms and laughed.

*

“That's so nice to see.” Kalina said in a soft voice.

“Someone's motherly instincts are kicking in.” Gleas said and Kalina laughed.

“You can't tell me that it doesn't make you happy to see him act like that.” Kalina nudged her elbow.

“He cooks, he cleans, he works hard, he's rich, handsome, and he spoils us.” Gleas said. “No, I'm not happy at all that he can take care of a kid, too.”

That made everyone laugh.

“I better get that paperwork done.” Gleas said.

“I should do that, too.” Jelly said. “Mind if I join you and Simone in the cockpit?”

“The more the merrier.” Gleas said and the three women left to do some extra work.

Kalina sat in the kitchen and thought about everything that Hunter did for them every day. After a few minutes, she couldn't help herself and compared him to her boyfriend, who seemed to be severely lacking in pretty much every respect. She had refrained from travelling back to the planet during their days off, because she felt selfish and didn't want to hand over the money she had made. Even if it was the easiest money she had earned in her entire life, she still felt the need to keep it for her own use.

Am I a bad girlfriend? Kalina asked herself, and then she felt a tiny tingle at the back of her skull. It was accompanied by a sense of surety. No, I'm a great girlfriend. It's okay if I want to keep my money separate. I'm saving up to have a child. I don't want to contribute to us being deeper in debt.

With her mind made up, Kalina went to her room and took her time as she recorded a message to her boyfriend. The least she could do was let him know what she thought about his behaviour lately.

*

The rest of the week passed by and Hunter and Simone caught up on being behind the salvage operation for that week. It was going to take a lot longer to catch up to the time he had been in the hospital and to get the entire operation back onto the original schedule. They weren't trying to do that, since it was a completely unrealistic goal. They just worked hard and had fun. Little did they realize that it made the work so much easier.

Jelly was the only one who chose to go to the planet surface on the day off, and Hunter let her take the shuttle. She asked him why he was trusting her like that, and he shrugged. After she left, he told everyone that he always gives people one chance to prove themselves. If they fail, he never fully trusts them again. This kind of shocked Gleas and Kalina, until he said that they had already passed and they didn't have to worry.

Simone held in her tears and tried to bury her feelings, because she knew that she had failed that trust test horribly. The whole thing with Luxea and taking her side, quite unfairly as it turned out, pretty much ruined her relationship with Hunter before it even got started. She deeply regretted it and she knew there wasn't really any way to make it up to him.

Even if she jumped back in time, he was right. Her thoughts still held some irrational hatred that she had picked up from Luxea. She had been working hard to purge herself of them and to try and clear her mind. Her work with Presence had come to a screeching halt as well. She wasn't sure why that was; but, if she had asked, Hunter would have told her that it was because her own emotions and thoughts were too conflicted to allow her to manipulate it successfully.

Since it was their day off, Hunter, Hailey, Gleas, Kalina, and Simone gathered in the living room and watched the Chofaris version of an action movie. Hunter thought it was weird, since there was a lot of hover car action and almost no implied death or destruction. It seemed kind of flat in comparison to some of the films he had seen back on Earth. It was still head and shoulders better than a lot of the other things he had watched so far. Hailey on the other hand, absolutely loved it.

Jelly was back the next morning, just in time for the next work shift, and everyone got back to work. Hailey was back in the third seat in the cockpit and watched them as well. It not only kept her busy, it also let her be watched unobtrusively. That was a win win situation for everyone involved.

The next week passed and then the next, and the cargo hold and the metal racks on the top of the ship were about a third filled. That was great, because it meant that they were ahead of schedule. Hunter had estimated three trips of the Udelis for one of the new ship, and with two people working, the new ship was already a third full and the first trip with Udelis was only half over. Everyone was happy with that news, because it meant that they would be done that much faster.

*

On the next day off, I had the crazy idea that we should all go down to the planet and enjoy ourselves.

“No, thanks.” Jelly said. “I've got... ah...”

“Don't tell me they make you stay at the base in meetings all day when it's supposed to be your day off.” I said and she couldn't look at me. “Well, as your current non-paying boss, I need your shuttle flying expertise today.”

Jelly opened her mouth to refuse, then she sighed.

“I'm glad you enthusiastically agree.” I said and everyone but her laughed. “I've seen all of Hailey's clothes now and it's all little girl stuff.”

Hailey looked at me with a question on her face.

“It's not that I don't like them, since you're so cute.” I said and she giggled. “I just think you need to have some young woman clothes that fit better.” I said as an explanation. “We can visit the zoo, too.”

Hailey gasped. “I've never been to the zoo!”

“We can make a whole day of it.” I said and looked at the women around the breakfast table. “Do some shopping, have a bite to eat, see some weird and freaky animals, then we can go to the zoo.”

Gleas laughed because she got the joke right away.

“I'll even pay for a good supper at a nice restaurant.” I said and felt some misgivings from two of them. “Not enough to convince you all, huh?” I asked and Kalina blushed slightly and Simone turned her head away a little. “What if I offered to buy you an outfit?”

That made a couple of them catch their breath, Kalina included.

“Not quite enough... okay, then... how about I volunteer to make one supper this week?”

“DEAL!” Simone yelled, which gave away that it was her holding out on them, and her face flushed to a dark red. The other women couldn't help but laugh at that.

“Let's get changed into some good casual clothes and we can head out for a day on the town.” I said.

Gleas smiled. “Girls, I think we have just been challenged.” She said and stood. “Shall we take him up on just how good we can dress up casually?”

“You're on!” Kalina chuckled and stood as well. “Half an hour time limit.”

“Not including a shower.” Gleas countered.

“Hey, wait...” I started to say.

“That's plenty of time.” Jelly said and stood with a competitive grin on her face.

Simone wasn't someone to be outdone, so she smiled and stood. “No outrageous jewellery.”

“We're playing dress up!” Hailey exclaimed and grabbed my hand. “Let's go!” She hopped off her chair and dragged me out of the kitchen to the sound of four women laughing.

Thirty minutes later, I was instructed on the ship's intercom to send Hailey down the hallway. I was also to stand at the bottom of the stairs in the cargo hold where I would wait, so I could properly judge the competitors. I had tried to argue that it wasn't a competition and was told to be quiet and to be a fair judge. Fifteen minutes after that, the ship was in orbit around Chofaris and the first competitor appeared at the top of the stairs.

Kalina wore a nice blue flower sun dress that went to her mid thighs. Her shoulder length brown hair was pulled up off of her neck and pinned into a small mass behind her head. She also wore two inch heels that were open toed and she walked down the stairs with confidence. Her thighs rubbed together as she tried to stop me from seeing her underwear, even though the dress wasn't that short. It drew the eyes to the movement, however... which was exactly what she wanted. She stepped aside and I looked up at the next competitor.

Jelly was there and she wore a plain white short sleeved t-shirt, that you could clearly see the darker bra through. She had one side of her short reddish brown hair pinned back and bared one of her ears completely. She also had on a pair of loose-fitting shorts that went to mid-thigh and wore combat boots. She didn't clomp down the stairs like I thought she would with the heavy footwear, though. Unlike Kalina, she didn't try to keep her thighs together to stop me from getting a good view as her shorts flopped out to reveal beige colored panties that were both modest and suggestive. I raised my eyebrows at her when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Jelly walked by me and whispered. “You're not the only one that can tease others by letting them look.”

I held in my laugh, because a couple weeks ago, she had called me a teasing bastard when I bent over in front of her with just my flight suit on. I didn't have time for more reflections, because the next woman appeared.

Simone wore something that looked like a jumpsuit, except it was very stylish and was a bright red. She had on a thick black belt and three inch heeled shoes, also black, and her mid-back black hair was teased out to be twice as voluminous as normal. She wore one gold bangle on her right wrist and a gold hoop earring in her left ear. She walked down the stairs and I saw that she didn't have a bra on, even though her breasts were quite a bit bigger than those that could go without wearing one, and it was very noticable.

“I'm starting to feel bad that I'm only wearing dress pants and a blue shirt.” I said when she walked by me. She laughed and stood next to the other three women.

Gleas appeared at the top of the stairs and I let out a low whistle. She wore pants so tight that they looked like they were painted on. They almost looked like beige colored jeans, only without the denim look. It was amazing to see... well, pretty much all of her... as she walked down the stairs. I didn't even notice that she had on a shirt similar to mine until she was almost at the bottom of the stairs. Our eyes met when she stopped at the second stair and I saw that her makeup was subtle and highlighted her blue eyes perfectly.

“You need the full effect.” Gleas said as her face flushed slightly red and then she turned around to show me exactly how tight her pants were. She waited a moment to make sure I was looking in the right spot, then she slowly walked up six of the stairs.

“Good god.” I whispered at the sight.

Gleas turned back around and walked down the rest of the way. She glanced down at my excited state and then she stopped beside me and said something that made my heart beat even faster.

“If you don't pick Hailey as the winner, I'll kill you.” Gleas whispered and walked over to the others.

I had to use several calming techniques to clear my thoughts and then the girl in question appeared at the top of the stairs.

Hailey wore the nice blue dress I had picked for her, except there was a small belt now and the shoes had a little more height. She had a touch of makeup on her eyelids to make her bright eyes pop and she had gotten a blue brimmed hat from somewhere that matched her dress. She had a gold bangle on her wrist that was eerily similar to the one Simone had on, and Hailey hopped down the stairs, happy as happy can be. By the time she reached me, I had already started clapping and the others joined me.

“The clear winner!” I said and picked her up and swung her around. “The prettiest girl on the whole ship!”

Hailey giggled and laughed and hugged me tightly around the neck.

I turned to the women behind us. “You all fought valiantly in this battle; but, there can be only one victor... and to the victor, go the spoils!” I said and gave Hailey three kisses on her cheek to make her laugh.

“I think I would have fought harder if I knew that was the prize.” Kalina said with a laugh.

“Too late!” Hailey said, and everyone laughed.

“One thing before we go.” I said and touched Simone's hand. She looked at me with surprise as Presence formed around her chest and gave her breasts the support they should have had.

“You did it to impress me, and it did.” I said with a smile. “I can't let you suffer all day for it.”

“Thank you.” Simone said.

As an afterthought, I put a thin layer over the front and back of Gleas' pants to obscure them slightly, just so we wouldn't attract the wrong kind of attention. People were going to look, especially with four women this dressed up; but, that didn't mean they wanted to get hit on constantly, either.

We boarded the shuttle and left the ship completely unattended. I had covered it in Presence and no one was going to touch it without me knowing about it. We flew down to the surface and instead of going to the capital like we usually did, we went to Jelly's hometown instead. She said it had some great shopping that was even better than the capital. Gleas and Kalina thought about arguing, then held off until they saw it for themselves. They were quite happy to have been wrong.

Nearly a whole section of Jelly's hometown was dedicated to shops of every kind and I could tell that all four women and one almost teenage young woman were enamoured with the sight. Thus, the morning of endless shopping began. I wasn't surprised I didn't have to remind them that I had offered to buy them an outfit for agreeing to come along. They were all quite picky about it, as I suspected they would be.

Hailey was the only exception, because we were buying several outfits for her. With four women that seemed to be experts in dressing up when necessary, we used up the entire morning with playing dress up. I was the unofficial judge, mainly because I couldn't quite see past how cute she was to what she was actually wearing. They humored me and kept asking, even though my response was almost always 'I like it'.

I stored everything in a hidden bag of holding and we took a break for lunch. It was what they considered fast food, even though we had to wait half an hour in line for it. It tasted good, so I couldn't complain. After that, we hopped into the shuttle and flew towards the outskirts of the capital to visit the zoo. I was surprised at the variety and scope of the animals they had on display and Hailey pretty much hopped up and down the entire time and yelled the creature's names and dragged us all around.

I had to occasionally share some energy with the others to keep them going. In a stroke of genius, I shared a bit of Hailey's enthusiasm with everyone, too. The only one surprised by it was Jelly, and that was only because she hadn't been around long enough experience some of my techniques. We spent several hours at the zoo and visited every single creature and display they had. When we reached the entrance, everyone was tired from walking around all day.

Rather than go to a restaurant, I brought them to a large park and set up a nice picnic area for us. I asked them all to wait there for me and I ran to the closest store and bought the items and ingredients that I needed. I used my wrist com and called the specialty store to make sure they had my order ready, ran all the way over to pick it up, then ran back to the park. I surrounded a large area with a Presence barrier, used Stealth to hide us from everyone's perception, then I started a fire in a large shallow bowl made of Presence.

“Hunter! You can't do that here!” Gleas said loudly.

“It's all right. No one can see us.” I said and they all sat still and were completely surprised when I cooked them a meal right there. I extinguished the fire and served everyone. “Go ahead. It's delicious.”

“I can't believe you just... in the middle of a public park!” Jelly said.

“Relax.” I said and lifted the bowl of Presence and the remains of the fire lifted and didn't leave a mark on the grass. “I wouldn't cause harm like that, or leave evidence.” I smiled and she shook her head.

“Oh, this... it really is delicious!” Gleas said. “How did... no, I don't want to know.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, it doesn't matter where I cook, it still comes out great.”

We all ate the food I had prepared and I added the trash left over to the fire pile, then I absorbed the Presence barrier hiding us and tossed everything into the closest trash receptacle.

“Who wants dessert?” I asked and they all groaned, even Hailey. “I guess we can have it another day.”

We left the park and went back to the shuttle, then took off to go back to the ship. We landed in the shuttle bay and stepped out of the shuttle. I smiled at their thoughts. They were well fed, had shopped until they were tired, had purchased several things, received an outfit as a gift, and has spent the day with me. All in all, they were quite happy with how it turned out.

“I think my little sea-monkey needs a bath.” I said as I carried Hailey up the stairs.

“That sounds...” Hailey started to say and let out a yawn. “...fun.”

“Maybe bed instead and we can get cleaned up in the morning.” I said and then saw Gleas and Jelly yawn, too. “Yeah, I think it's bedtime for everyone.”

“Good idea.” Simone said. “Can you...”

I absorbed the Presence holding her breasts up and they jiggled as they bounced.

“Thanks.” Simone said and passed me. “I'll get the bangle back in the morning.”

“Goodnight!” Hailey said a little loudly. That apparently took the last of her strength, because she flopped her head onto my shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

“This was a great day.” Gleas said. “Thank you, Hunter.”

“I'll drop your bribe off in the morning.” I said and she chuckled.

Kalina and Jelly thanked me as well and walked down the hallway. I went into my room and put Hailey down after removing the hat, then changed into my nightgown and changed Hailey as well. She didn't wake up and I tucked us under the blanket, then I entered a meditative state and went right to sleep.