[TR] For Sam C

[mother_confessor]

While Kahlan was still in the general section of astronomy, sometimes she did like to sit in on the advanced class to see what she'd be doing next term and while some of the concepts were too complex to follow, she had faith that eventually it would all come together. She'd always been bright and loved to study, whether that was the magic and lore of Aydindril or these newer, more difficult concepts on the island.

As she was packing up to leave, she saw a flash of blonde hair and recognized Sam, struggling with an armful of infant and books and Kahlan simply had to stop to aid her. She'd liked her a good bit the last time they met and the idea of a woman in the military was intriguing; women in those sorts of roles in the Midlands were not looked upon highly but it seemed it was very different in Sam's world. It was certainly something Kahlan looked to talk about more at length but at the moment, there were other concerns.

"Is there something I could do to help? I could carry the books and you could carry the baby?"

Comments

[gate_expert]

Sam usually takes Janet to classes with her. Janet's small enough that she needs regular feedings and usually just sleeps otherwise, and it's easier for Sam to feed her right before class and let her sleep than to feed her earlier and try to make it through class before Janet gets hungry again. But it's presenting some logistical problems, especially as Janet gets bigger and the amount of books and papers grows. "Oh, thank you," Sam says, grateful for the help. She has a backpack but it's full of spare diapers and blankets and baby things and not much room for else.

[mother_confessor]

"Think nothing of it," Kahlan promised, taking the books and trying to keep them in some semblance of organization so that Sam wouldn't have to re-organize them later.

"I guess it gets a little harrowing, having to carry her everywhere? There's no real way to grow more arms even if you need them."

[gate_expert]

"I could use a stroller," Sam admits. "It would give her a more convenient place to sleep, too." Before too much longer, Sam won't be able to bring her to class, though, because she'll be too awake and inquisitive and Sam won't be able to teach and mind her at the same time. "But we'll manage. How are you?"

[mother_confessor]

"If you want, I could see if Richard could build you one," Kahlan offered. "He's amazing at that kind of thing and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to do it. It would give him something to do on the island, anyway, so you'd be helping us as well."

At the latter question, Kahlan simply smiled. "I'm doing very well, actually. The longer I'm here, the more I like it. It's so much different from home, in good ways, and I'm not sure I ever want to go back. That's sort of terrible of me, though, considering I have responsibilities there."

[gate_expert]

"I might have to take you up on that," Sam says, shifting Janet in her arms as they walk. Janet's still mostly asleep, though now and then she makes a little smacking noise with her mouth and sighs. Sam kisses the top of her head.

"I think a lot of people feel that way," she adds. "Like we ought to want to go home because we have things to do there, but we like it here." It's taken Sam a long time to accept being here, and even though she really misses her job and having something to do with herself, this really is a safer place for the kids. Even with all the island problems, she doesn't have to worry about the Goa'uld, Replicators, Ori, Wraith, or even ordinary problems like global warming or contaminated toys from China.

[mother_confessor]

"It's not something I like to think about terribly often because it does make me feel guilty but I can be with Richard here, have a family...and I just cannot do that back in the Midlands. So given the choice, I want to stay."

She nodded toward the books in her arms. "What are all these? I'm taking Jane's astronomy class but I think these must be a little past that, right?"

[gate_expert]

"Astrophysics," Sam says. "Which is related to astronomy, yes, but different, too. My speciality is theoretical astrophysics, which studies things like stellar dynamics and evolution, large-scale structure of matter in the universe, general relativity and physical cosmology, gravitational waves, wormholes... that sort of thing." As usual when Sam's talking about anything related to the work she loves, she gets excited and tends to babble, even if she's been lecturing for the last hour and a half already.

[mother_confessor]

"I've never thought about the stars as something other than to navigate by," Kahlan said, pondering that. Most of the words that Sam used made no sense to her but she hoped, if she kept taking classes, that someday they might. It was knowledge that she'd never have access to in the Midlands and Kahlan was a little greedy about taking advantage of learning all she could.

"Our world is a lot simpler and has magic, though, and I'm finding these modern worlds use science instead. Is that common? You said you'd traveled to other worlds before coming here, right?"

[gate_expert]

Sam nods, shifting Janet in her arms. "I think it's pretty common," she says. "Some worlds use science, some worlds use science but don't understand it and think it's magic because they don't have a better name for it, and some use magic." Not that Sam's personally seen any worlds that actually use magic; any sufficiently advanced science seems like magic to those that don't understand it. But just because she hasn't seen it doesn't mean she's counting it out, especially after coming here. "Different things work better for the needs of different worlds, I think."

[mother_confessor]

"I think I like science better. It seems less likely to have me killed for being different," Kahlan admitted quietly. "So there's something to be said for that. So, theoretically, if I wanted to study what you studied, what classes should I take here? I don't want to be behind or anything and I am a quick study for the most part."

And the idea of using the stars for travel was more than fascinating to Kahlan, who had never done anything but travel by foot or small boat.

[gate_expert]

"Well," Sam says, thinking for a minute. She's not really sure where to starts, because she's not sure what Kahlan already knows--what she's learned at home, what she's learned here, and Sam's not entirely sure of all the courses available at the school. "All of the science courses at the island are probably good, even if they don't seem related at first. Astrophysics relies on a wide set of skills. Lots of math, too. What are you taking at the school right now?"

She also wants to know what Kahlan means by 'less likely to have me killed for being different,' but it's a question she'll hold onto for a bit.

[mother_confessor]

"I'm taking Dr. Jackson's classes and astronomy. I'm also taking a course on earth history and a course on computers." Kahlan didn't imagine that mentioning embroidery was important, since it didn't seem to have anything to do with what Sam taught.

"I should take more science and math next term, though. We do not have much of that in the Midlands, I'm afraid."