Heinemann walked behind Maybell to keep Sara Jane at a distance. While she threatened them with bodily harm, Heinemann spoke to Maybell softly, trying to soothe her jangled nerves.

"Sara Jane's just lonely," he explained, as the angry mare threatened to space them out an airlock. "First you left her, and then Kelles."

Sara Jane carried on, not caring if anyone listened. "Maybe if you tried, you'd only be half the trouble up here that you are when you're dirtside. Do you think you can manage that? Then I could stand to look at your face for more than a minute or two."

Maybell bit hard on her tongue. She was glad to have Heinemann between her and the horse in a red duster trailing her. She thought of a dozen insults she could hurl at her former love interest, but for the sake of the man she now loved, she resisted the urge. And even though he had purposefully left the dock unlocked, so Maybell could board Sara Jane's airship without permission, Sara Jane knew exactly which one of the two was to blame.

"What is wrong with you? Why can't you follow rules, you stupid bitch?"

Maybell slowed down to turn and respond, but Heinemann gave her a shove, forcing her to keep moving. "It's not you," he said, quiet enough so that Sara Jane couldn't hear. "Seeing you with me just hurts sometimes. That's all."

The walk from the dock finally ended when the threesome arrived at the door leading to Heinemann's quarters. He moved to step in front of Maybell and key in the code that unlocked his door, but her fingers flashed across the keypad before he had the chance. The door swung open in an instant.

A moment of awe silenced Sara Jane before she resumed nagging. "How in the hell do you do that? Is there any place on my ship you can't bust into?"

Now inside Heinemann's quarters, Maybell felt safe enough to speak. "Oh for chrissake, Sara! I know the code because he knows the code! I got him collared, you dumb ass!"

Heinemann turned and gave Sara Jane a quizzical look. He stuck his finger between his neck and the unbreakable tracking device Maybell had placed on him when they first met. She used his delay to curl into a defensive ball on the couch. With her dusty boots on the cushion and her knees hugged tight to her chest, her sad and fright-filled eyes peered out from beneath the pinched front of her cowboy hat.

Sara Jane found her way around Heinemann and got on one knee before Maybell. Due to the horse genes in her, she was still tall enough for them to be at eye level. She resisted the urge to poke Maybell with a giant finger.

"Why can't you do what you're told?"

Maybell spoke with her mouth hidden behind her knees. "I get in trouble when I do that."

Sara Jane snorted. "You get in trouble all the time."

"So what's the difference?"

Sara Jane softened, as her love for Maybell grew apparent. "Baby Bell. Please. You have to understand. I got a lot to lose. I got a guy with a bounty on him standing over my shoulder, and now I got a girl who just shot three men, and lopped the arm off another."

"I didn't do nothing wrong. They broke in. I was gonna die."

"Then why are you hiding up here? Why aren't you down there right now, defending your good name?"

Maybell's face disappeared fully behind her tucked knees. Sara Jane leaned in, as compassionately as she could, while Heinemann approached in case he needed to defend Maybell. Sara Jane stopped him from speaking by showing him the back of her hand.

To Maybell, she spoke again, as softly as she could. "Why are you up here, Baby, if you didn't do anything wrong?"

Maybell tried not to sob. "Because I ain't got a good name!"

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Her body shook as she took a deep breath through her nose. Tears burst from her eyes. Sara Jane and Heinemann both reared back, surprised by Maybell's rant.

"I can't stay out of trouble to save my shit soul!" Her face reappeared as she released her knees to gesture with her hands. "Bad things happen wherever I am. I can't stand it anymore!"

Heinemann had heard enough and sat down beside his woman. She blubbered into his chest, knowing full well she was being insulting.

"Genetics are everywhere! I can't find one normal person. Everyone has cat and rat and bat crap in'em, and I'm left all alone!"

Sara Jane winced under Maybell's onslaught. She locked eyes with Heinemann and saw he was pained as well. Neither of them spoke, as he cuddled Maybell while she sobbed. After a long moment, words came from her again, between snorts on snot.

"I feel so left out. I'm always scared of what I might do. It's like, I'm walking on eggshells." She took to insulting herself. "Oh, look! There goes Maybell! She's gonna fuck up again!"

Sara Jane was clueless, so Heinemann took control. Using one of his long arms, he reached out and drew her in while still holding Maybell with the other. The threesome hugged their hardest, with Maybell doing her best to disappear.

"I know you have it worse than me," she said sweetly to Heinemann, deep within his embrace. "People want you dead, too."

Heinemann shushed Maybell, who looked up at Sara Jane's face. Maybell stroked the muzzle of her former lover in a way she knew she liked, speaking with love into one of her enormous, and pretty brown eyes.

"It hurts me knowing the things I do trouble you."

She did her best to smile. It was pitiful.

"There's nothing to worry about," Sara Jane said, slightly lying.

She then snorted hard, moving Maybell's hair. Maybell's mouth opened with the air and, unable to resist, Sara Jane stuck her long tongue down Maybell's throat. She relaxed into it, letting Sara Jane find places in her that only a Genetic could reach. The familiar and comforting feeling of having Sara Jane invade her body brought genuine cheer to Maybell. It reminded her of why she treasured people who were enhanced with animal DNA.

Maybell cooed at Sara Jane the next time she could speak. "I wish I had a sugar cube for you, ya big nag."

Sara Jane shook her mane while smacking her lips comically. Maybell shifted around Heineman to hug Sara Jane, pressing her body against Sara Jane's wide-set breasts.

Sara Jane's chest rumbled when she spoke. "Aw, Bell. You got me hungry. How about a carrot? You got one of those?"

"I'm hungry, too," Maybell said, meaning for sex with Sara Jane.

She was still thinking of food. "I can't remember the last time I had a nice bag of carrots."

Maybell tittered to herself, amused by how she was always horny. She recalled how Sara Jane best liked her carrots.

"Freshly picked and scrubbed."

"Yeah," Sara Jane added. "Washed, but not peeled."

She stretched her neck far behind Maybell, to encourage Heinemann to scratch her cheek and play with her mane. "But you also like celery," he said as he buried Maybell's face with Sara Jane's long white hair.

Sara Jane rumbled again. "Mmm hmm! I sure do!"

"With peanut butter!" they all said together, as Maybell and Sara Jane laughed.

After the tender moment had passed, Maybell sounded sad, her face still beneath Sara Jane's mane. "I have to get away. I do, Sara. I have to hide. Have Kelles clean up my mess for me, please. I can't handle what's happened."

Neither Sara Jane nor Heinemann acted surprised. With the trouble Maybell had controlling her mixed feelings about Genetics, what surprised them more was how much she loved them.

Sara Jane shook out her mane, making Maybell's face reappear. "Claire has a big job in the works," Sara Jane said of their other business partner. "A special delivery that's sure to bring in top dollar."

Maybell disengaged from the group hug. She stood before them and stared at her boots, slouching with her hands in her chaps.

She begged Sara Jane. "So, Girl? Can I stay?"

"With Heinemann?" Sara Jane asked, to be certain of where Maybell wanted to bunk.

"Ah…yeah. Please. If I may."

Sara Jane stood up and slapped her hindquarters with her hands. "She's your responsibility," she said to Heinemann before leaving the room.

Early the next morning, Sara Jane roused Maybell on the link. "Where is he?" she asked, sounding pissed.

Maybell was too happily buzzed from getting laid to trade barbs with Sara Jane. She spoke like a lover instead.

"Aw come on, Girl. It's only—"

Sara Jane interrupted. "Heinemann bailed ship. His Scrambler's gone. He left during the night."

"Well, you got the code for his collar," Maybell cooed. "You should know where he is."

Even over the link, Maybell could hear Sara Jane take in and exhale a deep breath. She used it to calm down.

"I know exactly where he is. Or at least what planet he's on. But I can't chase after him. I got a business to run."

Maybell was too cum-fucked to think. "Uh…" was all she said.

"Listen, Bell. You've got to find public transport, and go down and get him. Or at least figure out what he's up to. He's not answering his link."

Panic welled in Maybell, knowing for certain that something was wrong.

"I'm also sending Claire," Sara Jane said. "But she's got a delivery to make, and it's perishable and top dollar. She might not be much help."

Sara Jane soothed her voice, knowing her two shipmates were like peas in a pod. "He's your man, Baby Bell. And there must be trouble.

"But he's also a pack animal. You know he's waiting for you."