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I guess Oaken did that, too…

“Where the heck did he get socks this small?” I wondered aloud. There was no way these socks would have fit him.

“He got him from that drawer,” Lala said, rolling her body out of my pocket and then extending her legs.

I glanced at the set of drawers, imagining Oaken rooting around in there looking for fresh socks for me while I snored away.

Oh, crap. Had I been snoring?

And why did I care?

“I wonder whose socks these are,” I murmured, plucking at the hem of the left one. “Maybe Magnolia’s.” I knew she’d spent quite a bit of time convalescing here after her ardu bite. Maybe she’d left them behind.

Lala skittered down my leg and began poking her spindle sensors into the tiny holes between the knitted stitches.

“This material is not in any of my databases. It is not from Terratribe II.”

Terratribe II was the colony world Magnolia had come from.

I shrugged.

“Maybe she bought them on Elora Station or something.”

“Then she must have bought them at some sort of antique shop,” Lala replied. “Because there are signs that this yarn is old.”

The socks from Oaken’s drawer were old…

And they were way too small for him…

“Are you suggesting that he gave me a pair of his own socks?” I asked. “From when he was a kid?”

“I am not suggesting anything. I am merely presenting my observations.” She stopped poking at the sock and lowered her body down into what counted as a seated position for her.

“But yourobservations,” I said slightly peevishly, “seem to be adding up to the fact that I am currently wearing Oaken’s socks. His little tiny baby socks!”

“They are much larger than socks for a baby, even a Zabrian baby…”

“Lala!”

“Yes. I believe it is likely he gave you socks from his childhood. I also believe he would give you much more than this.” She aimed a spindle at my left heel. “He used the knitter on you.”

My stomach swooped with involuntary pleasure at that. I frowned and tried to shove the feeling down. I didn’t need Oaken to use the knitter on me. I’d been using it on myself just fine for the past ten years.

“He needs to stop being so nice,” I announced. “It’s turning me into an idiot.”

“If I were a comedy bot with fewer politeness protocols installed,” Lala said mildly, “I would make a comment about how you don’t actually need any help in that department.”

“Ha, ha,” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “Hilarious.”

* * *

I didn’t findOaken in the house, but I saw signs of him and his thoughtfulness everywhere. Food had been set out for me in the kitchen. My socks, now blood-stained but obviously freshly washed, had been laid on the back of the kitchen chair nearest the food so that I wouldn’t miss them. It was as if he was some sort of helpful green fairy flitting about unseen, doing kind things for me while I slept.

I ate, peed, then rinsed my mouth – followed by my underarms – in the kitchen sink.

I knew I’d made the right decision not pushing on to get to theLavariyalast night, but I regretted not having any of my personal effects with me now. No clean panties, no hairbrush, no toothpaste… Nothing.

I’d have to make it to theLavariyatoday. During the daylight hours this time. I needed to start the repairs so all the connections would be ready by the time the sonic recalibrater arrived.