Outside the burning house, Perry, Sir Jon and Sonny watched as the inner structure of the house fell in on itself with a loud crash, knowing that if anyone had been alive inside they must surely be dead now. 

     Perry looked away silently, too much in shock to rationalize his emotions.  Sonny looked hopefully at Sir Jon, feeling a nauseous sense of déjà vu as she recalled another fire that had devastated their lives a long time ago.  Meanwhile Sir Jon looked at his hands, wondering how long it would take the ripples in altered history to catch up with him. 

     Suddenly a female kangaroo firefighter came running up to them, saying breathlessly, “Mayor .  .  .  three survivors .  .  .  around back."

     In joyful relief, Sir Jon and his family followed the firefighter as she led them around the other side of the house next door to Vicki’s - the burning house still blazing too hot for a direct route to be safe.  But once they arrived on the scene in back of the burning house, they sank once again into the depths of despair. 

     The three girls had been laid out in the alley and were being separately tended by three groups of paramedics.  All of them having been badly injured. 

     Of the three, only Vicki was semi-conscious, though she seemed to be in a state of extreme delirium from the shock of her experience and the pain of her broken leg. 

     Seeing that Vicki was in good hands, Perry ran to the second group of paramedics, only to find himself frozen stiff with horror. 

     As he watched helplessly, unable to look away, the paramedics worked feverishly, tending to Kacey’s burns.  She had third and fourth degree burns covering almost the entirety of her body - almost all of her fur was gone, and Perry could hardly recognize her. 

     As a scientist, Perry was well aware of how few people ever survived such injury, as well as the pain and difficult adjustments they faced if they did survive.  He did not need anyone to tell him Kacey was as good as dead. 

     Sir Jon touched his shoulder sympathetically and said, “Don’t give into despair, son.  While there’s life there’s hope."

     Sir Jon moved on to the third group of paramedics who were working on Christine.  Much of her fur was singed away, but her burns were minor compared to Kacey’s.  Yet she had suffered severe cuts and puncture wounds, and she had lost a lot of blood. 

     Sir Jon could see that the fire of her normally blazing aura was burning low.  She had given all she had to give, and Christine would need considerable help to stay alive.  But Sir Jon refused to accept any notion that she would not survive.  She had to survive.  How many millenniums of time would be changed if she didn’t? 

     Though Christine was unconscious, Sir Jon could still feel her reaching out to him for help to sustain her.  He stayed near, projecting his life energy to her to increase her strength. 

     “You’re a fighter, Christine,” he projected to her.  “These injuries are no match for you.  You must fight on and come back to us soon.  Your friends will need you."

     As each of the three victims were stabilized, they were loaded into separate ambulances and rushed to Suburbia General Hospital, each being accompanied by one member of the Rhoades family. 

     As Perry sat in the ambulance with Kacey, he momentarily thought of Lappina.  He had left her alone, neglecting his responsibility to her.  But he dared not linger on that thought, as he was certain Lappina must be responsible for this tragedy.  And if any of his friends were to die because of her, the blame and responsibility for retribution would ultimately be his. 

     Kacey’s ambulance was the last to arrive at the hospital.  By the time Perry arrived Vicki and Christine were already in separate surgical rooms being tended for their wounds.  Sir Jon was filling out medical forms for the three victims, and Sonny was attempting to keep over anxious reporters from making a nuisance of themselves. 

     For a while, Perry tried to stay near Kacey, though it was hard for him to look at her.  She was almost furless - her skin blackened, blistered and bleeding - her face seemingly fixed in an uncharacteristic grimace of pain.  And he dreaded the thought of her regaining consciousness in this condition. 

     Soon Kacey was surrounded by numerous doctors and nurses, and it became clear to Perry that he was only getting in the way.  So he walked across the emergency room to join his father. 

     “How are Vicki and Christine?" asked Perry. 

     “Victoria should be fine,” said Sir Jon, looking up from the papers he had been filling out.  “Once her leg is set and her lungs checked for damage she should be well enough for visitors."

     “Her lungs?" asked Perry, absently. 

     “Come now, son,” said Sir Jon, in an understanding, fatherly tone.  “You’re a scientist.  Surely you know breathing smoke and fire isn’t exactly good for one’s health.  They’ll all need to be checked for lung damage."

     “Dad, why didn’t you have them taken to the house and let Rocie tend to them?" asked Perry, seeming mystified.  “If she can make new bodies for people, surely she can restore existing ones."

     “That’s quite true, son,” said Sir Jon.  “But how would I have explained it to the paramedics?  What do you think would have happened if I’d said, don’t take these three critically injured females to a hospital.  Take them to my house.  I have alien technology in the basement that can restore them to full health in a matter of minutes?"

     “That would have been rather awkward, wouldn’t it?" said Perry.  “They’d probably have slapped you in a straight jacket on the spot."

     “Or worse, they might have believed me,” said Sir Jon.  “I am the mayor.  My word isn’t exactly taken lightly in this town.  And suppose I had let them carry those three girls down into my lab.  They’d have had quite a story to tell, wouldn’t they?"

     “What difference does that make?" asked Perry, seeming righteously indignant.  “Is the fact that we have alien technology in our house so much of a secret that it’s worth risking three lives that are so important to us?"

     “Son, I can not open Rocinantè as a hospital facility for this entire world,” said Sir Jon.  “She can help us, and the people directly associated with us.  But if I take those three girls back to the house and they walk out an hour later as if nothing had ever happened to them, we’ll have the entire population of this planet beating down our door and demanding that we do the same for them."

     “So what?" said Perry.  “If you have the power to end suffering, don’t you have an obligation to use it, even for people you don’t know?"

     “Oh, my dear boy,” said Sir Jon, regretfully.  “If you only knew how many millenniums I’ve spent traveling around the universe trying to end suffering.  And one of the first hard lessons I had to learn was that, if you try to help everyone, you end up helping no one.  You have to choose a range of people to help within your own sphere of limitation."

     “Surely my three dearest friends are within your range,” said Perry, pleadingly. 

     “Of course they are,” said Sir Jon.  “If no one outside our sphere of confidence had seen their injuries, I wouldn’t have hesitated to let Rocie restore them.  But as soon as they were examined by the paramedics, my power to help them was stripped away.  They must now depend on material science to save them."

     “Dad,” said Perry, gravely.  “Material science won’t save Kacey.  Her injuries are fatal.  What she needs is a miracle."

     “I am not a bestower of miracles,” said Sir Jon, helplessly. 

     “What are you then?" Perry demanded. 

     “I am a retired Time Captain,” said Sir Jon.  “Before you were born I traveled time and space in the service of my masters, trying to do whatever good was possible for the people I encountered along the way.  But I was never a bestower of miracles.  I helped people find the ability to make miracles themselves."

     “I’m not buying this,” said Perry, angrily.  “I saw you make a miracle.  I saw you grant Christine’s wish.  I saw you change a pure human being into a fox girl.  If that’s not bestowing a miracle I don’t know what is."

     “Christine is a special case,” Sir Jon explained.  “Rocie and I can do things for Christine that we can’t do for other people.  You think of her simply as a cuddly friend.  You haven’t the first notion of how special Christine really is. 

     “You know, most people would have died from that transformation.  Christine survived because she performed most of the magic herself, even though she didn’t realize she was doing it.  You see, Christine has always been a fox girl.  She was just assuming her true form - stripping away the illusion that hid it."

     “Are you saying Rocie couldn't restore Kacey's body?" asked Perry. 

     “I’m not saying that at all,” said Sir Jon.  “Rocie can turn people into anything she wants them to be.  And in the same manner she can restore them to perfect health.  But in this case I simply can’t allow it."

     “You’re going to let Kacey die,” said Perry, reproachfully.  “You’re putting your own personal priorities ahead of her life."

     “Am I indeed?" said Sir Jon, crossly.  “And what about your priorities?  Why are you here pleading for Kacey’s life?  Have you forgotten you have a fiancée at home who will die without your constant attention?  Kacey is no longer your responsibility.  Nor is Victoria.  And Christine never was.  I am responsible for her."

     “I don’t care about all that,” said Perry.  “I can’t just turn my back on people I’ve invested so much love in.  And if you can, then I’ll never understand how you do it."

     “I’m not turning my back on anyone,” said Sir Jon.  “You’re the one with his back turned to someone.  Go home and take care of your fiancée.  I’ll look after things here."

     “You expect me to walk away, just like that?" asked Perry, in disbelief. 

     “You made your choice,” said Sir Jon, authoritatively.  “You took on certain responsibilities while relieving yourself of others.  So you no longer have any right to be here fretting over your loved ones.  You must go home and tend to the fiancée you will learn to loathe."

     Perry looked at his father with obvious resentment.  He wanted to lash out at Sir Jon and tell him that he would never be forgiven for his lack of sympathy at this crucial hour.  Yet he could form no argument that rang true to his own ears. 

     His father was right.  Sir Jon had done everything he could to give Perry a way out, but Perry had ignored such options for his own selfish reasons.  Now Perry was stuck with the decision he had made and could not take it back - not without getting blood on his hands. 

     After glaring at his father a moment longer, unable to find words to express his inner turmoil, Perry turned and walked away, exiting the hospital. 

     Outside the emergency room entrance, Perry flagged down a cab and instructed the driver to take him home. 

     Suburbia was a small town with few cab drivers.  All of them were familiar with the Rhoades family. 

     This particular driver was a terrier who had migrated to Suburbia from the town of Camelot and spoke with a heavy Camelodian dialect, much more pronounced than Sir Jon’s. 

     As they drove towards Perry’s house, which was only about 10 minutes away from the hospital, the driver made several attempts to engage Perry in conversation, but Perry was in no mood to be polite or sociable. 

     Curiously, the driver adjusted his mirror so that he could look at Perry while he drove, and he saw that Perry was obviously in no mood to be bothered. 

     This did not seem like the famous Perry Rhoades whom everyone in Suburbia looked on as their generous and compassionate prince.  Normally Perry’s wealth and position precluded all worry.  He was not thought of as a man who knew the meaning of personal fear or uncertainty.  But the man the driver saw in the back of his cab was fearful and troubled, as if for the first time in his life facing something that his money and inventive ingenuity couldn’t fix. 

     “Were it the fire, sir?" asked the cab driver. 

     “Fire?" said Perry, as if having been aroused from a daydream. 

     “Yes, sir,” said the driver.  “The fire this morning.  So tragic about those three young females.  I heard on the radio they were friends of yours."

     “Mr. Shrieves, they are friends of mine,” said Perry, emotionally.  “They’re not dead yet.  Please don’t speak of them in the past tense."

     “Sorry, sir,” said the driver.  “You look tired, sir."

     “I haven’t slept all night,” said Perry, wearily. “Please forgive me for my rudeness."

     “Of course, sir,” said the driver, understandingly.  “Going home to rest, are ya?"

     “Yes,” said Perry, seeming entirely drained.  “There was nothing more I could do at the hospital."

     “Aye, well, here we are at your house, sir,” said the driver, encouragingly.  “I’ll pass the word around town, and we’ll all say a prayer for your friends while you rest."

     “That’s so kind of you,” said Perry as he signed the voucher for the driver’s fare, writing in a more than generous tip.  “Thank you for caring."

     “Aye, well, you care for all of us right enough, sir,” said the driver.  “It’s the least we can do to feel for you in your hour of need."

     From some deep well of reserved emotion, Perry found the strength to spare the cab driver a reassuring smile before he left the cab.  And as he made his way up the walk to his house, Perry felt a sense of comforting warmth in the midst of his despair. 

     “What a silly little town,” he thought to himself, emotionally.  “A silly little town filled with silly little people.  And I love them all so much. 

     “This situation is so much bigger than law or my personal morality.  The people of this town trust me and believe in me.  I can’t let Suburbia fall under the control of someone who’s willing to kill for her own gain.  I can’t marry Lappi unless I’m sure she didn’t do this.  But if I don’t marry her she’ll die. 

     “Please, Lappi, have an alibi I can believe.  I don’t want to be your executioner."