This fame and skill had not come without cost though. Being a successful woman in academia required a degree of social sacrifice. Dr. Anderson had to ...evelop boundaries between herself and her assistants and colleagues for fear of appearing to "sleep her way to the top". This had given Jessica a reputation for being an ice queen, but she did not care so long as she was successful.Her level of prestige also demanded a higher standard of professionalism. While her team scoured the remote desert. Tonight was Christmas Eve, and it was snowing very hard. They had to get home before Santa came. Tim was very excited about Christmas, even though his mother wouldn't be home. Spending the day with he r had helped young Tim a lot. They took h er many kinds of wonderful presents they had bought, along with the nice things that Tim had made for her in school."Daddy, ismommy going to get better soon?" Tim ask ed his dad.He hated lying to Tim but what do you tell a seven year old kid ?'No, your mom. ” “Yes, yes,” Silmaria sighed. Damn the man for ruining her happy moment with reminders of their present situation. “How much do we have left, anyway?” “Enough,” Rael shrugged. “We can stay in this inn for the better part of a week and still have enough left over to buy supplies. Food. Clean clothes.” “Are we going to be staying here for a week, then?” Silmaria asked as she straightened a bit. She glanced over at him, her eyes studying the corded knots of muscle in his back, shifting under the. “I can’t believe y’all just said that! At a time like this? It’s y’all’s nephew missin’ too!”“I know that and I also know not to go wanderin’ off in the woods in the middle of the night, especially where I don’t know where I’m goin’. It’s too dangerous to go out like that.”“Somethin’ had to have happened, Mitch. They wouldn’t just leave like that.”“I don’t know, like I said I was watchin’ the soldiers fuckin’ y’all slutty daughter and they said they was goin’ out to take a shit. That’s the last.