<em>Jenna, finishing dinner.</em><br/><br/>Jenna listened as the others talked about themselves.  Brett's confession about sleeping with his students in orgies startled her, and she looked at him incredulously.  Why would someone lacking in ethics be chosen for something like this?  No, it was probably a joke.  He was kidding, and she just didn't understand him well enough to know when he was ribbing them.  She needed to get with the act, or she'd be spending the next year the butt of his practical jokes!<br/><br/>It seemed as if Carver's upbringing had been as unique as hers and Brook's had been ordinary.  His dads and mom intrigued her, and she looked forward to hearing about what that had been like.  She knew he'd been raised in a non-traditional household, which was what they were all here for, after all.  It seemed as if he brought into the mix some expertise.  Would it mean that he would emerge as the group's natural leader?  Would they even have or need a leader?<br/><br/>She listened as he spoke of his sister, and she wondered what it was like for her.  Was she now polyamorous herself, or had she adapted a more traditional lifestyle?  It would be a big difference between them and how Carver and his sister grew up.  Here, there was no chance of pregnancy.  She and Brook were both given shots to prevent it, and Brook would be administering the medication to them both.  It was part of the contract they had signed.  It made sense, of course.  This was an experiment with no guarantee that the personalities would mesh.  Children would only serve to complicate things.<br/><br/>A small smile lighted on her face when he so directly brought up the secondary purpose of their experiment.  Nobody else had mentioned it, skirting around the topic instead by talking about their lives and their qualifications.  She was the only one of the bunch who had been married, that had been interesting.  And he was the only one who just raised the subject that they probably all wanted to ask about.  She wondered if these things said something about them.<br/><br/>Brook's response had her shaking her head at the same time Carver's made the same motion of denial.  "I don't think that's what he meant.  Although you raise a good point about the sex.  I don't think any of us want to make this some weird sexfest," she said, her eyes meeting Brett's, twinkling with wry amusement for a moment.  If any of them wanted that, it would be him, it seemed.  "I'm here because the thought of being in on an experiment involving alternate energy sources and inhabiting hostile areas is exciting.  But come on, let's face it.  I'm here for more, too.  Because there might be something here with you guys, some deeper connection."<br/><br/>Jenna looked at all three of them one at a time.  "I'm completely open to wherever this leads, but I want to get to know you all.  I want to see if a nontraditional family is in the cards for me like it is for Carver's fathers and mother."  And with those words, a caught herself yawning.  Laughing, she said to Brook, "I might not need your tea tonight.  Seems like the long day left me pretty wiped out."