Harry Mason prided himself on being a fairly calm person, someone who could be depended upon in an emergency. He rarely panicked.
He wasn't panicking now either, although he was getting close.
It was because Cheryl was sick.
He didn't think it was serious enough to take her to the hospital, but he was seriously considering it.
At the moment she was sleeping, turning restlessly from time to time.
Harry turned the pages of his book, a guide to children's illnesses, just as restlessly.
If she's not feeling better soon, I'll take her to the hospital. I don't want to be too cautious, too overprotective, but it's better than being neglectful…
Suddenly Cheryl sat up and looked around the room with big confused eyes.
"Cheryl, are you okay?"
She turned to look at him and she seemed to relax a bit, but she still seemed confused. "Daddy, where's Travis?"
"Travis?" Who was that? He couldn't remember any of Cheryl's friends having that name…
Cheryl nodded- Harry noticed that her eyes seemed slightly unfocused. "I need to tell him something."
"What do you need to tell him?"
Cheryl hesitated, briefly, looking a little embarrassed. "I need to thank him- to thank him for saving my life."
Harry hadn't expected that answer. He almost felt like laughing- a child's imagination, a game she'd been playing with her friends- it had to be something like that, right?
But her face- her eyes staring into space, her mouth smiling a strange bittersweet smile that no child should know-
"I want to see him again." Cheryl said softly. "I want to tell him the things I couldn't say before- but unless I go back to that place, he won't hear me when I call him- and if I go back there the Order will find me. So I can't go back until I'm strong enough and smart enough to know how to destroy them all."
Harry's throat was beginning to dry, and he had to clear it a couple times before he could say anything. "Uh Cheryl- you don't need to know any of that- I'm your father and I'll protect you."
She looked at him, eyes almost focusing on him for the first time, and he hugged her gently.
"What is it that you think you need to fight?"
"The Order-" she was resting against him now, shifting into a comfortable position. "They tried to kill me in the fire, but Travis rescued me and I'm here now. But the Order won't give up, so I have to become strong, so when I grow up, I can fight them and win."
Harry wasn't sure if that should reassure him or worry him more. It wasn't like he wanted Cheryl to be weak- he just didn't want her to need to be strong. "Don't worry, they can't find you here."
"I know." Cheryl said, sounding satisfied and sleepy, "I did a good job- I made it so they can't find us. But once I'm an adult, I'll have to go back, have to finish things."
Harry wasn't sure why he was taking this so seriously. Cheryl obviously had a fever and she was taking some story that she'd heard and applying it to herself- that had to be it. Maybe it was the way she talked, the way her eyes were suddenly older than her years- Harry stroked his daughter's head. "Well, anytime you feel that you've grown up enough to finish things, you have to tell me, alright?"
Cheryl nodded, eyes even more unfocused, before falling back into sleep- a less restless one, Harry was relieved to see. Her fever was dropping down to normal, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. The worst appeared to be over- by tomorrow, everything should be back to normal.
Harry still didn't know what to make of the story she had told- he decided to cut down on her books and movies that dealt with battle and things like that, and just keep an eye on things- see if she mentioned anything else like this ever again- pay a bit more attention to her friends, see if any of them were named Travis or if any of them told weird stories. That should do it-
Harry suddenly remembered how he and Katharine had found Cheryl, wrapped only in a blanket, crying by the side of a highway, next to a cemetery of all places…
Where had she come from?
Was the story she had just told him a result of some long buried memories from that time? She'd been so young- could any memory from that time possibly have stuck with her?
Harry sighed and gently laid Cheryl down on her bed and began tucking her in. Whatever the cause of that weird story was- he'd have to wait and keep his eyes open and see what happened.
And watch out for any guys named Travis.