Promises Kept.

(AN: I have invented my own calendar, so I will explain it before we go any further. Year 1 begins the spring after the Colony ship lands--the establishment of New Pacifica as a Colony. This is 26 months after Eden Advance landed, so about two years after the actual first Landing. And though the colony ship landed in the winter, I chose spring as the significant date since I felt it would be more in harmony with the way the Terrians would view the changing of the years and the seasons, in a way that humans could understand and accept. So a year begins anew in the spring. When I say that this chapter begins at the end of the second year, I mean that it is nearly spring, and it is a little over two years after the Colony ship has arrived and therefore about four and a half years since Eden Advance landed. Sounds complicated, I know, but it's not.)

End of 2nd Year, N.P.

"On a day like this, you can't help but think of all the sacrifices that were needed to reach this moment. Of all the trials that were endured, and obstacles overcome, by men and women reaching together to make a dream come true. Is it worth it, I wonder? I remember fallen friends, I remember the smell of fear and the taste of despair, and I ask if anything could be worth the price we each had to pay. Then I look in the mirror, and I see a life that could have been. A life where I was blinded by the Council, doing unspeakable things in the name of a government that claims to represent humanity, and yet so often fails to approach what it is to be human. On this foreign soil, I can't help but feel that I have regained a humanity I never knew I lost. What price would I pay now, to keep it? I worry that this is not the end of the pain and anguish as mankind struggles to start a new civilization on an alien planet. I worry that soon I shall ask myself again if the price was worth the product. But on a day like this, well, you also can't help but think that Spring is just around the corner, and with the new year comes untold possibilities."

--from the private journal of Governor Julia Solace

All the hospital beds were empty except for two. That alone was a very good reason to rejoice. The first few years had been hard, but the fresh air and the healthy work did much to promote quick recoveries and to build up the resistance of the station-born settlers. The few daily cases of injuries were often minor in nature and endured with rueful grins and a positive attitude. Even the Syndrome children, those that had survived the cold sleep journey, were doing much better away from the sterility of the stations and did not require so much professional attention. While many were still viewed as critically sick, there was the chance now that many would survive to adulthood—a chance that hadn't existed on the stations.

Julia nervously paced up and down between the two occupied beds, keeping one eye on the screens that monitored the life signs of the two inhabitants. Her stride was awkward and she made slow, ungainly progress, finally depositing herself into a chair placed near the foot of the beds. She shifted repeatedly, trying to find a way to position her bulk that offered the most comfort. She had been assured, laughingly, by many mothers that the situation only got worse, and more uncomfortable. Two more months was feeling like forever, where the past seven had gone by so fast. In her mind's eye she was still slim and attractive and the glow of impending motherhood didn't do much to offset the fact that she could no longer fit all of her body in the mirror behind her bathroom door.

A glance at the clock told her only 10 minutes had passed since she began her vigil. Life signs were all normal, no reason for concern. As the Governor of this budding Colony, population approximately 1000, she didn't have many medical patients. No one could deny that her experience here on G889 made her the leading expert on the treatment of injuries and illnesses in this new environment. But she couldn't possibly find the time of day to treat everyone and govern them at the same time. Right now she divided up her time between office duties, and research in the biological field. Dr. Vasquez served as the Head Physician, often pioneering new ideas and techniques with Julia's consultation.

There were occasions, though, when Julia insisted on being the physician in charge of treatment. This was one of those occasions, although the patients in the beds did not actually need any treatment. In fact, they both believed the monitoring was excessively unnecessary. But Julia worried, and Julia wanted the monitoring, and Julia was in charge. They had learned early on that it was far easier to agree to the preventive measures, than to argue with Governor Julia Solace. The fact that nothing remotely dangerous or harmful had ever occurred during the previous experiences didn't cause Julia to budge an inch in her demand for monitored incidents.

She rarely worried this much, though. Perhaps it was the new hormones being released in her body, or perhaps it was the uneasy feeling that something could go very wrong now that they were so close to the answers they sought. Today had the potential for great significance. Whether the impact was positive or negative remained to be seen. She would know soon, though, once the two dreamers returned from their trip.

Julia shifted yet again in her chair, trying not to get too distracted by her thoughts. She wished fervently, not for the first time, that it hadn't been Alonzo who was so instrumental in establishing contact and friendly relations with the enigmatic Terrians. He had never come to real harm from the association and had done much good, but still Julia felt uneasy when having any dealings with the earth-swimmers. She couldn't forget that they were a key part of a planet that still threatened to reject all its human settlers.

There was a room in the back of the hospital in which cryopods were maintained, for extreme situations that required more time than available to diagnose and cure. Only one was occupied, and it had been occupied before the cryopods had been transferred to the room. In fact, before the room had been built, before even the ground had been broken for the foundation of the hospital. It served as a reminder to Julia that the unknowable could descend at any moment, and that pain and heartache could still be the end of this course that they took.

She was not suspicious of the Terrians' motives. But she felt she had sufficient reason for healthy precautions.

The quiet beeping of the monitors changed slowly to a faster frequency. Julia lifted herself out of her chair, and lumbered up to the nearest bed. Softly, she reached over the patient to brush a heavy lock of dark brown hair out of eyes that were just fluttering open. Tenderness swelled in her heart as he focused on her and smiled.

"Hey, beautiful." He grinned, and reached up a hand to cover hers—a sure sign of a successful visit with the Terrians. "Have we got news for you! Good news. Great news. News to celebrate life by!"

Julia didn't say anything, but she smiled and shook her head fondly, turning to face the person in the other bed who was also waking up quickly. The monitors were beeping steadily, increasing as the patient regained consciousness. Her eye for details noted that his pants were worn at the knees and a tad bit too short, and his shoes were laced hastily. But he looked healthy and happy, and she fondly ruffled his shaggy hair. "Hi there, kid. Everything okay? How are you feeling?"

He gave her a tolerant look and his eyes went pointedly to the monitor screens beside his bed, which were beeping the all-clear. She grinned, knowing how much he hated to have to hook up for his Dream Plane adventures. She also knew that he went on the Dream Plane regularly without the monitors, much as Alonzo did. There was no way Julia could control that, so she only insisted on the monitors on official business. After all, it was only when trying to represent all of humankind that the Terrians became difficult to deal with. Alone, Uly and Alonzo were as safe with the Terrians as they could be anywhere else on the planet.

Ulysses Adair swung his legs over the side of the bed, clearly in a buoyant mood. Curious, Julia turned back to Alonzo, and nearly stumbled backwards as he caught her up in a fervent hug. One of his hands slipped down to caress her belly fondly, and then he kissed her soundly on the mouth.

"Wow," Julia laughed. "I gather it all went well." She looked from one to the other, and saw excitement brimming. "Should I call the whole town together? How good is it?"

Alonzo exchanged looks with Uly. "It's good. But it'll take some explaining. Maybe we should keep the group small first."

"The Terrians are willing to accept humans on G889 on a permanent basis," Uly blurted out. At Julia's gasp of surprise, Uly added, "Well, there are still some details to work out. But at least at New Pacifica the Terrians have seen that we can live in harmony with the Mother, and they've lifted the restrictions on us."

Julia's hand went to her mouth, surprised. For years they had worked to build a Colony that was self-sufficient and environmentally sound, according to the Terrians' dictates. Many times they had had to reorganize or rethink the plans for the town. It had been tough getting the other colonists to accept that they couldn't do whatever they pleased, but for the time being, the leadership of Eden Advance was more than enough to guide the other settlers in the directions they needed to go.

Most of the other settlers didn't realize the danger they were in, should the Terrians and thus the planet, succeed in rejecting the human visitors. Rejection by the planet resulted in a complete system breakdown that ended rapidly in death. A means, perhaps, of protecting itself from harmful intruders. That information was restricted to a very select few, most of whom were members of the original landing party, or members of the biological teams studying adaptation on G889. The threat of rejection and of death constantly loomed in the back of Julia's mind, now that the more immediate dangers of survival in the wild were ended with the end of the westward trek across the continent. With the beginnings of life stirring in her womb, the hopeful news was all the more important.

She turned to Alonzo, afraid to believe the words, and the implications, and he just grinned and hugged her again, lifting her off her feet. "Alonzo, this means…" she couldn't finish. He touched his forehead to hers, and said, "I know."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"This is great news!" Bess beamed. She was standing behind Morgan, pouring more of the juice-root concoction she'd invented. Having finished going around the small table, she took her seat between Morgan and True, and set the glass pitcher in the middle of the table. It was after hours at a small restaurant called the Wildflower. Homey and always full of pleasant fragrances and good friends, the Wildflower was like a second home to most of the Eden Advance group. It helped that Bess usually served the former EA crew for free. Morgan only gave them 50 off, but it was worth it for the chance to sit around and gab with your friends and relax at the end of the day.

Morgan, of course, had been all for starting a business and making personal profit. But it was Bess' idea to have a small place where they could use local fruits and plants to spice up the everyday boring fare that the colonists were eating those first few months. The Terrians didn't take kindly to ground being cleared for large crops, so inventive ways had to be found to grow and obtain the nutrients that they needed. Until that had happened, the Wildflower was extremely popular whenever you wanted to get away from the semolina bars.

Now, it was mostly the favorite haunt of some loyal customers. And it was often the location of private unofficial meetings like the one occurring right then.

"The Terrians still feel that humans are a possible threat to the well-being of the planet," Alonzo emphasized, looking at Uly for confirmation. "But over the last few years they've seen that New Pacifica is a town that honors the Mother, and all her Children. So as long as we keep adhering to the rules we've set up, the Terrians are going to allow us more unrestricted movement." He added, "Until further notice that is."

"They trust us more now," Uly explained. His face, as always, was open and honest. While everyone was changed, somehow, through contact with the Terrians, Uly was the only one who had changed on the molecular level. He had a special bond with them, and though he was very young, he had the formidable task of reconciling the two species. "Alonzo and I spend a lot of time explaining human concepts to them, and they agree that we don't act the same as the penal colonists that had arrived before us. They don't understand it, but they have accepted it for now."

Morgan, leaning over his now-empty plate, voiced the question on everyone's mind. "Does this mean that we're safe now?" Receiving no fast answer, he continued, "How do we know what 'more unrestricted movement' is? Maybe there's no difference, and they just want us to feel that we don't have to keep our guard up anymore, and then—" Bess lightly tapped his shoulder, slightly embarrassed over her husband's less than jovial response to good news. "I'm just saying, Bess."

One by one, the eyes looked in Julia's direction. At this table, among these people, Julia knew that they didn't look at her for an answer because on her office door was a small plaque with the word "Governor" on it. They remembered long, tiring days, and many, many near-fatal discoveries or experiences. Everyone had a job, everyone had a position. John's job was to say when to move. Julia's was to say when it was safe to do so. They looked at her because they trusted her.

She never forgot the price that trust had been. She never abused it. "No, it's not completely safe for us now." She was honest. "I wish it was. I have a very strong hope that we are closer now to a safe adjustment to this world than we have ever been. But many things can happen. It may be years before any of us can say that we are completely safe."

Catching the beginning of Uly's frown, Julia quickly continued on, "But Bess is right that this is certainly great news. Exploration can continue now, through the spider caves, up the Morgan River." There was a playful groan from the general direction of those with the surname of either Danziger or Adair, who had been adamantly opposed to the naming of the River. "And more than that, the Terrians…well, they have agreed…." Julia couldn't find the right words to explain what came next. She looked at Alonzo for help.

He put one hand on her shoulder, rubbing her back slowly, and looked at Uly who was looking down at his empty plate, seeming fidgety while holding perfectly still. "Accepting humankind on a more permanent basis means that the Terrians will prevent the planet from rejecting our physical presence."

There was silence while this comment was digested by those present. "What's that mean, exactly?" Danziger's voice rumbled from the far end of the table, speaking for the first time since the news was relayed.

Uly answered quietly. "It means that we are safe, in a manner of speaking. We still have to deal with the Terrians and the penal colonists and the grendlers and the kobas and even the Council if they make themselves known again."

Someone in the direction of the Martins murmured, "You call that safe?" There was a brief knocking sound under the table, before Uly continued.

"But at least we won't have to worry about the planet making us sick." He looked like he was going to say more, but he abruptly stopped and occupied himself with placing his empty cup and his utensils onto his plate.

Julia elaborated for him, gripping Alonzo's hand under the table. "In the same way she heals herself, and all her children, she will heal those who allow themselves to be taken into the earth." She paused, hesitating, a detached part of her mind commenting that pauses could be very dramatic. "The Terrians say that the Mother will undo the harm which has been caused through her."

Morgan snorted. "Well, that's rather cryptic, don't you think? It all depends on who's defining harm, and who's defining cause. And for that matter, who's defining the undoing?"

"Devon." The answer came from Danziger, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes unreadable. He sat, considering Julia and Alonzo, and finally his gaze rested on Uly. The young man met his stare for just a few moments, before turning back to his plate.

Beside the two, True sat, quietly. She knew that the only reason she was invited to these meetings with the Solaces and the Martins was because her dad was an important unofficial leader on New Pacifica, and Uly was "the Link." At first, she'd voiced her opinion on just about everything. But she was growing up now. She was nearly fifteen, and she'd learned that when important things were being discussed, her words had more weight when she waited to say them.

She saw the look that passed between her father and Uly. She couldn't read it, but she came as close as anyone could. She kept her counsel to herself, but sensed even more important to news.

"Devon?" Morgan asked, confused. "Why would Devon be defining anything?" He conveniently remembered Danziger's inexplicable connection to the thoughts and memories of Devon Adair. "Oh, does…she have anything to say here?" he offered, afraid for a moment that he'd upset the scruffy mechanic by mentioning their former leader. He waited for the glower that never arrived.

Julia was the one to confirm Danziger's guess. Her smile was brilliant, her eyes suspiciously bright as she nodded. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't. And if she did, she could blame it on the hormones. Then Uly looked up at her, and she couldn't help herself. Devon's going to be so proud of him, she thought, and wiped futilely at the big drops that had begun to roll down her cheeks. Alonzo laughed softly, not immune to emotion himself, and wrapped Julia in a warm embrace.

The light clicked on in True's head. Her determination not to blurt things out was momentarily forgotten. "Devon's coming back!" she shouted exuberantly, and she exploded from her chair, throwing her arms around Uly, who grinned, accepting the hug and the sentiment, and trying not to get knocked out of the chair.

Bess jumped up immediately, her hand going to her mouth, "Devon!" A glance at Julia confirmed it, and she tugged at Morgan's shirt, "Morgan, did you hear?" she yelled. Her eyes welled up, and she hugged True who had just disengaged herself from Uly and looked ready to launch another hug.

The two giggled, happy and giddy, and then True turned and threw herself onto her dad's lap, laughing, and saying, "She's going to be okay, dad!" He didn't say anything, he just wrapped his arms around his baby girl and held her tight for a moment.

Bess, wiping at her eyes, decided it was time for a celebration. "And I have just the thing!" She raced off to the kitchen, leaving Morgan looking a bit dazed. "The Terrians are going to cure Devon?" he asked.

Julia nodded, happily, still afraid to believe it herself. Alonzo replied for her, "We still don't know how it works, but Uly tells us they've promised to reverse the total system collapse. They can trust us now, so they will restore Devon to us."

"Well how about that," was all Morgan could think to say. True laughed and decided he needed a hug, and after a moment, Morgan laughed at himself, too. Bess came back with a pie, freshly baked, and a half a dozen forks. "I was waiting till Spring to unveil these, but it seems that we have an even better reason to celebrate now. My grandmother used to say that in the old days, you celebrated all the good events and all the bad events with some good food." She began passing out the forks.

"Will she be here for Spring, Uly?" True asked. Spring was the day after tomorrow. But the Terrians worked fast, she knew, and it wasn't unreasonable to ask.

Uly answered around a mouth full of pie. "They said Spring morning. We'll have to release her from her pod and stuff, and set her on the earth. They didn't say how long it would take after that, but it didn't seem like it would take very long."

Julia looked up. "Spring morning? That's in—" she glanced up at the clock, "about 35 hours!" She thought of all the things she needed to accomplish before they could be ready to deal with Devon's illness, and the laughter and the smell of pie faded beneath the onslaught of sudden fervent thought. She felt a hand touch her arm, and her attention snapped back to see Uly grinning at her.

"The Terrians say they'll handle everything. We just need to take her outside and lay her on the ground." Julia looked at Alonzo, who affirmed Uly's remark. So she just nodded.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The others were inside, chattering, reminiscing about the journey from the Landing site to New Pacifica, obviously in high spirits. John had needed some quiet for a few minutes. He was outside, breathing in the fresh air that blew in off of the ocean. He remembered another night, and another ocean. The sound of surf, the canopy of stars, and an unsettled feeling in his gut that until tonight had been just a memory. The woman who put that feeling there hadn't breathed in nearly four years. And just the thought of her was twisting his stomach into knots.

His head was still spinning. Some mornings when he woke up, he was sure that it would be the day everything would turn out right. But some nights when he went to bed, he knew, he just knew, that there would never be another night with the smell of ocean and the faint scent of her hair on the breeze, and the touch of her just an arm's length away.

Oh, God, it was starting already. He had never been able to put Devon out of his mind. Not with her practically living there. Her thoughts, her memories, emotions…he knew Devon as well as anyone could by the choices she'd made and the experiences she'd had. But when he found himself falling in love with a woman who wasn't even there except when he thought of her, he'd had to find a way to separate her from him.

The rest of the journey to New Pacifica had been full of never-ending adventure. He used Devon's knowledge, and her experience, and he made the hard choices, and didn't regret a single one. And slowly, he got used to the information that came from unexpected internal sources. He got used to the images that popped in his head. And he managed to lock away that empty feeling that invaded him at night when there were no decisions to make, and memories from Devon's past would come floating up, teasing him with fun, or angering him with sadness, or making him ache for a woman that was gone.

It had been hard, but he'd done it. And now he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the bed. When someone spoke her name, there was the normal sense of recognition as of an old friend, and nothing more.

But tonight, hearing the words that promised to restore Devon to him...It was like he couldn't breathe. All the thoughts that had been kept under lock and key came out and smothered him with their intensity.

He sat on a bench, his head in his hands, trying to get a grip on the whirling inside his head, and the jittering in his stomach. He almost didn't hear the slow, hesitant footsteps. A quiet voice called, "Dad?"

John didn't answer. He did sit up, though, and gazed out towards the ocean. He could glimpse it in between two buildings on the other side of the street. He could hear the pounding of the waves clearly in the quiet night. He moved over on the bench to make room.

The figure sat down, quiet and solemn, gazing out across the street as well. Silence reigned for a few minutes.

John decided to ask, now, before anyone else joined them. "What did it cost you?" He closed his eyes, afraid of the answer. Afraid of what it would mean to the woman who would be waking soon.

"Dad," Uly began. But he stopped, and just answered simply, "Nothing I wasn't prepared to give." And John knew the feeling.

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(AN: This was such a hard chapter for me to write. I finally just took what I could get, so that we can all move on. Sorry if I didn't get some of the characterizations right. I am open to specific constructive criticisms. I wasn't going to write a very involved science fiction drama, it was just going to be a romance. So let's see if we can get the romance started. Next up: We wake up Devon! Yaayyyyy…bring on the sap…)

Disclaimer: I do not own Earth 2, nor do I own any of the characters that reside on or near it. I don't even own the words "Earth 2." I don't think I own any of these words, actually, although I plan on taking credit for the way they are all arranged. The spaces are mine, too. All mine…