She had been afraid he wouldn't even still be there.
She'd said as much to Dr. Huer last night after Buck had been installed in one of the Directorate apartments. "For the moment, at least. He probably left five minutes after you did."
Huer shook his head. "I don't think so, Colonel."
Wilma had been feeling rattled by Buck's turning down their invitation to join the Directorate; she didn't want to admit to herself how much it mattered that she see him again. "He's already taken off once to the outer city, and he would have twice if we hadn't stopped him."
Dr. Theopolis gave a polite flash of lights a second before entering the conversation. "Buck was trying to find his world again. For all he knew, it was out there waiting for him. I do believe he has seen enough now to realize the error of that hypothesis."
"We told him it wasn't there," Wilma protested.
Huer shook his head. "If someone you had never met before suddenly appeared and told you that everything you've ever known is destroyed and every person you've ever known is dead, would you just meekly accept that as fact without demanding some proof?"
Well, when he put it that way. "No," Wilma admitted. "But what is he going to do now? He refused to join us. I can't see him just sitting around that apartment doing nothing. He'll probably head straight out to somewhere else."
"I really don't think he's going anywhere tonight," Dr. Huer stated.
"Did you leave a surveillance drone?" she asked hopefully.
"No. He is totally free to walk out if he wishes, but I don't think he will."
"Based on what?" she demanded.
"For one thing, he's worn out tonight. I'm hoping that by leaving him alone, something that we haven't really done so far, he'll be able to get some rest."
"He did look pretty tired," she agreed. "He's had a full day today."
"Not only that, but he hasn't been sleeping well since his awakening," Theo commented. "We have, as Dr. Huer said, had him under monitoring at every moment, a fact that he knew. He hasn't had a single sound night's rest since he arrived."
"Yes, that's true. Perhaps we shouldn't have asked him to join the Directorate this afternoon as soon as the two of you returned, but I . . ." Dr. Huer paused and smiled. "I must admit, Colonel, I, too, wanted to get him officially aligned with us as soon as possible, and not just because of the tremendous asset he would be. But he had excellent points when he turned us down. This has been a tremendous amount of change all at once for him already. He's wise to take a little time to adjust to the transition. He didn't refuse irrevocably; he said he couldn't do it now. I believe we still have a chance to get him to join us after he's processed a little more. And that, Colonel, is why I think he isn't likely to just leave us again. This is the most familiar thing he knows here. We need to give him some space to become more comfortable with us."
"So you're suggesting that we just leave him totally alone?" Wilma couldn't believe it. "Not talk to him, not see him, just let him look around this century until he decides he's ready to join us?"
"Not at all. I simply said we should give him some space, not drop contact entirely. I, for one, intend to stay closely in touch with him. He is going to need some help adjusting to things, and I'm determined that he's going to get it, even if he turns stubborn on us."
Wilma was forced to smile. "I can picture the Captain doing that very well."
"So can I. This is going to be a balancing act between pushing too hard and not being around enough. But I do think for tonight, he needs some time alone to process and, as Dr. Theopolis noted, to sleep. Perhaps realizing that he isn't under surveillance any longer will help him start to relax more in this world."
Wilma looked thoughtful. "I hope so. But I'm not going to let him just disappear again."
"I truly don't believe it will come to that," Huer replied. "Starting tomorrow, we'll try - gently - to find him a few things to get involved in without making too many demands and seeming like we're trying to control him."
Wilma nodded. "Good night, Dr. Huer."
"Good night, Colonel."
She'd left for her own apartment then, resisting the urge with difficulty to swing by Buck's. Why did it matter so? She listed his obvious talents mentally, agreeing that, as Dr. Huer had said, he would be a tremendous asset to the Directorate. But at the root of it, she knew there was much more. He made her feel like a woman, something that was so foreign to her professional, career-oriented mind that she was left scrambling herself and feeling disoriented and unfamiliar in her own world.
It had taken her a long time to get to sleep, and she hadn't slept that well herself. Now, as she approached Buck's apartment door the next morning, she had to fight back worry that he had already left and that she would never see him again.
Then there he was, opening the door, reassuringly substantial, and she smiled at him. "Good morning, Buck. Would you like to have breakfast with me?"
