10. Treasuring Family

After Ben sat down, Abigail asked Will to get the others. He didn't have to go far, though, because they'd heard his yelling and wandered into the sitting room one by one. Charlie and Meri were the last to appear, looking a little rumpled. The moment she saw her twin, she demanded, "Since when did you start losing your temper, Will?"

"Not now, Charlotte," Abigail firmly told her daughter, the use of her full name bringing the younger woman up short. "Emily Anne and I just talked with Jacob and Nadya. They had a scare late last night, early this morning."

Abe leaned forward, gray eyes full of concern and worry. "Was it Mary, Dani, or Rachael?"

"No, it was Riley," she replied, patting his shoulder reassuringly. She knew better than the others his concern and worry for his daughter.

Ben caught his wife's hand, turning her to him, blue eyes wide with worry behind the glasses he now wore all the time. "What happened to Riley?"

"He had a heart attack," she told him gently, covering his hand with hers. "Between his worry for us--" she gestured to indicate not only them, but the others as well "--and his efforts to help from D.C., he strained his heart too much. He survived, but he's under orders to take it easy for now."

The patriarch of the Gates family closed his eyes, but not before the matriarch saw the grief that shadowed them. She wordlessly slid into his lap, wrapping her arms around him as silent tears slipped down his cheeks. Charlie and Will sat down on either side of their parents and hugged them, while Abe leaned over the back of the settee to rest his head against his parents', his hands resting on his father's shoulders. Emily Anne perched on the arm of the settee near her husband, gently stroking his shoulders. Meri stood by his wife, broad hands resting on her shoulders. Jamie stood by Abigail, lightly resting his hand on her back.

"I'm sorry," Ben finally whispered against Abigail's hair.

She shook her head, straightening up enough so she could catch his eyes with hers. "It's not your fault, Benjamin Franklin Gates. We're not as young as we used to be and it was bound to happen to one of us."

"If you're going to blame someone for the heart attack, blame Michelle Harper," Emily Anne volunteered as everyone slowly resumed their seats, except Abe, who settled on the floor by his parents' feet.

Ben stared at his daughter-in-law, puzzled. "Who is she?"

"Her maiden name is Wilkinson, if that rings any bells," Abigail answered, nestling comfortably against her husband.

He blinked, surprised. "Mitch had a daughter?"

"Yes, she was born a few months after Cibola," Emily Anne informed them. "From what Uncle Riley, Dad, and Janie dug up, she's had it in for Uncle Ben since she was little. They're pretty sure she blames him for Wilkinson's death."

Ben flinched at that, burying his face in Abigail's hair. She rubbed his back and shoulders soothingly. "We know you tried to save him, Ben, but she either doesn't know or she refuses to accept that."

"Thanks, Abigail," he murmured, kissing her hair softly.

Emily Anne continued. "Michelle is the reason Bradford contacted you and asked you to search for the Yamashita treasure."

"If she wanted me to find the treasure, why would she try to kill me?" Ben looked puzzled by the seeming paradox.

Abigail pressed closer to him at that point. "For the same reason Mitch set you on the trail for Cibola, except he at least didn't want you dead."

"I didn't want him to die, either" he whispered, his arms tightening around her as he remembered that day, the horrible finality of that stone door slamming down between them and Mitch. "For a long time afterwards, I kept going over it in my head, trying to think of something I could have done differently that would have ensured his survival." He let out a shuddering sigh. "In the end, he did the noble thing and kept the stone door open long enough for Mom and I to get out."

Will, Charlie, and Abe pressed closer to their parents, offering what comfort they could, unable to hide shudders at the thought of never knowing their grandmother. Quietly, Abigail reminded her husband, "You can't save everyone, Ben. Some puzzles aren't meant to be solved."

"I know." He sighed and kissed her hair once again, reaching up to acknowledge his children with touches of his hand to each of theirs.

Emily Anne leaned over Will's shoulder to tap her mother-in-law's shoulder. "Tell him."

"Tell me what?" Ben looked at his wife quizzically, wondering what his daughter-in-law meant.

Abigail pulled back enough to meet his eyes with hers. "Riley did die for a few moments, Ben. While he was 'dead', he saw your parents and he said that they say 'hi'."

He stared at her for a long moment before he started to laugh and cry all at the same time, holding her close. She soon followed suit as she pressed against him, musing that it was a very Riley thing to say. The others waited patiently for them to calm down so they could plan their next move.

* * *

Carson stifled a groan of annoyance when Michelle's cell phone squawked for attention. Without being asked, he rolled over and retrieved it from the nightstand, handing it to her. She kissed his cheek in silent thanks before answering the phone, "What?"

"Gates and his son went to a bar." Rio's voice informed them, unperturbed by the undercurrent of annoyance in his cousin's voice. "They spent most of the evening there, and then returned to their hotel."

She closed her eyes briefly, and then looked up at the ceiling as if to ask for strength. "Did any of you happen to catch what they were talking about?"

"Eric got a good position to see their mouths," Rio reported. "The bartender suggested that Gates visit a monastery just outside of Aringay and speak to a Sister Austin."

Michelle nodded, pleased with that news. Eric had been born deaf and had had to learn sign language and could read lips fairly accurately. By the time he graduated high school, modern medicine had advanced enough that he was able to hear for the first time in his life. Though he'd since learned how to speak, he hadn't forgotten how to read lips and his cousin had often found it useful, as well as their knowledge of sign language. "Good. We head to Aringay first thing in the morning. Let the others know."

"Yes, Ma'am." Carson could almost see Rio saluting. "See you then."

His wife had a very satisfied smile on her face when she reached over to set the cell phone on the nightstand. "How can you be sure Gates wasn't just chatting idly to pass the time?"

"My father didn't have just the one clue to Cibola in his possession," she informed him with a wicked smirk on her face, pushing Carson onto his back.

As she moved to straddle his hips, he slid his hands along her sides, admiring her beauty. "You've had a clue to the Yamashita treasure in your possession all this time and never told me?"

"It didn't exactly do me much good without Gates' information." He moaned softly with pleasure as she undulated above him.

He gave up trying to hold a conversation with her in this mood. Maybe he could find out more later. He gasped when her body joined with his. Much later.

* * *

After they'd made their plans for the next day, Charlie caught her twin's sleeve. "Can I talk to you? It's important."

"Of course." Will turned to Emily Anne, who stood on his other side. "I'll be right there."

She glanced at her sister-in-law and nodded, turning to go into their room. Will turned back to his twin. "What's up?"

"This way," she towed him behind her to the room she and Meri shared. Her husband wasn't there, but Abe was, sitting cross-legged on the queen-sized bed. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "How'd I know you'd be in here, Abie?"

He mock-glared at her for using that particular nickname, as she knew he hated it. "Because Dad revealed something very important about what happened at Cibola. He never talks much about those last moments."

"For a good reason," Will commented reasonably, kicking off his shoes before he stretched out on the bed. "Those memories are emotionally intense for him and Mom."

Charlotte interrupted her brothers before they could talk further. "That's not what I wanted to talk about, Willy."

"Char, you're being moodier than usual," her twin retorted lightly, ignoring the glare she threw his way for using that nickname. "What's wrong?"

Abe raised his hand while she struggled to articulate exactly what it was. "I think she's a little upset that you were actually yelling earlier, Will."

"So?" He looked from his sister to his brother and back again. "I'm entitled to get upset from time to time, especially given the fact that I had no idea the bartender was the man we were looking for."

She perched on the bed facing her brothers. "It's not that, Will. You've always been the calm, steady one of the two of us. You've never raised your voice like you did tonight. It was more than a little disconcerting."

"Charlie, this whole treasure hunt has been straining my ability to remain calm and rational," Will gently explained, taking her hands in his. "I've been worrying about keeping everyone safe, and then it looked like Dad and I had completely wasted our time at the bar. It's enough to fray the nerves of a saint and I'm certainly not one myself."

Abe reached over to rest his hands on theirs. "You've always been our rock, Will. We just need to be reminded occasionally that even rocks can be knocked off balance when just the right amount of force is applied at just the right angle."

"I understand, but I shouldn't have to remind my sister that she has a husband who can be her rock as much as me," Will smiled gently at his twin to show that he understood her reasons for being upset.

Charlie had the grace to blush as she remembered that Meri had always been there for her. "Oh, yes. You're right about that."

"Just like I have Janie and Will has Emily Anne," Abe added with a grin.

The others laughed softly, any remaining uncertainty fading with that gentle, teasing reminder. Slowly, Abe grew serious. "You know, we have Mitch to thank for our lives."

"What do you mean?" Charlie stared at him. "We wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for him."

Will shook his head. "What he means is that Mitch helped Mom and Dad get back to together, as well as Grandma and Grandpa. We wouldn't have been born if he hadn't done that."

"That's not exactly it, though you're right about that." Abe wagged a finger at his brother. "I was thinking of what Dad said earlier, about Mitch being the reason he and Grandma survived Cibola. If he hadn't done whatever he did, Dad would have died there."

Charlie frowned. "If Mitch had gotten his way in the first place, Dad would have been the one to die there instead of him."

"Yeah, but he did the right thing in the end," Will countered, remembering something they'd been told long ago about those last moments in Cibola. "He opened the door long enough for Dad and Grandma to get out. Whatever else he did, he let Dad live."

Abe added something else. "And he probably insisted on being one of the ones who left because he wanted to get home to his wife and daughter as much to get credit for finding Cibola."

"Okay, okay, you two have made your points." Charlie mock-glared at her brothers, accepting that she'd been wrong to assume the worst about Wilkinson, especially in light of what the others had found out for them.

Will smirked and lounged back against the pillows. "Good to know we got through that thick skull of yours, Char."

"Hey!" She lunged for her twin and started tickling him.

He squirmed and wriggled, trying to escape her, but she knew him too well. Instead of retaliating in kind, he grabbed one of the pillows he'd been leaning against and hit her with it. She was so surprised that it knocked her off balance and he scrambled away from her. "That's what you get for tickling me!"

"I'm not through with you!" She snatched up one of the other pillows and lunged forward to pummel him with it.

Will dodged away at the last second, so Charlie ended up hitting Abe hitting instead. "Hey!"

"Sorry, Abe." The grin on her face belied her words, however.

Scrambling for the head of the bed, he armed himself with a pillow, too. The three siblings were soon pummeling each other indiscriminately with their pillows, giggling madly. That is, until there was a knock on the door and their mother entered. "What on earth is going on in here?"

"Um, nothing?" Abe offered this up with his most charming smile, the one that reminded his mother so very much of his father.

Unfortunately, it didn't have quite the same effect on her when it was her son that it did when it was her husband. She folded her arms across her chest and responded with a glare. "Nice try, Mister, but no cigar." She looked pointedly at her watch. "I suggest you three break it up so we can go to bed and get some sleep."

"Yes, Mom!" they chorused, aware that it was meant as an order, even though it had been phrased as a suggestion.

Just before she closed the door, Abigail picked up a stray pillow and threw it unerringly so it hit her youngest in the face. Grinning cheekily, she told them, "Don't lie next time."

After a moment of stunned silence, the three siblings burst into laughter. Even after all this time, their mother could still surprise them.

* * *

Twelve hours ahead of the others, Riley grumbled as his wife steered his wheelchair from his hospital room. "Why do I need a wheelchair? I feel fine now."

Walking along next to the wheelchair, his oldest daughter gave him a glare worthy of Emily Appleton-Gates. "In case you forgot, Dad, you had a heart attack yesterday. Forgive us for not wanting you to over-exert yourself and risk having another one."

"Walking will not over-exert my heart, Cris," he objected with a glare for her.

Jacqui interrupted them firmly as they stepped and rolled onto an elevator, thankfully empty of all other passengers. "Stop antagonizing your father, Cris. Riley, we're being careful because we love you and don't want to lose you."

"But--" He stopped when he saw his wife's face. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, chin trembling a little. "Hey." He gently tugged on her hand until she leaned down. Quietly, he whispered, "I'm not going anywhere any time soon. Stop worrying."

She hugged him as tightly as she dared. "I was so scared I was going to lose you, Riley."

"Emily sent me back for a reason, Jacqui," he told her, gently rubbing her back. "I wouldn't dare die so soon after she went to all that effort of sending me back in the first place."

Just as he intended, that comment made his wife laugh through the few tears that had managed to trickle down her cheeks. Reluctantly, she straightened up. When she moved to resume her place behind the wheelchair, Riley didn't let go of her hand. She looked at him curiously and he twined their fingers together. She nodded and looked at her daughter. "Cris, would you mind pushing the wheelchair?"

"Not at all, Mom." Tucking a stray strand of auburn hair behind her ear, Cris slid behind the wheelchair just as the elevator doors opened, letting them out on the ground floor.

Mary Elizabeth waited outside the hospital with the car, opening the passenger door so Riley could get in. While his wife and daughters climbed into their seats and buckled up, a gurgle from the backseat startled him. Twisting around, he grinned when he saw Mary Emily in her car seat, waving her tiny hands at him. "Hey, Spitfire. Where's your mom?"

"Janie couldn't come, but she knew you'd want to see Mary Em here," Mary Elizabeth explained as Riley stretched an arm back towards his granddaughter. "So she insisted we bring her along."

He smiled as four tiny fingers and matching thumb wrapped around his index finger. "I'll have to thank her for that."

His wife and daughters exchanged pleased glances before Jacqui started the car and pulled away from the curb. It was enough for them that he was still alive to thank his daughter for her thoughtfulness.

End Chapter