Uly jumped to his feet and ran out of the biodome door to meet with his mother as if he hadn't just helped John drag himself a good part of the day.
John could hear her distinctly now. Calling for Uly. He grinned. How many times had he heard her do just that? His heart swelled with pride thinking of Devon seeing his boy for the first time in… For her, it was probably just a few weeks. And now here he was. No longer a boy, but a young man. He hoped Devon could see Uly as John did.
Several minutes later, Julia came through the door with a bag and her diaglove ready for action.
Obviously Uly had had time to explain to her that John wasn't in critical condition when she greeted him with, "Didn't anyone ever teach you to stand when a lady enters the room?"
She started pushing buttons and glided the diaglove above the wound on his head.
"Let me know if there's one nearby," he smirked.
"Ha ha. I deserve that. It's good to see you in one piece. And Uly. Something tells me you have a story for us." She opened her bag for antiseptic spray to clean his wound and sealant to keep it from reopening. "I've seen you in worse shape. You're dehydrated, malnourished, you fractured your radius, sprained your wrist, bonked your head, your body's exhausted, and you look terrible."
"Hey, we can't all look like Alonzo Solace."
Julia laughed as she got out a wet cloth and started wiping John's face. "Uly pulled me aside and asked me to get you cleaned up before Devon sees you. Doesn't want you to give her a bad first impression."
John reached up and felt his muddy and bloody locks. "Hey, maybe if she sees what I went through for her kid, she'll go easy on me."
"Yeah, she was pretty upset, of course. True, too. Once Devon learned that Uly was out here alone without even his Terrian powers, she just about lost it. And, well, we were all pretty scared, honestly."
"Me, too," John said quietly.
Julia rested her glove-free hand over John's uninjured one.
"You're lucky to have me," she said.
Just then, Alonzo came running through the doors. He took in the scene and teased, "Hey, I take a few minutes to park the car, and you're already making moves on my wife?"
Julia shook her head and rolled her eyes. She started shuffling through her bag.
"Wife? Is it really official if it's not in Station records?"
"Hmmm, I might have to use that one someday," Julia whispered loudly.
Alonzo just winked at her and laughed.
"So, come on, doc, give this guy a pain block, and let's get outta here. True said she'd get me if I took even an extra minute. I don't know what that means, but I don't wanna find out."
Julia prepared the pain block and healing boost. She was just about to administer it when Devon and Uly entered the biodome, Devon holding onto Uly's hand as if she were afraid he'd run away again. John didn't like the look in her eye.
She stood a few paces back from John, as if trying to decide what to say. Julia, Alonzo, and Uly waited in silence, not sure of what to do.
"How could you, Danziger? What were you thinking taking off like that? No supplies, no gear, no back-up? No plan? We were worried sick. I had no idea what to do, where to go. I didn't even know if you and Uly were dead or alive," she shouted, squeezing Uly's hand tightly.
John was itching for Julia to deliver the pain block, but he struggled to sit up without using his injured arm.
"Mom," Uly whispered at the same time as Julia admonished, "Devon…"
"Welcome back, Adair," John muttered.
Something about hearing his voice changed her expression from uncontrolled anger to something else. She let go of Uly's hand, stepped forward and embraced John carefully, as if she were afraid she'd hurt him. It did hurt, but he didn't mind. Not at all.
"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear. "Thank you. Thank you so much. For everything."
John could feel the others' eyes on them and felt uncomfortable suddenly. He cleared his throat. "Nah, it was nothin'."
John felt Devon wiping tears from her eyes. He was suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to hold her even more closely, to kiss her tears, to kiss her… Well, he might be beat-up and broken, but it was good to know some things still seemed to be in working order.
"How about that pain block?" Julia interrupted.
John was reluctant to let Devon go, but then he remembered he was definitely not in the best condition right now. "Sounds good, doc."
Alonzo and Julia helped John stand and supported him on either side. John noticed Devon seemed uncharacteristically unsure and lost. He considered how difficult it must have been for her to wake up and realize how much she'd missed. Uly likewise had lost the smile he'd sported when he'd walked in with his mother, hand-in-hand. He looked around the biodome sadly, absentmindedly stroking a nearby table with his fingertips, much as he had gently felt the biodome door earlier. As if trying to savor the feeling and memorize it. As if noticing something familiar for the first time.
"You need a minute, Uly?" John asked.
Devon glanced at her son nervously, not sure why John had asked his question.
Uly took a deep breath as he blinked away tears. "Let's just go."
"Are you alright, Uly?" Devon asked gently, touching his arm.
Uly nodded. "I'll be fine. I'm ready to go home." He took her hand again, and they followed the others toward the door.
As they made their way out of the camp, John asked, "You couldn't have found a closer spot?" The pain block helped, but he'd need more than that to make it to the ship without relying very heavily on his two friends.
Alonzo shook his head. "Sorry, pal. We're almost there. Then you can sleep on the shuttle. We'll get to New Pacifica pretty late, but Yale and True said to wake them up no matter what time we get back."
They neared the spot where the human camp ended and where John had pleaded with the Terrians to help Uly.
A trill from the trees had them all turning their heads to the sound. A lone Terrian revealed himself from among the trees and walked toward them.
John noted the necklace around the Terrian's neck, but still asked, "Is that you?"
The Terrian nodded slowly. Again, he held his hand in front of them, made a fist, then stretched out his index finger. Deliberately, he pointed to each of them before making a fist again.
"This is incredible! What is it doing? What is it trying to say?" Julia whispered.
Alonzo closed his eyes then shook his head as he opened them again. "Huh, he can't Dream. I don't know."
"He says we're stronger when we're together," John laughed.
The Terrian's eyes widened in a way that John was becoming fond of. He nodded before slowly giving John a thumbs-up.
"Who taught him that? Are these hand gestures common among Terrians now?" Devon asked.
Uly, who had been mesmerized into silence, answered, "I've never seen anything like this before."
"Not sure where he learned that stuff from. He's his own person, though. This Terrian saved our lives, but I'm still not sure why," John wondered.
The Terrian tilted its head and pointed in the direction they were walking toward the shuttle.
"You need a lift?" John laughed.
The Terrian shook its head and pointed again, more emphatically.
"West. You're pointing west. New Pacifica?"
The Terrian nodded.
"Want to meet us there?"
The Terrian trilled.
Alonzo turned to Uly. "I don't get it. If he can communicate verbally, why is he using these signs? We usually try to understand the Terrian language."
John started walking, pulling Julia and Alonzo along with him as they were still standing with their arms around him. "Because he's talking to me. Might be hard for you to believe, but I think he likes me."
The Terrian had started walking alongside the group and gave John a look from the corner of its eye.
John just smiled. Maybe it was all in his imagination, but he felt like there was hope for some level of understanding between non-Changed humans and, well, whatever this Terrian was.
It was quite a walk to the nearest clearing large enough for the shuttle's landing. With a wave, John bid farewell to their strange, new friend who watched curiously as they walked up the gangplank into the shuttle.