TITLE: Traditions and Memories
AUTHOR: M. Edison
FEEDBACK: Oh yes please! Be gentle though. ;-)
CATEGORY: AU
RATING: PG-13
SPOILERS: No
SUMMARY: Jim and Blair participate in a special Newfoundland tradition.
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters or concepts of the Sentinel belong to me but Jo and Annie Do
WARNING: there are original characters in this story. They do share a homeland with me but that is where the similiarity ends.
Annie is named after a cousin and Jo...well Jo's just Jo. *snicker* Enjoy!
This story is dedicated to the brave Newfoundlanders who died at Beaumont Hamel. We still
grieve for them and as one of our politicians Fred Mifflin said speaking for the people of
Newfoundland: "The mere mention of Beaumont-Hamel can still break our hearts."
And its true. In the process of checking out the numbers and events of Beaumont Hamel there
were several times when I sat at my computer with tears running down my face.
Thank you to all the Newfoundlanders who fought in WWI. At the time we weren't a Canadian
province but a country all our own. And they defended it well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Traditions and Memories
by M. Edison
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July first dawned like any other in Cascade. That is, people got out of bed and looked out the
windows, hoping the mild rain would let up by lunch. In one Cascade home however, July first's
arrival held a much more solemn meaning.
Detective Anne Marie Langdon awoke early. Showered, dressed then went to her friend's bedroom
door and knocked softly.
"Up yet?" She called out.
A mumbled, "Yeah" was Jo's only response.
Satisfied her friend was awake, the female Sentinel went down to the kitchen and started
breakfast.
While she scrambled some eggs with one hand, she reached out with the other and grabbed the
portable phone.
She pressed the speed dial then shouldered the phone, waiting patiently for one of the guys to
pick up.
"Ellison." Jim's voice, despite the early hour, was crisp and devoid of sleep.
"Good morning to you too." Annie couldn't help teasing. "Is Rip Van Winkle conscious yet?"
"Listen for yourself." Jim responded, his voice amused.
Her hearing was easily able to pick up on the clicking of laptop keys and Blair's running
commentary to himself.
A small smile graced her features. "What on earth is he doing with a computer this early?"
"Researching Canada and Beaumont Hamel." Jim responded. "He's been at it for an hour now. Woke
me up actually." He mock-grumbled.
Annie chuckled slightly. "So, is he planning a trip to Europe to see the real site yet?"
"Don't encourage him." He countered dryly. "When will you be coming over?"
"As soon as Sleeping Beauty deigns to come downstairs and eat her breakfast." Her tone was
filled with the tolerant amusement Jim was more than familiar with. The kind reserved for Guides
who kept very erratic sleep schedules.
"Half an hour then?"
"Thereabouts." Annie agreed, hearing Jo moving around on the upper level of the brewery.
"See you then."
------
"Food." Jo said huskily, walking into the kitchen. "Gimme food." She paused. "Coffee..gimme coffee."
"Ah the tiny tyrant awakes." Her friend joked, spooning some of the eggs onto one plate then the other.
Looking, quite fuzzy around the edges, the doctor shuffled over to the table and sat down.
She rolled her eyes and carried one of the plates over and set it before her Guide. "Eat. We've
got a fairly long drive ahead of us."
Jo nodded then yawned. "Call Jim yet?"
"Yeah. Blair's been up for an hour." She smiled slightly. "He's researching Beaumont Hamel."
"My boyfriend...the anthropologist." She yawned again. "Always the compulsive researcher.
I swear, its an addiction with him."
Annie chuckled. "True enough. Now eat!" She admonished. "I'll go make sure Riley does his
business."
--------
After hanging up the phone, Jim turned and walked over to his Guide.
"So, what'd you find out?" He asked, leaning over Blair's shoulder.
"Um, numbers or events?"
"Both." He answered, dropping into a chair next to him.
"Ok." Blair leaned forward and tapped a key, scrolling down to a particular section of text.
"Umm..." he read it over for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, On the first of July 1916, was the
beginning of the Battle of The Somme and it was the first engagement that the Royal Newfoundland
Regiment fought in France. And the worst. They were one of four battalions in the 29th Division's
88 Brigade."
"Not that much detail Chief."
He raised an eyebrow. "You wanted both remember? Anyway, the 87th Brigade was cut down pretty
quickly and the 88th was ordered over the top." He frowned. "Ah man...that was so not good. They
had to cross 230 metres of open space before they even reached their OWN front line. A bunch of
them got cut down before they ever reached No Man's Land and the ones that did barely survived...
most didn't." Blair lifted pain-filled eyes to Jim's. "It only took a half-hour for it to be
declared a failure. They didn't stand a chance Jim."
Ellison nodded. "I know Chief." He sighed. "They were probably very young, not trained the best
that they could be and inexperienced. That was a big problem back then. They were so desperate
to get troops in the field they sent kids with little training out to do the jobs of soldiers
twice their age with twice their experience."
"Yeah." He looked morose. "The battle wasn't even supposed to take place that early. They weren't
ready. It says here that the British Commander in Chief, Haig, didn't like the timing or the
location but the French were being pounded by the Germans at Verdun and they were begging the
British to move up the offensive and take some pressure off of them. Prevent the Germans from
sending reinforcements to Verdun. And while Haig knew there was no real strategic value in the
Somme he knew they did need to take pressure off the French."
"What was the actual number of casualties?" Jim asked, diverting his attention back to the NFLD
regiment.
"Umm...801 men went into battle. Only..." A swallow. "Only 68 men answered the roll call for
uninjured the next day."
He winced. Even considering the lack of training in that day, 68 men uninjured? Out of 801...it
was a massacre. "How many injured?"
Blair consulted his laptop again. "386 wounded, 255 dead and 91 unaccounted for."
"346 men." He sighed heavily. "In a half an hour..."
"That totally sucks man," Blair said standing. "No wonder this is such a big deal for Annie and
Jo." He smiled slightly. "Tone down your hearing Spock, I'm going to the bathroom."
The Sentinel rolled his eyes. "Oh right. Like I've got nothing better to do than listen to you
in the bathroom." He countered dryly, recognizing Blair's subtle attempt to lighten their mood.
"You don't."
"Very funny Seinfeld." Jim said, standing and carrying his coffee cup to the sink.
He chuckled and headed for the bathroom.
Not too much later, Annie and Jo arrived.
After a brief quarrel over who would sit where - Jo had called shotgun but Jim wanted to sit
up front with Annie. The two sparred back and forth until 'Mom' (namely Annie) noted calmly,
that sitting in the back seat meant Jo could snuggle with Blair - they were on their way.
"So, where are we going exactly?" Blair asked, adjusting his arm so Jo could rest her head
against his chest.
Annie glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "Vancouver. It's got the best Canada Day
celebrations in B.C. plus the West Vancouver Memorial Arch is there."
"The what?" Jim asked, looking over at her.
"The West Vancouver Memorial Arch." She repeated. "Its for casualties of both world wars.
Technically the Arch was put up for residents of West Vancouver who died but I don't think
they'd mind if a couple Newfoundlanders paid respects to their dead as well."
"Uh...Annie?" He looked slightly uncomfortable. "There's more to you wanting to visit this arch
than just honouring the Regiment isn't there?"
She sighed. "You know Blair, you're way too perceptive to be hanging out with cops." She noted
ruefully. "Yeah. Its personal too. When I was a little girl, growing up in NFLD, my grandfather
would take me to St. John's every Canada Day. First we'd go to Signal Hill for dawn celebrations
then he'd take me to one of the parks. Bowering Park I think. It had a monument there. A Caribou.
That was the badge of the Regiment. We'd go there and put some flowers down and then Gramps would
buy me an ice cream and he'd tell me stories about his older brother John who died at Beaumont
Hamel."
"Your Great Uncle." Jim stated, nodding. "He was in the picture you showed me the other day."
She nodded. "Yeah that was him. Anyway Gramps and I did that every year, it was tradition. And
when Jo was old enough that her parents would let her go, she went with us."
"Even when Annie and I were living in Toronto we'd still take that week off to go home and make
that trip with him." Jo added, her voice wistful.
"You didn't do that this year?" Blair said, the question in his voice evident.
"No." Annie's voice was infinitely sad. "Gramps died a month before we moved to Cascade."
"Sorry." He said contritely. "I shouldn't've asked."
"Its ok Blair."
They fell silent then for a few moments.
"So, how'd you convince Simon to let us have the day off?" Jim asked.
She tossed a sneaky grin at him. "I didn't do a thing."
He raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Nothing?"
"Absolutely nothing." She nodded, flicking on the windshield cleaner and the wipers in order to
remove a squished bug from her view. She hesitated for a moment then grinned wickedly.
"Jo talked to him."
"That's not playing fair." Jim decided with a twinge of sympathy for the Captain.
"Well it all depends on the rules of engagement doesn't it?" Annie said sweetly.
"So, Half-pint," He said, looking back at her. "How'd you convince Simon to give us the day off."
"It was easy." Jo answered. "All I had to do was remind Simon that Annie and I were Canadians
and it was our national holiday, and then there was the fact we'd just wrapped up two cases and
deserved a little time off."
"What about me?" He questioned. "I'm American."
"Believe me, we've noticed." She countered cheekily, then continued on with her explanation.
"Since we all get Sunday off cause it's the fourth anyway and not just our regular day off I
asked him to schedule your regular day off today and schedule Sunday as a special holiday." She
finished with a grin and a sigh. "It was nothing really."
"Annie, you got a hair pin?"
"Why?" Annie asked, suspicious.
"I need it to deflate that ego of hers. If it gets any bigger it'll suffocate Sandburg." J
"Hey!" Jo protested giving his seat a little kick. "Play nice."
"Like you said kid, I'm American." Jim grinned slyly. "We're known for playing to win not
playing nice."
"Don't say it!" Annie called back to Jo who was obviously biting her tongue.
"Say what?"
"Sorry, this once's too good to pass up." Jo responded then grinned gleefully at Jim. "You didn't
do much winning during that little invasion attempt."
"Invasion attempt?" He looked innocent but Jo wasn't having any of it.
"Yeah. Early 19th century, the Americans tried to invade and we sent you packin'!"
"Oh that!" He waved a dismissive hand. "Just a little border dispute."
"Nooo...I don't think so Jim!" Blair interrupted, shifting into teacher-mode.
"Sandburg," He smiled wryly. "Its our day off no lectures please."
"I wasn't going to lecture."
The Sentinels Jim grinned at each other. "Heart rate." They chorused, still grinning.
Blair looked down at his chest. "Traitor."
If there were any Sentinels within earshot of Annie's jeep, as it drove along the interstate,
would've been puzzled at the sudden burst of laughter that filled it.
------
"You know what?" Blair looked out the jeep's window at the Vancouver skyline.
"What?" The others chorused.
"Vancouver looks a lot like Cascade." He informed them.
Jo leaned past him and grinned. "You're right. It does!"
"Kids." Annie teased. "Always noticing the silliest things."
"Well it does!" They protested in unison.
Jim shook his head then laughed when Jo's voice called out plaintively. "Are we there yet??"
"Sometimes I swear I feel like a single parent." Annie murmured to him, a devilish glint in her
eye. "Thank heaven I don't have to change her diaper."
Twin looks of confusion crossed Blair and Jo's face when Ellison suddenly snorted with laughter.
Suspicious they looked at Annie but the female Sentinel was studiously checking the street lights.
They raised an eyebrow at each other then relaxed back against the seat.
--------
It didn't take long for Annie to find Marine Drive in West Vancouver and when she did it was
only a matter of finding Block 1900.
"Woah." Blair said quietly looking up at the arch. "Its beautiful."
The others all nodded in agreement.
Annie looked at a couple wreaths lying against the arch; stepping forward she added hers then
crouched down to examine the others. "Looks like we weren't the only Newfoundlanders who came
here today." She noted to Jo.
The young Guide crouched down next to her Sentinel and the two women quietly read the names on
the wreaths.
By the time they stood again, there were tears in their eyes.
Blair and Jim stood nearby, just watching. There was an air of grief and reverence surrounding
the two women that they didn't dare disturb.
"Incredible." Blair whispered.
"What?" Jim asked, his voice low.
"Eighty-three years since it happened and they still grieve like it was yesterday." He watched
as Jo's hand crept up to wipe a way a tear tracing its way down Annie's cheek. "Jo told me
Newfoundland is an incredibly tight-knit province. I don't think I realized how tight till
today."
Jim nodded. "Know what you mean Chief."
They watched as the two women turned toward them.
"We're ready to go." Jo announced.
"Home?"
"Nope." Annie shook her head. "To lunch then one of the parties."
Blair was confused. "But I.."
"Thought that all Newfoundlanders do on Memorial day is grieve and remember?" Jo
grinned. "Blair, those boys that died at Beaumont Hamel would be the first ones
to tell you to enjoy yourself." She hooked her arm through his. "Now lets go!
I'm dyin' for a glass of Screech."
Ellison groaned. "Screech?"
"Uh huh." Annie nodded. "I could go for a small glass myself." She smiled up at
her counterpart. "Of course if I do that means you've got to drive us home."
Jim nodded.
Alcohol and Sentinels really weren't a good combination. And Screech and
Sentinels was definitely a bad combination.
As they followed Blair and Jo back to the car their ears picked up on Jo
enthusiastically explaining 'Face painting' to Blair.
"Face painting?" Jim wondered, looking at Annie.
"Face painting." She agreed then grinned. "Y'know Jim, you'd look really cute
with a maple leaf painted on your cheek."
"Oh no!" He held up his hands and shook his head. "No way! No face painting!"
"Aw..C'mon Jim!" Jo turned to look at him. "It's a part of the tradition!"
"No face painting!" He protested. "I am not walking around today with a leaf painted
on my face."
Jo and Annie shared an evil grin.
"Yes you will." They decided.
"Give it up Jim." Blair advised. "After all, it's a part of their cultural
celebrations and if we're going to participate in those celebrations we've got
to let them do it."
"Oh brother..."
"Jo," Annie said thoughtfully. "You did remember to load a fresh roll of film
into the camera didn't you?"
"Yep. And I've got three spare rolls and a backload of batteries just in case!"
Jo announced gleefully, twisting the knife a little.
Finis
AUTHOR: M. Edison
FEEDBACK: Oh yes please! Be gentle though. ;-)
CATEGORY: AU
RATING: PG-13
SPOILERS: No
SUMMARY: Jim and Blair participate in a special Newfoundland tradition.
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters or concepts of the Sentinel belong to me but Jo and Annie Do
WARNING: there are original characters in this story. They do share a homeland with me but that is where the similiarity ends.
Annie is named after a cousin and Jo...well Jo's just Jo. *snicker* Enjoy!
This story is dedicated to the brave Newfoundlanders who died at Beaumont Hamel. We still
grieve for them and as one of our politicians Fred Mifflin said speaking for the people of
Newfoundland: "The mere mention of Beaumont-Hamel can still break our hearts."
And its true. In the process of checking out the numbers and events of Beaumont Hamel there
were several times when I sat at my computer with tears running down my face.
Thank you to all the Newfoundlanders who fought in WWI. At the time we weren't a Canadian
province but a country all our own. And they defended it well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Traditions and Memories
by M. Edison
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July first dawned like any other in Cascade. That is, people got out of bed and looked out the
windows, hoping the mild rain would let up by lunch. In one Cascade home however, July first's
arrival held a much more solemn meaning.
Detective Anne Marie Langdon awoke early. Showered, dressed then went to her friend's bedroom
door and knocked softly.
"Up yet?" She called out.
A mumbled, "Yeah" was Jo's only response.
Satisfied her friend was awake, the female Sentinel went down to the kitchen and started
breakfast.
While she scrambled some eggs with one hand, she reached out with the other and grabbed the
portable phone.
She pressed the speed dial then shouldered the phone, waiting patiently for one of the guys to
pick up.
"Ellison." Jim's voice, despite the early hour, was crisp and devoid of sleep.
"Good morning to you too." Annie couldn't help teasing. "Is Rip Van Winkle conscious yet?"
"Listen for yourself." Jim responded, his voice amused.
Her hearing was easily able to pick up on the clicking of laptop keys and Blair's running
commentary to himself.
A small smile graced her features. "What on earth is he doing with a computer this early?"
"Researching Canada and Beaumont Hamel." Jim responded. "He's been at it for an hour now. Woke
me up actually." He mock-grumbled.
Annie chuckled slightly. "So, is he planning a trip to Europe to see the real site yet?"
"Don't encourage him." He countered dryly. "When will you be coming over?"
"As soon as Sleeping Beauty deigns to come downstairs and eat her breakfast." Her tone was
filled with the tolerant amusement Jim was more than familiar with. The kind reserved for Guides
who kept very erratic sleep schedules.
"Half an hour then?"
"Thereabouts." Annie agreed, hearing Jo moving around on the upper level of the brewery.
"See you then."
------
"Food." Jo said huskily, walking into the kitchen. "Gimme food." She paused. "Coffee..gimme coffee."
"Ah the tiny tyrant awakes." Her friend joked, spooning some of the eggs onto one plate then the other.
Looking, quite fuzzy around the edges, the doctor shuffled over to the table and sat down.
She rolled her eyes and carried one of the plates over and set it before her Guide. "Eat. We've
got a fairly long drive ahead of us."
Jo nodded then yawned. "Call Jim yet?"
"Yeah. Blair's been up for an hour." She smiled slightly. "He's researching Beaumont Hamel."
"My boyfriend...the anthropologist." She yawned again. "Always the compulsive researcher.
I swear, its an addiction with him."
Annie chuckled. "True enough. Now eat!" She admonished. "I'll go make sure Riley does his
business."
--------
After hanging up the phone, Jim turned and walked over to his Guide.
"So, what'd you find out?" He asked, leaning over Blair's shoulder.
"Um, numbers or events?"
"Both." He answered, dropping into a chair next to him.
"Ok." Blair leaned forward and tapped a key, scrolling down to a particular section of text.
"Umm..." he read it over for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, On the first of July 1916, was the
beginning of the Battle of The Somme and it was the first engagement that the Royal Newfoundland
Regiment fought in France. And the worst. They were one of four battalions in the 29th Division's
88 Brigade."
"Not that much detail Chief."
He raised an eyebrow. "You wanted both remember? Anyway, the 87th Brigade was cut down pretty
quickly and the 88th was ordered over the top." He frowned. "Ah man...that was so not good. They
had to cross 230 metres of open space before they even reached their OWN front line. A bunch of
them got cut down before they ever reached No Man's Land and the ones that did barely survived...
most didn't." Blair lifted pain-filled eyes to Jim's. "It only took a half-hour for it to be
declared a failure. They didn't stand a chance Jim."
Ellison nodded. "I know Chief." He sighed. "They were probably very young, not trained the best
that they could be and inexperienced. That was a big problem back then. They were so desperate
to get troops in the field they sent kids with little training out to do the jobs of soldiers
twice their age with twice their experience."
"Yeah." He looked morose. "The battle wasn't even supposed to take place that early. They weren't
ready. It says here that the British Commander in Chief, Haig, didn't like the timing or the
location but the French were being pounded by the Germans at Verdun and they were begging the
British to move up the offensive and take some pressure off of them. Prevent the Germans from
sending reinforcements to Verdun. And while Haig knew there was no real strategic value in the
Somme he knew they did need to take pressure off the French."
"What was the actual number of casualties?" Jim asked, diverting his attention back to the NFLD
regiment.
"Umm...801 men went into battle. Only..." A swallow. "Only 68 men answered the roll call for
uninjured the next day."
He winced. Even considering the lack of training in that day, 68 men uninjured? Out of 801...it
was a massacre. "How many injured?"
Blair consulted his laptop again. "386 wounded, 255 dead and 91 unaccounted for."
"346 men." He sighed heavily. "In a half an hour..."
"That totally sucks man," Blair said standing. "No wonder this is such a big deal for Annie and
Jo." He smiled slightly. "Tone down your hearing Spock, I'm going to the bathroom."
The Sentinel rolled his eyes. "Oh right. Like I've got nothing better to do than listen to you
in the bathroom." He countered dryly, recognizing Blair's subtle attempt to lighten their mood.
"You don't."
"Very funny Seinfeld." Jim said, standing and carrying his coffee cup to the sink.
He chuckled and headed for the bathroom.
Not too much later, Annie and Jo arrived.
After a brief quarrel over who would sit where - Jo had called shotgun but Jim wanted to sit
up front with Annie. The two sparred back and forth until 'Mom' (namely Annie) noted calmly,
that sitting in the back seat meant Jo could snuggle with Blair - they were on their way.
"So, where are we going exactly?" Blair asked, adjusting his arm so Jo could rest her head
against his chest.
Annie glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "Vancouver. It's got the best Canada Day
celebrations in B.C. plus the West Vancouver Memorial Arch is there."
"The what?" Jim asked, looking over at her.
"The West Vancouver Memorial Arch." She repeated. "Its for casualties of both world wars.
Technically the Arch was put up for residents of West Vancouver who died but I don't think
they'd mind if a couple Newfoundlanders paid respects to their dead as well."
"Uh...Annie?" He looked slightly uncomfortable. "There's more to you wanting to visit this arch
than just honouring the Regiment isn't there?"
She sighed. "You know Blair, you're way too perceptive to be hanging out with cops." She noted
ruefully. "Yeah. Its personal too. When I was a little girl, growing up in NFLD, my grandfather
would take me to St. John's every Canada Day. First we'd go to Signal Hill for dawn celebrations
then he'd take me to one of the parks. Bowering Park I think. It had a monument there. A Caribou.
That was the badge of the Regiment. We'd go there and put some flowers down and then Gramps would
buy me an ice cream and he'd tell me stories about his older brother John who died at Beaumont
Hamel."
"Your Great Uncle." Jim stated, nodding. "He was in the picture you showed me the other day."
She nodded. "Yeah that was him. Anyway Gramps and I did that every year, it was tradition. And
when Jo was old enough that her parents would let her go, she went with us."
"Even when Annie and I were living in Toronto we'd still take that week off to go home and make
that trip with him." Jo added, her voice wistful.
"You didn't do that this year?" Blair said, the question in his voice evident.
"No." Annie's voice was infinitely sad. "Gramps died a month before we moved to Cascade."
"Sorry." He said contritely. "I shouldn't've asked."
"Its ok Blair."
They fell silent then for a few moments.
"So, how'd you convince Simon to let us have the day off?" Jim asked.
She tossed a sneaky grin at him. "I didn't do a thing."
He raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Nothing?"
"Absolutely nothing." She nodded, flicking on the windshield cleaner and the wipers in order to
remove a squished bug from her view. She hesitated for a moment then grinned wickedly.
"Jo talked to him."
"That's not playing fair." Jim decided with a twinge of sympathy for the Captain.
"Well it all depends on the rules of engagement doesn't it?" Annie said sweetly.
"So, Half-pint," He said, looking back at her. "How'd you convince Simon to give us the day off."
"It was easy." Jo answered. "All I had to do was remind Simon that Annie and I were Canadians
and it was our national holiday, and then there was the fact we'd just wrapped up two cases and
deserved a little time off."
"What about me?" He questioned. "I'm American."
"Believe me, we've noticed." She countered cheekily, then continued on with her explanation.
"Since we all get Sunday off cause it's the fourth anyway and not just our regular day off I
asked him to schedule your regular day off today and schedule Sunday as a special holiday." She
finished with a grin and a sigh. "It was nothing really."
"Annie, you got a hair pin?"
"Why?" Annie asked, suspicious.
"I need it to deflate that ego of hers. If it gets any bigger it'll suffocate Sandburg." J
"Hey!" Jo protested giving his seat a little kick. "Play nice."
"Like you said kid, I'm American." Jim grinned slyly. "We're known for playing to win not
playing nice."
"Don't say it!" Annie called back to Jo who was obviously biting her tongue.
"Say what?"
"Sorry, this once's too good to pass up." Jo responded then grinned gleefully at Jim. "You didn't
do much winning during that little invasion attempt."
"Invasion attempt?" He looked innocent but Jo wasn't having any of it.
"Yeah. Early 19th century, the Americans tried to invade and we sent you packin'!"
"Oh that!" He waved a dismissive hand. "Just a little border dispute."
"Nooo...I don't think so Jim!" Blair interrupted, shifting into teacher-mode.
"Sandburg," He smiled wryly. "Its our day off no lectures please."
"I wasn't going to lecture."
The Sentinels Jim grinned at each other. "Heart rate." They chorused, still grinning.
Blair looked down at his chest. "Traitor."
If there were any Sentinels within earshot of Annie's jeep, as it drove along the interstate,
would've been puzzled at the sudden burst of laughter that filled it.
------
"You know what?" Blair looked out the jeep's window at the Vancouver skyline.
"What?" The others chorused.
"Vancouver looks a lot like Cascade." He informed them.
Jo leaned past him and grinned. "You're right. It does!"
"Kids." Annie teased. "Always noticing the silliest things."
"Well it does!" They protested in unison.
Jim shook his head then laughed when Jo's voice called out plaintively. "Are we there yet??"
"Sometimes I swear I feel like a single parent." Annie murmured to him, a devilish glint in her
eye. "Thank heaven I don't have to change her diaper."
Twin looks of confusion crossed Blair and Jo's face when Ellison suddenly snorted with laughter.
Suspicious they looked at Annie but the female Sentinel was studiously checking the street lights.
They raised an eyebrow at each other then relaxed back against the seat.
--------
It didn't take long for Annie to find Marine Drive in West Vancouver and when she did it was
only a matter of finding Block 1900.
"Woah." Blair said quietly looking up at the arch. "Its beautiful."
The others all nodded in agreement.
Annie looked at a couple wreaths lying against the arch; stepping forward she added hers then
crouched down to examine the others. "Looks like we weren't the only Newfoundlanders who came
here today." She noted to Jo.
The young Guide crouched down next to her Sentinel and the two women quietly read the names on
the wreaths.
By the time they stood again, there were tears in their eyes.
Blair and Jim stood nearby, just watching. There was an air of grief and reverence surrounding
the two women that they didn't dare disturb.
"Incredible." Blair whispered.
"What?" Jim asked, his voice low.
"Eighty-three years since it happened and they still grieve like it was yesterday." He watched
as Jo's hand crept up to wipe a way a tear tracing its way down Annie's cheek. "Jo told me
Newfoundland is an incredibly tight-knit province. I don't think I realized how tight till
today."
Jim nodded. "Know what you mean Chief."
They watched as the two women turned toward them.
"We're ready to go." Jo announced.
"Home?"
"Nope." Annie shook her head. "To lunch then one of the parties."
Blair was confused. "But I.."
"Thought that all Newfoundlanders do on Memorial day is grieve and remember?" Jo
grinned. "Blair, those boys that died at Beaumont Hamel would be the first ones
to tell you to enjoy yourself." She hooked her arm through his. "Now lets go!
I'm dyin' for a glass of Screech."
Ellison groaned. "Screech?"
"Uh huh." Annie nodded. "I could go for a small glass myself." She smiled up at
her counterpart. "Of course if I do that means you've got to drive us home."
Jim nodded.
Alcohol and Sentinels really weren't a good combination. And Screech and
Sentinels was definitely a bad combination.
As they followed Blair and Jo back to the car their ears picked up on Jo
enthusiastically explaining 'Face painting' to Blair.
"Face painting?" Jim wondered, looking at Annie.
"Face painting." She agreed then grinned. "Y'know Jim, you'd look really cute
with a maple leaf painted on your cheek."
"Oh no!" He held up his hands and shook his head. "No way! No face painting!"
"Aw..C'mon Jim!" Jo turned to look at him. "It's a part of the tradition!"
"No face painting!" He protested. "I am not walking around today with a leaf painted
on my face."
Jo and Annie shared an evil grin.
"Yes you will." They decided.
"Give it up Jim." Blair advised. "After all, it's a part of their cultural
celebrations and if we're going to participate in those celebrations we've got
to let them do it."
"Oh brother..."
"Jo," Annie said thoughtfully. "You did remember to load a fresh roll of film
into the camera didn't you?"
"Yep. And I've got three spare rolls and a backload of batteries just in case!"
Jo announced gleefully, twisting the knife a little.
Finis