A/N: I haven't posted anything in months. But going through some old drafts I stumbled across this one and I thought I'd finish it after all. It's set in my Adventure-Universe where the Kids have grown up and it takes place after the events I've written about in my other stories.

No beta-reader has checked this. Also, I'm not a native English speaker. Hope, the story will make sense, anyway.

Enjoy!

XXX

The phone had been ringing for some time, but until now Allie hadn't been sure if she had imagined it or not. It was a dull Friday afternoon, Bill was out on one of these hush-hush jobs, and after cleaning the whole house, Allie had decided now was a good time for washing her hair. When she turned off the tab she realised that it hadn't been her imagination - the phone was ringing after all. Wrapping her towel neatly around her head she went to get it.

"Aunt Allie? It's Jack," said the voice on the other end and Allie was surprised.

"Jack? What is going on? Are you calling from Alaska?" She hadn't expected him to be within a fifty mile radius of any phone at this very moment.

"No," he said. She noticed that he sounded tired and somewhat short-breathed. "I'm calling from London, actually. I'm at the airport. Took a flight back."

"Gracious, Jack! Weren't you supposed to stay for another eight weeks for that filming project?"

"I canceled it," he said gloomily. "Wasn't feeling too well, so I booked myself a flight back to London. No use freezing in a tent at night when I have cold."

A cold? Allie frowned. A mere cold wouldn't make him cancel an important filming project and take on the stressful journey back to England. "How are you feeling now?" she asked.

"Not too good, to be honest," he replied. "Tried to call Dinah, but she wasn't at home."

"She switched shifts at the hospital. They're short-staffed again," said Allie. She was beginning to feel worried. "Jack, where exactly are you now?"

"At the airport. Could you please tell Dinah that I'm back but I'll spend the night somewhere around here?"

"Spend the night where?"

"I'll find myself a hotel or something. Can't be bothered to get on a train tonight," he said.

"Stay where you are, I'll come and get you," said Allie, shaking her head at his words. Did he really think she would let him spend the night in some run-down old hotel in London when it was clear he was ill? Most certainly not!

"Aunt Allie, it's alright. I'll be fine in the morning. I'll catch a train."

"Nonsense," said Allie strictly. "You'd never have canceled your filming project in Alaska if you didn't have something worse than a cold. You could have a bad case of flu for all I know. I'm coming to get you and that's that. Where exactly do I find you?"

She could hear him sigh on the other end.

"Jack, where exactly?" she repeated her question.

"Arriving area. I'm sitting on a bench. Look out for the tall, handsome redhead with that rucksack bigger than you are," he said, clearly trying to make his joke sound cheery but failing awfully. Allie smiled to herself nonetheless.

"I'll find you," she promised him. "Going to be with you in two hours latest."

She hung up and sighed. Now, what to do? Dry her hair, find the car keys, drop by Dinah's ... - no, it would be too early, she would still be at work. Better drop by at her place after she had picked Jack up. Or call her later.

Ten minutes later Allie sat in the car heading towards London. It was foggy and the rain was drizzling relentlessly, giving her an awful time driving. She disliked driving into the city even on a good day but in this weather it was awful. And on top she couldn't stop worrying about Jack.

Thinking back she remembered noticing that he hat been looking a little off-color already back on the day of the wedding, less than a week before leaving for Alaska. Everyone had noticed, but Dinah had said, it was nothing to worry about. Shouldn't she know - being a medical doctor? Tusting her daughter's judgement, Allie had not given it much thought.

But thinking it through again, she suddenly began to wonder. It had been a merry day, although on a rainy weekend in January. They had all been excited - but Allie remembered that something had seemed off balance between Dinah and Jack. Nothing too obvious, just a little tension here and there. Allie had noticed even then but had put it down to the fact that they were getting to the point in their relationship, where butterflies in stomachs turned into day-to-day-business. Apart from Allie nobody had noticed the subtle tension; Bill wasn't exactly apt at picking such details and Philip and Lucy-Ann were rather busy with themselves and their wedding. For over a year now they had had eyes for little but each other.

When Allie arrived at the airport she needed about ten minutes to park her car and find the right entrance. Then she began looking out for Jack, grinning quietly at what he had said to her - look out for the tall, handsome redhead. At least he couldn't be in too bad a shape if he still felt like joking.

She found him sitting on a bench very close to the entrance - he had probably chosen that place so that she would find him quickly. Her spirits sank when she saw him - he looked worse than he had sounded on the phone. Off-color would have been the understatement of the year. He put on a smile when he saw her, but seemed to lack the energy to force himself out off the seat to greet her with a hug as he usually would. Heavens - how did he think he would have made it into any hotel all by himself?

"Jack! Good gracious!" She bent down to hug him, but hesitated when she felt the heat radiating off him. So instead she cupped his chin with one hand and exclaimed, "you're burning up. Whatever is the matter?"

He looked up at her from half-closed eyes, seeming a little dazed. "Golly - you were here fast, Aunt Allie."

"I took over two hours," she said in astonishment.

"Oh," mumbled Jack, "I must have fallen asleep then while waiting for you."

"Honestly - and you wanted to spend the night alone in a hotel? Come on, let's get you home."

He stood up - and swayed. Quickly, Allie put an arm around his waist to steady him, wondering how on earth she was going to get him and that rucksack into her car. His enormous piece of luggage looked really as big as she was - just like he had said on the phone. She wouldn't have been able to carry it alone, and certainly not if she had to half-carry him to the car as well! If only she had brought Dinah or Philip along - but they were both working and wouldn't have had time to come.

"Excuse me, do you need help?" A young man stood beside her, eyeing Jack's rucksack. It was her best option and she nodded gratefully.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," she replied. "If you could carry the luggage? Thank you so much."

While they made their way to her car Jack made a few futile attempts to shuffle away from her hold on him and walk by himself, but each time he swayed so much, he wordlessly accepted her arm back around him. It was a bit of a struggle for her to get him to the car, not just because of his partial lack of cooperation, but mostly because most of the way she had to support a good amount of his weight to keep him upright.

After she had bundled him into the passenger seat, she opened the trunk and let the kind young man who had offered her his assistance heave the heavy piece of luggage into it. Then she thanked him and got in behind the wheel.

In the short time she had needed to store his luggage in the back Jack had fallen asleep in passenger seat. Allie sighed and turned on the engine. Soon she was speeding out of the city and towards home. All the time Jack didn't wake, and Allie wondered what to do with him? For one thing she didn't know if she should take him back to her place or drop him off at Dinah's - seeing as he had moved in with her a while ago it made sense. But she didn't habe a key and Dinah was likely to be still working at the hospital.

As Allie drove up her street she passed by Philip's place as usual, and seeing that the light was on inside she slowed down the car. It was nearing seven p.m. now and she could see that Philip's car was parked in front of the garage. Good - he was at home. Maybe he would be able to lend a hand.

She got out of the car and went to knock on the front door. It opened soon enough but it wasn't Philip, but Lucy-Ann, standing in the doorway. Her mouth turned into a smile when she saw her mother-in-law.

"Aunt Allie - why, that's a nice surprise! Would you like to come in for a bit? Though, it must warn you: I won't be able to offer you any food or drink other than water," she grinned and patted her tummy, "seeing as I'm eating for two these days, I'm afraid we're currently short-stocked."

Allie smiled at her. "That's very kind of you, Lucy-Ann", she said, "but I don't have very much time. I was just hoping that Philip might have a moment to come over and help me with something."

"Sorry," said Lucy-Ann, shaking her head, "he's out, taking Wally for a walk - I don't expect him to be back for some time. But I suppose I could send him to your place later on, if you like?"

"No, it's fine," replied Allie. "Don't worry, it wasn't that important."

"Alright," said Lucy-Ann sounding a little disappointed. "But do come by for a chat one of these days, will you? Philip will be delighted, so will I."

Allie promised it and went back to her car. Jack was still asleep, and she drove the last bit of the way very slowly. After she had parked the car, though, she had to wake him up. It was a bit of a struggle again, getting him out of the car and up the stairs into the boys' old bedroom.

Once he was tucked into bed Allie said, "I'm going to make you some tea. You need to drink a lot. And when was the last time you ate something?"

"Dunno," he mumbled, "plane, I s'pose."

Whenever that might have been. Shaking her head she went into the kitchen and prepared a pot of tea and a slice of buttered toast. She didn't have very high hopes for the toast, but if he would drink the tea she would be satisfied for now.

She took everything upstairs, poured a cup of tea from the pot and arranged everything on the nightstand. Then she returned downstairs and picked up the phone to call Dinah.

She answered after the second ring, sounding exhausted. "Mother, are you alright? What's got. you calling at this time?"

"I'm fine, Dinah, I'm just … - well, Jack called me today."

"He did?" Dinah sounded surprised. "How come? I thought he was in the middle of nowhere in Alaska?"

"Actually, he's here."

There was a moment of silence. "He's where?"

"He's here, sleeping in the boys' old bedroom. He called me today on the phone saying that he was back in London."

"Why?"

Allie sighed. "Because he's ill, Dinah. He was saying something about a cold but I'm afraid it's something worse. Do you remember how I said to you that he was looking peaky, back on the wedding? Well, I suppose he really wasn't quite right when he flew off. I wonder why you didn't notice."

Dinah took long to answer. "Mother, I -"

There was a sharp knock on Allie's front door and she had to interrupt Dinah. "I'll call you back later! There's someone at the door."

"At this time?"

"Your brother, most likely." An excited bark outside confirmed the arrival of Wally, the dog. "I've got to go, Dinah, I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Mother -"

"Good night, dear."

Dinah sighed on the other end. "Good night Mother."

After hanging up Allie went to get the door, quietly shaking her head at Philip. It was late now, but Lucy-Ann must have told him of Allie's visit. She should have known, he would come despite her words, if he'd been told his mother had asked for his help.

She was greeted by Wally's usual cheeriness, but Philip looked concerned, just as she had expected. She stepped aside and let him enter, offering tea and biscuits. He declined the tea but accepted the biscuits eagerly, more so than she would have expected him to. Not that he was very likely to decline food on any day, but he pounced on the biscuits as if he hadn't eaten anything all day.

They sat at the table in the dining room, and Allie poured out some water for them. She had a sip and set the glass back down. Philip was still holding his glass, swaying the water in it absentmindedly, watching as it sloshed about inside the glass. When her eyes fell on his hand Allie suddenly noticed something.

"You're not wearing your wedding ring," she pointed out. "It's been what - a week since you and Lucy-Ann wed - you can't have lost it, can you?"

"No, of course not - I'm wearing it, see?" Setting his glass aside, Philip put his hand up to his collar and fumbled a bit with the fabric until he pulled out a thin chain. "I'm wearing it on my neck -" he grinned, "- if I had it on my finger I guess I would lose sooner or later - most likely inside the rear end of a cow or something like that!"

"Philip!" his mother scolded, making him chuckle.

"What?" he shrugged. "You wouldn't believe how much time I spent with my arm elbow deep in -"

But she shushed him before he could end the sentence. "Enough oder that! I don't want to know the details! And please tell me you're wearing gloves when you do that sort of work."

He rolled his eyes indignantly as if to say do you need to ask? and changed the subject. „Lucy-Ann said you dropped by. You could have stayed for a bit."

"No, I couldn't," said Allie, and she told him about Jack's call and how she had picked him up at the airport. "What I really don't understand is why Dinah wasn't worried about letting him go on this trip. She's the medical doctor, isn't she?"

Philip frowned. "You do know that they were having some disagreements? Actually, the were about to break up," he said. "Jack even slept at ours between the wedding and his departure."

Well, Allie hadn't been aware of that. But it somehow seemed to make sense now that she knew. "But whyever?"

"You'd have to ask Dinah," said Philip in an uncharacteristically tense voice. He got up from his seat at the kitchen table and asked, "would you like me to carry in his luggage?"

"Yes, please, if you would."

After he had done it, he asked, "does Lucy-Ann know that Jack is back?"

"No, I wanted him settled before I told her. She would have wanted to see him right away if I had told her earlier. He's resting now and will probably be better in the morning. You can tell her tomorrow so she can drop by to see him. Now, off you go. It's getting late and knowing you, you've got appointments early tomorrow morning."

After Philip had left, just before she went to bed that night Allie threw a glance into the old boys' room and found Jack deeply asleep. As she had expected the toast was untouched, but there wasn't much gone of the tea either. She didn't have a heart to wake him just now so she went to bed herself. But it took her a long to fall asleep that night.

TBC