Part V
"It's getting a little chilly out," Devon Adair commented as she *attempted* to get comfortable on the cold, hard ground beneath a canopy of trees. Never before has she appreciated her cot back in her tent so much. They had wandered all day, mostly in silence, searching for camp or some familiar sign. It turned out to be in vain.
They sun had almost set and darkness would soon be upon them. Devon and Danziger had resolved to stop and rest for the night, and start fresh the next morning. They had no food, or much to do, and so Devon had immediately decided to go to sleep, early as it was. She was exhausted from the day's walk.
"You cold?" Danziger asked from several feet away, where he was trying to start a fire the old-fashioned way. Devon sat up, giving a slight nod.
Danziger paused, and seemed to consider something for a moment. He then pulled off his Ops jacket and offered it to her. Devon reach forward hesitantly, and accepted it. She gingerly put it on, and within minutes she was grateful he had asked. She watched him in silence as he struggled to start the campfire, cursing now and then. It was quite laughable, actually. She would have thought he'd have had it going long ago.
"Having trouble there?" She asked, trying to prevent the smile from showing on her lips.
He looked up at her, giving her a non appreciative glance. "Cameron makes it look so easy," he growled, and tossed aside the pack of matches he'd been lucky enough to find in his pocket. "Sheesh."
"Hmmm," Devon said, scooting over to sit beside the pile of sticks that were to be their campfire. "Let me try," she said, reaching for the matches. However, when she went to pick them up, she found Danziger's hand on top of hers.
"No," he said, quickly, "I can do it." He picked up the matches and struck another one, ready to try again.
Devon just shrugged, and moved off again. She leaned back against the trunk of a tree, and gazed up through the branches at the star-patched sky above. She seemed to contemplate something for a moment, before asking, "You never did tell me just what the Terrians did. Or what was wrong with me, for that matter."
Danziger sighed, and again put aside the matches. That was exactly the question he'd been trying to avoid. "Listen, Dev, it's a long story--"
"And I think I have a right to know," Devon countered.
"Yeah, but the Doc explains it so much better than me--"
"I don't care," Devon interrupted, "what if we never get back to camp? What if we never see Julia again?" A solid silence hung in the air for several moments.
Danziger, who had been searching for a suitable reply, broke it by blurting out, "We *are* gonna get back to camp, dammit! Do you know how many times I've almost been killed on this planet?!" Stunned, Devon just shook her head. Well, Danziger hadn't counted, either. "Well, a lot! And after all this, I'm *not* gonna die because some Digger had no sense of direction!"
"John, stop it," Devon hissed. "The Terrians have done more for us that you realize. You said so yourself, I owe them a lot."
"Well, you're not much good alive to your son if he'll never see you again anyway, are you?"
Yet another silence. The two lost members of the Eden Advance stared levelly at each other, each daring the other to say something first. After several seconds, Danziger broke her gaze, and began aimlessly striking matches again. Devon settled back down against the tree. *No sense in talking to him,* she mused, *You'll just end up arguing.* She shut her eyes and let her mind wander. However, she doubted she'd ever sleep . . . her mind kept coming back to one image: Uly. Danziger was right. She wasn't any good to Uly if she wasn't around. They had to find their way back. They *would* find their way back.
A long silence ensued . . . longer than any of the others. Danziger had given up on the fire, he only had five matches left and didn't want to waste them, since he was even worse trying to start them the natural way. It seemed they'd come to a mutual decision: no more talk. Well, so it seemed.
"Dev," Danziger said softly, and she opened her eyes. He was still sitting there, by the fireplace. Devon had her knees drawn up to her chest to keep warm in the spring evening. It was only then that she realized he'd been staring at her all that time. Well, watching was a better word. "Dev, what happened is this," Devon was listening now, "Julia realized there was a connection between what you had and what Bennett and Elizabeth had. She realized they didn't have the cold sleep syndrome after all, but the syndrome."
He saw the shock fill her eyes, but she remained silent, realizing now was not the time. "She had Alonzo contact the Terrians, and they agreed to heal you--for a price."
"What?" Devon mouthed, almost soundlessly.
He sighed. "We . . . we don't know, exactly. But that wasn't what was important at the time." She nodded in understanding. "The Terrians did heal you, apparently, and so . . . here you are."
It was then that Devon realized something was missing. "And . . . why are you here?"
"I wish I knew." He let that hang in the air for a moment. "Apparently the Terrians had wanted me to come and get you."
"How long have I been gone?" Devon was dreading the answer to his question. She couldn't bear to think of how long she'd been out. TO have missed even just a few months of Uly's life . . . but that the EA was still around and Danziger looked relatively unchanged was encouraging.
Danziger did some quick calculations in his head. "I'd say a month. At least, a month since I was taken away. I have no idea if it took much longer after that."
"A month." Devon said softly. That didn't seem so bad. But still, how had her son coped? "John, how is Uly?"
At this Danziger grinned. "Pulling through like a trooper. Little guy never did give up, even when the rest of us had."
Devon gave a bittersweet smile. This was a lot to take all at once. Her illness had come so suddenly, and the cure had come quickly, too, or so it seemed to her. She was trying to keep everything in perspective, but it was difficult. "And Yale?"
"Well, Yale was obviously taking it hard, but he tried not to let it show. To tell the truth, Dev, we all missed ya, everyone, from Bess to Cameron." Even me, he thought, but didn't say it.
He didn't have to. "Even you?" Devon smiled slightly in amusement.
Danziger didn't reply, he just reached forward and gave her hand a squeeze, and looked into her eyes. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't seem to look away--and neither could she. The two of them, Adair and Danziger, were just locked in a gaze. Not that this hadn't happened before--they often shared long glares after an argument. But this was different.
After a moment, Danziger broke the gaze, and hastily went back to his attempts to start the fire. Devon had a smile, vaguely satisfied smile on her face as she watched him continue.
Why don't you try some of these dry twigs?" Devon offered helpfully. As the sun went down it was getting colder and colder. She grabbed part of a nearby fallen branch and offered it to him.
"Thanks," he said gruffly, and added them to his pile of (supposedly) flammable debris. "I'd give anything for a charger."
"Well, if you'd just let me do it, I could have had it going ages ago," she commented, almost teasingly. He chose to ignore her as he struck another match. She watched with amusement as a gust of wind blew it out.
Danziger cursed softly and fumbled for another. Devon's eyes danced as she tried to stifle a laugh. "Come on, Danziger, just let me try it."
Danziger shook his head at her, striking yet another match. "Sure as hell didn't miss your attitude," he said under his breath--but Devon heard it.
"Ahhh . . . so you *did* miss me, though?" Her hand shot out and grabbed the wrist of the hand he was using to light the fire. The match was knocked form his hand.
"Damn it Adair!" He yanked his arm away. Devon, however, just smiled and nodded towards the would-be fire. The match had fallen on the dry sticks and ignited them, finally. She tossed some dried grass onto it so it would catch the rest. "Adair . . . " Danziger sighed.
After that, they huddled up beside the fire, warming their hands. The sun was now only slightly above the horizon, and darkens would fall momentarily. Smoke rose up from the campfire, high in to the sky. For a while it was as if they were both alone in the woods, all by themselves; like the other person didn't exist. Danziger quietly rubbed his arms to get them to warm up--he was beginning to regret loaning his coat to Devon.
They were like this for nearly a half hour until his companion took a deep breath, and said, "Listen, Danziger, we're probably going to be stuck out here for a while, so why don't we just try to get along. It's pretty cold right now, and it's going to get colder tonight--"
"Mom!!" Both adults whirled at the sound of Ulysses Adair's joyful cry. "Mom!!" He raced through the surrounding trees, oblivious to anything else, rushing into his mother open arms. "Mom, I missed you so much!"
"Uly? What . . . how . . . " Devon stuttered, then gave up and just hugged her child tightly. "Uly, I missed you, too . . . "
Danziger looked on in confusing, then stood up and began looking around. The others couldn't be hard to find.
"Hey, Danziger!" Sure enough, Alonzo Solace came rumbling through on the dunerail, Julia and Yale with him. They all leapt out as soon as Alonzo came to a halt. Julia was the first to reach the three of them, kneeling down immediately beside Devon, running her diaglove quickly over her. Uly continued to cling to his mother and there were tears in Devon's eyes.
"Dev, how are you feeling?" Alonzo as he greeted the formerly missing folks. "You're lucky we found you. We're just a little ways off. We might've missed ya if not for the smoke from your fire." The pilot grinned. "Uly spotted."
Yale practically collapsed beside Devon he sat down so quickly, wrapping his arms around the woman and Ulysses. "Devon thank god you're alive," he said.
"She's perfectly fine," Julia announced with one of the biggest smiles ever to appear on her face. "I'll have to run some other tests, on DNA and such--after we get back to camp." She said, then moved off so that the Adairs and Yale could enjoy their reunion. Danziger just stood by watching in silence.
"Hey mom, do you, like, remember what happened when the Terrians took you underground?" Uly was asking his mother excitedly.
"No, Uly, I'm afraid I don't," Devon chuckled, "But tell you what, I'll tell you everything I *do* remember as soon as we get back to camp." She the boy by the hand and she, her son and Yale and clambered into the dunerail, Uly sitting on her lap and Julia squeezing in the back seat along with Alonzo and Danziger.
"Remember, Devon, I'd like to run additional tests as soon as we get back to camp--" Julia began, but the look Devon's face as she turned to listen to her caused to change her mind. "But . . . I guess it can wait till tomorrow." She smiled. "It's good to have you back, Devon."
* * * * * *
"So anyway, I was lying in this field in the middle of nowhere, and I look up and I see *Danziger*, and my first thought is, 'I must be dead . . . is Danziger an angel?'" Devon couldn't help but smirk as she recounted the story of her sort-of rescue by John Danziger, at the same time munching away at her *third* spirulina bar. She felt like she hadn't eaten in a month--indeed, she hadn't--and the stuff had never tasted so good. And she'd never thought she would say that, considering she knew what it was made of . . .
The whole group chuckled at this--and for more than the reason Devon thought. She finished up the last of the spirulina, and then glanced at the sky. It was night, now. The twin moons of G889 lit the landscape in that same eerie light that Devon had grown used to in the past half year. The glittery stars above were becoming ever more familiar as time went on. When she had looked to this new place as a new home she didn't think she had a true idea of just how familiar that meant she would become with it.
"But you never explained what you remembered about the Terrians!" Uly objected when he sensed that she was going to bring her story to an end, now that her dinner was finished.
Devon grinned and pulled her son closer beneath the blanket. A warm fire was crackling--started by Cameron--but Devon was several feet away and still required the warmth of a blanket. "Now that can wait."
"You said so yourself you didn't remember much," Uly pouted, "Come on, how long could it take?"
"Come, come Ulysses, you shouldn't be keeping your mother up. She needs her rest," Yale gave Devon a stern look as well that warned her not to humor the boy *this* time.
Devon shook her head, and sighed. "Sorry Champ, Yale has spoken."
"And you can explain to us just what you and Danziger were up to all that time a little later, Devon," Walman smirked. This comment evoked a laugh from at least Bess--though she muffled it--but no one else dared to so much as chuckle.
Devon decided to ignore that comment as she was completely sure it was made only in jest. She had no idea how certain the EA were about her undeniable attraction to Danziger, or that they knew how clueless she was about it.
Danziger himself on the other hand, was off in his tent staring upwards, lost in thought once again. When he heard the sounds of the fire circle breaking, he got up and began putting the few things that the Danzigers back where they belonged, as his excuse for being absent was telling True he had clean up the tent.
A few minutes later True arrived back at the tent, yawning, but still smiling. "I'm glad you're back daddy," she said, taking a seat on her own cot and pulling up the covers around her. "I woulda missed you if you hadn't come back."
Danziger moved across the tent and sat down at the end of her cot, and smiled back at her. "Yeah, and I would've missed you even more, True girl."
She seemed to take comfort in that as she snuggled up in her sleeping bag. "Dad . . . " she said with a yawn, "Are you gonna be a little happier that Devon's back?"
He frowned at this. "Whaddya mean, True girl?"
She shrugged slightly. "I don't know, for, like, the past month you've been all grouchy and quiet. Maybe not to me but to everyone else . . . I thought maybe it was 'cause you were missing Devon."
Danziger hadn't expected this sort of thing from his daughter. Bess Martin, maybe, but his *daughter*? "You been talking to Bess, sweetie?"
"What?" True scowled, "What are you talking about?"
He shook his head. "Nothin' sweetheart. Why don't you just get some rest. And if I was bein' grouchy, then I'm sorry. Things have just been really hectic lately."
"Yeah, I know," she settled down while he climbed into his own cot. "With Devon being gone and all that, and you going away. Dad, why do you suppose the Terrians wanted you to go get Devon? And why for so long?"
He sighed, pulling his sleeping bag around himself. "I don't know, True, it's still a mystery to me."
* * * * * *
"Hi, Devon, you're not busy, are you?" Julia asked the next morning when she found Devon beneath the supply tent getting herself her morning ration of spirulina. Devon looked up in surprise, having not heard the doctor approach.
"Oh, well, I guess not. Why?" she asked as she retrieved a spirulina bar from one of the crates.
"Well . . . " Julia took a deep breath and gave Devon a smile, "As you know I was very interested in Uly's changes because of his Terrian DNA, and I thought maybe you wouldn't mind it if I checked on your progress as well." She cut Devon off as she began to open her mouth. "I know what you're going to say, and I realize why you would be hesitant to allow me, but if you think of the help it will be when the others arrive, the scientific data it will provide--"
Devon interrupted her with a smile. "I understand, Julia, it's all right. I'd be glad to be as helpful as I can."
This seemed to please the doctor. "Oh, well, good. Then I guess we ought to go to the med tent and get started." She beamed, apparently eager to get some answers. Uly's healing had left a puzzle in her head and she hoped that Devon's "transformation" might shed more light on what the Terrians were doing.
Devon followed the doctor through camp and over towards the medical tent, which had so long ago been set up. Devon couldn't help but shudder when ever she saw that ship; to think she'd spend a month locked inside there, in a cold sleep crypt, near death. The whole idea was very unsettling.
"All right, just take a seat on the cot over there," Julia motioned to the single cot backed up against the side of the tent. She then pulled her diaglove out of its case and slipped it on, running a quick diagnostic to be sure its systems were still in order. "I'm going to do a normal examination, then take some blood and DNA samples, see what going on," she said, moving to kneel next to Devon who seemed a bit impatient to get it all over and done with. She'd nearly died and all that was on her mind at that moment was spending more time with her son and all the others.
"Okay," Devon nodded in acknowledgment, and lay down so Julia could run the diaglove over her.
"How have you been feeling since you awoke the other day?" Julia asked as she went about her business, studying the readouts intently.
"Oh, just fine. Better than ever before, I think," Devon commented brightly.
"Take a deep breath for me," the doctor instructed, and Devon complied. "And let go . . . There, okay, good." She seemed satisfied. "Well, you're definitely better than you were before, and all traces of the Syndrome seem to be gone."
Devon blinked. "Done already?"
Julia shook her head. "No, not quite yet . . . " She continued to run the diaglove over Devon's body. "Just a few more scans, and then those samples I told you about. So how is Uly doing?"
"He seems fine, considering," Devon said thoughtfully. "I can't imagine what he must have gone through, thinking I was dead . . . And I imagine the entire group was in a *state*."
"We sure were. Everyone was arguing, it was terrible," Julia added. "But now I guess we'll be moving on again."
Devon nodded. "Yes, we ought to get moving as soon as possible."
Julia seemed suddenly distant, as if she wasn't fully paying attention to her patient as she studied her readouts. "Well, I don't know about that," she said slowly, a blank expression on her face. "I want to give you some time to rest up first." Still that distant look.
"Is something wrong?" Devon sat up, immediately concerned, trying to get a look at Julia's diaglove, not that she could really make out what it all meant.
The younger woman pursed her lips, and looked from her display, to Devon, and back again, then took a sharp breath. "I'm getting some odd readings here . . . " She commented mildly, then reran the diagnostic to make sure her glove hadn't spazzed briefly. Then she looked up at her patient. "Uh, Devon, I'm not one to pry into anyone's private life, but I didn't know that you were . . . " she couldn't seem to decide just how to present this. "That is, I wasn't aware that . . . "
"Julia?" Devon was confused by the normally straightforward woman's odd behavior. "What are you talking about?"
Julia's frown deepened, and she gave up all together, and simply pointed to a small box on her display. The other woman peered at the digital readout, then looked up with a questioning expression.
Devon blinked. "Julia, what does this mean?"
"It's getting a little chilly out," Devon Adair commented as she *attempted* to get comfortable on the cold, hard ground beneath a canopy of trees. Never before has she appreciated her cot back in her tent so much. They had wandered all day, mostly in silence, searching for camp or some familiar sign. It turned out to be in vain.
They sun had almost set and darkness would soon be upon them. Devon and Danziger had resolved to stop and rest for the night, and start fresh the next morning. They had no food, or much to do, and so Devon had immediately decided to go to sleep, early as it was. She was exhausted from the day's walk.
"You cold?" Danziger asked from several feet away, where he was trying to start a fire the old-fashioned way. Devon sat up, giving a slight nod.
Danziger paused, and seemed to consider something for a moment. He then pulled off his Ops jacket and offered it to her. Devon reach forward hesitantly, and accepted it. She gingerly put it on, and within minutes she was grateful he had asked. She watched him in silence as he struggled to start the campfire, cursing now and then. It was quite laughable, actually. She would have thought he'd have had it going long ago.
"Having trouble there?" She asked, trying to prevent the smile from showing on her lips.
He looked up at her, giving her a non appreciative glance. "Cameron makes it look so easy," he growled, and tossed aside the pack of matches he'd been lucky enough to find in his pocket. "Sheesh."
"Hmmm," Devon said, scooting over to sit beside the pile of sticks that were to be their campfire. "Let me try," she said, reaching for the matches. However, when she went to pick them up, she found Danziger's hand on top of hers.
"No," he said, quickly, "I can do it." He picked up the matches and struck another one, ready to try again.
Devon just shrugged, and moved off again. She leaned back against the trunk of a tree, and gazed up through the branches at the star-patched sky above. She seemed to contemplate something for a moment, before asking, "You never did tell me just what the Terrians did. Or what was wrong with me, for that matter."
Danziger sighed, and again put aside the matches. That was exactly the question he'd been trying to avoid. "Listen, Dev, it's a long story--"
"And I think I have a right to know," Devon countered.
"Yeah, but the Doc explains it so much better than me--"
"I don't care," Devon interrupted, "what if we never get back to camp? What if we never see Julia again?" A solid silence hung in the air for several moments.
Danziger, who had been searching for a suitable reply, broke it by blurting out, "We *are* gonna get back to camp, dammit! Do you know how many times I've almost been killed on this planet?!" Stunned, Devon just shook her head. Well, Danziger hadn't counted, either. "Well, a lot! And after all this, I'm *not* gonna die because some Digger had no sense of direction!"
"John, stop it," Devon hissed. "The Terrians have done more for us that you realize. You said so yourself, I owe them a lot."
"Well, you're not much good alive to your son if he'll never see you again anyway, are you?"
Yet another silence. The two lost members of the Eden Advance stared levelly at each other, each daring the other to say something first. After several seconds, Danziger broke her gaze, and began aimlessly striking matches again. Devon settled back down against the tree. *No sense in talking to him,* she mused, *You'll just end up arguing.* She shut her eyes and let her mind wander. However, she doubted she'd ever sleep . . . her mind kept coming back to one image: Uly. Danziger was right. She wasn't any good to Uly if she wasn't around. They had to find their way back. They *would* find their way back.
A long silence ensued . . . longer than any of the others. Danziger had given up on the fire, he only had five matches left and didn't want to waste them, since he was even worse trying to start them the natural way. It seemed they'd come to a mutual decision: no more talk. Well, so it seemed.
"Dev," Danziger said softly, and she opened her eyes. He was still sitting there, by the fireplace. Devon had her knees drawn up to her chest to keep warm in the spring evening. It was only then that she realized he'd been staring at her all that time. Well, watching was a better word. "Dev, what happened is this," Devon was listening now, "Julia realized there was a connection between what you had and what Bennett and Elizabeth had. She realized they didn't have the cold sleep syndrome after all, but the syndrome."
He saw the shock fill her eyes, but she remained silent, realizing now was not the time. "She had Alonzo contact the Terrians, and they agreed to heal you--for a price."
"What?" Devon mouthed, almost soundlessly.
He sighed. "We . . . we don't know, exactly. But that wasn't what was important at the time." She nodded in understanding. "The Terrians did heal you, apparently, and so . . . here you are."
It was then that Devon realized something was missing. "And . . . why are you here?"
"I wish I knew." He let that hang in the air for a moment. "Apparently the Terrians had wanted me to come and get you."
"How long have I been gone?" Devon was dreading the answer to his question. She couldn't bear to think of how long she'd been out. TO have missed even just a few months of Uly's life . . . but that the EA was still around and Danziger looked relatively unchanged was encouraging.
Danziger did some quick calculations in his head. "I'd say a month. At least, a month since I was taken away. I have no idea if it took much longer after that."
"A month." Devon said softly. That didn't seem so bad. But still, how had her son coped? "John, how is Uly?"
At this Danziger grinned. "Pulling through like a trooper. Little guy never did give up, even when the rest of us had."
Devon gave a bittersweet smile. This was a lot to take all at once. Her illness had come so suddenly, and the cure had come quickly, too, or so it seemed to her. She was trying to keep everything in perspective, but it was difficult. "And Yale?"
"Well, Yale was obviously taking it hard, but he tried not to let it show. To tell the truth, Dev, we all missed ya, everyone, from Bess to Cameron." Even me, he thought, but didn't say it.
He didn't have to. "Even you?" Devon smiled slightly in amusement.
Danziger didn't reply, he just reached forward and gave her hand a squeeze, and looked into her eyes. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't seem to look away--and neither could she. The two of them, Adair and Danziger, were just locked in a gaze. Not that this hadn't happened before--they often shared long glares after an argument. But this was different.
After a moment, Danziger broke the gaze, and hastily went back to his attempts to start the fire. Devon had a smile, vaguely satisfied smile on her face as she watched him continue.
Why don't you try some of these dry twigs?" Devon offered helpfully. As the sun went down it was getting colder and colder. She grabbed part of a nearby fallen branch and offered it to him.
"Thanks," he said gruffly, and added them to his pile of (supposedly) flammable debris. "I'd give anything for a charger."
"Well, if you'd just let me do it, I could have had it going ages ago," she commented, almost teasingly. He chose to ignore her as he struck another match. She watched with amusement as a gust of wind blew it out.
Danziger cursed softly and fumbled for another. Devon's eyes danced as she tried to stifle a laugh. "Come on, Danziger, just let me try it."
Danziger shook his head at her, striking yet another match. "Sure as hell didn't miss your attitude," he said under his breath--but Devon heard it.
"Ahhh . . . so you *did* miss me, though?" Her hand shot out and grabbed the wrist of the hand he was using to light the fire. The match was knocked form his hand.
"Damn it Adair!" He yanked his arm away. Devon, however, just smiled and nodded towards the would-be fire. The match had fallen on the dry sticks and ignited them, finally. She tossed some dried grass onto it so it would catch the rest. "Adair . . . " Danziger sighed.
After that, they huddled up beside the fire, warming their hands. The sun was now only slightly above the horizon, and darkens would fall momentarily. Smoke rose up from the campfire, high in to the sky. For a while it was as if they were both alone in the woods, all by themselves; like the other person didn't exist. Danziger quietly rubbed his arms to get them to warm up--he was beginning to regret loaning his coat to Devon.
They were like this for nearly a half hour until his companion took a deep breath, and said, "Listen, Danziger, we're probably going to be stuck out here for a while, so why don't we just try to get along. It's pretty cold right now, and it's going to get colder tonight--"
"Mom!!" Both adults whirled at the sound of Ulysses Adair's joyful cry. "Mom!!" He raced through the surrounding trees, oblivious to anything else, rushing into his mother open arms. "Mom, I missed you so much!"
"Uly? What . . . how . . . " Devon stuttered, then gave up and just hugged her child tightly. "Uly, I missed you, too . . . "
Danziger looked on in confusing, then stood up and began looking around. The others couldn't be hard to find.
"Hey, Danziger!" Sure enough, Alonzo Solace came rumbling through on the dunerail, Julia and Yale with him. They all leapt out as soon as Alonzo came to a halt. Julia was the first to reach the three of them, kneeling down immediately beside Devon, running her diaglove quickly over her. Uly continued to cling to his mother and there were tears in Devon's eyes.
"Dev, how are you feeling?" Alonzo as he greeted the formerly missing folks. "You're lucky we found you. We're just a little ways off. We might've missed ya if not for the smoke from your fire." The pilot grinned. "Uly spotted."
Yale practically collapsed beside Devon he sat down so quickly, wrapping his arms around the woman and Ulysses. "Devon thank god you're alive," he said.
"She's perfectly fine," Julia announced with one of the biggest smiles ever to appear on her face. "I'll have to run some other tests, on DNA and such--after we get back to camp." She said, then moved off so that the Adairs and Yale could enjoy their reunion. Danziger just stood by watching in silence.
"Hey mom, do you, like, remember what happened when the Terrians took you underground?" Uly was asking his mother excitedly.
"No, Uly, I'm afraid I don't," Devon chuckled, "But tell you what, I'll tell you everything I *do* remember as soon as we get back to camp." She the boy by the hand and she, her son and Yale and clambered into the dunerail, Uly sitting on her lap and Julia squeezing in the back seat along with Alonzo and Danziger.
"Remember, Devon, I'd like to run additional tests as soon as we get back to camp--" Julia began, but the look Devon's face as she turned to listen to her caused to change her mind. "But . . . I guess it can wait till tomorrow." She smiled. "It's good to have you back, Devon."
* * * * * *
"So anyway, I was lying in this field in the middle of nowhere, and I look up and I see *Danziger*, and my first thought is, 'I must be dead . . . is Danziger an angel?'" Devon couldn't help but smirk as she recounted the story of her sort-of rescue by John Danziger, at the same time munching away at her *third* spirulina bar. She felt like she hadn't eaten in a month--indeed, she hadn't--and the stuff had never tasted so good. And she'd never thought she would say that, considering she knew what it was made of . . .
The whole group chuckled at this--and for more than the reason Devon thought. She finished up the last of the spirulina, and then glanced at the sky. It was night, now. The twin moons of G889 lit the landscape in that same eerie light that Devon had grown used to in the past half year. The glittery stars above were becoming ever more familiar as time went on. When she had looked to this new place as a new home she didn't think she had a true idea of just how familiar that meant she would become with it.
"But you never explained what you remembered about the Terrians!" Uly objected when he sensed that she was going to bring her story to an end, now that her dinner was finished.
Devon grinned and pulled her son closer beneath the blanket. A warm fire was crackling--started by Cameron--but Devon was several feet away and still required the warmth of a blanket. "Now that can wait."
"You said so yourself you didn't remember much," Uly pouted, "Come on, how long could it take?"
"Come, come Ulysses, you shouldn't be keeping your mother up. She needs her rest," Yale gave Devon a stern look as well that warned her not to humor the boy *this* time.
Devon shook her head, and sighed. "Sorry Champ, Yale has spoken."
"And you can explain to us just what you and Danziger were up to all that time a little later, Devon," Walman smirked. This comment evoked a laugh from at least Bess--though she muffled it--but no one else dared to so much as chuckle.
Devon decided to ignore that comment as she was completely sure it was made only in jest. She had no idea how certain the EA were about her undeniable attraction to Danziger, or that they knew how clueless she was about it.
Danziger himself on the other hand, was off in his tent staring upwards, lost in thought once again. When he heard the sounds of the fire circle breaking, he got up and began putting the few things that the Danzigers back where they belonged, as his excuse for being absent was telling True he had clean up the tent.
A few minutes later True arrived back at the tent, yawning, but still smiling. "I'm glad you're back daddy," she said, taking a seat on her own cot and pulling up the covers around her. "I woulda missed you if you hadn't come back."
Danziger moved across the tent and sat down at the end of her cot, and smiled back at her. "Yeah, and I would've missed you even more, True girl."
She seemed to take comfort in that as she snuggled up in her sleeping bag. "Dad . . . " she said with a yawn, "Are you gonna be a little happier that Devon's back?"
He frowned at this. "Whaddya mean, True girl?"
She shrugged slightly. "I don't know, for, like, the past month you've been all grouchy and quiet. Maybe not to me but to everyone else . . . I thought maybe it was 'cause you were missing Devon."
Danziger hadn't expected this sort of thing from his daughter. Bess Martin, maybe, but his *daughter*? "You been talking to Bess, sweetie?"
"What?" True scowled, "What are you talking about?"
He shook his head. "Nothin' sweetheart. Why don't you just get some rest. And if I was bein' grouchy, then I'm sorry. Things have just been really hectic lately."
"Yeah, I know," she settled down while he climbed into his own cot. "With Devon being gone and all that, and you going away. Dad, why do you suppose the Terrians wanted you to go get Devon? And why for so long?"
He sighed, pulling his sleeping bag around himself. "I don't know, True, it's still a mystery to me."
* * * * * *
"Hi, Devon, you're not busy, are you?" Julia asked the next morning when she found Devon beneath the supply tent getting herself her morning ration of spirulina. Devon looked up in surprise, having not heard the doctor approach.
"Oh, well, I guess not. Why?" she asked as she retrieved a spirulina bar from one of the crates.
"Well . . . " Julia took a deep breath and gave Devon a smile, "As you know I was very interested in Uly's changes because of his Terrian DNA, and I thought maybe you wouldn't mind it if I checked on your progress as well." She cut Devon off as she began to open her mouth. "I know what you're going to say, and I realize why you would be hesitant to allow me, but if you think of the help it will be when the others arrive, the scientific data it will provide--"
Devon interrupted her with a smile. "I understand, Julia, it's all right. I'd be glad to be as helpful as I can."
This seemed to please the doctor. "Oh, well, good. Then I guess we ought to go to the med tent and get started." She beamed, apparently eager to get some answers. Uly's healing had left a puzzle in her head and she hoped that Devon's "transformation" might shed more light on what the Terrians were doing.
Devon followed the doctor through camp and over towards the medical tent, which had so long ago been set up. Devon couldn't help but shudder when ever she saw that ship; to think she'd spend a month locked inside there, in a cold sleep crypt, near death. The whole idea was very unsettling.
"All right, just take a seat on the cot over there," Julia motioned to the single cot backed up against the side of the tent. She then pulled her diaglove out of its case and slipped it on, running a quick diagnostic to be sure its systems were still in order. "I'm going to do a normal examination, then take some blood and DNA samples, see what going on," she said, moving to kneel next to Devon who seemed a bit impatient to get it all over and done with. She'd nearly died and all that was on her mind at that moment was spending more time with her son and all the others.
"Okay," Devon nodded in acknowledgment, and lay down so Julia could run the diaglove over her.
"How have you been feeling since you awoke the other day?" Julia asked as she went about her business, studying the readouts intently.
"Oh, just fine. Better than ever before, I think," Devon commented brightly.
"Take a deep breath for me," the doctor instructed, and Devon complied. "And let go . . . There, okay, good." She seemed satisfied. "Well, you're definitely better than you were before, and all traces of the Syndrome seem to be gone."
Devon blinked. "Done already?"
Julia shook her head. "No, not quite yet . . . " She continued to run the diaglove over Devon's body. "Just a few more scans, and then those samples I told you about. So how is Uly doing?"
"He seems fine, considering," Devon said thoughtfully. "I can't imagine what he must have gone through, thinking I was dead . . . And I imagine the entire group was in a *state*."
"We sure were. Everyone was arguing, it was terrible," Julia added. "But now I guess we'll be moving on again."
Devon nodded. "Yes, we ought to get moving as soon as possible."
Julia seemed suddenly distant, as if she wasn't fully paying attention to her patient as she studied her readouts. "Well, I don't know about that," she said slowly, a blank expression on her face. "I want to give you some time to rest up first." Still that distant look.
"Is something wrong?" Devon sat up, immediately concerned, trying to get a look at Julia's diaglove, not that she could really make out what it all meant.
The younger woman pursed her lips, and looked from her display, to Devon, and back again, then took a sharp breath. "I'm getting some odd readings here . . . " She commented mildly, then reran the diagnostic to make sure her glove hadn't spazzed briefly. Then she looked up at her patient. "Uh, Devon, I'm not one to pry into anyone's private life, but I didn't know that you were . . . " she couldn't seem to decide just how to present this. "That is, I wasn't aware that . . . "
"Julia?" Devon was confused by the normally straightforward woman's odd behavior. "What are you talking about?"
Julia's frown deepened, and she gave up all together, and simply pointed to a small box on her display. The other woman peered at the digital readout, then looked up with a questioning expression.
Devon blinked. "Julia, what does this mean?"