Author's note: And this is it, the end of Allies. I'm taking a two-week break, and then I'll be back with the next section of the Chronicles...Champions, set in the Angel universe.
Andrea, hi! It's been so long! :)
Funky and Andrea: it's not that I'm not writing the Rangers, it's just that they're not going to be the focus of the next lot of stories. They'll still be there; they just won't be the stars, probably. Don't worry, I've a lot planned for them yet...
Visiting Home Chapter 3
Merrick came out of the kitchen into the hall and paused, listening briefly to—well, to everything. They had a full house right now; everyone had come to meet the baby, and everywhere he turned, more or less, he found someone.
Smiling faintly, he went upstairs to check on Cole; the boy was supposed to be sleeping, but he wasn't doing much of that lately. Today, however, Cole was fast asleep; Merrick pulled the door out, leaving it open a little in deference to the unseasonable heat, and had started downstairs again when he suddenly stopped.
Tara was singing to the baby.
He recognized the tune as an Animarian lullaby, one he'd never thought to hear again; he hadn't thought either she or Shayla knew it, although Shayla had probably heard it as a child. Without realizing it, he crossed the landing to lean against the doorframe, the better to hear the song.
Tara was sitting beside the window in the rocker Cole had provided when Little Cole was born; she was rocking gently back and forth, singing to the child. The babaí, as she and Little Cole insisted on calling her, seemed quite happy to listen; she wasn't asleep, but she wasn't crying either.
Tara caught his eye and smiled, gesturing with her freer hand to the dresser; coming into the room, Merrick found his flute sitting on it.
"No." he said immediately, and she looked questioning. "I don't know the tune." he added, and she rolled her eyes. "I didn't know you knew it." he murmured, and she smiled, still singing.
Giving in to the inevitable, Merrick picked up the flute. Listening long enough to pick up her pitch, he raised the flute and began to play.
A sudden silence rose from the garden below, and he smiled, crossing to stand next to the window as he kept playing. Almost everyone was outside, and they'd all stopped whatever they were doing to look up at the window. Shayla was laughing delightedly, and as Tara started the song over she joined in; Tara laughed, startling the child, and switched into a counterpoint Merrick had never heard before. Unsure, he kept playing the tune. Below, Alyssa left the group and came back into the house; as they finished the song again she appeared behind them, waiting patiently in the doorway.
There was a loud round of applause, which Tara ignored, rising to her feet and offering the baby to Alyssa. The Tiger Ranger shook her head, taking a step back until Tara sat back down.
"She likes you." Alyssa said quietly, coming to kneel beside the chair and touch her daughter's hair lightly.
"Na leanbh usually do, Alyssa. When I lived with Cerbhall, not a child was born but I had to go and sing to them."
"Na leanbh?" Alyssa repeated.
"Babies. Sorry."
"Is that what you sang?" Merrick asked, and she shook her head.
"I haven't sang that since I left Animaria, Merrick."
"Why didn't you sing it for Cole?" Alyssa asked, and Tara smiled.
"It's not…the words aren't right. It wasn't suitable for Cole."
"What does it mean?" Alyssa asked, and when neither answered she hastened to add, "It's so beautiful in Animarian…what does it mean?"
Tara shifted the baby slightly; the girl was falling asleep, finally. "Sleep, precious daughter,/Your keeper shall watch you,/Guide and protect you,/No evil befall you./Remember forever/Although you may roam/You're loved, needed and wanted/With your family at home…" she trailed off. "There's more, but…and it rhymes better in Animarian."
"It's beautiful." Alyssa murmured. "But…'Keeper'? And daughter…is there one for a son?"
"There is, but…" Tara glanced at Merrick before going on, "The people I stayed with had only a daughter, so I never heard the son one. And the keeper…are you going to present her to the Wild Zords, Alyssa?"
"Well, yeah…" Alyssa said. "We haven't had time yet."
"Then whichever Wild Zord accepts her as Master will be her keeper, as the Tiger is yours."
"What if it's the Tiger?" Alyssa asked curiously.
"The Wolf's been watching Merrick and Cole since Cole was born. I think the Tiger could manage."
"The Wolf is Cole's?" Alyssa asked.
"You were there, Alyssa." Tara pointed out. "You saw what happened."
"Yeah, but…Merrick?"
Merrick looked up, startled; he'd been fingering his flute and paying no attention to the conversation. "What?"
"The Wolf." Tara said patiently.
"What about him?"
"Watches the both of you now."
"So?"
"Never mind, Merrick." Tara said in disgust. "Are you going to play that or just with it?"
Merrick frowned as he thought through that sentence again. "I…never mind. I was trying to remember the other lullaby."
"The boys' one?" Tara asked. "I never heard it…do you remember it?"
Merrick shook his head. "Not well. Too long ago. The boys' one was different, anyhow."
"Different how?" Alyssa asked, moving out of Tara's way as she rose to put the baby in the crib.
"Not so much emphases on love and being protected." Shayla said from behind them. Cole was leaning against her hip, yawning. "More about fighting and protecting other people."
"Sounds wonderful, Princess." Tara said mildly, stepping away from the crib.
"I liked the girls' one better." Shayla said thoughtfully.
"I'm not surprised." Tara agreed. "If I'm reading Merrick's fingers right the boys' one doesn't even sound as nice."
"You're…excuse me?" Merrick demanded.
"What?"
"You're reading my fingers?"
"Sure." She blinked at him. "I play…well, not a flute, but something similar. I can finger if I want to, Merrick."
"What do you play?" Alyssa asked.
"Excuse me?"
"What do you play?" she repeated. "If it's not a flute."
"It's…the name wouldn't mean anything to you. It's similar to a flute; it tends to sound lower."
"You played it on that tape." Alyssa said suddenly, and Tara nodded.
"I don't play it often; a relic of aul' dacency, you could call it."
"If we knew what that meant." Shayla pointed out.
"You people have no romance in your souls." Tara huffed, lifting Cole onto her hip and sashaying past everyone into her room. "You come talk with me, short stuff, and we'll leave the boring old groan-ups together."
"Hey!" Alyssa protested. "You're older than all of us put together!"
"And multiplied several times." Shayla murmured.
"Rub it in, guys. Go on." Tara said, pushing the door closed behind her. From the way Cole immediately started squealing, though, she wasn't as mad as she'd made out.
"Cole, are you ready?" Alyssa asked quietly. Cole glanced up from his parents' headstones and nodded, reaching to take his daughter.
"We shouldn't keep the others waiting, anyway. Where's Tara?"
"Down at the gate." Max offered from where he was standing a respectful distance away. "I'll go get her, if you want."
"We'll go that way." Cole said with a shrug. "Doesn't make a difference."
"So which animal d'you think'll take her?" Max asked brightly, half-skipping to keep up with Cole.
"It doesn't matter, Max." Cole reminded him.
"I hope White Tiger does." Alyssa said thoughtfully. "I'd like to think my Zord was protecting my daughter."
"Any of them would do it, Alyssa." Tara commented idly as they reached the gate. "They're very dedicated to all of you."
"I know." Alyssa agreed. "I'd just…like it."
"How come you never go into the graveyard, Tara?" Max asked, obviously trying to change the subject.
"I don't like it." Tara said with a shrug.
"It's a nice graveyard." Alyssa said tentatively.
"Nice has nothing to do with it. You walk in there and you see grass and stones. I walk in there and see what's under the grass. Besides, Elves don't bury their dead so it's not something I was ever used to."
"You don't?" Cole asked. "What did you do then?"
"See…" Tara reached for the baby as she spoke. "Elves didn't die. You could kill us in battle or we could…" she grinned wryly, "die of a broken heart, but we were never sick and we didn't age much. What, Max?"
Max had been shaking his head slightly, and now he looked up, surprised. "Just…you keep saying 'we'. I thought you were the only Elf left."
"I am. But I'm always an Elf…I've told you this, Alyssa."
"Whoever you are, you're always Thariin." Alyssa murmured.
"Yup."
"You're Tara." Cole said quietly, and she smiled faintly.
"You've never seen Thariin, Cole, not properly. Tara is her very own person, but Thariin is always there underneath." Tara glanced down at the child. "Hello there. Are we talking too loud for you? Tar ar ais i do chodladh, babaí."
"What now?" Max asked.
" 'Go back to sleep, baby.' " Tara translated without looking up.
"I saw Thariin." Alyssa said thoughtfully, taking her daughter and rocking her lightly. "When…during LaserOrg's attacks."
"Yes. Can't hide from the Earth." Tara looked around. "Are we actually going to the Animarium, guys? 'Cos if so we're taking the long way 'round."
"We're not in a rush." Cole reminded her.
"I know, Cole."
The ceremony on the Animarium was different this time, without Cole's need to prove himself as the father; instead they skipped straight to presenting her to the animals.
"Red Lion!" Cole called. "Gorilla! Falcon!"
"White Tiger!" Alyssa added. "Elephant zord! Deer zord!"
"This is our daughter, Sara." Cole told them.
Shayla took half a step forward and asked, "Who will guide this child?"
The Deer started to call and then stopped, looking at the Lion; the Lion ignored him and looked at White Tiger, who was staring intently at Alyssa. Cole looked from Alyssa to the Tiger and back again, and then suddenly smiled. At the same moment Alyssa said, "The Lion will guide our daughter." She blinked and looked up at Cole.
"Thank you." Cole murmured to her, then he looked up at Red Lion and added, louder, "Thank you, my friend."
Merrick stepped forward and Alyssa surrendered Sara to the round of introductions. "Hello, Sara. I'm Merrick, and this is Shayla. And this," he carefully crouched, gesturing his son forward, "is Cole. You will always have a home with us."
"She's awfully small." Cole said critically.
"She'll grow." Shayla said. "You were that small once."
"And smaller." Tara added, and there was a soft round of laughter.
Rising, Merrick proffered the tiny girl to Tara, who shook her head. Taylor stepped forward, taking her.
"Hey, kiddo. I'm Taylor, and this is Eric." She smiled at Eric. "And that's Wes lurking over there. You'll get to know them." Turning, she handed her on to Danny.
"Hello, Sara." Danny said quietly. "I'm Danny. You're gonna have trouble later, little one; your parents are the best people I know, and it's gonna be hard to live up to that." He smiled briefly at Cole and Alyssa. "I'll help you, 'kay? I don't have any children."
"Yet, Danny. You don't have any children yet." Max took the girl away from him. "Hey, kid. I don't have anything clever to say to you."
"When do you ever have anything clever to say period?" Taylor asked, but there was no malice in the question and Max confined himself to sticking out his tongue at her.
When he turned Tara was at his elbow and he handed Sara to her without question. "Hey." Tara said softly. "You have a good name, Sara. A strong name. And a strong guide to go with it. You make sure and do them justice."
No one moved for a long minute, caught by the tone of her voice; then Cole took a step forward and Tara turned, holding the child out to him and stepping back when he'd taken her.
"You OK?" Cole asked, rocking his daughter gently.
"Fine, Cole. Too much…" she trailed off for a minute. "Miles to go, I guess."
"You said that before." Merrick murmured.
"Still true, Merrick." She glanced around and laughed a little shakily. "Why is it every time we do something involving Sara, we end up with everyone paying attention to me? Go coo at the babaí."
"Why do you keep saying that way?" Cole asked curiously. "Bab-eee."
"It's the Gaelic word for baby, is all."
"What's Gaelic?" Max asked. Tara made a face at herself.
"Irish. Or old Irish, anyway…" She ignored the look of alarm in Taylor's eyes and turned to Little Cole. "What do we say?"
"Aithnionn ciaróg ciaróg eile." Cole said promptly.
"Good boy, Cole."
"What does that mean?" Shayla asked as they started back towards the courtyard.
"One beetle knows another beetle." Little Cole told her, and she made a face.
"It takes one to know one." Tara re-translated, and she smiled in comprehension.
"Why are you teaching my son Irish?" Merrick asked mildly.
"He wanted to learn it, Merrick. He wants to read Deirdre in the original Irish." She shook her head quickly. "Besides, a couple of seanfhocail—" Merrick shook his head, and she made a face and corrected herself, "proverbs, then—aren't going to corrupt him. We're learning Animarian as well."
"Are we." Merrick said, turning to eye his son. Cole, showing remarkable self-preservation instincts, began ostentatiously playing with Sara.
In Animarian, Tara continued, "{He knows about three words in each language, Merrick. You were going to teach him Animarian, weren't you?}"
"We hadn't discussed it."
Tara nodded. "I'm sorry; I never even thought…no more. Not until you decide, Merrick." She nodded firmly and then turned abruptly away, staring down over the cliff.
"I like Irish." Cole protested.
"Another day, Cole." Tara didn't turn. "Go play with Sara now."
Cole scowled but went to do what he was told.
"Are you all right?" Danny asked, touching Tara's arm when she didn't answer.
"What? Yes…I'm fine. It's nothing, Danny."
"It's not." Danny said, and she smiled quickly.
"No, really. I'm sorry, I just got distracted for a minute."
"What's happening?" Merrick asked.
"An earthquake in LA. It's not important."
"Do you have to go?" Alyssa asked, cradling Sara.
"No. It'll manage to quake without me." She laughed at the look on her face. "Really, Alyssa. Let's just…let's not go yet." She turned away to get something to eat, cutting off any more questions.
"You're not all right."
Tara glanced up at Danny, surprised. "Danny. I am, I told you. Just distracted."
"From here?" Danny asked. "Isn't it harder from up here?"
"It's a big earthquake."
"Hey, Cousin Tara!" Cole yelled.
"Yeah, Cole."
"Watch me! Are you watching?"
"I'm watching!"
"Watch me!"
"I am, Cole! I'm watching you!"
Cole did a fairly accurate Tarzan yell and launched himself out of Cole's tree, swinging—badly—on a vine. He careened across the courtyard and back, banged into the tree again and slid down the vine, landing in a heap on the floor.
"Very nice." Tara laughed, crossing to hunker beside him. "You gortaigh?"
"No." he muttered. "Was anyone lookin'?"
"Everyone was." Merrick said mildly. "You yelled enough. I think even Sara was watching." Cole groaned and buried his head in his arms. "Come on, Cole, get up."
"Are you hurt?" Shayla asked, crouching next to him.
"No, Mama. Jus' my knee an' my arm an' my side."
Tara touched his face lightly. "Nothing serious. What did they used to…you'll be better before you're twice married."
"Not gonna get married." Cole protested.
"Oh? Why not?" Shayla asked, brushing some dirt from his top.
"Cos I havta take care of the animals, don't I?" He looked between his mother and father. "After? Don't I…they'll need me, right?"
"Maybe." Merrick said after a minute. "We'll see."
"Where did you hear that, Cole?" Tara asked interestedly.
"Nowhere. No one said it, I just…Mama and Papa do it now. I thought that was gonna be my job."
Sara wailed suddenly, and everyone except Cole jerked at the noise. "Whoops. Someone's tired." Alyssa said quickly. "Cole, you wanna help me settle her down?"
"Sure, I guess. Mama?"
"Yes, you may." Shayla agreed, rising with Merrick's help and watching her son follow Alyssa away.
"Acch…" Tara muttered, turning abruptly away. "He's…there's something right there, and I can't…"
"You're imagining things." Merrick said firmly. "Cole is simply Cole."
"You just don't spend enough time at home to know the difference." Taylor added.
"Busy busy, Taylor. Don't see you off base grounds much, come to that."
"It's not a contest, you guys." Cole said quietly.
"What? You mean I don't get to win? There's a first." Tara said, grinning madly. "Aw, feck…I really have to go. Can someone bring me down, please? Anyone?"
"I will." Max offered, when no one else spoke.
"Thanks. Max." Tara said gratefully.
{Are you in trouble?} Merrick asked.
{It's a big quake. Merrick, I have to go. I'll come by the house later, all right?}
"Be careful." Shayla murmured.
"Always am. Let's go, Max." She turned to look at Cole. "Tell Alyssa good bye for me, will you?"
"Sure." Cole agreed. "See you soon."
Max grinned quickly around the group and then headed out of the clearing, Tara on his heels.
"Where're they going?" Alyssa asked, coming back into view with young Cole behind her.
"Tara had to go." Cole said, wrapping his arms around her. "Max'll be back in a few minutes."
"Where did she go?" Little Cole asked.
"Back home." Taylor said. "Some earthquake or something."
"Oh." he said quietly, nodding. Then he looked up. "Uncle Cole?"
"Yeah?" Cole let go of Alyssa and hunkered down to his namesake's level. "What is it?"
"Did you know your daughter snores?" Little Cole asked very seriously.
"No." Cole was equally serious. "Does she?"
"Yup. Like this." Little Cole snored quietly.
"Really? Like that?" Cole frowned, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Hmm…and I bet you never snore, huh?"
"No, I…" he broke off and looked at his father.
"Yes, he does." Merrick corrected him. "Loudly. For long periods of time."
"Do not!" Little Cole protested, flushing.
"Yes you do." Merrick said firmly. Little Cole scowled.
"Well, I don't know if I do 'cos I'd be asleep when I did so I won't be able to tell." he said, somewhat confusedly.
"That's a good point you have there, Cole." Cole said. Leaning closer, he mock-whispered, "Besides, your father snores too so I wouldn't worry too much."
"Hey! I do not!" Merrick protested.
Shayla caught Little Cole's attention and nodded firmly when Merrick wasn't looking. "Hah! Mama says you do!" Cole crowed, running to hide behind the Princess' skirt before Merrick could answer.
"Does she indeed." Merrick said, smiling. "Well, I suppose I must bow to her wisdom."
"I would." Danny agreed, nodding at Max as he came back into the clearing. "Hi, Max."
"Hey." Max said, tucking Cole under one arm in an overly absent manner and carrying him half-way across the courtyard.
"Uncle Max…" Cole protested.
"Hmm? What?" He looked around, frowning, and finally lifted Cole high enough to see him. "Oh. What are you doing down there?"
"You picked me up, Uncle Max!"
"Hmm? I don't remember doing that."
"Papa…" Cole protested.
Merrick, busy talking to Eric and Wes, ignored him; the two Guardians could see him struggling not to laugh, though.
"Uncle Max, put me down!" Cole protested, once he realized his father wasn't going to help.
"But I didn't pick you up, Cole. You must've done that yourself."
"No fair, you're bigger'n'me!" Cole wriggled, trying to get Max to put him down.
"Oh, put the kid down, Kid." Taylor said, striding across and taking Cole away from Max, setting him back on his feet.
"Don't call me kid!" Max and Cole chorused together.
That was it; Cole collapsed in helpless laughter, and most of the others joined him.
"Kids." Taylor muttered half-heartedly.