CHAPTER SIX

GRATITUDE

The far side of the city was relatively quiet. Pete gasped air as he fell back against the wall of the house and scanned, hands on his knees. "I think... we're near... where I left the girl."

"Girl?" the chimpanzee gasped. He was in much better shape now than he had been several months ago, but these mad dashes still left him out of breath.

Pete scanned both ways and, seeing no one, took off again, leading Alan and Galen both out of the city limits. Yes... apparently it could be that easy. Pete found himself breathing a huge sigh of relief as they headed for the tree line.

Alan was a half-step behind, and still on high alert. Behind them, he could still hear the sounds of the hunt, and it made him uneasy to know that they were still so close. It was only a matter of time before they extended their search outside of the city limits. Then, they would find them if they were still here. They needed to get as far away from the area as they could, as quickly as possible.

Alan slowed as he heard the muffled yelling of what appeared to be a moving bush, and his eyes followed Pete as he knelt down. "Miss me?" he asked.

A loud, but very muffled growl answered him, and he chuckled as he untied the furious girl, ankles first. As soon as her hands were freed, she reached for the gag. "How dare...!" Pete's hand over her mouth cut her off, and he guided the cloth back in place, holding it. He didn't want her screaming again. She struggled, trying to pry his hand away, but it did her absolutely no good.

Once he found his balance, he stood, pulling her up with him. "Up we go."

She squealed, but couldn't make enough noise to be a threat to them. "Once we get outta here, you can scream all you want," Pete comforted. "Until then, yer gonna be a good girl and stay nice and quiet..."

She yelled through the gag again - something that sounded remarkably like another obscenity - and Pete ignored her. An amused look played on Alan's face as he studied the two of them. It looked like Pete had finally met his match; she was as stubborn as he was. Boy, this was going to be one hell of a time...

"Pete! Alan!" Galen whispered. "Look!"

All four of them turned to look back toward the city, where a few wobbly torch lights could be see coming towards them. The girl tried to scream again, and struggled to get free, but Pete held her tight. "Let's get out of here," Alan ordered.

"Yeah, I'm all for that," Pete answered, already dragging the girl away in spite of her struggling.

She stopped struggling after the first mile. By that time, she'd exhausted herself. It was hard to run and fight at the same time. As much as she hated it, she was resigned to being their bound and gagged prisoner. At least until she had a chance of escape...

"We should rest here for a little bit," suggested Alan.

"Sounds like a winner to me." Pete let her go and collapsed in a heap on the grass. He was as tired from pulling her along as she was from struggling.

Immediately, she tore the gag away from her mouth and threw it at him. He didn't even look up. Anger seethed inside of her, and she considered making a break for it. But she immediately realized that the two other sets of eyes were watching her. She growled, and then leaned on a tree beside her, arms crossed firmly over her chest as she pouted.

Pete pulled his knees up, resting his forehead on them and taking a few deep breaths. Galen sat down beside him, reaching for his canteen and taking a long drink before offering it to Pete. Pete shook his head, and Galen offered to the female. She only scowled, and after a moment, he put the canteen back.

"You're not going to get away with this," she stated. "When they come for me, I'll tell them where you are."

"Say, Alan..." Pete looked up, eyes flickering anger. "Why in the hell are we draggin' her ass around with us when she wants to die?"

Alan didn't answer, only shook his head and turned to look the other way, scanning the direction they'd come.

"No, I mean it, Alan..." Pete continued. "I mean, we've done some pretty stupid things in the name of human kindness but this has to be the stupidest thing yet. Right up there with turning around and walking back into a plague-stricken village..."

"She had to get here somehow, Pete," Alan answered.

Pete knew exactly what he was implying. And yes, it was a valid point. But at the same time, there was also the valid point that she apparently had no intention of taking them to her ship. "Look, Alan, a hell of a lot of good it's gonna do us if she starts screamin' for help when Urko shows up..."

Galen blinked. "What human in their right mind would do a thing like that?"

Pete shot him a look, and he decided he did not really want an answer to that question. "Alan, she isn't even the pilot; he died back there. And there's no guarantee we're qualified to fly that ship outta here..."

"Qualified or not, it's our only chance."

"Yeah, and where does she fit into your perfect plan?" Pete mocked. "She's gonna get us killed before we ever...!"

"Pete!" Burke fell instantly silent, eyes widening just slightly at the sudden burst of uncharacteristic frustration. "Lay off, will you?"

Uneasy silence fell on them. For a long moment, Pete glared. But Alan returned it, and it was Pete who looked away first. He stared down at the ground, picking at the blades of grass in the long, lingering silence that none of them dared to break.

He knew Alan's frustration and anger wasn't directed solely at him. It was at the entire situation. Pete was feeling the same frustration, and he knew they were each other's only safe outlet. Still, to see Alan blow off steam - even such a small amount - seemed wrong, somehow. In the years he'd known him, he'd only seen Alan mad twice. Even finding that he was stranded on a planet of talking apes hadn't angered him. At least, not that he'd shown outwardly.

Alan was the one who was level-headed, and in a way, Pete hated it. It made it impossible to argue with him. When he said something, then that was the way it was. Calmly, very much collected, he made a decision to do something. And no amount of anger, frustration, begging, or pleading would make him change his mind.

Galen was the one to finally break the silence. "Are we... still heading east?" His voice was quiet and meek. He wasn't certain how to deal with Alan being angry, either.

"I don't know," Alan mumbled, leaning against a tree and holding his forehead in his palm. "Did the prefect say where the ship was? At all?"

"No."

Silence again. Pete's eyes narrowed as he studied the ground until he found himself glaring. That girl standing just a few feet away knew exactly where that damned ship was, and he knew it. "We'll have to get more water soon," Galen observed.

"Yeah, well, why don't you take a trip back to Kotar with Blondie here," Pete gestured. He was still bitter about the fact that she had called down all hell upon them while they were trying to rescue her. He was even more bitter about the fact that she still seemed determined to cause problems.

"I resent that," she spoke up defensively. Pete half-laughed, mockingly, and her eyes narrowed into slits. "I am not a dumb blonde."

He glanced up. "Yer right," he mumbled. "Your roots are showing."

Her jaw dropped at the audacity of the man who would point that out. "Excuse me?"

Galen's expression was clearly troubled. "Not blonde?" He took a quick look at her hair and decided that they both had to be crazy or color blind. Since he knew Pete was not insane, he opted for the latter, although it confused him. He'd heard about color blind humans, but he'd not known his friend to be one of them. Her hair was clearly blonde.

"Hope you weren't too attached to it," Pete shot at her. "You ain't gonna find peroxide around here..."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of..."

The chimpanzee shot a questioning look at Pete. "Peroxide?"

"Used to bleach hair," Pete answered. "Give it a few months and her hair's gonna be a dark brown."

Galen stared. How could someone change the color of their hair? An even better question would be why would someone want to? You shouldn't want to change something you were born with...

"So where am I?" the girl was becoming bolder now. "You don't actually expect me to believe that the apes rule this place do you?" Her tone was slightly condescending.

"No, it's ruled by kangaroos." Pete had had more then enough of her whining and complaining.

"Kangaroos?", Galen asked.

He was ignored. "Look, Buffy, you were a prisoner back there at the mercy of the apes and yer still gonna ask who the ruling species on this planet is?" Pete shot at the girl.

"My name's not Buffy," she glared.

"Yeah, well, I can think of a few other names to fill in the blank if you prefer..."

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

Pete's eyes narrowed into slits. "Shall we discuss what you are?"

"Oh will you two stop," Galen cut in. "Now, calling each other names is not going to get us anywhere..."

The girl turned to him and glared, then uncrossed her arms as she bent down and picked up a stick about a foot long. "You want the stick?" she asked, mockingly excited. "Huh? You want it?"

"Hey!" Pete wasn't sure why, but hearing her taunt Galen made him a thousand times more pissed off than taking her insults on himself.

Galen watched as she threw the stick into the bushes. "Fetch!" His jaw dropped. Clearly, she did not expect him to run after the stick. But it was perfectly clear what she was insinuating.

In an instant, Pete was on her, and her back was against the trunk of the tree. "You listen here, little girl and you listen good..."

"Get off me!" she struggled.

Galen stared, dumbfounded and angry. How dare she! She might not be from this time, but neither were Alan and Pete, and at least they had manners. It was no secret that they had lived in a time when apes had been subservient to humans; they had never lied about that or tried to cover it up. But they had never been so bold as to insultingly treat him as a dog! He looked for Alan, but saw that he had removed himself from the group. He was only a short distance away, but far enough that he was likely out of earshot for the tone Pete was using.

"You ever talk that way to him again," Pete growled, "and I'll make personally sure you get to experience being led on a leash. You understand me?"

"You harm one hair on my head and I'll have you arrested once my father..."

"Oh get off it!" Pete yelled at her, pushing her aside and letting her go. "You're a million light years from your Earth and you ain't goin' back without our help!"

"I'm warning you..." she continued, ignoring him.

"Yeah, and I'm warning you!" he yelled back. "If I wanted you dead all I woulda had to do is leave you in that goddamned jail!"

"So why didn't you!"

"Because my friend had this bright idea to save yer ass!" he shot.

"Yeah? Well don't do me any more favors!"

"Oh, will you please stop?" Galen pleaded. His attention was much more focused on Alan than it was on the two bickering humans. Pete followed his gaze and did a double take as he saw him sitting on the edge of a large rock formation overlooking the area.

"You," Galen pointed to the girl, "are by far the most obnoxious human I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever..." She completely tuned him out and started inspecting her nails, checking to make sure that none of them had chipped.

Pete glared at her for a long moment, and then looked back to Alan. The fact that he had separated himself from the group wasn't like him. He sighed as he shrugged his shoulders out of the backpack. "Be right back," he mumbled to Galen. The chimpanzee whimpered and nodded, and Pete turned and pointed at the girl. "If you move, I swear to god I'll shoot your ass."

She glared back, but he had already turned away, walking the short distance to where Alan was sitting. He was on the edge of the rocks, one knee bent and his arm resting across it as he stared blankly into the trees in front of him. "Hey, you okay?"

Alan stared, and remained perfectly still for a long moment before sighing and dropping both legs off the rock in front of him. His nod was slight, just barely visible. "I need to get out of here, Pete," he said quietly. "I..."

He didn't finish. His mind was clearly elsewhere. Pete continued to study him for a long moment. He needed space, and Pete understood that. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a wave of concern. It wasn't like Alan to pull away...

"Ah, it can't be that bad," Pete tried to encourage him. "Just think of the advantages we have living here: no taxes, no mortgage, no car payments..." It was lame, but it was the first thing that came to mind. Pete knew it didn't compare. Until Alan was back home with his wife and his son, he couldn't look at any advantages. Pete understood that. He might not have had anything to really go home to himself... but there was still a binding and constricting feeling that came with the thought of being hunted forever.

Alan licked his lips, but otherwise remained completely still for a long, lingering moment. "I don't care if I die in the process, Pete," he finally stated, quiet but firm. "But I have to find that ship. And I have to at least try to get it off this planet, with or without her help..."

Pete straightened a bit at the unfamiliar tone. It was something he hadn't heard from Alan before. Not anger, not frustration, not sadness... maybe a mix of all three. In a word, it was a feeling of betrayal, and it tainted his words, raising a red flag.

She didn't know. Pete knew she didn't know what she was dealing with. What human in their right mind would want to walk up to Urko and demand to be taken to the High Council? But he knew she would. She was just naive, as he had been when he first arrived. No... you were never that naive... But still, she had an excuse, sort of.

But being here had taught him the meaning of codependence like no training exercise ever had. He needed Alan, and Galen, like he needed air and water. And Alan, hell-bent on getting home, needed that girl. He needed her help. But she was stupidly refusing to be part of the group. Independent bitch... who was going to get herself killed in one quick hurry. If they could only be so lucky...

"Look..." Pete rubbed his hands together, glaring at the ground. "If I have to hog-tie that blonde bimbo and drag her through the mountains we will find that ship. We've been through a lot together, this should be a piece of cake."

"And what about when we find it, Pete?" He looked up, and met Pete's eyes, his own reflecting pain and loss. "What about when we...?" He cut off, and looked away, shaking his head.

Pete frowned. "One day at a time, huh?" he offered. He was just as aware as Alan was of the possibility that the ship alone would do them no good whatsoever if they couldn't get it off the ground. But he couldn't let "what if" dictate his feelings and fears. "Right now we gotta worry about what the girl is doing to poor Galen and what we're gonna do about her."

Pete made sure that he didn't look directly at Alan. He knew full well that his friend would be able to tell that he was just as hopeful... even if he couldn't quite bring himself to admit it. And in addition... it hurt him to see the pain that reflected off of Alan's eyes.

"She's one of us, Pete..." Alan said quietly, after a long pause. "We can't let them have her. Even if she won't help us."

Pete's eyes narrowed as he stared at a random tree in the ravine. He felt no connection whatsoever to the girl. Hell, he couldn't even remember what she'd said her name was. For all he cared, she could drop off a cliff. But Alan cared, and whether he liked it or not, that made a difference to him. "No, we won't let Urko get his hands on her," Pete assured. "Or on that ship, either."

"You sound pretty optimistic for a guy who just threatened to shoot her..."

Pete straightened a bit. Alan's monotone, almost cynical voice made him pause. "Hey, I can kill and torture her," Pete tried to recover. "But no overgrown gorilla is gonna lay a hand on her..." He was trying too hard and he knew that Alan knew it. Damn it...

Alan sighed, and looked away. So many times, they had come close. It was almost hard to believe that this time, just maybe, they might be closer than they ever were before. But he had to believe it. It was all there was worth believing in. He glanced over his shoulder at the girl. "I don't really know what to do with her... She will run..." He looked to Pete, his eyes sad. "But she's one of us. And I just... I can't let it happen, Pete. Even if she won't help us, I can't let them kill her..."

Pete sat down next to his friend and was silent for a moment. There was no easy way to take that, or to figure out what he should be saying in response. He knew that when he really got to the heart of it... he couldn't hand her over any more than Alan could. She was just... naive and stupid. But that didn't make the problem any easier to solve. "Alan..."

He sighed. This was the one and only person in the current universe who understood all he had to say before he said it. He didn't have to say it. It was amazing just how often they thought the same thing at the same time. Same training, perhaps... but it was more than that, too. And even though they didn't necessarily agree on their perceptions... they still made them in the same way. "... I really don't know what to tell you," he finally continued. "All we can do right now is keep her on a short leash and get to the ship. Maybe then we can find some answers."

Alan nodded, and sighed deeply. "I know. I know that..." The frustration in his voice was evident, in spite of the fact that he was obviously trying to mask it. He looked back at the girl again, and then at Pete. "Just... do me a favor?"

Pete glanced to him, and raised a brow. "Yeah? What?"

Alan gave a slight smile, an attempt at encouraging himself. "Don't go out of your way to push her buttons... "

Pete rolled his eyes and looked away. "Hey, who's pushing whose buttons?"

"She doesn't know what she's dealing with here and you know it," Alan pointed out. "You were there too not all that long ago. And she..." He glanced again at her. "She doesn't realize just how alone she is..."

Pete sighed, and hung his head slightly. He knew Alan was right. At least when he had arrived on this screwed up planet, he hadn't been completely alone. Hell, without Alan around Pete didn't want to think of what he might have done. He wouldn't be alive this long, that was for damn sure. This girl had absolutely no one at all... and she didn't even realize it. "Yeah, okay, I'll try. But no promises." He glared briefly at the girl. "She does enough button pushing of her own."

Alan nodded. "Yeah, I know." A slightly cynical edge crept into his voice. "I'm well aware of the fact that she almost got us killed back there..."

"But of course I have absolutely no hard feelings against her," Pete assured. A slight smirk came through the blatant sarcasm.

"Right," Alan answered.

"How far do you think we've come from the city?" Pete was more than ready to change the subject, if only to get Alan's mind on something else.

Alan's eyes turned outward again, to the surrounding area. "I don't know. A few miles maybe." He shook his head. "Not far enough..."

"Right." Pete pulled himself up. "Well, let's get outta here before the welcome wagon catches up, huh?"

Alan looked at him, and hesitated a moment. "Maybe by the morning the girl will have forgotten all about her crazy idea about going to the High Council..." Pete added, glancing at her and Galen. He frowned. "Or maybe not..."

Pete looked back down, and offered Alan a hand. With a sigh, Alan took it, and Pete pulled him to his feet.