4
Suddenly Ro drew back from the woman like she was carrying a plague.
"Laren, are you all right?" Pat asked, frowning slighty.
"It's-that's not possible." Ro muttered under her breath, still watching Talia.
"Laren?" Talia turned her questioning gaze towards Pat.
"Yeah, that's her name, Ro Laren."
Talia looked at Ro again, shock, surprise and fear painted across her face, "Laren?"
She stepped forward and hesitantly placed a hand on Ro's cheek and lifted her head.
"Laren it is you!" she cried, enveloping her in a hug, "I thought you had been killed."
"Really I think there has been some kind of mistake," Ro protested, pulling away again.
This time tears and confusion filled Talia's eyes, "You don't remember me Laren?" she whispered softy.
"I have no idea who you are," Ro replied stiffly, "I'm sorry about your loss but I'm not sure who you think I am."
Talia stepped back, wiping her eyes, "I'm sorry for embarrassing you; I mistook you for someone else."
Ro offered a nervous grin, "Don't worry about it."
Talia nodded and quickly walked out of the square, into the forest that surrounded the village.
Pat turned around from watching Talia to face Ro, "What the heck was that about?"
"I don't know. Have they inventoried what we salvaged yet?"
Her sudden desire to change the subject was not lost on Pat, "You do know what Talia was talking about, don't you?" she accused.
Ro shook her head, "Really, I don't know. She may have thought I was one of her kids who died in the Occupation." Without noticing it, Ro reached up and began to pull on her earring slighty.
"You're doing it."
Ro's hand came down and she looked at Pat in confusion, "Doing what?"
"You're pulling on your earring and you only do that when you're nervous. Now why don't you tell me the truth?"
"For the last time Beckett, I have no idea what she is talking about!" Ro yelled angrily.
Pat watched as she stomped out of the square, before turning her attention back to the woods.
Picking her path carefully, Pat followed the relatively clear trail that Talia had left, eventually finding the woman sitting beside a small, algae filled pond.
Pat deliberately stepped on a stick, alerting Talia to her presence.
The older woman turned her head, the hope dying in her eyes as soon as it had begun.
"Did I disturb you?" Pat asked gently, sitting down next to her.
"No, I just thought you might be someone else," Talia sighed sadly.
Pat nodded and a silence fell upon the clearing, broken only by a sudden chirp of a bird and an occasional sniffle from Talia.
"I was so sure it was her. After all these years of praying and hoping, I thought I had finally found her again," Talia began.
Her sudden voice startled Pat, "Found who?
"My daughter. She ran away from the camp we were living at when she was seven and I haven't seen her since."
"What was her name?"
"Ro Laren and she looked just like the Laren up there. That's why I thought…" she trailed off as she wiped some fresh tears from her eyes.
Disgust filled Pat as the realization dawned on her, Ro had known what Talia was talking about and she had still lied!
Taking several deep breaths Pat tried to let go of her feelings, Ro probably had her reasons for doing what she had done.
A sudden rumble of thunder filled the air, causing Pat to look around.
The sun had disappeared behind a curtain of heavy black clouds and the wind had picked, driving the fresh smell of rain before it.
Stiffly, she stood up and offered her hand to Talia, "We better get back to the town. It looks like a storm's starting and only a fool wants to be outside for thunderstorms on this planet."
Talia wiped her eyes and grasped Pat's hand.
As she stood she sagged against Pat for a minute, "Are you all right Talia?"
Talia nodded, "Yes, I am just tired."
The rain had started to fall as they walked into the square.
Suddenly Talia stiffened and gripped Pat's hand tighter, "Talia, why don't we rest for a minute?" Pat suggested, gently guiding her to a bench.
As Talia released Pat's hand to sit, her eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed.
Her mind frozen with panic, Pat stood dumbly for a moment before finding her voice.
"Hey! I need a medic over here!"