It was almost midnight when they finally reached the base. Confusion reigned for several minutes since they weren't expected for another couple days. While Ham appreciated their diligence, he chaffed at the delay at getting his father to medical help. He tried not to think about the fact that the only medical person in the base was someone he didn't trust in the least. Instead, he concentrated on helping Maggie and Nick gently shift his father to a stretcher liberated from the camp. The older man was so deeply unconscious that he didn't even twitch, even though it must have been very painful.
What seemed like hours later, they finally pulled directly into the base, stopping in front of the building used as the infirmary. Ham threw the canvas back and vaulted over the tailgate, not surprised to see Mike Donovan and Julie Parrish running toward them.
"What happened?" Donovan asked sharply. "The camp …"
"Mission accomplished. Camp destroyed." Ham said curtly, pulling down the tailgate. "Plus we managed to loot the place."
"That wasn't part of the plan!" Donovan barked and Ham half-turned toward him, his face tight with anger.
"We can report later." Caleb cut in, grabbing Ham's shoulder and looking directly at Julie as he spoke. "You got a patient, doc." He nodded toward the back of the truck.
"Who …" Julie didn't wait for an answer. She scrambled into the back of the truck, helped up by Maggie.
"Who was hurt?" Donovan glanced around at the small group of returnees, all of whom deferred to Ham.
"They had a prisoner." Ham said shortly, reluctant to relay what had happened.
"Tell him." Caleb said suddenly, grinning. "I wanna see his eyes get big."
Ham hesitated then shrugged. In a few terse sentences he told Donovan what had occurred, not mentioning that the prisoner was his father. Donovan stared at him then looked at a grinning Caleb. "You're kidding, right?" It was obvious Donovan didn't believe him and Ham felt a surge of anger. He opened his mouth to give a heated retort, pausing at the sound of a sharp 'pop' behind him and the feel of a sudden breeze. In front of him, Donovan's face went white as he stumbled backwards and Ham knew the creature had suddenly appeared behind him. He looked at Caleb, who was now looking behind him as well.
"I think the big lady can teleport." He said calmly.
"I think you're right. It would explain her sudden comings and goings." The black man grinned suddenly. "We have to find out her name. Calling her the big lady just doesn't seem polite."
"It'll do for now." Ham turned to look up at the creature. She looked back, grinning with surprisingly sharp teeth. Thankfully not many people were up and about this time of night. "Parrish! How's he looking?"
Julie appeared in the back of the truck, looking only a little startled at the sight of the creature. Either she had overheard Ham's explanation or Maggie had warned her.
"Bad." She said grimly and Ham barely managed to keep the sharp-edged worry from his face. "I'm surprised he's still alive." Julie spoke bluntly, knowing Ham wouldn't thank her for false hope and platitudes.
Ham heard the big lady snort and felt her touch his shoulder lightly. He couldn't help but feel that she knew exactly what was going on even though she couldn't understand a word they were saying.
"If he's made it this long then I'd say his chances of surviving are pretty good, barring any complications, but it's not going to be easy for him." Julie continued, eying the big lady nervously.
"Not surprised." Maggie said. "They did a real number on him."
"Let's get him inside." Julie jumped down but before anyone could move, the big lady had leaned her axe against the side of the truck and reached up to roll the canvas back to expose most of the interior of the truck. Being taller than the truck, it was easy for her to do so. She looked down at the injured man then at Ham inquiringly.
"We got it." He said as he reached for the end of the stretcher. "But thanks."
The big lady rumbled and stayed where she was, watching intently as Ham and Caleb gently pulled the stretcher from the truck. Donovan and Nick stepped forward to take the other end, the former freezing as he caught his first glimpse of the injured man's face.
"Gape later, Mike." Julie said curtly and Donovan snapped out of his surprise. He took a corner firmly before shooting a quick look at the big lady.
"She …"
"She carried him to the truck." Ham interrupted curtly. "But she can't help here. She won't fit into the building. Gently!" He barked out sharply as the stretcher bumped onto the tailgate. The big lady echoed his admonishment with a deep rumble, stomping her hoof and flipping back her ears, a gesture that made her look even fiercer. Ham smiled grimly at the others' half-wary, half-frightened looks. "I doubt she saved his life to have it endangered here." He said dryly.
"How …" Donovan started.
"Later!" Julie cut him off sharply. "We can get full reports once the wounded are taken care of."
Nothing more was said as they carried the stretcher into the infirmary and shifted the injured man gently onto an examining table. Julie started to gather supplies, snapping orders as she went.
"Caleb, run over and see who's awake and can help me. Not Robert, if you can help it. He's been working himself to exhaustion. Harmony or Fran or just see who is still awake that can help. Ham …"
"I'm staying." Ham said curtly and Julie wavered, looking at him then, seeing the unrelenting look in his eyes, she sighed.
"All right, fine. When should the other truck be here?"
"Maybe a half hour or so. They took a longer route." Ham said.
"Mike, would you mind watching for that truck and maybe get them both unloaded? Don't forget to make an inventory of what's on them."
"Right." Mike hesitated, glancing out the window. "What about … that … whatever …"
"The big lady?" Ham supplied. "Just leave her alone for now."
"Is it safe having her here?" Donovan asked curtly.
"No idea. Have any idea how to make her leave?" Ham gave the other man a tooth-bared wolf's grin.
"Mike! Ham!" Julie took a deep breath then jumped at a sudden sharp crack. Ham automatically reached for his gun, whirling to face the door.
"It's okay, folks." Caleb appeared in the doorway. "The big lady's just testing the strength of the wooden sidewalks." He looked behind him and added. "They're not strong enough to support her."
"Keep an eye on her, will you Caleb?" Julie asked.
"She's kinda hard to miss. A couple folks are getting dressed to come over." Caleb vanished back out the door then reappeared a moment later, holding something out with an air of uncertainty. "I think she wants me to give this to you." He offered it to Ham.
Ham took the object gingerly. It was a bluish-green jar, large enough that he had to hold it with both hands but just the right size, he thought, for the big lady. He glanced at Julie then shrugged, setting it down to twist the top off. Julie hissed a warning but Ham ignored her, looking at the contents, a thick salve the same color as the jar.
"Medicine?" He asked Julie and she shrugged.
"Maybe medicine for her. But for us?"
Ham arched an eyebrow then, before anyone could stop him, he reached out to skim a finger lightly across the smooth surface of the salve, jerking back his hand with a hiss.
"Ham?" Julie said sharply.
He grabbed a tissue to wipe the salve off. "Numb. My fingertip's gone numb." He turned to look thoughtfully at his father, remembering the state of his back.
Julie guessed at his thoughts and spoke sharply. "We can't use it on him!"
"Even if it'll help?" Ham asked.
"We don't know if it will help. We need to do some testing on it first." Julie said firmly and it was Ham's turn to waver.
"You might change your mind once you get the bandages off." He finally said.
Julie looked at the man lying on the table and the bloodstained makeshift bandages covering his back. Steeling herself, she stepped to his side.
"What kind of injuries does he have?" She asked Ham curtly. She had little doubt Ham could give her an accurate evaluation. Unnoticed by both of them, Donovan and Caleb slipped from the building.
As they worked at getting the bandages off, Ham outlined the injuries he had seen. Harmony came in while they worked and, without a word, stepped in to help. By the time they were done, Julie found herself almost agreeing with Ham about the medicine. Ben's back from neck to hips was bloody and raw, the lash having literally stripped the skin from his back. She shook her head.
"This is recent." Julie said. "Last twenty-four hours, I think. Let's get him cleaned up a little better." She paused, glancing up as the door opened.
"I thought you could use some more help." Ruby Engel stepped in more sprightly then a woman her age had a right to. She looked at Ham with an arched eyebrow. "I don't think your big lady likes Donovan."
Ham grinned. "I'm liking her more and more every minute." Julie shot him a dirty look, which he ignored. "What's she doing?"
"Ignoring him. Totally." She slipped off her jacket and rolled her sleeves up, not even wincing at the wounds covering Ben's back. "Wicked." She said quietly. "Robin wanted to come over and help but she caught sight of your big lady and changed her mind."
"Good thing." Ham grunted. "She doesn't need to see this." Harmony set a bowl of warm water on the table nearby and Ham reached for a sponge, face impassive as he helped clean his father's wounds.
"I don't know how the hell he's still alive. Extreme stubbornness must run in the family." Julie shot a look at Tyler and was surprised by the slight smile he gave her. Well, he had to have inherited it from somewhere. "No signs of sexual assault though I'm sure some of the body searches probably came close." She spoke from bitter experience and the impassive look on Ham's face cracked a little, his hand dropping protectively over his father's. For the first time since her rescue, Julie sensed a measure of understanding from the former government agent then Ham looked away, back down at his father's battered body.
"These scraps." He said quietly, indicating a bloody scrap the length of Ben's forearm. "Looks like from concrete maybe."
"The Visitors aren't very gentle with their prisoners." Julie said dryly. More scraps were evident on the man's legs as well. Ruby was cleaning them out as best she could, foregoing gentleness for thoroughness. Despite how painful it must have been, Ben didn't stir or make a sound.
Julie bit back her worry, assuming a professional air. "It looks like he was beaten first. I'm pretty sure he has a couple cracked ribs but there doesn't seem to be any internal bleeding. Did he cough up or breathe out any blood on the way here?"
Ham grunted. "No."
"Good sign. From the look of the bruising I'd say they weren't trying to do permanent damage, just cause a lot of pain."
"Didn't want him dying too soon." Ham said grimly and Julie winced then continued gamely.
"No other broken bones. The whip was next and we will have to clean those lash marks very carefully. I suspect those are why the big lady gave us that salve. I still have to check it out first though. How's your finger?"
Ham glanced at the finger in question. "Still numb. Hasn't spread any. I'll let you know when the numbness is gone."
"It might be different if we put it on open wounds." She looked at her patient, taking a deep breath. "Then they crucified him. Another hour, maybe not even that long, and I suspect the damage to his arms would have been permanent but everything else seems to be working … how well, I have no idea. Separately, these injuries are bad enough. Together, he's in for a whole lot of hurt."
Ham grimaced then hesitated. "Come dawn, I'm going to send Chris out to find out what happened." He said curtly and Julie realized he was just telling her this as a matter of courtesy. "My father shouldn't have been anywhere near that camp and I need to know how he got there and why they were torturing him."
"We all need to know that." Julie corrected and, after a moment's hesitation, Ham nodded. "He's lost blood …"
"A positive." Ham interrupted curtly. "Same as mine."
"Good. We have some in stock as well. If we need to do a transfusion we can. How about medicines? Is he allergic to anything?"
Ham shook his head. "Not any medicines, no."
"Good." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Let's get him on his stomach and we'll take care of those lash marks."
Ham helped shift his father into a more comfortable position. Ruby unfolded a sheet to cover him, a move that made Ham smile without humor. Ruby noticed and said something scoldingly in Yiddish. To Julie's surprise, Ham said something back in the same language.
"You speak Yiddish?" She asked, looking up from the medical supplies she was preparing on a rollaway tray.
Ham didn't answer; he just nodded toward his father. "Are you going to try and stitch up those wounds?"
"There's nothing we can stitch up." She pointed out and Ham glanced at his father's back. She was right; there wasn't enough skin left to stitch up. "We're just going to have to do the best we can. We clean the wounds first then use a lot of antibiotic cream." She frowned at the two large sized tubes resting on the tray. "I've already given him a shot of antibiotics and a sedative … I don't want him waking up during this. We'll need to set up an IV … Harmony, would you mind getting one ready?" She hesitated. "I hate to say this, Ham, but this is going to seriously deplete our resources."
'I know. Make a list of what'll you'll need … he'll need …" Ham nodded at his father. "And I'll send it with Chris. He'll get any supplies needed."
Julie almost asked how he would get the supplies then decided she really didn't want to know. Instead, she reached for an alcohol-soaked piece of gauze and began to clean the wounds thoroughly.
Ham stepped back and out of the way. With the three women working on his father, there was no room for him and he was only getting in the way. He finally settled into a nearby chair. If they needed his help, they'd ask for it. Once or twice he glanced out the window to see the big lady strolling casually by, exploring the area. He had a suspicion Donovan thought he trusted her, which only went to show that Donovan didn't know him very well at all. It wasn't trust that kept him from protesting about the big lady's presence, it was necessity. He could see no way to get her to leave or to keep her from returning. Plus, despite what Donovan might think of him, he was curious about her.
The second truck had arrived forty minutes after the first and the big lady was in the process of unloading it. Her axe leaned against a nearby building while she casually pulled out boxes and set them into stacks as tall as she could manage. Caleb was trying to convince her not to stack them so high, an almost impossible situation since it was obvious the big lady didn't understand English. But that didn't stop Caleb from trying.
"Look, we can't have those stacks any taller than him!" Caleb yanked Sancho over and pointed at him.
"Hey!" The other man said indignantly.
"Relax. I just need to give her a visual to work off of."
It was crude but the big lady seemed to get the idea as she restacked the boxes to a lower height. Sancho glowered and mumbled something before grabbing a couple boxes and carrying them into the kitchen's storeroom.
Nearby, Donovan wrote out everything that was being off-loaded, making note of the numbers and making sure everything went to where it were supposed to go. As he worked, he peppered Caleb with questions about what had happened. The older man gave him the condensed version, with some of the others adding commentary as needed.
"And Tyler didn't pitch a fit when he saw her?" Donovan asked incredulously.
"Hey, she was helping us. And it's not like she's a lizard." He ignored the dark look Donovan gave him. "I mean, look at her. She's about as far from the Visitors as can be."
"And they were terrified of her." Sancho cut in.
"Why?" That got Donovan a bunch of looks he had to admit he deserved. "Okay, I get the why." He grumbled and returned his concentration to taking inventory. He had to admit the raiding party had gotten a lot of useful items. They would have to discard the mattress the injured man had been lying on; it was covered with body fluids. The sheets as well but everything else was usable. Especially the food. They always needed food.
And toilet paper. Donovan winced at the memory of his brief leadership of the group and the time he'd forgotten to put toilet paper on the shopping list. Right now the big lady was hauling out big boxes of toilet paper and handing them off to waiting humans. He moved over to peer into the nearest truck. It was almost empty, thanks to the big lady. He quickly wrote down what was still there then stepped aside to let her lift out the remaining boxes
"Ham?" He heard Ruby say his name softly and he jerked upright, realizing, much to his surprise, that he'd dozed off. The old woman was standing a safe distance away, smiling slightly.
"How long …"
"Not too long. A couple of hours. We just finished."
Ham stood, silently cursing the stiffness in his legs. He hated falling asleep in the presence of others. Not only because it left him vulnerable but because he might get caught in a nightmare that could force him to reveal more than he wanted.
"How's he doing?" Ham eyed the IVs now in his father's arm. A catheter had been inserted as well and he suppressed a grimace. It wouldn't be the first time he'd had to deal with such things.
"The best I can say is that he's stable." Julie said quietly. "He's lost blood but not enough to warrant a transfusion, at least not yet. His pulse is fairly strong, he's breathing well. Unfortunately we don't have adequate monitoring equipment."
Ham gave her an amused look. "Have that on your list?"
Julie flushed and thrust a piece of paper at him. He ran an eye down the list, arching an eyebrow at a couple of the items.
"They would be helpful all around." Julie said stiffly, knowing he'd spotted a couple pieces of equipment that his father didn't currently need.
"Yeah, that's fine." He looked at her. "I can't make any guarantees but if there's any extras, Chris'll try and bring them back. On the other hand, you'll have one big plus right off."
"Oh?"
Ham smiled slightly. "Chris won't come back without my mother and she's a nurse."
"Oh!" Julie rocked back on her heels, surprised for some reason. "That will be helpful." Even if all she did was take care of Ben that would free up others to do their regular duties.
"She usually acts as an on-call nurse wherever they may be. Nurses are always in demand." Looking suddenly as if he'd said too much, Ham shoved the list into his pocket. "Are you going to leave him out here?"
"No, there's a bed in the back room. I've sent Harmony over to ask Alice if she'll sit with him. We need to get some sleep."
For the first time, Ham really looked at the woman. There were black circles under her eyes and she looked exhausted. "I can get him back there. You go to bed."
"You'll need help."
Ham didn't argue and between the two of them, with some help from Ruby, they got the older man transferred to the bed in the back room. Gently, Ham shifted him into a more comfortable position and pulled the sheet over him, making sure that any tubing wasn't tangled.
"We'll have to watch for bedsores and …" The rest of Julie's words were drowned out by a yawn and Ham frowned.
"Go on. I'll stay with him until Alice arrives." He said sternly and Julie nodded. She turned to leave the room, pausing as Ham called after her. "And Parrish?" He hesitated then spoke in gruff tones. "Thanks. I owe you one."
Julie paused, looking back over her shoulder. Tyler's face was once again impassive, dark eyes expressionless. She knew what his opinion of her was, his opposition to rescuing her but once it had become apparent the group wanted her back, he'd helped, despite his doubts. "I'd say we're even." She said quietly and something flashed briefly in those dark eyes, something remarkably close to respect then the man was turning back to his father. Julie slipped from the room, closing the door behind her.
Ham waited until the door was firmly closed before dropping to a knee to search his father's face. He knew very well that he looked like his father, the same sharp features, the same high cheekbones, the same … and he grimaced, running his hand over his own thinning hair … receding hairline. At fifty-seven, his father's graying hair had pretty much receded to ear-level but he made up for it by sporting a beard. All he'd gotten from his mother, he reflected, were her eyes.
Ham rested his hand lightly on the side of his father's face, his jaw working then he rose, looking around the room for the first time. It was larger then he thought, with the double bed and a battered easy chair. There was enough room for a sleeping bag and he made a mental note to bring one in so he could sleep here at night. He eyed the window thoughtfully, finally deciding to keep it closed, at least for now.
There was a soft knock at the door and he glanced in that direction. "Come." He said curtly and it opened enough for Alice Reynolds to slip through. She had a large mug of coffee in one hand and a plate of food in the other.
The kitchen's open?" He said in surprise.
"It's almost seven." Alice grinned at the look on his face.
He glanced at his watch and grimaced. "So it is. Have you seen Chris?"
Alice shook her head. "He's up and around, I know that much."
"How about the big lady?"
Alice gave him an odd look. "No. Apparently she vanished an hour or so ago."
"Thanks." He started toward the door then paused. "If he should wake up, send someone for me right away." He didn't wait for any acknowledgement as he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He leaned back against it briefly, letting his anger surged through him. What he'd said earlier to Parrish was true; his father should not have been anywhere near that camp. So how the hell had he gotten there and why was that scaly bastard torturing him? His father … his father was no soldier. Hell, he barely knew one end of a gun from another! He wouldn't have been involved in any raids. But he had been carrying false identification so maybe …
Ham cut off that thought. He could speculate for days and he probably wouldn't get anywhere near the truth. He'd been out of touch for longer than he liked. Walking across the room, he stepped out the door, closing it firmly behind him.
Once outside, he stopped, taking deep breaths of the cool air. The sun was just creeping over the horizon and he wasn't surprised to see movement by the carpool. He strolled in that direction, finally stopping near a big well-used motorcycle that Chris was carefully checking out. The big man looked up, reaching over to grab and toss Ham's leather jacket over to him. With a grin of thanks, he pulled it on.
"All ready?"
"Yeah. Want me to start at the compound?"
Ham nodded, marveling at how well the other man knew him. "But be careful. It's probably crawling with Visitors."
"No worries." He swung onto the bike. Equipment was strapped behind him, enough to keep him out for a week. "I told Linda what channel I'd be using and when I'll be calling in."
Ham nodded. "Here." He pulled the list Parrish had given him from his pocket and handed it to the other man. "See if you can get any of these supplies." Chris nodded, stuffing the list into his jacket pocket. Ham stepped back as Chris started up the bike then he was gone. Ham watched him until he vanished from sight then turned to walk back into town, meaning to scrounge up some breakfast and finding a place to eat. He hated eating with others almost as much as he hated falling asleep in the presence of others.
"Tyler!" Donovan was striding angrily toward him and Ham paused, wondering what his problem was now. "Where's Farber going?" He asked curtly.
Tyler's lips thinned. "None of your damn business." He brushed past the other man and headed for the kitchens.
"Damn it, Tyler! You can't be sending out people for your own personal reasons!" Donovan barked out and Tyler stopped dead, turning to look at the other man in blatant astonishment. "You don't run this group!"
"Neither do you!" Tyler shot back. "And maybe you should talk to the person who does before you blow a fucking gasket!"
The few people out and about this early in the morning stared at the mercenary in surprise. Despite his macho reputation, Tyler rarely, if ever, swore.
That stopped Donovan in his tracks. "Julie knows?"
"Yeah, of course Parrish knows." He said in disgust then added. "And you're a fine one to be bitching about Chris going out, with or without Parrish knowing. Half the time you don't bother to let anyone know before you sneak out."
"That's different." Donovan said curtly.
"Why? Because it's you doing it rather than me?" Tyler snapped, totally fed up with the other man's attitude.
Donovan flushed, already sorry for his ill-chosen words and aware they were drawing a crowd. Embarrassment made him even angrier but before he could snap back, there was a now familiar 'pop' and the rush of displaced air. More than a few people jumped back in surprise, including Donovan and Ham realized that most of the people at the camp didn't even know about the big lady, as evidenced by the reaching of weapons.
"Stand down!" He barked out in his most commanding tone. "She's an ally!" Ham glared around until he was certain all the guns would remain in their holsters then looked back at the creature standing behind him, her axe in one hand. She was glowering at Donovan in a way that suggested he was something she's rather be scraping off a hoof. Ham grinned at the thought, a grin that vanished when he looked back at Donovan.
"Chris is going out to find my mother and the others." Ham said quietly. "I'm sorry if you have a problem with that but frankly I really don't care." With that, he stalked off, breakfast forgotten in the need to get away from the other man.
There was a thump of hooves behind him and the big lady walked briefly next to him before turning off and going into what passed for a movie version of a stable. Curious, Ham followed her.
No one was using the stable due to the openness of it and the inability to lock it though Ham occasionally slept in the loft when the nights were warm enough. The big lady had apparently decided to make use of the building and had rigged up a makeshift desk out of some sawhorses and a plank. The Visitor computer was set up on it, the box of wafers next to it. The creature picked up a slender rod with a small ball on one end and used it to gingerly poke at the too-small keys.
"What's she doing?" Someone asked and Ham looked over his shoulder, not surprised to see Robert Maxwell there.
"I hope that's a rhetorical question." He said dryly and Maxwell shrugged. "I'm wondering how she's powering that thing." There was no generator or outlets in the stable.
"I hadn't thought of that."
Ham frowned then stepped closer to eye the machine. It didn't look like an Earth computer, not that he was any kind of an expert, but he had noticed that it did have what looked like a plug. So it had to have a power source. Stepping carefully around the makeshift desk, he saw that it was plugged into something roughly the size and shape of a lantern battery.
"She's got it plugged into something. Whatever it is, it's running the computer." He stepped back and watched her for a long moment before shrugging. He turned and walked toward the kitchens.
"What are we going to do about her?" Donovan asked curtly.
"I hope that's another rhetorical question because I have no idea."
"You brought her here!"
Ham stopped dead. "I did not bring her here. She followed us back. Why, I have no idea. If you can think of a reason to drive her away, feel free to share it. If you can think of a way to drive her away, share that as well because I can't! On the other hand, I can think of a whole lot of reasons not to piss off a ten-foot tall ivory-armored creature who probably weighs pretty close to a ton and who can teleport. Not to mention that really big and really sharp axe she carries." He paused, taking a deep breath. "She hasn't offered any threat and she has helped us. So for now just leave her alone."
"That's not your decision!" Donovan snapped and Ham's face tightened.
"No, it's not. So how about you go wake Parrish up and ask for her opinion?" He turned and walked away.
Donovan glared after him, almost tempted to go talk to Julie. Only the fact that Julie had been awake all night kept him from doing it. He'd talk to her when she woke up. Spinning on his heel, he barely managed to stop before running full tilt into the hard ivory armor of the creature. He looked up to see her glaring down at him, a look of utter disdain in her eyes. She snorted and tossed her head before looking after Ham. The next second she abruptly vanished.
Donovan staggered slightly as air rushed to fill the space she had vacated.
After some searching, Caleb finally found Tyler sitting behind the saloon, finishing up a plate of bacon and eggs. He glanced up as the older man approached, his look just short of unfriendly.
"How's your father doing?" Caleb asked and Ham relaxed slightly.
"Unconscious. But still alive." He said, gathering up the empty glass and rising.
"How are you doing?" Caleb asked bluntly and Ham stiffened.
"Fine." He answered curtly, his body language warning the other man off.
"Donovan can be a jerk sometimes."
Tyler looked at him in surprise. He knew he wasn't well liked by anyone in this group and more than one person sided with Donovan because of that. There wasn't really anything he could do about that. Or, for that matter, really wanted to do about it. To hear someone say something negative about Donovan threw him off balance.
"Sometimes he just doesn't think about what he's saying before he actually says it." Caleb continued. "The fact that your big lady gives the impression she doesn't like him and would like to chase him up a tree doesn't help any."
Ham grinned fleetingly at that thought.
"Hey! Don't encourage her to do it."
"Spoilsport." Ham grumbled.
"Out there, you said she was an ally."
"Did I?" Ham shifted uncomfortably, looking away. "Maybe ally was too strong a word. But she did help us."
"Yeah, she did. But the question is, now what do we do with her."
Ham shrugged. "Talk to Maxwell. He'd be the best person to deal with her."
"I hate to point this out but you're the one she seems to like."
Ham scowled at that. "Not my job." He said curtly then paused, face suddenly thoughtful. "But maybe my father can help, once he's capable." He saw Caleb's confusion and grinned slightly. "He's an anthropologist. A linguist really."
Caleb's eyebrows crawled upward. "Could that be why the Visitors had him?"
Ham shrugged. He'd thought of that as well. "Maybe. But, for the most part, they haven't treated other scientists that way. No, they wanted something in particular from him. Unh?" Hearing his name called, he turned to see Maggie appear around the corner. She slid to a halt, almost tumbling to the ground.
"Tyler! It looks like your father is trying to wake up!"
Thrusting the dirty dishes into Caleb's waiting hands, Ham sprinted around the building and into the back room, dropping to a knee next to the bed. The older man was moaning with pain, moving restlessly as he tried to push himself away from unseen enemies. Ham looked at Alice.
"Parrish?"
"Father Andrew went over to get her." Then the woman stepped from the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
Ham took a deep breath and dropped to his knees next to the bed, reaching to gently touch the older man's shoulder. Ben flinched back and Ham could almost feel the fear rolling off of him.
"Easy, old man." He said quietly, in a soft voice unlike his usual tones. "Easy. You're safe now."
Ben groaned, the sound catching in his throat. Feebly he tried to push himself away and Ham gently held him still.
"Come on, Pop. It's all right." On impulse, he switched to French. "Open your eyes. It's me … it's Ham."
The latest groan broke into a sob, a sob interposed with fumbled words. Ham clenched his teeth at what his father was saying but forced his anger down. He could deal with that later.
"No delusion, no dream. I'm really here. You're really safe. Come on, open your eyes. Look at me." He half-pleaded.
Ben's eyes finally blinked open as much as they could and Ham almost flinched at the fear and pain visible in them. The older man stared at then his eyes flicked around the room.
"What are you doing here?" He whimpered, the fear growing in his eyes. "You can't be …"
"You're safe." Ham stressed, knowing that his father still thought he was a prisoner; that he'd been taken prisoner as well. "This isn't the camp where you were, where the Visitors were holding you prisoner. You're with the LA Resistance. We found you."
"Found? Found … how?" Ben asked, obviously confused. Ham was relieved to see the fear starting to fade from his father's eyes.
"Pure accident, old man. We were raiding the camp where they had you." He faltered then pushed ahead with an urgent question. "The others? Are they safe?"
Ben gulped air before letting loose a soft sob. "Don't know." His hoarse voice was tinged with sharp-edged worry. "Damn Visitors didn't … didn't even ask about them."
Ham paused in surprise then put it aside to think on later. "Chris has gone to check on them. He'll find them. Pop?" His voice sharpened with alarm.
Ben's eyes had closed and his breathing seemed more labored. "Vicki?"
"Chris'll find them. He'll bring her here." Ham assured him.
"Soon?" There was a plea in the older man's voice.
"As soon as possible. Pop?" He knew the older man had to rest but a part of him didn't want to let him for fear he wouldn't wake up again.
"Ring …" Ben croaked. "My ring. He took …"
"I have it. I have it here." Ham dug the ring from his pocket, pressing it firmly into his father's right hand. "It's safe. Right here." His father's fingers closed tightly over the ring; it seemed to calm him down. At least he was breathing easier.
There was a soft knock at the door then it eased open far enough for Julie to slip through. Ben started when he realized she was there, the fear re-entering his eyes. He tried to shift away and Ham held him gently in place.
"Easy, Pop. This is Julie Parrish. She heads the LA Resistance and is the closest thing to a doctor here." He saw a startled look cross Julie's face and realized that he was still speaking French. He quickly switched to English, knowing his father would automatically do the same. "You're safe here." He said firmly.
Ben licked dry lips, studying first his son then the woman in the doorway. "If you ask how I feel, I'll tell Ham to hit you." He said dully.
Julie raised her eyebrows. "Okay, that's fair." And Ben almost smiled. "Seriously, you have a lot of damage and I want you to rest as much as possible." She raised the syringe she held. "Morphine."
Ben started to nod then stopped, visibly wincing. "Normally I'd have choice words about that but I hurt too damn bad to object. Some water first?"
Julie hesitated, noting that his IVs needed to be replaced. "Just a little. Here."
Ham took the glass of water Julie offered him and helped his father drink from it. Even that little movement made the older man pale visibly and began to shake, sweat beading on his forehead. Julie moved quickly to Ben's side to inject the morphine into the IV.
Ham frowned, muttering a soft 'damn' before leaning close to his father. "Pop? What did the Visitors want?" He asked urgently. "What were they asking you about?"
Ben blinked, already sinking into a drugged sleep. He muttered something softly, so softly Julie couldn't hear it. Ham's frown deepened and he straightened, staring sightlessly at the wall.
"What? Ham?" Julie's voice sharpened. "What did he say?"
For a moment, she thought Tyler wasn't going to tell her then he shook his head sharply, as if to clear it.
"Ivory. They were asking him about ivory."
"Ivory?" Julie said in confusion. "Like elephant ivory?"
"I don't think so." Ham reached for the necklace Julie had seen but not really noted around Ben's neck. He turned it until at last he held the amulet that hung from it. "I think maybe they meant this ivory. Or maybe the ivory from the big lady. Or maybe both." He ran his thumb over it thoughtfully, for the first time feeling a faint tingling on his skin similar to the feeling he'd gotten when he'd touch the big lady's ivory armor.
Julie blinked then dropped to her knees next to Ham to stare at the amulet. It did look like it was carved from ivory. It looked like it was supposed to be an oval shape but only half of it was there. Curious, she peered at the well-worn carvings on the half that remained. She could dimly make out a humanoid figure and what looked like half of another.
"You think this came from your big lady?" She asked skeptically.
"I don't know. Maybe from one of her people? Is there a way to check where ivory came from?"
"I don't know. And even if there is, we'd need a lab and an expert to do it." She eyed the amulet thoughtfully.
After a moment, Ham shrugged and dropped the amulet. "We'll worry about that later." He stood up then stretched out a hand to help Julie up.
"Where did he get it?"
"Found it ages ago. He doesn't talk about it much. Apparently there was a hell of a row about its origins."
"Why?"
Ham shrugged again. "Like I said, he doesn't talk about it." Then he frowned, going over what Julie had said a few minutes ago and what Caleb had said earlier. "Wait a minute. Why does everyone call her my big lady?" He asked crossly.
Julie barely managed to smother laughter at the look on his face. "Does everyone? I didn't realize … well, she does seem to have adopted you." She tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn and Ham realized she'd only been in bed for less then two hours.
"Go back to bed." He ordered. "I'll stay with my father for awhile. Can you have someone come over about noon?"
Julie blinked. "Oh, right. The planning session. Sure." She started for the door then stopped abruptly. "How's your finger?"
Ham looked at her blankly for a moment then glanced at the finger in question, rubbing his thumbnail hard against it. "Still numb." He admitted before turning to look at his father. "That could be a good thing."
"Cal's taking a look at the salve now." She said, referring to the young biochemist that had joined them not long ago. "When I get up later, we'll decide on rather or not we should use it."
"Good. Thanks. Oh, and Parrish? I know sometime you bring that lizard …"
"Willie." Julie supplied and Ham nodded.
"Over here sometimes. Could you not for awhile? If my father hears one of their voices, he might … he might freak."
"Good point. I'll pass it on." Julie slipped out the door, closing it firmly behind her.
Julie blinked at the small gathering of people waiting outside the door. Caleb, Alice, Maggie, Ruby, Mike … She could even see the big lady through one of the windows, standing just off the sidewalk. Apparently she hadn't realized yet there was a window in the room they had Ben in.
"He woke up briefly. I gave him a shot to help him sleep." She glanced around the group. "Ham's going to stay with him for a while but I think he has a planning session at noon."
"Yeah." Caleb said. "The food processing plant."
"I thought so. Maggie, you're on that raid so Ruby, would you mind?"
"Sure. I'll come back over at noon." The older woman said readily.
"Good. I need to get some more sleep." Julie said frankly. "So everyone out. Back to what you should be doing." She led by example, walking from the building and heading for the trailer-dorms.
"Julie. Wait a minute." Julie paused, waiting for Donovan to catch up with her. He nodded at the alien creature standing nearby. "What are we going to do about her?"
Julie blinked, confused. "Nothing. I don't see what we can do about her." She saw the look on Donovan's face and suppressed a sigh. "Ham told me most of what happened while we were taking care of his father. The big lady had a lot to do with saving him. And that it was obvious that she was no friend to the Visitors. Hell, for all we know, she could be part of that Alliance Martin told you about."
Donovan frowned, glancing at the huge creature. With almost appalling casualness and using just one hand, she was lifting the end of a car. The men who had been in the process of trying to jack it up to change the tire had frozen into position.
"You might wanna work quick, guys! Before she gets bored and puts it down!" Elias' shout brought them out of their frozen state and they hurriedly went to work. She seemed quite content to hold the car up all day, if need be.
"But having an alien here …"
"You wouldn't have a problem if it was Martin." Julie pointed out. "Or another member of the Fifth Column. Of course, they look human and Ham's big lady doesn't." She found herself grinning at her wording. Despite his protests, she had a feeling Ham really didn't mind her being referred to as his big lady.
Donovan scowled. "It has nothing to do with how they look. It's just that … we don't know anything about her."
"Yet. And all we know about the Visitors is what they tell us." Julie shook her head. "Look. So far she's only helped us. I don't know why but we need all the help we can get. We can find out why once we figure out how to communicate with her. Which reminds me. Ruby!"
The older woman wasn't too far away and she came over immediately. "Yes?"
"When you go to relieve Tyler, could you tell him that we're going to meet after supper, say seven o'clock, in the saloon to talk about the big lady and about what happened?"
"Of course. Good idea." She looked over to where the big lady was still holding up the car. She was idly studying the ivory on the back of her free hand, looking like a matron studying her nails.
"But don't you wonder why she seems so attached to Tyler?" Donovan asked.
Julie shrugged. "He is the first person she really interacted with. That might have something to do with it. She doesn't really seem to mind anyone else."
That was true. The big lady was watching everyone, not the least bit antagonistic, just curious. She didn't approach anyone directly, except for Tyler when he was available.
"And I'd say it has more to do with his father than with Ham." Ruby spoke up. "Ben Tyler is, by all appearances, the reason she appeared. And please don't ask why." She said just as Donovan opened his mouth to do just that. "We might be able to find out why later. Now, Julie." She turned to the woman. "Go back to bed. You look ready to fall over and you'll want a clear head for the meeting. Mike." She turned back to him. "Don't worry about the big lady. There is nothing we can do about her. Between that armor and the ability to teleport, I suspect anything we have would, at best, amuse her and at worst, make her angry. And I personally don't want to see her angry."
Julie agreed. She had a suspicion those ivory-armored hands could do a great deal of damage, not to mention the axe. "Mike, how about you go around and let everyone know that, for now at least, the big lady is just a visi …" She choked on the word she was intending to say and hastily amended it. ."She's just a guest, a friendly guest and that everyone should just ignore her. Yes, I know it's hard to do but I don't want anyone doing anything stupid concerning her. She's been friendly so far and I'd preferred to keep her that way. Okay?"
"All right." He watched Julie vanished back into the trailer-dorm before turning away and heading for a cluster of residents, all of whom were warily watching the big lady.