Ahhhhh! The world seems to conspire against me lately! I have been majorly stressed all week and wanted nothing more then to post chapters and work on my stories. But first my computer went psycho, and has been away from me for days (i'm on a loaner right now, very sad) and then this whole not letting people log in thing on banging head on desk-sigh Well, here I am now. In reading over the reviews, it seems some people are a tad...unhappy with Jeff; trust me not as much as he is with himself. Poor guy. There has also been a question concerning length of story. Originally, I had not seen it getting much bigger then this, but that went out the window pretty quickly. I believe I'm either in the late 30's right now or may have even reached 40 already can't remember, haven't seen the stupid thing since computer when crazy but where I'm writing currently is close to the end. So there is still more to come. The Hood (such a great baddie) still has at least one more apperance. Hope you all enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

Miss Elizabeth

Chapter 30: Home at Last

Jeff sat at his desk, waiting for another update from his middle son. The rescue seemed to be proceeding without a hitch, unlike other aspects of his life. He once again contemplated limping up to her bedroom, but dismissed it. He was probably the last person she wanted to see right now. Drumming his hands on the desk, he angrily stabbed at the button for John's radio.

"John, do you have any new info for me?"

"Not yet, Dad. The last one from Scott said he was going down into the hole to lead the harness down. Virgil is manning the winch, and Gordon is point man. We'll hear when the family is safe or…if something goes wrong."

"So once again, no news is good news."

"Pretty much. Hey Dad, have you…seen Lona lately?" John was hesitant to mention her, but he was also very concerned about her and wanted to know that someone was taking care of her. Lona did not blow up or show emotions much of the time, but when she did someone had to be there to pick up the pieces. John remembered one particular time quite vividly.

Scott had followed Lona deep into the field about half a mile from his house. Noiselessly, he had watched as she had angrily pushed her way through the tall rows of corn; swatting at innocent flies and ears of corn. Finally, he could no longer be denied.

"Lona, would you kindly tell me what the hell is wrong or are we to continue on to China?" Most times this would have pulled her out of her "mood" as the Tracy boys termed it, but instead Scott was favored with a death glare potent enough to light half the field ablaze. As soon as she turned back around, Scott let out a silent sigh of relief. He had only seen her one other time in this state, and would rather not experience a repeat of it. It had taken some fancy talking to explain away the large hole in the wall of his bedroom.

Suddenly, Lona stopped dead in her tracks. Swinging around quickly to face Scott, she began screaming in a controlled sort of way.

"Do you have any idea what that…that bas…man who dares to call himself my father wants now? He says it's time for me to learn the family business and to quit daydreaming about the Air Force! He's going to limit my time with your family!" Scott was horrified.

"Is it because of something we've done?"

"NO! He says I need to spend more time with HIM. That's rich! He's never given a damn about me, and suddenly he wants to spend father-daughter bonding time! I wish he'd cut the crap!" Viciously twisting off a couple of bean pods growing under the corn, she tossed one to Scott. Popping one open, she furiously chewed the hard peas.

Bending down to get another one, she noticed a flash of red in a field of green. Tensing, she signaled Scott the presence of another near them. They moved into a pincer formation, trying to trap the spy between the two of them. Crouching low, Lona could hear the frantic breathing of their prey. They knew something was not right. Using the element of surprise, she leaped out and tackled them to the ground. Looking under her, she was shocked to see Scott's younger brother John. She quickly rolled of him, and came up in a half crouch. Staying in that position, she regarded the blond haired boy staring guiltily down at the ground.

"It's alright, Scott. I caught our snoop." The teen made his way through the corn, following his friend's voice. Coming up on the two seated figures, he found a surprise waiting for him.

"John? What are you doing here? Dad's told you a thousand times not to play in the corn. It's too easy for you all to get lost in here."

"I was not playing. I was following you and Lona." Scott sighed and seated himself next to his brother.

"Why, John? Why did you follow us?"

"'Cuz Lona seemed sad." Scott was confused by this. Lona had needed to let off some steam, had been very angry, but sad?

"Well, aren't you an observant thing." Lona was surprised that the younger boy had noticed. He generally would not speak with her, preferring to remain in his room looking at pictures of stars or play quietly with his brothers. To him, Lona was still an outsider, or at least that was how she had always felt around him. "Why do you think I'm sad?"

"'Cuz you won't be spending much time with us. I…I don't want you to leave us, Lonnie. You're our sis."

"Oh, Johnnie, I won't be leaving. Father just wants me to spend more time with him right now. I'm not leaving. Why would I want to leave the greatest family in the world? I would have to be pretty stupid to do that!" All three smiled. And though this event was never mentioned again, John and later Virgil joined the two eldest from then on.

"No, John. I…thought my presence would not be exactly welcomed at this time. I would send Kyrano or Onaha, but was afraid of how she'd react. They don't know her as well as we do."

"True. It's probably for the best. Lets both of you have some time apart. It'll make it easier to talk about it later." Jeff raised an eyebrow.

"You know this from experience?" John nodded, his face a mixture of fear and amusement.

"Oh, yeah. Remember that year you found that damage to the corn crop that defied explanation? Random stalks broken?" Jeff nodded. That had been rather interesting. Gordon had sworn to every child in his grade that aliens had landed nearby and tried to destroy their crop. Jeff remembered having to fake a coughing fit as Gordo's teacher had warned him to 'nip this habit of lying to people in the bud!' "Lona drug Scott out there to vent. You know how she used to get when all that pent up emotions would spill out? Yeah, it was bad."

"How do you know this?" Jeff had a sneaking suspicion, but wanted to hear the truth from his son. John's fair face flushed brilliantly.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Dad."

"No, son. Stupidity killed the cat. Curiosity was framed." The two men shared a laugh over the worn outcome back.

Movement behind his father brought John's gaze snapping up. His eyes widened in stunning astonishment. Swinging his chair around as fast as his healing leg allowed, Jeff mirrored his son's actions when his eyes found the same sight. Dark, emotion-filled eyes swept the figure over and over again, the mind trying to take in the image standing in front of him.

Lona stood, her body no longer held in the tense hunch that had plagued it since her imprisonment. Her blue eyes shone brightly, combining with her red, puffy eye lids that gave evidence into what she had been doing since she had left Jeff's office. Her backless shirt combined with the small shorts showed off most of the abuse she had kept desperately hidden for so long. Yet all of this was secondary. These were items picked up by Jeff and John minutes later or even later that day. Only one thing dominated their thoughts.

"Lona, what have you done?" Eyes lowered, then snapped back up. Jeff read sorrow there, but something more, much more, was there as well.

I've freed myself from the Hood's grasp. You were right, Daddy Tracy. I've allowed him too much power over me for too long. No more, I will be his slave no more. …Do you think it suits me?

Jeff realized what he was seeing. From her eyes shown strength and a will to live and fight that had been absent for far too long. Limping over to the stoic figure, he reached out a hand then hindered his forward movement. Steeling himself, he moved his hand and rested it lightly on her brown hair, bleached reddish by the tropical sun. Running his hand lightly down the back of her head, his fingers stopped when they reached right below her ears.

"Suits you? Lona, your outward appearance never mattered to us. The chains we feared are only in your mind. Does this," here he fingered a lock of hair "mean you are ready to turn your back on the past and see your future?" She smiled and wrapped one hand around the older man's hand that still rested in her hair.

It does. He kept my hair long, thought it made me look attractive and was great for keeping me under control. Holding someone down is nothing if you have a firm grip on their hair. It was always about control with the Hood. I had always worn my hair short, so he kept it from being cut.

But no more. You made me realize how much I allow him still to run my life. Her eyes burned fiercely brilliant. Thank you, thank you for saving me from myself. This was my first step. She grabbed a handful of her hair, now shortened by several inches so that it barely reached below her ears. The ends were rough and uneven, as the scissors had not been made to handle a large handful of hair all at once. Jeff once again fingered the uneven ends and felt the rough edges. Lona may not have been able to make a hair stylists magazine with her cut, but to him it was one of the most beautiful sights. There were only two words he could say to the woman who stood before him, who was finally becoming the person he had known so many years ago.

"Welcome home."

Wooohoooo! One major hurdle finally out in the open! Yeah, you'll find out as you continue to read, Lona needs a good kick in the pants to knock her out of whatever is bugging her. Jeff, unknowning, gave that to her. Will update soon, as this is kinda shorter then normal. The reason for that though, is that I wanted this moment to stand by itself.