Buck smiled at them, but body language told a different tale as he pulled back slightly, retreating into himself. "Look, you two, I appreciate the thought, but I just need some time by myself to think through a few things. I'll be back; don't worry. You two can return to the Searcher."
"No," Hawk said flatly.
Wilma's words overlapped his. "You don't need to be alone right now, Buck."
Buck was starting to get a little annoyed, and it showed in his tone. "I don't need a babysitter. Thanks for the thought, but I am fine."
"No, you aren't," Wilma shot back. "Do you have any idea just how close you came to getting killed a minute ago?"
He didn't, clearly. He looked blank. "If you mean when you just about ran over me with the starfighter..."
"No, I don't. Why do you think I flew it that close to you while going fast? You were just about to be attacked, Buck. I was scaring them off."
"Attacked?" He looked around. "Any enemies I have don't know where I am right now."
Wilma sighed. He could be so stubborn at times. Hawk stepped in. "I saw it as well, Buck. There were four people sneaking up on you from behind with clubs. Wilma came even closer to them than to you. If she hadn't scared them away, you would be lying here with your head smashed in right now."
"If they were after me, I would have realized it before they got much closer," Buck countered.
"No, you wouldn't." Hawk's tone was definite. "You were absolutely lost in your own world. You didn't even notice the starfighter until we were right on top of you."
"Buck," Wilma said, "you can't just stand around on the outside with your mind back 500 years ago. It's dangerous. You were making yourself a target." He was beginning to believe them, at least partially, though he still wondered if they were exaggerating the risk. She pressed on. "Buck, I understand if you need to look around old Earth some. I can't imagine how hard the last few days have been on you. But we aren't going to let you do it alone. For one thing, you've just proved that you aren't safe right now on your own, but for another thing, you aren't alone. Yes, you've lost everything back then, and I'm sorry, but you are not alone in this century. You have friends and people who care about you right here. And Hawk and I aren't going to let you forget it."
Buck studied both of them, affection warring with annoyance on his face. "Look, you're good friends, but..."
"Thank you," Wilma replied. "That's settled, then." She took a step closer to him, as did Hawk on the other side.
Buck looked from one of them to the other. "You're not giving me a choice on this, are you?"
"No," Hawk said firmly. Buck sighed.
"But," said Wilma, "what we do and where we go is up to you. We're just going to be with you every step of the way. So where do we start?"