I'm not really sure what happened in the last chapter but it seems that no one reviewed. I usually wait until I get ten reviews before I post the next chapter and it usually happens pretty quickly but this time it took 5 days.

Annabelle, you were the 10th. I was going to thank you but your' e-mail is blocked, so this is my thanks to you and the other 9 faithful who took the time to review: Ladaane, MagicalNikky, Mahi, Toalli, IanO'Shea, Barbie, Stubborn Pear, and abc123fak…and Annabelle who actually posted twice.

A ROCKY HOMECOMING

THE FOLLOWING DAY, we were fed a light breakfast and ushered onto a military transport shuttle bound for home. Colonel Jeffries and his cohort Sergeant Woodfern accompanied us. During the flight, we were served lunch. The seats in the shuttle faced each other to make for easy conversation. Every time my eyes met Travels the Frozen Tundra's, I glared at him. He finally spoke to me.

"You know, I didn't ask for this assignment. Did you ask to be put into Melanie Stryder's body?"

I countered, "No. But I asked to be taken out."

"You skipped," he said dryly.

"Because I love her."

"If it makes you feel any better, I am taking the name Nathan Downey."

"It doesn't. You'll never be Nate. He is good and kind and smart and I love him. I hate you."

I could tell by his eyes that he and Nate were communicating. After a few minutes, he responded.

"That's too bad. Nate was hoping you would help the others to accept me. He says Ian should be happy that he can't disrupt your relationship anymore."

Ian sat forward. "Nate, you think I'm afraid of a little competition? And you, Travels the Frozen Tundra, let me tell you something. I would rather have Nate, the human; kiss my wife every single day than to deal with the likes of you." He paused. "Nate, you hear me? I just gave you a reason to come back. I've never known you not to accept a challenge."

Travels the Frozen Tundra replied, "He hears you loud and clear."

The Colonel walked down the aisle. "Are we having a problem here?"

"Nope," Ian said emphatically.

When the Colonel walked away, I went and sat next to the new Nate but I spoke to the old Nate. "Nate, I know you remember the conversation we had about your obsession with me. Keep your promise. Do you hear me?"

The new Nate spoke. "Stop it Wanderer, go back to your husband."

"You may call me Mrs. O'Shea," I hissed.

I went to the bathroom and cried yet again. Now, I knew how Jared felt all those months looking at Melanie and getting me. It's a wonder he didn't kill me.

Ian finally came to the bathroom and coaxed me back out. He held me the rest of the trip. No one spoke as we traveled in the car to the mountain. As we pulled into the driveway it was unusually quiet up at the house. I borrowed the Sergeant's cell phone and Ian used it to call Burns.

"Hey Buddy."…"Yes, we're back."…"There's good news and bad news."…"I think you should bring Kyle and Ice with you. No one else yet."…"Okay."…"I'll see you in a few."

We entered the house and it was empty except for Maria, Kim, and Aunt Sue who were in the kitchen cooking. When they heard us come in, Maria poked her head through the door of the kitchen to investigate.

"They're back!" she cried.

Kim came out immediately and rushed up to Nate to hug him. When she saw his eyes, she stopped in horror. Just the look on her face was enough to send me over the edge yet again.

"Nate. Why?" she wailed.

Nate looked like a deer in headlights. It was obvious that nothing could prepare him for what was about to happen. Ian went to Kim to try and console her. I was sitting in a chair crying.

"He made the choice to save us all. He is a hero." Ian conveyed to her as best he could.

"I don't want a hero. I want my brother back!" she lamented. "Why didn't they take you?"

"They did," he replied.

"But you are human."

"I don't know exactly why they removed the Seeker. Maybe I was too strong and the Seeker didn't want to be in my head. I don't know. I wouldn't accept the Seeker and Nate for his own reasons has. He's still in there. You can talk to him."

Kim turned towards me and saw me sniveling on the couch.

"Is it true? Is he still there?"

I choked out the words. "He is…for now…but he has no control over his body and that includes speech. He hears us though."

Kim turned back to Nate. "Nate, if you are in there, talk to me. Remember when we were kids? Tell me something about our childhood."

"I can't," the new Nate replied.

"What do you mean, you can't? I thought my brother is in there?"

"He is, but he's blocking all of his memories. He's obviously protecting something. The only thing I see is Wanderer."

"That's Mrs. O'Shea to you!" I growled.

I could see Nate with that look again. "They are talking to each other."

"How do you know?" Kim asked.

"I just know."

At that moment Burns entered with Kyle, Ice, and Victoria in tow.

Ian blocked Nate. "I told you to bring Kyle and Ice. Why is she with you?"

I got up out of my chair and grabbed Nate and pulled him into the kitchen.

He was confused. "Why did you do that?"

"Because Victoria was carrying a gun."

I could hear the commotion in the living room. Victoria obviously was not thrilled about giving up her weapon. After a few minutes, Ian came in with Victoria's gun in hand.

"You can take him back to the living room now."

"I'm not going," I protested.

"Wanderer, he needs you!" Ian insisted.

"I don't want to be a part of that scene. She'll probably put the blame on me."

"Wanderer, I'm not going to beg you to do this. It's an order," Ian hissed.

I stared at Ian. I had hatred in my eyes.

He continued. "Hate me if you want to, but if Nate can make the sacrifice he has made for us then it is our duty to keep these people from destroying what he has worked for. Do this for Nate."

I hated to admit it but Ian was right. We needed to keep the population under control. Victoria was one of our biggest concerns. I didn't answer Ian and I didn't look at him. I walked briskly past him and through the door to the living room. I walked directly up to Victoria. My eyes felt puffy and swollen from the tears I had shed so many times in the last twenty four hours.

"I want you to know that I had nothing to do with this and I hate this whole thing."

I turned to the Colonel and Sergeant who had been standing in the background observing the scene as it unfolded.

"If you needed a soul, you could have used me."

"You said you wanted to be a wife and mother," the Colonel replied.

I was shocked. "You mean this is my fault?"

Ian came up behind me and put his hands over my arms. "No, this is not your fault."

I ripped myself away from Ian and ran out the back door. I practically tripped over Maria who was sitting on the back steps sobbing. I kept on running towards the baseball field. When I got to the edge of the outfield I fell to my knees and threw up. It was my fault! They took Nate away because of me. My heart was pounding. My head was pounding. I tried to concentrate on calming myself. Fords Deep Water said that I had disconnected. I didn't consciously try to do it so I could only assume that it was an involuntary reaction due to stress. I didn't want to die. Suddenly, I felt someone pick me up from behind. It wasn't Ian. It was Sergeant Woodfern.

"Your husband asked me to help you get home. He's very worried about you." He put me down on my feet and walked with me towards my home in the woods.

"If he's so worried, then why isn't he here?"

"He's tending to very important matters. He is a leader now."

"No. Nate is supposed to be the leader. Ian has always been the muscle."

"Well, right now, he's both."

"I don't want him to be the leader."

"Mrs. O'Shea, I don't mean to be rude, but you can't always get your way. It's time to put away those tears and grow up."

It was bad enough that Nate's implant was my fault but to tell me to stop crying about it? My head was about to explode. I was a pregnant woman on the edge.

"You know what? I can make it home from here. Go back to the Colonel and all the grown ups."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. I'm under orders to stay with you until Mr. O'Shea returns."

I stormed off ahead of him and when I reached the house, I went inside and rushed to my bedroom and locked the door. I was so infuriated. I laid on the bed and turned on the TV that we had put in when we returned from the caverns. I stared at it and flipped through the channels until I found a show that could keep my interest. It was dark before I finally heard voices in the house. I heard the front door again. I could only assume that it was the Sergeant leaving. After another minute the bedroom doorknob rattled.

"Wanderer, open this door!" Ian shouted. I had forgotten I had locked it. I jumped off the bed and unlocked the door. Ian opened it immediately and stepped inside. He wasn't happy.

"Don't lock me out," he said flatly.

"I forgot I had locked it."

He picked up the remote and shut off the television.

"I'm disappointed in you."

"Well, I'm disappointed in you!" I retorted.

"In me? What did I do to disappoint you?"

"You knew how distraught I was about Nate and you forced me to go and face Victoria. Then you sent Sergeant Woodfern after me because you were concerned?"

Ian looked away from me to the corner of the room. He tapped his foot on the floor. He was pissed. "Look, I am under a lot of stress here. I am trying to keep this whole thing from going down the tubes. We had a meeting in the caves. Everyone was there except you. They wanted to know where you were. I had to tell them you weren't feeling well."

"I wasn't," I said in my defense.

"You know what?"

He didn't finish. He walked over to the dresser and pulled out a handful of clothes. He emptied the bag of clothes he brought back from the trip onto the floor and stuffed the clean clothes into it with his toothbrush.

"Ian, what are you doing?"

"Wanderer, I love you, Lord only knows how much I love you, but I can't deal with you right now. I'm going to sleep in the bunkhouse."

"Ian!" I cried.

"If I stay right now, it will only get worse. I needed you by my side tonight and you weren't there."

He walked out of the bedroom and I ran after him. He continued to the front door and I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Ian, I'm sorry."

"Look, I know you are devastated at losing Nate. He was my friend too, but I am your husband. I've begged, pleaded, and even ordered you to help me here. Honestly, I don't know what else to do!"

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry doesn't cut it. Colonel Jeffries is probably wondering if he made the right decision putting me in charge. I can't even get my own wife to back me up."

"Please don't go. I need you."

"I needed you." He opened the door and walked out.

Needless to say, I cried myself to sleep, only this time it was over Ian instead of Nate. In the morning, I was awakened by someone knocking on the front door. I got up and answered it. It was Victoria.

"Hey, can I come in?"

"Uh, sure." I had no idea what time it was and I had no idea what to expect from this visit. I led her to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee.

"Let me start by saying that I don't blame you."

"Well, you should. The Colonel said himself that it was my fault."

She didn't answer right away. She got up and helped me by getting the cups and spoons.

"Do you know where I slept last night?" She answered before I could guess. "The dugout. You know where Ian slept last night? …same place."

"You slept with him?"

"Don't be absurd. We just both had the same idea of going to the dugout to be alone. We talked a lot." She paused. "We cried too."

"He told me he was going to sleep in the bunkhouse," I responded.

"He didn't want the Colonel to know you were fighting."

"He should have come home."

"He couldn't. He thinks you love Nate more than him."

"That's crazy!"

"Is it? Nate made a choice and so did Ian. Ian fought so hard, his Seeker chose to skip. He's the real hero. Now, in the aftermath he is the one who is supposed to stay strong and lead the people. All the while, the woman he loves has abandoned him. Do you think Nate would be happy knowing he was the reason for your breakup?"

"Breakup? Who said anything about a breakup?"

She didn't speak.

"Ian wants to leave me?"

"No, of course not. He just wonders if you'd be better off without him. He says your father can give you anything you want."

"Oh my God! What is he thinking?"

"You need to support him, even if it kills you. If you love him, you will bite the bullet. Cry on your own time."

"Thank you Victoria."

We had coffee and I offered her the shower considering she slept on a bench. When she left the house, her final words to me were "I wasn't here. Ian would be upset if he knew I blabbed our conversation to you."

After Victoria left, I showered and dressed. I walked to the house and found Ian, the Colonel, the Sergeant, the new Nate, Kyle, and Burns at the dining room table having a meeting on security. It was still early. Victoria had come to me at six o'clock in the morning. Ian looked up briefly when I came through the door. I put on my best game face and walked directly over to Ian.

"Excuse me, gentlemen." I bent over so my face was even with Ian's. "Sweetheart, you were already gone when I woke up. I didn't get my morning kiss." I put my hands on his face which was scruffy because he hadn't shaved and pressed my lips to his. He had no choice but to kiss me. I straightened up and asked, "Would you like me to make you all breakfast?"

The Colonel answered. "That would be very nice of you, Mrs. O'Shea. I hope you are feeling better this morning."

"Yes, this has been a difficult pregnancy for me. I intend to see Doc later this morning about my headaches." I glanced at Ian before returning my attention to the others. "Colonel, how would you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled will be fine."

"Sergeant?"

"Scrambled as well."

I smiled. "Must be a military thing. Kyle you like your eggs over easy like me. Ian, you want sunny side up?"

"Yes, please."

"Nate?"

"Any way is good." He was new to this host and since Nate was blocking memories, he didn't know how he liked them.

I smiled. "You always preferred scrambled with cheese."

The Colonel piped up. "I'd like cheese on mine, if you don't mind."

"Sergeant?"

"Sure, thank you Mrs. O'Shea."

"Call me Wanderer. Burns, the usual?"

"Absolutely."

I disappeared into the kitchen and went to work. I cooked up a pound of bacon. While that was cooking, I made another pot of coffee and refreshed their empty cups. When I poured Ian's he reached out for my loose hand and squeezed it gently. This was a good sign.

I scrambled all of the eggs first and put them on plates. I placed these plates in the warm oven with the bacon. I made two pieces of toast for each and then cooked the rest of the eggs including mine. As I served the food I asked, "Do you mind if I join you while you eat?"

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Burns replied as the owner of the house. Ian got up and offered me his chair. He went to the bedroom to retrieve another chair for himself. The conversation was pleasant although Ian was quiet. When we finished, Nate jumped up to help clear.

I took the plates from his hand. "Thank you. I'll get it. You continue your meeting."

"Thank you. Breakfast was excellent," Nate said.

As I finished with the last of the dishes, some of the kids had begun to trickle into the house looking for cereal and TV. I popped back into the dining room. I inadvertently interrupted an intense conversation.

"Sorry, I just wanted to say I am off to find Doc. I guess I'll see you all later."

Ian stood up. "Excuse me while I walk her out."

"No need." I chirped as I exited the dining room.

I did find Doc. I was concerned that I hadn't felt any more fluttering in my belly. He listened for the baby's heartbeat. He didn't have an ultra sound machine so I couldn't hear it but he said it was strong. He also eased my fears about the fluttering. He said I could go days without feeling the baby move simply because of how he or she may be positioned. My depression wasn't helping either. He said I should stay active. I went home and danced. It made me feel better.

I didn't see Ian all day. Dinner was always served around six so I headed for the dining room. None of the guys in the security group were there. I was told they went to town for supplies. It made me nervous that Kyle and Ian were the only humans on this trip. It would be so easy to implant them. Ten o'clock came and they still weren't back. I planted myself on the couch at the house along with Lily and Sunny. They didn't show up until after midnight and they were all drunk including the Colonel. I stepped out on the back porch with Lily and Sunny.

Ian practically fell out of the vehicle. He looked up and saw me. "Oh crap."

Nate fell out beside him and he looked up at me too. "Damn, it must suck to be you right now."

Kyle came around the corner and stood next to them. He looked me up and down. "You know? You're right! Even pregnant, she's a hot little number."

"Shut up. You've got your own piece of ass," Ian blurted out.

"I don't," Nate blubbered. "Can I take a stab at her?"

"Listen you little weasel, Travels to the Wrong Planet or whatever the hell your name is. I'm the only one who will be taking a stab at her." Ian approached me. "Come here, wife. I need some attention." He wrapped his arms around me and tried to kiss me. He didn't smell like beer. He smelled like whiskey and he was totally trashed.

"Ian, stop it."

"Come on, Baby. You're the sex fiend." He ran his hands down my back to my buttocks in front of everyone.

"Stop it!" He wouldn't let go.

Two soldiers who were designated drivers for the night came up and pulled Ian off of me. As soon as I was free, I slapped him in the face. The soldiers each had one of Ian's arms so he couldn't reciprocate.

"Don't hit me again!" he growled.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. O'Shea. They are all in this state. We were going to herd them all to the bunkhouse to sleep it off."

I was so angry; I couldn't even find the words to express what I was feeling. Here I was worried about him. I hated to admit it but right now our relationship was on a slippery slope.

"I'm going home." I began to walk away.

"Would you like one of us to walk you home?" One of the soldiers asked.

I turned towards them but continued walking backwards. "No, you two have your hands full besides the only ones who might rape me are with you."

Ian yelled out, "It's not rape when you want it!"

I marched all the way home cursing Ian. I locked the door when I got home, just in case. The tears held off until I was in my bed. At first they were tears of anger. Later, they were tears of sorrow.

Again I was awakened in the morning by someone banging on the front door. It was Ian and he was cursing.

"Damn it, Wanderer. Open this door!"

I took my time getting to the door to open it. Neither of us seemed happy to see the other.

"I'm just here to shower and then I have to go."

He walked past me and went to the bedroom for clean clothes. I already had a headache. Doc said headaches are not uncommon during a pregnancy. I was spared the morning sickness in the first trimester. I guess I was doomed to suffer these headaches instead. I wasn't in the mood to argue with him. I went back to bed.

When he emerged from the shower, he sat on the edge of the bed. I was lying with my back to him. He put his hand on my hip.

"Look, we need to talk. The Colonel and most of the military presence are leaving tomorrow. Can you just give me one more day?"

"Whatever." My head was pounding. I just wanted him to leave. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't fighting back that tipped him off like the time in the root cellar.

"Wanderer, are you okay?"

"No, my head is pounding."

"Headache?"

"Yes."

"I'll send Doc over. I'm sorry about last night. We just needed to blow off some steam."

"You embarrassed me."

He was quiet for a moment. My back was still towards him. He patted my hip. "We'll talk tonight." He got up and left the room.

Doc showed up at the house about a half hour later. He let himself in and knocked on the bedroom door.

"Come in."

"Hey Wanda. Ian sent me over. He says you have another headache."

"Yes, I woke up with it."

"You know I can't give you 'No Pain'. It's not good for the baby. Candy said it should only be given in extreme cases like when you were shot. Let's get you up and out into the fresh air."

I dressed and Doc and I went for a walk in the woods.

"I think Ian is doing a fine job trying to get this whole thing set up for us. He really wants this to work out. It's a lot to deal with."

"They all went to town and got trashed last night."

"Yeah, well, I've been known to use libation in times of stress. Remember Walter? I wasn't exactly on the straight and narrow myself during that time."

"True, but you didn't treat Sharon like a piece of meat either."

"Yeah, I heard about that. This is just a suggestion but if you had just taken him home chances are he would have passed out before he could violate you."

We walked in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Try to cut him some slack. He didn't ask for this job. It was shoved in his face."

"I know, but I didn't marry a leader. I married the coach and the construction guy."

"Life changes, if it didn't time would stand still. You took him 'for better or for worse'. It's just because this whole thing is new. Eventually, Nate will take on a lot of the duties once our people trust him and then Ian can go back to being Ian. He's only got four months until the baby comes and then you will really need him."

"I'll never trust the new Nate. His reason for being put into this host is to gather information. He's the worst kind of Seeker. He works from the inside out. Last night, when they got drunk, who knows if Nate let his walls slip."

"Well, according to Ian, Nate is using you to keep the Seeker from seeing anything. If you are nice to the Seeker, it might work to our advantage. If he fell for you the way Nate has then he might choose to skip simply to run away from a broken heart or he could come over to our side like you did….And Sunny did….And Ice did."

"They weren't Seekers."

"Burns is a Seeker."

"In name only."

"Just think about it."

We walked a little more.

"How's your headache?"

"Better, much less pounding. It's more like a dull ache."

"It's almost lunch. Let's go to the dining hall."

Ian and the others were already there when Doc and I arrived at the dining hall. I wasn't sure what to do. As Ian approached us, I walked away to where the food was. He didn't follow me. He went straight to Doc. They spoke for several minutes while I filled my plate. I sat at a table with Megan, Jamie, Kim, and Priscilla. He came over to the table.

"Wanderer, can I speak with you outside please?"

I rose quietly and he took me by the hand and escorted me outside. Once outside, he released my hand. I got the feeling he only held my hand as a show for the Colonel. He spoke to me but his eyes were on the trees in the distance.

"Doc says he can't give you anything for the headaches."

"No. He said it's not good for the baby."

"He said fresh air and exercise are the best things for your headaches." He still wouldn't look at me. It made me very uneasy.

"Yes, he took me for a walk and it helped. Ian, would you please look at me?"

He looked at me but I didn't see my Ian. He was distant. He was pulling away again like he did in the days when I first admitted that I was in love with Nate.

"We are having a baseball game after dinner. Some of the soldiers are playing. Do you want to play?"

"You don't think that would be dangerous?" Two months ago we had this fight because he didn't want me to play.

"I'll keep you in the outfield, less chance of anything happening. You'll get exercise just running after the ball."

"What other girls are playing?"

"Only Megan. She can hold her own against the guys."

"Are you going to yell at me? I don't want to play if I'm going to get yelled at."

He sighed and shifted his weight to the other foot. He hooked his pinky in mine. "I don't want to yell at you."

"I think you do."

He released my pinky. "Look. I don't want to have this discussion right now. Do you want to play or not?" He took a step back.

"I do."

"Okay." He took my hand to lead me back inside. I pulled back.

"Under one condition."

"What's that?" He looked annoyed that I would make a demand.

"Kiss me. Kiss me like you mean it."

"Wanderer," he said in protest.

"Please Ian. I'm begging. Please?"

He put his arm around my waist and leaned in and kissed me conservatively. I put my hand behind his head and ran my fingers through his hair. He tried to pull back after only a few seconds but I hung on. "I love you, Ian." I pressed my lips to him again and his stiffness began to loosen up and he finally began to kiss me back. When he pulled away, he leaned his forehead against mine with his eyes closed.

"We still have to talk," he murmured.

"I know. I just need to know that you love me."

"I love you," he whispered.

I pulled his face to mine again and he kissed me more passionately this time. The Colonel came outside and caught us.

"You two just can't get enough of each other, can you?"

He obviously had no clue of the destruction his presence had caused our relationship. I suppose that it was a good thing that he thought we were fine. I hoped we were fine but I knew in my heart that we weren't.

Ian pulled away. "I'll see you at dinner?"

"I'll be there. Will you?" I said it with a hint of sarcasm.

"I promise."

I turned to the Colonel. "Colonel, did you hear that? He promised he'd be here for dinner."

"I hear you," the Colonel answered.

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