Notes from the Past
by Tanya Reed
Disclaimers: You all know by now that I don't own Relic Hunter, right?
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Part 1, Chapter 2
"Sydney, I'm cold," Nigel whined as the two of them pushed their way through calf high drifts.
"Don't you think I'm cold, Nigel?"
He stopped and eyed her carefully. She knew what he saw. She was wet clean through, her hair hung in tangles, and she couldn't stop shivering.
"I'm sorry," he said immediately. "Do you want my jacket?"
It was a sweet offer, but she actually wanted him to make it back to the bed and breakfast they were staying in.
"No. Let's just find the trail. I think it's over this way."
"I hope so." This time, his gaze went to the sky. "It's getting dark."
Sydney could tell this without him voicing it.
Luckily for them, Sydney had been right and they stumbled from the unbroken snow onto a beaten path. She heard Nigel sigh with relief, and put a hand on his wrist in empathy. It was hard to tell which was more chilled, his skin or hers.
They trudged the rest of the way back in silence. Sydney was thinking about the clue she had discovered, one that could very well lead them to the relic in the morning. All in all, it had been a pretty good hunt, even if they had to finish it on Christmas day.
Twilight was just slipping into true dark, and snow was just starting to drift down on them, when they got back to the bed and breakfast. The house gleamed whitely in the glow from the half hidden moon, and the lights from the windows beckoned welcomingly.
"I can't wait to get out of these wet clothes," Sydney said as they crossed the last few feet to the porch.
"Neither can I," Nigel agreed through chattering teeth. It looked like his lips were turning blue.
Sydney got to the door first, opening it wide to let Nigel in ahead of her. He hesitated a moment, as if he were going to shoo her in, then seemed to change his mind and slipped past.
The warmth inside enveloped Sydney as she closed the door behind them. Gratefully, she pulled off her boots and slid off her socks as well. She watched closely to make sure Nigel did the same.
As her body absorbed the warmth, Sydney began to notice a wonderful smell permeating the air. Her stomach growled loudly in answer to it, and Nigel looked at her sharply.
"What? Lunch was a long time ago."
"I didn't say a word."
Sydney rolled her eyes. "Come on. Let's get changed."
The two of them started for the stairs, which were right by the door.
"You two look chilled to the bone!" A warm, concerned voice floated to them.
A large man, dressed in jeans and a plaid lumberjack shirt, came into the room. Brown hair and a dark beard framed a fierce face, and he might have been frightening if he didn't have the kindest eyes Sydney had ever seen.
"We are," Nigel admitted. "It's cold out there."
"We were just going to change," Sydney added.
"You might want to take a hot bath too. There's lots of hot water."
That sounded like heaven. "We just might."
"But don't take too long. Jim and I are making Christmas dinner."
That was why the house smelled so good. Jim was the brother to this bear of a man, also called Ben, though they looked nothing alike. Jim was shorter and more slim than even Nigel, handsome, and clean shaven. Both of them were older than Sydney, but not old. Her guess put them in their early forties.
"Christmas dinner?" Nigel asked wistfully.
Ben smiled at him fondly. "Yep. Turkey, potatoes, three kinds of stuffing, cranberries, homemade bread and rolls, sweet potatoes, pie, and cake.
This time, it was Nigel's stomach's turn to growl. He blushed prettily, and Sydney had to laugh.
"Sounds like you'll be ready," Ben commented with a quirky smile and a twinkle in his blue eyes.
Nigel clamped a hand over his belly and frowned.
"Come on, Nige," Sydney said, giving him a slight push.
He tripped a little as he started up the stairs, and she felt slightly guilty. Even so, she was too cold and hungry to feel guilty enough to apologize.
The bed and breakfast had eight guest rooms, three of which were occupied, and two bathrooms. As Sydney pattered to her room, the rug felt soft and warm against her poor ice packs of feet. Nigel's room was beside hers, and one of the bathrooms was on the other side. Sydney hurried to grab clothes, a towel, and a facecloth. She wanted to reach the closest bathroom before Nigel, so she wouldn't have to go way to the other side of the house. She was too cold to feel guilty about this either.
As she exited her room, she noted that Nigel's bedroom door was closed. She wondered if that meant he was in or out. There was only one way to find out. She went to the bathroom door and listened. Not hearing running water, she tried the knob. She sighed in bliss as it turned easily in her hand.
Already anticipating the hot water soaking all the chill from her body, Sydney eagerly pushed the door open.
Nigel was standing there in his underwear, and the way his fingers were hooked in them, they were about to go as well. Seeing Sydney, he let out a squeak and cracked his elbow against the sink.
"Sydney!"
She was as startled as he was. If she'd been just two seconds slower, she would have gotten as much of an eyefull as she had by mistake that time in the Swedish nudist spa.
"Nigel! Why didn't you lock the door?" she gasped.
"I thought I did!" he exclaimed, rubbing his elbow.
"Well, obviously you didn't." Then she remembered something that made him squeamish. To get back at him for getting to the bathroom first, she said, "Now that I'm here, we could always share the tub. It might help to bring back some warmth to our bodies."
Nigel's eyes widened and he opened his mouth for a few seconds before snapping it shut again.
She grinned at him. "Oh, don't worry. I'll go all the way down the hall to the other bathroom." She stretched out 'all the way' to let Nigel know how very far away it felt to her.
"No," he said, "you take this one, Syd. I don't mind going down the hall."
This time, her guilt was stronger than her discomfort. She ordered, "You're already undressed. You stay here. Walking a few feet won't kill me."
He looked so relieved that her guilt deepened. She patted him on a clammy shoulder, went out, and shut the door behind her.
Sydney felt much more human when she left the bathroom a half an hour later. Her mood was light. After all, it was Christmas and they would probably find the relic the next day. She had Nigel's present in her bag, and she was sure he would love it. She was a little disappointed that she wouldn't be seeing her father, but she would call him and, if they did find the relic, she'd fly out to see him the day after Christmas instead of heading home with Nigel.
Returning to her room, Sydney blew her hair until it was only slightly damp, combed it, and tied it up. She was just finishing this when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in, Nigel."
He entered looking pleasantly damp, with his hair sticking up like a little boy's. He had also chosen one of his nicest outfits and he looked snuggly. As this thought went through her mind, she wondered what Nigel's reaction would be if he knew it.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Definitely. The smell is driving me mad."
"I wonder if it's done yet."
"Let's find out. Shall we?"
The smells got more enticing the closer they got to the dining room. The other two guests were already there, their faces alight with anticipation. They were a young man and woman, recently married, and very pleasant, though Sydney found them a bit too cheerful. At least they weren't sickenly sweet like John and Erica. Both of them smiled as Sydney and Nigel entered the room.
"You made it," the woman, Beth, said.
Her husband, Adam, added, "I thought we were going to have to send a search party for you."
"You don't need a search party when food smells that good," Nigel said lightly. "We'll be having company from three towns over if it takes too much longer."
"Ben was just in and told us another five or ten minutes or so."
"Do you think we should help set the table?"
"I'm sure they're fine, Nigel," Sydney answered. "They are two grown men."
"But isn't it rude not to offer?"
Sydney waved her hand. "Offer if you like."
Nigel ended up not offering as Ben came out at that moment bearing plates and glasses. Jim was close behind him with cups and forks and knives.
"You two are looking much better," Ben said as he placed his load on the table.
"We're feeling much better, thanks," Nigel answered.
"But you might want to check the lock on the bathroom door," Sydney put in.
"Oh, which one?"
"The one by our rooms. We almost had an embarrassing situation."
Beth grinned at Nigel, causing a flush to tinge his face. Her husband laughed softly.
"I'll check that tonight after we eat," Ben assured them.
"Speaking of which...?" Adam asked questioningly.
"Not long now. Probably another five minutes. Would you say so, Jim?"
"Yes."
For the next few minutes, the only sound was the clinking of plates and cutlery and the occasional soft whisper between Adam and Beth. Sydney looked at them with a mixture of amusement, fondness, and envy. They seemed so happy.
By the time the food arrived, she was good and hungry. She had begun to feel hungry even before it got dark, and the feeling had gotten steadily worse as time progressed. The only respite she'd had was in the tub when all she could think of was how good the water felt.
Nigel must have been just as hungry because when he saw the turkey his eyes almost started glowing. Sydney poked him in the side with her elbow.
"You look like a starving dog," she whispered teasingly.
"At least I've never stolen a bone from one," he whispered back.
Sydney laughed loudly and everyone turned to see what was so funny. Still grinning, she said, "Sorry."
The meal was as delicious as it smelled. Talking mostly ceased as the people around the table enjoyed the feast their two unlikely chefs had prepared. The only noise was the sound of cutlery clanking against the Christmas themed porcelain plates.
Both Sydney and Nigel were soon reduced from 'I'm so hungry I could eat a mall Santa' to 'I couldn't eat another bite'. For Nigel, it was after two pieces of cake and a piece of pie. He sat beside Sydney, rubbing his stomach and groaning softly.
"I told you not to have that second piece of cake."
"But it was so good..."
That, she couldn't argue with. She got to her feet, saying, "Thanks, guys, that was delicious. It was so nice of you to make us Christmas dinner when we're so far from home."
Both of the brothers beamed at this. They looked so sweet that Sydney was tempted to give them each a nice big hug. She refrained and settled for, "This is the nicest Christmas I've ever spent from home."
"Well, you're welcome to come and spend Christmas with us any time," Ben said. "That goes for all of you. We enjoy having company for the holidays."
Adam and Beth went off to their room after having eaten, but Sydney and Nigel weren't up to retiring yet. Instead, they went to the living room. The bed and breakfast had two such rooms. One was mostly a TV and movie room, with a stereo, television, VCR, DVD player, game system, and other electronic pass times. The other was a large, comfortable room with a big fireplace, fluffy chairs, lots of books, and, for Christmas, a huge, wonderfully decorated, Christmas tree.
It was into this second one they wandered. The hot bath and food made Sydney sleepy despite not wanting to go to bed at such an early hour. She could tell Nigel was feeling the same as he was blinking more than usual and she caught him politely hiding a yawn behind his hand.
As they entered the room, Sydney was pleased to see a fire roaring in the fireplace. The bed and breakfast's white cat was curled up under the Christmas tree, whose lights were on and twinkling merrily.
She let out a sigh and made a beeline for the nearest armchair. It was soft and squishy. Sydney settled in, getting as comfortable as she could as soon as she could. The chair was close enough to the fire that heat licked her pleasantly.
Nigel was close behind her, smothering another yawn. Seeing she had taken the first chair, he headed for the chair nearest the tree. Unfortunately, as he was passing, he didn't see the cat.
The cat's eyes snapped open and she let out a high pitched yowl as Nigel trod on her tail. Nigel stumbled, and the cat shot into the air. She used Nigel as a spring board and pushed off to fly towards the dining room. Poor Nigel didn't know what hit him as he tried to keep his feet.
Sydney watched in hopeless horror as her friend tottered, trying to stay upright. He took a step, but it was in the wrong direction. Colliding with the tree, he clutched it so he wouldn't fall.
The tree and Nigel both leaned precariously towards Sydney. She immediately knew that she was in the wrong place. She abandoned her chair, jumping over the arm, just in time as Nigel fell over and the tree came down with a horrible crash and the sound of broken ornaments.
"Nigel! Nigel, are you all right?" she exclaimed.
He was lying half under the tree, looking stunned. Footsteps sounded from all around the house, some coming from the direction of the dining room and others clumping hurriedly down the stairs.
"What...?" Nigel attempted.
"Oh, Nigel, did you hurt yourself?"
Sydney climbed over chair and tree labourously to kneel beside him. He was groaning and his face was smudged with a bit of tree sap.
Ben was the first of the others to come in the room. "What happened?"
He took in the whole scene and, to his credit, seemed more concerned with Nigel than his upset tree.
"Is he okay?"
"I'm not sure. Nigel?"
"I'm...I'm not hurt..." he said faintly.
Sydney gave a sigh of relief as she slapped his shoulder. "You've got to be more careful."
"Sorry, Syd."
"Nigel had a little accident," Sydney told Ben unnecessarily, just as the other three occupants arrived.
"That's some accident," Adam said.
"My tree!" Jim said at the same time.
"Let's see about getting Nigel out from under it." Ben shot a look at his brother. The big man then picked up the tree as if it were nothing more than a twig.
"I'm sorry, Ben. I'm sorry, Jim." Nigel's tone was distressed.
"It's all right," Jim assured him as Beth started picking decorations off of the floor.
Sydney helped Nigel to sit up, studying him to make sure he really was all right. He looked mortified.
"I think," Sydney commented, "I should take my friend to his room before he tears the place down."
"Shouldn't we help with the tree?"
Ben held up his hand. "Don't worry about it. I don't think too much damage was done."
"Though you might want to apologize to the cat," Sydney whispered for Nigel's ears alone.
He didn't answer. Instead, he meekly let her lead him up the stairs. Sydney felt bad for him because Nigel took his embarrassments so much to heart. If it had been her, she would have just laughed it off and helped to right the tree. She had a feeling Nigel, on the other hand, would be embarrassed about it for years.
As they reached the top of the stairs, Sydney asked, "My room or yours?"
"Huh?"
"We might as well get some work done. We've got exams in January. We could start them. It's too early to go to bed." Then she grinned. "Unless you're Adam and Beth."
Nigel smiled at this. "I'll just go get my laptop."
While Sydney waited for Nigel to come to her room, she dug through her things until she found his present. She was going to wait until the next day to give it to him, but he had been so embarrassed over the tree that she changed her mind.
"Well, here I am," Nigel announced, opening the door, "ready to work."
"All right. Set up over there."
Each room in the bed and breakfast came with a small desk and chair as well as Internet access. The place was a nice blend of old fashioned hominess and technical convenience.
He obediently went over and set his laptop on the desk. She came up behind him and dangled her hand with the present in it over his shoulder.
He started. "What's this?"
"It's Christmas Eve, Nigel. What do you think it is?"
She shook the package. It let off of faint rattle.
"But..."
She waited a moment before saying, "Aren't you going to take it?"
He turned around, and Sydney was suddenly surprised at how close they were. She was almost tempted to take a step back so she wouldn't be able to smell the fresh, clean scent of him or feel the heat coming from his body.
"I can't, Syd."
"Why not?"
He avoided looking in her eyes, shifting his gaze downward. When he realized he was staring at her chest, he colored and shifted it again to somewhere over her right shoulder.
"I didn't...well, I didn't know we'd still be here."
"And?"
"I left your present at home," he said in a small voice.
"That's all right," she assured him. "It was just luck that yours found its way into my bag. I was going to give it to you early but changed my mind and stowed it. You can give me my present when we get home."
Nigel looked at the present, then looked back into Sydney's face. "I wouldn't feel right opening this before you open yours." He gently took the present from her fingers, a hint of a smile on his face. "Is it okay if I wait until then to open it?"
"That's fine," she said, squeezing his shoulder. "Are you sure you can hold off temptation?"
His smile turned to a grin. "I pride myself on suppressing my instinctual urges. That includes Christmas present frenzy."
"You have more will power than I do."
"Somebody's got to have it in this partnership."
Sydney made a face at him and went to get the notes she had put in her satchel in case they did have time to work on the exams. Looking pleased with himself, Nigel sat down to fire up the laptop.
He had just turned the power on when the lights flickered and everything suddenly went black.
"Syd?"
She could barely see his shadowy form in the moonlight that fought thick snow to shine into the room. Since she still had her satchel in her hand, she took out her flashlight and flicked it on...directly in Nigel's face.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, throwing up his arms and closing his eyes.
"Sorry."
He rubbed his eyes. "I wonder what happened."
"Maybe you blew a fuse."
"Great. Another reason for Ben and Jim to love me."
"Well, you're exciting to be around. I'm going to see what's going on. You stay here. The way your day is going, you'd probably fall down the stairs and break your neck."
Without waiting for an answer, she left the room. She ran into Adam at the top of the stairs.
"Do you know what's going on?"
She shook her head. "I was just going to find Ben."
They didn't have far to look for him because he came into view as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Snow on the power lines," he said without preamble. "Probably won't be fixed before morning. All the rooms are electric heat."
"What does that mean?" Sydney asked.
"We've only got one room with a fireplace, so that means, unless you want to wake up tomorrow morning with icicles growing off your nose, we're all going to have to bunk in the living room."
The room with the tree. Sydney knew Nigel would hate sharing a room with the cause of his embarrassment...but he'd hate freezing to death more.
"Okay, I'll go get Nigel."
"And I'll go get Beth."
Sydney was right about Nigel not being happy with the sleeping conditions. She told him to get over it and deliberately started undressing to put on her nightclothes. Any complaining or arguing Nigel might have done was immediately cut off, and he hurried to his room to do the same.
Before long, everyone had gathered in the room with the fireplace. The fire snapped and crackled merrily, shedding light into their dark universe. The room was large but seemed small with bedding for six people spread along the floor.
With everyone in their pajamas, it felt almost like a pajama party to Sydney. She noted with some amusement that the inn's very different brothers wore matching blue and green striped pajamas, while Beth had chosen to cover her nightdress with a demure robe. Sydney, herself, hadn't bothered with a robe, but shrugged off the afterthought as inconsequential.
The temperature had dropped quickly without heat, and Sydney was grateful to be in a room with fire and five other bodies. She and Nigel were placed the furthest from the tree, and she knew this certainly couldn't be coincidence. Maybe they were afraid he'd get up to pee in the middle of the night and find himself renewing his acquaintance with the tree.
"Isn't this cozy?" Ben asked when they were all settled on the floor, most of them sitting because it was only 8:30.
Sydney did find it cozy. Between the fire, both its warmth and its glow, the comforting sight of big flakes falling outside the window, a group of sleepy, Christmasy people, and having Nigel by her side, looking like a little boy in his pajamas with his face still streaked with tree sap, she felt more relaxed than she had since starting the hunt a week before. Nigel, on the other hand, looked quite uncomfortable to be sitting in a room with other people in his pajamas.
"Anybody like cards?" Jim asked, getting up to take a pack from behind a picture of him and Ben as boys on the mantle. Even then, Ben had towered over his brother.
"Sydney likes poker," Nigel volunteered, "But she's not very good at it."
"Just because I lost my clothes that time..." she started, but trailed off and shrugged as she saw the looks she was getting from around the room.
"Poker it is!" Adam said gleefully, gaining him a sharp poke in the ribs from his wife.
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"That doesn't sound so bad," Claudia said, her eyes wide from the events of the story.
"I lost fifty dollars...and Adam snores."
"Nigel was having a very bad day," Sydney grinned. "I, on the other hand, won a hundred and fifty."
Karen was still giggling. "My favorite part was when Nigel fell in the tree."
Claudia wrinkled her nose. "I liked when Sydney walked in on him naked."
"I was not naked!"
"Anyway, we retrieved the relic the next afternoon," Sydney continued, "and, all in all, I thought it was a rather nice Christmas, despite working through it."
"You're not the one who had to cut tree sap out of your hair."
"I offered to do that for you."
"Like I'd let you near my head with a pair of scissors when you were laughing that hard."
"It could have been a nice look for you." She took a hand and rubbed it over the top of his head as if feeling his brush cut.
"Let's do you first."
"Now, children," Karen said in an obviously false serious tone, "behave or Santa won't come."
This caused Claudia to start giggling uncontrollably. Sydney wasn't sure if it was the comment, Karen's tone, or the fact that it was Sydney herself being chastised. She stuck her tongue out at Karen good naturedly.
Nigel said, "Yes, Mummy."
Karen's stern mask cracked under the pressure. She rolled her eyes and said, "Sorry, Santa, I tried."
"You use that expression on Cory, don't you?" Sydney said suddenly.
Karen looked immediately abashed. "How did you know that?"
"It came too naturally to be something you've never said."
"You have to have some tricks to make pre-teen boys behave."
Sydney admired Karen. Four years before, her mother had been killed by a drunk driver. Despite being only nineteen, she didn't hesitate to take in her eight year old brother. They had no other family, so the going had been tough, but Karen never complained. Cory was the most important thing in her life.
"It works?"
"Sometimes," Karen admitted. "Less so since he stopped believing. Now, he just laughs and hugs me. Is that any way for a twelve year old to behave?"
"Thirteen in a month, Karen," Nigel said in imitation of the small, blond haired boy.
"Don't you start." She wagged her finger. "It's bad enough that he actually has to turn thirteen without everyone reminding me of the fact."
"You have a fun couple of years ahead of you," Sydney agreed.
"Yes," added Claudia. "I remember my teen years...sort of."
"Thanks, guys. That really makes me feel better."
"Any time," Nigel said, throwing the pillow he had used earlier to hide his face at her. It hit her in the side of the head with a solid thump.
"Hey!"
"Nigel!"
"Good shot."
The girls spoke in chorus, and Nigel knew he was in trouble. Sydney could see it in his face as she took her own pillow and thumped him over the head. At the same time, Karen flung his pillow back at him. It hit him in the face. Claudia, not having a pillow near her on the floor, picked up one of Mafdet's toy balls and threw it at Nigel's chest.
"Ugh...I surrender..." he said and Sydney thumped him again.
She thumped him one last time, saying, "You're no fun. You give in too easily."
"There's only one of me and three of you."
"I like those odds," Karen said, her eyes twinkling.
Sydney's grandfather clock chimed ten, and she looked at her watch in disbelief. "Where did the evening go? What do you say we watch a movie and then head to bed?"
"Christmas Massacre?" Claudia suggested.
Karen winced and put in, "How about It's a Wonderful Life?"
"I kind of like Scrooge."
"Why not Miracle on 34th Street?" Sydney asked.
The four of them argued about it for a few minutes before settling on Karen's It's a Wonderful Life. They all go comfortable and Sydney popped in the DVD. The room went quiet as the opening credits rolled, and Sydney let herself fall into the simple story of a man who, by being good and honest, gained as much as any sane person could ever want.