Anna held john back as the others disembarked the ship. He held her hand tightly, the two of them trying not to look at one another as if it would break the spell and they might still be far away from their home. But as the last of the other survivors left the craft Anna choked back a sob.
Their forgotten, ragged, and dilapidated moon formed the backdrop of their descent. The landing platform had more knicks and gouges than when she left but it was all Anna could do not to fall to her knees and kiss the ground under her. Even Mrs. Hughes looked the same. When Anna wrapped her arms around the woman, however, she noted the weathering in her face to match the hardened look in her eye.
"We all thought you gone forever when that man took you." Mrs. Hughes shuddered, pulling Anna close again as if she needed to physically hold her to assure herself that Anna was there in the flesh.
"I thought so too." Anna confided, turning a smile to John. "But he came for me."
"Naught but death could've stopped him and we're sure not even then." Mrs. Hughes shook John's hand with both of hers. "We're glad you're both back safe and sound."
"Not sure 'safe' is the right word." Anna's eyes darted in the direction of Mr. Carlisle, led away by the trinity of the Brothers Krypton. "We've probably just invited a host of trouble on our heads."
"We'll weather it the same way we weather everything here." Mrs. Hughes stood straighter, "Like Plutonium itself does: one day at a time."
"Sound advice." John went to say something else but they both noticed Branson and Mr. Moseley handling the stretcher with Matthew. "Excuse me."
John hustled over to them, limping slightly as the replacement leg stood slightly shorter than his previous one, but helped carry the stretcher down the landing pad. Mrs. Hughes covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a gasp. "What happened to Mr. Matthew?"
"The ship carrying us landed on the mines."
"The government wanted to claim the tin?"
Anna nodded, "Carlisle fired at Branson but Matthew pushed him out of the way. He took a bullet but we don't know how bad it is."
"Doctor Clarkson's in and if anyone can help him, it's him."
"I do hope so." Anna pointed after John, "I need to go to my husband."
"Of course dear. But Anna?" Anna stopped on the ramp, pivoting to see Mrs. Hughes. "I'll ready a transport to take you to the Crawley Outpost… if things go badly for Mr. Matthew."
"That's probably best, Mrs. Hughes." Anna paused, "Is Mary there now?"
"She's been there since the government made requests for the mine. Mr. Matthew insisted she stay and coordinate from the estate."
"Then Jack's there?"
"I assume so. She's kept him with her since you disappeared."
Anna sighed, "I'm glad to hear it. I've missed him."
"And I'm sure he's missed you as well." Mrs. Hughes waved her off, "Hurry now and I'll have the transport ready when you come back. I wouldn't want you running off with only news to make the Blessed Lady Mary worry if there's hope for Mr. Matthew."
"Yes ma'am."
Anna ran after John and the others, following them into the building and up the lift to where Doctor Clarkson and Mrs. Crawley held deep discussion about something. Both immediately rushed to the straining men's sides and lifted Matthew onto a table. John stepped back, Anna gripping his hand, and they stood with their backs to a wall.
"What happened?" Mrs. Crawley trembled and Branson went to her side, wrapping an arm around her to hold her close as he sat her on a seat. "What happened to my son?"
"There was a firefight. He pushed me out of the way." Branson sniffed, his eyes tearing. "He saved my life."
Mrs. Crawley put her hand over Branson's, holding it tightly in her grip as they watched Doctor Clarkson cut Matthew's bloody shirt away to examine the wound. A few nurses came over to help and Mr. Moseley joined Anna and John by the wall but mostly there was silence. Mr. Matthew's breathing barely reached their ears, even with everyone else baiting their own breath.
Anna eventually pulled John and Mr. Moseley to the hallway, taking seats there as they waited. Mr. Moseley politely refused the seat, pacing back and forth until the noise of the lift alerted them all. Ms. Baxter joined them and, without a word, took Mr. Moseley's arm. They retreated to the far end of the hall, their whispers just wafting sounds to Anna's ears.
John's hand stroked over her shoulders, holding her close as they kept their vigil on the door. Her fingers locked so tightly with John's she knew she left indents there but neither one of them cared enough to separate their hands. And when the door opened Anna knew the weight in her chest only sunk lower.
"I'm sorry to say that there's nothing more I can do for Mr. Matthew." Doctor Clarkson looked back inside and Anna closed her eyes to try and stop her tears at the sound of Mrs. Crawley's unrestrained sobs. "I think the best thing for him is to get him home to his wife. Give them a chance to say goodbye."
"Mrs. Hughes already has a transport ready." Anna nodded to John and pointed to Branson. "Between the two of them I think we could get him back."
"Sooner the better in his case."
"I'll get him." John covered Anna's hand on his arm before pulling away to help Branson.
Anna put her hand over her mouth, muffling her own tears, and turned to Mr. Moseley and Ms. Baxter as they joined her. She sniffed, clearing her throat to speak. "Thank you, Mr. Moseley, for helping get him this far. For rescuing all of us."
"It was truly the least any of us could've done." Mr. Moseley nodded toward the door, "I don't know him but he seemed a good man from the way he jumped to save another without thinking of himself."
"He is a good man." Anna choked, "I don't know what I'm going to tell his wife. She'll be beside herself."
"I'm sure you'll find the right words. And, if there are no words, then you'll be there for her." Ms. Baxter smiled, rubbing a second on Anna's shoulder before pointing at John's form in the other room. "He'll need to adjust his leg a bit but it's a gift from the Manganese… for services rendered."
"Services rendered?"
"He's helped a great many people find purpose and we'll always be grateful we met the two of you." Ms. Baxter looked at the floor a moment before Anna embraced her.
Trading to hug Mr. Moseley as well, Anna wiped her eyes. "We wouldn't be alive without you. Please thank Mrs. Patmore and, if you're ever back on Plutonium, know your drinks are always on the house at the Rock."
"We'll keep that in mind." Ms. Baxter guided Mr. Moseley toward the lift and Anna watched them leave before turning to see John and Branson handling the stretcher.
It was her first real look at Matthew. His face paled, almost to a ghastly gray, while his eyes rolled around under his lids. Occasionally he twitched on the stretcher but mostly he lay still… almost as if he were already dead. Mrs. Crawley took her hand and Anna acted as her guide and support in the train following her dying son.
John and Branson maneuvered Matthew back to the landing platform where Mrs. Hughes conversed with a tall, dark haired man. She started at the sight of them, ushering the man to the cockpit while John and Branson secured Matthew in the rear of the transport with Mrs. Crawley to watch over him. Anna climbed into a seat behind the driver while Branson took the seat in front of John.
"Fly safely, Mr. Talbot," Mrs. Hughes warned, her hands on the door to slid it closed. "You're carrying precious cargo."
"I always am." He nodded at her, "Ready for take off Mrs. Hughes."
Anna nodded at Mrs. Hughes and the door slid into place. John's hand rested over Anna's and she took it in a loose grip as they lifted off. The driver, Talbot, adjusted course and made a smooth jump to speed as they broke atmosphere.
"Have you done this before, Mr. Talbot?"
"Transport a dying man to see his family before he succumbed to death?" Talbot shrugged, "We're all dying in a way and who knows when the last time we're going to see our family really is."
"How every endearing." John muttered and Talbot risked a look over his shoulder at him.
"I promise you I'm the fastest pilot around and I'll get you all there in time to help this man get the proper send off to the afterlife."
"Not sure if that's a comforting thought but we'll take it for what it is all the same." Anna ran her thumb over John's knuckles. "We'll get to see Jack there."
"I'm glad." John leaned over, brushing his lips over her cheek. "For all of the misery we've seen this'll be worth it all just to see him again."
"I know." Anna risked a look back, tears springing to her eyes again at the sight of Mrs. Crawley brushing hair from her son's head. "I just wish we could've taken him back to Mary whole."
"Me too."
They spent the rest of the journey in silence, Talbot and Branson exchanging some small talk about transports and their work. But when the Crawley Estate came into view Talbot was all business. He managed to weave through the asteroids that protected the large holding with ease, gliding down in the docking bay with barely a bump.
The locking mechanisms engaged and they shot through the tunnel to reach the internal garage. Simultaneous hisses from the hermetic seals of the transport releasing and the garage engaging allowed the group to disembark. Talbot helped John and Branson lift Matthew free, carrying him toward the veritable fortress while Anna kept watch over Mrs. Crawley.
Their arrival startled everyone and soon the rush of activity was almost too much for Anna. Mrs. Crawley soon surrendered to the hands of Robert Crawley and his wife while Branson left Matthew in John and Talbot's hands so he could hold an already sobbing Mary. Anna hung back, holding a hand to her chest at the sight of her friend bearing the sight of her husband brought back to her near death.
"It's awful isn't it?" Anna looked over to see Edith, holding the hand of a man keeping all his attention on her. "We just wanted to make better lives for everyone. First Sybil and now Matthew."
"They wouldn't take it back. Not when they believed so ardently in what they stood for." He soothed her, guiding her after the parade making their way toward the upper levels of the house. "It was worth the sacrifice to them."
"But was it? Wouldn't they want to spend the rest of their lives with those they loved instead?"
Anna stayed at the base of the stairs, the silence almost crushing her as the noise and bustle of the last few hours finally faded. She slumped against the wall, the exhaustion hitting her all at once now that adrenaline ran its course. It took all her energy just to stay standing as she was.
Closing her eyes she wished, for a moment, that she could go back and undo it all. To wake up on that day she met John Bates and decide against flirting with him on the landing platform. Maybe, she mused for a moment, none of the people she cared about would suffer and they could've gone on living their lives amidst problems that didn't affect them.
But Anna's eyes shot open at the sound of a giggle. A giggle that wouldn't exist if she never met John Bates. A giggle that drew her into a sitting room where a blonde boy, a dark haired girl, a curly headed girl, and a tottering child all laughed together. She dropped to her knees at the sight, immediately regretting ever letting the thought of not meeting John pass through her brain.
The blonde boy rushed to her, hugging her around the neck. Anna returned the gesture, kissing his cheek before kissing the dark-haired girl. "And how is Miss Sybbie and Master George?"
"We're playing a game." George pointed over to where Jack held himself on wobbling legs with fists scrunched into the fabric of a sofa. "He's captured by pirates and we've got to rescue him."
"Then we'd best do it before anything happens to him." Anna swept forward, lifting Jack from the ground. For a moment he struggled in her grasp and Anna's blood ran cold at the thought perhaps her own son didn't remember her. But then a grin broke over his face and he nestled close to her. Anna buried her face in his hair, clutching him close to her.
"I've missed you so much." She whispered, kissing his cheek. "Mummy's here now and she's never going away again. I promise you, I won't ever leave you again."
"How sweet." Anna turned, holding Jack tightly as the other three children ran behind her legs for protection. "The barmaid turned mother hen did she?"
"After a fashion I guess." Anna pursed her lips at the woman in the doorway, flanked by her androids. "And what brings Madame Boron so far out to the middle of nowhere?"
"I'd received a message from an agent, perhaps you know him." Vera stepped toward Anna and Anna, fighting all her basic instincts, held her ground without losing Vera's gaze. "Richard Carlisle?"
"Our paths may've crossed recently but I'd have to see a picture to know for sure." Anna adjusted Jack, "How can I help you?"
"You can come with me, now, and answer for your crimes against the government or," Vera leered at her, the smile breaking her face in a way that made Anna shiver uncontrollably. "You can give me John Bates, like I wanted before, and I'll leave you and your bastard child alone."
"I'd watch your language," Anna nodded toward the children, each gripping tightly at Anna's skirt. "They're impressionable at this age and I wouldn't want them learning anything their parents'll have to help them unlearn later."
"I don't care what those little brats pick up. I'm here for John Bates and you can either give him to me or I drag you out of here by your hair and he comes after you anyway." Vera opened her hands, "The choice is yours, Ms. Smith."
"That's where you're wrong." Anna stood straighter, "It's Mrs. Bates now."
Vera's face contorted to barely mask the rage. "Well then, I guess that changes things quite a bit."
"I'd say it does." Anna waited, "It's your move Madame Boron."
