The Balance of Life

Part One - Discovery

Chapter 4 - Part 19--- NewHome

A strange buzzing sound roused Abby from a deep, dreamless sleep. As she surfaced, she felt disoriented, out of place. Rolling onto her side she bumped into a solid wall. Reaching out with a fumbling hand she realized that the solid wall behind her was human. Instantly her memory focused on where she was and why. When the alarm continued to buzz she gave Buck a jab in the back with her elbow.

"Turn that cursed thing off," she mumbled. Her vocal chords were still sleeping.

"Yeah, yeah," Buck grumbled as he rolled away to the far side of the bed. The buzzing ended abruptly after several failed attempts to find the off button in the dark.

"What time is it?" Abby asked as she could not see the clock and had taken off her watch before getting into bed.

"Eleven fifteen."

"I slept like the dead. Didn't have a single dream that I can remember," Abby commented as she sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed.

"I had a couple that I can vaguely remember. Nothing like those that wake you up terrified half to death."

"Give me five minutes and I'll be ready," Abby said when she stood up and stretched. Heading for the bathroom she picked up the clothes she planned to change into.

As soon as Abby closed the door Buck dropped out of bed onto the floor and did twenty-five quick push-ups. Rolling onto his back he added twenty five sit-ups. After getting up and flipping on the overhead light, he slipped on clean sweat pants and shirt, stepped into his sandals while he waited for Abby to finish dressing.

As promised, Abby exited the bathroom fully dressed in under five minutes. While Buck was in the bathroom Abby used the time to throw the bed covers back into order. He had given her exactly what she needed and wanted during their short sleep. Comfort and someone to chase away any bad dreams that might have come her way. She would have to give some serious thought about taking their relationship to the next level. Their paring as avatars was working very well. The four of them—when you included Judy and Kyle—made for a great team. Kyle and Judy didn't seem to be having any issues balancing their intimate relationship with their professional one. Food for thought.

"You didn't have to do that," Buck commented when he saw that Abby had made up the bed. "But thanks anyway."

"I could use something to eat," Abby said as soon as they stepped into the hallway and Buck closed his door.

"Me too. Roger usually leaves something around to eat."

Wanting to be in the link room ready to go by eleven-forty-five made for a quick trip to the cafeteria where the found some left over apple cobbler. Opting for only half a cup of coffee they ate quickly.

The large digital clock read 23:40 when they entered the bio lab to find Susan writing notes in the log journal.

"Right on time," Susan said as she looked up when Buck and Abby reached her station.

"Everything quiet at the Well of Souls?" Buck asked.

"Haven't heard a peep from Kyle or Judy in the past two hours."

"We'll link up right away," Abby began as she headed for her usual pod. "I'm sure they are tired. It's been a long day for them."

"We will check in at two," Buck informed Susan as he headed for his pod.

"Ron will be taking over then for the rest of the night. One of us will be here to take your call."

Susan followed Buck and Abby to their pods. When the lids closed she checked the progress of their links on the local monitors. Satisfied that everything was working as it should be she returned to the master console.

"Welcome back," Judy said to Abby as her avatar activated a few seconds before Buck's.

By the time she stood, Buck was back in control of his avatar.

"Where's Kyle?" Buck asked when he got quickly to his feet.

"He's with Tey'bar. They're checking on the intake. Making sure it's out far enough."

"Any problems since we left?" Abby asked as she looked around at all the bioluminescent light being given off by almost everything around them.

"Quiet as a grave yard—sorry, bad choice of words—make that quite as a mouse at a cat show."

"Not sure that analogy's any better. Especially if we are the mice," Abby added, chuckling lightly.

"If the people who attacked earlier and got away are still around they haven't anything. Ell'a'u seemed to think that with ZaeZae and several others of their group dead we wouldn't be having any more trouble from them. Good in theory."

"But time will tell," Buck added just before his attention was drawn to Kyle and Tey'bar walking towards them.

"Good to see you," Kyle said when he reached the spot where Abby and Buck were talking with Judy. "The pump was been chugging right along. Water level is down a solid four feet."

"Anyone complaining about the noise from the pump?" Abby asked as it was a very foreign sound for the Omatikaya's most sacred place.

"No one has complained to us," Judy answered. "They may have said something to Mo'at."

"Can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs," Buck added. "As long as the water level is going down I doubt anyone will complain too strenuously."

"The biggest drawback to the noise is that it makes it damn difficult to hear anything else," Kyle said as his gaze swept the area.

"Is anyone else with you?" Buck asked Tey'bar.

"I have posted several other hunters at various places. We are keeping watch over those that are sleeping."

"That's probably a good idea," Buck replied. "I doubt we will have to worry about anything for tonight. If those against us are still out there and plan to attack again they will likely need a few days to regroup and plan a different tactic."

"You and Kyle should go and get some sleep," Abby said to Judy. "Buck and I will take it from here."

"I sure could use some," Judy replied. "I'm sure my human body is going to demand food before it will even think about sleeping."

"There is some food in the cafeteria. Pickings are a bit slim."

"I'll probably take just about anything. I know Kyle will. Here's the sat-link," Judy added, handing it to Abby.

"Ready there big guy?" Judy asked Kyle.

"Ready and waiting," Kyle replied easily.

"Waiting my ass," Judy retorted.

"And such a lovely ass it is," Kyle added without cracking a smile.

"Come on lover-boy. It's time to hit the road, and the sheets."

"What are you smirking about," Abby asked Buck as they covered Judy and Kyle's avatars with a light waterproof cover. The avatars didn't need to be covered. The gesture was more for their driver's benefit. It just seemed more…human.

"I was wondering why Judy didn't lay down under him. That would seem to be their more natural position."

"Perhaps we should have rolled her on top of him," Abby suggested. "She seems to like being in charge."

"I don't know what it is with these two," Buck began, scratching his head as if that would help to find an answer. "Don't get me wrong, I think sex is great—even though I'm not actually having any—but these two seem determined to set some kind of planetary record."

"Most likely they both have an overabundance of hormones."

"Yeah, and those hormones flowed right through into their avatars."

"It certainly does appear that way." Abby added, shaking her head.

"Since their preoccupation with sex hasn't affected their ability to work with us as a team, it's none of our business how they spend their time off."

"Very good point. It's just hard not to comment on them from time to time. One of these days I'm going to work up the nerve to ask Judy what it's like when they join queues. Supposedly it's a level of intimacy far beyond what we humans can experience."

"I'm not sure if that wouldn't take some of the mystery and romance out of sex. If you felt everything your partner felt, knew every thought they had; that just might be like losing yourself, your individualism."

"You do have a point," Abby replied thoughtfully.

"Looks like Ell'a'u is awake," Buck said as he gestured to where she was standing beside Tey'bar.

"As it's going to be a long night, perhaps they will help us pass the time."

"Never hurts to ask," Buck added as he led the way up the incline towards their Na'vi hosts.

Norm woke precisely at 6:00 AM. His dreams had been troubled, but not nightmarish. Something he was very thankful for. Karen's scent was still noticeable. I didn't seem as strong as it had when he came back to his room last night. He was sure in time it would fade altogether. A thought that depressed him. Getting up, he showered to wash off the night sweat and then dressed quickly. Leaving the room he headed straight for the cafeteria and a cup of strong black coffee.

As usual, Roger had the coffee out, along with assorted breakfast roll, dry cereals and juice. Today's flavor looked just a little disgusting for so early in the day. Opting for a granola substitute, Norm took his cereal, coffee and a roll over by the window to eat. It was still mostly dark, but the light reflected off Polyphemus made it easy to see the surrounding valley's walls. Putting his anguish and considerable anger over Karen's death aside he tried to concentrate on all the good times they had together. He wanted to remember those, cherish those memories. He knew that in the long run the only way to survive emotionally was to cherish all that was good about her. By the time he finished eating his heart felt a little lighter. Depositing his food tray in the kitchen he headed for the bio lab.

Ron was sitting at the master console, his head leaning against the back of the chair, when Norm walked into the lab. Going straight to the pods he checked on Buck and Abby's monitors. As they appeared completely normal he made his way over to the prep room's observation window and looked down. Jake and Neytiri appeared to be sleeping. At first he did not see Ralu. The gurney she was supposed to sleep on was empty. A jolt of panic rose in his throat until it dawned on him that his avatar hadn't sprouted an extra arm during the night. A closer look revealed that Ralu was sleeping between his avatar and the wall. Walking back to the console he shook Ron's shoulder to wake him.

"What!" Ron exclaimed as he jolted awake.

"I'm going in," Norm told him. He didn't add that he had checked Buck's and Abby's monitors. Ron could get defensive. For all he knew Ron might have dozed off just minutes before he entered the lab. No use starting a pissing match.

"You sure are up early," Ron commented as he rose to follow Norm to his usual pod.

"It's going to be another long day. Need to get an early start. Give me a call when Gary or Max comes in, would you?"

"Sure, no problem," Ron answered as the lid to Norm's pod began to close.

Closing his eyes Norm waited for the accustomed rush of linking with his avatar.

An instant after his mind joined with his avatar Norm felt Ralu stir beside him.

"You're back," she said as she sat up facing him.

"Yes I am. Did you sleep here all night?"

"Mostly. I tried using the bed on wheels. It was not to my liking. Very hard. So I slept here instead. I felt closer to you, so I slept easier. Did you have trouble sleeping?"

"Only a little bit. Actually, I slept much better than I thought I would."

"That is good. When can we get out of this place? I feel…squeezed in."

"Soon. After it is light enough to see."

"How much longer will that be?"

"Not very long."

"How—"

"Ralu, I am going to get you a watch and teach you how to tell time," Norm answered, his frustration getting the better of him. "That way I can say it will be one hour and you can look at your watch and know how much time is still left to wait."

"What is a watch?"

"I should have had the second cup of coffee," Norm muttered, shaking his head.

"Coffee; that is something that you drink, right?"

"Yes. Sometimes I drink it in large volumes as it helps me get through the day."

"I do not understand." The expression on Ralu's face showed clearly that she didn't have a clue what he was getting at.

"Sorry, I must not have gotten as much rest as I thought I had."

"You are sorry that I do not understand or sorry that you drink coffee?"

"You might as well get used to this," Jake said, his head propped up on his elbow. "It will take you a lifetime to get your point across. Almost every explanation leads to another question."

"Yes, I can see that. It's something that I know. Sorry Ralu. I will try to be more patient with you. A lot of the words I use don't have any real meaning for you. That makes it hard to say what I want to say. Like right now. As to your first question, we should be able to go outside in about the same amount of time as it took us to fly here yesterday."

"That I understand," Ralu added, shaking her head affirmatively.

"Good. That's one mystery solved."

"How are you feeling?" Norm asked Jake before Ralu could ask about mysteries.

"Pretty good actually. Stiff and sore, but that is to be expected."

"Good morning, Neytiri." Norm added when she sat up and looked over at him. The frown that came and went quickly did not escape his notice.

"Good morning to you," she repeated. Jake had taught her several of the customary human greeting rituals. She applied them as best she could remember.

When Norm sat up, Ralu jumped down to race over and scramble up on her mother's gurney, where she gave her a huge hug. All Norm could think of was how natural they looked together. The bond between them was very strong. A small pang of regret passed through him that he would never have that kind of a bond now that Karen was gone. Rising he went to look in the basket of food he and Ralu had picked yesterday for something to eat.

Author's Note:

Another shorter post, but the story keeps unfolding.

For those of you who have reviewed, Thanks. As always I enjoy hearing from you, so please review when you can.

Enjoy.