Jon paced restlessly at the rendezvous point. He had come alone today – the rest of the team was still gathering supplies before they headed north to the site Mentor had indicated when they'd finally been able to bring him online. A part of him still couldn't believe that his father had planned for a disaster like the destruction of the Power base. The secrecy that had surrounded the building of the first base was difficult to achieve as it was. To think that there was an entire base somewhere that no one had known about – not even Matt! If they were able to settle back into a secure "home", it would mean a lot. As he'd told Jennifer in his letter, they really had experienced a rude awakening when they didn't have a base to return to.

Now, however, all he wanted was to see Mark Davis come around that rock and tell him that Jennifer was still doing well. He had looked forward to meeting him all week – sometimes, when he was really tired, it was all that got him through the task at hand. He didn't know how to adequately express to Davis what this meant to him – to have some kind of contact with Jennifer, even though she was so far away…or, at least he thought she was so far away. He supposed in reality that she could have been ten miles away right now, hidden under some kind of massive cloaking device, for all he knew about Eden's location. Vi and the Wardogs had said they were heading north…wouldn't it be ironic if Eden was somehow near the new base? Though, given the coordinates that Mentor had given them, he didn't see how any type of paradise could survive in that area.

The sound of footsteps brought him back to reality. He put a hand on his blaster, but didn't raise it as Mark came around the corner. "Well, Captain, this welcome is a bit of an improvement," the man said with a smile. Jon couldn't help but smile back. Davis seemed like one of those genuinely friendly people that he seldom met anymore. The wars had driven that kind of personality trait deep underground out here. Maybe living in Eden made it a little easier…but he couldn't imagine that being a courier for this "underground railroad" they'd been told about was all that safe.

"Davis. Thanks again for meeting me."

"Not a problem, Captain. We're kind of on our own out here, as long as we get to our pick-up location on time. Too dangerous to actually contact anyone back home. So this little side trip won't arouse any suspicions."

"Your partner ok with it?"

"Richards is ok. He's just a little more cautious, that's all."

"I know that any time you spend out here is risky. I just want you to know that we appreciate the danger, and the chance to get news." Jon's eyes searched Mark's face. "Jennifer…how is she?"

"Aside from already complaining about having to stay in bed? She's doing well," Mark chuckled. "My friend is her primary care nurse most days, and the last time I talked to her she was trying to figure out something to keep the corporal occupied. Medically, she's improving daily. The doctors seem very pleased with her progress, even if the corporal's not. Kelly said that if it wasn't for the fact that Chase can't physically get out of bed on her own yet, she'd be tempted to strap her down."

Jon found himself chuckling, as well. He could hardly believe it - Jennifer was doing well enough that she was bored! He knew it was tough for her. They had never been able to keep her still when she'd been injured. But she couldn't get out of bed..."So she's still pretty weak?" he asked.

"Yes, there was a lot of damage. The doctors weren't kidding when they estimated that it would take months, Captain. Kelly was heading to the library to get her some books today."

"That will help – Jennifer loves to read," Jon agreed.

Mark took a reader from his satchel. "I think you might enjoy reading this particular piece," he said with a sly smile. "Kelly had your corporal dictate a little something for you. From what she told me, they're pretty short because she's still building up her strength, but there are several letters in there." He watched Jon as his whole face lit up, and he knew that he was doing the right thing with these little "side trips," as Richards grumblingly referred to them. He could've just presented Jon with the key to destroying Dread, and he didn't think he'd get a better reaction out of him.

"These are from her?" he asked, incredulous.

"Unless you know anyone else in Eden that would be writing to you," Mark laughed. "Apparently your letter was a hit – she reads it over quite often," he teased. "So, yes, this is from her. Like I said, they're short because she tires so easily. But Kelly thinks she wanted to give you some of the reassurance that your letter gave her."

"That would be like her," Jon said softly. Mark could see that the man was itching to turn the reader on, so he decided to depart. "Gotta get a move on, Captain. Oh – it's probably not a good idea to keep meeting in the same place at the same time. Dread likes predictable, you know. So I added a new set of coordinates into the reader's memory banks – same day next week, slightly different time, different place. Does that work for you?"

Jon forced his attention from imagining what was in Jennifer's letters back to the man in front of him. "What? Oh, yes – I agree. A little variety will make it safer. You're sure this is still ok?"

"Yes, Captain. I promise, I'll let you know if it becomes a problem. But for now, consider it my little contribution to keeping morale up in the Resistance." He winked, and offered Jon a hand. "Until next week?"

"Until next week," Jon agreed, shaking Mark's hand firmly.

Mark sent a last look over his shoulder at Jon before he rounded the bend – he was sitting on the skybike with the reader in his hand, unable to wait to read at least one of Jennifer's letters.

Dear Jon,

Thank you for thinking to send the letter! I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't get out of bed, but hearing from you snapped me out of it. I'm doing better. They've lowered the dose of painkillers to the smallest amount they can give me, and I'm barely even uncomfortable. They don't like the idea of me being uncomfortable at all, but I don't like sleeping for an entire day, so we've come to a bit of an understanding. They've told me that it will be a week or so before I can start therapy. If I don't go crazy from sitting in this bed the entire day before that, I'll be surprised. The nurses and doctors here are very nice…they're just not you guys.

I hope you're ok, and that you're not worrying too much about me. I'm sorry this letter won't be as long as yours, but apparently just reading a letter, sipping some broth, and dictating a letter back are a bit much for me right now. I'm being told that if I don't go and get some rest now, my nurse will take the reader away until I've learned to behave myself. So I'm going to try and be cooperative. I'll talk to you again soon, though. I'd like to send a few of these back with the courier when he meets you next week.

I miss you.

I love you,

Jennifer.

Jon read the words over and over again, drinking in the fact that it was Jennifer and she was alive and able to do something as simple as dictate a letter into a reader for him. He could just picture her there, going stir-crazy because she was stuck in bed. Her nurse sounded like someone who knew how to get things done, though – it was probably exactly what was needed. Jennifer wasn't exactly the easiest patient. He skimmed his thumb over the closing. That probably wasn't the easiest thing for Jennifer to say out loud when he wasn't there, but it was exactly what he needed to hear.

He stood up and carefully packed the reader into the storage compartment on the bike. He would read the rest later on, when he was back in the relative safety of the jumpship. He and the team had work to do so that they could hopefully get a new base online. Jennifer needed a new home when she came back to them. And now, after reading her words and "hearing" her voice as he read them, he could finally believe she would be coming home. With new energy, he powered up the skybike and headed back to the others to share the good news.