"Corporal?"

Jennifer looked up from the book she'd been reading and was completely surprised to find a familiar face there. "Colonel Tucker?" She'd only met the colonel once, when she and her Resistance group was headed to Eden. Jennifer knew she was an old friend of Hawk's, and he'd told her a few stories since they'd met up with them.

The older woman in the doorway smiled. "Yes – but please, call me Vi. I wasn't sure you'd remember me. May I come in?"

"Yes, please," Jennifer said immediately, marking her page and setting the book down.

"You look like you're doing well," Vi said, looking Jennifer over appraisingly. She had very little color, and the way she was laying against the bed told Vi that she was tired. But considering how she'd arrived… "I'd heard someone from Matt's team had been brought here in pretty bad shape. I tried to come check on you earlier, but they weren't really letting you have visitors for a little while."

"They tell me I'm doing much better. I guess I am – I can do a little more without being exhausted now." Jennifer shook her head. "I just still can't believe what tires me out – reading, writing letters –"

"And having visitors, I'm sure, which is why they limited you for a while. It's hard, I know. Soldiers don't make very good patients," Vi smiled. "But hopefully I can help you break up the monotony a bit. I hear you took down Dread's newest toy."

"Not before he about took me down," Jennifer said ruefully. "He found a way to track us to our base – he ambushed me."

Vi looked concerned. "The others?"

"I was the only one there. To be completely honest, I shouldn't be here at all. The only reason I am is that Blastarr digitized me."

Vi shuddered. "I hadn't heard that considered a blessing before, but I guess if it means you're here, it's a good thing."

"Yeah, I'm not really used to considering it a good thing, either, but it in the end it's the only reason I'm not buried under the rubble of the base."

Vi looked at her sympathetically. "It's gone, huh?" Jennifer nodded. "I wonder how the rest of them are holding up," she mused.

Jennifer looked at the door to make sure they were still on their own. "Actually, I've gotten a letter from them thanks to the courier who brought me here. He felt bad that they wouldn't know how I was doing, and he's been meeting them to take letters back and forth the past few weeks. It sounds like they're doing alright, though it's tough not having a home to go to at the end of a mission."

"A courier carrying letters, huh?" Vi smiled. "Let me guess…is it Mark Davis?" When Jennifer nodded again, she chuckled. "You'd never know what a softie that guy is from looking at him."

"Don't let him hear you say that." Kelly came in quietly and shut the door behind her. "Are you giving our secret out, Corporal?" she teased.

"Kelly, this is Vi Tucker. We met before she came here. She's an old friend of Hawk's, and she came to check in on me."

"Oh, good, someone else gets to help me keep her busy," Kelly drawled. "This one is not the most placid of patients." She actually got a good look at Vi, and recognized her. "You were here right after Jennifer got out of the regenerator, weren't you?"

"Yes, I believe you asked me to leave," Vi grinned at her. "But you also told me when I could come back, so I won't hold it against you."

Kelly laid a tray on the table in front of Jennifer. "Time for lunch, my dear."

Jennifer sighed. "You know, since I can't get up and do anything, I don't really have much of an appetite. But you keep bringing me trays full of food."

"That's because the doctor wants you to gain weight, Jennifer. You were pretty undernourished when you got here."

"She was a Resistance soldier," Vi said simply. "Fresh food is more than a luxury – it's next to impossible to find. There were days we were lucky to find some old MRE's." But she, too, was looking Jennifer over closely. "You could use some more meat on your bones, however," she agreed.

"So much for you being on my side," Jennifer joked. "Ok, what did you bring me today?"

"Some fresh bread, some fruit, and vegetable soup," Kelly said, taking the lid off with a flourish. She watched Vi sniff at the tray and make a face. "I know, I know – it's hospital food. It's not gourmet. But she's got to eat to gain weight if she ever wants out of here."

"It's a step up from plain broth," Jennifer admitted.

"Hmmm…I have someone who might be able to help with that," Vi said. "How long until her diet isn't restricted?"

"They're going to let her start trying a little more tomorrow, actually," Kelly said. "They want to see how her system handles it, then they'll release the restrictions."

"Good – I'll be sure to bring some real food in in the next few days," Vi stated simply. "Now, if you don't mind some company while you eat –"

"That would be wonderful," Kelly said with a wink at Jennifer. "That way you can be the one nagging her to keep eating." She grinned at the face she got from her patient.

"I think I can do that," Vi smiled, pleased to see the comfort level between the two. Matt had explained to her a little of Jennifer's past when they'd met up last year, and she knew that it might not be easy for the young woman to make friends. Apparently, she'd ended up in the right care. "Will it help if I tell you stories about the Major from back when?"

Jennifer's eyes twinkled. "That would definitely take my mind off the fact that I have no real appetite."

"That settles it, then," Vi said, settling back in the chair. Kelly watched as she made herself comfortable. It would be good for Jennifer to have more visitors now that she could handle it. It would keep her occupied, and she could continue to build her strength up. Kelly knew how lonely her patient had been.

"Now, did Matt ever tell you about the time he got caught sneaking a keg of ale back to the barracks by his commanding officer?"

Dear Jon,

Yes, I really am alright. Yes, I really am writing this. I hear you needed a little reassuring when the courier gave you my letters last week that they were really from me. Writing still tires me out – can you believe it? Writing! It's so frustrating. But I thought seeing my handwriting might help you believe it really is me. I don't want you to keep worrying.

Things are going pretty well. They're not giving me much of a chance to do anything here, and I haven't really seen much yet. Kelly, one of the nurses here, tells me she'll get me up and outside as soon as they let her. She keeps telling me that I have really only been here three weeks, and one of those was mostly spent in the stage 3 regenerator, so I need to be patient. You know that was never one of my strong points. I hate being still. The only good thing is that Kelly is supplying me with books, and she said she's trying to find me some music to listen to. I guess that's one thing I'll be able to do while I'm here – I can catch up on my reading. They must have an amazing library here. Kelly says she can get me pretty much anything I want. But I could really use a good game of chess right now!

Tell Hawk that Vi says hello. She's been coming to see me every day. She says that as soon as the doctors will let her, she's bringing me some "real food." Apparently, she runs a boarding house of sorts for people who have recently relocated here, and she has a pretty good cook working for her. I guess her group worked to renovate a larger building to stay in, and as some of them moved on to places of their own she started offering rooms to others. She swears she never saw herself doing this, but it's worked out for her. It's nice to have a few friendly faces to talk to – I've started to look forward to her visits. She's pretty determined that I'm going to stay at her place while I'm recuperating, before I come home. She says she understands that I want to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.

I miss you guys. Almost everyone here has been really friendly, but they're not my family. I realized I've never been away from all of you for an extended period of time since I left the Youth. I'll be fine, but it's different. It's not home here. Of course, we don't have a home anymore, do we? I wonder if you've found someplace to rest and be safe yet. I hate that you're having to scrounge for cover and I'm being waited on hand and foot. I'd rather be there with you guys, helping out however I can. But I guess the fastest way I can do that is to get better so I can come back. So I'll do that.

Kelly is telling me it's time to rest. They keep me on a pretty tight leash here. She says I need to tell you "You're welcome," because she's sure you're thanking her as you're reading this. I'll write some more later.

Love,

Jennifer

Jon smiled as he finished Jennifer's latest letter. He set off to find Hawk and pass on word that Vi had contacted Jennifer.

"Hawk?"

"In here, Jon." Jon followed his voice to a storage closet off the main hallway that led to the sleeping quarters. "It's like going on a treasure hunt," Hawk said as Jon found him. "You never know what you're going to find." Hawk moved a box to the floor from a shelf so that he could search through it better. "Your dad thought of a lot of things we'd need, but some of this stuff is a little confusing. For example, what did he think we would do with a dozen mops? They're sitting there in the corner," he laughed, jerking his thumb towards the back of the closet. Stuart Power had set this base up in secret, but his purpose for doing it was unknown. Some things they found made Jon think his father really was making contingency plans. Some things made him think that Stuart Power considered this a last resort hideout in case things went drastically wrong. Then again, some things – like the mops – made him think that the Northstar base was merely a storage area for things he didn't know what else to do with.

"Maybe he thought we would need to clean up a particularly big mess," Jon smiled. "Hey – I finished one of Jennifer's letters. She said she'd had a visitor."

"Vi?" Matt's face broke into a grin. "I wondered if she'd hear. A place like that can't be too big. I'm glad – it's a somewhat familiar face for Jennifer, even if they only met once. It has to help. How's Pilot doing, anyway?"

"Still confined to her bed, and still going stir crazy." The two men shared a grin over the young woman they knew so well. They'd tried to contain her in the medbay too many times to not understand the hospital's frustration. "Kelly is apparently bringing library books to her."

"Well then, at least it's something she can enjoy. She can get caught up on reading all those books she always talked about, as long as they have them there." Matt finished going through the box and returned it to the shelf. Nonchalantly, he asked, "Does she say anything else about Vi?"

Jon grinned. "As a matter of fact, she said to tell you Vi said hello. Apparently, she's running some kind of boarding house for people who are just relocating to Eden."

"Really?" Matt shook his head and laughed. "It would give her a chance to get to know everyone, and plenty of people to visit with. Sounds like something Vi would be great at." He pulled another box down only to find that it was taped shut. "Jon? This one is marked personal. Maybe you want to go through it?"

Jon looked down at the box. Personal? "These are Dad's things?" he asked quietly.

"Looks like it," Matt responded. When Jon didn't move, he elbowed him. "Jonathon, I don't think it'll bite you."

Jon cracked a small smile. "I know. It's just…Scout and I have to head out soon to meet Cypher to see about getting some of the parts we need for a few of the unfinished projects we found in the hangar. I'd like to take some time with this…maybe I'll just put it in my quarters for now."

Matt smiled at him knowingly. "Don't put it off too long, Jon. And," he added, laying a hand on his young friend's arm, "if you want some company when you are ready, you know where to find me." He caught a glimpse of Jennifer's letter in Jon's hands. "What's this? A handwritten letter? I don't think even my grandfather hand-wrote his letters to my grandmother. You guys are going the old fashioned route, huh?"

Jon's smile became more genuine. "She thought maybe it would make me feel better if I saw her handwriting – help me believe it's really her."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah," Jon said. "She knows me pretty well."

"That she does," Matt chuckled. "So, are you going to write her back? I mean, write her back?"

"I think I will. I should be able to scrounge up some paper around here somewhere."

"I tell you what – I'll probably find some in one of these old boxes," Matt laughed. "If I do, I'll drop that one off in your quarters as well."