Chapter 31

"Would you call me after the 12th, let me know it worked and that you got Dean back?" Haley asked, as Sam finished putting her breast milk in the cooler they gotten while they were buying the Thermos bottles.

Sam looked up and smiled at her. "Sure. It may take a couple of days, but I will." She grabbed him into a hug. "But, you've got to promise me you'll never tell Dean the dog's name." She let go of him, smiling back at him.

She turned to where Amelia was holding Deanna. "It was nice to meet you?" She asked/said. "I'm not sure what you say to a goddess."

"Well, I'm going to say, Thank You. For helping us, for letting me hold your beautiful daughter and for helping save my pretty little planet. You will do remarkable things with your research on solar energy." Amelia said as she handed the baby back to Haley, and then she kissed her cheek. Haley felt a surge of energy pass through her as Amelia kissed her.

"What was that?" She asked surprised.

"Just a blessing, from one mother to another." Amelia said, and then went around the car to get in the passenger seat.

"Good Luck." Haley called as Sam also got into the car. They both waved back at Haley as they drove off.

X

Sam headed them east out of Bowling Green, towards Canton. They had all day to get across the state, so he decided to forego the interstates again. He wished they could head up to Wisconsin, to see Mike and Lucas, but he had no way to safely reach Jody to tell her the change in plans. The radio news was still talking about the sightings of Amelia, but now they were also talking about the freak lightning storm last night. There was no mention of their car or her being with anyone else, which Sam took as a good sign.

He wished he had one of Bobby's old police scanners. Just because the police hadn't announced a BOLO to the media, for him or the Tahoe, didn't mean they weren't holding that back from the public. Two days ago, Amelia would have heard his thoughts and already known what he wanted to ask her. Now, he didn't think she was even paying attention to him. He didn't want to upset her, but he needed to know. "Amelia? Do you think you can hear the police radio signals?" She looked at him. "I want to make sure they don't know what kind of car we're driving."

She closed her eyes for a few minutes; he assumed doing what he had asked. That she hadn't been upset at asking her to be his personal police scanner had him worried. Amelia had been remote since last night; like she had disengaged herself from any emotional involvement. And, there was the way she reacted when Haley asked if she got lonely. Was that what she was doing; distancing herself from him? Was she trying to prevent the pain of separation by pretending she didn't feel anything? He surprised himself, but he missed the warm and caring, and just as often frustrating and intrusive, goddess.

Amelia opened her eyes after several minutes. "I'm sorry, Sam. There is just too much noise out there, I couldn't hear anything clearly."

"It's OK. Thanks for trying." They went back to driving in silence when it occurred to him he hadn't eaten anything since the muffins this morning, he wasn't sure if Amelia had eaten at all. "Why don't I find us someplace to have lunch?"

"Sure, that's probably a good idea."

With the renewed media interest in 'the mysterious Amelia', she waited in the car while Sam grabbed lunch. He drove until he found a place he could pull off the road and they could eat. He got out the tarp he had bought, to cover the sunroof opening at night, and laid it out for them to sit and have their lunches. They sat in silence until they had both nearly finished.

"Amelia?" He paused until she looked at him. "Can you tell me happened last night?"

"I told you, I cast a spell to protect your friends."

"Yeah. No. I don't mean that." He didn't want to upset her, or worse, piss her off; but he wanted to know. "You just seem so different." He stopped and waited for her to reply; when she didn't, he continued. "Are you really that mad that I broke out of the car?" She still didn't say anything.

Amelia knew he wasn't going to stop asking until she told him something. She hated treating him this way; and now he thought it was his fault. It was one thing to distance herself from him emotionally, but she wasn't going to let him take on her burden. She thought of the advice Apsu had given her this morning after Sam had left the imprisoned god's dimension. 'There is only one test that ever matters, and only one being that can judge you; you. Are you being true to yourself?'

Maybe that was the test, knowing who she really was, why she was here and following her heart wherever it led; no matter how much it would hurt when she left the beloved planet, and him behind. If the One had put her here, with him, as a test of her character; she would show him her true character. Like all good mothers, she'd fight and do the right thing for the ones she loved. Being cold and withdrawn from Sam was definitely not who she was or the right thing to do. She felt the heaviness leave her heart and finally answered him.

"I told you I thought the One was testing me? And I thought I was failing the test?" She paused and Sam nodded. "Well, I think the test wasn't just my lack of protecting the women at risk. It was also of my character and how I was reacting to you." She saw his puzzled look. "I can't believe I'm going to say this again, but it is hard to explain. Last night and earlier today, I thought I had to change my behavior, to avoid becoming close to you, to pass this test. But Apsu gave me some good advice; I have to be true to who and what I am because that is the only real test of character."

Something suddenly occurred to her. "Sam, I may have been wrong about Apsu's curse not being destined for you to remove." It was suddenly all becoming clearer to her as she spoke. "I think it may have been the One's intention to bring us together all along. He would know I couldn't help but love you." Tears started forming in her eyes; the cruelty of the test overwhelming her.

Sam sat and watched the goddess, he could see it in her face that something horrible just occurred to her, and tears started rolling down her cheeks. He didn't understand exactly what she was talking about, but he understood the heavy burden of destiny and tests of character. 'Wait, did she just say she loves me?' "What?"

She turned away to hide her face, and it all came pouring out of her. "I was so worried I was failing the test because I was envious of the life Amelia Stone will have after I leave. Envy is not something I've ever experienced before. In all my lives, I have never begrudged my vessels the benefits I leave behind after my going. Amelia will stay here and be happy and loved, and have children and grandchildren. I will go back to wherever it is I go and wait to be called. Haley was right, it is a lonely existence." She stopped and swiped at the tears on her face before facing him. "I was going to shut myself off from my feelings for you, thinking maybe it wouldn't hurt so much later. But hiding from the truth isn't who I am; and I see now, it's too late." She stopped talking. If she said anything more, she would end up telling him everything.

He sat there not knowing what to say. He suddenly felt a drop of rain hit his hand and looked up to see heavy rain clouds had formed while they were talking. "Crap. I think we're about to get drenched." He glanced at Amelia, a sheepish grin on his face. "I guess breaking out the sunroof wasn't such a smart idea."

Amelia flashed him a smile, a real smile, as she rolled her eyes. "You think?" She said as they gathered up the remnants of their lunch and the tarp and ran back to the car. Nothing had changed and nothing had been resolved; the test and her future were, as always, in the One's hands. But she knew who she was again and what she was put here to do, and she was going to do whatever she had to reach their goals. And as far as she was concerned, she had passed her test, because she was following her true nature. Pun intended. She actually laughed when she remembered the commercial from the 70's that she hated so much. 'It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.'