#7 – Friends

The museum curator flitted around his office, nervously straightening the pictures on the wall and dusting the chairs for the tenth time. Everything had to be perfect – it wasn't every day one of the subjects of his most popular exhibit stopped by. And she'd said she had a donation for the museum, no less.

Herman Orville decided the office was as tidy as he could make it. He sat behind his slightly-pompous desk and checked the holographic time display on the corner of it – 2:58. Cassie had said she would arrive at three, and as a member of the President's cabinet, she was notoriously punctual.

Less than a minute later, there was a soft knock at the heavy oaken door to the office. "Come in!" he squealed. He did not mean to, but his excitement had destroyed his usual air of confident civility. The door swung open and a woman with a slight smile entered, her hand already extended for the coming handshake. "Good afternoon, Mr. Orville. I'm Cassie Albert; we met once before."

He shook her hand enthusiastically. "Of course, of course, my dear! I know who you are, and I remember our meeting well; you're quite famous, you know."

Her smile became a bit more genuine as she took a seat in the chair Orville indicated. "Yes, you and your museum have a lot to do with that notoriety," she chuckled.

"I'm very glad for the visit," he told her truthfully. "Your assistant did not say what this meeting was concerning, however; he mentioned you would be bringing a donation for our exhibit?" He tried not to sound overly excited at the prospect, and failed completely.

"Yes, sir. Well, I'll be brief." She probably meant the statement to be accommodating and polite, but Orville felt a sense of disappointment. "I've experienced your exhibit on the Resistance, and in large part it's dedicated to the Animorphs."

"Of course it is! Without you, there would have been no Resistance. There would be no museum." He realized for the first time that the visit might not be a good thing, and his confidence faltered. "You do feel we've told your story in the proper way, don't you? You're not displeased with the exhibit in any way?"

She smiled again, and Orville allowed himself to relax a bit. "No sir, I was struck with how well you presented the picture. I found the display to be informative and accurate…but lacking in one small detail. That's what I've brought you; something that will help to complete the puzzle."

"And what piece are we missing, my dear?"

"Your exhibit portrays us to be warriors – and we were. It very candidly expresses our struggle to remain anonymous to the Yeerks and normal to the people in our lives. But it lacks one small detail. One that, over the years, has come to seem – to me, at least – like the most important part of our lives, back then."

She reached into her bag and removed a 4x6 photograph, stared at it nostalgically for a moment, and then slid it across Orville's desk to him. "You see, we were fighters and we were a team. We were insurgents – counterinsurgents, really. We were spies and saboteurs. But, Mr. Orville…we were also friends."

He looked at the photograph, transfixed. It showed all six of the Animorphs. Tobias, who had not been seen since Rachel's memorial service, was present. That was rare – photographs of him were almost nonexistent after his twelfth birthday. Aximili was also present in human morph, which was not quite as rare, but still an exquisite find.

What struck him about the image was their apparent youth. This must have been taken within the first year of their underground resistance – none of them looked to be older than fourteen. Marco still had longer hair, indicative of the earlier time period. In the picture, he was straining to reach high enough to put bunny ears on Jake, who had his arm slung casually around Marco's shoulders. Both of the boys were smiling easily.

Cassie, half the age of the woman sitting in front of him now, was standing beside and slightly behind Jake. She managed to look embarrassed, pleased, and proud all at the same time. Rachel was beside her, giving the Nixon-double-V-for-Victory sign with her fingers. Beside her, Tobias stared awkwardly at the camera, his face surprisingly blank, given that the other Animorphs in the picture seemed to be enjoying themselves. Aximili stood aloof to the side and seemed to be trying to fit what looked like a hairbrush into his ear.

Before he could ask, Cassie spoke softly. "We took that a couple of days after we established the colony of the Free Hork-Bajir. I used a disposable camera; Ax rigged a timing device for it. I never got it developed until after we beat the Yeerks, and even now, I'm not sure why I insisted on it being taken in the first place. I guess I thought that we should leave something behind, to let people know who we had been." Her eyes were far away, and Orville knew she was lost in that magical no-when and nowhere of memory. "It was very important to me that something tangible existed…something to prove we were there, and we were together."

Her eyes unclouded, and she seemed to shake herself back into the present. "Anyway, I thought that it would be a nice addition to your exhibit, Mr. Orville. I want people to know that we were more than just a team. I think they should know that it wasn't hate or fear that kept us together – it was love."

Herman Orville wiped a single tear away from his elderly, lined face, completely moved. He'd seen these five humans and their Andalite comrade as soldiers for so long that he'd forgotten that they had begun as children – and friends. "I'll get to work on the new display immediately," he said, his voice almost a whisper. "This is very important."

Cassie stood, smiling, and shook his hand again. "I was hoping you'd feel that way, Mr. Orville. I look forward to seeing the new exhibit."