Fire and Rain
Today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way
"Hey" he smiled as she answered their daily minute long facetime session
"Hey" she giggled "Dare I ask?"
"It's still raining" he laughed
"It's the twenty seventh day"
"It's the Amazon rain forest" he laughed "That's all it does"
"Did you get any sleep yesterday, are you still coughing?"
"Yes and no" he laughed "How are you holding up?"
"I miss you, but I'm busy, I've been in the studio the whole day in preparation for you coming home tomorrow"
"You found your mojo?" he smiled "How's the..."
"Hot as hell" she turned the camera for him to see the sun creating waves in the air "And it's nine in the evening"
"Want to swap?"
"And what, get my hair wet, are you joking?" she asked looking around the bedroom "Our bed feels lonely"
"I miss our bed" he frowned "One more sleep"
"I can't wait, what are you doing tonight?"
"The last of the harvesting, it's good stuff"
"Whatever floats your boat" she laughed at his excitement
"You float my boat"
"You always know the right thing to say" she giggled
"You always know the right thing to do" he wiggled his eyebrows at her "Can't wait to get home"
"You better get back in sync sharpish, I can't have you sleeping for too long when you get home"
"Hopefully I won't be sleeping at all" he laughed
"Promises" she warned
"Sam" someone in the background called
"Is that Q?"
"Yeah, I guess it's food time"
"Say hello to everyone for me"
"Sam" Jessie called with some urgency
"Babe, I got to go, sounds like something's happening"
"We didn't get a minute"
"I'll try in the morning before we fly, love you"
"Love you" she snapped as the line went dead, rolling her eyes at the pieces of her man she was getting right now, she hated when he went on expeditions, but she loved when he came home more.
Brazil
"Jess?" Sam walked out of the tent smiling
"Sorry I broke one of the tripods"
"Shit" he rushed towards the specimen tent to check what had happened "It was a water extract" he came out smiling with relief "I've asked everyone to keep out of here, if it's not necessary" he stood in front of Jessie frowning "You mean Rachel broke it?"
"I mean I've cooked a mean bean stew to make up for it" he grabbed his shoulder and led him over to the kitchen tent "I'll see you in there" he walked off in the direction of his tent
Sam was with a research team in Brazil, getting some plant extract, on a smaller research project they'd found out it could be used effectively to reduce the onset of Dementia. It was a trip that was close to his heart having watched, along with his family, his grandmother's struggle with the disease until her passing eight years ago. He was in tropical heat with constant rain, something you had to experience to understand how it messed with your body, and blurred your belief of a world you thought you were familiar with. It lived up to its name, there was rain every day for the four weeks he'd been there and at high noon that just made for more heat, so, they worked mainly at night.
There were six of them on this expedition, four men and two women, living on the five tent camp site; the two couples had their quarters, while Sam shared with Artie, they weren't single, but they'd worked together for many years. Sam was in charge of collecting and storing all the extracts, while Artie was the lead in the expedition, a specialist in species of wild flowers, he'd travelled in his lifetime, and of late he'd decided to find the time to fit someone else into his life, he kept his life with Tina private.
Newcomers to the team were Rachel and Jessie St James, they were an odd couple if ever Artie and Sam had ever seen one, he was there to cook, and that was more than appreciated as Artie couldn't and Sam was fed up of doing it at the end of a hard nights work. Rachel on the other hand seemed to just read maps, and check the overalls, everyone could do that, so they couldn't see the point, Artie's money was on them being that rich they could dictate on that, or maybe there were trust issues, Sam didn't want to get into it.
Quinn and Puck; who they'd worked with once before, were the technicians, there was no room to carry back absolutely everything they harvested, so it made sense that they were there to test and discard, of any unnecessary specimens. Sam and Artie were surprised to see them back, because on their last meeting the couple had talked about children, settling down having lost the passion for the job, and now they were back, more enthused than they'd ever been.
"Everything alright at home?" Quinn asked, smiling as she brought him his meal, and put another full bowl on the table
"Usual, missing home" he smiled "Thanks" he took the bowl from her and sat at the table
"I don't know how you two do it" she smiled, setting two more bowls on the table "That's why I had to marry someone in the business" she smiled at Puck "I couldn't imagine being away from him for four weeks"
"It's easier now I can choose my expeditions, plus she gets busy too" Sam smiled before tucking into his meal
"You two need to take the plunge" Puck walked up behind her telling him, with the last two bowls in his hand
"We'll get round to it. I'm sure, but we're good as we are for now" Sam assured him
"Nyla will be in college by the time you two decide to change anything about your life" Quinn laughed
"Whatever we end up being to each other, she's well looked after" Sam laughed
"Get off the guys back, not everyone's set up for marriage" Jessie walked towards the table telling them, sitting in front of a bowl as he spoke "You're always on his back, maybe that's the reason it hasn't gone any further"
"It isn't" Sam smiled "But thanks for having my back"
"So, what's the hold up?" Rachel, the inquisitive one, walked in asking
"When we're ready" Sam snapped at her, he wasn't about to be the subject of the hour with these people, his relationship with his partner and their child was nobody's business but theirs
"Okay" Artie walked in taking the last place at the table "So, I guess the conversation of the hour is, when are you guys going to hang your hats up and start that family, you said you were craving, the last time we were on expedition together" he finally broached the subject on his mind all month
"We've had to rethink on that, because we've got a couple more bookings before we can even start thinking about the family thing?" Puck looked at Quinn nervously
Sam sensing the mood shift in the room replied "Can this conversation not focus on anything at all"
"I agree with Sam" Jessie smiled at him "Music, what about music?"
"Not..." Sam looked around the table and thought it best not to say what was in his head
"Great move" Quinn jumped in
After dinner they settled into listening to Rachel sing, it wasn't as much fun as being in a venue with lots of other people and real music. Sam was sure that after fifteen minutes, of entertainment they'd heard more than enough of Rachel's voice, even she must have realised it could get a bit jarring, nevertheless for now it was entertainment, and it was the last night. With packing, sleeping and chilling in from the rain, the evening went fast, they were more than relieved when eleven o'clock finally came and they could go off to do their last night's work
Washington
Mercy sat at the piano after a full day, firstly at the studio, and then entertaining Nyle, it was way after midnight, and with the excitement of Sam coming home, she couldn't settle, so she was still trying to perfect her rendition of 'Cause You Love Me Baby' by Deniece Williams as well as her album, she was set to play the lady in a film musical in a few months' time and needed perfection, Sam was no help everything she did he said was perfection.
"Sweetheart" she smiled at seeing their daughter stood in the doorway "Did I wake you?" she got up to go hug the eight-year-old
"No" Nyla rubbed her sleepy eyes "The bright light outside woke me up"
"What bright light?" Mercy looked out the window, shocked at the halo of flame in the distance, she went over to the television to see exactly what was happening out there, damning herself for not turning it on when she arrived home that evening
...'A wildfire which started burning out of control nearly two days ago near Holcomb, has forced thousands of people out of their homes, it's said to have been fuelled by the warming condition coming from the Pacific. The fire is moving fast and is threatening to break containment lines, moving towards Longacre having already charred around an estimated one thousand, five hundred acres' helicopters showing aerial views of the affected area frightened her 'Residents of Longacre need to leave the area and head east away from the fire...'
"Sweetheart we need to go visit Aunt Brittany" she turned to Nyla smiling
"Can I bring Bono?"
"Of course," Mercy looked at the elderly Labrador wondering how she was going to manage him to the car, she watched Nyla mount the stairs before she made an attempt to get Bono in the car, she ended up dragging the basket outside and lifting him into the cage in the back of the car, before grabbing his bowls, food, and lead. "Ready?" she smiled at Nyla appearing with two dolls and her tablet
"I've got all my prize possessions" she laughed
"Sweetheart" she smiled hugging her, looking around at all the things she was thinking of carrying, she ran upstairs got the box with all their paperwork in, some sentimental jewellery they kept, grabbed a picture of them all and a throw from the couch on the way out "Come on" she left the house, throwing the few items on the back seat before making sure Nyla was strapped in "Ready?" she asked before turning on the engine to start their Journey, Nyla heading for the radio to do her usual singalong,
"I love this one" Nyla screamed singing louder
Every time I pull my hair, well, it's only out of fear, that you'll find me ugly and one day you'll disappear because
What's the point of crying? It was never even love, did you ever want me? Was I ever good enough?
The-the boy's a liar, the boy's a liar, he doesn't see ya, you're not looking at me, boy 'The Boys a Liar' by Pink Pantheress
"Not all boys are liars sweetheart"
"I know, daddy doesn't lie" she looked at her mother like she should know that "And it's just a song Mom"
"As long as you know that"
An hour into a twenty five minute, five and a half mile, journey they'd done just over two miles and the halo of red an orange flame seemed to be getting closer, their vision getting denser as the burning ember filled the air, Mercy gripped the wheel and turned the radio up to keep Nyla occupied. The sky looked as if it were dooms day, not even the moon could be seen, the burning glow larger than the moon had ever been lighting up the night, streetlights missing and traffic in both lanes going in the same direction, she wouldn't admit it, but she was scared.
She knew the roads well, but the lack of streetlights made it a scary place to be, especially with a fire raging behind them and traffic going at a snail's pace ahead. There were people walking, it was a popular area for hiking, Sam usually did it when he was home, she was happy he was out of town right now.
She shocked herself with that thought, remembering she hadn't even called him to tell him what was happening. She stopped the car and turned to search for her phone, they weren't moving fast anyway but everyone started banging on their horns telling her to move, she took the handbrake off and carried on, she could call him when they got to safety.
"Can we put the news on for a minute sweetheart, see what's happening with that glow"
"You mean the fire mom" she rolled her eyes at her mother trying to protect her from the reality of what was happening "I know it's a forest fire mom, we talk about them at school, they happen were we live"
"I'm glad you know Sweetheart" she turned the volume up and changed the station
…'Blazes are leaving a glow all over the region, sparked we believe by the usual combination of drought and record-breaking heat. To date at least six of the largest forest fires that have broken out in the past eight years has been in the area, and again the people of Washington ask the age-old question, what is being done to save their homes, livelihoods, and lives...'
"If I wasn't seeing this, I'd think I was in a movie" Mercy shook her head and carried on driving, thinking trust this to happen the first time in nearly two years she'd finally had alone time with Nyla. They'd had twenty seven uninterrupted days, apart from school together, done all sorts of girly things, but a natural disaster wasn't on the itinerary. They'd taken the scenic route home, past the playground today, gone along the ocean line and through the rock tunnel, missing all the leafy forest on the other side of their house, and in not putting the television on they'd missed all the drama, they would have been doing this journey much earlier had she just gone the usual routine.
"Mom" Nyla suddenly looked up from her tablet
"Yes Sweet?"
"Laith at school said that some fires can suck all the oxygen out the air and make you suffocate, is that true?"
"I don't think so sweet, there's a lot of oxygen out there"
"Are you sure?" she looked at her mother "I mean how do you know it's not true?"
"Because it's not possible sweet, there's just too much oxygen in the air" it felt like a fact, but to be honest it wasn't something Mercy had ever had to think about, so even as she answered she was questioning herself, these millennia kids were something else, she looked at her daughter still questioning. "I think Laith meant if you don't get any oxygen then you can suffocate"
"Oh" she looked at Mercy "Isn't that what I said?"
"Maybe it was Sweet" Mercy brushed Nyla's hair back off her face, smiled and carried on driving
Brazil
"Brilliant" Sam smiled at the specimens he'd collected taking the last lot off Artie "I'll just bottle these ready for the journey" he told him watching the others walk off towards their quarters, everyone's mind on last minute packing
"Need company?" Artie asked
"No, I'll listen to the radio"
"Half an hour max" Artie reminded him
"I'm not about to drain the generator" he walked into the tent, threw his raincoat on the floor and stepped out of the waterproof trousers before cranking up the generator for light and the radio. "Just what I needed" he smiled at hearing his girls record on the radio she was hitting it everywhere
Mercy and he had gotten together after a long chase, he'd chased first, got fed up of being knocked back after six months and chased someone else. He'd pretended to be happy for a short while before she started doing the chasing, dropping hints, giving him the come on, and even sent him suggestive messages. Eventually he gave in, asked the question, and she snapped at it, but there were other obstacles along the way, their families didn't agree; her dad had plans for her; or was that his, music career, there were some friends who didn't agree with the blended thing, jealous exes on both sides, but all of it melted into the background when Mercy got pregnant on their first hit.
They thought it would have been news nobody wanted to hear; and for a short while it was, they moved to Washington to be nearer to Brittany, his stepsister, and the only person who had a kind word for them at the time. But when the day came and Nyla arrived everyone flooded in to see her, with flowers, teddies, cards, clothes, it was as if every bad word they'd ever said to the couple was washed away with the birth, she was the centre of everyone's world, eight years on, nothing had changed.
'Residents of Long View have been asked to leave their …'
"What?" Sam jerked out of his thoughts and looked at the radio "Where?" he asked waiting for the guy to repeat himself, it was as if the guy knew he was waiting when he repeated his newsflash "Shit" he left the tent to find the keepers of the phone "Jess" he stood at the opening calling
"Dude" Jess hissed pissed at being disturbed
"I need the phone"
"I thought we agreed..." Jessie's voice impatient
"It's an emergency"
"What's wrong?" Rachel came to the door concerned
"There's a forest fire near our house, I need..." he stopped at Rachel handing him the phone "Thanks" he walked back towards the tent, dialling the number pissed at getting the answer machine straight away "Shit" he closed the call "Of course all the lines will be down" he called Brittany "Hey" his voice full of concern "Have you heard anything from Mercy?"
"No" Brittany's voice just as concerned "The damn thing moved like a thief in the night, I'm assuming she's got out of there and on her way here, but she hasn't called yet"
"I'll call back in an hour" he told her closing the call without any more conversation, his mind slipping to worst case scenarios while his heart pushed the thought away "Somebody would have gotten word to me if something was wrong" he told himself, trying to focus on getting the specimens secured, the five hours to flight seemed like an age away
Washington
Suddenly they were at a standstill, but the fire hadn't stopped gaining milage, they hadn't seen a fire fighter in the four hours they'd been on the road, which wasn't strange as the traffic was going one way in both lanes. "What's the hold up?" she opened the window and shouted at the stagnant traffic, having found the horn was doing nothing.
Her eyes firmly on the rising glow that was rushing towards them, her tank on less than half full, another four hours of this and they'd be stranded. "Sorry" a man came towards the car, walking in the middle of the road "Our car's broken down, we're looking for space for three, can you help?"
"Yes" Mercy shouted as the people in the car next to hers shook their heads, they were packed to the rafters with belongings
"Bless you" he smiled "I'll wheel her down, but we won't take the chair if you can't fit it"
"Sorry the dogs in the back, he's not well"
"That's fine" the man walked off backwards smiling at her "Back in a minute"
It was more than five minutes later when the man returned with a woman Mercy presumed was his wife, and a teenage girl in a wheelchair "Thank you so much" the woman approached the car smiling as Mercy cleared their things off the back seat
"No problem" Mercy smiled back "We can take you as far as Beaver Valley, if we ever get moving"
"We should move now" the guy lifted the girl into the back of the car "They're pushing our car off the road, they're so mad" he frowned "I'm Rupert, this is my wife Isabelle and our daughter Ali"
"You're Mercedes" Ali smiled
"Yes" she looked through her rare view mirror at the girl
"I can't believe you live so near to us, and I didn't know this"
"Not many people do" Nyla pipped in "We try to be private" her voice snappy
"This is Nyla" Mercy giggled at her daughter, watching them shut the back doors and a few minutes later they were on their way, moving faster than they were before
The last time we were in this situation, we didn't even have time to pack the car up, it was close, but we made it out, we were sat in our car tonight thinking God had been good to us this time, and then we run out of gas, but then you turn up, so" Isabelle told them
"I love stories" Nyla turned to look at her "Please tell us what happened last time"
"Sweet" Mercy tried to calm her down
"It's fine, if you don't mind" Isabelle butted in
"Okay" Mercy rolled her eyes, there wasn't much else to do except listen to the doom and gloom on the radio
"It was a night much like tonight only we weren't tucked up in a nice safe car like this, we were in our house upstairs in bed. The smoke alarm went off and I got up to see what was happening, when I opened the door all I could see was black smoke" Isabelle widened her eyes "I shut the door and shouted Rupert, Ali was asleep down the hall, her friend was staying with us too. Rupert got loads of wet towels, we opened the door dropped to the floor and made our way to Ali's room, grateful they were alive. The smoke was blinding, and choking us, but we had to get out"
"Was there fire?" Nyla asked excitedly
"We didn't see any then" Isabelle smiled "Rupert put Ali on his back, I had her friend on mine, covered them in wet towels, and we crawled down the stairs and out the door, the smoke was so thick we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces, we just held onto each other and crawled. Ali started screaming saying her skin was burning, it wasn't, it had just gotten so much hotter when we got outside, we all started shouting help" she looked at Rupert "Then Rupert suggested we go back inside as it was cooler in there, eventually we found a mobile phone and made a 911 call, they told us fire trucks and search and rescue teams were in the area"
"So, did you see the fire?" Nyla asked again
"We did, it wasn't in the distance like this one, it was right up close, and just when we thought all hope was lost., we heard the fire engines coming, someone burst into the house and, well, we're still alive to tell the tale today" Isabelle smiled
"Happy endings, I love happy ending" Nyla smiled
"We're three minutes way from our destination" Mercy told them "Anywhere specific we can drop you off?"
"A hotel anywhere would be good" Rupert smiled
"There's one at the end of this block Ibis I think" Mercy told him
"That will do"
The car finally stopped, Rupert and his family left the car, giving Mercy a final thank you hug before they left their new friends to make the last two blocks of their journey "Thank God" Brittany hugged them as they got out the car "Sam's been out of his mind, and the family have been on the phone none stop"
"He knows?" Mercy asked shocked
"He's been calling every hour on the hour" Brittany pulled Nyla to her grabbing the other side of Bono's bed with Mercy "He's due to call in about ten minutes"
They were sitting telling Brittany about their journey when the phone rang again Mercy jumped up to answer it, unaware she was so desperate to hear her man's voice "Sam?"
"Oh, thank god" he gasped "I didn't want to... are you two alright?"
"We're fine, covered in soot and stinking of smoke, but we're fine"
"My whole life flashed in front of me" his voice broke, then there was silence "Look, I'm about to get on my flight, I'll come straight there, don't move"
"I'm going to get a shower and put Nyla to bed" she giggled "Then I won't move"
"Is she asleep, scared?"
"She's fine, kept me calm, we love you"
"Love you two too, give her a kiss for me"
"Is that daddy?" Nyla was stood next to her asking
"Babe, she wants to talk to you" Mercy handed her the phone and left them to it, smiling at the excitement in her voice, they both seemed satisfied when the conversation ended.
Fifteen hours later Sam was stood on the doorstep hugging the life out of his girls, "I don't know what I'd do if..."
"Nothing's happening to us babe"
"Marry me?"
"What?" she pulled away from him "Do you think that's going to stop us from getting hurt?"
"No" he laughed "I climb the highest mountains for the rarest things, put myself in danger with every step and think nothing of it, but here I am scared of committing to the one thing I'm sure of"
"Sure of?"
"My love for you and Nyle, I don't want to be scared anymore" he pulled her closer "Thinking something had happened to you two for the past day has been hell, I don't want to waste another second"
"Okay, yes I will" she grinned "I was always going to say yes Sam"
"Hotel" he nodded at her "Britt, look after Nyle we'll be back tomorrow" he looked at his daughter "Sweetheart, be good for Aunt Britt" he kissed her forehead
"If I'd have known all it was going to take was a little bit of rain and a fire, I'd have set it up ages ago" Brittany laughed "Enjoy"