A/N: Chapter 25 does complete this story.

Frozen In Time - Rescue

Part XXV - Merger

Over the next several weeks, things between the two trains settled down to a new, but peaceful routine.

It had taken several long talks from everyone from Layton to Knox to Alex herself before Melanie agreed to allow her daughter to go back to Big Alice. But finally convinced that Alex would be reasonably safe since she was not, in fact, Wilford's target all along, and with assurances from Eliah that should Wilford try anything she would be able to get her daughter back over to Snowpiercer safely, Melanie agreed to allow her to continue her routine between the two trains. But while Alex still traveled between the trains, she now spent the majority of her time on Snowpiercer with her mother, a fact most in the engine room swore had improved the head engineer's mood several hundred times over. Working with her daughter simply seemed to start Melanie's day off with a smile that remained part of her expression the entire day.

As for Alex, while slowly and cautiously rebuilding a relationship with her mother, she seemed to also divide her time in the engine room being part of the Horde. Working within a group of a similar mind set to her own interests and age drew the teenager in with little effort. On Big Alice she mostly only had Wilford. His second engineer had definitely not been a favorite of Alex's. The woman's standoffish attitude had for years rubbed Alex the wrong way. But now, knowing who she was and that the woman had placed her own safety on Big Alice on the block as a bargaining tool to allow Alex to move between the trains had softened her opinion of the woman.

But Eliah had pointed out to her that Wilford was no fool and any change in their relationship could spell danger for them both. And just as Eliah continued to show nothing but disdain for her mother when in WIlford's presence, so she would have to do with the teenager. And so the two kept up the pretense of disliking each other so they did not arouse Wilford's suspicions. But on Snowpiercer, the two were far more friendly toward each other, with Alex finding the older woman's own education and ideas an interesting contrast to her mother's.

As for Eliah, she was still granted time over on Snowpiercer even once the issue with the door was fixed. Although she admitted to the others that it appeared Wilford felt he had simply earned himself a new spy in allowing her the time on the other train as he felt Alex's reports were no longer completely truthful. She reported that Wilford openly questioned her each day she came back onboard Big Alice about the happenings on the other train.

"I give him minor information." She explained. "Nothing of any real value. And sometimes," She added with a smile, "I just make things up."

But in return for the lies and the personal danger to herself, Eliah acknowledged one large benefit to being allowed to spend time on Snowpiercer. The only one that seemed to matter to her. Simply being able, after seven long years, to spend time with her father. And while this cut down on the time that her assistant was his usual permanent fixture at her side, Melanie said little about the requests for time off or early departures.

But it still seemed to irk Wilfrod to no end that Alex appeared to enjoy spending more time on Snowpiercer these days rather than with him on Big Alice, and so he slowly began shifting his favoritism to his second engineer, giving her the majority of the projects, disdainfully explaining to Alex's questions about the change in duties that she just seemed to enjoy spending most of her time with 'mummy'.

If Wilford thought this strategy would work for him, he couldn't have been more wrong. All his strategy accomplished was allowing Alex to work more with her mother and get to know her better. Even to the point Melanie had set up the bedroom she had originally planned for her daughter in the cabin, to allow Alex to stay over on Snowpiercer several days in a row now.

As for the other sleeping arrangements in the cabin, Alex never questioned it much as to why her mother slept with Layton and not Bennett. In her plus points column, at least they were quiet and there was nothing that needed explaining in the morning.

For her part, Alex liked her mother's quirky friend. He seemed to easily accept her presence now in the cabin, he was a pretty good cook, and he was, to her delight, not a morning person. This made him the perfect target for her early morning attacks of cheerfulness.

.

But all in all, things seemed for the time being to be running smoothly.

But for Melanie, there were certain matters that, in her mind, still needed to be settled.

One such matter she decided to broach one day as she finished up working the night shift in the engine.

In the calm after the storm following their escape from Big Alice, Hes had spent more than his average amount of time in his personal forge room. He rarely even ventured up to the engine room, seemingly his third favorite place after the forge and the Night Car.

Melanie figured this was simply his way of finding some peace after all that happened. The forge was his 'comfort zone'. Where he was most at home. In that one space he had all he needed to feel safe. His small controlled part of the world.

Only someone who did not care much about facing down the metallurgist's anger would dare venture even to the doorway while Hes was in that room.

But the matter she needed to settle required attention, and she had already put it off long enough.

And so early that morning Melanie ventured down to the forge.

Most of the apprentices were apparently still asleep. It was a Saturday and Melanie suspected most likely Hes had allowed them an early release the day before to go down to the Night Car or wander up to the engine room to meet up with her own Horde.

For most of Hes' apprentices, coming up to the engine room was simply a time to meet with friends and share ideas. But she also knew for a few others the meeting time had a whole different purpose.

As that Hes deeply opposed allowing any females into his apprenticeship program, she had no such qualms and had allowed several to join the Horde. A fact the apprentices in the forge took quick note of. And so late night study sessions or group gatherings started to take on more of a ' mix and mingle' purpose than just meeting up with friends.

Heading down the stairs Melanie gave a small smile as she heard the steady banging coming from the forge room. How any of the apprentices could sleep through such noise she had no idea. But she supposed over time it simply got relegated by them as background noise.

Many of the apprentices Hes had taken in were orphans on the train. It seemed to be one of his greatest requirements when picking out those that would work in his apprenticeships. So she figured to many of them, the forge being the first real, permanent place they had ever known where they were loved and cared for, the sounds of the forge simply reminded them they were home.

Coming into the small room that was Hes' personal forge, Melanie picked up a small metal tube sitting by the door and banged it on the door frame. Hes had arranged this signal after being surprised one too many times by people coming up behind him.

Hearing the sound, the blacksmith gave his usual sign of irritation at being interrupted in his work as his shoulders rose and fell with a deep sigh. Finally he turned slowly to see who was foolish enough to bother him while he was working on his personal projects. But he quickly settled his ire when he saw who it was.

Turning down the blowers on the furnace, Hes quickly stripped off his gloves and apron. This was as presentable as he ever bothered to make himself for visitors.

"Do you always get up so early to start work?" Melanie asked as Hes walked over to her. "The sun isn't even up yet."

Hes looked around the room. "Sun never shines in here. Makes it hard to tell time of day sometimes."

"Surely you haven't been up all night?"

Hes shook his head of red hair. "Woke up early. Figured might as well get bit of work done before little angry breechman comes looking for Hes."

"Angela Makers?" Melanie asked. "Hes, Angela is actually a very nice young woman."

"Then someone needs to take time to tell her this. Because does not seem to be aware of it."

Melanie gave a small smile with a nod. "I'll have a word with her about being a little more understanding when it comes to getting parts from the forge. Heaven knows the last thing this train needs is another revolution."

From his expression Melanie knew talking about the last revolution, small as it was, was not Hes' favorite topic, so she stirred the conversation for the moment to another subject. But as that it was, in part, the reason for her visit, she would have to come back to the subject. But maybe she needed to find another door than the direct approach.

"How is your hand?" She asked.

Keeping his stare fixed on her, Hes lifted his injured hand and flexed it a few times. "Is still sore. Doctor says will be for some time. But is healing. Get requests from strange little doctor on other train also. Sends requests for information on how hand is healing along with requests for new instruments."

"I'm sure Dr. Headwood is interested in how her cure is working, Hes. It is still largely experimental." Melanie answered. Turning to the door behind her, she again shifted her attention to the blacksmith. "Is Marcus back?"

"Aye. Marcus came back yesterday. But is on limited work schedule by doctor."

"That's probably for the best. And the forge is working all right? No issues?"

"Forge is fine."

Hes kept his gaze fixed on her as Melanie stood in front of him, seemingly trying to come up with a new topic. "Pretty little engineer comes saying many things." He finally stated. "But Hes has yet to hear WHY she came."

Melanie gave him a slight smile, trying to bring up the matter carefully. "Well, Hes..., it occurred to me recently...I never paid my debt to you."

Hes stared down at her, his look hardening slightly along with his tone. "Debt was paid."

"No. Layton merely took over my debt."

"Then debt was canceled." Came the same flat answer.

"So Layton said. But I...prefer to pay my debts, Hes. And I would like to settle the debt between us."

Hes paused, then pulled up, crossing his arms in front of him. "How purpose to settle debt then?"

Melanie paused for a moment. "Layton and I were talking last night, Hes." She began carefully. "When Layton appointed me as his second-in-command, it was because of certain events, we came to realize that if something happened to him, the train could easily fall into anarchy with no appointed leader in place. So he made that person me."

"Is good plan. What has to do with Hes?"

"Well, recent events had me finding myself pondering the same question. What would happen to Snowpiercer if something happened to me? If Layton and I were both off the train?"

"Planning trip?"

Melanie gave a small laugh. "No, Hes. But things can and do happen. And sometimes when they do, they happen fast, and it's better to have a plan in place than rely on luck to carry you through."

The blacksmith regarded her carefully still. "Again, what has this to do with Hes?"

Melanie echoed his stance. "What Layton and I were discussing last night, Hes, was the chain of command. And what we discovered was, while we knew how things should naturally fall into place if the situation ever arose we both were unable to lead the train, there was nothing formally in place."

The blacksmith said nothing, but he hard stare remained.

"At the next council meeting Layton agreed, on my recommendation, to present to the council placing you in the position as the third in line to lead the train."

If Melanie was expecting any reaction, good or bad, to her suggestion, Hes disappointed her as he simply stood still, his gaze never changing.

"Well?" She finally asked.

The blacksmith finally turned from her, walking back over to his forge. "Is bad idea." Was all he said.

"Why?"

The blacksmith turned sharply back to face her again. "Have tried being leader before." He reminded her. "No one respected Hes."

"No one was trying to disrespect you, Hes." Melanie replied. "They just didn't know you. This time you'll be given time working more closely with Layton, learning what needs to be done in the role of leadership. You won't just be...dropped in the role. The others will see you as a potential leader now, should it become necessary."

"Have already had taste of 'leadership'." Hes replied firmly. "Did not like it."

Melanie paused, trying to think of another way to present the idea to him. "Hes, you can lead. There is no doubt of that. Look at the forge. YOU built this. The engineers put it together, but you run it. You lead here. Leading the train is no different, just on a bigger scale."

"Nay. Here, apprentices understand rules. Know there are consequences for actions. On train, no one seems to understand rules. Only how to argue about them."

"Then...treat the train the way you treat your apprentices, Hes."

The blacksmith gave her a questioning look. "How so?"

"If it ever comes to pass that you have to take lead of the train, let them know you are the leader during that time, and there are consequences for not following the rules."

Hes continued to hold his stare on her. "Answer question."

"If I can."

"Tried to take train by force. Now you come offering it on platter. Why?"

Melanie paused for a moment. "Because at first, just like the others, I didn't know you, Hes. Layton warned me about this. He said you were smart and clever, and just like Layton said you did for years in the Tail, I only saw what you wanted me to see."

"Worked well in the Tail. People left Hes alone."

"It didn't work for you as well as you thought, Hes. Because of your facade, I never saw how much you really cared for this train or the people on it. You want to know why I am offering you this position, and am hoping you take it? That's the reason. I don't look for people who have commanding personalities, or would win the next popularity contest on this train. I look for the ones who love and care about this train and the people on her as much as I do. People who are natural leaders. Because when it is needed, they are the ones who are going to give everything they have when it is needed to save her."

Hes continued to hold his stare still. "Will consider." He finally answered.

Melanie gave him a slight smile. "Now that I've answered your question, answer one for me."

The man regarded her past a suspicious silence, but gave a slight nod.

"Is Hephaestus your real name?"

The blacksmith paused for several long moments, then slowly shook his head as he turned to the forge.

"Nay." He stated in a low, sad tone. "In the Tail, who you used to be passes with the old world. Become something else. Become someone else." The blacksmith gave a low sigh, turning back to her. "Boarded the train, was known as 'Joshua'. Joshua Jacobs."

Melanie gave him a slight smile. "Well, Mr. Jacobs. I am very pleased to have made your acquaintance."

Hes only gave her a small nod in return. "Best time for pretty little engineer to leave."

"Why is that?"

Hes reached up for a rope hanging above him in the forge. "Is time for apprentices to wake up." He stated, then gave the rope a sharp pull.

Instantly a loud crashing noise could be heard beyond the doorway. Melanie quickly stepped back to the doorway and looked out. Although little had appeared to change, laying now in the center of the room was a large pile of scrap metal that appeared to have suddenly dropped there.

As Hes stepped up behind her, she turned back to him.

"That's a interesting alarm you have." She stated even as several curtains from bunks around the room began to rustle and get pulled back, with a few bodies even managing to stumble out, still half asleep from the looks of them.

"Works." Hes replied, a pleased smile on his face as he watched the forge slowly start to come to life.

As Melanie started to leave, Hes grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place.

She quickly turned back to the once more stern looking blacksmith.

"Debt is now settled." He stated to her.

Melanie gave him a slight nod. "Debt is now settled." She replied, then turned and headed back for the stairs, crossing the path of a few of the apprentices who gave her half awake greetings as they began their own day.

Heading to her own cabin, Melanie decided she had best check if her roommate up.

Walking into the cabin, Alex was already up with a large bowl of cereal in front of her as she happily dug in for another spoonful.

Walking past Melanie looked over what was in the bowl. "What is that?" She asked, considering the brightly colored balls floating in the milk.

"Cereal." Came the quick answer as the girl stuffed another spoonful in her mouth.

Melanie considered the bowl's contents again. "That doesn't look like any cereal in this cabin."

Alex quickly nodded. "It's not. Quite frankly. mom, all your stuff tastes like cardboard."

"So where did that come from?"

"Layton bought it in the market. He thought I might like it. He says he eats it all the time"

"Since when?"

"Since I got tired of eating your cardboard." Her roommate answered from behind her as Layton came walking into the front room, pulling on a shirt as he walked past her. "And there better be some of that left!" Came the half-stern warning as he walked behind Alex's chair.

"Yeah, yeah." Came the less than intimidated answer.

"Wait a minute!" Melanie stopped him, grabbing his arm. "I've been eating that other stuff for months because you buy it and tell me it's good for me."

"It is good for you." Layton replied, taking down a bowl from the cabinet in the kitchen and grabbing the box Alex had left on the counter.

He quickly gave it a small shake. "Hey!" He directed at the teenager. "There's hardly anything in here."

Alex turned to him with the same unconcerned look. "Only because it wouldn't all fit in my bowl."

"You might kindly remember next time who pays for that cereal." Layton advised.

Alex quickly turned to her mother. "Thanks, mom."

Layton glanced at his roommate, then shook his head as he started poking through the cabinets, looking for something for his own breakfast.

By the time he made it to the table, Melanie had taken her daughter's place as the girl got up, quickly cleaned up, and headed back to her bedroom to change.

Coming over to the table and sitting down with a bowl of his proclaimed cardboard, Layton turned a questioning eye to her.

"So how did it go?" He asked simply.

Melanie gave something between a sigh and a soft laugh in response. "I never thought I would see the day when I would have to talk Hepheastus into wanting to lead the train." She answered him.

"But did he accept, or do we have to start looking for our 'third'."

Melanie gave him a slight frown at the suggestive implication. "He said he would think about it." She replied. "But about Hes you were spot on in one thing. He does not want to lead the train anymore."

Layton took a sip of his tea. "I guess I might have gone a little overboard on my lessons about leadership with him."

Melanie shook her head. "Not at all. I think you gave him a good taste of what it means to lead this train. Which I equally warned you about when you took over. It's not a popularity contest."

"You can say that again, lady." Layton quickly interjected.

"It's a job, Layton. Not some game with no responsibilities."

"Preaching to the choir again." He gently reminded her.

"It's still a few days to the next council meeting. Just give him some time to think it over, like he said. Hes loves this train. He cares about the people on it..."

Layton suddenly turned to her. "Who are we talking about again? Because this is the same stuff you were feeding me last night when you made this suggestion."

"He does care about the train, Layton. In his own way. And maybe he doesn't know every person on it, but he does care about what the train represents to everyone and what happens to them."

"Well, he has yet to accept."

"He will."

"We'll see."

At the next council meeting it wasn't that Hes accepted the appointment that surprised Layton the most. It was the resounding acceptance the appointment was met with by the other council members, with a near unanimous consent.

Layton agreed that while there was still work to be done on the governing system of the train, at least for now the immediate chain of commend was secure.

For the next several weeks things seemed to run smoothly, with even Wilford behaving himself. For the first few weeks, Layton simply enjoyed the calm. While there were the ever present disagreements that he felt people seemed to start up just to keep his day interesting, he still allowed himself to enjoy the peace.

But it was several weeks past the initial start of their latest conflict with Wilford that Layton woke up to a feeling he couldn't quite place his finger on.

Melanie was already up and gone, which was not uncommon. She was running the early shift that week.

Suddenly having an idea, Layton reached for his laptop and opened it. Pulling up his calendar, he quickly shook his head as he noted the date. How could he have nearly missed this again?

Up in the engine room, Melanie was going about her usual work, but under the carefully watchful eye Of Bennett. To the casual observer everything would seem normal. But he knew her too well, and he knew how each passing effected her. The closer the train got, the more distracted she got. Even if she was no where near a window or had any idea where they were, he swore she could internally sense whenever to location came close.

Working in the engine room that morning herself, Alex had been watching her mother also, noting many of the same idiosyncrasies Bennett had. From her lack of concentration to the occasional snapping at something someone had done.

Alex waited until her mother was in a more secluded spot, which wasn't hard since, as the morning went on, most started to avoid being too close to her.

Alex slowly walked over to where she was taking reading from a screen. Pausing for a moment, she absently looked up at the same screen.

"They think you're crazy, don't they?" The teenager suddenly asked in a quiet tone. "I mean, Bennett said he doubts you can even see the farm house from the train because the tracks are miles away from it."

Melanie paused for a moment, then went back to her work, giving her daughter a small shrug. "Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, I suppose."

Alex gave her a piercing stare in return. "What if he's right? What if what we see each time isn't the farm house? Maybe it is just a hill in the distance."

Melanie turned to her daughter, studying her expression. "It doesn't matter." She finally replied softly. "What's important is what we think."

Alex paused for a moment before turning back to her mother. "Have you ever tried to look from one of the observation bubbles?" She suddenly asked in the same quiet voice. "They're like...three floors higher than the cabins. I'll bet you can see a lot further from up there. And you can see clearer since you're not looking across the landscape at ground level. From that angle, a lot of the glare off the snow is reduced."

Melanie stared back at her, then slowly shook her head. "No. I...I've never tried that."

Alex quickly glanced at her watch. "We're almost in range." She said. "Maybe...maybe this time we can try looking from there. Maybe...we'll see something different."

Melanie continued to study her daughter's expression. "Are you sure you want to do that?" She asked.

The girl shrugged slightly. "Wilford never understood how I felt. He was like Bennett, but a lot harsher. He said it was stupid. The farmhouse was nowhere near the train's route and I was imagining things. But I always stood there. Looking. Hoping to see something." Alex gave her mother a faint smile. "At least this time I won't be alone."

Melanie caressed a hand gently over her daughter's short curls. "And I won't be alone this time either." She replied.

Bennett turned from the helm just as Melanie and Alex were heading out the door of the engine room.

"Alex and I are going up to the observation platforms for a while." She answered his questioning look.

Bennett gave her a small smile in return.

"Take all the time you want." He replied.