Her dad had been gone an awful long time. The glare from the sun was starting to hurt True's eyes, and she wished she had her sunglasses with her. She'd tried crawling under the blankets again, but then she couldn't see anything, and Dad and Devon might get back and not realize she'd stayed with the Dune-Rail like she'd been told.

She already knew that her dad intended to have "a discussion" with her about her stowing away in the first place. There was no need to make it worse.

True closed her eyes, which soothed the dryness but did little against the bright, harsh light. Where were her dad and Devon, anyway? It shouldn't take this long to go get Sheppard. It shouldn't even take two people at all.

She decided to try putting her hand over her eyes. That helped some, and she was back to wondering about the adults when she heard the gunshot. It sounded like it came from the cave entrance! True jumped out of the 'Rail, eyes forgotten. "Dad? Devon?"

No answer.

This is a dangerous place, True. If I tell you to stay somewhere, I expect you to stay there.

But if someone had a gun, wasn't it more dangerous not to hide instead of staying out in the open like she'd been told?

True scampered for the nearest stand of rocks, which happened to be the ones next to the cave entrance. Despite the proximity, they offered the most places to hide. She darted behind one of the rocks and crouched down, listening for anything dangerous.

A second later, she heard voices coming toward her. True flattened herself against the rock, trying to figure out which direction they were in, before she relaxed. It was her dad. They must be all right. She stood up and started to walk around and greet them before she heard what he was saying.

"I know. I know, Devon. Just hang on, you hear me? Hold on. I'm here, I'm here."

She'd rarely heard him use that tone of voice, and never with an adult. True could hear the faint sound of crying.

"Hold on to me. I know. I'm right here. Hold on, Adair. We've got to keep going." A firmer tone had come into his words. "We have to get to the 'Rail, get back to camp. Come on, you're going to make it."

True risked peeking around the rock at them. Her dad had his arms around Devon, who was weeping on his shoulders. She could see that one of his hands was shaking as it stroked her hair, and she didn't understand the expression on his face.

What had happened? And where was Sheppard?

Her dad turned slightly and caught sight of her. "Go back to the 'Rail, True."

"But where's –"

"Go. We'll be there in a minute."

She went. Behind her, she could hear her dad speaking softly to Devon again, urging her toward the vehicle. True climbed into the back to wait, but it was still a couple of minutes before they emerged from behind the rocks.

Devon seemed to be in a daze, and her dad had his arm around her, not speaking now but still with that mysterious look on his face. When they got to the 'Rail, she stopped and stared numbly. Without comment, her dad picked her up and lifted her into the passenger seat. "Come on. We'll be back soon. Uly's waiting for you."

"Uly?" Devon's voice was almost a whisper.

"Yeah. He misses you."

"Uly." She began to cry again.

True's dad reached forward and wiped some of the tears off her face with his thumb. Then he caught Devon's chin and tilted her face up until they were looking in each other's eyes. After a second, she jerked her chin out of his hand, her sobs stopping although tears still ran down her face.

Her dad sighed. "All right." He crossed around the front of the 'Rail toward the driver's seat, but he stopped before getting in and looked at True. "Sheppard's not coming."

"Why?"

"We'll talk about it back at camp."

She swallowed and slid all the way into the seat. She was pretty sure she wasn't going to like what her dad was planning to tell her. The only question was whether it would be before or after their "discussion."

* * *

"How long do you think it will be until she's all right?" asked True later that night, after they'd left Devon in the bio-dome. She was dressed for sleep, but it was taking an unusually long time for her dad to brush her hair out this evening. It must have gotten more tangled than she'd realized.

"Devon's pretty tough. She'll probably be acting normally in a few days, once she gets over the shock and things get back to normal," he answered. "But she's also probably going to be sad for a while."

"Did she love him?"

"She says she did." He stopped brushing and picked her up. "Come on, let's get you tucked in."

She squirmed. "Da-a-d. I can do it myself."

"I know you can, True-girl." He did it anyway, laying her down on the cot and pulling the covers up around her. "Just put up with your old dad for once, huh?"

Since he'd already finished, it was silly to do anything else. True looked up at him. "You're going back out there, aren't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I am."

"You really care about her, don't you?"

Her dad leaned back and rubbed a hand over his face. "Everyone's been asking me that lately."

She was confused. "Well, you do, don't you? Who else has been asking?"

He shook his head. "Never mind. Go on and go to sleep, sweetheart. I'll be back before long."

True still had a lot of questions, but she guessed he wasn't likely to answer any more tonight. That odd expression was back on his face again. "All right. Good night, Dad."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead before he stood up. "Good night, True-girl. I love you." Standing up again, he switched out the light. She heard him cross to the door and open it in the darkness.

But he didn't close the door behind him like she expected. Instead, she heard his footsteps stop. He stood in the door, silhouetted against the light spilling in from outside. "True?"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be okay with you if I did...care about her?"

She frowned in the dark, but didn't sit up. "She's a part of the group. I thought you already cared about all of us."

"Yeah." His voice sounded a little strained. "I do."

"So why wouldn't it be okay?"

There was a pause before he answered. "No reason, I guess. Get some sleep, sweetheart." He let the door close behind him.

Still frowning, True rolled over in the dark, pulling the covers closer. Why had he asked her that? Her dad cared about a lot of people, and he'd never asked if it bothered her before. Why would it start bothering her now?

Unless maybe he'd meant it differently somehow.

She stared into the darkness, remembering the odd look on his face when he'd held Devon while she cried. Was that why he'd asked? Did he mean something different this time? If so, then what?

It took her a long time to get to sleep.