Although it was just past four in the morning, daybreak felt like it was light years away for Devon Adair and every other member of Eden Advance. It had all begun three days earlier when, while on a routine scout searching for food and for a traversable passage out of the mountain range, Bess and Danziger had been infected by a mysterious flower pollen. Julia had been able to extract a portion of the pollen from John's lungs, but Bess had steadfastly refused to have any of it removed until it was too late. As a result, a large amount of the organism had entered her bloodstream, eventually rendering her under its complete control. Currently, the Earth-res was on the second night of a perilous journey as the unknown substance piloted her body toward a distant mesa. To make matters worse, the group had recently lost gear contact with Morgan who had been following her and it was feared that he, too, might have somehow fallen under the pollen's influence. Their only hope for survival was Julia and Alonzo who were pursuing them in the Dunerail, desperately racing against time as they tried to locate the couple before they could be allowed to reach their destination and their apparent fate.

With their only doctor miles away from camp, Devon had placed herself in charge of taking care of the other afflicted crew member. This was her second evening spent in the med-tent tending to Danziger, administering the painful medication, forcing him to rest and to stop worrying about True's welfare and Solace's possible mistreatment of the 'Rail, helplessly watching over him as he slowly succumbed to the first stages of organ failure.

Even getting John to eat was a chore and, minutes before, Devon had been greatly encouraged when he'd made the comment that he was hungry. She had immediately set off on a mission. After briefly peeking into Yale's tent to check on the children who were sleeping as peacefully as could be expected under the circumstances, Devon made her way to the main room of the biodome to retrieve any food that she could find. She reheated a bowl of soup left over from the prior evening's supper and stuffed a handful of spirolina bars into her coat pocket (this was hardly the time to think about rationing, she reasoned) before hurrying back to the medical quarters. Devon couldn't possibly have been more surprised when she lifted the tent flap to discover that Danziger's cot was empty.

In utter disbelief, she stepped into the room to confirm that John had indeed vanished. She nervously set the bowl of soup aside, spilling some of its contents in the process as she noted that, although the mechanic's gearset was present, his jacket and shoes were missing as well.

"Dammit, John, what have you gotten yourself into now?" Devon muttered under her breath.

Realizing that there was no time to panic, she quickly emptied the packets of spirolina from her coat and replaced them with the interferon which had also been left behind on the table next to John's vacant sickbed.

Devon took several deep breaths to further steel her nerves before grabbing the forgotten gear and placing it on her head. She kept the equipment on audio mode to enable her to fully concentrate on her search.

"Walman," she beckoned as she barreled out of the med-tent and marched purposefully back toward the biosphere. When she didn't receive an answer on the other end, she repeated more forcefully, "Walman, do you copy?"

Finally, there was a groggy reply. "Uh, yeah, Devon. Is there a problem?" Walman asked, knowing that he'd been caught red handed dozing while on watch again. He mentally readied himself for the inevitable dressing down from Devon and, as such, was caught completely off-guard when she responded about an entirely different matter.

"Have you seen Danziger?"

"Isn't he with you?" the crewman asked, sounding startled and now very much awake.

"I left him alone for a few minutes and when I came back he was gone," she informed him as she barged into the dome and went directly to the supply shelf to collect a pair of jumpers and a lumalight. "What's your current position?" she asked while she punched in the keycode to open an adjacent cabinet and removed an item housed in it before relocking it securely.

"Southwest end of camp, right at the perimeter," Walman answered. "I don't see him anywhere. No sign of his footprints either."

Footprints, of course!, Devon thought as she hurriedly returned to reexamine the scene of the crime. Devon experienced a mixture of relief, anger and dread as she shone the light on the muddied ground of the med-quarter's threshold to reveal fresh, perfectly formed boot prints leading away from the tent and directly into the neighboring woods.

Devon followed the tracks until she reached the edge of the forest where the change in terrain made the impressions almost impossible to discern. She halted and used the jumpers to scour the surrounding landscape for any signs of life, all the while cursing out Danziger and his amazing knack for getting himself into trouble. She also scolded herself for making it possible for Danziger to escape undetected because she'd insisted that the perimeter sensors remain deactivated in case Bess came to her senses and returned to camp on her own.

"Do you want me to call a camp alert?" came Walman's concerned voice in her earpiece.

Devon's thoughts immediately turned to True and how frightened she would be if she knew that her father was missing. "No, not yet. First, I want to-"

The leader paused when she caught sight of something out of the ordinary in the midst of a distant copse of trees. She increased the jumper's resolution and centered in on the image. It was tall, moving at a slow rate of speed... and wearing a blue ops jacket.

"Never mind. I found him, Walman. He's about 500 yards due north of camp."

"Want me to head that way?"

Devon was already rushing toward the mechanic's location. "No, stay where you are for now. I'll call you if I need any help," she instructed, barely finishing the sentence before clicking off her gear.

As she closed the distance between them, she realized that Danziger had stopped and was now nearly motionless as he faced the opposite direction. She increased her speed, noisily snapping dead branches with her feet as she approached. John didn't seem to notice her impending arrival and made no effort to turn around to acknowledge her presence.

Devon halted a few feet shy of him, loudly demanding, "What the hell are you doing out here, Danziger?"

The mechanic jumped several feet into the air. "Jesus shankin' Christ, Adair! Can't a guy take a leak in private without the whole camp watching?!?" he yelled over his shoulder, feverishly finishing his business before tucking in certain parts of his anatomy and refastening his trousers.

Devon turned a deep shade of crimson and spun her gaze back toward camp, embarrassed beyond belief at interrupting Danziger's bathroom break as well as her apparent overreaction to his disappearance.

"I'm so sorry, John! It's just that I couldn't find you and I was worried that-"

She abruptly suspended her apology when she made an important realization. "Wait a minute, there's a grove of trees right behind the med-tent. Why are you so far from camp?" she probed, rotating back toward him.

Danziger didn't answer her and continued to face the other way, further arousing Devon's suspicions. She took the remaining steps to stand behind him.

"John, turn around and talk to me," she said softly, but firmly. "Tell me why you're here."

With agonizing slowness, Danziger pivoted toward Devon and she was startled by the sight that greeted her. Even in the darkness, she could see that John was much worse than when she'd left him in the med-tent. The blackened circles under his eyes had become more pronounced and his skin had taken on a pale shade of gray. In addition, he was perspiring despite the freezing temperature and was obviously having trouble catching a full breath.

"You already know why, Adair," he sighed defeatedly, running his hands through his sweat-soaked hair. "I swear that I didn't mean for this to happen. I was planning on relieving myself behind the tent, but I took a few steps this way and I felt a little better. Next thing I know, I ended up here."

"The pollen is trying to force you to go north," Devon stated plainly, confirming what she'd already suspected.

"Yeah," he admitted, taking a pace backward to enable him to lean against the trunk of a large tree. "Not as bad as what Bess is goin' through, but yeah."

"Well, you're in no shape to be out here, so let's get you back to camp," Devon declared, employing her most pragmatic tone.

John shook his head in apprehension. "I'm not sure that I can. It was almost impossible for me to stop walking. It's taking just about everything that I got to stand here right now," he expressed. "And every step back in the other direction is painful." He exhaled a shallow breath. "Really painful."

"I'm sorry, John, but it seems that we don't have much of a choice."

"Maybe we do," he proclaimed with a burst of enthusiasm. "I've been thinking about this all night. Maybe it's not such a bad idea to let me start walking again. I can find Bess and Morgan faster than Julia and Alonzo ever could. I don't even need to track them. I'll just let the pollen take me where it needs to go."

Devon's mouth fell open, stunned. "Have you completely lost your mind? You're in no condition to be roaming the countryside," she exclaimed. "And let's say that you do find them. What then?"

"I call you guys on gear," Danziger said matter-of-factly, acting as though the bizarre suggestion made perfect sense.

Needless to say, Devon remained unconvinced. She also knew that it would be useless to remind John that Bess and Morgan had a thirty hour head start and catching up to them would be impossible. It was becoming apparent that John wasn't thinking too clearly at the moment.

"Great," Devon countered. "That way you'll have a captive audience to watch you and Bess jump into that hole that you keep dreaming about." Her expression became grim as she advanced another step toward him. "That is what you want to do, isn't it?"

Danziger shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "It's not like I want to," he murmured.

"But you will," she insisted. "Don't try to lie to me and tell me you won't do it because I know that you will. You won't be able to stop yourself."

He whipped around to face her wearing an expression that made him appear slightly off-balanced. "Look, I can't stay here!" he yelled in between labored breaths. "Don't you understand? It's running out of time!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he erupted into a violent coughing spell. Devon looked on in horror as clusters of yellow vapor spewed outward from Danziger's mouth and nostrils only to force their way back into his body seconds later.

"John, listen to yourself! The pollen is starting to control you," she pleaded. "You have to stop it. You have to fight back."

He wearily sagged back against the tree, still gasping for air. "Please, just let me go, all right? Just let me go north and get this over with," he wheezed.

She held up her hands in what she considered to be a calming gesture. "I'm not letting you leave. You're going to come back to the med-tent with me," she said, trying to sound as soothing as possible.

Unfortunately, she could see that her request fell upon deaf ears. Danziger's expression transformed from one of desperation to one of stone and his slumped posturing went ramrod straight. He took an imposing stride toward her, asking in a low, serious voice, "What if I say no, huh? What if I were to take off running right now?"

Devon didn't acknowledge his abrupt change in behavior. Pollen or no pollen, she had long ago gotten used to John's browbeating tactics. As such, there was no way that she would allow herself to become the least bit intimidated-- especially if by showing fear, she could possibly be signing Danziger's death warrant.

"You're not going anywhere except back to camp," she said in her most assertive voice.

He snorted loudly. "Yeah? Well, try to stop me, Adair," he taunted as he turned away from her to resume his pilgrimage.

Drastic times called for drastic measures and Devon had no alternative but to pull something from her waistband-- an object which she'd very much hoped that she wouldn't need to use. "If you insist," she told him.

The clicking sound of the gun being cocked caused Danziger to stop in his tracks. He swerved back to face her. "You're not gonna shoot me," he growled, his words sounding suspiciously like a warning.

She raised the pistol and pointed it directly at him. "I will if I have to," she said, her voice as hard as nails. "I doubt that there's enough pollen in your system to heal a bullet wound. Let's see how far you get without a kneecap."

John took several paces back in her direction, using his overgrown size to his full advantage as he closed in. "You know, this stuff has a nasty habit of attacking anyone who poses a threat to its host. You may want to think carefully about where you point that thing," he snarled, motioning toward the gun.

Devon showed no sign of backing down. "I'll take my chances," she replied with confidence, taking another step forward to further eliminate the gap between them. "So, what kind of a chance are you going to take, Danziger?" she asked, continuing to edge closer. "In the past four months, you've survived a shuttle crash, two different illnesses, starvation and a gunshot from a ZED. You were even possessed by an ancient Terrian spirit and you lived to tell the tale. Do you honestly expect me to believe that you're going to let a pretty little flower get the best of you?"

She lowered the gun to her side and stood directly in front of him. "John, however strong this poison is inside of you, I know for a fact that you're stronger," she said, wearing a look of conviction. "You can beat this thing. I'm sure of it."

Their gazes remained fixed on each other for several long, uncomfortable moments. Devon could see by the uncertainty displayed on Danziger's face that her words were having a significant effect on him. At last, John decided that it was time for him to take the bull by the horns and regain the upper hand in the situation.

As fast as lightning, he made his move. Devon didn't have time to register what he was doing, much less try to stop him as he lunged toward her and grabbed the hand holding the pistol. However, to her shock, Danziger shoved the weapon away and, instead, snatched up the interferon which was protruding out of the front pocket of her coat. Using both hands, he forced the apparatus to his face and inhaled two deep breaths.

Quickly engulfed by pain, John dropped the interferon and crumbled to the ground, gagging and writhing in agony as the pollen and the medicine battled for control of his body. Devon fell to her knees beside him, equally alarmed and proud of his impulsive action. She wished that she'd thought to bring a pain block to ease his suffering. Instead, she could only help by smoothing back the hair from his face and offering words of comfort until the worst of the spasms had subsided.

When John's moans ceased and his breathing finally steadied, he rolled onto his back and remet Devon's eyes.

"Sometimes I really hate you, Adair," he smirked, somehow making the harsh words sound affectionate as only he could.

Devon smiled as she took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Sometimes I really hate you, too."

She watched Danziger take several cleansing breaths as she replaced the gun and the interferon into her coat pockets. At last, he propelled himself up to the seated position. "Okay, let's do this," he nodded.

Though Devon could sense a renewed inner strength slowly growing within John, his outer strength was another story altogether and his legs wobbled like jelly as she helped him climb back to his feet. As she brushed the dirt and dried leaves from the back of his jacket, he stated the obvious. "This isn't gonna be easy."

Devon lifted his arm and draped it around the back of her neck. "Just lean on me, all right? We'll go as fast as we can," she instructed, wedging her body under the crook of his shoulder in order to help him maintain his balance.

The look of hesitation was written all over Danziger's face as he stared at the seemingly tremendous distance between them and their winter homestead. Devon directed his gaze back to her.

"We can do this, John," she said with resolve. "Why don't you concentrate on True. After all, she's your biggest reason for getting back to camp." That and your compulsive need to make my life as difficult as possible, Devon added in her mind.

She encircled her arm around his waist to further steady him. "You ready?"

Danziger briefly shut his eyes and took another full breath before silently nodding his agreement.

"Okay. One, two... three," she declared, launching both of their bodies forward as if they'd just been shot out of a cannon.

As the pair began to totter southward through the forest, the pollen decided to seek retribution against John for his blatant disobedience by again overwhelming him with excruciating pain. One of his hands alternated between clutching his throat and his stomach while the other held onto Devon's jacket, gripping her so tightly that his knuckle turned white.

"Oh, God... Oh, God... This really, really hurts," he muttered between gasps.

By the time they'd traveled about two hundred yards, John was convinced that he couldn't go on. He let go of Devon's coat and made a wild grab for a low-hanging branch dangling from a nearby tree. However, Devon realized his intentions and quickly steered him away from the limb so that it remained beyond his grasp.

"Oh, no you don't! Keep moving, Danziger," she commanded in a strained voice. She was practically carrying him by then.

No longer possessing the energy to complain or to resist, John finally capitulated and allowed Devon to drag him along side of her. He clamped his eyes shut and relatched onto her jacket, holding her in a death grip as she guided him back to camp. He tried to lessen the unrelenting waves of pain which continued to rack his body by following Devon's advice and focusing his mind on other subjects. First, he inwardly debated which was the greater force to be reckoned with: the pollen that was currently trying to kill him or Devon Adair. After easily concluding Devon to be the clear winner, he turned his thoughts to his daughter, the center of his world and his main incentive to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

"You're doing great, John. Just a little farther. We're almost there," Devon encouraged as the pair rounded a large cluster of snowcapped bushes.

When John's only response was to lean even more of his weight onto her much smaller frame, Devon worried that he was about to lose consciousness and she adjusted her head to examine him more closely. Although his head hung forward and he was saturated with perspiration, she was surprised to realize that Danziger was awake and coherent. In fact, he seemed to be amazingly calm under the circumstances. His eyes remained closed and his brows were drawn together in deep concentration. It was only then that she noticed that John was whispering something under his breath and craned her neck toward him to decipher the words.

"True... True... True... True... True," he repeated over and over again.

The final leg of their journey was draining, but thankfully uneventful now that Danziger's body had become more cooperative. When the couple finally stumbled into camp, Devon briefly glanced across the compound to view Walman staring back at them with a look of astonishment. She all but ignored the crewman and instead led John directly to the med-tent, bursting through the door and roughly depositing him back onto the bunk where he belonged.

Devon was grateful for the chair placed next to his bed because she was certain that she wouldn't have made it another step. Her legs went liquid as she flopped down into the seat, her muscles aching and her lungs burning from overexertion. For several minutes neither of them made any attempt at conversation knowing that it would only be drowned out by the sounds of their pounding hearts and exhausted breaths.

At last, Devon regained enough of her composure to speak. "You look awful," she said straightforwardly as she examined his unhealthy appearance.

Her bluntness brought out a chuckle from Danziger. "Thanks, Adair. You look pretty terrible, yourself," he retorted. He inwardly noted that, despite her fatigued and slightly disheveled appearance, the truth was that her beauty hadn't diminished one bit in his eyes.

Devon gave him a small smile as she rose to her feet and made her way across the room to one of Julia's work tables. "Let's see if I can find you something for the pain," she remarked, scanning a tray of brightly colored capsules.

"Nah, don't bother," he muttered, sitting up to remove his jacket and then hanging it over the back of the nearby chair. He paused and let out a sigh before reluctantly telling her, "I can't believe that I'm sayin' this, but I'd rather take another hit of that interferon."

Devon spun her head back toward him wearing a puzzled look. "But you just took one ten minutes ago."

"So, I wanna take another one. What's the big deal?" he grumbled, taking off his boots and flinging them under the cot.

She didn't attempt to conceal her worry. "Maybe I should check with Julia first," she proposed. "The last thing we need is for you to accidentally overdose."

"It'll be fine," John assured gruffly. "Just gimme the damn thing."

Devon remained where she was, obviously uncertain as to what to do. John's face softened and he exhaled another weary breath.

"Devon, I need another dose," he relayed, this time using a more subdued tone. When she still didn't move, he leaned forward in his bunk with his elbows resting on his thighs and softly added, "Please."

Devon observed the desperation in Danziger's eyes and voice and realized that, although he wasn't saying it out loud, he was telling her that the pollen was still waging a war against his body. He had to do whatever was necessary to keep the deadly substance from regaining its stronghold over him and the possibility of overmedicating himself was a risk that he was more than willing to take. As hesitant as Devon felt about John's decision, she had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

Without a word, she returned to his cot and seated herself next to him on the mattress. Danziger nodded silently as she removed the interferon from her pocket and gently placed it over his nose and mouth. Their gazes were locked as John's own hands covered hers and he pushed the equipment more securely against his skin in order to experience the medicine's maximum effect.

After drawing in two full breaths of the synthetic drug, Danziger was forced to endure yet another torturous bout of stabbing stomach cramps and violent coughs. Devon set the interferon aside and took him by the shoulders to ease him back in his bunk. One hand remained on his shoulder while the other reached for a nearby cloth.

"We'll get through this, John," she whispered as she attentively wiped the sweat from his brow.

Devon couldn't stand seeing Danziger in such misery and she hurried back to Julia's work station with the intention of grabbing a pain block. But as soon as Danziger realized what she was doing, he began to shake his head emphatically.

"No, you can't give me that now," he croaked out between gasps. "Like you said, I don't wanna O.D.."

Understanding that John was right, Devon returned to his side and took one of his hands in hers, holding it firmly until the painful spell finally receded.

Danziger refixed his gaze on her. "Will you do something else for me?" he asked, his tone decidedly weaker thanks to his latest ordeal.

Devon nodded. "Anything."

"Can you go check on True?"

The odd timing of his request caused Devon's faith in him to falter slightly. Although John's expression seemed earnest enough, she couldn't help but wonder if he was still in complete control of his faculties. After all, when Bess had first been infected by the pollen, she'd been able to put on a pretty decent act, too. She'd convinced almost everyone that she was feeling better than ever when, in reality, she had been transformed into nothing more than a vessel for the pollen to use for its quest to travel northward. How could Devon be sure that this was really Danziger talking to her right now?

She studied his features closely looking for clues. "I need for you to answer me honestly, John," she expressed, the skepticism evident in her voice. "Do you really want me to check on True or is this another trick to get me out of the way so you can sneak off again?"

"No, I just wanna make sure she's all right, that's all," he insisted.

Even though Devon was inclined to believe him, she still had her doubts. "Maybe I should post Walman outside the door, just in case," she suggested, thinking aloud. "Or, better yet, maybe I should just strap you to the bed."

Danziger snorted before blurting out, "In your dreams, Adair!"

Both of their eyes went wide and they immediately diverted their gazes elsewhere, shocked and flustered by the turn in their conversation. The awkward silence seemed to last forever as the two aimlessly scanned the tent searching for something, anything that would keep them from having to see what was right in front of their faces.

Finally, John was able to regain enough of his equilibrium to continue their discussion. "Um, anyway," he started before pausing to nervously clear his throat, "you don't have to do any of that stuff. I don't think that I could leave even if I wanted to. Don't have enough strength left in me." He turned his head back toward her to address her directly. "I'm probably just gonna nap for a while, if it's all the same to you."

There was still a hint of pink in Devon's cheeks as she remet his uncomfortable gaze. "Tell you what. I'll look in on True after you're asleep. How's that for a compromise?"

"Works for me," Danziger nodded. "But you'll wake me if anything happens, won't you?"

"Of course."

"And you'll make sure that I keep on schedule with the interferon," he yawned, his eyelids already starting to flicker.

"I promise."

John's eyes fell shut and his chest began to rhythmically rise and fall, suggesting that he had instantly fallen into a peaceful slumber. That is, until he reopened his eyes and let out a groggy chuckle.

"Hey, Adair. What am I supposed to do the next time I gotta go to the bathroom?"

Devon made a quick survey of the room and was quite pleased with herself when she located exactly what was needed to solve their dilemma within arms reach.

"Knock yourself out," she said wryly, holding up an empty wastebasket for Danziger's inspection. The mechanic responded by theatrically rolling his eyes before reclosing them.

Another few seconds passed before John decided that their conversation still wasn't over.

"Adair."

"Yes, Danziger," she replied, her tone slightly more impatient than before. She was quickly learning that getting John to fall sleep was as difficult as putting Uly to bed when he wasn't tired.

"Would you have shot me if I'd kept walking?" Although John's voice sounded serious, there was a devious twinkle in his eye.

Devon thought about it for a moment and a smile graced her lips. "Probably," she admitted with a shrug. She paused before asking, "If I'd let you go north, would you have jumped into that pit?"

Danziger shrugged and returned her sweet smile with his own crooked one. "Probably."

They shared another laugh along with another few moments of awkward stillness before Danziger's grin slowly dissipated and his eyes fluttered shut again. Devon continued to watch him as she quietly remained at his side. After observing no changes in his features for several minutes, she concluded that it would be safe to briefly leave him in order to check on True.

However, just as she was about to climb to her feet, Danziger popped open his eyes. "Devon," he whispered.

She slapped her hands down on her knees in exasperation. At this point, he was starting to get on her nerves. "Now what, John?"

The irritation in Devon's voice was amusing to Danziger and his sideways grin briefly returned. Although antagonizing her hadn't been his intention, he considered it to be a bonus, just the same.

His sneer faded away and was replaced by an open, vulnerable expression which he rarely permitted anyone but True to see. He reached out and retook Devon's hand, delicately lacing his fingers in between hers.

"Thanks," he said softly and with emotion.

Danziger's unguarded demeanor involuntarily caused Devon to lower her own defenses. And to her great surprise, she found that she wasn't worried about the sudden loss of control or the risk of exposure. Instead, as she held John's tender gaze with their hands gently intertwined, for one of the few times in her life, Devon felt completely at peace.

She placed her free hand over their joined ones and with a voice that was as warm as the smile that accompanied it, she responded, "Anytime, John. Anytime."

THE END