All Things Considered by Allison McDonnell

[Reviews - 0]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer

- Text Size +

Danziger remained unconscious throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening, somehow managing to sleep peacefully through a parade of often boisterous visitors and well-wishers, not to mention being poked and prodded during several doctor's exams. It was late the following morning when a single voice mixed in with the clattering sound of fingers striking a keyboard finally ended up rousing Danziger awake.

The first thing that he realized after prying open his eyes was that he was no longer hooked up to any monitors and he took this as a good sign that he was going to be sticking around for a while. He slowly pivoted his head toward the voice to view Devon seated alone at a desk located next to the room's only window. In front of her were several neatly organized piles of paper along with, not one, but two small data pads which she seemed to be simultaneously working on. Devon turned her head slightly and John noticed the gearset embedded in her auburn hair and it was only then that he realized that she was in the middle of a meeting. Intrigued, he decided to sit back for a few moments and quietly watch her from the sidelines.

"This is a ridiculous argument, Elliot," she expressed in a tone that was all-business. "I couldn't care less about how large your penthouse was on the Stations. I don't think that I have to remind you that we're not on the Stations anymore and there is absolutely no justification for you to be building on an addition to your home."

She waited a moment to hear her caller's response before calmly stating, "The answer is obvious. The Frosts and the Rutherfords have bigger houses because they each have five family members. You only have three."

While she conversed with the disgruntled colonist, she continued to alternate between perusing through various documents and entering data into her computers. "No, that timber has already been earmarked for the new school," she pointed out.

"No, those trees are off-limits." After another brief pause, she shook her head. "You already know why. I've explained this a dozen times already. The Terrians have asked us not to go near that forest."

Although Devon's patience was quickly beginning to evaporate, her outward appearance remained unruffled. Her voice raised ever so slightly as she exclaimed, "They didn't give us a reason and I certainly saw no need to ask for one. I gave them my word that we would stay off of that land. And I will not break my promise to them."

She halted her other tasks in order to concentrate squarely on the latest problem at hand. "Yes, it is and allow me to remind you yet again that G889 was the Terrian's planet long before we got here. And it's because of their generosity that your daughter now has the opportunity to live a long and happy life. Let's not forget about that so quickly."

Devon's expression began to harden at the colonist's continued hostility. Finally, she offered in a crisp tone, "You want to live in a bigger house? Fine. See if you can find another family to agree to share a unit. You can combine your family members and then petition the Housing Committee to move into a larger home."

Judging by the long pause and the tightening of Devon's shoulders, Danziger easily concluded that the caller was less than pleased with her suggestion. Her voice remained stern yet amazingly polite under the circumstances as she relayed, "Well, it's as close to a compromise as you're going to get. So if I were you, I'd either start searching for another family who is willing to move in with you or learn to appreciate what you have and get on with your life."

Danziger was no longer able to stay quiet. But as much as a part of him yearned to spring out of his hospital bed and hunt down this Elliot person who was insisting on giving Devon such a hard time, an even larger part of him couldn't resist snickering at Devon's choice of words.

"Compromise?" he snorted in disbelief. "Since when have you ever compromised on anything, Adair?"

The sound of John's deep baritone caused Devon to noticeably jump in her chair and she spun her gaze toward him, staring at him with wide eyes. She quickly pulled herself together and returned her focus to her business meeting.

"I need to sign off now, Elliot," she informed him. She struck a few keys on the nearest computer and her daily appointment schedule appeared on the screen. "This evening, Cameron will be hosting a symposium on basic vegetable gardening. I'll be staying afterward if you'd like to continue this discussion then. But I really think that we've said all that we need to say on the subject."

After signing off with Elliot, Devon touched a few buttons on her gear's keypad located just above her ear. "Anna, please hold my calls until further notice. I'll be in touch soon," she instructed in a pleasant voice. "Thank you."

The leader swung the eyepiece away from her face, but didn't remove her gearset. She could feel John's intense stare as she crossed the room and seated herself on True's cot situated just a few feet from his sickbed. She folded her hands on her lap and tried not to appear as nervous as she felt. The idea of finally being able to see and speak with John Danziger was something that Devon had longed to do for over two years. But now that the moment had arrived, she was a bit overwhelmed. However, she was successfully able to mask her awkwardness and she greeted him with a thin smile.

"Good morning, Danziger."

John languidly stretched out his limbs and scooted himself up to a sitting position. "Mornin'."

He reached his hand around to feel the three inch scar forming at the base of his skull, also taking notice that he was clean-shaven and his hair had been neatly combed back. As he rubbed at his neck in discomfort, Devon proposed, "Would you like me to ask one of the nurses to give you a pain block?"

He shook his head as he lowered his hand back to his side. "Nah, it's not too bad," he said, his thoughts already centered on more important issues. "Where's True?"

Engaging in a conversation with John was still somewhat of a surreal experience for Devon and it took her a moment to remember the girl's whereabouts. "Bess took her and Uly to get some lunch," she was finally able to answer.

John took Devon's apprehension as a sign that something was wrong. "How's she doin'?" he asked, clearly worried. "I mean, is she alright?"

Devon's smile briefly reappeared. "She's doing great. She fell and broke her arm last year, but we had plenty of bone healer vaccine by then and she was back to normal by the next day," she relayed. "Other than that, she's been fine."

His eyes dropped to the floor and his voice went quiet. "Is she still pissed at me for leaving her like that?"

"No, not at all," Devon assured. "She knows that you did what you thought was right." She almost added in her own personal views on the price John had insisted on paying in order to save her life, but decided that that was a discussion for a different time. Or perhaps not.

Meanwhile, waves of remorse washed over Danziger as he remembered True's horrified expression and desperate voice as she'd tried to persuade him not to go through with the transplant. Her terrified pleas continually echoed in his head. "Please, don't do this, Daddy! Don't leave me! Please!"

Much to his chagrin, he had never been able to get her to understand his position. It was only after several other members of Eden Advance including Yale, Bess and Alonzo had taken her aside on the very morning of his surgery and had given her a good talking to that she had finally seemed to accept what had to be done.

John continued to look uncomfortable and his eyes remained glued to the ground. Although he was grateful to hear that his daughter didn't hate him for the choice he'd made, his guilty conscience weighed heavily on him. After all, True had also been forced to make a sacrifice by giving up the only parent that she'd ever known, possibly forever. It had been an impossible situation for everyone involved, but most especially for her. One day, he hoped that he would somehow be able to make it up to her. And maybe one day he'd be able to forgive himself for abandoning her.

His voice was still just above a whisper as he said, "Thanks for taking care of her while I was gone."

"It was my pleasure," Devon expressed, mirroring his tone.

After a few seconds of stillness, Danziger raised his eyes back to hers. "And Uly and the others? They're all doin' okay, too?"

She nodded. "Everyone in the group made it. We had a couple of very close calls, but we made it."

John breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad to hear it," he said with an expanding grin, elated that all of his friends were still alive.

He raked his fingers through his hair, messing it up in the process, while his eyes scanned the sterile, sparsely decorated hospital room. "So this is New Pacifica, huh?"

Devon averted her gaze toward the window. "In all its glory," she declared. Although Danziger wasn't sure, he thought that he detected a hint of cynicism in her tone.

He narrowed his eyes, confused by her response. "So, start filling me in on some of the stuff that I've missed," he requested, hoping that, if Devon was unhappy for some reason, the root of the problem could be found somewhere within the details of her explanation.

Devon sighed. There was so much information to tell him and she wasn't sure of where to begin her account. Finally, she decided to start with the basics. "Well, we got here a little over a year ago. Luckily, most of the cargo pods were waiting for us, so we started building immediately. The Jamestown arrived on schedule, but it was during the middle of winter. We worried that the cold weather would be too much of a shock to the colonists' systems, so we voted in favor of leaving the ship in orbit and having Baines reprogram their sleep capsules to delay their revival. This bought us some extra time to prepare. Plus, not only were we able to send teams to recheck the ship for sabotage, we were able to unload all of its supplies. By the time spring came, we were ready for them. Most of the colonists have been here for just over three months."

Danziger digested everything that she'd told him. And by doing a bit of quick math, he was able to definitively answer one of his most pressing questions. He had been in cold sleep for twenty-eight months. He mentally filed that revelation away for the time being, instead asking, "What about the Syndrome kids?"

There was another sigh. "It's been a tough road," she conceded. "At first, the parents were too afraid of the Terrians to trust them. But a few were finally persuaded to take the chance and, after the first twenty or so came back healthy, parents starting agreeing in droves. Some actually took their children to the caves and begged the Terrians to take them."

"And they're all healed now?"

Devon shook her head. "There are about two dozen parents who refuse to have any interaction with the Terrians, even at the expense of their own children." She swallowed hard before continuing. "We've already had two deaths so far, not including the woman who died on the colony ship due to a malfunction with her cryochamber. Dr. Vasquez has been working to develop an inhaler using synthetic drugs to help the remaining Syndrome children manage the disease. Our hope is that the medication will keep them alive long enough for us to talk some sense into their parents."

She intentionally neglected to mention Dr. Vasquez's very vocal resentment toward Devon after he'd learned that he had been replaced by his former intern, Julia Heller, as both the hospital's Chief Of Staff and as the personal physician to the Adair family. The doctor's lack of professional decorum was also clearly a discussion for a different time.

Danziger continued to inspect Devon closely as she recalled the highlights of the past two and a half years, trying to gauge how much she'd been changed by time and circumstance. At first glance, she seemed to be almost exactly the same, except for the deepening of the lines around her eyes and mouth. But when John looked more closely at her face and mannerisms, much to his chagrin, he realized that something was indeed different. Her overall demeanor was rather cool and controlled and her eyes lacked the sparkle which they'd once had. It was as if the tempestuous spitfire whose confidence and unflappable optimism used to drive him to the brink of madness had vanished. And in its place was a woman who was completely self-contained, polished and perfectly poised. In other words, she'd apparently evolved-- or regressed, in John's way of thinking-- into a politician. And there was something else that Danziger couldn't ignore.

"You look tired," he said bluntly, partly out of concern for her, partly to see if he could rile her up a bit. After all, in his mind, they had over two years of fighting to catch up on.

But instead of getting defensive about his comment, Devon shrugged and drifted her gaze back to the window. "There's a lot to be done," she said a bit too evenly for John's taste.

The mechanic decided to switch tactics, hoping to drag some emotion out of Devon and lighten the mood at the same time. "So, have you been takin' good care of my bio-chip?" he asked with a sideways grin.

His strategy worked, although it wasn't the emotion that he was expecting. Devon noticeably winced and her posturing went rigid. "Please don't joke about that," she replied, seemingly stunned by the question.

"Who's joking?" he smirked, undaunted by her reaction. "I wanna know if it changed you in any way. Like did you start craving spicy foods? Or did you suddenly know how to fix the Transrover when it broke down?"

Devon thought about it for a moment. "Some people have said that I've been difficult to get along with."

John let out a loud snort and theatrically rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, like my chip had anything to do with that!"

At last, Devon's veneer cracked and she broke into quiet, but genuine, laughter. As a warmhearted smile crept across her face, John joined in with his own deep chuckles. After a few seconds of shared amusement, Danziger's grin began to fade.

"But you're alright now, aren't you? I mean, the implant made you better?" he asked.

Devon matched Danziger's serious expression. "Yes," she said in a hushed voice. It was the truth. Physically, she was completely cured of the virus that had come very close to ending her life. Of course, the state of her emotional recovery was another matter entirely. But, again, that was a discussion for a different time.

John continued, "And from what you've told me, this New Pacifica is a lot different from the one that the Terrians described to Alonzo after we put you in cold sleep. It sounds like we were able to change the future."

"So it would seem," she said softly.

Danziger gave her a confident nod. "Good. Then it was all worth it."

To John's surprise, Devon abruptly broke eye contact with him and began to shift uncomfortably in her seat. Her face twisted into an expression that bordered on melancholy and John was at a complete loss as to why. Everything had worked out in Devon's favor, hadn't it, he wondered to himself. She had been returned to good health and was back in charge. Eden Advance had made it to New Pacifica intact and had been prepared for the colony ship's arrival. Most of Syndrome children, including her son, were healed. Devon had gotten everything that she'd wanted. So, why did she suddenly look so troubled?

Danziger's brow furrowed in concern as he leaned forward in his bed. "Devon, is something wrong?"

The leader seemed unable to answer him. It was only after several uncomfortable moments had passed between them that she finally relocked her gaze onto John. But just as she opened her mouth to speak, Uly and True came bursting through the door, followed closely behind by Bess.

"Hey, you're awake again!" True said enthusiastically, running and leaping into her father's open arms. Both of them were pleased that John now had enough strength to return her embrace.

John's smile came back in full force. "Hey there, Kiddo," he welcomed, kissing the top of her head. He closed his eyes and held her tightly for several moments before finally loosening his grip. "Back up a little bit, so I can get a better look at you."

Danziger was filled with pride as he marveled at the changes in his daughter. She had grown at least two inches in height and her overall features had matured, making her resemble a teenager much more than the little girl he'd remembered. Moreover, her hair was several inches longer and had taken on a blonder tone, no doubt due to a mixture of genetics and her love of the outdoors. With each year that passes, True looks more and more like her mother, Danziger proudly reflected.

"Do you want us to get you some food?" True asked.

"Yeah, you haven't eaten in over two years," a very excited Uly chimed in as he hopped onto the foot of the bed. "You must be starving!"

Danziger chuckled and reached over to roughly tussle Uly's hair. He was pleased to notice that the little boy had also grown several inches and, thankfully, had gained several pounds. In fact, when combined with his suntanned skin and boundless energy, there was really no hint at all that Uly had spent the majority of his life in an immuno-suit.

On the down side, Danziger also took note that, in stark contrast to the children's healthy complexions, Devon's skin was a ghostly pale. Danziger wondered to himself if circumstances had prevented Devon from ever getting to enjoy the summer sun or if perhaps she'd been given ample opportunities, yet chose to work instead. John wasn't sure of the answer, but he certainly wasn't fond of either prospect.

He turned to address Devon, but she had already quietly vacated her spot on True's bunk and was hastily packing up her paperwork and computer equipment at the desk.

"You're leaving?" he asked in bewilderment, giving her a double take.

Devon secured the lock on her briefcase and began to head toward the door. "Yes, unfortunately I have to. I'm already behind schedule as it is," she said, her voice rather distant. "But I'll make sure to check on you later to see how you're doing."

Before John could be given the chance to protest her departure, Devon brushed past Bess who had remained standing in the doorway and disappeared down the corridor.

Danziger's puzzled expression met Bess' sympathetic one. "She stays very busy," she explained, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "But I'm sure that you'll see her again real soon."

The Earth-res took Devon's place on True's cot. "It's the same with Morgan. Ever since Devon made him the Deputy Administrative Director of New Pacifica, he works almost all the time." She paused to amend her statement. "Well, not as much as Devon, of course," she clarified. "But he works a lot."

John visibly flinched and his brow creased. Morgan Martin had been promoted to Devon's second in command? Hadn't that been HIS job?

It was obvious to Bess and the children that John was growing increasingly upset, so Bess thought that hearing some good news might have a calming effect on him. "You know, True and I spoke with Julia this morning," she relayed in a kind, soothing tone. "She said that there's really nothing wrong with you except that you're still weak from the surgeries. And now that you're awake, I bet that you'll be discharged by this afternoon. You'll be able to finish your recovery at home."

Bess' plan failed miserably as Danziger's agitation and confusion went into overdrive. "Home?" he exclaimed, blinking several times. "Where in the hell is that supposed to be?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Devon didn't look back as she left Danziger's room. Instead, she moved at a rapid pace as she marched out of the hospital and returned to the administration building which was located directly across the street. After briefly stopping at Morgan's office to remind him that his presence was mandatory at Cameron's symposium that evening and to also fill him in on Elliot's newest complaint, she headed down the hallway toward her office. She was relieved to see that, for one of the few times in recent memory, the chairs in the reception area were not occupied by colonists waiting to voice their various displeasures about the quality of life on G889. Although most of planet's newest occupants were grateful for the second chance they'd been given, there was a small, but vocal minority who refused to play by the rules. And Devon was quickly learning the hard way that, if you gave them an inch, they'd try to take a hectare.

Upon reaching her assistant's desk situated just outside of her office, Devon left instructions to continue to hold her calls until she was told otherwise. As Anna nodded her understanding, the leader entered her office and closed the door behind her. She then punched a complex sequence of numbers into the door's keycode which triggered a deadbolt sliding out to lock it securely, assuring that she would not be disturbed.

Devon moved much slower now as she coasted across the room to her desk, setting down her briefcase at her feet as she slipped into her chair. After a few seconds of deep contemplation, she reached down to unfasten the clasp of a tiny cloth pouch which was attached to her belt and carefully removed its sole content. She again hesitated before placing the silver, capsule-shaped chip into her gearset. She exhaled a shuddering breath as she rotated the eyepiece around and touched a few buttons to activate the equipment.

"I-I know that it must seem strange for me to be here, especially today of all days," Devon said, her voice little more than a shaky whisper. She set her elbows on the desk and her head sank defeatedly into her hands. "But I really need to talk to someone..."

You must login (register) to review.