All Things Considered by Allison McDonnell

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The only thing that Danziger hated more than feeling weak was looking weak to those around him. He had eventually calmed down after being assured that his housing situation had been well taken care of and he seemed complacent with spending precious time with his daughter. Of course, True hadn't left his side all day, doting on him relentlessly as both she and Uly continued to chat up a storm, telling him details about their lives now, including their school and of all of the new friends that they'd made. Julia had kept her word and had discharged John from the hospital that very afternoon but, much to his dismay, he'd required the use of a wheelchair which True and Uly were more than happy to commandeer. The children acted as if it was a game as they took turns pushing the elder Danziger through the hallways and out to Alonzo and the Dunerail waiting at the building's entrance. After the pilot had assisted John into the passenger side of the vehicle, he took the driver's seat and the kids piled into the back and they were finally off to John's new home.

As they drove through New Pacifica's busy streets, many colonists gave them a friendly wave while several others stopped and gawked. Danziger hardly noticed any of this because he was too busy being dumbstruck by all of the things that had been accomplished during his absence. What a difference a couple of years makes, he thought to himself as two ATVs whizzed by traveling in the opposite direction. It was all rather strange to him. After all, he'd gone to sleep in the middle of a desert over a thousand miles away only to wake up in a finished community filled with houses, vehicles and lots and lots of strangers.

He also found all of the noise generated by the town to be rather daunting. Maybe the Stations had been this loud, too, he speculated, though he'd certainly never noticed it before. To his surprise, he suddenly felt an appreciation for the more subdued time that he'd spent living with the members of Eden Advance. Sure, it had been a dangerous existence, but it had also been a helluva lot quieter.

He tuned out all of the activity going on around him and concentrated on listening to his daughter as she continued to talk his ear off. At the moment, she was bursting with enthusiasm as she relayed that Uly and some of the other cured Syndrome children had begun to teach her the Terrian language. He wasn't exactly sure how to react to this news but, she seemed to be so happy about it, he figured that he couldn't really take issue with the decision. At least for now.

His thoughts were interrupted by the realization that Alonzo had driven them outside of the town's limits.

"How far away is this place?" Danziger asked with a wrinkled brow.

"We're almost there," Solace replied as the colony's main thoroughfare changed into a slender, obviously much less traveled dirt pathway that was outlined with large, lush trees.

John watched silently as the vehicle began to pass several modest-looking, single level homes which were sporadically arranged along the left side of the road. What distinguished them from the houses in town was that they were constructed of wood instead of the prefabricated materials which had been brought from the Stations.

"This is where everybody in Eden Advance lives," Uly chirped. "That's Bess and Morgan's house over there," he added, pointing to a small home with a beautifully landscaped yard filled with colorful, flowering bushes. After hearing the explanation, John guessed that the group had chosen to build wooden houses for themselves in order to save as many of the supplies as possible for the colonists.

As they continued onward, Danziger's senses began to pick up an unusual, but oddly familiar odor. He turned toward his right and squinted in an attempt to make out the scenery beyond the thick patch of trees. And although he didn't outwardly show it, he was absolutely thrilled to discover that just past the forest was a large stretch of beach and that the source of the smell was the salty scent of the West coast ocean.

True was still practically jumping out of her skin with excitement. "You're gonna love our house, Dad! You won't believe how big it is! We each have our own rooms! And its got two bathrooms! With hot water and everything!"

John rotated his head to face the back seat. "We don't need two bathrooms, Honey," he said, employing a pragmatic tone.

"Well, they're not just for us," True responded just as matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, Mom and I live there, too," Uly chimed in.

As soon as the words left Uly's mouth, the Dunerail eased to a halt as it came upon the last house on the street. There was nothing special about it other than that it was the only two level unit built in that section of New Pacifica and that it had a covered porch which extended along the entire front of the structure.

"Welcome to Chez Adair," Alonzo tried to say with a straight face. "Or should I say Chez Adair and Danziger?"

The kids jumped out and bounded up the flower-lined walkway to greet Yale who had been waiting for them on the porch's wooden swing. This also gave John some much needed time to collect his jaw which seemed to have taken up permanent residence on the 'Rail's floorboard.

"What's going on?" John was finally able to ask as Yale approached the vehicle. "There's no way in hell that Devon wants me livin' under the same roof as her."

The tutor broke into a warm smile. "On the contrary. This unit was specifically built to house four people," he assured. "And you, John, are the fourth person."

Danziger continued to wear a deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression as he was helped out of the Dunerail. His continued weakness made it impossible for him to walk on his own and it was necessary for Alonzo and Yale to more or less carry him into the house. As they passed through the living room and began to slowly ascend the staircase, John caught a glimpse of the simple, but fully-equipped kitchen and dining area located off to the side. The second level sported four nicely sized bedrooms, along with one of the two aforementioned bathrooms. Although the interior was rather plain looking, there were several hints of a woman's influence such as the floral patterned tapestries adorning the windows and the multitude of holostills of friends and family members decorating the rooms.

"This has gotta be some sort of a mix-up," Danziger kept insisting over and over again as they entered his bedroom and carefully deposited him into the king-sized bed which, unbeknownst to him, had been customized to accommodate his burly frame. He also had no idea that his few personal possessions had been unpacked and placed in the nearby closet and in the large, wooden dresser situated on the opposite side of the room.

Yale exchanged a knowing look with the others in the room. "Why don't you let me speak to John alone for a few minutes," he suggested.

Alonzo nodded his agreement before giving Danziger a friendly smack on the arm. "Get some sleep, Pal," he said with a chuckle. "Julia and I only live two doors down and we're gonna come by later to see how you're holdin' up."

Uly waved from the doorway as True brushed her father's stray curls out of the way in order for her to give him a light peck on the cheek. "I'm gonna be right downstairs, so just yell if you need anything. Please rest, okay, Daddy?"

Danziger's confusion was momentarily forgotten as he leaned up to lovingly kiss her forehead. "Anything you say, Sport," he replied, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before breaking contact.

Once Solace and the children exited, leaving only Yale in the room, John shook his head in disbelief.

"Yale, I'm tellin' you this is a mistake."

"It's no mistake," the cyborg said as he grabbed a chair which had been set against an adjacent wall and placed it next to the mechanic's bed. "You have to understand, John, that True has been living with Devon and Uly since we placed you in cold sleep," he explained in a fatherly voice. "Over the past two and a half years, they have become very close. Devon knew that she could never replace you as a parent, nor would she ever try to. But she has raised True as if she was a member of her family. She saw no reason to change things when we reached New Pacifica. And Devon knew that, if we were able to revive you, at the very least, you would need a place to recuperate. Building a house for the four of you seemed like the obvious choice to make."

He furthered, "I also think that Devon is hoping that you'll decide to stay here permanently. She and Uly have become quite attached to True and vice versa. Splitting them up could have a detrimental effect on all of them."

Danziger scoffed. "So because True and me are a package deal, Devon has generously offered to tolerate my presence," he spat, his tone thick with cynicism. "I feel better already."

Yale took a deep breath. "I know that you don't believe this, but Devon does want you here, and not only because of True. Though she might not know how to show it, she has missed you very much. "

Danziger remained less than convinced. "You didn't see her at the hospital this morning," he expressed gruffly, trying his best not to sound as wounded as he'd felt. "I don't understand it, Yale. I know that Devon and I didn't exactly get along those first few months after the crash. But towards the end there, those last few weeks before she got sick, we were finally working out some of our differences with one another. I sorta thought that we were becoming pretty good friends."

John looked away and exhaled a sigh. "But you'd never know that from her behavior today. The woman acted like we barely knew each other. She couldn't wait to get away from me. She's... different from what I remember," he said, his voice now tinged with sadness.

Yale nodded somberly. "Yes, she has changed," he acknowledged, his tone mirroring John's. "The Terrians foretold us that the success of New Pacifica-- the success of humanity on G889-- rests upon her shoulders and her shoulders alone. That is a lot for any person to deal with, even Devon Adair." His expression grew even more crestfallen. "After we left you behind, she began to isolate herself from the rest of the group, even Uly and True to a degree. It has only worsened since The Jamestown arrived."

The tutor paused, unsure about whether or not to share a particular observation he'd made regarding his former charge. He decided to proceed, speaking very slowly in order to carefully choose his words. "I think that, on a certain level, Devon harbors some resentment toward the colonists. She blames them."

Danziger's gaze swung back to Yale and his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Blames them for what?"

"As you are well aware, in the original future, the colony failed because of their inability to work with you and the other members of Eden Advance. They had also refused to co-exist with the Terrians. They ended up rejecting the planet and, in turn, the planet rejected them, and us. The colonists were the reason that we had to heal Devon and restore her to leadership in time for their arrival," Yale divulged. "In her mind, it is their fault that we were forced to sacrifice your life in order to save hers."

He hesitated, briefly concerned that he might be overstepping his bounds by giving away too much of what he had presumed to be Devon's private thoughts. However, deep down, he knew that it was important that John heard what he had to say. He continued, "Though she has never said it out loud, I know that Devon often feels overwhelmed. She has thrown herself into her work and has insisted on being involved in every decision having to do with the colony. But she's not sure if she should be negotiating with the colonists or ruling over them with an iron fist. And she is terrified of making a wrong choice and accidentally putting us back on the original path toward ultimate destruction."

He leaned forward in his chair to drive his point home. "I guess that what I am trying to say is that having you live here will be good for Devon. Right now, she needs your support. And even more than that, she needs your friendship."

John remained stonefaced throughout most of the conversation as well as for many seconds afterward as he silently absorbed Yale's words. Finally, he swallowed hard and exhaled the breath that he didn't realize that he'd been holding.

"Okay," he quietly stated with a resolute nod of his head. "Thanks for telling me this."

Although there was much more that Danziger needed to be brought up to speed on, Yale knew that it should wait. At the moment, Danziger's concentration needed to be centered on regaining his health as opposed to worrying about Devon's welfare. There would be plenty of time for that later.

Yale stood and gently reset the chair back against the wall. "Devon is scheduled to work late, so True and Uly will be having dinner at my house this evening. I'll have them bring back a plate of food for you. In the meantime, please get some sleep."

He pulled the curtains to a close in order to block out the light on his way out the door. As he stepped into the hallway, he stopped and turned back toward the bedroom. A thoughtful smile formed on his lips. "I'm very glad that you are back, John," he said earnestly.

Danziger was clearly still processing what he'd been told and did not return Yale's grin. "Me, too," he replied, his expression serious.

After Yale left, John gathered his strength and leaned forward to remove his shoes before gracelessly flopping back to the laying position. He let out another deep sigh. As strong and sharp as his mind may have felt, his body was completely depleted of energy and the darkness in the room only served to fuel his fatigued state. He wearily turned his head to notice that a framed holostill of True had been set on the nightstand directly beside his bed.

Danziger's gaze remained on his daughter's image until his eyes fell shut. He slept through the rest of the night, too exhausted to eat his promised supper or to entertain a visit from Julia and Alonzo. If Devon had indeed kept her word to check on him, he'd slept through that as well.

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