Ananda by Maggie C, Lilly321

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Ananda (2/5)
by Elizabeth Jones
and Maggie C.

John got up early the next morning. He had grabbed a cup of coffee while muttering a hasty 'good morning' to Bess and Matazl, on breakfast duty this morning. Now he sat just outside the biodome and tried to convince himself that the situation with Shepherd and Devon wasn't as bad as it seemed. She would see his true colors soon enough. He hoped.

"You really shouldn't be out in this cold weather," a voice behind him said.

John sighed. He really didn't want to face Devon right now. "I'm fine, Adair," he said, more harshly than he intended.

"Okay, John," Devon said, but she didn't leave. "Look, can I ask you a favor?"

Danziger grimaced; he knew what was coming. Standing up and finally turning to face her, he began, "Adair . . ."

She cut him off. "I'm not asking for you to like him, just give him a chance. He's a good man, John," she said, looking up into his eyes.

Danziger's jaw clenched and he struggled to keep his voice level. "And how do you know that, Adair?"

"I know him, John, . . ."

This time it was Danziger who cut Devon off. "Okay, let's just say you did meet him in your dreams 22 years ago." Danziger's tone told Devon just what he thought of *that* idea, but he went on before she could interrupt again. "You still don't know him, Devon, it's been 22 years! He was sent here as a penal colonist, for God's sake!"

"So was the Elder," Devon shot back.

That brought John up short. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, come on Danziger, you know what I mean. You trust the Elder, and he could have been sent here for the same reason as Shepherd. You gave him a chance. Why do you have such a problem with Shepherd?"

"You know, it might be because Shepherd's coming with us, and the Elder isn't," John retorted, knowing that wasn't why he mistrusted Shepherd but not wanting to face the real reason.

Devon just looked at him for a moment and then sighed. "Look, I don't want to argue with you, John . . ."

Danziger snorted derisively. "Could've fooled me all these months," he said with a slight smile.

Devon gave him a hesitant half-smile back. "John, please?"

John shook his head and sighed in defeat. He was going to kick himself later for this, he just knew it, but sometimes, when she looked at him like that, he just couldn't seem to say no to her. "Look, I promise I'll behave," he said. He glanced once more at Devon's pleading expression and then added, "and I'll try," he sighed.

"Thank you, John," Devon smiled at him.

John shook his head once more and then left to go and make sure True got up in time for breakfast. Devon watched him go and then she saw Shepherd coming toward her. She smiled broadly at him. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Devon," he said, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. He glanced to where Danziger had just disappeared inside the biodome. "What did Danziger want?"

Devon was confused at the tone of his voice. "What do you mean, what did he want? We were just talking," she said. Shepherd looked at her like he didn't believe her. She went on, exasperated, "Shepherd, we are friends, friends do talk on occasion." Devon could see Shepherd didn't like that explanation. This was crazy; Shepherd was assuming the worst about John, it was as if Shepherd could barely stand him. Now that Devon thought about it, Shepherd had been acting like this ever since the caves. She just couldn't understand it, Shepherd had no reason to mistrust or dislike John. Devon sighed inwardly. She didn't want to deal with it now. Devon had already confronted Danziger this morning - she would save Shepherd for another day. "Come on, I think breakfast is ready," she mustered a smile for him and they re-entered the biodome.

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Danziger sighed. Finally. He put his tools away, relieved that the generator had decided to cooperate for the time being. He walked toward the biodome, rubbing his forehead. God, what a headache, he thought. Apparently, he wasn't totally recovered from whatever he had gotten sick from out there. Danziger wasn't about to go see Julia, though, that was the *last* thing he needed, her giving him another lecture about how he didn't take care of himself. He was looking forward to just grabbing a hot cup of coffee and being alone with his thoughts for awhile. Luck wasn't with him, though, when he got to the biodome he found Shepherd and Devon already there. Devon was laughing at something Shepherd had said. John considered going back the way he came, but Devon saw him before he could duck out.

"Hi John," she said, still smiling.

"Devon," he said in greeting, and remembering his promise to Devon this morning, he greeted Shepherd with the same amiable tone of voice. "Shepherd." Then he walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee, not noticing Devon's smile at his greeting or Shepherd's surprised look.

//What is that man up to? // Shepherd thought suspiciously. He didn't believe for a second that Danziger's greeting was sincere. //Danziger would try anything to cause a rift between Devon and myself. // He pulled his mind away from Danziger's odd behavior and focused on the conversation between Devon and John. She was asking him about the generator.

Danziger grimaced. "It's working, for now, anyway. That is the most temperamental piece of machinery I've ever seen. The next time it decides to break down, it'll probably be for good," he said.

Devon just rolled her eyes at that and smiled knowingly. "Mm-hmm, that's what you say every time, John. And somehow, you're always able to fix it."

Shepherd joined the conversation. "So you keep the generator running, Danziger?"

"I try to, anyway," John said, as evenly as possible, given Shepherd's almost patronizing tone of voice.

"Hmm," he said, "then I suppose it's a miracle it's lasted this long."

Danziger stared at him, feeling the anger start to rise. Without saying a word, he put his cup down and left the biodome. Devon noted his departure but was still looking at Shepherd in surprise. It wasn't so much what Shepherd had said, although that was insulting enough, it was the tone of voice he used when speaking to John.

"What was that for?" she asked, astonished.

"What do you mean?" Shepherd asked.

He had the gall to look confused, as if he didn't know what she was talking about. "How could you insult him like that, he's done nothing to you," Devon said. "John's the only reason that generator is still functioning, although that really wasn't the reason you said that, was it?"

"What do you mean, Devon?" Shepherd asked, not liking where this conversation seemed to be going.

"You've been standoffish to every person in camp, *especially* John." She cut him off when he tried to protest. "Don't try to deny it, I've been watching, when people try to approach you, you brush them off. Shepherd, these are my friends. You can't expect them to accept you if you don't accept them!" Not giving him a chance to respond, she left the biodome as well.

Shepherd was left to wonder what had just happened. He hadn't really *intended* to insult Danziger, although he wasn't sorry that he did. And Devon's claim that he was brushing away the rest of her group, it wasn't true . . . was it? He didn't think so, but he would try harder, for Devon's sake. //I don't want to lose her, not after just finding her, // he thought.

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"Hey, Uly," Danziger called, "what are you up to?" The boy was poking around, looking behind rocks and bushes.

"Hi Mr. Danziger," Uly replied. "I'm trying to find True. We're playing a game," he explained, "but I can't find her, so I'm going back to camp."

Danziger tried not to smile at Uly's defeated expression. "Won't True wonder where you are?"

"Nah," Uly said. "My time's almost up anyway."

"Okay, see you later, champ," John said, and Uly waved as he ran off.

John continued slowly walking through the woods. After everything that had been going on, he needed time to think about things. Or to try not to think about things, specifically Devon and the new addition to their group. ~Shepherd hates my guts for no reason,~ John thought darkly. ~At least I gave a shot at being polite to him, even though I still don't trust him farther than I can throw the Transrover. Even Devon has to admit there's no reason for Shepherd to hate me.~ Danziger tried to ignore the way his heart beat a little faster at the thought of her. He couldn't, and groaned inwardly. ~This is going to drive me nuts,~ he thought.

//Give up and admit it. You're in love with her.//

~Shut up.~

//Face it, you've got it bad.//

~No, I don't. I'm *not* in love with Devon.~ He silently cursed the Elder for not keeping his mouth shut.

//He just pointed out what you're too dense to see,// his mind taunted. //After all, why do you think you're acting so jealous? //

That brought John's thoughts to a sudden halt. Was he acting jealous?

//Yes, you are acting jealous.//

~And *why* would I act jealous? What do I have to be jealous of?~

//You act jealous because you *are* jealous, stupid! You're jealous of Shepherd because he's with Devon, and you're in love with her! //

~I am not in love with Devon!!~

//Yes, you are! Why do you think Shepherd hates you so much? //

Damn. That was a good point. If Shepherd thought he was in love with Devon, ~which I'm *not*,~ it would go a long way in explaining why Shepherd hated him so much.

Suddenly Danziger stopped short. ~What was that?~ He could've sworn he heard footsteps. Danziger listened, but didn't hear anything else. He shrugged and continued walking. After a few minutes, he heard voices and stopped to listen.

"Forget the big guy. Let's grab that little girl. She was right back here." The voices were faint, and John could barely make them out.

Then another voice answered the first. "Right, a kid will be more convincing, anyway."

"Daddy?" Danziger whirled around to see True standing there, wide-eyed and frightened. He didn't blame her at all. Danziger grew very determined. If these jerks thought that they were getting their hands on his little girl, . . . He quickly grabbed her and boosted her into a nearby tree.

"Stay there and be quiet," he told her. "Don't move, don't say one word." Her father's tone frightened True even more, and she just nodded. She watched him move out of view to face the approaching footsteps.

True watched through the branches as two men came into the clearing. They didn't seem too disappointed to find her dad instead of her. "Get him," one of them said, and then they both went after her dad. She watched, paralyzed with fear, as the two men overpowered her dad. He landed in a heap right below her, as the two men stood and laughed. Still conscious, in spite of the beating he had taken, her dad looked up and locked eyes with True for a second.

In that short span of time, Danziger tried to convey all the love he felt for his daughter. He averted his eyes, so the two men wouldn't spot her. Then he somehow pulled himself to his feet and turned to face the two men again. He threw a weak punch at one, which was easily dodged, and sank back to the ground as the man delivered a vicious punch to his stomach. As he lay on the ground, both men started to kick him repeatedly in the ribs until Danziger mercifully lost consciousness.

True stayed frozen in the tree as the men dragged her dad off, biting her lip so she wouldn't cry out. She waited what seemed like forever until she was sure the men were gone. Then she slipped out of the tree. When she hit the ground, a torn piece of fabric caught her eye. With a trembling hand, she reached for it. It was a piece of her dad's coat, and it had blood on it. She didn't even notice she was crying until a tear landed on the fabric. She got up and blindly started to run back to camp.

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Back at camp, Uly approached his mother, who was sitting and talking with Shepherd. Ignoring Shepherd, he asked his mom, "Have you seen True? I wanted to see if she wanted to do something."

"I haven't seen her," Devon replied. "Why don't you ask John?"

"I can't find him either," Uly answered.

"Really?" Devon was surprised. Usually at least one of the Danzigers was close at hand. "Anyway, Uly, it's too late to play," she told her son. It had gotten dark, and a few people with guard duty later in the night had already drifted off to sleep. "Why don't you start getting ready for bed?"

"What about True?" Uly protested.

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere," Devon reassured him. "Go on, and I'll make sure, okay?" she capitulated, and Uly reluctantly went to bed.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Devon said to Shepherd after Uly left.

//See how she worries about him? //

~Stop that,~ Shepherd told the annoying voice in his head, ~she has every right to be concerned, it's too late for the little girl to be out and about.~ Still, his doubts about who owned the key to Devon's heart grew larger. "Hmm? No, I haven't seen them either," Shepherd answered her question.

"I'm going to check around," Devon said, not noticing Shepherd's eyes following her.

~I can't lose you, Devon,~ he thought. //But what if she's already gone?// The question drifted across his mind.

Devon walked over to where Yale, the Martin's, and a few others were gathered. "Has anyone seen True or Danziger?" she asked. No one had.

"Are they missing?" Bess asked in concern.

Devon scanned the camp. "It looks like it," she said. Then everyone rushed over as they heard a commotion at the edge of camp. Devon saw True rush past Magus, the perimeter guard. The clearly distraught girl spotted Devon and made a beeline for her. Devon dropped to her knees and caught the sobbing girl in her arms. "True, what is it, honey?" Devon asked as the rest of camp gathered around them. A knot of fear started growing in the pit of Devon's stomach. Something was wrong, really wrong. She could only think of one thing that would make True this distraught. ~Something happened to John,~ she realized, horrified. Managing to keep her voice calm and steady, Devon asked True again, "Honey, what happened?" True finally managed to catch her breath and stopped crying long enough to tell Devon the whole story.

Devon's back was facing Shepherd, so he didn't see the look of pain that passed over her face when True told them how her dad had been beaten and dragged off. He didn't see her reaction, so he didn't see that this was an extreme reaction for Devon to have for a man who was just a friend, even a close friend.

Devon's first response was to rush out and try to find Danziger. Then reason set in and she knew they had to wait until morning. People started drifting off as they realized the same thing. Devon sat there with True, thinking, until a small voice broke into her thoughts.

"Could I stay with you tonight?" True asked, still upset by what had happened.

Devon smiled at the little girl. "Sure, sweetie. Come on." She took True's hand and led her back to her room, where Uly was already asleep. Devon helped True get her coat and boots off, since she was already half asleep. Devon tucked her in, and was about to get ready for bed herself when the fabric from John's coat, still clutched in True's hand, caught her eye. Devon gently extracted it from the girl's hand. Seeing the bloodstains on it, Devon bit her lip. ~You'd better be okay, John,~ she thought, not really understanding why she was so worried. She clutched the fabric in her hand and sent up a silent prayer. ~Please, be okay.~

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End Part 2

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