Face to Face by Linda FFF

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Face to Face, Part 12
by Linda

"What a sad-looking group of people! Do you think they missed us?"

At the sound of Devon's voice, every single person in the campsite turned and feasted their eyes on the sight of their missing comrades, positioned less than 10 feet away. Devon was standing straight and tall, some smudge marks on her face and exhaustion combined with mirth and relief etched in her eyes and smile. Next to her, but only about a head smaller, True smiled more cautiously as she once again tucked her hand in Devon's. Although Devon had not been angry about her running away, she was terrified of what her Dad would say. For a second, every one stood stock still, as the remnants of wind from the storms of previous nights made Devon's and True's hair fly in every direction and the shadow of the moon bathed them in light, making them appear more like phantoms than humans.

After letting out the breath he had been holding, Danziger looked from one to the other and then ran to True, picked her up in his arms and twirled her around and around in relief. He held her close, so she could never get away again -- until True muffled something at him.

"What is it, True-girl?"

"I couldn't breathe." She gasped for breath. "I love you, Dad. I'm sorry."

True's words seemed to break the spell for the rest of Eden Advance and suddenly Devon had Uly in her arms, and the Danzigers and Adairs were surrounded by the rest of their friends. The questions shouted at Devon and True could barely be heard over the din of chaotic happiness and relief. There were hugs and words, as every one in the camp embraced each other and then Devon and True -- often more than once.

Only one woman hung back, watching the love and friendship engulf her daughter as she returned home where she belonged. Filled with regret for what she had lost, Cynthia Adair's mind filled with memories of the past for the umpteenth time since encountering her daughter Devon at the base of that mountain. But now, it was that moment she remembered, the pain and shock that had sent the young woman flying from the comfort of her family into the dangers of the dark and stormy night. Cynthia resolved to herself to cause no more pain and, in the midst of the celebration, she slipped from the camp to return to her solitary home where memories reigned supreme and regrets could be hidden under the business of daily routine. As she walked out, she turned around at the edge of camp and feasted her eyes one last time on the sight of her daughter hugging her grandson, creating food for the imagination which had helped her survive so many years on her own. Devon had returned to where she should be and now it was time for Cynthia to do the same.

Only minutes later, the shock and revelry slowly winded down. All 15 members of Eden Advance were beginning to settle themselves once again around the fire to hear Devon's and True's stories when Yale looked around, scrutinizing the whole camp.

"Where is Cynthia?"

At Yale's words, every one glanced around once again.

"I did think I saw her when True and I walked up." Devon looked perplexed. "Why would she have left now?"

"Geez, not another runaway," Morgan muttered to himself. Only Bess heard and she elbowed him quickly and effectively in the ribs.

"Who's Cynthia?"

Glancing at Uly whose nod appeared to indicate that he already knew, Devon responded. "My mother, remember I told you in the cave, True."

"Oh yeah, you and I both ran away from our parents."

At True's words, Uly started laughing. It was the kind of laugh that was contagious and began to affect every single member of Eden Advance. Soon 15 people were laughing out of control as the flames of the campfire danced in front of them. When she finally regained her composure, Devon returned to her old self and began dealing with practical matters.

"Julia, I want you to check out True, please."

"What? What happened?" Danziger looked from his daughter to Devon in a flash of panic, as Julia merely nodded and began to approach the little girl.

"When Devon found me, I was pretty sick." True frowned at the memory of her nightmares. Pushing away from the memories and from her father's embrace, she got up and walked over to Devon first, whispering in her ear. "Do we have to tell Dad everything? It's too embarrassing. I don't want to talk about it. I'll die from the humiliation. Uly'll tease me forever."

Devon smiled and gave the young girl a hug. "How about if I take care of talking to your Dad and telling him the story? But he'll probably want to talk to you afterward."

True nodded and then followed Julia over to the med tent, her father's eyes following her every step of the way.

"What was wrong with her? Why did she run away? Why'd she leave me?"

Devon took a look around at the crowd, as her heart felt the sharp pain of Danziger's words. She sat back down by the fire, giving Uly one more hug.

"Time for bed, isn't it sweetheart?"

Taking Devon's hint, most of the members of Eden Advance drifted off to their own tents, realizing that they would have plenty of time as they traveled to hear the whole tale of True's and Devon's adventures. Right now, the important thing is that they were both safe and home.

"Promise you'll be here when I wake up?" Not quite ready to leave yet, Uly's questions and confusion put a pained expression on Devon's face.

"Listen to me. I love you more than any one else in the whole wide world. Nothing is going to change that. Sometimes I may be gone for a day or two, but I am always coming back to you. You know that, right?" Devon felt relief flow through her when Uly hesitantly nodded, but then heard the echoes from the past of her mother saying almost the exact same words to her and her lying nods of agreement. "I may go see if I can find your grandmother, but I promise you I'll be right back."

"Why would you go see her now if you ran away from her before?"

"Sometimes every one makes mistakes. I ran away when I was upset and angry. But now I've had some more time to think and I want to hear all about how she got here."

"Are you mad at her for leaving you?"

"A little." Devon nodded hesitantly. "But if there's one thing we've all learned on this planet, it's that many things are out of our control. Maybe, she couldn't help but leave me. Just like I couldn't help leaving you when I was sick in the cold sleep chamber."

"That wasn't your fault." Uly looked perplexed.

"And until I hear about why she left and how she got here, how can we know if any of this is my mother's fault?" Devon gave Uly one more hug and then let him go off to bed. As Yale walked with Uly to the tent, she watched them intently until she became aware of John Danziger's eyes, which had never left her as he watched her care for her son.

"I'm so glad you're back." John finally reached inside himself to find the courage to speak, despite the massive conflux of emotions and thoughts that were running through his head and body. In one moment, he wanted to reach for her and pull her into his arms the way he had just days before. But there was so much lying between them, unanswered questions, confusion and doubt. And she had said she wasn't ready. Truth be told, neither was he, despite the dreams he would never admit to that visited him in the middle of each night. "I guess we have a few things to talk about."

As Devon stared at him, the dreams of the night before came back to her in a flood. All of the sudden, she started laughing once more, unable to control her memories, humor and emotions, biting her tongue to try and keep from speaking the one word on the tip of her tongue. "Twins," the word escaped her as exhaustion overcame her self-control and the stress of the previous days came out in another hysterical laughing fit.

"What did you say?" Danziger had no idea what was going on with Adair, but he was beginning to fear he might have to have her committed -- if there was such a thing as a loony bin on G889. Truth be told, he thought most people here were loony, so it would truly be a case of the inmates running the asylum if such an institution did exist.

Devon finally regained control, grateful that Danziger had not understood her. She put her calm mask back in place. "I'm sorry, Danziger. I guess I'm just sort of losing it after the events of the past few days. I'm really exhausted."

"I can understand that. I felt the same way while you and True were missing. How did you find her anyway?"

"The Terrians." John frowned at Devon's response. "The morning after I took off, I was trying to get back here and they forced me to go in another direction and I found True in a feverish sleep in a cave."

"Why didn't you bring her back here? I was terrified for her."

"I know, but by that point I was so turned around that I had no idea where camp was. The Terrians, I guess, took me in some bizarre circular pattern to get there without cutting through camp. I didn't realize you were so close. Plus, I thought True was too sick to move. So I used cold compresses and prayed, and fortunately her fever broke and she knew how to get back here. By the way, the Dunerail's parked that way." Devon pointed back toward the woods. "I know you're going to kill me when you see what kind of shape it's in."

"I don't care about the friggin' Dunerail!"

"Mark the day!" Devon mustered a smile. "John Danziger said he doesn't care about his precious vehicles." After a second, the two of them began laughing in friendly camaraderie.

"Why do I get the feeling there's a couple of things you're leaving out, Adair?"

"You haven't asked me yet why True left." John went silent, forcing Devon to continue nervously on her own. "She saw us kissing in the com tent." She watched as John Danziger's eyes became suddenly absorbed in the fire, and then she shifted her eyes away, afraid to go on but knowing she must for True's sake. "She was worried you wouldn't want her any more if we fell in love."

"She told you that?" John looked over at Devon in shock, but her eyes were the ones on the ground this time as her hands nervously played in her lap.

"She didn't have to. I had the supreme pleasure of sharing her nightmares."

"How?" John was in shock. It was one thing when Alonzo started sharing dreams with the Terrians, another when it was his daughter and Devon. He blushed as her remembered some of his own dreams, grateful that no one had been sharing those. Fortunately for Danziger, the changing colors of his face were obscured by the darkness of the night.

"I don't know. Maybe it was the illness. Or the Terrians. Or both? But anyway, she was pretty frightened."

"Hey True, we were pretty scared for you." Alonzo joined True and Julia in the med tent, where the doctor was running her diaglove over the dirty little girl.

"I'm sorry." The girl's downcast gaze made Alonzo feel guilty for chastising her and he quickly exchanged a glance with Julia.

"True, you look exhausted, but other than that no worse for wear. It looks like the virus you had pretty much worked itself out of your system." Julia smiled, and couldn't keep from using her free hand to caress the youngster's face. "But you need to go get some sleep -- doctor's orders. And while you're at it, you better see if you can't get your Dad to get some real rest, too."

"Did you tell her the big news?" Alonzo smiled.

"What big news?" True's curiosity instantly ran amuck.

"Should we tell her?" Alonzo directed the teasing question at Julia, but True's expectant face got the best of him. "I asked Julia to marry me."

"Really?"

"Really. And I even said yes." Julia couldn't keep her happy smile off her face as she watched the youngster's eyes light up with excitement. "Now go find your Dad and get some sleep -- both of you. And would you send Devon back here, please, so I can check her out too?"

As True left the tent, Alonzo pulled Julia into his arms and gripped her tightly.

"What's wrong, Alonzo?" Julia pushed away just far enough so she could look him in the eyes. "Cold feet?"

"Never." He tried to muster a smile. "It's just that we never talked about one thing."

"I want a big wedding -- 300 guests and a three-tier wedding cake."

"You think you're so funny." He pulled her close again. "We never talked about a contract."

"Oh." Julia frowned, grateful he couldn't see her face. "I guess I just assumed...." her voice trailed off as her nerves took hold.

"I want forever." Alonzo could feel the tension in his body as he waited for her response. He issued a silent prayer in the millisecond that seemed to take forever in and of itself. Then he heard her reply.

"We're going to have forever, Alonzo."

"How could she think I would ever leave her because of a kiss?" Danziger agitatedly paced around the campfire, digging up the earth below with the hefty emotion in every step. "And why would she come back with you if that was the reason she left?"

"Children are just like us. They have fears and concerns that aren't necessarily based in reality." Devon found herself grateful for the dark as she remembered True's version of the relationship between herself and John. On top of those uncomfortable memories, her heart reached out for the pain John was feeling as they talked. "And we managed to work things out, both in the dreams and then in a talk we had after she woke up. I think True now realizes that nothing is going to come between you and her. You guys have an unbreakable bond and I would never dream of trying to come between you."

Danziger was still trying to absorb his daughter's fears when True returned to the fire. John gathered True in his arms and hugged her to him, unwilling and unable to let go. He glanced at Devon over his daughter's shoulder, grateful she had brought his little girl back and feeling more than just that gratitude.

"Devon, Julia says I'm fine but she wants to see you in the med tent." True felt like the words were almost squeezed out of her as her father hugged her close.

John waited until Devon departed before pulling far enough away from True to see her face.

"Hey True-girl, right now it's time for bed. But tomorrow we're going to have to talk about some stuff."

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