Face to Face by Linda FFF

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Face to Face, Part 2
by Linda

"Alonzo, I think you had better get in here. I've got something you have to see."

Julia's call drew Alonzo into the wooden cabin they'd found. He looked at her shocked expression, for Julia was unable to take her eyes off the photograph gripped in her uncharacteristically shaky hands.

"What have you found?" he asked, concerned by her sudden silence and her aura of confusion.

"Take a look for yourself." Julia simply handed the top photograph to Alonzo and together they stared silently and motionlessly down into the face of a much-younger Devon Adair.

Back at the makeshift camp, Devon had just shared the joyous news of Julia and Alonzo's engagement with Bess, as they began the work of putting together a meal for the crew. Normally Denner was the one to help Bess with the food preparation, but every once in a while Devon liked to take a turn -- at least she liked the idea of it, until she actually started having to listen to Bess not-so-subtly play matchmaker as they chopped vegetables.

"How wonderful. It's about time they took the plunge." Bess grinned, letting the thought of a wedding inspire her. "Now maybe you and Danziger will follow in their footsteps."

"Maybe," Devon replied noncommittally, keeping her eyes on the food in front of her. She had long ago figured out that denial only spurred Bess' imagination onward in her efforts to put Devon and John together. 'Heaven forbid she should find out about that kiss.' Devon's mind defied her will as it brought back memories of that moment shared only a few minutes earlier. She tried to squash them, praying that the kiss would not become public knowledge. Devon Adair knew that she still had much work to do, commitments to keep, promises to honor. And she was a woman of her word.

"I've got a wonderful idea." Bess smiled at her oblivious cooking partner, who had lost track of Mrs. Martin's ramblings some time ago. "Let's throw them an engagement party.....Before you start with your practical objections, remember that we've stopped already for the night and they're gone on the scouting trip. We could easily get some sort of shindig together before they get back."

Meanwhile, Devon had looked up and spotted Danziger across camp, and once again her body sent her mind reeling in another direction. He was busy analyzing the Transrover, trying to figure out a way to coax the ramshackle machinery the rest of the way to New Pacifica. Devon could not help but watch him and remember for the second time in just as many minutes what it had been like to really lose herself in his arms, if only for just a second or two.

"Devon!"

Bess' voice suddenly drew Devon out of her daydream and back to reality, causing her to blush as she realized she had missed the last portion of Bess' words. "What were you saying?"

"The party?" Bess smiled knowingly as she watched Devon's cheeks color and her eyes quickly avert from the direction of the Transrover.

"Sure, why not? Everyone could use a little fun." She smiled at Bess' surprised expression, hoping the party would distract the woman from her interest in Devon's own love life. She then glanced down at the pile of vegetables she had reduced almost to smithereens in her distracted state. "Listen, since we're about done here, I'm going to go take a walk. I have some things I need to think about."

As Devon headed off into the shadows of the woods, she didn't notice True's eyes following her from the base of a tree, where the youngster was once again hiding out from Yale and her studies. The young Danziger watched as Devon left camp on her own with one last wistful glance at her father.

"Dad wants Devon and Devon wants Dad," the young girl mumbled to herself. "They're going to be all mushy in love like Julia and Alonzo. They'll spend all their time together and share a tent. Then no one will want me."

True reached down into her pack and pulled out her only photograph of the mother she had never known -- Ellie. With tears in her eyes, she whispered to the photo. "If you wanted to be my mom, than you would have come back to me. You didn't want me but it was OK, 'cause I had Dad. But now he wants Devon. So no one wants me." She wiped away her tears and a note of steel crept into her voice. "Fine, if they don't want me, I don't want them."

"True." Yale's voice pulled the youngster our of her solitary thoughts. She quickly hid the photo, furiously wiped some more tears from her eyes and forced a smile to her face. "Coming," she called back, knowing the tutor was looking to begin the lessons she and Uly had earlier tried to avoid.

"I have been looking all over for you." Yale said, smiling at his charge as she emerged from under the tree with a false expression of happiness plastered to her face. "We have a history lesson to finish."

"Why don't I ever learn my lesson?" Devon was surprised to see Laura Magus sitting in the exact spot she had marked out earlier as a great spot to do some lonely thinking. Surrounded by the shady leaves of the forest, the sun peeking down at her from above, the blonde Ops expert was lost in her own world, repeating that one question over and over in a monotonous tone with tears nestled in the corners of her eyes.

"What lesson is that?" Devon asked bluntly.

Magus jumped and then furiously wiped at her eyes. "I didn't see you there. Sorry," she paused. "I guess I have a bad habit of talking to myself."

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. But if there's something I could do to help, I'd really like to. Or if you just want someone to talk to." Devon bit down on her lip nervously. She and Magus weren't enemies, but they weren't the closest of friends. Devon admired the woman, but was skeptical about her own friendship abilities given the small number of real friends she had trusted in her lifetime. But perhaps Magus' problems could help distract her from her own.

"I don't think you could help." Laura gave Devon a thorough once over. "I don't think you've ever had the problems I have."

"You're probably right. We each have our own problems, and I doubt you've had mine either. But sometimes talking helps."

"Yeah, right. Look at you. You've got John Danziger, a man who hasn't looked twice at any woman in the past decade, mooning over you whenever he thinks no one is looking. Aside from that, you're just plain gorgeous."

Devon thought for a moment and decided not to pursue the Danziger angle. She had enough problems on that front herself without bringing anyone else into the dynamic. "I've always thought looks were a matter of opinion. When I was growing up, I would have killed for blond locks like yours. As a matter of fact, I tried to get them once, with peroxide." Adair laughed. "My hair was a mess for months and my mother nearly skinned me alive. Anyway, back to the point, you're definitely far from unattractive, Laura. Besides, I don't think you're crying to yourself over whether or not you like the way you look in the mirror."

Magus eyed Adair uneasily and replied defensively. "Then what do you think I'm crying about?"

Devon paused for a moment, wanting to help but not wanting to offend -- and knowing that while she wanted to help, she certainly wasn't ready to exchange confidences. "How some man thinks you look in the mirror," Devon replied, pausing and looking at Magus intently. "And if I had to wager a guess, I'd predict that man was Baines."

Baines himself was winning a grumbling contest with Danziger as they labored to set up a banquet table for the planned festivities. Bess had coerced them both into helping with the promise of superb culinary delights, although they noted that Morgan was nowhere to be seen, which was usually the case when there was any work to be done. Still, they both admitted -- although only when Bess was out of hearing range -- that they were happy for the engaged couple.

"So when are you going to follow in their footsteps?" Bess came back into the designated party area with some simple decorations she had thrown together on the spur of the moment. Lumalights and some paper streamers to hang from the trees circling the camp area were her decorating scheme this time around. Each time Eden Advance threw a party, Bess felt she had to rack her brains to find something to make the occasion special.

"Who me?" Danziger asked, giving her an innocent smile. "Or maybe you're talking about our good friend Baines here?"

Baines looked up to protest quickly. "She couldn't be talking about me," he declared. "I wasn't the one kissing some beautiful if overly bossy redhead in the com tent this morning."

"You know about that?" Shocked that the kiss was common knowledge, Danziger forgot to restrain his temper, giving Bess occasion to smile at what she saw as proof of his real feelings for Devon Adair. "How the hell do you know?"

"We have our sources." Bess jumped in, distracting Danziger's attention away from the hapless Baines. "It's really about time you know."

"Don't start your matchmaking. It was a one time thing." Thinking on his feet, Danziger tried to do some damage control, although he feared it was too late. Bess Martin had been matchmaking since the moment she and Morgan joined their group, not long after they all crashed onto the planet.

"Yeah, whatever." Bess smiled, thrilled that the pair who had most resisted all her efforts had finally started to get past their homemade barriers. Realizing Danziger was probably eager to kill her, she turned her attention to Baines, smiling sweetly. "But if you just opened your eyes, Larry Baines, you wouldn't have to be a peeping tom watching other people kiss." She left to go check on her culinary masterpiece, leaving behind simmering tempers as she went to taste her simmering vegetables.

"What did she mean by that?" Truly puzzled, Baines looked after the departing Martin with a quizzical air.

"Beats me." Danziger smiled, knowing full well how oblivious his friend was to Magus' obvious interest and grateful the subject had been changed. However, he was still angry that someone had seen him kissing Devon Adair and felt the need to share his and Devon's private moment with the entire group. He knew Devon would be even less happy about that situation when she found out.

"Why would someone living here have a picture of Devon?" Still in the simple cabin looking down at the snapshot Julia had handed him, Alonzo maintained a perplexed expression on his handsome face.

"Not picture, pictures -- plural," Julia replied, handing Alonzo the rest of the stack. Each picture showed Devon Adair in a different stage of life from baby to young adult. In most of the pictures, Devon was alone, although in two she was standing next to a tall, bearded man, her hand tucked in his. "We should probably look around and see if we can find anything else that will give us a clue to who's living here." Julia began re-exploring the room as Alonzo stood staring at the rest of the pictures.

"This must be her father." Alonzo was repeatedly drawn to the pictures of the twosome. "Maybe we should call camp, let them know what we've got. Maybe our fearless leader will be able to explain what we've found here," Alonzo's joking tone didn't mask his serious concerns.

"Just what exactly have you found here?" Alonzo and Julia turned to see a woman pointing what appeared to be a gun made of clear plastic directly at Julia's head. "And more to the point, who are you and what are you doing here?"

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