The Journey's End by Lizzy

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The Journey's End, Part 4
by Lizzy

John Danziger munched on his breakfast while Devon sat beside him, asking Basil Sherwood question after question about how they'd gotten this and that to work, since she had noticed that a lot of imperative things were missing. It was interesting to listen to, but he had no interest in becoming part of the conversation itself.

The most interesting was the defense system. They'd set up perimeter beacons in a five mile radius surrounding the colony and the beach that sloped down from the area where the hospital sat. It kept away the Grendlers, but the Terrians had slipped through once in their first month on the planet. After that, they hadn't heard much from them. The fence also served to keep the colony's two dogs, Flit and Sandy, from straying out of the boundaries.

The building was heated by the hot springs in the caves surrounding the beach. Ducts funneled the air into the rooms, and they could be closed during the summer. Apparently something had happened to the air conditioning unit and all they'd had during the summer to keep off the deathly heat was the ocean's waters and a couple of fans. Danziger enthusiastically offered to fix it for them, though.

They were still growing fresh foods in a biodome in back of the hospital. Arkady Bogdanov, though his specialty was communications, had taken an interest in botany, and spent a lot of time there tending the plants. The barn was strictly commanded by Nick Fonseca, the rather gruff, fifty year-old zoologist Devon had hired to tend the animals. They had six horses, four cows, and many ducks. All the horses had been named and "adopted" long ago, and one of them, Charlotte O'hara's horse, Sasquatch, was pregnant with the first animal of their group to bear any offspring, aside from the ever so prolific ducks.

Danziger noticed True's eyes light up at hearing that there were ducks. Yale had been showing the children holos of them awhile ago, and she had commented at how adorable a little duckling looked.

"So, how did you manage your first few months here?" Bess Martin posed the question. Basil immediately turned her attention from Devon to the other woman, apparently used to conducting conversations in large groups.

"Oh, it wasn't easy," she explained, "We had the survival packs from the pod, and there was some bread and a little dried meat, as well as some freeze dried stuff in the cargo pods. Since we landed in the fall we couldn't plant outside, we had to use the biodome." She paused for a moment to nibble on a carrot, and looked to Bess to see if she had any more questions.

True, who had been squirming impatiently at the table beside Uly, finally asked, "Can we go down to the farm?"

Basil smiled at the little girl's enthusiasm, and then shrugged. "Hey, why not. We've got forever to catch up on these things. Who wants to go on a horseback ride?" Grinning, she slid out of her chair, the others following, a number of them stuffing some of the greens into their pockets and fruit into their mouths.

Though Morgan wasn't all that interested in seeing the barn--he wasn't as into animals as the others--Bess persuaded him that it would be worth his while. Charlotte, who had finished cleaning up the kitchen, explained that the farm was a mile away, out of the forest, and that it would be necessary to ride in vehicles.

They piled into the Dunerails, since there were three more that Charlotte's group had recovered, and the ATV and were off on their way. In a half hour's time, they had pulled up at the end of the dirt road and before them stood a rather large building constructed completely of wood. Basil explained that the Terrians had condoned the use of the trees after a bit of cajoling.

Everyone hopped out and began to mill around outside, until Nick Fonseca opened the fence's gate and allowed them to walk through. He explained that all the animals were in the barn (the ducks had been moved to a pond in the biodome) and that they could come and take a peek if they liked.

"C'mon Morgan," Bess waved to him from the gigantic doorway to the stable. Rolling his eyes, he loped after her, his cheeks burning with the cold. True Danziger shot past him through the door, eager to see the animals.

Within the barn were a number of stalls, each with an animal inside. Wooden plaques were in front of each. As he walked through he read them: "Fly", "Cassandra" (he noted that particular horse was a stunning animal, pure white), "Lightening", "Thunder", "Nadezhda", and "Sasquatch". Charlotte O'hara paused in front of Sasquatch's stall, True tagging along behind her. A kindly-looking animal, brown with a black mane, extended its neck and head out of a Dutch door to except a pat from her owner.

"Hey, guys," she said, apparently referring to the group as a whole, "I'd like you to meet Sasquatch."

"Is she the one that's going to have a baby?" True asked, curiously. Charlotte nodded, rubbing the animal's muzzle. "Yeah." Morgan moved on, wondering how people could like furry, fuzzy creatures. Or any creatures at all, for that matter. They couldn't *talk* to you, after all, and the certainly had nothing to offer you in exchange for the care you gave them.

The cows were kept outside in a large, fenced-in corral. They were milling about, the big bull making an impressive sight. *Now that's my kind of animal,* Morgan thought, *Them you can eat!*

Bess walked up beside him, linking her arm in his. "So, Morgan, what do you think of those horses? Oh, that Cassandra is a beaut! You should see how True fawns over her. And Basil, I swear that horse has got her *trained*." Morgan nodded absently, fantasizing about what a nice, rare steak might taste like. After all those veggies for lunch and a life of survival packs for the past year, a slab of meat would hit the spot.

"Want to go for a ride?" Bess suggested brightly, "I know True is. Arkady said I could ride Nadezhda. He calls her Nadia. She looks like a sweetheart." Then she noticed that Morgan wasn't paying any attention.

"Morgan!" she exclaimed, "Have you been paying attention to a word I've said??"

Morgan snapped out of his dreamland, returning his attention to his wife. "Oh, yeah, right Bess. Ride the horses . . . " She nodded, smiling, and then turned back in the direction of the stables. Then Morgan's eyes bulged as he realized what he'd just said. "Wait a minute, ride the horses? *Ride the horses*? What the--wait a minute Bess, hang on!"

Devon relaxed, leaning against the rail to the corral, behind which the cows were loitering, and watched as Alonzo and Julia exited the barn, riding on a horse. The two of them seemed to be having a good time, though Alonzo was having a little trouble 'piloting' the animal.

She smiled with amusement as the two of them headed off in what was obviously the wrong direction, Julia nearly falling off the horse she was laughing so hard, insisting he hand over the reigns. Many of the others had decided to ride the horses, and there seemed to be some sort of waiting list, there being only six (that and Charlotte had forbidden everyone from riding Sasquatch).

They'd been at the barn for nearly an hour now, and it was a little past noon. The sun was high in the sky, and Devon was beginning to crave some lunch right about then. She cast a glance to the open field, where True pranced around on Cassandra, giggling her head off as Uly looked on, standing beside Yale and looking just a little jealous.

Basil and Ross stepped out of the barn, after saddling the most recent of the waiting people onto one of the horses. The two stopped for a moment and watched the newcomers riding around on the horses, having a great deal of fun. Ross said something to her, and she began to laugh, taking his hand in hers and planting a kiss on his lips. Devon couldn't stop herself from thinking what a cute couple the two made. Which surprised her, since she'd think that was something that would go through *Bess's* mind, not her own.

"Looks like we're not the only people who found each other," Danziger commented, watching the two younger people as Ross continued to entertain his lovely companion. The certainly acted like an established couple, alright.

Devon smiled, leaning closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well, I'm glad I found *you*," she said, giving him a kiss.

Danziger couldn't complain about that, and when the two broke away he said, "Yeah, I hear that Basil and Ross are planning on getting married sometime soon. It seems the moment they landed on the planet," he snapped his fingers, "Like *that*. A fly to honey, was Charlie's metaphor."

Devon giggled and shook her head. "These young people are funny, aren't they?" Though Danziger didn't find it too funny. "Oh well, not that we're *that* old," Devon covered quickly, "I . . . I was just saying that, you know, compared to us--"

"Dev," John put a hand up to silence her, "I don't know what you upper-class folk are like, but I could care less if I were old. Just as long as I had you."

Devon cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" He nodded. "Aw," Devon sighed, "Now who can resist such an honest confession?"

At about three hours past noon, much to True's chagrin, Alonzo noted, the group trooped back to the hospital for yet another delicious meal. Everyone was becoming acquainted (or re-acquainted) with those who were on pod number four. Arkady and Manya were getting on like any normal married couple, no one would've guessed they'd been separated for over a year.

Charlotte and Walman were talking about wallpaper (Alonzo wasn't asking), and Basil's charm was, you guessed, charming everyone. True had become enraptured in Nick's one-sided conversation on the care of horses, and Devon and Everett Calhoon were talking about the design of the hospital.

Alonzo was having a rather relaxed conversation with the vivacious Basil and her soft-spoken suitor, his arm around Julia's shoulder and his patented fly-boy grin on his face. She was talking about the ride down, and how helpless she had felt, as well as her distress when the Advance Ship first began to malfunction.

It was apparent Julia had little interest in the conversation, and she was nibbling on a piece of lettuce. Basil had just finished her explanation of how she had directed the construction of the hospital, when the usually-silent Ross came right out and asked, "So what's the story on Danz and Adair?"

"Uh . . . " Alonzo blinked, surprised at the straightforwardness of the question. He supposed that being in a close knit, small group for so long could make you forget what privacy was. Though even the sixteen members of *their* group had managed to respect each others' privacy.

"I mean," Ross continued, "I just kind of noticed that they were a little . . . "

"Friendly," Basil finished for him, and Ross nodded. Julia turned her attention away from her salad and said, "Bess Martin likes to explain it by saying 'There's something in the air', but it's really up to you."

It was obvious Ross didn't know what to make of that. "So you mean they *are* together? John "The Bear" Danziger and Devon Frige-Adair?" he let out an amused chuckle. "Who'd of thought, eh Basil?"

Julia pursed her lips at Ross's nickname for Devon. "I think you'll find that Devon has changed a great deal, as has John. It's true they started out very different at first, but after a year or so on the road, they found out they had more in common than they thought."

"I think Ross knows what it's like to be changed by someone," Basil shot a mischievous glance at Ross. "When I met Mr. Parker over there he was the most belligerent, overbearing, *loud* person I'd ever met, and I fixed him good."

"That is not true, Bas," Ross objected, "And you know it." She shrugged, looking away. Then she looked back as a thought struck her. "Hey, anyone in the mood for a shower?"

As the words "anyone in the mood for a shower" passed through Basil's lips, every fork was dropped to the table, and all eyes turned to her.

"There are showers here?" Julia asked her. Basil nodded, looking at her oddly. "Of course. How do you think we keep clean?" Everyone continued to stare, so she explained further. "Nancy just got the plumbing and everything finished a few weeks ago. It's pumped up from the hot springs and into pipes. The greatest thing you ever felt, I promise you."

"Where are these so-called showers?" Bess wanted to know. "At the shower house, of course," Charlotte said, swallowing the last of a slice of bread. "What, you think we're going to outfit every room with a shower? Yeah right."

So it was decided that immediately after dinner that night they were all going to the shower house and taking a much-deserved hot shower.

The rest of the day, much to Ulysses' chagrin, consisted mostly of tours of the surrounding *natural* area. They showed them where the Lower Morgan River (as they knew it) emptied out into Trumbell Bay, and with the help of the Jumpers got to look at some islands called the Trumbell Bay Archipelago. Basil said she and Ross had built a small dingy in the hopes they could someday row out to one of the islands, but hadn't found enough time.

True took much joy in showing off her koba, Kitty, to Basil and Charlotte, who were apparently just as fond of animals as she. They marveled at how the small creature mimicked their actions.

Once they were back at the hospital, they unloaded all their clothes and other essentials from the Transrover and put it in their rooms. Then they went out onto the beach to watch the sunset. Since it was winter the sun set early. Instead of the cliff that Uly's group had at first encountered, there was a gently sloping incline that went down a mere five feet to the sandy beach.

Uly longed to pull his boots off and sink his feet into the sand, but it was much too cold. Instead he dropped down on the ground beside True and watched their second beach sunset in as many days.

After that was done, they all shuffled back to the hospital, laughing and talking about all they'd seen, and then his mother told him the bad news.

"Guys," she said, referring to him and True, "Charlotte, Basil, Arkady, Nancy, Everett, Ross, Nick, and the others have been fixing us meals all day. I think it's only fair that we take KP duty for dinner."

They tried to object, but Devon would hear none of it, and they trooped off to the kitchen. Charlotte gave them the tour of the large kitchen and supervised the preparation of the various salads and fruits and the cutting of the bread. It wasn't as bad as they had expected, but it was still a mind numbing task. Then, of course, they had to serve it to those standing in line.

When he and True *finally* got their own dinner, they took a seat in the corner of the room, munching in silence. The adults weren't having as much conversation during dinner as they had during lunch. There were only a handful of people at the long meeting table. Most had broken off into pairs or small groups and taken seats at the scattered tables and were having their own private conversations.

They were so hungry after the day's tours and their KP duty that they ate it in silence, only stop to utter requests like 'pass the salt' or 'are you going to eat that?'. By the time they finished eating, so had the adults, so everyone got up from the tables and vacated to the lobby.

Then Charlotte announced, "Who would like to take a shower? I've got some towels in one of the store rooms." There were many exclamations of approval, so she continued, "I'll just let Everett here show you the way, and I'll bring the towels in a few minutes." Calhoon sarcastically gave her a smile of thanks, and led them back out the door and around to the back side of the hospital. There was a small building which they entered. Within were about two dozen showers and even a tub that was apparently used for a bath.

Devon gave Uly his toothbrush and clean clothes which she had fetched before leaving the hospital and sent him on his way.

"Oh, and by the way," Charlotte said after she'd put the towels on the row of sinks for everyone to grab, "This bath house is not segregated, so I'm trusting that all you men will behave yourself, eh?"

Julia had discovered that there was a small changing area beside every shower stall and gratefully shed her clothes, hopping into the showers. She turned the water on and a surge of joy washed over her as she was deluged with hot water. Her skin tingled delightfully, and she couldn't help but let out a giggle, which was echoed all over the bath house.

"There's plenty of hot water," Charlotte called over the noise of running water, "But I still wouldn't waste if I were you!"

To that statement there were a number of "okays", "sures," and even one or two sarcastic, "yeah rights". Julia shook her head and raised her cold hands up beneath the spray of water, feeling them tingle as they warmed up. It had been well over a year since she'd last taken a nice, hot shower, which made her appreciate it far.

Basil had passed out a few bottles of shampoo, since everyone's hair looked rather "dull and lifeless" as she had put it, so Julia rubbed it in and rinsed it out, enjoying the feeling of the hot water running over her.

When one is having so much time, it is quite normal to lose track of time, as Julia did, until she heard Devon shout through the curtain, "Julia, is that you? It's nearly eight o'clock, you ought to be getting out soon. Everyone else has."

Julia hadn't noticed the lessening of shower noise until then, and when she listened closely, hers was the only one she heard. "Okay, I'll be out in a few minutes," she told her friend, and it appeared that she had moved on.

She heard the bath house door swing open and closed a number of times, and suddenly realized she was all alone, that they had all gone back to the hospital. She glanced down at her hands and realized they had turned red from the heat. *Ah well,* she thought, *I guess I'm gonna have to get out.*

She reached up and shut off the water, grabbing the towel from above the curtain and wrapping it around herself before exiting to the changing cubicle. She put on her clean clothes and then decided she ought to take a look in the mirrors and brush her hair.

Grabbing her brush, she pushed aside the curtain and walked on the tiles floor, her bare feet splashing in puddles of water, over to the row of sinks and began to brush it. As she was doing this, she noticed Alonzo approach behind her. "'Lonz!" she exclaimed as he stopped and put his arms about her waist, "What are you doing still in here? I thought Devon shooed everyone out?"

Alonzo shrugged, grinning at their reflection in the mirror, "Why are you still in here?"

Julia didn't answer that, but said, "So, did you enjoy your shower?" Alonzo let out a soft moan of ecstacy, "Oh yeah, you bet." Julia couldn't help but snicker at him. He could be so funny sometimes.

"Are you enjoying your stay at Casa de Charlotte?" he joked. She shrugged, continuing to brush her hair despite his embrace. "It's okay, I suppose. Better they've got it built than we have to build it. It saved us a great deal of time. We're *almost* running on time now for the Colony Ship."

Alonzo dropped his arms to his sides and began to pace back and forth on the wet floor of the shower house. "Yeah, uh, Julia, I was thinking about the Colony Ship and everything. Like, you know, how I was always planning on going back on it."

Julia nodded slowly, wondering if she really wanted to know where this conversation was going.

"Well, I was thinking about you and me, and we've been together for a long time," he said, "And I *really* don't want to leave you behind and go back to the Stations." A smile flickered across Julia's face as she leaned back against the sink. Alonzo stopped his pacing and came back to stand beside her and take her hand. "Julia, I love you."

"I love you too, 'Lonz," Julia smiled. Alonzo smiled back, and then took a deep breath, "And that's why I wanted to know if you would be my wife."

To Be Continued . . . In Another Story

-The End-

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