Legends III - Legends of Life by Nicole Mayer

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Legends III : LEGENDS OF LIFE. (3/5)
by Nicole Mayer

Gillian's hand snaked through the dirt and found Jessie's. "It's alright," she whispered, although her heart was pounding in amazement. "I know who that is."

"Who?" asked Jessie nervously.

"I don't know how, I don't know why, but that is John Danziger."

Jessie's jaw dropped. "But he should have been dead years ago! It can't be him...the planet, the Terrians, they would have known. They would have told me!"

"Or me," realised Gillian. A startling new thought struck her. "Perhaps it *was* him I was called to find."

"And not Devon?"

That caused Gillian to pause. She had been so sure that Devon was calling to her, searching for release from her coffin. But perhaps it was Danziger who was trapped instead...some strange phenomena that suspended the advancement of his years and caught him in a living hell. Anything was possible.

The man was still shouting and raving, screaming at the girls over and over to go away.

"Uh...Mr. Danziger?" began Gillian, her face still buried in the dirt.

He paused as he recognised his name. "What do you want?" Danziger snapped, not lowering the mag-pro.

Gillian looked to Jessie, suddenly at a loss for words. "What do we want?" she hissed.

"To help," offered Jessie. Gillian gave a half-nod in agreement.

"Mr. Danziger, we came out here to help you."

"I don't need any help," he snarled. "I'm here to watch over *her* and that means you're not coming any closer, whoever the hell you are!"

"You don't understand," protested Gillian. "We want to help Devon, too."

"Devon?" Danziger repeated. His expression changed into one of great hope. "You mean...you can save her? You can bring her back?" He began to tremble, an old man overcome with the possibility of having his love returned to him.

Gillian watched his reaction, and felt her heart breaking. This was the man who's story she had read. A man she had admired for his brave actions, and cried with when he lost so much. She had even cried *for* him.

And now she was the one to tell him that Devon could never be saved.

Slowly, Gillian lifted herself out of the dirt. "No," she said as calmly as she could, but even so, she could not stop her voice trembling a little. "I can't bring her back. But I can help."

"How?" barked Danziger angrily. "Why? What do you have to do with Devon?"

"I can't explain it," Gillian replied. "But Devon called me out here. I heard her in my dreams...and my nightmares. She's in pain." Gillian tactfully neglected to mention the Terrians, for she knew well of John Danziger's wariness of the race.

Jessie finally decided to face Danziger. As she got to her feet, she said, "We can talk about this, if only you would put the magpro down...."

But he had already done that, a stunned expression on his face as he got his first good look at Jessie. "Julia?" And seeing her brought back so many memories....

John Danziger hesitantly knocked on the door of Julia and Alonzo's small house in the growing town of Devon. In the four years since the colony ship had arrived, the growth in G889's population was incredible. Ariel Martin had the notable distinction of being the struggling colony's first baby, but since her birth three years ago, there had been a literal explosion of children.

Life was thriving on G889 and all Council threats were forgotten long ago with the revelation that Reilly was nothing more than a computer. When the colony ship arrived, they had docked with the orbiting satellite and disabled the program manually. The members of the Eden Project were now safe in the knowledge that they were on their own and the Council was a danger that lurked long ago.

Danziger listened intently and heard light footsteps approach the door. It could only be Julia, because Alonzo was away on another of his long exploration treks. Danziger wondered why Julia had invited him over, because even though all of Eden Advance were close, he and Julia were never especially good friends.

"Hi," she said softly when she opened the door. She looked tired and there was more than a trace of loneliness in her eyes. She was missing Alonzo.

"Julia, hi," he replied, shifting from foot to foot.

"Come in," she motioned, and led him through to the sitting room. The house was small, as were most houses at New Pacifica, but it had been built by Alonzo and Julia themselves a few months before their marriage.

They sat awkwardly, Danziger still wondering what it was all about. Finally, Julia began to speak.

"I'm not sure if I should be telling you this, John, but, well, you're the closest thing Uly has to a father, so I was wondering if you could have a talk with him or something."

Danziger frowned. "Is there a problem at the hospital?" Recently, Uly had expressed an interest in learning to be a doctor and helping sick children as he had been helped when he was younger.

"No, nothing like that," quickly assured Julia. "What I'm trying to say is that Uly is growing up. And he's starting to see...me...in a more-than-friendly-way." The last part of the sentence came out in a rush, and Danziger stated dumbly at her for a moment. Then the truth dawned on him.

"You mean that Uly has a crush on you?"

Her cheeks coloured, Julia nodded. "I never even saw it coming," she admitted. "We've always been close, particularly after he lost his mother. I thought we were just good friends, but lately, well, you know," she trailed off.

Danziger fought the impulse to laugh aloud. He'd noticed that Uly seemed secretive lately - he was growing up and beginning to notice girls for the first time. True, of course, teased him mercilessly and seized every opportunity to irritate her 'adopted' brother.

"I knew someone was special to him, Julia," said Danziger, "but I never guessed it was you." He suddenly remembered something. "Was it you who he gave that bunch of flowers to a few days ago?"

Julia nodded ruefully. "He was so proud when he presented them to me! He said he grew them himself, and they were to cheer me up while Alonzo was away. And he's always doing other small things for me - today, he held out my chair at lunch before I sat down!"

It was obvious that these small gestures were really beginning to trouble Julia. While both the doctor and Danziger knew that Uly would grow out of his infatuation, Julia was uncomfortable with the current situation. Something needed to be done.

"Uly's been spending most of his spare time at the hospital lately," Danziger realised. "Come to think of it, he doesn't bring home friends in the way True does."

Julia nodded. "So do you have any ideas about what I could do? Uly has the potential to be a wonderful healer one day and I don't want to take his life at the hospital away from him."

Rubbing his chin (which was in need of a shave, Danziger reflected), he suggested, "Is Uly aware how much you care for Alonzo?"

"Of course he is, he was part of our wedding party!" Julia promptly replied. "I'm sure he knows how much 'Lonz and I love each other."

"Maybe he needs to hear you say it," said Danziger thoughtfully. "You could begin by telling Uly how much you miss Alonzo." Julia leaned closer to Danziger, her blue eyes wide.

"Can I trust you to keep a secret?" Julia asked. Of course she could, but she needed verbal confirmation.

"You can trust me," replied Danziger. "Shoot."

"I'm pregnant. With twins."

Danziger's eyes almost popped out. Julia was one of the last people he'd expect to consider motherhood. She had her hands full running the hospital and determining exactly what impact the Terrian links were having on the Transformed children. There were still many families wary of the Terrians and the planet, although more open-minded parents encouraged their children to learn about the Dreamplane.

"Does Alonzo know?" Danziger asked.

"No. I haven't told anyone yet. I don't even know if I want to be a mother!"

Danziger sat back, a little stunned. When he'd learnt that Ellie was pregnant, there'd been no questions as to whether to keep the child or not. Danziger had known in that moment that a child would be the best thing that ever happened to him.

But he could understand Julia's dilemma, too. With such a full life and an all too often absent husband, it was no wonder she was having doubts.

Danziger paused to phrase his next question diplomatically. "Do you still have a choice?"

Julia nodded, and replied, "That's why I'm so scared. I feel like I should discuss this with Alonzo, but I don't want any pressure. This has to be *my* decision, and mine alone."

Nodding, Danziger silently agreed with her. He'd been pressured by so many people to let baby True go: doctors recommending abortion in case of brain damage, friends telling him he wasn't fit for fatherhood, and his own guilt over bringing her into a world where life was so difficult. Suddenly, he felt compelled to tell Julia all of this.

The doctor listened quietly as Danziger shared his own experiences. "True is the best thing that ever happened to me," he said vehemently. "So if you have even the slightest desire to be a mother, then go for it. I guarantee it's worth it."

Julia smiled at him. Come to think of it, she'd never met a parent who regretted having children. She felt the edges of her apprehension begin to slip away, and for the first time, was able to view her own pregnancy as a good thing.

"I could have children!" she said in an awed voice. "Little people, to love, to teach, to watch grow up." Julia was suddenly struck by an intense feeling of excitement along with the fear of motherhood.

"Imagine," she continued softly, "having a daughter. Loving her, giving her the chance to do the things that I never could. Like making her dresses for her first dance, teaching her to braid her hair...."

Danziger smiled, liking this sentimental side of Julia that was often hidden. "You'd be a great mom," he reassured her. Julia turned to him and again smiled, her blue eyes glowing with so much feeling.

"Thank you John, thank you so much." Her voice was low and sincere as she took his hand. "I feel like everything's beginning to make sense now."

"And Uly?"

"Uly...I could tell him that I'm going to be a mother. That might help him realise that his crush will never amount to anything."

"Just one more point, Julia," interrupted Danziger quickly.

"What's that?"

"You should tell Alonzo *first*...."

They both laughed at that. "I can't wait to see his face when he hears the news," Julia chuckled. "I don't think he ever imagined being a father!"

"Ah, 'Lonz will love it," predicted Danziger. "He's done a hell of a lot of growing up ever since we crashed here."

"You're right," nodded Julia. Her eyes misted over. "I wish he were here."

As she spoke of Alonzo, Danziger saw the light in Julia's eyes and felt a touch of sadness. There was something similar missing from his own life yet he couldn't quite fathom what it was. Someday, he would remember.

"I'll never forget that day, Julia," Danziger said sincerely. "That was one of the closest times we had. And remember the twins - Lissa and Ethan - you were radiant when they were born."

Gillian, listening to the vivid testimony, stifled a sniff. These moments had not been in Bess's book, but were a poignant reminder of how wonderful things *could* have been if the circumstances were different.

Julia never did have the chance to see her daughter grow up. She died when the twins were barely four years old. Life wasn't fair sometimes. Tragedies happened and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent it. All you could do, thought Gillian, was bear the pain and someday, hope you could smile again.

She watched as Danziger, old, old John Danziger, smiled hopefully at Jessie. "I didn't think I'd see you again," he said. A small frown crossed his forehead. "Why did I think that?" he asked, more to himself than the girls. Then his eyes grew wide. "You died," Danziger said simply.

Jessie nodded. "*Julia* died," she emphasised. "My name is Jessie and I am one of her descendants. But!" and she held up her hands before Danziger could protest, "Julia's legacy lives on. Her work, her spirit, is not forgotten."

Danziger stared at her deeply. "Well if you're not Julia, then why are you here?"

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