Do you know my shadow? by Lisa04

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Do You Know My Shadow? (2/17)
by Lisa 04

Devon and Sheppard entered the nearly deserted biodome. Baines was the only person present and he was simply retrieving a cup of Bess's ‘almost coffee' (as Walman liked to call it) before resuming his check on the faulty perimeter sensor that had gone off constantly last night. Morgan had been a real bear earlier because of the lack of sleep and Baines didn't want to hear his whining anymore.
"Hi Devon, I'll be out of your way in a minute. Just wanted to grab some coffee." Baines remarked, eyeing Sheppard in a not so subtle manner. "That's OK Baines, take your time," Devon replied as she walked over to prepare a plate of the leftover lunch. She was relieved that there wasn't anyone else in the dome because she didn't feel like answering questions about Sheppard just yet. She hoped the rest of the group wouldn't react the way Danziger did when he found out how she and Sheppard had met. "Well John always was very uncomfortable when it came to the dreamplane. He's never been very accepting of it," she thought as she took the plate of food over to where Sheppard was sitting.
"Here, you should eat something Sheppard," Devon said, putting the plate in front of him as she sat down.
Sheppard had been staring at some imaginary spot on the wall while Devon was talking to Baines but now turned his attention to the beautiful woman who sat in front of him. "I'm not very hungry Devon," Sheppard replied. "I'm a little tired. I think I'd like to lie down for awhile." "Of course. I understand." Devon nodded. "You can use one of the cots in Uly's and my room to rest. It's through there," she added pointing to the door at the back of the room that led to the small offshoot from the main building that she shared with her son.
"Why don't you join me?" he asked, a slight smile forming at the corner of his mouth as he caressed her hand.
Devon blushed slightly as she carefully pulled her hand away. "I guess I shouldn't be nervous about this considering how well we had gotten to know each other all those years ago, even if it was technically just a dream, but..." her voice trailed off while she looked down at the floor to avoid his intense gaze.
"But what?" he prodded.
"Well, it's just that things are a lot more complicated in real life, my life, and no matter how I feel about you, it's not just my feelings I have to consider anymore."
"You're talking about your son Ulysses." "Yes," she answered. "I can't just all of the sudden bring some stranger he's never met into his life and say ‘OK Uly this man is going to be living with us now. Except for Yale, Uly and I only had each other until we crashed on this planet. Even his own father abandoned him when he found out that he was sick. We learned to depend on each other and haven't really needed anyone else. He's going to need time to get to know you... I'd like time to get to know you too," Devon added. "It's been a long time since we shared those dreams, a lot has happened. You said it yourself, we've both been through a lot and we've both changed. Now that we're here together there's plenty of time. Besides, Julia said you needed to rest that arm." she smiled hoping that he would accept her explanation.
Sheppard looked at her thoughtfully for a moment then agreed, "Of course you're right, Uly must have time to accept me." "Thank you for understanding," she said as she gently touched his face. "Why don't you go ahead and rest. I'll check on you later." "All right," he answered as he rose to leave. After Sheppard had left, Devon sat lost in thought until the loud bang of the biodome door opening startled her back into reality. Turning her head towards the door, she saw Bess entering the room. Earlier from her tent Bess and Morgan had watched Devon and the mystery man enter the building. "Bess, why did you punch me in the ribs," Morgan had asked after the group dispersed and she and Morgan had returned to their tent. "Morgan honey," Bess replied, "sometimes you can be so dense." "What do mean by that," Morgan asked with a hurt look on his face. He really looked like a child when he did this Bess thought to herself. "Morgan, you're a politician. You more than anyone should know that the way you ask a question and the timing of it can be very important," Bess answered trying to explain it in terms Morgan could relate to. "Devon was obviously not going to answer our questions about that man right away and to start antagonizing her by suggesting that she was putting the group in jeopardy by adding another mouth to feed or even worse, by bringing in another psychopath wasn't going to get the answers any quicker and would only make her angry. And.. " she added, putting it in her own terms, "it wasn't very nice." "Well, I suppose you're right," he conceded. "I guess I'm just out of practice being a politician, but I meant what I said. We don't have the supplies to keep taking in every Tom, Dick or Harry who got dropped on this planet. We're already down to half rations and I don't intend to starve just so Devon Adair can play Mother Teresa. I mean, my god Bess, I can already see my ribs. Look," Morgan whined as he lifted his shirt to prove his point. "Morgan," Bess sighed looking at his thin white chest, "everyone has lost some weight. You've always been thin. Trust me, your ribs aren't showing anymore than they have."
Morgan frowned letting his shirt fall, "I still don't like it and besides, you didn't have to hit me so hard."
Bess looked at Morgan with the patience for him that only she possessed. " I didn't hit you that hard, Morgan." Changing the subject she added, "Why don't you go and help Baines fix that sensor so it won't keep you up again tonight. He just left the biodome and I think that's where he's going." She knew the only way to get her husband out of his pouty mood was to get his mind on something else. The promise of sleep was always a good way to motivate him. Morgan, perking up at the chance to assure himself of an uninterrupted night's sleep agreed and went to find Baines. Bess watched Morgan as he caught up to Baines who didn't seem too thrilled to have him tagging along but agreed to let him help anyway. " Maybe I should have been the politician in the family. I think I might be able to use more subtle techniques to find out what's going on. Women are always better at these things anyway," she smiled to herself as she headed towards the biodome.
Bess opened the door to the building making sure to create plenty of noise in case she might be interrupting something. "Oh, hi Devon. I didn't know anyone was in here," Bess lied.
"Hello Bess," Devon answered. "I was just going to look for Uly. Have you seen him?"
"Yes, I think Yale started a history lesson with he and True not too long ago," Bess responded as she walked towards the other woman glancing around to see if a certain someone else was present. "You don't need to leave on my account. In fact since you're here I was wondering if I could talk to you?" Bess asked, sitting down across the table from Devon. "What is it," Devon asked warily. She knew Bess Martin's insatiable need to know all the secrets of the Eden crewmembers was probably what had prompted her to come into the dome. She didn't really have time to play cat and mouse games with this woman who had an uncanny knack of finding out just about anything she put her mind to.
"Well, Devon," Bess started, "Yale says that spring shouldn't be too far off and I was just wondering if we would be leaving as soon as the weather permits. I mean, I'd like to get an early start at packing supplies for the trip if that's what we're planning to do." She knew that Devon didn't want to talk but she was trying to get her engaged in a conversation so that she could ultimately inquire about their guest. Asking about the journey to New Pacifica was as good a way as any to get Devon Adair talking. "I don't know Bess. I hadn't really thought about it lately since it seemed like winter was going to last longer." Devon considered. "I suppose we'll get started as soon as we can , provided we can find a passage out of here the vehicles can navigate. That's something we still haven't found." "That's true," Bess agreed seeing her opening, "Isn't that what Danziger was looking for before he got sick ?"
"Yes, he had gone off to scout alone. Against my better judgment I might add, but I let him talk me into it." Devon mentally chastised herself once more for letting that bull-headed man convince her he would be all right on a solo scout. "I certainly won't make that mistake again," she thought. " He really was lucky that someone found him and took him in," Bess continued, moving in for the kill so to speak. Clueing in on what Bess was trying to do, Devon decided to head her off. "He was very lucky Bess, and I hope this makes us all realize again how unpredictable this planet is. We all need be more careful." "Now," Devon said as she stood up from the table, "I'm afraid we'll have to talk about this some other time, I really need to see my son." Before Bess could get another word out Devon was gone, the door closing quickly behind her. "Darn," Bess thought to herself, "I still don't have a clue as to what's going on." Resigning herself to the fact that she was probably going to have to wait and hear Devon's explanation with the rest of the group she followed the other woman out the door.
Sheppard moved away from behind the other door. He had tried to lie down but had gotten up when he heard voices in the other room. "This Bess is a very inquisitive woman," he pondered, "but Devon handled her well. Devon has turned into a real leader, though I'm certain she won't mind relinquishing some of her responsibilities. It will give her more time with her son. Now that I'm here she won't have to carry the load alone." A twinge of pain in his shoulder reminded Sheppard that he had come into this room for a reason and he sank down into the cot closing his eyes to rest. "Everything will fall into place, they'll come around," he thought as he drifted off to sleep, "they'll learn to accept my place in the group with time."

End Part 2

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