ONLY IN THEIR DREAMS
By
Carrie Reed
Timeline: Trying to cure Devon
Author's E-Mail: judge@primenet.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This story takes place after 'All About Eve' and attempts to solve Devon's mysterious illness. I know it's been done, but I have my own theories :) Hope you all enjoy!!! This is my first attempt at FF, so I'd love any comments, criticism, suggestions, ideas, etc. Just e-mail me.Carrie Reed
Only In Their Dreams, Part 1
By Carrie Reed(voice of Julia)
It has been six days since placing Devon in cold-sleep. The image of a sleeping Devon surrounded by the pale blue glow of the chamber has been forever etched in all our memories. Elizabeth had said the planet will reject us--is Devon the first to fall? Our efforts to try and discover the cause of her illness have been in vain. Our only clue to this is a message left by Elizabeth and Bennett in their computer terminal. "Only in their dreams..." it had read. But what does that mean? How can we ever hope to solve this mystery if there are so many questions left unanswered?
Dr. Julia Heller had not left the med-tent in the week since Devon's system had started to fail. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hands were shaking, and her hair looked like that of a madman. She ran test after test, hoping that somehow the information that had yet to present itself in the results would miraculously appear. Julia was grasping at air. In her few years as a doctor, she had never seen anything like this, but she had come to expect the impossible since coming to G889. "Julia, you need to get some rest," Alonzo Solace had entered the tent. "You've slept a total of about 3 hours in the past week, you haven't eaten, and you look like you're going to collapse any moment. Please take a break, I'm worried about you."
"I can't take a break Alonzo. At least not until I find some hint at as to what is causing this. I owe it to Devon. She trusted me with the lives of all the members on this crew. You know how much this mission means to her. I can't let her down, I can't let her....die." Julia spoke the last word so softly that unless Alonzo had seen her mouth move, he wouldn't have known that she spoke at all.
"You can't blame yourself for this, Julia. It's not your fault, it's no one's fault. And unless you take a break, you're going to burn out, and then you won't be any good to Devon," To any of us, he added silently.
"Just let me run these tests one more time--" "One more time?!" Alonzo interrupted. "One more time?! You've run these tests five times. You haven't found anything. You're not going to suddenly find something, Julia, because it isn't there. For once can't you just admit that this is beyond your control--"
Now it was Julia's turn to interrupt. "I will not admit that this is beyond my control, because that would be giving up. I owe it to Devon. We all know what a vested interest you have in her getting better--none. You could care less about this project. You're just counting the days till we get to New Pacifica and you can hitch a ride off this planet. You may not care, but *I* do!" Julia was yelling now.
"Who are you to question people's motives, you little messenger of the council? The only interest you have in this was genetically put there. You think you know me so well, don't you? Well you don't, because I do care. I hate this as much as you do." Alonzo was yelling now, too.
"If this is how quickly you write off the people you care about, then I...I don't want to be one of them." Julia could barely choke out this last reply through the sobs and the hot tears that were streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry, Julia," Alonzo said gently as he took Julia in his arms, "We're both worn out and worried, and we said some things we didn't mean. It'll be OK, just cry, let it all out, I'm here. I'm here."
John Danziger sat alone in the darkness of the night, staring up into the sky. /Take care of my son/ Her words came back to him now. Her voice, so sweet, so trusting. "How could you do this? I can't lead this group, I can't take care of your kid. Why couldn't you just leave him to Yale?" And then like an answer to his question, that day in the spider cave came back as clear as ever, /I hate to admit just how much I've come to depend on John/. That voice again. Would he ever hear it again? Just the thought made his heart ache. "Come back Devon," he whispered. "If you're out there, if you can hear me, you can't just leave us here. The group has come too far for you to just leave now. We need you...*I* need you," and a single tear rolled down his weathered cheek.
"Who are you talking to?" Danziger whirled around to see his daughter standing behind him.
"Come here, True-girl. Come keep your dad company." True came over and sat down in the offered lap. For what seemed like an eternity, neither father nor daughter said a word, they just sat in the bright light of the two moons. "Devon used to love this time of day," Danziger finally said. "She could sit and stare at the stars for hours." True could hear the wistfulness in his voice.
"Do you think she'll ever get to do it again?" True asked, genuinely concerned. Just the thought made John shudder. True felt it. "I'm sorry dad. You really care about her, don't you?" Her father didn't say anything, but he didn't have to, she already knew the answer.
For the first time in a week, Ulysses Adair slept. Even with a sedaderm from Dr. Heller, he hadn't been able to sleep. Still, the sleep was fitful, consumed with thoughts of his mother, but it was a start. The boy's steady breathing was a comfort to Yale as he sat in the tent and organized Devon's belongings. As he moved a stack of papers that were sitting on a chair next to Devon's cot, an envelope fell to the floor. When Yale picked it up, he noticed Devon's handwriting on the front:
To the crew of the Eden Project
To be read in the event of my deathYale hesitated to wake Uly, but decided it was best and went to round up the crew for an unexpected meeting. When they were all assembled, he told the group of his findings. The group began to murmur. "What do we do now?" someone asked.
"We read the letter of course," a voice answered. "No." Danziger's stern voice rose above them all. "It says to be opened in the event of her death. She *isn't* dead. What if she makes it?"
"What if she doesn't?" Now it was Morgan Martin's chance at sternness. "OK, since no one else is going to say it, I will. We've all been through a lot this week. I think it's about time to face the facts. Devon is dying and there's not one of us that has any idea of what's going on. We can't just sit around here forever waiting helplessly for something that may or may not happen. Face it, if we hadn't found the cold sleep chamber, she would be dead and buried right now. I think we have a right to know what's in that letter."
"I have to agree with Morgan," came Julia's reply. "Maybe not for the same reasons, but this may be our only hope. This is the last link we have with what Devon was thinking before....." Julia's voice trailed into nothingness. Regaining her confidence, she continued, "Anyway, it may be our last chance. If there is anything in the letter that can give us any indication as to what is happening. I need to know. We all need to know. Go ahead Yale, read it." Yale looked around for approval, opened the letter, and began to read:
Dear Eden Crew:
Since you are reading this letter, as you know, my journey with this project has come to an end. It has been a difficult few months, and I will deeply miss the joy of being there in person when you reach New Pacifica. But please, no matter what has happened, you must not give up. I have a feeling that you are almost there. Please remember, there is a colony ship on its way, and the lives of hundreds of families depend on you reaching the destination.
I have never been very good with my feelings. In my household growing up, it was a sign of weakness, but in the past few months with you I have learned otherwise. It's been a long lesson to learn, and I only wish I had learned it sooner, but as I lay here watching Uly sleep, knowing that my days with you may be numbered, I can only think of how much you have all come to mean to me. Each and every one of you holds a special place in my heart, and I only wish I had the strength and courage to tell you in person.
John--The group has come a long way in the short time we've been here. I have to admit, if you hadn't been here to challenge every decision I made, I don't think we would have gotten as far as we did. You are the most arrogant, infuriating, stubborn man I have ever met (believe me, I mean that in the nicest possible way), but you have held this group together unlike anything I could have done. And this is why I am asking you, with the approval of the rest of the crew, of course, to lead this crew to New Pacifica in my absence. I have also asked you to take care of Uly for me. I have seen what a wonderful father you have been to True, and I think you would be the best influence Uly could have. There was a time I thought I could have done it all myself, but he's growing up, and he needs a man in his life. You will do a wonderful job raising him, like you have done with True, she is a remarkable girl. If Uly grows up to be half as independent and resourceful as you, you will have succeeded far beyond anything I could have done.
Julia--In the time that we have been here, you have become my closest friend. Please know that I hold you in the highest respect. Back at the stations, before we left, I was scared for Uly, and worried that it was you and not Dr. Vasquez who would be accompanying us. I was wrong to have ever doubted you. You have proved to be a valuable asset to Uly as well as the rest of the Eden crew. Again when we left you behind months ago, I was wrong. I think I can understand now how much that hurt you. I hope that you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me. Please keep up your work with Uly. When the colony ship arrives, your experience will be the most valuable available.
Yale--I love you always. Over the years, you have become like a father to me. I have always believed that it is because of you I have made it as far as I have. You know me better than anyone else on this mission, and I hope that you will be there for Uly through all of this. He will need you. Also make sure he keeps up with his studies.
Uly--There are not words to describe the love that I feel for you. From the day you were born you have been my light. It is from you that I draw strength during my weakest hours. I came to this planet to help you win a battle, and instead, I lost one of my own. But never will I regret coming. The pure joy and love that I felt, the first time you ran into my arms without your suit, was stronger than anything I have ever felt in all of my life. I am so proud of you. I love you with all of my heart.
To all the rest of you, the Martins, Alonzo, Baines, Walman, Magus, Cameron, and all the others--Thank you. The sacrifices you have all made have not gone unnoticed. I know I don't tell you how much I appreciate you, but I have grown to care about each and every one of you. You have all given so much to help my dreams become a reality, and I thank you.
As this letter is already very lengthy I will get to the point of it. You all must be grasping at air trying to figure out what has gone wrong. Elizabeth and Bennett had discovered it, but it was too late for them. I have a secret. I hope it will help you discover the trouble. The day before we left the stations, I came across some of the Council's top secret files for this mission. At the time I didn't understand them, but I wrote down the security code just in case. At the time I didn't know the Council's plan for sabotage, or much else for that matter, but with all of the discoveries that have been made here in the past months, it is all beginning to make sense. I don't fully understand it, so I can't explain it, but I'm sure Julia will be able to. I have enclosed the security code to the Council's files. Using either Yale's computer or the one in Elizabeth and Bennett's pod, I'm sure you will be able to get access. Again, I love you all.
With all sincerity,
Devon Adair
For minutes, no one said a word. Many of the crew members had tears in their eyes. Then Julia broke the silence. "Everyone needs their sleep, there is nothing more you can do tonight. I'm going to read through the files, and I will have a full report for you in the morning. Until then I need no interruptions. I just hope these files are enough to shed some light on this mystery. Devon sure thinks so, let's just hope she doesn't choose this time to be wrong." A slight smile crept across her face, and for the first time in days she remembered what it was like to feel hopeful.
Only In Their Dreams, Part 2
By Carrie ReedThe crew awoke early and gathered to hear the news of Julia's findings. "I have some good news and some bad news. First the good news, I know what's wrong with Devon." A sense of relief flooded over the entire group. "But before I tell you what's wrong," she continued, "I need to tell you the bad news. I don't know if I can reverse the effects." The relief that just a moment ago filled the camp, was now a distant memory. The reality that Devon might not ever live to see another sunrise finally took its hold on the group.
To Danziger, the words hit like a lead weight. When Elle had the accident, and was put on life support, he was crushed. He had loved her more than he ever thought possible. On that day he swore to himself that he would never love another person that much again, except True. And he hadn't, until now. He finally realized how much Devon had come to mean to him. He had resisted and resisted and pushed and pushed, trying desperately not to let himself care about her, but it hadn't worked. He had fallen in love with Devon Adair. But now it was too late. "If she were to die without knowing how I really felt about her..." The thought was too painful to keep. He refused to think about that. If Julia could find out what was wrong with Devon in the first place, certainly she could find a cure for it.
"You say you don't know if you can reverse the effects," Danziger finally said, "But do you know for sure that you can't?"
"That's where I need your help. Let me tell you what's happened, and then maybe you can help me think of possible solutions. On this planet it seems, nothing is impossible, and it just might be that the person least trained in medicine may be the one to think up some crazy scheme to fix it." There was still a little hope in her voice, and the crew knew that they couldn't give up.
"First of all, unlike the rest of us, Devon doesn't have a chip. I can't believe I hadn't noticed that before, but the thought never really occurred to me. She got sick at the same time as the rest of us, and she had nearly the same symptoms, that I just assumed it was the same problem."
"Alright, so if she doesn't have a chip, why did she get sick like the rest of us?" Baines asked. "Why would her symptoms be so close to ours if it wasn't the same thing?"
"Well, actually it was the beginning of system failure, like ours, but I should have noticed that she had different symptoms, too. The Council had been working on this as a form of control. When Devon got her vaccines, instead of getting injected with a chip as well, like the rest of us, she got injected with a combination of chemicals that the Council had been experimenting with. It was designed to alter her genetic make-up."
"So what you're saying," Alonzo noted, "is that Devon's a chromo-tilt?"
"Well, yes. So were Elizabeth and Bennett. When Elizabeth and Bennett were exiled to this planet, the Council was already working on this experiment. The Council injected them and some of their biologists as test subjects. At that time, it was a little too strong, and had some adverse side effects that the Council didn't like, but the general idea was working. They worked out the bugs in time for this mission. They wanted to make sure that Eden Project would be loyal, so that the Council could gain control of the planet. As leader of the project, and theoretically having the one having the most influence, they injected Devon about a year ago, by our time, 23 years on station time. At first Devon was very agreeable with the Council. They hadn't noticed any side effects, and decided it was safe.
"But even as leader of the project, when the colony ship arrived, Devon wouldn't have as much influence. To secure the planet, the Council put into effect plans to also inject a little more than half of the prominent men and women that would come over on the ship a year later, to secure a majority vote in the Council's favor."
"But hang on a minute," Danziger interrupted, "Devon hasn't been loyal to the Council. If anything, she's been the least receptive to the Council."
"I know." replied Julia, "You didn't let me finish. When experimenting with the human psyche, the one variable that can't be controlled is human emotion. As a mother, Devon's bond with Uly is stronger and runs deeper than any ties that could have been made genetically by the Council. Prior to the launch, Devon had overheard a conversation the Council was having about their true motivation behind the Eden Project and she became enraged. They finally realized that when faced with choosing between the Council's well-being and her son's, she would choose her son. But it was too late, it was only a month before our launch date, and at least half of the other subjects had already been injected, most of them in the same position as Devon--parents of syndrome children. Now that the Council knew that there was no guarantee of loyalty, if it got out that the body's functions had been altered without the subject's permission, it could weigh heavily on the Council. They could be discredited, or even overthrown. So, if you're in the Council's position, the best way to avoid being found out is...."
"To destroy the evidence." Morgan finished "Wentworth," Danziger said with perfect understanding. "Exactly," Julia continued. "The Council decided to play along with Devon and let her leave on this mission, fully intending the ship never to arrive on the planet. They found out which crew members were on the mission and when an opportunity presented itself--Wentworth's surgery--they implanted a chip in order to sabotage the mission. If the ship 'malfunctioned' that far into the journey, it would be too late for the colony ship to turn around. With no one at New Pacifica ahead of time, when the colonists arrived, they wouldn't be able to survive."
"You mean the Council would be willing to kill hundreds of people just to cover their tracks?" Bess was horrified at the thought.
"They sure would." Julia replied, "They don't want the planet so they can save Syndrome children. They want the planet for the chance to colonize it, to boost their egos, 'The Mighty Council, Savior of Humanity'. But you have to understand, most of the Council's been brainwashed, also. They no longer think as individuals, but only of what would be best for the council."
"Alright, that all makes sense, but you still haven't told us what's killing Devon, I'm still confused." Alonzo puzzled.
"It's side effects from the change, right?" Cameron asked. "Sort-of, yes." Julia said, "But not what you would expect. To understand, I'll have to tell you how it works. When the chemicals are injected into the body, they are drawn to the brain. The brain then sends out messages that cause the cells in her body to mutate when they reproduce. The nuclei of the new cells are directly linked to the body's central nervous system through the part of the brain that controls dreaming. As you know, dreams are created by the random firing of synapses in the brain when the subject is asleep. But now, instead of random firing, the synapses fire in a set order, sending subliminal messages to the body when the subject enters REM sleep.
"The Council developed this technique without knowledge of the planet. They based their studies on Earth, so no side effects would be present if Devon were on Earth or still on the Stations. But in the time we've spent here, we've learned more about how the planet works. Since we discovered Morganite, we know about the planet's complex central nervous system. It controls all life on the planet. When we got here, the impulses going through Devon's nervous system came in conflict with the planet's system. It's like when you put magnets together with the same poles facing each other. Like Elizabeth said, the planet was rejecting her."
"Why?" Magus asked, "Because it couldn't control her nervous system?" "That's exactly why." Julia responded, glad to see that everyone was understanding. "It couldn't control her nervous system, so it attempted to shut it down. Devon's condition is fairly permanent unless I can find some way to change the chemical balance in her brain, to reverse the process that the council put into effect. But I just don't have the right equipment, or the right chemicals. Even if I did, I'm not sure of the side effects."
"Somehow you must be able to find chemicals here on the planet, that would help her adapt to this environment," Yale added hopefully.
"Yeah," Walman added, "and as to the side effects, I don't see things getting much worse than they already are. Like Morgan said, if we hadn't found the sleep chambers, she'd be dead and buried by now."
"Alright," Julia conceded, "Let's say we do find chemicals that will work. It would take time for her body to adapt to the genetic changes. Time that she doesn't have."
"Isn't there a more immediate way?" Danziger asked desperately. "Hang on." Baines spoke now, "Remember the message Bennett and Elizabeth left? 'Only in their dreams' it said. I know this sounds stupid, but if you injected it while Devon was dreaming--"
"Medically speaking, I think you're on to something," Julia said with renewed emotion. "If we were able to inject the chemicals while the synapses were being fired, we may be able to stop the impulses being sent." All of a sudden Julia's face fell.
"What is it, Julia, what's wrong?" Alonzo asked, concerned. "Even if that were to work, taking into account the system failure she's already incurred, she may not have the energy left to make it to REM sleep."
"What about the diggers?" Danziger asked, "They healed Uly, couldn't they heal her?"
At the mention of the terrains, Alonzo perked up. "The dream plane! If we could get the terrians to bring Devon to the dream plane, it would take no time at all--"
Before Alonzo could even finish his thought, Uly had stood up and started trilling. That sound, from this little boy, made the hair on Danziger's neck stand on end. But nevertheless, almost immediately, two terrians shot up from the ground. For a number of minutes the crew watched in silence as Uly conversed with the Terrians.
"They said they'll help," Uly finally said. "OK," Julia said, "So we get Devon to REM, then what? We still don't have the chemicals. I don't even know where to start looking." With that, Uly started trilling again.
"They want you to come with us," Uly spoke directly to Julia. "Come where?" Julia inquired. One of the terrians started trilling, somewhat violently. It scared Julia.
"They say no questions. Just come with us." Uly spoke again. Julia nodded, and a terrian grabbed her arm. A moment later, the terrians, with Julia and Uly, disappeared into the earth.
The next thing Julia realized, she was in a circular cave. The walls glowed bright orange with Morganite, brighter than she had ever seen it. Even with the eerie orange glow, Julia couldn't help thinking it had a certain beauty about it. The warm glow made her feel somewhat detached. For a moment, she couldn't remember why she was here. Then she saw Uly, and at once remembered. "Why am I here?" she asked, "And where exactly *is* here?" Uly was busy "talking" to the terrians.
"This is the center of their underground system, the heart of their planet," Uly said, but oddly, it didn't sound like Uly, the voice sounded much older.
"Must be the echo," Julia thought, but it unnerved her just the same. Uly continued, "The energy is stronger here, more concentrated than anywhere else on the planet. You will find that the floor here is lined with dirt so rich in the minerals that the planet needs to survive. They have said you may use what you need to make a vaccine for Devon--"
Why was he calling his own mother Devon? The thought unnerved Julia even more. She didn't like this place, but she needed the minerals.
"You may also take what you need to make vaccines for the colonists that will arrive soon. Take no more than you need, or you will lose the power to heal..."
What did that mean, 'the power to heal'? Julia wasn't about to ask, though.
"Take what you need, but you must under no circumstances tell others where you got it. You must never tell of this place to another human." Uly continued
"But--" Julia began.
"Never." There was a sternness in Uly's voice that she had never heard before, there was a distance in his eyes. It was Uly talking, but somehow, it wasn't. Julia decided not to ask anymore questions."Just get what you need and get out of here," she thought. She searched through her pockets and found a small pouch. She opened the pouch and began filling it with the dirt. The dirt was warm on her hands. Just touching it made her fingers tingle. It was an odd feeling, but she liked it. As soon as the pouch was full, Julia stood up. Suddenly, the world around her went dark....
Only In Their Dreams, Part 3
By Carrie ReedJulia awoke in the med-tent. How had she gotten here? What had happened? She tried to remember, but her memories were distant, like a dream she couldn't remember. She knew something important had happened, but what? She tried to get up, but her head spun. As she lay back down, she noticed a hard lump poking her in the back. She grabbed it, and noticed it was a pouch full of dirt. At that moment, Danziger entered the tent.
"Julia?! You're back. When did you get back? Where's Uly?" "Uly!" Julia suddenly remembered what had happened. "Where's Uly?!" "That's what I just asked you," Danziger said, starting to get worried. "Never mind," Julia had regained her senses. "He's with them, he'll be OK. I've got to get started on this vaccine."
"Them? The diggers? Did you get the right chemicals?" "Yeah. Tell the others I'm working on the right combination to inject into Devon. No one is to disturb me. Do you understand?" Julia's voice was stern, but hopeful.
"Sure." Anything to help Devon, he thought. For the first time in a week, he actually believed that there was a chance to save Devon.
"I'm starting to believe that anything's possible on this planet." For the first time in what seemed like ages, Julia smiled.
While Julia slaved away, trying to find the right combination, the group waited impatiently outside. "What if this doesn't work?" asked Walman, the group's resident pessimist.
"What if it does?" No one had seen Danziger walk up to the group, until now. His bloodshot eyes had fire in them, and his naturally curly hair looked even more disheveled than usual. For the first time, the group actually realized how hard this whole thing had been on him. Of course they had known he was falling for Devon, but in all the chaos of the past week they been too caught up in their own fears to realize that he wasn't taking this well.
"Of course it will, Danz. I didn't mean it that way--" But before Walman could finish, Julia came racing out of the tent with a vial in her hand.
"I've got it! I've got it!" The realization of what she had said, hit her now and her eyes filled with tears, "I've really got it..."
The crew raced to the pod. Before anyone could enter, Julia stopped them. "There's no guarantee that this is going to work. You all need to know that. There's a hundred things that could go wrong. When working with the human brain, there are so many variables, I can't possibly control them all. Devon's case may be too far along to be able to reverse the effects. Either she makes it, or she doesn't. There's no halfway anymore."
"When will we know if it worked?" "In two hours, when the sedaderm wears off. If she wakes up, it worked, if she doesn't...it didn't. I can't promise any more than that. Are you all still willing to take that risk?"
"What's the alternative?" Morgan asked. "Leaving Devon in cold-sleep for the rest of our lives while we try to find another way that doesn't exist?" The group nodded in agreement.
"Alright then," Julia continued, "Alonzo, Danziger, I'm going to need your help. Yale, I could use your help, and I'm going to need an assistant--True. The rest of you are going to have to wait outside, I'm sorry."
"What about Uly? Where is he? Shouldn't he be here?" Bess asked. As if on cue, a terrian shot from the ground, and started trilling to Alonzo.
"He is, sort-of." Alonzo translated. "He's going to meet Devon on the dream plane." With that settled, the five of them, along with the terrian disappeared inside the pod.
Julia immediately started punching the thaw codes into the computer. The doors of the cold-sleep chamber opened and Alonzo and Danziger carried out a sleeping Devon Adair. They laid her on a make-shift cot and Julia started scanning her with the diaglove. "True, get the sedaderm ready." True handed her the sedaderm. Julia looked up into the faces of the onlookers, "Here goes nothing..." She sedated Devon. Seconds passed, and then minutes. Still nothing but the sound of Devon's irregular breathing, and her steadily failing heart beat. The terrian started trilling softly in the background. Suddenly Devon's heart beat started racing. Danziger rushed forward and took one of Devon's cold hands in his.
"It's all right John," Alonzo laid a hand on his shoulder. "That means she's in." Julia was already prepping for the injection.
Devon awoke with a start. Where was she? Her vision was detached, disjointed somehow. This seems so odd, she thought, and yet so familiar. She looked around, but all she could see was an open field, stretching around her for miles. She was alone. "Hello?" she called out. Her voice echoed strangely. "Is anyone there?" She turned around, just in time to see her son appear with two terrians. "Uly!" In that one word, there was more emotion than Devon had ever felt in her life. Uly raced forward and threw himself into his mother's open arms.
"Mom...." Tears were streaming down the nine-year-old's face. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Where am I? How did I get here?" She asked. "You're on the dream plane, mom. Dr. Heller's working right now trying to fix you. You're going to be all right, aren't you?" With those words, he looked up at the terrians, their heads cocked. They began trilling and disappeared into the ground. Devon hadn't noticed. She just sat there, rocking her precious little boy in her arms.
Julia's diaglove raced over Devon's body. "She's not stabilizing," she said with panic in her voice. "It's been over 20 minutes since the injection, and she's not stabilizing."
"Why isn't it working?" No one had seen Uly enter the pod. "Why isn't she getting better?"
"We knew it was going to be a risk when we came up with the idea," Yale said, trying to comfort the boy. "Some things just aren't meant to be." With that, Uly tore away from Yale and threw himself on top of his mother.
"You said you'd always be here for me," he said through his sobs. "You can't leave me, you just can't..." Alonzo was trying to pry Uly off.
"Let him be, Alonzo," Julia said now, with utter despair in her voice, "There's nothing more any of us can do." She tore off her glove and threw it at the wall as hard as she could. "I hate this planet!!" she screamed. "How can we possibly win against impossible odds!" The terrian was trilling violently now. Julia had forgotten he was still there. Alonzo was trying desperately to calm him down.
In all of the chaos, no one had noticed that Devon's breathing had begun to stabilize. "Julia!" Danziger cried. "She squeezed my hand!"
"Are you sure?!" Julia was surprised. Nevertheless, she grabbed her glove and started checking. "You're probably right, she's stabilizing." Over the next few minutes, the pod was silent as she continued to stabilize. Then, her eyes fluttered open.
"Where am I?" Her voice was weak as she tried to orient herself. She saw Uly, "Are we still on the dream plane?"
"No mom," Uly said, his eyes shining, "you're alive." Those simple words rang through the pod, releasing the pain and anxiety that had been so prevalent in the past week.
True raced outside to share the good news. "Devon's alive! Devon's alive!" A cheer went through the group. The fears of the last week had been forgotten.
One week later:
John Danziger helped Devon from the med-tent, with Julia close behind. Before Devon's eyes could adjust to the sun, a round of "Surprise!" rang through the group. She looked up and smiled."What's all this fuss?" she asked, trying hard not to look surprised. "Why look, it's a party." Danziger said, feigning surprise. "Welcome back, Adair." Baines was the first to offer his congratulations on her recovery.
"Well, is the doctor going to allow me to have fun?" Devon said with a wry smile.
"I'm ordering you, as your physician..." Julia said sternly, "To have as much fun as you think you can handle." The doctor's eyes had their old sparkle back. "You still need to take it easy, your not back to your old self again, but I'd say a little fun is just what you need."
Music poured from the Player they had found in the pod. Devon knew these had once been very popular on the stations, she had even had one as a child. They technology was out of date now, but no one was complaining. Everyone was laughing and smiling, dancing, and having a great time.
It was later now, everyone was having such a wonderful time that they didn't even notice Devon by herself at one of the tables. She didn't mind, though, she needed time to sort out everything that had happened. Time that she wasn't about to get.
"Just when you think someone's getting more attention than you, you go and pull something like that. Real clever Adair, you sure know how to get an entire group to focus on you." Devon looked up. She knew that smile. John always smiled that way when he was trying to get under her skin.
"You think you're so smug, don't you John Danziger. What would you have done if I really had died? Do you think you would have been able to lead this group without me?" Two could play this little game.
"Now whose the one being smug? Don't get on your high horse with me, I probably could have run this show better than you."
"Probably." She was laughing now. He'd forgotten how much he missed that laugh.
"Did you mean what you said, in the letter?" The tone in his voice had changed now.
"You mean about you being stubborn and arrogant?" She refused to let him off the hook this easily. "Yes."
"I mean, about doing a good job with Uly, and being 'independent and resourceful'?"
"Do you think I would lie?"
"Some people have been known to say pretty strange things when faced with death.""You should know that I am not now, nor ever have been, 'some people'." The playful tone was back.
"Don't I ever..."
"Are you going to ask me to dance, John Danziger, or what?" "I..I didn't think...you were up to it." Her last remark had taken him completely by surprise."I don't keep you around to think for me." Her eyes flashed as he whirled her out onto the dance floor.
(voice of Devon)
We have learned a lot since coming to this planet. Our most valuable lessons have come in the face of adversity. Someone once said, "Only in death do we really understand what it means to live". I have come about as close to death as one can be, and still live to tell about it. I never realized how much I had taken for granted. The first rays of sun peeping over the snow capped mountains, the sight of the two moons hanging far above this planet, music, laughter...Not even in our dreams can we comprehend what priceless gifts life has to offer.
-The End-
Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!! Thanks to all who helped it come about. Thanks to MAO for proofing it and giving me ideas when she should have been sleeping ;), and thanks to all of you at #earth2 for answering my *many* questions.
Carrie Reed
mail comments to:judge@primenet.com
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.