DECEPTIONS: CRONICLES OF EDEN PROJECT
By
Dawn Pell
Timeline: After "Flower Child" (Day 138)
Author's E-Mail: DawnPO@aol.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
The long awaited "Deceptions:Chronicles of Eden Project" is now available on my homepage! The address is:http://ds1.gl.umbc.edu/~vpell1/e2.html. Once you're there, click "Deceptions" and read on! Hope y'all enjoy it, and like the pics I included. If you do, you can "E" me. I love to know what readers think:)!-Dawn
Deceptions:
chronicles of Eden Project
Alonzo Solace looked curiously around camp. All of the colonists, including himself, were outside enjoying the first pleasant day they'd experienced on G889 for a while now. Everyone, that is, except Julia. He stopped pacing and thought hard, finally realizing that she must still be sleeping, so he headed for the med-tent as fast as his muscular legs could carry him.
***
"Mom," Uly Adair said excitedly, tugging lightly on the back of his mother's shirt.
Devon turned around to see her son and True, whom both had wide grins on their faces and their eyes were lit up. "Yes, sweetheart?"
"True and I are gonna go for a walk now, okay?"
"Sure. Just stay out of trouble, and be back shortly." "Yeah, be back in about an hour or so, 'cause I need you to help me fix a minor leak in the TransRover, okay, True? " Danziger put in, who was standing behind Devon. He spoke sweetly but firmly to his daughter.
True looked at her father, and then spoke up anxiously, "Yes, Dad. We'll be back, we promise." Then the two of them hurried away from camp with a remarkable speed.
"Kids!" Danziger remarked to Devon with a laugh. "I sure wish I had their energy!"
"Yeah, if we did I think there's a good chance we'd be at New Pacifica by now. But I hope those two don't get into too much mischief," she added, her carefree grin vanishing.
"Oh, Adair, you worry too much! If you're not careful you just might give yourself an ulcer one of these days. Then Julia, not to mention the rest of us, would have a hell of a problem on our hands." He smirked, and she shot him an irritated look. "Besides, True's a smart girl," he continued proudly. "She knows how to take care of herself."
"No comment."
Danziger's face twisted, and Devon could see he was clearly annoyed. "What's that supposed to mean?"Devon waved her hand dismissively. Teasing with John Danziger was one thing, but arguing with him over his "responsible" daughter was another, and frankly she wasn't up for that before noon. "Nothing," she said as nonchalantly as possible, "forget about it." Then she snapped her fingers, as if something had just occurred to her. "Speaking of Julia, I wonder where she is."
***
Alonzo opened the flap to the med-tent, and let himself in. "Julia," he whispered, as he shook her on the shoulders as gently as possible.
Groaning, she sat up and rubbed her blue eyes. "Hi," came the response sleepily.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"No, I've been awake for about five minutes, and I just didn't want to get up."Alonzo grinned one of his worldwide famous grins, the kind that came when he was about to crack a joke. "That's pretty strange, don't' ya think? Since you're usually the one who's always dragging me out of bed at the crack of dawn! Then again, maybe you think you're ready to get up at that hour because you're so used to it, but actually you're tired and this is just your body's way of retaliating. I'm sure you've had cases like that throughout your medical career, haven't you, doc?"
"Ha, ha," she shot back, her voice deep with sarcasm. Then she paused, and thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, honey, you just might have a point, but I still don't think that's what it is. To tell you the truth, I've been feeling pretty lousy for the past couple of days. I think I may be coming down with something."
"Well you don't feel feverish to me," he said, after putting his hand on her forehead to check for a temperature. "Name some of your symptoms."
"Alonzo, is it me, or have we suddenly reversed roles?" She smiled, and they both collapsed into giggles over the irony of the situation. "Let's see," she began, still laughing a little. "Lately I've been feeling really fatigued. My head has been hurting some kind of bad, and I've been feeling so nauseous, especially in the morning."
"Hmm," he said playfully, cocking his head to the side to give the impression that he was deep in thought. "Well, you mentioned that your stomach was bothering you, so you could have the flu caused by the rapid weather change, or maybe you just need to eat more. Which reminds me, believe it or not I talked Morgan into saving you some breakfast. Wanna come to the main dome with me and eat some of it?"
"Thank you, Alonzo," she said appreciatively, pulling him close so he was sitting beside her on the bed, and kissing him, "but unless Morgan has taken a cooking class or two I don't think my belly can handle his food right now."
"I hear ya," he said with an understanding smile. Then he got up, and pulled the young doctor gently to her feet.
Julia stared at him dumbfounded. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm getting you out of bed, so you and I can enjoy this beautiful day while it lasts," he replied.
"I don't wanna," she complained, pulling herself free from his mild grasp and plopping back onto the bunk.
Alonzo frowned. "Oh, c'mon, Julia! The fresh air will do you some good." Julia shook her head in protest.
When he saw that she definitely wasn't going to give in, he decided to change his strategy. "Okay, if you honestly don't feel like it, I'm sure we can find something constructive to do in here," he murmured suggestively, leaning down so that his face met hers, and their noses touched. Then he kissed her tenderly, and caressed her dark blonde hair with one hand.
Julia blushed deeply, but smiled despite herself and kissed him back, more passionately. As she rose up and moved her body closer to his, a surge of satisfaction washed through her, and she became all warm inside. A few moments later, she felt her hair fall upon her shoulders so quickly that it startled her, and she inadvertently broke their embrace.
Alonzo look at her with a mock concern. "You all right?" "I will be," she answered, still a little shaken up. "My hair just came loose all of the sudden and it scared me, that's all. Sorry for ruining the moment," she added apologetically.
"That's okay, but if you want to put your hair back up, I think you'll be needing this," he said slyly, opening his hand to reveal the rubber band that had earlier been used to keep Julia's hair back in it's usual neat ponytail.
"Hey what the-- Give that back!" "You want it? Come get it!" With that, Alonzo sprinted out of the med-tent, Julia hot on his heels.
"So, Julia, I see you finally decided to join the land of living," Morgan shouted, when he saw she'd finally emerged from her quarters. Baines and Walman were standing beside him, and they laughed devilishly. Julia, however, seemed completely immune to their comments as she hurriedly brushed past them.
"What's with her?" Baines wondered aloud. Both Morgan and Walman shrugged.
***
Julia's legs ached with exhaustion, but she pressed on. If Alonzo thought he was going to get away with fooling her like that, he had another thing coming. "Your in trouble now, Alonzo!" she yelled, as she came closer to him.
Alonzo turned around, and began to walk backwards. "You know what they say, Jul, it ain't over 'til it's--" The words died in his throat, as he tripped over a small rock in his path. "Over," he finished breathlessly, putting his hands up in a relenting gesture.
"I knew you'd surrender eventually," Julia said teasingly, lying on the ground next to him.
"Yeah, well, with eyes like that, how could I resist!" he exclaimed, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead.
"You know, what you did to me was pretty cruel." "Ah, but it got you outside, didn't it?" "That it did, and I have to admit it was very clever." "Really?"
"Uh-huh, in fact that cleverness of yours is one of the things I love most about you.""You don't say?"
"Yeah, that and your dimples.
Alonzo smiled. "These old things?" he asked, pointing to them. Julia smiled back and said, "Yep, those would be the ones." "So, you're not still mad at me are you?" "Well, I still may be the slightest bit irked." "Depending on what?"
"On what you do to make it up to me, of course!" "Well, why don't we start with this," he said, as he engulfed her in an array of affectionate kisses."Julia," came a meek voice several minutes later. Julia and Alonzo were so involved in what they were doing, they nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard it. Then they scrambled to their feet, obviously embarrassed.
Julia forced a weak smile. "True, hi!" she said as calmly as she could, trying not to let the young girl see how humiliated she was.
"Hi!" True said happily, oblivious to it all. "I was wondering if you'd patch my knee up. See, when Uly and I were out walking there was this big pile of leaves in the middle of the ground, and I thought it looked pretty cool, so I decided to jump in it. But after I did, I found out that the leaves were just there to cover up the hole that I fell in."
"Are you okay?" Julia asked with concern. "Yeah, but when I tried to climb out of it I skinned my knee. See?" she said, pointing to the small gash on her knee.
The old Alonzo probably would have thought, I can't believe she interrupted us just to have some tiny, little scratch on her knee bandaged up, and sneered at her. The person he was now, however, just laughed, thinking, She's just a child, she doesn't know any better. Besides, he liked True.
"Yes, I see," Alonzo heard Julia saying to True as he came out of his reverie. "It really doesn't look that bad."
"I know. When I showed it to my dad he said the same thing, but he told me to let you put a dressing on it so it won't get infected. Plus, if Devon sees my cut she might freak out and not allow Uly to go out and play with me by himself. You know how over protective she can be sometimes. But if she notices that I was mature enough to come to you for aid, then she just might reconsider."
"Good plan, True," Julia said with an agreeing smile. She liked Devon, but God knew she could be quite the mother hen when it came to her young son. Then, with a start, she realized that she'd gotten so wrapped up in her pursuit of Alonzo, that she was still wearing only the cotton V-neck T-shirt she'd slept in. Even worse, the intimate moment she'd shared with him not too long ago was most likely witnessed by the entire group; not just True. After all, they were outside. What's gotten into me, she mused, as her face turned scarlet. Ordinarily, the mere idea of public affection made her cringe, and now.....
Sighing heavily, in an effort to keep her composure she replied, "Um, let me go change into something decent and I'll be right with you, okay?"
"Sure. I'll just wait for you in the main dome, and you can come get me," True answered, waving as she ran off to go there.
Then, as Julia started to walk away, she felt a strong arm holding her back. "Hey, I saw how upset you were just now, I can read you like a book," Alonzo said when she turned around to face him. "You really gotta stop worrying about what the others will think. They're our friends. If anything, they'll be glad for us."
"I know. I just feel kind of weird about them watching us, that's all."
"What's there to feel weird about? I'm sure they've seen a couple kissing before. Look, Julia, I know you tend to get shy when it comes to certain things, and I respect and admire you for that. But you're finally starting to open up a little, and that's a good thing. You don't have to be afraid of it or of me. I love you."
"I'm not, and I love you, too. I guess I just surprised myself, because I'm usually so private about that sort of thing, you know?"
Alonzo nodded.
"Listen, I better go change now. True's waiting on me," she said finally, giving him a quick kiss, getting the rubber band from him, and hurrying to the med-tent.***
"There you go, now that old knee of yours is good as new," Julia said, when she finished tending to True's injury.
"Thanks," True said appreciatively. "So, besides the fact that you fell, did you have fun on your little adventure with Uly?"
"Yeah, I did. Guess what?"
"What?"
"After my fall, I got sorta scared and I wanted to head back to camp, but Uly convinced me to go a little further. Afterwards, I was glad I listened to him, because that's when we ran into Mary.""The Terrian girl? Where?" Julia asked, wrinkling her brow.
"On the hill, above where our camp is set up," True said, with increasing enthusiasm. "When we approached her, Uly noticed that she had tears in her eyes, so he asked her what was wrong."
"What did she say?" Julia inquired once again, growing even more curious.
"She said that she was upset because ever since the Terrians abandoned her for letting Yale go free, she's searched for a new place to live. And when she finally found somewhere to settle she was still unhappy, because she longed to be with her own kind. Uly and I talked it over, and we thought that was pretty sad, so we asked her to come stay with us for a while. She was a little skeptical at first, but we eventually talked her into it."
"You did what! True, you and Uly aren't nearly mature enough to make that kind of a decision. Why didn't you--
"I know, I know, you think we should've checked with the adults first. Well, not to worry. When you were getting dressed, we took Mary to the dome and explained the situation to Devon, my dad, and everyone else, who were all very understanding. Even Morgan, believe it or not."
A smile gradually crept across Julia's lips, and her anxiety faded, at least where True was concerned.
"But anyway," True was saying, "if you have a problem with that, we can just forget the whole thing."
"Oh, no, of course not!" Julia said, more to reassure herself than True. "Why would you think something like that?"
True shrugged. "No reason, I was just making sure. You know, we could go there now and help work out all the details. What'da'ya say?"
Now it was Julia turn to shrug. "Sure let's go."
***
Upon arriving at the dome, True quickly joined the conversation everyone was having with Mary on what they could do to help her feel comfortable during her stay. On the contrary, Julia held back. She was glad to help Mary out in any way. Moreover, she had deep mercy for her because of how she'd been shunned by the Terrians. Nevertheless, she felt uncomfortable about allowing the girl to stay with them at camp. Ultimately, because of how attracted to Alonzo she seemed to be some time ago when she'd tried to get Uly to come live with the Terrians, since they'd altered his DNA. What happened was this: After Mary saved Alonzo from the "renegade" Terrians, he brought her back to camp on the ATV. Then, when it was time to exit the vehicle, Alonzo noticed that Mary was still holding his waist. Shyly, she told him that she liked this, and asked what it was. He explained to her that it was touch, something human men and woman share with each other when they're close.
Later that afternoon when Bess, True, and Julia were helping Mary with her bath, Julia told her not to be scared, when she touched her with her dia-glove to examine her health. At this, Mary brightened, and said that Alonzo had shown her touch. This came as a surprise to Bess and True, who exchanged shocked looks. However, they didn't even have to look Julia's way for a second to sense she had been taken aback by Mary's words. They knew how she felt about Alonzo, any fool could see that in her eyes. All through the day, Julia couldn't shake her feelings of uneasiness, so when everyone had called it a day, she went to Alonzo's tent to talk to him about it. When he explained to her that Mary was just fascinated by the concept of touch, because the Terrians never engaged in it, and not specifically his own, she felt bad for jumping to conclusions. However, she couldn't help thinking that Mary saw the incident differently.
"I know something you'd like," Bess said happily to Mary, knocking Julia back to reality.
Mary became frightened and trilled. Alonzo said, "It's okay, Mary." He put his hands on her shoulders to try to calm her down.
When Julia saw this, that same uneasy feeling returned, so she took a deep breath.
He's only trying to comfort her, nothing more, she said to herself. He hates to see people hurting, that's why I love him so much."Don't worry, Mary. I won't make you take a bath again," Bess continued, smiling as she remembered the girl's reaction to that. "I was just thinking that since you're going to live with humans now, you should dress like us, too. You look about my size, so if you want to wear some of my clothes you're more than welcome."
"You'd let me wear your clothes, real human clothes?" Mary asked excitedly, immediately relaxing. She still felt close to the Terrians, in spite of everything, but the prospect of being human aroused her.
"Absolutely! Tell you what, give me a day to sort through my stuff, and when I find some things I think you might like, you can come to my tent and try them on," Bess said.
Mary went over to her, and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Bess. Thank you so much. You know, as long as I'm going to start dressing like a human, then I think I should learn to talk more like a human, too. I still have trouble with that."
Bess thought for a moment. Mary did have trouble with English. She stuttered a lot, and often times, she had to stop and think about how to put her simplest thoughts into words. "Well, if you're really serious about this, I suppose you could join Uly and True when Yale teaches them about our language."
Mary looked at the two children, who were next to each other, and said, "Would you mind, guys?"
"Not at all!" they exclaimed in unison. Uly turned to Yale, smiled, and said, "He's a great teacher, you'll love him!"
Yale laughed appreciatively, and Mary smiled at him, too. From that moment on, she knew she'd done the right thing, letting him go free, even though she mourned her family everyday.
***
That night, when Alonzo was on guard duty, he heard loud trilling that it almost sounded like a desperate howl: "Di, di, di, di, di, di, di, di, dit!"
It was strange, he thought, because the Terrians seldom left their underground caves, especially not at after dark. He thought it over, and decided that although he was damn tried, he wasn't dreaming, because never in the history of his existence had he ever been able to even remotely drift off standing up. That was probably the reason he'd awaken during his first cold-sleep, an experience that still made him shudder after all this time.
"Di, di, di, di, di, di, di, di, di, dit!" The trilling became louder, and more apparent.
"Who's there!" he shouted, gripping his Mag-Pro tightly. He'd been on this planet long enough to know that you don't play around when you hear strange noises. Suddenly, his adrenaline shot up, and he fired in the direction where the noise was coming from. Then he froze, realizing that the wounded cry now ringing out all through camp, was that of a human being, not some weird creature. Oh, God, he breathed, as sweat began to pour off him, what have I done. Hands shaking, he switched on his torch, and followed the terrifying sound make by the person he'd injured. He dreaded seeing the intensity of the damage he'd caused, but all the same, he knew it was something that had to be done if he wanted to save whoever it was. Then, without warning, there was nothing but silence. This worried Alonzo even more, because the noise was not only helping him find this person, but it was also reassuring him that he or she was still alive.
After walking a foot or two, he caught sight of Mary. Much to his relief, she was strong enough to stand. "Mary," he called out when he finally reached her.
At the sound of his voice, she began to scream and cry hysterically, and Alonzo realized that that was the sound which had guided him to her.
"It's all right, Mary. It's just me, Alonzo," he said soothingly. Then he flashed his torch at her, so she could see he was telling the truth.
"Alonzo," she uttered between sobs, but that was all she could say before tears overcame her again.
Alonzo's heart filled with pity, and he put his arms around her.
"Someone shot at me," she said, as she finally got herself together. "It's not safe here."
"It was me," he said, looking at the ground. "I was on guard duty, and I thought you were an intruder. I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"
"No, I was really scared, though. Right then, I just wanted to be underground with the Terrians again."
"You miss them terribly, don't you?" "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for everything everyone here has done for me, but yes. That's why I was out here trilling so loudly. Somehow, I thought that if they heard how much I miss them, they'd forgive me," she said with a sigh. "I know it sounds crazy."
Alonzo shook his head. "Actually, I understand exactly where you're coming from. It's perfectly natural for you to still want to be with the Terrians, after you're spent so much of your life with them. We all accept that, and we know you may initially have a rough time getting used to our way of living, but we'll do everything we can to make the transition easier. So anytime you have a question, want to talk, or just need to unload remember my door's open, okay?"
"Okay," Mary said, with a grateful smile. She opened her mouth to speak again, but the sound of nearby footsteps made her stop.
"Hey, Solace!" Danziger called as he approached them, giving Alonzo a playful punch on the shoulder and acknowledging Mary with a grin.
"Hey, Danz, you here to relieve me?" "Yep, it's quittin' time! For you anyway. You all right, man?" Danziger added, his tone becoming more serious as he noticed the uncharacteristically distressed look on Alonzo's face.
"Yeah, fine," Alonzo said, shifting his feet uneasily. "I'm just a little tired, that's all." He felt bad about lying to Danziger, but right then he really didn't feel like recalling the whole nasty ordeal, and he knew Mary wouldn't care to hear about it either. Besides, he really was tired. Clearing his throat, he handed the Mag-Pro over, relieved to finally be rid of it. "She's all yours," he said, trying to hide his tension. Then, after saying good night to Danziger, Alonzo walked Mary back to the dome and headed in the direction of his tent.
Danziger stared at him as he crossed the rugged terrain, knowing full well that something just wasn't right with his friend. Oh, well, thought, shaking his head and running his fingers through his curly reddish-blonde hair. He knew there was no sense in worrying about that now, because at the moment--as Adair liked to constantly remind him--there was work to be done.
***
Alonzo walked into the med-tent, and quietly slipped off his work-jacket, trying his best not to disturb Julia. On the way to his tent, he remembered that earlier that day she'd complained of having severe chills. So he figured that instead of lying all alone in his bunk, he'd lay beside her and keep her warm.
He looked over at her, sleeping peacefully, and noticed for about the hundredth time how breathtakingly beautiful she was. Not just on the outside, but on the inside, as well. Yeah, there was definitely something special about Dr. Julia Heller. She was earnest, caring, and modest. Quite different from the many girls he associated himself with back on the space stations. It was funny, a few months ago Alonzo would have given anything to be able return to the space station, and the wild, promiscuous lifestyle he had once led while flying on long missions. But now he no longer felt that way. In fact, the way he behaved back then was one of the things he regretted the most in his life.
Crashing on G889 was probably the most traumatic thing that Alonzo had ever endured. Though, in a way he was glad it happened, because that was how he'd gotten to know Julia, and loving her had helped him see how foolish he'd been in the past.
He laid down on the bed by her side, and was about to change his clothes, when he saw a pair of familiar sapphire eyes smiling at him. "Hey, 'Lonz," Julia beamed, clearly happy to see him.
Alonzo gently cupped her face in his hands to let her know he felt the same way. "I'm sorry I disturbed you," he said apologetically. "Go back to sleep."
"It's not your fault, just blame it on this lovely bunk of mine," she said. "It let's out these God awful shrieks like you wouldn't believe, if you make the slightest move." She bounced her foot lightly against the mattress, and said, "See?" when the noise came again.
"Well, join the crowd," Alonzo said, wincing as memories of the horrific experience he'd dealt with earlier that night came flooding back to him, with vivid clarity.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when I was guarding camp tonight, about an hour before it was time to switch places with Danziger, I kept hearing these blood- curtailing screams from out in the distance." Growing concern, Julia swallowed hard, and listened even more intently. Alonzo went on, "At first, it didn't bother me, but then the noise seemed to be getting closer and closer to our camp. I started to worry, so I took out my Mag-Pro, and fired at whatever or whoever it was--it was dark, so I couldn't tell.""Well, what was it, an angry Terrian or something?" "That's what I thought it was when I pulled the trigger.. I was trying to protect all of us from danger. If I even suspected that something like that was going to happen, I never would've reacted the way I did."
"Something like what? Alonzo, what happened? Please tell me!"
Alonzo turned away from her, and buried his face in his hands. Julia rubbed his shoulders comfortingly and when he looked up at her again, his eyes were moist. "It was Mary," he mumbled in a quivering voice. "I shot at Mary."
"Oh my God!" Julia gasped. "It she okay?" "Yeah, the bullet missed her by about an inch or so, thank God. I think more than anything, it scared her. And me, too," he added.
"I can imagine," she said sympathetically, putting her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "Listen, I know you probably don't want to talk about this anymore, and I feel like kicking myself for even asking you this, but what was Mary doing outside that made so much racket? I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to,"
she put in quickly."Don't be," he replied, "it's okay. Mary was trying to get in touch with the Terrians by trilling. Her tribe lives quite a ways from here, so I guess that's why she was doing it so loudly. She misses them so much, Jul, I feel so bad for her."
Julia nodded in agreement. Then she just stared at him with an admiring grin.
"What?" Alonzo asked curiously. "You are the sweetest man," Julia answered finally. "Mary is lucky to have a friend as kind as you are, that cares so much about her well-being."
"Well, you know, doc," he said huskily, embracing her and pressing his soft lips against hers, "you're not so bad yourself."
Julia's heart pounded as Alonzo slipped off his shirt to reveal his perfectly tanned, muscular chest. As she looked deeply into his cocoa eyes, the crisp, sweet scent of his after-shave ticked her nose.
Julia knew then that she was the only woman Alonzo loved. The feelings he had for Mary were that of mercy, because of all she was going through. Julia scolded herself silently for ever having thought they were anything more.
"Are you still cold?" Alonzo asked, groping as he ran his hands down her back with such care, it was as if she were more beloved and precious than gold. And to him, she was.
"No," she said, content. Suddenly, her temperature had shot through the ceiling!
***
Bess twisted her chestnut mane in a knot, and secured it with a rubber band. "Sorry it took me so long to find these clothes, Mary," she said, "but I had a hard time deciding what you'd like, and I didn't want you to be disappointed."
"Don't worry about it," Mary answered in a friendly tone. "After all, the best things come to those who wait, right?"
. "Right. You know, you are picking up this 'human language' thing quite nicely."
"Thanks."
The two girls were in Bess's tent, on a balmy afternoon two months later, staring at the enormous pile of clothes on her bunk. In it, was a small, long-sleeved shirt that was green in color with three white buttons on it, a white jumper, a turquoise sweater, and various pairs of jeans among other things. Mary had never seen so many clothes in her life!Their short moment of concentration, however, was quickly interrupted by an excited, friendly voice. "Hey, guys, what's up," True cooed, joining Mary and Bess inside the tent.
Smiling, Mary said, "True, great, your right on time to help me decide which of Bess's hand-me-downs I should keep. Look through that pile, and pick an outfit you think would look okay on me."
True eyed the pile carefully. "How 'bout that little green top, and those jeans?" she suggested finally. Mary picked the clothes up, held them against her, and turned to Bess with a questioning look in her eyes.
"Go for it, Mary!" Bess squealed anxiously. "Are you sure, Bess? I mean, don't you think the top is just a bit too clingy?"
"No way, it's perfect! Besides, green is definitely your color, it matches your eyes."
True nodded. "My thoughts exactly! "You can try them on in here," Bess said. Then she led Mary to the privacy curtain, and closed them around her.
"Okay," Mary said, looking at the strange garments, "but can you help me?"
Silly me! Bess mused, slapping her hand over her wide open mouth self consciously. Of course Mary is going to need help getting dressed, she probably does not even remember the last time she put on these types of clothes! "I sure can," Bess said kindly, re-opening the curtain and going in to assist Mary.
Hurry up in there, you guys," True fussed impatiently, after only a few seconds. I wanna see how you look, Mary! I can't wait!"
"Can't wait for what?" Danziger asked, who was now standing in the doorway of the tent, his hazel eyes illuminated with wonder.
"Hey, Dad!" True said good-naturedly, greeting him with a hug. "We're just waiting to see how Mary looks in one of the outfits Bess gave her. Come in!"
"Actually, True, you're the reason why I'm here. Bess, can I tear her away for a minute?" he asked when he spotted her behind the curtain.
"Sure, Danz, just have her back in time for the big moment."
"I'll make sure of it."
"True, do you remember that day when you wanted to go for a walk with Uly, and I told you to be back by a certain time so you could help me fix a leak in the TransRover?" Danziger asked once they were outside."Oh, Dad, I can't believe you dragged me all the way out here just to yell at me for staying out late ages ago!" True wined. "By the way, did you ever repair that leak?"
"Yes, I did, and I was angry with at first for forcing me to do it by myself, but then I realized something."
"What?"
"I realized that in my heart you'll always be my little True-girl, but whether I like it or not you're growing up. I gotta start letting you have more freedom, be your own person.""I agree one-hundred percent, Dad!" "Good, because Julia wants me to take the ATV and check the for more missing pods up north. Apparently, our food supply is diminishing quicker than she'd anticipated. You can handle that, can't you? Me being gone for a few hours?
"Sure, but when are you going to be coming back?" "Tonight, probably around sunset. Don't worry, you'll hardly even notice I'm gone."
"That's what you think, I miss you already! Please come back soon, okay?"
"I will," he said softly, kissing her on her forehead and giggling. One minute True agreed whole-heartedly that it was about time for her to have more freedom, and the next minute she was practically begging him to hurry home as soon as he could! "Anything for my True-girl," he added as he turned and headed for the ATV. Then he waved good-bye, and after waving back and making sure he was safely on his way, she ran back to Bess's tent in a hurry.
"What'd I miss?" she asked breathlessly when she arrived there, after what seemed like an eternity.
"Nothing," Bess said lightly, "I demonstrated what to do, and she said understood well enough to give it the old college try, so I've been waiting out here for about five minutes. She should be almost finished by now, but she says she won't descend until you came back. Mary, you can come out now, she's here!"
As if on cue, Mary opened the curtain, strolled out, and placed her hands on her hips for her audience. "So?" she muttered, obviously pleased with herself. For a second Bess and True were too overwhelmed to speak.
Bess recovered first, saying, "Oh, Mary, you look positively stunning!"
"That's an understatement!" True chimed in. "There's not even a word to describe how beautiful you look, guys are gonna drool all over you!"
"Speaking of the male species," Bess said suddenly, "we need to get a guy's opinion. After all, you wanna impress them, too, don't you?"
"Of course she does!" True blurted out, ignoring Mary's objections. Peeking her head out of the tent, she saw Alonzo making small talk with Baines. "Alonzo! Alonzo," she called. He turned around at the sound of her voice, and she said, "come here we need to talk to you for a minute!"
Mary's jaw dropped, and there was a look of contempt in her green eyes. "True what do you think you're doing? He'll think I'm fishing for compliment!"
"Relax, Mary!" True said encouragingly, patting her on the shoulder. "'Lonz is a genius when it comes to this kind of thing, and you two are close anyway."
"I guess your right."
Just then Alonzo staggered in. "You rang, ladies?" he asked with a smile that could melt any girl's cold heart."Yep," Bess replied. "We need your opinion on something." "What's that?"
"Remember when I promised Mary she could have some old clothes of mine?""Yeah, like it was yesterday."
"Well, I finally sorted them out," Bess began, pointing to the pile of clothes, "and this is what I came up with. She has on one of the outfits now.""I know, that's the first thing I noticed when I walked in here. You look great, Mary!"
"Thanks," Mary replied proudly. Then True flashed her an I-told-you-so smile, and she couldn't help but laugh. True was so wise, and at such a young age! She could learn a thing or two from her.
"Mary, put all the clothes you want to keep in one pile, and all the rejects in another, okay?" Bess asked.
Mary's smile turned into a frown. "Bess don't tell me you're gonna make me choose between all these beautiful clothes!"
"I'm afraid I am, Mary."
"But shouldn't I try everything on, and then decide which ones are worth keeping?""You can if you want to, but everything I brought out is a size five, including what you're wearing."
"Oh, well I like the way that fits, so nevermind. But can you at least give me some more time to make a final decision? This is so hard, I love everything here!"
"Okay then it's settled, you can have everything." "You mean you wouldn't mind?"
"Mind? Why would I mind? I wouldn't have offered these things to you if I didn't want you to have them! Besides, I have plenty of other clothes where that came from.""Oh, Bess, you're wonderful!" Mary exclaimed, overjoyed. "I don't know how I'll ever thank you," she continued, embracing her.
"Don't mention it," Bess said modestly, returning the hug. "Now, True and I are gonna go see if we can find a bag big enough for all this stuff," she said finally. Then, she and True were gone, leaving Mary alone with Alonzo.
Alonzo attempted to get up and leave as well, but decided against it when Mary asked him, "Were you serious about what you said earlier?"
"Yeah, you really do look great in that outfit, " Alonzo said truthfully. "I especially like the shirt, it matches the color of your eyes."
"That's exactly what Bess and True said," Mary told him, surprised. She tried to hide the sadness in her voice, but Alonzo picked up on it instantly.
"Hey, what's the matter?" her asked her. "A short while ago you were glowing with happiness, and now you sound as if you're about to burst into tears."
Mary looked up at Alonzo in awe. "How do you do that?" she asked.
Now it was Alonzo's turn to look puzzled. "Do what?" "Somehow you always seen to know how I feel, even when I'm putting on a front. Either I'm completely transparent, or you know me a lot better than I thought you did.
"So, which is it?"
"I don't know, you tell me."
"Well, I can't speak for everybody, but when I've been friends with someone for a long time, sooner or later I'm able to tell the difference between when they put on a front and when they're being straight with me. You know what I mean?""You consider me a friend?" Mary gushed, her mood brightening momentarily.
"Of course I do!" he said with a nod. "And a very good one, at that.".
"Well, that's good," she said, "because I feel the same way about you."
"Good, then do you trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you?" he asked gently, trying not to pry. "Maybe you'd feel better if you told someone."
Mary took a deep breath. Alonzo had told her a while back that if she ever needed to talk he'd be glad to listen, and she knew she'd be relieved once this burden was off her chest. "This is probably gonna sound weird," she began, "which is why I wasn't going to tell anyone, but here goes. Shortly after the Terrians disowned me, I started having these dreams when I would go to sleep at night, which were odd and rather frightening for me because I'd never really dreamt before."
"I know exactly how you feel," Alonzo said compassionately. "When the Terrians first started communicating with me through the Dream Plane, I was terrified. I thought they were out to get me or something. Go on, sorry I interrupted."
"That's all right, it's good to know I'm not the only one who's been through this. Anyway, as time went on, it occurred to me that the dreams weren't dreams at all, they were memories. Memories of my parents, before the outcasts killed them."
"So, you're saying that you think the dreams are your tribes'--The other Terrians' way of allowing you to remember your parents more distinctly, since you don't live underground with them anymore?"
"Exactly, does that make any sense?" "It makes perfect sense. In fact, you're probably right. Have all the memories resurfaced?"
Mary shook her head. "No, it's a slow process. It will probably take years for me to remember everything about my early childhood. But there are certain things that stand out in my mind." She paused, as if what she was thinking was too painful for her to express in words. Somewhere, however, she found strength and continued, "Like the time I saw my mom and dad dancing in the garden the afternoon before they were killed, it was so beautiful! I was really impressed, and I asked them to teach me how to do it. They promised they would later on that day, of course--" she stopped again, and swallowed, to dissolve the lump that had formed in her throat, "they never got around to it."
Alonzo looked at her with empathy, as tears fell from her eyes, which loosened the dirt that had accumulated on her face, and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. "It must be so hard for you, experiencing the grief after all these years."
"It is," she said and sniffled, "It was bad enough knowing what the outcasts had done to my parents, but now I'm actually starting to recall specific events in my life before the Terrians adopted me. It just makes me mourn them that much more. God, I feel like Rip Van Winkle!"
"You know," he said, putting his hands together, as an idea formed in his head, "I could teach you how to dance. I may not be as good as your mom or dad, but I've been known to cut a rug or two in my time. Are you up for it?" He knew it wouldn't take all Mary's pain away, but it would certainly cheer her up.
"Alonzo," she said, regaining her composure, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, it's very sweet, but I wouldn't want to impose."
"You're not! Teaching you how to dance would be my pleasure, I'd have fun doing it."
"You mean that?" she asked, softening. Alonzo knew it was only a matter of time before she'd give in. "Would this face lie?" he quipped. "Don't answer that," he added, getting up and grabbing Morgan and Bess' VR gear off of their bunk. "Follow me, we'll have more room out here."
Shrugging, Mary grabbed his hand and he led her outside, where her first dance lesson was about to begin!
***
"Devon, can we talk?" Julia asked nervously, walking into the dome, and sitting next to her at the small, wooden table."Sure, what's on your mind?" Devon said, her motherly instinct taking over at once when she saw the troubled expression in the doctor's eyes. Evidently, something was wrong; something was very wrong.
Julia sighed, and put her elbows on the table. Then she roughly rubbed her face with her palms, as if doing so would magically dispel all her worries. But it wouldn't, and she knew it. Her worries were real, and she needed to bring them out in the open in order for them to go away. That's why she'd come to Devon in the first place, for guidance. She'll know what to do, Julia silently convinced herself, she's been through this before.
After glancing up at the ceiling, sighing one last time, and gathering her courage, Julia began to speak. "Devon, I told you that I've been feeling kind of sick lately, didn't I?"
"Yes, but that was at least a couple of months ago. If you're still feeling bad, you should give yourself an examination with your dia-glove to find out what the problem is." Devon said, sounding a bit more stern that she'd intended, out of concern for her friend.
"Well, I did--finally," Julia replied, "and that's what I'm here to talk to you about. Devon, when I examined myself, I expected to find that I had the flu or a cold or something. Turns out that not it at all, not even close. Nope, what's going on inside of me is much more serious."
"What do you mean 'serious'?" Devon asked, cringing and growing more fearful by the second, but trying not to show it for Julia's sake.
"I'm three months pregnant, how's that for 'serious'?" "Oh, Thank God!" Devon bellowed, hugging her. "For a minute there, I was frantic thinking you were on your death bed or something. Congratulations! Wait a minute," she added when they parted, "you don't look too happy about this. You do want the baby, don't you? I know he or she was unplanned, but so was Uly, and looking back on it now I'm so glad that--"
"Of course I want the baby," Julia broke in. "Alonzo and I are both adults and G889 may not be the most ideal place to raise a child, but together I think we'll manage. I just don't know how he is going to react when I tell him about all of this."
"You mean he doesn't know?"
"No, I just found out this morning, and you're the first person I've told. Oh, Devon, what am I gonna do!""Well, obviously the first thing you've got to do is tell him. It's his baby, too, he has a right to know."
"I know," Julia grumbled, "but what if I tell him and then he pushes me away, and tells me he doesn't to have anything to do with me or our baby, then what?"
"Julia, you are totally underestimating Alonzo! You can tell how much he loves you just from the way he lights up when you walk into a room, he'd never hurt you like that! Don't tell you've been with him all this time, and you're still not sure of that!"
"I am sure, Devon. I am. I know it's not true, but I guess a small, minuscule part of me is still afraid that Alonzo is just fascinated with me right now, and when the novelty wears off he'll go back to his old ways."
"I think the feelings Alonzo has for you are far stronger than just plain old 'fascination,' and he's proven that to you ten-thousand times over! Granted, the guy may have had one hell of a past, but that's not, by any means, something he's even remotely proud of, which is more than I can say for Uly's father. The bottom line is, your hormones are raging right now, and understandably, you're scared. You need the love and support I'm sure Alonzo would be more than happy to give you."
"You know what? You're absolutely right!" Julia said vehemently, her qualms completely dissipated.
***
Anyone who had the luxury of observing it, would have described the program Alonzo had set up as magnificent, despite the fact that he'd done it on short notice. Just like that, he and Mary were no longer standing outside of Bess and Mogan's tent wearing VR gear. They were barefoot, standing in the middle of a lush, green meadow that stretched for miles, on which tiny flowers of a wide spectrum of colors had bloomed. The sun shone brightly, and in the distance a band had just finished playing "Time" by Hootie and the Blowfish, and was now in the middle of playing their version of Seal's "Don't Cry."
"Oh, Alonzo, this is spectacular!" Mary said with delight. "I've never seen a real meadow before. It's such a perfect place to learn how to dance, so quaint."
"I'm glad you like it!" Alonzo asserted. "To tell you the truth, I've never seen one, either. Bess used to see them all the time when she lived on Earth, and she told me what they look like. I created this based on what she said, and a little imagination. The only difference is, you wouldn't normally see a band in a real meadow, much less one playing music this old. But, hey, they don't call it virtual reality for nothing. Speaking of dancing, do you think you're about ready for your first lesson?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Mary said with a sheepish half-smile. "Since I'm new at this, try not to bite my head off if I step on your foot!"
"Joking around, are we? You must be feeling better!" "I always feel better when I'm with you," Mary said. "I hope you're as good a dancer as you are a friend."
"We'll see about that," Alonzo said, putting his arms on her shoulders. "Put your arms around my waist," he instructed her. When she did, he went on, "Okay, good. Now I'm gonna start moving my feet to the music, look down at them and mimic my movements. Then, when you think you've got it, lift your head lift your head and follow through."
"All right, I'll try," Mary replied. At first, she had to constantly watch his feet to keep up. Then, when her confidence increased, she raised her head and was still able to keep moving.
"That's it," Alonzo praised, when he finally saw her face as opposed to the back of her head. "You've got it, you're dancing." He took her hand, twirled her around, and she laughed.
"I am," she said with a renewed sense of pride. "I can't believe it! I'm actually dancing!" she added, resting her head against his broad shoulder as they gently swayed back and forth to Merry Clayton's "At Last. "Alonzo," she said when the song was almost over, breaking the brief silence between them, "thanks so much for doing this. It really means a lot to me."
"Aw, it no big deal. Like I said, I enjoy dancing, anyway."
"It's not just the dancing. I mean, that was great and everything, but it's more than that. From the moment I came back here, you went out of your way to make me feel welcome. And for the first time in a long time I really feel like I belong, like I'm not so different after all."
"Well, you may not be a run-of-the-mill individual, but you're pretty special. Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise."
"I won't," Mary vowed delicately, staring deeply into his dark-brown eyes. They were the deepest shade of brown she'd ever seen. So deep, one could get lost in them if they weren't careful. She stroked his cheek, it was so soft and supple. She never thought that touching human flesh could excite her so! Complete nirvana overcame her. She leaned forward,. cocked her head a little to the right, and kissed him.
Alonzo was so surprised by what she'd done, he quickly jerked away and made her flinch.
"What," Mary asked, visibly offended, "what is it? Did I do something wrong?"
"Look, Mary," Alonzo emanated, searching desperately for the right words that he hoped wouldn't hurt her anymore than he already had, "I'm sorry, but we--I can't do this. See, Julia and I, we have something special. I love her, I don't want to be with anyone else."
Mary made a face. "I don't get it. You told me once that when humans know each other better, they often express how they feel by giving each other affection. I know you, Alonzo, and I feel close to you. I mean, we're friends, you said so yourself."
Alonzo nodded. "That's right."
"Okay, if that's so, then why did you push me away and scare me like that when I kissed you?""Sorry about that," he said, "but I did it because some forms of affection, like kissing on the mouth, we reserve for people who are more than friends to us, people that we love. Please try to understand."
Shaking her head, Mary replied, "I'm trying, but I still don't."
"You will someday."
"Really, uh, when?"
"When you find the right person," Alonzo answered sympathetically."Is Julia that person for you?" Mary asked in a small voice, crestfallen.
"Yes," Alonzo said, a blissful expression on his face as he visualized her, "yes she is."
"Well, she's a very lucky woman," she said, a subtle twinge of jealousy evident as she spoke.
"No, I'm a very lucky man," he corrected with conviction. Turning on his heel, he flicked off his VR gear and removed it, helped Mary do the same, and headed back in the direction of Morgan and Bess's tent to return the gear before Morgan noticed it was gone. If there was one thing he was possessive about, it was his precious VR gear. Not looking where he was going, he nearly knocked down the person in front of him. "Hey, I was just thinking about you," he said to Julia, helping her steady herself, "and was hoping to bump into you, but I didn't mean it literally!" He waited to hear that melodious laugh he loved so much, but it never came. She didn't even crack a smile. He scratched his head. "You're okay, right?"
"Fine," she said coldly, turning her face away when he attempted to kiss her.
"Are you sure?" he asked, sensing that something was off. "You seem kind of distant."
Suddenly Julia's blank expression turned to one of anger, and she could no longer hold in her emotions. "I can't believe you have the audacity to stroll up to me, and act as if everything's fine! How could you do this? All this time you've been lying to me!" she fumed.
Alonzo raised his eyebrows, befuddled. "Jul, I don't know what you're talking about! What did I do? Whatever it is, I--"
"Don't you dare 'Jul' me, you bastard!" Julia cried icily, silencing him. "You know," she said, her voice cracking a little as she fought for control, "long ago I'd come to accept the fact that I would never be able to feel anything stronger than friendship for a man. I figured that it was just one of the cons of being genetically engineered, that I was going to have to live with. So when I finally realized I was falling in love with you, I was very scared. I thought " My God, this can't be happening! It's not scientifically possible," which is why I kept blowing you off at first and denying my feelings for you. Soon, though, I understood that the love you had for me was so profound and pure, you were able to break through those seemingly permanent barriers and make me feel it, too. And I did, big time! I loved you with all my heart and soul, and because of that love, I gave you something I've never given anyone else, I made love to you. And I was glad I did, because I knew that you were that person I wanted to be with forever. I cherished was we had. Alonzo, I thought the feeling was mutual, I thought you loved me."
"I do, Julia, and I always will!" Alonzo proclaimed, his eyes intense.
"Stop it!" Julia screamed, covering ears and shaking her head back and forth. "Just stop it! I'm so sick and tired of all the lies. If you really loved me, you wouldn't have kissed another woman. And don't try to deny it," she persisted when he opened his mouth to respond, "there's no point. I saw you, I stood right here and saw you kiss Mary! So," she added, "how long has this been going on? How serious is it, did you--" she stopped herself. "You know what? Don't answer that, I don't want to know."
"No, Julia, you don't understand," he said defensively, "she kissed me. At which point, I explained to her that anything beyond friendship between the two of us was out of the question, because I loved you--and still do. Maybe if you been a little closer to us, and in VR, you would've heard what I said as well as saw what she did."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because it's the truth."
"Ha! You don't know anything about 'truth'. What I said to you when we first met was accurate after all, your reputation does precede you," she said bitterly.She started to walk away, but Alonzo pulled her back. "Please, Jul, don't do this. We need to talk."
Overwhelmed by rage and sorrow, Julia turned around and slapped him so hard that a red whelp appeared on his cheek. "Don't touch me!" she wailed. "I want you out of my life!" She pushed her way through the Eden contingent, who'd gathered around to see what was going on, got into the TransRover, and took off.
After recovering from the initial shock of the blow, he made his way through the crowd and started to run after her. "Let her go, man," Baines cautioned, stepping in front of him.
But it was to no avail. "Get the hell out of the way," Alonzo warned, pushing him aside.
"He's right, Alonzo," Devon declared, jumping to Baines' defense, "Julia needs time to cool off. Can't you at least give her that?"
Throwing his hands up angrily, Alonzo headed back to his tent. He, too, needed some time to cool off.
"Alonzo, I'm really sorry." Mary said, grabbing his arm as he ran past her. "I never intended to--"
"Dammit, Mary, shut up!" he shouted, thrusting her arm off of his. "I don't need this right now!" Then he stalked off, leaving Mary awestruck and in tears. Bess placed a hand on her shoulder, so as to offer comfort.
***
As her eyes blurred with tears, Julia found it increasingly difficult to drive. She didn't have a definite destination in mind, all she knew was that she wanted to be somewhere far, far away from the others, Alonzo in particular. I never should have taken Devon's advice and went to find Alonzo! she thought bitterly. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be in this mess. Almost immediately, though, she corrected herself for blaming Devon. Then again, if it wasn't for her, I probably never would've discovered the way things are between Alonzo and Mary.
"Alonzo and Mary," she said in a practically inaudible whisper. Even saying there names together utterly disgusted Julia. All this time he'd fooled her into believing that he cared for her and only her, and all this time there'd been someone else in his heart--not to mention other places. And that someone was--of all people--Mary.
Actually, deep down, it wasn't too hard to believe. From the very first day True and Uly brought her back to Eden headquarters, Julia had suspected that they were getting to know each other a little too well. I should have listened to my instinct, Julia told herself, followed my head instead of my heart. Now, since I didn't, I'm going to have a baby, and his or her father isn't even aware of it, she continued, a pang of guilt running through her as she started to sob. Not that he'd care, she rationalized, he doesn't even love me.
When the reality of her thoughts consumed her, it was too much for her to bear. She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, she felt a hard, sharp pain in her stomach and back, which generated down her legs. Then another, and another. Dear God, Julia prayed, please don't let me lose this baby. Despite what Alonzo and I have been through, I love he or she too much! At the same, Julia's vision became blurred, she broke into a cold sweat, and started to feel very lightheaded. She fought as hard as she could to stay awake, but her struggle was futile and she fainted. All the while, the still running TransRover slammed right in the side of a Grendlers' cave up ahead. Julia plummeted forward, her forehead banging into its dashboard.
***
"Devon, you've got to help me!" Alonzo exclaimed without preamble, panic stricken as he joined the group around the campfire. When she and everyone else saw him, loud chattering turned to awkward silence. He knew without a doubt that that the topic of conversation had been what happened between he and Julia that afternoon, and it bothered him that they were gossiping behind his back, but currently he had more important things to contend with.
"Alonzo, calm down and tell me what's wrong," Devon replied, noticing how hard he was shaking.
Alonzo drew a deep breath. "Julia's in trouble, we've got to find her!"
Devon was flabbergasted. "In trouble?" she repeated blankly, raising her eyebrows "What makes you think that?" she asked, not-so-subtly implying that after what went down earlier, he was probably the last person in the galaxy she'd want to talk to no matter the situation.
Alonzo shot her a look of indignance. "She didn't contact me, all right? She didn't even have her gear on. I've just got this eerie feeling that she's out there somewhere, and desperately needs our help, but for some reason she just can't get in touch." Walman rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically, and now Alonzo was really starting to get ticked off. "I'm serious, man. Julia could really be in danger, and if I let her down and something happens to her I'll never forgive myself."
Walman clucked his tongue. "Well, I hate to break it to you, 'Lonz, but it wouldn't be the first time."
"Look, contrary to popular belief around here, absolutely nothing happened between me and Mary. I love Julia, and I'd never betray her." Alonzo said steadfastly. "And even if it did, that's not the point. The point is someone's life is on the line, someone who all of you claim to care about. She needs our help, I can feel it. And I will not sit around and wait until it's too late. I'm going to search for her, and if no one here wants to help me, that's fine!"
"Alonzo's right," Devon said at last. "Regardless of how upset Julia was when she left, she's sensible. If something wasn't up she would be back here by now. Maybe we can just follow the TransRover's tracks."
"No!" Alonzo growled, with an impatience that was more emblematic to Morgan than himself. All eyes were on him. "That would take too long, and we might end up going the wrong way. Yale, can you do a scan of the entire area, to track down the whereabouts of the TransRover?" he pleaded desperately. "If we can find it, we can find Julia."
Yale cast him an empty stare that he could not read. Then Yale's eyes shifted to Devon. Although he was no longer required to work for the woman, he still felt indebted to her. She was like a daughter to him, and he was like her surrogate father. Seeking her permission on certain matters had become force of habit.
Devon turned to the sage, old cyborg and nodded approvingly. "Go on," she said, "and please hurry. If we leave now, maybe me can find her before it gets dark."
As quickly as he could, Yale granted Alonzo's request and replied, "We've got her." He showed the coordinates on the scanner to the crew.
Bess looked at the scanner, and immediately a light went on. "Hey that's the exact location of the Grendlers' cave I pass everyday when I jog! It's not far at all."
Morgan leaned over his wife's shoulder for a glance. "Yep, I know where that is, too. Hold on," he added, his infamous pessimism rearing its ugly head. "If Danziger's not back with the ATV, and Julia's off in the TransRover doing God knows what, then the only vehicle we have at our disposal is the DuneRail. Which means that only a few of us can go out and search for Julia."
Devon's forehead creased with worry. For once Morgan was onto something, there wasn't enough transportation for everyone to come along. The journey wouldn't be nearly as safe, or as successful with fewer people in attendance.
"Well, what are we gonna do?" Alonzo persisted, interrupting her thoughts. "We have to do something!" He'd only spoke a moment too soon, because as the words slipped from his lips the loud sputter of an engine was heard on the horizon, taking them all by surprise. They turned around to see where it was coming from.
"Danziger!" Devon sang out, looking to the heavens and mouthing the words "thank you," as he pulled up in the ATV.
"Wow, Adair," Danziger quipped when she reached the ATV and hurriedly climbed into the passengers seat, "I knew I was popular, but I had no idea you guys liked me this much!" Swiftly following suit, Mogan and Bess got into the front of the DuneRail, Alonzo and Baines piled in the front, and Yale, Matazl, Denner, Baines, and Walman followed on foot.
Danziger looked around, took it all in, and then his mystified gaze landed on Devon. "What's going on?" he asked.
Devon quickly explained to him how Julia and Alonzo had a fight, after which Julia sped of in the TransRover and still wasn't back yet.
"That must have been one whale of a fight!" Danziger predicted. "It not like Julia to be gone for so long."
Devon nodded. "Agreed," she said, "that's why Alonzo organized this search party to look for her; he think she may be in trouble."
"About the fight," Danziger said, growing interested, "care to elaborate?"
"I'll explain later," she said, "right now there's no time to waste!"
Sensing the urgency in her voice, Danziger started up the ATV and was just about to give Bess, who was leading the way, the go-ahead when something stopped him.
"Dad, wait," True begged, bolting toward him and hopping into the ATV, "I wanna go with you!"
"No, True," Danziger said harshly, opening the door and gesturing for her to get out, "I'm sorry but you can't."
True's face clouded, and her lower lip began to quiver. "But, Dad, you just got back, I want to spend some time with you! Julia's my friend, too, I want to know that she's okay."
"I know, baby," Danziger replied, his tone softening considerably when he saw how insulted she was, "and I didn't mean to lash out at you just now, but I'm only making you stay behind for your own safety." He combed his fingers through her sandy blonde tresses, and kissed them. "I promise I'll let you know exactly what's going on with Julia as soon as I know the details. Hey, who knows, maybe she's just fine, and too infuriated to come home."
His words didn't seem to be that much of a comfort to True. "But I wanna be with you," she said.
Danziger waved his hand. "Aw, you don't need me! You're independent now remember? Not only that, but I'm sure you'll have tons of fun with Uly and Mary!" Mary had graciously volunteered to stay back and look after the kids, though Devon suspected she had a selfish motive: To spend the least time around Alonzo as possible.
Devon deducted that Danziger had had a lot of experience in the area of coaxing his daughter, because it was working. As soon as True heard the word "independent," her outlook on the situation was much more pleasant. "You're right, Dad." she cooed. "I'll have a blast, and if I came with you I'd just get in the way." She unlocked the door to the ATV, and before letting herself out she gave her father's arm a loving squeeze and said, "Good luck, Dad, I love you."
"Me, too," Danziger said, as he helped her safely exit the vehicle. Then he started up the ATV, signaled to Bess, and took off. The first leg of their quest had begun.
***
"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Danziger said to Devon, astonished. They were on their way to the Grendlers' cave where Julia was supposedly residing, and she had just recounted the events of that afternoon.
"I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes," said Devon.
"You mean you actually saw Alonzo kiss Mary?" Danziger questioned.
"No, not exactly, but when I came outside I heard Julia screaming at him, saying that she saw him do it. He denied it, of course, and said that's not how it was, but I think he was lying. That's the only logical explanation, unless Julia was hallucinating, which is highly unlikely."
"Yeah, but could it be possible that maybe, just maybe, Julia read too much into what she saw?" Danziger reasoned.
Devon rolled her big blue eyes in an agitated fashion. "Oh, John, this is just like you, defending him like that! I know Alonzo's your friend, but you're being such a--a typical guy," she finished lamely.
"Hey," Danziger exonerated, "don't be so touchy! I'm not saying that that's a fact, I'm just saying that it may be a possibility." He sighed. "I don't know, maybe I'm way off. It's just inconceivable to me that Alonzo would even think of cheating on Julia. Last time I saw them, they couldn't keep their hands off each other."
"Same here," Devon agreed. "Go figure." There was a moment of pensive silence, and then Danziger got a strange look on his face that made Devon weary. "What are you thinking?" she asked.
"Well, now that I think about it I'm so surprised about this whole 'Alonzo and Mary' thing," he said.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" she inquired "Well, the first night Mary stayed with us, Alonzo's guard duty shift was just about over and it was time for me to take over, so I went outside. He was standing with Mary, and when I made my presence known, both of them started acting sheepish like they had something to hide," he reflected. "At the time I didn't thinking anything of it, but after what you told me, it makes a lot more sense. I can't even fathom him doing that to her, and knowing she was--is carrying his baby--" he stopped in midsentence, and shook his head sadly.
"Actually, John, he doesn't know," Devon informed him. "I'm the only person Julia told. She was going to tell Alonzo, but backed off when she saw him with Mary. No one else knows, um, except you," she said, feeling slightly guilty. Julia never specifically told her not to tell anyone, but she also never said it was okay to tell anyone. However, she knew why she'd found it so easy to confide in Danziger. He was so warm, so sensitive, so caring, so loving, and easy to talk to. Just the kind of guy she wanted to be with. So why aren't I with him! a voice inside her nagged, as she stared at him dreamily.
Then she caught herself, and wiped the euphoric look off her face. "I was really surprised when Julia told me she was expecting," Devon admitted, blinking to make sure she'd fully returned to the present. "I thought Alonzo was taking suppressers. Although, I of all people should know there's really no such thing as 'safe sex.'"
Danziger laughed, but his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink at the mention of a certain three-letter word. "Well, I'm really glad things turned out the way they did," he said shyly. "Without Uly around, True would have no one to argue with. She'd be bored stiff!"
Devon snickered and nodded. "Yeah, they do have fun together, don't they?"
"At least now we know the reason why Julia hasn't been able to keep anything down these days, morning sickness," Danziger conceded, getting back to the original topic.
"Yeah," Devon agreed, "but in her case it should be called 'morning, noon, and night sickness. She's had it pretty badly."
Something about what Devon said struck a familiar chord in Danziger, and it brought a bittersweet expression to his hazel eyes. "I remember when Elle had morning sickness. I was so worried about her, but she was such a trooper about it. She'd always tell me not to worry, that all of this was going to be worth it the minute she laid eyes on our baby," he mumbled solemnly. "I wish she could have seen True just once before she died."
"But, John," Devon said quietly, squeezing his hand to let him know she shared his pain, "Elle has seen True, she's with her everyday. I bet she's smiling down on her and you as we speak."
Danziger forced a weak but appreciative smile. "I know," he said, "and thank you. But sometimes I wish she were here in body as well as spirit, you know? So she be with me, and tell me whether or not True is being raised how she intended her to be."
"Well, I'm certainly not an expert, but it looks like you're doing a good job to me," Devon said as she smiled back at him. "Sometimes I have a funny way of showing it, but I think True is a remarkable child." Once again he thanked her, and time seemed as if it were standing still as they gazed longingly at each other.
"There she is!" someone shouted, putting an end to Danziger and Devon's peaceful interlude. "I see Julia!" It was Bess, who was now standing up and gesturing frantically toward the TransRover, which had crashed into the Grendlers' cave just a few feet ahead. Inside the damaged vehicle, lay an unconscious Julia, whose forehead had dried blood on it from when she'd bumped it during the accident.
Without hesitation Devon, Danziger, and the others rushed over, and encompassed around Julia, who'd been pulled out of the TransRover by Alonzo. "She's bleeding!" he exclaimed. "My Lord, why is she bleeding like that!"
Numbed by what she saw, Devon foundered against Danziger's sturdy fame for support. A concussion was only a drop in the bucket, compared to what Julia was going to have to face if and when she woke up. Her brown linen slacks were soaked through and through with blood, and Devon knew right away what had happened. Now, if she could only find it within herself to tell Alonzo. She bit her lip, and turned to Danziger, who gave a quick, supportive nod. She knew what she had to do. "Julia was pregnant, Alonzo. I think she lost the baby."
An appalled gasp arose from the group. Devon's eyes became transfixed on Alonzo, who had crouched down beside Julia, and she struggled with her emotions. She couldn't even begin to image how bad he must feel, knowing that Julia hadn't trusted him enough to tell him he was going to be a father. And, in that same instance, being forced to come to grips with the fact that the child he hadn't even known about until now was dead. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way," she said, waiting for him to start screaming at her, as she expected he would. Shockingly, however, he said nothing. In fact, he didn't even look at her. He just stared, almost incoherently, at Julia, his eyes downcast. His mind was mainly focused on getting Julia back to camp, and seeing to it that she was okay. To the contrary, Devon foreseen that when everything calmed down and Alonzo was able to sit and think about what went on, the harsh intensity of it was going to hit him like a ton of bricks. She promised herself that she'd do everything in her power to help he and Julia get through it.
Danziger helped Alonzo lift Julia's limp body onto the back of the ATV, he and Devon took their seats in the front, and Alonzo stayed in the back and kept a watchful eye on Julia. The ATV let out a loud hum, as Danziger started it up and headed back to camp, followed by the DuneRail. Two Grendlers, who wore melancholy expressions on their faces, watched on as they drove farther and farther away from the cave.
***
The tone around camp that night was morose. Everyone seemed to be down in the dumps. It was pitch-dark by the time the colonists got settled in. On arrival, Alonzo carefully lifted Julia out of the ATV and onto her bunk in the med-tent, doing so with ease, as if she were light as a feather.
After aiding Alonzo and Devon in getting Julia cleaned up, Danziger seeked out True to tell her the news. As much as he dreaded telling his young daughter what had happened, he knew she'd want to know. Nonetheless, he didn't tell her everything, because he felt a ten year-old--even True--wasn't mature enough to handle it. So, he just told her that Julia had been in an accident, and was currently unconscious.
Later, Danziger learned that his qualms had not been for naught. When she heard half of the story about her friend's condition, True bawled in her father's arms. Danziger didn't even want to think about what her reaction would've been if he'd told her the whole story. Sighing, he just held her and said nothing. To tell her that everything was going to be fine, when he wasn't even sure of that himself, would be a lie.
Meanwhile, Devon and Alonzo sat together in the med-tent with Julia, and prayed for a miracle. "Do you think she'll wake up soon?" Alonzo asked Devon meekly.
"Yes, I do," she answered confidently, igniting a glimmer of hope inside of him. "According to her diaglove, the head injury she sustained is very minor." She waited until he'd had a chance to process what she said, and then added, "How are you doing?"
"Me? Ah, I'm fine," Alonzo replied mechanically, avoiding the issue. "I'm not the one lying there unconscious."
His eyes lingered on Julia, and Devon could see how much he genuinely cared for her. "Alonzo, you know what I mean," she prodded gently. "You can be honest with me, I won't bite."
Something snapped inside of Alonzo, and all the anger he'd been holding back came forth all at once. "Honest?" he mimicked. "You want me to honest with you, Devon? The same way you and Julia we're so honest when you hid the fact she was gonna have a baby in six months. Huh?"
Devon shivered, feeling completely helpless. "Alonzo, it wasn't my place to tell you, it was hers."
Alonzo laughed bitterly. "That is so convenient. Sure, you're gonna play that card with me now, but you didn't feel so out of place when you told Danziger, did you?"
"How--"
"It was easy," he said, answering her question before she had the chance to ask it. "John was the only one out of the group that didn't seem as shocked as I was. Devon, what the hell made you think you had the right to tell him, when I didn't even know about it?"Devon didn't respond.
"Answer me!" Alonzo demanded.
"I don't know!" Devon shouted back, on the verge of a breakdown. "When we went out to look for her, I started to worry that if you were right, and she really was in danger, then her baby could be in danger, too. It was eating at me. I had to talk to someone about it, and he was there and-- You're right, it was wrong of me to tell him. I was way out of line. I'm sorry.""No, Devon, please don't apologize," he chided. "I'm the one that was out of line, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, and I shouldn't have taken this out on you. It's not your fault that she chose to tell you and not me."
"How am I?" he said, repeating the question she'd asked him earlier after taking a second to collect himself. "I, um, I should probably feel relieved on some level, because I know why she's been so mysteriously ill all these months, but I don't. It's, uh, it's hard to accept I--I can't...yet," he stammered, finally beginning to open up a little. With Julia, expressing his feelings came easily, but with other people, even Devon, it was always hard. "It hurts so much to know that there was this life--a life that Julia and I created out of love, who will never breathe its first breath, never utter its first word, and never take its first step, because it will never have a chance to live." Devon listened benevolently as Alonzo went on. "And what really eludes me, is her not telling me. Why didn't she tell me she was pregnant?" he asked rhetorically, directing the question more to himself than to Devon. "I would've been there for her. I would've helped her, and maybe this wouldn't have happened."
"I think that's a question you should ask Julia, not me," she said simply. "If it's any consolation, Alonzo, just let me say how awful I feel for not trusting your instincts when you wanted to go look for Julia, and for not believing what you said about Mary. I know you'd never be unfaithful to Julia."
Alonzo forced a weak, sorrowful smile. "Thank you, Devon, I appreciate that. Listen, I--I think I need to be alone for a while, and get my thoughts together."
Devon nodded. She didn't say so, but it was understood that Alonzo just didn't want her to see him cry.
"I'll be right outside," he said, and got to his feet. "If she even makes a sound you let me know, okay?" Then, he crossed the tent and left.
***
Julia heard the strong, sweet voice of Devon Adair long before she was actually able to focus on her face. "Julia?" she said, uncertainty in her voice. "Can you hear me?"
After a long, tedious struggle the hazy, shadowy blots of color took shape, and everything finally came clear. The confusion and disorientation she was feeling was lessened by the presence of the beautiful, angelic figure at her bedside. "Devon," she said, so weakly that her words were almost inaudible. "Why am I lying here? What happened to me? The last thing I remember, Alonzo and I had a fight, so I rode off in the TransRover to try and clear my head. Then I started to feel these pains--really sharp, agonizing pains in my stomach and down my legs. This horrible thought crossed my mind, that maybe I had started to miscarry. I prayed and hoped that that wasn't it, and around that time I got really lightheaded. I don't remember anything else. Everything after that is a blank." She gulped and studied her friend's face carefully. "Tell me what happened after that." She tried to sit straight up so she could look Devon directly in the eyes, but just as soon as she bolted upright, the dizziness returned.
Devon helped her resettle on the bunk, and briefly stared off into space. She knew that this moment was going to come, but she had no idea it was going to be this difficult. How in the world could she tell her friend that her worst nightmare had become a reality?
"Devon, please!" Julia beseeched when she stopped reeling, sensing from the way she was stalling that something had gone terribly wrong. "No matter how horrible it is, it's better than living in oblivion like this."
Devon swallowed. Then, following Julia's wishes, she told her the whole story. From how strangely persistent Alonzo was for them to go search for her after she left, to the accident. And now it was time to tell her the worst part. "When Alonzo dragged you out of the TransRover, we saw how badly you were bleeding. I think the impact of the accident caused you to miscarry," she concluded
"I can't believe this! How could this have happened!" Julia said somberly, through watery eyes when Devon had finished. She was in shock.
Devon thought she might start crying, but, as they often did, her tears stayed unrushed. "Julia, I'm so sorry. I know this must be hard for you, is there anything I can do?"
"Alonzo, does he know everything?" Julia asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Yes, and so does the rest of the group," Devon replied. Then, seeing how disturbed Julia looked, she added, "I had to tell him. He became emulsified when he saw you bleeding like you were. I had to put his fears to rest."
"I need to see him," Julia said, fighting to keep her voice steady.
"He's right outside, I'll go get him for you." Devon stepped out and when she returned, Alonzo was standing with her. His hair was tousled and his eyes were glassy, but he seemed a lot more together than he'd been earlier.
When he saw that Julia was awake, he bolted over to her side and draped his arms around her. Her stiff body softened against his, and she buried her face in his chest. She missed being held by him, and wished he'd just hold on and never let her go.
Devon smoothed her dark brown wisps out of her eyes with her fingers. "It's late, so I think I'm gonna go get some decaff, tuck Uly in, and hit the sack," she said tensely, suspecting that Julia and Alonzo had a lot to talk about, and probably wanted to be alone. "It you need anything, Julia, don't hesitate to ask."
"So, how are you feeling? I mean, physically, you okay?" Alonzo asked when Devon was gone.
Julia nodded. "Besides the fact that my head is pounding, I'm all right."
"Yeah, that's to be expected. You hit your head pretty hard during the accident."
"Devon told me about that. Of course, I don't remember, since it happened after I fainted."
"And emotionally?" he asked quietly, taking into consideration the fragile state Julia was obviously in.
"I'll be okay," she said, looking downward to avoid his caring gaze.
"Jul, honey, I'm not gonna push. You've got to deal with this in your own way, and I respect that. But if you want to talk about this I'm right here, ready and willing to lead an ear. This is my problem, too, remember? I know how you feel."
"No, you don't, Alonzo," she said, her voice dripping with scorn. "You haven't a clue how I feel right now, so just get off your high horse and stop pretending that you do!"
Her words ripped through his soul like a sharp, jagged sword. He looked sullen. "I'll try not to take that personally," he said, turning away so that his back was facing her.
She felt terrible. She'd regretted saying those words to him even before they'd had a chance to be said, but it was too late to take them back now. "Oh, 'Lonz," she rectified, grunting as she lifted a weak arm up and placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned his head, and looked in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I even said that. I guess it was my way of avoiding telling you how I feel, because I'm so afraid if I talk about this I'm gonna start crying, and if I do that, I know I won't be able to stop." As she uttered those last few words, her artificially steady voice became shaky, and she began to weep like she'd never wept before. And as much as she tried to stop herself, she just couldn't.
Her heavy moans were muffled into Alonzo's black leather jacket he'd received when he graduated from flight school, as he cradled her and lightly rocked her back and fourth. He hated seeing her like this. So much so, that at one point he thought he might lose it, too, but he remained strong because he knew Julia needed him. "I know, doc," he whispered. "My heart's heavy, too. Just let it all out, it's okay."
He took his hands off her shoulders when they stopped heaving and she gazed up at him, her face streaked with tears. He kissed them away, his lips warm and soft against her face.
When he was done she closed her eyes, and tried to relive the sensation in her mind. Then she opened them again, and thought about apologizing to Alonzo for losing control. As if reading her mind, he planted a silencing kiss on her lips. "It's okay," he repeated.
A short silence loomed over them, as they found solace in just being with one another. It ended when Julia said, "Alonzo, can I ask you something? A hypothetical question."
"Sure. Go ahead," he replied.
"You know, I was scared when I first when I found out I was pregnant, but after I had a chance to ponder it for a short while I actually thought that we could make this work in spite of our circumstances. That's why I was so sad when Devon told me about this, I really wanted this child. So, what if our baby had survived, then what?""Well, if what you're asking me is if I'm okay with being a father at this point in my life, the answer is yes. If you're asking me whether I would've suggested you abort the baby, the answer is no. I'd never force you into doing anything you didn't want to do, and you know how I feel about kids." His brow crinkled. "Julia, is that why you chose not to tell me? Did you actually believe I would push you into having an abortion? Because if that's the reason then we've got something seriously wrong here, because by now you should know me better than that."
"No, Alonzo," she said shamefully, wishing with all her heart that she could turn back the hands of time and fix things, "that's--that's not why I didn't tell you."
"Then why?" he asked, the rage, hurt, and anger that had expressed itself when he confided in Devon returning again. "Why didn't you tell me?" All things considered, he knew he shouldn't press her, but he couldn't help it. He had to know the truth, the wondering was tearing him apart.
Julia's throat tightened, and she winced inwardly as she remembered what had made her so furious. Clear as day, she saw Mary with her arms seductively resting on Alonzo's waist, never taking her eyes off him as they danced slowly to music only they could hear. Never being a possessive or jealous person, Julia wrote that off as being innocent enough. No, the dancing hadn't bothered her at all. It was what took place during the dancing that had gotten to Julia. The kiss. A kiss so long, deep, slow, and lingering that just the thought of it made her sick. "Words can't express how sorry I am for that, 'Lonzo. I wanted to tell you so much, but when I saw you with Mary I just couldn't," she said at last, pushing the memory to the back of her mind. "It was just so painful, and I was so confused I didn't know what to do."
Alonzo looked cross-eyed. "Jul--" "Alonzo, please let me finish," she said. "I need to say this. Look, if there's one thing this experience has taught me it's that life is fragile, and too short to hold grudges. That's why we should try to do the things, and be with the people that make us happy while we can." She ran a hand over his face, as if to memorize how it looked and the way it felt. "I love you, 'Lonz. You'll always have a special place in my heart. It's gonna be hard for me to let you go, but if Mary makes you happy, and she's who you want to be with then I guess... I have no choice."
Alonzo traced her face with his fingertips. "But that's just it, I don't want to be with her, I want to be with you. You're my doc. You taught me how to love. Julia, I would give anything to be able to honestly say to you that you're the only women I've ever been with, but I can't. Though there is something I can give you, and that's all my love. A love that comes from a piece of my soul that I never even knew I had before I met you."
She wanted to believe him more than anything in the world, but there was still something causing her to doubt him. "But what about you and Mary? What about what I saw?" she asked loathly.
"There is no 'me and Mary'," he said emphatically. "We're friends, and we may have thing with the Terrians in common,--her having some of their genetic attributes, and me being their emissary--but that's it. As far as what you saw, here's the deal. She was very upset, because she's finally starting to remember her life before the Terrians in detail, and she really misses her parents. To cheer her up, I offered to give her a VR dance lesson. She was pretty excited about the whole thing. Anyway, while we were dancing, she got a little carried away, and before I knew it she was kissing me. Then I pushed her away, and gently explained to her that I only thought of her as a friend, and I loved you. Hey you believe me, don't you? I've never lied to you before. Why would I start now?"
Looking back on it now, Julia remembered that she had turned away as soon as she saw them kiss, it was too much for her to fathom. And that's she never saw him push Mary away. Alonzo was right, she decided. He may not be perfect, but he was damn close to it, and he'd always been truthful with her. She knew that. She knew he would never lie, not about something like this. "Of course I believe you," she said with certainty, clasping his outstretched hand as rueful tears streaked down her face. "I should never have doubted your honesty in the first place. I don't know why I did. I think the combination of finding out about the baby, and seeing you so close with Mary sent my head into a worldwind. I'm so sorry for the way I acted, the things I said. I didn't mean them."
"I know," he assured her. "It's all right. Everything's gonna be all right as long as we're together."
She dried her eyes. "You're right." "It's been a long day. You should rest, or at least try to," he suggested when he heard her yawn.
"Yeah, I should." She laid back, and he pulled the covers up around her. Before closing her eyes, she muttered, "'Lonz?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank You."
He looked confused. "What are you thanking me for?" She looked skyward to collect her thought, and then back at him. "A lot of things. Being so understanding about this whole crazy mess, and for worrying about me. If it hadn't been for you're quick action, I could be a lot worse off than I am right now. You probably even saved my life.""No thanks necessary. I did that for purely selfish reasons," he said, the perpetual grin returning to his face.
Julia's eyebrows raised in wonderment. She was about to ask him what that "selfish reason" was, but he filled in the blank for her.
"Life wouldn't be worth living without you," he replied, quickly but gently kissing her one last time. "Goodnight," he added, but there was no response. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Julia had fallen asleep.
It didn't take long for him to fall asleep as well, slumped over in a chair, his head resting on her stomach. In his heart of hearts he knew that it was going to be a long and difficult road ahead, but now it would be a little easier, because at least they had each other to lean on.
***
"Oooh, Mary, you scared me!" Bess said loudly, trying to catch her breath. She was in the her tent, deeply concentrating on counting out the amount of energy bars True and Uly each had left in their backpacks, and didn't even notice that Mary had come in until that second.
"Sorry," Mary said, smiling ruefully. "I didn't think you'd be busy, but since you are, I'll just come back later." She turned to leave.
"Oh, no, don't go!" Bess insisted. "Tell me, how were the kids today? Did they drive you insane?" she asked when Mary turned back around.
"Nah," Mary countered. "They had a few of their typical did-not-did-too spats, but other than that they were practically angels!"
"That's good," Bess said, a attentive expression on her face, "but hard to believe. Every single time I've watched them, they were at each others' throats before it was over with! Do you know something I don't?"
Mary thought it over. "Hmm. Beats me. Maybe I'm just a better baby-sitter."
Bess snorted. "Hey, I resent that!" She pitched an energy bar in Mary's direction.
She caught it, and asked, "What were you doing with these when I came in that had you so intrigued?"
"Oh, Danziger asked me to count them and see how many we had left," Bess said, becoming serious again. "He didn't have much luck locating those cargo pods, so it looks like ours meals of these, protein pack rations, coffee, and, of course, my husbands not-so-famous oatmeal! Things will get better, though, I know they will. The weather had stayed fair and tolerable, and Devon says that as soon as Julia feels better we're gonna leave the dome, and start traveling daily again. And I'm sure New Pacifica will just have an abundance of food!"
Mary's eyes darkened. "Well, Bess, as of today you'll have one less mouth to feed."
"What are you talking about?" Bess asked, her own eyes narrowing.
"Bess, I've grown really close to you guys in recent months, and I'm really gonna miss all of you, but my time is up. I can't stay here anymore."
"Why?" Bess implored, racking her brain to think of a reason why Mary felt she needed to leave. "It's Alonzo, isn't it? Mary, he didn't mean to insult you today. It was the anger talking, not him."
"It's not that," Mary said, shaking her head. "I know he didn't mean to hurt me. Truthfully, I don't even know exactly what went on between Alonzo and Julia today. All I know is that I unintentionally caused major trouble for two decent people, one of which I deeply care for, all because there are just some things about the way you guys behave that I still fail to--and will never fully--understand. Which helped me come to the realization that I may have been completely human once, but I'm not anymore--at least not in my heart. And if I ever want to feel better about myself, I have to stop pretending to be something that I'm not."
"But, Mary, It would be such a shame for you to leave now. Think of how far you've come socially in the time you've been with us. It's miraculous! When you first came back here, you could barely speak without stuttering or breaking off and trilling," Bess reminisced. "And now you jabber on and on almost as much as I do, and it's easy for you! Besides that, where do you plan on going? You can't go back to the Terrians."
"I don't know yet," Mary admitted, "but I'll figure that out soon enough. I hope you guys make it to New Pacifica, I really do. Hey, maybe when you get there I'll come to visit, you never know."
"I'd like that," replied Bess, with a lopsided grin. She finally understood that Mary really was serious about leaving, and there was nothing she could do to change her mind. "Here, don't forget these," she added, handing Mary a black plastic bag full of the clothes she'd had such a ball going through that day.
Mary took the bag from her, set it down, and impulsively gave Bess one final hug. "I'm gonna miss you so much!" she said. "I've always wondered what having a best friend was like, and now I know."
Bess hugged back. "So do I, Mary. So do I." "Please thank Yale for teaching me so much, and tell him I think he is a brilliant man. Oh, and be sure to tell True that I apologize for not saying good-bye in person, but under the circumstances I couldn't, and that her friendship is something I will always hold dear," Mary requested. "And please tell Alonzo that I'll never, ever forget him, okay? Could you do that for me?" she aggregated, after drawing a deep breath.
"Yes, of course I can," Bess obliged. "Good-bye, Mary." "'Bye, Bess." Mary picked up the bag, and handed it back to Bess. "Here. Your offer was very generous, but give these to someone who really needs them." And with that, she headed off into the woods.
Morgan, who had been watching from a far for sometime, approached his wife. She expected him to crossly mutter something about how she shouldn't cry, because that was an emotion he didn't respond well to. But instead he came up behind her, placed his arms about her torso, and kissed the nape of her neck. It was an action that surprised Bess, because Mogan wasn't normally the type of person who felt comfortable with initiating affection.
Today, however, Morgan Martin had been through an intangible transformation. When he witnessed Julia suffering like that, it made him realize that he shouldn't take things for granted--Bess in particular--because he could lose her at the snap of a finger. Maybe a simple declaration of love wasn't a big thing, but at least it was a start. A start that he was very proud of.
Together, the couple watched Mary's image dwindle until she completely disappeared into the darkness, unsure if they would ever see her again.
-The End-
Authors Note: May the journey of Eden Project continue to live on in our hearts.
-Dawn Pell
For questions, comments or suggestions mail to: dawnpo@aol.com"Alonzo, you frighten me a bit."
J. Heller to A. Solace(I'd be frightened too if a guy I lived around looked *that* good!:-)
Solace Seeker#2
Solace Swooner
DreamWalker, Terrian Alliance
Heller's Angel
Danziger's Devil
True's Screamer
Julia+Alonzo
Devon+Danziger(someday it *will* happen!)
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.