IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
By
Margaret A. Czarney
Timeline: On way to New Pacifica
Author's E-Mail: mczarney@jcvaxa.jcu.edu or mcstarlight@hotmail.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This is my first attempt at writing anything, so please don't hold it against me. Tell me what you think at (mczarney@jcvaxa.jcu.edu) Much thanks to the writers of the E2 stories on the internet and this list for getting me hooked on E2 again :)NOTES: Text enclosed in ~ ~ are thoughts. Earth 2 and its characters are not mine, they belong to Amblin Entertainment.
ARCHIVER'S NOTES: Thoughts are here in italics.
It Happened One Night
by Margaret A. CzarneyDanziger sat on the crate with a MagPro in his hands. This had been an especially long shift for him, or at least it seemed that way. While on most nights John welcomed the chance to be alone with his thoughts, tonight his thoughts kept wandering to a certain dark haired woman who had the ability to drive him crazy. ~Come on Baines, where are you already?~ he thought, desperate to get back to his tent and try to distract himself with sleep. His thoughts again drifted to Devon, her long brown hair, her deep blue eyes that caught the light so beautifully... ~Cut it out!~ he ordered himself sternly. ~Stop torturing yourself. She could never feel the same way about you. Just forget her!~ He sighed, knowing it was hopeless. He was in love with Devon Adair, and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Hey Danz, quittin' time," called Baines, breaking Danziger out of his reverie.
"About time you showed up," John said, handing him the MagPro. ~Thank God.~
"Has it been quiet?" asked Baines.
"Deader than a doornail," said John, already on the way back to his tent. "Have fun!"
In her own tent, Devon Adair woke up in a cold sweat. ~No, not again~ she thought, holding back her tears. ~I have to get out of here~ Devon jumped up, grabbed her jacket, and ran outside.
"Devon?" John called, spotting her running out of camp. When she didn't reply, John got worried. He was feeling very protective towards her these last two and a half months, ever since they had released her from cold sleep. ~She looked upset. Something's been bothering her for quite a while now. Maybe I should go after her.~ Logically, he knew he shouldn't go, but his heart overrode his head and he followed Devon out of camp.
John found Devon sitting against a tree, crying. "Dev? You okay?" he asked gently.
Devon looked up, startled. "John, yeah, I'm fine," she said, giving him a halfhearted smile while wiping at her tears.
~Yeah, right~ he thought, sitting down beside her. "Come on Dev, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, really. Just a bad dream," she replied, hoping he would leave.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Devon shook her head. "You might feel better if you tell someone about it."
"All right," Devon reluctantly agreed, looking off into the night sky. ~He's not going to let this drop.~ She took a deep breath and began to speak. "I've been having the same dream for awhile now. It started about five or six weeks ago, I guess. At first the dream only came every few nights, but lately I've been having the dream every time I fall asleep." She took a moment to gather her courage and said shakily, "In my dream, I'm in the cold sleep chamber, but I'm not asleep. I can see what's going on in the group. After Uly places his walking stick against my chamber, everyone leaves the ship. Then you and Yale start planning the route the group will take to New Pacifica while everyone else packs up to leave. Even Uly goes off to play with True." A sob escaped her lips. "You all leave and never come back." John had to strain to hear the next words. "You leave me behind. I'm all alone."
As he listened to her tell her story, John's heart felt as if it was being torn apart. He could see this was ripping her apart inside. "Oh Devon, it was only a dream," he said softly, his voice full of emotion.
"That's what I keep telling myself, but I have the same dream over and over. And every time, I feel more and more alone when I wake up." As these words passed her lips, she started to cry softly once again.
Against his better judgement, John enfolded her in his arms, trying to comfort her. "Shh, Dev," he whispered. "It's okay. It was only a dream. You're not alone. I'm here." He rocked her in his arms and smoothed her hair as she cried. He felt so powerless, knowing that he could do no more to help her than to be there for her and hold her as she cried.
Eventually, her crying subsided. Devon moved away from John, feeling ashamed at what had happened. She had accepted the comfort of his arms so easily, and what embarrassed her the most was that she did not want to leave his embrace. She felt so safe in his arms. "I'm sorry, John," she said, trying to regain her equilibrium, "I didn't mean to dump all that on you. It won't happen again."
"I hope not," John said, trying to keep her from rebuiliding her walls. The surprised look on her face told him that he succeeded, at least for the moment. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said, "Look Dev, you've been through a lot lately. You're my friend and I care about you." ~More than you know.~ "I'm glad I could help."
"Thanks, John," Devon said as she gave him the smile that always melted his heart.
"Anytime," John managed to reply. Once he had fully recovered from her smile, he asked, "Do you want to go back to camp? Maybe get some sleep?"
"No," Devon said quickly. ~The last thing I want to do is have another dream.~ "I think I'll stay out here for awhile, watch the stars."
"Want some company?"
"Yeah, that would be great." She was grateful he offered to stay. ~That dream was the worst one so far. I definitely do not want to be alone right now.~ Devon studied John's rugged features for a minute, and then looked down at her hands. ~I guess now's a good a time as any to ask.~ "Um, John, could I ask you a question?"
"Sure, anything."
"How did everyone react when I was put in cold sleep?" she asked, still staring at her hands.
"What?" John was confused. ~What could she mean by that?~ "Devon, you know we all wanted you back with us."
"Yeah, but how did every individual person react? What did you do? I feel like I missed so much, and I just...need to know."
John studied the expression on Devon's face. ~She really does need to know this.~ "All right." He took a deep breath. "Let's see, where to begin? Well, Morgan was scared to death, as usual. He was worried sick that Bess would come down with whatever you had. He didn't seem worried about himself at all, for a change. Baines, Cameron, Magus, and Walman all found 'projects' that needed their complete and constant attention. They were trying to avoid thinking about what happened to you, and they were still grieving for Eben too. Bess and Yale worried about the kids, always looking out for them, barely letting them out of their sights. Yale was really broken up, but tried not to let it show. He was practically Uly's shadow. Julia, of course, barricaded herself in the med tent, trying to find a cure for you. Alonzo tried to make sure she ate and slept, but it was not an easy job. Julia felt responsible for what happened to you. True tried to keep Uly's mind off things, but he just didn't respond. It all hit him really hard. He would walk around like he was in a daze. If we would have had to leave you, I would have had a very hard time convincing him to come along with us." ~Heck, I would have had a hard time convincing myself to leave.~
Devon sat for a few moments adn absorbed what John had just told her. ~I guess I'm not really alone with friends...no, *family*,...like them.~ Something occured to her. ~Why didn't he include himself? Should I ask?~ Devon, feeling daring tonight, decided the answer was yes. She looked up at him and asked softly, "What about you?"
"Me?" John nervously replied. ~Oh boy, what should I tell her? The truth?~ He looked down at Devon's questioning gaze and felt his own features soften. ~Yeah, like you could lie to her when she looks at you like that.~ "Well to tell you the truth," he said softly, getting up and walking a few paces away in an attempt to gather his courage, "I was the worst one of all. I don't know, suddenly you were just not there. I would turn around and expect you to be right behind me offering your opinion on one thing or another, or nagging me to get the group moving already. And everyone looked to me, and only me, for guidance. It wasn't easy, doing by myself the job we used to share. Honestly, every time someone asked me a question, I waited for you to answer first, like you always do." John wasn't paying attention to what he was saying anymore. The words just kept coming. "I knew you would want us to continue on to New Pacifica eventually, but I couldn't leave you. No one could. I tried to put up a brave front and act normally for everyone's sake, especially Uly's. Everyone saw through it, of course, expecially True. She knew I was handling the whole situation badly, to say the least. Uly kept having dreams about you, but I was worse. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw you standing there. I was a mess." He turned around to face Devon and she was astonished to see the glint of tears in his eyes. "You scared the hell out of me, Adair. I was so afraid that I'd lost you. You have no idea how relieved I was when Julia told me she found a way to cure you." He turned away again and stared at the stars.
Devon's mind raced. ~Oh my God, I put him through all that pain. It was my fault.~ "John,..." she started, but her mind was unable to form any more words.
John looked up, startled by the sound of her voice, and suddenly realized what he had said. ~Oh boy, I've done it now. What was I thinking? What was I *saying*?~ "I'm sorry Devon. I shouldn't have told you any of this." With that he turned to go back to camp, cursing himself all the way. He was stopped in his tracks when he heard Devon call for him to wait.
As she moved to face John, Devon was overwhelmed by a feeling of guilt for having caused him so much pain. "I'm so sorry," she said in a whisper.
"Sorry?" ~She hasn't done anyting~ he thought, totally confused. "For what?"
"For putting you through all that. I never meant to hurt you."
John looked at her, astonished. "Dev, it was not your fault. You have absoutely nothing to be sorry for."
Devon realized it wasn't her fault she was sick, but she still felt guilty. "But..." she started, but was interrupted by John.
"But nothing," he said, tilting her chin up until their eyes met. "Devon, this experience was hell for me and I never want to go through it again, but you were not to blame." ~Should I tell her?~ John thought anxiously. ~Oh well, no time like the present.~ Throwing caution to the wind and ignoring the voice in his head screaming for him to stop, he said, "This whole ordeal did have one good point. It made me realize how much I need you in my life. How much I...love you." These last words were spoken barely above a whisper, and Devon could barely hear them.
~He loves me?~ Devon thought, shocked. It took a moment for what John had said to register. As it did, a smile spread across her face. ~He loves me!~ she thought, and she slowly began to realize her own feelings of love, welling up from somewhere deep inside her.
John, for his part, convinced himself that he was dreaming. ~She's smiling! Could that mean... No! Don't get your hopes up. She could never feel the same way! Or could she? Well, the only way to find out is to ask, I guess.~ "Devon..., um, do you think that..., maybe..."
"I love you too, John," Devon interrupted him, her smile growing even larger when she saw the shocked expression that appeared on his face. "Well, why didn't you say anything sooner?" she asked teasingly.
John was speechless. ~She loves me!~ When he gathered his thoughts, he replied, "I...don't know. I was scared that you wouldn't feel the same way, I suppose." ~She loves me. Now I *know* I'm dreaming.~ "Could you pinch me, please?"
"Why?" Devon asked, very confused by this remark.
"I want to make sure I'm not dreaming."
She laughed at this comment and threw her arms around his neck, loving the feeling she got as he wrapped his powerful arms around her in response.
John stared down at the beautiful woman in his arms. ~If this is a dream, I want to sleep forever.~ "Well, why didn't you say anything to me?" he asked with a smile. After partially recovering from her declaration of love, he felt comfortable enough to return her teasing remark.
"I guess I didn't know how I felt until just now. Although I should have realized it. In my dream, I wasn't bothered so much by the others leaving me, even Yale and Uly, but when you left me, it broke my heart," Devon said softly, her words muffled against John's broad shoulder.
John enjoyed the feeling of holding the woman he loved in his arms for a few moments longer before he brought up the next question. "So, now that we know how we feel, what do you want to do? Should we tell everyone?"
He felt her tense in his arms. "I don't know," she replied, relaxing againgst him again, "I don't want to hide my feelings, but how will the group react to seeing us together suddenly? I mean, all we've done up till now is argue with each other. They probably won't be expecting this."
Suddenly, Devon and John heard loud laughter coming from behind them. They both jumped and turned to see Alonzo leaning against a tree, laughing hysterically. Once he realized he had been spotted, he tried to bring his laughter under control, without much success.
"Alonzo!" both John and Devon yelled at the same time. One look at their faces and Alonzo was laughing hysterically again.
"Alonzo," John growled. "How long have you been eavesdropping? And what is so funny?"
"I'm sorry," Alonzo gasped, finally calming down a bit, "really I am, but I just overheard that last part, I swear."
"Fine, now what do you want?" Devon asked, annoyed with him for sneaking up on them like that.
"True and Uly noticed you two were gone. I thought I saw you guys head out of camp and I said I would check on you. I told them you were probably just on a walk." Alonzo said, trying very hard to keep a straight face.
"Great, so what was so hilarious? Seeing us together?" John asked, clearly a bit angry at his friend.
"No, no, nothing like that." Alonzo reassured the two of them. A grin started spreading across his face again. "It's just that when Devon said that the group wouldn't be expecting this..." Alonzo gave up and started to laugh again. Seeing the murderous look on both of their faces, he quickly explained. "Look, this may come as a shock, but we've been waiting for you two to get together almost since we landed on this planet. Come on, Devon," seeing the look of disbelief on her face, "even before you got sick, everyone could tell you two had it bad for each other. Remember the Spider Cave? Devon, you were lost when we couldn't find John. And why do you think he hit me when I was bitten by that spider and kept going on and on about you? Geez, sometimes you guys were so obvious we could barely restrain ourselves from pointing it out to you. And if anyone had even the slightest doubt left when we put you in cold sleep, Devon, watching Danziger here try to function without you around definitely put those doubts to rest. Even the kids know. I heard True talking to Bess about it, and I'm sure she's convinced Uly by now. So if you think we are going to let you two pretend to be apart anymore, now that you've finally realized what the rest of us already knew, you've got another thing coming."
Danziger looked at Devon. After a second, she looked at Alonzo and asked, "Everyone knows? And you're all okay with it?"
"Okay with it! Knowing you two finally got together will put us in a good mood for days!" Alonzo exclaimed.
John spoke up. "How do the kids feel?"
Alonzo thought for a minute. "As far as I know, they're fine with it. True sounded excited when she talked to Bess. It may take them a while to get used to the reality of the situation, but I'm sure they'll be happy for you."
Devon looked at John again. "Come on John, let's go for a walk. We'll watch the sun rise."
Nodding, John reached for her hand and said pointedly, "Goodbye, Alonzo."
"Bye guys." Alonzo watched them walk off with a smile on his face. ~It's about time.~ He started back to camp, and shook his head. ~Oh geez, 'they won't be expecting this'. That's a good one. I can't wait to tell the others!~
John and Devon walked hand in hand to the top of the hill. Once they reached the summit, John sat down against a tree with Devon in his arms and they gazed up at the stars. In what seemed like the most natural thing in the world to do, he tilted his face down until his lips met Devon's in a gentle kiss that stated, more clearly that words ever could, the depth of their feelings for each other. The gentleness of the kiss gave way to passion as the pent-up attraction that had simmered between them for so long was released. They spent the rest of the night together, each of them completely oblivious to anyone or anything save the other. Eventually, the sun decided to rise without them.
The next morning, Devon woke up feeling safe and at peace for the first time since the dreams had begun. She opened her eyes and saw that she was lying in John Danziger's arms. ~So that's why I feel so good this morning. No wonder I didn't have the dream again. I'm not alone anymore.~ She shifted slightly, which woke up John. He opened his eyes, smiled, and said sleepily, "Good morning."
"Good morning," she replied, the same smile mirrored on her face.
John stood up and yawned. "So, do you know what time it is?" he asked as he reached out his hand and pulled her into his arms.
"No, but I suppose we'd better get back to camp. I think we missed breakfast," Devon replied, smiling as she recalled *why* they missed breakfast.
"Yeah, everyone's probably waiting for us to get back so they can start gloating," John mumbled against Devon's hair.
"Oh, come on, it won't be so bad," she said with a grin. "We'll only have to put up with it for the next...fifty years or so."
"Yeah, the only way to avoid it is to give them a big shock. Like if we told them we were getting married or something." Still half asleep, John spoke what was in his heart without giving his mind time to object.
Devon looked up at him and smiled even more. "Sounds like a great idea. Let's do it."
"Huh?" John managed to reply. Her words shocked him fully awake. "What did you say?"
"Well, did you or did you not just propose to me?" she said, on the brink of laughter.
"You're serious?" he asked increduously, hoping desperately she would say yes.
"Yeah, I'm serious. Why should we wait any longer? According to Alonzo, we've waited long enough already."
John shouted with joy and spun her around in his arms. Devon laughed as she was spun around in the air, and when he put her down, she reached up and pulled his face down for a kiss.
"Come on, let's go back," Devon said eagerly. She couldn't wait to go back to camp and surprise everyone.
"Wait a minute," John said, finding a hole in her plan. "We can't just spring the news on the kids like that."
"Don't worry, they're having lessons with Yale all day, remember?" A mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Now this is how we'll tell them."
As John listened to her simple plan, the same mischievous grin emerged on his face.
Back at camp, the entire group, minus Yale and the children, sat around the center of camp and waited.
"Come on, where are they already? What could they be doing out there for so long?" whined Morgan.
"Oh, I don't know, Morgan," Walman said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He rolled his eyes. "What do you *think* they're doing?"
"I think they're hiding out." Julia spoke up, a grin on her face. "They're not stupid. They know we'll be waiting for them to get back so we can pester them."
"Well, they can't hide out forever," Bess complained, a grin on her face as well.
"Hey, look!" Alonzo yelled. "They're coming."
They all looked in the direction Alonzo was pointing and saw John and Devon walking hand in hand toward camp. As they got within earshot, several of the men let out piercing wolf whistles. The new couple shared a pained look. When they finally reached the group, John spoke up before anyone else could say anything.
"Okay, okay. Yes, Devon and I are a couple. It is absolutely none of your business, but I know that won't stop any of you." John looked around at all the grinning faces. "However, before you regale us with your cutting remarks, we would like to talk to our kids."
"Come on Danz, the kids know already. Let us have our fun," Alonzo said, a wide grin on his face.
"Yeah," said Cameron. "So, how did you two sleep last night?" he asked with an evil smile.
"Is that all you could come up with?" Bess said with a gleam in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll do better." She walked up to Devon, looked her straight in the eyes, and asked, "So how was he? On a scale of one to ten."
Everyone burst out laughing, except Devon, who turned red and looked at John, who just sighed.
Devon interrupted their laughter. "Look, I hate to end this, I really do, but we have to talk to the kids."
Julia shared a confused look with the rest of the group. "They went down to the stream with Yale. Now what's so important that it can't wait?"
John grinned at Devon, who grinned back. "Oh nothing," he said, "I just have to ask Uly for permission to marry his mom."
Everyone's jaws dropped in unison. ~Oh, I wish we could take a picture of this!~ Devon thought, barely containing her laughter. Glancing at John, she could tell he was thinking the same thing.
"Come on, Dev, let's go," John said. ~I need to get away from here before I lose it!~ He looked around at the priceless expressions on all of their faces. ~I can hardly keep from laughing now!~
Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed her hand and started off in the direction of the stream. As they were leaving earshot, Devon called back to the group. "If you're good, we might even invite you to the wedding!" This was the last straw for John as he looked at her and burst out laughing. He couldn't hold it it any longer. After a second, Devon joined in and they laughed together.
The rest of the group, completely oblivious to the laughter Devon and John were sharing at their expense, continued to look at each other in shocked silence. Morgan recovered his voice first. "They're getting married?" he choked out.
"Do you think they were kidding?" Magus asked.
"No, they were serious," Bess said. "I'm sure of it."
"Me too," Julia agreed, still shocked.
"This is just great." Alonzo said, clearly annoyed.
"Hey! What's wrong with them getting married?" Julia asked indignantly.
"Nothing," he assured her. "It's just...that was our best chance at needling them about their relationship. And we blew it."
"Well, we cant blame ourselves." said Baines. "It was their fault for spring the news on us like that."
"Yeah," Walman agreed. "They sure timed that good, too. I don't think we could have been more surprised."
"Oh, darn it!" Alonzo suddenly exclaimed. "This is not fair!"
"What is it, Alonzo?" Julia asked.
"They planned this!" he replied.
"What?" several people shouted the question at once.
"Think about it. Like Julia said, they knew we'd be waiting for them. They told us the news that way to get us off their backs!"
Everyone looked astonished, then their faces fell in defeat as they realized it was true. "So now what do we do?" Baines asked.
"Be good, I guess." Julia's feelings of disappointment were rapidly being overridden by happiness for her friends. "We do want to be invited to the wedding, don't we?"
Once Devon and John were finished laughing at the trick they had pulled on their friends, they continued toward the stream, looking for True, Uly, and Yale.
They arrived at the stream to find Uly and True listening to Yale tell them about the different types of fish and plants by the stream. When they spotted their parents, both True and Uly immediately jumped up and ran to them.
"Where were you last night?" True asked her dad in an accusing tone of voice.
"Hey, True-girl, don't worry. I was just talking to Devon." John assured, squatting down to the eye level of his daughter.
Uly spoke up. "Well, then why were you gone all night?"
John and Devon glanced at each other. "We had a lot to talk about." Devon answered. "We also have something we want to talk to you about."
"We already know. Alonzo told us you finally got together." True's voice betrayed her excitement. "We're both happy for you, right Uly?"
"Yeah!" he exclaimed. "I think it's cool."
John was happy that the kids were okay with the relationship between Devon and him. ~But will they be okay with us getting married?~ "Thanks, guys, but we have more news." He moved to stand next to Devon, who indicated that he should tell them. "We decided to get married."
True and Uly were both stunned. Yale, who had been watching silently in the background until now, spoke up. "You're getting married? That's wonderful!" He had a huge smile on his face.
Devon and John both smiled gratefully at the tutor, and then looked back to their kids, who were still stunned. "Well, guys?" Devon asked, a little worried. "What do you think?"
True looked at Uly and then back at her dad and Devon. She asked, "You're getting married? For real?" Devon and John both nodded. "That's great!" she exclaimed, thowing herself into Devon's arms. Devon was surprised for a moment, then returned the little girl's hug. John smiled at them. "Can I be in the wedding?" True asked.
Devon laughted. "Of course. You can be a bridesmaid, if you want to."
"I do, I do!" True said. She looked back at Uly, who was still shocked by the news. "Hey Uly," she yelled, hitting him lightly on the arm, "snap out of it! Our parents are getting married!"
Uly glanced at True, startled. He looked back to his mom and John, embarrased. "Sorry, I'm glad about it, really. I just thought that, because you took so long to get together in the first place, you wouldn't get married for a long time either."
John chuckled at this. "Well, we figured we shouldn't waste any more time."
True suddenly got an idea. "Dad, can Uly and I tell the others? Please? This will really suprise them!" True had a wide grin on her face as she imagined how the rest of the group would react. "Can we please?"
"Sorry, True-girl," John replied with a guilty look on his face. "Devon and I already told them the news."
"Oh darn!" she exclaimed. Both True and Uly looked disappointed. "Well, what happened?"
Devon laughed. "If you go back to camp, you'll find out. They're probably still in shock!"
John laughed too. "Yeah, all of them are probably still sitting around the middle of camp, staring at each other with their mouths hanging open!"
"Come on Uly, I want to see this!" With that, True ran off with Uly in close persuit. Yale smiled at Devon and John and said, "I'm so happy for you. It took you long enough to figure it out, though!" Chuckling softly, he followed the kids back to camp.
John grinned at Devon. "Yeah, all this time, you were right under my nose." He lowered his face to hers and they shared a long kiss that promised neither of them would ever be alone again.
They slowly pulled away from the kiss. Devon reached up and brushed John's hair away from his eyes. "As much as I'd like to stay here and continue this," she said, "we do have to go back. If we stay out here much longer, they might start sending out search parties." He smiled at this and bent to kiss his wife to be once more before they went back to join their family and friends.
-The End-
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.