After that, they slept in the same tent every night. He never kissed her, never moved his
arm above or below her stomach while they slept. He never pressed her beyond their
platonic friendship. For almost a week they continued this routine. The first few days,
both would attempt sleep in their own tents for an hour or so; when it eluded them, as it
always did, Alonzo would come to Julia or she would go to him. Julia tried to rationalize
it all in her mind, but couldn’t come up with any realistic, scientific reason for why she
and Alonzo Solace could only sleep restfully when they were together. It just wasn’t
logical. But it worked.
After about a week, however, Julia noticed that Alonzo was having nightmares. She been
around him before when he suffered Terrian dreams so she recognized what these were.
She also knew better than to try to wake him. Though it pained her to see him so
disturbed, Julia remained quiet, running soothing hands over his face and through his
hair, trying to calm him with her physical presence. Sometimes he would call out Uly’s
name, and Julia’s curiosity was aroused. When he awoke, she spoke gently, calmly to
him, asking him what he’d dreamt of. He told her.
“Uly... They want Uly. The Moons...Its almost time, Julia...” Solace murmurred, his head
resting on her chest as she stroked his hair, her arms lightly around his shoulders,
soothing. “When we first came here, when they took him, they said they’d take him back
again... Its almost time. They want to know if he’s ready...”
“Shh, Lonz,” Julia murmurred near his ear, stroking his back, trying to comfort him.
“Julia, Devon’s not going to like this.”
The young doctor sighed, her vivid imagination providing far-too-graphic images of
Devon’s wrath when she discovered the Terrian’s wanted her son. “I know.”
A little over a week after her return to the group, Julia awoke to discover there was
actually frost on the cover of the sleeping bag she and Alonzo shared. When Alonzo
woke and saw it, he stubbornly pulled the blanket over his head, snuggled up against her,
and insisted that they were staying in bed all day long. Laughing, Julia pushed him off
and climbed out, throwing his jacket at him.
“Get up, flyboy or I’ll let everyone know what a baby you are!” she threatened teasingly.
He refused, shaking his head.
“C’mon, Lonz, I want to get dressed...”
That provoked a response. He lifted his head from under the covers, eyes gleaming in
teasing humor. “Really? Okay, go ahead.”
Julia narrowed her eyes at him and pretended a scowl. Dressing was an interesting ritual
that had at first caused some awkwardness on her part. They’d quickly worked out an
agreement. After they woke, Lonz would return to his tent or she to hers and they would
dress alone.
“Out, Solace!” she ordered, the scowl submerging into a grin. He grumbled at her, but
pulled on his boots, shrugged his shoulders into his jacket and vanished after his
customary kiss on her cheek.
They shifted camp for the last time before winter that day. Uly awoke and led his mother
and half the camp on a wild goose chase for over half a klick to a small valley with a
prefab structure set up there. The previous inhabitants were nowhere to be seen. Alonzo
had gone on a scout mission that he wouldn’t return from till the next day. He hadn’t
wanted to go, and Julia hadn’t wanted him to, but it had been his turn and they both knew
their duty to their group. Alonzo’s was to go on the scout mission.
Julia’s was to analyse the plant samples around the camp. She set to this task dilligently,
and was relieved to discover the plant type which seemed to dominate the surrounding
area was edible. She was dismayed, however, to realize how often her attention drifted...
and she found herself looking worriedly in the direction Alonzo had gone in. She was
standing, staring longingly at the horizon when Devon passed by, grinning at her.
“He’ll be back soon,” the older woman said in a reassuring tone. Julia shot her an
alarmed, confused glance and Devon’s expression altered to one of wry amusement.
“Alonzo,” she clarified. At Julia’s look of surprise, Devon grinned again. “What, are we
all supposed to pretend we haven’t noticed?” and walked off, laughing under her breath.
Julia stared after her in consternation. While that comment relieved her in its indication
that the rest of the camp cared enough about her to notice such things, it worried her
about its more obvious implications. It was obvious they suspected Julia and Solace were
already lovers. In some ways this frightened her; in others, it pleased her. If the group felt
they were so compatible, perhaps they were. There were times, when Alonzo gave her
that warm, tender look, when she would love to give in, to lean over and claim his lips
with hers, claim his soul. And therein lay the problem. Alonzo Solace was not the
one-woman type. Circumstances had forced celibacy upon him and, given the chance,
he’d be off this rock in a second, heading back to civilization. And probably have found
himself a lover before he’d even shaken the planet’s dust off his boots. Julia could not
give herself to him, because he would not give himself to her. And she couldn’t risk pain
like that, after all she’d been through.
Although her time away from Alonzo renewed her determination to avoid the emotional
entanglement that would come if they became lovers, Julia still had trouble sleeping that
night. An hour after everyone else had gone to bed, after she’d finished working, she
curled up in the bunk that seemed too big suddenly, and pulled the blankets over her
shoulders. They smelled like Alonzo. Julia sighed heavily, and resigned herself to a long,
lonely night.
When Alonzo returned the next day with the Terrian-girl, Mary, Julia experienced an
intriguing and unexpected reaction. The girl had quite obviously attached herself to him.
In some ways, this was no surprise. Alonzo Solace was the most charismatic man she’d
ever met; he was the first man Mary had ever met. To see Mary latching onto him,
touching him, sparked jealousy in her that startled her in its intensity. Watching the poor
child hug Alonzo made her want to scratch her eyes out. Watching Alonzo kneel in front
of her protectively as the group crowded around her, watching him touch her, made
Julia’s throat close over in a bizarre emotional response. She knew, somehow, that he had
not betrayed her... He would not use this girl in such a way, and Julia was aware he was
the only link between her and other humans. But... still that did not stop her unreasonable
jealousy of the girl. Julia was becoming used to feeling emotions with strange and
overpowering intensity, but it was taking time. Besides, she thought suddenly, why was
she so upset? Hadn’t she just agreed that she and Alonzo would remain friends? And
nothing more?
Julia was forced to examine the girl; it was her duty as doctor. She came in at the end of
her bath and tried to explain what she’d be doing to the frightened girl. “I’m just going to
touch you with my diag-glove. Its going to tell me all about your health” she told Mary,
holding up the glove. Mary’s eyes widened in understanding, and she lifted her chin out
of the water, soap suds clinging to her face.
“T-touch? Alonzo sh-showed me t-touching,” she told her in her halting manner. Julia
looked taken aback. The sympathetic looks Bess, True and Devon gave her sent spikes
through her heart, but toughened her up. Julia nodded, forcing a smile to icy lips.
Yeah, I’m sure he did, she thought sarcastically to herself and set to examining the girl.
For a while, at least, she was able to ignore her emotions and concentrate on the task at
hand. Unfortunately, the task at hand showed her brutally that this girl, for all she might
act innocent and sweet, was no girl. Physically, she was a woman; a very well-defined
one and, Julia admitted to herself, a very attractive one. When she realized what she was
doing, the professional part of her shrieked in outrage, which at least allowed Julia to
slam a door shut on the feelings of inadequacy she was causing in herself.
Half an hour later she gave her report on Mary’s DNA test to Devon. Alonzo walked in at
the end of it. Julia’s spine stiffened, but she refused to look at him, even as she felt him
move to stand behind her. “Socially she’s bonded to the Terrian’s. Although,” she added
with a caustic glance in Alonzo’s direction, “I’m sure we could nurture her human side.”
Julia wondered momentarily why she’d made such an infantile comment. Alonzo met her
eyes briefly, bemused, then shook his head. He ignored her comment, speaking instead to
Devon, but his hand squeezing Julia’s arm informed her quite clearly that he intended to
discuss this with her, and find out precisely what was going on.
Alonzo had intended to sit down with Julia and discuss everything rationally - perhaps
even tell her how he felt - when Uly went missing. It was, apparently, the night of Moon
Cross: a ritual or tradition held sacred to the Terrians. What Alonzo had been dreaming
of. Though Alonzo’s heart pulled him to Julia, his mind told him how important it was
for them to keep peace with the Terrians. Alonzo went with Devon and Mary after Uly.
The events that occured in the Terrian caves could not be described or explained. Uly had
taken the first tentative steps towards peace between the Terrians and humans. Alonzo
watched, awed by the events taking place around him. The child, Ulysses, was changed in
some way, for a short time. He remembered nothing after it was over. Afterwards, when
Devon took Uly outside, Alonzo tried to convince Mary to come back to camp with him...
Despite the trouble he knew it would cause with Julia, Mary was human, and Alonzo
knew better than most the difference between Humans and Terrians.
But she refused.
“The Terrians are my family,” the woman informed him clearly, her eyes shining with
pride and stubbornness. Alonzo recalled Julia’s words. Socially, she’s bonded to the
Terrians. It was more than that. As Mary had said, they were her family. She
remembered little existance other than her current one; she felt she was no more human
than the rest of the Terrians, and Alonzo was forced to accept her decision. It pained him,
however, and he wasn’t certain why. But Mary had foregone her human life, and it was
her choice to make.
Hours later, when the smaller moon had Crossed the larger one, and the planet settled
down to rest after the tumultuous celestial event, Alonzo returned to camp. The rest of the
group had been alerted to Uly’s disappearance, and their trip to retrieve him. When the
A.T.V. returned to camp, everyone came out to meet them. As Devon picked her tired,
ambassador-child up in her arms, Alonzo met Julia’s gaze over the woman’s shoulder.
She looked away. The pilot sighed, frowning, and walked away, staring intently at
Devon’s receeding back. His thoughts turned briefly to the child, to the link he’d created
between Terrian and Human. Would it last? Would Mary ever come back to the Humans?
Alonzo shook his head. Those were problems for more philosophical heads than his. Just
then, he had a more personal difficulty to take care of. Looking to his right, he saw Julia
duck into her tent and nodded. They needed to talk. He moved through the drift of people
heading back to their own tents and ducked inside Julia’s.
She spun on her heels, arms crossed, looking at him archly. “Can I help you?” she
inquired with the icy demeanor he recognized from her early dealings with him.
Alonzo attempted his charming flyboy grin, saw it made no dent in her icy armor and let
the expression fade away to reveal his concern. He took a cautious half-step closer. “Julia,
I want to talk.”
She arched a brow, arms still crossed defensively across her chest. “About anything in
particular?”
Rolling his eyes in dismay, Alonzo stepped closer in, saw her back away skittishly.
“Listen, Julia, there’s no reason to behave like children!”
He saw anger flash in her ice-blue eyes and was relieved so see something other than the
cold. “I am not behaving like a child!” she snapped.
He grinned. She glared.
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” he said a moment later when neither appeared ready to
break the battle of wills. “Julia, will you tell me what’s wrong? Please?” He was standing
close to her now, close enough to reach out and touch her. He did so, lightly grazing his
thumb over her jawline. At that touch, all the fight when out of her and she sighed,
closing her eyes and letting her arms fall to her sides. Taking that as an invitation, Alonzo
slipped his arms around her waist and she rested her head on his chest.
“I don’t know...” Julia sighed, scowling ruefully. “No, thats not true. I do. Its just so
stupid when I really think about it.”
Alonzo tightened his arms around her. “Mary,” he murmurred quietly, already knowing.
He felt her nod, felt her body tense in his embrace. “Yeah. Its so ridiculous, I know... I
know you wouldn’t do anything... I know I don’t have any right to get mad at you even if
you did... But I was mad, Lonz... For a little while there, even though I knew nothing had
happened, I wanted to rip your eyeballs out and sandpaper your skin off and -”
She stopped when she felt him laughing, the deep rumble in his chest. Julia lifted her chin
to look up at him, hurt shining in her eyes. It vanished the instant she saw the gentle,
tender amusement in his and she recognized her irrationality and laughed too. “Okay, I
told you it was stupid, Lonz.”
He grinned and hugged her, relieved that she had abandoned her anger. One thing he
could not withstand was Julia Heller angry with him. “I know, Julia. Its called jealousy.”
At that he winked at her and pulled back enough that they could look at each other.
“Question is, why’re you jealous?”
He was going to make her say it. The damn flyboy was gonna make her say it. Julia
clenched her teeth and glared up at him, but it lacked any real venom. The emotion shone
from her eyes now, and he saw it. “Damn you,” she muttered, shaking her head at him,
though she was smiling. “I... I care about you..." Her smile faltered as she
stared up at him. There were issues more complex here than her feelings for him alone. Yes,
she cared about him... The but hovered on the tip of her tongue. Julia held herself back. She should have known he was
too perceptive not to notice.
(The rest of this section will be completed soon, I hope. Bear with me.)
