Welcome to the Fold
Because Joshua deserves to meet his brother and Ezekiel deserves to know how much his brother was loved. It seemed grossly unfair to deny them that and this is what we all came up with. Thank you, everyone.--Maer
Ezekiel found his stomach churning slightly as Kiera's sleek ship approached Boros. He had dealt with so many risks and dangerous situations as he wandered the 'Verse. Yet he was nervous about meeting these people, the people that had been his brother's family. Perhaps, he thought, because family had been so rare an experience for him. But what would be would be and he would trust in the Lord to make things turn out the way they should be.
He looked out the window at the approaching ranch and sighed, putting his weight on his sword cane. Lord, I may need a little extra support today. Please don't hold it against me.
---
Her eyes were pinned to the window, watching as the planet rushed towards them. Reaching blindly, her fingers crawled and moved until she had Ezekiel's hand. She hadn't returned since she left her friends, left to escape the two gravestones that she couldn't help but see while she was there the last, short time. For all the bravado she had, Kiera realized that she was scared. Scared to see her friends again. Scared to face the ghosts that had driven her like a wild thing for three months. They were her friends. Dead or alive. She needed to talk to them again. They loved her. All of them. And she loved them.
---
The back pasture had clearly been used quite a lot as a landing pad. It was less meadow and more patch of dirt in this far eastern corner of the ranch. There was a truck waiting for the ship as it descended through the clouds, a tall lanky blonde leaned against the hood of a mule with her arms crossed and her ankles crossed too. She watched the pilot settle the ship to the ground with a critical eye. Only when it was finally settled did she push off the mule and walk toward the hatch with the ground-eating strides of a woman born to this wide open land.
When it opened, Nika stood there. Simply waiting. Her deep cobalt eyes were shuttered, a little wary. Perhaps she too was a hint nervous of this meeting. And her gaze skimmed the two people who disembarked. "You look like hell, darlin'," were the words she greeted Kiera with. And then her arms were wrapped around the redhead hauling her in for a tight hug. "Had a bet goin' on when you'd finally come on back. You lost me ten credits to Harry, gorram it," she teased roughly, a hint of tears in her eyes. "I was bankin' on another month. Before I went out and dragged you back by the hair."
---
Kiera laughed, sniffing back tears. "Helluava way to say hello, woman. Love you too. But I found what I was looking for out there." She looked at Ezekiel. "This is Ezekiel Drake."
---
Ezekiel looked over at the tall blonde that Kiera had told him so many stories about and he smiled before saying, "It's a pleasure, Miss Earhart. Joshua was my brother in blood but he was in your brother in spirit. Thank you for being there for him in a way that I couldn't be." And he extended his free hand forward to shake her hand.
---
Nika's hold on Kiera stayed tight as she laughed at the redhead's retort. She pulled away to say something more welcoming, but it was the name that sent all the blood rushing from her face, leaving her a bit light-headed. "Wh....?" She couldn't even get the words out. Her jaw went tight, and though Nika took his hand she was clearly both shocked and instantly on the defensive. "Mr. Drake," she murmured, struggling for a level tone. The surprise seemed to have rendered her incapable of demanding answers from Kiera. "Welcome to the Flying E." She didn't know what else to say.
---
Kiera kept her arm around Nika's waist, possessive and needy. "Surprise," she chirped with a weak smile.
---
Ezekiel nodded. "Thank you. I apologize for surprising you, but I could not think of the words to say that did not need to be said in person. And trust me when I say that you and I perhaps shared the same level of surprise. I had thought my brother lost from me forever. Lord's irony that he was given back to me as he was taken away from me. The Lord and I have had some words on that subject, let me tell you."
---
Feeling as if she was leaving him alone, Kiera slipped free of Nika and went to hold Ezekiel's hand. "I'm sorry for not warning you. I just had to bring him. There wasn't time." She looked sheepish for a moment. "There weren't words."
---
Retrieving her hand from Ezekiel's, Nika's eyes remained on the man claiming to be Joshua's brother. "You should have warned me, Kiera," she said quietly without taking her gaze from the threat. "Just dropping this on Rina could send her into panic mode." Not to mention LABOR! There was a lot of subtext to her statement, but the undercurrents remained just that. Nika had gone from thrilled to death to see Kiera to combat-ready in the split seconds that it took her to parse the introduction. "I'd like to know what you want here, Mr. Drake." Kiera knew her well enough to know exactly what was happening: if this man proves any kind of threat, she will literally kill him where he stands, Kiera's presence notwithstanding.
---
There was color abruptly in the pale cheeks, the emerald eyes glittering with that calm, analyzing look that Kiera got when she was angling a shot. She raised an eyebrow, her smile going from warm to wary in an instant. "Nika, he ain't looking for nothing but his brother," she stated softly. She did not get between them; she trusted him to defuse her friend, had faith that they were doing the right thing.
---
Ezekiel understood very well that the gauntlet had been thrown. After all, he had dueled more in his life than most people ever would. Just because the weapon of choice was not swords didn't make it any different. And the tone in Miss Earhart's voice marked her as the captain that she had been and the guardian she was now.
He looked Miss Earhart directly in the eyes and said calmly, "I've never had the chance to have a real family, Miss Earhart. Kiera tells me you've met my mother, so you should understand that statement as the truth it is. I just want to get to know the people that loved my brother so much that they still guard his memory even now."
---
Sunday, 09 Jul 2524
Flying E Ranch
Noon
I heard it long before I saw it and a second later I recognized it by its engines. I'd encountered it once before, a scant hour before Joshua and Arden's funeral. Then as now, it sounded high-end and meticulously maintained—in short, money and lots of it. So when its shadow cut across the plot, looking up was a mere formality: Kiera's ship. I remained where I was, sitting on the ground at Joshua's grave, tending the rose bush and blackberry canes I'd planted there soon after I'd buried him. It was high summer now and the bush bloomed beautifully, perfuming the air with a rich damask scent, and the canes were heavy with fruit. Already birds had been harvesting the juicy berries, keeping Joshua and Arden company, just as I'd hoped.
I lopped off the spent blooms, dumped them into my bucket along with my shears and tucked a fresh rose behind my ear, then laboriously got to my feet.
I'll be back, love. I kissed my fingers and touched them to Joshua's stone and patted Arden's in farewell, then left the plot to make my way back to the landing pad. Perhaps by the time I got close, they'll have made it to the house and cut my journey in half. While I suffered ridiculously robust health, the extra weight I carried had begun making longer walks something of a chore and the shorter distance would be welcome. Besides, I didn't want to set the women fussing over me again. I hated that. Nala and Nika had both taken rigorous care of me in the months since the funeral and there'd been days when Basic had felt like a cakewalk compared to being trapped between those two. My drill instructor could have taken a couple of pointers from the Earhart twins.
I was in luck. While they hadn't yet gone inside, they still had gone more than half the distance to the house. Not the best case scenario but even so, it was a significant energy saver. Not that it mattered one bit when I squinted against the glare and got a good look at the long tall man standing next to Kiera.
"ZEKE?!"
This can't be happening. I dropped my bucket and picked up my pace, to hell with being tired. Please God, let it be true.
---
Now I know you're fucking with me, Lord. Ezekiel briefly turned his eyes to the sky. Stop showing off. It's vulgar and unnecessary.
"Kat?" He looked over at Kiera. "Kat is Rina? Joshua married Kat?" He walked forwards toward the pregnant woman, cane in hand. "It's me, Kat. It seems we knew each other before we knew each other."
---
Nika's body shifted the instant she heard Rina's voice, putting herself between Ezekiel and the dark-haired woman waddling down the hill cutting off his path forward. Regardless that they seemed to know one another, she wasn't going to stop protecting the woman and child in her charge. Over her shoulder, she called, "Rina, stop there!" The order was sharp, the tone one that the blonde captain never used anymore; one that was only ever in orders where someone's life depended on it. She backed up toward Rina, her footsteps sure on the path without needing to see it, and she said to Kiera and Ezekiel, "You'll have to forgive my caution, both of you." Her gaze flickered to her friend. "But we need to be sure. The child's safety may depend on our wariness. Talk to her from there," she encouraged Ezekiel. "Tell her who you are, let her choose how she wants to handle it. And if she wants to trust what you say."
---
Kiera sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. "Just give up dammit," she announced to Nika. "There's the Universe knocking at our door. I've stumbled from planet to planet to find him in a billion souls and against all odds, here he is. The Lord is laughing at us. He's meant to be here. We're to be here with you guys now. Stop fighting serendipity." She looked at her friend.
"C'mon Nika; you feel it don't you? The 'Verse is at work here." She walked on by the tall blonde and into the small Russian's arms.
"Who the hell is Kat and why didn't you tell me that you'd met him before? Might not have taken me three months to find him since you already seemed to know where he was, darn your cute little rolly polly hide." She pulled free and rubbed Rina's belly. "You look wonderful."
---
He came to an immediate halt, listening to his rediscovered love face down her friend. That was the Kiera he remembered from their first meeting, the one that had been lost when Ezekiel found her again. Good for her. But he understood that the situation was delicate. He nodded to the tall blonde, acknowledging her command. "Of course, you have nothing but my word. I do understand."
He turned back to the dark haired woman he had met years ago, their paths crossing in a way that Ezekiel suspected was necessary for some reason that he couldn't understand, not being able to see the big picture. As Kiera embraced Rina, he said, "Kat...Rina, I never did give you my full name back then. It didn't seem important back then. But my name is Ezekiel Drake and my baby brother was Joshua."
---
I hate your sense of humor, God. Just so you know …
Aware that Nika was hair triggered over my safety and that Kiera and Ezekiel were at real physical risk, despite Kiera's bravado, I gathered my wits and got to work saving my friends from going somewhere stupid.
"Nika," I said softly. "It's okay." Had she been a wolf, I doubt her hackles could have been raised any higher. Or her killing instinct any sharper. Gratitude for it made me want to weep, but I managed to keep the steel in my voice and spine. Only Kiera and Ezekiel would know if my expression followed suit. "Stand down."
As for Kiera, I swatted her hand away—I hated it when people did that, family and strangers alike—and said, "That was a previous name in a previous life, during a chance meeting on Santo. I later told Joshua about it but at the time I didn't know the connection." I smiled ruefully at them all. "And when we first met Joan, she said his name and mentioned a quest and I suspected, but I didn't think it prudent to say anything. It got lost in the shuffle and afterward it seemed too cruel to mention it. I had no proof and on sober reflection it seemed too coincidental to be true. So I let it slide."
I gave Kiera a fierce hug and then let her go. Moving slowly so as not to set Nika off, I closed the distance to Ezekiel, deliberately putting myself between Nika and the man she'd be gunning for. A calculated risk but one I was willing to take. Even without Kiera's endorsement or Ezekiel's declaration of his family ties, I knew who I addressed, as sure as I knew my name, and put as much apology in my tone as I could. He deserved a better reception than this.
"But I never forgot what you did for me, Ezekiel Drake, and I always wondered how you were." I hugged him then, long and hard, and said into his shirt. "You helped me find your brother, you know. Your advice primed me to accept more advice when I needed it and had I never met you, I ultimately would never have met him … and taken the chance that changed everything."
I released him to forestall Nika grabbing me back. I'd had ample opportunity to map her tolerances concerning risks to me and my baby and I knew I'd just reached her limit. So I retreated a step and said to everyone, "And that is a story best told sitting down. Preferably with something cold to drink."
---
Rina's willingness to trust went a long way toward bringing Nika off the killing edge. Rina didn't trust many people. By the time she finished hugging Kiera and waddled her way to Ezekiel, the blonde was blowing out a slow breath and relaxing visibly. She didn't look apologetic, but she offered to Ezekiel by way of explanation, "Joshua was my little brother in all the ways that matter. He held me together through some of the worst moments of my life. He was an incredible man and your mother's only saving grace is that she birthed him... and apparently you." Her gaze flickered to Kiera with a faint grin. "You're a bitch," she tells the redhead lazily, "and you know I don't like surprises much. C'mon, you people. The woman who swallowed a watermelon needs her feet up before they swell to the size of her head."
She gestures everyone toward the mule. "Nala has lemonade up at the house. We can find some shade."
---
The redhead has more fire each moment, her eyes glittering with bright life and happiness. Slipping her hand into Ezekiel's, she gives the other women a wicked smile. "Guess I can have the assassin 'bots stand down, babe," she says to Ezekiel, shaking her head as they begin to walk to the mule. "Damn I forgot what a bulldog you were Nika. And you need some surprises in your life. Good ones. Don't want you getting all complacent."
She began to hum softly, taking a half step to kiss the man at her side on the cheek. "Told ya they'd be happy to see us."
---
"We're going to need to clarify what the word 'happy' means, I think," Ezekiel said, but he was smiling as he said it and he softly squeezed Kiera's hand. He turned to Nika, "Yes, you have clearly met my mother. I believe she once described me as a quixotic fool wasting his talents wandering the Verse. She, of course, would say it was meant with love and perhaps it was...from her view. But when the Lord calls, I have found it is usually best to listen."
As they walked towards the mule, he looked over at Rina and said, "Have you decided on a name yet?"
---
"Yes," I said with something closer to a smirk than a smile and left it at that. It had come to me some time ago but I hadn't announced it yet. I wanted to wait until we were all gathered together before revealing it. Realizing how my reticence might be perceived by Nika, however, I relented and added, "Later. When everyone's here."
And as a reason to make everyone come running, I figured Ezekiel's surprise visit would do the trick.
"It won't take long."
---
Nika smiled faintly, her eyes still on Ezekiel. "Considering who your mother is and what she allowed done to Joshua, you'll understand that I'm happy enough to meet his brother but not real thrilled that you're carryin' a bladed weapon near my friend and her baby." Joshua's hidden programming, for all she knew, had also been implanted in his brother. And gorram it, when had she turned as paranoid as Rina??? The blonde sighed to herself and herded people into the mule. Pulling out the walkie talkie, she said into it, "Homestead, we're incoming with the visitors. Nala, brace yourself. It's another Drake. ETA 8 minutes. Out." She started the mule and drove far more carefully home than she'd driven out here -- no big bumps!
As they pulled into the yard, Nala and Larry were on the porch, three of the Johannsen boys were standing near the paddock fence. It looked like an entirely casual greeting party... except for the fact that rifles were within easy reach of each man strategically placed to be able to take a shot if they had to.
Nala Johannsen still didn't have the long hair of her sister -- probably never would. Nika's long braid was really the only way to tell them apart anymore unless you counted the hard, nearly feral edge that Nika had over Rina and the baby's safety.
---
She couldn't help the stupid grin that lit her face, the rush of excitement and adrenaline that hit her system when she saw a greeting party so clearly armed. Even if they were friends. Without much thought, she found herself counting the steps to get to the nearest one, what the gut punch of the first shot would feel like as it most likely hit her, the feel of his rifle in her hands.
If Ezekiel had the combat skills of his brother, only with weapons, it wouldn't be pretty. But she sat quiet, the old spirit re-awakening. Somewhere, Joshua was fussing and Arden was smirking. She was willing to watch, wait for them to understand.
If Ezekiel had wanted them gone, then they'd have all been gone. He wanted his family. And she wouldn't mess that up.
---
When they stepped out of the mule, Ezekiel waited for Nika to step clear of the mule. Once she had, he dropped to one knee (Lord, help me to get up afterwards) and held out his sword cane to Nika in both hands. "My sword is yours, Miss Earhart. This is a place of peace. My sword cane has been both my weapon and my crutch for many years. But here, I need no weapon. And as for the crutch..." He glanced over at Kiera. "I finally have someone to stand by me."
---
Kiera's eyes softened. There it was. His true power. The one that he shared with his brother. Genuine goodness. She smiled. And a gift for words. Stepping to his side to be there if he needed her, she let her hand dangle as an offering to be taken as needed and looked at Nika to await her answer, calm and serene.
---
Nika's cobalt eyes watched the man's movements, assessing the fact that his drop is a touch stiff. He offers the weapon openly, and Kiera was smirking. She hated it when Kiera smirked. She slashed her friend one of Those Looks. And then she very purposefully stepped close to Ezekiel with a gusty sigh. "You are as gorram bad as your brother," she informed him in a rueful tone. She took the cane only to offer her hand to him to help him back to his feet as unobtrusively as possible. With her back to Rina, still in the mule, Ezekiel and Kiera could see the flash of sadness that the acknowledgment brought, a brief shimmer in her gaze. "Welcome home, Ezekiel Drake," she murmured quietly when he stood in front of her.
"I'm sorry your brother's not here to meet you with open arms. If he were able to take physical form, I'm sure his boot would be in my ass for giving you a less than awesome welcome before now." She offered his cane back.
---
Getting myself into the mule wasn't a problem, being a matter of strength. Getting out of it, however, was a matter of balance and far trickier to accomplish. I was game enough to attempt it but I knew Nika and Nala would never forgive me if I fell and broke something. So I waited in the mule and watched Ezekiel's formal surrender of his sword and observed how Nika and the others responded. Favorably, as it turned out, and I saw the others surrounding us relax, like a ripple spreading across still water. I cleared my throat in the quiet that came after Nika's apology.
"A hand down, please?"
---
He shook his head in negation at the return of his cane. "When I said my sword was yours, Miss Earhart, I meant it both figuratively and literally. It is not the one I search for, so I will craft myself another. It is what I do." He then stepped forward and offered his hand to Rina. "I offered you three things once before. Allow me to offer a fourth."
---
I turned his assistance into another hug and held him for a moment after my feet touched the ground. "Thank you," I whispered. How could I have missed the similarities between him and Joshua? How many more would I find before the visit was over? And with a sense of relief bordering on wonder, I realized that seeing Joshua echoed in Ezekiel didn't hurt. I gave him one last squeeze and smiled up at him. "Let's go. I'm dying to find out the story between you and Kiera. Especially about the dolphins."
---
Her inhale was sharp as Rina's words sunk home. Against the wan paleness of her cheeks, roses bloomed and Kiera bit her lip with consternation. "Shoulda never hinted at the story behind that painting," she muttered, tucking her arm into Nika's. "Missed you guys. Always a party, never dull."
---
Wrapping an arm around the redhead, Nika couldn't help the smile when Rina defused the situation so skillfully. The brothers scattered about the yard resumed their usual duties and Nika said, "Nala and Larry, Ezekiel Drake. Ezekiel, my sister Nala and her husband Larry." She met her twin's eyes and there was a faint nod between the two of them. Then Nala offered, "Lemonade. Dolphins?" Her eyes cut to Kiera. "Oooh. Do tell! Anything that makes Kiera do that is worth it."
---
Eyebrows raised. "Y'all aren't athletic enough. Just make you jealous." Kiera glanced at Ezekiel and winked as her face became angelic and inscrutable.
---
"Ah," I said, raising a brow with my own. I lowered my lashes coyly and shook my head with a smirk. "Maybe not." And I ran my hand over my baby, unable to resist tweaking Kiera's vanity. Only Joshua and I would know just when this life started inside me, or exactly how, and it lightened my grief a little having that little secret from everyone. Some things, after all, were all the more powerful for being unknown.
---
Ezekiel, ignoring the byplay, nodded his head in acknowledgment to Larry and Nala and said, "Lemonade would be wonderful. Many stories to tell will make for a great thirst, I think. And I'm anxious to hear as many as you're willing to share."
---
Nika was *so* not touching the byplay between Kiera and Rina. Nope. Not going to do it. "Your brother was quite a daredevil, I have to admit," she said as she herded Kiera toward the house so that Rina could sit. The brunette was starting to look a bit tired and although she went out of her way not to try to baby Rina... there was some amount of finagling going on to get the woman off her feet lately. She looked like she'd swallowed something bigger than a watermelon, for sure.
---
Kiera looked at Rina, her eyes narrowing as she looked at her. The doctor inside was taking over and she studied the little engineer. "How's little Mr or Miss Awesome sitting? You look ready to pop, darlin'. You need to sit down and put your feet up. I know I look all to hell and back, but at least I did it to me. You gotta take care of yourself lady. You got precious cargo." Although her tone was kind, it was stern. "That baby will get what it needs from you, no matter what. It's your job to replace what it takes. You body is geared to give all it needs to the baby, to the detriment of itself. So sit, drink something, and a snack would be in order too." She looked at Nika and Nala. "Fruit, not cookie. And she needs as much milk now as she will drink. For the calcium."
---
"Oh, Kiera, not you too," I moaned in mock misery. In truth I was touched, both by her concern and her wish to bring Ezekiel home to the folks. The last I saw her, she'd been cut to the quick over the funeral—hell, we all were—and when she'd taken off, I'd silently wished her well but reckoned my chances of seeing her again were slim.
Which just goes to show, Rina love. You just have to have a little faith.
Damned if I couldn't see Joshua's exasperated smile in my head along with his words. Don't push it, you, I silently growled back. My faith has been stretched pretty thin of late, especially about staying sane under all this fussing. Even so, I sat where they told me, put my feet up, and sucked down more of the milk I hated. It was good, grass fed milk, sweet and heavy with cream, and carefully heated to kill anything nasty in it before they let me touch a drop, but in my caffeine deprived state, I would have enjoyed it better if they'd served it with a shot of coffee. As everyone else got settled with their drinks and snacks, I got through my obligatory glass by way of penance and switched to the lemonade, then caught Kiera's eye.
"So, how did you two meet? And what's with the dolphins?"
---
Nika laughed at Rina's whinging. She winked at Kiera. "Nala's rabid about the nutrition thing. Not to worry, she's drinking like three glasses of milk a day, and cheese and fruit and veggies for snacks too."
The blonde turned her eyes toward Ezekiel while Rina grilled on the dolphins thing. For herself, there was something else on her mind. She set aside Zeke's sword and asked quietly, "Did you know your brother at all? He was often unsure whether he was in possession of his own real name and very curious about where he'd come from. It was hard on him at times, I think. He'd have been thrilled to meet you."
---
Ezekiel shook his head. "I was 7 when Joshua was born and 10 when my mother took him away. Old enough to know that what she was doing wasn't right but not old enough to do anything about it. I had my vision about that time and my father was sent to Miranda shortly thereafter." All within a six month period, his young life had been turned upside down. "I started training then and left as soon as I was able. I had always assumed that Joshua was dead. That the Lord would have told me if he was alive. But it seems He had other bigger plans for my brother."
---
There was a rustle of snorts and chuckles around the room at my mention of the dolphins and I had to admit, as a means to defuse a tense situation on their arrival, it worked as I'd intended. Kiera's reticence over it, however, made me pursue it a little further but I sensed its utility as a joke had come to an end. While she worked on her reply, I caught Nika drawing Ezekiel aside and also caught their short conversation.
Other bigger plans for your brother? I closed my eyes and nodded in affirmation. You could say that. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes as I released it and saw Ezekiel looking back at me. I gave him a tiny nod that said, See me, and then with a wan smile, I broke that silent contact and turned back to Kiera and the rest. I knew Ezekiel was already under a lot of scrutiny, thanks to the tone the twins had set regarding my safety with strangers, and I didn't want to make it any harder on him than it had to be.
---
The sadness that swept over Kiera's face was less than the pain that had marked it before, but it came still. "Yeah, plans," she repeated softly. "I'm going to go see them. You talk, get to know one another. There's a whole lifetime of memories that you two had with Joshua that I didn't and Ezekiel needs to hear them. I need to talk to the boys. Alone." She rose to her feet with a twitch of her lips and went to the door. "I'll be back. Don't break him. I'm kinda in love with him," she called back and went outside.
---
There was an awkward silence, a tacit admission of the suspicion caused by his arrival. I caught Ezekiel's eye again and said by way of apology, "I know you must feel disappointed about not meeting Joshua in person, but maybe I can help by telling you how we met him. As you know, he'd been turned over to Blue Sun when he was young ..."
I told him what Blue Sun had done to his brother. I told him of how Joshua had been turned into the ultimate spy, a Borrower, capable of mimicking anyone and doing whatever Blue Sun required him to do. And how, despite the physical modifications, brain surgery, and psychological controls they imposed on him, including wiping his mind clean after every mission, Joshua still retained enough sense of self to doubt the morality of what Blue Sun had him do. The possibility of having murdered on demand horrified him so much that he started searching for a way out.
"In June of '20, he found it. He ran into us. Our paths crossed while he was on-mission and when it went south, he saved our lives and got us out of there. There was no hiding his betrayal. His bridges were burned. He needed a ride out and we gave it to him. He told me later that his life began again that day. Over the next year, he strove to take back what Blue Sun took away from him. We did what we could to help. We made him crew, because he earned it. We helped him find answers, wherever it led us. He fell in love with me, only God knows why, and waited for me to do the same. I did, against all expectation, and we married just last June, a week short of his third year with us. In three and a half years, Joshua lived more intensely than anyone else could have done in a lifetime and at the end of it, he got to choose how he went out. Not many are fortunate enough to do that. He was a remarkable man, Ezekiel, and I am more sorry than I can say that you'd missed him."
I couldn't say much after that, but luckily I wasn't the only person in the room. Others shared their stories of Joshua. Some were funny, some were poignant, all were true. Everyone took turns. The stories poured out, one after the other, and Nala's announcement of dinner came as a surprise. Blinking, I gauged the angle of the light slanting across the room and realized we'd been at it for hours. And hard on that realization was the fact that I was hungry. In fact, I got a hard kick from the baby in retaliation for it.
"Bozhe moi, little man," I said affectionately to my belly. "I thought we had a deal. No Aikido until you're five." All that netted me was another hard kick. He hated it when I made him wait for his dinner. Shaking my head, I gave the room an exasperated grin. "Stubborn. Just like his father."
---
Ezekiel smiled as he heard the stories. He and Joshua had been alike in many ways. And it seemed that he had lived a full life in such a short time. And had so many people that loved him so intensely. Which reminded him...
"Nika," Ezekiel said, the first name feeling both odd and right coming off his tongue, "would you mind pointing me in the direction of Joshua's grave? I'll go get Kiera and have her come in for dinner." And have a discussion with my brother and the Lord.
---
The blonde glanced at Ezekiel and nodded slightly. "Sure," she said, moving to get up. She walked him out to the porch, saving her query until they're out of earshot.
"It's a bit of a hike up there. If your leg's not up for it, I can take you up in the mule and bring Kiera back," she offered quietly. Nika pointed toward a low rise about a half klik away, where the dip behind it hid all but the canopy of a massive tree. "The gate is there, on the right of that tree. There's a fence around it, you can't miss it."
---
He nodded. "Right now, my leg is okay and even if it wasn't, sometimes you have to suffer for what needs to be done. It lets us hone our edges to the sharp."
As he walked off, he waved and said, "I'll be back with Kiera for dinner. I won't stay too long." And he started the hike up to his brother's grave.
---
Nika understood what he meant, and she told him softly as he descended the stairs, "You're a lot like him. I'm sorry for the first impression that I gave you. You are Joshua's brother... and it makes you part of this family." She paused a moment and said softly, "Take your time, Ezekiel. We'll be here when you get back." Her smile played faintly around her lips, and she turned to go back inside with her hands in her pockets. I know you already like him, Joshua. You like almost everyone. That they found one another, that he is who he is? Somehow, I have this notion that you're dancin' a jig and screechin' AWESOME at anyone who'll listen, didi. Don't get too annoying... Dad's prone to cuffing you on the back of the head when you're annoying.
She was chuckling softly as she goes back into the house, imagining Arden running her father ragged with his conversational habits and Joshua making him crazy with his exuberance. Dad was having a blast.
---
She was sitting on the edge of the hill, her eyes on the low set sun and she smiled as she caught sight of him. "I thought I'd give you time for them to regale you with Joshua stories and for me to try and put my face back together again." Her eyes went from his to the land around them. "I forgot how beautiful it was here. They're in a peaceful place."
---
"It is indeed," he said as he slowly walked up to her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Dinner is ready, Nala says. If you don't mind, I'd like a few minutes to talk with him alone before I come back."
---
Her gaze was soft and she smiled fondly as she lightly took his hand to help her to her feet. "Of course." She cupped his face with her hand, gently rubbing his cheekbone with her thumb before nodding and heading down to the house.
Go back to: Season Seven, May 2523 - Feb 2524
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