Station Chronicles
True and Consequences

by Kath Tate

Earth 2 and characters are the property of Amblin Entertainment. This story does not intend to infringe on any copyright.

When the time finally came, Danziger was not at home. He hadn't been home for several weeks actually. In an effort to keep up with his debts he had taken on many different jobs in the last six months. Most of them had required him to be in other parts of the quadrant. However, he kept returning to the room that he and Elle had shared. She was an anchor for him. Whenever he was around, which was not often, he went to sit by her in the hospital. She was moving further and further away from him, he felt; soon she would be gone altogether.

Alex and Les helped him out when they could. Alex was solid as a rock. In fact, she was the one who found out and went looking for him. But his room was locked and empty with no sign of where he'd gone or when he was due to return. Calling him on gear was a wasted effort as well. Even supposing he was wearing his headset (always a dubious possibility), he was probably not in the vicinity to receive.

"Damn and blast that man!" Alex said aloud. It wasn't as though he hadn't been given any warning. Or maybe he'd gone away on purpose? She contacted Les, who was working at the transit station.

"Have you seen John today?"

Les was surprised.

"Nope. But then I think he's gone out to Section 6 again. That's where he was all last week, anyway."

Alex swore. This surprised Les even more.

"Alex," he said, "The man is still in a lot of pain .... "

"Ya, well he's gonna be in a lot more pain unless I find him PDQ!" And with that Alex broke their connection. She turned in the corridor and stormed towards the main shuttle bay. If Danziger were heading back today, he'd be arriving soon. She wanted to catch up with him before he could disappear again.

*********

To his credit, Danziger had been paying attention to the date. That was why he had signed on for this particular crew on a week-to-week basis. It was not a secure way to keep a job, as he could be bounced off the crew by anyone willing to commit to a longer contract. But he wanted to be able to go home on his days off.

It had been a long week, he felt. There was a lot of unrest amongst the operations crew because of unsafe working conditions. Three people had been badly injured. Danziger steered clear of politics and he steered clear of injured workers. He did his job and he went home. That was about all he could handle these days.

Walking off the transport shuttle into the crowd of people Danziger let the throng push him along. He wasn't in any hurry to go back to his empty room.

"John!" someone called. "John!!!" He didn't even turn around. "DANZIGER!"

Now his head snapped up and he caught sight of Alex waving frantically to him from the upper platform. Puzzled, he moved up to catch the elevator to meet her.

"Hey what's up?" he asked. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along.

"Are you a complete nitwit?! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Why?"

"Why? You ask me 'why?' God!" Alex was exasperated. Then she noticed how tired Danziger looked. And worried. She stopped tugging on him and pulled him aside so they wouldn't be pushed by the crowd still pouring out of the bay. "John, your baby was born today," she told him.

Danziger was shocked. Was it today? He could have sworn it was next week.

"My baby," he repeated. Alex's face split into a grin, hoping his would follow. He still looked stunned. "Is it OK? I mean, is she OK? The baby, I mean?" Alex nodded, still waiting for some kind of joy to sink into him. When this didn't happen she pulled him out into the passage again.

"Let's go see."

*********

Danziger waited nervously in the small room outside the nursery of the hospital. A nurse had tried to get him to deal with some forms while he was waiting, but he refused to do anything until he saw the baby. Alex paced.

Another nurse entered the room carrying a tiny bundle.

"Here she is, Mr. Danziger. Your daughter!" the nurse beamed at him. She held the child out to him, but his arms remained at their sides. Alex swooped in, picking up the girl and rocking her softly.

"Oh, John! She is beautiful!" Alex exclaimed. "Look! Look! Isn't she the most amazing thing you've ever seen?!" The two nurses exchanged amused glances. This, they had seen before. For his part, Danziger agreed totally with Alex; although his idea of amazing was quite different from hers.

The baby was so small, he thought. Of course she is John! he told himself, harshly. What exactly did you expect? After all, she had to .... had to .... come out of Elle. Tears were threatening him. Elle should be here to see this. It wasn't right that Alex was the one holding Elle's baby girl. Oh man ....

"John, sit down," Alex said softly, "You hold her for a bit."

Danziger did as he was told, letting Alex put the baby into his arms. He held her awkwardly, as though she were a bomb or a delicate glass vase. Alex held her hands on the child, guiding his arms until he was supporting the head.

"There," she whispered. Tearing his eyes off the baby for a moment, Danziger saw that Alex was crying. No, don't do that, he wanted to say. Please no. He cleared his throat.

"She is kinda, um, pretty. Isn't she?" He said hoarsely.

"She is beautiful," Alex said.

"Just like her mother," Danziger said with such sadness and longing that Alex couldn't help but cry harder. She sat down on the bench so she could put her arms around him.

"That's right. Just like Elle."

The three of them sat like that for awhile and then the door opened again. A doctor that Danziger had met once before (last month maybe?) came over. Danziger struggled to remember his name. All he remembered was the talk about how they were going to deliver the child. Oh yes, Dr. Hodges.

"Mr. Danziger," Hodges said gruffly. He was a no nonsense kind of person. Well, so was Danziger. "I see you've met your daughter."

Danziger nodded, ever so slightly.

"Thank you," he said, evenly. The doctor didn't even acknowledge this.

"We're going to keep her here, just as a precaution you understand, until we get some tests done."

"What kind of tests?" Danziger asked.

"Oh, you know, standard tests. To ensure that there was no undue stress on the child."

Danziger passed the baby to Alex, who held her with more comfort than he had anyway. He stood up. Now he was looking down on the doctor instead of the other way around. He preferred that.

"What kind of tests?" he repeated, more forcefully. One of the nurses came forward to take the baby from Alex. "Whoa! Hold it," Danziger said to her. "No one is going anywhere with that baby until you explain to me what is going on!!" The nurse looked at Dr. Hodges, who was looking slightly uncomfortable.

"We have to ensure that Ms. Moore's accident did not cause any lasting effects on the child," Hodges finally said. Danziger's jaw dropped. Behind him, he heard Alex gasp. He looked from the baby back to the doctor. He clenched his jaw trying to curb his anger.

"You've had six months to ensure that no harm had come to this baby. You've certainly had six months to let me know that there could have been some harm done to this baby. Why is it that I am only finding this out now? How is it that you don't already know?!"

The baby started to cry. Distressed, Alex rocked her gently.

"Mr. Danziger, " Hodges began patiently, "There are some things we could not know until after the birth. Now, it is not meant to inconvenience you, but I must insist that we monitor your baby, until such time as we are absolutely certain that the trauma her mother sustained did not cause any lasting deficiencies."

Danziger didn't believe him. And he didn't much care for the doctor's patronizing tone either. But it would appear he also didn't have any choice.

*********

The following morning Danziger lay awake, not ready to get out of bed and face the day. From his horizontal position, he could see chaos. He'd have to clean up before he brought the kid home. He wasn't ready for this. Despite having six months to get used to the idea, he wasn't ready. Alex had tried to get him interested in parental things. She'd been nagging him about baby clothes and toys and finding day care. Day care. Geez!

He groaned and sat up. The chaos looked worse from this angle. Get to work. His eyes fell on the hologram of Elle with her arms around him taken on his birthday, just prior to her accident. Averting his eyes from the happy photo, his gaze fell upon Elle's tool kit thrown carelessly beneath the shelves. Elle was still in this room. It was feeling awfully crowded.

*********

Alex was worried about John. This much Les already knew. He shared her feeling, to some extent. But she, more than him, felt a little responsible for John's decision to keep the baby. She had known, even though Elle had been secretive, that Elle was pregnant. Alex's thrill and delight for the couple had been equally matched with pain by Elle's accident. Danziger had been deeply changed by his grief, not taking much of an interest in his unborn child. Alex's coaxing had little effect on the mechanic's sorrow. She had been sure that this would change after the baby's birth. Now that the baby was born, and John was still showing no signs of excitement at the prospect of fatherhood, Alex was beginning to doubt herself. She was not ready to give up on Danziger just yet though.

She and Les carried the crate between the two of them part of the way. Then he shoved her off her end and claimed he could carry it more easily by himself. By the time they reached John's door, Les was puffing and sweating.

"What the Hell is in this thing, anyway?" he panted, as she pressed the buzzer. She ignored him.

"It's open!" They heard from within. Alex opened the door and Les shoved the crate just inside before all but collapsing next to it.

"Oh, hi," Danziger said. He was in the middle of gathering up his tools. Alex walked around the room and then sat down on the bed.

"You've done wonders with this place," she said, cautiously. It looked different, and not just because it was tidy. Les, too, was surveying the tiny room. He gave Alex a quizzical look. She shrugged.

Oblivious to his friends' puzzlement, Danziger finally packed up the tool kit and put it neatly on the lower shelf by the door. There were no other tools.

"What's that?" he asked Les, giving the crate a kick. Les held up his hands.

"Hey man, if I only knew." They turned to Alex, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Open it. It's a present," she told Danziger. He gave her a long look before bending down to flick the latch on the crate. It was filled with clothes. Children's clothes.

"Huh?" Les was astounded, "Who'd have thought they could be so heavy?" he muttered. Alex gave him a poke.

Danziger was rummaging through the crate. The clothes were all shapes and sizes, both boys' and girls'. All used, some newer than others.

"Alex, where did you get all this stuff?" he finally asked. Alex was still grinning. She couldn't help herself.

"Well, you didn't seem to be taking an interest so I took it upon myself to create a hope chest of clothes for you. I've been collecting them for months now." She was very excited. "I had a big boon about six weeks ago when I was working on the air circulatory system in Section 4. I was doing an overhaul in this woman's quarters and she had a whole bundle of stuff she was going to take down to Humanitarian Services. I offered to take it for her. Most of it was baby clothes."

"You stole them?!" Les was shocked. Danziger's look was still closed. Alex began to feel very defensive.

"Hey! I didn't steal anything! Those things were headed for redistribution to people who need them. Danziger needs them. I just saved him the time of going down to HS and picking them up."

Danziger let out a big sigh and ran his hands through his hair. He looked down at the crate sadly.

"Then, " Alex continued, hoping to get the topic of HS out of their minds, "I held a baby shower with some of the other Ops crew from ExoTech. There's even some toys in there!"

"A baby shower?" Les was incredulous. "You held a baby shower?"

"Hey! What's wrong with that? The man was about to have a baby!"

"Alex, honey, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a parent supposed to be present at the shower?" Les asked. She hit him.

"Sure he is. I had a big surprise party planned. But then he took off on me. How was I supposed to know he'd be gone for three weeks?"

Danziger picked up a stuffed toy. It was in the shape of a cat. He tossed it back into the crate.

"I don't know what to say," he finally said. "Thanks. Ah Alex, thanks just doesn't seem enough."

She stood up and gave him a hug. He returned it strongly. She gave him a big smile. It would be nice to see him smile for a change.

"What are friends for, right? Now, let's go see that kid of yours!"

*********

The three friends stood outside the nursery looking through the glass at rows of babies. It had taken Danziger a few moments to locate his daughter, and then he only managed it because of the DANZIGER label at the foot of her bassinet. Boy, they all looked the same when they're that small, he thought. After a moment he mumbled something about finding Hodges to see if the tests were OK and left his friends. Alex sadly watched him leave.

"Les, am I making a big mistake thinking this will change him?"

"Honey, he's still thinking about Elle. He can't get past that. Personally, I think this baby is going to be the best thing for him."

Alex turned to face Les.

"Really?"

"You bet. Did you notice what he'd done to that room?"

"It sure looked tidy. I don't think I've ever seen him so tidy."

"Is that all you noticed?" Alex gave him a questioning look. Les continued: "I'll tell you what I saw. I saw a room without Eleanor Moore."

"My God you're right!" Alex breathed. "He'd gotten rid of all of Elle's stuff. Now, why would he do that? You'd think he'd want it around, with the baby coming home."

Les shrugged as Danziger returned.

"Not today," was all he said before turning and walking away.

*********

Later that evening Alex and Les went back around to Danziger's room to drag him off to the bar for a drink. Les told him they had to toast his new found fatherhood. Danziger reluctantly agreed.

Sitting around a table in the corner there wasn't much conversation. Danziger was feeling particularly uncomfortable. He shouldn't have come. He didn't feel like celebrating anything.

"You know," Les cleared his throat, "I was talking to Markus yesterday."

"Oh yeah?" Danziger responded politely.

"Yeah, he's looking for a crew for a site on the new Meahan station in Section 8. From the sounds of it, it could be a contract for many months."

Normally, this would have been great news. Normally, Danziger would have leapt at the chance of a contract for many months. But now, well, he had other responsibilities to worry about.

"Sounds good," he remarked. There was an awkward pause. Les hailed a server for another round.

"Well, John Danziger, as I live and breath."

"Huh?" Danziger looked up at the server with surprise. "Do I know you?" He asked.

"Johnnie, I'm hurt that you don't remember me. But my! It's been, oh, six years? At least five anyway. Scoot over honey, let me sit down. Hi, I'm Cheryl," she said to Alex and Les.

Les raised an eyebrow to Alex. For her part, she was staring with open amazement at the woman who was now seated next to John. Very close to John, who hadn't managed to "scoot" fast enough to give her some room. It never ceased to amaze Alex to discover parts of John's past. For such a dear friend he was remarkably closed about his life prior to their first meeting.

"Tell me, what have you been up to since I saw you last?"

Danziger had finally remembered who she was. And he wasn't exactly thrilled to have her join their table. He remained speechless. This didn't phase Cheryl at all. She laughed.

"That's a tall order isn't it? OK, OK, why don't you start with what you did yesterday?"

"I had a baby," Danziger said flatly, hoping she would go away. Her eyes widened with amazement. Alex was surprised they didn't fall out of their sockets and roll across the table. If they did, she decided, she'd pick them up and put them in her pocket.

"No! You are kidding with me!" she cried giving Danziger a shove.

"No, he's not," Alex said seriously. "A baby girl, as a matter of fact."

"Hey John, I think I see Markus over there," Les said, surveying the room. "We should have a talk with him about that job." He left the table.

"Are you married?" The obnoxious woman was just not going to leave.

"No," Danziger said shortly. He finished the last of his drink in one gulp. Should he go talk to Markus? It would get him away from the table. But he couldn't really take the job.

"Are you going to get married? What's your little girl's name?"

Danziger stood up. Even rejecting a job offer was preferable to sitting here with Cheryl.

"Her mother is dead." Cheryl gasped. "Her name," he hesitated, "her name is True."

Alone now, Alex and Cheryl stared across the table at each other. Alex stared with hostility; Cheryl with shock. Then she wrinkled her nose.

"What kind of a name is that for a child?"

*********

Les pulled Danziger into the circle talking with Markus. Danziger was trying to remain inconspicuous, but Markus noticed him right away.

"Yo, Danziger! I hope you'll be joining us?"

Danziger shifted on his feet.

"I can't."

Markus looked surprised. To refuse a job like this, well, it was just plain unheard of. Danziger decided to offer an explanation.

"I've got to look after a baby. My baby, actually. I've got to look after my baby. She's in the hospital. I just can't leave her for that length of time."

Markus was sympathetic. Not so some of the other clowns in the circle. But they soon shut up when Markus bellowed an oath to silence them.

"Too bad. Well, maybe we can get you up there in a few weeks to do some relief shifts."

Danziger nodded his appreciation and turned to leave. Les pulled at his arm.

"Where're you going?"

"I've had enough celebrating," Danziger replied. He didn't want to run into Cheryl again either.

*********

Alex caught up to him in the corridor outside the bar.

"I just might forgive you for leaving me like that, some day," she said, angrily but really only teasing him.

"Sorry."

She grabbed his hand and walked with him.

"You didn't take the job, did you?"

"Nope."

Alex sighed.

"Talk about bad timing." He didn't say anything. "Say John, what made you pick a name like True?"

Danziger shrugged.

"I dunno. I liked it. It seemed to suit the situation. I dunno," he repeated. He couldn't explain it to Alex. That baby girl represented all that was true between Elle and him. He would never forget that.

*********

On the third day of True's life, Danziger and Alex went interviewing in-home day care workers. Danziger needed to have someone he could leave the baby with when he went to work. Assuming he got another job.

After the first one he was ready to stop. But Alex was horrified by the cleanliness of the quarters. Or lack thereof.

"If that's the way she looks after her home, imagine how she would look after a baby!"

After the second one he was ready to stop. But Alex was concerned at the seriousness of the other children in the home.

"If those kids are that sad, their home obviously isn't a happy one."

After the third one he was ready to stop. But Alex had noticed that the other kids looked malnourished.

"Children need to be well fed!"

Danziger nearly hit the fourth one.

The fifth one wasn't home.

Discouraged Danziger sat by the locked door and ran his fingers through his hair. Alex bit her lip with worry.

"Look John, I have to head back now. I promised Les I'd meet him with the others for a debriefing on the new crew Markus has put together."

"Oh well. We weren't very successful, were we?"

"There's still one more name I got from HS. She lives down near the old CalTron quarters. I could reschedule her and go with you tomorrow, if you want."

Danziger waved Alex away.

"Nah, don't be silly. Go to your meeting. I'll take on - what's her name?"

"Marita McMurphy. Remember, John. Look carefully at the other children. Look carefully at the way she keeps her home. All of these things will help you decide if you want to leave YOUR child with her."

Alex was reluctant to leave him alone. Danziger insisted; however, and taking the address from her, he went to visit Mrs. McMurphy.

*********

The door was opened by a small boy about six years old.

"Hello," he said.

"Uh, is Mrs. McMurphy home?" Danziger asked.

"She sure is," a voice called from within. "And you must be Mr. Danziger." The voice belonged to a pretty, plump woman, about ten years older than Danziger, who came to stand behind the boy. "Well, come on in, my friend. Let's get to know one another, shall we?" She ushered him inside and offered him a seat.

"Your friend, Ms. Wentworth? She's not here?" Mrs. McMurphy asked.

"She was called away on business," Danziger said, trying to remember all the things Alex told him to watch out for. It had been easier with the two of them. He could talk; she could survey. Now he had to do both.

There were two other children besides the boy who had opened the door. A girl, older, and another boy, younger.

"Are these your children?" Danziger asked, wondering if she provided day care for other families. But Mrs. McMurphy was smiling proudly.

"They sure are. We have Joey, and there's Ben, he opened the door for you, and Jenny."

The children greeted Danziger with a chorus of "Hi's" before returning to their own world of play. Danziger made one mental check on his list. Happy children.

"I understand your little girl is just an infant," Mrs. McMurphy was saying. "That must be quite a handful."

"I suppose," Danziger said. Then, seeing the look of surprise on her face he added, "She's only three days old. I haven't been able to bring her home from the hospital yet."

"Oh my!" She was concerned now. "Why have they kept her for so long?"

Danziger was not sure what is was about Mrs. McMurphy that made it so easy to talk to her. Perhaps it was simply that she was a stranger. She had never known Elle. She didn't know John.

"Well, her mother was in an accident in her third month. The doctor was a bit worried that this might have caused, uh, trauma or something to the baby."

"Her mother is not able to care for her?"

"No. She's, uh, she's . . . she's listed as neuro-dead."

"What does that mean?" whispered the little girl, Jenny, who had been listening. Her mother put an arm around her.

"It means that she's passed on, sweetie." Her sympathetic eyes were on Danziger. He could not hold the look and so he ended up staring at his boots.

"What's your little girl's name, Mr. Danziger?" asked Mrs. McMurphy, after a pause.

He raised his head again.

"Her name is True," he said, as if daring her to ridicule him. She smiled and her face was all dimples.

"What a beautiful name for a little girl," she beamed.

At this moment, Danziger knew he had found his day care.

*********

After the debriefing Alex wasn't able to find Danziger. She wanted to find out how the last interview had gone.

"C'mon Les. He must be at the hospital."

"Why don't we wait until tomorrow?" Les grumbled. It was not that he begrudged Danziger their time, but he was feeling a bit strung out and a trip to a hospital was not going to help. However, the look he received from Alex pretty much decided their course of action.

They found him, True in his arms, sitting with a nurse in the room beside the nursery. He was finally dealing with the forms.

"OK, then we need your ID verification number here, to release her to your care." Danziger handed True to Alex and took the electronic pad to enter his code swiftly on the small keypad. There was no hesitation. The nurse also took a fingerprint from him to complete the verification. This kind of redundant bureaucracy usually rankled Danziger, but today he made no comment.

"What about the tests?" Alex asked.

"Totally, completely and without a doubt healthy," Danziger said and then he smiled. He smiled for the first time in six months. He reached out and awkwardly took True back from Alex. "Let's go home."

*********

Alex and Les left for Section 8 to take their jobs with Markus' crew. Alex wasn't convinced that Danziger had made a good decision with Marita McMurphy, but John merely laughed and told her to stop fussing. He and True were just going to have to manage without Alex for awhile.

John had a hard time finding work in those first weeks of True's life. The first time he left her with Mrs. McMurphy, he couldn't stop thinking about her all day. But at the end of it all, he picked her up, safe and sound. So his worries moved on to more concrete things. Like paying off some debts, and feeding his child, and it all kept coming back to having steady work.

After they'd been gone for about three months, Les contacted Danziger to say that they needed him for relief work. Three or four weeks, maybe more. Danziger's brow creased with anxiety and frustration.

"Les, I can't take that job. You know that!"

Les sighed.

"You do what you think is best, John. I just wanted you to have the opportunity, that's all."

*********

Danziger stood outside the McMurphys' door with True in one arm. His other arm reached out for the buzzer and hesitated. Then he pushed it decisively. The worst she could do was refuse.

"Mr. Danziger!" Mrs. McMurphy was surprised. "I wasn't expecting you today. Did you find another job?"

"Uh, sort of, yeah." He stepped in. Her place always seemed so much cozier than his room. He hadn't quite decided if that was because of the children or simply that she was a better housekeeper. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Of course. Sit down." She smiled at him encouragingly.

Danziger was nervous. He kept passing True from hand to hand.

"Well, you see, I did get a job offer. But it's for four weeks."

"Well congratulations!" she beamed. Then she noticed his agitation. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Normally, yes, but this particular job is in Section 8." Danziger let that sink in.

"I see." Oh yes, she saw. Danziger could see that she understood him right away. This was stupid. Why had he even come here?

"I don't know what to do," he confessed.

"It's perfectly natural for you to want to provide for your family," she told him.

"I can't take her. The station is still under construction." Danziger paused. "I would need to leave her here," he added slowly.

She considered this.

"That would be fine," she said finally.

Danziger stood up and began to pace. His tiny baby lay on his left arm, straddling his elbow; her head firmly supported by his large hand. Danziger patted her stomach idly. There was no awkwardness about the Danziger pair; he was a pro at holding babies now.

"The problem is that . . . the problem is that I mean, well, the job pays reasonably well but I won't have any credit until afterwards and I . . ."

"Say, do you hear that?" she interrupted him. Surprised at the abrupt change of topic he listened for a moment. There was a distinct rattle from the air circulation duct.

"Yeah."

"That noise keeps us up at night," she told him. She shook her head and walked over to the duct and gave it a swack with her hand. It persisted in making the noise. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "I bet you could fix it. Couldn't you?"

Their eyes locked for what seemed like a long moment. A million things seemed to fly through Danziger's brain. Then he handed True to her and got down by the duct to examine it. Lying on his back, he squirmed his large frame underneath and pulled off the panel.

It was just what he'd suspected. It was a very old model. He'd replaced a series of these things about three years ago. He was amazed it was still working, actually. John tried to assess the situation rationally. Think damnit, think. He knew what she was giving him. Fix the air circulation and then you can leave True here for one month while you actually get paid for a change.

"Mr. Danziger?" It was Ben crawling under there with him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how to fix it?" The little boy asked.

"Uh huh."

"Will you show me how?"

Danziger looked at the small face. It was in earnest.

"You wanna be a mechanic?" Danziger was amazed.

"I want to be able to fix things," Ben said.

Danziger replaced the panel and pushed himself up from the floor. He offered Ben a hand up onto his feet. True was fussing a little.

"You know why she's doing that, don't you?" Mrs. McMurphy handed the baby to him. "That's because she knows you're still here."

"That system is out of date," Danziger told her. "That's why it's breaking down. It's too old." He stroked True's head gently, calming her. "If I can get some replacement parts from this guy I know, I can fix it for you. But the whole system really should be replaced."

The look she gave him was one he understood. If they could have replaced it, they would have by now.

*********

Alex greeted him with a big hug and Les with an even bigger grin.

"How's Daddy?" he teased.

"I'm gonna be a mess, thinking about her," Danziger confessed with a shy grin.

"Well, Markus will soon get you so busy you won't even have time to miss her," Les informed him. "Let's go take a look."

They were walking around the site; Danziger had his hands in his pockets and his head in the air. He whistled.

"Man! I've never seen anything like this! That must be 40 or 50 storeys high!"

"Well, you know how Meahan thinks: the more impractical and more expensive the better," Les said dryly.

"Sure is beautiful though."

"Not like Adair. Now there's someone who manages to mix beautiful and practical. And who has a reasonable idea of a budget."

*********

Danziger was sitting in a harness high up on one face of the square. The harness consisted of a belt around his waist connected to two smaller ones around each of his thighs. There was a swing for him to sit in, so he could work without having to cling to the wall. The harness was attached to a rope that went up to a pulley in the ceiling and hung down to the floor. As he reached each section of the wall, Danziger tied himself to a ring to secure himself in position, again so that he could work with his hands free. This would also have been a great safety measure if it weren't for the fact that he had to undo the knots to move around. In theory, the rope should have been secured to the floor, so that he wouldn't be able to fall. But he had noticed that the rope was actually too long, and so that safety precaution was pretty much useless as well.

He was working in both an upwards and sideways direction and had nearly reached the top of the 50 storeys. Securing his tools to a pouch slung over his shoulder, he grabbed a rung on the ladder and untied his safety knot. Balancing his feet on the ladder, he hooked his right elbow through the rung and worked on the knot. He figured he'd covered as much as he could horizontally. His rope wasn't going to take him any further along the wall. He would have to go up again.

The knot undone, Danziger undid his safety ring from his belt, grabbed the rung, and prepared to move up to secure another one before resuming work. Suddenly, an electric current shot up the ladder through his right knee resting on the rungs. His leg jerked off into the air. His right hand, which had been holding onto a rung just above his knee, received the shock a millisecond later. The reflex of his hand was to let go, which saved him from being killed instantly. Unfortunately, it also meant he was now falling backwards.

Because Danziger had been so far over from his pulley, he fell at an angle and suddenly slammed into the corner wall painfully. His whole right side was feeling numb from the electric shock and now his head had received a dizzying crack. The ground was speeding towards him at an alarming rate. He'd twisted around causing his rope to wind around itself. In a panic his left arm made a grab for the rope. Somehow he had to stop this fall.

His left hand closed around the rope and he gasped as it burned into his flesh. But he held fast and his fall slowed. He brought his right arm up and tried to close his hand on the rope, but his fingers wouldn't work properly. He squeezed the rope with his burning left hand, stopping the fall with an abrupt jerk that sent a shot of pain to his shoulder. He suspected he'd dislocated it. He was now dangling about three quarters of the way down, in the corner at least ten feet away from the wall.

The rope slipped a few inches causing further pain to his badly burned hand. He finally made his right hand close around the rope. Looking down past his swaying feet Danziger could see that he was still high enough to be seriously injured if he fell again. No, probably killed. He felt sick. The people working on the ground were panicking at his predicament.

Danziger took some deep breaths, trying to calm his heart rate and also clear his head. Then he looked down again. How easy it would be to simply let go of the rope and . . . fall. He could almost see Elle in his head. Not the Elle on life support, but the Elle that he had loved. So filled with life. Now Elle was feeling nothing. If he fell, he could join her in nothingness. No more pain, no more worry. Just nothing.

Danziger closed his eyes. The image of Elle was gone and in her place there was True. If something happened to him, what would become of his baby? He knew full well. Marita McMurphy would turn her over to HS and she would be an orphan. Never knowing how beautiful her mother was. Never knowing how much her father had loved her.

For perhaps the first time in True's short life Danziger fully realized how much he did love her. She was not a problem, not a worry, not something getting in his way, or keeping him up at night, or preventing him from working. She was his daughter and she meant everything to him.

"Danziger!" His gear, which had been pushed askew by his head hitting the wall, was still close enough to his ears for him to hear. "Danziger! Are you OK?"

He started to laugh with hysteria. Was the mike on? Who cared? He began to assess the wall. Where was the closest ladder? He had to get over there before his arms gave out.

"Danziger?" the voice persisted. Danziger began to swing his legs, ever so slightly, so that he would have some momentum to reach the ladder.

"Can you hear me?" he asked, not even knowing where his mike was located.

"Yeah, sure."

"Then shut up!" Danziger growled, as his foot grazed one of the rungs. Almost. He swung over again. Not quite. And again.

This time his toes were able to hook onto the rung and he pulled himself closer. Then the hard part. He had to let go of the rope in order to grab hold of the ladder. While his hands seemed to be working well together, neither of them was in any shape to work independently. Letting go of that rope and making a swing for the ladder rung was the hardest thing Danziger had ever forced himself to do. But then he was hugging the wall, and the rope was dangling on its own.

He took the ring from his belt and hooked himself to the ladder. He felt like he couldn't even move. But somehow he managed to climb down the ladder to collapse next to the wall. Two site medics hovered over him annoyingly. One bandaged his hand, which was bleeding. He hadn't even noticed. The other was making arrangements to take him out of the area. That's right. Strict policy - remove any injured workers as quickly as possible. No need to remind people of what could happen to them. Danziger had seen it happen before. He just never expected to be one of them.

*********

"C'mon! Don't you think you're overreacting? He's perfectly fine!"

Danziger could hear Markus' voice from his position lying on the cot in the tiny medical room on the site. Markus was arguing with the site's doctor, who had just informed the crew chief that Danziger was unfit to do any further work.

Danziger didn't hear the doctor's reply. Unlike Markus, the doctor wasn't raising his voice.

"He's only here for a four week contract. He's got ten days left! We can't send him home now."

Danziger closed his eyes. He was feeling pretty ambiguous. He would continue working, if that's what Markus wanted. Or he would go home, if that's what the doctor wanted. What he was not going to do, either way, was go back up that rope.

He opened his eyes when he realized he couldn't hear the argument any more. Markus stood in the doorway. He looked pissed off.

"How're you feeling?" he asked, concerned. "Honestly."

"Well," Danziger forced himself to sit up. "My head hurts, my hand's burnt, my other hand is uncoordinated, my right leg is numb, my shoulder is dislocated . . ."

"Hell!" Markus paced for a moment. "Maybe it's for the best. They don't want you to work anymore."

Danziger said nothing.

"It just makes me so mad!" Markus hit the wall. "It has nothing to do with how you're feeling. They just don't want anyone thinking about safety. OR LACK THEREOF!" This last part Markus directed out the open door, where the doctor and site manager were conferring. "John, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. It was an accident."

"I got them to pay you to end of the week. So you got three weeks, anyway."

"Sure. No problem."

*********

Markus was striding down the corridor at a great speed when Alex and Les caught up to him. They'd been looking for him after they heard what had happened to John. Unfortunately, the crew chief had been tied up in a meeting with Meahan since leaving Danziger in the medical room.

"Look I can't stop now. If you want to talk, walk with me," Markus said shortly. "Hell! What a day!"

"Markus," Alex said angrily, "what about Danziger?"

"What about him?"

Now Alex grabbed the man's arm and forced him to stop.

"Where is he? Is he alright? What HAPPENED?!"

Markus sighed. He turned to keep walking.

"Some idiot touched the ladder with the wires when testing the electrical current in the panel Danziger was working on. He happened to be on the ladder at the time and received a shock. He fell."

Alex's eyes were round with shock.

"My God!" Les said.

"He managed to grab his rope," Markus was shaking his head. "Hell if I know how; and so he got away with rope burn, dislocated shoulder, mild concussion and other assorted bruises. Oh, and the shock gave him some kind of paralysis on his right side."

"What?!" cried Les and Alex at the same time.

"Look, I fought with the doctor because I wanted him to get some hazard pay for the lousy safety conditions. But there was no way he was going to work again on this site. He's gone home now." Markus had reached the door. "I gotta go. He'll be alright, you'll see."

*********

Even though it was late Danziger went straight to the McMurphy's to pick up True. His bandaged hand was throbbing with pain; it seemed to hurt more now than it had at the time. His shoulder, expertly put back into place by the site doctor, wasn't feeling too happy either. He didn't want to take any pain killers because he had to be able to wake up if True needed him. He reached out for the buzzer and pushed it with his knuckles. Small muscle coordination would return the doctor assured him. Just when that would happen was a big question mark.

The door opened to Mr. McMurphy. Even though Danziger had never met him, he knew instantly who it was. Obviously the knowledge wasn't mutual because he stared at Danziger questioningly.

"Uh, I'm . . ."

"Mr. Danziger," Mrs. McMurphy came to the door. "We weren't expecting you until next week. Goodness! What happened to you?!" She pulled him in out of the corridor and examined him with concerned, motherly eyes.

"I had a bit of an accident. It cut my contract short. So I came for True."

She continued to inspect him carefully.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked, dubious.

"Yeah, I'm just tired. So I can take True off your hands and . . ."

"She hasn't been a spot of trouble," Mr. McMurphy joined in the conversation bobbing his head agreeably. "She's an adorable child."

"Uh, thanks," Danziger mumbled. His head was beginning to pound again.

Seeing that he was serious about taking his baby tonight, Marita gathered together True's belongings, such as they were, and handed her to John. He held her at an uncomfortable angle, due to his bad shoulder. Marita put the bag's strap over his right shoulder. His own kit was in a backpack, attached to both shoulders.

"Thanks a lot for taking her," Danziger said. "I'll let you know if I . . . well, you know. I'll be in touch."

She watched him limp down the corridor and then turned to her husband.

"That boy ...."

*********

Alex and Les returned after another three months had gone by. They had tried without success to contact Danziger several times in the interim. Even though Markus had assured her that Danziger had been alive and reasonably well when he left, Alex was convinced something terrible had happened to him.

So it wasn't too surprisingly that the first place they went upon their return was to Danziger's door. Unfortunately, he wasn't home. Les yawned and sat down by the door while Alex paced.

"When are you going to stop worrying about him?" Les asked wearily.

"I feel responsible," Alex said shortly.

"Honey, you are not responsible for John. You're not responsible for his baby. He can take care of himself just fine, if you'd let him."

Alex snorted with disbelief.

"You call falling off a 50 storey wall taking care of himself? What if he hasn't been able to work?"

"Then Financial Institutions Society will have foreclosed on him and they'll have thrown him into prison. And his baby is under HS care." Les was rubbing his eyes. "And it's all your fault," he added cruelly.

Alex was horrified. She sat down next to him.

"You don't think he's in prison do you? Maybe that's why we couldn't reach him."

Les didn't answer. It didn't matter what he said, she wouldn't listen anyway.

Just then Danziger strode around the corner towards his door. His tool kit was slung over his back and True was sitting in a sling across his front. One arm was holding her back protectively. He was wearing a cap, backwards.

"Hey! Guys! When did you get back?" His face split into a grin. "What's new? Did you finish the Meahan project? Come on in, come on in." He fiddled with the card key in the lock and finally got the door open. Silently, Les and Alex followed. This John was a far cry from the down and out imprisoned one they had just imagined.

He flung his tools down on the shelf next to their box, tossed the cap on the bed, and began to unstrap the baby sling.

"Have a seat, uh, somewhere. Tell me all about it."

Alex and Les were still speechless. Danziger plunked the baby down in her makeshift crib and went to get a bottle.

"You're limping," Alex said.

Danziger hesitated in his task, a little surprised at this observation. He smiled in an amused way.

"Only when the wind blows, my friend," he told her with a laugh, remembering his grandmother's expression.

Les burst out laughing then. All that worry. HA! Here was Danziger doing better than any of them. Alex didn't appreciate this display of humour. Danziger picked True back up and sat himself down to feed her.

"So?"

"So, last we heard, man, you were near death," Les supplied. Danziger looked amazed.

"Who told you that?"

"Markus."

"That's kinda funny, coming from a guy who tried to convince the doctor I was as fit as ever," Danziger grinned. "I'm fine."

"You're limping," Alex accused him. She couldn't let all the worry go. Danziger just laughed at her.

"You do look great, you know, especially considering the near death part," Les told him.

"Thanks. You guys, on the other hand, look exhausted." There was a pause and they listened to True sucking on the bottle.

"She's really grown a lot," Alex said awkwardly. Danziger practically beamed.

"Yeah. Here." He thrust True into Alex's arms. Alex accepted her gratefully, but True was not so happy. She began to cry. Danziger rolled his eyes.

"She's going through some kind of phase. She doesn't like to be held by strangers."

"Go figure," said Les.

"Well, it's worse than that actually. If I'm around, she won't be held by anyone else. Crazy really. You should see the fuss she causes when I leave her at Marita's to go for work. It's Hell!" He laughed a little, stroking True's head to try to calm her. It didn't work so he took her back from Alex. True's tiny face split into a grin. "Sometimes it's just easier to take her with me. Isn't it?" he asked the baby, rubbing noses with her. True had stopped fussing as soon as she was back in Danziger's arms. "Like today."

"Where were you today?" asked Alex, trying not to feel a little hurt that True considered her a stranger.

Danziger gestured towards the cap on the bed.

"Inspecting drives for the Port Authority."

Les picked up the cap, with its official logo over the brim.

"John Danziger working for the Council?" Les was incredulous. He shook his head. "I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"The Port Authority, not the Council," Danziger corrected him. "There's a big difference. Anyway," he grinned, "it was kinda nice to be pointing out problems instead of fixing them all the time. 'Course, if I point out enough of them I'm assured a job when they get around to putting a work detail on it!"

John looked from one friend to the other. They seemed a lot more subdued than he would have thought. Usually the end of a big job was a celebratory time. Payroll had just come in; something had been accomplished. It was usually very satisfying.

"What's up?" he asked seriously. "You guys look like you left your sense of humour in Section 8."

Alex looked over to Les. He sat up and tossed the cap back over to the bed.

"Alex was, well, actually WE were really quite worried about you. I guess it's a bit of a shock to discover that we didn't have to be."

"You guys." Danziger was silent a moment. "I was a mess when I got back here," he confessed. "I was pretty banged up. And pretty scared."

"Scared?" Alex asked.

Danziger didn't say anything for a moment.

"You know, when I was hanging onto that rope I came very close to .... to just letting go."

"Well, Markus said it was a miracle that you were able to stop your fall," said Les, not understanding him. Alex understood, however, and now her eyes were wide.

"No," Danziger smiled a sad smile. "I mean, I nearly let go of the rope on purpose."

"Oh, John," Alex whispered.

"I envy Elle sometimes. Her lack of pain. For a moment, hanging there .... I wanted to join her."

"What stopped you?" asked Les.

Danziger smiled again and bent his head to kiss the top of True's head. He looked at her with wonder.

"She did."

Alex came over to touch his cheek. She laid a hand on True's head. John put his free arm around her.

"I had a really bad day last month," he said sadly, not meeting Alex's eyes. "It has been a year now since, since her accident. I can't believe it. It still hurts so much."

He pulled away from Alex and went to put True in her crib. Sleepy and full, True didn't protest when he laid her down. He pinched her toes playfully. Without looking at his friends, he continued, "One thing about that accident, boy, it made me think about what would happen to this little girl if I wasn't around. If anything ever happens to me, please," now he looked at Alex, "please, take care of her."

Alex couldn't speak; it was Les who gruffly answered,

"Of course we will, John. You know that."

"Let me tell you something, John Danziger," Alex finally spoke, harshly. "I will care for your child as my own, in the event of some evil befalling you. As my own! But, if this evil is your own doing - forget it! So you can stop envying Elle and her lack of pain. She is the one who has pain. The pain of not being here with you and that baby! Do you understand me?!"

Danziger nodded.

*********

Danziger worked for the Port Authority for a while. He was right; as soon as they got around to fixing all the problems he was hired for the crew. Eventually, though, that contract was over and he found himself seeking work elsewhere. Some leads took him out to Section 3. He took True with him. He'd decided, sometime on the trip back from the Meahan project, that he wasn't going to leave True for work ever again.

So the Danzigers packed up their belongings and moved from their tiny unit. True was too young to be much aware of the change, but John felt a little tug on his heart to leave the place he and Elle had shared. He was also very sorry to leave behind Marita McMurphy, who'd been so much help to him in the first year and a half of True's life.

As True grew she never failed to amaze him with her curiosity and knowledge. He suspected he wasn't the first father to believe his child to possess greater than normal intelligence, but in True's case he felt justified.

He felt he would never forget the feeling of seeing her take her first unsteady steps away from him and into Alex's arms. Equally delighted as the proud father, Alex had swung True up into the air, a sure way to illicit some giggles.

He wasn't able to give her many toys and so True played mostly with her imagination and his tools. He took the hammer away from her as soon as she figured out how to bang it. Unfortunately, by that time it was too late - everything became a hammer after that. She also believed everything to do with his work was a potential plaything.

One time he was working on a small hydraulics unit in their room. He'd just finished taking it carefully apart, laying out the pieces in order so he wouldn't have any difficulties putting it all back together. Distracted but for a moment, he returned to his task to find True had not only rearranged the parts, but also swallowed some of them as well.

Another time he locked her in their unit while dashing out for groceries. When he got back to their door his card key wasn't working. Raising her on gear he was able to see that she'd taken apart the lock on the inside of the door.

Mainly the toys that True possessed came out of the crate that Alex had supplied him. She was especially fond of the stuffed cat. During one particularly hasty move, when True was about four years old, the cat got left behind somehow. Danziger searched high and low, taking apart all of their belongings to find that cat. True would not sleep without it and there were many nights with many tears. He even contacted a friend back near their old neighbourhood to see if the cat could be found and sent to them. No luck. Then he went on a hunt to replace it, also without success. The cat had been handmade by the grandmother of one of Alex's friends. It was irreplaceable. After that, True would have nothing to do with stuffed animals. The incident saddened Danziger as it seemed to him she was pretty young to be afraid to love something for fear of losing it.

*********

"Danziger! Wait a sec!" Danziger turned to see who was hailing him. It was Markus. He hadn't seen Markus in a long time; almost three years actually, as Danziger swiftly calculated it. They must have been working in different Sections since then.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked as Markus reached him. The other man grinned. It was typical, Markus figured, that Danziger would greet him as though they'd just seen each other last week. Well, they weren't what you would call close friends, more work acquaintances. But Markus had a lot of respect for Danziger. He wouldn't have tracked him down if it were otherwise.

"I've got to talk to you," Markus said seriously. "Let me buy you a drink?"

Danziger hesitated. He knew it must be something serious for Markus to offer a drink, and yet he really should be getting back to True. Mind you, wherever Markus was, there was work. Contracts seemed to stick to the man like a strong adhesive.

"Sure," he agreed.

The conversation on the way to the bar was idle chitchat; getting caught up and so forth. Danziger told him True was not only walking (running, more like it) but also talking, talking, talking, and talking some more. She had recently taken on a very maternal attitude with her father, reversing their roles whenever it suited her needs. A confirmed bachelor, with no offspring (that he knew of, anyway) Markus laughed heartily. He ordered the drinks and they sat in the corner. Danziger took a sip cautiously. What was up?

"You know Devon Adair?" Markus asked.

Danziger put down his drink. This was a surprise. There weren't many people who hadn't at least heard of Devon Adair. She was a wealthy and successful woman who had power and influence. Danziger didn't need to know her to know that he disliked her. She represented a class that had been oppressing Danziger all his life.

"Not personally. I've worked for her company a couple of times but I've never met her."

Markus nodded. This was what he'd expected.

"Did you know she has a son with the Syndrome?"

Danziger took another sip.

"Yeah, I'd heard that," he finally said. Inwardly he was thanking all known gods, and a few yet to be discovered, that his child was healthy. The Syndrome was every parent's worst nightmare. He'd been spared that. Devon Adair was a high profile person. That her baby had recently been diagnosed with the fatal disease had made all the news releases. Even Danziger, who didn't have time to keep up-to-date with all the news of the stations, had heard this one.

"Have you heard of her plan to save him?" was Markus' next question.

"No." Danziger was really surprised now. From what he knew of the Syndrome it was incurable. If Devon Adair had a plan to save her baby, it must be something really new. Really different. "How does she plan on doing that?"

"Danziger." Now Markus seemed to hesitate. "This is highly classified info I've got. Not beyond your ears, right?" Danziger nodded so Markus continued, "She has a plan to colonize another planet. It's her theory, and her doctor's theory, that the Syndrome is brought on by a lack of a natural environment."

"You're kidding me!" Danziger started to laugh, but he stopped abruptly when he realized Markus wasn't laughing too. "Are you serious? Another planet? What other planet? Where is this other planet?"

Markus didn't say anything but took another drink from his glass. Danziger was still absorbing the news.

"If what you're saying is true then the very environments that Adair has been creating all these years are responsible for the disease that's killing her child. Now that's what I'd call irony!" Danziger wasn't meaning to be cruel. He would not wish the disease on any child. But it did seem to him to be some kind of justice that the means of Devon Adair's wealth could be part of the reason for her son's illness. He looked to Markus for more details.

"Yeah, well, she probably doesn't like to dwell on that, but in a way you're right. She is looking to find another inhabitable planet, to colonize with families of Syndrome children. She's going to send out at least two ships. Right now it's all hush-hush, you know how the Council operates. But pretty soon it's gonna blow sky high. Especially if she finds a planet that's suitable."

Danziger, once he took hold of what Markus was telling him, began to wonder exactly why Markus was having this conversation with him.

"I wish her the best of luck," he said to Markus. "The Syndrome is a horrible disease." As a parent, he could understand that better than Markus.

"John." Markus could see that Danziger wasn't really grasping the news. "This could mean a very profitable contract."

Now Danziger choked on his drink. Markus' intentions had become clear. He was recruiting.

"Hey, man," Danziger put down his glass and wiped his mouth with his hand, "you know I appreciate all the work you throw my way ...."

"I still feel bad about that Meahan contract," Markus interrupted him. Danziger swatted his hand in a 'forget-about-it' gesture. He wasn't thinking about the past; his mind was on this future project.

"What you're talking about, I mean, first of all it may never happen ...."

"You don't know Devon Adair!" Markus chuckled.

"And secondly," continued Danziger, "assuming she finds a planet - it's got to be way, WAY, out there. I can't go that far away. I've got a kid to look after. We're talking about years in cold sleep."

"Take her." Two words. Markus was dead serious. Danziger sat back in his chair contemplating the information. He didn't know what to say. Markus leaned forward earnestly, "Look, John, I came to you because you're one of the best there is in Ops. She is looking for the best. She is going to pay unheard of salaries for this. She is serious. She is very serious."

Their drinks were over. And so was the conversation. Markus stood up to go.

"Think about it John. Keep it under your hat, but think about it. This job could give you enough credit to wipe out any debts. You could give True a proper education." Their eyes locked.

"Thanks for the tip," Danziger managed, and then Markus was gone. A moment later, Danziger left the bar heading for home, his mind reeling with possibilities.

*********

Danziger held onto True tightly as they rode the empty transport shute. The shute was empty because it was still too early for people to be going to work. Danziger held his daughter tightly because he didn't really want to be going where they were headed. He'd not had work for over five weeks now; they were going to HS to apply for a Food Credit under the Services for Children Provision.

Humanitarian Services provided Food Credit for families with children but made the process difficult, complicated, and humiliating in order to discourage people from taking advantage of the system. To qualify for the credit, parents had to have the child or children with them. (Conversely, children had to have parents in order to apply for assistance; which meant that the most needy of children, orphans, received no help at all.) The more children per family, the less credit per child the family received. This was part of an ill-conceived regulation to try to discourage people from having more than one child.

Danziger had visited the Food Credit division of HS before. When he was a teenager, he'd gone to the office with his mother, his brothers and his sister. As the oldest child, he'd tried to support his mother through the experience by looking out for his siblings. Danziger could remember standing in the long lineup for hours, carrying his sister alternately on his shoulders and his back. He remembered giving one of his little brothers a smack on the side of his head for running off. He remembered breaking up a fight between his other brother and some of the orphaned kids hanging out in the office looking for handouts. He remembered thinking that after he grew too old to qualify for his family he would never have to enter that office again. Well, he was wrong.

It was important to go early in the morning, before the office was open, because once the office closed you lost your place in line and had to try again the following day. It was important to prepare yourself for having to spend most of the day waiting. You had to bring certain very specific documentation to prove who you were and who the child was and that the two of you belonged to each other. Without the documents, you would be automatically disqualified. This kind of bureaucratic nonsense really infuriated Danziger, especially considering it was extremely easy to verify identity with both the parent and the child present. In fact, they often would verify identity even if proper documentation was produced.

Danziger had tried to tell True where they were going and why, but he didn't think she really understood. He hated to put her through this when she was still so young but he was at the very end of his credit. Unless he got some help then the Financial Institutions Society was going to be breathing down his neck something fierce. That could mean the loss of True altogether. As much as Danziger didn't want to take True to HS, he didn't want her to end up hanging around the HS offices looking for handouts because she didn't have a parent to look after her.

Early as it was they were not the first family to arrive outside the locked gateway to HS. The people waiting quietly in the corridor had probably spent the night in line. Danziger guessed that maybe they were families who had not received assistance yesterday, so they had remained outside the door in order to be sure of being helped. This did not bode well for the day. Danziger leaned up against the wall and hugged True to him. It seemed he wasn't the only one out of work.

Promptly at 8:00 a.m. the gate swung open and the families shuffled in, to take up their places before the five cubicles available. Danziger estimated that it took an average of twenty minutes to process a family with one child. Most of the families ahead of him had multiple children which lengthened the time exponentially. Judging by the group before him, Danziger figured it would be mid afternoon before he and True would be processed.

Holding tightly to his hand, True craned her neck around to take in the entire room and all the people crammed into it. There were many babies held in arms; some were crying, others nursing, still others sleeping. Back beyond her view she could hear an argument, but she couldn't understand the language that was being yelled. Whoever they were, they sounded angry. True snuck a quick look up at her Dad's face. It was locked in the grim expression she'd seen all too often these days. She'd give anything to make him smile.

"Daddy?" True asked, softly. He gave her hand a light squeeze and knelt down beside her.

"What True-girl?" he asked, using her special nickname that only he could use.

"Are we gonna be here all day?"

The grim expression became even more grim, although True would not have previously thought that possible.

"I think so, sweetie. It's not going to be a fun day."

*********

Danziger sat outside Commander Broderick O'Neill's office and fidgeted nervously with his idle hands. His hands weren't used to being idle. He didn't like waiting. He thought back on that conversation with Markus in the bar two years ago. After a few days, he'd let it slip his mind. But not long after it was all over the news. Markus had been absolutely right on one account anyway. It had blown sky high. The Adair project, or Eden Project as it had come to be known, was creating waves that rippled throughout all Sections. She had found a planet.

Danziger had thrown his application in without really considering what he would do if offered a job. He was lucky to have been in on the early warning from Markus. The unheard of salaries so casually discussed in the bar had become reality. Devon Adair wanted the best people working for her and, considering what she was asking them to do, she had to offer an attractive package to get them. However, the large pay package offered had attracted interest from a lot of people and now Danziger found himself at a job interview.

The problem was - he still didn't know if he wanted the job.

"John Danziger." His thoughts came back to his dilemma as his name was called and he was ushered into O'Neill's office.

He was surprised to find only Commander O'Neill in the office. He'd assumed that there would be others involved in the selection process. He'd half expected to see Devon Adair there. When he realized she was not he felt something close to disappointment. In a way he'd been looking forward to meeting her. He wanted to see the woman who was creating such a fuss from the highest echelons of the Council down to the lowest corners of the quadrant.

Danziger purposely did not sit in the chair offered to him. He looked down at Broderick O'Neill and adopted his usual stance of defiance. He couldn't help it. These people brought out the worst in him. He hated always having to be at the mercy of someone else for his work. O'Neill wasn't paying that much attention to him anyway. He was too busy reading Danziger's file.

"Mr. Danziger," O'Neill said, "you have an impressive job history."

"Thanks," Danziger said shortly.

"You seem to have worked on an amazing number of projects. You've even worked for Devon Adair in the past."

There were no questions yet so Danziger didn't say anything. He shoved his fidgeting hands into his pockets so that it wouldn't be so obvious how uncomfortable he was.

"Tell me something." Now O'Neill looked him right in the eyes, "Why did you leave your job with ExoTech?"

Years of practice at dealing with management and upper crust bureaucrats gave Danziger the ability to hide his feelings. He put on a mask that gave him the appearance of coolness. Inside he was seething. Only a quick thought of True saved him from storming out of the Commander's office right then and there. Of course, O'Neill knew all about ExoTech; or he wouldn't be asking.

"ExoTech and I had irreconcilable differences," he said stonily. Inside his pockets his hands were clenched into tight fists.

"You mean you were fired?" asked O'Neill, his eyes never leaving Danziger's. Those eyes were searching for something. Danziger did not look away.

"Their mistake cost one of my mechanics her life." Danziger's mind was spinning with one word: True, True, True, True.

"Wasn't it your mistake?"

"No. It was not." Danziger managed to keep eye contact with O'Neill, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to continue along this line. "What has ExoTech got to do with this contract?"

Whatever answer O'Neill may have had was interrupted by the door opening and a woman bursting through. She was an attractive brunette who looked as though she could have used a good night's sleep. Worry had etched lines on her young face and her eyes held a frustrated, harassed expression.

"We've got another problem!" she said, ignoring Danziger completely. In fact, he suspected she didn't even see him there at all. He stepped aside, grateful for the time it gave him to regain his composure. The mention of ExoTech always upset him.

"Idiots! Complete idiots!" O'Neill was saying as he conferred with the woman. Danziger realized then, that this must be Devon Adair. She wasn't at all how he expected her to be. He expected her to be a lot older. He guessed she was probably about the same age as him, maybe even younger. This bothered him, for some reason.

Having received the information for which she'd interrupted the interview, Devon glanced up, finally, at Danziger.

"Ops?" she asked. He nodded. The sheer power of her personality had steamrolled him. This was a woman who got things done. He understood now why Markus had been so confident in the project.

"Good. At least something is going right today." And with that she left.

Danziger turned back to O'Neill. The older man was clearly distracted by whatever news Devon Adair had brought to him. With difficulty, he pulled himself back to focus on the mechanic.

"You're a very experienced and well respected man," O'Neill said. "We want you to head up the Operations Crew for our Advance ship."

Danziger was stunned. He'd expected the standard 'We'll call you if we need you' speech. Or maybe the 'We'll see what we can get you' speech. He'd even considered the possibility of a 'We'll put you on the Crew' speech. In which case, he would have had to decide whether or not he was going to take the job. What O'Neill was offering was the position that Danziger assumed Markus had already landed.

"Wait a sec'," Danziger said, "A minute ago you were accusing me of negligence. Now you want me to lead an Ops Crew? How does that work?"

"I didn't accuse you of anything, Mr. Danziger," O'Neill said carefully. "Are you interested in taking the position or not?"

Danziger hesitated. He opened his mouth to say something and shut it again immediately. This was a much more lucrative job than he'd anticipated. How could he decline it? But what about True? The planet Adair had found was over 20 light years away. Danziger sat down in the chair opposite O'Neill's desk.

"I have a daughter ...." he began. O'Neill was busy with other things. His time for Danziger was clearly over.

"Bring her along. God knows we've got plenty of children on this trip." The office door opened again and O'Neill's assistant stood in the doorway. "Please let us know by the end of the week. Thank you."

With that, Danziger was shown the door and he found himself standing in the corridor with even more on his mind than when he went in.

*********

As Danziger put together their meal, True chatted away about her day, completely oblivious to her father's distraction. It seemed to Danziger that True had not stopped talking from the first day she'd opened her mouth to speak. He tuned her out easily while turning over his interview in his mind. Then he realized True was expecting an answer from him. Oops.

"What was that, baby?" he asked, trying to focus.

"I said, Evelyn Jackson came to see you."

"Who?"

"Ev-el-lyn Jack-son," True pronounced carefully. "She wants to make dinner for you." She watched his reaction cautiously.

Danziger blinked, thinking 'Who the Hell is Evelyn Jackson?'

"Who?" he asked again, knowing that there was probably more to this but True was testing him.

"Daddy!" True scolded, secretly pleased that he hadn't remembered the attractive woman. "Evelyn Jackson. You fixed her shelves, remember?" True prompted. "And now she wants to make dinner for you. To thank you."

Danziger remembered the woman now. He was glad he hadn't been at home.

"She seemed disappointed not to see you," True said, innocently.

Danziger frowned. True could be very headstrong and saucy with adults she didn't like. She was only a kid, but she wasn't dumb.

"What did you tell her?" he asked. When she looked at her plate and didn't answer right away Danziger feared the worst. "True? What did you tell her?" he asked again, more sharply.

"I said you were away," True said, not meeting his gaze. She looked over at the wall like there was something very interesting on it.

"And?" prompted Danziger, knowing there was more.

"And that you weren't coming back for a while so she shouldn't expect to hear from you real soon." True stuck out her chin, waiting for the lecture.

Danziger didn't want Evelyn Jackson to do anything for him. He'd helped her out because she was a friend of one of his buddies, but he didn't like her very much. She was too helpless for his taste. So if True had scared her off, this was a good thing. But he couldn't let True get away with telling lies and being rude. Not that Evelyn would have believed the little girl. If Danziger had left town, True would have been with him.

"True, you shouldn't say things that aren't true," he began in as serious a tone as he could muster. She began to giggle at the repetition of her name. He reached out and mussed her hair. "You rascal! Don't be so rude - it's not nice."

"OK." True was relieved that Dad wasn't too upset at her. His spare time was very precious and True didn't want him spending any of it with another woman. True was the only woman in his life and she wanted to keep it that way.

*********

"Tell me a story," True demanded. Danziger was putting his daughter to bed. He pulled up her blanket.

"OK, there once was this beautiful princess . . ."

"What's a princess?" True interrupted. Danziger smiled and pushed her hair off her face.

"A princess, um, a princess is a lady of great wealth, beauty and power, who rules over the people and is loved by all."

"OK. Go on," True said.

"There once was this beautiful princess who lived in the quadrant ...."

"Why would she live in the quadrant if she was rich and powerful?" True interrupted again.

"Because ...." Danziger thought for a moment, "because she wanted to be a mechanic just like her Dad." He tickled True gently on her stomach.

Now True was giggling.

"Daddy! I'm not a princess!"

"You are to me, sweetie," Danziger said, and bent down so that their noses rubbed. True giggled again. He kissed her. "That's all for a story tonight. Go to sleep."

"But Daddy!" True's protest was cut off by a large yawn that split her face open. Her eyes closed. Danziger sat by her until she was breathing deeply. Watching her put a smile on his face. He leaned back against the wall and considered his job interview. Remembering that, and remembering another interview, made him scowl.

*********

His meeting with the management at ExoTech, almost seven years ago, could have been called an exit interview. He had been too upset and frustrated to think of it in any clear way. Someone had to be at fault for Eleanor Moore's accident and, in the minds of the ExoTech brass, that someone was John Danziger. It certainly wasn't the fault of the company.

"Why were you working without a drone?" asked the Director of Safety (a position that obviously had no responsibility in Danziger's opinion, considering how poor the safety conditions were).

"Why didn't you give us a drone that worked properly?" shot back Danziger, weary of all these questions. He'd already been grilled by the Station Incident Investigators. He'd already faced accusations of negligence that he would have previously thought impossible to imagine.

"You could have waited for another drone to be sent to you," pointed out the Director of Resources. When Danziger didn't respond he added as a prompt, "Couldn't you?"

"I tried to requisition another drone, but there wasn't one available. It would have cost us the day." Even to Danziger, it sounded very feeble, especially in light of what had been lost. He doubted the Directors could understand what it was like to need every payroll credit. A lost day of work for Danziger and Elle was worth more than a month for the ExoTech managers.

"The day," repeated the Director of Ops, as if to emphasize the poor excuse. He flipped through the Station Incident Investigation Report. "Who proposed taking the space walk without the drone?"

"I did."

"So you were the one who sent Ms. Eleanor Moore and the others out without the required safety precautions in place?" Safety asked for clarification.

"I made the proposal. Everyone agreed to it. If anyone had been uncomfortable with the idea, we wouldn't have done it." If Elle had told me, if only she'd told me, Danziger thought. I would never have let her space walk, drone or no drone.

"Whose idea was it that Eleanor Moore be on the team to do the space walk?" asked Ops.

"Mine."

"I see." Ops added a note to his pad.

"If I could add something?" Danziger asked icily. Ops nodded. "I was also on that space walk."

"Were the others able to witness how Ms. Moore's equipment failed?" asked Resources. Danziger turned to face this Director. In his head he could still hear Elle's voice begging him to help her, her breath becoming uneven gasps as her oxygen was cut off.

"No one saw how it happened."

"Not even you?" Resources asked quickly. "But weren't you there?"

"I was further down the side of the hull. I wasn't watching her; I was working!"

"Mr. Danziger," Safety began, "It is no secret that you and Ms. Moore had a relationship ...."

"That is not relevant," Danziger said stonily.

"It is relevant if you had some reason to wish her to come to harm."

It was so quiet in the room that Danziger could hear the sound of the lights humming. Something in him that had been holding him together for the past week snapped.

"I loved her." He stood up so quickly his chair fell over backwards. "I loved her. I would never hurt her. And if you think I did, well, then you don't know me at all. I don't think we have anything else to say to each other." He strode towards the door.

"Mr. Danziger!" Ops called sharply, "if you walk out that door I don't think you should bother showing up for work tomorrow!"

Danziger didn't even glance back.

*********

Now, over six years later, Danziger still felt angry at the injustice of it. They had blamed him but never formally charged him with anything. So he had lost his job.

Not that he hadn't worked for ExoTech since that time. ExoTech was one of the largest employers of Operations crews in the quadrant. Danziger had done several jobs for ExoTech, as relief crew, without having to be directly employed by the company. Still, alienating ExoTech had not brought him any long contracts and had labelled him as "difficult" and "resistant to authority."

Commander O'Neill had known all of this when looking at Danziger's personnel file. So why had he asked those questions? To see how Danziger would react? To try to upset him on purpose? O'Neill had obviously already decided to offer Danziger the job; what was the point of dragging old history into it?

John looked down at his sleeping daughter. He'd hauled her all over the quadrant in search of jobs. Mechanics were nomadic people; they followed the work. Could he haul her right across the galaxy? It was dangerous, but so were many other jobs he took on without thinking much about them. Any space walk he did could make True an orphan and on average he probably did one of those a month. Always with a drone, of course.

But he had never taken True on a space walk with him.

*********

In the morning True was slower than normal getting ready to go. Danziger rushed around getting together his tools and trying to feed her. She said she wasn't hungry. Danziger hadn't slept well; he'd had too much on his mind. So his temper wasn't exactly intact. True ended up in tears and the meal never got eaten. Gathering his tool kit, Danziger pulled True up onto his back.

"C'mon, baby, I'm late!"

She hung on tightly as he rushed through the corridor to catch the shuttle. He took her with him whenever he could. She was old enough now to wander freely around wherever he was working. It was not uncommon for other Ops crew to bring their children as well. She was also learning how to use her hands and could be very helpful with small tasks.

She was certainly more useful than his latest apprentice, Andy. Danziger was convinced that Andy was out to kill himself, he was so clumsy. Some people just weren't cut out for the work. Danziger just hoped Andy didn't end up hurting someone else. However, whatever he lacked in motor skills, Andy made up for in enthusiasm and he had proven himself to be a fine babysitter. Although, sometimes Danziger suspected that True did his work for him.

While Danziger handled Andy, True wandered off. He didn't worry too much about her; there was no place dangerous she could go. Eventually, hunger would bring her back to him; probably sooner today, since she hadn't eaten her breakfast. That was odd, too; she usually devoured breakfast. Danziger didn't dwell on it and soon he was distracted by Andy's attempt to weld his wrench to a Zero unit.

Later in the afternoon Danziger sent Andy in search of True, who had remained elusive all day. He had another errand to do.

*********

Danziger surveyed the crowded bar looking for Markus. He knew that Markus would be here, it was just a matter of finding him in the crush of people. He finally spotted the crew chief sitting by himself at the far end of the bar. Danziger pushed through the mob until he was at Markus' side.

"Hey," he said to get the chief's attention. Markus looked up at him with eyes that were beginning to blur.

"Danziger!" Markus grinned. "Sit down. Drink?"

Danziger declined the drink but took the stool, placing his clipboard on the bar. He hadn't made up his mind about the job yet, and before he did, he needed to know something.

"Markus, why aren't you heading up the Ops crew for the Eden Project?"

"I didn't apply for the job," Markus said, bluntly.

"Why not?" Danziger was amazed.

"Didn't want it." Markus took a swig from his drink.

"I don't get it. You come to me, what two years ago? To tell me of this great contract, unheard of salary, serious, serious work - and YOU don't apply for the job. There's something more here. What is it?"

"You know, I've been working for Devon Adair for years," Markus said. "Good company. Better safety record than most. She doesn't like ExoTech." Markus glanced up at Danziger at the mention of his former employer. Danziger didn't even blink. "When this thing first started up, when I first came to tell you about it, she asked me to find the best Ops crew I could. I gathered in the best people I could think of from all the work I've done. I gave her a list of them all, including you. I also gave her a short list for Crew Chiefs, including you. But I'm not going to G889."

"So, any reason why I should go?"

Markus shook his head.

"You'd be a fool not to take this one, John."

"In good company with you then."

Now Markus looked Danziger full in the eyes. Danziger could see he'd been drinking a lot. He was not as sober as John had first thought.

"John, I don't have any family. No one is counting on me to provide for them. I don't have any debts. No, no, no, this is not some kind of judgement I'm making on you," Markus rushed to explain as Danziger squirmed in his seat. "I'm lucky. I always have work. I don't need this job the way that someone else might."

Danziger snorted at Markus' attempt to be diplomatic.

"Someone like me."

"I don't want to go 22 light years away. People not even born yet will be older than me when I get back. What good will all my contacts be then? I'd have to start all over."

"I have a little girl who's six. She'll be over 50 when I get back. What about that?"

"Take her with you, John," Markus urged as he grabbed Danziger's arm. "I can't believe O'Neill would refuse you. I know that Adair wouldn't. She certainly understands the lengths a parent will go for a child."

Danziger thought of how easily O'Neill had told him True could come. The commander must have known about her, just like he knew about ExoTech. Danziger wondered what kind of recommendation Markus had given the people on his short list.

"You're one of the best there is, John. That's why they want you."

*********

Danziger hesitated outside the bar, still undecided about his job offer. Whatever else Markus may be, he was currently intoxicated and Danziger certainly wasn't going to take the job based solely on his advice. There was too much at stake. He flipped through the file on the Eden Project that was on his clipboard.

"Mr. Danziger! Mr. Danziger!" Danziger turned to see Andy hurrying towards him. The boy was out of breath from running. He bent over, gasping.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter? What are you doing here?" Danziger asked, reaching out an arm to steady the boy. Then he frowned. "Where's True? Isn't she with you?"

Andy had caught his breath by now and stood up.

"That's why I came to get you. She's sick."

Danziger's heart leapt into his throat. True sick? True never got sick. She'd nursed Danziger through a few nasty bouts of 'flu but she seemed immune to all disease.

"What do you mean sick? Sick how?" Danziger asked as he started back in the direction from which Andy had come at a fast gait. Andy followed.

"I don't know."

"What do you know then?" Danziger snapped angrily, picking up the pace a little.

"I .... I went to find her just like you asked and she was sitting in the corner by all the equipment sleeping. When I tried to wake her up she was all sweaty, like with a fever. She didn't know who I was. She was really cold so I got her a blanket and then came for you."

Danziger recognized the sound in Andy's voice. It was fear. They'd reached the transport shute.

"You left her there?! All alone?" Danziger grabbed hold of the young man as they entered the shute.

"No, Alex Wentworth showed up looking for you. She's with True."

Danziger felt the panic ebb a little. Alex would look after True.

They arrived at the walkway high above the bay where Danziger had been working. Across the other side Danziger could see Alex sitting, with True in her arms, by the equipment rack. He ran down the corridor to the elevator and slammed his hand on the call button. Slowly, rattling, the elevator began its ascent from the bay below. Danziger leaned over the edge of the railing to monitor its progress. Alex looked up at him. She was rocking True.

The elevator was taking too long for Danziger. Without much thought he handed Andy his clipboard and grabbed hold of the emergency pole. Swiftly, he climbed over the railing and swung himself over to the pole.

"Mr. Danziger!" Andy cried out with alarm. That was another problem with Andy; he was afraid of heights.

Danziger hadn't been this high up without a safety harness since the day he'd fallen on the Meahan project. He didn't even spare it a thought as he slid easily down the pole and ran over to Alex and True.

True was covered in sweat and breathing hoarsely.

"True, baby?" Danziger placed a hand on her face. She was burning up. Still in Alex's arms, True began to shiver. Danziger pulled the blanket tighter around his daughter and scooped her into his arms. "What is it? What's wrong with her?" he asked Alex, who stood up next to him.

"I don't know, John," she said, with concern her eyes.

"I'm going to take her to the hospital," he announced, as Andy finally made it to the scene. Alex followed.

*********

They sat in the waiting room on the emergency level. Danziger held True tightly, as though he could squeeze the fever right out of her. He spoke to her softly, telling her everything was going to be OK, but it was doubtful she heard him. She didn't seem to be aware of who he was. Every once in a while Alex would stroke his arm for comfort.

They had to wait a long time. This was because this emergency level was for people who didn't have hospital insurance credit. The only other time Danziger had been down here was when a member of his crew had been injured and there hadn't been a medic on the site. It was a crowded, dark, sad room filled with suffering and misery. The incident with the crew member had depressed Danziger for weeks afterwards. It also angered him that just one floor up was a spacious, clean, nearly empty waiting room for emergency victims who did have hospital insurance credit.

Eventually, Alex had to leave. She had only been passing through on her way out to Section 5 and had stopped at the site to say hello.

"John, I will stay with you, if you want," she told him, seriously. He put on what he hoped was a brave smile.

"Don't be silly. She's gonna be fine, as soon as I can get a doctor to see her. You go on. I'll be in touch."

She gave him a kiss and laid a hand on True's head before leaving.

Some time later - it felt like days to Danziger but was only hours - he was called into a cramped examining area by a nurse. The doctor he faced was so young Danziger suspected he must still be a student. Well, who else would be working for people who couldn't pay? He laid True onto the examining table.

"I'm Doctor Barnes," the young man said wearily, in a tone that said he didn't really care who Danziger was. "What's wrong?"

"You tell me, man, you're the doctor." Danziger's patience, tenuous at the best of times, was long gone.

Barnes stretched out his fingers, causing several knuckles to pop and then began scanning True with his diaglove.

"How long has she been feverish?"

" 'Bout eight, maybe eight and a half hours." Danziger held onto True's hand; her small fingers were locked in a tight fist.

Barnes gently reached up with his free hand and pushed Danziger away from True. Danziger bristled.

"I don't need your vital signs getting in the way," Barnes explained, impatiently. His arms empty and his hands now free, Danziger ran his fingers through his hair. Feeling self-conscious, and helpless, he crossed his arms.

"Any other unusual symptoms?" asked Barnes in a bored way.

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"Dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, rash, stomach ache . . ."

Danziger thought about True not eating breakfast. He also thought that the last time he'd seen True had been just after breakfast. How could he have let the whole day go by without checking on her?

"She wasn't hungry this morning. That was unusual."

Barnes was finished his scan and now reached back to pick up a syringe.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Danziger, nervously. Barnes didn't answer. Danziger grabbed the doctor's arm as he went to inject something in True's neck. "I asked you a question: what are you doing?"

"My job," Barnes said icily, making eye contact with Danziger for the first time. Danziger didn't let go of the doctor.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Let go of me," Barnes said coldly.

"Tell me what's wrong with her!" Danziger raised his voice. What he would have liked to do was to pick up the scrawny youngster and throw him across the room. He could have, and probably would have, except that he needed the doctor's help. True needed the doctor's help.

"She has a flu strain called kynectosis."

"Kynectosis? What the hell is that?"

"It's a very common virus affecting children under the age of ten. It's dangerous, sometimes fatal. It can be very easily prevented with immu shots." Now Danziger understood the source of the doctor's tone. Danziger was a poor drone which was nothing more than an uneducated idiot in this doctor's eyes. A fool, an idiot, and a pathetic excuse for a father because he hadn't immunized his daughter against potentially dangerous flu strains. He let go of Barnes' arm and took a step backwards. The doctor made the injection.

"Here, hold this," Barnes ordered as he pulled an oxygen mask over True's head. Danziger held her head with both hands, his large fingers pressing gently down on the mask. The doctor had gone back to scanning. In the silence between them Danziger could hear the sounds of the others, still waiting, in the outer room. How many more people would this doctor see tonight?

"Is she gonna be OK?" he asked Barnes, when the doctor finished his second scan.

"Yes," was the doctor's short response. 'No thanks to you.' was his tone. He turned to make up a prescription.

"She should be immunized against all flu strains. Next time maybe she won't be this lucky."

"Sure," agreed Danziger, sarcastically. "And if came to a choice between putting food in her mouth or immu shots in her arm I'm sure you'd be preaching the same thing." He gave the doctor a hard look. "You think I didn't get her the shots because I don't care? She hasn't had them because I can't afford them. Because in my book eating and having a place to sleep is more important than some expensive protection against the possibility of getting sick." Barnes looked away, uncomfortable.

True's breathing was more regular and her body more relaxed. Barnes removed the oxygen mask; Danziger left his hands on her head, stroking her hair away from her face.

"Can I take her home?"

"Sure. Just watch her temperature carefully. If it goes up, or if it stays for more than two days, bring her back." Barnes handed him the prescription. Danziger pocketed the drugs and bent over to pick up his daughter. "Wait a sec'." Barnes stopped him. Danziger straightened, surprised. Barnes was loading up another syringe.

"What're you doing now?" Danziger asked, suspiciously.

"Immu," Barnes said without looking at him. He held the medication out to the mechanic but Danziger made no move to take the syringe.

"Do you know how much those shots cost?" Danziger asked him.

"No," Barnes admitted frankly. "Not really. But I do know how much they can cost. This is part of your ER visit; I'm not going to bill you." Danziger slowly reached out and took the drugs from the younger man.

The doctor and the mechanic stared at one another. Some kind of understanding between them was reached. Danziger nodded.

"Thank you," he said slowly.

"You're welcome. Your little girl is welcome," Barnes responded. "Now take her home and put her to bed."

*********

When Danziger got back to their unit he found Andy asleep by the door. He gave the young man a nudge with his toe. Andy opened his eyes slowly, then, realizing who was standing over him, he leapt to his feet.

"Here." Danziger handed him the key card. "Help me with the door."

Once inside, Danziger laid True on the bed. It had been a long day, and he hadn't slept much last night. Wearily, he turned to Andy.

"Is she alright now?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Danziger said with more confidence than he felt. Andy looked visibly relieved. "What are you doing here?" Danziger asked.

Andy held out the clipboard Danziger had been using earlier.

"You forgot this."

Slowly, Danziger reached out for the clipboard, his eyes never leaving Andy's. As his fingers closed around the board he could see that he hadn't closed the file before giving it to his apprentice. There was the Eden Project info open for all to read. Damn!

"You waited all night by my door just to give this to me? Why?"

"I figured it was important," Andy said.

"Thanks," Danziger mumbled, wondering if Andy had read the file. Andy was an innocent kid but it must have tempted him. Right now Danziger was more concerned with getting rid of Andy or he was going to be asleep on his feet. "I probably won't be at work tomorrow. You think you can manage without me?"

"Right. Sure." Andy stirred himself and headed for the door. Danziger turned back towards the bed. "Uh, Mr. Danziger?" Andy stood in the open doorway.

"What?" Danziger didn't turn around. He yawned.

"You're putting together a crew for that Adair project aren't you?"

Now Danziger slowly turned back to face Andy. He took a deep breath.

"You read the file." It was a statement; not a question. Andy looked at his shoes. Danziger sighed, "I don't want to talk about it now."

"I want to go." Andy looked back up and took a step closer to Danziger, back into the room. "I want to be on that crew."

"Go home, Andy," Danziger said, rubbing his eyes. "This isn't the time for this."

"But ...."

"Andy!" Danziger barked, "I just spent nearly eight hours on the emergency floor; I don't need this right now. Go home!" Andy backed away, right into the door. Danziger regretted his outburst. More gently he added, "I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

"Right. I'm glad.... " Andy was out the door now, "I'm glad she's feeling better."

Danziger closed the door behind the boy.

*********

Andy was a little late for work the next day and he was feeling a little the worse for wear having gotten most of his sleep on the floor outside the Danziger unit. After leaving his chief he hadn't been able to sleep at all. He knew he'd overstepped his boundaries and now he wondered what Danziger would do.

There was some grumbling amongst the other crew members over Danziger's absence. This irked Andy. His lack of sleep and anxiety made him bold.

"Hey! Cut him some slack! True is sick. He spent most of the night at the hospital. I think we can manage one day without him, don't you?!" Surprised at the harshness of the apprentice's tone and by the information the mechanics looked at each other uncomfortably. True was a favourite amongst the crew; she was everyone's little girl. Disgusted, Andy turned away and went to work.

*********

Danziger showed up at the site in the afternoon. He was in a hurry because he didn't want to leave True alone for very long. Her fever was down and she was sleeping like a log which was a great relief to him. But he needed to see Andy.

It was very quiet at the site and Danziger sensed uneasiness as he walked past the crew. No one spoke to him. What was wrong with everyone? Geez, had Andy told them?

"Hey, McMann!" he called, "Where's Andy?" McMann jerked his head in the direction of the far end of the bay. Danziger's eyes followed and he could spot Andy working alone. Danziger looked back down at McMann. "What the hell's the matter with everyone?"

McMann gave a little chuckle.

"They're feeling a little foolish. Andy put 'em in their place."

"What are you talking about?"

"Some people were feeling a little miffed at your non-appearance this morning. Andy told us True's sick." McMann's voice was gruff but his eyes were kind. "She OK?"

Danziger nodded. He looked at Andy again.

"What did he say?"

"It wasn't so much what he said but the manner in which he said it," McMann told him.

Danziger walked down the bay towards Andy wishing he'd been around to see the young man stand up to these old crew hands.

"Yo, Andy." Andy's head jerked up and he dropped his tools. Danziger shook his head; same old Andy. "I want to talk to you. C'mon over here." They went into the equipment locker where True had been sleeping the day before.

"I'm sorry about last night. It was very forward of me to think that just because you're putting together a crew you would consider me for a position ...."

"Andy," Danziger interrupted, "shut up a minute, OK?"

"Right, sure, OK." Andy's head bobbed in a nod.

"First thing - have you spoken to anyone else about this?"

"No!" Andy protested. "No, I wouldn't do that without your permission. It's private information."

"It was private information," Danziger corrected. Andy blushed. "OK, second thing - the job you were reading about is not one I have agreed to do." Danziger hesitated. "Yet."

"But ...." Andy started with surprise.

"So, I can't offer you a position on the crew," Danziger cut him off. Andy leaned back against the wall with defeated posture. He shook his head.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not lying. I don't have the job," Danziger said patiently.

"Only an idiot would turn down a contract like that and you're no idiot, Mr. Danziger."

"It's more complicated than you think ...."

"What could be easier?" Andy interrupted with a laugh. "Unless you like living by the skin of your teeth. I would have thought, for True's sake anyway, you'd want more."

"Hey!" Danziger was getting annoyed. "Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing for True."

"Why don't you just tell me the truth? You don't think I'm good enough, do you?"

Danziger sighed; he'd been hoping that they wouldn't have a confrontation like this. He sat down on a crate and indicated that Andy should join him. Andy remained standing, defiantly, before him. Danziger was a little alarmed at how much Andy had picked up from him. Except it was all the wrong things, like not responding well to criticism and defying authority.

"Sit!" he commanded. The rebel disappeared and the mild mannered, clumsy kid returned. Andy sat. "Andy, have you ever considered trying another type of work?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Do you really enjoy being a mechanic that much?"

"Yes!" Andy said with some of his old enthusiasm. He looked at his boots. "And, it's not like I have a lot of choices anyway."

"You think I was lying to you before. Well, I'll be honest. I don't have that job. I haven't decided yet. But if I did, you would not be chosen to go. This is not because I don't think it would be great to have you along, as a person. As a mechanic, you would be a potential hazard. I'm sorry, Andy," Danziger spoke gently.

"Nah, I know you're right. I'm a disaster," Andy said glumly.

"You're still training, Andy; don't forget that."

"I really want to go with you, Mr. Danziger. And not just for the credit."

"What for then?" Danziger asked, with a smile.

"For the .... for the adventure!"

Danziger laughed. The excitement of the boy was so obvious; it was spilling off of him. 'What ever happened to that feeling?' Danziger wondered.

"I don't know, my friend. It's a lot of overtime and a lot of work and a long way to go only to turn around and come right back again."

"So far away," Andy said dreamily. "Anything could happen so far away."

Danziger stood up.

"I've got to get back to True. Take it easy, try not to kill yourself before I'm back here to keep my eye on you. Alright?" Danziger kidded with him. Andy nodded. He was disappointed, but he wasn't really surprised.

*********

Danziger went to O'Neill's office the following day to accept his offer for the position on the condition that he be allowed to select the crew and that True be allowed to accompany him. He wasn't sure whether or not this was for the good of True or the good of John Danziger but he didn't believe it to be right that she grow up without him. She belonged with her Dad and wherever he went, she went. It had been that way since she was four months old and he had nearly died on the Meahan project.

The experience in the emergency waiting room had played a part in his decision as well. Danziger could understand the feeling of helplessness Devon Adair must feel with her son so ill. She was moving heaven and earth to save him from a fatal illness and Danziger couldn't even afford to immunize True against common 'flu strains. There was something wrong with that. Danziger never wanted to feel so helpless again. He never wanted to have True go without something because he couldn't provide it. This contract meant that he was going to be able to provide for her.

As he made his way home from O'Neill's office Danziger let his mind wander over the possibilities of a 22 year cold sleep journey. In the past few days he'd considered all the dangers to True, now he thought about the potential for change. Would life be any different by the time they got back? Would life on the stations have improved for the John Danzigers of society? Life would be different for this John Danziger. There would be no inherited debt to pass onto True. He would have enough credit to not only feed her, but put her in school as well. There was a lot of work to do between now and then, but whatever it took it was going to be worth it. Andy's wistful voice came back to Danziger.

"So far away. Anything could happen so far away."

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page