Date: ??/??/2001
From: SouthernSlider

Quinn sat uncomfortably letting Kryoptus tell his story.  With every breath, he still wanted to deck the guy, but restrained himself under Maggie’s watchful eyes. She was playing the doctor from hell, and didn’t want him to put any weight on his ankle.

Kryoptus wasn’t sure he was making any headway, but he continued on.  He realized these people had every right to mistrust him.  It wasn’t going to be easy to be believable.  His eyes wandered every few minutes.  What had become of Wade?

Quinn became agitated at his condition.  He wanted to go find her.  And Kryoptus’s words were grating on his nerves.  He didn’t want to hear Wade’s history with the Kromaggs right now.  He just wanted to see her, to talk to her . . . to hold her.

What was taking Colin so long?  Surely he could catch up to her and convince her to return.  And wouldn’t he forcibly bring her back if she didn’t want to come? He knew Colin was rather passive, but he had seen a strong side to him too.

He grabbed his ankle when the throbbing grew more intense.  Between that and Kryoptus’s droning, he was going crazy.  Now even his head was throbbing in perfect time with his ankle.

Maggie saw the look of complete discomfort and rose from her seat to see if she could help him.  She stopped in her tracks before she reached him.  Just over the rise, she saw Colin, Remmy, and Tony returning.  No Wade.

What did that mean?  Could he not find her?  Would she not return with him? Where was Kelly?  She tapped Quinn on the shoulder.  He turned as she called out to them.

“Colin, where is she?”  Maggie yelled.  Quinn rose to his feet, leaving Kryoptus in mid-sentence, and hobbled over to Maggie.  His heart was racing.  She frowned when she saw him trying to stand.

“She is with Kelly.  They needed some time alone,”  Colin said as he reached them.

Quinn released his breath.  “Thank goodness, you caught her.  Is she all right?”

“She will be.  This is going to take time, Quinn . . . and patience.”  He looked over Quinn’s shoulder.  “I see you decided to let Kryoptus live.”

“Yeah.”

“It certainly wasn’t my idea,”  Remmy added.

“I think you need to get off that ankle.”  Colin put his arm around Quinn for support and guided him back to the tree.  It was time to lay the groundwork for Wade’s arrival.

He helped Quinn to a sitting position, then bent to the ground, propping his elbows on his knees.  He took a look at the swollen ankle and shook his head.

“It is not looking too good, brother.”

“It’ll be fine.  Right now, I want to know about Wade,”  he said.  “Are you sure you could trust her to be alone with Kelly?  She might take off again.”

“I do not think so.  Give those two some time, then she will return.”

Quinn looked into his brother’s eyes.  He cared so much about everyone.  Why couldn’t I see that before?

“I’m sorry, Colin,”  Quinn said.

“Sorry?  For what?”

“Everything.  You’ve done everything in your power to understand and to help me, and all I’ve done is lash out at you.  Yet, here you are, still trying to help.”

“That is what family is all about.  You help each other.  And I know you were not really lashing out at me.  You were angry with yourself, but you had to have someone else to take it out on.  I guess I should not have run out on you the first time we were here.”

“But if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have met Kelly.”

Colin smiled.  “Yes.  I guess things have a way of working out for the better, even if we do not see it at the time.  Let us remember that with Wade.”

They grabbed each other in a bear hug, oblivious to their audience.  Remmy blinked back tears and turned away.

***

Wade and Kelly walked arm in arm down the path toward their friends.  Kelly knew her sister was deliberately taking small, slow steps.  She was trying to delay the inevitable.  But that was all right.  Kelly would allow her hesitation.

As they came over the rise, Wade stopped and viewed the scene in front of her. There, below, were all the men in her life at the moment, huddled together.

Kryoptus.  Her savior -- from the Kromaggs and from herself.   He had been the enemy once, but now he was in her camp.  What would become of him?  Would the others accept him into their fold?  Would he want to be with them?  How could she leave him?

Tony.  He had given her direction on this earth.  A place to start over again. He wanted so much more from her than she could give him.  Had she been fair?  Was it right to take -- even though she desperately needed it -- and not give in return?

Colin.  A strong, caring, understanding man.  A man to make her sister happy. A man that wanted her own happiness, and vowed to help her find it.  A man so much like the one she had loved and lost.  No wonder Kelly had fallen head over heels in love with him.  She smiled at the irony.

Remmy.  Her best friend in all the world for three wonderful years.  Sliding wouldn’t have been the same without him.  So many times they had been the only ‘normal’ people in the group.  They kept each other sane.  They shared so much -- even tragedy.

She took a deep, cleansing breath, and sighed.

Quinn.  Her love.   Her life for so many years.  The one thought that kept her going in the beginning of Kromagg hell.  The one thought that made her want to die in the end.  Such a wide chasm between them now.  How could she ever reconnect with him? She wasn’t the same.  Never would be.   Could he accept that?  Did she want to find out?

A tear found its way out of the confines of her lid, and made a slow, deliberate path down her cheek.  She felt an encouraging hand at her back, knowing Kelly wanted her to move forward and return to her old life.  She stood frozen, unable to grant Kelly’s silent request.

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Nominated by DieselMickeyDolenz