Tara Carmichael was at the comm in her quarters on Starbase 901. The room was empty of everything. It was the last day she would be spending in this place she'd been calling home for almost the last two years, since her arrival in this universe and on this station.
On the screen before her was Ryan MacLeod, the man who had traveled with her to this time and place. His aqua colored eyes gazed at her as a smile was crossing his face.
"Can you believe I'll be a cop again?" she asked in her British lilt.
[It's what you were always meant to be] he replied. [It's that sense of Justice for All that you have.]
She smirked. "Kept me busy as a Companion Protector."
[Yeah, with you being part of the Liberation Movement and the Ta'az all at once trying to make sure they didn't all kill each other . . . Do you ever miss it?] Ryan asked softly, his smile fading a bit.
She was quiet for a moment as she grew reflective. "On occasion I get homesick. But then I look at Zoe . . ." She once again smiled softly. "She might not have lived had we not ended up here."
He nodded in understanding and didn't ask the question that had come to his mind about Ron Sandoval, though Tara could sense it. After all, Ron Sandoval had been the man to originally father Zoe. Jayson was Ron's alternate in this universe, but Tara loved him dearly and had not made him into Ron's replacement. Jayson was a complete individual and different from the man she had first loved.
"There are times I do miss him," she said softly; her green eyes misting for a moment.
[I'm sorry] he replied quickly, feeling he had stirred up something that was best left alone.
"No, that's all right," Tara replied, composing herself quickly. "One day I will have to explain all of this to Zoe so I can't forget it."
[Like you could with that CVI in your head] he smirked, pretending to shudder at the thought of the Cyber-Viral Implant.
She laughed softly. "Well, at least it's been useful and it gave me a connection to Chiron."
At the Skryll's name, it let go a soft hiss from her wrist. She smiled. "After all, he's been a good ally . . . So how are you and Miranda?"
[Expecting a baby to add to the one we already have] he said grinning from ear to ear. This child was special because it was truly his. Miranda's previous child had belonged to another man, though Ryan had always accepted the little girl as his own.
"Congratulations!" Tara replied enthusiastically.
[This means, of course, you'll have to come out and visit us] he said.
"Don't worry, " she replied. "I will . . . I'll bring Zoe and Jayson if we can arrange the time together. Anyway, I'd best go. Jason and I are the last ones left on the station. It was my job to make sure everyone was off safely. Now it's our turn and well, they're dismantling the station to move in within the next hour or so."
[All right] he replied. [It's weird to think of it being dismantled and moved] he said.
"I know," she smiled.
[Well, enjoy your knew assignment and keep in touch] Ryan said.
"You know I will," she replied. "I'll contact you again as soon as we're settled in."
[You'd better] he said with a wink.
As they said their good-byes, Tara looked around the room once more. It felt so empty. So unlike the home it had been before. But then she noticed the door open. She hadn't remembered it being open. As she looked around, she sensed that more was missing that just her things.
"Zoe?" she said as she looked around the quarters. But she didn't see or sense her daughter anywhere nearby. "Zoe?!" she called out again a bit more frantically. She opened her mind and knew Zoe was no longer there with her. She had managed to wander off . . . Zoe wasn't even two yet, Tara worried. Perhaps she's with Jayson . . . she thought. But not a moment later Jayson entered alone.
"All right, everything's been transported down to the surface. We're all that's left," he said smiling, but he immediately noticed the fear in Tara's eyes. "What is it?"
"On my god . . ." she said. "Zoe . . . She's gone. She wandered off!"
"What?!"
"I was making a last moments call to Ryan . . . I hadn't realized the door had been left open! She could be anywhere! Are the sensors online?"
Jayson shook his head. "No, everything's been shut down. In fact, even life support goes off in an hour . . . along with any power."
Fear was in her eyes. "We have to find her!" she cried and began dashing to the door.
Jayson grabbed her. "It's going to be okay . . . Take a deep breath. Think of those times you told me about when you were in your universe . . . You managed your way through all sorts of troubles there . . . and what about your abilities. Can you sense her?"
For a moment Tara focused her mind, but it was difficult. She sensed Zoe running around and laughing, but she wasn't getting a clear indication where . . and anywhere was a large place to run to her little girl.
"I can only sense her . . . not where she is," she replied. "Can we contact the crew in charge of dismantling the Starbase?"
Jayson looked at the chronometer. "Not since two minutes ago . . ." he replied.
"Then if we don't find her, we're dead . . ." Tara replied, swallowing hard. "This can't happen!"
"It won't . . . She's just a little girl . . . How far could she have gone?" he said, caressing her face, trying to calm her.
Tara let out a breath she had been holding. "She could be anywhere . "
"Then we'd better start looking," he replied.
Together they left their quarters and began scouring the corridors and rooms for her; Tara still trying to focus in on her little girl.
Jayson tried to be as reassuring as possible as they searched for Zoe. But at the same time, he knew that time was running out. Soon the process of dismantling the station for the move would begin . . . The vacuum of space would flood in and then all would be lost. Zoe . . . Tara . . . Himself . . . Their family.
Though Tara tried to stay focused, she not only had to contend with her own fears, but Jayson's as well. He was putting up a brave front, but he was afraid under it all. They both knew the stakes. But because of the fear, she couldn't concentrate. She couldn't focus.
"Oh god . . ." she breathed under her breath, fighting back tears. "Zoe!!" she cried out.
"Zoe!" Jayson yelled as they went farther.
After twenty minutes, the tears Tara had been fighting back came to her. Jayson stopped her long enough to hold her.
"We're going to find her . . ."
"How can you be so sure?" she asked. "I can't lose her . . . I just can't . ."
"And we won't . . ." he assured her.
But she couldn't stop a tear from trickling down her cheek.
Then suddenly, like the touch of a butterfly's wing, she felt a presence in her mind. It caused her to suddenly stop. There was recognition in her eyes.
~Momma no cry~ came a soft voice. It was Zoe!
~Darling, where are you? Mummy and Daddy are worried about you!~ Tara replied.
"What is it?" Jayson asked.
"It's Zoe!" Tara replied, her green eyes showing her astonishment.
~I looking out window~ Zoe said. ~Pretty stars . . . Twinkle, twinkle little star . . .~
Suddenly, Tara received an image of where Zoe was. It was the observation lounge down the other side of the corridor.
"This way!" Tara said as she took off at a run.
"We're better hurry. We're down to the last ten minutes," Jayson warned.
But his comment was unneeded as she ran faster than she ever had before with Jayson right beside her. Within minutes, they were in the lounge, seeing Zoe standing on a couch looking out a porthole. She turned to see her parents and smiled, pointing out at the stars beyond.
"So pretty!" Zoe smiled.
Tara, filled with relief, went to her and scooped her up into her arms. "Yes, very pretty; but you shouldn't wander off without Mummy again, all right?"
"Okay, momma," she smiled, throwing her arms around her mother's neck and kissing her.
"We have to get going," Jayson said as he stopped long enough to caress his daughter's face. "We're down to the last few minutes."
"Can we make it to the transporter pad in time?" Tara asked.
"Maybe . . . If we run for it," he said. "Do you want me to take her?"
Reluctantly, Tara handed their daughter over, knowing he was able to move faster with a load then she could. Together, they took off, their feet hitting the deck of the corridor in a blur.
As the last minute ticked down, they reached the transporter room; Tara reset the coordinates and joined Jayson on the pad. They disappeared in the glitter of a blue transporter beam. Only seconds later, the power went out over the station, and the sound of the Starbase being dismantled began echoing through the empty corridors.
Tara, Jayson and Zoe reappeared in Serenity City with great relief. Their luggage had already been taken to their new home. Tara looked at Zoe as she cuddled into her father's arms and smiled. As her eyes met Jayson's, they exchanged so much. She leaned over and kissed him.
"What a way to end an assignment," Tara said.
"What a way to begin one," he smiled and kissed her again.
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