Emissary: Unseen Things, #12

By Duane L. Martin

How exciting would your life be if you were assigned to guard mineral deposits on an uninhabited world? Alarwyn thought that was going to be the sum total of her life, at least for the foreseeable future, but then one day, everything suddenly changed. Selected by her superiors to be their emissary to the Human dimension thanks to her friendship with Beth and Erin, she finally had a way out, but she never imagined what a life altering experience her new assignment would turn out to be.

Also, when Giles, Savaric, Billy and Sarah saved the inhabitants of dimension 3997C from an alien invasion, they had no idea of the repercussions they'd face in the aftermath. That is, until Colonel Andrew Swanson showed up at their gate one day wanting to speak to Charles and Richard. It seems that the alien invaders didn't take kindly to having their invasion fleet wiped out of existence, so they sent a ship to Earth to demand that those responsible be handed over to them within a week, or they'd launch a full-scale invasion on the planet. The colonel was tasked with finding those responsible, but when he informs them of what's going on, the aliens very quickly discover that they should have just left well enough alone.

Finally, now that Savaric has found himself someone to love, the others all take Giles out to a local club, in an attempt to find him someone as well. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as the case may be, the girl he ends up meeting turns out to be more than a handful, especially after she finds out the truth about just who and what they really are.

Emissary is book 12 of the Unseen Things series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duane L. Martin
• Release date: Sep 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9780991612567

Duane L. Martin

An avid reader since he first discovered the Hardy Boys books in the second grade, Duane L. Martin spent years being educated by some truly great authors. In 2013, after years of dreaming about writing a novel of his own, he finally hit upon a story idea that would ultimately turn into the 22 book Unseen Things series. Currently, aside from the series, he's also published two standalone novels. Cindy's Story, which is a humorous private investigator novel, and a superhero story called The Accidental Hero, which is both humorous, and quite dark at times. Aside from his writing, Duane is also a musician. He took his first bass guitar lesson in 1987 and has been playing bass ever since. He also plays some guitar, and a little keyboard and some percussion as well, with a particular focus on hand drums. As he's always been a great lover of music, he often has it playing quietly in the background while he writes. Born and raised in Northern California, he would later move to Idaho, where he lives the quiet life of a relative hermit with his wife Sharon, and their two dogs.

Book preview

Chapter 1

While Jenny and Laurie went to get a room ready for her, Alarwyn stood there listening to the others discuss the situation in a language that she couldn't understand.  It had always frustrated her that she wasn't able to properly communicate with Beth, Erin, and the others, but the higher ups from the nathalis homeworld sent along a little something to alleviate that situation.  She reached into her bag and pulled out two devices that looked like headbands with sensor arms that curved up over the top of the head.

Beth, she said, pronouncing the name as carefully as she possibly could.  As soon as Beth turned to look at her, she offered her one of the devices, and indicated that she should place it on her head.  Beth tried to ask her what it was for, but Alarwyn just kept insisting that she put it on.

What's that thing do? Mike asked.

"No idea, but she really wants me to put it on for some reason.  I'm guessing since there's two of them, maybe it'll make it easier for us to communicate or something," Beth said as she raised the device and placed it on her head, just as Alarwyn had already done.

Once they were both wearing the device, Alarwyn pulled a tablet from her bag and turned it on.  A few moments later, both of the headbands powered up, she gave Beth a little nod, as if to ask if she was ready.  Even though she had no idea what was going on, she knew that Alarwyn would never intentionally do anything to hurt her, so she nodded back to her that she was ready for whatever was about to happen.

As soon as Alarwyn tapped the screen of the tablet, both of the headbands lit up and started flashing wildly, and they both looked as though they were struggling with something, or were in some sort of pain.  Danny tried to reach for the device, but Beth quickly put her hand up to stop him.

What the hell's it doing to you? he asked with a deep look of concern.

It's......I'm all right.  Don't worry, she said in a strained voice.

Whatever was happening took about ten minutes to complete, with the both of them looking as though they were struggling through every second of it.  When it was finally over, the devices shut down simultaneously, and they both looked incredibly relieved.

Hey, are you ok? Danny asked as she removed the headband.

Yeah, I'm fine.  You have no idea what this thing does.  My god..., she said through heavy breaths.

What's it do? John asked.  You guys looked like you were really havin' a hard time there.

Yeah, it's not a pleasant process unfortunately.  The devices scan and analyze the language center of the brain, along with the overall brain structure.  Once the analysis is completed, the device essentially programs your brain with the language of the other person.  I'm hoping to be able to use it with all of you while I'm here, so you'll be able to speak and understand our language.  Hopefully, it'll make things a lot easier for you when you deal with people from my world, Alarwyn said.  You could have heard a pin drop as they all stood there gawking at her, not believing what they'd just heard.

So...you can understand us now? Jeremy asked, finally breaking the silence.

Yeah, I can understand you perfectly.  Basically, the device gave me Beth's knowledge of your language, so the way she and I speak and use the language will be quite similar, at least for a while.  As I become more comfortable with your language, I'll slowly develop my own individual way of speaking it, just like each of you have your own way of speaking it, she said, smiling at him pleasantly.

And you can speak their language now? Danny asked as he looked at Beth questioningly.

Nathwan elthshir abara twok, Beth said, looking as though she were surprised that the words had actually come out of her mouth.

Oh my god, how cool! Jenny said excitedly.

These devices have existed for quite some time.  This is the latest model, but it's still a bit of a struggle to get through the process with it I'm afraid.  They're usually only given to ambassadors and high-ranking officials who have to deal with people from other dimensions on a regular basis.  They were planning on sending someone like that here to meet you, but fortunately, I was able to stop them before they did, Alarwyn said.

Stop them?  What do you mean? Beth asked.

From what I understood from the connections we shared, your groups are special among humans, and you're very secretive about your existence.  I didn't want to run the risk of them coming here and accidentally exposing you in any way, so I convinced them to allow me to come instead, since I already had a good relationship with you.  Fortunately, they saw the logic in my proposal, and gave me their approval.

So if I'm understanding this correctly, you've been sent here as a sort of an emissary to establish a relationship between your people and ours.  Is that right? Beth asked.

That's exactly why I'm here.  When they found out that a small team of your people had eliminated over five thousand zethichtalarin soldiers, while at the same time rescuing everyone they were holding captive without losing a single, innocent life, they were highly impressed.  That, plus the vaccine your blue fin friends developed for the bio weapon you found, finally convinced them that it was time to extend a hand of friendship to you.  By you, I mean your people specifically, not humans as a whole.

To be honest, humans as a whole aren't ready to make contact with your people yet.  Maybe if they can survive the next few thousand years without killing themselves off..., Danny said dryly.

We went through a time like that as well.  I think most civilizations do, just as a part of their natural development.  By the way, I'm gonna be leaving the language transference device with you as a gift from my people.  It's our way of thanking you for all you've done for us.  I actually have two sets of the devices for you, and I'll show you how to use them while I'm here.  If you ever need more, just let me know, and I'll try to arrange it.

Seriously?  Oh my god, how can we ever thank you for that?  I can't even tell you how helpful that's gonna be, Beth said.

Hey, it's my pleasure, believe me.  They were a little hesitant about handing over a piece of our technology, especially considering that we're still in the early stages of establishing a relationship, but they wanted to make some sort of a gesture.  They figured these language transference units would be relatively harmless, but also something that would prove to be quite helpful.

I wish we had something to give your people in return.  I feel like such a sponge here, Beth said with an awkward look.

Sponge? Alarwyn asked, rolling her eyes for a moment as she processed the word.  Ok, I got it now.  It's what you call a slang term.  The actual meaning of the word confused me, but you meant to say that you feel like you're taking something without giving anything in return.  Is that right?  Sorry, they said there would be a short time between the transference, and the point at which my brain would start to process the language naturally, just as yours does.

It's ok.  I noticed you're already speaking like me somewhat, so I guess that'll probably happen fairly quickly?

From what they tell me, it shouldn't take long at all.  Less than an hour maybe, Alarwyn said.

Anyway, I'm really trying to think of something we could give you that you don't have, or something that would be helpful to you in some way, but I'm coming up blank here, Beth said.

Well, there is one thing actually, but it's more of a personal request than anything else, Alarwyn said, looking as though she suddenly felt a bit guilty.

Oh?  What is it?

I'm ashamed to even ask, but I can't stop thinking about what you showed me that day by the river.

Oh, you mean with the rock? Beth asked.

Yeah, that.  I've laid awake at night thinking about it ever since.  I know it's wrong of me to be so envious, and it's not something that's generally looked on favorably in our society, but I can't help it.  I know you didn't come by your abilities naturally, so I was just sort of wondering...

"Oh man...  Your people were afraid of giving us dangerous technology.  Do you understand what you'd be able to do if we gave you the serum?" Beth asked.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked.  I didn't mean to overstep my bounds.  I'm supposed to be here establishing a relationship, not asking you to give me things that would put you in an awkward position, Alarwyn said with a rather sheepish look.

No, listen..., Beth said as she stepped over and put her hand on Alarwyn's shoulder.  Here's the problem.  Well...there's actually two problems.  The first one is that the serum isn't ours to give.  We'd have to get the ok from Charles and Richard, since they're the ones who created it in the first place, but that's not the biggest problem.  I'm not too worried about them giving their ok on it, but there is something a lot more serious that does concern me.

What's that?

I don't know if you understand what we've become, but recently we've learned to use our abilities in new ways that we'd never even dreamed of.  I know it sounds weird, but I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of people out there in the universe at this point that would probably consider us gods, and I don't think we've even begun to figure out all the things we can do.

Have your abilities really grown that much? Alarwyn asked.

Beth looked over at the fireplace for a moment and reached out with her mind to grab the fireplace poker.  It rose in the air and floated over to her, stopping about eight feet away.  As everyone watched, the poker suddenly heated up to the point where it started melting, but the molten metal didn't hit the floor.  It simply remained in mid-air until the whole poker had melted down completely.  The metal then extended itself out and formed itself back into its original shape, after which it quickly cooled back down to room temperature.  A few moments later, Beth brought it the rest of the way over to her and grabbed it with her waiting hand.  She handed it to Alarwyn, who looked absolutely stunned by what she'd just seen.

Danny, would you mind if I humped Beth's leg right now? Mike asked.

Jesus, save a leg for me!  That was the shit! Jeremy said excitedly.

I dunno guys, I think I might be needing both those legs for myself, Danny said with a grin.

I don't even know what to say, Alarwyn said as she carefully tried to bend the poker, and found it to be just as solid as it'd been when Beth had pulled it from the fireplace.

You see what I'm saying now? Beth asked.  "I just want you to understand.  I trust you.  You've never given me even a hint of a reason that I shouldn't, but if we were to give you the serum, how could you guarantee that your scientists wouldn't discover it during a medical examination or something, and then end up replicating it?  I know what kind of a person you are, but we don't know your society.  If any of the governments our dimension got their hands on what made us this way, the first thing they'd do with it is to create an army and conquer the world.  Having this much power would tempt even the most honest person into doing things that would normally be outside of their nature."

I understand, she said, looking a bit depressed and ashamed that what she'd initially thought of as a simple request, had turned out to be far more complicated than she'd realized.

Beth, can I talk to you for a minute?  Alone? John asked.

Huh?  Oh, sure thing.  Excuse me for a minute.  I'll be right back, she said, flashing Alarwyn a reassuring smile before she walked out onto the patio with John.

Listen, you told me she's bored on that planet, didn't you?

Yeah, that's the impression I always got from her.  Why? Beth asked.

I was just wondering if maybe she wouldn't like to get outta there.  Like, permanently.

What do you mean?

Well, she came here as an emissary.  All right, we're friends...so now what?  What's the next logical step when two countries establish a relationship? John asked.

Uhhh...I dunno.  They start wiretapping each other's phones? Beth said with a grin.

Yeah, well...there's that, but that's not what I'm talking about.  What I'm saying is, why don't we see if she's interested in becoming an ambassador? John suggested.

An ambassador?

Yeah.  I mean, think about it.  They want a relationship with us, and we want one with them.  She could become a full-on ambassador and live here in our dimension with us.  That way, we could give her the serum, and it would be easier for her to keep it a secret.  If she were to get it and go back, sooner or later someone would find out about it, but if she got it and then moved in here with us, then there'd be a lot less risk of anyone discovering the truth.  Besides, if we're really gonna do this thing, wouldn't it be nice to have someone from their world to work with that'll live just as long as we will? John asked.

Yeah, it would be.  Still, it's not our decision to make.  I'll have to run this by her first to see if it's even something she can do, and then I'll have to get the ok from Charles and Richard.  We don't even know if the generic version of the serum will work on her.  We might have to have one custom made for her genetic make up.  They've got her blood from the vaccine tests, so they should be able to tell me one-way or the other when the time comes, and then I guess we can go from there.

Look, you said she's a friend.  Have you ever gotten anything from her that would make you leery about her intentions? John asked.

No, not a thing.  If anything, she's really been standing up for us with her people, and doing everything she possibly could to help.

Ok then, why don't we ask her?

All right, let's do it, Beth said as she smiled at him appreciatively.  Listen, thanks for coming up with this.  It's really a great idea.  I just hope she'll be able to work it out with her people.  That is, if it's something that she actually wants to do.

Me too, he said, returning her smile as they headed back into the house.  Once they were inside, Beth walked over to Alarwyn and smiled at her brightly.

How would you like to be an ambassador? she asked.

Ambassador?  What do you mean?

Do you have anyone or anything that's keeping you on Paradise other than the fact that you were assigned there? Beth asked.

No, not really.  I'm friends with the people I work with, but that's only natural after being together for so long.  Why do you ask?

Well, John just came up with a really great idea, but it's entirely up to you whether you want to do it or not, Beth said.

What's the idea?

Well, I've already told you our concerns with giving you the serum, but what if you were to get your people to allow you to live here with us as an ambassador of sorts?  That would reduce the risk of your people finding out about the serum, and the fact that you're not the same old you anymore.  If you could arrange that, then I think we'd be ok with giving it to you.

I don't know.  Would I have to stay here permanently? she asked.

Yeah, I'm afraid you'd have to live here with us permanently, but that doesn't mean you can't go home for visits and what not.  Mostly all we're concerned about is that no one finds out that you've had the serum, which means avoiding any medical exams, and you'd need to keep your abilities under wraps when you're around people.  Look, I know how bored you've been.  I've felt it from you more than once in the links we've shared, and I also know that you're not really happy with your assignment, Beth said.

You're right, I've been extremely bored there, but what if I go back and ask my superiors about this, and they don't agree?

Well you've already convinced them to let you be their emissary, so why not a full blown ambassador? Beth said.  I mean, it's not like it's a big step up or anything.  It's just more of a commitment.

I never thought...  I mean, you'd really be willing to have me live with you?

Of course!  We're friends, aren't we?  Plus, look at the size of this place!  We've got plenty of room, and I know our tech isn't as awesome as yours, but we didn't exactly just come crawling out of the caves either.  Besides, it's a whole new dimension to explore, and you can come along with us when we go out to explore other dimensions too.  I know your people are well traveled, but we're all still relatively new to this whole thing.  We've only been doing it for a few years now, so we've still got a lot of exploring to do and a whole lot to learn, and you could be a part of it all, Beth said with an encouraging smile.

Well, like I said, I'll have to ask my superiors, but if I can get the approval to do it, then I would absolutely love to stay here with you! Alarwyn said with a bright smile.

What if they don't approve? Danny asked.

I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't, but if they don't, then I'll simply resign my position and come back here on my own.  We have a very free society.  Our leaders don't really interfere with the personal lives and decisions of the people, so if I made the choice to leave so that I could come and start a new life here, they wouldn't get in the way of it.  I don't think they'd be overly happy with that decision though, and they'd likely send someone else in my place, but I don't think it'll come to that.  I hope not anyway.

The room's all ready, Laurie said as she and Jenny came trotting back into the living room.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it, Beth said, smiling at them both.  Oh my god, I just realized that I haven't introduced you to everyone yet!

Oh sure, now you remember to introduce all the peons.  Nice..., Jeremy said dryly.

You shut up!  I know where there's a tennis ball, and I'm not afraid to use it, Beth said with a breathy laugh.  The comedian there is Jeremy, and that guy there next to him is Mike.  Then over here we have Jenny and Laurie, and over here we have John and his wife Sheryl.  Last but not least, this here is my husband Danny.  Four of our people just got married, so they won't be back from the honeymoon for another couple of days yet, Beth said.

Yeah, I noticed that Erin isn't here.  Did she get married? Alarwyn asked.

Yep, she married Dylan, and Heather and Martin got married too in the same ceremony.  They'll be back shortly though, Beth explained.

It's really nice to meet you all, Alarwyn said as she looked around the room, smiling at them all warmly.

It's great to meet you too finally.  Beth was always telling us how much she enjoyed spending time with you, Danny said, returning her smile.

I've been really curious about something Alarwyn, if you don't mind my asking, John said.  Do you guys have some sort of a base set up on Paradise, or do you just live in houses there somewhere?  Beth said she never really knew where you came from, and that you always just sort of appeared.

We have a base there actually.  It's built inside of a mountain, and it extends deep underground.  The satellites scan the surface of the planet, and whenever there's an intruder detected, we teleport to somewhere near their location so we can investigate, Alarwyn explained.

Oh, so your base isn't near where we always meet you? Beth asked.

No, it's pretty far away actually.  It was built near where the bulk of the mineral deposits are located.  The others of your kind were actually quite close to the base when they first came to that world.  It was around fifteen miles I think from where they first entered the dimension.  That is, if I'm understanding your way of measuring distance.

I still can't believe you guys just let 'em take the mineral like that, Danny said.

Well, as I've told Beth before, we didn't think your people had the technology to do anything with it, even if you did understand what it was.  As far as we could tell through our observations, they simply saw it as something nice to look at, so there was less harm in letting them take it than there would have been in exposing ourselves.  We were quite interested in observing them actually, since none of us had ever seen humans before, so letting them take some of the mineral was a small price to pay for being able to do that.  Humans were something we'd only learned about in history books.  None of us ever thought that we'd actually get to see one in person.

Yeah well, I think you'll be really impressed with the progress we've made since then.  You got here just in time too, because we just discovered fire, so we're gonna have a big party to celebrate.  We just invented the wheel too, but we're still not sure what to do with it.  I mean, it rolls downhill ok for a while, but then it just sorta falls over and stops, Jeremy said with a grin.

I'm sorry.  I really didn't mean any offense.  It's just been quite a few centuries since my people last visited here, so everything we knew about you came from what we learned back then, she said apologetically.

I know what you meant.  I was just kidding.  Jokes are something else we invented since the last time you guys were here, Jeremy said with an amused look.

All right, that's about enough from the peanut gallery, Beth said with an amused look.  Hey, listen.  Are you hungry or thirsty or anything?

I am a bit hungry, yeah, Alarwyn said.

I'll go fix her some food.  Anything in particular you'd like? Sheryl asked.

I'm afraid I don't really know anything about human food.

You know, I'm guessing that if the animals are that friendly in your home dimension, your people probably don't eat meat.  Am I right? John asked.

Well, we don't kill animals to eat 'em anymore, but our people do eat meat.  A long way back in our history we used to hunt for food, but our society eventually turned against the practice because of how friendly and trusting the animals are.  Eventually, our scientists developed a way to produce the meat in processing facilities rather than having to kill the animals to obtain it.

You know, I think our scientists have been working on that as well, but I don't think they've gotten to a point where it'd be practical to mass produce it yet, John said.  Anyway, if you don't mind eating the old-fashioned stuff while you're here, we've got plenty of it.  Oh, and I think we should probably have a drunken barbecue for you too, just so we can make sure you're welcomed properly.

Oh, hell yeah! Mike said excitedly.

Drunken barbecue? Alarwyn asked, her eyes shifting as she tried to understand the meaning of the words.

Yeah, it's great!  Trust us, you're gonna have an awesome time, Jeremy said with an excited look.

You guys will find any excuse to have one of those barbecues, won't you? Sheryl said, rolling her eyes a bit as she smiled to herself.

You know it, John said eagerly.

Anyway, I'll go get your food.  Back in a bit, she said as she headed off toward the kitchen.

Oh, I do have one other thing I want to mention to you.  I asked them if it'd be all right if I took you to the base so I could show you around a bit, and they said it'd be ok.  So if you'd like to do that at some point, I'd be happy to take you on a tour before I go and talk to my superiors about the whole ambassador thing.

Oh, wow.  That'd be awesome!  How many of you are there at the base? Beth asked.

Not as many as you might imagine.  There's actually only five of us assigned there at any given time.  If anything bad were to happen where we needed assistance, someone would return to our home dimension and bring back whatever help we needed.  We also have people on standby to do maintenance on the base if anything should happen to malfunction.  It doesn't take all that many of us to watch the monitors and keep an eye on things, since there's not usually much of anything going on there anyway.

I'm curious.  How do you guys travel between dimensions? Danny asked.  I'm assuming you don't use amulets.

Sweetheart, I think we've asked her enough questions for now.  She'll be moving in soon enough...or at least, I hope she will be.  Anyway, there'll be plenty of time for questions after we get her all settled.  Why don't we take her back to her room for now, so she can put her things away.  Then, after she eats, we'll give her a tour of the house, Beth said.

Yeah, sorry about that.  I was just getting a little over-excited about you actually being here, Danny said.  Girls, why don't you take her to her room and show her where to put her things.  Show her the light switches and the television, and explain everything in the bathroom to her too.  Also, show her where the hamper is, so she knows where to keep her clothes that need washing.

Sure thing!  Come on Alarwyn, Jenny said as she took Alarwyn by the hand and led her off to her room.

Well now, that was certainly an unexpected turn of events, Danny said after they were gone.

You can say that again.  Still, it feels kinda good that we proved ourselves to 'em finally, and how awesome is it to have two sets of those language things she brought?  We'll have to send the second set over to the guys in Washington, so they can use it, Beth said.

"Oh man, they're gonna love that so much.  I'll bet that would have helped 'em out a lot while they were on that last mission.  Jarrod said they had to stay silent the whole time, and let Thayelle do all the talking."

So, what are we gonna do with her? Jeremy asked.

What do you mean?

Well, if she's gonna be living here with us, then we've got a whole lot of stuff she's gonna need to learn, right?  I mean, like what you were saying about the bathroom and stuff.  We're gonna to have to get her up to speed on everything there is to know about living in the house here, and then I think we should take her out and show her around.  We can't just keep her cooped up here in the house all the time, can we?

Yeah, you're right.  I guess once she learns everything she needs to know around here, we'll have to get her out there and show her what the human world is like, Beth said.  It's come a long way since they were here last, so I'm sure she'll find it quite interesting.  Hell, we could even take her to the club and stuff like that.  God knows she could probably use some fun after being stuck on that boring ass assignment for so long.

As long as these two don't make her slap me repeatedly, I think that'd actually be a lot of fun, Danny said as he shot Mike and Jeremy a sideways glance.

Come on man, we wouldn't do that, and you know it.  Besides, we should probably be on our best behavior while she's here, since we want to make a good impression, Jeremy said.

No, we shouldn't.  We should just be ourselves while she's here.  If they're interested in being friends with us, then they should know exactly what they're getting, and that means being honest about who we are, Beth said firmly.

So basically what you're saying is, we should just go on being our normal old ass hole selves, and start lookin' for some new digs before they send a bomb over here to blow up our moon, John said with an amused look.

Yeah, pretty much, Beth said with a breathy laugh, though she wasn't exactly sure just how far off the mark his little comment was.  Making friends with a people who were not only capable, but apparently more than willing to blow up a moon just to get rid of their enemies wasn't exactly something that should be taken lightly.  Still, if they were going to be friends, and potentially even allies with the nathalis, then that relationship had to be based on openness and honesty.  Otherwise, it could all come to a very bad end, and that was the last thing any of them wanted to see happen.

*   *   *

When can we see him? Thayelle asked Charles and Richard over lunch.  It was a question she'd already asked many times, and she'd been given the same answer an equal number of times.

When he's ready, Richard said firmly.  As you're well aware, it's not just the outward appearance that has to change.  Everything on the inside has to finish changing as well.  I'd say that if he progresses at the same rate that you did, then he should be ready to wake up in a few more days.  Until then, it would just be better if you didn't see him.

Listen, I know you're worried and excited and all that, but he's right, Jonathan said.  The way you looked in that tank when you went through your transformation...I mean, I'm stuck with that in my head now for the rest of my life.  I don't want you having to remember your father like that, so just let 'em finish what they're doing, and then you can see him when he's ready to wake up.

I know.  I'm sorry I'm being so impatient.  It's just that..., Thayelle started to say, but she fell silent as a call came in on the laptop they kept set up in the living room for video chats.

I think that might be for you bro, Derek said before he took another bite of his sandwich.

Me? Jarrod said, looking at him curiously.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is, so you might want to go and answer it instead of sitting there letting it ring over and over.  You never know.  It might just be someone important, Derek said, while Tina and Sarah both just sat there giving him the same confused look that Jarrod had been.  Oh, and take it out on the patio.  I don't want your sappy ass conversation ruining my lunch.

Jarrod picked up the laptop and took it out to one of the tables on the patio.  As soon as he answered it, he saw someone looking back at him that he hadn't really expected to hear from.

Dad?  Hey, what's goin' on?  How come you didn't just link with me like we usually do? he asked.

I guess I just wanted to see my son, that's all.  How are you?

I'm good.  What about you guys?

We're all fine.  Joseph's doing really well in school, and he and Logan have become like brothers already, so we're all just one big happy family.

I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that.  I'm always so worried about him.  Has he made any other friends there?

Yeah, a few, but up until now we've been discouraging it, which is why I'm so happy that Logan's here.  I think he's reaching a point now though where it'd be good for him to have more of a social life.

Why were you discouraging it? Jarrod asked.

Because, he's not like the other kids, especially since he's had the serum.  Speaking of which, you know his birthday's coming up, so we're gonna need to get him a new dose of the serum so he can age another year.

I can't believe it's been that long already.  It's crazy how fast time goes by, and you don't even realize it until it's gone, Jarrod said.

Try being dead for a while.  You don't even notice it passing, Jeff said with a wry grin.

Yeah, no thanks.  I think I'll pass on that one.  Anyway, I ordered his present yesterday, and I'm having it shipped there directly.

He doesn't want a present.  You know what he really wants, Jeff said.

Yeah, I know.  We were gonna make it a surprise, but I guess I might as well tell you.  We're coming down to see him for his birthday.  Derek and I are gonna ride the Harleys down so he can see Logan too, and then while we're there, we'll take him and Joseph out for a ride and stuff.  I think it'll be a lot of fun for the both of 'em.

Oh man, they're really gonna love that.  Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret, Jeff said.

Cool, thanks.  I really did want it to be a surprise.  I'd like to see his school too, and maybe meet his teachers while I'm there.  I've been down there several times now, and I've never actually gotten to see it.

They're really great people, and god...I can't even begin to tell you how much they've helped him.  He's been doing extremely well with his studies too ever since he got the serum.  They're actually talking about skipping him a grade or two because he's moving so fast.

Hey, that's great!  The faster he gets done, the sooner you guys can move back up here, Jarrod said with an excited smile.

You know, I didn't really call to talk to you about any of this, Jeff said, his expression suddenly turning serious.

You didn't?  So...what'd you wanna talk about then? Jarrod asked.

Well, I know I wasn't supposed to know about it, but Derek showed me what happened in the hotel room with the shackles.

Oh...

He showed me the whole thing.  Every last bit of it.  He wanted me to know what an incredibly brave and selfless son I have.

Dad, I...

No son, let me say what I have to say.  I always knew you were a special kid.  You had something in you that you just don't find in kids nowadays.  You had this natural sense of honor, and I was always just so damn proud of you for that.  I used to brag about you to all my friends...and anyone else who'd listen.  I'm sure they all got sick of hearing about it, but I didn't care.  I know I haven't been around much since I've been back, but at least I've had the chance to see what kind of a man you've grown into.  When he showed me what you did in that hotel room though...that was just...  I mean, I don't think there's any way I could possibly tell you how proud I am of you, or how much I respect I have for you for doing what you did.  It wasn't just that though.  It was also the way you behaved through it all.  While everyone else was freaking out and trying to help you, you kept a cool head, and tried to keep them all calm as well.  I've never in my life seen that level of bravery or selflessness from anyone.

Dad, I don't even know what to say.

"You don't have to say anything.  I just wanted you to know how I feel, and how proud I am of you.  Honor and decency are a rare thing