Margery's return to Angel Grove went pretty much unnoticed by most of the populace of Angel Grove. She and Tabitha moved into a small, two bedroom apartment with a minimum of fuss, and the next day - after sleeping in way too late and completely enjoying it - they went for a walk. Maggie walked slowly, tired from the last 'adventure' she'd been on. It had taken a lot out of her, and it was going to take a while to recover. She just looked around, remembering the good times she had spent there, and her mind got stuck on it. Or more specifically, on one of her friends.
"Do you think he's still here?" Tabitha asked quietly.
Her words startled Maggie, and she glanced in some surprise at her. Tabitha had never read her mind like that. Only Adam had, at one time in her life. Then she realized what had happened; she was holding onto the necklace he'd given her the last time she'd seen him. "His last letter came from here," she said neutrally after a short struggle with her emotions and a faint flush to her cheeks. How long did you expect him to wait? her thoughts said. Ten years is a long time.
"That was six months ago. He didn't write again."
"I never answered him. He couldn't be sure where to write. It's not like we stayed anywhere very long." She sighed and let the necklace go. "Look. There's the park. I think I want to sit down a while."
But once there, she didn't just sit down. She kept walking, wanting to find the clearing that had become hers during the few months she'd lived there, so many years ago. It didn't take long, and she sank down in the middle of it, leaned back on her hands, and gazed up at the sky.
"I'm going to go find something to drink," Tabitha said, and Maggie nodded absently. She barely noticed her friend disappear as the feeling she'd once tried to describe to Adam wrapped around her. Eventually, it did sink in, especially when she began to feel exposed. She was done with the fighting, but the instincts didn't just go away. There were things she understood about Adam's letters, now. Not just he, but all of them had a hard time readjusting to normal life. With a groan, she got up and moved to the edge of the clearing, leaned against one of the trees, and closed her eyes. Just a minute to rest them, she thought.
The sound of her name brought her just barely back to consciousness, then the shadow leaning over her flew backwards with a grunt and a thud. "Who are you," Tabitha's voice growled. Maggie struggled to open her eyes, only to be confronted with two blurry figures. She rubbed gently at her eyes, chagrined that she'd fallen asleep, and looked again. Tabitha straddled the ribs of a man with short, curly black hair, her hands pinning his wrists to the ground. From what Maggie could see of his face, he didn't look scared. Before he could answer, however, Tabitha leaned closer and sniffed at him.
"What..." he started, then she rolled off him, getting to her feet with a feline grace, and reached a hand down to help him up.
"Nice to finally meet you," she said once he was on his feet.
"Tabitha, what was that?" Maggie finally asked. Then gasped as he turned to look at her. "Adam?"
He grinned, and the butterflies in her stomach went into overdrive. He'd always had that effect on her. "Hi, Maggie."
She couldn't believe it, one day in Angel Grove, and she'd already run into him. Not that she was ready, she still didn't have an answer to his letter, but it seemed the Lady was ready for them to meet again.
"I'll go... prowl," Tabitha said with a grin, and walked past Maggie. Maggie grabbed her arm.
"Don't go far," she pled softly, more afraid of being left alone with him than anything else.
Tabitha smiled. "Now, you worry. Will you ask if ... Kat is still here? I want to meet her, if I can." Maggie nodded and let her go, then turned her attention back to Adam, who hadn't moved. She started to get to her feet, and nearly fell. He took her arm - how did he move that fast? - and steadied her.
"How are you?" he asked gently, and her knees nearly buckled again. She hadn't seen him, heard his voice in far too long. Especially that tone, which had never been aimed at her.
"I'm okay," she whispered, then cleared her throat. "But if I don't sit down, I'm going to fall. Standing up was a stupid thing to do. Care to join me on the ground?" She found it nearly impossible to meet his eyes.
He helped her sit down, and settled down next to her. "You look tired. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I am tired, but I'm okay. How about you?"
"Good. I'm helping Rocky with his karate school, teaching there. I'm considering an offer of joining him in a partnership. I don't know yet."
"Any other options?" she asked.
"No, not really. That's part of the problem."
"How's Tanya?" She tried hard to keep her voice neutral. His on-again, off-again relationship with his former teammate had been as much a heart ache to her as it had to him, if for different reasons. She liked Tanya, but the woman's indecision had been painful.
"She's in LA, recording her album. It was a huge break for her. Funny thing is, she ran into Skull down there - he's an accomplished pianist - and they hit it off. Last I heard, they were dating when their schedules permitted."
"Skull?" Maggie laughed, incredulous.
"Yeah. Pretty amazing." He sounded less than thrilled.
"You still care for her." His letter had been pretty explicit that they were just friends, almost as if he were trying to convince himself, or her. She still didn't understand why he had felt so strongly about letting her know that. Of course, that was the letter she'd never answered, and had hoped to have an answer to when she saw him again.
"She's a good friend. She was a teammate. We had a lot of things in common." He sighed. "Why didn't you answer my letter?"
She looked at him to find him looking at her, and she blushed and looked down. How did he do that? She swore he could read her mind, although he never reacted to her internal dialogue with him. She'd forgotten what it was like. Maybe she was obvious? "I didn't know how. I carried it around for months - I think it's still in my purse - trying to figure out how I was going to answer you. Then I just moved back here, and decided to try to answer it in person." She pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. "But I still don't know what to say."
"Okay." It was a friendly word. She let her legs go and sat up, turning to look at him. "I didn't think it would be easy," he said softly, almost to himself. "I've got to do something before you take off again, though." And before she could tell him she wasn't going to go anywhere, he kissed her gently on the lips.
It was a short kiss, tinged with the power he'd held in high school, an odd combination of the two with more black than green, and it took her breath away. She just stared at him, surprised and grateful. This, from the guy she considered the shyest she'd ever met?!? His hand touched her cheek and he smiled. "How are you, really?" he asked.
That was more than she could handle. The exhaustion from battling in Faerie, the long drive, and the relief that it was all over came out of her in great, wracking sobs. She buried her face in her hands and wept. "Maggie?" he asked gently, then wrapped his arms around her and held her. She leaned against him and just let the tears come.
When she began to calm down, she found a familiar orange tabby cat in her lap, meowing pitifully: Tabitha, in her cat form, named Tabby, which the human form protested quite a bit. A thick furred white cat sat next to Adam, nudging his arm every once in a while, when he forgot to pet her. "Where did they come from?" Maggie asked, gently petting the cat in her lap. She began to purr lustily, and Maggie could feel herself relaxing. Tabby always seemed to know exactly what to do to make her feel better.
"I don't know. They just kind of appeared. That one crawled into your lap, and this white one has been bothering me for attention."
"Cats have a habit of doing that." Maggie leaned closer to him, her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for letting me borrow your shoulder." She realized then in surprise how well she fit in his arms, and it scared her a little, but only for an instant.
"Anytime."
They both started as someone yelled Adam's name, although their reactions differed: Maggie nearly jumped out of her skin, and Adam just flinched. He chuckled. "Oops. I must be late. He'll be accusing me of taking after Tommy next."
"Who?" Maggie asked, then her answer came into the clearing.
"Adam, you're late. What have...." Rocky slowed down, the shock on his face priceless. "Wish I had a camera," Maggie whispered to Adam. "Hey, Rocko," she smiled, pulling gently away from Adam and dislodging the cat in her lap. "You're going to have to help me get up. I'm about as exhausted as I possibly can be."
Rocky pulled her to her feet and gave her a hug. It was something of a relief to feel the last bit of power in him, red tinged ever so faintly with blue. That made no sense at all. Then she realized Adam's had been like that, too, reversed, the black stronger than the green. "It's good to see you. Although I really don't think Adam's going to be forgiven. Did you forget?" he asked Adam as the other man got to his feet.
"No. But..." He looked so helpless that Maggie laughed.
"I just spent the last while - I don't know how long - crying on his shoulder."
"Is something wrong?" Rocky asked.
"No. I was just tired and ... tired. Something like what Adam explained in his letter when you guys...." She stopped, abruptly aware of the cat at her feet. Tabitha didn't know about them, she'd never told her. She'd never told Adam about Tabitha, either. She found herself stuck.
"Did you guys see Kat? She came looking for you, too." Rocky saved her, probably without even knowing he'd done it, although with Rocky, you never knew. Maggie suddenly realized exactly who that white cat had been. She very nearly burst into laughter, and looked around for the cat to cover it up. She was gone.
"No, I didn't see her. But we'd better go." Adam took Maggie's arm. "Would you like to come? There are people who would like to see you again, and I can take you home afterwards."
Maggie looked down at the cat at her feet, who was calmly washing her face, and sighed. No clues from her, she was being stubborn. "Where are we going?"
"Its close to the youth center."
"Yes, that would be nice. Who all will be there?"
"Almost everyone." Rocky grinned at her. "They'll be glad to see you."
"What's the occasion?"
"Something we have been waiting for," Adam grinned as they escorted her towards the road.
"Is this anything I know about?"
"No," Rocky said hesitantly with a glance at Adam. Adam shook his head.
"Oh?" She settled into the back seat of Rocky's jeep and closed her eyes. "I hope you aren't standing on too much ceremony. I'm sure I look like I just cried my eyes out."
"You look fine," Adam said gently, and touched her knee. "I'm really glad you came back."
"Yeah. Now he can stop moping around...." Rocky cut off with a grunt, and Maggie opened her eyes just in time to see Adam's fist retracting again. She chuckled.
"Well, I suppose my friend Tabitha could say the same thing about me," she admitted.
"I thought so." Adam punched him in the shoulder. "I should have let you drive," Rocky told him.
"Right. Touch your precious jeep?"
Maggie laughed. "Time!" she called gently. Adam turned around and grinned at her.
"Sorry. You have this... affect on me. I feel like I'm back in High School."
"Please tell me it's a temporary thing," Rocky begged.
"Should I lie?"
Rocky moaned. "Yes," he said. "Lie. Please. Give me some hope." Maggie chuckled softly; it was almost as if their roles from high school had changed. Rocky had become more serious, and Adam had developed a streak of playfulness she had always been glad of in Rocky. Yes, it was good to be back.
After a short drive, they pulled up in front of the Youth Center. "It's changed," she said, climbing out with Adam's help.
"Yeah. We're across the street." To her surprise, they led her into a church, from which came a loud organ. It sounded like someone was trying to get the hang of the bridal march.
"Please tell me this is the rehearsal," she whispered to Adam.
"It is. Just have a seat." His dark eyes dancing, he followed Rocky down the aisle to where she could see a tall blonde man she didn't recognize. At least, not at first. Billy?!? When had Billy gotten back? She was going to have a long talk with Adam about that. Next came a flower girl, then the bride's maids. Kat walked by, and the girl who followed her wasn't someone Maggie knew. Behind her came Aisha, who looked so completely in love and completely happy, there was no question that she was the bride. Adam hadn't said anything about her being back either! What was up with that?
When the rehearsal ended, Aisha turned to the two groomsmen. "So," she said in voice that silenced everyone else, "have you two got dates for the dinner?" Maggie chuckled softly as Rocky stared at the floor. She knew that Aisha wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Actually, I have a surprise for both of you," Adam said, looking at Aisha and Billy. "Close your eyes. You, too, Kat," he added. She suddenly realized someone was missing; where was Tommy? and was Justin here, for that matter? She hadn't actually met him, but Adam had talked about him a lot.
A hand touched her arm, pulling her back to now, and Adam walked her up to the front of the church where the small group was waiting. "Okay, open them."
They all looked at Adam, then at Maggie, and Aisha broke into a smile and hugged her. Maggie enjoyed the familiarity of her power, something she hadn't felt in a very long time. "Adam, I didn't think it was possible for anyone to make me happier, but you did it," Aisha said, and let Maggie go. "How did he get you here?"
As soon as Aisha let her go, Billy hugged her almost tight enough to injure her ribs, and the soothing blue power - same as before he'd moved - brushed her shields.
"Um, actually, it's been...." She couldn't say coincidence. "The hand of the Goddess. Adam wrote me six months ago, and I never wrote him back. I just moved back here."
"So, you missed out on the whole sordid story," Billy grinned. "We'll have to tell you."
"Hey, my turn," Kat said gently, and Maggie turned to give her a hug. Her power, too, was not as strong as Adam's or Rocky's, or Aisha's and Billy's, for that matter. What was going on?
"Hm... Where's Tommy? and this Justin person? I've been dying to meet him," she said, and looked around. The woman she hadn't recognized was tall and slender, and with dark blonde hair and a smile that lit up her blue eyes.
"I'm Kim," she said.
"Oh, I'm Maggie, sorry." She took her hand, and was surprised to feel the residue of power she'd felt in all of them. It felt a lot like Kat's, once she factored out the were-cat qualities, but was stronger than Kat's, which confused her. She leaned close to Kim. "Original pink?" she asked softly, remembering her name from her questions in high school, and grinned to see her look startled. Aisha laughed.
"You didn't use to do that," Adam chided, taking her arm again.
"Sorry, Kim. I don't know what they've told you about me, if anything, but I'll fill you in if you want." She looked at them. "So? Where are Tommy and Justin?"
"Camping." Aisha looked disgusted. "They'll be back tomorrow, but they'd organized this trip a long time ago."
"What is it with you guys and camping," Maggie muttered, with a wink at Rocky. He grinned.
"Well, I want to know what's going on. Kevin is meeting us there, and he doesn't know about my past, so we'll keep it that way, please," Kim said.
"And Rocky has to find a date," Aisha said calmly, looking at her friend.
"Like who?" he finally burst out. "It's not like I didn't try, Aisha. Reva has a concert in New York she couldn't get out of. And there was no one you knew or would approve of who would come." There was no malice in his words, Maggie noted. They were good friends, and she was glad it stayed that way.
"Who's Reva?" she asked, looking from Rocky to Adam.
"My wife. The announcement came back, but we never told Adam, so he didn't know you didn't know."
"I'm confused," Maggie laughed. "But I might have a suggestion," she said. "My roommate should be around here somewhere. She's a neutral party and won't do anything your wife wouldn't approve of. In the park, maybe?" She looked at Kat, who grinned and shrugged.
"Actually, I'm right here," Tabitha's voice said from the doorway, and Maggie turned to grin at her.
"Good. Want to go on a blind date?"
Tabitha scowled. "Not again, Maggie."
"What? For one, he's married, and his wife couldn't make it. Besides, I've known Rocky for almost eleven years, and he's never done anything to hurt anyone."
"That he could help," Adam added softly, and grunted. "Don't hit, it's juvenile."
"Um, may I remind you that you started it on the way over here," Rocky said just as quietly, causing Maggie to begin to laugh. She understood now what Adam had meant by feeling like he was in High School again - it did feel like it. "And I wouldn't mind if you said no," he added, louder, looking down the aisle towards Tabitha, "but Aisha is about to kill me. Please take pity on me. I promise not to do anything horrid; Reva would kill me if I did."
"When did he get so eloquent?" Maggie whispered to Kat.
"That's eloquent?"
"For Rocky," Maggie grinned, and the two girls giggled.
"Uh, oh, Maggie's punchy. What did you do to her?" Tabitha demanded, walking towards them. Maggie could see her eyes, weighing Rocky, looking at the others gathered around. When she reached the group, she seemed to shudder. "You guys make my fur stand on end," she said softly, and Maggie smiled.
"Yeah, I bet they do," she said, and stepped forward to hug her friend. "Thanks for in the park," she whispered.
"They have secrets," Tabitha said.
"So do you," Maggie shot back.
"Okay, I'm confused," Aisha said with a grin, "and it's not polite to confuse the bride. Let's go eat." She took Billy's arm and led the group out of the church.
The dinner was nice, and amazingly enough, the parents left the young people to their reminiscing. Kat's date was her brother, who she introduced to Maggie as Richard.
"All right, I believe introductions are in order," Billy said, and gestured at Kim.
"Hi, I'm Kim," she said, with a grin. "This is my fiancé, Kevin." They went around the table, and Maggie listened quietly to the currents of power that their words invoked. Peace, content, love, belonging, it didn't matter the generation or the team, they were a cohesive whole, and it included Kevin, Richard, her, and even Tabitha, who looked entirely too pleased with herself. Considering she was sitting with Rocky, Maggie wasn't sure that was a good thing, especially since they both kept shooting looks at her and Adam, and giggling.
About the time dessert rolled around, Maggie had finally relaxed and sat quite comfortably, her head on Adam's shoulder, eyes closed and nearly asleep. A sudden thought struck her, and she sat bolt upright, eyes wide.
"What?" Tabitha asked, tensed suddenly, and the whole table went silent. Maggie looked at her, then slowly relaxed.
"Sorry. I just thought of something." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm used to over reacting to things."
"Why?" Kat asked.
"Because I have fought things that give me nightmares," Maggie answered, then decided that the topic was best dropped. "Sorry, Aisha. I really don't mean to upstage you." She settled back down, leaning back in her seat.
"I understand over reactions," Aisha said quietly. "Most of us do." Almost everyone at the table nodded.
When the conversation started up again, she turned to Adam, who looked at her with interest. "It has to do with Tanya," he guessed.
How do you do that? she wondered in frustration. "Yes, it does. You made it real clear in your last letter that you and Tanya were friends, but that was..."
"That hasn't changed," he interrupted her. "Everything in there about our relationship still holds true."
She nodded. "That's a good thing to know." She settled back down on his shoulder, and closed her eyes, enjoying the currents of love and friendship around her. It was what she needed to finish her healing.