The phone rang, startling Maggie out of her book, her childhood favorite called The Power of Three, and she stared at it until it rang again. "Hello?"
"Maggie, this is Reva. You and Tabitha are still coming over tonight, correct?" She sounded a little flustered.
"Yes, of course."
"Good. I'm sending Rocky for you now."
"Now?" Maggie dropped her book. "What's wrong, Reva?"
There was a silence on the other end. "We may have bad news, and we want you here." The phone had changed hands, and Rocky didn't sound any happier than Reva had. "Is Tabitha there?"
"No, and I don't know when to expect her. But she knows where you live, and I'll leave her a note." She noticed distantly that she was still operating in 'alert' mode, and wondered if it would ever go away. Even on crutches, she was pretty much able to go somewhere at a moment's notice. Just not very quickly.
"I'll be there in 15 minutes, then."
It was really only about an hour early, Maggie thought, but still... it had the feel of something gone drastically wrong. She started to pick up the book, but the protest her not-yet healed ribs gave her stopped that activity. She got up on her one crutch to get ready to go, giving thanks one more time that she didn't have to deal with the wheelchair anymore.
Tabitha came in with Rocky, gathered what she'd need quickly, and they all piled back into his jeep. Maggie watched her friends, curious. Tabitha seemed quite solemn, and Rocky was downright depressed. "Did you tell Tabitha already?" she finally asked, just to break the silence that had gotten suffocating.
Rocky shook his head. "No."
Maggie nodded and turned to look at Tabitha, who was sitting in the back seat behind Rocky, hissing in pain as it aggravated her ribs. "So, what's up with you?" she asked, facing forward again.
"I saw a woman that gave me the heebie jeebies," she said. "I can't explain it, and I'm sure part of it is that I've been hanging around you too much, but I just had a feeling she was bad news." Tabitha shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think she even has anything to do.... No," she corrected herself. "Every time I've had this feeling, it's had something to do with us."
Maggie sighed. "Well, it's not enough for the Lady to warn me about, so hopefully it's nothing major."
"Unless this is your warning," Tabitha said. Maggie nodded.
"Not much of a warning," Rocky mumbled.
"We've worked with less," Maggie said, and gently touched his arm. So have you, she thought, remembering the day that had repeated itself three or four times, and the only indication they'd had was Tommy's weird feeling of deja-vu. When they'd told her, it had really bother her. "It's not fun or easy, but it's possible." He glanced at her, then nodded.
They arrived at Rocky's then, and Maggie smiled to see Adam's black Mustang in the driveway. Could they have invited him, too? "Great," Rocky mumbled, and the smile fell from her face. No, that wasn't it. He helped her out of the car, then Reva came to meet them.
"He saw her. He's a nervous wreck," she said.
Realization hit Maggie. "Tanya came back, didn't she," she said, a sinking feeling in her stomach. Reva nodded.
"Yes."
Maggie took a deep breath and forced her feelings into control. She could fall apart later. "Let's go in and see if we can help."
Reva's statement was true; Adam was pacing the length of the living room and didn't even see them until Reva took his arm. "Calm down," she said. Maggie wondered how many times he'd heard that since he'd arrived.
"I can't," he protested, then his eyes met Maggie's. She smiled at him. He grew still for a minute, then walked over to her and just held her, not too tightly, but he seemed to be drawing strength and calm from her. She was so glad she'd managed to get some feelings under control. She kept the pain of her ribs to herself. She watched with some amusement as the others discretely vanished from the room, and resolved to thank them later.
"Are you okay?" she asked after a minute.
"No." He spoke into her hair, his breath tickling her neck.
"Want to talk about it?"
He didn't answer, and the sinking feeling increased. I don't want to lose you, she thought softly, but I want you happy. "I don't know if talking will help." He gave a laugh that sounded closer to tears. "I don't know if I can find the words." She waited in silence, focusing love, acceptance, and calm in his direction.
Finally, he took a deep breath. "I bet you'd like to sit down," he said, and his grip on her loosened.
"Oh, I don't know...." She broke off; now was not the time for stupid quips. Or was it? He probably could use a chuckle. "I rather liked you holding me."
He flushed slightly and looked away. Her heart sank further. "I'm sorry. That was the wrong thing to say. I even thought it was and ignored it. Not that it wasn't true, mind you, but the timing was way off. I'm sorry," she finished lamely, wincing.
He gave her a half smile. "You're cute when you're flustered." Keeping an arm around her waist, he led her to the couch and helped her sit down, then sat next to her.
"Adam, what's wrong?" Actually, she thought she knew what was wrong, but it was a place to start, at least.
"Rocky told you Tanya was back in town?"
"Well, Reva did."
He stared out the window for a minute, hands clasped together. "I thought this was done with," he mumbled. She waited, one hand on his arm, trying not to intrude too much. "Tanya... I thought Tanya was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. The confidence I could feel when she smiled at me was... so enlightening, I could do anything." He paused. "It was like there was a world out there suddenly that didn't think I was cool because I could... could beat up on it. Or because I could save it. And she wasn't stingy about smiling, either." His hands twisted. Maggie finally gave in to the insistence in her side and leaned back against the couch, sighing softly in relief as the pain eased a little. "Then she broke up with me, and it was like the world went black." He sighed. "It was weird. And she went to LA, and I thought everything would be fine, but she's back now...."
"Feelings like that just don't go away," she whispered, when he didn't continue. "And you were feeling everything really intensely. All of you were. Something about putting your life on the line, and with someone else." She smiled. "There's a pretty strong bond between me and Tabitha, too, but not the same thing."
He choked out a laugh. "I hope not. I don't think I could take that heartache."
Maggie stared at him in surprise. "I'm always careful with hearts given to me, as careful as I know how to be. If that were the case, I would have told you right after you kissed me in the park that first day."
He leaned back and took her hand. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."
"You don't think saving the world from aliens was a qualifier?" She said it lightly, then grew serious. "I'm sure that's part of it, in fact. My father never understood my mother."
"Why?"
"She did the same thing I do. He'd never been a soldier, nothing. He didn't understand the danger, or the reasoning behind what she did." She paused to gather her thoughts. "I'm not saying we're meant to be together - like married - in a predetermined kind of way, or anything cheesy like that. I just don't think Mom ever found someone she could talk to about her experiences. I have a bunch of friends who understand at least a little of where I'm coming from. In that sense, we are meant to be together, sort of as a support group. I'm sure of it." She had to turn, so she could look at him without straining her ribs. She didn't want to go on, but she knew she had to. Looking him in the face was probably the hardest thing she'd done so far. "Tanya understands you better than I ever will. I saw what you did from the news, and heard some stories from you, Rocky, Kat and Tommy, and even a few from Aisha and Billy. It's not the same. Tanya was right there with you for almost a whole year, experiencing the same things, doing the same thing. You might find...."
His fingers touched her lips and she quieted. "What do you want?"
"What do I want?" She paused, her mind spinning. "I want a couple of things.... no, I can say it in one. I want you to be happy. I'm hoping like anything that you'll be happy with me, but I love you a lot..." She blushed, but refused to let it distract her. "You have to make the decision. And I don't want you to have to live with regrets." She took a deep breath, which immediately caused her to hyperventilate as she tried to keep the pain at bay again. Her ribs burned. Finally, she got herself back under control and gave him a wry grin, which he gave back to her, but it didn't hide the worry in his eyes. She went on before he could interrupt. "I don't play with hearts, and I have no patience for those who play with mine. You have to decide soon, Adam, or we will simply become good friends, like when you helped me with math." And it will be better than nothing, she thought to herself, but it had the tone of trying to convince herself.
He looked at her in surprise, and she had to look down, away from him. She had never seen such anguish in anyone's face. Then he sighed. "I guess it's only fair." His grip around her tightened briefly, then he gently let her go and stood up. "Tell Rocky I'll talk to him later, okay?"
She nodded, but didn't manage to get herself in control until he was at the door. She looked up and he smiled at her, then left and closed the door gently behind him. She got to her feet, chilled without his arms around her. "Rocky? Tabitha?"
"In the kitchen," Reva told her from the door, and looked around. "Where's Adam?"
Maggie started towards her, keeping the tears inside by pure strength of will. "He left."
Reva stopped her, one hand on her shoulder. "Good left or bad left?"
Maggie chuckled, and heard the desperation in it. "I don't know," she said honestly, still fighting tears. "I don't know. At least he knows where I stand on the whole situation. I'll be happy for him if he stays with her, but...." She swallowed hard and fixed her eyes on the carpet. "But I'll be awfully sad for me." She managed a smile and looked up, without meeting Reva's eyes. "Pretty selfish, isn't it?" she asked.
"No," she said softly. "I don't think so. Come on into the kitchen and eat. Unless you'd rather not?"
"Actually, I'd better," Maggie said with a short sigh. "I don't want to face me if I don't." She started slowly for the kitchen. "I'm not likely to be very good company, though."
Reva smiled. "Between you and me, neither is Rocky. But we'll live with you two for tonight."
Maggie stopped. "Did I ever tell you how lucky Rocky was to find you?"
Reva looked at her, surprised. "No. Why do you think so?"
Maggie shook her head. "Because you seem to be the perfect match. I'm glad, you know. He was one of my best friends, and I always hoped he'd find someone that fit him. He's more serious now, which is good...." She smiled at some of the antics he'd pulled, then shook her head again. "Anyway, I'm glad he found you, and thank you for letting me be a part of your life."
Reva smiled. "Well, he's happy, and when he's happy, I'm happy, too."
"And vice versa, I'm sure."
"Hey, are you guys coming?" Rocky asked, appearing in the doorway. They both turned to look at him, and Maggie nearly burst into tears at the look of despair on his face.
"You just ruined a good get-to-know-you chat," she griped at him with a smile and a voice that trembled, starting towards the kitchen. "You have the worst timing sometimes."
"Yeah, well, I'm not the only one." He helped her to sit down, turning to pull Reva into a hug before seating her as well. No, Maggie thought, you aren't the only one.
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