SERIES/UNIVERSE: SG-7
DISCLAIMER: M7 characters belong to MGM, Trilogy, CBS, and TNN. The characters from Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM, Gekko, and Showtime. I'm notmaking any money from writing this story, I just love to write. Adriana is mine, as are Priscilla Meadows (and her students, except Will and Charlotte Richmond, who also belong to Trilogy, et al.), Carly Tucker, and Dawn Jackson (okay, so is Detective McCoy). You're welcome to borrow them, as long as you ask first, and return them intact.
SPOILERS: Mainly my twisted version of Wagon Train, Manhunt and Vendetta, references to The Collector.
WARNING: Original characters, some violence, nasty language in certain sections, and this is gonna be a LONG story. I'm covering three years in this story, so it's gonna be long. It's not gonna be 'day by day,' just the highlights, but it's still gonna be long.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This begins in 1992, eight and a half years before the events in The Light in the Distance.
There were times when Adriana Wilmington swore she had chosen the wrong profession. It wasn't getting dirty she minded. It wasn't even the hot Texas sun. Getting up early ... that was a bitch. And Adriana was not a morning person. She never had been. And likely, she never would be. But as a sophomore in college, the nineteen year old knew from hard experience that the upperclassmen had the first shot at the later classes. It was called 'paying her dues.'
It was something of a misnomer to call herself a sophomore. She had just finished her freshman year a month earlier, and classes wouldn't start again until August. Still, it sounded better than 'freshman,' whom many of the upperclassmen called 'lowlifes.' And that was one of the more flattering terms. Well, screw 'em. Adriana had better things to do with her time than worry about what people thought of her. Like making sure she achieved her goal ... her degree. Preferably making the Dean's list, but that remained to be seen. The last two semesters had been hell on earth for her.
She had survived hell before, and she had survived her freshman year. She was one of the 'grunts' on the dig, helping the upperclassmen, who got to do most of the interesting stuff. Adriana didn't mind that, not really. She was curious about how everything fit together, and why things were done a particular way. It went back to paying her dues again. Besides, to be a freshman/sophomore doing anything other than grunt work meant standing out. And Adriana liked being invisible ... liked the security it gave her.
Most of the time. When her advisor had asked for volunteers to help find the little girl who lived next door, Adriana hadn't hesitated. Especially not when Dr. Meadows added that the child was only five years old. They had been out most of the night and into the day. The previous night, while Adriana and the others were asleep, a new factor was brought into the picture.
Yawning sleepily, she made her way over to the tent where coffee would be served, where she found Will Richmond, one of the grad students, already up. He took one look at the bleary-eyed girl and offered her a cup of coffee. She accepted it gratefully and asked hoarsely, "You look like you never even got to bed, Will. What happened? Dr. Meadows said that the tracker they were bringing in would be looking through the night."
"Charlotte happened. She took one look at him, and decided we would help him look," Will growled. Adriana winced at the reference to her friend's wife. They had been married for several years, had been high school sweethearts. Two years earlier, they had lost their daughter to crib death. Things had spun out of control for them ever since. Part of it, Adriana knew, was Will's fault. She had urged him not to shut out his wife, but he refused to listen. After a time, Adriana finally gave up. She figured as long as she was still his friend, there would be hope.
Adriana replied quietly, "You can hardly blame him for that, Will." He glared at her, but Adriana had grown up around her brother's best friend, Chris Larabee ... and that man had a glare that would freeze most ordinary mortals in their tracks. Will's glare had no effect on her whatsoever. Maybe that was why they got along so well. Adriana continued, "I'm not gonna argue about this with you, Will. But you know I'm right. I just hope that it doesn't take losing Charlotte for you to come to your senses."
"You're a nineteen year old kid, what would you know about it? What would you know about anything? You didn't find your baby daughter dead, for no good reason! I've spent the last two years trying to figure out what the hell Charlotte did wrong the night before, that caused our little girl to die!" Will exploded. Adriana's spine straightened, even as a shadow fell in the tent. She focused her attention on Will, however, not the newcomer.
"I didn't find my daughter dead, Will ... but I did find my mother dead. And I hope I never lose a child. Losing my mother and my brother was hard enough, but I don't think I could tolerate losing a child. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see Dr. Meadows, see if this new tracker came up with any new ideas. There's a little girl out there who needs us. And I'll be damned if I'll let her down," she replied.
She turned, even as she saw the guilt in Will's eyes, and almost collided with Charlotte herself. She muttered an apology, then brushed past the older woman. The trouble was, Will was right. It was none of her business. And she had no idea what it was like, to lose a child. But Will was her friend, and she didn't want him to be hurt any more than he already had been. Adriana straightened her shoulders and headed for the tent where she knew she would find her advisor.
She found the tiny woman writing in her journal and sipping coffee. Priscilla Meadows looked up with a smile, then sighed, "Let me guess ... the first person you encountered was big-mouth Will." Adriana gave her advisor a weak smile, and Dr. Meadows motioned her to sit down. The woman continued, "He's a dear boy, and a very good student, but there are times when he can be very stupid. He's losing Charlotte and he doesn't even realize it." The marital problems faced by the Richmonds was known throughout the camp. To Adriana's disgust, there was even a pool on which undergrad Charlotte Richmond would sleep with first, to get Will's attention.
"I'm not sure if he cares any more, Dr. Meadows. And he was right, I should stay out of it. God, when am I gonna learn to stay out of things? I learned the hard way to avoid attention, and here I am at college ... " Adriana sighed, sliding to her knees beside her advisor. She shook her head as she sipped her own coffee, and looked at her advisor. Remembering something Will had said, she asked, "Is this tracker that good-looking? He seems to have caught Charlotte's eye." Priscilla's green eyes twinkled with laughter.
"My dear girl, he could make an old married lady like myself think indecent thoughts, and I'm old enough to be his mother!" the woman replied and Adriana laughed. Priscilla patted her hand, saying, "Adriana, you are a good girl. You have a big heart, and you are very bright. When you adopt someone, as you have adopted Will, you are very protective of them ... and that includes trying to protect them from their own foolishness."
"It's still none of my business," Adriana muttered. Dammit, dammit, dammit, when would she learn? She was starting to understand why Chris stayed out of things like this. Priscilla put a comforting arm around her slim shoulders, giving her a gentle hug. Adriana relaxed against the other woman, able to accept her touch. As she had told Will, she had found her mother's dead body when she was eight years old. Katrien van Gesen Wilmington hadn't been the most loving mother ... in fact, Adriana couldn't remember ever hearing her mother say 'I love you,' in English or in Dutch.
But still, she had been Adriana's mother, and finding Katrien's limp, nearly bloodless body had nearly shattered the little girl's sanity. If it hadn't been for Buck ... Adriana steered her mind away from her brother. Priscilla said, "Why don't you go over your notes? Vin won't wake up for another hour or so, if he's as smart a boy as I think he is." At Adriana's questioning look, Priscilla explained, "Our new tracker. Vin Tanner."
He had never been able to resist when it came to children. Perhaps remembering the years after his mother's death, of travelling with migrants all over the American Southwest, had something to do with his decision to help find five year old Raquel Hernandez. And maybe the fact that Raquel was the same age he was when his mother died. But when Priscilla Meadows had asked for him personally to help find the child, he couldn't say no.
Kevin Tanner, known to most people as 'Vin,' had garnered a reputation as a bounty hunter and tracker in Texas during the last three years. He had learned his skills from a variety of places ... he had known a fair number of Indians while he was growing up, and they had taught him about tracking. When other kids were learning the three R's, Vin Tanner was learning to track. To hunt.
He dropped out of high school when he was sixteen, knowing he couldn't keep his secret for much longer, and left Tascosa, where he had been living for most of the school year. He had gone to another town, and lied about his age. It wasn't hard to fool people, not with the stubble and the hard look in his eyes. But Vin Tanner had only been alive for nineteen years on the day he had agreed to help find Raquel Hernandez, though he could have easily passed for twenty-five.
Some saw through his disguise ... the stubble and the shoulder-length hair, the soft, raspy voice, the hard blue eyes. Some, but not many. Most people saw what they wanted to see, and if people ever actually saw the youthful features under the wide-brim cowboy which protected his eyes from the Texas sun, they just ignored it. Which was fine with Vin Tanner. It was easier to get people to take you seriously, if they didn't realize you were nineteen.
Besides, he felt closer to twenty-five ... so much older than most of the other volunteers. He knew from Dr. Meadows that they were actually older than he was, but they seemed terribly young to him. He watched them through the flap of his tent now. Vin would have preferred just sleeping under the stars, no tent ... he had done it many times before. However, Dr. Meadows insisted, since she didn't want to worry about any of her charges stepping on him.
He had slept for maybe an hour after returning to camp with Dr. Meadows and the Richmonds, but the sleep was fitful. Vin wouldn't be able to relax until Raquel was back with her family, and he was away from the dangerous couple. Charlotte Richmond looked at him in a way that both terrified and exhilarated him. No one had ever looked at Vin like that before. And Will Richmond had been seething every time he caught his wife's eyes on the young tracker.
He watched the couple through the open tent now. Will was following one of the youngsters to Dr. Meadows' tent, Charlotte only a few paces behind him. Vin shook his head. Lord, why had the man ever bothered to get married, if he was gonna treat his wife like that? Vin didn't remember his father ... he didn't even know if his pa had been married to his ma. But he remembered his ma ... remembered how much she had loved him. And he didn't want to believe that his pa had ever treated his ma like that.
Whoever Richmond had been following slipped into Dr. Meadows' tent and the graduate student turned on his wife with a vengeance. Aw hell. If there was one thing Vin couldn't stand, it was the mistreatment of women. One of the other grad students interposed himself between the fighting couple, and Vin stayed put. At least for the moment. What the hell was wrong with Richmond, that he went chasing after an undergrad, when he still had a wife?
Vin had found himself talking to the woman the previous night, just because he couldn't stand to see a woman look so sad. Much less one as pretty as Charlotte was. He had felt Will Richmond's eyes stabbing into him, but Vin had ignored it. He had a feeling that before things played out, he and the grad student would get into it, but the young man would try to keep himself focused on the task at hand.
Yes, think about little Raquel. A little girl who was alone and scared, possibly even hurt. Vin's heart hurt, just thinking about what that child was going through.
He wondered about the other volunteers, wondered what their part in this was. Why they were helping to find a child whom none of them knew. Vin didn't doubt that some just wanted to return a little girl to her family, but he had been around enough to know that wasn't always the case. It sickened Vin, that someone would use a child to make themselves look good in the eyes of their professor, but he supposed they could use all the help they could get.
Well, he would take the measure of each when he officially met them. The only ones whose names he knew were the Richmonds, and the young girl whom Will Richmond had followed to Dr. Meadows' tent. The professor had pointed out the girl when Vin arrived the previous night with Mrs Hernandez. Actually, Mrs. Hernandez had asked if that was Dr. Meadows' daughter. The archaeologist had laughed and replied that the girl, Adriana Wilmington by name, was one of the undergrads who was helping on the dig.
Vin had been a little surprised when he learned the girl was a college student, since she didn't look any older than sixteen, but he didn't let it concern him. He was nineteen, and most people didn't know that. There was no reason why this girl had to be the same age she appeared to be. Mrs. Hernandez had been somewhat surprised, but she didn't really care. As long as her little girl was found, that was all that mattered to Anne Hernandez. Vin meant to find that child. After taking a look around the area the previous night, he had a few ideas about where they might find her. He knew a thing or two about finding children.
Especially when the child was trying to hide. According to Mrs. Hernandez, Raquel had overheard an argument between her mother and grandmother, regarding the little girl's future. Raquel's father had died in the Persian Gulf War ... Desert Storm ... whatever the hell you wanted to call it. But he had died and there had been a few promises which Mrs. Hernandez made to her husband before he left for the Gulf with his reserve unit.
In any event, Mrs. Hernandez had wanted to honor her husband's wishes, while her mother wanted something else. She hadn't explained it, but Vin reckoned the explanations weren't that important. The end result was, the argument had frightened Raquel and she had disappeared in the night, 'bout thirty-six hours earlier. By now, Vin knew she would be tired, hungry, scared and wanting only to go home. He knew all about it. About being five years old, and wanting to go home. But unlike Vin, Raquel had a family.
It wasn't that hard to start thinking like a five year old, so that would make his life a little easier. And, Raquel knew Vin. That was another bonus for the young man. Raquel knew him, and she trusted him. The only other person she knew was Dr. Meadows ... the little girl was likely to get even more frightened if a stranger showed up.
That had caused an argument with Richmond ... one of many, the previous night. Arguments between the two weren't limited to Charlotte. Richmond seemed to think that since he was the senior grad student and the unofficial student leader, he knew how to track. Ah, no. And he didn't know the way Raquel's mind worked ... didn't know where she would hide. Vin wouldn't tell him where to dig ... but Richmond had to stay out of his way while they were looking for Raquel. Vin just didn't see that happening for some reason.
Sighing wearily, the boy eased himself back onto his bedroll. Dr. Meadows had said that they wouldn't be ready until at least nine, which gave him the chance to get another hour of sleep. He didn't know if he could sleep anymore. It seemed every time he closed his eyes, he could only see Charlotte Richmond. Vin tried to tell himself to forget it, that a married woman was nothing but trouble ... but Vin Tanner couldn't resist children in danger or women in need.
Well, this was a fine kettle of fish. Priscilla Meadows shook her head as she watched Adriana Wilmington return to her tent for her notes. The girl had begun compiling a field journal of things she had observed ... it was as much a commentary on the tensions among the various students as an observation of techniques and rituals. Priscilla wouldn't call Adriana 'brilliant,' but she did see a bright future for the girl. Maybe not as an archaeologist ... only time would tell what kind of future that would be for her. But a bright future was in the cards, nonetheless.
"Is Adriana all right, Dr. Meadows?" a shamed voice asked as Priscilla headed from her tent to get some more coffee. She had a feeling today would be a long day, especially if the tension continued to mount between Will and Vin. The professor turned to see one half of that pair looking at her. Adriana hadn't told her what had been said, just that she shouldn't have interfered. More than likely, she was right ... and under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have.
"She will be. Will, how long had you known her before she had told you about finding her mother's body?" Priscilla asked in a quiet voice. Will looked away, even more ashamed, and Priscilla continued, "I want you to think about this, the next time you give her a hard time for caring about you. She was eight years old that morning, when she came home from school. She was already sick, the teacher had to drive her home. And she found her mother lying on a blood-soaked sheet. Eight years old, Will, can you imagine that?"
Priscilla knew she couldn't. She didn't know what had happened to Katrien Wilmington. Adriana had admitted she went into shock ... the next thing she remembered was hearing her brother's voice, but that was hours later. For nearly six hours, she had sat on the sofa in the living room, still dressed in her bloody clothes ... and until her brother arrived, no one had tried to help the little girl.
That was Priscilla's assumption at least. Now, she looked hard at Will Richmond and said, "Now, I know you have decided you've got everything under control with your marriage. You've decided you don't love your wife enough to fight for her, and you won't get a divorce. And maybe Adriana should just let you destroy what remains of your marriage."
Will started to protest, but Priscilla continued icily, "Maybe she should do that. The question you have to ask yourself, then, is if you're willing to sacrifice your friendship with Adriana, as you already have sacrificed your marriage to Charlotte, on account of your pride. The only reason Adriana speaks up is because she hates to see you hurting. She's very protective of her friends, you've known her for two years ... you should know that by now. And she may be shy, but if you're unwilling to accept her as she is, then she isn't willing to have your friendship."
"She's just a kid ... she doesn't know anything about being married or having a kid. It's not her business what I do," Will muttered. Priscilla shook her head. Why did she bother? Why did she even open her mouth? He would never understand. She caught sight of Adriana's bowed dark head through the tent flap, her small hand flying across the page of her journal, and wondered how that small, shy, but determined girl had come to matter so much to her.
"You're wrong. You made it her business when your problems began to affect the group. You made it her business when Adriana had to listen the others make bets on which undergrad Charlotte would sleep with, trying to get you to pay some attention to her, aside from putdowns. But that doesn't matter to you, does it? People are just pawns to you, for you to use until you get tired of them. You've used Charlotte, you've used Adriana. You never cared about either one of them," Priscilla told the young man. She shook her head in disgust.
She looked first at Adriana's tent, then at Vin's. And she smiled. That would work. She looked back at Will, saying, "You know, I'm Adriana's advisor ... and I'm gonna advise her to dump you as a friend. And while I'm at it, I'm gonna ask Vin to stay away from Charlotte ... the boy wants to save a lost soul, he can save Adriana. Charlotte has a whole group of boys just dying to sleep with her. Adriana just has me."
She walked away from the grad student, heading for Adriana's tent. She had to be very careful about this. Adriana was, in her own way, as sensitive to outside interference as Will was. But Priscilla was worried about the girl. She was a good student, very focused on getting her degree. Maybe too much so. Her only true friend was Claire Moseley, her roommate, and the daughter of a missionary.
A new frontier had opened up in Russia, with the demise of communism. Men like Reverend Owen Moseley saw the potential to bring God to millions of Russians who had grown up under communism, believing as Marx did, that religion was the opiate of the masses. That was where Claire was going when she graduated. She would be her father's assistant in Russia, and that was why she was learning Russian.
What Claire wanted was unknown to anyone besides Claire and Adriana. The missionary's daughter had been good for Adriana ... the girl from Colorado was no longer silent. She still avoided attention like the plague, but Claire had convinced her to have some fun while she was at college. Adriana still worked too hard, but Priscilla was convinced that was because she was running from demons in her past. Adriana was a good girl, but she hadn't yet learned that you could never outrun your demons. That eventually, you had to stand and face them ... and make them run. And to do that, you needed help. You couldn't do it alone.
Vin Tanner had demons of his own. Priscilla could see those demon in the young man's eyes. However, he was in the process of facing them. By helping them find Raquel. Yes, he was in the process of facing his demons, but he was only nineteen. Priscilla smiled fondly as she stared at the tent where the boy was hopefully sleeping. He had thought he had fooled everyone into believing that he was the same age as Will and Charlotte, but not Priscilla. Not a woman who carefully checked out everyone who worked with her.
Yes, he could benefit from Adriana's fierce protectiveness, just as she could benefit from his ... being. There was no one thing about Vin Tanner which told Priscilla how he could help Adriana. The entire package would be good for her. She couldn't put them together on this venture ... despite her affection for Adriana, her main concern at the moment was Raquel Hernandez. But after. Yes, after ... then they would see.
By nine, they were ready to move out. Five people would remain behind, to continue the dig and watch the camp site. The other twenty students, undergrad and grad, would accompany Vin and Dr. Meadows to find Raquel Hernandez. To his dismay, Vin discovered that Dr. Meadows had placed him with the Richmonds, as well as the girl Richmond had been chasing toward the professor's tent, Adriana. Oh, this would be a day from hell!
He had awakened at eight thirty, feeling a little more alert, and found the coffee tent. Dr. Meadows was there as well, conferring with Anne Hernandez. Vin was a little surprised ... he had thought the mother was back at her house, but Anne insisted on remaining. She was in charge of the map. Vin was the only tracker/guide with the group, but there was one other who knew the area as well as he did. Dr. Meadows herself, and she would be with the other group.
Vin would take ten people and search the area he had canvassed the previous night, while Dr. Meadows would take the other ten, and do another sweep of the places they had searched previously. While drinking his coffee, Vin had run through a mental list of likely places for the little girl to hide. She was only five years old, there was little food and water out here, even less shelter, and she had to be within this small area.
Before Vin headed out with his group, Anne Hernandez grabbed his hand and said, "When you find my baby, give her a message for me. Tell her no matter what Grandma says, I will not change her name to Rachel. Her name is Raquel Hernandez, the daughter of Mark Hernandez, and that will never change." Vin blinked in surprise. Say what? Anne sighed, "Mother wants me to change Raquel's name to Rachel Henderson. Anglicize it. I love my mother, but she's a snob. I promised Mark that Raquel would grow up proud of her heritage, and I will keep that promise!"
There was something more going on here than a simple name change. Vin had spent most of his life studying people in one way or another, and he knew that there was something Anne wasn't telling him. It wasn't none a' his business, of course, but there was somethin' she wasn't saying. Somethin' important. Perhaps seeing something in his eyes, Anne added, "And tell her that Grandma won't take her from me. Not now, not ever."
Ahhhhh ... now it made sense! Vin nodded to the woman, replying, "I'll tell her, ma'am." That had been nearly an hour earlier, and Vin's group was a half hour into the search. He cast a gaze around the group. After a quick check of the water in the canteens, he had elected two big men in the group to carry the extra canteens. No sense in anyone getting dehydrated. He hadn't had any difficulty with one man, but the other, Boudreau, had insisted that the little sophomore Adriana carry the canteens, since that was her job.
For the first time since his arrival, Vin discovered that he and Richmond were in agreement. Richmond got into Boudreau's face, hissing, "You're a helluva lot bigger than she is, Boudreau, and those canteens are heavy. Now, if you want to make her carry those things, fine. But when she collapses from heat exhaustion, you can carry her back to the camp. And you can explain to Dr. Meadows that you made a one hundred pound girl carry her weight in water."
Boudreau hesitated and Charlotte Richmond took a step forward, putting her arm around Adriana protectively. She didn't say a word ... but Boudreau backed down. Richmond was exaggerating somewhat. The canteens probably didn't weigh as much as the little sophomore, and the girl looked like she was in good shape, but that was a risk Vin didn't want to take. Boudreau ungraciously accepted his share of the additional canteens. There were only ten of them total, but Boudreau's attitude that the Wilmington girl was a slave to the rest of them, just 'cause she was younger, had gotten Vin's Irish up.
"We ready?" he asked brusquely. The others nodded. Charlotte gently squeezed Adriana's shoulder, then moved away. The exchange puzzled more than one person ... Vin was still wondering about it thirty minutes later. Not the gesture of support, but the surprise that had registered in the eyes of just about everyone there. He didn't let it take up too much of his concentration, as his eyes scanned the area for what he was looking for.
"Hold up," he said and broke away from the group. An object had caught his eye. Small. Pink. Something that seemed hideously out of place. He knelt down and gently scooped the object into his hand. Small. Pink. A little ballet slipper, it looked like, but it was actually a child's slipper. Vin knew. He had seen this little slipper on the feet of Raquel Hernandez more times than he could count. She had fallen asleep in his lap, wearing these slippers.
"She's here," he said, rising to his feet and turning to face the others. He held up the pink slipper, and continued, "Split up. Montoya, take five people and circle around. Dr. Meadows tells me that you know this area purty good. A little bit ahead, there's an outcroppin' of rocks, big enough for a lil girl to hide in. You know the one?" The woman nodded, her face grim. She chose four people whom Vin didn't know, as well as Boudreau, and moved in the direction Vin had indicated. The remaining four would accompany Vin, and that's when trouble really hit.
Adriana wanted to fade into the desert. She had learned over the last few weeks how to dress out here in the desert, and how to avoid dehydration. Now, she was wishing she had also learned how to make herself totally invisible. She appreciated that Tanner and Will had wanted to protect her, and she really hadn't been looking forward to carrying the canteens. But she could have handled it. She had done it before, when she was working as a waitress.
Knowing Boudreau, he would spend the rest of the dig making her life as miserable as possible. Shit. And then Charlotte ... Charlotte, of all people, had put her arm around her. It had taken every bit of self control Adriana had created for herself to keep from flinching when she felt a strange hand on her shoulder. She was already the focus of too much attention, and if she flinched at Charlotte's touch, she would be facing questions she didn't want to answer.
And Will, who had been unusually quiet until Boudreau insisted she carry the additional canteens, made up for it when Tanner decided they needed to split up. But Adriana could see the sense in the man's idea. Adriana thought about being five years old, and having to face so many strangers at once. While she didn't know the terrain as well as Cass Montoya, Adriana knew about the rocks. There were places where a little girl could slide down, and if the group split into two, it would be easier to search for her.
Will, however, was resenting this man for his interference, as Will saw it. Ever since they had set out, Charlotte had flirted with their guide. Adriana had only listened to her with half an ear, since she had other things on her mind. Until Will protested the group being split up, and an argument began raging. Tanner was quiet, even more quiet than Adriana was, but he was also stubborn.
"Damn you, I'm in charge! You shouldn't have split us up!" Will was saying now. Adriana sighed, shifting her position ever so slightly. Tanner's response couldn't be heard by the others, but Will snarled, "When we get back, I'm gonna have Dr. Meadows get rid of you! You work for her, and I'm her second in command, so you listen to me! We went over this a thousand times yesterday, she's not here!"
Tanner finally turned to face them all, the wide-brimmed cowboy hat falling back to reveal his face for the first time. Adriana hadn't had a chance to see what he looked like until now ... And now, she blinked in surprise. Oh. No wonder Charlotte and Dr. Meadows had reacted that way! He ... was ... handsome. He was several inches taller than the five foot, two inch Adriana. Light brown hair ... now damp with sweat ... fell to his shoulders, lightly brushing his collarbone. He had bright blue eyes, and more than a hint of stubble lined the strong jaw. High cheekbones. She wondered if he had any Indian ancestry, or maybe Irish? He looked Irish to her.
His voice was even softer than normal, so soft Adriana had to strain to hear it. But there was no mistaking his tone. You did not cross this man ... and if you made the mistake of thinking you could push him around, because he was quiet, you'd live to regret that mistake. He said now, "You do what you gotta, Richmond. I ain't said nuthin' 'bout the way you treat your wife, and go chasin' after young girls. But I reckon if you don't shut up, and let me do my job, you're gonna make it right hard for me to keep my mouth shut."
"In other words, Will," Andrews said with some exasperation, "shut up and let the man do his job! He doesn't tell you how to dig, now don't tell him how to track!" The big man, who was carrying the additional canteens for their group, shook his head in disgust. He muttered under his breath, "How Charlotte has put up with your crap for the last two years, I'll never know. Stupid idiot." Will took a step toward Andrews, and Adriana had had enough.
"Will, stop! Doug is right ... stop letting your pride get in the way, and just let Mr. Tanner do his job. He's trying to help this little girl, just like we all are," she said, stepping between the two men. It wasn't the smartest thing she could have done, stepping between two men who were a good bit larger than herself. And she was immediately cursing herself for that, as well as for once more putting herself in the spotlight. Center of attention. Shit.
Will stopped his advance. Adriana was scared ... she had never pushed him like this before. She had never physically stopped him before. And she had no idea what he would do. But she stood her ground, because she didn't know what else to do. And as Boudreau had, less than a hour before, Will backed down. He turned away with an oath, kicking a rock. Adriana looked back at Tanner, who had replaced his hat and now tipped the headpiece to her.
She didn't know quite to make of the gesture. She had lived in Texas for two years, and it wasn't the first time she had seen a man tip his hat. But it was the first time someone had tipped his hat to her. More to the point, she wasn't entirely sure what it meant, coming from this man. Doug Andrews muttered, his brown eyes twinkling with laughter, "You know, kid, you keep this up, and everyone else on the dig may actually realize you have a backbone."
"What was I thinking? First I push him this morning, telling him that if he's not careful, he'll lose Charlotte, now this. I just couldn't let him ... I know what it's like, to be alone and afraid. And I won't let anything stop us from finding that little girl, not even Will's pride," Adriana muttered. She didn't see the surprise in Doug's eyes ... or the sorrow in Will's. She just knew that if she hadn't said something, something bad would have happened.
"A marriage is a two way street, kid. And unfortunately, Charlotte's frustrated enough to start sleeping with other men, if it gets Will's attention. She knows she's got power in this group. You know Boudreau is one of the guys sniffing around her?" Doug questioned and Adriana nodded. He was, actually, the top choice for Charlotte in the betting pool. It seemed Charlotte had noticed his eyes on her. Maybe Will had as well, and that had been part of his argument earlier? Ew. Doug continued, "She was effectively tellin' him earlier, that if he didn't do what Will and Tanner said, he didn't stand a chance with her."
"I'm being a bitch, I know she was trying to help me, but that makes me uncomfortable. Her using that with Boudreau," Adriana admitted quietly as the pair trudged along. For the first time, Adriana was alarmed to realize that she had just figured out one reason why she liked being invisible. Being in the spotlight forced her to face certain things she didn't want to face. Like her fear that she would use people to get what she want ... use and manipulate. Adriana had been used for nine years, and the possibility that she could do that to another person made her nauseous. She didn't ever want to be that desperate.
"He found her," Doug muttered, and Adriana blinked. Huh? Shit, she had lost track again. But Doug was right. Tanner had found the little girl. The two looked at each other, then began trotting to catch up with the others. Adriana's breath caught in her throat. Tanner was on his hands and knees on one of the rocks, peering down into a gap. Yes. Between two boulders, there was a gap, large enough for a child to slide through.
And then she looked at Tanner. Something was wrong. He was dangerously in control. At this moment, his face grimly determined, he reminded her rather strongly of Chris. He said quietly, "We won't need rope. She ain't far enough down to need it, just far enough that she can't climb her way out. One of us can go down and get her. Y'all stay up here and find the food and the first-aid kit, I'm goin' down."
"I'll get her out!" Will bellowed. Oh, not this again! Charlotte's face looked pinched with fear as her eyes darted between the guide and her husband. Had she seen the flash of fear in the guide's eyes? Wait a minute. Tanner had said first aid kits, as if there was nothing wrong with her other than some scratches. If she hadn't fallen that far, that would be about right. Maybe a busted ankle or torn ligaments. So why ... ?
Of course. The fear wasn't for Raquel. It was for Tanner. He was claustrophobic. And he was willing to go down in there for that little girl anyhow. Like he really needed Will's desire to turn this rescue mission into a pissing contest? Adriana shocked herself by saying, "We don't have time for this. I'll go." All eyes turned toward her and Adriana swallowed. Just had to go and open her big mouth, didn't she? But she continued, "I'm the smallest person in the group, I have a better chance of sliding in and getting her. Mr Tanner, if you could tell Raquel I'm coming down? She doesn't know me, but she knows, and trusts, you."
She had done it again ... put herself in the spotlight. What was wrong with her? Tanner stared at her for several moments, then nodded. He knelt beside the boulder and Adriana shrugged out of her backpack immediately. Charlotte helped her, first taking the canteen from Adriana's belt, then the backpack. She whispered, "Just to be safe, take the first aid kid with you. I'll put it on your belt, where the canteen was."
Adriana nodded as Doug took the backpack and canteen from Charlotte, then the other woman clipped the first aid kit to her belt. She gave Adriana a quick hug, then murmured, "Good luck, and be careful." Again, Adriana nodded then scrambled onto the rocks beside Tanner. He was answering Raquel's questions, and Adriana shuddered, hearing the tears in the little girl's voice. It would be all right. They would get her out.
She tried not to think about what would happen once she got down there. She hated spiders. Hated bugs of any kind. What the hell kind of archaeologist she would be, with her hatred of insects other than lady bugs and butterflies, she didn't know. She would be spending a lot of time outdoors. Tanner smiled at her reassuringly, and for some reason, that calmed her. Or maybe it was just the quiet faith in the blue eyes.
She didn't know. But she was committed now, and she would not fail.
"She's a brave kid," Doug Andrews observed as the girl eased herself into the crevice separating the two boulders, "quiet, but brave. I would imagine you know a few things about girls like her, Mr. Tanner. The kind who think of themselves as cowards, but do the right thing because it's the right thing to do." Vin looked up from Adriana Wilmington's progress. She had begun talking to Raquel as soon as she began lowering herself into the crevice, reassuring the child. Nonsense talk, which had nothin' to do with nothin.'
"Reckon I know a few things. That one ain't a coward. She only thinks she is. How long you known her?" Vin asked, arranging himself more comfortably on the boulder. He ignored the black glares from Richmond. Vin had been wrong about the relationship between Richmond and the Wilmington girl. From what he had observed, they were just friends. He seemed to care about her, about as much as he was able to care about anyone.
"Two years, same as Will. We met her when she was working as a waitress at an all night truck stop, trying to get enough money together for her first year of college," Andrews replied and Vin shook his head. A waitress at an all-night truck stop, and she calls herself a coward. Andrews continued, "Will noticed one of the guys picking on her. This particular loser had stopped with his family, and he decided picking up a girl on the side would be fun. She said no, and one of the truckers stepped in before either of us could."
Andrews peered down into the crevice, adding with a sigh, "Seventeen years old. We didn't find out how old she was until a few weeks later. She had left home about two months earlier, and was a bit sensitive about people knowing how old she was. I still don't know how she got from Colorado to Texas, and she never told us. Just that she knew better than to hitch-hike. Will tried to convince her to go home over the next few months, and she finally blew her stack. Told him exactly where he could go. We didn't see her for a long time after that."
He had deliberately lowered his voice, as if the girl probably wouldn't want him to be tellin' all this to a stranger. For that matter, Vin wasn't sure he wanted to know all this. But Andrews seemed to want to talk. He went on, "We were afraid she had been hurt ... Charlotte got tired of us 'pussy-footin' around,' as she put it, and asked the manager. Adriana had quit about two weeks after Will pushed her too far about going home. Gave her two weeks notice, and the manager had no idea where she was. He had seen her once since then, when she had come in to pick up her check."
Vin glanced back down into the crevice, seeing only the back of Adriana's head as she knelt in front of Raquel. Andrews continued, "The next time we saw her, she was coming out of Tapestry ... you know, the store for weddings." Vin had never heard of it, but that didn't seem to matter to Andrews, who went on, "Anyhow, she was coming out of the local distribution center. Hair pulled back in a ponytail, she didn't look more than fifteen or sixteen. She was working at a warehouse, putting away enough money to start college."
The man didn't seem to realize that his voice had steadily grown louder over the last few minutes. And Richmond, to Vin's surprise, had stopped giving the two men dark looks. Instead, he seemed thoughtful.
Whatever else Andrews had been about to say, he was cut off by the somewhat impatient sounding Adriana, who sighed with exasperation, "Andrews, if you're finished telling my life story up there, you can help me. Raquel wants to go home, and we can't get her home until she's outta here." Doug Andrews winced, and scooted closer to the edge, reaching out for the child. Inside the crevice, Vin could hear Adriana say, "Now, Raquel, Doug is gonna lift you up, and give you to Vin, then he's gonna pull me out. Okay?"
"Okay, Miss 'Driana," came the little girl's answer. Vin blinked. The Raquel he knew was very shy around strangers. There was a long silence, Raquel giggled. Vin had no way of knowing what the college student had said to the little girl, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. Women, he had learned at the youthful age of fifteen, were very, very dangerous. And they started early. Raquel said, still giggling, "That's silly!"
"But it's true! Just ask when you get up there! Ready, Doug?" the college student asked. Before Andrews could say 'yes,' Raquel had been catapulted into his arms. From the corner of his eye, Vin saw Richmond smirking, like he had expected as much. The little girl wriggled free to throw her arms around Vin, who was knocked somewhat off-balance by the child's fierce embrace. Vin steadied himself on the boulder, keeping a protective arm around Raquel.
"I'll remember that, kid," Andrews growled as he grasped Adriana's hands and pulled her to safety. As she emerged from the crevice, Vin slid easily down the boulder, still holding Raquel. The college student emerged from the hole, covered in dirt. She brushed herself off, a mischievous smile lighting her face at the big man's threat. Somehow, Vin had a very hard time believing that Doug Andrews would ever harm the girl.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it before. Sheesh, Doug, I was trying to get your attention for five minutes, while you were running your yap!" Adriana scolded as the big man helped her down from the boulder. Vin happened to be facing in that direction, watching the pair as they bantered ... which was how he saw the girl flinch, ever so slightly, when Andrews put his hands on her waist. That was the second time she had done that.
"Sorry, kid. I just can't resist talking about one of my favorite people, especially when you decide to show you've got a backbone after all. You know half the people on the dig are convinced you're a doormat. I'd pay money to see what would happen when one of them pushed you too far. I bet that would be fun to watch," Andrews teased. For the first time, Vin saw evidence that the girl had a sense of humor, as she stuck her tongue out at the big man.
Vin turned away, so none of the others would see his grin, and saw Cass Montoya heading toward them. The woman waved her arms, seeing the small figure in Vin's arms, and picked up the pace. Andrews sighed, sounding as if he had lived a thousand years, "Ah, well ... all's well that ends well, isn't that right? Miss 'Driana, isn't that what she called you? I'll have to remember that. 'Miss 'Driana,' I like that."
"I have no problem with you calling me 'Driana.' But 'Deedee' and 'little princess' are off-limits. My brothers call me that. No one else is allowed," the girl parried.
"Little princess? What makes you think I'd want to call you that, especially the way you look right now! I shouldn't call you 'little princess,' but 'Cinderella.' Hey, Cass, you would never believe it. Adriana's got a backbone, she stood up to Richmond earlier! And she's got a sense of humor. I always knew it, but she likes to hide it until someone makes her forget why she should hide it," Andrews yelled.
The man couldn't leave well enough alone, it seemed. As attention once more focused on Adriana, Vin saw her withdraw into herself. To take the attention off her, Vin said, "Let's get back to the camp. I know a ma who's gonna want to see her baby girl." Raquel froze in his arms, and Vin whispered, "Your ma gave me a message to give ya. She said to tell ya that your name is Raquel Hernandez, not Rachel Henderson ... and that your grandma ain't never gonna take ya away from her. That's a promise."
Raquel relaxed with a sigh. She put her head on his shoulder, then just as suddenly, she looked up at him and said, "I'm real hungry, Vin. I tried to be good, like you taught me, but I couldn't eat bugs. I couldn't remember which ones I could eat, and which ones would make me die, and it was dark. And I'm scared of bugs, so I just sat where Miss 'Driana found me." Her small face was screwed up with a combination of disgust and fear.
Vin laughed and hugged the little girl tightly, murmuring that she had done right good. He began walking ahead of the others as the little girl proceeded to fill him in on everything that had happened to her since overhearing her mother and grandmother's argument. The little girl had quite a story to tell. And Vin had no doubt that it was a story she would tell to her own children and grandchildren. His mind was no longer on the archaeology students who had helped to rescue the little girl, but on the little girl herself. Raquel was safe ... and once she was delivered into her mother's arms, Vin's job was done.
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