Janette didn't point out that, being soldiers in potentially deadly situations, some of them might not have the chance to
grow up. Not about to remind a room full of soldiers what they already knew. She didn't understand the military mind
set. Signing on wasn't a tradition in her family and Sean had been running much too wild and rough to think about
something like that before he'd gotten his call and woken up to where his life was headed. But here she was in a tent
surrounded by career soldiers, listening to them joke with each other and thinking - thinking how very precious each of
their lives was. She looked at her daughter, tucked up against her own soldier's side. Realizing in her heart instead of
just her head as she had previously, what loving a man like the one her daughter had chosen meant. What it could
cost in the end.
It didn't make her love her adopted son any less. But it filled her with a protective desire to keep him, and his
daughter's heart, safe. And to make sure they had as much time together, and as much peace during it, as possible.
Sean, mind as curious as his daughter's, was asking: "So Rangers aren't Delta. And you're neither." He looked at Jet.
"How many different branches of the American military are there?"
Jet grinned, teeth white in his dark face.
"I've got this one." He looked at the others in the tent and then turned back to Sean.
"Its pretty easy, see? Delta and Rangers are Army. Ground pounders. I'm a SEAL. Navy. See, we're trained to handle
land AND water. So we don't drown the way they do if they hit a deep puddle."
Swanson let out a groan and threw a piece of carrot at Jet, who knowing it was nonlethal, simply let it bounce off his
shoulder as he laughed.
"Don't listen to him." Swanson protested. "They're called Frogs for a reason too."
"He's still got it wrong." Hector said with a laugh. "We're more all around than SEALs or Rangers. We've got a dive
pool we train in, we do SCUBA, LRRP, HELO/HALO, counter terrorism measures, espionage, sabotage..."
Janette held her hand up laughing. "Lurp? Excuse? It sounds as if they're teaching you bad table manners. I'm afraid
you've lost me."
Swanson laughed. "Let the translator talk. Long range recon patrol. Ambushes, guerilla warfare, intelligence
gathering, sniping. SCUBA. Self contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. Anything underwater from scouting and
scavenging to reconnaissance and underwater restorative measures for hostage take back. HELO/HALO/HAHO.
Refer to jumping out of any type of aircraft whether diving, parachuting, or rapelling."
Mark laughed. "Mrs White, we're the SAS on steroids and crystal meth." He said.
"Great picture, thanks Cheever." Hector said, shaking his head.
"Either way, we're so great that the Navy names its ships after us." Swanson said, for a couple of Naval battleships
had been named after former Delta commandos.
"Man dies for his brothers, no reason his name shouldn't keep scaring the enemy." Jet agreed easily.
"There are four branches of the US military, five if you count Coast Guard. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines. All have
their own special operations. Rangers, Delta, Green Beret, SEAL. SWAT teams are based off us." Hector said with a
shrug.
"So," Janette said thoughtfully. "You go where the others can't or won't."
"We clear the way, ma'am." Hector said with a nod. "Or when something has to be taken care of quietly with as little
fuss as possible."
"And how long do you do this for?" Janette asked, looking at the men in the tent. Her husband was taller than all in the
room, even Hector, and broad shouldered. But these men managed to look more imposing and authorative than even
her husband without so much as trying, and still being good natured and highly likable.
"Usually until we can't anymore." Swanson said. Janette nodded, reading between the lines. These men were going to
do this until they were forced into retirement, their bodies wouldn't co operate any more, or God forbid (she said a
quick mental prayer) they were killed.
Sean was thinking about the things that were starting to happen back home. Near his own village and in the country
that was falling apart around it. It wasn't bad yet. He'd lived through much worse. But he knew enough with his ear to
the ground to know things were going to get worse before they got better. Made him wonder if he'd be seeing any of
these boys again. There were American missionaries that worked in the same area he did.
Tactful way to answer Janette's last question.
"You boys do good." He stated, his voice filling the small tent without having to rise in volume. "Real good in a way that
makes a difference." He looked at his little girl tucked up under Hector's arm, plate surprisingly empty as she simply
sat and listened. His lips softened into a smile. "A big difference." He looked back at the rest of the men. "You ever
need a place to stop and rest for a while, or just settle down once you're done, you come and find Janette and me.
Only running water we've got comes from a hand pump but it’s a good place and nobody'll ever feed you as much as
Janey will try to."
Janette laughed and rested her hand on her husband's leg to show her agreement. They might all be formidable
soldiers but she couldn't help but see little boys inside them.
"You're in the area anyway." She agreed. "And you're all far too skinny."
"That's more than we usually get." Hector said about the running water. There was a reason they were trained to go
without food, after all. They might not have time to eat, or food might not be available. And water rationing. A couple of
canteens could last them a week. They were a strange breed, all right. He looked at Andi's plate and smiled, then
turned worried. If she ate everything, usually meant that she hadn't eaten in almost as long as him. Which meant
along with the terror she had undergone, either they hadn't offered her food or she refused it out of fear or principle.
He looked at Sean then at Andi again. "I'll be back in a minute." He said. "Can I talk to you sir?" He said, easing out of
the bed and toward the door.
Swanson watched Hector stand up and walk. He looked better, but he was dreading something, Even as private as
Hector was, Swanson was the best (besides Andi, now, apparently) at reading him.
Sean watched his little girl's eyebrows run through their range from surprise to worry to the usual lift when she met his
eyes to indicate she either wasn't sure or didn't feel like she should be giving anything away. Janette often swore the
two of them could carry on an entire conversation with nothing but their eyebrows. He was just glad she'd never picked
up her mother's ability to lift one of them in that way that could freeze a man in his tracks. So he arched his own
eyebrows at her as he stood up to indicate he as about to find out and then leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"I'll be back." He told them then looked at the young men still eating comfortably, including the blond that was no son
of a swan and looking a bit worried himself. "You lads stay put. I've got a question about monkeys when I get back."
Then, while Janette was laughing and Andi was making those choking noises, he stepped out of the tent. More than
confident that, by the time he got back, Janette would have half those boys sending letters and Christmas cards to
her. Her body might not have been able to carry children anymore but her heart never stopped.
His daughter's young man wasn't standing too far away and Sean moved easily over to join him. Fitting his thumbs into
his pockets. Whatever was going on with the lad, he'd been brewing on it for a while. He didn't strike Sean as the kind
that didn't brew. And the thumbs in his pockets indicated that he wasn't defensive so the lad could hopefully be a bit
more relaxed about whatever he thought needed telling.
Sean had a couple ideas and wasn't sure if he was hoping any of them were right or not.
Hector walked beside him for a time then decided to come right out with it, while he was still in an 'open posture.'
"So Andi and I had a little talk last night." Hector said. "As soon as I can arrange transport," preferably non military,
"we're going to head to the States for a bit." He said then stopped, ready for whatever argument Sean decided to
throw at him, even if it was a more physical than verbal one. He knew Sean had his heart set on taking Andi back to
Zaire.
Sean stopped walking when Hector started talking, thumbs still in his pockets. Watching the horizon. Sun lined face
calm and otherwise expressionless. For a while, he didn't say anything.
"Mm." He stated after a minute. Went silent again. Finally he looked over at the young man next to him and simply, in a
calm voice, asked:
"Why?"
"Because there are no shadows there." He said honestly. "She loves you both, she loves Zaire, but even before this,
she's got memories of things coming for her or the ones she loves, coming out of the dark. The panic, the fear. I think
right now it’s all of Africa, with the tribal wars, and the warlords, and the guerilla militias...." He shook his head. "So I
offered and she took me up on it. I'm going to ask her again, since my timing last night was horrible, and if she really
wants to go, that's where we're going. We both need a break from all this."
Sean looked at the young man next to him for a long time, eyes level and calm. Measuring. His wife and his baby girl.
They were the two things he would move heaven and earth for. And now this young boy he didn't even really know
wanted to take one of them away from him. And not just away, but far away.
He'd sent his little Andromache away once before. Far over the ocean and away from the troubles of their land. To
England to get her away from her 'ghosts' in the night. He'd never told her why. She'd thought it was for schooling.
And, even though she'd never shown it, he knew it had taken her a very long time to forgive him for that.
Now this young man standing, stubborn and determined, with his feet apart as if he was waiting for Sean's punch, was
asking him to send her away again.
With him.
And he'd seen the way the two of them had slept together last night. Not yet, he knew. But soon.
"What if she decides she would rather stay with her mother?" He asked mildly.
Hector shrugged. "Then we'll go to Zaire." He said with equal calmness. "Zaire is her home. But right now...." He drifted
off a bit to figure out the best way to put this. "I'm not sure going to a place where you have specific places to keep
women safe is a good idea. I think that....might get her on edge. In the States, the most she has to deal with is
boisterous family and a poodle that won't shut up. But if you ask her to go to Zaire, she'll go."
Because she wouldn't want to hurt her parents, or disappoint them. And she knew wherever she decided in the end to
go, he would go.
Sean sighed.
"Yeah. I know if I ask she'll go with us. I've already caught her 'checkin' to make sure her mum and I are all right." He
looked out at the horizon again. Seeing sky that went on forever. He folded his arms over his chest but loosely.
Thinking. Finally, voice soft, he asked:
"Why her, lad? Not just now. But from the start. Why'd you decide you wanted her out of everyone else? Because I
see the way you look at her when you think she's not looking. Man doesn't have it in him to look at more than one
woman his whole life that way."
"Don't rightly know how to answer that one." Hector said with a small smile. "It's hard to explain. I don't know..." but he
knew he had to try as he thought, looking out at the same view as Sean. "It's like...you know how sometimes you feel
like you've known someone your whole life, but didn't have the chance to meet them until one certain point? Or that
person that just fills that empty part of you up to the point of overflowing? Gets inside the little cracks in those walls
you've spent a lifetime building and sealing up? I don't think I had a choice really in choosing her out of everyone else.
seems like there was really only her."
Sean's face softened and his lips curved as he exhaled.
"It’s funny. I've been praying since I knew she was a girl that when the time was right God would bring the right man
along for her. Praying for that unknown man the same prayers I prayed for my own little girl. Our family takes itself
seriously in that area. I've seen Janette's hurt and know what it costs when you don't. I'd do anything to keep that from
happening to my little girl." He paused. Added softer: "I like the way you said 'we' when I asked what if she changed
her mind about where she wanted to be."
He continued looking at that forever sky and his voice shifted again. "Family means a lot to her. I want you to know
she carries whatever they do to her right in the center of her heart. If they love her, it makes everything right in her
and she feels good about herself. And when they hurt her - " his face darkened. "When they hurt her she takes that to
heart too. She got hurt a while back by some in ours and she's still gun shy. You keep that in mind when she's
meeting yours, yeah? When she's feeling guilty or worried, she doesn't eat. Don't think she knows how serious that is
so you've got to keep an eye on her. Sometimes I think it’s how she punishes herself without knowing that's what she's
doing if she can't make things right right off the bat. And don't let her watch TV. Not CNN or the BBC or anything like
that. She's not used to having those options anyway but it might come up. I'd appreciate if you'd distract her. Things
aren't good in Zaire right now and they're about to get a whole lot worse. I don't want her knowing about it or she'll
worry when she should be concentrating on getting better herself. She gets cold easy too. No meat on her bones.
You've got to watch that." He broke off suddenly with a chuckle and looked over at Hector. Eyes both sad and at
peace.
"I wish I'd had a bit more warning, son. I would have made a list." His lips twitched. "Though I suspect you know most of
it anyway." His face sobered but didn't dip into threatening. Not yet. "You know she's the apple of my eye. Even kind of
understand what that feels like. Just remember, whatever you do to her, she's my daughter. One day you're going to
have daughters of your own and know what that feels like. Remember that when you're with her. You take her home
with you now, you need to realize to her, and to us, that means you want her for the rest of your life. She won't say it
but her heart will believe that. You're not ready for that, or you've got the slightest doubt, you come with us back to
Zaire instead. You strike me as honest enough with yourself, and serious enough, that I can trust you with that
judgement." He looked back out at the sky and exhaled. "You still decide forever's what you really won't do without
from her and you and I are going to have to really have a difficulty. Figuring out how to break this to Janette."
"Then I'd start preparing Janette." Hector said after a moment, listening to what Sean said. He already knew his family
was going to be a problem. "But my family is difficult under the best of circumstances. But how can I not arrange a
meeting of some sort? Without one side or the other getting insulted and starting a whole big fight over it?" But he
wasn't even sure his own father liked him, how could he subject Andi to that? "I don't have cable anyway. Last thing I
want to do when I'm home is sit there and see what I should be out taking care of, you know? So no CNN or BBC.
Cartoon network though. I have that."
Sean chuckled and rested his hand on Hector's shoulder.
"Don't ask me about weird family, son. I had no idea what I was getting into with Janette's. Would have waded into the
crocs for her anyway but I've never seen such sharp teeth hidden behind such polished smiles in all my life. I thought
they liked Andi too. How could anyone not? And then when she was about twelve she came back from a visit all brittle
smiles and stopped eating entirely and went all pale and sickly on me. I didn't have the most godly reaction. Maybe I
should have handled things differently." He gave Hector's shoulder a light squeeze. "You sound like you've at least got
an idea of what they're about. Andi's not entirely without defenses. IF she knows you're backing her. She's got claws
just as well as any woman. She just won't use 'em if she thinks it might catch you too. I just needed you to know she's
got a weakness in that area. The rest you can work out as need be." He chuckled. "Cartoons. You Americans. And I
am not," he pointed a finger at the man next to him, "going to take Janette on by myself, son. I'm not that brave. You
and I are in this mess together now. You better keep rolling with that charm of yours you've been working at her with.
We'll hit her up once she's had a bit more time with her daughter."
"I don't know. I picked Andi, you picked Janette. I'd say that makes her your responsibility. All I remember you saying
was I had to take care of Andi, not Janette." He said, chuckling, though he knew he didn't have a choice. He'd have to
face her on this. He just hoped she didn't have the 'sharp teeth hidden behind a polished smile.' He'd just fought a
war, basically. Wasn't sure he was up to one of words. He shook his head. "Just give me the signal for when it's all
clear. But the slightest pressure from Janette and you two will be cooking for two extra people. And I eat. A lot."
"Cripes, lad." Sean stated companionably. "One tear from her eye and I'll be blaming this entire thing on you." He
gave a chuckle. "You'll know when Janey's ready to hear what you need to say." He met Hector's eyes. "But thank you
for talking to me first, son. That kind of thing's important to me. Now come on. We've been gone long enough for
everyone to be wondering if we're going to come back in with black eyes or not."
"Not that far fetched an idea." Hector said, thinking of the basketball game he and Mike had had. But they headed
back into the tent, where Jet was making sure to dirty every single dish, and then some, while Swanson tried his best
to sit there glowering.