Act 1 - Gathering Darkness
Chapter 1 - Birthday Presents
Sydney's head hurt and turning over to block out the daylight streaming in through the motel window did nothing for the rest of his body either. He groaned loudly and Peter Bond called from the bed beside him, "Not the best this morning big fella!"
"Please Bondy, don't shout," he whispered back, his groans started again as his voice sounded like a boom in his head.
"I think you better get yourself in the shower, sport. You have a jet to catch in about two hours and I don't think a particular birthday girl is going to be impressed if you don't make it back to Brisbane!"
"Oh no!" he groaned but got himself sitting on the edge of his bed as he envied the freshness and liveliness of his team captain as he finished packing his bag.
The man held out his hand to Sydney saying, "See you and Ian in about a month. Don't worry mate we will get them over there!"
Sydney shook the man's hand and using it as a support, stood up. "Yep Bondy I reckon we might, we were close this time," he replied and felt his head clear a bit in the act of standing.
He watched the man walk out the door then he slowly set about getting himself ready for the trip home from Melbourne back to Brisbane. There was a rap on the door as he stood in the bathroom brushing his teeth after his shower and had barely said, "Come in!" when Ian Creighton walked into the room.
"Feeling a little worse for wear I take it Sydney," said the man kindly as he held the door open for a woman to push in a breakfast cart. He thanked her and as she left Sydney saw him pat her surreptitiously on her bottom. He raised his eyebrows but his coach just ignored him as he set about uncovering the plates containing bacon, eggs, sausages and mushrooms. Sydney took a deep whiff and suddenly found himself on his knees beside the toilet as he noisily threw up.
He heard Ian laughing as he closed the door cutting off the noise along with Sydney's cursing of the man's ability to recover so well after the all night drinking session that had followed the team's win yesterday over the Kiwis.
They had lost the series 3 -- 2 but the team celebrated as if they had won it. Peter Bond telling him sometime through the evening that they hadn't won a game against the bastards in the six years he had been captain and now they had won two!
His teammates had kept him supplied with cans of beers all night thanking him for his contribution that was capped off with his second man of the match performance as he'd belted the Kiwi bowlers to all parts of the MCG on a very friendly pitch. Beer was his undoing, anything else he could drink till the cows came home without any noticeable affect on his state of sobriety but beer got him drunk. The tall muscular man surveyed his bloodshot eyes and the rings under them ruefully in the mirror then grinned as a small aqua glow appeared in his eyes and a small voice inside his head asked if he needed some help.
"No thanks Es," he whispered back, "I guess I will take my medicine like a man and remember for next time."
The worry over his little friend's condition was something that had plagued him throughout the tour. Es appeared to be exhausted. It was little wonder, she had not slept for nearly three years and the little bit she did take earlier was not enough. The final clean ups on the Project BF and the stamping out of its attempted revival had seen the little Zygotian using all her powers to keep him, Thelma and Martha alive. While he had recovered well and had been able to play very well in the cricket series just finished, Es had been struggling.
The dark-blue eyes looked back at him from the mirror and he thought hard and long about what he could do for his alien companion. "Es?" he asked softly.
"Yes my lord."
"How long since you have been home?"
"No please Enyalius," the panic in the Zygotian was obvious as she picked up his intentions.
"Why not Es, you have been with me for so damned long? Surely you have someone to go home to, someone who might be missing you perhaps?"
"No, there is no-one!" the answer was too quick and Esmeralda sighed, he would pick up on it and waited.
"Who is she, Es?" the man's mind voice was soft, sympathetic and despite his own sickness she could feel his concern for her.
"My sister Marmess, but she is on assignment for Nugua," Es couldn't keep the longing from her response. Sydney's mind wrapped around her, holding her almost like a mother would hold a child as his internal eyes peered at her with a gentleness that almost made her weep.
"Es you need to be held, loved, comforted by someone who is not going to go insane or die if you touch them with your sexy tail," he said softly.
"Please my lord, don't make me go away from you," now she did cry and Sydney's mental cuddling of her felt wonderful as his warmth increased and his cocoon of love firmed.
Gently Sydney rocked the small form in his cradled mental arms and sang to her. He didn't know what it was that he sang but it came from some memory deep inside his subconscious. It was a sound like nothing he knew he could produce with his vocal chords but as the clicks and tones surrounded the little aqua glow he saw it become softer, fading but not becoming faint. A sigh reached his mind and almost unbelievably a snore, he struggled to stifle his chuckle. He had sung Esmeralda to sleep!
"I will take her now, lord," a voice sounded in his mind, curiously like Esmeralda's but subtly different. A faint magenta glow accompanied the voice, the smell of frangipanis touched his nostrils and soft hands touched his mental cradle.
"Marmess?" he asked.
"Yes lord, Esmeralda's lover, not her sister," the voice held the hint of a little reprimand for the lie her lover had told.
"Do not spank her for the lie, Marmess," Sydney implored, "she has taken on so much and there is a long way for me to go in this journey. She is worried."
"Oh I will spank her lord," the voice was full of mirth at the man's obvious concern, "she loves it!"
Sydney found himself chuckling as the little Zygotian's mind images of his resident in the throes of, what he read quite plainly on her face, ecstasy. "It is something you should remember lord," was the final message as his carefully held bundle disappeared from his mind and a little giggle came back to him as Marmess, holding Esmeralda gently, disappeared into the realms.
Sydney shook his head as he cleaned his mouth out again, he couldn't even remember how he had gotten to bed.
When he emerged from the bathroom Ian was gleefully reading the pages of the newspaper, his breakfast plate empty of all but some sauce. Sydney watched him sip his tea whilst scanning the pages of the paper he had opened on the bed recently occupied by Peter. Pouring a cup of tea he took the lid off his breakfast and felt the bile rising in his throat again.
"Don't smell Sydney, just eat," came the unhelpful advice of his coach, his eyes never leaving the paper.
The dark haired man gave him a glowering look and Ian said, "No good being mad at me young man, it was you that decided to try and drink that bottle of wine from between that buxom lady's tits, not me!" Ian snickered as he heard the bathroom door open again as his young charge once again disappeared.
Finally they were on their way through the once sprawling city, remnants of the older buildings dotting the landscape as the hover taxi followed the old freeway through farms and secluded estates heading towards Tullamarine airport.
Ian had eventually got some toast and juice down the man's gullet before hustling him down to the foyer where the taxis waited. "You know Sydney I think we can beat them over the ditch when we go there in a month. Of course that is if you survive the next week. Goodness knows what Bonnie is going to do with you now that she will be legal tomorrow!"
He was concerned when he saw the man's head drop down and reached over patting the boy on his leg. "What's up mate?"
"I sort of promised that I would behave while we were on this leg of the tour and it seems that I might have broken it," he replied quietly.
Ian sighed and decided to leave it till they got on the hover jet.
They were buckled in and the jet up in the air before Ian relieved him of his worries. "You were so pissed last night," smiled the man, "that you weren't capable of doing much more than opening your mouth and letting the woman pour the wine. Oh yes she wanted you but by the time the boys were chanting 'Fuck fuck fuck' you had passed out! So stop worrying about your promise."
He grinned broadly at the boy before continuing, "I however was not so incapacitated!"
Sydney, lifting his head in relief, saw the older man grinning and suggested, "Room service?"
"Yes Colleen seemed to have a Daddy fixation that I was apparently quite good at satisfying," he said without a hint of embarrassment.
Sydney laughed, "Good for you Ian or should I say 'Daddy'?"
The man nudged his shoulder with his own and just grinned broadly.
Sydney lay his head back on the rest, two worries now out of his mind he looked forward to seeing the beautiful black haired woman. Though his body was very tired, his mind felt surprisingly clear and his internal grin broadened as the promise Bonnie and he had made to each other so long ago was about to be fulfilled. He slept easily and dreamlessly.
Kelsey met them at Brisbane airport, standing beside her hover opposite the arrivals gates. She saw the young man and his mentor pushing the cart containing their bags and the mountain of cricket gear that Sydney insisted on dragging with him.
Of course the media was everywhere and it was almost an hour before she was able to get them into the vehicle. She had already loaded their gear with the help of a very friendly couple of airport staff who shyly asked if she could get Sydney's autograph for them. Using her influence she did better getting the girls' photographs with Australia's latest cricket star as well as his signature across the Australian caps she supplied from one of the boxes in her hover.
Dropping Ian off at his home she reminded him about the birthday party the next day and told him to come around in the early afternoon. He nodded, confirming that he would be there and grabbing his bag waved them off. He watched the hover leave with a little sadness as he had come to enjoy the company of the big lad and the rest of the Australian team. Returning to his bachelor home was going to be a little dull.
