(sequel to Traditions)
by Amelia L. Rodgers ©2002 all rights reserved
Not to be used without author's permission.
E mail author
Dedicated to Ed Bishop and the genuine Ed Straker, long may they reign in our hearts.
This story is by no means canon, and I've taken poetic license as usual for dramatic purposes. However, it does finally settle a mystery for Ed Bishop and his many fans. I hope you read this, Mr. Bishop, and you understand what really happened to your green ball. : - D I think you'll be surprisingly pleased.
Contains adult language and situations.
* * *
When Ed Straker, accompanied by Claire Spencer, got to Shado headquarters, he was greeted by Yetunde Folsade. A grim Yetunde Folsade, who followed him into his office. He was dressed in his brown jumpsuit and Nehru jacket, and sat in his chair, skimming the report on the UFO incident. Claire knew he'd been blessed by the ability to skim an piece of material, and find and retain to memory the most pertinent parts.
"I take it you heard. I'm going to need you to be professional, Yetunde. I'm going to need you to set aside the heartbreak, and be professional."
"I'm not you Edward! I'm not you! I want him back! Ah ah ah! Merciful Olorun I need him back!" Yetunde wept. Claire squeezed Yetunde's hand. Ed thumbed the door button, paused until the door slid firmly shut, stood up, and crossed around to Yetunde, taking her gently into his arms without any expression. She sobbed.
"Who is taking care of Ayomide?" Claire asked, hunting in her purse for a tissue.
Yetunde accepted it, wiped her face and squared her red Chanel suit clad shoulders.
"Carmella. She was out there, when it happened."
"I'll want to talk to her. In the meantime, my technical staff should have at least a theory on what that device was. They've had over two hours to study it."
Claire knew that statement translated into if they didn't, heads in that department would roll and a fellow named Straker would do the rolling. Ed's phone buzzed.
"Straker." he said crisply. "Yes. WHAT? When? What? I'm on my way." He slammed the phone back down.
"Edward?" Claire said. Yetunde had sat at the little corner seat where she knew Alec often sat, feeling secure there, and Claire had been wedged next to her, holding her hand.
"That was my technical department. They were working on the device and it activated again. Nobody was hurt, but that beam fired, and this time someone was on the other end of it. Alec Freeman."
"ALEC!" Yetunde jumped up, but Claire could tell by Ed's expression and body language that something was wrong.
"Don't celebrate yet, Yetunde. He says he isn't Alec Freeman."
* * *
"All right, you're on the telephone in this shot, and then you cross over, pick up the folder from the conference table. Freeman enters. He's taken aback at your suit. You do the dialogue together. Just pretend George is with you. I'll read his lines. Any questions?"
"Well, when directors do the directing and the acting, my job may be on the line. But you know best. I only work here," the actor grinned, drawing a chuckle from the director. Bishop took a brief deep breath, and did the scene as instructed. To perfection, his usual perfection, thought the director. This guy knew his stuff, and didn't possess the ego he should have as such a talented artist. It made working with him a joy, and Gerry was reported to think especially highly of him. The director could see why.
"Cut."
"That didn't feel right. When can I see the rushes?"
"We want to do it with Sewell. Isn't he back yet?"
"Georgie probably took a liquid lunch in his trailer. I think he's taking this Freeman role a little more seriously than he should." Ed lied playfully.
"You're the guy who lost his driver's license from drinking and driving, Eddie." The director winked.
Ed Bishop sighed.
"Ouch." he said. "Okay if I get some water? Throat's pretty dry."
"Sure. Take ten minutes. We could all use a break."
Ed Bishop wandered out of the Straker office set and out to where George Sewell's caravan was, and knocked.
The door came open.
"Ed! Thank God. How did I get here to the studio? What was that thing?"
Ed Bishop laughed merrily.
"George, lose the extra curricular UFO dialogue and get me a bottle of water, would you? I don't want to hunt down the tea lady again."
"George? Why the hell are you calling me George? Ed, what's going on here?"
"George, why do you have that makeup on? It adds ten years. What's the matter?" Ed studied the man, perplexed. Alec studied him back.
"Jesus Christ. You're really not Ed Straker."
Ed laughed.
"Very funny. And I wouldn't want to be the poor stoic guy, either. If someone handed me the responsibility of commanding a secret organization, I'd be on the nearest phone to the press. You know these old actor bones of mine are liberal ones. Besides, he may have the benefit of Sylvia's fashion sense, but I have Hilary and my kids." Ed chuckled. "I think I have it better than him being the lead in a TV show."
"Listen to me. I know this is going to sound insane, but in my world, there is an Ed Straker. He looks exactly like you. Jesus. Wait. Is this just a ruse by the aliens to bring down Shado?"
Alec Freeman reached out and grabbed Bishop before he could make a response, and shut the door behind him, locking it. He threw the actor onto the small couch in the spacious hired caravan. The actor looked at him with wide, frightened blue eyes, fear that wasn't produced from his skill at acting.
"Jesus! All right, this isn't funny anymore, Georgie. I know you like to kid around with me, but this is starting to scare me. There's something wrong with you."
"Starting to scare you? Good, because if I find out this is an alien conspiracy, you're going to wind up a lot more scared than this." Alec promised. "Now tell me what's going on before I use your handsome face for a punching bag."
Ed Bishop gulped, then he looked puzzled.
"What the hell is that?" Ed asked, looking around.
"What? You trying to trick me?" Then Alec heard it. The low buzzing. The last time he'd heard it, the ray had brought him from the North of England to here, wherever here might be. He reached forward and grabbed Ed and held him tightly. Overcome by Alec's sheer muscled bulk, Ed barely fought, but in the short melee his wig fell to the ground.
The ray lit up the trailer like a second sun and Ed squeezed his eyes shut.
* * *
"All right. Let's go over it again. Just the important parts. You're a professional actor named George Sewell. You're co-star on a television series called UFO in a world and time where Shado isn't real. You were eating lunch and reading your script in your trailer. You hear a strange noise. You're momentarily blinded by a brilliant ray of light. You wind up here, in Shado's laboratory. Correct?"
Ed Straker stared at the man who looked like his friend, while behind him, behind the round viewing window in the adjacent lab, the technicians worked on the device, which for the most part, they'd taken apart. Next to Claire stood a menacing looking Nathaniel Zouri. Behind Nate was a frightened Yetunde. A medic stood beside the weary Freeman look-alike.
"I've told you and told you. I'm having a hard time believing this too. Look, I'm tired, I could use some coffee, even better a drink. No, wait, if you're really Straker, I'm in a hell of a lot of trouble. Jesus. Jesus, you look so much like Eddie Bishop who plays you. Even the small scar on your mouth. It's damned eerie."
Ed sighed, nodded.
"That drug we gave you would prevent you from lying to us. I've had experiences with alien devices before, Mr. Sewell. Damn. If you're alive I have to hope that our-"
"Blast! It can't be! The thing's started up-" one of the scientists yelled over the intercom.
"DOWN!" Ed made a grab for Claire but Nate got in front of him. Cursing, Ed pushed him aside roughly in a desperate attempt to get to Claire, who was already halfway to the ground without hesitation. Ed moved past the viewing window, starting to fall over her, the room burst with light as the ray from the alien device easily penetrated the bulletproofed, safety glass with its polyvinyl butyral layer and hit Ed squarely in the chest. He put up his hands over his face in a futile gesture, and disappeared, leaving nothing but an Straker-shaped silhouette of light.
Yetunde screamed, and Claire's world came crashing down like a burning stack of cards as she fought to focus her vision as well as her faith. The light wavered and when it faded, Ed Straker stood there, looking frightened out of his wits.
Only he was dressed in an immaculate white Nehru. And his hair was short, wavy and brown. Claire finally got up and came closer, inspecting him. She reached out and parted his hair and looked stunned, even though she knew her instinct had been right. Ed jumped back a bit, shocked.
"This isn't our Edward. This must be the actor he's talking about. God, your resemblance to the Commander is uncanny." Claire shivered, partly out of fearing for her fiancé, and part from cold, although the room temperature was electronically controlled.
"Ed? Ed? It's you, isn't it?"
"George? I was just-oh my God. This can't be some elaborate joke on your part. There really is a Shado!"
"Yetunde you better call Gay to take command. It may be a while before we get our Edward back." Claire made a visible effort to stay professional.
"If we get him back. Shit. What the hell am I his bodyguard for if he doesn't let me guard his damn body?" Nate whined. Claire frowned.
"You know Edward. Anyway it isn't important. We need to have these people examined, see if exposure to that damned thing has affected their health. And then we need to treat them for shock, get them some food and water. Our Edward would want us to be professional."
But I don't want to be professional. Dear God, I've lost my future husband, the most important man in the world. You're being selfish, Clairey, think of what he's going through. You need to focus on getting your people back and these people back where they belong. You need the faith you were preaching about to him. Be all right, Edward. Please be all right.
"I don't want that damn thing touched. Lock it in an airtight room until you figure out how to disassemble it safely. We don't want any more accidents."
"Who are you?" Ed asked her.
"I'm sorry, I know this must be a nightmare for you. I'm Dr. Claire Spencer and I'm engaged to Commander Straker."
"It's all too bizarre. Know what's kind of funny?"
"What?"
"I'm glad. I always felt sort of sorry for the guy. Now I know he's got a girl that loves him. I know how important family is."
"Yes. Come with me, both of you."
* * *
"God damn you, I want answers, and I want them now! I'm not settling for being the aliens' white rat. Talk, or I'll mess your face up so bad people will pay not to see you!" Alec Freeman shook Ed Straker in frustration when the ray faded and nothing happened. Ed had crouched slightly to defend himself, but instead he slowly stood up and smiled in what couldn't be taken for anything but delight.
"Do you get women with that kind of cave man attitude, Alec? Gosh, is this your secret? Now I know why my sweetheart in college dumped me the day of the senior prom. I never threatened her with bodily harm."
Alec stared, because it was the authentic old Straker humour, and then he pulled Ed toward him and checked his hair.
"The scar of the surgery is almost completely healed, but it is there." Ed smiled.
"I need more." Alec said cautiously.
"My Swiss wristwatch was given to me by you on my fortieth birthday. The inscription is To Ed from Alec 6-11-80. My first personal password for passing on command codes to my second-in-command was NTEZ2DY. I told you that on that very day. Do you remember, Alec?"
They hugged each other in recognition, the two men unashamed of their deep love for one another for a grateful instant that the other had survived, and then they fell back into a kind of buddy slapping on the back.
"NTEZ2DY. Not easy to die. Because you said before you'd ever give Shado to anyone else, you'd be dead, and losing Shado at last wouldn't make it easy to die."
"I've mellowed out, Alec." Ed grinned.
"Riiiiiight, as the Americans say. So how the hell did you get here? And do you know where here is?"
"Brace yourself, Alec. You aren't going to believe this."
* * *
Colonel Gay Ellis blinked at Ed Bishop and his mouth dropped open when he saw her come into the Mayland hospital exam room.
"Gabrielle! No, wait, Jesus Christ, you're actually Lieutenant Gay Ellis!"
"Colonel Ellis. The Commander finally got around to raising my rank. Dr. Spencer, you were right. I wasn't prepared for this. He looks like the Commander right down to the way he sits."
Ed Bishop jumped up, blushing.
"Forgive my manners, I usually stand when a beautiful woman walks into the room."
"He's as charming as the Commander, too." Gay said thoughtfully.
Claire had to grin at Gay's observation. She noted Ed couldn't take his eyes off the statuesque Shado operative. Even knowing Bishop was happily married with children, she couldn't fault him. Gay still looked like the eighth wonder of the world.
"Any progress on the device?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Where's Mr. Sewell?"
"Yetunde took him for a medical checkup. My examination of Mr. Bishop showed nothing more than the regular stress and slight shock you'd expect. I don't think her findings will be any different from mine." Claire added.
"Mr. Bishop and Mr. Sewell will need a place to stay." Gay said.
"I was thinking they could stay at Silk Wood Manor. Nathaniel's moved back in with us, and Peter's on holiday with Deidre and her Dad, and it wouldn't be that long a trip back here by helicopter if you needed them." Claire offered. "I also called Angel and Frances to come stay with me for support."
"Sounds like a good plan, Doctor. All right, I'll release them into your care."
"First, please give me some good news, Colonel?" Claire said.
"The scientists say it isn't a weapon. They think the Commander and Alec are safe. We theorise the aliens were experimenting with time devices such as Turner dealt with even further, and something went awry with this instrument. They say they've finally shut it down completely and are working to calibrate it enough that we can send the actors back to their universe and get the Commander and Colonel Freeman back. Nothing's guaranteed, we've seen how unstable the device is. That's the best news I can give you, Doctor. I wish there was more I can do. We all know how bloody minded the real Commander is. He'll find a way to get back and bring Alec with him."
"Colonel, maybe you should ask for volunteers in the scientific department to work on it? I wouldn't want-" Claire hesitated. Gay nodded.
"You wouldn't want anyone else to lose their loved ones by accident, the way you and Yetunde lost Commander Straker and Colonel Freeman. However, everyone knows the risk, Doctor. Even so, I'll let them know anyone that wants to drop out of this project can do so without disciplinary action. I think it's what Commander Straker would have wanted." Gay smiled.
Claire wiped sudden tears away fiercely.
"Thank you, Gay."
"That's Colonel to you, Doctor." Gay said, but she winked conspiratorially. Claire smiled. Then she looked at Ed.
"You're going to wear out those baby blue eyes, Mr. Bishop." Claire teased. "Tell me, is the real Gay Ellis more beautiful than your actress friend Gabrielle?"
Ed turned to look at Claire and flushed.
"I may be a little shaken by all this, it still seems like just another UFO episode. But I still know when to hold my tongue." Ed chuckled a little.
"Now there's a difference between them." Gay said.
"Which is?" grinned Claire.
"The real Commander isn't a coward." With that, Gay Ellis walked gracefully out of the room in a dignified manner. Claire started laughing.
"Ouch." Ed grinned.
"Come on, Mr. Bishop. Frances will feed your wounded pride. You're in for a treat. You're about to taste her cooking. Let's go see how Yetunde is doing with Mr. Sewell."
* * *
"So you're Alec's wife?" George asked.
Yetunde looked at him in an imperious manner.
"Fiancée. Cough, Mr. Freeman." Yetunde listened to his heart.
"Boy, what I wouldn't give to be the real Alec right now. I hope you don't take this wrong, but you're a sight for sore eyes." George took her hand in a flirtatious manner.
"I hope you don't take this wrong, but I know how to break every last bone in your body. I may be attractively packaged, but I'm SHADO. I also am the fiancée of Alec Freeman and the mother of his child. You touch me again, and you'll regret it."
Yetunde dropped her stethoscope from his heart and removed his hand with her long, fuchsia tinted nails in a meaningful manner, giving him the idea she'd prefer to insert them in his palm like fork tines. George gulped.
* * *
"I see I came just in time to prevent the patient from being killed by the doctor." Claire said, having heard the last sentence and seeing Sewell's reaction. Beside her, Ed Bishop grinned a little.
"I saved Edward's life many times. You owe me, Claire. " Yetunde chuckled.
"That's right. I guess I'll pretend I didn't see that. Yetunde, good news, the Shado scientists think Edward and Alec are okay and they're working on getting them back."
"Ah ah ah! That is good news. I also have good news about this Sewell, he seems fine. The ray doesn't seem to do any short term damage. Your guess is as good as mine on long term damage."
"I had the same findings. I'm here to pick up Mr. Sewell. We're bringing him and Mr. Bishop to Silk Wood Manor. Oh, Yetunde, you and Mr. Bishop haven't formally met. Mr. Bishop, this is Shado cardiologist Yetunde Folsade."
"Unfortunately there isn't anyone in the series that parallels her. How do you do? Pleased to meet you."
"I will be glad when our Edward and Alec come back," sighed Yetunde. "We are both scheduled for weddings."
"Wedding," Claire sighed. "Mine was delayed by you know what. Edward slept for nearly five days straight after all that choral hydrate you pumped into him." Claire complained. "He'd wake up and be incoherent and pass out again."
"Ah ah ah! You forget Alec ordered me to strap him down and sedate him! Do not blame me!"
Ed and George looked at one another.
"I just said it was delayed, Yetunde. Look, we are on edge, worried about the men we love. It's easy to want to snap at one another. I'm sorry, Yetunde."
"I am too. I love that rotten Australian who was an idiot enough to stay close to that damn machine." Yetunde sighed.
"And my idiot baby who had to try to protect me and got hit by that ray for his trouble," Claire added.
Ed and George continued to look at them then look at one another.
"Edward Straker and Alec Freeman. Idiots!" Yetunde crossed her arms.
"Big idiots!" Claire agreed.
Ed and George kept looking at the women, who both burst into tears.
Fortunately Nathaniel poked his head in and announced that he and Carmella were there with her van, ready to transport everyone to Silk Wood Manor.
* * *
"Ed, you must be joking. Me impersonate a actor?" Alec yelped.
Ed sat beside him and nodded gravely.
"If they find out we don't fit here, you won't like the alternative." Ed picked up the wig and examined it. "Looks like I better dye my hair a light brown like you said Bishop's is so they don't suspect anything." Ed slid the wig into place on his head with a sour expression.
"What's the alternative?"
"A nice comfortable goal cell, or maybe a padded room, doing crayon sketches for the rest of our lives."
"I always wanted to be an actor." Alec muttered. Ed grinned.
"I've got to try and see if I can steal some brown dye. I hope this studio isn't too different from mine. Oh and Alec, we need to learn lines. Seems we're having some sort of argument in this scene coming up. And you need to get made up to look a little younger." Ed headed over to the small, lighted vanity, searching for makeup. He handed it to Alec. A quick search in a drawer produced a box of brown hair coloring, and he slipped it into an inside pocket of his jacket.
"What happens if a doctor examines you closely?" Alec asked, dabbing makeup on inexpertly.
"I walked into a wall?" Ed grinned.
"With all those bullet wound scars?" Alec grinned back.
"The wall retaliated?" Ed chuckled.
"FIVE MINUTES, MR. SEWELL!" someone outside yelled. Alec gulped, and picked up the script as Ed quickly hid the wig inside his jacket.
"God. What are we going to do about not being in the right costumes?"
"Lie. Prevarication is the first refuge of the scoundrel," Ed observed. He glanced at the script. "We're about to have a talk, this time for the camera. Come on."
* * *
"Are you sure this isn't Q-tip?" Angel said, seated beside Ed Bishop and looking at him with open curiosity as Bishop sipped his black coffee.
"Of course not Stanley. Edward would never touch black coffee." Frances exclaimed.
"You know, I considered being an Episcopalian cleric once, Reverend."
"You a man of faith?"
"Is Commander Straker? Jesus that sounds so strange. Commander Straker. I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to meet him? This is a absolutely breathtaking home he's got here. Tell me, Doctor, what' s he like?"
"Call me Claire. What's Edward like? Pretty much as you've described he is on the series. He inherited this house from a close friend of his, his family lawyer. His mother lived here for a time." Claire touched her pendant, unsnapped the clasp, opened the locket and handed it over to Bishop. "This belonged to his mother Rosemary Straker, who was living with the family lawyer, Lawrence Malone, after the suicide of Edward's father."
Ed raised his eyebrows at her words, and took the pendant.
"Jesus! That's my high school yearbook photo. This whole thing is unbelievable."
Claire chuckled and accepted it back, put it on and pushed the safety clasp in place.
"Let me show you some recent photographs of Ed taken for publicity purposes for his Foundation. Edward isn't fond of having his photo taken. He hates his cover as executive of the studio. I had to practically sit on him to get him to be photographed." Claire got up from the table, and returned a couple of minutes later with a manila envelope.
"The Commander was in a pissed mood all that day, man." Nathaniel remarked. "It don't make sense to me. If I had a face like that, I wouldn't complain."
"He's not the only good looking fellow in England, Nate."
"Thanks, Angel."
"Stanley wasn't talking about you. He was talking about himself." Frances scolded.
Nathaniel whimpered and Angel grinned.
"Thanks, Cupcake." Angel kissed Frances and she smiled.
"Did you enjoy your meal, Edward?" Frances asked. "My, my, that is a strange thing to say. Very confusing."
Bishop chuckled.
"You could call me George, but that would be even more confusing. Why don't you call me Ed? The dinner was delicious. The fish was incredible and so was the salad. Thanks for going to the trouble of fixing a vegetarian meal for me."
"It was no trouble at all. You really do look like Edward."
"I still have problems with all this," Sewell said. "It's damn weird how much they look alike, have the same voice, the same expressions. Incidentally, dinner was really delicious, Frances."
"It was my pleasure. Cooking is one of my favourite things in the world. That and my gardening. Have you seen Silk Wood Manor's scrumptious greenhouse and garden? I've been working with Edward's gardener to plant some new rose hybrids."
"I was going to give them the grand tour after dinner, Frances. Edward's gardener and grounds person Gene is simply a wizard. I'm so glad Edward agreed to keep him on the payroll. The cook Cynthia is good too, but not as good as you of course. Have you seen these yet, Frances?" Claire opened the manila envelope and showed a series of glossy photographs of Ed Straker sitting at an executive desk. Ed was dressed in a beautifully cut, bespoke dark blue Ralph Lauren suit, silk red and blue paisley necktie, hands resting one on the other, looking at the camera with a solemn expression, with just the hint of how irritated he felt at having publicity glossies taken.
"He didn't smile," complained Frances, studying the photos.
"That's Q-tip for you." Angel laughed.
"Q-tip? " Sewell asked.
"That was Straker's nickname when he served in the Vietnam war. Reverend Brisby was telling me a little about it when we met. Christ, this is the real Straker? I don't get it. You said the year was 2002. Straker looks the same as I do, but he'd be what? Sixty or so?"
"Fifty-four this year. That's a long story. Edward went to investigate a downed UFO while he was married to his second wife, who was killed in an automobile accident a few years ago. He was contaminated with an alien virus that killed him. Or so Shado thought. He came back to life, looking ten years younger. You two do look pretty much the same. All that happened before I met him. When I saw him for the first time, he was seriously ill, didn't care what happened to him. Meeting him changed my life. I was a pretty dull, conservative person who didn't really have any goals in life. Edward was admitted to San Francisco General Hospital, where I worked. He had himself released against medical advice, in particular mine. Well, I ended up talking my poor roommate, Ryan McKay, into helping me find Edward. Ryan was murdered last year and I miss him terribly. At the time we lived in San Francisco, his lover had died and the both of us a fortune, and Ryan and I moved to England to look for Edward. Ryan had always been a computer geek or nerd or whatever you call it. He hacked into Mayland Hospital's computer and we found out Edward was badly hurt. So we tried to sneak into Mayland, but eventually we were captured, interrogated, and questioned by Edward. Fortunately he took us on as Shado trainees. Eventually he got over his wife's death and flashbacks from having served in the Vietnam war, and trusted me enough to let me into his life. He asked me to marry him." Claire showed them her pearl, diamond and emerald engagement ring set in platinum. Sewell whistled.
"Nice rocks." George said.
"And they make such a sweet couple," gushed Frances.
"Now if they will only get married in my church, or at least let me perform the blessing of a civil marriage," grinned Angel. Claire chuckled.
"Argue with Edward when he gets back."
"Oh believe me, Stanley and I will! Maybe the gentlemen would like some lemon drizzle cake with some coffee in the sitting room after we show them the entire manor?" Frances suggested.
"Sounds delicious. And more coffee sounds great." Ed said.
"Are you sure you should be giving away Q-tip's favourite sweet, Cupcake?" Angel teased. "If he comes back and wants to relax by his fireplace with coffee and cake, he might think that wasn't very Christian of you."
Frances and Claire laughed.
"It does sound like an unsafe thing to do," Claire put in.
"Don't be silly. I'll make a new one for him tomorrow, and he won't suspect a thing."
"Come on, guys. I'll show you around. This is a big place," Nate said.
They got up from the table and followed Nate out of the dining room, but Frances lingered behind. Claire had been putting the photos back into the envelope, but hesitated with one last photo, the one she'd chosen to give to the press with the Straker Foundation's press release materials. There was the slightest crescent of a reluctant smile on his face. Claire bit her lip in an attempt not to cry.
"Dearest, everything is going to be all right." Frances said softly.
"Oh Frances. I love him so much. It's so hard to have faith when I'm so frightened for him."
"Claire dear, soon you'll be a Straker. You're the Lady of Silk Wood Manor like Rosemary Straker before you. You wear her jewelry. You have guests that are in need of your attention. Noblesse oblige."
"Nobility imposes obligations. That much high school French I remember." Claire managed a feeble smile. "Do you still think Edward has blue blood?"
Frances held up her chin in a regal gesture.
"Think? I am a descendant of Elizabeth the First, and I recognize someone royal when I see them. I know Edward has aristocratic blood, so much so that I hardly can stop myself from curtseying when he enters a room."
Claire chuckled and put the photo in the envelope, and Frances hugged her, then the two women marched out of the dining room.
* * *
"Eleven times! Ed, I don't know how I'm going to get through this. I blew my lines eleven times." Alec flopped on the sofa located in Ed Bishop's trailer, exhausted. "Thank God they told me to take a half hour's breather and come back later. Shoot around me is what they said. I thought aliens were bad? Having to repeat and repeat and repeat lines until I got them right is worse!"
Ed grinned at Alec, and fixed a paper cup full of coffee for him. The two men had just come into Bishop's trailer and locked the door behind them.
"I almost had a heart attack seeing that guy that looks like Henderson walk by." Ed admitted.
"Forget the Henderson look-alike. Did you see the Nina and Gay look-alikes? Ugh! This coffee is horrible."
"That's all he has in here, drink it up." laughed Ed.
"Oh shut up Commander Straker, fearless leader." Alec chuckled.
"Did you just tell your superior to shut up?"
"Hey, all you are in this universe is a simple over paid actor with a wife and four kids."
Ed shuddered.
"Right in the middle of that phone call I told you about his wife Hilary told me the oldest daughter Serina had skinned her knee trying to learn to roller skate. She sounded cute but I had to play Daddy when my heart was pounding so bad I thought I'd pass out! Give me a full scale alien invasion any day."
"Ed, we have to go to our respective homes on the weekend. I'm safe, I don't think Sewell is married. But what the hell are you going to do?"
"I need to figure out where the guy lives first. Ugh, you're right, this coffee is terrible. See if you can find his wallet or his resume or something. I have to dye my hair. God. I've never done this. I used to tease Maggie when she dyed hers. Now I have to remember how she did it."
"Mags dyed her hair?"
"Yeah, highlights or something." Ed shrugged. "Why would anyone consent to put this stuff on? I did it to conceal my youthful appearance when I went to see Fielding, and I hated it then and I hate it now. Hmm, at least Bishop's shade of theatrical pancake will work on me."
"You're in luck, Ed, here's his wallet, and what looks like a press release. Hey, here's pictures of the wife and kids. Not a bad looking woman."
"Just give me the wallet, Alec. Hmmm."
* * *
Colonel Gay Ellis sat in Straker's chair, stared at the reports, and yawned. She felt pretty ready to finally call it a day. Paperwork was the part of the job that bored her. At least she didn't have to contend with that pompous Agatha Henderson. The woman's pockets favourably weren't as tight as her late brother's but her lectures could melt your ears off. She picked up Straker's paperweight. The phone buzzed.
"Ellis. You are? Excellent. Will you be needing Sewell and Bishop? Oh, I see. Keep me informed." Gay hung up and got up and fixed herself another cup of coffee. The scientists had reported that they were going to activate the machine, and start experimenting.
"Hang on Commander. We're doing everything we can to get you back." she said to the empty office. She looked down at the paperweight sadly.
* * *
"God. If I didn't know Shado's tech section was doing all it could to get us back, I'd go crazy."
"They may be trying to get me back. I'm the leading man. You're just the co-star." Ed joked to Alec.
"You keep that up, you're going to be a dead leading man."
"I'll jot down all these threats for your court martial, Alec."
The two men were walking together to the Moonbase set.
"Do you hear that?"
"Hmm?" Ed had the script in his hands and was looking it over.
"That sound."
"I don't hear anything. Come on Alec, you're just on edge. You know, I haven't had to memorise this much material on a daily basis since I was in college." Ed chuckled.
"Ed! That's the sound I heard just before Bishop-"
The body of Ed Straker turned into a silhouette of light, and vanished.
"ED!" Alec cried.
* * *
"Okay in this scene you're firing as part of the hallucination the Shado operative is having. Typical wild west thing. Places everybody."
"What-what?" Ed stuttered. There was a gun in his hand.
"You okay?" Michael Billington muttered.
"Fine, I'm fine. Shooting a scene." Ed quickly composed himself.
"Okay, here we go." the director called.
They must be working on the device, Ed thought nervously. I'm being thrown around in time and space. This wasn't the script I was studying. Nobody seems to have noticed anything is wrong. Jesus, where is Alec, I hope he's safe.
"Mindbender, scene 12, take 1. Action!"
Ed gritted his teeth and started to fire. Then he screamed in pain.
"CUT! "
Ed dropped the gun and bent over in agony.
"Shit, I stepped on him, how bad is it? It was an accident." Billington said nervously.
"Eddie, take it easy, we'll get an ambulance. Sharon, find the studio nurse, now!"
The director went up to Ed.
"How are you doing? Take it easy, Ed."
"Ankle, I think it may be broken, it's swelling up." Ed bit his lip against his pain. The studio nurse came rushing up.
"I can give you something for the pain until we get you to a specialist."
"No, no I want to stay conscious. I can manage. I can wait for the-"
Ed Straker vanished.
* * *
"Ed!" Alec said. Ed stared at Alec.
"What just happened? My ankle-"
"That damn beam got you. You disappeared for at least ten minutes. I told them you had an emergency phone call. You all right?"
"They're experimenting with trying to get us back. I suddenly was in a different scene. It must parallel my experience with the moon rock. My ankle's okay. All that-all that must have happened to Bishop. Alec, we have to try-"
Ed vanished again.
* * *
"So what you're saying is that Straker's son actually is dead? That he died in that car accident. That he actually had to make the choice between possibly saving-my God," Bishop said, awed. Bishop was seated with Claire in the sitting room of Silk Wood Manor.
Claire sipped her dainty rose design porcelain mug of coffee, and nodded in silence.
"You don't come away from an experience like that the same person." Claire responded quietly. "I've never met a man with the capacity to feel unnecessary guilt the way Edward does. He had no choice. He shouldn't have to carry that pain around, but he does. On top of all his other responsibilities."
"Losing my only son, my little Daniel would devastate me. So he has no kids?"
"A woman he fell in love with, Lily Marsh, was pregnant, and she wasn't ready for it, so she did something she shouldn't have been doing, getting up on a high ladder. She fell and lost the baby. It was a little girl. Then he attempted to adopt a disabled boy named Devon, but they refused him because his ex-wife interfered, claiming he was unfit to be a father. Edward still stays in touch with Devon by e-mail. A Dutch family adopted him and he's really happy, but I know Edward misses him. The last e-mail Devon sent him was Devon complaining about an X-Files storyline." she smiled. "So Edward actually sat down one night with me and watched it, so he could discuss it with Devon."
Ed looked puzzled.
"X-files?"
"Oh. I forgot. Never mind." she laughed. "The series wasn't on in your universe and time. Anyway, his second wife Margaret was pregnant, attempted to get an abortion without telling Edward. Yetunde refused to do it, and she was bound under doctor- patient confidentiality rules so she didn't feel she could go to Edward. It turned out that Margaret was having an affair, and the baby might not have even been Edward's. She was having problems coping with Edward's dedication to Shado, so-" Claire shrugged. Ed frowned.
"Go on."
"They had a really bad argument, and she ran off before Edward could stop her, and she was fatally injured in an accident. She didn't have a chance, a lorry hit her car and all her major organs were injured. Naturally the baby died with her. You know, even if that child wasn't Edward's he would have raised it as his own. He was devastated by her death. Two years after her death he was admitted to where I was working, and you know the rest."
"To have to carry all that punishment around," Bishop sighed.
"I try and give him as much happiness as I can. He's an extraordinary person. Ed, what's ironic is that in this world, for the sake of security nobody will ever learn of his sacrifice and dedication to Shado, how he's spent the better part of his life saving us from the aliens. In your world, he's nothing but a mythical hero on the small screen. Life is so funny."
"I guess when it's time to return, I'll be given the amnesia shot?"
"Yes probably, why?"
"Well, I'm just an ordinary actor, Claire. It's a business like any other. It's a business I've grown to love. Straker, on the other hand-well, he's a genuine hero. Larger than life. I just wish I could put forward in my portrayal what kind of man he is. How extraordinary he is. I'd try to play him with the grace he deserves. "
"Thank you, Ed. I wish you could go back knowing the truth about my Edward, but you can't. Did you enjoy your lemon drizzle cake?" Claire asked, grinning at his empty plate.
"I can see why its his favourite." chuckled Bishop. "Frances is certainly someone I'd like to take back with me for her cooking alone!"
Claire chuckled.
"Angel would object. So would my Edward. Listen, Ed, Gay called Nathaniel a little while ago. They're doing some experiments with the device. I pray everything goes all right."
"I can see why you would. I can tell that you love him. You miss him. I miss my wife and kids too. They mean everything to me. Kids are so amazing, especially my bunch. Listen, maybe I'm being rude, but why have you and Straker never-"
" Had children? I'm too old. I'm coping with the joys of menopause." Claire made a face.
"You? But you look like you're in your late thirties, early forties!"
"A long story. We'll save it for tomorrow. You should get to bed. We might have to rush you to Shado headquarters at a moment's notice."
"In case I don't have the opportunity later, I just wanted to say goodbye and wish you and Straker all the happiness you deserve." Bishop took her hand and kissed it respectfully. "Straker's lucky to have you. " He smiled.
"Gay is right. You are as charming as my Edward. Thank you. I hope you get safely back to your family. I'll walk you to your guest room, and then its bedtime for me, it's been a long, trying day."
* * *
Ed Straker looked around. He seemed to be on a deserted theatrical stage. He could make out voices in the distance somewhere behind it. The rows of seats for the audience were empty.
He groaned. What now?
The set was someone's office. It included an old oak desk.
How odd. This isn't my office but that looks like my paperweight. Ed picked it up in his palm and examined it. It is mine, I can feel it is. Strange.
Then he disappeared.
* * *
Ed Straker examined the paperweight, looking grimly at his reversed, skewed reflection in the glass ball, and continued the briefing.
"--urged on by the greatest force in the universe." He paused for clarity, to drive even harder the importance of what he was saying. "Survival."
Then he furrowed his brow.
I said this. Or am I saying it? I'm here at Shado. Only this happened years ago. This isn't right. They've got to get me out of here, Ed thought desperately. I don't belong in this time and space now. Damn it, get me out of here, Alec.
Then he disappeared.
* * *
Ed looked around, startled. He was seated at a table in a noisy room with a slim black marking pen, there was a line of people staring at him, some in strange costumes, and every five seconds flashbulbs popped in his direction, while a grinning male teenager was holding a glossy photograph in his face. Next to the teen was a female companion, probably his girlfriend judging by her body language, although neither of them even looked old enough to comb their hair by themselves, mused Ed. Ed looked down at himself. He had on a presentable beige suit and white Oxford shirt, but the ensemble was spoiled in his opinion by the loudest bow tie he'd ever seen in his life. Christ, this thing is so bright you could land the Seagull SST just guided by its glow. Maybe Bishop's eyesight is failing from having to look at klieg lights?
Ed stared at the photo, reluctantly accepted it. It showed him smiling openly, looking at the camera lens, dressed in his navy blue Nehru, standing in front of a Shado car that wasn't his. There was dark eyeliner, in his opinion an ocean liner of an amount, around his eyes. What in the blazes is this? Wait, that isn't me. Oh Jesus! I'm now somewhere signing autographs! What if our handwriting is different? I've only seen his signature! What if they ask me questions? Where the hell is Alec?
"Wow. You're really Ed Straker. I mean Ed Bishop. Wow. I never met a celebrity before. I really dig your show. Way cool. Anyhow, make it out to Jay Kohler, okay?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. T-o J-a-y C-o-l-e-r. " Ed said, sensing the fellow was less than genuinely interested in Bishop.
"Hey, no! It's Kohler! K-o-h-l-e-r, man, didn't you go to school and learn to spell?" The kid cackled, and his girlfriend giggled conspiratorially.
I knew something was coming. Ed flashed an insincere smile, picturing the both of them in the Mayland Hospital morgue with toe tags. Okay, okay, I'm Bishop. Diplomacy, Straker. You will not knock out that impudent pimply-faced rodent who probably doesn't even know what puberty is, let alone go through it.
"I attended the theatre division of Boston University, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, won a Fulbright grant to study drama in England." Ed said, previously having wisely and carefully studied the press release on Bishop that he'd found in the actor's trailer. "Tell me Kohler, how's life in kindergarten? I've been a college graduate with a BA degree for so long, I've forgotten. Gotten to finger painting yet?"
"Hey! Did you just insult me?"
Whoops, thought Ed. Diplomacy. I'm liable to get poor Bishop written up in the American tabloids and British rags. UFO actor rude to fans. Promising career over.
"K-o-h-l-e-r," Ed corrected himself. "With best wishes, Ed Bishop." Ed gave the rodent his most charming smile, with the fervent hope handwriting style was another thing he shared with Bishop, if not the gift of tolerance. He attempted to write in the way Bishop did, drawing on the fashion he signed his signature. "There you go, who's next?"
They took the photo, no doubt determined to sell it for as much as they could, Ed mused. I hope they use the extra cash to attend a class in manners. My God, I bet Alec's going crazy trying to explain my absence.
Ed looked up. A bosomy brunette woman that vaguely reminded him of an imperfect Claire was standing there with another photo in her hand. For some reason she had a lot of mouse jewelry on. She smiled at him and handed it over. This one was Bishop in the white Nehru, with a telephone box behind him, looking serious. God, how peculiar. At least there's a minimum of eye liner in this photo thought Ed. How long is this going to continue? My God, I can't see the end of the queue! How does Bishop do this and remain a civilised human being? Please God, get me out of this one, and I promise to attend Angel's services more often.
"Oh, Mr. Bishop! I'm such an admirer of yours."
"How nice." Ed lied, trying in a futile way to ignore the appalling fact she had a Shado insignia badge on. Shado security has not been breached. Calm down, Straker. What is it with this woman and mice? I thought most women were scared of mice. Why is she wearing several mouse pins? "You seem to like mice."
"I used to raise them. Rats too. Oh, how stupid of me, here I am having a conversation with you, and you have so many photos to sign. Please make this out to-"
Ed Straker vanished.
* * *
"Gin!" Sewell said triumphantly, showing his cards. Angel groaned, and pushed over a pile of sugar cubes toward him.
"You cheat, just like Alec does," Angel declared. Frances chuckled at him.
"Anyone who beats my Stanley at cards is always accused of cheating. More coffee and cake anyone?"
"I'll take some!" Nathaniel said enthusiastically.
"Why am I not surprised? You're a glutton." Frances declared firmly. Nate winced.
"Hey, Mrs. B. How come you always pick on me?"
"You know perfectly well why I pick on you. What you did to Dr. Diaz was bad enough. However what you did to Edward is beyond the pale. Until I'm satisfied that you're loyal to Edward, I will continue to pick on you." Frances informed him brutally.
"Boy. I wouldn't want to piss her off," Sewell remarked.
"Cupcake is tougher than any drill sergeant I had in the Australian army," Angel agreed, planting a kiss on her cheek. Frances smiled.
"An angel with a temper like a devil." Sewell grinned.
"You can say that again. Okay, mate, you deal."
The actor gathered up the cards.
"This time, I'm winning my sugar cubes ba-"
George Sewell vanished.
"My word!" blurted Frances.
"You saw that too?" Angel said, bewildered.
"Of course, Stanley! He was there, and now he's gone!"
"Shit! Give me the phone," Nate ordered. Suddenly there was a Sewell shaped silhouette of light, intense enough to make Nate and the others look away. Then Sewell was again there, the deck of cards no longer in his hand, wearing a different Nehru turtleneck and trousers than he previously had on.
"What the devil? Angel! Frances! Am I back?" he said, obviously relieved.
"By God's mercy! It's Alec." The reverend and the Shado colonel hugged each other.
"But where's the Commander?" Frances nervously inquired.
"Ed isn't here? He isn't back?" demanded Alec.
They shook their heads.
"Christ." Alec cursed, clearly disturbed.
"They were screwing with the device, doing experiments with it, and they must have fixed it to get you back."
"But Ed-" sighed Alec, worried.
"Shit. We better tell Gay. And we better tell-" Nate hesitated.
"Claire. Poor child, this is all she needs," sighed Angel.
"Oh Stanley, what if Edward, oh, I can't bring myself to even say it." Frances whimpered.
* * *
Claire shot straight up in Ed's four poster bed, in the master bedroom of Silk Wood Manor that she now shared with him. She'd been in her nightgown, finally sleeping, dreaming of Ed calling to her, moaning. Although it was not chilly in the room, she shivered, she wrapped her arms around her in Ed's absence and tears came to her eyes. Something was terribly wrong with Edward, wherever he was. Horribly, unquestionably wrong. She grabbed her robe, stuck her bare feet into slippers and ran out of the room.
* * *
Ed pressed his lips drowsily against the nude woman's, his tongue temporarily meeting hers, then darting away, the moisture of her supple mouth melding with his.
"Claire." he whispered lovingly. Then horror clouded his features. The naked woman he'd just kissed was clearly not Claire Spencer. It was Hilary Bishop. He'd just had sex with Bishop's wife! How much more nightmarish can this get? Christ, what do I do now?
"What did you say Ed?" the woman said, sitting up.
"Unaware," Ed lied quickly, sitting up and looking desperately for a robe. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it around him.
"Unaware of what, darling?" Hilary asked. "You don't seem like yourself tonight."
"I uh, had a hard day at the studio. What I meant is that I was unaware of how much I needed to be with the woman I love again." Ed spotted pajamas on a chair and pulled them on. It isn't you I was making love to, no matter what the present reality is. God, Claire, am I ever going to see you again? How the blazes do I explain this to Bishop if I meet him?
"Oh darling, you always say the right things. We better go to sleep now. You need to rest with the schedule you have."
"Do you think the children are okay?" Ed asked.
"Of course, silly. They're fast asleep downstairs in their room."
"Have you seen my robe, sweetheart?"
"Here it is, but darling, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to go check on my kids." Ed pushed his bare feet into Bishop's slippers.
"Darling, that's the wardrobe door!" Hilary chuckled. "You must be really tired if you can't remember where the door is."
"Uh, oh. He. Yes, yes, I must be." Ed hurried out and hunted for the stairs, went down them two at a time and finally sank back against the wall, relieved to get away from the stranger he'd just been extremely intimate with. He froze when he heard a sound from a door nearby that was slightly ajar. Quietly, he went up to it and looked in. Fast asleep in bed, curled up to an oversized teddy bear was the most beautiful little boy with rumpled blond hair. In beds adjacent to his, were two little girls. Ed approached the little boy sadly, and gently pulled the blanket a little closer around him, then lightly stroked his hair. Ed pressed his lips together in a line designed to keep him from weeping, and quietly as he'd come in, went out.
Ed vanished.
"Where did you get that thing, Commander?"
Newly appointed Shado commander Ed Straker looked up from the many transparent folders piled into a paper skyscraper on his desk, and managed to smile, reaching for a cigar from his pail. The office doors had opened to reveal his old and trusted friend, Alec Freeman, recently hired by Shado from being a combat pilot for the Australian Air Force.
"I think we've known each other long enough for you to call me Ed. The glass ball? Oh, I picked it up somewhere, not sure where, thought it would add a splash of color to my desk. What did you think of Henderson last night?"
Alec Freeman reached over and lit his superior's slim cigar with a lighter he produced from a pocket.
"I'd hate to have to answer to the old goat." Alec grinned away. Ed puffed on the cigar, set it in his ashtray and picked up the paperweight, looking at his warped reflection in the glass. He frowned. Something was wrong.
"Alec?"
"Hmmm?"
"Nothing, nothing," Ed lied. I've done this. I took this paperweight from a stage somewhere. I wasn't me. Something's wrong.
Ed vanished.
* * *
Ed Bishop sat on the old oaken four poster bed situated in one of the guest bedrooms in Silk Wood Manor, and touched the carefully folded pair of striped cotton pajamas that he'd been given but hadn't worn. He hadn't been able to sleep at all. Commander Straker's. I can't believe I've been given Commander Straker's pajamas. Any minute now the director's going to yell cut. All of this is too bizarre for words.
He sat there for a good five minutes, and then he could hear a commotion downstairs, so he left the bedroom, making his way downstairs. Everyone seemed to be gathered in the spacious, bright dining room, and glum faces turned toward him as he came in. The carriage clock in the sitting room chimed nine times.
"I couldn't sleep, and I heard voices. Something wrong?"
"I'll say something's wrong. I'm back safely but Ed isn't." Alec grumbled.
"You're not-" Bishop started to say.
"Damn right I'm not. And I would sooner chop off both legs than be him. Acting's a profession for fools."
"I'm Ed Bishop, Mr. Freeman. Pleased to meet you. I heard that opinion about acting from my parents once." Ed smiled. "They wanted me to follow in my father's footsteps."
"We already met." Alec said, clearly irritated, ignoring Bishop's out-held hand. Claire and Frances glared at Alec, and Alec reluctantly shook hands with Bishop.
"Mr. Bishop, would you like a freshly baked fruit filled croissant and coffee?" Frances offered.
"Sounds delicious. Listen, is there anything I can do to help get Straker back?"
"The scientists are working on the gadget now, and they haven't requested we bring you, so what we have to do is wait. " Alec said, stirring his coffee more than was necessary. Claire knew he was worried about Edward.
"Apricot, strawberry or peach?" Frances said, producing a tray with croissants daintily arranged on it.
"Peach, please?"
"Cupcake, are you bent on fattening up Mr. Bishop here before he goes home?" Angel asked.
"Hush, Stanley, what's wrong with feeding the young man breakfast before he's returned?"
"Now that you mention it, he is as skinny as Edward." Claire smiled in spite of her worry. Then she sighed after looking at her wristwatch. "I should be getting to Mayland. I have rounds today and a board meeting."
"Claire dear, when is the last time you took a holiday?" Frances said, pouring more blackberry sage tea into Claire's porcelain mug.
"Well, technically I'm still on medical leave, same as Edward but staying home and waiting will drive me crazy."
"Nonsense. We'll take a nice drive somewhere. I'm so busy helping Stanley at St. Stephens that I rarely have time for myself."
"It sounds good Frances, I wish I could. Whoever called the mind numbing practice of a bunch of doctors sitting around and playing with paper clips a board meeting, knew what they were talking about. I get bored, all right."
Nate's cell phone rang and Nate licked jelly off his fingers without much success and picked it up, ignoring Frances' dismay at his manners. Claire grinned.
"Silk Wood Manor, Nate speaking. Uh yeah. Yeah. Yeah he is. Huh? Yeah, okay, right." Nate hung up.
"What's going on, Nate?" Claire wrapped Ed's blue silk robe a little tighter around her, and drank the rest of her tea. The robe held the faint citrus scent he favoured, and helped lessen the ache of his absence so she'd borrowed it. It didn't matter that she was dwarfed in it, since it was the best thing next to actually having him near.
"You better get ready, Bishop. They're about to risk starting the machine up again. They think they've figured it out." Nate said. Ed Bishop swallowed the last bit of croissant quickly and followed it with a sip of black coffee, then patted his lips with the linen napkin.
"What do I need to do? Will it hurt? I'm not particularly fond of pain, never was," he asked dubiously with the half-kidding grin Claire often saw on Edward himself when he was up to no good.
"Beats me. They said you don't have to come down to H.Q., just get ready to go. Claire better give you the amnesia drug, just in case."
"Sewell didn't get it," Claire pointed out nervously.
"I don't think it matters much, child. Nobody's going to be inclined to believe him if he says anything about his show being real. Turns out he is something of a trickster and a joker," Angel said. Claire smiled and disappeared for a moment, coming back with a pre-filled hypo needle, alcohol packet and bandages. She set them aside and Bishop winced and looked away
"Joker indeed, Claire. He told my Stanley a lot of jokes I didn't approve of." Frances was saying. Nate hid his grin.
Ed Bishop chuckled.
"Sounds like Georgie all right."
"Say, Ed, have you ever heard the joke about the Catholic monsignor and the prostitu-"
"Stanley!"
"You were trying to fatten the American, Cupcake dearest. I'm trying to broaden his horizons." Angel winked at Ed.
"Please, Reverend. As much as I'd like to hear the joke I don't want to cause a divorce before I-" Bishop began jokingly, then hesitated.
The ominous hum had started, and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. There was the now familiar flash of light that caused the others to squint, and then the hum picked up volume, and the Straker silhouette formed, then solidified into Commander Ed Straker. He had his hands up, shielding his face, and he slowly lowered them, not trusting his eyes. The first thing he'd seen was the woman he loved.
"Claire?" Ed said tentatively, worrying that he'd again be thrown back into a time and universe that wasn't his own.
"Edward?" she responded, dropping the hypo on the table and coming around toward him slowly, afraid he was only an illusion. Ed reached toward her with a brilliant smile and she rushed into his arms with a sob. "Edward! Edward!"
"Claire! Thank God! I thought I'd never see you again." Ed held her, kissed her hard, and Angel, Alec, Frances and Nate sighed with relief. Frances pulled out a dainty lace handkerchief and patted her eyes daintily. Angel made the sign of the cross in gratitude.
"Oh I love you, I missed you, I love you. Edward, are you sure you're all right?" Claire gasped tearfully, examining every inch of his face to make sure he wasn't harmed. Ed rested his head against her tousled dark nest of hair, taking in the smell of her, the way she fit in his arms, the depth of the coffee brown eyes once he looked at her again. She was pulling him closer with all the might that existed in the five feet, four inches of her body, and nothing in his life had ever been so wonderful or felt so right. The whole world vanished except for the woman cradled in his arms. The grass isn't always greener on the other side, he mused. I'm holding Claire in Silk Wood Manor. I'm home. I'm finally home.
"You're cutting off my circulation, Spencer, but yes, I'm fine. I've never been finer." Ed smiled down at her, comforted by her presence as she wept in joy, then he lifted his head to look at the others.
"Welcome back, Ed son. We missed you." Angel smiled. "May the Merciful Lord be blessed for bringing you home safely."
"Amen. Are you hungry, Edward? You must be! I think there may be one slice of lemon drizzle left with your name on it." Frances hurried off to the kitchen without waiting for a reply and he chuckled.
"Just when I was plotting to have sex on the dining room table with your fiancé, you show up." Alec teased. Claire laughed, holding tightly to Ed's arm, and nodded, pretending to be sad at the missed opportunity. Ed grinned openly at her, then at Alec. It was so good to see all of them.
"Stick to medicine, Spencer, you make a lousy actor. You too, Alec. Acting isn't your strong suits. It isn't mine either, believe me. I missed you too, Alec." Ed smiled.
"Glad to see you're okay, boss." Nate said.
"Thank you Nathaniel."
Frances ran in with a plateful of cake, and that was when they realised the odd man out wasn't quite out yet.
Ed Bishop opened his eyes after what seemed to him to be an eternity. He cleared his throat. Slowly he turned to look at everyone, and finally Straker, going as white as his Nehru suit.
My God! Shit! That's HIM! That's the real Commander Edward Straker! Christ, I think I may pass out! That's HIM! Bishop thought, suddenly feeling as assured as a fly on a frog's tongue.
Claire clasped a hand over her mouth in shock. Ed let go of Claire, and studied Bishop. Claire even in her dismay about Bishop still being there couldn't help noticing the seamless way Edward went from a man relieved to be united with what had become his family to the ruthless appearing, steely eyed Shado Commander. There has to be some button he presses, she thought. You're scaring the hell out of Bishop, but you'll never fool me with the frosty act, Straker. I know your true heart would melt the Tetbury snow.
"I see we have a little problem with the alien machine." Ed said in a tone hard and icy enough for a figure skater to do a triple axle on. Claire mentally gave Edward all perfect ten's for technique, if the performance was to scare Bishop out of his knickers.
"Ooops. Hang on, boss. I'll call them and find out why he isn't gone." Nate assured the Commander, and pulled out his cell phone. Frances noticed it still had a bit of jelly on its buttons.
Bishop's mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. His eyes were fixed on Straker like a mouse's on a cat's. Unexpectedly, Ed pulled the customary stern line of his lips into a tormenting, self-entertaining grin. Oh oh, Claire thought. Here comes the artistic performance. All tens. Straker takes gold.
"Mr. Bishop?" Ed said crisply, the final syllable in Bishop pronounced higher than the first. Yup, Claire thought. That's Edward's cat-toying-with-prey tone.
"Sir," Bishop said immediately, and practically stood at brace. Claire heard Angel chuckle. She knew the elderly reverend was amused at the way Edward often drew military respect even out of the most resolved pacifists.
"Stanley," Frances said meaningfully. Frances looked at Ed as if to scold him for enjoying scaring Bishop half to death. Claire shook her head almost imperceptibly. The women grinned at each other. Let Edward have his fun, was the unspoken comment. We'll find smelling salts for Bishop later.
"Mr. Bishop, you're not scared of me, are you?" Ed inquired with the innocence of a tot with cookie crumbs slathered on his face, standing next to a shattered cookie jar.
"Oh for Christ's sake, Ed, scared? He's going to have a coronary any minute now!" Alec grinned. Ed shot Alec an irritated look, and then held out a hand toward Bishop. Claire watched Bishop's brain synapses click into place, Straker's not really going to rip out my heart because I'm portraying him, and the men shook hands warmly. It was so eerie, the way they resembled one another, Claire thought. Ed smiled. Bishop let out an audible sigh.
"That Nehru suit looks a lot better on you than it does on me." Ed decreed thoughtfully, accepting the cake from Frances and smiling at her. Bishop chuckled softly and Ed did the same.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Bishop murmured and meant every word. I've got to commit this to memory. The way he stands, potentate and peasant, yet you never could predict when he'd slide from one to the other at his slightest whim. The way he crinkles his eyes. The sheer, electric presence he radiates without breaking a sweat. The pure essence of the man. The faultless posture. I've got to remember this, this is the opportunity of a lifetime for an actor. To meet the historical figure you're portraying. There's pain there, the weight of the world behind the sharp blue eyes, even when he chuckles. Tears unshed. Everything Claire told me about. Warmth, too, the way he looked at Freeman, and the possessive, loving way he looks at Claire, damn, the man tells a story without uttering a single word. He is a living story. If ever a man embodied the full definition of a hero-- My God, I'll never have this opportunity again. Damn, I have to find some way of preventing them from giving me the amnesia drug before I go back.
"The pleasure is all mine. How you don't murder your fans when they demand autographs is beyond my comprehension to understand." Ed said. "Nate, what's the situation on the alien device?"
Nate put away his cell phone with a gulp, as Ed lifted the fork to his mouth, and then noticing Nate's reaction, dropped it back on the plate, the wad of cake on the tines uneaten. He placed the plate back on the table, sighed. Claire moved closer to him, wondering when he'd slept last, and how she could cajole him into taking a nap.
"Oh damn, what's happened now?" Frances said in open exasperation. All eyes fell on her in shock, and she blushed.
"Cupcake, that may not have been very Christian of you but I bet it was appropriate, judging from our young Nathaniel's expression."
"I agree, Angel. All right, what's happened, Zouri?" Ed asked.
"They said the gadget powered up too high and it burnt out some circuits."
"Oh terrific. So Bishop's stuck with us a while? Did they give you some idea of how long it's going to take to fix it?"
"They said it might take a couple of days."
"Days?" Bishop echoed. In his excited reverie over studying Straker, he'd suddenly realised he'd forgotten he'd left his life behind. What if he couldn't get back?
"Day. Don't worry Bishop, my people are the best. We'll get you home. Well, what's on the agenda today?" Ed asked, trying to look alert.
"For you, I examine you to determine if the gadget harmed you in any way. After that, a hearty breakfast, then you nap." Claire poked his chest meaningfully.
"Spencer, I'm fine." Ed frowned. He stretched. He yawned. Frances had already headed into the kitchen with Angel and Alec and Nate, and he could hear her shoo Cynthia, who usually did the cooking for Silk Wood Manor, out. God help the person that comes between Frances and an Aga stove, he thought.
"I'll be the judge of that," she declared imperially. "Besides, Edward, this way I'll have an excuse for not attending the stupid annual board meeting. I can play hooky along with you for the weekend."
"Ellis minding the store?"
"Gay's doing a fine job. Stop worrying." she smiled, putting her arms around him.
"Okay, okay, you win. Just don't make a habit of it. Winning, that is."
"Of course not, Commander." Claire batted her lashes at Ed and saluted. He gave her a mock scowl.
"Women." Ed said sourly, the twinkle in his eye giving lie to the misogynistic attitude. "Can't live with them." he said, waiting for Bishop to complete the adage.
Bishop grinned and didn't disappoint.
"Can't live without them." Bishop agreed.
"Go on in, Mr. Bishop. I'll be back in a couple of minutes to join everyone. Nobody makes breakfast better than Frances Brisby."
"I already had one of her fruit croissants this morning and a scrumptious dinner last night, complete with what she said was your favourite sweet. I'll just have more of that great coffee she makes." Bishop headed into the kitchen purposefully.
"You let him eat my cake?" Ed inquired with a wounded air and took Claire's arm, leaning against her wearily.
"Poor baby." Claire snuggled against Ed happily as they made their way upstairs. With him near, she finally felt whole. It was like not knowing that you were starving until you again were able to eat, she realized. As much as she lightly teased him, a practice he growled about but actually enjoyed, she knew how fearful he'd been. He was holding to her arm so tightly it throbbed, and his slight smile was strained.
* * *
Ed Straker slept fitfully, every time he would reach Claire, she would float far away, a gentle expression on her face. Yet he knew he would have to reach her, or he'd be lost forever. Loneliness could eat away at a person, like water at a sandy shore. She kept slipping away, and he knew in his innermost soul that he couldn't tolerate the loneliness for one more day. He was drowning, and he gave a cry and sat up. It took him seconds to realise he was in his bedroom, safe in Silk Wood Manor. Sunlight filtered through the white Battenburg lace drapes covering his window. He turned to look at her. She was gone, and he had a sinking feeling. Quickly pulling on a robe over his pyjamas without bothering with slippers, he was relieved to hear activity downstairs.
He found Nate, Frances and Angel in his dining room, but no Bishop, no Alec and notably no Claire. Angel was yelling. Angel never yelled. That in itself didn't bode well. Ed rubbed the bridge of his nose. Nobody noticed him come in. Not even Nate. He sighed. So much for security. Of course, Nate was shoving something into his mouth, which explained the lapse in attention. Ed considered the prospect of hitting Nate over the head just for the sheer satisfaction of it. During this consideration, Angel kept yelling.
"Oh go on about this stupid jubilee, oh yes, half the country hasn't got a job, Bleedin' Philip is probably still claiming there's no poverty in England, and Charley's whinging about a dead dog, and dragging his mistress to church services. Lord God have mercy! And you're wanting to go and make a fuss about some dame doing her job for 50 years just because she happened to be the daughter of a King. I mean 50,000 pounds for a stupid Jubilee sword. Do you know how many people that many pounds would feed? "
"Stanley Brisby, you wouldn't know the meaning of tradition if it hit you in your face! Fifty years of service to England and you try and make it look like it means nothing! She is the Defender of the Faith, or haven't you noticed?" Frances said shrilly. Nate had swallowed whatever he'd been chewing on, and his fingers reached for an additional item from a tray. This netted him a sharp slap on his ebony knuckles from Frances, so sharp that it made Ed wince. Nate flung his knuckles into his mouth temporarily to ward off the sting then made a pathetic face at Frances.
"Hey, Mrs. B, I can't help it if I want a third meat pie hot out of the Aga when you bake them, now can I?" moaned Nate.
"Oh hush, you greedy man," Frances scolded him. "And don't come anywhere near us until you wash up! Sticking your hand in your mouth the way you do! Disgraceful!"
"I'll tell you what's really disgraceful. Your Defender of the Faith has a bigot for a husband, and an adulterer for a son, and the rest of her money-greedy offspring aren't much better, nor are they holy. A crown doesn't excuse sins against His Lord, and if you had any sense in you, you wouldn't pay any attention to this pointless jubilee. " Angel declared.
"How dare you slander Her Majesty! Stanley Mitchell Brisby, I swear I am not saying one more word to you until you apologize!" Frances told him.
"Apologise to the likes of her? I wouldn't apologise to someone of her ilk even if the Good Lord Himself directed me to!" Angel crossed his arms.
"You're a simply horrid man, do you hear me?" Frances burst into tears, and jumped up from her position at the table. She took a tumbler of grape juice and hurled it at Angel. Unfortunately, Angel had been standing up, and moved away with more than respectable speed. Equally unfortunately, the spray of juice hit the person behind Angel.
Who just happened to be Ed Straker.
Frances gasped. Ed just stood there, sighing, as grape juice trickled down from his hair and face.
"Oh no, oh Edward, oh dear!"
"Has anyone seen my wife?" Ed said wearily. "And Bishop?"
"Mr. Bishop vanished some hours ago, Sir, and HQ reported the machine is completely burnt out. They had got it working again, and they're fairly sure they got him back to where he was supposed to be before it burned out," Nate said, trying not to chuckle at a grape juice drenched commander.
"So he didn't get the amnesia drug then," Ed groaned. "And my wife, and Alec?" Ed pushed back semi-purple hair.
"She got a emergency call shortly after you fell asleep to do some surgery at Mayland, someone needing a organ transplant finally got a organ that matched them. She made us swear to let you sleep and not to awake you. She told Alec and had him fill in for you so that Miss Ellis could have a break. Oh Edward, I am so sorry!" Frances had grasped a napkin and was doing her best to mop up the juice on the weary Commander, who was checking his Certina wristwatch in dismay.
"I see. Good God, is it already one o clock? I slept all morning and a good part of the afternoon?" Ed complained. He stopped Frances daintily dabbing at him with the orange linen napkin. "No need, I shall go shower."
"You were needing sleep, Ed son. You had quite an experience, you know." Angel smiled.
"I'm going to go upstairs and shower and dress. Nate, do you think you could stop eating long enough to call Mayland and see when Claire will be free? And get a situation report from Alec, see if he needs me. If he doesn't, I'll go collect my fiancée from hospital. Frances, Angel, do you think the two of you could make up over this jubilee business long enough for my budding headache to go away? Aren't you two having an anniversary soon? What's it been, forty years? " Ed formed a smile. "And could someone get me two aspirin. I'll swallow them down with anything but grape juice. I think I've had enough grape juice for several lifetimes." Ed groaned. Frances pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle as Ed wearily made his way toward the stairs.
"I'm sorry, Cupcake. Forgive me?" Angel said.
"I could never be angry at you for long, you silly old man." Frances smiled. They embraced and kissed, and held on to one another. Nate looked on with a huge grin and then got on the phone.
"That grape juice brought out the colour of Q-tip's eyes, don't you think?" Angel wondered. Frances' giggle finally appeared and she lightly hit his arm.
"Poor Edward! That wasn't very Christian of me. You finish lunch, I'm going to go bring Edward his aspirin and some water, then make him lunch."
"Nobody tosses grape juice like you, sweetheart." Angel grinned back. She rolled her eyes at him and strode purposefully toward the stairs after Ed.
* * *
In another time and another place, actor Ed Bishop hurried back to the set of the television play he'd just finished. It was a special in joke that anytime he had a role that required he have a desk, he'd adorn the desk with the green ball that had belonged to "Straker" his most famous role. It wasn't anywhere to be seen. He frowned, and spent several minutes looking for it. Being a sentimental man, he felt sorry when he had to conclude that someone must have pinched it. With a sigh, he went home. Adding to his disappointment was the strangest sensation that he'd forgotten something. Something incredible. Something linked to the role of Straker. For the life of him, he couldn't make sense of it. Oh well, UFO was just a fond memory now, although his many fans still remembered it, and life went on.
* * *
In another time and another place, Alec Freeman put Ed's phone back in the cradle after reassuring Nate Zouri that nothing vital was going on, UFO activity was slim and Ed should be coaxed into having the weekend off. After all, the doctors hadn't found anything wrong with him and Ed after being thrown through time and space, but a relaxing weekend wouldn't hurt his friend at all. It would give him time to plan the marriage to Claire. He got up and poured himself an ample glass of bourbon, and between sips munched the corned beef on rye he'd asked for from the cafeteria, seating himself again. He played with the green ball that Ed always kept on the desk. It was funny, Ed himself didn't know where he'd picked the paperweight up, but he was fond of it. Then a female operative, an especially shapely new one, brought in a pot of coffee and he put the ball back on its stand. Some days it was harder to be faithful to Yetunde. This was one of them.
* * *
In the reception room that adjoined Straker's studio office eighty feet above Shado HQ, Jeffrey Blaine, new executive assistant to Commander Straker, sighed with relief that it was lunchtime, took off his blazer, hung it up neatly and brought out the small burner and plugged it in, humming. Goodness knew that the studio restaurant fare, while being suitably delicious, was far overpriced. And he didn't care for having lunch in HQ. All snobs. Bringing one's own lunch was far more practical, and saved money. With enough money saved, he could buy his Mum the fur coat she coveted and have enough left over to get a new pair of cufflinks from a smart shop in Kensington for his significant other, Roy. He could hardly believe his fate. Imagine being the assistant to the most powerful man in the world! Didn't that beat being in Naval Intelligence, slaving away as a mere lieutenant, yes indeed! Ed Straker, as I live and breathe! Oh he must send that lovely Miss Ealand still another thank you note for even putting his name into the selection. Of course it was a bit of a disappointment to find out Straker wasn't gay. Straker's fiancée Claire something was nice enough, had a smile for everyone. But oh, could any man be more attractive than his boss, the scrumptious looking Ed Straker? Straker made Prince Wills look absolutely dull. No point in dreaming about him, and his Roy was a perfect angel at any rate. He carefully put a small pork chop on the burner, and brought out his container of salad. His phone rang. He reached for it. It was that absolutely hopeless dolt that had been recently hired to give studio tours. Yes, all right, he would come and help him find his paycheque. Mercy, the man was simply not to be believed. He got up, locked the door behind him and went out.
Within a few minutes the pork chop started to burn, and caught on fire. Naturally the alarms went on, and he rushed back past a crowd of stunned personnel, including actors and actresses. It was then that he realised that the keys to the office were inside, in the pocket of his blazer.
"Well don't just stand there, get the firemen!" he yelled at the hapless guide. How could he be so stupid? Goodbye cufflinks. Goodbye fur coat. Goodbye cushy job.
Inside, the flames blackened the security door to Ed Straker's office.
* * *
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