Sometime in the night Heidi came awake, and unable to go back to sleep she slipped out of her bed and crossed the hallway to her brother�s room. Finding the door wide open, she walked inside, and found his bed made up. For a moment she stood there wondering where he was, then sneezed, and shivered. She was still not feeling quite her self, and not thinking anymore on where her brother might be, she padded down the hall to her parents room. Quietly she walked over to Rick�s side of the bed finding that his back was turned toward her. �Daddy,� she whispered.
When she tried two more times to wake him nicely, and failed she did the only thing she could think of to wake him up. �DADDY,� she yelled. She watched as her father sat bolt up right, and immediately looked down at her feet. �I whispered and you didn�t wake up,� she defended.
Once his heart beat went back to it�s normal rhythm, Rick reached out and lifted his daughter into the bed, laying her next to Evelyn, where she snuggled comfortably between them. �Did you have a bad dream?� he asked as he kissed her left cheek.
�It�s lonely in my bed,� she said then shut her eyes, not willing to give anymore information.
Rick lifted his head, leaning over his daughter, giving Evelyn a kiss, then the three of them went back to sleep.
~*~
As their ship left London Port, Megan and Alex stood on the top deck with the other passengers bound for America. They would sail a week at sea, then arrive in New York and register to become citizens of the United States. From there they would take a train out to Billings Montana where Alex�s grandparents lived, and make a new life for just the two of them.
When London Port was just a spec, Alex realized that he and Megan were the only one�s left on deck. �Why don�t we go see our room,� he suggested.
�Alex, are we doing the right think?� Megan asked as she turned to look at him.
�I think so,� he offered then took her hand and led her down to the lower deck, to find their suite.
~*~
In her room, Heidi sat covering her ears. Her brother was missing, and her father was less than happy. It wasn�t often that he ever yelled, but right now he was, and it was frightening. After a moment she ran over to her dolly�s bed and lifted Isabella into her arms. �It�s all right, daddy isn�t angry with us,� she said, reasuring herself more than her doll.
Downstairs, Evelyn was doing her best to get Rick to calm down. She was just as worried about Alex as he was, but knew that yelling and being angry at a time like this wasn�t going to help find him. �RICHARD,� she finally yelled, as he paced back and forth yelling about how irresponsible Alex was being.
Rick stopped when she called him by his given name, and because his wife hardly ever yelled. He took in a breath and blew it out running his left hand through his hair. �Look, I�m going to the office to see if he�s down there. He and Mack have become pretty good friends,� Rick said, starting to think of all the places Alex might be.
�I�ll call the museum, and wake Jonathan to sit with Heidi. Where is she?� Evelyn said, having realized for the first time that Heidi wasn�t with them.
�I�ll see if she�s in her room,� Rick said, guessing that his yelling had driven her there. He climbed the stairs feeling older than his age.
When he found the door to his daughter�s room closed he lightly knocked, and in a moment it opened, to Heidi�s tearful face. Rick knelt down and gathered her in his arms, silently cursing himself for letting his temper get the best of him.
�Why did you yell like that?� she asked as he sat down on the edge of her bed, holding her on his lap.
�I�m worried about your brother,� Rick said as he wrapped his arms around her, needing to hold on to at least one of his children, hoping that she wouldn�t be as difficult to handle as her older brother, once she reached his age.
�You�re mad at Alex,� she said matter of factly.
�He left without telling anyone where he was going,� Rick said, knowing that he needed to start searching for him. �Why don�t we take you and Miss Bella downstairs, and see if we can find Uncle Jon?� he asked as he stood up.
�I want to go with you.�
�I think you would have more fun with your uncle than with me,� Rick said as he walked toward the stairs.
�Are you going to spank Alex?�
�I�m going to find him and get him home,� Rick answered, deciding that he and Evelyn would decide together what to do once he had been found.
Once Heidi was occupied, playing dress up with uncle Jon, Rick went to Foyer, and as he was putting on his coat, someone began to bang at the door. When he opened it he found Paul Richardson standing on the other side.
�Where is she?� he yelled.
Evie had come to tell Rick that Alex was not at the museum, and invited Paul inside, taking his coat for him while he more calmly told the both of them that Megan was missing, as was most of her cloths and her steam trunk.
At that revelation Rick left his wife and Paul standing alone, and raced upstairs. He began opening the drawers of Alex�s dresser finding all of them empty. Next he ran to the closet and found only a few of his dress cloths left hanging there, and his steam trunk gone.
�EVIE,� he bellowed, letting his temper get the best of him.
~*~
Alex came awake instantly when he reached over to hold his wife in his arms, only to find that she was not in bed. He walked out of the small room and found her standing outside on their balcony. After picking up her white robe which was draped over one of the couches, he joined her draping it around her shoulders.
Megan let Alex gather her in his arms, resting the back of her head against his chest. �I keep wondering what your parents and my father are thinking. I am sure by now they have all of London looking for us,� she said.
Alex sighed, having wondered, not for the first time, what they were going through. He had thought about leaving a note for them, but knew that if he had, they would come after him, and right now he wanted to focus on the woman in his arms, his wife. �Come on, I can think of a better way to spend our night,� he said as he took her hand and led her back into their suite, not willing to worry about his parents at the moment.
~*~
A week passed by without any clue as to where Megan and Alex had gone. Megan�s father had gone on his way to Paris, on a business trip, which was his typical move in a stressful situation, leaving Rick and Evie to worry about both children.
Jonathan had taken Heidi, per her parents request, to stay with Aunt Maggie, leaving them home alone to try and figure out where two teenagers in love would go.
�He could have gone to Egypt,� Rick said as they sat at the kitchen table having breakfast.
�I could phone the Museum there and see if Simon will keep an eye out for them,� Evie said as she sipped her tea. They already had the Police looking for them in London, and they had both been to most of Alex�s friends� houses asking about their possible where abouts.
�Maybe I should go to Egypt,� Rick said as he stood up taking both his plate, and Evie�s to the sink.
�We both should go,� she said as she drank the last drop of tea.
Rick walked over to her and hugged her. �One of us needs to stay here in case he shows up,� he said, not liking the fact that they were going to have to be separated.
�Or maybe we should both stay here. I,� she was interrupted by the door at the far end of the kitchen being opened.
Jonathan walked in with Heidi by his side. �We have another problem,� he said as he shut the door, watching as Heidi walked out of the room without saying anything to either of her parents. �She stopped talking yesterday afternoon, and she hasn�t eaten since dinner last night. I didn�t know what else to do,� he said, not liking the feeling of being totally helpless in such a situation.
~*~
It had taken two days for them to register on Ellis Island as citizens of the United States. Alex had lied about his age, as had Megan with hers, and without their birth certificates, the Authorities had kept them in the city until yesterday, then had granted them leave, and now they were on their way to Billings.
The train ride lasted another week, and Alex had been taking care of Megan who had fallen ill the first day they had boarded. When they arrived in the city, she was feeling better, and after they got to their hotel room they discussed what they needed to do next.
�We don�t have a whole lot of money left,� Alex said as he paced the room. He had dreamed of buying a lot of land, but they had a mere 5000 dollars to last them until Alex could find a job. Because he was tall, and well spoken he had easily passed as a young man of twenty years, and so far that had worked out for them.
�Where does one go to find a house?� Megan asked, not knowing exactly how to go about that, which worried her.
�Real Estate Agency likely. I read about that in my dads office before we left and I asked Mack,� he said. Mack had moved from America to London two years ago, and had supplied Alex with a wealth of knowledge. �Why don�t we wash up and go have a look around, and get something to eat,� he said, anxious to see the town where his father had spent his childhood.
~*~
Aside from not knowing where Alex and Megan had gone, Rick and Evie were having to deal with a child who wouldn�t talk. Heidi had not spoken a word in nearly a week and a half. She was eating again, but wouldn�t talk, and Rick for one was getting frustrated by that.
Today, while Evelyn had gone with Maggie to talk to the Detective they were interviewing to try and find Alex, Rick had taken his daughter to Windsor Safari Park, one of her favorite places to visit. On a park bench, not far from where some Giraffes where eating the leaves off of some trees, Rick sat holding Heidi on his lap. �Heidi, your mum and I love you very very much,� Rick said as she twisted his wedding band around on his finger.
Heidi lifted his hand up, and realized something for the first time. She turned around and looked at her father. �Alex has one like this,� she said.
Rick didn�t catch what she meant, happy that she had finally said something. �What does he have?� he asked as he hugged her to him.
�Your ring. Alex has one that is just like it,� she said as she held it up for him to see.
~*~
It was after Lunch when Evelyn arrived at the Manor. In front of the house she found Rick waxing his car, and knew that he was upset about something. Once she had parked her car she stepped out, and walked to him. �What is it?� she asked.
�Alex and Megan left because they got married,� he said as he put down the soft rag he had been using on his car to look at his wife.
�What? Neither one of them are of age, and where would they get the money?� she asked. Then it dawned on her. Evelyn left her husband standing speechless next to his car, as she ran inside the house. She dialed the bank and in a few short minutes she knew where the money had come from. As she slammed down the phone, she felt Rick�s hand on her shoulder. �He took the money from his savings,� she said as she let him hold her.
�How can they get married when they aren�t even old enough to know what that�s all about?� Rick asked as he led her over to one of the sofa�s.
�Maybe I�m the one who should be talking,� Jonathan said as he joined them having over heard that last part. When both Rick and Evie looked at him, Jonathan closed his eyes and then told them about the night he had found Alex coming back from the barn. When he finished he watched as Rick left the room, and knew he was likely going outside to chop wood, something he did when he was really really angry.
�Jonathan, how could you not tell us about this?� Evie asked, feeling both angry and hurt that he had kept such a secret from them.
�Because he trusted me to keep it that way. I know I should have said something sooner, but maybe what he needs is to try and figure things out on his own,� Jonathan tried.
�He is sixteen years old, I hardly call that old enough to know how to handle such a thing as what he has been doing,� Evie said as she stood up and ran up the stairs.
Jonathan rested his head on his lap, wondering why he had kept Alex�s barn secret at all. A small hand patting his shoulder caught his attention and he found Heidi sitting next to him. �Hiya Pixie,� he said, trying to sound cheerful, but failing miserably.
�Alex left because I was mean to him,� she said as she looked down at her hands, which she had placed on her lap.
�No,� Jonathan said as he reached over and pulled her onto his lap. �Your brother loves you, even if he sometimes get�s angry with you,� Jonathan said, hoping to reassure her.
�He said he did, but he left and he did it because he hates me,� she said, then slipped off of his lap and ran up the stairs, going to her room where she got into bed and cried herself to sleep, leaving Jonathan to wait for Rick�s return.
~*~
A month had passed since they had moved to Montana, and Alex found a small one bedroom one bathroom house in a nice neighborhood. Their house had a small front yard and a small backyard with a shed, and a large oak tree. It had cost them 3000 dollars, and with only 1960 left; Alex put that in a bank for them to have for emergencies. They didn�t have enough money to purchase a car, but they were close enough to town to walk, and after a full week of living there they had three pieces of furniture.
In their small room they had a bed. In their den, they had one couch, which a neighbor had brought over for them to have, and a table for their kitchen. As well as getting settled in their new house, Megan was sick again, but managed to keep that fact hidden from her husband. Alex started his job as a clerk at a local store on Monday, and Megan had found a Doctor, and would go see him once Alex was gone. Having remembered when Evelyn had gotten sick like she was, Megan had a terrifying feeling that she was carrying a child, and if that were the case she wasn�t sure how they would take care of one.
Today was a Saturday and as they worked on cleaning the kitchen someone knocked on their door. Since Megan was scrubbing the sink, and her hands were filthy she sent Alex to see who was there.
Their front door led right into the den, and when Alex opened it he found an older woman there with a box of things.
�I hope you don�t mind, but I wanted to see who my new neighbor was,� she said as Alex let her in.
He smiled at her. �No I don�t mind. My name is Alex O�Connell,� he said. Before he could say anything else she took his hand and shook it.
�I�m Ruthie Myers. I have a boy about your age, gone off to fight in the war,� she said as she set down her box of good. �I brought some food for the two of you, and I can see you need more than that. I�ve got a whole garage full of furniture that I�ll never use,� she said
As she finished talking Megan walked out of the kitchen with her hands clean and let Alex introduce her to their visitor. �Would you like a glass of tea?� she asked once the introductions had been made.
�No no, I need to get on home and fix lunch for Milford. You two come by sometime and take a look at the furniture, and as well for a visit,� she said as Alex let her back outside.
The rest of the day other neighbors dropped by, and brought enough food to last them a week. By the time evening came, and they had eaten and taken a bath, both of them went right to bed.
�Alex, do you want children?� Megan asked off handily, but also with the intent of seeing what his reaction to her question would be.
Alex was almost asleep, but didn�t want to leave her without an answer. He forced his eyes open and smiled at her as she lifted her head. �Maybe some day when we finish school,� he answered as he kissed her lips gently before lowering his head back to the pillow.
While her husband slept, Megan lay awake long after, worried. If she was with child, she had a feeling it would be their first big test, and she wasn�t sure how they would face that.
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