Interlude
Jeffrey hit the water hard, knocking the breath out of him, as he was plunged into the lake’s icy depths. He felt himself tumbling over and over until he lost all sense of up and down. When he finally stopped Jeff opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness and his lungs were screaming for breath. He had just started to panic when he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt and pull him upwards. Jeffrey clawed his way towards the surface desperately reaching towards the filtered sunlight and the promise of air.
Breaking through to the surface, Jeffrey sucked in a frantic breath before sputtering and coughing trying to expel the water he had managed to breathe in. Frantically trying to tread water, Jeffrey forgot everything his father had taught him about swimming as panic pushed out all other thoughts.
Bogg’s arm wrapped around him and he urgently said, “I’ve got you Jeff. You’re okay.”
At the sound of Bogg’s voice Jeffrey relaxed and let him pull them towards the shoreline with powerful strokes. Within a few minutes, the two of them were staggering onto the shore; as soon as he was free of the water Jeffrey collapsed on the beach coughing and shivering.
Bogg sat down next to him gently patting him on the back. “That’s it kid, get it all out,” Bogg said soothingly. “That was a hell of a drop.”
Jeffrey nodded, not quite trusting his voice. A wicked breeze was blowing across the lake bathing them in damp cold air. Jeffrey finally caught his breath enough to sit up and look around, all he saw was blue water and fir trees. From what he could see before they had hit the water, they were on the shore of a rather large lake surrounded by a deep forest.
“Are you alright now?” Bogg asked standing up wringing extra water out of his vest.
“Yeah, I just sucked in some water,” Jeff answered his voice ragged. He took the hand that Bogg offered to him and allowed himself to be pulled up.
“What does the Omni say?” Jeff asked wondering where in time they were now.
Bogg opened up the pocket-watch sized time travel device and said in surprise, “It’s green actually. Lake Tahoe, 1950.”
“It’s sure nice to be somewhere where nothing’s wrong,” Jeffrey said, before a series of sneezes lead to a coughing fit had him bent in half.
When Jeffrey was finally able to stand upright again, Bogg laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and with a worried expression on his face said, “We need to get you some dry clothes and someplace warm before you catch your death.”
Glancing around, Bogg pointed to a row of cabins, “Let’s see if we can find some help.”
~Voyagers!~
Even though he couldn’t stop shivering, Jeffrey couldn’t help shaking his head in fond exasperation as Bogg sweet talked the elderly woman who owned the cabins. Bogg could charm the birds from the trees if he wanted, Jeffrey never could understand how the man managed to engage and fascinate so many different types of people into doing what he wanted.
Apparently they had landed yards away from a small resort. In exchange for some handiwork that was needed, Mrs. Henderson agreed to loan them some of her now grown-up son and her late husband’s old clothes, as well she handed over the key to cabin number four, as it was the off season and no one was in that one currently.
It was a two room cabin with a pair of single beds in the bedroom and a fireplace in the living room kitchen combo room. After they changed out of their wet clothes and hung them up to dry, Bogg then set about building a roaring fire in the fireplace. Soon the cabin was nice and toasty making Jeffery a bit sleepy as they ate the sandwiches Mrs. Henderson had been kind enough to give them.
When he was finished, Jeffrey couldn’t help putting his arm on the table and laying his head down feeling sleepy now that he was full and warm.
“Jeffrey?”
When Jeff lifted his head he saw Bogg looking at him with a quizzical expression on his face and asked, “What?”
“Am I going crazy or are you missing some of your hair?” Bogg asked gesturing towards the right side of his head.
Jeffrey reached up feeling where some curls should have been instead he was missing several inches and then remembered what had happened to him on their previous mission. They had been caught in the Great London Fire of 1666 trying to save a whole pub full of people and they barely escaped, “Oh yeah, it happened earlier my hair caught on fire,” seeing Bogg’s eyes widen in growing alarm Jeff raised up his hand in reassurance and hurried on, “don’t worry I managed to put it out right away.”
“Don’t worry?!?!” Bogg asked incredulously, as he stood and came over gently running a hand over Jeffrey’s head, “Did your scalp get burned?”
Shaking off the questing hands in exasperation, Jeffrey said, “No it’s fine.”
“Jeffrey, you could’ve been seriously hurt,” Bogg said, worry clear in his tone.
“I know, I know,” Jeffrey declared, before adding in an attempt at humor, “Apparently long hair and fire don’t mix.” From the scowl on Bogg’s face Jeffrey guessed it was too soon to joke about.
Bogg then laid one hand along Jeff’s forehead and said, “You’re slightly warm. How are you feeling?”
Jeffrey didn’t feel all that great in fact he was feeling a little achy and hoped he wasn’t getting sick but he didn’t want Bogg to worry anymore then he already was so he said, “I’m fine,” before quickly changing the subject and asking, “How’s your shoulder?”
Before London they had been in San Francisco just in time for the 1906 earthquake and Bogg had strained his shoulder when a beam had fallen on him as he was rescuing a child from a collapsed building.
Jeffrey watched as Bogg gingerly moved the hurt shoulder before he said with a grimace, “Still healing.”
They both sighed at the same time their exhaustion written all over them before Bogg asked “We’re pretty beat up aren’t we?”
Jeffrey agreed tiredly, before continuing on trying to put some enthusiasm in his voice, “But I’ll be okay by tomorrow, if you want to leave then.”
Bogg gave him an unsure look and then said, “Mrs. Henderson gave us free room and board in exchange for doing some work around the place. We are going to take her up on her offer at least for tonight and we’ll see how we feel tomorrow.”
They cleaned up their plates and cups and sat down in a couple of chairs by the fire. Jeff tried to read a Hardy Boys book he found on one of the bookshelves but he kept reading the same passages over and over too tired to really comprehend what Frank and Joe were up to and Bogg just stared tiredly into the crackling flames.
After the third time he yawned deeply, Bogg said, “Time for you to be getting to bed.”
It showed just how tired Jeff was when he didn’t fight Bogg on it at all instead he just nodded and let himself be ushered to bed.
Bogg tucked him in. He was combing a lock of hair out of Jeffrey’s eyes when his fingers brushed against the burned section of hair Bogg said in a low voice, “I’m sorry. I seem to drag you from one dangerous situation another.”
“It’s okay Bogg. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” against his wishes his eyes closed, Jeff was too tired to open them back up but he managed to whisper, “you’re my family.”
As he fell asleep he heard Bogg say, “Goodnight son.”
~Voyagers!~
Bogg woke up shortly after dawn. He was never able to sleep well the first night in a strange place probably because of all the dangerous places he had had to sleep in over the years. Getting up and stretching out the kinks in his limbs, Bogg made sure to be careful of his still healing shoulder. The falling beam had hurt it much more severely than he had let on to Jeffrey. Although he had a feeling that the kid knew and compensated by taking on as much of the load as he could.
Looking over at the other bed, he saw Jeffrey was still asleep and he didn’t really wonder at it considering all they had been through lately. Lingering concern over the slight fever Jeffrey had been running last night had him laying the back of his hand against Jeffery’s forehead. He cursed silently under his breath when he felt a higher temperature then he should’ve. The slight fever from last night had turned into what felt like a proper fever this morning. Tiptoeing out of the room, Bogg partially closed the door leaving it slightly ajar so he would hear if Jeffrey needed anything. He needed to let the kid sleep as much as possible today.
As Bogg set about building up the fire from the embers of last night he tried to talk down his instinctual worry over Jeffrey’s health. He knew logically it was more than likely just a bout of flu but it was hard to remember that when it was his kid and when childhood illnesses had been fatal when Bogg had been a child.
After the fire was going enough to warm the room up, Bogg got started on breakfast for Jeffrey when he finally woke up. Putting the tea kettle on the stove, Bogg lit the burner and the fire brought back London which he had assumed they had gotten away from unscathed. He had been very wrong. It bothered him a lot that he hadn’t even noticed that Jeffrey had been that close to being severely burned. Jeffrey always conducted himself like he was a mini-adult and he was so good at it that from time to time Bogg forgot just how young the boy actually was. He felt a spike of guilt at that thought that brought a physical ache to his chest. He needed to take better care of the kid that he thought of as his own son.
Honestly when was the last time they had just stopped and taken a breath?
As Bogg cut up some fruit that Mrs. Henderson had generously given them, he realized he would have to go back six or seven missions, missions that now that Bogg really thought about it had been full of dangerous situations and nearly constant running but very little precious downtime. Shaking his head feeling like he was failing at being a good father to Jeffery, Bogg vowed to do better from here on out. He would have to make more of an effort to give them some time off in between missions. Picking up the kettle before it could start to whistle, not wanting to wake up Jeff, Bogg poured the boiling water over the tea bags into two thermoses on the counter. One for him so he would have something hot to drink as he worked outside on the various projects the widow Henderson had for him and the other one for Jeff when he finally woke up. He placed Jeffrey’s thermos on the counter next to the covered dish containing fruit and bread. He planned on checking on him at lunch time but he wanted to make sure if Jeff should wake up before he got back he would have a hot drink and some food to tide him over till lunch. Ignoring the ever present ache in his shoulder, Bogg gathered up his stuff and went to find Mrs. Henderson to see what he should do first.
~Voyagers!~
Jeffrey woke up with a headache and knew that his hope from the night before had been wasted as he was definitely sick. Not only did his head hurt but his whole body was achy and sore and he was pretty sure he was running a fever. Rolling over he saw the other bed was empty. Jeffrey sat up gingerly making sure the movement wouldn’t make his swimming head any worse. When he was able to stand he drug the blanket over his shoulders to keep the chill of the room at bay. Pushing open the bedroom door, he was immediately blanketed in a wave of warm air. Realizing he did not need the quilt, Jeffrey left it in the bedroom and went over to the kitchen table where a note was propped up against a covered plate of food.
Jeffrey couldn’t help the welling up of his eyes as he read the note that was from Bogg admonishing him to take it easy today, to eat what he could from the food Bogg had left him, and that the older man would see him at lunchtime. He blamed the tears on his illness but he knew it was also because Bogg took such great care of him. He wasn’t made to feel like a burden like he had when he lived with his aunt. Bogg actually loved him. He was for all intents and purposes his dad. Bogg was an honorable man who was always trying to do what was right and who would love and take care of him like they were blood related. Ever since his parents died the people that loved him were few and far between.
Jeffrey managed to eat some of the food and drink the still warm tea. Then the tiredness and the aches and pains became too much to ignore and he went into the living area and laid down on the couch; the flames from the fireplace hypnotizing him until he fell back to sleep.
~Voyagers!~
Jeff was abruptly woken up again when the cabin door opened and sitting up he peered over the couch edge and saw Bogg and another man enter.
“Hey Jeff, sorry we woke you,” Bogg said, sitting down next to him and waving in the other man, “This is Dr. Reed. He stopped by to check on Mrs. Henderson and he was gracious enough to come and check you over as well.”
“Bogg I told you I’m fine,” Jeffrey groused, even though he felt anything but fine.
“Humor me, kid,” Bogg insisted.
Jeffrey hated doctors but he submitted himself to be looked over, because he could see how worried Bogg was.
Just as the doctor finished looking down his throat, Jeffrey couldn’t help getting a little petty revenge by asking, “Hey Doc can you look at Bogg’s shoulder? He hurt it a little while back and I know it’s still bothering him.”
Bogg shot him a dirty look as Dr. Reed turned to him and insisted on looking at Bogg’s shoulder. Jeffrey just smiled wanly and stuck his tongue out, not feeling bad about ratting him out as turnabout was fair play.
“Well Doc. How is he?” Jeffrey asked when the doctor had finished the exam.
Dr. Reed smiled slightly and then said, “Well his shoulder needs to rest in order to heal. I am going to need you to use it as little as possible for at least a week.”
Bogg grimaced, “No can do Doc I promised Mrs. Henderson that I would work for our room and board…”
Dr. Reed interrupted, “Don’t worry I’ll square it with her. She is a generous woman I’ll tell her you will do all the work she needs after a week of rest. Alright?”
Bogg nodded reluctantly, and then said in a tone that had a thread of concern running through it, “What about Jeffrey?”
“He is running a mild fever. I think with some rest and plenty of fluids he should be back to normal within a few days,” Reed said, closing up his doctor bag.
“Thanks Doc,” Bogg said, shaking the man’s hand as he showed him to the door.
When it was just the two of them, Bogg said, “I’ve been thinking kid. We have had nothing but one tough mission after another, so I am making an executive decision. We are going to stay here for at least a week, maybe longer depending on how much work I need to do. Even if the Doc hadn’t said what he said I was still going to suggest we take a few days anyway. Does that sound good to you?”
Jeffrey was always a little bit worried that the Voyagers organization would regret allowing him to tag along especially if he couldn’t keep up with Bogg but Jeff could also see the wisdom in what Bogg was saying plus it would be nice to just stop for awhile and not worry about trying to save history. So he nodded and then said, “Yeah that sounds good to me. If you don’t think we’ll get in trouble?”
Bogg’s eyebrows rose at that and sitting down next to Jeffrey he asked, “Why would we get in trouble?”
Jeff twisted his hands in his laps wishing he had kept his mouth shut but he knew Bogg wouldn’t let it go so he said, “Well I wouldn’t want the other Voyagers to think that I was holding you back and…” Jeffery stopped, voice breaking. He could feel tears well up in his eyes as he thought of being separated from Bogg.
“And…” Bogg gently prompted.
“And they might send me back…to my aunt who hates me and…I would never see you again,” Jeffrey finished, impatiently wiping the tears off his face with the back of his hand.
“Hey,” Bogg said, pulling Jeffrey into his arms and holding him gently for a long moment before continuing, “I would never allow that to happen. Even if it meant I would have to quit being a Voyager.”
Jeffrey pulled back needing to look him in the eyes and said in astonishment “Really?” he knew how much this life meant to Bogg.
“Yes really,” Bogg said reassuringly, “Jeff you are my son and there is nothing I would do to jeopardize that. It’s you and me from here on out. Okay?”
“Okay,” Jeffrey said his voice watery and then he threw his arms around Bogg and squeezed him tightly and whispered, “thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me Jeffrey that’s what families are for,” Bogg said quietly.
~Voyagers!~
Dr. Reed was right; it took Jeffrey only a few days to feel better. After that Jeffrey had his work cut out for him making sure Bogg rested his shoulder. They relaxed and slept in as much as possible. They took a few easy hikes, enjoying the beautiful nature they found around them. They also borrowed some fishing poles and tried their luck fishing from the dock, Jeffrey insisted on casting for Bogg not wanting to take any chances. They managed to catch a few trout for their supper and Bogg showed Jeffrey how to clean the fish and how to cook it over an open fire.
After a week Bogg declared his shoulder healed and got to work. Within a few days he had all of the work Mrs. Henderson needed done.
Standing outside of their cabin, Bogg said, “Can you believe she offered me the job of handyman?”
“Why not? You did good work,” Jeff said, a bit of pride in his voice. “You’re not thinking of taking it are you?”
Bogg laughed and then said, “Heck no. This is a bit of paradise on earth but my feet get antsy if I stay in one place too long.” Taking out the Omni that always hung on his belt he held it out to Jeffrey and asked, “Why do you want to stay?”
Jeffrey emphatically shook his head, “Heck no. This week has been the best and I hope we do it again but I am ready to go.” Answering Boggs widening smile with his own he reached for the Omni and pushed the button on the side, and between one breath and the next they were gone.
The End
This entry was originally posted at https://under-the-silk-tree.dreamwidth.org/77721.html
Breaking through to the surface, Jeffrey sucked in a frantic breath before sputtering and coughing trying to expel the water he had managed to breathe in. Frantically trying to tread water, Jeffrey forgot everything his father had taught him about swimming as panic pushed out all other thoughts.
Bogg’s arm wrapped around him and he urgently said, “I’ve got you Jeff. You’re okay.”
At the sound of Bogg’s voice Jeffrey relaxed and let him pull them towards the shoreline with powerful strokes. Within a few minutes, the two of them were staggering onto the shore; as soon as he was free of the water Jeffrey collapsed on the beach coughing and shivering.
Bogg sat down next to him gently patting him on the back. “That’s it kid, get it all out,” Bogg said soothingly. “That was a hell of a drop.”
Jeffrey nodded, not quite trusting his voice. A wicked breeze was blowing across the lake bathing them in damp cold air. Jeffrey finally caught his breath enough to sit up and look around, all he saw was blue water and fir trees. From what he could see before they had hit the water, they were on the shore of a rather large lake surrounded by a deep forest.
“Are you alright now?” Bogg asked standing up wringing extra water out of his vest.
“Yeah, I just sucked in some water,” Jeff answered his voice ragged. He took the hand that Bogg offered to him and allowed himself to be pulled up.
“What does the Omni say?” Jeff asked wondering where in time they were now.
Bogg opened up the pocket-watch sized time travel device and said in surprise, “It’s green actually. Lake Tahoe, 1950.”
“It’s sure nice to be somewhere where nothing’s wrong,” Jeffrey said, before a series of sneezes lead to a coughing fit had him bent in half.
When Jeffrey was finally able to stand upright again, Bogg laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and with a worried expression on his face said, “We need to get you some dry clothes and someplace warm before you catch your death.”
Glancing around, Bogg pointed to a row of cabins, “Let’s see if we can find some help.”
~Voyagers!~
Even though he couldn’t stop shivering, Jeffrey couldn’t help shaking his head in fond exasperation as Bogg sweet talked the elderly woman who owned the cabins. Bogg could charm the birds from the trees if he wanted, Jeffrey never could understand how the man managed to engage and fascinate so many different types of people into doing what he wanted.
Apparently they had landed yards away from a small resort. In exchange for some handiwork that was needed, Mrs. Henderson agreed to loan them some of her now grown-up son and her late husband’s old clothes, as well she handed over the key to cabin number four, as it was the off season and no one was in that one currently.
It was a two room cabin with a pair of single beds in the bedroom and a fireplace in the living room kitchen combo room. After they changed out of their wet clothes and hung them up to dry, Bogg then set about building a roaring fire in the fireplace. Soon the cabin was nice and toasty making Jeffery a bit sleepy as they ate the sandwiches Mrs. Henderson had been kind enough to give them.
When he was finished, Jeffrey couldn’t help putting his arm on the table and laying his head down feeling sleepy now that he was full and warm.
“Jeffrey?”
When Jeff lifted his head he saw Bogg looking at him with a quizzical expression on his face and asked, “What?”
“Am I going crazy or are you missing some of your hair?” Bogg asked gesturing towards the right side of his head.
Jeffrey reached up feeling where some curls should have been instead he was missing several inches and then remembered what had happened to him on their previous mission. They had been caught in the Great London Fire of 1666 trying to save a whole pub full of people and they barely escaped, “Oh yeah, it happened earlier my hair caught on fire,” seeing Bogg’s eyes widen in growing alarm Jeff raised up his hand in reassurance and hurried on, “don’t worry I managed to put it out right away.”
“Don’t worry?!?!” Bogg asked incredulously, as he stood and came over gently running a hand over Jeffrey’s head, “Did your scalp get burned?”
Shaking off the questing hands in exasperation, Jeffrey said, “No it’s fine.”
“Jeffrey, you could’ve been seriously hurt,” Bogg said, worry clear in his tone.
“I know, I know,” Jeffrey declared, before adding in an attempt at humor, “Apparently long hair and fire don’t mix.” From the scowl on Bogg’s face Jeffrey guessed it was too soon to joke about.
Bogg then laid one hand along Jeff’s forehead and said, “You’re slightly warm. How are you feeling?”
Jeffrey didn’t feel all that great in fact he was feeling a little achy and hoped he wasn’t getting sick but he didn’t want Bogg to worry anymore then he already was so he said, “I’m fine,” before quickly changing the subject and asking, “How’s your shoulder?”
Before London they had been in San Francisco just in time for the 1906 earthquake and Bogg had strained his shoulder when a beam had fallen on him as he was rescuing a child from a collapsed building.
Jeffrey watched as Bogg gingerly moved the hurt shoulder before he said with a grimace, “Still healing.”
They both sighed at the same time their exhaustion written all over them before Bogg asked “We’re pretty beat up aren’t we?”
Jeffrey agreed tiredly, before continuing on trying to put some enthusiasm in his voice, “But I’ll be okay by tomorrow, if you want to leave then.”
Bogg gave him an unsure look and then said, “Mrs. Henderson gave us free room and board in exchange for doing some work around the place. We are going to take her up on her offer at least for tonight and we’ll see how we feel tomorrow.”
They cleaned up their plates and cups and sat down in a couple of chairs by the fire. Jeff tried to read a Hardy Boys book he found on one of the bookshelves but he kept reading the same passages over and over too tired to really comprehend what Frank and Joe were up to and Bogg just stared tiredly into the crackling flames.
After the third time he yawned deeply, Bogg said, “Time for you to be getting to bed.”
It showed just how tired Jeff was when he didn’t fight Bogg on it at all instead he just nodded and let himself be ushered to bed.
Bogg tucked him in. He was combing a lock of hair out of Jeffrey’s eyes when his fingers brushed against the burned section of hair Bogg said in a low voice, “I’m sorry. I seem to drag you from one dangerous situation another.”
“It’s okay Bogg. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” against his wishes his eyes closed, Jeff was too tired to open them back up but he managed to whisper, “you’re my family.”
As he fell asleep he heard Bogg say, “Goodnight son.”
~Voyagers!~
Bogg woke up shortly after dawn. He was never able to sleep well the first night in a strange place probably because of all the dangerous places he had had to sleep in over the years. Getting up and stretching out the kinks in his limbs, Bogg made sure to be careful of his still healing shoulder. The falling beam had hurt it much more severely than he had let on to Jeffrey. Although he had a feeling that the kid knew and compensated by taking on as much of the load as he could.
Looking over at the other bed, he saw Jeffrey was still asleep and he didn’t really wonder at it considering all they had been through lately. Lingering concern over the slight fever Jeffrey had been running last night had him laying the back of his hand against Jeffery’s forehead. He cursed silently under his breath when he felt a higher temperature then he should’ve. The slight fever from last night had turned into what felt like a proper fever this morning. Tiptoeing out of the room, Bogg partially closed the door leaving it slightly ajar so he would hear if Jeffrey needed anything. He needed to let the kid sleep as much as possible today.
As Bogg set about building up the fire from the embers of last night he tried to talk down his instinctual worry over Jeffrey’s health. He knew logically it was more than likely just a bout of flu but it was hard to remember that when it was his kid and when childhood illnesses had been fatal when Bogg had been a child.
After the fire was going enough to warm the room up, Bogg got started on breakfast for Jeffrey when he finally woke up. Putting the tea kettle on the stove, Bogg lit the burner and the fire brought back London which he had assumed they had gotten away from unscathed. He had been very wrong. It bothered him a lot that he hadn’t even noticed that Jeffrey had been that close to being severely burned. Jeffrey always conducted himself like he was a mini-adult and he was so good at it that from time to time Bogg forgot just how young the boy actually was. He felt a spike of guilt at that thought that brought a physical ache to his chest. He needed to take better care of the kid that he thought of as his own son.
Honestly when was the last time they had just stopped and taken a breath?
As Bogg cut up some fruit that Mrs. Henderson had generously given them, he realized he would have to go back six or seven missions, missions that now that Bogg really thought about it had been full of dangerous situations and nearly constant running but very little precious downtime. Shaking his head feeling like he was failing at being a good father to Jeffery, Bogg vowed to do better from here on out. He would have to make more of an effort to give them some time off in between missions. Picking up the kettle before it could start to whistle, not wanting to wake up Jeff, Bogg poured the boiling water over the tea bags into two thermoses on the counter. One for him so he would have something hot to drink as he worked outside on the various projects the widow Henderson had for him and the other one for Jeff when he finally woke up. He placed Jeffrey’s thermos on the counter next to the covered dish containing fruit and bread. He planned on checking on him at lunch time but he wanted to make sure if Jeff should wake up before he got back he would have a hot drink and some food to tide him over till lunch. Ignoring the ever present ache in his shoulder, Bogg gathered up his stuff and went to find Mrs. Henderson to see what he should do first.
~Voyagers!~
Jeffrey woke up with a headache and knew that his hope from the night before had been wasted as he was definitely sick. Not only did his head hurt but his whole body was achy and sore and he was pretty sure he was running a fever. Rolling over he saw the other bed was empty. Jeffrey sat up gingerly making sure the movement wouldn’t make his swimming head any worse. When he was able to stand he drug the blanket over his shoulders to keep the chill of the room at bay. Pushing open the bedroom door, he was immediately blanketed in a wave of warm air. Realizing he did not need the quilt, Jeffrey left it in the bedroom and went over to the kitchen table where a note was propped up against a covered plate of food.
Jeffrey couldn’t help the welling up of his eyes as he read the note that was from Bogg admonishing him to take it easy today, to eat what he could from the food Bogg had left him, and that the older man would see him at lunchtime. He blamed the tears on his illness but he knew it was also because Bogg took such great care of him. He wasn’t made to feel like a burden like he had when he lived with his aunt. Bogg actually loved him. He was for all intents and purposes his dad. Bogg was an honorable man who was always trying to do what was right and who would love and take care of him like they were blood related. Ever since his parents died the people that loved him were few and far between.
Jeffrey managed to eat some of the food and drink the still warm tea. Then the tiredness and the aches and pains became too much to ignore and he went into the living area and laid down on the couch; the flames from the fireplace hypnotizing him until he fell back to sleep.
~Voyagers!~
Jeff was abruptly woken up again when the cabin door opened and sitting up he peered over the couch edge and saw Bogg and another man enter.
“Hey Jeff, sorry we woke you,” Bogg said, sitting down next to him and waving in the other man, “This is Dr. Reed. He stopped by to check on Mrs. Henderson and he was gracious enough to come and check you over as well.”
“Bogg I told you I’m fine,” Jeffrey groused, even though he felt anything but fine.
“Humor me, kid,” Bogg insisted.
Jeffrey hated doctors but he submitted himself to be looked over, because he could see how worried Bogg was.
Just as the doctor finished looking down his throat, Jeffrey couldn’t help getting a little petty revenge by asking, “Hey Doc can you look at Bogg’s shoulder? He hurt it a little while back and I know it’s still bothering him.”
Bogg shot him a dirty look as Dr. Reed turned to him and insisted on looking at Bogg’s shoulder. Jeffrey just smiled wanly and stuck his tongue out, not feeling bad about ratting him out as turnabout was fair play.
“Well Doc. How is he?” Jeffrey asked when the doctor had finished the exam.
Dr. Reed smiled slightly and then said, “Well his shoulder needs to rest in order to heal. I am going to need you to use it as little as possible for at least a week.”
Bogg grimaced, “No can do Doc I promised Mrs. Henderson that I would work for our room and board…”
Dr. Reed interrupted, “Don’t worry I’ll square it with her. She is a generous woman I’ll tell her you will do all the work she needs after a week of rest. Alright?”
Bogg nodded reluctantly, and then said in a tone that had a thread of concern running through it, “What about Jeffrey?”
“He is running a mild fever. I think with some rest and plenty of fluids he should be back to normal within a few days,” Reed said, closing up his doctor bag.
“Thanks Doc,” Bogg said, shaking the man’s hand as he showed him to the door.
When it was just the two of them, Bogg said, “I’ve been thinking kid. We have had nothing but one tough mission after another, so I am making an executive decision. We are going to stay here for at least a week, maybe longer depending on how much work I need to do. Even if the Doc hadn’t said what he said I was still going to suggest we take a few days anyway. Does that sound good to you?”
Jeffrey was always a little bit worried that the Voyagers organization would regret allowing him to tag along especially if he couldn’t keep up with Bogg but Jeff could also see the wisdom in what Bogg was saying plus it would be nice to just stop for awhile and not worry about trying to save history. So he nodded and then said, “Yeah that sounds good to me. If you don’t think we’ll get in trouble?”
Bogg’s eyebrows rose at that and sitting down next to Jeffrey he asked, “Why would we get in trouble?”
Jeff twisted his hands in his laps wishing he had kept his mouth shut but he knew Bogg wouldn’t let it go so he said, “Well I wouldn’t want the other Voyagers to think that I was holding you back and…” Jeffery stopped, voice breaking. He could feel tears well up in his eyes as he thought of being separated from Bogg.
“And…” Bogg gently prompted.
“And they might send me back…to my aunt who hates me and…I would never see you again,” Jeffrey finished, impatiently wiping the tears off his face with the back of his hand.
“Hey,” Bogg said, pulling Jeffrey into his arms and holding him gently for a long moment before continuing, “I would never allow that to happen. Even if it meant I would have to quit being a Voyager.”
Jeffrey pulled back needing to look him in the eyes and said in astonishment “Really?” he knew how much this life meant to Bogg.
“Yes really,” Bogg said reassuringly, “Jeff you are my son and there is nothing I would do to jeopardize that. It’s you and me from here on out. Okay?”
“Okay,” Jeffrey said his voice watery and then he threw his arms around Bogg and squeezed him tightly and whispered, “thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me Jeffrey that’s what families are for,” Bogg said quietly.
~Voyagers!~
Dr. Reed was right; it took Jeffrey only a few days to feel better. After that Jeffrey had his work cut out for him making sure Bogg rested his shoulder. They relaxed and slept in as much as possible. They took a few easy hikes, enjoying the beautiful nature they found around them. They also borrowed some fishing poles and tried their luck fishing from the dock, Jeffrey insisted on casting for Bogg not wanting to take any chances. They managed to catch a few trout for their supper and Bogg showed Jeffrey how to clean the fish and how to cook it over an open fire.
After a week Bogg declared his shoulder healed and got to work. Within a few days he had all of the work Mrs. Henderson needed done.
Standing outside of their cabin, Bogg said, “Can you believe she offered me the job of handyman?”
“Why not? You did good work,” Jeff said, a bit of pride in his voice. “You’re not thinking of taking it are you?”
Bogg laughed and then said, “Heck no. This is a bit of paradise on earth but my feet get antsy if I stay in one place too long.” Taking out the Omni that always hung on his belt he held it out to Jeffrey and asked, “Why do you want to stay?”
Jeffrey emphatically shook his head, “Heck no. This week has been the best and I hope we do it again but I am ready to go.” Answering Boggs widening smile with his own he reached for the Omni and pushed the button on the side, and between one breath and the next they were gone.
The End
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