
By Atonia and Jo
Jo writing Maximus, Caroline, Bud, Marie, Sid, Zack, Hope, Cort, Daisy, Lachlan, Ben
Atonia writing Terry, Dee, Alex, Linda, Jack, Tarwyn, John, Bethany, Dino, Max, Sophia
PART 17:
“Zack?” Dr. Canfield said, approaching the bed, looking back and forth from Zack’s face to the monitors.
The man lay quietly, blinking slowly, no sign of recognition in his expression. Ah, of course, he wouldn’t know me, Canfield thought. Zack Grant has never met anyone who’s not in No Way Back. He smiled warmly at his patient.
“You’re in a hospital,” he explained. “You were injured and have been unconscious for several days but you’re going to be fine.” There was way too much to explain and he didn’t want to tax Zack’s mind with a load of sudden information.
“Do you remember anything, Zack? Where you were the last you remember? What happened to you?”
“Wh…who…is…is…Zack?”
Canfield pressed his lips together. “You don’t remember Zack Grant?”
“N…no.”
“Can you tell me your name?”
“I…I’m…” A sudden, horrified panic filled the patient’s eyes. He didn’t know! His heart rate began to go wild and his brain waves spiked.
As quickly as he could, Canfield injected a sedative into the IV and gradually the patient’s eyes began to close. “Do…don’t…know…,” he mumbled as he drifted into sleep.
Canfield let out a long sigh. Whatever Sid had done had wiped out Zack’s memory. He had feared there’d be some result from the degree of injury inflicted, even that Zack might never regain consciousness. The possibility of amnesia had lurked in the doctor’s thoughts as well. Zack had awakened from his coma and that was good. The problem was that he had no idea
who he was. Canfield looked at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes after five. Still too early
to call the others. He’d wait a while, call later.
Alex had an appointment with Dr. Canfield at 8:00. He wasn’t looking forward to it but his back had gotten so bad he was taking pain killers again. They made him a little drunk. He knew Linda was right about him seeking help but he didn’t like it a little bit.
She had a wheel chair brought out to the car for him. Once inside she inquired about the doctor and was told he was up on ICU with a patient. They knew what patient he was attending and Linda wheeled him to the elevator.
At 6:30 Canfield had called Cort, knowing he’d probably be waking him but he called just the same.
“Cort, it’s Dr. Canfield. I’m at the hospital.”
“It’s Zack, isn’t it? Something’s happened?”
“He woke up around 5, Cort, but, well, he has amnesia.”

Cort made a little sound down in his throat but didn’t reply.
“I know you know what it’s like to wake up and not know who you are so I was wondering if
you could come into the hospital as soon as possible to help him deal with it. He got so upset when he realized he didn’t know his own identity that I had to sedate him. He’s still asleep
right now but I think it would be good if you were here when he wakes again.”
“Sure, Doc. I’ll get there right away.” He explained to Daisy what he was doing and dressed hurriedly, grabbing a banana on his way out the door for breakfast.
At 8 Dr. Canfield looked up from behind his desk and smiled as Linda wheeled Alex into his office. “Ah, good morning, you two.” He frowned a little at Alex. “You know you should have come in to see me earlier if you’re in a lot of pain.”

“Yeah, I know, Doc. I know how handy you are with a knife too.”
“The only way we can know for sure, Alex, what’s going on with your back is to run some tests. I know how fond of those you are, but I think it’s necessary to your well being.”
“Dr. Canfield,” Linda interrupted, “It started when he began walking and moving around.”
“You come along with me now, Alex, and we’ll get you checked out and then decide what needs to be done.” As he passed his receptionist, he said, “Beep me when Cortland Wells arrives.”
Alex looked up at the doctor from his wheelchair. “Why is Cort coming in?”
“Zack came out of his coma about three hours ago, Alex. He doesn’t know who he is. I don’t know if you’ve heard how when Mikol warped Cort over to Castle Kamen at the end of the Gladiator expedition, that method of warping almost killed Cort and when he came to, he had amnesia. I’ve asked him to come in this morning to be there when Zack wakes up from the sedative I had to give him.” He looked down at Alex. “Would you like to stop by and see him before we do your tests? I’ve had him moved up to the 6th floor while he’s sleeping.”
“Oh, yeah, Doc, I’d like to go up and see him. I haven’t been able to get up here since he was brought in. I don’t know all the history…jeez, there hasn’t been time to hear it all since I came on the scene.”
Canfield walked along with them as Linda pushed the wheelchair. “He’s just down here,” he said as they got off the elevator. He went into the room first. Zack was still asleep but in the very beginning stages of beginning to wake up. He was still hooked to heart and brain monitors as Canfield was concerned by the spikes in his readouts when Zack had realized he didn’t know his own identity. “This is the first you’ve had a chance to see him, isn’t it, Alex?”

“Yeah,” Alex replied. Linda and Dr. Canfield helped him to stand by Zack’s bed. “It’s kinda
like looking in the mirror except for the beard.” Alex whispered. “Bruises almost matched mine.” Alex’s bruises had faded to a light yellowing under his cheekbone. “Maybe amnesia is
not so bad considering what he must have been through.”
“It’s likely we’ll never know what he went through, Alex. He was the only one who might have told us about it. Sid just does it, doesn’t explain it. I imagine, though, that Zack himself didn’t know most of what Sid was doing. With what was going on in his neurological and circulatory systems, he had to have been rendered unconscious fairly early on in the process.” He’d been looking at Zack then turned to look at Alex again. “Best sit down,” he suggested. “Standing
too long is probably putting a strain on your back. Let’s get some X-rays and see if we can tell what’s going on.”
Alex hated to leave Zack, but he sat back down in the chair. “I’m all yours, Doc.”
Linda looked at Zack for a long time. He looked more like Alex than the others. “Best of luck
to you,” she said, and turned to wheel Alex down the hall.
When the X-rays had been sent to Canfield’s computer, he and Alex and Linda sat in his office together. The doctor pointed to a spot on Alex’s back. “Here,” he said, “is the problem. This
is where those men kicked you the hardest and a disk has now ruptured. I imagine it feels rather like someone has slipped a knife blade in between those vertebrae there, eh?”
“You got that right.”
“Bottom line, Alex, is that I need to go in and repair it. No, don’t look at me like that. It’s not how I get my jollies, contrary to what you might think. You need help and this is the help you need. We can do it as soon as you like so you can start getting on with your life.” He looked
at Linda at that point.
“Dr. Canfield, do the surgery as soon as you can schedule it. He’s in a lot of pain and he tries
to hide it from me. I think he’s suffered enough.” She placed a hand on Alex’s arm.
Alex was resigned to his fate. He looked around Canfield’s office. “I’m becoming a permanent resident here.”
“No, Alex, after this is over you’ll walk out of here standing up straight.” Linda squeezed his arm. He leaned over and kissed her.
“How does first thing in the morning sound?” Canfield asked.
“Good, let’s get it over with,” Alex answered.
“Are you going to go ahead and admit him now or do I need to bring him back into town before daylight?” Linda asked.
“Bring him back in the morning around 6. That’ll do fine.” His beeper went off and he checked it. “Cort’s here. Well, Alex, we’ll get this taken care of for you. You’ll see what a difference it’ll make.” He stood up and opened the door for Linda to wheel Alex out. “No soccer this afternoon, no tennis,” he smiled.

“Cancel football, Linda.” Alex looked up at her and smiled.
Leaving Alex and Linda, Canfield walked down the hall, finding Cort just pushing an elevator button. “I’ll go up with you,” he said.
“Tell me about Zack.”
“Well, Cort, I haven’t spent much time with him while he’s awake because he was only conscious for such a little while. I could tell he didn’t recognize me, but then, why would he? I didn’t say anything to him about Sid or the whole movie thing, nothing like that. Too early. But he asked me who Zack was and when I asked him who he was, he didn’t know and it really sent all his readings through the roof so I had to sedate him before he went into cardiac arrest or something. So that’s it. That’s all the interaction I’ve had with him. What I’m thinking is that because he doesn’t remember anything, that you tell him you’re his brother. I’ve had a hand mirror put in his room and you can let him see himself so he’ll realize how much the two of you look alike and the brother thing will make sense to him that way, give him some connection to somebody even if he doesn’t remember them. I think it’s best to take it kind of slow with him, not too much information too soon, but we’ll have to let him set the pace of that with his questions, most likely.”
They stopped outside the door of the room Zack had been moved to. “You go on in, Cort.
Maybe sit in a chair and just be there when he wakes up. I’ll be up here in case he starts to spike again for any reason. You feel comfortable with that?”
“It’s how Zack feels that’s important right now, Doc. I’m fine.”
Cort opened the door, his eyes quickly scanning the room. He could tell Zack was just about
to fully awaken and so he pulled up a chair and sat close to the bed. In a moment or two Zack’s eyes blinked open. He licked his lips, looked straight up at the ceiling a long moment, then became aware someone was in the room so his head turned on the pillow enough for him to
see.
“Mornin’, Zack,” Cort smiled. “Can’t tell you how glad I am that you’ve come ‘round.”
“Wh…who?”
“Cort…um, your brother, Cort.”
“Br…brother?”
“It’s all right, Zack. No need to get upset about any of this. I just thought I’d sit with you for
a while, give you somebody to talk to.”
“I…I don’t…”
“I know an’ that’s all right, too. No hurry about any of that. You’re goin' to be all right an’ that’s what matters.”
“Wh…where?”
“Hospital, Zack. You were hurt an’ you’ve been in here where they’ve been takin’ good care
of you. You’re gettin’ better. You got to know that. You’re gettin’ a whole lot better.”
“Br…brother?”
“Kinda puzzlin’, eh? Well, take a look here,” he turned so he could pick up the mirror and
held it up in front of Zack’s face, “an’ that’s you.” He let him study his own reflection for a while, then he moved the mirror away. “An’ this is me. Brothers. Definite family resemblance plain as day.”
“C…Cort?”
“That’s me. And you’re Zack…Zachary Grant, to be exact.”
“Don’t…don’t remember.”
“I know what that feels like,” Cort smiled. “A while back I was, um, damaged an’ when I woke up, I didn’t know who I was or where I was or why I was wherever it was. So when I say I understand, I mean it, Zack. I know how lost you feel but I want you to know you’re not alone. I’m here an’ I’ll be here. You are not alone in this. You’ve got more brothers here in town,
too, but I’m the one who knows what it’s like to feel what you’re feelin’ right about now.”
“How…hurt…me?”
“Well, I an’ two other brothers found you on some rocks out on our place in the country. Looked like you’d, um, fallen a long way. You were pretty banged up, Zack, bad concussion, your left hand there’s kinda broken.”
Zack lifted his left hand enough to look at it, seeing the splints and bandages. “You…you found me?”
“Sure did. Surprised the heck out of us. We had to call for a helicopter to come and fetch you
to the hospital.”
“You…you sure I’m…Zack?”
“You’re Zack all right. You got the most beard of all of us,” he smiled.
Zack lifted his right hand, touching his beard. “Can…can I see…again?”
Cort held the mirror close for him and watched as Zack’s eyes roamed over his own face.
Then Zack looked at Cort again. “You…you’re younger?”
“Just a little. Not much at all. You’ve got another brother, Alex, who’s right around our age, too.”
A crease formed between Zack’s eyes. “Not…not making sense to me.”
“I expect it’s not and I’d tell you not to worry about that but I know how it is an' I know you will. Main thing you’ve got to do right now is keep on healin’ an’ feelin’ better.”
“Brother?”
Cort smiled again. “Brother.”
“How…not remember?”
“You took a pretty hard blow to the head on those rocks, Zack.” No use telling him anything about what Sid might have done to him. Not yet anyway. “We’ve been really concerned if
you were goin’ to wake up or not.”
“We?”
“Your brothers an’ me. All of us really care about you, Zack, an' we’ve been worried about you.”
Zack clamped his right hand over his eyes. He felt really tired, terribly drained. “Need sleep,” he whispered, letting his hand drop.
“Good idea. I’ll stop back after while. You rest now.”
Cort went down the hall and found Canfield. “You’ve seen Zack’s film, right?”
“Of course.”
“You know the accent he has in it?”
“What are you getting at, Cort?”
“He’s not talkin' like that, not at all.”
“What are you saying? What sort of accent does he have?”
“He’s an Aussie, Doc. Talks just like Terry an’ Lachlan.”
Sophie was taking Max over the property, showing him some nice areas. There was water in
the form of two separate streams. One larger than the other and old stonework around it made for some little pools and a lake. There were places Max stopped for awhile.
“This…this right here reminds me of La Siroque. We had a lake, small pond, really.”
“Max, maybe you have found your La Siroque here.”

He smiled and looked over the pond. “I believe I have. Even though I’ve no history here, it is beginning to feel like home to me. I can’t explain how totally displaced I’ve felt since I got
here. Absolutely nothing was familiar to me. I begged Terry to buy me a ticket to London and
he refused. I suppose I might have been lost there too but I know London. I don’t know Texas.”
“I understand what you mean, Max. When I first came over here I felt the same. It was a
foreign country to me and still is. I am Italian but because it is a winery and my father was Italian, he brought a little of Tuscany with him. You know, in a number of ways, Tuscany and Provence are very much alike.”
“I know Provence.”
“Someday you will know Tuscany, too, because I want to take you to my home and introduce
you to my mother and my other relatives.”
“As your what…lover?”
“Well…you are. You aren’t going to ask me to marry you, are you? We’ve just met.”
“I wasn’t thinking of it right away but when you start talking about meeting the family then I have to wonder what they will think about our situation.”
“Ah, they are very open minded. Do you think my mother has not had lovers in all these years? She is still a beautiful woman. There was a woman here when my father passed away. She was
at the funeral but I have not seen her since. I don’t know where she goes.”
Max stood up and brought her to him. “I’m so very glad I found you.”

Ben stood on his porch watching the large delivery truck coming up his lane. Stuff. He was going to have a lot of stuff. He’d never had stuff in his life, never wanted any, not really. But he’d also never owned a house before, had he, and a house needed stuff in it.
Outlaw leaned against his leg, also watching the truck, and Ben leaned enough to scratch
behind his ears. “You gonna help me decide where to put all these things?”

Outlaw looked up at Ben, his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth, and lifted a paw
up. Ben laughed. He’d gotten really fond of the dog.
The truck pulled up close to the steps and the driver got out with a clipboard.
“You Mr. Wade?”
“That’d be me.”
Two more men got out of the cab and went around to the back of the truck, opening it and placing a long metal ramp.
The driver passed the clipboard to Ben. “Need you to sign there.” As Ben did, the driver
added, “Now just show us where you want us to set things down.”
Ben licked his lips. It was going to be a long afternoon.
Bud came into the hospital to check on Zack but when he went to ICU he found that he’d been moved up to the 6th floor. He got up there just in time to hear what Cort was saying to Canfield.

“What?” he exclaimed. “That’s not possible.”
“Ah, Bud. Well, you should know by now that when Sid’s involved, anything is possible.”
“He’s out of his coma, I take it?”
“Early this morning. I called Cort in to be with him because Zack has amnesia.”
“Fuck!” Bud said under his breath.
“Better than a vegetative state, Bud. Keep that in mind.”
Bud looked at Cort. “You’ve been talking with him?”
“Just now, yes. Doc here only heard him say a word or two but he talked more with me and
he’s definitely got an Aussie accent.”
“Zack does not have an Aussie accent.”
“I know,” Canfield said, shaking his head, “but Sid really messed around in his head and
Zack’s sense of who he is, even to how he speaks, has been wiped out. All I can figure is that
he’s Zack but he’s been pulled so far out of that, he’s talking like Russell.”
“That can happen?”
“It has happened, Bud.”
“What has he been told?”
Cort spoke up again. “Just that his name’s Zack Grant an’ he has brothers an’ three of us
found him hurt out in the country. Doc didn’t want anythin’ said yet about movies an’ things like that.”
“Probably a good idea. I guess you’re here, Cort, because you’ve experienced amnesia.”
“Right. An’ I can tell you it’s not fun wakin’ up an’ absolutely everythin’ being strange an’ unknown to you.”
“All right if I poke my head in the door, Doc?” Bud asked.
“He’s probably asleep, but go ahead.”
Bud went back down the hall, opening the door slowly and looking in. Zack had his right arm across his eyes and when he heard the door, moved it away.
“Hi, there, Zack. I’m Bud, one of your, um, older brothers.”
Zack just stared at him silently. The man looked like the other one, Cort, and also like his reflection in the mirror.
“You…you found me?”
“Not me, no. That was Cort and, um, two others. I live here in town but they run a big farm about two hours out. That’s where you were.”
“How…how get there?”
“We don’t know, Zack. It’s a sure thing none of us expected you to be found out there.”
“W…why?”
“Um, well, because you haven’t been living around here, Zack. We, um, thought you were someplace else.”
Zack licked his lips again. “You thirsty?” Bud asked, looking around for water. He found a small pitcher and a glass with a straw. Filling the glass half way, he carried it to the bed and slid his left hand under the pillow just enough to lift Zack’s head so he could sip from the straw. Zack had kept his eyes locked on Bud’s face the whole time.
“Don’t remember…you.”
“Nothing to worry about,” Bud smiled. “I remember you and that’ll have to do for the time being.”
Cort came back into the room, standing beside Bud, and Zack looked from one to the other.
“C…Cort.”
“And Bud,” Bud added. “Nice’n short. Zack, Cort, Bud.”
“More? C…Cort said…more.”
“Yeah, there’s more,” Bud smiled. “I expect you’ll be meeting them soon enough. We’re kind of a tight group, us brothers.”
“T…tight?”
“Yeah, we stick up for each other and when one of us is hurt or in trouble, the rest of us are right there.”
Zack managed a small smile. He liked the sound of that. “Fam…family.”
“That’s right, Zack,” Cort said. “You have family an’ that’s a good thing. You’ll like havin’ family.”
Zack closed his eyes. His brain felt tired and in less than a minute his head tipped to the side
on the pillow.
“Looks like he went to sleep,” Bud whispered.
Tarwyn and Jack were in the kitchen. She’d just started the dishwasher with breakfast dishes. He was reading the paper at the table.
“Jack, um, have you given any thought as to when, um, our wedding might happen?”
He looked up from the paper. “You mean a date? Ah, no, I haven’t Tarwyn. When would you like to marry?”
“I’d kinda like to have a wedding with a church and all that.”
He looked at her a minute. “You’ll have to be more specific than that, dear. Explain…all that.”
“I mean I want a formal wedding. Me in a long wedding dress and you…maybe you in uniform.
I want a preacher and people in the church and an organ playing ‘Here comes the bride.’ I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Have it the way you wish, however, I do not possess a uniform any longer.”
“But if it were possible, if I could find one…would you wear it?”
“If it were regulation, yes. I won’t be got up in some costume, Tarwyn.”
“No, I wouldn’t expect you to be…got up.” She pulled a calendar out of a drawer and took it over to the table. “It’s going to take some time to plan it properly. I don’t want some hurried
up affair.”
“Are you casting a shadow on John’s wedding?”
“No, that was perfect for them; that’s what they wanted. I want something different.”
Jack smiled a little. “I’m not sure I can do much to help with that except turn up at the appointed time with a ring.”
“I figure a couple of months at least. We have to find a chapel.”
“A chapel. I have wondered about that. We do not attend church and yet I see them everywhere we go.”
“I haven’t been a regular churchgoer since I was a child, Jack, but if you want to go to church then I’m with you.”
“I wouldn’t mind it. I rigged church every Sunday and read from the Bible.”
“Then we’ll go…tomorrow is Sunday. Now about the date. It’s looking like December.”
“Pick a date, my darling. It really does not matter to me what day it is.”
“December 21st is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. How about that?”
“December 21st it is. I will, um, make sure I’m free that day.” He smiled and pulled her onto
his lap. “It gives me great pleasure to think that you would consent to be my wife.”
“I’m nearly that now. I feel that way, Jack. It’s like my whole world revolves around you now.
I never thought I’d ever find anyone that would consume me the way that you do. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be sitting on Captain Jack Aubrey’s lap talking about a wedding. You just have no idea at all…none.” She kissed his lips.
As he crossed the parking lot to the Jeep, Cort called Maximus to explain where he was and what was going on with Zack.
“Australian, you say?”
“Definitely. Just like Lachlan an’ Terry sound. I was really surprised to hear it. But he’s terribly lost, Maximus. I feel like I need to spend time with him because I know what that’s
like, what Henri came to mean to me when I didn’t know who I was.”
“I agree, Cort. I myself would like to see him. Perhaps when you return tomorrow I may accompany you.”
“Sounds good. He knows he has a lot of brothers. He just doesn’t know how many.”
John just got off the phone with Bud. “Well, Zack’s awake and talking with an Australian accent. He’s got amnesia, though. Cort and Bud have been in to see him.”
“Australian? But…Zack wasn’t…”
“No, he wasn’t. So…I don’t know what’s going on with him. He don’t know he’s Zack.”
“Help me with this.” The day after their wedding and they were moving everything from her apartment to the new house.
“Oh, sorry, Bethany.” John took a box from the back of the car and carried it into the house.
“I wonder what time the movers are gonna be here?”
“Shouldn’t be too much longer. It’s going to be so nice having all our stuff in one place.”
“Well, you gotta find a place to put it all. I thought it looked just fine with what was here.”
Bethany rolled her eyes at him. He didn’t understand about her things. She had her mother’s bedroom suite, and a lot of decorative things to find a place for…and books and plants.
“I think we’re going to need a bookcase, John.”

“Let’s get all this shit in the house first and then we’ll see what we need. Don’t you be picking stuff up now…put that box down, Bethany.”
Zack woke again, alone in the room. His eyes moved, exploring all that was in there. Yes, he knew it was a hospital room. He knew what it was. But where was it? And he’d been hurt badly enough to need to be here? What could have happened to him? Cort said something
about him falling on rocks out in the country. Why would he have been in a place like that? Why was he in this place?
He closed his eyes. Zack Grant. There was nothing familiar about the name. There was
nothing familiar about the two brothers he’d met. They certainly looked like him, though, so there had to be something to it.
“Please!” he begged himself. “Please…please…remember something…anything.” But there was nothing until he’d awakened in the hospital. He wanted to see himself and strained to
reach the mirror, succeeding only in knocking the pitcher of water on the floor.
Dr. Canfield was almost instantly there. He saw the pitcher and picked it up. “Are you thirsty, Zack? I can get you…”
“Mir…mirror.”
“Ah.” Canfield handed it to him and Zack gripped it in his right hand.
“M…me?”
“Very much you,” Canfield said.
“You’re my…doctor?”
“Dr. Canfield, Zack. I’ve taken care of your brothers for some time now.”
“Big…family?” He still had to work at forming words.
“Very big. All great guys, though. You’ll like them.”
“Hospital…where?”
“Texas, Zack. You’re in east Texas.”
“Tex…no…not right.”
“Why isn’t it right, Zack?”
“Don’t…I don’t…know. Just doesn’t seem right.”
“Are you remembering something that makes you say that?”
“No…no memories. Nothing. Cort say no memories…him, too.”
“Yes, he had amnesia for a while. It was very hard so he knows what it’s like for you.”
“He…he’s ok now.”
“Yes, he’s fine.”
“Me, too?”
“We don’t know, Zack. It’s hard to tell about these things. Your memory may very well come back, but then again, it may not. It’s always wait and see.”
He touched his right temple. “Hurts.”
“Yes, that’s where you hit the rocks, there and on your cheek.”
“What about rocks?”
“Well, um, they were rocks alongside a stream from what Cort says. Most of you was in the
cold water.”
“I fell?”
“It was a steep, rocky hillside. You may have tumbled all the way down.” He still didn’t want
to interject Sid into the scenario yet.
“Clothes? I have…clothes?” Maybe if he did, they would tell him something about himself.
“Um, no, Zack. No clothes.”
Zack’s eyes widened. “Nothing?”
“Sorry. There was nothing.”
“How…? Not make sense.”
“We don’t know. Your brothers found you like that and no one knows the reason for it.”
“Must know, Doctor. I…must know.”
“I wish we did know, Zack. Truly I do.”
“Mystery. Me…a mystery?”
Canfield smiled. “Yes, Zack, you are a mystery, very much of one, indeed.”
ON TO PART 18
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