***A Present For Maddy***


"What's going on?" Lonnie asked, concern for what she had just been through.
She looked... pale and that worried him.

"I think I must have picked up a bug from the flood. It'll pass in a day or
two."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should see a healer." He said, slipping into the
roll of concerned lover as if he'd been doing it all his life..... He had
but before it had been merely a way to drawl women to him... But this time
it was real. Not a sham or con. This time he really was concerned for the
woman he was with.

"I do not need a healer. If it's what I think, there isn't anything a healer
could do anyway." Lonnie opened his mouth to protest and Madyllin held up a
hand to forestall him. "Look, if I'm not better in a few days, I'll go. I
promise, ok?"

The blonde rider frowned, but held his tongue. With a half-smothered sigh,
he began hunting down a shirt. 

He'd just finished putting is arms through the sleeves when Maddy jumped to
her feet and raced out of the room. Reaching for his pants, he stumbled into
them, nearly tripping himself up as one foot got caught up in the fabric,
but then he was racing after her to see what had suddenly caught her
attention when Meri's voice entered his mind and told him that the Queen had
just laid her eggs.

Lonnie caught up to her just as she slowed to a more reasonable pace in
order to pick her way through the remnants of her door. Ayesha was not on
the ledge. Glancing back at Lonnie who was chasing her while he tried to
pull his pants on, she waved a hand at the mess.

"Get this taken care of!" He heard her say then she hurried over to the
Hatching Cavern. 

<<Meri... will you ask Varie to ask Turner to replace Maddy's door?>> he
sent the thought quickly as he hurried after the Queenrider. <<Tell him
there was a slight..... Oh hell just tell him the door needs to be replaced.>>

When he caught up with her he thought he could see a faint glow around her
and knew it must be from the pride she was feeling at the moment. He moved
up closer as if he had every right and, Lonnie slipped an arm around her
waist and pulled her close. 

He was relieved when she leaned her head against his shoulder, and allowed
him this moment. "She did it. Isn't it grand?"

"Grand she is. A real sight to be adored and praised."

Lonnie couldn't remember when he had ever felt so good... Well maybe the day
he'd joined with Meri... But next to that this morning and last night had
been ..... Something else...

He felt at peace with himself and the world at large and he knew most of
that he owed to Maddy. He felt a joy this morning that he hadn't thought
he'd ever feel again... All joy had left him when they had learn about Lenna
coming up missing... Missing yes.....For he still believed that was the only
thing wrong. He would never believe his twin was dead. Not when he could
still feel that she was apart of him.

Yes... his feelings this morning had everything to do with the woman
standing beside him admiring the 12 new eggs her Queen had just laid. The
look of pure joy mirrored his own he was sure.

He stood here and allowed her to have her moment. After all who would have
thought at this time yesterday that he and she would even be on speaking
terms... Much less that they would have spent the night together... And what
a night it had been.

He hugged her to him and she looked up at him, her beautiful eyes bright
with the pride she was feeling for her Queen.

"She did well for her first laying," he told her.

"She did, didn't she?" Maddy agreed. "But I would have thought there would
be more eggs."

"No 12 is a good size for her to lay her first time," he assured her. "She's
still young and you don't want her to over lay herself at this age. When
she's a few years older her clutches will increase in size."

That seemed to settle any fear she might have had and he could tell that she
wanted to go to her Queen so he gave her a soft nudge in that direction. 

"Go on. Tell her how proud you are of her," he winked, then saw Bohoc flying
in to settle against the queen as if he had every right to be there. Though
the though rankled him, he did have to admit Bohoc did have the right... He
was the father of the newly laid eggs after all, but Lonnie didn't have to
like the fact that the dragon's rider had been with Maddy.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his brother approaching and turned to
welcome him. The knowing grin on Dani's face didn't go unnoticed, nor the
look he flashed quickly in Maddy's direction. Lonnie knew his brother
couldn't have helped seeing how little the Queenrider wore... nor his own
half state of dress. He hadn't even had time to button up his shirt nor put
his boots on.

"We had a meeting of minds," he quipped in answer to the question he knew
Dani was dying to ask... But never would. All thoughts of Andahar being with
Maddy seemed to slip from his mind as he turn to deal with Dan'yar.

Dan'yar held his hands up in front of him as if pretending they were a
shield. "Hey I wasn't going to say a thing." 

"You didn't have to," one side of the younger man's face turned up in a
sadistic frown. "That smirk on your face said it for you."

"I also heard that between you and Andahar,Turner has more work then he can
handle for a day or so," Dan'yar commented dryly. "Seems everyone around
here is having trouble with doors... Humm..."

"He's a big boy. He can handle it. Do him some good to get back to work now
that we know Kellie's going to be all right."

Dan'yar gave a short chuckle of amusement. "After changing a few nappies...
he'll be begging for work outside the home."

"Yea what do you know," Lonnie gave a laugh of his own as his eyes searched
the crowd looking for Maddy. "Turner a father. Who'd have thunk it ever
happening."

A few weeks ago the very thought that he might one day be a father would
have scared the hell out of him, but looking at the beautiful woman standing
beside her Queen, Lonnie wasn't scared. In fact... the thought of her having
his child seemed somehow... right.

Lenna would have laughed her ass off right about then had she heard the
thought. She'd always said that his idea of having a kid was to have the fun
then sit back and let the mother deal with it until the child was old enough
to stand on the sands and join.

And at the time she had made the comment he had agreed with her. But times
change... He wondered if Maddy liked kids.

"I heard the girl's are back with their dragons," he commented changing the
subject before Dan'yar could make any cracks about him and Maddy. 

"Arrived yesterday from Keldarra with an escort who already went back," his
older brother told him. "They missed you at dinner last night by the way,
but I told them you must have had something important happening or you would
have been there. Now I see you had a good excuse."

Lonnie blushed and saw Maddy looking at him, a question in her eyes, that
turned to a shy grin when Lonnie nodded towards his brother, who smiled his
most charming smile back at her. 

Her eye's widen as understanding came then she two turned a darker shade of
rose and turned away from them. 

"Lenna would have loved her," Dan'yar commented softly.

"I was thinking the same thing this morning," Lonnie admitted. "But I don't
know if the rest of us would have survived their meeting and friendship for
long."

"Well it wouldn't have been boring around here that's for sure," Dan'yar
quipped trying to dispense the sadness that had come over the both of them.

"Some day maybe we'll find out," Lonnie said, and Dan'yar *heard* what
Lonnie didn't put into words. 

When Lenna comes back..... 

He knew his brother didn't believe she was dead. But so much time had past
that even Dan'yar's faith was fading. 

"Hey Lonnie!" Someone called out and they both turned their heads around to
see Turner walking towards them. The smith looked a whole lot more relaxed
then the last time his brother's had seen him but they could still see the
dark circles under his eyes that showed the stress he'd been under while
worrying about his mate, the rider Kellie. Trevor's mother. 

"How's Kellie this morning Bro?" Dan'yar asked, showing his concern for one
of the family.

"Much better now that she realizes that I wasn't playing a joke on her when
I told her she was going to be a mommy again." The smith even sounded better
this morning which pleased his brothers to no end. 

"Which reminds me. I may want to talk to you about how to deal with the
emotions I've heard women go through when they're gravid. I've *heard* the
change is something even the wises man has to cope with now and then."

"Why Turner I would have thought you'd be asking me to teach you about the A
B C's of being a new daddy instead," Dan'yar teased and slapped the smith on
his wide shoulder. 

"Oh That's on my ask Dan'yar about list as my # 2 question," Turner replied. 

"And just how many questions are on this list?" Lonnie asked, then wonder if
at some point in time he'd be making up a list of his own. Stranger things
were known to have happened.

"I'll let you know when I come up with a final number." 

"Seriously... if there's anything we can do for you both... You'll let us
know won't you?" Dan'yar offered, glad to see the light back in his
brother's eyes now that they knew Kellie was going to be all right.

"Thanks... maybe one thing," Turner said with a straight face before
slanting a look at his younger brother. "Find out what's going on with all
the wrecked doors around here all the sudden and maybe slow it down to one
or two a week from now on."

"Hey'd you hear... the Dani's girl's are back home?" Lonnie asked changing
the subject to avoid any more teasing. 

"I heard," Turner nodded.

"Which reminds me," Dan'yar said suddenly though he hated to leave just
then. More people were coming into the hatching sands to view the 12 new
eggs. From them 12 new rider's would have to be trained, which was something
he'd have to deal with when the time came.

"I've got to go talk with Meena to set up some kind of training schedule for
the girl's now that they're back."

Lonnie turned to him, his expression slightly confused. 
"You're not thinking of allowing them to join a fighting wing are you?
They're much to young!"

"Those two were never young," Turner commented remembering all the stunts
the two twins had been pulling on people for as long as he could remember.
"But I'd have to agree with Lonnie... I mean I'm not a rider so I can't
really know what all you guys go thought... but..."

Dan'yar snorted. "Give me some brains. They both may have joined with
dragons of their own a lot sooner then I could have hoped they would... But
I'm not going to allow them in a fighting wing for a few years more at
lease. I will however see that they are trained to discipline and know what
will be and what will not be accepted from them. I want to be damn sure they
are trained to know what to do if anything should happen... and before they
take it into their own minds to try and go teleporting around the area just
because they can. I want them to *think* before they *do*! So training is in
order, wouldn't you say?"

"Too right!" Lonnie agreed and his face broke into a wide proud smile when
he felt someone reach for his hand and turned to find Maddy standing there. 

"Isn't she just soo..... soo...!" So excited the queenrider couldn't for
once find the word she wanted to use. 

"She sure is," Dan'yar grinned. "And you have every reason to be proud of
her right now. She laid well."

"Yes she did," Maddy agreed and then giggled. Very un Maddy like, but they
all forgave her because of her Queen's resent achievement. "She wasn't the
only one who laid well....."

That sent both of the older brothers into fits of laugher while Lonnie
wanted to hide.

"Go on Dani..." he growled. "Weren't you leaving... and don't you have a
door to fix Turner?"

After they had gone he turned back to the woman beside him with a wolfish
grin. "If you're through admiring your Queen's eggs....... I'll show you
just how well you can be ...laid." He winked.

She leaned up against him and lifted her arms up to wrap around his neck
then sighed. "I wish I could... but I have a meeting in a little while.....
But... maybe when it's over..." she returned his wink.

"Oh lady... what you do to me." He gave a sigh of his own, and rolled his
eyes. "Okay you go off and run your Warren and I'll find something to fill
in the time until we can ah... Meet again."

"Well I do happen to have a little time before I need to be there," Maddy
said, taking his hand and began to lead him out of the cave. "Think you
could come up with something to do until then?"

"Oh I'm sure I can," Lonnie replied and quicken their pace.

He proved it in the best way he could. 

Later as he was walking Maddy towards her office, where she had wanted to go
before her meeting he wondered how he could possible feel even better now
then he had this morning. 

He dropped her off at her office door, and after a few more of her sweet
kisses left her standing there to go off and find something to do to fill in
the time until he would see her again.

<<Hey Meri... up for a good oiling?>>

Fill in time it did. Then after he was finished, Lonnie decided to go by
Maddy's office to see if she was free yet and found her just as she was
returning.

Meri had been enjoying the effects of the long bath and oiling his rider had
given him when a loud angry keening broke the pleasantness of the moment and
all eyes turned towards the skies. Seconds went by before anyone moved, then
the riders were racing towards the source and their dragons.

<<WRAITHS!!>> came the cry from the Queens. <<Bohoc and Triss have seen
WRAITHS!!>>

"Got to go love!" Lonnie reached out and pulled Maddy to him for a brief but
emotionally filled kiss then turned and ran after the other riders who where
heading towards the dragons landing on the green near by. 

Dragonmen must fly ... when Wraiths were spotted.

Dan'yar was already there. Alpha Wing riders surrounding him when Lonnie
arrived. HE found B`rand his partner and the too of them mounted their beast
to await the orders. 

Lonnie could se Meena mounted on Vonn arrive with Farr'in and Tergath, Saw
Dan'yar talking to her, and the his brother's pregnant wife nodding after
both men motioned towards her extended middle. 

<<Meri's what's being said over there>> Lonnie asked after seeing the frown
on Meena's face that followed.

<Shinner and Tergath's riders' are trying to convince Vonn's rider that she
should stay here being so close to having her hatchling. They say it's not
safe for her to be out fighting Wraiths this close to the hatchling being born.>

<<Too Right!>> Lonnie agreed, the thought of anything happening to Meena and
knowing how it would effect his older brother scared Lonnie in a way he
hadn't been scared since learning of Lenna's disappearance.  

But then he saw by the look on Meena's face that she was giving in and saw
her turn to someone and point. 

At that moment the others turned and races towards their dragons and all
eyes were on Dan'yar and Kat as the signal was given for Alpha Wing to rise. 

<WE go to fight Wraiths!!> Meritanth shouted as they leaped into the air and
assumed their place in the wing. 

<Meri... How are Triss and Bohoc?> Lonnie asked as their received the
picture of where they were to go.

<Scared mostly... Triss was trying to learn how to flame when the wraiths
showed up and Bohoc's rider was hurt...>

<<WHAT!! How could Trevor let her do that!> Lonnie exploded.

<I don't think Triss's rider knew about it until it was to late...> Meri
told him, and then they were there, the Wing diving as one. Flames spouting
in front of them as they moved to attack their long time enemy.

It didn't take long being a small group of the gray menace. Alpha Rider's
cleaned them up quickly with minimal injuries, then returned to the Warren
to report the news.

Lonnie didn't even take time to clean up before heading to find Maddy
thinking she might be worried about him. Or hoping that she would be.

He didn't find her in her office and when asked Meri told him the Queen's
rider was talking to Lady Amberylle.

Well his meeting with her would have to be put off, but he could use the
time wisely, and turned towards his parents shop after they had landed. 

"Lonnie what are you doing here?" Danki asked when she saw it was her
youngest son that had entered the shop in such a hurry. "The wraiths?"

"Burnt to ash and gone this time around," he told her as he moved over to
the glass counter that held some of the art work Katrina had on display
there in the shop. "We got there just in time to send them back to the hell
from which they came." 

"Lonnie! Such words!" his mother scolded, the shook her head at the wicked
grin on his face. 

He ignored his mothers scolding as his eyes were searching the case for
something he knew he had seen there sometime back, and was praying it hadn't
been sold yet... And then he found it.

Reaching into the case he carefully pulled it out and raise the crystal like
object up to get a closer look at it.

"Yes... It's perfect. And it looks like her," he muttered, then turned back
to him mother. "Mom will you let Kat know I want this piece and I'll settle
up with her later when I see her?"

"Sure son... but I think you'd better take a bath and wash off some of that
smoke smell before you do, or you'll have her thinking I never taught you a
thing about being clean!" the Masterweaver wrinkled her nose as she caught
the smell of him. 

"On my way not to do just that," he grinned and then left the shop. Yes
Maddy would love it, he thought as he remounted Meritanth and gave the
request that the dragon take them home.

<<How is Bohoc's rider Meri?>> he asked as they landed.

<He is... fine... His burns have been... healed??>

<<Good. Good," Lonnie nodded to himself. He knew of the man's cousin and her
healing abilities. <<Wonder what Dan'yar is going to do about them being out
doing what they were doing.> he chuckled, not wanting to be Trevor or
Andahar at the moment.

<Shinner's rider will know what to do.>

He spent as little time as he could in the shower, but made sure that he'd
removed all soot and ash before stepping out and finding clean clothing to
wear then remounted Meritanth and had him take him down to the green near
Maddy's office. 

She was there when he arrived and he found himself pleased when he noticed
her eyes looking him over for signs of injury. Then her smile of relief when
she could find none.

"Meri's very quick," he said coming around and drawling her out of her chair
with one hand while the other held the gift wrap object. Quickly he gave her
a short meaningful kiss then drew back and presented her with his find. 

She took it from him and their eyes met.

"You got this for me?" she asked.

He nodded. "It's a momento. Something to remember your Queen's first laying."

Slowly she unwrapped it and he watched her eyes as they took in the crystal
like copy of her Queen. How Kat had found the metallic silvery-black color,
he didn't know for he had never seen it's like before, maybe that was what
drew his attention to it the first time he had seen it. But now as Maddy
looked it over he stood there waiting to see if she liked it.

****Submitted by: *****

Dan'yar & Shinner
Lonnie & Meritanth
Turner the Master Smith
Cleft Warren

Aka
Barbara