Bijan knelt down next to the body and with an uncharacteristic tenderness brushed the damp hair back from the warrior's face.  The sense of failure and sorrow unlike anything he had ever felt before crushed his heart as he searched for something to place over the warrior's face to serve as a death shroud. It was the least he could do.

"Shouldn't we call the police?"

The question reminded Bijan of the unwanted witnesses to this fiasco and he looked up to find them all staring at him.  Thankfully it was Zayn who had saved him from responding. He ducked his head, amazed that he was unable to look into the eyes of Cecelia Adams. She stood off to one side, her eyes blazing with anger and unspoken accusations. Her body was rigid and unyielding as her friend pulled her up against his side in a gesture of comfort.  She brushed off his touch and Bijan could literally feel the weight of her brooding stare upon him.  So much to atone for – or should he even try?

"There is no need.  We will take care of the body," Zayn gently replied and knelt down on the other side of it.   

"You son of a bitch."  Cecelia saw Bijan wince but she didn't care; nothing mattered except finally getting to the truth. "How could you?  You lied to me, made me feel like I was losing my mind…put me through hell and now, you can't even look at me in the face."

"Easy, Cece," Eric said and tried to stop her from going over to the detective. 

"No," Cecelia shrugged off Eric's hand and marched over to Bijan.  "He owes me an explanation and I want to hear it."

"Perhaps this can wait for later," Bijan stod up, thinking to try and reason with Cecelia. 

"No, we're going to discuss this now!" Cecelia snapped and stood defiantly in front of Bijan.

"Want me to hold him, so you can punch him in the mouth?" Eric asked Cecelia with a sly grin. He mentally assessed the detective and maybe figured the weight advantage would be on his side.

"Yes."

Jamie tried to intervene and waved her hands in front of Cecelia and Eric.  "Have you two lost your minds?  We've got a dead man here and all you two can think about is kicking the shit out of the authorities."

"No, but he implied Cecelia lost her sanity," Eric jabbed a finger at Bijan, his eyes darkening with anger.  When he saw the other man look at him in surprise, Eric snorted with laughter.  "Oh yeah, pal, she told us everything.  You're a real slick bastard, aren't you?"

"Your accusations are unfounded and inaccurate," Bijan snapped.   "I did what was necessary

"Um, guys…" Jamie said and stared down at Zayn, wondering what he was doing.  She watched him press his fingers against the neck of the man and heard his surprised gasp a second later.

"Allah be praised…" Zayn breathed and bent over the man's chest, listening for a heartbeat.  "Bijan," he called out, "this may sound incredible but he lives…Sharif lives!"

Cecelia reached out and stopped Bijan from going to Sharif's side by grabbing his arm.  The antagonists stared at one another for a long moment, the silence between them filled with emotions. 

"Well Detective Rasheed-Mudawar," Cecelia said, the tone of her voice sharp and brittle, "it would appear that I have been given the rare opportunity to prove that you're wrong - something that I have a feeling doesn't happen to you very often."

Bijan gave Cecelia a satirical smile and a slight bow of his head.  "Go ahead, Miss Adams.  We both know what you need to say."

"Does this mean I get to hit him?" Eric asked hopefully but was hushed by Jamie.

"No, this means I remember everything," Cecelia answered softly. 

Strange, she didn't feel a headache coming on.  "I recall names, faces, those that took care of me, and those that helped me ride away from danger.  I also remember who rescued me that night; I will never forget his name for my heart won't allow it.  You say that they don't exist, Detective?   I say you're wrong." 

She pointed down to the warrior being tended to by Zayn. "The Medjai do exist."

~*~

Epilogue:  A prelude for things to come…

In the serene, cathedral-like quiet of his room, with the full orb of the moon hanging in its eternal berth in the night sky, Ardeth regained consciousness. 

Awareness came back in gradual stages and the first thing Ardeth was surprised to learn was that he was resting in his own bed.  Slowly moving his body, testing its limitations, his gaze swept over the semi-darkened room.  The second surprise came when he learned he wasn't alone. 

"Kedar?"  Ardeth's voice was hoarse from lack of use.  Gritting his teeth against the white hot pain flaring up from his shoulder and the weakness that left him shaking, Ardeth foolishly tried to sit up. 

"Sahil, ya sahib, sahil," Kedar instructed with a shake of his head and placed a comforting hand on Ardeth's good shoulder, pushing him back down.  "Raphael did not expect you to regain consciousness for quite some time, and yet you surprise me with your resiliency. Or is it your stubbornness, I wonder, that wrestles you from the comforting realm of sleep?"

"It is concern," Ardeth sighed and fell back against the pillows.  He clenched his teeth as his shoulder throbbed with a breath-stealing intensity; slowly it abated and he gave a tired sigh of relief.  "Did everyone return safely to the Citadel?"

Kedar glanced around the room before answering.  Nabil sat alongside Berin's bedside, dozing, since the sub commander appeared to be resting comfortably.  In a nearby bed, the halo of Jameel's dark curls was barely visible above the covers; he had burrowed into the pillows.  Across from him, Raphael was checking Zaki's bandages, apparently satisfied that his patient was resting comfortably under the healing blanket of sleep. 

"Aiwa, for the most part," he replied and thought of Sharif.

"What do you mean?  And what of the woman?" Ardeth asked.  "You sent her back?" 

The tone of his voice was one of resigned acceptance, knowing the laws of his people, yet craving to see her again - wishing that he could have touched her one last time.

Kedar ignored the question and moved closer, a teasing light in his eyes.  "You know she called me 'a handsome devil'", he taunted and tried to draw a smile from Ardeth's face.

It worked for a brief moment; dark eyes lit up with humor as a ghost of a smile twitched at the corners of Ardeth's mouth.  "She must have been delirious," he answered, and then just as quickly, the smile was gone.  Ardeth sighed softly, feeling horrible.  The trauma his body had undergone over the past day had extracted a heavy price and even as he fought to remain awake, he still had to ask. 

"Tell me it was real, Kedar.  Tell me that I am not going insane."

Kedar studied his friend closely.  For a brief moment, he considered lying to Ardeth, pleading ignorance, and telling him he didn't know what he was talking about, but he knew he couldn't.  It might have made everything less complicated, but it would have been wrong.  Besides, he had no idea how he was going to explain Sharif's disappearance or how they were going to get him back. 

"It was real, ya ukh," he finally answered, his voice a soft rumble.  "However, we are still undecided on the insane issue."

Ardeth's laughter was quick, but short-lived.  "Would you like to explain to me what in Allah's name possessed you to kiss the mara?" Kedar continued, needing to understand what his friend was going through.  "Surely you understood what she was – a barranidinyi."

Ardeth shifted on the bed, unsure if he could explain his feelings or why she had somehow touched him in a way that no mara other had ever done.  "I understood," he answered, his gaze becoming unfocused as he stared off into nothing, reliving their few moments together over and over in his head.

Kedar's sharp intake of breath drew him back to the present.  "Ir-raHman Allah, you have fallen in love with her."

Ardeth hesitated, and then shook his head slowly.  "I do not…" he sighed again.  "I do not know what I feel exactly, but I do know there is this urgent need to see her again."

His eyes met those of his blood brother, a pleading look for understanding shinning brightly in them.  "In the very short time I was with her, she affected me and now that she has returned to her own time, I am left wondering if my feelings for her are real – if what passed between us was real."

Kedar growled softly, a large hand came up and plunged through his wild mass of black hair.  "Yaha," he grumbled under his breath, fighting the impulse, but already knowing he would do whatever he could to help Ardeth.  His dark eyes lifted to meet Ardeth's, and he cursed silently to himself when he saw his friend's struggle to remain awake.    

"I need to see her again…" Ardeth's voice faded away and his eyes fluttered close, only to open a moment later when he heard Kedar's reply.

"Then you may get your wish.  The transfer did not go as planned; Berin's group was attacked and Sharif was critically injured.  In an attempt to save his life, he was pulled by the Traveler into the other realm – your mara's world," Kedar said.  

To be continued in "The Other Side"

~*~

A/N – Do not despair gentle reader, this may be the end of this story but there's more to come in the sequel. A heartfelt thanks to all of my faithful reviewers, you know who you are, who took the time out of their busy lives to let me know how they were enjoying this story as it unfolds.  Your comments are often what inspired me to take you all on another twist or curve in the adventure of Ardeth and the boys. 

Special thanks to Ladybug for graciously allowing me to play and beat up her boys, Kedar and Zaki.  And for practically writing that last scene with Kedar and Ardeth.  Shukran, ya hulu sahib. 

And finally to my beta, Tori, who despite back pain from all the rain we've been getting, managed to make sense of what I submitted and tightening it up in a few spots.  Rock on, Tori!  LOL 

Time for the shout-outs: