DECIMUS MERIDIUS

By Stacey and Jo 

PART 3:

Caroline lay on her bed a long while that night, very aware that...he...whichever he he was, was in the next room. She wanted his arms around her so badly that her whole body ached with the wanting. She had felt so separated from him there in the movie when he was back here. Now they were again on the same side and yet her separation from him tore at her heart. It was harder knowing he was so close. Her hand reached out in the darkened room toward the door. "Oh, Maximus," she sighed, the sound a half-moan.

Both Maximuses lay wide awake in their twin beds in the other room. Decimus was near the window and he watched the moon rise and sail through some scattered clouds. That was familiar. That was the same. He kept his eyes on it for a long, long time. He had been taken
through some mysterious gateway, so he'd been told, but the moon, the moon he knew, was here, too. How many nights he'd lain on some encampment far from home, watching its rise, waiting for the battle or the continuing journey the morning would bring. What would the coming morning here bring?

Meridius lay with his arms folded across his face. His mind was tired, worn, but he couldn't stop its thinking, couldn't halt its mad race to attempt some understanding that simply would not come. He would force it onward, willing it to go, to find, but always there was this wall of blueness that it flung up against, throwing him to his mental knees. He made a strangled little sound of anguish deep in his throat.

"Meridius?" Decimus asked, able to make out the other across the room in the silvered light of the moon. They had not really spoken directly to one another. Meridius was silent, though, so Decimus sat up, looking toward him, seeing his posture with his arms blocking out the world.

"I know," he said quietly. "Fate seems to have brought us together to face this side by side. Since we must do this, let us do it together."

Meridius let out a little snort. "If we stay together, we survive? Is that it?"

"It seems the better option, does it not?"

"I do not feel aware of very many options at the moment, Decimus. In fact, as I lie here, I feel I am talking to myself."

"From what they say, you are. It is, indeed, much to grapple with."

Meridius moved his arms. Decimus' face was limned in moonlight. "How can you...be?"

"I have always been me," Decimus smiled. "As have, I am starting to believe, you.  Tell me, Meridius, do you remember a day when you were 12 and that bay gelding threw you into the low wall that ran alongside the upper vineyard?"

Meridius' hand went involuntarily to his left forearm. "I broke my arm in two places yet walked the mile back to the house, then passed out on the front steps."

"And mother, in her herb garden, saw me fall. Do you remember her scream?"

"The servants came and carried me inside. I remember waking up on the big table in the kitchen with mother leaning over me, wiping my face."

"This was not shown in that windowbox," Decimus stated.

"It is, nonetheless, my life."

"And mine."

They stared intently at one another across the dimly-lit room, silent for a while, then Meridius whispered, "If we stay together, we survive."

Terry spent yet another sleepless night - one of many in the past week or so. His head was throbbing, his body ached, and his mind wouldn't allow him to stop thinking about what had happened while they were in Gladiator.  What the hell were they going to do with two Generals? he wondered to himself as he stared at the ceiling. One was difficult enough to deal with at times, but... two? He clenched his jaw tight, thinking about how Sid had somehow scrambled their minds. What was Sid playing at? He knew the answer to that, however... Sid was being... Sid. It's what he did, how he operated... he delighted in bringing misery and misfortune to the others. He closed his eyes, trying to force sleep to come, trying to block it all out... Sid, Gladiator, NanoCorp, everything... but still he couldn't, so he lay there... trying to imagine a world without nanotechs and lawyers and stress.

Caroline woke the next morning immediately remembering who was in the next room. She 

wondered, too, how long she would have to sleep alone. With two of them here now, she couldn't 

take just one into her bed. Besides, she didn't know which was hers to take. She had the 

impression, though, that whatever Sid had done to them, he'd managed to create in 

FilmMaximus feelings for her as strong as in her own Maximus. That was his new game, 

obviously. Not keeping him separated from her by dimension, or whatever you might call being 

thrust into a film, but by creating a new kind of distance, two of them in love with her, two of 

them with exactly the same memories, memories that were cut off at the exact same moment. 

How did you strangle a nanotech, she wondered. There must be a way.

She heard sounds of stirring in their room, heard the bathroom door open and then close. She 

hoped whoever was in there figured out the toilet. She'd shown them how the faucets worked 

but couldn't remember if she'd demonstrated toilet flushing. Looking at Marcus, who'd slept 

part of the night on the rug beside her bed, part up on it, she smiled. "Well, when you were 

younger, kid, you did consider it to be the Great White Water Bowl."  Then she thought of how 

Maximus had not known how a zipper worked. They would be facing jeans this morning. 

Perhaps they'd figure it out? Her Maximus had come so far, learning how to drive, even 

becoming expert with guns. Now he'd forgotten all that, she presumed. Square one as she'd 

told Bud. Square one, indeed.

She dressed in a knee-length silk dress, light and swishy, with a leaf pattern on it. It had a cowl 

neckline and left her arms bare. She chose it for the neckline, actually, knowing it bore some 

similarity to Roman attire. A light tap came on her door and she opened it, finding them 

standing there side by side, almost too much to bear in their glorious handsomeness. Quickly 

she looked for the darkened mole so she'd know which was Decimus, which Meridius.

They both wore Maximus' clothing, so they both looked just as she'd seen him so often, and it 

caught at her heart. Meridius, especially, had chosen the cream-colored shirt, had rolled the 

sleeves part-way up his tanned arms, was sporting a pair of ever-so-perfectly fitting dark denim 

jeans and cowboy boots. Maximus had developed quite of fondness for the boots and had several 

pairs. Decimus was wearing a sky-blue shirt and lighter-colored jeans with a wide black belt 

and black boots. She couldn't help herself. Her eyes went briefly to their zippers. Ah, good, 

they had managed. 

Marcus was glad to see them, greeting them both effusively. They, in turn, both squatted to 

return his affection. She stood there looking down at their bent heads. One of them was the 

man she loved with all her heart. Blinking back a few stray tears, she said, "He needs to go out. 

You guys want to take him out in the pines?"

She followed them down the stairs and stood at the top of the big front porch, holding onto a 

white post while she watched them sprint off, Marcus between them, his cup brimming over with 

the attention of two Maximuses. The men seemed to be getting along, actually enjoying one 

another's company and she wondered if they had talked, had worked something out. Her eyes 

went from one to the other of them, both perfectly like her Maximus, and she found herself 

smiling at them, something in her loving them both. How could she not? But there was no 

where for that to go, was there?

"'Morning," Dee told Terry, setting her cell phone down and walking over to him. She wrapped her arms around him, gently hugging, then gave him a kiss.

"'Morning, Luv," he replied, managing a smile despite the pain he was obviously still in. "Sleep well?"

"Hardly," she groaned, pushing her mass of tangled auburn hair away from her eyes. "How 'bout you? Did you manage to get any sleep at all?"

"Less," he said. "Heard you on the phone just now.  So... any... news from Bud? Anything to report?"

"No, nothing yet," she sighed, walking over to the couch and sitting down. Terry followed her, sat in the armchair beside her. "Been on the phone most of the morning returning calls. Both

my brothers, of course, called several times to check on me."

"Ah... and how are Harkin and Wilder, then?" Terry asked, with a grin. He knew how overprotective they were of their sis. If they only knew the half of what her work really entailed they'd have already shown up on her doorstep and dragged her back home with them, Terry chuckled to himself.

"Worried sick, of course," she smirked. "What else is new? They saw what happened to NanoCorp on the news and have been trying to reach me ever since. Oh, and the lawyer called, wants to set up another meeting. Told him I'd have you call him back when you got the chance. More NanoCorp red-tape, I'm sure."

Terry nodded, leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, his hands covering them. He knew there would be a huge mess to clean up when they had decided on blowing up NanoCorp, he just wished it was all over and done with, though. They’d managed to cover their tracks pretty well, no proof any of them had been involved.

"How's your head feeling?" Dee asked, concerned by the way he was quietly sitting with his

eyes covered.

"Well, the ringing is gone, so that's on the plus side," he told her, opening his tired eyes and rubbing the back of his head.

"You really should get an MRI, you know," she said, taking his hand in hers and holding it gently against her cheek.

"It'll be fine in a couple days," he assured her. "Now, how about you see if you can whip us up some breakfast and I'll give Bud a call and see what's going on there. Hopefully it's some good news for a change."

"Will do," she said, standing and walking to the kitchen. "Give Bud my best."

"Morning, Terry. How's the head today?" Bud responded to Terry's greeting.

"Hurts like hell, Mate," Terry said, wincing as he touched his bandaged wound with the tips of 

his fingers. "How's the situation there?"

"Well, Caroline had me drive her and the two Maximuses over to the blue house late last night. 

Watched Gladiator up to the last point they both remember. No, I'm not sure how their night 

went, but I'm driving Cort and Hope over there in just a bit. Yeah, I know it'll be rough for 

Cort being there with Rache gone 'n all, but he says he wants to go. Yeah, I'll stay long enough 

to check things out. And, you ready for this, Ross showed up last night with his girl in tow. 

Gayle, yes, that's the one. Yeah, the one who's writing about NanoCorp. I know, I know. Well, 

it may be just as well to have her here. I can see what she's up to better that way. Lachlan? 

Yeah, he's staying here too so far as I know. I think he needs to go back to his apartment, 

though, and get his stuff. Hotel? That's just what I was thinking. Well, I was thinking motel. 

You know me."

"Starting to feel like I should be paying you baby-sitting fees right about now, Bud," Terry 

chuckled. "All right, hang in there and keep me informed. I'll try and drop by later." He hung 

up the phone, clutching it in his hand for a moment and sighing. Shit. Not what he'd hoped for. 

He put the phone back into his pocket and went into the kitchen to see if Dee needed a hand 

with breakfast.

"Your brothers seem... nice," Gayle commented, as she sat on the edge of the bed, her hands 

clasped tightly in her lap. Smooth, Gayle, real smooth, she thought to herself, trying not to 

appear overly nervous. Even after the time they'd spent together the night before, he still had a 

way of making her feel like a silly school girl when she was alone with him. Even now, her heart 

was racing just from being near him.

"Yeah?" Alex replied, smiling as he set her suitcase in the closet. "Not sure if I'd describe Bud 

as...nice...," he grinned, walking over and sitting down next to her, the fingertips of his right 

hand lightly touching hers. 

Gayle looked up, her eyes catching his, lost in the depth of his sea-greens. Her lips parted, 

remembering the sweet taste of his kiss, his warm body. She took in a deep breath, cleared her 

throat, breaking the spell. "Umm...how many of them are there? I heard Bud say there were...

twins?" she asked, clearing her throat again.

"Yeah... um...," he chuckled. "Well, let's see, last count... there was 8, no...wait," he thought for 

a moment, frowned when he remembered Sid was in fact one of them, "nine, if you count our 

estranged half-brother, Sid." 

"Wow, so many," Gayle replied, surprised, "and the resemblance is uncanny! You all take after 

your dad, then?"

Alex chuckled, "Yeah, you could say that." He was getting a bit uncomfortable with all the 

questions she was piling on him, and quickly decided to change the subject. "So, how 'bout we 

go get some air? Take a walk maybe?" He stood up, extending his hand to her.

Gayle smiled, put her tiny hand in his larger one. "Sounds delightful."

"You sure you can handle this?" Bud asked Cort as he turned up the long, curving drive to the 

blue house.

Hope sat in the back seat holding her father's hand, watching his face as he looked out the 

window. He was remembering the first time Bud had driven him up this lane. Rachel was beside 

him, holding his hand then, and everything in this world was brand new. Now it all seemed 

quite...old. "Yes," he replied, not elaborating. 

He'd rather be here than continue on at the safe house. Rachel's essence lingered about the 

place, though, and he closed his eyes a moment, trying once again to adjust to the fact of her 

permanent absence. It still seemed unreal.

"Daddy?" Hope said, worriedly.

"I'm all right, little darlin'," he smiled. "Just rememberin'." 

The white porch came into view. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Caroline standing there. 

If the house had been empty, he wasn't sure if he'd have been able to stand it. He let his eyes 

follow the direction she was gazing, seeing the two Maximuses running, Marcus chasing them. 

This was his first sight of them both and he sucked in a long breath. In Maximus' clothes, it 

really did look as if there were two of him on the lawn. He had such a close, brotherly 

relationship with one of them and that Maximus had been a big help to him since Rachel's death. 

He guessed that was gone. From what Bud had told him this morning, Maximus wouldn't even 

remember him at all. 

He got out of the car, standing a while by the door. Marcus caught his scent and left his game, 

coming up to press against Cort. "You remember me, at least, boy, don't you?" He squatted, 

wrapping his arms around the big dog, burying his face in the fur. 

Caroline had briefly told Decimus and Meridius about Cort as they left the upstairs a while ago, 

that he and his daughter would be coming to stay with them. So as they approached, they had a 

sketchy awareness of the fact that he had just lost his wife. They could both relate to that. They 

stopped about five feet out from him and Marcus. He looked up at them, standing as they were 

closely side by side. My God, it was almost too much! Though both of them wore friendly looks 

on their faces, there was no recognition of him in their eyes. Caroline had come down to join 

them and was able to read his expression. He looked at her, understanding a great deal of what 

this must be like for her, and she saw that, too, and appreciated it.              

"I'm glad you've come, Cort. You, too, Hope." She stepped up to the two men. "This is Decimus 

and this, Meridius," she introduced. "This is Cortland Wells and his daughter, Hope. One of 

you is close friends with him, as well as neighbors out in the country. He, too, has come through 

the gateway of light as you have, has been a stranger in a strange land."

"And is again," Cort said, standing, holding out his hand first to one, then the other, still 

searching their eyes for something, anything, that would let him know which was his brother. 

He didn't find it.

John sat at the kitchen table reading the paper and finishing up his breakfast. Across the table, 

Amber sat quietly watching him, deep in thought. Between what he and Dee had explained to 

her about how he'd come to be, she had a lot on her mind. She was familiar with the actor, 

Russell Crowe, even mentioned to a few of her girlfriends when she and John had first started 

dating about how she thought he kind of favored the Aussie actor. She never would have 

imagined, however, that John technically, in a way, was Russell Crowe.  No, how could that be? 

she wondered to herself, studying his face and his movements as he put another bite of eggs in 

his mouth. He was his own person. Russell had only brought him to...life. It was all so incredibly 

confusing to her, especially when you threw in all the others - they all looked SO much alike, 

yet, were all quite different. She bit her lip, as she pondered this.

John was quite aware of her eyes on him. Finally, he put his paper aside and looked up at her. 

"Yes?" he asked, a slight smile playing across his face. 

"Oh," Amber said, startled from her intent scrutinizing of his face. "Um... nothing, John. I was 

just...thinking, is all."

"Yes, well, I could see that... could hear the wheels turning in your pretty little head from here," 

he grinned.

She smiled back at him, looked down at her hands a moment, fidgeting. "It's all just so... so..."

"Hard to believe?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. 

She nodded, "If I hadn't seen them all together with you...all in the same room even, well... I'd 

never have imagined it!"

"I assure you, I am real and it is possible, though all the technical how's and such are beyond 

my abilities," he told her. "I'm just the guy they got to protect their technology, Sid and a lab 

full of scientists were the ones who did all the real work."

Amber cringed at the sound of Sid's name. "John, do you think...I mean, are we, um... safe? 

From him, from Sid? He won't do to you or me what he did to Caroline and Cort and...

Maximus...will he?" She looked up into his eyes.

John looked at her, trying to decide how to answer. Who the hell knew what Sid was going to 

do next, anyway? The fuckin' nanotech wasn't exactly predictable, didn't let them in on his 

plans. He sighed, managed a smile, and replied, "We'll be fine."

"I am glad you have come," Meridius said, taking Cort's forearm in a more brothers-in arms 

sort of grip. He held it there a while, smiling warmly into the younger man's eyes, still unused 

to so many men looking like himself. 

"I...I'm the Arizonian," Cort replied, "but I guess you don't remember that?" He said it 

hopefully, as though just maybe the man would.

"Arizonian?" Meridius repeated. "No, I do not think I have heard of Arizonia. It is on this side 

of the gateway?"

"It's on both sides, actually. It is, was, my Rome, but is here also in its modern form."

"Is Rome still here?" Decimus asked quickly.

"It is, though you would recognize little of it. The great arena remains, though many of its stones 

were taken for other uses and it's floor is gone. It's all open now, and you can see right down 

into where the animals and the gladiators were kept before battles."

"You have been to this Rome?" Meridius asked.

"No, not that one. I have only been to your Rome...twice."

"You were there yesterday?"

"I was, but going through the gateway is very hard on me. I didn't leave the gladiator tunnel 

this time. But the first visit I was in Germania and Spain, as well as Zucchabar and Rome."

Both Meridius' and Decimus' eyes widened. "How can that be?" Meridius asked.

"When we came through the gateway, you were in the middle of the battle with the Marcomani. 

The firepots almost got us, in fact. Then we followed you all the way to Spain and on to 

Zucchabar. It was there I first met...one of you. You don't...?" But, no, neither of them did. That 

hurt a lot somehow and took him immediately back to Kamen, to the kitchen when he'd first

encountered Rachel there, wet and covered with suds. She'd looked at him so hopefully, but he

had no idea who she was, had backed away even, had fled up the stairs. Only now did he really

understand what she'd felt.

The Maximuses could see that in his eyes. "I am sorry, Cort," Meridius said. "I wish I had some 

memory of that."

Hope had been standing quietly, studying the two men, trying herself to see if she could 

determine which was her Uncle Mathy. No, it just wasn't possible.

"And you," Decimus said, "looking at her. You are the one who knows how to go through the 

gateway?"

"She is," Cort said, frowning slightly. "And she is thanks to the machinations of Sid, the one 

who has altered your memories."

"So, what do you think you're gonna do now that you don't have the Emerald City to clock into each morning?" Alex asked Gayle as they walked hand-in-hand through the park.

"I'm not sure, actually," she confessed, staring at the ground. "I had ideas about writing the next best seller, of course. But, someone went and talked me out of that one... so..." she grinned up at Alex, "I was thinking maybe I might give reporting a try. I mean, you told me how easy it was. Might be a good way to make some fast cash until I can figure out what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. Besides, I happened to get an inside tip that there’s this opening down at the Times Herald..." she grinned up at him again, teasingly.

"Oh yeah?" he chuckled. "Going after my job, are you?" he playfully wrapped both arms about her middle and spun her around as she laughed and told him to stop. When he set her down, they both fell back on the grass together.

"Seriously, I think that's a great idea, Gayle," he told her, his hand gently placed atop hers as his fingertips stroked the backside of her hand.

"You think?" she asked, unsure if he were just being kind. "I mean, I've never done this before. I'm not even sure if they'd consider even hiring me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, slim," Alex responded. "You're a great writer. You got talent."

"Thanks," she replied quietly, blushing.

Alex leaned in to her, his lips meeting hers, gently pressing against them as they kissed. He liked being with her like this, liked kissing her. His right hand reached out, gently caressing her cheek, feeling the smoothness of her skin on his fingertips. Something stirred inside him, something that had been dormant for a few years, ever since he woke up that day on the side of the road wondering how he got here.  After a few moments, he pulled back, grinning sheepishly. "C'mon, we'd better get back to the house before Bud sends out a search party for me," he chuckled, getting to his feet and taking Gayle's hand in his, pulling her to her feet.

Bud had been watching all the inter-relationships. He motioned Caroline slightly to one side while the others were talking. "This is really hard for Cort, being back here. I know your plate is full, but will you keep an eye on him, on Hope, too? The two of them kinda worry me, you know."


She sighed. "If only Maximus remembered. He always knew what to do for Cort, what to say." She looked back at the four by the car. Even not remembering, though, she could see it was natural for the Maximuses to feel big brotherly toward Cort. "I do think it's right for him to be here with us. And, of course, Hope needs to be with him for both their sakes. Tell Lachlan to stop over any time. Looks like both he and Hope need to be together."


"I'm going to drive him over to his apartment when I get back. He says he has a motorcycle there, too, so that'll let him come and go over here more freely.  I think it's good we're not too scattered right now. That way if Sid does something, one of us will know." He touched her arm lightly before turning to get in his car. "Can't tell you how sorry I am about the Maximuses. Dressed in his clothes, they both look so damn fuckin' much like the guy who used to be with you."

"He will be again, Bud. I'll never stop until I get that back."


"He stayed with me, you know, after Sid took you. Just broke his heart in half when he thought you'd been killed. Then when he found out you were alive, it was just like you, Caroline. He'd never stop until he got you back. And he did. Now we've just got to get him back." He smiled, said a brief good-bye to the others, then drove toward the safe house to pick up Lachlan.

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