Cause and Effects
Cause and Effects
By
Lady MoonHawke
And anything you want, there’s nothin’ I could say.
Is there anything to feel?
Is it pain that makes you real?
Cut me off before it kills me.
Long Way Down - Goo Goo Dolls
Aurora rubbed a tired hand across her eyes. “What time is it, anyway?” she asked.
Krysten rolled over and picked up the clock from her bedside table. “One-thirty,” she groaned, plunking it back down on the night stand. “What time does that make for you?”
“Oh-dark thirty,” she mumbled. “Nothing runs on any exact time.” She yawned. “I guess it’s pretty close to Matins, though.”
“What? Midnight prayers?” Krys asked, gnawing on a nail. “They do that there?”
Aurora yawned again. “The priest does. I’m not a prayers-at-midnight kind of girl.” She pulled herself up out of the chair. “I’d better get some sleep before what passes for morning here.” She made it to the door before Krys stopped her.
“Aurora, if I told you something in confidence, would you tell?” She asked, desperation tingeing her voice.
That got her attention, and she turned back to face Krysten, who was now standing near the bed. “I hope not,” she replied slowly. “I think it would depend on the situation. If I thought it could be of more help, I might consider it.” Aurora felt compelled to be exceptionally clear. “Is there something you want to share with me?”
Krys wrapped her arms across her stomach and scanned the room, looking everywhere but at Aurora. “I think... I mean, I’m not sure, but... I might be pregnant,” she stammered.
Aurora took a deep breath. “Well, that’s not such a disaster. Are you and Michael moving the wedding up?”
“We’re not getting married,” Krys replied softly.
“Well, that could be a bit of a problem. I get the feeling he’s not in on this information,” Aurora determined.
“He’s not in on any of it,” Krys admitted.
Aurora looked at her, assessing. “I hope that doesn’t mean what I think it means.”
“It does. He’s not involved. It’s... someone else.” She still wouldn’t meet Aurora’s eyes.
“Well, I would assume if it’s not him, it’s someone else,” Aurora snapped. Then she sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just so tired. Who is the father?”
“Does it matter?” Krys asked in a small voice.
Aurora pressed her hands to the bridge of her nose. “I should think so,” she murmured. “Whoever he is, he has certain responsibilities to you and the baby. It matters very much.”
Krys sat on the bed again. “I don’t want you to do anything, if I tell you.”
“I’ll do my best,” Aurora promised. “That’s all I can offer.”
Krys nodded. “Jonathan. The father is Jonathan.”
“Hey, Cowboy.” Emily walked toward the Maraj until she stood directly under the ladder leading to the Hot Seat. Bluegrass was bent over the side of the craft, his beloved ten-gallon hat perched on the wing below. All she could see was the shining alloy smoothness of his armored backside--fitted to look like a modestly cut bathing suit, but molded subtly to the planes of his own tight rear end. Emily smiled a little to herself, enjoying the view.
His voice echoed from the interior of the craft. “Hey yourself, 'Hart.” Bluegrass withdrew from the Hot Seat, a spot welder and goggles in his hand. Grabbing the fuselage with his free hand, he swung himself down the ladder and onto the deck, the steel of his boots hitting the plates sharply. “I've got this all taken care of; looks like Will sent you down here for nothin'.”
Still smiling mysteriously, Emily picked up the worn brown hat lying on the wing and put it on. It was too big for her, even with her upswept steel coif, and it hung over her gray eyes. She flicked it back in the imitation of a cowpoke and giggled, a sound so unlike her that Bluegrass could only answer it with a puzzled smile. “Nope, I came down here all on my own. I know you can handle the repairs all by yourself. You're a big boy.”
Bluegrass kept his puzzled smile. “Thanks,” he said awkwardly. When Emily didn't move, except to rock back and forth on her heels, he held out a hand for his hat. “I'll take that now.”
Emily looked thoughtful for a moment. “No,” she answered.
“What do you mean, 'no'? It's my hat; give it here.”
He reached for the brim, but she snatched it off her head and danced backwards a few steps. “Come and get it,” she challenged, giggling madly. In the interest of her career, she had never let herself flirt with a man, or let anyone flirt with her, and it was wonderful to let it go.
Bluegrass, however, found it less than charming. “Emily, we've both got work to do. Just gimme my hat back, okay?”
Pouting--another very un-SteelHart-like expression--Emily offered the hat to Bluegrass, who yanked it away from her. Settling it on his head, Bluegrass pushed past her with a scowl on his handsome face. The giddiness gone, Emily crossed her arms over her chest and turned around to watch him go.
“You could be nicer to me, Hayseed,” she volleyed at his back. “Who knows, you might need me someday.”
“The whole team needs you. You and Will keep this place running.” His tone was rote, disinterested, as he put the tool kit back into the storage shed.
“I'm not talking about Will, nor am I talking about the team, this station, or this godforsaken galaxy. I'm talking about you.”
Bluegrass threw a glance at her over his shoulder. “What the hell are you driving at, Sergeant?”
“Nothing,” Emily remarked casually, leaning against the fuselage. “But, ah...I couldn't help but notice you and the kid aren't talking much lately.”
Shutting the door to the shed, Bluegrass went to the cleansing station and washed his hands. “Well, he's good to go for pilot training, so we don't have the little Q&A sessions we used to.”
All at once, hot anger boiled up inside SteelHart. “No, you ignorant redneck!” she screeched, exasperated. “I'm talking about the child, the teenybopper, the little fairy queen herself! Skyedansuer!”
Barely in time, Bluegrass kept himself from whirling in wounded anger. “What about her?” he asked evenly, his eyes locked on the water streaming over his hands. “We don't talk much anymore. She's got her life, and I've got mine, and that's the way she wants it.” He shut the water off and dried his hands with a paper towel, then fed the damp paper into the recycler. “Life isn't always fair, I guess.”
Emily pasted on false sympathy. “You loved her, didn't you?”
He shrugged. “I don't know anymore. Besides, what difference does it make now if I did or not?”
“I suppose you're right,” Emily sighed, silently cursing Krysten for wounding him. “Did she say why she wanted to break up with you?”
Shaking his head, Bluegrass set his hands on his hips and stared at the deckplates. “No. She just said it was something she had to do.”
“You don't think she's interested in someone else?”
“Krys? Interested in...” He thought a moment, then shook his head. “No, I don't. I know she thinks of Will as a brother, and she's practically the Commander's adopted daughter.” He shook his head again. “I just don't understand--”
“You left someone out,” Emily broke in, wickedly letting the tension build. “What about the Lieutenant?”
Bluegrass laughed aloud. “That's right funny, Emily! You should be on the comedy circuit for that one!” He chuckled. “Krys and the Skipper, now THAT'S something that would never happen in a million years.”
“Hmm,” SteelHart mused, checking her chrono. “I guess a million years goes by pretty quickly, then.”
He was still laughing when her words sank in. “What?” The realization dawned on him, and he stood frozen in shock. “You mean Skye and....”
“..Lieutenant Quicksilver, that's right.” The boom was lowering fast, heading straight for the spot between Bluegrass's brown eyes, and Emily swung it for all she was worth. “Skye and the Skipper are putting in some R&R without leaving base.”
Bluegrass was in front of Emily in less than a second, pinning her against the fuselage. “Now you stoppit, you hear? You ain't gainin' nothin' by makin' up lies to me.”
“But it's true!”
“Don't push me, 'Hart! Don't you EVER think about pushin' me.” His eyes glittered, cold and deadly.
It was out of control now, but Emily didn't care. “I swear, it's true! Mike, I only told you because I thought you deserved the truth, rather than the bullshit she's feeding you!” She went up to him, gripping his shoulders and looking into his face in supplication. “Let me help you, Mike. I'm trying to help you get through this.”
Bluegrass extricated himself from her grip very deliberately, his rage tightly reined, like a wild mustang that threatened to snap its bonds. “Emily,” he said quietly, “you'd better give me one last salute, because the next time you see me, I'll probably be busted down to a private for assaulting a fellow officer.”
“Go ask her yourself,” Emily taunted, gray eyes glittering. “Just go and ask her who she’s been spending her nights with. I’m sure it’ll be very enlightening.” She smirked as he stormed toward the elevator. “And Cowboy,” she called as he neared the door, “I’ll still be here when you’re through with her.” She watched the doors close, cutting off his stony visage from view.
“I’ll always be here,” she murmured.
Krysten sank down in the chair opposite Aurora, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly. “This is hard for me to say to you.”
Aurora crossed her legs, gripping the arms of the chair. “I'm sure it is. But Krys, if he's hurt you, or done something improper, I need to know.” She frowned at her friend slightly. “I have the authority to court-martial him until he can't see straight, if he's done something to you.”
“It's my fault.” Tears filled Krys' blue eyes, and she rested her forehead on her knees. “I was so mad at Mike. I never thought it would go this far.”
Sighing, Aurora crossed her arms and stared at her sneaker, a modern creation of ergonomically molded rubber and cloth. It only underlined how very far away home--and Starlight--really were. “Well, it did, so let's have it.”
Krys looked up at Aurora, a wounded look on her face. “Well, you're just Miss Compassionate, aren't you? You left to go live happily ever after, and left me to contend with Jonathan.”
“I didn't leave anyone to contend with anything,” Aurora intoned through gritted teeth. “I wish people would stop blaming me for trying to live my own damned life.” She shook her head. “This isn't getting us anywhere, Krys. Now, will you please tell me what's going on, or do I have to wring it from you officially? I'd rather not pull rank on my best friend.”
Ripping her gaze from Aurora's, Krys stared straight ahead. “I was simming my Gwynnedd holo, feeling sorry for myself, cause I talked to Mike, like you suggested, and he told me to leave. Jonathan came in, but he holo'ed himself to look like Kelson.” She smiled faintly. “Certainly threw me for a loop.”
“Then what happened?”
“Then we started talking, and Jonathan just seemed like he wanted to help, like he does with everyone.” Krysten shifted in her seat uneasily. “Then it just sort of went from there.”
“What went from there?”
Krys frowned. “You know...we...did it.” She looked away uncomfortably. “It just sort of...happened.”
Aurora pressed on, telling herself it was for Krysten's own good. “Was this consentual, or were you coerced or threatened?”
“I don't know. No, it wasn't. I told you, I really don't know how it happened. One second we were dancing, the next minute, he's got his hands all over me.”
“Did he penetrate you that first time?”
Krysten actually squirmed, turning a bright red. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on,” Aurora scolded. “You expect people to treat you like a grownup, Krysten, so you're going to have to look what you did in the eye and call it what it is.”
“All right!” Krysten snarled, springing to her feet. “He fucked me, okay? He fucked me that first time, and I thought I'd just die, it hurt so bad. Then when we did it again--”
“When was that?”
Krys fixed Aurora with an annoyed stare. “About ten minutes later.” She continued, the memory stinging her like brambles as she crashed headlong through it. “It was great the next time. Then I end up doing something stupid like telling Jonathan I love him, and say I'm going to break off my engagement with Mike.” She shook her head, hands on her hips. “I don't know WHY I said that.”
Aurora sighed. “Krys, you look at things in black and white. You've not yet been introduced to the concept of 'casual sex,' and this isn't the best way to do so--if at all.” She shrugged, leaning forward to clasp her hands around her knee. “And I know Jonathan used your innocence to his advantage, which I think is disgusting.” Waving the thought away as if it carried a foul smell, Aurora continued. “Anyway, you've done this more than just that once, I take it?”
Nodding, Krys looked as if she was about to burst into tears. “Yes,” she managed. “We've met...a few times.”
“Who usually initiates it you or him?”
“Me,” Krysten said miserably. “Sometimes he tries to tell me he can't, or that we should stop, but--”
“--but he gives in after he's made enough token resistance to satisfy his warped conscience,” Aurora finished, as Krys began to cry. “God, he's such a sadistic bastard. I can think of a hundred ways for him to die right now, all very slow and painful, with more than enough time to ponder what he's done.” She smiled mirthlessly. “That's what comes from living in a medieval castle, I suppose.”
“That's what started it, right there!” Krysten howled, fists clenched. “If you hadn't left, this never would have happened!”
Aurora was appalled. “What? Are you attempting to blame ME for the stupid things YOU'VE done since I left?” Now she too was on her feet, facing Krysten. “You've already said you initiated it, that he did not coerce or force you! Now, tell me where you see this being my fault, anywhere in that statement at all!”
“If you hadn't left, he'd be chasing after you, not me!” Krysten was shouting now, tears openly streaming down her cheeks. “He loves you! He once called me Aurora when we were doing it! Do you know how that felt?”
“Probably just as bad as Mike feels right now, knowing you're knocked up!”
Krysten went white. “He doesn't know!” she whispered, horrified. “He doesn't know; please, Rorie, don't tell him! I'll die if he finds out, please, promise me you won't tell him!”
“You deserve it!” Aurora fired back. “For being such a stupid child, you deserve to stand and watch as his heart breaks! He's already hurting, why not just go for broke?” She stopped in mid-sentence, crumpling into the chair. “My God, listen to us,” she murmured. “Listen to what Jonathan's done to us. I'm yelling at you like I don't even know you.”
Unable to do anything but weep, Krysten threw herself across her bed, curling up into a fetal position as the sobs wracked her body. She let out long, tortured howls of grief, on and on until she nearly gagged from the effort. Aurora found herself silently thanking whoever thought to make the quarters soundproof, and went to sit next to Krys on the bed.
“Crying won't solve anything, but maybe it'll make you feel better,” Aurora soothed, stroking Krys' hair with a motherly hand. “You've got to tell Mike, Krys. He has to hear it from you.”
“I know, I know,” Krysten sobbed, her voice muffled by the pillow. “But how am I going to face him, Rorie? How CAN I?”
“I don't think you've got much of a choice, Krysten. As the saying goes, you've made your bed, you've got to lie in it. Alone, I might suggest. And, if you want to be a grownup, then you've got to take grownup responsibilities.” Aurora patted her shoulder. “Facing up to your own actions, good or bad, is one of the first steps.”
Krysten sat up, wiping her tears away and sniffling. “Yeah, you're right.” She laughed a little. “Besides, no one else knows, so I guess it's up to me.”
A sudden, horrified thought swept through Aurora, and she turned even paler than her usual porcelain shade. “Oh, no. No, no, that's not right,” she murmured cryptically.
“What? What's wrong?”
Aurora was on her feet instantly. “The twins! They ran some tests on me, and I heard them talking about you after I came up from the twilight sleep. Emily was squalling about something--” She froze. “Emily!”
Krysten's vision began to go black around the edges. “No! You don't think she would-- How much does she know?”
“Enough for Michael to look at you like a bug under his shoe, I’m sure. No, I don't THINK she would, I KNOW she would!” She slapped the exit button on the door and tore down the hall, Krysten at her heels. “Come on! We might not be too late!”
As they rounded a corner, both women nearly ran over Bluegrass, who was marching toward them with his hat pulled low over his eyes. When he heard their sneakers squealing on the deckplates, he snapped his head up sharply, halting in mid-stride. His eyes sought out Krysten, and at once the pain of his broken heart flooded her psyche.
“Too late,” Aurora whispered.
Krysten could feel Michael’s eyes on her, and his rage and pain rolled around her like thick black smoke.
“Did you do it?” he growled through clenched teeth. Krys could see the tension in his jaw, the pound of his pulse at his neck and the baked-earth hardness in his eyes and prayed for the deckplates under her feet to swallow her whole. When her imagined salvation failed to appear, she gulped and forged ahead.
“Mike, I really think we ought to-” she began.
“No. No ‘discuss it,’ no ‘talk it out.’ It’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Did you fuck Jonathan?” he gritted.
Aurora and Krysten were both shocked. Michael was so opposed to foul language that to hear him use it felt like the end of the world. Krys started to crumple, then, with Aurora’s reassuring hand on her back, straightened her spine and looked him in the eye. “I did,” she replied, her answer soft but firm.
“God damn it all to Hell, Krysten!” he shouted. “Why couldn’t you just have waited for a few months? We would have been married, then I coulda-” He stopped and glared at her. “Well, the very idea makes me sick now, I’ll tell ya that.” His gaze then fell on Aurora. “Whadda you have t’ do with this mess?”
Aurora gazed back at him levelly. “I encouraged Krys to share her feelings about... sex, for the lack of a better term, with you, and you rejected her. Frankly, I’d say you brought about some of this yourself.”
“Well, ain’t that fine, comin’ from a woman with a string of ex-lovers t’ her name. I don’t know that yer the best candidate for ‘Dear Abby’ of HawkHaven,” Mike drawled.
“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way,” she replied coolly.
“You’re just plain sorry is what you are,” he sneered. “And as for you,” he stormed, gesturing at Skye, “when the Commander gets word of this, I hope he sends you straight back to Earth. I never should have gone back for a kid with no idea about loyalty.” He glared at them both for a moment, then stormed away.
Aurora watched as he left, and held up the now-weeping Krysten. “Come on,” she said when he was no longer in sight. “We may as well go back to your quarters and wait for the other shoe to drop.”
“The other shoe,” as Aurora had put it, wasn’t long in coming.
“Corporal Barter to my office. Lieutenant Greyer to my office. On the double!” the commander’s voice thundered.
The women exchanged a look, and Aurora nodded before Krys could voice the question. “I’ll go with you. I just hope it’s enough.”
The commander’s office was crowded, to say the least. Michael glowered in a corner, and Jonathan lounged on the couch, sweats crumpled and hair ruffled from sleep. Stargazer faced away from the door, and Aurora’s heart tightened to see him dragged from his rest, an old bathrobe over cotton pajamas.
“I remember that robe,” she said without thinking. She went to him and took an end of the sash in her hand, rubbing it against her cheek. “You let me wear it when I was tiny. I ran around, trailing it like a cloak, stirring up dust and-” She broke off, remembering where she was.
Her father smiled fondly at her. “I’m glad,” he smiled. Then his expression hardened. “I don’t remember inviting you to this shin-dig, child. Did you figure to crash?”
“I came to support Krys,” she replied evenly.
“And if I order you to go?” he challenged.
“Leave-of-absence,” she retorted. “Technically, I’m not under your command, so I don’t have to obey.” She regarded him pertly.
“You gained a lot of sass, young lady. I’m not so sure that leave was a good idea,” he grumbled. Letting go of his surviving daughter after only a year of really knowing her had been more difficult than he had ever imagined. And she had been so far away, out of reach of any communication. He saw in her something different , though. There was a peace in her eyes, and an ease in her expression he’d never seen. Whatever had happened, she was happy with herself now.
Aurora shrugged. “Good for longevity. Tell everyone exactly what you think, and let the devil take the hindmost. It’s all he’s due, that’s for sure.”
Stargazer cleared his throat. “Well, in deference to the corporal’s youth, I will allow her an advocate, if she so chooses.” He turned to Krysten. “Do you wish to have Lieutenant Stargazer as advocate, Corporal?”
Krys nodded, unsure of her voice.
Stargazer grunted. “Very well. Colonel, you have a complaint to present, I believe?”
Bluegrass nodded. “The lieutenant is sleepin’ with the corporal, who was my fiancee. It violates chain of command and it’s bad for morale.”
“Well, that’s direct,” Stargazer muttered. “Anything else you have to add?”
“Nope. That’s all my beef, in a nutshell,” Michael responded.
“Good. You’re excused.” He remained silent until The Cowboy was gone. “So,” he continued, looking from Krysten to Jonathan. “I hope he’s got his wires crossed.” When neither replied, he became cross. “Well, isn’t anyone going to say anything?”
Aurora looked at Krys, who finally nodded. “We stipulate to a relationship, sir,” Aurora said.
“‘Stipulate,’ huh? This isn’t a trial, Aurora, and you’re not JAG, though I’m starting to wonder. Is the ‘relationship’ currently on-going?” he asked sarcastically.
Krys gave a small negative shake of her head. It was humiliating to be grilled about this situation, and she wished again for a hole to crawl into.
Stargazer grunted again. “Good. An on-going physical relationship would be unacceptable, but I think we’ll call this water under the bridge.” He looked at both of them sternly. “No more hanky-panky. I mean that. Nothing.” He watched them both nod. “Now, is there anything else I need to be aware of?”
Aurora stared at Krys, urging her to tell the rest. But Krys sat in stony silence, refusing to relate the rest.
“All right, then. You’re both confined to quarters when off duty for a week. Dismissed.” Jonathan stood, saluted and left without uttering a word. Aurora glared at him as he left, willing a two-ton rock to drop on him from a nonexistent catapult. When her fantasy refused to materialize, she turned back to her father.
“Dad, you have to know-”
“Advocate, you’re assignee considers the matter closed, I’m sure. “He didn’t wait for Krysten’s affirming nod. “Therefore, you should also. Dismissed.”
Aurora bit her tongue and left with Krysten.
The hall was dark during third shift, and a figure moved quietly along, slipping through shadows and avoiding puddles of light. The figure stopped at a door, and fingers flashed across the keypad.
“Override accepted,” the computer intoned, releasing the doors lock. The figure pushed the door open and slid inside.
Jonathan had fallen asleep in a chair, only to awaken at the sound of the computer announcing an override. He stood and watched as a figure entered his room, blinking groggily in the dim light. “Illuminate 50%,” he directed, wanting to see what was going on.
Aurora was across the room near the door, staring at him. A long silence passed, then she spoke. “Why did you do it?” she asked softly.
He crossed his arms and regarded her. “I don’t quite know what you’re talking about.”
She came closer. “Don’t play with me. She told me you slept with her, then discarded her like so much used tissue.”
“You know, I can’t for the life of me figure out how any of this is your business. You have found your own life, your own little fantasy land, where you can be the queen of the world. What happens here is none of your concern,” he snapped.
“It is my concern,” she insisted. “You only slept with her to get revenge on me, and she’s my dearest friend. Are you that angry at me, to ruin her life?”
“The universe doesn’t revolve around you, Aurora. I did have feelings for Krysten. She’s sweet and charming, and frankly, quite desirable.” He smirked at her. “She just misunderstood the situation, that’s all.”
“You were having sex with her and fantasizing about me. Don’t lie about it; she told me. I just find it hard to believe you’re that stupid.” She considered him for a moment. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you are that stupid.”
“It was casual,” he snapped. “I just needed some release, and so did she.”
“Is that what this is about? How typically male. Just looking for a place to sink your dick, doing all your thinking from your pants,” she sneered viciously.
“And you?” he rejoinedered. “Isn’t that what you are? Just some place for that guy to stick his dick?”
Her arm flashed out and she slapped him hard across the mouth. “How dare you?! I’m NOT the subject here!”
“So you can dish it out, but you can’t take it? Typical female, flapping your mouth without running your brain at the same time. Just a bubble-headed bimbo.” He regarded her silently. “Go home, Aurora. You don’t belong here anymore. You never belonged here.”
Aurora wheeled around and stormed out.
The morning found her in Sick Bay for the second time in two days.
“All right, Will. You hooked me up to every machine you could think of yesterday before I even had a chance to change my clothes and relieved me of what seemed like a pint of my blood. I hope you have something significant to report.”
He was flipping through a printout. “It’s still compiling. Give it a few minutes. What did you and Krys talk about last night?” he asked.
“Oh, you know,” she hedged. “Girl stuff. Has she been in here much... lately?”
“Nope,” Will replied. “You know her and Emily don’t... Well, she just doesn’t pop in to shoot the breeze or anything. I see her in the mess or Rec every so often. She kinda keeps to herself a lot since the break-up.”
“Which break-up?” Aurora asked pointedly.
Will grinned wryly. “Both, to tell you the truth. But I don’t think the thing with Jon was serious,” he hastened to reassure her. “They were just... flirting, you know? Just little remarks and jokes and stuff. I’m sure he’d still like to go out with you.”
She snorted. “I’m the last person he’d like to go out with, I can assure you. He and I had some words last night that I don’t think either or us could forget or forgive.”
“You might be right,” Will murmured, glancing up from the papers. “Lay back on the bio-bed. I want to run another quick scan.” He positioned the overhead scanner above her torso and turned it on. Aurora watched the view screen as he adjusted knobs and worked with intensities until he was happy with the blobby picture on the screen. “Yep. There it is,” he said with finality.
“What? What am I looking at?” she asked.
“Your baby. You’re pregnant, Aurora.”
Aurora swung her feet around at sat up on the edge of the bed, blurring the image and nearly knocking her head into the corner of the scanner. “You’re kidding, right? That’s Krysten’s scan or something?”
“It’s yours. Aurora, I swear,” Will insisted. Then he frowned. “Why would Krysten’s scan show her as pregnant?” A horrible realization came into his eyes, and he turned a little green at the gills.
Aurora slapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh, my God!” The words were muffled through her fingers. “I promised her I wouldn’t tell.” She shook her head slowly. “I just naturally assumed that she’d come to you and get some kind of care.... She’s gonna hate me.”
Will was on his own train of worries. “Emily was having such a cow yesterday, and she went to tell Michael. I wonder how much she knows?”
“Not this,” Aurora replied. “Michael blew a fuse last night and didn’t mention it. If he’d known, it would have come up.”
“He’ll notice eventually, that’s for sure,” Will lamented.
“Everyone’s going to notice soon. It’s not the kind of thing that can be kept hidden.” She was silent a moment, considering. “Will you help me?”
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
“I want to get her in here and find out exactly what’s going on. Is there any way you can have her come in for something?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Anything,” she answered hysterically. “Blood work, a routine physical, anything to get her under the scanner and get her to tell you what’s happening. Will, she’s young. She can’t have a baby with no care at all. I’ve seen first-hand everything that can go wrong. I can’t let it happen to her.”
Will recognized the hysteria for what it really was; fear for herself and her child. “What did you see, Aurora?” he asked gently, taking her hand.
“There was a servant, a good woman, married to one of the soldiers. She was just huge when I got there. She went into labor a few days later, and there was no where in the castle I could go to avoid the screaming.” Aurora was far away; in the past where her life and love waited for her. “Finally I went down to see if I could help. I mean, even if I don’t tell people, I’m still from a highly advanced civilization, right? She screamed and screamed, and there was nothing I could do; nothing the midwife could do. They finally performed a cesarean, but it was too late. The baby had been too big, and was backward. Her mother never regained her strength, even though she survived the operation. I think she lost hope more than anything else.” Aurora sighed and wiped away some tears. “I can’t let it happen to Krysten. She’s got to have the best care, and that means now.”
Will patted her hand, saying nothing, but she could see the tears standing in his eyes. He stood up slowly and walked over to the intercom. “Commander, could you send Skye to Sick Bay? There’s a problem with her last physical.” He released the switch, and they both heard the call over the comm system. “Anything you want, Aurora. I’ll do anything you want for her.”
Krys entered Sick Bay and saw Will speaking softly to Aurora, who was stretched out on a bio-bed with a needle in her arm. “What’s wrong?” Krys asked.
“Just a little nutrient-deficient,” Aurora said, glad that it happened to be true. “I’ll live.”
Krys nodded. “Great. What did you need, Will?” she asked.
“Blood test from your last exam was contaminated,” he lied, fingers crossed behind his back. It wasn’t a sin to lie if you were trying to help someone, was it? Just in case, he mentally asked for forgiveness anyway. Never hurt to be sure. “Give me your arm, and I’ll get a clean sample. You can keep Aurora company while I run it.” He took her eagerly proffered arm and drew the sample carefully. “Have a seat. It’ll just be a minute.” He fed the cylinder into the machine gently, hoping that Aurora was wrong, but knowing she wasn’t. He watched the numbers print up, and the results were crystal-clear. Of course, it helped that he knew what he was looking for, and these numbers were even higher than Aurora’s. He tore it off the printer and read the confirming report at the bottom; Subject, Barter, K.: pregnant, gestational age: 4 months.
“Hop up on the bed there, Krys,” he said, forcing a light tone. “I want to have a look at something.”
Krysten tossed Aurora a nervous look, and Aurora fought to seem unaware of what Will was doing. Krys lay back and fidgeted slightly as Will started the scanner over her. When he reached her abdomen, she knew almost immediately what they were seeing, and she sighed. “Guess it’s not much of a secret anymore,” she muttered.
Will looked at her compassionately. “I wish you’d come to me sooner. I wouldn’t have told anyone if that’s what you wanted.”
“Oh, Will. It’s not you. I know you wouldn’t tell. It’s-”
Krysten was interrupted by the crash of the door being slammed open.
Emily strode to her and slapped her face. “Whore!”
Reeling, tears sprang to Krysten’s eyes. She turned back to face SteelHart, incredulous but silent.
Will dropped his paper work. “Sis, no!”
Emily was in no mood to stop, however. “How dare you, you little slut?! It’s not enough for you to steal men, but you have to get knocked up, too. What kind of harlot are you?”
“That’s enough, Sergeant,” Aurora shouted.
“It’s not enough,” she argued. “There will never be enough.” She drew back her hand to strike Krysten again, only to find it restrained. She turned and saw Aurora holding her.
“I said that’s enough,” Aurora said, pulling Emily away. “What is your problem?”
“She’s pregnant,” Emily spat. She pulled her wrist free from Aurora’s grasp. “You’re going to regret this,” she threw at Krysten, then left.
Aurora looked over at Krysten, and her throat tightened when she saw the hand-shaped welt on the girl’s face. “I see what you mean,” she said calmly, then raced to the lav, her nutrient drip racing along behind her.
Will followed her and knocked on the door, face twisting as he heard her retching. “Aurora, are you all right in there?” He heard the tap run and water splash, then she opened the door and emerged, face dripping with water.
“I’m okay now.” She laughed dryly. “I never told you yesterday what my problem was, did I?” He shook his head, puzzled. “I seem to be vomiting fairly often, particularly in the morning. However, thanks to your excellent diagnosis, I’ll stop worrying about it.”
“What are you talking about, Aurora? What else is wrong with you?” Krysten asked.
“Welcome me to the club, Krys. I’m expecting, too.”
Emily sauntered into the hanger like the Prom Queen, but when Michael studiously ignored her, her anger burst into flame. _I’ll give that little tart something to regret,_ she thought viciously.
“So, Cowboy,” she purred, “what did Miss Goody-Two-Shoes tell you? I’ll bet she denied the whole thing.”
“None o’ yer business, ‘Hart,” he gritted through clenched teeth.
“Michael, how can you say that?” she asked plaintively. “I’ve always had your best interests at heart, even when it might hurt you.”
Mike leaned against the Maraj, feeling the cool titanium under his fingers. He could almost swear it hummed softly with life. It was probably the only thing in this crazy hind-end of space situation that he understood. Krys was like a different person, Aurora had always been an enigma, and the lieutenant.... He couldn’t even look at Jonathan without feeling a murderous rage come over him. And then there was Emily. To give credit where it was due, she had been right about Krys and Jon. Maybe everything she’d been getting at for so long wasn’t just a royal case of jealousy. “She said it was true,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What? I didn’t quite hear you.”
“She said she’s slept with him, okay? I really don’t want to get into it, ‘Hart. I’m still too shook up.” He rested his head against the smooth side of the sleek flying machine.
Emily chewed her bottom lip for a minute, then reached out. She laid her hands on his back, over the shoulder blades, hesitantly at first, then more firmly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t want you to be hurt, but you had to know.”
He twitched his shoulders but didn’t throw off her touch. “I don't know that it could be helped, Em. Some things in life just hurt.” _Like having your heart ripped out._ He pushed back from the Maraj, forcing her to move away. “Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it. Things are as bad as they’re gonna get.” He turned and saw the regret in her face. “What now?” he asked.
“I guess she didn’t mention the other part.” She looked at him sadly. “Krys is pregnant.”
Michael heard the rush of blood in his ears, and for a moment, darkness swam through his vision. He reached out and grabbed Emily above the elbows, fighting to retain his balance and his breakfast. “Don’t be lying, Emily. If you’re lying, it’s worth your life and mine both. Tell me again, and be sure it’s the truth.”
“I got it from Will,” she said. “He’s seen the test results and the sonogram, and she admitted it to him. I felt it in his mind, I swear. I swear to God and all that’s Holy that it’s true. I can’t lie to you Michael. I’d never hurt you like that.” She held his arms tightly, bracing him up.
He searched her eyes for some sign of doubt, and found none. “I gotta go ask her,” he said, almost to himself.
“I know,” she replied. Before he could pull away, she stretched her courage to the limit, raising up on her toes to gently kiss his lips. “I’m so sorry it had to be this way.”
He said nothing; only staring at her a moment, then striding purposefully away.
Aurora flinched as Will pulled the IV needle from her arm. “I hate that part,” she complained, pressing the bit of cotton he handed her over the small wound.
“So what now?” Krys asked, wiping transducer ‘goo’ from her abdomen. Will had performed a more thorough scan on her, trying to determine the baby’s placement. He hadn’t seemed entirely happy with the results, but he also hadn’t wanted to elaborate yet. Something about ‘studying up’ before he told her anything that might worry her.
“Vitamins,” he said succinctly. “Prenatal vitamins for both of you,” he handed them identical bottles, “and iron supplements for you, Krys.” He handed her another bottle. “Three a day, and as little junk food a day as possible, for both of you. Drink water instead.”
Aurora looked offended. “I never eat junk food,” she protested.
Krys barked a laugh. “Sure. That’s not ice cream I see you eating in the mess at midnight.”
“I haven’t done that in close to a year,” Aurora replied.
“You haven’t had a freezer in close to a year.”
Will got control of his laughter. “Okay, okay. A little ice cream now and then is not a problem. Coffee is.”
Aurora’s face fell. “No java? How am I supposed to function in the morning without coffee?”
“Do whatever you’ve been doing for the past eight months,” Krys quipped.
“Enough,” Will coughed. These two could make anything funny if they had a mind to. “None of that carbonated stuff, either. It’s almost as bad.”
“Must be a reenactment of the Bataan Death March,” Aurora muttered. “No coffee, limited goodies. This is not bliss.”
“Yeah. No soda, lotsa pills. Bummer.”
“Glad y’all find it so amusin’,” came Mike’s voice from the doorway. Krys’s face fell when she saw him. Without another word, he pushed away from the door and was gone.
“Oh-for-two,” Krys commented. “I’m not getting any better at this.” She looked at Aurora. “You know what’s next.” She sighed mightily.
“Not this time,” Aurora declared. She hopped off the exam bed and hit the intercom on the wall. “Dad, do you have a minute?” she asked, once connected to her father’s office.
“Sure. What do you need, honey?”
“A few minutes. I’m available right now, if you can hold some time open.”
“Okay.” She heard a faint scratching sound. “You’re the next thing in my appointment book, so come on down.” The line clicked off.
“What was that about?” Krys asked.
“I’m going to tell my father before Michael gets a chance to. I may be able to defuse the situation some,” she replied, pulling a blouse over the top of her arming suit. “Stay out of trouble until I can get things calmed down.”
Michael was waiting outside the Commander’s office when she arrived, and it didn’t surprise her a bit. He reached out and snagged her elbow as she went past.
“What’s goin’ on here, Aurora? Nothin’s made any sense since you left, and it’s even more confusin’ now you’re back.”
She paused a minute, looking at him. “Do you really think it was my leaving that made a difference? Krys said you fought well after I was gone.”
“That’s the whole thing right there. If she coulda just held her horses-”
Aurora laughed; a sharp, humorless sound. “Have you ever been seventeen, Mike? Think about it.” She disengaged her arm and entered her father’s office.
“Does this have anything to do with last night’s debacle?” he asked without preliminaries.
“What makes you think so?” she asked carefully, sitting in front of his desk.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he replied sarcastically. “Maybe the fact that the Colonel is camped on my doorstep and has been since just after you called me from the Sick Bay. Now what in thunderation is going on on my station?!”
Aurora was unmoved by his ranting. “You know, I wanted to tell you this last night, but you didn’t want to hear it then, and now your yelling at me about it. It’s just not real logical.”
The commander sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Whatever.” He pulled a micro-recorder from his desk. “Lieutenant Stargazer wished to discuss this last night, and I sent her away.” He clicked the machine off. “Okay, I admitted it. Now tell me what’s going on here.”
“Krys is pregnant,” she said bluntly.
“Pregnant?”
She nodded.
“To Jonathan?”
She nodded again.
“Heaven help us all. Is that what’s on the Cowboy’s mind?” he asked
“I would assume so. I think Emily is feeding him information as she gets it.”
He looked baffled. “Why?”
“Because she has been hot for him since 2839. Maybe she thinks it’s her big chance. I don’t know. If I were him, I’d be pissed, but I’m elemental.” She paused a moment, gathering her courage. “I’m pregnant, too.”
He paled. “To Jonathan?”
“God, no. Not in a million years. It’s Starlight’s.” He expression softened for a moment.
The commander rubbed an eyebrow, trying to process the information. “So I have one pregnant recruit who is at odds with both her former fiancé and the baby’s father, and a pregnant officer, whose... partner is in another time? Is that all, or are we going through hell next?” He stared at her intently. “What are you going to do?”
She knew what he meant. “I’m going back to Starlight as soon as things seem steady here. I’m not going to risk the baby for anything.”
“There’s no health care to speak of there. Are you crazy?!”
She shook her head. “I know exactly what I’m doing. I belong with him, and he belongs there. Everything will be fine.”
“Aurora,” he began, “if anything should happen to you...”
“I’ll find a way to let you know what’s happening, don’t worry. Anyway, I’m not the real problem here. Krys is having a baby, and she has no one to help her. Mike is furious and Jonathan is apathetic. What’s going to happen to her?”
“What’s going to happen is she’s going home. I’m not having a military base inundated with children,” he replied gruffly.
“Dad, how can you say that? She loves Michael, and Michael is here,” Aurora complained.
“But Michael doesn’t love her, it seems. No, Aurora. This is no place for children. If it were, you and your sister and mom would have been here long years ago. It’s decided, Aurora,” he said with finality. “She goes home.”
“Would you send me home?” she asked.
“I don’t have to. You said yourself you were going.”
“What if I hadn’t? What if I’d told you the whole thing was a wash, but I wanted to stay here with you and have the baby? What would you say?” she pressed.
“I’d never send you away. You’re my daughter. You know that,” he responded.
“Then don’t do it to Krys.” She started into the space beyond his window. “She and I are in exactly the same position. A moment’s weakness that damned her and blessed me. That’s the only difference. Don’t punish her because she’s not me.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, leaning forward on the edge of his chair.
Aurora sighed, then looked at him. “I’m the cause of this. I told her to be up-front with Michael about what she wanted, and he turned her away. And I rejected Jonathan, so he turned to Krysten for comfort. And I wouldn’t do anything differently, so I have to find a way to help.”
He looked at her a moment, then sat back slowly. “Okay, you win,” he said finally. “She can stay, but the lieutenant better plan to meet his obligations. That’s all I have to say about that, and I leave it up to you to arrange.”
“Don’t think I can?” she asked, sensing a challenge.
“I think it will be difficult. If he’d wanted to be involved in any of this, he wouldn’t have sat like a lump on my sofa during last night’s little meeting. You’ll have a hard time with him, I’m sure.”
“We’ll just see about that. Can I go?” she asked.
“Dismissed. And be careful. That’s my grandbaby your guarding there.”
She smiled and slipped out the door.
Jonathan was actually enjoying being confined to quarters. He’d been so turned around between Aurora’s absence and the affair with Krysten that he wasn’t sure for a while which end was up. Now, the worst seemed to be over. “Water under the bridge,” the commander had said. It made it seem to minor, so unimportant. Except for that one moment, when he had been sure it was Aurora with him. Still, as far as fantasies went, it wasn’t bad. He programmed some soft jazz into the computer to replay and picked up the book he was reading, “Great Battles of the 20th Century.” He settled into a chair and sank into the blistering hot world of the Persian Gulf Wars.
He was pulled back to reality when someone nudged his foot, and almost fell out of the chair when he saw Aurora standing before him. Quickly he put a clamp on his emotions.
“So, looking to go another round, Lieutenant? I let the last incident go by, but this time I may not be so generous.” He gestured vaguely to a chair. “You may as well sit, seeing as you’ve already broken in.”
She sat gracefully, and his heart flipped over. How could so much beauty be packaged with so much ire? And yet she got along with everyone, including the irascible Emily. Everyone but him, it seemed.
“I need to talk to you,” she began. “It might as well be here. I don’t think you’ll want some of it to be common knowledge.”
“By all means, go ahead. I can’t imagine what you want to discuss,” he invited.
“You should know that Krysten in pregnant, and she says you’re the father.”
“CLAIMS I’m the father, I’m sure you mean. There’s no proof,” he said smugly.
“There will be in about 5 months,” Aurora observed. “You may as well get used to the idea. And you should accustom yourself to providing for her and the baby.”
“You don’t think I’m going to marry her?” he blurted.
“Saints preserve us, no. You would be terribly unsuitable. Ideally, she and Mike will get back together, but you will always bear the burden of responsibility for the child. I want you to start signing checks, large ones, every month. Eventually, you’ll get to looking at it as just one of those things, I’m sure.” She sipped some tea from her mug.
“And what do I get out of this? Alternate weekends and holidays, I suppose? What if I really want this child, assuming you’re not playing games with me?” he asked.
“Nope. I’m not playing games here. And you get nothing. No visitation, no custody, no say whatsoever. It’s much too late for that now. You already told her it was just a casual fling, remember?” She was enjoying driving in the knife and twisting it.
He regarded her a moment. “No,” he said finally.
“No, what?” Aurora was confused.
“No, I’m not giving up all rights to my child. You can forget that right now. If it is my baby, then I want to be involved in its upbringing. You can’t prevent it.”
“I’m the advocate in charge. I’m supposed to make these arrangements, and this is how I want them made,” she insisted.
“What about what Krysten wants?” he pressed.
“Fine time for you to be caring about what she wants now. You should have thought of that long ago. Now it’s time to pay the piper,” she said smugly.
“Well, I intend to discuss with the piper exactly what the situation is before I start laying out any money.” He studied her a moment, thinking furiously. This could provide an opportunity to get what he really wanted. “I have a proposition.” he said suddenly. Aurora merely raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll do it all. Take full custody, retire from the corps, and provide everything the baby needs, birth through college and beyond, if...” he paused.
“‘If?’” Aurora prompted.
“If you marry me.”
“Jonathan, I don’t think you’re listening to me,” Aurora called, following him down the hall. He’d taken her stunned silence at his proposal for acceptance, and had left to explain to Krysten without waiting for anything. Now he was a good 10 yards in front of her, and pulling away. “Jonathan, I’m-” She broke off suddenly, feeling her stomach roll. “Oh, God. Not now.” She raced for the bathroom, abandoning her chase for now.
Sick Bay was blessedly quiet to Jonathan’s ears. Apparently Will had stepped out, and Krys was lying on one of the bio-beds, engrossed in a magazine. “Hey,” he said softly, slipping in the door.
She looked at him and grimaced. “What are you doing here? Go away.”
“I can’t, Babe. Aurora told me everything. Listen, I don’t want you to worry. When the baby comes, you won’t have to do anything. I’ll resign my commission and take care of it so you won’t have to.” He tried to take her hand, but she snatched it away.
“You and what army? A single father isn’t much better than a single mother at parenting. Who are you gonna get to show you how to change a diaper?” Krys challenged. A pain twinged in her side, but she tried to ignore it.
“Aurora and I will work out all the details, honey. You don’t have to worry about a thing,” he assured her.
“Aurora? What does she have to do with this hair-brained scheme of yours? I’m not giving you my baby,” she protested.
“Aurora and I will get married, and she can adopt it. You won’t have anything to worry about. She’s a responsible, caring person who will be a good mother to your child.” Somehow, this wasn’t going as Jonathan had planned it.
“So, you’ll fuck me, but not marry me, and you’d marry Aurora, who wouldn’t touch you to scrape you off her boot?! I don’t think so.”
Aurora finally caught up with Jonathan, having dealt with her rebellious stomach. “Jonathan, I told you-” She was interrupted by Krys.
“I said it was a secret!” she shouted. “How could you do this to me? Now everyone knows; Will, Emily, Mike, Jon, the commander. Is there anyone who isn’t in on my private life?!”
“Krys!” Aurora protested. “You really didn’t expect-” She meant to say the Krys didn’t expect to be able to keep it a secret much longer, but she was cut off.
“Expect you to keep your word? Of course not. You do whatever you feel like, and if you like to play games with people, then who cares, right?” The pain was worse, and Krys was having trouble concentrating.
The commotion had brought Will to the room from the Shop, and he took one look at Krys, with her face too pale and eyes too bright, and made a decision. “Okay, everyone not tied down, out! The patient needs her rest.” He shooed them physically out the door, then returned to his patient.
Aurora glared at Jonathan. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded. “She’s young, scared and pregnant, and you go in there like a gang-buster, telling her how it’s ‘going to be,’ and it’s not going to be that way at all.”
“You want something from me, Aurora, and that’s my price. Total support for the baby if you marry me,” he said flatly.
“You’re insane,” she decided. “You want to take a baby away from its mother for no reason other than your own selfishness.”
“Maybe you’re the one who’s selfish, Aurora. Can’t stand the thought of giving up your fairy-tale to help a friend,” he needled.
Will stuck his head out the door. “Will you two please shut up?” he commanded. “Or take it somewhere else if you have to fight.”
“How is she?” Aurora asked, waving off his brusqueness.
“She had some contractions,” he reported. He knew Aurora would make answering her an order if she had to. “I’ve got her on some medication, but she’s going to need complete bed-rest after this.” Jonathan nodded, mentally re-writing the duty roster. “And quiet,” Will insisted.
“Aurora nodded. “I’ll sit with her,” she said, starting forward.
Will blocked her. “She doesn’t want to talk to you right now.” He saw he face twist, and felt awful for her. “I know you’re upset by that, but that’s how it stands. She’s already asked me to call someone.” He stepped out of the way as Michael brushed past them without a word, then turned back to them. “Whatever the problem is between you two, and I don’t want to know, you better work it out soon.” He shut the door. “And somewhere else,” they heard.
Jonathan wiped the sweat from his brow, and wondered again why he’d agreed to this. When Aurora had suggested ‘best two-out-of-three’ in sparring, he’d jumped at the chance to be alone with her and hoped for any kind of opportunity to present itself. However, he’d taken a fall almost immediately, when she’s turned abruptly and slugged him in the chin. He’d reeled violently and tripped over an untied shoelace. She’d only laughed when he’d protested that he wasn’t ready and then asked if he told the Mob when he was prepared to defend himself.
He’d returned the favor later, pausing to ask a question, then sucker-punching her just below the ribs so her breath whooshed out in one long gasp.
“Thought you played by the rules,” she finally wheezed when she had enough air.
“Only if the other side does,” he replied nonchalantly
“I wondered if you’d catch on,” she said with grudging respect. She leaned against the wall, studying him. “Why do we do this?” she asked suddenly.
“You’re the one who suggested best two out of three, remember?” Something dangerous still smoldered in his eyes.
“No. Why are we still at odds over nothing? I do something and you’re hurt; you do something and I’m hurt. Why are we hurting each other?”
“Maybe there’s nothing else for us.” He sank slowly to the floor across from her. “Even though I love you, sometimes it’s all I can think about, making you hurt like I hurt.”
“That’s sick,” she declared, pushing up from the floor. “I’m tired of this. I don’t care what you do, just don’t do it around me.” She turned to leave.
“Where are you going? We’re not done here,” he protested.
“Yes, we are. I’m going to the showers. I don’t care what you do.” She left him sitting in the gym.
Michael stared down at Krysten, uncertain why exactly he was there. All Will had said was that she had asked for him, though now she was asleep. She was pale, and looked stiff somehow, as though something was bothering her. He brushed some short curls aside out of habit, flinching when she stirred slightly.
“Mike?” she whispered, eyes still closed. Her hand reached out, wavering, and he caught it in his before he could think twice.
“How ya doin’, sugar?” he asked, the endearment rolling off his tongue before he could stop it. Somehow, everything he did everything on auto-pilot around Krys. It was so easy to slip back into familiar patters. Too easy.
“Will said I could lose the baby,” she murmured. “I jus’ wanted to talk to someone...”
“I figure Aurora would be of more use than me. I dunno nothin’ about babies.” He tried to stop the pounding of his heart and tumbling of his stomach.
“Jon says their gonna take the baby and raise it. Just one happy family, and no place for me...” Tears seeped out from under closed eyelids.
“Aw, Krys, don’t cry. Aurora’d never do that. She thinks he’s lower than a snake, you know that.” He wiped her face with a tissue.
“I want my baby. I do, I do. It’s mine, not theirs.” She seemed almost hysterical.
“I know, honey. Ain’t no one gonna take your baby. I won’t let ‘em,” he promised. He looked at the monitors anxiously, but nothing seemed out of place.
“I want you, too.”
He looked down, and saw her cerulean blue eyes looking at him, clear as a bell. His face tightened. “Krys, I don't want to get into that right now. We done had that fight already.”
“No, you don’t understand. I... I want you to forgive me. I was so stupid, and I know you don’t love me anymore, but I was hoping-” He silenced her with a finger on her lips.
“I never stopped loving you, Krys. That’s what made it so hard; why it hurt so bad. Of course I forgive you, and I still love you, too.”
Her smile was filled with relief, and it stayed on her face as she slid back into sleep. Michael continued to sit with her holding her hand, and praying for strength.
Aurora stood under the powerful flow of the showerhead, letting the water rinse off sweat and grime from her workout. She leaned against the cool tile walls as the hot water pounded against her back, relieving pain and tension. It had been much too long since she’d last asked so much from her body, and she’d retreated to the gym’s locker room to take advantage of its multiple showerheads. A sound behind her startled her, and she turned, then froze, astonished.
Jonathan stared at Aurora, gleaming wet and dripping, and the words that had passed between them vanished from his mind. Here was his chance, he was sure. His chance to show Aurora, to make love to her until she knew how perfect for each other they really were. He let the towel he was clutch around him drop, and he ducked into the spraying water with her. She stood transfixed as he approached, and he took the opportunity to reach out and tentatively brush her cheek, warm from the water against his fingers. He inched closer, holding her with his eyes and one light hand on her cheek. She didn’t move or speak, and soon he was only inches away. He leaned in and pressed her lips with a soft kiss.
The moment struck Aurora as surreal, and she responded passively, letting him kiss her. When his kiss became more insistent, her heart pounded and her blood raced. Her lips parted and she permitted his probing exploration of her mouth. When he started to pull back, she reached up without thinking and puled his head back to her, pressing herself against him at the same time.
Jonathan tore his mouth away, and felt her mouth attach to his neck, biting and sucking in a maddening rhythm. Blood coursed to his extremities, and his pulse throbbed. Inwardly, he cursed himself for not trying this a year ago, before Starlight, before Krysten, before harsh words had torn them apart. He adjusted his grip on her, pulling her closer and higher, longing to bury himself in her and quench the burning within him.
She felt him nudge at her, then arched back as he slid smoothly in, heating her to the core. She pulled upright and kissed him deeply, exploring his mouth as he held her, pinned to the wall, and rocked his hips into hers. She let the motion carry her up and down on the slick tile, tensing and relaxing her arms in rhythm, matching him speed for speed and strength for strength. She gasped as he pressed her flat against the wall, shaking and shuddering with release. She felt her own release building within her until...
...Aurora sat bolt upright in bed, breath rasping in her throat. “Lights,” she called weakly, then louder, and she was finally rewarded with bright glare chasing the shadows away. She sat still, waiting for her heart to slow from its furious pounding. A brief image of the dream flashed though her brain, and she jumped out of bed, wanting nothing more than a cold shower. “I’ve gotta get home,” she muttered, heading for the bath.
She came out of the bathroom shivering, trying to dispel the cold with a thick terrycloth robe, and sat down in front of her vanity. She ran her fingers down the smooth glass, and an idea struck her, even though she wasn’t sure it would work. She pressed her hand firmly against the glass and chanted under her breath, focusing on reaching out and touching Starlight’s mind. She wished she’d been more diligent in her study of the arcane arts, and that she’d spent more time on the practical than the theoretical.
Her efforts were rewarded when she felt the lazy brush of his mind against hers, as though he wasn’t fully awake. *Angel? You okay?*
*Fine. Just needed to hear your voice.* She forced herself to sound up-beat. *Am I missing anything good?*
*I know what I’m missing,* he replied. She could see him now in the mirror, his face replacing her reflection. *Did Will figure out what’s wrong?*
She didn’t want to tell him about the baby yet. There was time enough for that when she was back. *He’s working on it. It’s not really why I wanted to talk to you, though. Krys is in trouble.*
*What’s she done this time?* Krys’s misadventures had been some of Aurora’s favorite tales to relate.
*It’s pretty serious this time. She had a fight with Mike, took up with Jonathan, and he dumped her when she made mention of marriage. Now she’s pregnant, and he wants to marry me and we’d raise the baby.*
She could hear the wheels turning in his mind, sorting out the information. *And what did you say?*
*I told him he’s insane, but he didn’t seem to listen. Then I told him that whatever he did, to do it away from me. At any rate, I need to make sure things are stable here, then I’ll be home.*
*Do you need me there?*
*No. I need to do this for myself. I love you.*
*I love you too, Angel. Sleep well.* His reflection faded until she could see only herself. Relaxed and comforted, she went back to bed.
Tension was the password for the following week. Aurora didn’t speak to Jonathan, Krys didn’t speak to Aurora, and the commander spoke to no one, only grunting when he encountered others, and retreating to his office with a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door.
Aurora caught up with Michael one morning as he was bringing Krys her breakfast. She had been confined to bed by Will, and Michael had hardly left her side.
“Did she tell you what Jonathan said?” she asked without preliminaries.
“Well, good morning to you, too,” he replied sarcastically. “She just fine, and thanks for asking.”
She eyed him for a moment. “I’m sorry. You’re right. How are they?”
“Not out of the woods yet. I don't think Will’s gonna let her up for the next five months. The baby’s mighty high and he’s still not sure either of them is gonna make it.”
“Damn.” She was silent a moment. “Listen, I have to tell you this now. I’m not going to marry Jonathan, and I’d never try to take Krys’s baby, even if I did marry him. The truth is, I’m not going to be here much longer. I have to get home soon. Starlight is expecting us.”
Michael stopped dead in his tracks. “Us?” he repeated.
“Well, me, anyway. The passenger will be something of a surprise.” She rested one hand lightly on her still-flat abdomen.
“You don’t look it,” he said doubtfully.
“Give me a few months. I’ll be a barn, I’m-” She broke off suddenly and leaned against the wall.
Michael looked worried. “Are you okay?” _Lord, please, don’t give me two to deal with. If something happens to her, I don’t think anything could stop her boyfriend._
Aurora shook her head gingerly and looked up. “I’m okay. Just a splitting headache for a second there. Do you think I could talk to Krys, just for a second? I have to let her know I’m going soon.”
Michael considered her words. If she was leaving, it would be best for her to tell Krys personally, and Krys had been saying how awful she had been to Aurora, and how much she wanted to apologize. “I suppose it will be okay,” he acquiesced. “Just for a minute.”
Things were not well when they reached the room, however. The bed was rumpled and the lights on, but Krys was no where to be seen. A quick check proved that she was not in the attached bathroom either.
“Will must have wanted her for some test,” Aurora murmured, hoping she was right. “Computer, what is the location of Corporal Barter.”
“Corporal Barter is in her quarters,” the computer replied in Krysten’s voice.
Aurora saw Krys’s locator badge on the night table. “Try again, you stupid machine. Where the hell is Krys?”
“Syntax error. Please restate inquiry.” The voice was calm and unemotional, unlike Aurora.
“Where... Is... Corporal... Barter?” she repeated through gritted teeth.
“Corporal Barter is in her quarters,” it repeated.
“Let me try it,” said Michael. “Computer, run a bio-scan on this location and report results.”
“Scan complete,” the computer reported. “Two life-forms present. Bio-signatures Stargazer, Aurora and Merino, Michael.”
“Bio-scan station and report,” Michael instructed.
“Please wait,” the machine replied. Aurora dropped her head, trying to channel her anger away from hitting the computer terminal. As she looked down, something caught her eye, and she crouched near the floor. She dragged her fingers through the spot, then rose to share her discovery with Michael. Their eyes locked, neither wanting to put into words what she had found. Blood.
“Get Will. Have him meet us wherever the computer says. I’m going to track her.” She was out the door almost before she finished speaking.
She followed the trail of droplets to the elevator, but once inside, she was stymied. Up or down? Had Krys gone up to the Sick Bay to seek help, or down into the bowels of the station to hide? She stood in the elevator, thoughts frantic, trying to decide which way to go. _Where? Where? Krys, where are you?_
The reply rang like a gong in her mind. _Rorie? Rorie, help me,_
_Where, Krys, where? Where are you?_
_Gwynn-_
Aurora could almost hear her slide into a stupor, but she had the answer. _The damned Gwynnedd holo. She’s gonna die in that thing._ She slapped her communicator as the elevator descended into the solid rock below the station. “Michael, I’ve got her. She’s in-”
“Holo Three. We’re on the way. Will says to pry her out if you have to.”
“Will do.” She closed the connection as the elevator slowed to a stop. The crimson trail was again evident, although now Aurora didn’t need it. She ran quickly to the holo chamber door, and was surprised when it didn’t open immediately for her.
“Computer, open door,” she commanded.
“Unable to comply. Program in progress. Privacy lockout has been enabled.”
“Override it, for the love of God. Just open the damned doors.”
“Authorization code?” the computer prompted.
“Damn it all to Hell. Authorization AAS-0603. Override.” She nearly kicked the machine in frustration.
”Welcome, Lieutenant Stargazer. Override accepted. How may I be of service today?” Now it was on the user-friendly kick.
“Open holo three and disengage program, now!” she shouted.
“Program can only be disengaged from inside. Doors opening now.”
Aurora stepped across the threshold into the dim room beyond. It was set up as a medieval hall, not one Aurora had seen before, but its elements were familiar enough. Thick stone walls soared over the rush-strewn flagstones of the floor, and at the far end of the hall, a fire leapt in the hearth. Bright banners hung from the walls, but Aurora passed them without interest, intent on finding Krysten. She called into the shadows.
“Krys! Krys, where are you?” A soft whimper from the darkness kept her moving. “Come on, Krys. Tell me where you are. I’m going to help you.”
The whisper was thin but audible. “...not take my baby?”
“Never. Never in a million years. But you’re sick, Krys. It might be too late.” She moved in what she hoped was the right direction.
“Promise me you’ll try?” The whisper seemed to be right underneath Aurora now. She knelt down and braced herself with one hand, only to find it in a warm, wet puddle she didn’t want to think about.
“I’ll do what I can,” she temporized, trying to help Krys up. “Computer, illuminate,” she called.
Krys was huddled in a corner of the hall, curled into a ball, with pain etched on her face and a growing pool of blood beneath her. She whimpered as Aurora touched her. “Hurts bad.”
“I know. We’ve got to get you out of here. Computer, end program.” She could hear voices in the hall and wanted to get Krys moving. Reality rippled back to the usual grid-patterned walls, and Aurora heard the doors slide open again and Michael rushed to them. Before Aurora could stop him, he had Krys scooped up in his arms and was running for the door with her. Aurora gave chase as he raced past Michael and the waiting gurney.
“Michael, wait!” she called, but he ignored her. She grabbed the gurney and raced after him.
Blood. Krys' blood. Everywhere-- Mike's thoughts raced on ahead of him, even as he hurried along the hall with Krys in his arms. He had to stop and shift his grip; his hands were sliding on her skin, her blood slick on the alloy of his right hand. Krys whimpered again at the small movement, and it sent daggers through his heart.
“Just hold on, honey. It's gonna be okay. Hold on, sugar.” He said the words through colorless lips, the backlash of her physical and emotional pain piercing even his untrained mind. Mike concentrated on reaching Sick Bay, not stopping when he passed Emily in the hall, an oversize box of parts on her shoulder.
“Oh, my God--” Emily dropped the box with a huge crash and hurried after them just as Aurora tore by. The tall, dark-haired woman was running after them as if pursued by the devil himself, screeching for Mike to wait just a damned minute. “Aurora, what's going on?” Emily called after her, turning and running to catch up, nearly slipping on the trail of Krys' blood.
“Miscarriage; we'll know for sure once we get her into Sick Bay,” Aurora threw back over her shoulder.
At Aurora's words, Krysten began to keen. “No, not my baby!” she wailed. “Please, no!”
“Shh, honey, we don't know that yet. Just be still,” Michael reassured her, seeing the double doors of the Sick Bay up ahead, thanking God that whoever had designed the station had put the holo rooms and the Sick Bay on the same floor.
Aurora ran ahead and slapped the Open sensor on the door, just in time to admit Mike and Krysten, Emily bringing up the rear, and the doors closed automatically behind the Steeltwin. Aurora keyed the door to open only with her own authorization or her father's, effectively keeping Jonathan out. With everything else going on, his presence would strain things to their snapping point, and Mike already looked like he wanted to kill someone.
At the commotion, Will stuck his head out from the lab room, and went slack-jawed at what he saw. Abandoning the cultures he had been testing, he pushed his way through the small group and took Krys' wrist between his fingers. The smell of Krys' blood nearly overwhelmed him, the coppery tang of it filling his nose, but he pushed his nausea back and tried to feel the slight pulse under his hand. “How long has she been like this?” he asked.
“We don't know,” Mike answered, his voice haunted. “'Rorie and I came in to talk to her, next thing we know, she's gone.”
“We followed a trail of blood to the holo room,” Aurora supplied, Krys' right hand gripped in her own. “There's a lot of it back there.”
“Bright red?”
Aurora nodded. “As far as we could tell.” She resisted the urge to close her eyes and cross herself. Instead, she tried to reach out to Krys' mind, and found herself hip-deep in mental havoc, the normally impenetrable, glassy walls of the shields Starlight had taught Krysten to use hanging tattered, like cobwebs. Something pushed against her, forcing her out of Krysten's mind just in time to hear Will tell Emily to prep Krys for an emergency D&C.
“NO!” Krysten shouted, bucking against four pairs of hands holding her gently, but firmly, to the table. “Rorie, don't let them, you said you wouldn't--!”
Aurora held tightly to Krys' hand as Emily stripped off Krys' blood-soaked clothes, only letting go long enough for Emily to slide the pink sweatshirt off. “I meant what I said, Krys, I swear I did.” She stroked Krys' hair, pushing the matted curls from the young face. “But we need you here. If we don't do this--” A sob caught in her throat, and she swallowed hard, the tears coming to her own eyes. “You're going to be a godmother,” she smiled shakily. “And not in absentia either.”
Will approached at that moment, a clear plastic mask in his hands. Aurora helped him raise Krys' head just long enough to slip the mask on, and Will smiled gently at Krys. “Just breathe, Skye. You'll start to feel a little sleepy, but that's okay. We'll all be with you, don't you worry. Mike's right here, and Aurora, and Em and me. We'll take care of you.”
Her eyes already going a little glassy from the nitrous, Krys rolled her gaze from Will to Mike, who was standing back from the hubbub of activity. His jaw was set in his pale face, bloodied fists clenched at his sides. His shirtfront was splashed with darkening streaks of red, but he paid little notice. With effort, Krys blinked and fixed her gaze on Aurora, impressing a wordless thought on her friend before her hand went limp, signaling her descent into the gray mists of sleep.
Aurora smiled; she should have known Krys' thoughts would turn to Mike, first, last and always. She kissed Krys on the forehead, with a mental whisper of Godspeed back to health, then laid the slack hand on the bed.
Mike found Aurora beside him from out of nowhere, it seemed, and Aurora guessed as much by the odd look he gave her as she took his elbow. “What?” he asked stupidly, having been so intent on what the twins were doing to Krysten that he hadn't heard Aurora approach. “Where we goin'?”
“Come on, Cowboy,” Aurora said, pulling him into the adjoining treatment room, the door sliding shut behind them. “Let's get you cleaned up. If Krys sees you like that when she wakes up, she'll be in hysterics.” She tugged him over to the sink and ran the cold tap, then turned on the hot to warm it up. When all Mike did was stand there and watch the water puddle in the sink, Aurora sighed and reached to the collar of Mike's sweatshirt, unzipping it and pulling it off his alloy shoulders. “This is history,” she murmured, dropping it into a red plastic bin marked BIOHAZARD. “So are your pants, but I'll leave you to do the honors.”
Mike shook himself after a long moment, blinking like someone roused from sleep. “Oh. I'll do that,” he said, pulling the pants off to reveal his alloy-covered legs and sculpted boottops. He handed the fabric to Aurora, who put them into the bin along with his sweatshirt. “How's Krys?”
Wringing out a towel, Aurora shook her head. “You know as much as I do, right at this point. Did you hear the part about Will and Em doing an emergency D&C on her?”
Frowning, Mike nodded slightly as Aurora squeezed a dollop of surgical soap into his hand. “Yeah, but I didn't know what that was.” He grimaced at the memory as much as the strong smell of the soap. “It sounds bad.”
“No, not really. D&C means 'dilation and curettage', which just means they're going to open her cervix wide enough to scrape the inside of her uterus. She'll be all right.” Plying her towel to his arms and hands after he lathered them with the evil-smelling soap, Aurora wiped away the blood and rinsed the towel. She tossed it in with the other soiled linens, then got a fresh towel and wiped him down with clean water, then got yet another towel and dried him off. “There,” she pronounced finally, tossing the final towel into the red plastic bin and sending the bin down the chute to be recycled. “All done.”
Mike looked down at his hands, seeing clean alloy and skin where Krys' blood had stained him brownish-red. “Thanks, Aurora,” he said, not knowing what else to say. “I guess I was sort of off in space somewhere for a while.” He smiled a little. “Didn't mean for you to do all that for me.”
Aurora crossed her arms and looked up at him, returning his smile. “Don't worry about it. You weren't in any shape to do much of anything, so I just reverted to my usual mode of gluing the pieces back together.” She sighed and hopped up on the examining table, crossing her legs Indian-style. “Well, now all we can do is wait.”
Nodding, Mike sat on the table beside her, even his long legs not quite reaching the floor. “I know. I don't much like the idea, though.”
The seconds stretched into minutes as they sat in silence, waiting and hoping for Krys to be all right.
The chime of the intercom woke Aurora from her reverie.
“Aurora!” barked her father’s voice. “What in the Sam Hill is going on down there?!”
She grimaced and slid off the bed. “I’ll be right down,” she answered.
Mike walked her to the door. “Good luck,” he offered.
“I’ll need more than luck,” she replied. She re-keyed the lock as she left, this time to exclude only Jonathan, then headed toward her father’s office.
“In,” he instructed after she had knocked.
She entered and shut the door softly behind her. Thankfully, the office was empty except for her father. She sank gratefully into a chair at his gesture, and only then noticed the blood on her own clothing. It was no where near as bad as the damage to Michael’s suit, but still, it wasn’t pretty. She tried to ignore the horrified look in his face.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his face ashen.
She nodded. “It’s not mine,” she assured him, gesturing. “Krys...” She searched for a way to explain. “Krys miscarried. Will said there could be problems with her pregnancy, and he was right. He muttered yesterday about the compression factor of the armor. It may have had something to do with her failure to carry to term.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “‘Failure to carry?’ Are you turning back into an ice-queen before my eyes? Where’s your compassion?”
She looked him dead in the eye, and he could see the bloodshot lines and red rims marking her face like a brand. “If I start crying now, I’ll never stop. Crying for her, crying for Michael, crying for that poor soul who never had a chance.” She was silent a moment, and he could see the tears start to well. “Crying for myself, and what may happen.” Then her resolve broke and she wailed. “Daddy, I’m so scared!” She fell from the chair to her knees, back hunched and face hung down. Wracking sobs filled the room, and all the commander could do was pat her on the back and make reassuring noises.
Finally, she wiped the tears from her face and looked up at him. “I’m selfish, aren’t I? Krys just lost the baby, which she desperately wanted, and I’m worried for myself. ‘Typical Aurora,’ some would say. ‘Just worried about herself.’”
Stargazer shook his head, helping her back up into her chair. “I think you see a lot of yourself in Krys. Young, unmarried and pregnant. Far away from home and your loved ones. And now she’s suffered a fate you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy. “What if it happens to me?’ has got to be running through your head.”
She looked up at him, sniffling. “Daddy, Starlight and I... We can’t marry in the Church. But his people... They have a ceremony of commitment to one person as a life partner. He’s offered to go through it with me. Would you approve?”
“Would it have some meaning for you? I know your mother raised you in the Faith.”
She nodded. “I’ve come to feel that if my belief is valid, then they must all be valid, in some way. I’d feel bound by it.”
He smiled at her fondly. “Then you have my blessing. Tell Starlight he has my permission for you to be together. I’ll leave to details up to you.” He handed her a tissue. “Now tell me exactly what happened.”
Sound came back first. Whispers and murmurs above the steady beep of machinery. Then smells, antiseptic for the most part, with a hint of something metallic underneath. Next taste, her mouth dry and sour, as though the air had been foul. Then she felt the prick of a needle in her arm, the sheet that was drawn up to her chest, and blessed numbness from the waist down. Already, the pain was becoming a blurry memory. Finally she cracked her eyes, and was rewarded with a stab of pain from the bright lights over head. A voice, somewhere above her.
“She’s coming around, Will.” Michael. She’d know his voice anywhere.
“Let me turn down these lights.” A deeper voice. Will, here to help her.
“Give her a sip of this.” Emily. She’d never sounded so... nice before. A gentle hand lifted her head, and she felt a straw at her lips. Greedily, she drank, swallowing water that tasted better than anything she’d had before. She paused for breath and opened her eyes again to be greeted by the sight of most of the team gathered around her bed.
“Didn’t know I was so interesting to watch asleep,” Krys managed weakly.
Aurora chuckled. “We had a poll going on when you’d wake up. That’s what’s so interesting.” For all her light words, to Krysten she looked... haggard, somehow. Tired, maybe, or hurt. “How are you feeling?” Aurora asked.
“Kinda numb, you know? Like I’m not all here.” She tried to prop herself up, and Michael elevated the bed to help her. “What about the baby?”
Will shook his head. “It was too late. There was no way to save it.” He looked at a loss for further words, and just squeezed her hand.
“Krys, You should know. It was a girl,” Aurora said gently.
She was silent a moment, storing the nugget of information about her first-born in her heart. “Can I see her?”
Aurora looked at Will, and he glanced at Emily. Together, they nodded. “I’ll bring her,” said Em. She walked quietly away, and returned with a tiny bundle of blanket. She placed it gently into Krysten’s arms and turned back a corner to reveal perfect miniature features.
Krys sucked in a deep breath. “She’s so pretty.” She looked to Aurora for guidance. “Can I name her?”
Aurora smiled sadly and wiped her eyes. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Why don’t you have Mike help you.” She drifted back from the scene, watching intently.
Michael rested his hand on her shoulder, staring at the tiny face, so composed she could have been sleeping, if not for the pallor and unnatural stillness. She could so easily have been his that he felt pain grip his heart. Never again would he turn Krys away. His fine ideals had come with a price tag he was unwilling to pay and unable to ignore. “What do you want to call her?” he whispered.
“I wanted to borrow your name, if you don’t mind,” she replied.
“Merino?” He couldn’t turn her down. Not now. “If it makes you happy.”
“No. She’ll have my last name. I want to call her Michelle. Diana Michelle Barter.”
“I’d be proud. She would have been a wonderful daughter.”
Oddly enough, things seemed better. At least from Aurora’s perspective, they did. True, Krys and Michael were grieving over the loss of her daughter, but they had each other to lean on. Will had gone to make a report to the commander, and Emily was preparing Diana’s body for the trip to Earth where she would find her resting place. Aurora had persuaded Michael to get some things for Krys from her quarters, and then she’d gone to collect something for Krys to eat. She cleared the locks when she left. The worst was over now, and Jonathan hadn’t seemed a bit interested in the commotion. No reason to think he’d show up now.
The morning’s excitement had not passed the Lieutenant by, however, and he waited patiently for a moment when Krys was alone. One quiet moment to speak with her, and everything would be fine. Waiting patiently, he picked his moment, when it seemed that everyone had left. He slipped in quietly and found Krys quickly. It was obviously almost immediately what had happened, and he felt a twinge in his tight-locked heart. _The poor kid,_ he thought. “You deserved better than this,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, Krys. It just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.” He scooped her hand off the bed. “We would have been fighting all the time over the poor thing, and no child deserves that. I wish it could have been easier for you, though. You didn’t deserve this either.”
“No, she didn’t,” came a brittle voice from the door. “But you know something? You deserve this.” With that, Aurora chucked the tray at Jonathan, hitting him squarely and coating him with oatmeal, juice and milk. The toast clung to him for a moment, then fell to the floor with a plop.
“That was completely uncalled for, Lieutenant,” he stated softly, scraping muck off his shirt. “If you weren’t on leave, I’d have you brought up on assault charges. I suppose I could content myself with filing them as soon as your leave ends.”
She leaned against the door, smiling. “Joke’s on you, then. My leave is open-ended, and I don’t plan on returning here, ever. Any last words for me, Jonathan? I’m leaving very soon.” She caressed her abdomen lightly. “My baby’s father is expecting me soon, and I’d hate to disappoint him.”
Jonathan’s eyes went cold as the ice they resembled. “You are depraved and disgusting, Aurora. I will be glad never to see you again.” He moved past her out the door, and Aurora smiled. One less problem to deal with. She moved into the room and brushed the hair out of Krysten’s face, smiling as her eyes opened.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Back in the land of the living, I see.” She took Krysten’s hand, wrapping it in both of hers to warm it. “i’m going home soon, Krys. Probably today if I can pull it off. I just didn’t want to leave without saying good-bye.”
Krys smiled softly. “I know. You’ve stayed too long already. I’ll be fine. Mike and I... well, we’re getting married eventually. Soon as things get straightened out. Do me something, though?”
“Anything,” Aurora promised. “I swear. Anything. I’ll find a way to make it happen.”
“You’re baby. I want to get a chance to see your baby.”
Aurora smiled, her relief genuine. “Of course you’ll see the baby. You’re the godmother.” She pecked Krys quickly on the forehead. “Get rested, get strong. You’ve got about eight months, then I’ll call. Take care.”
“I will,” Krys promised. “I will.”
Aurora returned quickly to her room and shed her modern clothing. She took advantage of one last hot shower, letting it rinse her clean of the filthy feeling she’d had since confronting Jonathan. Once clean and dry, she slipped into the clothes she’d arrived in, fighting with the tight buttons and leaving the lacing at the back looser than customary. Finally dressed, she slipped into her velvet cloak and covered her braided hair with a light veil. She studied her image carefully, checking to be sure she appeared every inch a noblewoman. Reassured, she rested her palm against the glass, feeling it warm under her fingers.
*Starlight,* she called mentally. *I’m ready, love. Bring me home.*
She heard no response, but in the mirror she could see the glow of a portal forming. Slowly it took shape and solidified, and a hand pushed through from the glow. Aurora took it in her own and moved toward her home, her life, and her love.
*THE END*
My great thanks to Lady Razorsharp. This story was hers some 10 years ago, and she recently allowed me to pull it from the closet and dust it off a bit. I hope it meets your expectations. I know I was floored by parts.
Send comments to: Lady MoonHawke
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