Work Text:
Morning Memories
by J.T. Marechal
She awoke first, as always, to find his arms wrapped around her.
She smiled and nestled back into his arms, remembering . . . .
* * *
". . . and I love you," he had said.
She remained silent, almost in shock. She knew there was a physical attraction between them. Over the last one and a half cycles, they had danced around the issue. Sometimes, during crisis situations, they gave in to that attraction briefly, but when the crisis ended, so did their loss of control. There were so many distractions, too. Since neither of them could admit anything to the other, they pretended there was nothing there, and each had found a few moments of happiness in others' arms. But those always ended for one reason or another.
No. She *knew* what the reason was. She turned to him and said,
"I love you, too, John Crichton."
* * *
John shifted in his sleep a little bit, but only to hug her a bit more securely. He drifted back into sleep without coming fully awake. She knew he needed more sleep than she did, and loved to just rest in his arms like this, remembering their lives.
* * *
The next several weekens were filled with joy as they accepted the inevitable and became the lovers they were destined to be. They explored each others' bodies and each others' pasts. They planned for the future . . . .
"I'm sorry," Zhaan was saying a quarter-cycle later. "I wish I could give you better news, but the tests are conclusive. The two of you cannot have children without the help of a genetic engineer."
"And being on the run," John had said, his voice catching, "we're not likely to find a sympathetic genetic engineer out here in the Uncharted Territories, are we?"
"No." Zhaan was sympathetic, but the word sounded flat and final in her ears.
* * *
Laying in his arms, her smile faded. She knew John had wanted children. For herself, it was unfortunate but no less than she expected. For all their similarities, they were more different from each other than Sebaceans were from Luxans. She wasn't sure she understood the biological explanations of chromosomes and gene-pairs. She just knew that John had been very disappointed by the news. She had seen his darker side before, of course. She'd seen the depression that sometimes came over him, usually after encountering something or someone that
reminded him a bit too keenly of his Earth. But she hadn't been living with him during those times, and she was often surprised at the depths of his emotions, both good and bad.
* * *
John had finally come back to their shared quarters after nearly eight arns. She sat there on the bed and didn't get up as he entered the room. He came to her and sat on the floor in front of her.
"I'm sorry, baby," he said. "I didn't mean what I said about . .. ."
"Then why did you say it?"
He looked at her, the desolation still evident in his pale blue eyes. "I just can't believe she's gone."
"It's been over four weekens. She was *my* friend, too."
"I know. It's just . . . ." He stopped and tried again. "Zhaan was always the steady one. She was my first friend here. Hell, she was over 800 cycles old. I thought for sure that she'd outlive all of us. But . . . ." He bowed his head.
"Shh." She put her hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair. "I forgive you."
John looked up at her again, his eyes wet with unshed tears.
She whacked him playfully on the top of his head with the flat of her hand. "Just don't do it again, John."
John smiled faintly and rose to his knees. He kissed her and said, "Or what?"
She smiled and said, "You don't want to know."
Then there were no more words for a while.
* * *
John began stirring and she knew he was about to awaken. She rose and began to dress. When she turned around, she caught him staring at her appreciatively.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he said, still a bit sleepy.
She smiled, but her reply was interrupted.
"Crichton, Chiana," Aeryn's voice came over the comm badges.
"We're approaching the commerce planet. You'd better get up here. I think the customs official remembers our last visit."
Chiana reached the badge on the bedside table first. "We're coming, Aeryn." She turned to her mate, who had sat up and was putting on his pants. "Ready for a new day, John?"
He let out a yawn and said, "Anything you say, baby."
Chiana smiled as she preceded him out of their quarters. "I'll remind you that you said that . . . tonight."
They laughed and, hand in hand, they headed toward Command.
The End.
Comments, critiques and flames welcome.
(Don't worry. I put on my asbestos clothing *before* I posted this.)