DISCLAIMER: The Star Trek characters
are the property of Twentieth Century Fox, Mutant Enemy, Paramount Studios, Inc
and Viacom. The story contents are the creation and property of Djinn and are
copyright (c) 2004 by Djinn. This story is Rated PG-13.
The Lost Years: Chaos
by Djinn
Kirk watched as Chris
tensed...again. She didn't relax until
they had passed the gang of young toughs who were hooting at her.
"You come this way every
morning?" she asked.
He nodded. "I guess I just blend better."
She glanced over, looking
pointedly at his uniform. "Why,
yes, Admiral Kirk, you do blend in here."
She started to grin.
"What?"
"I think you've got some
sort of glamour thing going."
He laughed, running his hand
over his hair as if smoothing it down.
"Well, I know I'm pretty but..."
She bumped up against him and
he caught her hand. "I mean a
spell, you big goof. That kind of
glamour. So they don't even see the uniform."
He frowned. "New word for me. Where'd you hear it?"
"Lori."
"Before or after you
kissed her?"
"I didn't kiss her this
time."
"Okay. Did she kiss you?" He laughed.
It was a joke...he thought.
"Amazingly not. It was a no-kiss encounter." She gave his hand a squeeze before dropping
it.
He had a feeling she wanted to
have hers free to fight. "Well,
that's a relief. I thought I was going
to have some competition."
"Never that." She smiled softly.
They were getting into
dangerous territory. He sighed, and she
shot him a look. He shook his head and
walked a little faster.
"It's not a crime to
admit what we feel," she said softly.
"But it's not
smart. You know why I can't"--he
saw her look and amended the word--"won't.
And you're going away."
"I don't have to."
He exhaled slowly. "You were the other thing Nogura tempted
me with."
She looked down. "You didn't tell me that."
"I sure didn't, did
I?" He knew his smile was grim.
She looked over at him. "Why not?"
He closed his eyes for a
moment. "Because I think you should
go."
"Oh."
He reached out for her hand
again. "And I want you to
stay."
She stopped walking, turned
to him. "I think you're making this
way too hard on both of us." She
saw his face and held up her hand.
"No. I get to say this. I'll stay.
I'll gladly stay. All you have to
do is say the word." She moved
closer. "Sir? Is the word given?"
He could feel her energy
pushing at him. Had been able to feel it
ever since they'd done the spell to hide the Kirsu ring. It was less intense than right after the
spell, but still there--even their energies were attracted to each other. He took a step back. "No, Chris. The word is not given."
She closed her eyes. "Okay." She swallowed hard then opened her eyes. Her look was cool and professional. The
slayer, not the woman he loved. She
turned and walked away quickly. In the
wrong direction.
He hurried after her, turned
her gently. "This way." He leaned in, checked to see if she was
crying.
"I'm okay." She sounded more resigned than
disappointed. But her eyes looked
suspiciously bright.
"Had to try?"
She shrugged.
He wanted to reach for her
hand but decided it was a bad idea.
"We're almost there," he said softly.
"Good."
He turned into the motel, saw
that Weasel was still in the office.
"That's him."
"Hmm."
He smiled at her tone. "And what does that mean?"
"Just 'hmm.'"
Kirk smiled wider. He'd been trying to figure out what Weasel
would call Chris. He doubted it would be
anything that pleased her. He led her
into the bright office.
Weasel looked up. "Hey, Mac. You're early, why don't you and your friend
go on down to the room." He
grinned. "Maybe you could try to
get through the Caverimics shield while you wait."
Kirk noticed he hadn't looked
at Chris. "Everything okay?"
"What? Oh yeah.
I've got a late arrival coming in who I have to wait for. She won't be long."
"And I should try the
shield, huh?"
"Let's see how much
you've learned." Weasel grinned but
he looked distracted.
"Okay." Kirk turned to Chris. "Room thirty-eight."
She shot Weasel a suspicious
look, then let Kirk push her out of the office.
"What did he mean that he had to wait? Doesn't he have any help?"
Kirk thought back. "Yeah, there's a kid who relieves him at
five."
She checked her chrono. "Well, it's past five now. Where is he?"
Kirk shrugged. "Late, I guess. What's the matter?"
She smiled slightly. "You'll laugh."
"No, I won't."
"Magic--other than
yours--gives me the creeps."
He began to laugh.
"See, I told you you'd
do that. I do know you,
Mister." She grinned at him.
"I know you
do." He stopped at room
thirty-eight. "So you just don't
like magic?"
"No, it makes my skin
crawl. And not in a good way." She laughed.
"Not in a hide the necklace way." Her grin was pure seduction again.
"Chris..." He shook his head as he keyed open the door.
She laughed. She tried to go into the room but he held her
back.
"It's shielded."
She reached out
gingerly. Her hand seemed to be pushed
back. She touched the door again, harder
this time, and her hand was bounced back harder.
"Does that make your
skin crawl?"
She smiled. "I meant the idea of magic more than
coming in contact with it. I guess
because it's the one thing I can't fight."
She reached out again, moving her finger so softly that she could trace
a pattern even as the shield nudged her away.
"To be honest, all I feel is the force pushing me back, not that
it's magic. It could be a regular force
field for all I know."
"Well, let's see if I
can get it open. Watch my back?" he
asked her. He was used to trying this
with Weasel standing behind him.
"Do you even have to
ask?" She moved aside, seemed to
become even more alert than she had been on their walk over. If that was possible.
"Don't want anything to
happen to me?"
"As a matter of fact,
no."
He nodded, turned to the
door. Closing his eyes, he relaxed,
grounded as Weasel had taught him.
Outside like this, he could feel the power of the Earth pulsing
underneath the concrete. The power of
the sky so dark above him. He kept his
eyes closed and tried to feel the energy pattern guarding the door. It slowly came into detail, a web-like series
of tracings pulsing with red and yellow.
This was as far as he'd ever
gotten. Weasel had refused to give him even
a hint of what his next step should be.
He knew he wasn't strong enough to overpower it. The magic would just fight back. He watched the web for a moment, found the
changing colors soothing. Red, yellow,
red, yellow. He let himself fall into
the colors, become the colors.
He was suddenly aware of a
small flare of identical color coming from his hands. He slowly held them up, watched as the colors
changed in tandem with the colors on the shield. He held his hands out, pushed them against
the web and felt it pull away at his touch, leaving an opening big enough for
Chris and him to walk through.
"Chris?" He could feel her turn toward him. "The shield is down, walk through the
middle of the opening, step at least five inches up and keep your head that far
away from the top of the frame.
Eyes still closed, he saw her
walk through the opening, her body nothing more than patterns of light--energy,
her energy at its most basic level. She
was all colors, many of them dark. It
didn't surprise him. He knew how grim
her life had been, supposed that had colored--literally--how she was and who
she was.
He followed her through the
door, then said softly, "Don't turn around. Just hold still for a moment."
He traced her energy,
concentrating on the dark places. Weasel
had said he could tell when something was evil or not. Could he do that? There was darkness inside her, but was it
evil? He relaxed even more, let whatever
had formed the colors coming from his hands have free rein. As he traced the lines of her energy, he
could feel everything about her--bravery, pain, humor, love, and yes,
darkness. But it was not evil, it was
something different. It was the slayer
inside her, the one who brought death to the monsters. But it was also something at odds with the
slayer. Something self-destructive,
something that didn't want to fight anymore.
He wondered if he had read her this way right after she had run away, if
this darkness would have been all he'd have seen. Now it was just a small part of who she
was. The slayer part of her was much
more pervasive.
As was the loving part of
her.
"Um, whatever you're
doing. It feels really
strange." Chris moved restlessly.
"But he's doing a damned
good job of it," Weasel said behind them.
"Guess you figured out what I meant?"
Kirk opened his eyes, saw
that Chris had already turned, her look guarded, even wary. He could tell that she didn't trust Weasel.
Weasel had turned to the
door, was building the shields back up.
He glanced over at Kirk and grinned.
"Nice job on the shield by the way.
You could have built it back the same way from this side. A handy thing to know if you ever need to get
in without someone noticing the lock's been jimmied." He winked at Chris.
Kirk glanced over at her; her
look was grim.
"Tough room." Weasel laughed to himself. "Don't like me much, do you,
Missy?"
Kirk held back laughter at
the name. That one was sure to piss her
off.
"Name's Christine."
"Yeah, well, Mac here
will tell you, I have issues with names."
He turned away from the door, got close--too close--to Chris. "You can relax. I'm on your side."
She didn't move. "That remains to be seen. Who was it you were waiting for?"
"That's none of your
business."
She stepped closer, their
noses were nearly touching. "I'm
the local slayer. That makes it my
business."
Weasel glanced over at
Kirk. "You really like your chicks
this aggressive? Me, I prefer something
a little softer." He looked back at
her. "There's a non-violence spell
in effect here. You can't start
anything." He grasped her arms,
moved her back a bit, then stepped around her.
"You are one ballsy
man," Kirk muttered as he followed Weasel down the staircase to the
workroom.
"It's like with a
dog. You can't show any fear,"
Weasel said, loud enough for Chris to hear from behind Kirk.
"Generally speaking,
it's bad policy to goad a dog," Chris said, in an equally loud voice that
carried to Weasel. "Or a
slayer."
"Hon, do you get along
with anyone?" Kirk glanced back at
her and winked.
She rolled her eyes.
"And you," Kirk
said, as he touched Weasel on the shoulder.
"Quit baiting my friend."
"Why'd you bring her
again?"
Kirk knew Weasel had not
forgotten that they needed her help with the spell he wanted to use against
David. Weasel never forgot anything,
much less something so out of the ordinary.
Weasel pointed to the
comfortable chair. "Sit,
missy."
"She's not going to be
very helpful if you continue to antagonize her." Kirk looked at Chris's face. Her expression was tight, uncomfortable.
"Well then, what's a
good name? Doll? Babe?
Should I call her Hon like you do?"
"Try Slayer if you can't
use my name." Chris glared at
Weasel, but the look seemed to include Kirk.
"Slayer it
is." Weasel picked up the small
glass ball he and Kirk had been working on.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Looks like an orb. I don't have much luck with those."
Kirk noticed she made no move
to touch it, barely looked at it.
"Yes. I understand that's true."
Chris glared at Kirk.
"He didn't tell me,
Tolvar did. We were gossiping at lunch
one day." Weasel laughed. "It's an orb all right. But not the kind you're used to. It's called an Orb of Thesulah. They used to be quite rare. Until it was discovered that the family that
made them was keeping the quantity low to increase demand and price. They were 'persuaded' to increase
production." He rubbed the clear
glass ball gently, and a dim light began to form, followed by some kind of
smoky vapor that began to swirl inside the orb.
"What does it do?"
Weasel glanced at Kirk. "You didn't tell her?"
"You said I
shouldn't."
"But I wasn't sure you'd
follow that instruction." Weasel
gave him a pleased smile. "I'm
proud of you, Mac. And not sure how you
got her to come without a better explanation than 'just because.'"
Chris stared up at him, her
face stony. "He said
'please.'"
"Ah." Weasel handed Kirk the orb, then knelt down
in front of Chris. "I know you
don't trust me, or even particularly like me.
But your friend does, and you're going to have to trust his
instincts. Can you do that?"
She stared at him for a long
moment, then nodded slowly.
"Grudging but still the
right answer." Weasel reached for her
hands, moving slowly, deliberately, as if Chris was a dog who might bite
him. "We're using the Orb to
conjure something that might stop your vampire long enough for you to use your
weapon. It was your friend's idea and
it's a good one. Unfortunately, he
doesn't have enough memories to properly build the image."
"Image?"
"Of the girl we want to
conjure."
Chris looked up at Kirk. "Laura?"
He nodded.
"Why didn't you want him
to tell me?"
Weasel had his eyes
closed. "Because she is fresh now,
fresh in your mind and you have no chance to overthink this." He let go of her hands, reached out for the
globe.
Kirk set it gently in his
hand, and Weasel put it in Chris's hand, then closed her other one over
it. He then stepped to her side, nodding
at Kirk to take the other side. He put
one hand on Chris's head, the other on top of her hands. Kirk did the same.
"Close your eyes. Remember her.
Think of her. Any memory that
catches your fancy. What she looked
like. What she sounded like. How she acted."
Kirk could feel the orb
heating up, even with his hand on the outside of theirs. He could hear snatches of Laura's laugh, see
her red hair shining in the sun, saw it the last time, matted and covered with
the blood of slayers and the dust of vampires.
He heard a sob, realized it was from Chris.
He started to let go but
Weasel said softly, "No. Let her
feel it."
Kirk had a vivid image, Laura
lying on Chris's bed in her quarters on the Enterprise, a mischievous look on
her face. Then she gave Chris a warm hug
before jumping into the portal.
Then the scene changed. Laura wasn't smiling anymore. She was lying on the ground, her insides
leaking into the bloodstained fields.
She was brave, so brave.
Dying. She died, holding tightly
to Chris's hand.
He suddenly felt a twinge of
pain--from the orb.
"She's squeezing too
hard. She'll shatter it. Make her stop," Weasel said.
"Chris?" Kirk began to stroke her hair, never breaking
the connection between them as he let his hand roam, trying to reach her. He slid his other hand lower, so he could get
to her without Weasel's hand in the way.
"Chris. It's okay. Ease up on the orb. They're just memories. It's over."
She took a ragged gasp of
air, and her eyes flew open. She stared
down at the orb like it was some kind of parasite. "Get it off of me."
Kirk's tightened his grasp on
her hand, afraid that she'd throw the thing away from her. "It's okay." He turned her head toward him, ran his hand
down her cheek. "It's okay,
Chris. You're on Earth, not on Vega
Hydra."
She was breathing hard, as if
she'd fought an army of vampires. Why
had he thought this was a good idea?
Losing Laura must have been part of what made her run. What the hell had he been thinking?
"Let go, Mac,"
Weasel said, gently prying Chris's hands from the Orb. The thing seemed stuck to her skin.
"Get it off," she
said again.
Weasel worked it free, then
carried it to the table, setting it on a stand.
He said a few words over it and the smoke disappeared, and the
light--much brighter now than it had been--faded away.
Kirk knelt down. Chris was shuddering and her eyes were
unfocused, filled with some deep horror.
A tear ran down her cheek. Then
another.
"Here," Weasel
said, his voice much gentler than it had been.
"This will warm her up."
He wrapped a throw around her shoulders.
Kneeling down, he took her hands in his, began to chafe them. "It's okay, Christine. You did very well." He looked up at Kirk. "You didn't tell me the girl practically
died in her arms."
"I didn't know. I was with Spock." Kirk looked down. What had he done?
Chris was still shaking. Weasel pulled her gently to her feet, then
looked at Kirk. "Sit
down." Once he sat, Weasel pushed
Chris into his arms. "Hold
her. Warm her up." He tucked the throw around her, found another
blanket and put it over her legs.
"I'm going to make her something hot to drink.
Kirk pulled her close, felt
her arms steal round his neck. She
seemed to relax, nestled closer to him, sobbing now.
"Sweetheart, I'm
sorry. I'm an idiot. I should have warned you."
Weasel looked over at
him. "If it makes you feel any
better, we got what we needed in spades.
Nothing wrong with her ability to visualize." He smiled grimly, then went back to the herbs
he was mixing.
Kirk stroked her hair,
pulling her closer to him. She'd stopped
shaking and pulled away a little to look at him. Her look was so haunted, so deeply hurt. He leaned in, his lips soft on hers. He only meant to kiss her gently. A friendly kiss. A comforting kiss. But she pulled him closer and her lips were
cold and he wanted to warm them up. The
kiss deepened, their mouths opened, and he began to rub her back, his hand
moving up under her uniform top.
"Well, that's one way to
warm her up, Mac. You want to use the
room upstairs?"
Kirk pulled away slowly.
Chris was staring at him, her
eyes no longer quite so lost, but not completely normal yet. She leaned in, kissed him gently, then said
softly, "He doesn't want to use the room."
Kirk thought he had never
heard her sound more sad.
She sighed and cuddled back
against him, whispering, "You might want to move your hand?"
He pulled it out from under
her top.
Weasel walked over with the
tea, handing it to her before laying his hand on her forehead. She didn't seem to mind his touch but she
didn't look at him.
He turned her chin gently so
she had to meet his eyes. "I am
sorry. If I'd known how powerful this
would be, I'd have prepared you for it."
She took a breath, the sound
was still ragged. "Maybe it's
better that you didn't. For it to work
with David, it's going to have to be the real thing."
He smiled, let go of her
face. "This is true." He glanced over at the orb. "Tomorrow, Mac, we'll work on how you're
going to use it."
"Why can't you do
it?" Chris asked. "You're the
big magician, right?"
Weasel smiled at her. "I
can't. Your buddy here has to do
it."
She looked at Kirk, then back
at Weasel. "But why?"
Kirk suddenly wondered why he
hadn't asked that.
"Because I can't."
"But you're his
teacher. You're more powerful. You can."
Kirk had a feeling she was
glaring at Weasel, giving him the slayer stare.
Weasel sat down on a stool,
stared at the floor. "I can do
magic here. At the motel. But nowhere else."
"That's bull," Kirk
said. "That morning in the
morgue. With Carl. You did--"
"--I did nothing. You did it, Mac. I just told you what to do." Weasel shook his head. "I'd be no use to you at all out
there." He laughed, the sound was
extraordinarily bitter. "Here's
some free advice: Never piss off The
Powers That Be."
"I don't
understand," Kirk said.
Weasel waved his arms around,
seemed to be encompassing more than the room.
"This place is a dimensional way station. I'm the station master. I have been ever since I thought I didn't
need to listen to the Powers. They
showed me. They put me in charge of this
rat trap." He grinned at Kirk. "Yeah, you sure called it."
"And you can't do magic
outside of it?"
Weasel shook his head. "If I want to wield magic, I have to do
it here. I have extremely limited reach
outside the motel--a couple of meters or so."
"So you're
trapped?" Chris asked.
"I can leave anytime I
want. But I'm normal out there, worse
than normal. I'm diminished." He stood up.
"I've got to go check on that new arrival. She can be a bit tetchy."
"Who are they? These arrivals?"
Weasel smiled. "Beings in need of a little rest. Working for the powers. They're safe as long as they're here. Free to relax, let down their guard and sleep,
take a swim, whatever the motel offers...which admittedly isn't much. But sometimes clean sheets and not having to
be afraid are more than enough to make a vacation." He stood, walked over to them. "Drink up," he told her.
She finished her tea, handed
him the cup. "Thanks."
He touched her hair. "I am sorry."
She nodded, watched him as he
walked out. Kirk ran his finger along
her cheek and smiled when she turned to look at him.
"I'm sorry too."
She nodded. "I know you'd never hurt me
intentionally. You just didn't think to
ask."
"I should have."
"He told you not
to."
Kirk nodded. Yes, Weasel had told him not to, and he'd
followed his instructions blindly. Was
that good?
Chris shook her head. "It's done, Jim. Just hold me until I'm warm again?"
He nodded, tucked the throw
around her more securely.
"It was a nice
kiss," she said softly.
When he looked at her, she
grinned.
"You must be feeling
better," he said, unable to work much of a smile up himself. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't have
been feeing bad in the first place.
She nodded, closing her eyes
and relaxing against him.
He held her, watched her
sleep until it was time for him to wake her up.
His leg fell asleep and his arms ached, but it seemed a small price to
pay after what he'd put her through.
Christine glared at Uhura as
she tried to keep up with her. "Why
are you here, Ny?"
"Because our good friend
and former boss said he was worried about you.
And Nogura called a late meeting, or he'd be here too." Uhura sighed.
She didn't like this any better than Christine did. "You do seem a bit on edge."
"Really?" Christine seemed about to say more, then
suddenly turned, scanning back the way they had come.
"What is it?"
Christine shook her
head. "Something's out here with
us."
Uhura looked around. "Wharton?"
Christine shook her
head. "Not him. Not a vampire." She frowned.
"It's weird. I get a feeling
like we're being watched, and then it goes away." She stared at the bushes, as if willing
something to rise up out of them.
Footsteps sounded on the
walkway behind them and they both turned.
A young woman was coming toward them, holding a bunch of dead flowers in
her hand.
Uhura could see Christine
tense.
"What are you
doing?" her friend asked the girl.
"Visiting a grave. What do you think I'm doing?" The young woman dumped the dead flowers into
a bin. "Who died and made you queen
of the cemetery?"
The girl was only about
sixteen, Uhura decided. But she was
wearing a lot of makeup and looked older.
The look worked until she opened her mouth. Her attitude screamed bratty teenager.
Christine suddenly pulled out
a cross and laid it against the girl's bare arm.
Her skin didn't sizzle.
She looked down at the cross,
shot Christine a look rife with disgust, and jerked her arm away. "You are a freak, lady." She hurried down the path toward the
entrance.
"Well, she sure summed
up my existence. I'm a freak." Christine shoved the cross back in her
pocket. She sighed. Then she looked off to her side. "Now, it's David."
"Where?" Uhura looked around but saw nothing.
"In the bushes, to the
left of that rhododendron." The
light colored flowers glowed white in the lamplight. "Hello, David. We see you."
Uhura still couldn't see him,
not until he stepped out of the bushes.
"Hello, Christine. Ah and
Nyota, isn't it? I'm sorry I had to
leave our last meeting so hastily."
"I'm not."
He laughed. "I do like you. Are you seeing anyone currently? Because if not, I'd love to get my name on
your dance card."
"I'm seeing
someone. And I don't dance."
"Pity." Wharton smiled; it was a calculated
smile. "Where is he, by the
way? Your beau?"
Uhura could feel her face
fall. Len had been due back in a few
days, but he'd called earlier to tell her he was extending. M'Benga needed him; the sick and wounded
needed him. She hadn't asked him if it
mattered that she needed him. He
wouldn't be home until just before she was due to ship out. She'd been hard pressed to find a logical
reason why he should give up doing something that made him feel good. Something that helped so many others. Especially when she was leaving him very
soon. So she'd said she understood. But it still hurt.
"Hit a nerve, did
I?"
Christine looked at her,
confused.
Uhura shook her head. "I'll tell you later." She glared at Wharton. "It's none of your business."
"Too bad. I'd love it to be. You're a very exciting woman."
Christine shot her a look
laced with some dark amusement. "I
don't know whether to be jealous or not?"
"Not." Uhura said.
"You know Dracula had
his many wives, I'd be happy to reinvigorate that tradition. You two would be a wonderful
start." He laughed. "Maybe we can add that cute little
werewolf." He made a growling
noise.
Christine shook her
head. "I think not."
Uhura forced her thoughts
back from the naughty place they'd just gone and realized Christine was staring
at her. "Right. Not interested."
Wharton laughed. "So I assume you aren't just out here
for your health? Looking for me, were
you?" He leaned in, a conspiring look
on his face. "Or were you looking
for a vampire you could actually slay?"
"Haven't seen many of
your fledglings lately, David. You run
out of bad guys to turn?"
He shrugged. "I'm not the cold blooded killer you
deem me, Christine. It pains me to think
that you hold me in such disregard."
"Right." Christine touched her pocket, as if
reassuring herself that the stake was still in there.
Uhura knew she had one of the
phasers Kirk had insisted they all start carrying in her other pocket.
"Besides," Wharton
said with a smile. "There are
plenty of older vampires around for you to take on." His smiled turned mocking. "We've gone over why they're here."
Uhura looked at Christine,
her turn to be confused.
"There aren't any other
slayers here, David. Emma told me."
"And Emma is such a
tower of truth." He grinned at
Uhura, as if the two of them were in on some big joke. "Her watcher is nothing like the other
watchers, you see. She'd never lie to
Christine."
"I trust her."
"And we've been over
this, Christine." Wharton was
walking backwards as Christine advanced.
Uhura followed along, feeling
a bit helpless to fully understand the dynamic between these two.
Wharton spun around, pulling
out a stake as he did it. "Time to
pull out that pretty crossbow, my dear."
Christine didn't even argue
with him. Uhura thought that was a bad
sign, knew she was right when she saw four vampires moving across the lawn
toward them.
Wharton turned to her,
"Do you have a stake?"
She nodded, pulled it out.
"I hope you know how to
use it."
She grinned as bravely as she
could. It had been a long time since
she'd admitted to anyone that she was afraid.
It still embarrassed her that, when she was younger, she'd seemed to
have no internal censor. "I can
hold my own." Her words came out a
lot ballsier than she felt.
"Just stay back,"
Christine said. "Let us handle
it."
"Not a problem,"
Uhura muttered, backing up against a tree.
Christine loaded a bolt in
the crossbow, let it fire. The vampire
dodged and it caught him in the shoulder.
He screamed in pain but didn't stop walking.
Christine loaded another
bolt.
Wharton looked over at
her. "Losing your touch,
darling?"
"Oh, shut up. You should have seen the shot I made a few
nights ago."
"I did." He smiled, an odd smile. "It was
beautiful."
Christine seemed about to say
something but the vampires charged. She
and Wharton met them, arms and legs flying out in hard punches and kicks. The smallest vampire tried to rush around
Wharton, toward Uhura, but Wharton tripped him, kicking him hard in the ribs
even as he dodged a bone-crushing kick from one of the others.
Christine knocked her vampire
off his feet, followed him down and was about to stake him when the vampire
she'd shot kicked her off his buddy. She
turned the fall into a roll, was up to meet him as he charged at her. She kicked high, inhumanly high, jamming the
crossbow bolt in deeper. He roared with
pain again as she landed on her feet.
Her stake flashed and he exploded into dust.
But the one she'd thrown to
the ground was rising and he didn't turn back to Christine, he rushed
Uhura. Christine saw him take off, was
about to go after him when the smallest vampire also headed toward Uhura. Wharton was too busy to stop him, so
Christine went in pursuit.
Which left Uhura to handle
the one headed her way. She pulled out
her stake, held it the way Christine had shown her. But the vampire stopped before he got too
close. "You're no slayer. You don't smell right."
"You're not one to complain
about smell, mister." She held up
the stake. "I do know how to use
this."
He moved in, and she tried to
follow him but he was too fast. She
brought the stake down, and felt it bite into flesh. Unfortunately, it was the flesh of his arm. He pulled the stake out and tossed it behind
her.
"No more
stakes?" He laughed. His breath nearly knocked her over as he
grabbed her, pulling her in for the bite.
"Something
better." She grabbed her phaser,
held it to his shirt like Kirk had said to do.
And watched as it caught fire.
She pulled away from him.
The vampire screamed, hitting
the ground and rolling. As the flames
went out, she turned to look for her stake.
It was just at the edge of the grass, and she leapt for it as the
vampire yelled at her. Her fingers
touched the stake and she picked it up, managing to turn as he fell onto her,
and directly onto the stake.
He was dust. And the dust was settling all over her. She coughed.
"Oh, god, that's disgusting."
She saw Christine and Wharton walking up, and pushed herself to a
sitting position. "Well, that
wasn't fun."
Christine helped her up, gave
Wharton a warning look when he reached down also. "I can take care of her."
"Nice move with
this," Wharton said, bending down and handing Uhura the phaser she hadn't
even been aware she'd dropped.
"We're not just
whittling stakes anymore, David."
Christine shot him a look.
"No. I don't imagine you are." He smiled at Christine. The smile was an odd one, seeming to be a mixture
of pride and caution.
"We will take you
down. Unless you give this
up." She moved closer, was about to
touch his arm but seemed to think better of it.
"You're more than this vendetta."
He laughed. "No, I'm not. I was a watcher, after all." He smiled fondly at Christine, then turned to
Uhura. "My dear, it was wonderful
to see you again. If you'd ever like to
have coffee..."
Christine turned Uhura toward
the path home. "She would not like
to. Not ever."
"A great
pity." Wharton threw them both a
courtly bow. "You go home now. I'll patrol tonight." For a moment he appeared gawky, and unsure.
Uhura finally understood how
Christine could have been fooled. Once
he was gone, she said, "So that's what Thompson was like?"
Christine nodded. Then she looked at her, started to
laugh. "He sure does seem taken
with you. If I thought it would make any
difference, I might use you against him."
Uhura nodded. "You would too. You'd leave me all helpless with him. Alone with his vampire awfulness."
Christine laughed
harder. "Yeah, black hair and deep
blue eyes being such a hardship."
She touched Uhura's arm.
"You did great, by the way."
She pulled out her phaser.
"I thought Jim was nuts when he wanted us to carry these. Now I can't wait to try beheading a vamp with
it."
"Okay, I could have
lived without hearing that." Uhura
shook her head. "Can we go back to
talking about Mister Tall, Deadly, and Handsome?"
"Why, Miss Uhura,"
Christine said with an exaggerated southern accent. "What would Doctor McCoy think?"
Uhura could feel her face
fall again.
"Ny?"
"He's not coming
back. Not for months."
Christine sighed. "I'm sorry."
Uhura shrugged. "I can't blame him. I'm going away and he's making a huge
difference. But I miss him, you
know?"
Christine nodded. She put her arm around Uhura's shoulder,
pulled her close. "Men are so
dumb."
Uhura just nodded, didn't
want to let Christine know she was crying softly.
Christine's arm tightened
around her. "So goddamned
dumb."
-------------------------------------
Christine took another kick
at the punching bag, then turned to watch Emma pace. "Are you going to tell me what Silver
has planned?"
Emma reached into the chest
of weapons, drew out a battle axe.
"No."
"Unless you get a shot
at David's head, that won't work against him.
Not if he's wearing body armor."
"I know." Emma slammed the axe back down. It made a loud crashing sound as it hit the
other weapons, and Emma closed her eyes as if in pain.
"Emma?"
She shook her head. '"It's just another migraine,
Christine. Stop worrying."
"When this is all over,
I'm going to do a full work up on you."
Emma turned to look at
her. "Yes, fine. When this is all over." There was something odd in her expression, something
dodgy.
"Emma, what the hell is
wrong?"
"Other than the
homicidal maniac who wants me and my colleagues dead, you mean?"
Christine turned back to the
punching bag. "Yeah, other than
that." She took a solid swing.
Emma came around to the other
side, held the bag in place for her.
"I'm sorry. I'm
just..."
"Scared?"
Emma looked away.
"It's not wrong to admit
that you're frightened." Christine
shook her head at her watcher's look of stubbornness. "I won't think you're weak. Just human."
Emma sighed. "Oh, I'm human, all right." She shook her head. "Mortal."
"Yes. It's what separates us from the toothy
menaces we fight, remember? Human,
mortal. Vampire, immortal."
"I see you were paying
attention to some of your early lessons."
Christine laughed. "Roger wasn't tolerant of my goofing
off." She sighed. Roger hadn't been tolerant, period.
"Did you love
him?" Emma held a hand up. "I mean as more than a friend."
Christine thought about
it. "Roger was never my friend,
Emma."
"But you cared for
him?"
Christine shrugged, turned
away from the punching bag and sat on the mat to stretch. Emma sat down near her.
Christine sighed. "After Anticles killed Marcus, after I hunted
Anticles down and killed him for it, I was lost."
"Like you were this
time?"
Christine thought about
that. "No, I think this time was
worse because I'd been there before."
"I can see
that." Emma waited for her to
continue. Finally said, "Go on."
"I'd been a good slayer,
fairly obedient, which I'm sure is hard for you to believe." She laughed
at Emma's expression. "Until I met
Marcus, I didn't question things. I just
did what Roger told me. Maybe because my
own father wasn't very strong, it was nice to have a watcher father to take his
place. I always knew where I stood with
Roger. If he was displeased, there was
no doubting it."
She sighed. It was so hard to balance what she knew now
about Roger's role in the Cruciamentum with the kind if strict watcher, and
later the tender lover, she'd known.
"He was the one who urged me to try for college, he helped guide my
curriculum."
Emma raised an eyebrow,
"Yes, into exactly the field that would keep you in his orbit."
Christine looked down. "I guess."
Emma made a funny noise, and
Christine looked up.
"You do realize that as
a father figure, he should not have taken your relationship further? To one of romance, of sex." Emma shook her head. "It's deeply frowned upon by the
council. I can't begin to tell you what
an abomination it is. To betray that
level of trust, to take it that direction--"
"--I was hurt and he
took care of me. I wanted to hunt
Anticles down and he helped me--he found out where the vampires were in direct
defiance of the council's orders. He
waited for me to come back, sure that I would return. And I did.
I know you think it's wrong, but at some point, he fell in love with
me. And I was grateful for that
love." She looked down again. "I was never in love with him
though. I just wanted to forget. To be taken care of for once, not to have to
be the one doing the protecting. He
offered me sanctuary, and I took it."
She laughed as she met Emma's eyes.
"And then he disappeared. So
much for my sanctuary."
"The ship became your
sanctuary while you searched for him, didn't it?"
Christine nodded. She knew what came next. "And Spock." She sighed.
"The bond was the ultimate sanctuary."
"Yes, it was." Emma lay back on the mats, massaging her
temples. "What was it like?"
Christine took a deep
breath. "It was the most intimate
touch, the most reassuring love. When we
first bonded, I couldn't tell which part of what I was feeling was really me
and which was Spock. It was
unimaginable. To touch from within, to
reach out and not just feel him reach back but to feel him encompass me with
his love, his concern. I know he kept me
sane just before the Gotterdammerung. I
was teetering."
Emma nodded. "It must have been wonderful."
"It was." Christine wiped at her eyes. When had she started to cry?
"Why did you run
away?"
Christine didn't answer.
"Why didn't you want it
back?"
"I did. But I was afraid."
"Afraid of
what?" Emma closed her eyes, laid
her hand over them as if to block out the small amount of light coming through
her lids.
"Afraid of losing that
closeness again. Afraid I wouldn't be
able to handle it, not after the orb."
"There has to be more to
it than that." Emma opened her
eyes, squinted at her. "Were you
afraid you'd drown in it?"
Christine looked away.
"It was forever, wasn't
it?"
Christine nodded.
"Who's your sanctuary
now, Christine?" Emma sat up,
stared hard at her. "Who keeps you
safe?"
Christine began to
smile. "I don't have a
sanctuary. I have friends."
Emma patted her hand. "Very good, my dear." She leaned back again, closing her eyes. "Although the bond sounds nice in some
ways. I imagine the sex was
amazing."
"It was."
Emma nodded. "Vulcans always seem so stodgy."
"Coming from tweed-woman
that's really saying something."
Emma stuck her tongue
out. "I've had quite a nice sex
life, thank you very much."
"Well, so have most
Vulcans I've met." Christine
studied her watcher for a moment.
"It must feel like such a betrayal.
That it's David, I mean. You
loved him."
"Yes. I did."
Emma pushed herself to her feet.
"I'm hungry. Aren't
you?" She pulled Christine to her
feet. "Let's go out."
"Now?"
"To hell with
David. I want to eat out."
"It's not a good idea,
Emma."
Emma glared at her. "I don't care. I'm sick of being trapped inside these
walls." She hurried up the stairs.
Christine was right behind
her. As Emma got to the door, was about
to open it, Christine pulled her back.
"No, Emma. No."
Emma's lip was
trembling. "I'm going to go crazy
if I have to stay in here."
"I'll stay here with
you. We'll order some food in, all
right?"
Emma seemed to be
shaking. "I want to go out. I need fresh air."
"Tomorrow. When it's light. You can spend the whole day out. Just stay in now, yes?"
Their eyes met, and a battle
of wills seemed to be fought in their stare.
Finally, Emma looked away.
"Yes. Of course, you're right." Emma seemed to stand straighter; she walked
slowly upstairs toward the comm unit.
"What are you in the mood for?
Chinese?"
"Chinese is fine. Whatever you want."
Emma shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore." She closed her eyes for a moment, then she
dialed up the menu for the nearest Chinese restaurant.
----------------------
Kirk was just getting ready
to leave for the day when Commander Hall commed him. "Sir, there is a Lieutenant Chekov
holding for you."
"Put him
through." Kirk waited for a moment,
then said, "Pavel? Tell me you've
got something to show me?"
"Aye, sir. Can you meet us in firing range
fourteen?"
"Us?"
Sulu's voice came over the
comm. "Pav didn't think you would
mind reinforcements, sir."
Kirk smiled. "Two heads are better than one. I can be there in twenty minutes."
"Affirmative. Chekov out."
Kirk shut off his lights and
walked into the anteroom. He nodded at
his aide. "Good night,
Commander."
Hall nodded, busy composing
something on his terminal.
Kirk stopped. "What made you take this assignment,
Hall?"
"Sir?"
"Why are you here? In admin?"
Hall smiled. The expression looked genuine. "Sir, I'd scrub the floors if it meant
serving under you."
Kirk waved the compliment
away. The answer didn't help him
much. It was exactly what someone would
say if they were trying to appear to not be a spy. "And you feel fulfilled in this
assignment?"
Hall's smile was less
bright. "Sir, permission to speak
freely?"
"Granted."
"You don't appear to
trust me."
"What gives you that
idea?"
"You don't talk to me
much. I don't feel as though I know you
any better now than when I started here.
It's a bit disconcerting."
Kirk pursed his lips. "I'm sorry if I've made it seem I don't
trust you. I'll try to do better."
Hall's smile was brilliant,
but Kirk thought he saw a small note of triumph in the expression.
He hated not being able to
trust his own aide. With a sigh, he
nodded goodnight and went out into the late afternoon sunshine. The walk to the firing range was short and
the day was pleasant.
He pulled out his communicator
and paged Chris. She didn't answer, and
he got her service. He decided not to
leave a message.
He felt the small box in his
pocket jab him in the ribs. He moved it
slightly, so that it wouldn't poke him.
The box was well-padded inside to keep the orb safe. Kirk yawned; he was still tired from what
Weasel had shown him that morning.
Although the spell seemed easy enough to execute, it was the prep work
that had taken time. If he was going to
be the one to use the spell, he had to put on the final touches. It had been exhausting...and exhilarating,
like most of the work he did with Weasel.
The firing range came into
view and he walked in, nodding to the ensign on duty. "Range fourteen?" he asked.
"Down that way, sir,
third door from the end."
"Thanks."
"My pleasure, Admiral
Kirk." The ensign smiled, a smile
full of hero worship. Another fan.
Kirk still found it hard to
get used to the idea that kids like the ensign were studying his exploits. Using them as discussion springboards in
their Academy classes. It made him feel
good--and old.
Range fourteen had the
privacy lock on it. He rang the buzzer,
stood in front of the ID slot.
The door opened. "Come in, sir." Sulu said, peeking
into the corridor before closing the door again.
"Expecting someone,
Hikaru?"
Sulu smiled. "No.
But better safe than sorry."
Kirk laughed. "Why?
We're not doing anything wrong."
He looked at Chekov. "Are
we?"
"Making a new weapon is
irregular, sir."
"But not unheard
of." Kirk grinned.
"Well. No."
Chekov gestured toward the end of the range. "I hope that fits the specs?"
Kirk looked down the
range. A mannequin, in body armor, stood
roughly fifteen meters away.
"That's the ticket."
"Sir." Sulu looked concerned. "You're not going to be using this on
people, are you?"
"Well, not people in the
normal sense of the word."
Chekov smiled knowingly. "I told you this has something to do
with Christine. And the vampires we're
not supposed to know about." He
looked at Kirk. "Isn't that right,
sir?"
"Something like
that." He grinned. "So, show me how this works."
Chekov hefted the weapon, it
was a little smaller than a phaser rifle.
"Sorry, sir. We tried to
make it smaller but we couldn't get the thrust we needed on the thermite rocket."
Sulu nodded. "We wanted it to be something you could
carry without being noticed." He
held up a violin case that had been modified on the inside to hold the gun. "Next best thing?"
Kirk laughed. "I'm a little old to be taking up
orchestra." He nodded. "But good idea."
Chekov hit a switch and
pulled open a compartment in the middle of the gun. "This is where you load your
ammo." He reached into another bag,
pulled out a very small rocket.
"This goes here. Pointy end
facing out."
Kirk shot him a look.
Sulu shook his head.
"I'm sorry, sir. I am used to dealing with idiots."
Kirk laughed. "No need to apologize, Mister
Chekov. Pointy end out. What next?"
Chekov closed up the hatch,
then hit a switch. The machine began to
hum. "We wait for the weapon to
charge. The launch feature is dependent
on the weapon being fully powered up."
"How long does that
take?"
"Two minutes max. Depends on how much charge is
remaining."
Kirk nodded. "I can pre-charge?"
Sulu nodded. "It takes ten seconds to reach firing
stage when fully charged."
A light on the side of the
weapon turned from red to green, and the hum changed to a low whine. "It's ready," Chekov said, hefting
it to his shoulder. "Point it where
you want it to go. We have laser sights,
as you can see on the target."
Kirk looked, a small red dot
illuminated the heart of the body armor.
"Or you can turn it
off." Chekov showed him the
switch. "It's a squeeze
trigger. Not terribly sensitive, but
there's a bit of a kick. My shoulder is
sore from our preliminary tests."
He put the weapon down, turned it off and took the ammo out. "You try, sir."
Kirk loaded it up, turned it
on, and waited for the light to go on.
"Ready or not..." He
lifted the weapon to his shoulder. He left
the laser site on, letting it show him where Wharton's heart would be. Then he
turned it off. No need to give Wharton
any warning. And he was going to have to
be able to target it by eye. "Just
squeeze?"
"It helps to hold your
breath," Sulu said. "And be
ready for the kick."
Kirk took a deep breath,
sighted again to make sure he was where he wanted to be, and squeezed the
trigger gently. The weapon fired, the
gun kicked hard into his shoulder, and the rocket flew down the range. It hit the body armor, dug in enough to
puncture it, then the thermite warhead exploded, causing a bigger hole in the
armor. Fire broke out, burning deep into
the mannequin but none of the chemical mixture fell to the floor.
"Stays where you put
it," Kirk said with satisfaction.
Chekov smiled. "I should think on a vampire"--he
waited for Kirk's look, smiled when he got it--"it will burn faster. They seem to be fire averse?"
Kirk looked down at the
gaping hole in the body armor, just over where the heart would be. "Even if it doesn't, we've got ourselves
an opening. And that's what we didn't
have before."
Sulu took the weapon from him
and placed it in the violin case. There
was room for three rockets, and he set those in and shut the case. "The rockets aren't particularly
flammable under normal circumstances.
You need something thermite hot or hotter to light the mix we came up
with."
"This is great."
"We did our best,
sir."
Kirk smiled. "And your best is damned good."
They both grinned.
Sulu handed Kirk the other
bag. "More ammo. In case you need it."
Kirk took it but he had a
feeling they'd get one shot, maybe two, if they were lucky. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to keep the
weapon around. In case some vampire
friend of David's came to call once Chris was gone.
He felt a pang. Forced himself to say it again in his
head. Once Chris was gone. She was leaving. She'd be on his ship with these two and Uhura
and Scotty. And he'd be stuck here.
His look must have reflected
his thoughts because Sulu said gently, "Sir? Are you all right?"
Kirk nodded. "Just fine." He slung the strap for the violin case over
his shoulder, hefted the ammo over the other one. "I feel like a pack mule." He grinned at them. "Thank you."
Chekov said, "It was
nothing, sir."
Sulu nodded.
"It was everything. To know I can count on you." He smiled.
"Enjoy yourselves on my ship," he said as he pushed the door
button to get out. "Don't let
Decker run her into a planet."
"Well, Hikaru will be
steering, so it will be his fault, sir."
Chekov laughed at Sulu's expression.
Kirk stared at them a moment,
then smiled. "I had the finest crew
a captain could want." Then he
turned and hurried away.
Christine was about to leave on
patrol when her chime rang. She
smiled. Only one person could get
through the security screener at the front door on his own. She opened her door and laughed when she saw
the violin case Jim was carrying.
"Taking up music in your spare time?"
"Funny." He set the case and another bag down and
pulled her into a hug.
She let herself relax against
him. "Not that I don't love this,
but what's the occasion?"
He kissed her neck, then
pulled away. "I still feel bad
about that damn spell."
She shrugged. "Did it work?"
He nodded, patted his
pocket. "One orb ready for
action."
"Then it's all
right." She smiled, nodded at the
case. "Is that our baby?"
"It is. It cut a hole this big in some Starfleet body
armor." He illustrated the size of
the rip with his hands. "But it's
got a kick like you wouldn't believe."
He rubbed his shoulder.
She opened the case, pulled
out the weapon. "How does it
work?"
He ran her through the steps
and she listened to the hum change tone, turn into a whine that meant it was
ready. She switched the thing off, put
it back in the case. Turning, she walked
into her kitchen and stared out the small window that looked out on nothing but
another building.
"You don't want to have
to use it on him, do you?"
She shook her head, felt his
arms come around her.
"What if he threatens
Emma, Chris?"
"I didn't say I wouldn't
use it on him. Just that I don't want
to. He's fought with me." She leaned against him; the solid warmth of
him was such a comfort. "He looks out
for me."
He let go of her. "I know he does." She could hear him pacing behind her. "He told me to take you away from
here."
"You can't. Not unless we take Emma, and she'd never
go." She turned to look at
him. "It'll be soon."
He nodded. "Maybe tonight?"
"Maybe." She exhaled slowly, trying to find some
measure of calm. "He's going to
have a surprise for us. It's his nature."
"Do you know what the
watchers have planned?"
She shook her head. "Emma's intent on keeping me out of
this."
"She should know
better."
"Yes, she
should." She walked toward
him. "I think it's time we started
shadowing her."
He frowned. "Even if that means that David is
following us right to her."
"He already knows where
she is. And if we don't follow her or
Silver, then we'll miss the fight. I'd
rather follow Silver, but he's keeping a low profile." She was embarrassed to admit she had no idea
where Silver was staying.
"You want to start
tonight?"
She nodded.
"Okay. Let's go." He grabbed the violin case and took a few
extra rockets out of the bag, shoving them into his inside pocket.
She grabbed her crossbow and
the container of extra bolts, then jammed a few stakes into various
pockets. The phaser went into another
pocket. She followed Jim out the door,
then she ran back into the room and grabbed more stakes, pushing them up her
sleeve.
"Premonition?"
She nodded, her face
grim. She didn't know why she felt safer
with more stakes. How many vampires did
she think they might find? It was just David,
wasn't it?
She followed Jim out; they
walked quickly to Emma's townhouse. The
lights were on low in the front room and they could see her moving, her shadow
occasionally crossing the blinds.
Christine led him down the
street, to a spot hidden by the bushes of the neighboring yard, secluded enough
to watch. "This could get
old."
He smiled at her. "Still beats the desk job."
She shook her head. "Find something else to do, Jim. Get back into space."
"Too late for
that."
She studied him. The set jaw, the shuttered expression. "I don't have to go."
"Yes, you do. But life sure will be dull without
you." He made a face. "Weasel will just have to come up with
more challenges for me."
"I guess so." She sighed.
"I didn't like him at first."
"He grows on you. Give him a chance."
She nodded, then looked down
for a moment. "This is dumb, isn't
it? Just lurking like this. What if nothing happens?"
He smiled. "You have a feeling about tonight, don't
you?"
She met his eyes. Every slayer sense she had was going off full
force. And it wasn't because David was
around. For once, she didn't think he
was following her. Maybe that was what
was setting her off--not having him around?
He looked down the
street. "I think it'll be tonight
too."
She sighed. "Why can't he just go away?"
"He's as stubborn as
they are. Why can't any of them walk away?"
"He's a vampire. I keep having to remind myself of that. He nearly killed Emma once already, he tried
to turn me--not very hard, but he still bit me--and he killed the watcher that
was following me. He may be charming,
and he may make sense. But he's not a
good man."
Kirk just watched her.
"Jump in at any
time."
He smiled, indicating she had
the floor.
She rolled her eyes. "It's just that the watchers aren't good
men either. Emma's different. And Peter.
But the rest of them." She
shook her head.
"Lesser of two evils
then?"
"Maybe."
There was a long silence then
he turned suddenly, looking down the street the way they'd come. "Chris?
Did someone order an army?"
She looked out and felt her
stomach heave, was afraid for a moment she'd be sick. Silver and three other watchers were in fact
leading an army. An army of slayers.
"She lied." She started to move, toward Emma's townhouse.
Kirk caught her arm. "You don't know that."
"He told me, and I
didn't believe him." She wrenched
her arm out of his grasp, and strode angrily down the street.
She was just in time to see Emma
come out of her house, an expression that looked much like the one Christine
thought she must be wearing on her face.
She turned, saw Christine walking toward her. "I had no idea," she said, as she
walked toward her.
Silver stepped closer. One of the slayers shadowed him. It was the girl from the cemetery. The one who'd dumped the dead flowers.
"Now I know why you said
I was a freak. It takes one to know
one," Christine said.
The girl ignored her.
"Kevin, what the hell is
this?" Emma was as angry as
Christine had ever seen her.
"We're going to go deal
with our little problem." Silver
turned to look at Christine. "You
are not welcome here."
"Tough. This is my city, she's my watcher, and like
it or not, David's my responsibility."
Silver moved closer. So did his slayer.
Christine looked at the
girl. "Don't even think of
it."
The girl smiled. The expression was mocking. "Think you can take me, grandma?"
"She doesn't like cracks
about her age," a familiar voice called from above them. David stood on the rooftop of Emma's
townhouse. Grinning.
"David," Emma said,
the word barely more than a breath.
"Hello,
lover." He shook his head. "We aren't going to brawl in the street
like common hooligans, are we, Kevin?"
"You know a better
place, David?" Silver's voice was
devoid of emotion.
"Why the cemetery of
course. It's tradition." David winked at Christine. "Hello, darling."
"David."
"And you too, dear
heart," David said with a laugh, blowing Kirk a kiss.
"Wharton." He didn't smile.
"You're on good terms
with the vampire, grandma."
Christine resisted the urge
to beat the cocky youngster's face in.
She turned away, then lost her balance as the girl's foot kicked her
legs out from each other. She fell to the
pavement, the skin on her hand scraping as she caught herself and felt her
wrist wrench. She ignored the pain,
twisted and moved toward rather than away from the girl. She kicked out with one foot, then turned it
into vicious scissor kick, knocking the girl's knee sideways. The other slayer fell hard. Tried to get up and fell back.
Christine pushed herself up,
walked over and dragged the girl up by her collar. "Only a coward attacks someone when her
back is turned." She looked up at
David, remembering how she had thrown the stake at his back.
He laughed, as if thinking of
the same thing.
The girl started to kick out
and Christine threw her back, into the other watchers.
"Nice children you're
raising, Silver. With friends like that,
who needs enemies?"
"We're not your
friends." The girl got up
slowly. She stepped gingerly down, made
a face but managed to walk on a knee that would have been broken had she been a
normal person.
"Lynda, that's enough
fraternizing." Silver waved her
off.
She kept walking toward
Christine.
"I said, that's
enough." He stepped in front of
her, stared at her until the girl backed off.
Then he turned to Christine. "We
don't need your help with this." He
looked at Emma. "Are you
coming?"
He didn't wait for her answer,
just walked off, his army behind him.
"Emma. Don't go." Christine tried to block Emma's path. "He's lied to you. Let him fight this war. You stay here."
Emma touched her face, smiled
tenderly. "You don't understand
him, Christine. You never have."
"I don't want to."
Emma nodded. "I know you don't." She started after Silver. "I have to fight. This is where it ends."
Christine closed her
eyes. Then she looked over at Kirk. "I guess we fight."
He touched the violin
case. "I guess so." He fell into step beside her as they hurried
to shadow Emma. "Although for the
record, that many slayers seems like overkill."
"I agree." She wasn't sure body armor would save David
when he was facing so many slayers.
They followed the grim and
silent parade to the cemetery. As they
walked away from the bustle of the main street, Kirk stopped. She followed his gaze and stopped walking
too.
"Maybe it's not
overkill," Kirk said softly.
An army of vampires waited
for the slayers. David was nowhere to be
seen.
"Damn him." Emma turned to Christine. "Keep an eye out."
"One step ahead of
you," Christine said as she loaded her crossbow. "Let the junior league fight the
newborns. I'm sticking close to you,
Emma."
The slayers charged the vampires.
Emma turned and looked out
over the melee. "You've already
fought one Gotterdammerung. You don't
need another."
Christine shook her
head. "This isn't even close,
Emma." She looked back at Kirk.
He was kneeling down and loading
the weapon with one of the rockets, starting it up to charge. She could barely hear the hum with all the
grunting of slayers versus vampires.
He looked up at her. "I can't really say. I was a little distracted through most of the
fighting. Almost being turned and
all."
"Right."
Silver walked over to her.
Christine moved away from him
a bit. "Still just watching,
Kevin? Don't you ever _do_
anything?"
His face was grim. "Chapel, we don't need you here."
"I beg to differ."
Emma stepped between
them. "Leave her alone,
Kevin."
His expression became softer
as he looked at Emma, then he turned to Christine. "Go away."
"No."
One of the other watchers
came up and handed him a crossbow. He
turned and began to fire into the fighting, taking out several vampires.
"So you can fight."
"Yes, I can. Why aren't you doing the same?"
"Because she's smarter
than you are, Kevin," David said from behind them.
They all turned. He wasn't there.
"What's the matter, your
eyes going bad?" The sound came
from the other direction now.
Kirk walked to a bench near
where the sound was coming from. He bent
down, dug around under the bench and came out with a small amplifier.
"Oh, very good, my
friend." David laughed. "I'm afraid that's as close as any of
you will get to me tonight. Have fun
with your little war."
The sound of his cheery
goodbye was nearly drowned out by the fighting going on around them.
---------------------------
"I heard there was a
major skirmish in the cemetery last night?" Lori smiled at Kirk as she walked into his
office. "You and your slayer have
anything to do with that?"
"We were there. In a strictly non-combatant role." He studied Lori. Chris had said she wasn't the enemy. Why was his skin still crawling? Was he just allergic to werewolves? Or could Chris be wrong?
Lori was staring back at him,
an amused look on her face. "You
don't trust me. I can smell
it." She leaned in. "But you aren't afraid of me. I like that so much. She's not afraid of me either."
"Chris isn't afraid of
anything." Except sewers, he
amended silently.
"I know. I saw that firsthand. I think she was willing to do something
rather foolish for me and mine."
Lori made a warning face at him.
He nodded. "She thought it best I not know the
details."
"You being so
gallant." Lori shook her head. "I can't wait forever for her to make up
her mind."
"I'm afraid she's a
little busy."
Lori made an impatient
face. "It's not like this Wharton
guy is an impending apocalypse. That I
can see taking precedence. But one
vampire?" She leaned in. "I could take him out, you know. With a little help."
Kirk met her stare. "Then do it."
She leaned back,
blinked. "I'm constrained. If I could be sure of her willingness to
share..."
He shook his head. "I can't push her."
"You mean you won't push
her." Lori sighed. Then she suddenly tensed, her nostrils flared
and she looked at him in something like panic.
Nogura poked his head
in. "Ah, there you are,
Lori." He walked over to her chair,
put his hands on her shoulders.
"You weren't hiding, were you?"
She laughed, looked up at him
with a sweet smile. "Of course not,
sir."
Nogura smiled, the look
seemed proprietary. He squeezed her
shoulders. Kirk felt his skin
crawl.
Nogura looked over at
him. He smiled, then let go of
Lori. "Don't let me interrupt your
conversation."
She smiled again. "We were just talking about the
vampire-slayer rumble last night."
Nogura sat in the chair next
to her. "There was a day when we
wouldn't have seen such public brawling in our fair city. I expected better of the watchers." He looked over at Kirk. "I suppose Doctor Chapel was involved in
some way?"
"It's complicated."
"Yes. Everything about her seems to be complicated
to you." Nogura shook his
head. "I've never met a more
stubborn man than you, Jim. You want
this woman." He looked over at
Lori. "You've seen them
together. What do you think?"
"Oh, they've got a
thing."
"See. A thing.
So simple." Nogura
smiled. "Keep her here with you,
Jim. It's such an easy concept for us to
grasp, isn't it, my dear?"
Lori smiled at him
easily. "Oh, yes."
Kirk watched her, surprised
she could hide her fear, her hatred so well.
But years lived under the man's thumb must have taught her to dissemble.
"Decker needs a CMO,
Jim."
Kirk turned back to him,
startled at the abrupt shift in the conversation.
Nogura laughed. "It's obvious you're determined to be
noble and let her go. If that's the
case, wouldn't you like to see her in a position of more authority?"
"CMO?"
"You don't think she's
capable? As head nurse, she had a large
part in running your sickbay. And she's
a slayer. She's more than capable of
leading others--we know she had a significant role in that dreadful battle on
Vega Hydra." He leaned back. "Wouldn't you like to see her rewarded
for all her hard work?"
Kirk was unsure what to say.
"I realize she may not
be able to deliver Kirsu to me. But she
knows enough about it to help lead the search for it. On the Enterprise. Decker won't question her, not if he knows
she has my full support."
"You think she'll help
you?"
Nogura nodded. "I do.
But you have to help me persuade her that it's for a good cause."
Lori smiled. "It's a good offer. She languished as an ensign for so long. I've seen her credentials. They're impressive. This isn't that much of a stretch." She looked over at Nogura. "I can see Decker trusting her. He seems more comfortable with women then
men."
Nogura nodded. "Matt's legacy."
Kirk felt his jaw tighten.
"I know, Jim. It's harsh, but I'm not wrong. I know people and Decker's an open book. You know it too. He's looking for meaning. He wants to find truth at the end of the journey. Truth, and light, and answers. He's not like us."
Or like you, Kirk wanted to
say but bit his tongue.
"Chris would be good for
him."
Kirk bristled at the way her
name sounded coming out of Nogura's mouth.
Nogura got up abruptly. "Lunch, Lori?"
She stood up, smiled
again. The expression again perfectly
open. "I'm starved."
He laughed. "You always are, my dear." He looked at Kirk. "Join us?"
"I think Jim's lost his
appetite, Hei."
Nogura grinned. "You need to grow a tougher skin, my friend. You make it so easy for me to play
you." He turned and walked out.
Lori looked at him and
mouthed, "Sorry." Then she
followed him out.
Kirk closed his eyes, tried
to roll out the tension in his shoulders.
He hadn't slept well last night.
Had been too keyed up after watching the slayers fight the vampires,
after not joining in. He'd been
surprised Chris could stand there and not dive in. But other than handing out a few fresh
stakes, she'd stayed out of the fight.
Just kept looking back and around them.
As if David would jump out at them, try to hurt Emma.
And maybe she'd been
right. She knew him better than any of
them possibly.
The slayers had taken most of
the vampires out. But not without
casualties of their own. He'd seen three
girls fall, one of them had laid on the ground, her head at an odd angle.
"Neck's broken,"
Chris had whispered to him. She'd looked
away.
It was just one of her
possible fates. To die like that. He hated that he thought about it. Her dying.
She'd already died once. McCoy had brought her back. And if he hadn't,
LaVelle and her slayers would have.
Nobody would bring back the
slayers who had fallen last night.
His comm unit buzzed. "Yes."
"Sir, there's a Mister
Silver here to see you."
Kirk laughed softly. "Show him in, Commander." Kevin Silver?
To see him?
Could his day get any
weirder?
Kirk laughed. Of course, it could. Every Starfleet cadet knew the saying. Weird was part of the job...and his life was
even weirder since he'd dived into the wonderland behind the magic mirror.
He didn't stand when Silver
walked in.
Silver walked around the
office, looking over the framed commendations, the medals. "Quite impressive, Admiral." He turned to look at Kirk.
He shrugged. "If you've seen one medal..."
Silver smiled. "There are some who say that about
slayers. Yet I find each girl
unique."
Kirk's expression was
steely. "They stop being girls
eventually, Mister Silver."
"Please call me
Kevin."
"I'd rather not."
Silver sat down. He smiled.
"You're very protective of Chapel, aren't you? I noticed that last night."
Kirk leaned forward, gave
Silver his best dangerous smile.
"I've heard Wharton's message.
I've taken it in. I know about
the Cruciamentum. I know that you've
abused your powers with these _girls_."
Silver's face tightened. "We have traditions. They've held up for centuries because they
work."
"Work? At what?
Murdering innocent women?"
Silver shook his head. "I don't expect you to understand. You're not part of this. And you've had only her side of the
story."
"Not true. She didn't tell me about your barbaric little
test. Wharton did."
"He's hardly the voice
of reason."
"Interestingly enough, I
think he is." Kirk sighed. "His methods leave something to be
desired. But his message is damned
powerful."
Silver smiled, the expression
was so clearly dismissive of anything Kirk might think.
"I assume you came here
for a reason?" Kirk asked.
"I did. I want you to keep Chapel away from us."
"Me? Keep Chris away from you?" Kirk laughed loud. He imagined Commander Hall could hear him
from the other room. "I don't tell
her what to do."
"She is in the
way."
"How so?"
Silver didn't answer, just
rose and turned away.
"That's it? Keep her away. One silly order and you're gone?" Kirk laughed.
"It's no wonder you're losing your grasp on the council."
Silver turned to look at
him. "I will not lose my grasp on
anything. But your slayer"--he put
a dark emphasis on the word 'your'--"may make a very valuable colleague
lose her grasp on reason."
"What?"
Silver sat back down. He seemed to deflate as he stared at the
floor. "Emma."
"I don't
understand."
"She was supposed to
stay inside last night. I was going to
leave a slayer with her. But she came
out because of Chapel. As long as that
slayer is out, Emma won't stay in."
Kirk sat silently, unsure
what to say.
"Don't you see? She's what David wants most. His former ally--now his greatest enemy. After me." Silver looked up at him. "He nearly ripped her apart the last
time. In front of me. Why do you think he did that?"
When Kirk didn't answer,
Silver slammed his hand down on Kirk's desk.
Kirk jumped in surprise.
"Why do you think he did
that?" Silver stood up, began to
pace. "Chapel could keep her in,
but she won't. She's too damned
impulsive. She'll try to save David, and
Emma will follow her because she loves them both."
Kirk sighed. "Does Emma know you love her?"
Silver glanced at him,
shrugged. He suddenly looked very
old. "I've never known."
"And you never wanted to
tell her?"
"I'm the head of the
council. I have duties and
obligations. How I feel about Emma is
irrelevant."
Kirk looked down.
"In any case, she loves
David. She's never stopped loving
him." Silver shook his head. "She's just wise enough to put it
aside. She's a skilled counselor after
all."
"I can't keep Chris
away. She loves Emma. She'd feel she was letting her down to not be
there...to protect her."
Silver got up slowly. "I'd hoped you might have some influence
over her." He smiled softly. "She appears to listen to you. Lord knows, she never has to me."
"If you're looking for
sympathy, you're looking in the wrong place.
I'm solidly in her court."
Silver's smile faded. "Then stay the hell out of our way from
here on out. If I see the two of you, it
won't be just one slayer I send after you." Silver leaned in, put his hand on Kirk's
arm. "I'm not someone you want to
antagonize."
Kirk looked at Silver's
hand. "I think, Mister Silver, that
you'll find that I'm not a man you want to antagonize either." He closed his eyes, channeled fire the way
Weasel had taught him. He couldn't
manage a burst of energy much past a centimeter. In this case, that should do just fine.
He slammed his other hand
down on Silver's arm and let the energy, which he'd coiled up like a spring,
go. It leapt out of his hand, covering
the small distance to touch Silver's skin.
Hot energy, burning hot. Fire.
Silver yelped.
Kirk let go of him, giving
him a tight smile. "Just a small
demonstration of what I'm capable of."
He tried to keep a straight face.
Silver didn't need to know that he'd seen one of his few tricks.
The watcher's eyes narrowed
as he jerked away from Kirk, cradling his arm, which was unmarked, but
completely free of hair.
"Magic. I don't hold with
it."
"Spoken like one who
could never manage to get it to work."
Silver turned on his heel and
marched out.
Hall came in. "Sir?
What is that smell?"
"Smell?" He smiled.
For some reason, the odor of singed hair and sulphur didn't bother him
at all.
-----------------------------------
Christine sighed in relief as
she trudged up the steps of her apartment building. Rounds had been exhausting, and they'd had an
emergency that had taken most of the night to treat. She'd been tired already from watching
Silver's slayers take on David's vampires.
She still felt guilty for not
helping, but it had been more important to protect Emma. She was not entirely sure Silver would. At least she'd brought those extra stakes.
She looked out into the
night--morning really. The sun was
nearly up. She hadn't meant to get home
this late, had intended to be in before dark and back out again, staking out
Emma's house with Jim. But when she'd
been held up, he'd gone on ahead. She'd
planned to join him hours ago.
When had she stopped worrying
about him walking around in the dark alone?
Was it because he was getting stronger with the magic? Or was it something else? He seemed stronger to her. Physically stronger. Nothing obvious--although she knew he was
working out at the gym. But something
deeper. It could be just the confidence
that magic gave him. He was more comfortable
in her frenzied supernatural world and that showed.
But what if it was something
else? What if Anacost's blood was making
him stronger somehow? As far as she
knew, no one had ever survived a near-turning the way he had. It might make him stronger. Might explain why he seemed to navigate in
the dark as well as she did. Even Spock
had occasionally tripped when they patrolled.
But Jim never did.
She shook her head at her own
strange musings. Jim was in good shape,
had always been strong and competitive, and prided himself on being a
hunter. Anacost's blood might flow
inside him, but it hadn't changed him.
Except for the rare
meat. She made a face. She preferred hers to not bleed when she ate
it.
She unlocked her door, was
immediately hit by an intensely sweet smell.
A huge bouquet of white flowers waited for her on the dining room table.
"Hello, darling. How was your day?"
She whirled as David turned
on the lamp by her chair. They both
blinked in the sudden light.
"How the hell did you
get in here?"
"Edna. Charming woman." He laughed.
"I told her I was a cousin of William's. We do favor each other a bit. And who over here can tell English accents
apart?"
"I'm going to kill
her. Unless you already did it?"
"Kill such a helpful creature? Never.
She seemed quite taken with me.
Told me confidentially that she just doesn't understand how someone like
you attracts such nice young men."
Christine bristled. "Jim is older than I am. For that matter, you all are."
He shrugged. "It's never too late to moisturize,
dear." He smiled. It was a mocking smile.
"Here I thought you
liked my looks."
"I do. Very much." He laughed.
"And aren't you the vain one?"
She sat down. "David.
What are you doing here?"
"The time for these charming
get-togethers is running out." He
leaned forward. "I miss you."
"Right."
He laughed. "I do.
I miss being Thompson. I know I
drove you nuts, but I enjoyed those interactions."
She smiled. Those innocent conversations seemed so far
away now.
And they'd been far from
innocent.
"Do you ever stop trying
to screw with my mind?"
He leaned back with a
smile. "Does Emma?"
"That's not what I
asked."
He slowly stood up, held his
hand out when she tensed. "I didn't
come here to spin your head. I came here
for truth. And to make you an
offer."
"An offer?"
He nodded. "You've made me an offer enough
times. The one where I give up my evil
plan and come work with you and Jim.
You'll be gone. And I don't know
that Jim and I would really get on."
"Then go to Los
Angeles. Work with Spike. And Angel."
He laughed. "Have you ever met Angel? Good lord, the man's an utter
bore." He laughed again, this time
more softly, as if to himself.
"Gives dour a new meaning."
"But he fights the good
fight." She thought her voice was
annoyingly upbeat...and too tentative.
She tried again. "And you'd
like Spike. He's a lot of fun."
"Oh, yes. I imagine you think so." His grin was leering.
"I didn't mean you'd
like him that way." She thought of
the kiss he'd blown Jim the night before.
"Although, maybe you might?"
He rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to L.A., Christine."
"Fine. Be that way." She stood as he took another step toward her.
"My offer's very
simple. I turn you, and you come away
with me. And I'll leave Emma and the
others alone. We'll fight them your
way." He took another step forward. One more and he'd be out of minimum safe
distance.
She held up her hand, he
stopped. "Let you turn me?"
He nodded.
"I can't do that."
"Why not?" His voice was seductive.
She was surprised to realize
it had little effect on her anymore. She
backed up a step. "Because it's not
in my nature anymore to want that."
"Bravo." Suddenly he moved, coming at her faster than
she expected, grabbing her by the arms, his face morphing into the
monster--into the vampire. "And
what is my nature, Christine? What do I
want?"
She knocked his arms away and
kicked out, but he had already jumped back.
His face changed back to human.
"At the end of the day,
love, I'm a vampire. You'd be wise to
remember that." He stood up. "I'm making you a simple offer. Your life or Emma's. Which will it be?"
She smiled. "I think it'll be yours."
"Then it's Emma's. Don't say you couldn't have stopped this."
"David, why is Emma so
important to you? Have you ever stopped
to think about that?"
He turned around. The glee in his expression took her
aback. "That's right. I haven't told you the truth yet." He smiled.
It was a cutting expression.
"The truth?"
"About why Emma
matters."
"I know why she
matters. She matters because you loved
her and you hate her for still being a watcher."
He paced away from her. "Did your beloved Jim tell you that I
was brought into the watcher fold by my uncle?"
She nodded.
"He does tell you
everything, doesn't he?" He smiled,
this time the expression held a note of wistfulness. "Honesty. It's rare." He looked down. "I'm afraid I wasn't totally honest with
him. I neglected to mention just who my
uncle is." He looked up at her, his
eyes holding her. "Can you
guess?"
"No. David."
He laughed. "Yes, my mother's maiden name was
Silver. Dear old Uncle Kevin. Did Emma forget to mention that to you?"
Christine looked down.
"Another lie." He moved closer to her. "How many before you stop trusting
her?"
Christine backed away. "I think I'll just start telling myself
that everything I hear from everyone is a lie.
How's that?"
"Whatever works. Did you know that Kevin's in love with
Emma? She's never sussed it out as far
as I can tell. But he is mad for
her. I've known it forever." He smiled.
"Emma was a powerful ally against him. It hurt him to have her leading the
opposition with me. It hurt him even
worse to know she was in my bed, not his."
He smiled. "I never loved
her."
"I don't believe
you."
"Oh, believe it. I'd do anything to hurt Kevin." He laughed.
"Why do you think I look out for you? He hates you.
He hates you more than any slayer he's ever known. If I didn't think killing Emma would hurt him
even more, I'd turn you now just to see his face when he realizes his slayer
nemesis has joined the opposing team."
"David. No. I
don't believe any of this. You do
care. About Emma, about me. Laura."
"Don't bring her
up. She's dead and nothing will change
that."
"But you still feel
something when you think about her."
He took a step toward
her. "I do. I feel rage. She should never have been brought in. They should have left her alone, called but
untrained. She could have led a normal life."
"It doesn't work that
way." Christine thought of Sachiko
Nogura. "There's no safe place if
you're the slayer."
He laughed. "Do you think I've been asleep the whole
time I've been here? You think I don't
know that Silver and quite a few others are looking for exactly that? The safe place. What's it called? Oh yes, Kirsu." He leaned in.
"I heard rumors all through my watcher years. The place of the dead slayers." He took another step toward her. "Tell me, darling. Have you died already? Have you been there?"
She reached back, brought the
phaser out.
"Won't work. Not on me.
Not on my body armor. What now,
Christine?" He took the last few
steps, pushed up against her.
He didn't even try to stop
her as she brought the weapon up. She pushed
it in close on his neck, fired and dragged it along his skin.
"Ouch!" He jumped away. "What in hell were trying to do?"
"Behead you." She moved forward, studied the cut. It was barely past the first few layers of
skin. "It would have taken a while. Perhaps you could hold still and let me try
again?"
He began to laugh.
She put the phaser away. "Buffy used a utility knife once. That had to take some time."
"You're not Buffy."
She stalked toward him. "No.
I'm not. I'm more like Faith. You want to see my darkness, David?"
"Yes, I would like to
see it." He pulled out his own
phaser.
She was moving before he had
finished the motion, her leg going up, kicking out, knocking the phaser against
the wall and down the hall. "We're
even." She felt an unnatural focus
take over. Let this be the end. Let them fight here and leave the others out
of it. She smiled, knew it was a feral
expression. "Let's finish this the
old way."
He backed up. "I think not." He moved toward the door. "When we meet again, we'll be
enemies."
"Newsflash, David. We've always been enemies. The fact that I like you doesn't change
that."
He nodded, smiled at
her. "You've come a long way since
we met. I'm proud of you."
"I hope you still say
that when I'm killing you."
His smile turned darker. "I imagine the fact that you're getting
stronger and stronger is driving Kevin nuts." He laughed, turned to the door. "Sleep well, love. Don't think of me, stealing into your
bedroom, leaning down..." He shot
her a look. "I want you to think
over my offer. I give you till tomorrow
night."
"My answer won't
change."
"Perhaps not." He stared at her. "I do like you. I do care.
Even if you hadn't worked so well for my plans, I'd have still liked
you."
"That makes me feel very
special. Now get out, you're not
welcome."
He opened the door. "It doesn't work that way, darling. But Jim should be able to track down the
spell that uninvites a vampire. It might
not work though in this case; I was invited in by the owner, after all."
"Get out."
"I'm going." He walked through the door, no evidence of
any hurry in his stride.
She pulled out her
communicator, buzzed Jim.
He answered immediately. "Kirk here."
"Jim?"
Her voice must have been
shakier than she realized. "Chris.
What's wrong?"
"He was here. David.
In my place."
"You invited him
in?"
"No. My monstrous landlady did."
"I'm on my way now.
There's nothing going on here. And the
sun's almost up."
"I'll meet you. Can I stay at your place?"
"You don't even have to
ask." There was a long
silence. "Do you?"
She laughed. "I'll wear a big cross so you'll know
I'm not a vampire."
"Okay."
She knew that neither of them
was joking. She went into her bedroom,
grabbed her gaudiest cross and put it on.
It hung low, made a small rubbing sound as it moved against the other
necklace--the invisible necklace. She
touched the necklace, felt for Laura's ring.
"Which David do I
believe in?"
If Laura had any answers, she
wasn't telling them to Christine.
She closed her eyes. The twists in the various tales she'd been
told were making her dizzy. She felt
like sitting out the next few rounds--only if she did, Emma would die. That was the one thing she knew David meant. He would kill her friend.
She pulled off her uniform,
changed into something comfortable and put the uniform into the refresher. She put a clean one in a bag for the morning
and threw in the other things she'd need.
Going back into the main room, she grabbed her crossbow and more stakes,
then picked up the flowers and carried them downstairs. She pounded on Rhatigan's door.
"Oh, it's you," the
landlady said. She did not look happy at
being woken so early in the morning.
"I suppose you're just getting in?
The hours you keep, I'm surprised they don't drum you out of the
fleet."
Christine stifled a
yawn. Woman had a small point. Fortunately, it was the weekend. She could sleep in...just not in her own bed. She thrust the bouquet at Rhatigan. "Here.
These are from William's cousin.
For being so nice to him."
She didn't try to moderate the dislike in her voice.
The woman actually
simpered. "Flowers for me? He seemed like such a nice boy."
Christine decided not to tell
her it was a funeral bouquet. Let her
house smell like a mortuary if it made her happy--it would certainly give
Christine a chuckle. "In the
future, Mrs. Rhatigan, I'd appreciate it if you didn't enter my apartment
without notice."
"It's my building."
"There are still rules."
The woman smiled,
smugly. "Your lease is up
soon."
"I'm shipping out soon
too. I won't be around much longer to
bother you."
"Oh, if you can't sign
for another year, then you won't be around at all. I don't rent month-to-month." She smiled sweetly. "I'll need sixty days notice or I'm
keeping the damage deposit." She
shut the door in Christine's face. Hard.
Resisting the urge to kick
the door in just on general principles, Christine hefted her bags and hurried
out into the night. It felt infinitely
safer than her apartment did.
-----------------------
Kirk forced himself to slow
down. Chris was fine. She hadn't been hurt. At least, she hadn't sounded like she'd been
hurt.
He started walking faster
again, then slowed as he saw her round the corner. He waited for her, pushing the violin case
back and taking her bag from her.
She smiled as he did it. He shook his head--they both knew she was
stronger.
"Humor me," he
said. "Let me play the
gentleman."
Her eyes softened; he could see
her visibly relax.
"You are the
gentleman. It's a good deal of your
charm."
"Then there's my good
looks and sparkling wit."
"Not to mention your
ability to accessorize." She
touched the violin case. "How is
our baby?"
"Charged and ready to
go. All we need is our vampire."
She looked down.
"You okay?" He reached out and touched her cross, lifting
it and letting it sit on the exposed skin of her throat. "No sizzle."
She moved closer. "No.
No sizzle."
"You don't mind if I
just check," he said as he pushed her shirt back a bit, inspecting her
neck. "All clear."
She nodded, but there was no
humor in her eyes. She looked exhausted.
"Let's go home."
"Okay." She walked next to him, seemingly lost in
thought. Finally, she looked over at him. "No action at Emma's tonight?"
"Nope. Maybe the slayers were resting up."
"It won't be up to them,
Jim."
"No?"
"No. It will be up to us." She seemed determined, even a bit angry.
"What happened
tonight?"
"I woke up?" When he frowned, she sighed. "David is Silver's nephew."
"My god. The uncle that put him into this life. That's why he's after Emma. Silver's in love with her."
She turned to look at
him. "Why does everyone seem to
know that but me? And Emma."
He smiled. "Silver came to see me today." He saw her face and hurried to say, "I
was going to tell you all about it during our long and boring stakeout. But you never showed, remember?"
She nodded, appeared
mollified. "What did he want?"
"For me to keep you out
of this. He's afraid that you'll get
Emma killed."
"He may be right. David offered me a choice. My life for Emma's." She took a deep breath. "I'm supposed to be thinking over
whether I want to be turned." She
looked over at him quickly. "I
don't have to think about it. But it
means he'll go after her--soon. We have
to be outside her house well before dark tonight. I don't think he's going to wait."
He smiled softly. "She doesn't have a landlady to let him
in. Doesn't the council own the
house?"
Chris nodded. "It won't matter. He'll find a way. He always does."
"So do you. You always find a way to win."
She turned to him, a
surprised look on her face. "That
should be my line to you. You're the one
who always wins. Not me."
He shook his head. "I think you underestimate
yourself." He thought of Nogura's
suggestion. "Have you ever wanted
to be CMO?"
"CMO of what? A garbage scow?" She laughed, then saw his expression. "Of the Enterprise? You're kidding, right?"
He shook his head.
She frowned. "Why would I be CMO? I'm not ready for that."
"Because Nogura would
like you to lead the search for Kirsu.
Aboard the Enterprise."
She stopped walking. "Is this a joke?"
He shook his head. "He thinks you can find it. He seems less convinced that you can deliver
it."
"What changed his
mind?"
Kirk smiled. "Maybe not a what but a who. I think Lori has been working on him. Trying to make him back off. She wants it too."
"True." She sighed.
"Sometimes, I wish I'd never heard of Kirsu."
"I know." He nodded to the doorman as the man hit the
switch to open the door for them long before they reached it. "Thanks, John."
Chris smiled at him. Kirk noticed that she got a warm smile and a
nod back.
John smiled at him too. "Have a nice morning, Admiral."
Kirk realized his doorman had
begun to take the screwy hours he kept for granted. It had been a long time since John had looked
at all surprised at his comings and goings.
"You too."
The elevator was waiting for
them and they rode it up in silence. His
apartment was warm and welcoming.
"No more smell. Except incense. Smells nice." She smiled at him.
"I've been trying to
practice at Weasel's instead of here.
Let him live with the reek."
She laughed, set her weapons
by the door and took her bag from him, carrying it to the couch.
He moved it to the
bedroom. "You take the bed."
She stood at the
doorway. "We've shared the bed in
the past."
He smiled. "Then why'd you take the couch?"
"So you'd move my bag into
the bedroom. Gallant to the end. If we share, you could hold me. It'd be nice to be held."
"I'll hold you in the
living room. Safer, I think."
She laughed. "Isn't the living room where we did that
spell?" She took a deep breath, let it out slowly. And loudly.
He gulped. "Maybe the bathroom? No special memories there."
"Give us time."
Her expression was one notch
down from seductive, and he knew she could ratchet it up instantly if she
wanted to.
"Chris."
"Jim." She didn't move out of the doorway, not even
when he walked up to her.
He stopped, sighed as he
looked at her. "No games,
Chris."
She moved instantly.
He walked past her and sat
down on the couch.
She moved to the window and
stared out. "This isn't a game to
me. Not what we have. It's real and honest and I'm not playing with
that." She turned to look at
him. "I want you. I know you want me and that you think you
shouldn't have me. I don't fully agree
with your reasoning, but I respect your decision. Mostly."
She smiled when he laughed softly.
"Come here." He held out his hand.
She walked to the couch, sank
down next to him. "I can't hide
what I want from you. I won't hide
it. Not when we're alone." She cuddled in next to him, her arms around
him.
"Okay. You don't have to." He leaned his head back. "I'm tired."
"Me too," she said,
moving even closer and putting her head on his chest.
"So you think David will
make his move tonight?" He looked
out at the window, the sky was light, dawn had come and gone and they'd missed
it.
But he'd felt it. Like he had every morning since he'd been
bitten. A strange new awareness. He'd never told Chris that. He'd never told anyone that. Hell, until this moment, he'd refused to even
admit it to himself.
"Chris?" He looked down at her.
She was fast asleep.
He reached over her, pulled
the throw down from the back of the couch and covered her up.
She made a low sound, moved
in sleep.
He leaned down, kissed her
forehead, laid his hand over hers where it rested on his chest.
She stirred, looked up at him
sleepily. She smiled, such a sweet
smile. He reached over and stroked her
cheek.
"Go back to sleep."
She moaned, a short, soft
sound. An unbearably sexy sound. Their eyes met. Hers were so sleepy.
He wondered if his were as
lost as he felt. If they showed any of
the longing that filled him.
For a moment her expression
became sad. She smiled gently. "A gentleman to the bitter end,"
she whispered, shaking her head slightly.
Then she lay her head back down and closed her eyes.
She was asleep again quickly.
He watched her for a long
time before sleep came for him.
Christine waited by the door
impatiently. She and Jim had slept much
later than she'd expected. Then he'd
insisted they eat. "Come on."
Jim hurried over to her, the
weapon slung over his shoulder, safe in its case. "Calm down."
She took a deep breath. "I'm calm. Now, come on."
She glanced over at the
couch; the throw that had covered her was pushed to the side. Somehow, while they'd slept, Jim had managed
to turn them so that he had been lying down and she'd been nearly on top of
him. It had been an interesting way to
wake up.
He shot her a look, seemed to
be thinking the same thing as he looked over at the couch. "Not the best place for two to
sleep."
She smiled. "The bed would have been less ummm
intimate."
He laughed. "I'm so glad you're not the kind to say
'I told you so.'"
"Me too. Now can we go?"
"It won't be dark for a
while."
"I know." She pulled her crossbow over her shoulder,
shoved the phaser into her pants' pocket.
"No good for beheading, by the way."
"No?"
"Takes too long."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Good to know."
They stopped for coffee on the
way--his idea, and she chafed a bit at the delay as he bought their drinks.
"Chris. He's a vampire. Even if he's in the sewers right under her
house. He can't come out until it's
dark."
"I know." She sipped at the foamy coffee.
He'd splurged and bought the
good stuff. He saw her expression and
smiled. "Life is too short to drink
boring coffee." He sipped at his. "Besides, I could use the
caffeine." He grinned at her. "Not so sure you need to be any more
wound up than you already are."
"I'm all
right." She watched a young woman
as she walked toward them. After they
passed each other, she said, "She's one of them."
He turned and looked at the
woman, then turned back to her with a frown.
"One of whom?"
"The slayers."
He shook his head. "You're seeing shadows everywhere,
Chris. She's not."
"You saw them all last
night?"
He laughed. "Actually I did. There wasn't a lot else to do since we
weren't fighting. They were all so
different. I mean other than the same
basic age. And female."
"And you know she's not
a slayer."
He shrugged, shot her a
long-suffering glance. "Maybe she
is. But she wasn't there last
night. And what difference does it make?" His attention was caught by something
ahead.
Christine looked away from
him. She saw Carol Marcus standing with
her son, staring at the two of them as if trying to make up her mind whether it
was safe to go by. She finally turned
and walked across the street. David was
telling her something and didn't seem to notice the delay.
Jim sighed. "I think it's harder now when I see them
every now and then, than it was when I knew they were safely offworld."
She nodded, touched his
arm. "I'm sorry." She smiled softly. "Maybe if I hadn't been here, she would
have come this way? Maybe she was just
worried for her hand?"
He shook his head, but smiled
at her. "I doubt it, Chris. It's a nice thought in a way, but I can't let
myself think that way. I can't get my
hopes up."
"You prefer to live in
this misery where he's concerned?"
"You have a better
idea?" His smile faded as he looked
at her.
She held up a hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said as
condemnation. It's just not the way I've
lived my life, you know that. I'm more
impulsive than you."
He nodded. "I know." He gestured to the place they'd hidden out
before, down from Emma's townhouse. He
looked up. "The sun will be down in
about forty five minutes."
She felt out with her slayer
sense, could feel the sun's passage as if it was marked in her body. He was right.
"How do you know that?"
He looked guilty. "I feel it."
"Do you feel the dawn
too?"
He nodded. Then he looked down. "Have ever since we got back."
"So it's something you
could always do?" She could hear
the doubt in her voice and smiled gently to show him she was just curious.
"Only since
Anacost." He moved closer to
her. "Some things are
different."
"Like the way you like
your meat?"
"That's a big one. But not just that." He leaned in, sniffed her neck. "You smell different. People do."
"Like food?" She laughed.
"No." He grinned at her. "You just smell good."
She smiled. "Then different how?"
He thought about it for a
moment. "More intense. Like I can smell the life in them? It's not obvious...I didn't even realize
things were different until one day in the gym.
I realized that everything was more intense."
"You're stronger
too." She nodded. "Somehow, his blood is making you a
little stronger than you were."
"It'll dilute,
right? Like a transfusion would eventually."
She shrugged. "There's not a lot of data on this. I'm not sure vampire blood does dissipate
over time. Maybe it'll always stay separate
and strong."
"But it won't take
over?"
She shook her head. "It would have by now. It would have that night, after he bit
you. If it was going to." She ruffled his hair gently, at the neck,
where he seemed to like it. "You're
just going to have to live with being a little bit vampire. I don't think that's a bad thing."
"Yes, I know how fond
you get of them." He smiled.
"It's slayer not lay--"
She put a hand over his
mouth, felt him laugh under her touch.
"For the record, I've only been with one of them. And that's an old joke. Ever since Buffy."
"Does everything start
and end with her?" He shook his
head. "Seems like you should date
things BB and AB."
She laughed. "Maybe we should." She thought about those other worlds Spike
had seen, the ones where Buffy's life had gone so differently. Certainly his world revolved around the
woman.
"Was it different with a
vampire?" he asked.
"Sex, you mean?"
He nodded.
"The basic mechanics are
the same. Their bodies aren't warm. That takes some getting used to." She touched his hand. "You don't have that
characteristic. You're very warm."
He nodded. "Alma used to say I had lots of fire in
me. Speaking of which." He opened the case and took the weapon out. He flipped it on. "Might as well get it ready."
"Do you miss her?"
He nodded. "I do.
Not as much as I did at first. So
much has happened since she left."
She nodded.
"And there's you
now." His look was open, not trying
to hide what he felt for her.
She smiled. "She was good for you."
He nodded. "Yes.
I think she was." He
smiled. "Like Spike was for you. Do you miss him?"
She laughed. "I do.
He brought a lightness to my life I'd never had." She smiled fondly. "You'd like him. He's fun."
"I'd probably be too
busy wondering if you were still sleeping with him." He made a funny face. "Not that I have any right to be
territorial."
She shrugged. "I like it that you are."
He grinned at her. "Well, that's good. Because I doubt I'll change any time
soon."
She watched him as he loaded
a rocket into the gun, then she looked down the street, checking the tops of buildings,
and other hidey holes for watchers and the other slayers. The block appeared empty of life. Unnaturally empty. It was as if the watchers had chosen this
street for its very isolation. Less
questions, she supposed, but lonely for Emma.
And scary at night when a vampire was gunning for you and a little human
company would have been welcome, even if was a distant company. Even if the humans around didn't have the
least idea what was happening.
The hum of the machine
changed to the low whine that signaled it was ready. She watched the street again, waiting for
something--anything--to happen.
"David said he didn't love Emma." She looked at Jim. "Do you believe that?"
"You know him better
than I do."
"I don't know him at
all. Maybe I don't know her
either." She shook her head. "So many lies, Jim. When does it stop?" She felt him grasp her hand.
"Lies do seem to be the
norm around here, don't they?"
She nodded. He squeezed her hand, then took out the box
holding the orb and checked it.
Seemingly satisfied, he put the orb in his pocket, and stuffed the box
into his other pocket.
At her look, he said, "I
think it'll be tonight too. I can feel
it in the air." He looked up,
closed his eyes for a moment and said, "Sun will be down soon."
She nodded. They waited in an easy silence, watching the
sky as it changed from blue to orange to dark indigo. As the sun set, she could feel her senses
coming alive. She looked over at
Jim. He looked more alert too.
An hour passed as they stood in
silence. Every nerve inside of Christine
seemed to be screaming danger. She
wanted to fight, was ready to fight.
She heard footsteps sounding
down the walk, from the opposite direction.
"He's not going to just
walk up to her door," Jim said, his words barely more than breathed air.
But that was exactly what
David did. He bounded up the steps and
rang Emma's door chime.
Emma must have been waiting
by the door for it opened instantly. She
stood aside, let David in.
"No!" Christine was
already moving but Emma didn't seem to hear her. The door shut.
Jim was right behind
her. "Why would she do that? Why would she let him in?"
"What if he made her the
same offer he did me?"
"Her life for
yours?"
Christine nodded, felt her stomach
sink into a pit somewhere near her knees.
"Emma, no."
They rushed up the stairs and
she tried the door, but it was locked.
"To hell with
this," she said, as she stepped over to the scanner. "Medical Emergency override. Protocol EMT five-zero-alpha. Doctor Christine Chapel."
The door clicked and she
pushed through it, running upstairs.
There was no one in sight.
"Chris, down here,"
Jim called from the lower level.
She ran down the stairs, her
feet barely touching the ground. The
training room was empty, but the back door stood open.
She ran out into the night,
knew he was right behind her. David and
Emma were nowhere to be seen. She
stopped running. Stood trying to get
some kind of fix on her watcher.
"Where would he take
her?"
She looked up at him. "I don't know."
"The
cemetery?"
She nodded. "Maybe." But they'd been there before. David wasn't that predictable. Where was he headed?
"Chris. She doesn't have much time."
"I know." She could feel panic pushing at her. Where?
Where would they have gone? She
was breathing too hard, forced herself to slow down. "I have an idea." A really bad idea. Before she could think better of it, she
grabbed his hand. "We're going to
need your magic, Jim."
With her other hand she
reached up for Laura's ring, jammed her little finger into it. Pictured Emma's face...and David's.
A portal started to form.
"Chris, what are you
doing?" But he followed her into
the portal.
"We're going to borrow
this." She turned to him. "Just give me a boost, I can do the
rest." She hoped.
He nodded, closed his
eyes. As the portal closed around them,
she felt a rush of raw power fill her, pouring through Jim's hand into
hers. She focused on Emma. "Find her," she ordered the portal.
The portal shook. They could probably feel it all the way back
in Kirsu. There'd be hell to pay with
LaVelle if this worked.
The portal opened in a small
room. Christine jumped out, pulling Jim
with her.
"Where are we?" he
whispered as the portal closed.
"I don't
know." She moved silently into the
next room, a big room, warehouselike.
She saw Silver and his fellow
watchers. And slayers, but only a
few. Silver was sitting at a small
table, slayers and watchers huddled around him, looking at something.
"David has Emma,"
she managed to get out. Not sure why she
thought he could help.
Silver whirled. His face went white, then he glared at
them. "I told you what would happen
if you got in our way."
"Did you hear what she
just said?" Jim said. "Where
are the other slayers?"
Silver stared hard at him,
then said, "We had a report of David being seen in Berkeley. A very good source."
"It's not him,"
Christine said. "He's in town. And he has Emma."
One of the other watchers
said, "How the hell did you get in here?
We have slayers on the entrance.
Are they sleeping?" He
motioned for two of the slayers to follow him to the entrance, but stopped as
Lynda and another slayer slowly walked backwards into the warehouse. Both had stakes raised.
David, holding Emma close
with a phaser to her throat, emerged from the shadows and followed them in.
"You promised,
David," Emma said softly. "You
said it would be quick. In the
cemetery."
"How can he watch if
it's in the cemetery? How can he suffer
if it's quick?" David's grip on
Emma tightened. "Sorry, lover. I lied."
Christine backed up
slowly. Maybe he hadn't seen them yet.
"Stay where I can see
you, Christine."
She froze.
David shot her a puzzled
look. "I could have sworn I saw you
outside Emma's house."
"Guess you were
wrong."
"I can't take the shot
as long as he's holding her as a shield," Jim said softly.
David did not appear to be
worried about the gun. She looked over
at Jim. He had the gun pressed against
his leg. It shimmered slightly, and her
eyes seemed unable to focus when she tried to look at it.
Good thing he had the
protection spell down pat.
Silver stood up. "David.
It's me you want to hurt. We both
know this." He held out his hand. "Let her go."
"Nice try, old
man." David moved back, pulling
Emma with him. "The slayers
go. All except Christine. Send them out now."
Silver didn't hesitate. "Lynda, take them out."
She looked at him
uncertainly.
"Go!"
She led the others out. David waited until they were clear, then he
pulled Emma to the door switch. He hit
it, waited until the door closed firmly, then shot it with his phaser, fusing
the lock. He never let go of Emma. "See what he'll do for you, lover? I told you how important you were to
him."
Christine moved closer, could
feel Jim behind her.
"If you could get that
phaser away from him," he said softly.
She nodded. "We just need a little
distraction."
"I think I have that
covered. Just get us a little
closer."
"What are you and your
paramour muttering about, Christine?"
David pulled Emma toward him; he had her arm at an odd angle. If he pulled her any closer, he'd break her
arm. "That's close enough."
Christine stopped. "Emma, why?"
Emma looked over at her. "He made me an offer I found too good to
refuse. I thought he was a man of his
word." She wrenched her head back
so that she could look up at him and spit in his face. "My life for hers. That was the deal."
He rubbed the spittle off
against her hair. "I intend to keep
up my end of the bargain. But I didn't
say anything about our fellow watchers."
Christine took another step
forward.
David yanked up on Emma's
arm. The cracking sound seemed to fill
the room. Emma didn't cry out, but tears
came and she was breathing hard.
"Behave yourself,
Christine. Or I'll hurt her some
more." David looked down at Emma.
Sweat was pouring down her
forehead. "Hurts, does
it?" He glanced at Kevin. "So brave. Isn't she brave, Kevin?"
"David, for god's sake, let
her go." Silver took a step toward
him. "How many years are you going
to hold this against me?"
"That you took a little
boy who only wanted to study science, maybe join Starfleet, and turned him into
a monster? That I had no choice in the
matter? Why, I think I'll hold it
against you forever. And for me, that's
going to be a nice long time."
"You could have
quit," Emma said.
"And have my fellow
special ops brothers track me down?"
He looked over at Christine.
"How easy was it to quit?"
"No one tried to hurt me
when I did, David. You could have
quit."
"You don't know
that. I had access to everything. Horrors you have not heard about yet. Things that make the Cruciamentum seem kind." He looked at Silver. "Would you have let me live, Uncle?"
"You could have
left," Silver said.
Christine could hear the lie
in his voice.
Jim inched closer to her, the
movement so fluid that David didn't notice.
"We're running out of time.
Silver's too stubborn to save this situation. I think it's time for a distraction."
"Agreed." She didn't look at him when she whispered,
"On three?"
"One, two, three,"
Jim said, throwing the orb to the side of David. "Laura," he whispered.
Smoke gushed from the broken
crystal, rising up, making a wispy dark curtain. The watchers moved back.
David pulled Emma away from
it; he looked at Jim as if he'd gone mad.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"David?" A voice that Christine had thought she'd
never hear again rang through the room.
"David?"
Both he and Emma turned to
the smoke, twin looks of amazement on their faces.
Laura walked out of the
smoke. She smiled at David.
"Chris, go. She'll only hold form for a few
minutes."
Christine was already moving,
slowly covering ground, trying not to spook David.
"David?" Laura walked toward him.
He dragged Emma with him, his
eyes locked on his lost slayer.
"Laura?"
Emma looked over at
Christine, a strange suspicion on her face, then she looked back at the
girl. "Laura?"
Suddenly Laura fell, the
smiling young girl giving way to the girl who'd died on Vega Hydra. Bloody and hurt, she held her hand up to
David. "Help me."
He backed away. "No." Then he seemed to realize
Christine was coming up fast. He turned,
lifting the phaser again.
"No!" she said,
knew it was too far, that she wouldn't get to him. Then she felt a familiar energy pushing her,
getting her close enough fast enough.
Jim.
Her hand was out, slapping
the phaser away from David, her other hand pushing Emma away from him. She kicked David back, saw Jim out of the
corner of her eye pulling Emma away.
David frowned. "What is that?" He suddenly moved so Christine was between
them. "A weapon?"
She kicked him away from
her. Saw that Jim had raised the
gun. It no longer shimmered.
"I told you. We're not just whittling stakes
anymore."
He laughed as he moved around
her. "He can't get a shot as long
as you're in front of me." He
traded blows with her, never hitting her hard enough to lose her as a shield. "Do you think he can fire before I get
to him? Before I rip his head off?"
She smiled. "Yes. I do."
She saw that he was working them closer to Jim. "But you're not going to get the
chance."
"We'll see."
He moved back and she
followed him, then he suddenly lunged at her, kicking her hard, back toward
Jim. He followed, keeping her between
them, and leapt up, kicking her again as she tried to give Jim a shot.
She went careening into him,
knocking the weapon out of his hands. It
clattered to the ground.
Next to Emma.
As Christine went after David
again, she heard Emma say, "Which one do I shoot?"
Jim yelled at her,
"David. Shoot David."
Emma seemed to sob. "I know.
But which one?"
Christine moved between David
and her watcher. He rushed her and she
caught him up, threw him away from her, into some of the other watchers. He was up quickly and back at her.
"You knew it would come
to this," she said. "You and
me. The old-fashioned way."
He shook his head. "I've still got body armor. You don't." He laughed, then rushed her for real.
She lost track of what Emma
or Jim or anyone but David was doing.
Their movements were like poetry, strike, strike, kick. Back and forth, neither of them giving
ground.
She remembered that Rosa had danced
like this with Anacost. Finally,
understood why she'd been smiling.
It was what she had been born
to do.
They closed, fought closer
in. Her hands were sore from hitting his
armor; her legs were staring to tire.
But she laughed. She could feel a
strange darkness fill her. They would
finish this. Finally.
And it would not be her that
would go down. She grabbed him, pulled
him to the side. Gave Emma a shot. Knew her watcher wouldn't miss. Even with a broken arm. She was the best shot Christine had ever
seen. "Emma, now!"
Emma fired.
And the rocket flew dead on
target--if she'd been aiming for Christine.
"No!" Jim yelled.
Christine made a helpless
noise. Time slowed strangely and she
knew it was over. It would be her lying
on the ground.
It would be her who died.
Then David pushed her away.
She fell back, landed hard on
her butt, felt the shock as her tailbone protested.
David was smiling, turning
toward the rocket as it tore through his chest.
He flew back, as if the rocket was still traveling and carrying him with
it. He finally fell, and she could see
fire burning through the gaping hole in his body armor.
She rushed to him. Could hear Jim behind her.
David looked up at Jim. "You made this?"
Jim nodded.
Christine was trying to put
the fire out. She tried to smother it
with her jacket but it wouldn't go out.
"It's chemical,
love. I can feel that. Not normal fire." It began to spread out from this chest, his
skin bubbling up around the hole, then turning into something that looked like
coals, fire glowing from behind the cracks in his skin.
She leaned forward and he
caught her around the neck. His hands
tightened painfully on either side of her head.
She froze.
He looked up at Jim. "You need to make it burn faster. If it were anyone but her...I'd snap her
neck." He let go of her.
She started to breathe
again. "David."
"It hurts." He reached out, touched her jacket where
she'd dropped it. Pulling out her stake,
he handed it to her. "End it, Christine. The old-fashioned way." He groaned in pain as the fire spread
again.
She tried to blink back
tears, but they fell onto his face.
"You cry for
me." He smiled. A shy, uncertain smile. He was Thompson again. Just for a moment. "That's nice."
"I'll fight for
them. I promise."
"I know you
will." The fire spread again. So slowly.
Too slowly.
Why didn't it burn
faster?
She looked at the stake. It was what she was made for. To slay him.
He smiled, grabbed her
hand. "Here. I'll do it for you."
She put her other hand over
his. "No. I can do it."
He nodded, relaxed his grip
on her hand, but didn't let go of the stake.
"Goodbye, David."
He smiled up at her. This time his own cocky grin. She slammed the stake into his chest, felt
his hand clench on hers, then it turned to dust. She looked up at Jim.
He was watching her with
concern. He gently set his hand on her
shoulder. "I'll help you. You know that. Whatever I can do for the slayers, I'll
do."
She pushed herself to her
feet and moved close to him, touching his cheek, then leaning in and kissing
him softly on the mouth before she pulled away.
"I know you will." She
looked down at where Silver was sitting with Emma. "We need to get her to the
hospital."
He pulled out his
communicator. She could hear him calling
for emergency transport as she walked to her watcher. She pushed past Silver, knelt down next to
Emma.
"I didn't think you'd be
able to do it," Silver said softly.
"I may have misjudged you."
She gave him a hard
look. "Don't talk to me right
now. I had to kill him because you
couldn't let a little boy live the life he wanted. And I thought it was only girls you
destroyed."
He looked down. "I don't expect you to understand my
position."
Emma reached out, touched his
arm. "Don't, Kevin. Just let her hurt. She loved him." Emma's eyes met hers. "We both did." She looked down. "Even if he only loved one of
us." Her smile was tremulous, a
little bit startling coming from such a normally stalwart woman. As Christine watched, the starch came back
into her expression. She smiled firmly
up at her. "My arm's in pain,
dear. Perhaps a hospital?"
"Jim's got that
covered." Christine helped her
up. And led her away from Silver and the
other watchers.
She left Emma with Jim, then
gathered up her jacket, touching the pile of dust. "I won't forget," she promised
David. Then she sighed and straightened
up. "Get us out of here, Jim."
She didn't look away from the
dust until the transporter took them.
--------------------------------
Kirk watched Christine as she
worked on Emma's arm. He'd used his flag
privileges to get his "cousin" Emma Drake seen at Starfleet
Medical. Christine had used a few dark
looks to get the doctors on duty in the emergency clinic to back off. Nobody seemed to want to argue with her.
He could suddenly see her as
CMO.
She was running some scans
over Emma's head.
"Still trying to get to
the bottom of those migraines?" Emma asked. She had a strange look on her face. Off somehow, but Kirk wasn't sure how.
"You shouldn't have to
be in pain all the time," Christine said, glancing over at him.
He smiled at her, and she
smiled back. He and Emma were the only
ones getting smiles out of her tonight.
He felt a hand on his arm,
turned and saw Uhura. She was in
civilian clothes.
"Nyota, what are you
going here?"
She smiled grimly. "I have my comm system set up to notify
me if certain people are admitted into the local hospitals." She shook her head. "I can't do much, but I can do
that."
He smiled. "Good thinking."
She nodded distractedly. "What happened?"
"Big battle." He looked down. He felt surprisingly bad about how things had
turned out. He wished they could have
wooed David over to their side. He
thought he could have liked the man.
"Is Christine
okay?" Uhura was watching her with
concern.
"She's all right. Emma has a broken arm."
"And David?"
Kirk shook his head.
Uhura looked down. "I'll pray for him."
He smiled. "That'd be a good thing." He thought David might need the prayers.
Christine finished her scans
of Emma's brain, moved down to check her arm.
She moved aside to let the nurse in with the regenerator. "One more pass, I think," she said,
and the nurse nodded.
She walked over to Kirk and
Uhura, let Uhura pull her into a hug.
"I'm sorry,
Christine."
She nodded, then she looked
over at him. "There was no other
way."
"There
wasn't." He'd been working it over
and over. It had ended the only way it
could if no one would bend. He was just
glad she'd come out unharmed.
She turned back to check
Emma's arm, and he said softly to Uhura, "You should have seen her fight,
Nyota. It was beautiful."
Uhura smiled. "I take it Chekov's little toy
worked?"
He smiled. Patted the violin case he still had slung
over his shoulder. "I'll have to
tell him that."
"He'll be
thrilled."
"He needs to work on the
chemical mix. It burns too
slowly." But was it smart to make
it burn any faster? What if it had hit
Chris? If it had been too fast, he'd
have never been able to extinguish it.
Not that he could have extinguished it on his own. Why hadn't he thought to ask them for an
extinguisher? She would have burned to
death and it would have been his fault.
"Wherever you've
gone," Uhura said softly.
"Leave it." She touched
his hand. "She's fine."
He shot her a puzzled look,
unsure how she knew what he was thinking.
"How...?"
She smiled. "You get a certain look where she's
concerned." She looked at
Chris. "She looks all in."
"She needs
sleep." He could hold her tonight,
hold her in his bed. Then he realized
there was no need. David was dead and
she could sleep in her own bed. He felt
a bit bereft at the thought.
Uhura walked over to Emma,
who was sliding off the exam table, her arm in a sling.
"How long do I have to
wear this, Christine?" Emma asked.
"A few days." Christine smiled. "Don't you like the color?"
"It's fine. Just unwieldy."
Christine nodded. "Let's get you home."
"I can do that,"
Uhura said, moving gently between Chris and Emma. "You need to get some sleep."
Emma nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, my dear. You do look very tired." She touched Chris's arm. "It's been a hard night for all of
us."
Chris nodded, let Uhura lead
Emma away.
"You can use the
transporter to get her home," Kirk said.
"Just tell the tech I've authorized it."
Uhura nodded and led Emma
out.
He watched Chris as she
cleaned up.
"I should leave this for
the nurse. Old habits die hard."
She looked over at him. There was
something lost in her expression and he moved toward her.
She shied away. "I'm okay."
"I know you
are." When she turned around, an
angry look on her face as if he was humoring her, he said softly. "Chris, I'm not worried about you. I'm just feeling bad for David. And for us.
For having to be the ones who did it.
You did what you had to do. Like
I knew you would."
She moved closer. "You have such faith in me."
He nodded. "I do." He smiled, pulled her to him and she didn't
resist.
Her arms wrapped around
him. "I didn't want him to
die."
"I know."
They stood in silence, warm
in the cocoon of their embrace.
"You can go home
tonight," he said, his voice sounding more forlorn than he meant it to.
"I don't want
to." She pulled away. "But I probably should. Safer."
He touched her hair. "We'll be okay. Come home with me. I don't want to be alone tonight
either."
She nodded, grabbed up her
stuff and led him out of Starfleet Medical.
As she turned for the exit, he touched her hand.
She took it. Squeezed hard.
"I'm sorry, Chris."
"Me too, Jim. Me too."
They didn't talk the rest of
the way home.
-----------------------------
Christine hurried down the
street to Emma's townhouse. She didn't
understand why Emma wasn't answering her comms.
She had visions of her watcher hurt, perhaps when Emma had reached for
something and had wrenched her healing arm.
She ran up the steps, hit the chime.
"Come on, come on."
She looked down at the padd
she carried. McCoy had once told her
that the hardest part of being a doctor was delivering bad news. Medicine had come a long way, but there were
still times when there was nothing anyone could do. How did you tell someone they had virtually
no time left? She should have seen the
symptoms. The sensitivity to light, the
headaches. Even during the fight, it
must have been double vision that made Emma misaim the weapon as she had.
How cruel would it be for her
watcher to have fought so hard for her life and then find out that it was for
nothing? If someone had caught it
sooner, maybe then they could have done something--
Christine pushed the thought
away. Chorealpaneic Encephalitis was not
something you caught sooner. In
Christine's infectious disease course, the professor had called it a sleeping
killer, lying hidden for years after exposure, slowly weaving itself into the
body's vital systems. By the time the
first symptom was seen, it was long past too late. Emma had probably been carrying it for years
unaware that her body harbored a time bomb.
A time bomb that no one would think to look for. It wasn't the kind of disease that flared
into epidemics. It wasn't airborne,
didn't spread through casual contact.
You had to be exposed to infected brain or spinal tissue. Christine smiled grimly. The demons they routinely fought often tore
their victims apart, exposing every kind of tissue. Emma had probably been infected by a corpse she'd
examined. She'd probably never realized
that the victim had been doomed long before the big bad monster got to him.
Christine rang the chime
again, then keyed in her medical emergency override, pushing the door open when
the lock clicked. She thought she heard
movement upstairs, and yelled out, "Emma?"
The movement stopped.
"Damn it." Something was in this house. Something that didn't want her to know it was
there. Well, that something was in for a
rude awakening.
She crept down the hallway. The noise had come from Emma's bedroom.
She kicked the door in,
poised to attack. There was no one in
the bedroom but Emma, standing by the bed, holding a jacket.
Christine dropped her hands,
letting her fists unclench, feeling foolish.
"Emma, for God's sake, I called.
Didn't you hear me?"
She suddenly realized there
was a suitcase on the bed, half filled with clothes. Another small bag sat on the floor, full of
books and weapons.
Christine turned to her
watcher. "You're going
somewhere?"
Emma seemed unable to look at
her.
Christine realized she wasn't
wearing the sling; it was lying on the dresser.
Emma followed her gaze, then looked away.
Christine saw a smaller case,
full of hypos sitting on the bed.
Walking over to it, she checked out the contents. Painkillers, sedatives, anti-anxiety
meds. Enough to put down a small
elephant--permanently. She dropped her
padd on the bed, turned and stared at Emma.
"You already know, don't you?"
Emma was clutching the jacket
to her, as if it were a lifeline. She
backed up, sat down quickly in the chair against the wall.
"How long have you
known?" Christine asked.
"Quite a while."
"My god. It's why you took David up on his offer. You knew you'd be dead soon anyway."
"I told you. It was a good offer." Emma smiled sadly.
Christine held up the
meds. "And these?"
Emma met her eyes, her
expression bleakly determined. "I
like to think of those as dignity."
Christine blinked back angry
tears. "Dignity? You're running away. All those damn lectures to me, and you're
running away?"
"Really, dear. You're being overdramatic." Emma's voice was lacking its normal
starch. She cleared her throat, seemed
to draw herself up as if in an attempt to look like the watcher that Christine
had first met. "This is a private
matter."
Christine fought the urge to
hurl the medicines against the wall.
Emma would just get more; it was easy to do if one had the resources and
the will.
She walked over to Emma,
looked down at her. "It's not a
private matter anymore. I'm
involved."
"Oh, for god's sake,
Christine. I'm your watcher. One who you didn't even want. I don't expect anything from you." She stood up, pushed past her and folded the
jacket carefully, sticking it in the suitcase.
"It doesn't matter what
you expect, because you're stuck with me."
Emma walked to the closet,
reaching for a handful of clothes and carrying them back to the suitcase. She didn't look at Christine, kept her head
down. As she folded a skirt on the top of
the pile, she said, "Go away, Christine.
I don't need you here. And you've
proven you don't need a watcher. You had
to rescue me, after all."
When Christine didn't say
anything, Emma sighed. "I should
think that you'd be happy to be rid of me.
I'm certainly happy to be done with this assignment."
Her voice broke on the last
word.
Christine moved closer,
reached out and turned Emma's face to her.
Her watcher's eyes were filled with tears. Emma's chin trembled as she tried but failed
to hold back a small sob.
Christine let her go. "Where will you go?"
Emma shrugged.
Christine let her hand rest
on Emma's upper back, rubbed it gently, the way Jim always did for her when she
was upset.
There was no fire left in
Emma's voice as she whispered, "I have so little time left,
Christine."
"I know." Christine took a deep breath. "Why would you run?"
Emma turned to her, almost
violently. "How could I not? I didn't want you to have to see me die. Not after you've made so much progress. Not when you have a chance to find some
happiness."
"You think I'm not
strong enough?" Christine shook her
head, could feel tears fill her eyes and didn't try to fight them as they
fell. "Well, you're wrong. Because of you, I am strong
enough." She took a deep breath. "I won't let you die alone. And fortunately for you, I happen to be a
doctor now." She nudged the bag of
meds away. "I can take care of you
much better than these can."
"Why?" Emma shook her head; tears ran down her
face. "Why put yourself through
this?"
"Because a watcher I
know told me that I shouldn't run away from things. I should stay. I should fight."
"There is no more
fighting to do. There's nothing you can
do. I'm going to die."
"Yes, you are. But not alone, Emma. You won't die alone." Christine took another deep breath, the sound
raspy, full of pain. "Please don't
go. I can't bear thinking of you
alone."
Emma turned, pulled her into
a fierce hug. "Sweet, sweet
child."
Christine held her friend
tightly. "I'm older than you,
Emma."
Emma pulled away, smoothed
back Christine's hair. She shook her
head, as if in defeat. "I know you
are. And soon you'll have to be the
watcher."
Christine took a deep breath,
forced herself to stop crying. She stood
straight. She'd won. Emma would stay. Now...now Christine had to be strong. "You think that any of that tweed will
fit me?"
Emma laughed, then pulled out
a linen handkerchief and blew her nose.
"Do you have any idea
how unsanitary that is?" Christine
reached for the cloth. "Tissues,
disposable."
Emma pulled it away from
her. "In a few weeks, it won't
matter."
Christine dropped her hand,
nodded. Such blunt acceptance. But, Emma was right. In a few weeks, it wouldn't matter.
"Promise me, we'll be
honest. None of this sparing my
feelings, or sugarcoating the truth. And
no more tears. I don't want to cry
anymore, and I don't want you to."
"I promise." She tried to push Emma away from the
suitcase. "Let me do this. You rest."
Emma scowled at her. "That's what I mean. I can still do this now. Let me.
Soon enough I'll be resting."
She looked down. "I'll be
resting forever."
Christine nodded, hurt at the
tone.
"Oh, Christine, go make
us some tea or something. We're not on
deathwatch yet."
She tried to smile. "Right.
Tea. Good idea."
"Christine?" Emma
called out as Christine walked toward the door.
"I love you. Thank
you."
Christine turned to look at
her. "You have only yourself to
blame." She tried to grin, almost
made it. "You had to go and help me
get well."
Emma smiled at her, so much
fondness beaming out of her eyes that Christine nearly choked on the lump in
her throat. Turning quickly to hide the
tears Emma didn't want to see, she fled to the kitchen to make tea. Tea that she suspected neither of them really
wanted.
-----------------------------
Kirk walked up the stairs to
the townhouse door. He knocked gently,
afraid that the chime might disturb Emma if she was sleeping.
After a few moments, Uhura
opened the door. "Hi." She slipped aside, giving him room to come
in.
"How is she?"
Uhura shook her head. "Depends on which she you mean. At this point, I think Emma's doing better
than Christine."
"Where is Chris?"
Uhura pointed down the
stairs. As he started to head down, she
touched his arm.
"Emma asked to see
you."
He frowned. "Me?
Why?"
"I'm not sure. But she asked me to let you know if I saw
you. Do you want me to take you
up?"
He shot a glance down the stairs,
then nodded, following Uhura up to the main level and down the long hallway to
one of the bedrooms.
Uhura gently pushed the door
open. She smiled softly. "Emma?
Admiral Kirk is here."
Kirk suddenly wondered if
he'd ever told Uhura to call him Jim.
He'd have to do that. It was long
past time.
She turned to him. "Go on in."
He stepped into the room, the
shades were drawn, the lamp on low. Emma
smiled at him, a shaky smile as if the expression was one of great effort.
He walked over, took her
hands. "Nyota said you wanted to
talk to me?"
She nodded, pushed herself to
a sitting position. He reached behind
her and rearranged the pillows.
She smiled at him. "Thank you."
He shrugged slightly. "It's not much."
"Kindness is never not
much." She took a raspy breath,
seemed to be trying not to cough.
"Do you need
something?"
She shook her head, held up
her hand as if asking him to wait. He
sat down in the chair next to the bed.
Emma leaned back, took a
tentative breath. "Sorry, moving
does that to me. I'll be fine in a
minute. If you don't mind, some water
would be most welcome."
He poured her a glass from
the bottle by the bed. She sipped at it
carefully. He waited.
She smiled. "Most people find moments like this
excruciating. Start making small
talk. Asking inane questions, or
breaking into tears. I watched it happen
with my mother when I was young."
She took another drink. "But
you just sit and wait. It's a gift,
Jim."
He smiled, was unsure what
else to say.
"I'm worried about
Christine. It's why I wanted to see
you."
He leaned forward. "She's stronger than she was. She owes that to you."
Emma shot him a half
smile. "Oh and to you too, I
think."
"Maybe." He shook his head. "This is hard for her. Brings back memories of losing Marcus, and
Roger, and Spock."
Emma nodded. "Yes, I know." She sipped, her expression pensive. "Would I have liked Spock, do you
think?"
Kirk thought about that. "There was a time when I would have
given you an unqualified yes." He
looked down. "He was my best
friend. But he's gone now. I know you are aware of what happened, so I
won't bore you with the details."
He shifted, tried to get comfortable in the chair. "I'm not sure how much of the Spock I
knew is left."
"Christine believes she
drove him to this Gol place."
Kirk nodded. "I had a hand in that too."
Emma smiled.
"What?"
She shook her head. "You're both so good at punishing
yourselves. I wish you were half as good
at forgiving."
"I can't speak for Chris,
but it's difficult to forgive myself when I know that I would do it again. That I can't see a way not to hurt him."
"I think Christine feels
the same." Emma surprised him by
taking his hand. "This Spock, this
best friend of yours. He's probably never
coming back. You do realize that?"
It wasn't something he liked
to think about. He sighed.
Her hand tightened on
his. "It's a waste of your life to
live as if he were going to reappear at any moment."
"I don't think I'm doing
that. I know Chris isn't. She's made plans. Has a future all plotted out." He smiled.
"The Enterprise is the one place she was happy."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Happy?
She was in hiding. That's not
happiness, it's numbness."
"Well, she's not hiding
anymore. Maybe she can find happiness
there this time."
Emma's eyes seemed to
flash. "Maybe it's already standing
right in front of her. Maybe it's just
too afraid to reach out for her."
"I'm not
afraid." He tried to pull his hand
free, but she held it fast. He'd
forgotten how strong she was.
She sighed, it was a
frustrated sound. "I believe that
you're in love with her. I know she's in
love with you. Yet here you both are,
too damned stupid to reach for what you want."
"What we want? There are more important things than what we
want. There's loyalty, and trying not to
hurt someone any more than we already have."
"I don't have much time,
so I'm not going to mince words, Jim. If
you walk away from her, you'll regret it the rest of your life." Emma leaned forward, seemed like she was
about to say more when a coughing fit came over her.
Kirk helped her lean back
against the pillows. He rubbed her back,
high up, wishing with all his heart that he could take her pain away.
She looked up at him. "There's magic in those hands. And I do mean that literally." She closed her eyes, took what seemed like an
easier breath. "Oh, yes. Thank you."
"I'm sorry I upset
you," he said softly.
"I'm not upset. I just want her to be happy. You've been kind to me; I'd like to see you
happy too. As it just so happens, I
think the two of you would be happy together.
I'd like to help that along."
She shook her head. "But I
guess I should know better than to do that.
If it's meant to be, it'll be."
He met her eyes, let her see
how much he wished that it could be, then raised the shutters that he hoped
kept his feelings for Chris locked away most of the time. "I don't think it is meant to be. How can it be? To have someone, and to always feel guilty
for the having? Is that happiness? Is that even right?"
"Only with his
blessing? Is that it?"
He shrugged. "Sounds old-fashioned. And pretty stupid when you say it. But maybe that's it. If he weren't my friend, but he is. Was."
He frowned.
"I'll leave it alone
then. I haven't said anything to
her. She's going through
enough." She looked at him
intently. "Will you promise me
you'll be her friend?"
He smiled. "That's an easy one. I'd die for her."
She shook her head. "The two of you are some team. I think you'll keep each other alive."
He looked down. "She'll be gone soon. We won't be a team anymore."
"If you'd take my
suggestion to heart--" She smiled
at the look he shot her. "My mother
always told me I never knew when to stop pushing."
"She was
right." He smiled though, knew she
only had Chris's best interest at heart.
There was a soft knock on the
door. Kirk turned to see who it
was.
Silver stood at the
door. "If this is a bad time?"
Emma held out her hand, her
features softening. "Kevin. Of course not. Come in."
Kirk stood up. "I'll leave you two alone." He smiled down at Emma. "I need to check on Chris."
She nodded. "Yes, you do that." She sighed.
"Take care of her for me?
Don't let her go back to the dark place."
He wasn't sure he was the
best one to keep her out of any dark places, but he nodded solemnly. He'd keep her from succumbing to the crushing
despair, or he'd follow her down into whatever black place she wanted to call
home. And he'd stay with her until she
was ready to walk out again--on her own.
Uhura watched Christine
pummel the punching bag, and sighed, snuggling deeper into the chair in the
corner of the basement. It was going to be
a long wait before she could try again to talk Christine into eating or getting
some sleep. Her friend was barely taking
a moment between blows and kicks, her grunts getting louder as she hit the bag
increasingly hard.
Kirk came down the stairs and
stood in the doorway, watching Christine for a long time, his face unreadable,
before he walked over and sat down on the padded bench across the room. He looked over at Uhura, the slight lift of
his eyebrows asking her for a status report, the way he used to on the bridge,
when he didn't want the others to hear how bad it was. She shook her head very slightly, the old
answer that said, "It's bad."
He nodded, the gesture barely more than a slight tilt of his head, a
slight dip of his eyelids.
She missed this interaction,
the easy way she could read him and what he needed from her. Saw by his expression that he did too. She would have it back soon, or its
replacement--whatever system Decker implemented to find out what he needed to
know from her without words. But what
would Kirk have to replace it?
Christine kicked hard, then
stopped the bag. She turned to look at
Kirk. "You saw her?"
He nodded.
They stared at each other for
a long moment. Uhura couldn't see
Christine's expression, but Kirk's seemed to soften, compassion for the watcher
and Christine evident.
Christine turned away
abruptly, whacked the ball hard with the back of her hand, followed up with
another fierce chop. She kept up the
routine. Smack, smack, smack.
Uhura rubbed her eyes. She had a fierce headache, born more out of
worry for Christine than anything else.
She looked over at Kirk. "Is
Emma alone?"
"Silver is with
her."
There was a slight break in
Christine's tempo, but she didn't say anything.
Kirk and Uhura shared a
look. He leaned back against the wall,
watched Christine silently.
Suddenly, Christine reached
out and stopped the bag again. She
didn't look at either of them, just stood breathing hard. "I wish you two would stop staring at
me."
"We're just worried
about you," Uhura said softly.
"Uh huh. And have you reserved the padded cell yet, or
will that come later?"
Uhura didn't recognize the
bite in her friend's tone. This must be
what Len had been telling her Christine was like just before she ran away. Brittle, sharp. Ready to explode.
Kirk laughed. "Because you're working off a little
steam? How many times do you think I
went down to the gym alone and punched the hell out of the bag? You think I don't know what you're
doing? You think I don't know the
frustration you feel trying to keep it together for Emma while inside you just
want to fall apart?"
Christine turned to look at
him. The sharp tenseness of her
shoulders seemed to relax. "How did
you do it? How did you hold it together?"
"The same way you
are. One moment at a time."
Christine stepped closer to
him, held out her hand and he took it.
"I'm sorry." She turned
to include Uhura in the apology. "I'm
just so..."
"Tired," Uhura
finished for her. "You need to
rest." She knew it was a losing
argument. But the Uhura women were
nothing if not stubborn.
The Chapel women outdid them
though. "I'm fine."
"You're not fine,"
Kirk said. "You're overtired and you probably haven't eaten. Do you know what Bones would be saying to me
right now? What you would be saying to
me, if our places were reversed?"
Christine sighed, throwing
her head back and rolling her neck as if trying to work out far too many kinks.
"Come here." Kirk let go of her, patted the seat next to
him.
She didn't move right away,
seemed poised to jump away if he reached for her. But he didn't reach for her, just sat
quietly. Waiting.
With a sigh, Christine sat
down next to him.
He shifted slightly, began to
knead her neck. "You'll be no good
to Emma if you can't function. And you
need rest to function. And what if you
have to go out on patrol one of these nights?
You could get hurt because you're too tired to pay attention. How will that help Emma?" His voice was gentle, not chiding, just
reminding her of the facts.
"The other slayers are
patrolling," Christine said softly.
"They're not gone
yet?"
Christine shook her head.
"Nevertheless..."
Uhura smiled softly, put her
head down on her arm and watched as Christine's expression slowly relaxed. Lie down, she sent her friend, thinking her
love ought to count for at least a sleep spell.
Christine groaned. Kirk let go of her, shifted a bit so that he
was in a more comfortable position, then said softly, "You need to
sleep."
Christine's eyes were drooping.
Yes, you need to sleep, Uhura
silently tried to reinforce Kirk's suggestion.
Christine swung her legs up
on the bench, slowly stretched out, her head in Kirk's lap. She seemed tense, her body held tightly, as
if she was about to jump back up.
Kirk didn't say anything, but
he moved his hand to her hair, began to stroke it gently.
Uhura felt her own eyes
closing as she watched the rhythmic movement of his hand. Christine moaned, and she shifted on the
bench, her body relaxing, her eyes slowly falling shut. In a moment, she was out.
Kirk smiled, looked over at
Uhura and shook his head. "Stubborn," he said softly.
Uhura nodded.
"You could use some
sleep too."
"I'm fine, sir."
"Jim."
She frowned.
"Call me Jim. I should have told you that a long time ago,
Nyota."
Uhura smiled tiredly. "Jim." She yawned.
"I'm not that tired."
He smiled at the fib. "I'll wake you if Emma needs
anything."
Sleep was so tempting. She watched as Jim's hand slid down
Christine's hair. He was such a good
man. And good for Christine. He'd look out for her. He'd look out for them all.
"Sleep," he said
again.
"All right." She lay her head back down, let her eyes
close. She opened them a second later,
saw that he had turned back to watch Christine.
The look on his face was unguarded, tired. And full of such tenderness that Uhura felt
as if she was intruding on the two of them.
She shifted in the chair to
get more comfortable, closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax, secure in
the knowledge that she was safe as long as he was watching over them.
------------------------------
The slow rise and fall of the
monitors lulled Christine into a nearly hypnotic state. Emma's breathing was labored; she was
sleeping more and more. A sleep made
accessible by the heavy painkillers she increasingly needed.
Christine shifted in the
chair. She looked over at Emma, saw that
she was awake and watching her.
"Are you in pain?"
Christine asked softly.
Emma smiled. "No."
Christine had mixed in some
other meds, meds designed to relax Emma, remove her slightly from any
fear.
"What happens to
us?" Emma asked, her voice barely more than a croak.
"When we die?"
Emma nodded.
"I don't know."
Emma frowned slightly. "But you died. What happened?"
Christine shrugged. "I don't remember very much. It was dark and peaceful. No one wanted to hurt me and I didn't have to
hunt anyone anymore." She
sighed. "I didn't get very far
before they brought me back."
"Well, I'm glad for
that." Emma smiled, then held her
hand out.
Christine took it and held on
tightly. She tried not to react to how
little strength Emma had when she squeezed back.
"I'm glad I killed the
bolus demons. I'm glad Kevin made me
your watcher."
Christine fought the
tears. Emma didn't want them, and
Christine could cry when this was over.
"I am too."
"It's getting dark. Is it night?"
The light hadn't changed in
the room. "Yes, it's very
late."
"You knew Laura, didn't
you?" Emma asked. "That's how
Jim made her come alive for us."
"I knew her."
"You watched her
die. At the Gotterdammerung?"
"Yes." Christine closed her eyes. "I wanted to
tell you. I wanted to tell David
too. But I couldn't."
"I understand. He would too." Emma smiled.
"Don't give Kirsu to Kevin.
I'm not sure he'll share it. Keep
it for the slayers." She
smiled. "It's what David would have
wanted."
Emma's gaze was suddenly
drawn to something above the foot of the bed.
She shifted her gaze from one spot to another and back again.
"Emma?"
"They're here. How wonderful." She seemed to be talking to herself, her hand
loosened on Christine's. "I wasn't
sure...but he did care for me." She
smiled, a beautiful smile. "And
Laura. They came."
Christine looked at the spots
that drew Emma's attention. She imagined
two people standing there, could picture how soft David's eyes might be if he
were free of the hatred that had warped him, how Laura's smile would light up
the dark for Emma. Take care of her, she
tried to tell these ghosts only Emma could see.
Please take care of her.
She looked back at Emma. Her watcher's eyes were closed. The monitors chimed softly once and then went
still as the level indicators all went black.
Christine had missed the moment; she had missed Emma's death.
She could almost hear Emma
correcting her. Death was more than just
a moment. Christine had been there for
all of it. She didn't need to see a last
breath to have been a witness.
She busied herself with the
things that needed to be done after death.
The times and numbers recorded, the medicine drips removed. She leaned down, kissed Emma's cheek.
"Safe journey,
Emma. I'll never forget you." She bit back a sob. "Don't forget me."
She straightened back up.
"Chris?"
She looked up. Jim was at the door.
"How long have you been
there?"
"Long enough." He stepped into the room, held his arms out
to her.
She didn't hesitate, hurried
to him, almost threw herself at him.
His arms closed around her
tightly, and he said, "Let it out.
It's all right to let go now."
He rubbed her neck, his mouth on her hair, near her ear, whispering,
"Let it out."
The control she'd maintained
for Emma's sake shattered and she heard a strange wailing sound coming from
somewhere. Then she realized the broken
animal-like cry was coming from her. She
tried to pull away, afraid that she was breaking apart. The terrible cry sounded again.
"Oh, sweetheart. I'm sorry." He eased his hold on her, letting his arms
drop to her waist, making it easy for her to pull away if she wanted to.
She looked up at him. "What do I do?"
He smiled gently. "Whatever you have to."
She felt the panic
recede. His hands on her waist rested
lightly, supporting her but not holding her.
His eyes were so calm, so concerned.
She moved back against him, relaxed and felt his arms tighten around
her.
"You're safe," he
whispered.
She let go then. Let the tears that felt as if they were a
pounding tidal wave inside her head, finally burst free. He didn't say anything, just held her while
she wept.
She felt a slight tingle, and
then it was as if a heavy cloak had fallen around them, blocking out the light
and the outside world. Keeping
everything out but them. The darkness
seemed to settle around her, protecting her, keeping her safe. As she gave herself over to the pain inside
her, she heard his words echoing softly all around her, as if the blackness was
saying, "It's all right. You're
safe. It's all right."
She didn't know how long she
wept. She only stopped when she couldn't
breathe anymore. He handed her a tissue,
wiped her face with his thumbs, the pressure gentle across her cheeks.
Her head throbbed and she
couldn't stop the half-sobs that kept escaping.
He gently drew her out of the
bedroom. She saw Uhura waiting in the
hallway, concern and pain evident on her face.
She walked to Christine's other side, wrapped her arms around her and
said, "I'm so sorry."
Christine realized someone
else stood in the hallway. She blinked
hard, not sure what she wanted to say to Silver.
He stepped forward, his face
void of any of his normal unpleasant expressions. She realized he was blinking hard.
She stretched out her hand,
and he took it, held on to her tightly for a long moment then let go.
"She wanted to be buried
with the other watchers," he said.
Christine realized he was
asking for her permission; she nodded.
"I'll make arrangements
for transportation then."
As he turned to head down the
stairs, Christine whispered, "Thank you for sending her to me."
He turned slowly. Unshed tears were bright in his eyes. "I didn't do it just for you." He smiled slightly. "I never cared a whit about those damned
bolus demons." He blinked rapidly,
turning and fleeing down the stairs but not before the tears he'd worked loose
fell.
Christine sobbed, felt Jim's
arm tighten around her.
"What now?" Uhura
asked quietly.
Christine glanced back into
the room, saw Emma lying serenely. No
pain, no effort to breathe. Just
peace.
"I'll make some tea,"
Christine said softly.
It was what Emma would have
done.
FIN