Copyright: |
Caffey (2002) |
Rated: |
PG |
Disclaimer: |
Paramount owns the Star Trek universe. I'm just trespassing. Don't know who owns the lyrics of Josh Groban's "To Where You Are". Still, no copyright infringement is intended in either case. |
Author's Note: |
Thanks go out to Dakota for her suggestions as well as for betaing! |
Warning: |
You may not want to read this. I ventured into unfamiliar territory. No humor, no flippant remarks, no happy ending. Instead, this deals with character death in something of a surreal way. |
Deep in the stillness he could hear her speak. Even after all these years, she still kept talking to him, every single night, whispers on his pillow. If he didn't try to concentrate on it, he could even understand her sometimes. It had taken him a while, but he had learned to clear his mind completely when she came at night.
A small smile graced his features as he prepared for bed under the night sky. His eyes involuntarily sought out the brightest star in the distance. She was watching over him from up above, he was sure of that. He could feel her all around him - in the air he breathed, on the ground he walked, in the soft touch of a breeze on his face which felt like her fingertips. Soon, he would see her too. She would come and lie next to him, as if she had never been gone, as if the last ten years without her had never existed.
She had drowned in San Francisco Harbor saving a little child. The boy had ventured too close to the water and fallen in. She had leapt in after him. The boy was alive. She was not.
The memory brought back the pain he had been feeling then, the anguish of losing part of himself. She had drowned, and it had felt as though he had gone with her. Sometimes he still wished that were true, but then he would reach out with his mind and there she would be, her memory so clear.
She would always live on in his heart and mind. At night, when she was gently sleeping inside his dreams, he cherished everything she had given him. The good times as well as the bad times, the harmony as well as the arguments, their friendship as well as their love.
She was still an inspiration, still leading the way - leading his way. When the wind whispered to him, it was with her voice, gentle and soothing. He would welcome it, let it engulf him, pass through him, wrap him in a cocoon of peace and calm. And love.
He never was alone. Even now, outside in the dark with no other company than nature, he was not alone. She was always close, oh so close - a breath away, her scent faint in the air. He breathed it in, relaxing. Jasmine and roses. Her favorite fragrances.
It would not be long now. Once sleep had claimed him, she would come and comfortably settle in his embrace. Her soft, auburn hair would brush across his skin, tickling him. Her slender fingers would trace the lines of his tattoo, gently exploring. Her warm breath would mingle with his, their lips barely touching. She would whisper words of love to him, reminding him of the time they had together. And he would finally hold her again, just like his heart had done for the past ten years - one beat away.
He gazed at his star. It was shining brightly as ever.
With a smile on his lips, he closed his eyes, welcoming sleep, welcoming her, welcoming peace.