Let It Be
Disclaimer: I own Andy, she is MINE. Tribune owns Andromeda. John Lennon and
Paul McCartney still own Let It Be
Author's note: Thank you so much,
Raven, for the wonderful review! And Cherubino, don't worry, I have a persistent
Cassie Valentine who makes me write (*grins* thank you
Cassie!)
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Chapter
Eight: Pronoun Problems and Proposals
Andy Valentine hummed softly to
herself as she looked out the window on Obs. Deck. It was just like Shay had
described it-Freakin' humongous! She smiled as she looked out to the stars.
"Pretty."
"Why, thank you!"
Andy jumped, looking nervously around
for the voice. "You-you're welcome?" She shrieked as the little transparent
figure of a women appeared in front of her face.
"Woah, woah, calm down!"
the hologram said, holding up her hands.
"Who are you?" Andy asked,
backing up a little.
"My name is the Andromeda Ascendant, Shining Path to
Truth and Knowledge AI model GRA 112, serial number XMC-10-182."
Andy
gazed at her with a look of utter shock. "You're the...ship?"
"You can
call me Rommie." The little woman smiled. "I'd shake your hand like most humans
do, but it's a little hard to do in this form."
Andy gave her a hesitant
smile. "Then who directed me here?"
"Oh, that would be one of my drones,"
Rommie replied. "I section off parts of my AI network to control
them."
"A network? So..." here Andy brightened up. This could be very
cool. "People can go inside it?"
"Harper does all the time!" Rommie
agreed, rolling her eyes. "I think he finds the experience...oh, maybe a bit
sexual. At least to his warped mind."
"Yeah, that would be Shay," Andy
said, but she frowned and muttered to herself, "I'm going to have to have a
little talk with him about that."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you
two...involved?" Rommie asked uncomfortably.
"What do you
think?"
Andy whirled around to look at the face that had suddenly
appeared on the console behind her. "You're-you're you? You're the
hologram?"
"Sorry," the onscreen face said. "I tend to be a little
tactless when it comes to relationships."
"I do not! It was the natural
thing to ask," the holographic version disagreed.
"Wait-" Andy tried,
helplessly confused.
"I think that I'm jealous. Have I been mixing my
network with that of the avatar's again?" That was the onscreen one. But who was
she talking about?
"I have not, and I very well know that!" The hologram
spoke that time, but...their pronouns. What was wrong with their
pronouns?
"I think that's very unfair of me! What, I can't take a little
teasing?" The onscreen version again! When would they stop?
"Teasing
myself is a pretty low blow!" And now back to the hologram...it was really too
much.
Andy burst into tears. At the same time, both the onscreen and
holographic versions of Rommie exlcaimed, "Now look what I've done!"
Andy
heard the doors open, and she hoped it wouldn't be the avatar that she heard the
other two talking about. But suddenly, she felt warm arms circle her shoulders,
and someone rocked her back and forth and murmured, "Shhh, Andy-babe, it's okay,
Rommie, engage privacy mode."
"Sh-sh-shay?" Andy sobbed out, wrapping her
arms around him and just enjoying being held again.
"Sweetie, what's
wrong," he asked, brushing her hair away from her face and wiping the tears
away.
"The...the Rommies...they were having an argument and-" she started
crying harder, and Shay hugged her to him. When she felt him shaking, she tried
desperately to stop her tears and looked at him to see that he was laughing.
"Seamus Z-zelazny H-harper, I-I-"
"I'm sorry, baby, I'm so sorry, it's
just that Rommie-she takes some getting used to. I'll take you into her network
someday!" he said, grinning at her, then sobered. "But you won't be here for
that long, will you. Dylan told me that Rafe just dropped you off because you
were hurt...Beka's gonna flip!"
"No, no, Shay, no, Beka said it's okay!"
Now it was her turn to smile at his look of shock.
"Beka said
what?"
Andy gave him a brilliant smile, tears forgotten. "She said it's
okay! If Captain Hunt will let me, I can stay and we can be together and
everything!"
"That wasn't painkiller-induced delusion?" She shook her
head, and he enveloped her in a crushing hug. "Andy, that's great, that's
perfect!"
"I know! Beka said it's okay!" Andy repeated, loving the sound
of that.
He swung her around the room and she laughed the entire time,
just focusing on his face. He was still the same as the first time she had seen
him, although a little more fleshed out. There was that spiky hair, the brown
eyes...as he started to slow, she bent her head down and kissed him and he
responded like he usually did, with the same passion as the first time they
kissed, six years ago.
Suddenly, he pulled away, and knelt down on the
floor, and Andy's heart leapt up into her throat. "I know this isn't the time,
and maybe even not the place, and I don't have a ring for you, but I promise
I'll get you one and I'll ask Beka if it's still okay but oh hell, Cassandra
Valentine, will you marry me?"
She swallowed convusively, and she
couldn't speak at all. She watched Harper's face fall, ever-so-slowly...he was
convinced she'd say no. Finally, she forced her head to move up and down...and
his face grew brighter...and she forced her mouth to move.
"Yes...Shay..."
She didn't need to say anymore as he jumped up and threw
his arms around her and kissed her until she could barely breath. And the tears
ran down both their faces and mingled as they became one once more, and at the
same time, as if their spirits and bodies and voices had combined, they
whispered, "There will be an answer...let it
be..."
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To be
continued...don't worry, it's not over yet!