Paradise
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters you might see on
Andromeda the show. But I own the story!
Author's Note: The long awaited
sequel to Salvation! Yes, this time, I'm making up my own quotes. Thank you to
all my reviewers, especially Ashley (because you said that it was too fast).
Expect this story to include Harper! And probably everyone else,
too!
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"You
cannot lose paradise if it was never gained."
-Jen Graham
Chapter
One: Words in the Dark
"Penny for your thoughts," Dylan asked Beka as he
wrapped his arms around her warm body, on the bed next to him.
"C'mon,
they're worth more than that!" she teased. He didn't have to see her face to
know that she was grinning.
"All right, an upgrade on the Maru, but
they'd better be damn good thoughts," he said, laughing.
"Done!" she
agreed, laughing, but she sobered first. "Dylan...I don't know if you really
want to hear my thoughts."
He pulled her closer to him and just held her
for awhile. Eventually, though, he asked, "I'd like to know what you're
thinking. Especially if it concerns us."
He felt her stiffen and knew he
had touched on a sore point. "Dylan...you're right. As usual. It's us I'm
worried about. I mean, for one thing, I'm one of your officers! Weren't
relationships between commanding officers and their...well, their
suboordinates-" she said this with such distaste that he alsmost laughed- "
illegal? Or at least a court-martial offense?"
"Beka, that was in the
days when there was a Commonwealth to court-martial people," he told
her.
"But what happens when we restore the Commonwealth?"
"Don't
worry about it," he said, stroking her hair calmingly. She did relax a little.
"This is a different situation. Normally, you're right, a High Guard commanding
officer isn't supposed to become friendly with his crew at all. But that's when
there's a four-year mission and a crew of thousands. With you-all five of
you-how could I not get close to you? We're a family, not a crew. And you, well,
you're obviously a bit more than family." He started to kiss her then, but,
although she was responsive, he could tell that her heart wasn't in it.
Reluctantly pulling away, he asked, "Beka, what else is wrong?"
She
sighed and rolled away from him and onto her back. For awhile, she just lay
there and looked at the ceiling, and Dylan let her. Finally, she quietly said,
"Dylan, I'm not sure this is going to work out."
"Why not?" he asked, as
gently as he could.
"Well...Dylan, this all happened too fast," she said
rapidly.
"Too fast?"
"All of a sudden, here I am, in your
quarters, naked and in bed with you. There was nothing gradual about it. I mean,
sure, I...I didn't want you to die during the Magog attack, but...we went from
being friends to being lovers in one fell swoop," she said, the frustration
evident in her voice.
One word she said made Dylan feel insulted, and he
ended up ignoring everything else. "Lovers? Is that all we are?"
"No,
we're not just lovers, but...I don't know what we are. I think...I'm pretty sure
I love you. I do love you. But...I don't know. Something just
feels...wrong."
"You think this relationship is *wrong*?"
"Dylan,
please!"
The note of desperation in her voice made him calm down, and he
silently waited for her to continue.
"Dylan, it's not that...it's not
that I don't love you, or that I don't want to be with you, because I do. But
I'm used to relationships that aren't realy relationships. You know, have sex
with some guy to distract him, stuff like that. Like with
Leydon."
"You-"
"Stop, Dylan, that was in the past." She paused
for a long time and again, he allowed Beka her silence. "What I'm saying...what
I'm saying is that I need more time."
He sighed and started to pull her
towards him. "And I'll give you time, I promise, as much time as-"
She
pulled away, effectively cutting him off. "I need time by myself." She searched
for her clothes, started to get dressed. If her face hadn't looked so troubled
in the dim light, Dylan might have begged her to stay.
As it was, he
simply said, "I'm here when you're ready."
"I know," she said quietly,
and slipped out of the room.
TBC...