Author's Note: This was writted before Be All My Sins Remembered, so the Bobby parts may be off. And these are really two separate chapters stuck together because they're so short. And also because I'm too lazy to make up two quotes and two chapter titles. So please R&R!

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If there is such a thing as a panacea, I haven't found it yet.

-Jen Graham

Chapter Two: After the Honeymoon's Over



"And what are you doing up so late, mister?"

Harper turned around to see none other than Beka Valentine standing in the doorway, hands on hips. "Aw, don't go all parental on me, Boss."

"You should sleep more," Beka told him, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting down across from him.

"Hey, practice what you preach, Bek," he said, grinning. "With all that coffee, you'll be hyped up and then you'll never get to sleep."

"Maybe I don't want to sleep," she shot back. "Stop trying to tell me what to do."

Harper frowned at her. "Hey, I was just kidding! What's up, boss? Anything wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, everything's just perfect," she muttered into her coffee.

"Since nothing has ever been perfect in our lives, that must mean something's up," he pointed out. He wondered what was up with her. She had seemed so happy since Rafe had gotten better. A few times, he would have sworn that she was glowing.

"Seamus..." That meant it was something serious. "Seamus, I've known you forever, right?"

Where was she going with this? "Right. For a long time, at least."

"You remember Bobby?"

"Are you kidding? He's not easy to forget, Beka."

"Why did I stay with him for such a long time? I mean, he was a real piece of work, but I stayed with him forever. I even took him back after he kept leaving me," she said. Harper could hear the desperation in her voice.

"I don't know, Boss," he told her, not sure what she wanted him to say.

"And when I've finally found a guy, the perfect, nicest, sweetest guy, I can't stay with him for more than a week!" she exclaimed, and then the look on her face a moment after told him she had gone a lot farther than she wanted to.

"The perfect guy? According to you, the perfect guy doesn't exist," Harper joked, hoping to make her feel a little more comfortable. "So who is this perfect guy, anyway?"

That was obviously the wrong question, because she got up and walked to the window to stare at the stars. Even though he was bursting to say something, he let her stand there for a few more minutes before he stood up and walked over to stand next to her.

"Beka...like you said, we've known each other forever. If you want to talk about it, I'll listen. Whoever the guy is." And Harper had a pretty short list in mind, unless Beka had met someone on the Drift when she had run away.

She turned and smiled wryly at him. "Thanks, Seamus."

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"Beka?"

If she was surprised by Dylan's appearance on the deathly quiet Command, she didn't show it outwardly, although Rommie noticed that her pulse rate jumped from 70 beats per minute to 100 beats per minute. Beka didn't even acknowledge the Captain's presence, so Rommie decided to help her out.

"Captain on deck!"

"Yippee," Beka replied dryly, but Rommie noticed her face was marginally redder than it had been a moment before.

"Beka, I just wanted to let you know that I'll be gone for a few days," Dylan told the First Officer.

"That's nice. Where are you going?"

"To peace talks on Albaraz."

At that, Rommie frowned. Dylan knew he was going into a war zone, and he wasn't even taking her avatar body with him for protection. But he had told her that he was going and that there would be no further argument.

"Have fun. Be careful," Beka said in a carefully controlled voice, but when Rommie turned her attention back to Rebecca Valentine's vitals, she found that the woman's pulse had gone up again.

"Beka..." the Captain brushed a few strands of blonde hair away from Beka's face. "I want to give you the time you need. Maybe if I leave for awhile, you can work things out."

What did he mean by that? Until recently, Dylan and Beka had been spending quite a lot of time in privacy mode, for reasons unknown. Rommie wondered if Dylan's odd comment had something to do with all of their time alone. But Beka obviously understood the comment, for she answered,

"Thanks, Dylan. And I really will try, I promise."

"All right," he said softly. Suddenly, he grinned. "And while I'm gone, don't break my ship."

"Of course not, sir!" Beka exclaimed, laughing and giving him a mock-salute. "Off with you."

Rommie monitored the launching of the slip-fighter. 'Safe journey, Dylan,' she thought to herself.

A few days later, they heard the news.

The slipfighter carrying High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendent to the peace talks on Albaraz exploded upon reentry into the atmosphere.

To Be Continued...

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The cliff-hanger ending is Cassie's fault, and therefore, it's dedicated to her *grins* blame her.

Author's Note, Part 2: All right, yes, it may be a little early to kill off Dylan. But remember, that was originally the third chapter. And...well, he may not stay dead. I just really hate Dylan right now. The TV Dylan, not my fanfic Dylan (because fanfic Dylan is treating Beka rather well). So there's the explanation. If you really hate Dylan dying, I'll revamp this chapter. But you may want to see where I'm going, first.