TITLE: A Moment on the Icarus.
BY: Starkiller.
RATING: G
ARCHIVE: Want it, please ask.
EMAIL: starkiller@haldir-lives.org
NOTES: Written for the Anna Sheridan challenge.
SUMMARY: Anna wants to help Morden.

*

She thinks of John while she watches him.

Mr. Morden, the only name she knows him by. He's so sad, so lonely. She wants to tell him that everything is all right and that he isn't alone, but she can't. She can't find the words to ease his pain and even if she could, she knows they won't come out right. So instead, she watches him and thinks of John.

John, her husband, her one true love, safely aboard his cruiser, The EAS Agamenon, heading towards goodness knows what. Just like her, aboard the IX ship Icarus, heading towards goodness knows what. She wonders what her good and noble husband would do in this situation. Would he make polite chit-chat with Morden? Would he ask the man outright what was wrong? How would he try to help?

There is no ambiguity in her thoughts: John would always try to help, no matter the cost. And her compassion is rising now, as Morden sits nearby, reading from the datapad, his expression a mixture of seriousness and sadness, his posture radiating tiredness and loneliness, his entire self withdrawn into a shell of self imposed isolation.

She moves to him, sits beside him, touches his shoulder. "Hi," she says, feeling as if that is possibly the most inane thing in the world she could say, and he looks up from his data pad, his expression quereying. She shrugs slightly, smiles widely and continues, "How are you holding up?"

He regards her inscrutably for several moments before leaning back in his chair, the self-contained smile that hides everything he is feeling plastered on his face. "I'm fine," he replies smoothly, "although I must admit this is the longest deep space voyage I've made."

She nods in understanding. "Yes. But it's exciting, isn't it? We'll be discovering something totally new that could benefit Earth in ways we could never imagine."

His expression does not change, but somehow she feels that he has closed himself off from her completely and inside she withers as her attempt at making him feel less alone has failed. "There is that, yes," he says in a level tone, pocketing the data pad and straightening his clothes. "I'm sorry, Anna, but I must be...elsewhere." He nods at her once before standing and walking away.

She watches him go, but he does not look back and she turns away, feeling that she is just as alone as he.

FIN.

Submit Feedback