Things Past – Oil and Water - Part Two
by Gunnery Sergeant Luke Wyatt & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
ON:
Holosuite 2 - Lake District Simulation.
Luke hadn't seen Cerys since she ran off, but he knew she was about. He made his way further into the holodeck which had transformed into a large open field separated by old stone walls with random trees that stood tall watching over the rolling hills. In the backdrop he could see the sinking sun glowing a deep orange and red, “Cerys?” he called out wondering if had been mistaken.
Cerys was hidden behind a stone wall, just where a large tree was growing out from beside an outcrop of craggy rock to one side of the wall. Behind her the hills rolled away with more fields and dipped below, framed by a small brook that ran the length of the slope into the distance. She could see it winding its way towards a distant wooden bridge and from there off until it vanished into the horizon.
She had to hold her hand over her mouth to stop herself giggling but she couldn't make her breathing any quieter as she had run here as fast as she could and her lungs were now heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was beating loudly. So loudly she was sure it would alert Luke to her whereabouts. It was surely only because she had been running but as he came closer, still calling her name she began to wonder why it increased and beat faster, instead of slowing down now that she was still again. He was going to find her. He couldn't help but hear her now.
She decided to jump out, rather than be found so she leapt up towards him at a flying tilt without thinking about how unwise that might be, given that he was a trained Marine with reactions like sprung steel traps. It was too late by the time she thought twice and she was already in the air, leaping to fling her arms around his neck, arms outstretched, feet off the ground, unable to stop herself.
Luke had already anticipated the surprise attack from the young marine and had positioned his body well enough to catch her in flight, pinning her to the floor but loosing his balance crumbling down on top of her. "Well that was silly" he chuckled.
Cerys couldn't answer because she was winded but even if she could have done, he was right. It WAS silly. Still, it was alleged to be 'an ill wind that blew nobody any good' and the good that this particular ill wind blew for Cerys was that when she got her breath back she could congratulate herself on getting to minor league second base without any more embarrassed silences and blushing. Although, now she was thinking about blushing, it began to happen again. ~Doh~ she thought, finally breathing in the scent of him at last and counting it a score.
He smiled down at her before releasing his grip and standing up, dusting himself down "I am not that easy" he winked before continuing to walk "And after all this is highly inappropriate, what would the others think huh?" he asked making his way to the usual spot.
"And you're saying that I *am*?" she feigned shock and offended pain at the *easy* comment, smirking at him. "Inappropriate? Just playing hide-and-seek? Seriously?" she continued to bait him gently but had to jog along to keep up with him as he set off at a brisk pace. "Where are you going? Do you come here a lot? You seem to know your way...... OH.. is THAT what you meant about what *THE OTHERS* think? You bring all your conquests here then, right?". She was beginning to draw shorter breaths as his pace was taking its toll and she was having to manage her breathing so she could jog and talk at the same time.
Luke slowed down for cery's legs sake. "Oh please... You probably know more about my life than I do!" He joked, "This is where I used to take my daughter back on Earth - When she was as innocent as innocent could be" They turned right onto a gravel path which after a few short steps opened into a isolated part of the park. It was kept away from the rest of the park by its large trees and walls and a large body of water along the eastern perimeter. "We're here" He smiled turning around and began to walk backwards towards the water.
Cerys stopped at the top and looked out over the landscape. "It's breathtaking!" she gasped, her breath proving her right as she drew in deeply on the fresh air and gazed in wonder all around her. "Is it actually a real place? Or just a holosuite version of something that you described from your imagination?" she asked, her eyes on the far horizon and then on the shimmer of the surface of the water before she turned back to look at Luke who was smiling at the look on her face. She felt that dratted blush rise again and pulled a face.
"Oh its a real place alright!" Luke had now set himself down just off the waters edge planning to throw Cerys in there later. "You like it then I take it?" An already prepared picnic materialised around him. He laid back cradling his head in his upturned hands.
"I totally LOVE it to bits!" she said, sitting down beside him on the picnic rug, reaching to the shoreline to pick up some little pebbles to try to skim across the lake's surface, completely unaware that she was in any danger of being drowned by a psychopathic picnic monster!
"I am glad to hear it!" he put his foot in the way of her first attempt of throwing a pebble and watched it bounce of his boot into the water. "Want something to drink?" He asked sitting up quickly, maybe a little too quickly as his head felt light and fluffy. Luke began rustling through the basket and presented two glasses.
"OH! How civilised, real glass!" she exclaimed and took them both so he could pour the wine into them. "Do I get two then?" she added with mischief in her eyes as she commented on the fact that she was holding both, even though she knew more even than he did, why she had taken them both; it just seemed funny to remark on it. She grinned at him as he pulled out a bottle of wine. "... and for your next trick..... a rabbit in a hat? Or a bunch of flowers from up your sleeve?"
He put the bottle down on the ground carefully so it would not fall over, and took one of the glasses "Perhaps my next trick should be to make you disappear?" Luke chuckled at the though "Yes, I think that would be a good one" He winked before sipping at his wine.
"If you wanted that, you'd only have to say..." she replied softly, with the slightest hint of hurt in her voice and a pouty look on her face as she bit her lip, looking lost.
Luke rested his spare hand on her leg "Why would I want that?" He asked being won over by the pout, "After all I have brought you to my most secret of places" He admited shyly as red crept into his cheeks.
"Awwww! That's so cute!" she relented, wishing she was in a position to nestle closer to him but there was food and wine in the way. She rewarded him with a very happy smile that reached all the way to the sparkle in her deep green eyes. "I'm very honoured" she realised out loud. "Tell me more about your daughter? If that's okay? This is kinda *her* special place. What's she like? Does she look like you?" Cerys asked, genuinely interested.
"Well... She is like any normal teen - A pain in the ass" Luke laughed lightly "Really you might have seen her about she comes visits me sometimes at work, she has a kind of Black cherry hairstyle and is a fair bit shorter than me. She does resemble me so she is obviously blessed" he joked. Luke gripped Cery's legs and pulled her closer to his side moving the basket and glass out of the way. "Why are you so curious?"
Cerys made the mandatory protesting squeaks to be pulled by the legs but she wasn't in the least bit put out in reality. "Because I'm a woman and it's what we do!" she stated with an *of course* tone that said it had been obvious. As she had been moved, in lots of senses of the word, Cerys had found herself shifting the rug and some of the little containers that so neatly held the food. She reached for one which had miniature cup-cakes in it and took a small pink monstrosity with lots of icing and sparkles. She put one index finger into the deep soft icing and defended herself against further acts of kidnap such as being dragged closer, by dapping the creamy substance onto Luke's nose as if she were putting the most important embellishment on top of a masterpiece.
"It suits you!" she giggled, risking life and limb.
Luke sat defeated, with his arms behind him he was powerless to the frosting powers of cerys "I never thought that it would be my color" He joked tilting his nose to her cheek rubbing as much off as he could "Suits you better though" He left his head in the same position as he caught Cery's dazzling gaze.
This close to one another, when their eyes met and Luke made no attempt to move away... or look away... Cerys felt a sudden rush of blood but this time it wasn't just to her face. She felt a connection that was like magic. It tingled all over her and was so sudden that she gave a little involuntarily gasp as his eyes seared into her soul. She felt like he could see all of her secrets that she'd ever had and although she knew that was silly, it made her feel she had to start explaining everything.... but she didn't know where to begin and the words didn't want to come out.... so she just lay there, propped up on one elbow, closer than she'd ever been to Luke in a physical sense and also in more other ways too.
She opened her mouth to speak but nothing happened, her eyes couldn't be torn from his and she felt like something epic was about to happen but it had two chances; it could be wonderful and momentous and amazing... or it could go horribly wrong and be a massive embarrassing disaster. She froze in fear of the latter and that made it all the more likely that it would go that way.
Luke hadn't even realized their fingers had entwined. He let go of his restraints and broke down his emotional walls as he lent in and brushed her lips with his. He hadn't anticipated this move at all and in a way he was enjoying it, embarrassing the moment but began to doubt his motives and he hesitated slightly.
Cerys sensed the change as he began to hesitate. She wasn't sure what had changed and she was even less sure what to do about it. Unknowing of what was in his mind now, she returned the soft kiss and pressed closer to him without being too demanding. She was happy just to be here like this, close and seemingly at one with each other. Gently she squeezed his fingers as her lips drew gently back so she could look into his eyes again. What she saw there was different now. There seemed to be pain and indecision... or was that her imagination? How could she tell?
"Are you okay?" she asked him very gently.
Luke smiled awkwardly and kissed her once more for good measure but the anguish was still settled in his stomach though it had slightly disappeared in their embrace. He felt good but he felt bad? 'How is that even possible' he told himself running everything through his mind.He sighed unwillingly and looked into Cery's eyes. "I am fine" he replied still holding her hand. "Well..." he layed back down hoping she would follow.
Cerys took the hint and lay down too.
"Its just, This is crazy when I say it but... We are work colleagues Cerys" He trailed off, he didn't feel sad or angered he just felt guilty. "I told myself I would not do something like this and I believed myself for a moment" he looked back to Cery's "I don't regret it" He had to fight that out of him "and I didn't think it would be you"
Cery's heart rolled over in mid-joy and suddenly fell into a dark abyss as he said that last part. ~What did he mean he hadn’t thought it would be her? Thought *what* would be her? The person who he might kiss? Or was he talking about more than kissing? What was the significance of taking her to what he called his *secret* place? She didn't know which question to ask first.
"Do what with?" was where she decided to start.
The words in his head sounded crazy, this wasn't love was it? "Kiss, Cery's we're meant to be work colleagues i'm not even sure the Marines allow this sort of fraternization... If any!" his voice was cold and heartless but he knew that if she really wanted this she'd argue her point. As much as Luke wanted this he felt compelled to forbid it, but then he'd remember the kiss.
Cerys felt the reprimand in his tone and shivered involuntarily. "So who did you think you weren't going to kiss that wasn't me then?" she asked, a frown of confusion on her brows.
"That doesnt matter does it!" he replied almost angry that she would concern herself with his romantic affairs. The truth is there was nobody else.
"No, I guess it doesn't as you're quite clear it shouldn't have been me." she replied, choking back her hurt, unable to fathom what had just gone down and what she'd done wrong to set it off. "I'm only sorry I turned out to be such a disappointment. If you HAD to make the mistake of kissing anyone at all, it's just terrible that you had to waste the moment." She stood up, the picnic cloth shifting as she did, spilling some of the contents and making herself even more flustered.
"Oh, Don't guilt trip me! you know as well as I do" He almost chocked on his words through his gritted teeth, what he'd give to just take her by the hand a share the embrace again even if he was actually angry at her.
"Whatever i know or don't know, you've made your feelings very clear." she said and spun to run up the hill but she caught her foot in the now crumpled picnic cloth and stumbled towards the water as is she might fall in face first if her shoe didn't come free.
Luke was being stubborn and watched her storm off, he fought the urge to follow her and instead gritted his teeth "Women..." . From the distance he heard a splash and jumped up. Walking to the water edge he shook his head at the semi-pile of clothes on the river bed "Don't be stupid Cerys!" he pleaded.
Cerys had stumbled towards the water and it had seemed to be a good place to hide the fact that although she really wanted to cry right now, she didn't want Luke to see it. She chose to throw off her top and jeans and dive into the water so she could be alone and out of reach for a while.
"Stupid?" ~So now I'm not only a disappointing second choice to have kissed but Stupid with it!~ she thought, her feelings welling up and threatening to choke a sob from her if she didn't escape quickly. She ran into the cool, soothing water, stretching long strides against the friction of the water around her calves first, then thighs and at that depth she could dive and start swimming away gracefully.
At least this way she wasn't going to make *more* of a fool of herself...... the alternative was to run away and he'd be faster than her. This was all she had. She was a good swimmer, it would be fine.
Luke stood on the edge of the water teetering over the edge, he couldn't see her and he knew she'd have to come up for air sooner but after a few more seconds flashes or panic ran threw his body "Cery's! Don't be stupid" He repeated slowly taking off his clothes prepared to jump in if she didn't surface. He was good at breaking hearts.
Cerys swam under the water for a while. She felt the cold water on her burning cheeks, mixing with the hot tears she was crying. ~WHY?~ she kept asking herself. She knew Luke he had been separated from his ex-wife for a while, but it would have been prying to keep on asking more and more questions. The water seemed to part to flow over her arms and legs as she powered through the deepest part of the lake.
~Why didn't he want *it* to be me he would kiss? Who DOES he want? And why did he kiss me if he feels that way? Why did he bring me here..... in the Armoury I made it clear I was interested in him.. so why let me think he felt the same?
The lovely 'secret' place here... the thoughtful picnic.... the kiss.... that kiss.... God that hurt.... she felt her stomach knot with her reaction to the magic of his eyes and the soaring feeling she had when he kissed her..... all changing suddenly into a knot as she thought of the *someone else* who he wanted to have kissed, not her..... isn't that what he meant.... whatever he actually said?~ She began to run out of air as all these thoughts crowded through her mind so she pulled upwards with her arms and took a big kick with her legs so she would surface.
What Cerys didn't allow for was that there might be reeds in the bottom of the lake and by taking that circular action with her legs to push the water down beneath her, she had accidentally entangled herself by the ankle. She kicked at the reeds that had wrapped around her left ankle by shoving at them with her right foot but that just tied up both legs more. Her arms which had tried to pull upwards just flailed about helplessly as she sank further. Reaching round to free her legs, she fought the tendrils off with her hands, careful this time not to twist them into the plants. Her right leg came free but the left was caught fast.
More frantic now that she felt her lungs burning for air, Cerys tried again and again to curl up so she could reach her ankle and free it but she was losing her bearings as her temples thumped and her throat fought to open itself in search for air. ~Why did I not just run away... or just slap his face and stomp off if I thought I couldn't outrun him.... why doesn't this let GO!!!!~ She felt the stale air in her lungs force its way out but she held her mouth closed and used one hand to hold her nose closed while she continued to struggle with the other hand against the reeds which were flat and sinuous and cut into her fingers the more tightly she pulled at them.
Luke had already waded in after her, he felt even worse than he did for kissing her but knowing that she was voluntarily drowning herself wasn't the first reaction he thought he would get. As he swam deeper in the lake its coldness nipped at his extremities causing him to surface and take in another deep breath before submerging himself under water again. This time he had caught Cerys in his peripheral vision and slowly made his way to her. He had never been a good swimmer but he hoped his large intake of air had just enough to get him to her.
When he was in arm's reach he could see a bit of reed had wrapped round her ankle but she was almost lifeless until he touched her shoulder causing her to move her head, she was blue in the face mostly from the sun's reflection of the water but he knew she was running out of air. He pressed his lips against hers breathing slowly allowing the air to flow between them. He then moved to the reed and began tugging at it - it wouldn't budge.
He moved back up to her mouth kissing her again, giving the last bit of his oxygen to her in a last ditch just as he did everything around them disappeared she was now on top of him and given their position when he was trying to break her free from the reeds it made sense. Their lips still pressing against each other when he felt the hard surface of the holodeck floor. He had forgotten this was a simulation, everything but Cerys at least.
Choking out the last of the water from her lungs, Cerys frantically took Luke's face between her hands and turned it to the side so he could spit out water and suck in air too. "Oh GOD! I'm SO sorry!" she panted, still choking and sucking in air desperately, all the while trying to see if he was okay.
"You gave me your last air...." she managed to get out when her lungs began to change back to air and not trying to breathe water any more. "That was...... heroic...... I didn't mean to do that.. I only wanted to hide my reaction... i didn't mean to try to drown myself and I NEVER would have let you sacrifice yourself for me like that........ I.... I couldn't have...... " she was sobbing into his neck now, so relieved that he was still breathing too.
Luke brought his arms in comforting her, holding her. They both knew that what had just happened was something terrible. "Im sorry for being so heartless" He stroked her wet hair which was already rapidly drying. "Just don't go doing anything like that again! okay!" He demanded of her but let his anger go quickly "I just don't think..." he let his words trail of he knew she knew what he was going to say and he didn't want to upset her more.
"I didn't mean to. I truly didn't." she answered into his neck, comforted by his arms around her. She was remembering what he had done to save her but she knew she would have to take that as all there was going to be. It was better than nothing. He had cared enough to want to save her that much. If it was all there was, it was still more than many would have offered.
Cerys' tears subsided in the end and she began to shiver. "I think we should go and get warm. Do you want some coffee?" she offered in a conciliatory tone, getting up unsteadily. If he said no she had resolved to give him that much grace to leave and she wouldn't trouble him again. She hesitated, reaching to help him up.
Luke stood up. They both were pretty much dry and the cold was only their bodies telling them that they had just been in freezing cold water even if they really hadn't. "I don't drink coffee" he replied straightening himself out and before he even released it he had reach out for her hand. Hesitating again, he drew it back slowly, half hoping she'd grab it before it slid away. "but I'd take a hot chocolate" He smiled gently the least he could do was give her that.
"Thanks" Cerys smiled, keeping her fingers entwined with his loosely so that he could take his away if he wanted to. She felt she needed to walk on eggshells a little bit for now but at least he had said he'd come and share a hot drink with her so he didn't *hate* her at least.
Luke smiled rolling his fume along the outside curve of her hand, "I wouldn't have saved you just for you to walk away" he said softly stopping her for a moment as she tried to walk through the door. "Promise you wont do that again?" He questioned her pulling her closer so that she couldn't escape.
Cerys blushed and looked up at him, her eyes full again. "I promise." she said quietly but with serious honesty. "I'm truly sorry this went so badly wrong. I didn't mean to put you through all that." she apologised again. "I don't know what to say to make it even half right because there isn't anything. I just wish I'd not been so stupid."
She hung her head before leaning in and kissing his cheek softly. "If it means anything, you're my hero for doing what you did. I can never repay that sacrifice but if there's ever anything you need .... please think of me as a very special friend who owes you her life.... because that's what it boiled down to, even if the simulation fixed it in the end."
"You're a wonderful man, Luke Wyatt and whoever you end up loving she'll be the luckiest girl in the universe. I wish you both the most brilliant life together and the most happiness that two people can ever put up with!" she smiled, her wishes genuine and heartfelt, even if he didn't want her, she never wanted to see him unhappy.
Tugging back on her arm, he was powerless when he found that he had already wrapped his arms safely around her waist, after what happened he felt almost bound to her now. He imagined that a current ran between them making them inseparable but the same current burnt every bit of bare skin that collided together. "I..." There was nothing he knew he could say, instead he lent down and brushed his lips with hers causing the same warm burning sensation to rush between in his lips feeling it disperse into the ground like electricity.
Cerys felt it too. A more intense feeling than before and she responded and, safely held by his arm around her waist, she pressed back against his lips, hungry for more but afraid to push too soon. She ran her tongue across his lower lip and very gently tugged at it as her free hand slid up around his neck, stroking his hair.
She longed for him to kiss her more deeply but she hesitated, so close but yet..... the heat rose between them until she could bear it no longer and suddenly, as if he had felt it too, their kiss became passionate and deep, all the emotions of the day rolling into it and the anticipation and longing finally finding expression. She hoped it would never end as she melted into him, lost in the amazing moment.
Feeling the moment become deeper than he had originally intended he relaxed out of the kiss but stopping only a few inches from her face holding the gaze. "Say something" he asked not knowing what to say himself and since she had done most of the talking he knew she'd say the right things.
"I.... I hope you're not still disappointed because I'm not! That was totally amazing! If I'd known what a good kisser you are, i might not have waited so long to trap you alone in the Armoury! Would you mind if we did that again please?" she asked innocently, a flicker of mischief in her sparkling eyes. She had felt him respond, she knew he definitely didn't hate her now but could she keep his interest or would he want to slow this down?
He chuckled at the mischievous sparkle in her eye's which shone brighter than any supernova, and stepped apart from her teasingly "If I give you my all now, you won't want any later?" He brought her back in deflecting her attempts of kissing him again.
"Put your mouth where your money is, Soldier!" she challenged. "And don't think like that... don't you know that kisses are like chocolate... the more you get the more you need!" She gave up trying to kiss him but changed tack. "On the other hand.... Marines are an expendable commodity. There are LOADS more of them in the Armoury..... "
Cerys knew she had risked pushing his sense of humour too far with that little joke but she tilted her head at him cutely and winked to show that it was just fun and she didn't mean a word of it.
"As you said, they're an expendable commodity" he winked reassuringly that she hadn't hit a nerve, even if she had he couldn't hold a grudge against that face. "Do you still want that drink or has your mind changed?" he asked curiously with a number of thoughts ran through his mind causing the corner of his mouth to tug upwards.
"Well, it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind but it's also her business not to when there's hot chocolate on offer....... and perhaps more hot kisses, if i put home-made brownies into the deal....." she grinned, leading him along the corridors to her quarters.
Luke followed effortlessly shrugging the gaze of two marines who quickly turned and began talking to one another. he didn't know how he was going to explain this to them and he could already imagine the jokes... "Well - brownies" he said, he loved brownies as much as the next person but he knew that if she was anything like a Marine there was more to her way of thinking.
TBC.....
Gunnery Sgt Luke Wyatt
Marine First Sergeant
Deep Space Five
CPO Cerys Williams
Marine Administrator
Deep Space Five
by Gunnery Sergeant Luke Wyatt & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
| Title | Oil and Water - Part Two | |
| Mission | Things Past | |
| Author(s) | Gunnery Sergeant Luke Wyatt & Commander Chelsea Dunham | |
| Posted | Sun Apr 14, 2013 @ 12:04am | |
| Location | Holosuite 2 | |
| Timeline | SD ? - tbc (after All Oiled Up - Part 1) |
Holosuite 2 - Lake District Simulation.
Luke hadn't seen Cerys since she ran off, but he knew she was about. He made his way further into the holodeck which had transformed into a large open field separated by old stone walls with random trees that stood tall watching over the rolling hills. In the backdrop he could see the sinking sun glowing a deep orange and red, “Cerys?” he called out wondering if had been mistaken.
Cerys was hidden behind a stone wall, just where a large tree was growing out from beside an outcrop of craggy rock to one side of the wall. Behind her the hills rolled away with more fields and dipped below, framed by a small brook that ran the length of the slope into the distance. She could see it winding its way towards a distant wooden bridge and from there off until it vanished into the horizon.
She had to hold her hand over her mouth to stop herself giggling but she couldn't make her breathing any quieter as she had run here as fast as she could and her lungs were now heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was beating loudly. So loudly she was sure it would alert Luke to her whereabouts. It was surely only because she had been running but as he came closer, still calling her name she began to wonder why it increased and beat faster, instead of slowing down now that she was still again. He was going to find her. He couldn't help but hear her now.
She decided to jump out, rather than be found so she leapt up towards him at a flying tilt without thinking about how unwise that might be, given that he was a trained Marine with reactions like sprung steel traps. It was too late by the time she thought twice and she was already in the air, leaping to fling her arms around his neck, arms outstretched, feet off the ground, unable to stop herself.
Luke had already anticipated the surprise attack from the young marine and had positioned his body well enough to catch her in flight, pinning her to the floor but loosing his balance crumbling down on top of her. "Well that was silly" he chuckled.
Cerys couldn't answer because she was winded but even if she could have done, he was right. It WAS silly. Still, it was alleged to be 'an ill wind that blew nobody any good' and the good that this particular ill wind blew for Cerys was that when she got her breath back she could congratulate herself on getting to minor league second base without any more embarrassed silences and blushing. Although, now she was thinking about blushing, it began to happen again. ~Doh~ she thought, finally breathing in the scent of him at last and counting it a score.
He smiled down at her before releasing his grip and standing up, dusting himself down "I am not that easy" he winked before continuing to walk "And after all this is highly inappropriate, what would the others think huh?" he asked making his way to the usual spot.
"And you're saying that I *am*?" she feigned shock and offended pain at the *easy* comment, smirking at him. "Inappropriate? Just playing hide-and-seek? Seriously?" she continued to bait him gently but had to jog along to keep up with him as he set off at a brisk pace. "Where are you going? Do you come here a lot? You seem to know your way...... OH.. is THAT what you meant about what *THE OTHERS* think? You bring all your conquests here then, right?". She was beginning to draw shorter breaths as his pace was taking its toll and she was having to manage her breathing so she could jog and talk at the same time.
Luke slowed down for cery's legs sake. "Oh please... You probably know more about my life than I do!" He joked, "This is where I used to take my daughter back on Earth - When she was as innocent as innocent could be" They turned right onto a gravel path which after a few short steps opened into a isolated part of the park. It was kept away from the rest of the park by its large trees and walls and a large body of water along the eastern perimeter. "We're here" He smiled turning around and began to walk backwards towards the water.
Cerys stopped at the top and looked out over the landscape. "It's breathtaking!" she gasped, her breath proving her right as she drew in deeply on the fresh air and gazed in wonder all around her. "Is it actually a real place? Or just a holosuite version of something that you described from your imagination?" she asked, her eyes on the far horizon and then on the shimmer of the surface of the water before she turned back to look at Luke who was smiling at the look on her face. She felt that dratted blush rise again and pulled a face.
"Oh its a real place alright!" Luke had now set himself down just off the waters edge planning to throw Cerys in there later. "You like it then I take it?" An already prepared picnic materialised around him. He laid back cradling his head in his upturned hands.
"I totally LOVE it to bits!" she said, sitting down beside him on the picnic rug, reaching to the shoreline to pick up some little pebbles to try to skim across the lake's surface, completely unaware that she was in any danger of being drowned by a psychopathic picnic monster!
"I am glad to hear it!" he put his foot in the way of her first attempt of throwing a pebble and watched it bounce of his boot into the water. "Want something to drink?" He asked sitting up quickly, maybe a little too quickly as his head felt light and fluffy. Luke began rustling through the basket and presented two glasses.
"OH! How civilised, real glass!" she exclaimed and took them both so he could pour the wine into them. "Do I get two then?" she added with mischief in her eyes as she commented on the fact that she was holding both, even though she knew more even than he did, why she had taken them both; it just seemed funny to remark on it. She grinned at him as he pulled out a bottle of wine. "... and for your next trick..... a rabbit in a hat? Or a bunch of flowers from up your sleeve?"
He put the bottle down on the ground carefully so it would not fall over, and took one of the glasses "Perhaps my next trick should be to make you disappear?" Luke chuckled at the though "Yes, I think that would be a good one" He winked before sipping at his wine.
"If you wanted that, you'd only have to say..." she replied softly, with the slightest hint of hurt in her voice and a pouty look on her face as she bit her lip, looking lost.
Luke rested his spare hand on her leg "Why would I want that?" He asked being won over by the pout, "After all I have brought you to my most secret of places" He admited shyly as red crept into his cheeks.
"Awwww! That's so cute!" she relented, wishing she was in a position to nestle closer to him but there was food and wine in the way. She rewarded him with a very happy smile that reached all the way to the sparkle in her deep green eyes. "I'm very honoured" she realised out loud. "Tell me more about your daughter? If that's okay? This is kinda *her* special place. What's she like? Does she look like you?" Cerys asked, genuinely interested.
"Well... She is like any normal teen - A pain in the ass" Luke laughed lightly "Really you might have seen her about she comes visits me sometimes at work, she has a kind of Black cherry hairstyle and is a fair bit shorter than me. She does resemble me so she is obviously blessed" he joked. Luke gripped Cery's legs and pulled her closer to his side moving the basket and glass out of the way. "Why are you so curious?"
Cerys made the mandatory protesting squeaks to be pulled by the legs but she wasn't in the least bit put out in reality. "Because I'm a woman and it's what we do!" she stated with an *of course* tone that said it had been obvious. As she had been moved, in lots of senses of the word, Cerys had found herself shifting the rug and some of the little containers that so neatly held the food. She reached for one which had miniature cup-cakes in it and took a small pink monstrosity with lots of icing and sparkles. She put one index finger into the deep soft icing and defended herself against further acts of kidnap such as being dragged closer, by dapping the creamy substance onto Luke's nose as if she were putting the most important embellishment on top of a masterpiece.
"It suits you!" she giggled, risking life and limb.
Luke sat defeated, with his arms behind him he was powerless to the frosting powers of cerys "I never thought that it would be my color" He joked tilting his nose to her cheek rubbing as much off as he could "Suits you better though" He left his head in the same position as he caught Cery's dazzling gaze.
This close to one another, when their eyes met and Luke made no attempt to move away... or look away... Cerys felt a sudden rush of blood but this time it wasn't just to her face. She felt a connection that was like magic. It tingled all over her and was so sudden that she gave a little involuntarily gasp as his eyes seared into her soul. She felt like he could see all of her secrets that she'd ever had and although she knew that was silly, it made her feel she had to start explaining everything.... but she didn't know where to begin and the words didn't want to come out.... so she just lay there, propped up on one elbow, closer than she'd ever been to Luke in a physical sense and also in more other ways too.
She opened her mouth to speak but nothing happened, her eyes couldn't be torn from his and she felt like something epic was about to happen but it had two chances; it could be wonderful and momentous and amazing... or it could go horribly wrong and be a massive embarrassing disaster. She froze in fear of the latter and that made it all the more likely that it would go that way.
Luke hadn't even realized their fingers had entwined. He let go of his restraints and broke down his emotional walls as he lent in and brushed her lips with his. He hadn't anticipated this move at all and in a way he was enjoying it, embarrassing the moment but began to doubt his motives and he hesitated slightly.
Cerys sensed the change as he began to hesitate. She wasn't sure what had changed and she was even less sure what to do about it. Unknowing of what was in his mind now, she returned the soft kiss and pressed closer to him without being too demanding. She was happy just to be here like this, close and seemingly at one with each other. Gently she squeezed his fingers as her lips drew gently back so she could look into his eyes again. What she saw there was different now. There seemed to be pain and indecision... or was that her imagination? How could she tell?
"Are you okay?" she asked him very gently.
Luke smiled awkwardly and kissed her once more for good measure but the anguish was still settled in his stomach though it had slightly disappeared in their embrace. He felt good but he felt bad? 'How is that even possible' he told himself running everything through his mind.He sighed unwillingly and looked into Cery's eyes. "I am fine" he replied still holding her hand. "Well..." he layed back down hoping she would follow.
Cerys took the hint and lay down too.
"Its just, This is crazy when I say it but... We are work colleagues Cerys" He trailed off, he didn't feel sad or angered he just felt guilty. "I told myself I would not do something like this and I believed myself for a moment" he looked back to Cery's "I don't regret it" He had to fight that out of him "and I didn't think it would be you"
Cery's heart rolled over in mid-joy and suddenly fell into a dark abyss as he said that last part. ~What did he mean he hadn’t thought it would be her? Thought *what* would be her? The person who he might kiss? Or was he talking about more than kissing? What was the significance of taking her to what he called his *secret* place? She didn't know which question to ask first.
"Do what with?" was where she decided to start.
The words in his head sounded crazy, this wasn't love was it? "Kiss, Cery's we're meant to be work colleagues i'm not even sure the Marines allow this sort of fraternization... If any!" his voice was cold and heartless but he knew that if she really wanted this she'd argue her point. As much as Luke wanted this he felt compelled to forbid it, but then he'd remember the kiss.
Cerys felt the reprimand in his tone and shivered involuntarily. "So who did you think you weren't going to kiss that wasn't me then?" she asked, a frown of confusion on her brows.
"That doesnt matter does it!" he replied almost angry that she would concern herself with his romantic affairs. The truth is there was nobody else.
"No, I guess it doesn't as you're quite clear it shouldn't have been me." she replied, choking back her hurt, unable to fathom what had just gone down and what she'd done wrong to set it off. "I'm only sorry I turned out to be such a disappointment. If you HAD to make the mistake of kissing anyone at all, it's just terrible that you had to waste the moment." She stood up, the picnic cloth shifting as she did, spilling some of the contents and making herself even more flustered.
"Oh, Don't guilt trip me! you know as well as I do" He almost chocked on his words through his gritted teeth, what he'd give to just take her by the hand a share the embrace again even if he was actually angry at her.
"Whatever i know or don't know, you've made your feelings very clear." she said and spun to run up the hill but she caught her foot in the now crumpled picnic cloth and stumbled towards the water as is she might fall in face first if her shoe didn't come free.
Luke was being stubborn and watched her storm off, he fought the urge to follow her and instead gritted his teeth "Women..." . From the distance he heard a splash and jumped up. Walking to the water edge he shook his head at the semi-pile of clothes on the river bed "Don't be stupid Cerys!" he pleaded.
Cerys had stumbled towards the water and it had seemed to be a good place to hide the fact that although she really wanted to cry right now, she didn't want Luke to see it. She chose to throw off her top and jeans and dive into the water so she could be alone and out of reach for a while.
"Stupid?" ~So now I'm not only a disappointing second choice to have kissed but Stupid with it!~ she thought, her feelings welling up and threatening to choke a sob from her if she didn't escape quickly. She ran into the cool, soothing water, stretching long strides against the friction of the water around her calves first, then thighs and at that depth she could dive and start swimming away gracefully.
At least this way she wasn't going to make *more* of a fool of herself...... the alternative was to run away and he'd be faster than her. This was all she had. She was a good swimmer, it would be fine.
Luke stood on the edge of the water teetering over the edge, he couldn't see her and he knew she'd have to come up for air sooner but after a few more seconds flashes or panic ran threw his body "Cery's! Don't be stupid" He repeated slowly taking off his clothes prepared to jump in if she didn't surface. He was good at breaking hearts.
Cerys swam under the water for a while. She felt the cold water on her burning cheeks, mixing with the hot tears she was crying. ~WHY?~ she kept asking herself. She knew Luke he had been separated from his ex-wife for a while, but it would have been prying to keep on asking more and more questions. The water seemed to part to flow over her arms and legs as she powered through the deepest part of the lake.
~Why didn't he want *it* to be me he would kiss? Who DOES he want? And why did he kiss me if he feels that way? Why did he bring me here..... in the Armoury I made it clear I was interested in him.. so why let me think he felt the same?
The lovely 'secret' place here... the thoughtful picnic.... the kiss.... that kiss.... God that hurt.... she felt her stomach knot with her reaction to the magic of his eyes and the soaring feeling she had when he kissed her..... all changing suddenly into a knot as she thought of the *someone else* who he wanted to have kissed, not her..... isn't that what he meant.... whatever he actually said?~ She began to run out of air as all these thoughts crowded through her mind so she pulled upwards with her arms and took a big kick with her legs so she would surface.
What Cerys didn't allow for was that there might be reeds in the bottom of the lake and by taking that circular action with her legs to push the water down beneath her, she had accidentally entangled herself by the ankle. She kicked at the reeds that had wrapped around her left ankle by shoving at them with her right foot but that just tied up both legs more. Her arms which had tried to pull upwards just flailed about helplessly as she sank further. Reaching round to free her legs, she fought the tendrils off with her hands, careful this time not to twist them into the plants. Her right leg came free but the left was caught fast.
More frantic now that she felt her lungs burning for air, Cerys tried again and again to curl up so she could reach her ankle and free it but she was losing her bearings as her temples thumped and her throat fought to open itself in search for air. ~Why did I not just run away... or just slap his face and stomp off if I thought I couldn't outrun him.... why doesn't this let GO!!!!~ She felt the stale air in her lungs force its way out but she held her mouth closed and used one hand to hold her nose closed while she continued to struggle with the other hand against the reeds which were flat and sinuous and cut into her fingers the more tightly she pulled at them.
Luke had already waded in after her, he felt even worse than he did for kissing her but knowing that she was voluntarily drowning herself wasn't the first reaction he thought he would get. As he swam deeper in the lake its coldness nipped at his extremities causing him to surface and take in another deep breath before submerging himself under water again. This time he had caught Cerys in his peripheral vision and slowly made his way to her. He had never been a good swimmer but he hoped his large intake of air had just enough to get him to her.
When he was in arm's reach he could see a bit of reed had wrapped round her ankle but she was almost lifeless until he touched her shoulder causing her to move her head, she was blue in the face mostly from the sun's reflection of the water but he knew she was running out of air. He pressed his lips against hers breathing slowly allowing the air to flow between them. He then moved to the reed and began tugging at it - it wouldn't budge.
He moved back up to her mouth kissing her again, giving the last bit of his oxygen to her in a last ditch just as he did everything around them disappeared she was now on top of him and given their position when he was trying to break her free from the reeds it made sense. Their lips still pressing against each other when he felt the hard surface of the holodeck floor. He had forgotten this was a simulation, everything but Cerys at least.
Choking out the last of the water from her lungs, Cerys frantically took Luke's face between her hands and turned it to the side so he could spit out water and suck in air too. "Oh GOD! I'm SO sorry!" she panted, still choking and sucking in air desperately, all the while trying to see if he was okay.
"You gave me your last air...." she managed to get out when her lungs began to change back to air and not trying to breathe water any more. "That was...... heroic...... I didn't mean to do that.. I only wanted to hide my reaction... i didn't mean to try to drown myself and I NEVER would have let you sacrifice yourself for me like that........ I.... I couldn't have...... " she was sobbing into his neck now, so relieved that he was still breathing too.
Luke brought his arms in comforting her, holding her. They both knew that what had just happened was something terrible. "Im sorry for being so heartless" He stroked her wet hair which was already rapidly drying. "Just don't go doing anything like that again! okay!" He demanded of her but let his anger go quickly "I just don't think..." he let his words trail of he knew she knew what he was going to say and he didn't want to upset her more.
"I didn't mean to. I truly didn't." she answered into his neck, comforted by his arms around her. She was remembering what he had done to save her but she knew she would have to take that as all there was going to be. It was better than nothing. He had cared enough to want to save her that much. If it was all there was, it was still more than many would have offered.
Cerys' tears subsided in the end and she began to shiver. "I think we should go and get warm. Do you want some coffee?" she offered in a conciliatory tone, getting up unsteadily. If he said no she had resolved to give him that much grace to leave and she wouldn't trouble him again. She hesitated, reaching to help him up.
Luke stood up. They both were pretty much dry and the cold was only their bodies telling them that they had just been in freezing cold water even if they really hadn't. "I don't drink coffee" he replied straightening himself out and before he even released it he had reach out for her hand. Hesitating again, he drew it back slowly, half hoping she'd grab it before it slid away. "but I'd take a hot chocolate" He smiled gently the least he could do was give her that.
"Thanks" Cerys smiled, keeping her fingers entwined with his loosely so that he could take his away if he wanted to. She felt she needed to walk on eggshells a little bit for now but at least he had said he'd come and share a hot drink with her so he didn't *hate* her at least.
Luke smiled rolling his fume along the outside curve of her hand, "I wouldn't have saved you just for you to walk away" he said softly stopping her for a moment as she tried to walk through the door. "Promise you wont do that again?" He questioned her pulling her closer so that she couldn't escape.
Cerys blushed and looked up at him, her eyes full again. "I promise." she said quietly but with serious honesty. "I'm truly sorry this went so badly wrong. I didn't mean to put you through all that." she apologised again. "I don't know what to say to make it even half right because there isn't anything. I just wish I'd not been so stupid."
She hung her head before leaning in and kissing his cheek softly. "If it means anything, you're my hero for doing what you did. I can never repay that sacrifice but if there's ever anything you need .... please think of me as a very special friend who owes you her life.... because that's what it boiled down to, even if the simulation fixed it in the end."
"You're a wonderful man, Luke Wyatt and whoever you end up loving she'll be the luckiest girl in the universe. I wish you both the most brilliant life together and the most happiness that two people can ever put up with!" she smiled, her wishes genuine and heartfelt, even if he didn't want her, she never wanted to see him unhappy.
Tugging back on her arm, he was powerless when he found that he had already wrapped his arms safely around her waist, after what happened he felt almost bound to her now. He imagined that a current ran between them making them inseparable but the same current burnt every bit of bare skin that collided together. "I..." There was nothing he knew he could say, instead he lent down and brushed his lips with hers causing the same warm burning sensation to rush between in his lips feeling it disperse into the ground like electricity.
Cerys felt it too. A more intense feeling than before and she responded and, safely held by his arm around her waist, she pressed back against his lips, hungry for more but afraid to push too soon. She ran her tongue across his lower lip and very gently tugged at it as her free hand slid up around his neck, stroking his hair.
She longed for him to kiss her more deeply but she hesitated, so close but yet..... the heat rose between them until she could bear it no longer and suddenly, as if he had felt it too, their kiss became passionate and deep, all the emotions of the day rolling into it and the anticipation and longing finally finding expression. She hoped it would never end as she melted into him, lost in the amazing moment.
Feeling the moment become deeper than he had originally intended he relaxed out of the kiss but stopping only a few inches from her face holding the gaze. "Say something" he asked not knowing what to say himself and since she had done most of the talking he knew she'd say the right things.
"I.... I hope you're not still disappointed because I'm not! That was totally amazing! If I'd known what a good kisser you are, i might not have waited so long to trap you alone in the Armoury! Would you mind if we did that again please?" she asked innocently, a flicker of mischief in her sparkling eyes. She had felt him respond, she knew he definitely didn't hate her now but could she keep his interest or would he want to slow this down?
He chuckled at the mischievous sparkle in her eye's which shone brighter than any supernova, and stepped apart from her teasingly "If I give you my all now, you won't want any later?" He brought her back in deflecting her attempts of kissing him again.
"Put your mouth where your money is, Soldier!" she challenged. "And don't think like that... don't you know that kisses are like chocolate... the more you get the more you need!" She gave up trying to kiss him but changed tack. "On the other hand.... Marines are an expendable commodity. There are LOADS more of them in the Armoury..... "
Cerys knew she had risked pushing his sense of humour too far with that little joke but she tilted her head at him cutely and winked to show that it was just fun and she didn't mean a word of it.
"As you said, they're an expendable commodity" he winked reassuringly that she hadn't hit a nerve, even if she had he couldn't hold a grudge against that face. "Do you still want that drink or has your mind changed?" he asked curiously with a number of thoughts ran through his mind causing the corner of his mouth to tug upwards.
"Well, it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind but it's also her business not to when there's hot chocolate on offer....... and perhaps more hot kisses, if i put home-made brownies into the deal....." she grinned, leading him along the corridors to her quarters.
Luke followed effortlessly shrugging the gaze of two marines who quickly turned and began talking to one another. he didn't know how he was going to explain this to them and he could already imagine the jokes... "Well - brownies" he said, he loved brownies as much as the next person but he knew that if she was anything like a Marine there was more to her way of thinking.
TBC.....
Marine First Sergeant
Deep Space Five
CPO Cerys Williams
Marine Administrator
Deep Space Five