In the Wake of the War 4/?
anonymous
July 28 2014, 09:21:26 UTC
*****
Amicus awoke that night to the familiar sound of one of the patients having a nightmare, but his eyes snapped open when he realised that the little moans of fear were coming from right beside him. He looked to his side to find that Nic had fallen asleep in the chair beside him. Her brow was wrinkled and her eyes roamed feverishly behind their lids.
"Stop," she said clearly, startling him a little. The woman in the next bed over stirred restlessly.
I have to wake her, he thought. He reached over and gripped the only part of her he could reach from the bed: her hand.
Her reaction made him draw a quick breath; she gave a little shudder and calmed immediately, her fingers closing around his.
He stared at her, watching her settle back into deep sleep. Her grip on his hand was as gentle and insistent as the hum of the spacer engines he had known all his life.
Fleetingly he felt a surge of anger. Silly little human. Soft skin, soft hair, soft everything. He'd break her if he touched her the way he wanted to. Couldn’t she feel the thundering of his blood?
He looked away from her, almost ashamed of the corporeal response she provoked in him. But she slept on, and her hand stayed wrapped around his, and after a while her slow breathing soothed him back to sleep.
The next morning was awkward when they awoke with their hands still wrapped around each others. He watched her eyes go wide and round as she realised that her hand was the one doing the holding. But Amicus flicked a mandible at her and said, "Good morning," and she stretched and smiled and said good morning back, and then she went in search of their breakfast. As their fingers untangled he let out a deep sigh that he tried to disguise as a cough. Damn, he thought. Damn it all.
*****
“Hey, Mic and Nic!” One of Nicola’s colleagues, Noor, a sunny-faced nurse with a cheeky smile, interrupted them at their lunch. “Did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
“The Normandy’s back! It survived the blast from the Citadel!”
“What?” Nicola jumped up so fast she almost knocked over her chair. “No way ... Commander Shepard ...?”
Noor shook her head quickly, her smile slipping a little. “No, it seems like the rumours about Shepard being on the Citadel when it blew are true.” Nicola let out a little moan and sat back down as Noor continued. “There’s no hope that she survived, but I know people are still looking ... But there were others. That Spector, Williams, and Dr. T’Soni, and Garrus Vakarian--”
“Vakarian,” Amicus said, his voice thick with an emotion Nicola couldn’t decipher.
“He’s in London now, trying to find the Commander’s body.” Noor sighed. “Poor thing. They were a couple, you know. Not to mention the fact that she sacrificed herself ...” She saw Nicola’s almost haunted expression and quickly changed tack. “But it’s great that the rest of the Normandy crew survived, right?”
“Yes. Yeah, you’re right.”
They saw Vakarian on one of the small news monitors later on in the day. He spoke briefly and vaguely of the ‘cooperation of the Normandy crew in bringing her operational’ and ‘plans to contribute to the rebuilding effort’. Nicola thought he looked distracted. Amicus said nothing, but his eyes didn’t move from the monitor until the interviews with the Normandy crew had ceased.
Amicus awoke that night to the familiar sound of one of the patients having a nightmare, but his eyes snapped open when he realised that the little moans of fear were coming from right beside him. He looked to his side to find that Nic had fallen asleep in the chair beside him. Her brow was wrinkled and her eyes roamed feverishly behind their lids.
"Stop," she said clearly, startling him a little. The woman in the next bed over stirred restlessly.
I have to wake her, he thought. He reached over and gripped the only part of her he could reach from the bed: her hand.
Her reaction made him draw a quick breath; she gave a little shudder and calmed immediately, her fingers closing around his.
He stared at her, watching her settle back into deep sleep. Her grip on his hand was as gentle and insistent as the hum of the spacer engines he had known all his life.
Fleetingly he felt a surge of anger. Silly little human. Soft skin, soft hair, soft everything. He'd break her if he touched her the way he wanted to. Couldn’t she feel the thundering of his blood?
He looked away from her, almost ashamed of the corporeal response she provoked in him. But she slept on, and her hand stayed wrapped around his, and after a while her slow breathing soothed him back to sleep.
The next morning was awkward when they awoke with their hands still wrapped around each others. He watched her eyes go wide and round as she realised that her hand was the one doing the holding. But Amicus flicked a mandible at her and said, "Good morning," and she stretched and smiled and said good morning back, and then she went in search of their breakfast. As their fingers untangled he let out a deep sigh that he tried to disguise as a cough. Damn, he thought. Damn it all.
*****
“Hey, Mic and Nic!” One of Nicola’s colleagues, Noor, a sunny-faced nurse with a cheeky smile, interrupted them at their lunch. “Did you hear the news?”
“What news?”
“The Normandy’s back! It survived the blast from the Citadel!”
“What?” Nicola jumped up so fast she almost knocked over her chair. “No way ... Commander Shepard ...?”
Noor shook her head quickly, her smile slipping a little. “No, it seems like the rumours about Shepard being on the Citadel when it blew are true.” Nicola let out a little moan and sat back down as Noor continued. “There’s no hope that she survived, but I know people are still looking ... But there were others. That Spector, Williams, and Dr. T’Soni, and Garrus Vakarian--”
“Vakarian,” Amicus said, his voice thick with an emotion Nicola couldn’t decipher.
“He’s in London now, trying to find the Commander’s body.” Noor sighed. “Poor thing. They were a couple, you know. Not to mention the fact that she sacrificed herself ...” She saw Nicola’s almost haunted expression and quickly changed tack. “But it’s great that the rest of the Normandy crew survived, right?”
“Yes. Yeah, you’re right.”
They saw Vakarian on one of the small news monitors later on in the day. He spoke briefly and vaguely of the ‘cooperation of the Normandy crew in bringing her operational’ and ‘plans to contribute to the rebuilding effort’. Nicola thought he looked distracted. Amicus said nothing, but his eyes didn’t move from the monitor until the interviews with the Normandy crew had ceased.
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Looking forward to the next chapter.
Excellent work, A!A
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