<USS Avalon> "Across the Stars"

Across the Stars
Elissabeth Marksbury
and
Bryce Quinn



She had been avoiding him.  It was so blatantly obvious.  Bryce had, initially, 
chosen to not let it bother him; you know, chalk it up that she just needed 
some time to sort things out.  The proverbial bombshell had been dropped and it 
was all she could do to cope and fight through understanding it - seemed simple 
and plausible enough, didn't it?  However, after a couple of days, it was 
getting tedious to sit around waiting and wondering.

"This is ridiculous," Bryce said as he stood up from the couch in his quarters 
and parted the door.  Heaven forbid he was talking to himself, but Bryce 
continued with his solitary idle conversation and headed for Lissi's dormitory. 
 It was time to get some answers or, at the very least, some closure to the 
situation.  "Here goes," he murmured as he tapped the chime.  
 
Movements flowed gracefully, one into the next, as Elissabeth followed through 
the motions she knew so well. Perfectly balanced, she centered her mind as she 
centered her body. The pain and confusion of the last several days washed away 
as she found her focus once again. No outside forces mattered, or could 
possibly intrude upon this peaceful place.

Even when the chime to her quarter?s door rang, she did not halt the movements, 
but instead, called out, "Come in," continuing her exercises, knowing that 
whoever it was would wait the two minutes for her to finish. 
 
The doors opened and he found himself instinctively stepping inside.  "You 
know, leaving a guy to wonder..." Bryce's voice trailed off as he watched her 
for a moment.  Suddenly, as if washed away by an invisible waterfall, all the 
angst and worries he had disappeared.  Her beautiful form did that to him.  
From the moment he'd met her he was attached, and now she was unconsciously 
quelling his fears.  
 
Finally, coming to an end, her back still to the door, Elissabeth breathed 
deeply, "Thanks for waiting, I -" she stopped mid-sentence as she turned around 
and saw Bryce standing there.  "I didn't..."  Her nervousness got the better of 
her and she found herself tongue-tied.   Suddenly feeling very self conscious 
in yoga pants that set very low on her hips and just a sports bra, she wrapped 
her arms around herself as she looked on in silence.  
 
A smile overtook him, "You're beautiful when you're embarrassed."  
 
"And you notice way too much and say even more," she offered with a hint of her 
own smile.  
 
"What can I say," he started, taking a step towards her, "it's a gift.  
However, I am quite upset with you that you've been avoiding me.  I was hoping 
for an excuse or something.  Like, 'Sorry, Bryce, I'm washing my hair' or 
something more creative like 'Sorry, Bryce, I'm feeding my lizard'.  I didn't 
even get a call."  By the time he finished talking he was standing a foot in 
front of her, staring into those amazing eyes of hers again.  
 
"I-" Dammit, why does he have to be so... everything? "I was... playing hide 
and go seek and forgot it was my turn instead of yours?" she offered with an 
innocent look.  
 
He nodded, a playful grin on his face, "That would've come in handy about a day 
and a half ago.  So, what have you been up to?  I know that I rushed things the 
other evening.  And, if you were uncomfortable, I'm truly sorry.  I just have a 
habit of," he paused, looking out at the stars in thought for a brief second, 
"finding things that I enjoy irresistible to the point of having to have it.  
Right then."  
 
Her self-consciousness seemed to dissolve and she moved her arms from around 
herself.  "I admit, you spooked me a bit.  Things have been a little unsettling 
in the relationship department lately.  It hasn't been that long since I... 
hmm, removed myself from another relationship and meeting someone and getting 
close wasn't exactly in my plans.  You can be very disarming, you know."  
Elissabeth moved over and picked up the glass of water off the table and took a 
long drink before setting it back down, deciding that the blatant truth would 
be best.  
 
The tension was awkward.  He didn't like.  Taking a brash move that suited his 
character quite nicely, he stepped over to her.  As the glass hit the table and 
she straightened up, he placed his hands on her cheeks and brought their lips 
together.  It was a tender kiss, one that lingered in the thoughts and on the 
lips for minutes afterwords.  When their lips finally parted, he smiled without 
saying a word.  
 
Against her better judgment, Elissabeth gave in to the moment and slid her arms 
around his neck, pulling him down to kiss her once more.  She needed to be 
certain, completely certain, that this - he - was what she wanted.  And it just 
felt so right, even if things were moving faster than she wanted.  
 
The second kiss was twice as good as the first.  He smiled and kissed her 
forehead as they separated again.  "I don't know how to explain my feelings for 
you, Lissi.  It's just ... there.  I would do anything for you, anytime.  You 
know that, right?"  Without warning, he felt the overwhelming desire to explain 
himself to her.  She had to know, somehow, what he felt for her.  
 
"No, I didn't, and I can't say I understand it.  The only thing I know is that 
to be with you is something I very much desire.  It feels like it fits.  Not in 
a 'I need you to take care of me' kind of way, because I don't.  And not in an 
exciting 'I want to take you to bed right this moment' sort of way either."  
She blushed and turned her head.  "I don't know if that makes any sense and I 
can't explain it any better than that.  I enjoy your company, I love talking to 
you, even bantering.  And to spend time with you makes me feel not so alone.  
There are people that I can spend time with and I care for them, but you just 
get under my skin somehow.  Like I said, it fits.  And now I'm rambling."  
 
He smirked again, "It's cute."  
 
"Stop that," she grinned with embarrassment.  "I'm so conflicted and confused 
and I'm standing here kissing you and telling myself that I'm crazy and you 
stand there and be your charming self and keep me off guard so I can't keep 
telling myself to want to tell you to go away."  
 
"Do you listen to yourself?"  Bryce chuckled.  
 
"Most other times."  
 
"That's good," Bryce whispered as he wrapped his arms around Lissi's waist and 
pulled her close.  He put his chin up against the side of her face and gave her 
a gentle squeeze.  "I'm glad that I've found you, Lissi.  Before this, my world 
was nothing but one big mystery after another, conflict after conflict, battle 
after battle."  
 
"And what makes you so sure?  So sure that this is what you want.  What is it 
you want from me anyway?"  
 
"I'm sure.  Just trust me.  And as for what I want from you, nothing at all.  I 
just want someone to be there when I go to sleep at night and someone to be 
there when I awaken the next morning.  I couldn't wish for anyone better," he 
kissed her neck a little bit before dropping and kissing her shoulder.  "Some 
things are better off not explained."  
 
"Oh," she said pushing away gently and feeling something inside her crash and 
burn.  So, that's what he wanted.  A place to spend his nights.  She should've 
known.  Walking over to the viewport, Elissabeth looked at the starbase, 
emptiness surrounding her once again.  "I don't think I'm interested, Bryce."  
 
A sigh couldn't help but escape his lips, "What is it, Lissi?  I want someone 
to be there.  You know, through sickness and in health.  It doesn't matter.  I 
want someone to deal with all the trials and tribulations with."  He blinked, 
thinking quite irrationally, "Or is it that you just want someone to take you 
to bed every night?  You don't want the commitment?"  
 
"Someone to - No!  Not at all.  I thought that's what you were saying you 
wanted.  I... I felt something more than that."  
 
"Me too," he said deliberately, paying close attention to not step towards her 
again.  "Me too."  
 
"And that doesn't frighten you in the least?" she asked, turning to face him, 
lost like a little girl in a storm.  
 
There was a pause where he reflected; actually reflected.  His internal 
monologue was having a field day with the idea.  Was he truly afraid?  No, he 
didn't think so anyway.  No, he definitely wasn't.  Softly, he shook his head, 
"No.  When you feel such things as strongly as I do, nothing can be scary or 
intimidating.  This transcends all that."  
 
Swallowing, Elissabeth found herself breathing quickly, unable to squelch the 
desire to hold him, be held by him, though her rational side screamed 
otherwise.  She took the four steps from the window and placed herself in his 
embrace, wrapping her arms around him tightly, deciding in that moment, 
consequences be damned, if he could be that way, so could she.

"Where do you want to go from here?" he asked finally, unsure of how to 
proceed.  
 
"I thought you had that one all figured out." 
 
 He smiled again, though she couldn't see it, "Let's not rush things." 
 
"Me rush things?  You forget who's chasing who here, Mr. Quinn," she teased, 
the relief in her voice obvious.  
 
He laughed, "I'm glad that we've cleared that up.  So, what do you want to do 
about seeing each other?  You could move into my quarters, I could move here, 
we could relocate to another ship.  Or, perhaps, I could slow down and not make 
a big deal out of it and we could just go have dinner."  
 
She nearly choked.  Move in together?  She'd dated James for months and the 
subject never even came up.  Not once.  Trying very hard not to tense, she took 
a deep breath and blew it out slowly.  "How about a little more romance first?" 
she asked, almost mischievously.  There was no denying how much she enjoyed 
that aspect of their relationship.  "There are still so many things I need to 
know about you and vice versa.  I am not the easiest person to get along with 
and I'm incredibly selfish and stubborn..."  The words trailed off as her eyes 
made contact with his and she got lost once again.  
 
"Romance is good," he smiled, kissing her lightly again, "And what do you want 
to know about me?  I've told you so much already."  Bryce knew that the 
prospect of moving in together scared her to her very core, so he chose to 
brush it off and just muddle through.  "I'm an open book, darlin'." 
 
She smirked and pulled back, amazed with the level of comfort between them.  
"I'm going to shower and change clothes into something that I can wear in 
public, and I was thinking that maybe we could walk around the station.  I 
enjoyed that first night walking with you so much it had me in tears."  Before 
he could see the look on her face, Elissabeth turned and fled to her bedroom.  
Once the door closed, she leaned against it a moment, letting the odd feelings 
flood her entire being.  It all seemed so simple as long as she chose not to 
fight it.  
 
Bryce sat down on the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table and 
stretching out.  "One of these days, I'm going to follow you in there."  He let 
the simplistic nature of his words linger before chuckling to himself.  
 
She saved her retort for when she appeared, dressed in black slacks and a deep 
emerald green blouse that played up the colour of her eyes.  It was casual, but 
a bit unusual for her.  "One of these days," she said softly, announcing her 
presence in the room, "I'll invite you."  
 
Standing, he admired her features for a brief second.  "The station doesn't 
deserve a marvelous creature like yourself.  They should be lucky that you're 
gracing them with your presence."  He moved across the room to her and offered 
her his arm, as was his typical custom.  "Shall we go mingle among the common 
folk?"  
 
"And what did I tell you about empty flattery the first day we met?" she 
smiled, taking his arm anyway and liking how it was becoming more easy to do 
so.  Why did it suddenly feel like they were coming at everything backwards?  
Kinda like falling in love and then meeting each other, she thought but pushed 
it away.  Ridiculous.  Or is it?


The walk to the station was magical.  Not some flowery giddy feeling one gets 
when walking with their crush.  This was a bond, a connection of the deepest 
sort between lovers.  Bryce and Lissi had been walking ten minutes when Bryce 
found his hand entwined in hers.  It didn't feel forced; no, it felt right.  
The conversation was inspiring and insightful, the feeling was amazingly calm 
and serene.  They were the epitome of couple-hood.  At long last, they had 
found each other.  They had found love.   
 



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