<USS Avalon> "Meant to Be"

"Meant to Be." 
Anna McEntire and Annabelle Garrity

She watched out of the large windows in the lounge as the tiny shuttle hovered 
in the darkness outside. It looked so far away, so alone out in the black 
inkiness of space. Annabelle was trying really hard not look as lost and alone 
as the shuttle her husband was in, but she really wasn't doing a very good job 
since she had to wipe at yet another fear caused tear as it rolled down her 
cheek. 

Stepping lightly into the Lounge, Anna saw Belle watching Josh. Placing her 
hands on Belle's shoulders, Anna felt her jump. "He'll be okay."

"He wasn't there when I woke up." Annabelle replied, still looking out the 
window. "By the time I got to the shuttle bay he'd already lunched. I didn't 
get to tell him I loved him and to be careful. I don't even know if he's 
wearing the St. Christopher medal I gave him."

"He will be. He loves you and he knows how important it is to you." Smiling at 
Belle's reflection, Anna chuckled lightly. "It's Josh, remember? Of course he's 
wearing it."

It helped having Anna there with her. The four of them had become so close. 
"I'm scared, Anna, and I don't know what to do other then standing here."

Anna rubbed Belle's arms up and down, biting down on her bottom lip. "Mac's 
asleep, I think the last bit of work on the shuttle knackered him out. Why 
don't you and I head back to our quarters and I'll make you some food? I don't 
think we'll wake him, the man snores like a targ, I doubt even Armageddon could 
wake him up." 

Reaching up, Annabelle pressed her fingertips to the glass where the shuttle 
was. Finally she nodded and let Anna lead her out of the lounge. "I heard a 
story once that his roommate at the Academy paid the marching band to play 
outside the window near his bunk. He slept through the school's fight song and 
the William Tell overture."

"Why doesn't it surprise me?" Anna chuckled, her hand reaching for Belle's and 
gripping it tightly. Even the thought of the vulnerable young man out there all 
alone made her shudder. "Sport's going to be alright, he's made of tough 
stuff." They reached her quarters and stepped in, Mac's snores already evident. 
"If you'll excuse me a moment, I'll just gag him or something and then we can 
have a pleasant dinner."

Grinning to herself, Anna slipped into the bedroom and sat lightly on the edge 
of the bed. Mac was sprawled out across the middle of it, his hair ruffled and 
fluffy. Leaning down, Anna kissed her husband gently and then left, closing the 
door to keep either them from disturbing him, or the other way around.

"So, what shall we eat?"

Annabelle nodded and then followed Anna towards the table. "It's probably a 
good thing, Mac sleeping I mean, he'd probably be as messed up as me right now."

"He has a lot of faith in Sport, I think he'd more likely be trying to make you 
laugh." Anna asked the replicator to produce two glasses and a bottle of red 
wine. "Our night on the tiles is still repeating on me," she said by way of 
explanation for the synthahol instead of real alcohol.

Annabelle laughed lightly. "I know what you mean. When I work up I thought the 
whole week had been an alcohol induced dream, but I know it wasn't. Not with 
this on my finger." She held up her left hand, and then twisted her wedding 
band around her finger. "My mother's gonna have a cow."

"Yeah, then she's going to meet Josh and you'll be fighting her off with a 
stick." Anna grinned as she poured and then curled her feet underneath her on 
the sofa. "If you want to eat, feel free. I know I offered dinner but now I 
come to eat, I feel queasy again so I'm going to skip it."

"It's ok." Annabelle replied as she held tightly to her wine glass. "I'm not 
really hungry." Turning her head, she looked out the small window but all she 
saw was stars since the wormhole was on the other side of the ship. "I should 
have gone with him."

"Would he have let you?" 

Shaking her head, Annabelle sighed as she looked over at her friend. "Not a 
chance."

"Everybody's got to have a reason to come back from something like this, you're 
his. If you went with him, there's be nothing here to come home to." Anna 
shrugged as she sipped her wine. "That's the way I always think about it 
anyway."

Annabelle was quiet for a while as she thought about what Anna was saying, 
finally she nodded. "You have a point, but if I were with him I would know he 
was ok. I don't like feeling so helpless."

"Me either," Anna admitted. Playing with the base of her glass, she tried not 
to worry too much, tried not to imagine what it would be like if the captain 
had chosen Mac for this mission instead of Josh, but she was losing. In her 
heart, she felt she was betraying her friend because she found herself thanking 
her lucky stars that it wasn't her husband out there. "He'll be okay," she 
repeated.

"I just hope I'm enough to bring him back." She nearly shivered thinking about 
how Josh was after his brother's death, how badly he had wanted to give up. 

"What do you mean?"

"You saw him after Zack died." Annabelle answered as she turned once again to 
look at Anna. "He wanted so badly to give up. It's why he agreed to this whole 
thing in the first place."

"But he loves you," Anna said. Reaching over, she took Belle's hand and 
squeezed it before releasing it and settling back into her cushions. "And you 
love him. I'm a bit of a romantic," she said wistfully as she glanced at her 
bedroom door and blushed. "I still believe that love can conquer all things."

Annabelle smiled. "I hope your right, Anna. I hope he knows we have so much a 
head of us, and that I need him."

"Oh, trust me, I know I'm right. If it didn't, Mac would have given up on me 
even before we got started."

"Your good for him." Annabelle answered simply. "I don't think he's even been 
so happy and settled."

"I love him," she said simply.

The look in her friend's eyes made Annabelle smile. "I can tell."

"And he..." Anna said, taking a long draft of her wine, "he loves me..."

Titling her head to the side, Annabelle looked at her friend oddly. "That 
surprises you?" 

"Well yes," Anna shrugged. "It's me that he loves and he says that he loves 
only me. He said he doesn't need anyone else..." she said with awe.

This time it was Annabelle who reached over and took hold of her friend's hand. 
"Of course he wouldn't need anyone else. You two were meant to be. End of 
story."

Anna beamed. "And so are you and Sport."

Annabelle laughed before sipping her wine. "Just be glad it didn't take as long 
for you two as did for us. I thought for sure I was going to end up pining away 
for him while settling for a ho hum life just to get through the job of living."

"And now you've got him and life is grand." 

"Or least it will be once he's back on this ship safe and sound." Annabelle 
sighed. 

Squeezing Belle's hand again, Anna said, "Soon, he'll be home soon."

"I hope so, Anna, I really hope so."

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