[Shadowdancer] Remember Me
- From: Jet <offerings_burnt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Shadowdancer <shadowdancer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 00:09:24 -0700 (PDT)
Remember Me
by Nathan Farris, Isabella Valentine, & Daniel Manson
**Takes place approximately 20 years in 'Dancer's future.
The Skimmer slowed to a stop, parked just off the dirt road. The sun's glare
penetrated the windows, forcing Nate to squint as he unlocked the door and
pushed it open. The breeze was a welcoming comfort to the heat trapped inside
the vehicle from the Denevan sun. Nate tried to get out of the skimmer, but
pushing the door open was all his body would allow . It irritated him that his
limitations were ever present whenever his body decided to give out, it was
down right embarrassing when it happened in front of somebody else.
Clutching the urn, he saw Bella moving around the vehicle and toward him.
Nate instantly grumbled, "I'm alright, li'l bit, I'm just a little tired."
"What makes you think I was comin' to you? I left my hat back there," she
smiled, gesturing to the back seat. "But since I'm here, may as well get your
ass out, eh?"
Nate laughed, though it sounded more like hacking. Shaking it off and taking
a few breaths, he croaked with a smile, "Oh, too cruel, too cruel." On his
feet, and the skimmer door now shut, Nate slightly frowned, thoughts playing
behind his eyes, "How long was I asleep?"
****
"Nate," Dan called out, turning his attention to a sleeping man with his arms
crossed, head leaning against the window. Dan reached out, patting Nate's
shoulder, "Hey, get up. You've been out like three hours, let's just get out
of the skimmer for a bit."
"Huh?" Nate replied, though it sounded less articulate. Scanning the area,
he found they'd stopped in the middle of... nowhere, "Something wrong?"
"No, but there's a place I wanted to show ya."
"Oh Dan, not another rock," Nate whined with a glare. He accepted that Dan
was a nature person, but sometimes the things he saw in nature, Nate was
completely at a loss.
Dan laughed, "No, no. Just get out and come with me."
****
The water rippled in a deep green, like melting obsidian. The day was bright
but not as warm as Bella expected, autumn having crept in to steal the blankets
from the trees whilst they stood guard around the lake. Bella looped her arm
through Nate's as they strolled slowly down the path, partially because she
wanted that contact and partially to keep him steady. Though she refused to
show it in her face, eyes, or actions, seeing Nate in this state distressed her
more than she could even put into words.
"How far you gonna drag me around this water?" she teased.
"You know, that's what I said when Dan took me here?" Nate planted a kiss
right atop her head, "You're more like me the older you get. It's scary." He
pointed out to the right, and felt Bella gently tug him in that direction.
The wind blew past them again, this time longer, and some of Bella's hair
struck Nate's face. He pushed it away, "Girl, you're gonna have a blanket you
don't take care of that mop of yours."
****
"It's cold in there!" Nate huffed, watching Dan lose a piece of clothing by
the passing seconds. By the time Dan was in his boxers, the man was already
knee deep in the lake.
"Actually it's not so bad. It's kinda warm, come on!" Dan said with a
kid-like glee and splashed into the water like an expert swimmer. Nate crossed
his arms walking to a large tree and settled under its shade, intent on sitting
on the leaves and not an inch closer to the lake.
"You're not getting me in there!" Nate said when Dan rose up from the water.
Dan turned, floating, arms moving in constant slow circles to keep him a
float, "Aw, what's wrong? Don't wanna mess with that new hair you've got?"
****
"Hey, I kept it cut for a long time, but... I just..." Her thoughts trailed
away to some of the experiences the three of them had been through. "It always
bothered him when it was tangled, didn't it?" she smiled. "It's one of the few
things I actually remember about the Riccio."
Nate coughed a bit, clearing his throat, "I think if he could give you a buzz
and make you look as pretty, he would've. But Dan always liked hair, I don't
think he could've put himself through that."
Closing to the lake, Nate stopped, trying to find the familiar spot he and Dan
went since their first visit, "Oh, over there, that was Dan's favorite spot."
The tree had leaves, but a majority of them had fallen to the ground. It was a
bit of a walk, encircling the entire lake and Nate took a seat among the fallen
leaves and what shade the tree could provide. The leaves were strangely warm,
and thick, even though dried. Looking up with pale sunken eyes, Nate smiled,
"Sit, Bella. Leaves don't scratch."
****
"Come on, Nate. Please? For me?"
"No."
"The lake's not gonna bite you, man. Come on! No one's around for miles!
This is perfect!" Dan swam closer to Nate, and ended up standing with water
covering him from the waist down and the rest left to the cold breeze.
Nate looked away, convinced if Dan would give in, they could go on their way.
Suddenly he felt his face splattered with water and Nate jumped like a cat.
"Stop that!"
"Nope!" Dan said, laughing, splashing water at a retreating Nate. When he
stopped, Nate was thoroughly soaked. His shirt stuck to his skin in large
patches, and his jeans were also a lost cause. Nate looked at Dan, "Oh, you
are paying for this."
"I got my wish," Dan grinned, retreating into the lake as the betazoid
tossed his own clothing away and dived into the cool water.
****
She shrugged, "I was just picturing you two here, that's all." Crossing her
legs at the ankles, Bella sat next to Nate, gently placing the urn on the
ground beside her. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they sat in silence
for the next few minutes. A bird perched on a nearby branch and chirped a song
before flying off again. "There's so much I wanted to say to him."
Suddenly Nate's throat was tight, "Yeah," he mumbled out. "He loved this
place. We came here every few months, sacrificing days to earn a good cred for
a few hours here. Now, I wish I could have left all those burdens behind and
spend every minute here with him."
Nate felt a pat on his hand, and he covered Bella's with his free hand, "But
that's all in the past. As long as I get to fulfill his wish, it's all that
matters."
"It's been one helluva road, ain't it?"
****
"Oh, big bad Nate's gonna come after me," Dan teased.
"You are so dead!" Nate huffed, pushing away wet hair clinging to his face
and he swam faster.
Dan just laughed, "Oh no! Nate's angry, oh spare me!"
It stopped Nate mid-stroke, with a grin that turned to a laugh because of the
sheer dorkiness. That caught him off guard as Dan grabbed him and dunked him
deeper into the water.
****
"So many places, so many memories. Highs and lows, a transient crew. I'm
surprised you haven't retired some place to do your own thing, li'l bit. Might
wanna consider it, the stress isn't so bad and compared to the things we've
gone through, anything you face planetside is a breeze."
"I have to say, it's crossed my mind more than once. I mean, we were sittin'
at the top of the galaxy once... then the lows. I saw the 'Dancer destroyed,
sunk even lower on another ship with another crew... Nate, I'd never been so
scared that time I woke up and didn't know where I was, how I got there or how
long I'd been there. But you and Dan... you were always there..." Her throat
closed up and she squeaked out the next words as the tears pooled in her big
green eyes, "You always picked me up and set me to rights."
Nate moved his arm around Bella and hugged her close, "Good, that's good,"
Nate said with a nod, "I'm glad we did right by you, shrimp. I'm happy to see
you grow stronger each day." Nate looked out to the placid water, "Shine above
the rest. Dan taught me that."
****
It was a tough time getting the upper hand on Dan, but Nate managed putting
some space between them, ready to wrestle with Dan if he dared. "Love it when
you smile, Nate," Dan said, moving in a circle.
"You have to point it out?"
"Course I do," Dan replied with a wider grin. He stopped circling with Nate,
crossing the small space and laid his arms on Nate's shoulders, "Or else how am
I ever gonna see you shine?"
****
"I never did shine," she admitted, still crying into Nate's shoulder. "I
didn't make him proud, really, maybe not for a long time."
"Are you kidding me?" Nate replied, startled. He let her go, only to shift
his sitting position and held her by the shoulders, "He was so proud of who and
what you grew up to be. Dan was just a worry wort when it concerned you. If I
was the father that let you do what you wanted, Dan was your mother," Nate half
joked.
It nearly made Bella laugh.
"Hey," Nate tipped her head up and gave a proud smile, "You never disappointed
either of us, understand?"
"I did though..." she sniffed. "Took me so long to get all straightened
out." Wiping tears from her face, Bella smiled back a bit. "Guess when you're
forced to grow up so fast, it takes extra time for some wisdom to catch up with
you. Think I overheard Dan say that to you once."
****
"So how long are you gonna keep us in the lake? We're gonna look like old
wrinkled folks we keep staying in here," Nate commented. "And we're lucky we
have clothes in the car, and the drive's gonna..."
"Nate," Dan whispered with a light kiss after that.
"Yeah?"
"Quit talking..." And the kiss deepened.
****
It was late afternoon before Bella and Nate thought to move to the edge of
the lake. The sun was setting, the winds blowing stronger and with more
intensity. Nate looked out to the lake, the waters rippling and he gave a
small nod to himself. It was time. Nate felt his body more tired then it had
been for days. Damn bones, damn body... damn plague, Nate thought to himself.
"Let's get going," he said.
When Bella got up, Nate was set to get up right along with her and finish
what he came here to do. But his body rejected him, and Nate cursed inwardly,
looking up, he asked "Hey, li'l bit, think you can help this geezer up? My
legs decided spaghetti was on the menu, so I can't really stand on my own."
Lovingly, Bella reached down and helped hoist Nate to his feet. It was a
slow process, but she had all the patience in the world. On tiptoes, she
placed a soft kiss upon his cheek.
Nate smiled and took the urn as he squeezed her hand and moved slowly towards
the lake. One last look around, and a wash of memories swarmed his mind. It
was almost too much. Nate swallowed, took a breath and opened the urn. As
ashes flew with the wind and fell gently into the water like grey snow, Nate
felt as though he were with Dan again in some way. He smiled, tears flowing
like tiny cold streams and despite his own grief, he kept the smile.
For all the times and memories.
For Dan.
When the ashes were settled, when the tears stopped, when the stinging pain
retreated, and the loving memories of Dan eased away, Nate closed the urn. He
felt Bella at his side, having been at the edge of the lake with him the entire
time. Wrapping an arm around her, he said quietly, "Let's head back."
****
Nate rushed to the car, hugging himself to keep as warm as possible from the
blowing winds. His jeans were saved, but not Dan's. Neither shirts were
reusable with mud stains. Nate rummaged through their luggage to find another
pair of jeans, two shirts, socks, and closed the trunk and running back.
He saw Dan under the tree, arms wrapped around himself, waiting. Nate closed
in and Dan looked up with a smile. "Should've put the shirt on," pointing to
the black shirt Nate held, "instead of just wearing jeans- you're gonna catch a
cold."
Nate smirked lightly, "Like you don't like the view."
Dan didn't say anything, he just chuckled. He put his clothes on and Nate
just looked at him. Dan was positively amazing in his favorite dark red shirt
with a pair of worn jeans. When he looked up, Nate blinked and gathered their
dirty clothes.
"Guess we better head to town, you wanna..."
"Actually," Nate interrupted, leaving the pile of clothes and looked at Dan
with a smile, "I thought maybe we could stay til the sun goes down."
Nate got a wide grin from his partner, "You're city guy, Nate, but that's
good to hear. So you had fun," Dan said confidently.
"Yeah, I did," Nate replied, closing in their distance, fingers lightly
touching Dan's. "But," warm grey eyes stared into brown ones and Nate couldn't
help but kiss Dan, "I realized today isn't about me. So..." Nate pulled Dan
down to the thick leaves. "We watch the sun set." They sat, backs against the
large tree. Dan pulled Nate closer and kissed him on the side of the head.
Life was good. Life was perfect.
****
Isabella parked the skimmer in almost the exact spot she had four months
earlier. It was cold, the Denevan sun just beginning to gather its strength
for the spring to come. Bella didn't care.
Gingerly she stepped from the vehicle and smoothed the lower part of her
dress. The green gossamer fabric was pulled by the wind, but instead of
shivering, Bella turned her face to the day and the lake spread before her.
Nate and Dan's lake.
She reached inside the skimmer and took out another urn, identical to the one
she had reluctantly carried so soon ago. The thought of it made her choke as
the well of emotion once again threatened to consume her. Not now, she
thought. Nate had taught her that. There was a time for all things and she
had work to do.
It was a painful trek around the lake, not only reliving the memories Nate
had shared with her, but reliving the past four months. Nate had begged her to
bring him here on a daily basis towards the end... Maybe tomorrow when you're
stronger, she'd say, knowing he'd never survive the trip, selfishly wanting to
keep him alive one more day.
One more day to learn at his knee, one more day to bask in his love - the
only real father she'd ever known. To go back and relive it all one last time.
The good and the bad. She'd never take a moment for granted. Ever.
Isabella approached the lake in the same spot they had laid Dan's ashes to
rest. The dress billowed out behind her, filling her with the vulnerability of
the fifteen year old child she was when Nate and Dan found her. She hadn't
worn a dress in over twenty years. But Dan had given it to her two years ago
just in case she ever had the need to "look like a girl." I wonder if he
knew... if this was what he planned.
She would have given all the wealth and estate that Nate and Dan had
bequeathed her, she would have given her health, she would have given her last
breath to have them with her just once more. To feel the tug of Dan's brush
through her hair. To see Nate's rare lop-sided grin as he teased her.
Bella sank to her knees, the tears no longer held in check. She sobbed and
pleaded with a deity she never believed in, spending her grief on the edge of
that lake. Her tears fell into the soil, watering the spring flowers yet to
bloom. Life will continue, she thought she heard whispered on the wind.
Lifting the top off the urn, Bella quickly let the breeze carry Nate's ashes
to lie with his one and only love. She closed it and moved over under the tree
that had been theirs. Sinking to her knees once again, she cleared leaves from
the base of the tree, harmlessly affixing a holo-image of her pseudo parents.
Isabella stood and blew their image a kiss.
"I love you," she said, before turning and making her way back around the
lake.
---------------------------------
New Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Call regular phones from your PC and save big.
Other related posts:
