[ussgeorgetown] "Rebuilding Burnt Bridges One Cookie at a Time"
- From: "N'Ellie Coyne" <nelliecoyne@xxxxxxx>
- To: <ussgeorgetown@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 15:37:22 -0400
"Rebuilding Burnt Bridges One Cookie at a Time"
Capt. John Hale and Darius Murgo
The cabin was quiet, which meant that his two older girls weren't home. Darius
smiled a little at the thought about what the ship was in for now that the
Murgos had landed. Darius slipped into the kitchen where he order a cup of
coffee before diving into the fresh batch of cookies that were sitting on the
counter.
John rang the bell then walked right in, as had always been his habit in his
friends home, though their friendship was more than a little strained at the
moment. He'd come to ask a favor, and God help Darius Murgo if he refused.
Walking out of the kitchen with coffee and cookies in hand, Darius wasn't
surprised to see John standing there. "Jo made cookies." He offered as if there
wasn't a huge chasm between them.
"Chocolate chip?" John asked, looking over at the plate. At Darius' nod he
smiled. "Oh, hell yeah." and grabbed a couple, plopping on the couch and
munching slowly. "Mmm..damn that girl can cook."
"She's an amazing woman." Darius replied as he looked down at his wedding ring.
"It stuns me that she's with a man like me, stuns me even more that she took me
back."
"Always surprised me she married your sorry ass to begin with," John laughed,
heading for a glass of milk. "No accounting for taste, I guess."
Darius laughed. "Your one to talk. How the hell did you get a woman to wait on
your ass all these years?" Downing his coffee he went for more before asking,
"How is the new Captain Craig?"
John shook his head in amazement. "Proof love is blind, I guess. And
occasionally very stupid." He sighed. "She's beautiful."
"Did you finally do it?" Darius asked as he settled back on the couch.
John nodded. "Last night, at the launch party."
Darius rolled his eyes and choked down a cookie. "And?"
"And....we're going to get married once they return for refuel and retool in
six months, so her parents can be there to see it." John sighed. He'd rather
just elope, but couldn't see denying her the chance to have her father give her
away, much as he knew the old man had never approved of him.
A bright smile lit up Darius' face as he slapped the other man on the back.
"Congratulations, John. It's about goddamn time."
"Yeah, well, all of that's sort of depending on us making it back here in one
piece. Which is what I came to talk to you about." He looked at Darius
seriously. "I need you to use that rank of yours to help me help the boys for a
change. Only time I'll ask you to act either way. Do it and we'll call it all
square, but dammit, you owe us this, so refuse and I'll beat you senseless.
Okay?"
Darius looked down into his mug for a few moments, then when he looked up he
said, "I'd do anything you asked me to, John, but I can't. I've filed for early
retirement."
"You what?!" John roared, looking dumbfounded. "Why the hell?" He sighed,
shaking his head. "Of all the times to do something so goddamn stupid...." he
left off there, reaching for another cookie.
Looking down at his wedding ring, Darius paused a moment before holding up his
hand. "It was either the pips or this, John, and compared to what this stands
for, the pips were expendable." He really hoped that his friend would
understand. He really was trying to set things right the only way he knew how.
John frowned, trying to find a biting comment, a measure of disapproval and
couldn't. For the sake of a family, someone to come home to, children to love
and raise up right, he'd have made the same choice. Sighing, he nodded,
reaching for still another cookie. "She damn well better have made more than
just this one plateful of these things," he said at last.
"She's worried about the girls, about," Darius could no longer bring himself to
say 'your boys' "Josh and his brother, about that girl of hers." Picking up a
cookie he broke it in half and dunked one of the halves in his coffee. "You
know she bakes when she gets that way. She sent a whole load of brownies down
to sick bay."
John nodded. "Pity the boy don't eat sweets," he sighed. "..don't eat anything
he don't fix for himself, actually....he could use them. I'm thinking the extra
calories'd do him good if we could get them into him."
It stabbed at Darius that John and N'Ellie knew his son better then he did,
then he ever would most likely. "What's he like, John?"
John thought about it a moment. "Resourceful. Thoughtful. Smart as hell.
Protective of those he cares about. Stubborn as a Louisiana mule." He smiled as
he ticked off all his favorite traits of the boy, then frowned. "He's quiet.
Hard to get close to. Doesn't trust anything or anyone easy." His frown
deepened as he added. "And if he feels you betrayed that trust...no matter the
reason...it's nigh on impossible to get it back...."
Darius frowned. He was a lost cause, but John's emotions were personal. "What
does he think you did?"
"Nearly separated him and the yungun," John admitted quietly, his face a mask
of pain and shame. "Would have got him killed if I had, seeing what happened to
Dom and his crew. Hadn't been for Menkara's idea, they'd have succeeded in
killing him when they blew the Vic." He carefully said 'they', instead of
'you', though he knew full well who'd given the order to destroy the Vicksburg.
"I'm sorry, John."
"Me too," John admitted, still frowning. "I gave them my word I wouldn't do
that. But dammit...I got scared...you seemed too close, and I was afraid for
them. Thought they'd be safer that way. Boy stole a shuttle and damn near got
them both away from us for that one." He looked at Darius honestly. "I half
wish."
Darius nodded. "Me too if it had kept Adam away from him." At the thought of
Adam Hillard, Darius' hand closed into a tight fist, crushing the cookie he'd
be holding to bits.
John's eyes hardened and he growled,"If the bastard hadn't died on his own I'd
have killed him myself this time."
Darius looked sideways at John before getting off the couch and heading for
another cup of coffee. "Yeah." He replied lamely as he poured the strong black
coffee into his mug.
John almost laughed when he saw Darius go for still more coffee. "One more note
about the boy? He's the only person I ever seen drinks more of that shit than
you do, and stronger to boot. You and your damned defective genes."
"Coffee addiction and hair that's uncontrollable unless kept cut real short."
Darius walked back over and sat down. "And a life time of hell. That's what
I've given my son."
"Most of the girls aboard seem to love that hair of his, now. Between them
curls and him being so shy, he's got quite a following and don't even know it."
John laughed. "Got a few who've volunteered to work in sickbay for a chance to
run their fingers through them curls of his. Of course, Rachelle don't let'em.
She knows he don't like to be touched, and she's good at tending to him much as
he makes it hard for her. And he does. He's such a stubborn shit."
Darius was grateful for the fact that his friend wasn't rubbing his face in it
all even though he had a right too. "He got the stubbornness from Elle." He
replied with a lopsided grin. "Being a ladies man he got from me. Though I'm
sure watching you over the years had something to do with." Pausing he smiled a
little more. "From what I've heard there's only one of them girls he'd allow to
run their fingers through his hair and it's got Jo tickled pink. Give her six
months and she'll be planning their wedding."
"Yeah, he seems to take a bit more from that one than he does anyone else. I'm
thinking he's a bit smitten, not that he seems to understand that just yet."
John's smile widened. "I'll bring the hooch, you bring the shotgun."
Darius laughed for a moment, then grew serious again. "We're going to tell him
everything when he's stronger, John. I'm going to tell him everything. He's
going to need you when I do."
John nodded, reaching for yet another cookie. "I figured that." He munched in
silence a moment before adding. "Just be sure Lish and Rachelle are close by,
too. In case it goes bad."
"Jo's already talked to your blue fella. He's agreed to do the family shrinking
thing. She wants N'Ellie and the young one to be there as well. As far as Jo's
concerned the young one's just as much a Murgo now as Josh is." Darius sighed a
little. "You know she's gonna want it all her way and she's gonna expect it
done without fuss." Looking over at John he asked. "You got something on this
tub of yours for her to do? That might help."
"If she's expecting them boys to just jump right in and be family, she's lost
her rabbit-ass mind." John shook his head in disbelief. "That yungun'll chew
her up and spit her out in pieces she tries getting pushy with them, you warn
her." He considered his question a minute then, not quite understanding what
his friend was asking. "Something for her? Such as what?"
Darius shrugged. "I don't know I've never served on one of this high scale,
spit and polish, pretty little family friendly buckets. You tell me. She's a
damn smart woman, was even talking about going back to work now that Zoe's a
little older. We can't both be out of work. One of us will end up out an air
lock if we're both home all day." Darius paused and tried not to laugh since he
knew it would be him. "I'll warn her about the boys but you know Jo."
"I'll leave a message with Pru about her. See if she's got any classes open Jo
could teach." he grinned as he added. "But I'll keep a suit in the airlock for
you...just in case."
Darius laughed. "Thanks. Guess your stuck with us for a while so it would make
sense to get Frankie and Abbie back into school. Guess that leave me and Zoe."
"yeah, well, just make sure you've got dinner ready on time, Mr. Mom." John
laughed, standing up. He sighed, frowning. "Looks like I got to go make me a
call, seeing as you're about as useless as a third tit for what I come for." He
headed for the door, pausing just long enough to grab one more cookie. "See you
at supper."
"Not if I'm making it. Hell if I made it I'd throw myself out an air lock."
Darius chuckled a moment. He was pretty goddamn useless now wasn't he? "Don't
forget the booze."
"When have I ever forgot the booze?" John laughed on his way out the door. "See
you then."
Darius watched as John walked out the door and then picked up the empty plate
and took it to the kitchen. "Shit." He mumbled when he realized there were no
more cookies to replace them with. "Oh well I'll just tell her John ate them."
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