Author: Luzmaria

Rating: PG13

Spoilers: One from Fear and Loathing

Summary: This is the result of a fic orphan originally posted by Doxymom (Hope I got the nick right) and this bit is the second bit of it. Minus the first sentence and a half, this part is all mine.

Trance crooned to one of her favorite ferns. She caressed its downy blue leaves and felt life flowing through its leaves and stems. Usually, this makes her smile. But this time, Trance Gemini did not smile.

She had, in fact, not smiled in several days and was aware of is as she looked up and surveyed the Hydroponics Bay. The plants were lush and in bloom, the fruit on the vines were plump and ripe, ready for the picking. The grass was green and the flowers were fragrant. Two years of hard work turned the Bay around into a Garden of Eden for all the visitors and diplomats who came on board to discuss the charter with Captain Hunt.

And yet, she was not happy. She sat down under one of the trees, with her gardening gloves in her hands and closed her eyes. Maybe sleep was what she needed. A micro camera above her focused in on her, unnoticed.

----------------------

Rommie's nose twitched to the smell of the coffee as it steamed on the table in front of her. Coffee has a pleasant smell, in her opinion, but she still found its taste revolting. 'Thank God I won't be drinking the stuff' she thought as she kept her eyes trained on the monitor in the machine shop.

"She's still not moving from Hydroponics, is she?" Harper said as he cleaned another valve with a cloth, glancing over his shoulder. His recovery in the past few days was remarkable. Within forty eight hours of the "treatment", he was fully recovered and even the goose egg on his forehead was gone.

Rommie shook her head. "She seems as if someone..."

"Killed her cat, to use an Earth expression?" Harper put the valve down and stood by Rommie. "I don't know what to do, doll. I can't leave her alone like this, but when I've tried to get her to talk about her past or her problems, she's always clammed up. I think I need some advise here."

"Should we go to Dylan?"

Harper shook his head. "Dylan is a take charge kind of guy. He'll want to talk to her and then she'll know you told me what happened right after the accident. I've seen her pissed once before, Rommie. She threatened to kill me. And honestly, I would not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath again, you know what I mean?"

"Beka is liable to prod you for details. She means well, but in her own way she'll react the same way as Dylan. I guess that means Rev."

"No, there's one more person." Harper Walked to the door. Rommie turned to face him.

"Harper? Why did you install the cameras in her quarters and in Hydroponics, anyway?"

Harper smiled and gave Rommie a wink. "If I tell you, you won't respect me in the morning."

-------------------------

Tyr was busy doing butterfly exercises with his free weights when Harper entered the gym. His chest muscles rippled with a fine sheen of sweat as he moved the weights slowly, repeating his reps with care so that he didn't injure himself. Harper stood against a wall and crossed his arms, watching.

"This has better be good, boy." Tyr sat up and moved on to a rep of arm curls.

Harper chose his words carefully. "I want your help in the solution of a... hypothetical situation." He sat down at a bench.

Tyr looked up but didn't stop the curls. "Does it affect the survival of the crew, this hypothetical?"

"Well, it might, if it means keeping one person happy. I mean, wouldn't that make the person more likely to do a better job and therefore increase your chance of survival?"

This peaked Tyr's curiosity. "Go on."

Harper took a deep breath. "How would you respond if someone chose to give up a... close ally in order to save you?"

Tyr looked at Harper and began reverse curls. "Depends on what the motivation for ensuring your survival is. If this... ally, were a friend, I'd have to question why he bothered to ensure your survival, specially if it meant decreasing his own chances. If this ally were a wife, I'd be proud that she'd choose the life of her mate for the purposes of procreation, and therefore increase her bloodline in the pride."

"What if you were afraid to find out the reason?"

"Then I would have to wonder as to what your motives are towards your ally." Tyr put the weight down and looked at Harper.

"One more question: How do I let this ally know how much I appreciate the gesture?"

"Be there when the ally needs you. Just make sure you don't put yourself at risk in the process."

-----------------------

Trance sat on the edge of her bed in her quarters, hairbrush in hand. The nap in Hydroponics helped her mood, but she still felt upset. She looked at herself in the mirror and began to brush out her hair.

The face she saw looking back at her was almost emotionless. A tone interrupted her. "Come in."

The door slid open and Harper stood in the doorway. "Heya."

Trance tried her best to give a jovial expression, but wound up slightly off. "Hi. What's up?"

Harper crossed his arms. "I read my medical records from the accident, Trance. I see you took me to a medical facility?"

Trance's tail began to twitch as she stood. "Yeah, they uh, were working on extreme cases where the patient is in an irreversible coma or semi-consious state and were willing to allow me to put you in for treatment."

Harper moved into the room and walked up to Trance. "So, Violete, think you can give me the address of the facility so that I can write them a thank you note?"

Trance frowned. "I uh..."

"Trance, what's wrong?" Harper cupped Trance's chin in his hand. Her eyes brimmed with tears when she looked at him, and he sighed. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong, you know. I... man, this isn't easy for me to do." Harper shook his head and ran his thumb along her jawline. "Tell me when you feel can, OK?"

Harper let her go and left. Trance slid down to the floor and for the second time in several days she did something she promised herself she wouldn't do anymore.

She began to cry.

------------------

It took another three days for Trance to get to speak to Harper alone. She didn't avoid him per se. It was just a question of timing. Whenever she'd swing by his quarters, he was with Beka. At command he was with Dylan at the very least.

In the machine shop, he was usually with Rommie. In the Obs. Deck, with Rev or Beka. She didn't bother trying to get him in the Mess Hall.

In the end, she got him in of all places one of the crawlspaces on deck five. Near Hydroponics. She saw Harper's toolbelt in front of an open panel and peeked inside, only to get a full view of Harper's backside. She used her tail to poke him in the thigh to get his attention. He turned and looked at her. "Hey."

"Hi. Is there enough room for two?" She didn't smile. "Sure." He sat up and scooted over to allow her room as he tinkered with something very small. She ducked in, crossed her legs, and began to play with her tail.

"I uh... I can't give you the information on the facility, Harper."

Harper leaned his head back. "Why?"

"I... I lied to Dylan in my report. There is no facility. I called in a favor of a former friend of mine." She was still playing with her tail, not looking at Harper.

"I can give him or her my thanks, then?"

Trance frowned and shook her head. "He doesn't want to hear from me anymore. I made a promise to him a long time ago, and in bringing you to him for help I broke it." Trance looked as if she were about to cry.

"You want to tell me all about it?"

"It... would be hard for me to translate what we said, Harper." Trance choked back a sob, and turned away from Harper. Harper paused, then he laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Easy...Shhhh..."

Trance curled her tail around her knees as she shifted and brought them to her chest. "Please..."

Harper nodded, not taking his eyes off Trance. "Come with me. I've got something for you." He got out of the crawlspace and held his hand to her. She took it and followed Harper to one of the machine shops. Inside on one of the work tables was a rather large box. Harper reached into the box and pulled out a small cat.

Trance smiled. "Is this a real cat?"

"No, I can't afford one on Beka's salary. But, Rommie's got a lot of information on AI's in her database, and after making her avatar, making this little gal is a piece of cake, trust me." He handed her the cat. Trance took the cat and could just hear the gears and the metal joints inside as it turned and licked her chin. She studied the cat and noticed that he put bits of purple and silver into it's grey fur.

"Harper, I thought cats didn't come in this color?"

"They don't, but I wanted you to have something original, like you. Look, I know this could never replace... but maybe she can soften the blow a little, you know?"

Trance finally gave one of her genuine smiles and kissed Harper's cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Making me feel better."

"Well, thank you."

"For what?"

"For being my friend, for doing what you had to, to save me." It was Harper's turn to smile.

Trance paused, then put the cat down and wrapped her arms and tail around Harper. He stiffened up, then relaxed and gently hugged her back.

"You know I'm not used to this", he said.

"Maybe it's time for you to start." Trance giggled, grabbed the cat, and walked out the room.

-- End –

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