Title: Juliet
Author: Matilda7
Rating: G
Category: Romance
Codes: A/S
Summary: Archer reflects.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, and I certainly do not make any money from them. They belong to Paramount and Shakespeare. Ohh, Shakespeare just rolled over in his grave.
Author Notes: Haven't been very inspired lately, my muses have taken the plot bunnies south for the winter, so I tried a CiaC and made a promise to myself that I would write a story no matter what I got. CiaC was for the words Juliet, devour and clouds. I cheated though and only used one word, some pretty weird stuff came out of trying to use all three. Not that this is normal !

*****

She is my Juliet.

And I, like Romeo, love her with an all consuming passion that I cannot show.

I am a Montague with many Capulets. Too many it sometimes seems. Starfleet; her family; and by the way he looks at her, perhaps my own best friend.

I know they are right.

Starfleet for feeling it is wrong for a Captain to form a relationship with a subordinate. Every time I send her into danger, I know their reasons.

Her family for feeling I am too old. I wait everyday for her to notice.

Trip for feeling he could make her happy. I know he could.

Yet like Romeo, I do not care. None of it matters. All that matters is the smell of her skin, the sound of her voice as she whispers my name, and the way she looks at me and knows all the reasons why we shouldn't but still chooses this path anyway.

She is strong, beautiful, and though she fears many things, she has the infinite courage to face them anyway. And for the moment, she is mine. For the moment.

I know what the future might hold.

I told her once that we were star crossed lovers.

She laughed, and asked what I'd been drinking.

Sometimes though, in dark flashes, I think it might be true, that we will meet our own tragic end. Not with poison or dagger, but with the strength of reality and all the obstacles in our way.

For now, I will love her with everything that I am.

She is my Juliet, but I will remain forever hopeful that the story can be rewritten.

*****