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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that you recognize from the original series. I'm just taking them out to play.
Phantom Night
The unicellular organism beneath the microscope lens claimed all of Kristin's attention as the clock ticked its way past midnight. For weeks she'd poured herself into her work, analyzing specimens and cataloging data far into each night as though she didn't have a full science team at her disposal. Usually she'd fall asleep in the med-bay, slumped over her work station until someone from the morning shift awakened her with a cup of coffee and a curious look. The dark circles under her eyes were a testament to her exhaustion, but she couldn't seem to convince herself to go to bed. Not since the Captain's foolish mission aboard the RMS George.
Kristin pulled away from the microscope with a sigh. She couldn't remember what had happened aboard the sunken vessel, and none of the other crew would speak to her about the mission. Nathan simply told her she had reacted poorly to the nitrogen levels. Lucas mumbled that she wouldn't believe the truth. Katie would just turn and walk away whenever the expedition was mentioned. All Kristin knew was that whatever had happened to her aboard that ship could not be explained by too much nitrogen. She couldn't quite explain it, but the George haunted her.
Her sigh turned into a groan when she looked at the computer monitor above her microscope. The rDNA mapping she'd finished on what she suspected was a pre-evolutionary form of the common myxozoa was all wrong. From the looks of it, she had input all the data that had been collected since dinner on the incorrect map. Resigned, she pulled the keyboard closer and set about fixing the error. It was not the first one she'd made since the George, and she suspected it wouldn't be the last.
The second hand ticked away in the background, a constant companion to her insomnia. Her brain didn't care to keep track of how many seconds or minutes or hours passed as she tapped away at the keyboard, but her body slowly succumbed to its fatigue and Kristin sank down, down, down in her chair. Her fingers remained poised on the keyboard, unmoving, and her head settled onto the cushion of one arm as a force greater than she tugged her eyelids closed.
There was music. Faint, but it was there in the background—a waltz. She swayed, her eyes closed as he escorted her around the ballroom. It was inappropriate to promise every dance to the same man, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. They'd received the telegram from shore that morning. In just two weeks' time, the Captain would marry them. Sighing, she leaned her head against her beloved's chest. There was nothing that could ruin this night for her.
Captain Nathan Bridger was sleeping, though not peacefully. He had thrown his pillows from the bed in a belligerent fit, and the sheets had twisted around his body as if to bind him. In response to his dream, his body thrashed upon the narrow mattress.
The silver paperweight flew across the room, smashing into the bookshelves that lined the walls of his quarters with enough force to splinter wood and send several books tumbling to the ground. He was too feral to notice, however, and picked up the next closest object to hurl in his fury. Before the picture frame left his hand, he saw her image and froze. It was his only photograph of her, of his love, and she was so beautiful in it. Tenderly, he set the picture back down on his desk. His chest rose and fell rapidly, rage and love swirling through his veins leaving little room for the oxygen he breathed in. She was so beautiful. And she wasn't his. Worse, in two weeks he was supposed to marry her to another man.
A wretched cry ripped itself from his throat, and he swept an arm across the desk, sending the photo and piles of paper flying off the edge. Glass shattered as he turned his back on the mess. He squared his shoulders, smoothed out the wrinkles in his dress uniform, and strode to the door. He was expected to make an appearance in the ballroom, and she would be there. It would probably be his last chance to convince her to love him.
Nathan's eyes danced behind their lids as the dream continued, but his body ceased its thrashing. Gradually he eased himself upright and placed his feet on the ground. The sharp chill of the flooring had him gasping and his eyes popping open.
As Nathan looked around his dark quarters, his heart clenched. Something told him he needed to be in the med-bay. The sheets fell around his feet as he rushed toward the door. He definitely needed to be there. In fact, he should have been there already.
Kristin's shoes whispered across the floor as she danced and dreamed. Her lab coat flared away from her body as she twirled expertly around the open area by the moon pool. A ghost of a smile crossed her face as she allowed herself to be led into a spin. As she finished her turn, two hands caught hold of her, one resting on her waist while the other curled around her chilled fingers. Her eyelids drifted open, and she furrowed her brow as she looked at her new dance partner.
"Captain?" Kristin whispered, surprised.
Nathan looked lovingly down at her, his thumb brushing lazy circles against her hip as he led away from the moon pool, still dancing. She followed, her pulse racing through her veins. She took several slow breaths to slow it.
He dipped her slowly, bending his head so that his lips brushed her ear as he whispered. "My Lillian."
She frowned, her eyes searching his face once he pulled back. The music stopped, and she shivered. "Where's Robert?"
First and foremost I want to thank darkaccalia520 for her amazing reviews at The Room's September Reading Rodeo event. This story is her prize for best reviews and I hope it is worthy of her. :L)
So the fic itself is set sometime after the episode Knight of the Shadows and contains elements that relate to that ghost story. I hope I did the characters at least a little justice. Also, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your day to read Phantom Night.
God bless,
Ckorkows