Gone at 2am Gone at 2am

It was night when he came.

She was lying in her bed, forehead damp with sweat. He could tell she had given up. Her eyes were open, but there was a vacant look in them. As if she wished she could just hurry up and die.

A few days ago she had been normal. Feisty. Intelligent. Witty. And determined. Her determination was what he missed the most. If she still had it, maybe she could beat this thing. But she'd lost it. Somehow, somewhere along the way, it had vanished. He hadn't noticed at first, thought it was just the fatigue. But gradually, after the jokes and words of comfort had stopped, he had realized. She had known all along, of course. Maybe it had even been a conscious decision to kill her determination, a way to stop herself being deluded by a false hope. If there was one thing Kathryn didn't like, it was being deluded, not knowing the exact truth. And, as everyone knew, the truth was that she was going to die.

He sat next to her on the bed and just looked at her for a while. She didn't even seem to notice him. Her eyes were fixed on something only she could see. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She blinked softly, but showed no other reaction. After a moment, he took her hand and whispered her name. Now she focused her eyes on him. She looked so...vulnerable. Never had he seen his captain like this. He wondered how many people ever had...

Suddenly, she squeezed his hand. He looked at it, then back at her. She was now staring at him intently.

"If you mention last Christmas in my eulogy I swear I'll come back to haunt you."

He smiled. So she hadn't lost everything after all. He should've known her sense of humor would last 'til the end.

Suddenly, he felt her grasp on his hand tighten further as her face registered shock. He looked in the direction she was facing, and saw why.

Death. The Grim Reaper. Scythe and all. The apparition was slightly transparent, ghost-like. They both tensed as it approached the bed. It stopped about a foot away.

It cleared its throat.

"Um, sorry about this. Bit of a mix-up. You'll feel better momentarily."

And with that he vanished. In a flash of light...

Kathryn sat bolt upright in bed. He could tell right away that she was back to her old self. She glared at no one in particular, as they both exclaimed, simultaneously:

"What the hell was that?!"

END