His essence wrapped around her as his arms curled around her stomach, pulling her closer to him. She savored the scent of him, her hands trailing over his chest- every nerve on end as her body was pressed against his own- with only a simple sheet covering their bodies from the brisk air of the room. She let her eyes drift over his sleeping form, taking in the angles of his face and the contours of his neck. A soft sigh escaped her as she nuzzled into his chest, basking in the heat that radiated from him.
Their time together was precious, though limited. She knew when the sun started to rise, she would need to leave. Although reluctantly, she knew she had to. Her eyes fluttered shut as she could feel the pre-dawn sky tingeing a lighter black. If only the sun would disappear, if only those rays of light wouldn't break through the window, they could remain intertwined, entangled in the mess of emotions that bubbled in her chest.
Those strong arms tightened around her suddenly. She pulled back only slightly, her deep green eyes traveling up to meet his. A soft smile spread across his face as he freed a hand from her back and the sheets, to brush a tendril of rebellious black hair from her face.
"Good Morning." He said, his voice still thick with sleep. She closed her eyes and nuzzled into him again.
"Don't say that word." Her voice lost as she muttered against his chest. A smile crossed her face despite herself as his chest rumbled with a chuckle.
"What good? Or morning?" He asked, moving his arm out from under her to prop himself up on his elbow. In turn, she rolled onto her back looking at him with a smile.
"Morning." She answered. They locked eyes and the intensity there between them was what she yearned- what she craved when they were apart. Her favorite thing happened next, as he kept his eyes fixed with hers and bent down, taking her lips with his. The world went silent as their eyes closed, a fiercely delicate dance beginning as his lips gently moved over hers. Parting only for the need to breathe he looked at her, her eyes glistening- love glowing with in them and burning in her chest. He moved to plant a kiss on her cheek, but quickly abandoned the innocence of it to let his mouth work over the enticing expanse of neck offered to him. She laughed as he nipped at her ear and pushed him back to his own side of the bed.
He laughed with her, his rich baritone of a voice floating on the air, as he brought his hands up behind his head. She moved over setting her head against his chest, listening to his breathing and the rhythmic beating of his heart.
"Elia…" He said, his demeanor dropping from the playful tease he had just been. She rolled over onto her stomach and looked up at him.
"Victor?" She asked, her eyebrows knitting in concern. He was looking past her, out past the end of the bed- staring at the wall, though she wasn't certain he was even seeing it.
"You know I love you, you understand how much you mean to me, correct?" She nodded; her heart clenching as she touched his chest then his neck when he didn't shy away.
"Of course, and you know I love you?" The tension released only slightly as Victor brought his hand down to rest over hers on his neck. He nodded and looked down at her- the force behind those mahogany eyes was enough to almost knock the breath out of her. He moved his hand then, cupping her chin, brushing his thumb against her cheek.
"Things are getting rather intense at the labs." He said after a moment. Her eyebrows perked and she tilted her head sitting up a little further.
"What do you mean?" Victor sighed and turned looking out the window. She couldn't read his face. His eyes however spoke volumes of the level of worry that had seemed to age him. "There has been government talk of becoming more involved with the Nanite project. It seems the regulations that we have been following, the extensive testing that we have to put each batch of prototypes through, have all been closely observed by the department of defense. "He said looking back at her, a weak smile coming to his face. "You need to finish that phD of yours and start working for us. Think about it- Doctor Elia Holiday. It has a good ring to it doesn't it?" He asked taking her hand. She pushed her hair from her face and sat up in the bed, curling the sheet around her lower half as she crossed her legs.
"That is Doctor Elia Holiday, Lead Scientist and Research director of the Nanite Biometrics Laboratories of the District of Columbia, actually." She corrected with a smile. Victor curled his arm around her, pulling her over to him again as he leaned over to the side of the bed. His hand fished and fumbled around for a moment before he straightened back up at looked at her, discreetly hiding something beneath the sheet by his leg. She laid her head on his chest her hand snaking up to wrap around his neck. He cleared his throat and pulled back so that he could look at her.
"Elia…" He said looking her straight in the eye. His face was pale and he had once again entered that dark mood. "You know I haven't been well for a while." Holiday nodded and felt her grip on him tightened. He had gotten sick a few months after they had fallen in love with each other.
However, luck had smiled on them. He happened to be working at the laboratories that were pioneering the latest in biomechanical medicine- which as revolutionary as it was might some day replace the need for stem cell research. So there was hope. Hope that the researchers and engineers would be able to cure his illness. He brought her out of her thoughts as he gripped her shoulder lightly, running his hand to the bend of her arm and back.
"Yes." She said, fighting back the sadness that always came when she thought of how sick he truly was. His outward physical appearance showed nothing of his illness- other than the occasionally temporary loss of color. She clung to him again, burying her head in his chest. "Yes. I know."
"Unfortunately, the research has come to a head and it doesn't seem that the developments will be beneficial to my particular disease." He said, meeting her eyes as she looked up to him. She was extremely intelligent and extremely skilled at reading the lines and in between as well. Her eyebrows knit together as she sat up.
"So all of those tests, all of the research and trial runs….did they come back inconclusive?" Holiday asked, her intellect demanding a proper answer. Victor smiled half heartedly and looked down at his hands, flexing them before turning his deep eyes back to her.
"Not completely. A young boy- the youngest son of two of the researchers over me- suffered some head trauma yesterday." He said, pausing to let his words hang in the darkness of the room. She nodded, giving him that silent permission to continue. "The medical staff was able to stabilize him, but the possibility of him every living a normal life is next to nothing." He took a deep breath before smiling. "However, my lovely lady, we believe the nanite prototypes will be able to stabilize him- work as antibodies in conjunction with his immune systems and eventually heal him completely." He said his eyes lingering over to her, looking over her in the predawn light of the room- allowing himself to enjoy the stark contrast of her pale skin against the darkness. She shook her head slowly.
"But they haven't field tested the prototypes enough to know that they will work on a human, let alone a child. There could be serious repercussions. The child could even die." Her voice analytical and hard but something seemed to tick into place behind her eyes as she looked over at him- her green eyes burning fiercely. "What about you? What will you do now?" He took a deep breath and took her hand in his, bringing it up to kiss her hand lightly.
"I'll die." The shock of those two words sent her head into a spin. He was never one to sugar coat things, but she choked at his blunt delivery. Holiday blinked at him. She was young and knew very little of how to cope with death; she still hadn't gotten over the death of her grandmother when she was six. She gripped his hand and searched his eyes, knowing that he wasn't lying to her. She shook her head, using that inner tenacity of hers to force back tears. Her green eyes met his, softening as she reached up and tangled her hands in his black hair. She pulled his head down to bring his lips to hers.
"I'll be here." She whispered against his lips. Instantly, he wrapped his arms around her pulling her into his lap sideways. He nuzzled her neck and forced back a smile.
"I was hoping to hear you say that." He said his breath warm against her skin. He moved behind her, retrieving the small box that had disappeared beneath the sheets.
"Doctor Elia Holiday does have a nice ring to it." He said with a nod and brought his hand around handing her the small velveteen case. "But I think Doctor Elia Van Kleiss would sound even better." His voice was hardly a whisper as his words puffed against her ears. She looked at him in question. Her hands moved over the box trembling as she looked back down. Holiday took a deep breath, letting it out in choppy burst as she opened the case. Her eyes moistened with tears as she looked at the shining contents. Victor let his head rest against hers, his gaze resting on the diamond ring cushioned in the white satin.
"You do not have to say yes. But I still want to spend the rest of my life with you." He sighed as he she closed her eyes. "No matter how short it is."
"You idiot." She said through tears. She turned in his lap and threw her arms around him, pushing him back on the pillow. She pushed herself up to lie on his chest, holding the box up again. "Mr. Van Kleiss are you asking me to marry you?" She asked with a tearful giggle.
"Miss Holiday, are you accepting?" He asked back as she seemed to think for a moment. She bent over capturing his lips again. After a moment she pulled back, relishing the lingering taste of his lips on hers. She bent down sinking her teeth gently down on his neck, bringing a laughing moan echoing through his chest. She looked back at him from under her lashes as she rolled off of him. Victor rolled onto his side and took the box from her, gently removing the ring. He took her hand and looked at her for a moment, making sure she was going to give him that silent permission. He slipped the thin gold band on her finger, positioning it so that the stone stood was straight up. A glimmering shining beacon of his commitment and love for her.
The sun rose soon after that and she dawdled a little longer than she normally would have. Watching him dress, she only wanted to pull the lab coat back off of him and get lost in his warmth. But knowing that not only did he have to go to work but that she had class to attend, she knew that any further hanky panky would only cause trouble. It was going to be a big day for him. The first time that nanites were going to be introduced to the human body in they prototype form.
Butterflies filled her stomach as she kissed him goodbye for the day, his hand tangling in her hair as he pulled her back for one more.
"Have a good day, future Mrs. Van Kleiss." He had told her kissing her once again, but only a chaste brush on her cheek. She was a bundle of energy through most of the morning, her classes flying by as if only taking seconds.
The lunch bell rang and everyone stood to make their ways toward their mediocre lunches. Then the world shifted. It was if hundreds of thousands of Earth quakes were hitting at the exact same time, the after shocks riding and intertwining with each other. The sound of breaking class and screams had filled her ears and panic sent adrenaline coursing through to the very ends of her limbs. The shocks and shakes only lasted for three minutes. It was a miracle that no buildings had fallen during the tremors. She made her way down to the foyer of her advanced nuclear science building. The pictures and words that scrawled across the screen would be embedded and engraved in her mind for years past. She could remember the smoke rising from the ruins of the Biomechanical Medical Research Laboratories. Nothing was left but smoldering embers. The government was blathering and droning on about infectious nanite cloud that could lead to a lethal epidemic; but all she could hear was the nonchalant tone of the news anchor stating. "No Survivors."
Holiday bolted up in the bed. Sweat covering her chilled skin as her blood threatened to burn her out. She hadn't even realized she had screamed out. With trembling arms she moved, draping her legs over the side of the bed- covering her mouth. She quickly wiped her face and stood up, moving with carpet muffled steps to the bathroom.
The door was completely closed before Holiday switched on the light, blinking against the harsh florescence. She looked at her medicine cabinet, ignoring the weather worn woman looking back at her. Her hand came up; pale, slender and shaking with fried nerves. She opened the cabinet quickly, disgusted in the shakes of her hand. A small otc medicine bottle was in her hand before she could restrain herself. Her eyes moved over the bottle as she backed up, sitting down on the rim of the bathtub.
Her fingers ached as she fought to unscrew the cap, freeing the bottle of the cotton ball. She dumped out the contents into her hands and closed her eyes. After counting two ten mentally, forcing herself to calm down, she opened them back up- looking down at the diamond ring mingled with the asprin. Her hand closed over them and came up to her mouth as she closed her eyes again, choking back the tears.
With a shake of her head she put the pills back into the bottle, ring and all. She tightened the cap until her hand burned in resistance. She stood up replacing the medicine and wiping the tears that moistened her cheeks.
Holiday knew that he was awake. He would wake if the bed shifted slightly, not to mention her wrenching out of sleep, screaming loud enough to wake the dead. If she knew him, and she was sure she did, he was waiting on the other side of the door. After a brief mental pep talk she opened the door.
Just as she had expected, he stood there. His arms were crossed, his face blank and an eyebrow arched in question. She shook her head lightly and forced a smile.
"Nightmare, again?" Was all he asked. Though with Six it was more of a statement than a question. Holiday nodded again taking a step towards him. After a moment he unfolded his arms and pulled her into a hug. Six knew very little of her past and she knew even less of his.
He never knew she had been engaged, if only for a short time. He would never know who she had loved, slept with and mourned when he died.
That was the way she looked at him. After she found out he was still alive- she had attempted to search for him; only to find out that the explosion did not kill him, but did condemn him to the lands of Abysus. Not only had his body changed, becoming dependant on the nanite enriched soil- but his mind had become warped as well. He was no longer the suave well bred young man from Wales that she had fallen in love with. He was a strange, demented monster bent on world destruction, or world manipulation whichever came first.
Her lover, her loveable Victor Van Kleiss had died in the Event.
She closed her eyes and let Six's arms tighten around her. Six was a different animal. He was quiet, stoic and only let a select few see the true Six. She was one of the lucky ones- and did she love him for it. She would give him the love he deserved and more and make the best out of their situation that she could.
But would she ever forget Victor? No. She could never forget the way he held her, the taste of his lips, or that intensity that burned between then as they looked at each other. She would never forget the way he had been; how hard he worked; and the tragic way he died saving Rex.
She would never forget her life…that might have been.