Disclaimer: Last time I checked they were mine…of course I was asleep at the time so my perception may have been a little off *looks left, looks right*

Setting: a number of years after Nemesis, I'm not sure yet, but say...between 6 and 10
Genre: Angst/Drama/Tragedy and of course, a little old-fashioned Imzadi-romance

Rating: PG-13 for emotional content
Notes: Not beta-ed and you might want to keep some tissues at hand. The plot changed drastically between the first and second chapter and spun pretty much out of my control, but because the first chapter had already been posted I opted not to change it.

The formatting of the story is going to be something like "Quantum Flux"; short chapters, posted when I've written them, only it will be much, much shorter. A page or ten max. I'm thinking. :)
Reviews: Pretty Please :)

oh: sentences between * * are thoughts, between .::. .::. telepathic communications...

.:*:.Torn.:*:.

"Hey."

.::.Hey.::.

"What are you doing in here?"

.::.Watching.::.

"Watching what?"

.::.The sky, the grass, the trees and the flowers, the future and the past.::. He recognized the answer as a line from one of her favourite poems and briefly he tried to see what she saw. It was a fruitless effort and always had been. He could never see as far, or as deep as she could. Both in the figurative and literal sense, but that didn't stop him from trying.

"And, are you enjoying the view?"

.::.Yes, it's beautiful.::.

"I bet it's not as beautiful as mine." He quipped, watching her for a reaction, but finding none. Against his instincts he refrained from enveloping his wife in a tight hug, knowing that she needed the space.

They stood like that for long, slow-passing minutes. They didn't move or speak, not even telepathically. The holographic birds and insects seemed to sense the sombre companionship the two humanoids provided and fell silent too; the sound of their journeys through the grass and trees the only interruption of silence.

His hands itched to touch her, to do anything at all to break the silence and when he could hold back no longer he opted for speech rather than movement. "You miss her, don't you?" He held his breath and waited.

"Very much." Her whisper, so quiet that he almost missed it, was carried away on the light breeze and if possible the silence became even more oppressing. It was the first time since days that she had spoken aloud, and a small part of him was grateful for the positive sign, however insignificant it might be.

"I'm sorry Dea." The involuntary sway of her body was the clue he'd been waiting for and he nearly leapt forward. His arms crept around her waist as he drew her back against his chest and he buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent as if he needed it as badly as oxygen. He was so scared for her. So frightened that she would slip from his grasp that he couldn't form the words he wanted to say. It felt so good to hold her again, after long days in solitude, yet it frightened him beyond anything he'd ever felt before.

She was slipping and he didn't know how to keep her from falling over the edge. .::.Oh God Imzadi, please don't let go.::.

= = =

To be continued…if you feel it's worth it. Please let me know :)