Note: Eyesex!
Beta-reader: Bardicfaerie.
Chapter summary: Finally leaving.
Chapter 07
Morgan stood at Reid's window, watching Anderson and Lynch leave ahead of them. It had been a few days since they'd decided on this plan of action, and now that Garcia had finalized the sale of her theatre and she and her two girls were done packing and organizing what they were taking with them, they were finally ready to go.
Morgan stood at Reid's window, watching Anderson and Lynch leave ahead of them. It had been a few days since they'd decided on this plan of action, and now that Garcia had finalized the sale of her theatre and she and her two girls were done packing and organizing what they were taking with them, they were finally ready to go.
That morning, Morgan had taken upon himself to wake the young doctor. It had been a challenge, but one he was slowly getting used to. And he wasn't half-bad at it, considering the difficulty waking the younger man presented. He looked back to the table, where Reid was seated, staring vaguely ahead with his second cup of coffee in front of him. His eyes might have been open, but he definitely wasn't awake yet. With a sigh, Morgan walked over. He picked one of Reid's hands up and placed it around his mug. Automatically, Reid brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. Morgan went back to the window.
It was maybe a half hour later when Penelope burst into the room in a flurry of colour. "All right, boys! Hope you have your passports ready and your bags packed because we're about to hit the road!" She looked positively excited.
"We're ready," Reid said with a yawn, pushing himself to his feet. He'd managed to peel his eyes open sometime between his third and fourth cup of coffee.
"Yeah," Morgan said, walking over to the bubbly blonde. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "We're all set to go whenever you're ready."
"Then come downstairs," she said, pulling Morgan's elbow. "Reid, honey, put your head-gear on. Jordan and Ashley will be there."
Reid did as instructed, though he left the goggles around his neck, and they headed downstairs. The two girls were standing next to what looked like a sort of small train, only with continuous tracks and a large ski in front of the pulling car. A couple of people were busy putting things into another one of the cars.
"What's this?" Morgan asked, stopping in front of the vehicle.
"Your chariot, my prince," Garcia answered. "See, pull vehicle is all yours. I know how much you like to be at the commands. Tinted windows to protect you and your wife from both sun and unwelcome eyes, and pretty comfy quarters right behind the cab. Let me demonstrate." With a flourish, she entered a pass-code that snapped a lever out of the side. A pull, and the sides rotated outwards, showing drapes of thermal fabric in a muted, sandy colour. It took about three minutes for the sides to be level with the bottom of the vehicle, forming a large, continuous platform. On it stood a large tent that put Morgan's to shame. "Go see the inside," Garcia urged.
Morgan glanced at Reid and they both climbed the two steps up onto the platform and into the tent. It was ridiculously large, and there was a table and some chairs in the middle, with a door at the far end that opened into the cab of the vehicle. A bed was fixed to one of the panels that rotated inwards and outwards when opening and closing the tent, and a couch was secured to the other.
Garcia stepped behind them. "So, what do you think?" she wanted to know. "Pretty sweet, huh? Oh, and here." She glanced at the door and got a parcel from under the table. "Inflatable bed so you don't have to share."
Morgan took it from her. "Oh, Doll Face, you are amazing."
"You've no idea," she replied with a grin. "Fabric is about seventy-five percent sound proof, too. So you can talk, so long as you keep it quiet enough. This way, Reid'll be able to take off his mask in here and in the cab."
"Oh, thank god." Reid breathed.
Morgan glanced at him. "Yeah, I second the sentiment. That girly voice is all kinds of weird." He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to this voice modulator thing. He turned back to Garcia. "Okay, but what's with the rest of the little convoy?"
"Luggage and one more car like this for me and the girls," she said. "C'mon, let's introduce your lovely wife to your hot secretary."
"Garcia," Morgan said with a groan, "must you really bring this back up?"
Penelope grinned and led them back out and towards the back of the train, letting the tent close behind them. "Morgan, you already know Jordan." He nodded to her and grinned. "Jordan Todd, here is Morgan Defranser. And this is his wife, Rhydonia."
"Hello again," Jordan said to him, but as she turned to Reid, her smile slipped a bit. "And, ah... delighted to meet you, Mrs. Defranser."
"Reid is fine," the young doctor said. Judging by the long pause, Spencer wouldn't get used to the voice modulator either. "Enchanted to make your acquaintance, Miss. Todd," he finally added.
"Reid," the woman acknowledged. "Just call me Jordan." The young doctor nodded. Morgan kind of had the impression that he didn't want to say anything out loud if he could help it. Derek couldn't blame him.
Garcia pulled at Morgan's elbow, directing him towards the back of the little train. Reid fell in step next to them. "See?" Penelope motioned to a smaller car sitting in front of one that looked a lot like the pull car, but without the front ski. "Second car is for luggage, then third is a passenger car for us," she indicated her and her two employees, "and behind it, is our tent."
"You've outdone yourself," Morgan told the bubbly tech.
"Oh please," Garcia rolled her eyes. "This is nothing. Wait until I perform a real miracle before you start singing my praises."
The last of the luggage was being put in the small car reserved for this effect. Most of it belonged to the girls, but Garcia had provided the two men with clothes and essentials she had bought using Morgan's money. They couldn't use Reid's account or they would risk giving away their location, but Morgan had a few different accounts he used under different names.
The girls were climbing into their seats, so Morgan made a wide arm movement towards the front of the little desert train. "After you, Rhydonia," he said with a teasing grin that made Reid send him a weird look.
They climbed into the cab and the young doctor got the mask, hat and modulator off. "You're enjoying this way too much," he informed Morgan.
"You mean you don't?" Derek asked him.
"Morgan, I am dressed as a woman, using a voice modulator that makes me sound all wrong and married to you. I can't say I'm enjoying this much, no."
"Ouch. You wound me," the smuggler said with a huge grin. "If you ask for a divorce, you can go and sit with the other girls in the back." Reid sighed noisily and dug his reading pad out of the hideous purse he was always carrying around. Morgan laughed, but let him have his space. Figuring out the controls was a piece of cake, and he soon had the little train's engine running. He threw the theatre one last look, and hoped Garcia wouldn't have to regret selling it. Then he started forward and drove them out of town.
They drove due south for all of the first day, stopping only once for food in the early afternoon. Garcia brought them what Ashley had cooked so they could eat in peace in the cab. Morgan was bored, but Reid didn't look up once from his reading pad. In the end Morgan got his own tablet out and started watching the news podcast with his earbuds in. Lunch also came with coffee and weird little colourful cubes covered in white powder that Reid ate on his own after Morgan attempted one and nearly spit it out.
They stopped again for the night just as evening fell, making things too dark to see properly, even with the headlights. They ate dinner the same way they had eaten lunch. Morgan had caught up on everything he wanted to see, so he put the tablet away after he'd had his dinner, and he got out of the cab. His first stop was to open up the tent so Reid could go to bed if he wanted, without having to step out where others would see him. Then he walked on towards the back of the train and gave the girls' car a little grin and salute, though he couldn't see inside to know if they'd seen him. He kept walking until he was a good distance from their little convoy and went nearly to the top of a sand dune that was just out of view. It would only be warm for a limited time, and Morgan wanted to enjoy the view before he was forced back inside the tent. He lay down on his back, hands behind his head and looked up. They were miles and miles from anything and anyone, and the dark sky was littered with stars. It filled him with a strange sense of homesickness and wonder. That was where he belonged, up there with those stars. And it would be a while yet before he could go back. It would take them weeks to reach Varna, and even then, they had no clue how to get to the Aurora.
He stayed there for a long time, trying to think of how he'd manage to get his ship back up from the bottom of a frikking ocean. There was no sound, not even from their little caravan, thanks to the soundproof material. There was only wind and trickling sand. Sometimes a howl in the distance, which always gave him the creeps. Most planets were pretty safe, as humans had yet to find a single extraterrestrial life-form on any of them, but some Earthly animals of all kinds had been transported by starship, sometimes without human knowledge. And not all of them were cute and cuddly, either. But the howls were far and never came closer, so he figured he was safe. And if he wasn't, well, he still had his guns with him. Force of habit. He never really went anywhere without.
He had been there for maybe an hour, when he heard a shuffling sound that gradually came closer. Then, it suddenly stopped, and a voice broke the silence. "Oh, I'm sorry." Morgan glanced to the side and saw Reid standing there, looking first surprised, then relieved. He took off his head-gear. When he spoke next, it was, thankfully, in his own voice. "I didn't mean to intrude on your solitude. I thought you were with Garcia."
"S'all right," Derek assured him. "I was just looking at the stars." Reid craned his neck, looking up at the night sky. He sucked in a breath, nearly falling backwards as he leaned his head further and further back. "Betcha can't ever see so many stars from the University," Morgan added after a moment.
"We can't," Reid agreed easily. "They actually seem brighter seen from here than from the Aurora."
"That's cause there's no light here," Morgan said. "I should show you the view from the Aurora in the dark sometime. You know, just shut down everything but the oxygen flow and we can sit in the cockpit, you and me, and enjoy the view. C'mere," he patted the ground, sending sand trickling down the dune. Reid hesitated a moment, then walked closer and sat crossed-leg beside him. "Reid, you ain't doin' it right, man. Lie down." Another hesitation, and the young man leaned back until he was on his back. He stared up with the sort of quiet wonder Morgan remembered feeling the first time he saw the night sky away from the lights of a big city. "Here's a view even your big money education can't give you," he said. "Completely free of charge."
"That's not exactly true," Reid said. "It takes a lot of fuel to get a ship airborne and out of a planet's field of gravity. And even though artificial fuel production costs went down dramatically in recent time, the sheer amount of it that it takes to fly a ship out of the gravitational pull of any given planet means that getting here cost a fair sum. Which makes this view actually quite expensive."
Morgan frowned, ticked in spite of himself. "Everything is about money with you people."
Reid sat up. "What do you mean, 'you people'?"
There was a defensive undertone to his words that made Morgan feel a little guilty. He hadn't meant to insult Reid. He attempted to explain himself, "You know, rich folks." He shrugged.
Reid tried to laugh, but the sound was hollow. "We're not rich, Morgan. Rich people don't send their people off to Bennington. Rich people hire private doctors. Their family members don't end up on a one-way trip to a medical settlement."
"But you attended university," Morgan said, confused. "It costs more money that I'll see in my entire life."
"Scholarship," Reid explained. "I guess it's a good thing I'm a certified genius." He shrugged as well, looking dejected.
Morgan sat up, too. He just felt even worse, now. "Reid, sorry, man. I didn't know." Reid only shrugged again. Morgan frowned. "I guess I should've asked first, huh." This conversation was quickly taking a turn for the worse. There was a moment of silence.
"It's all right, Morgan," the young doctor eventually said. "We weren't always so tight. I mean, my mom comes from a good family and my dad's a lawyer."
"What happened?" Morgan asked softly, intent on rectifying his gaffe.
"My mom," Reid hesitated a bit. "Mom's been," he winced, "rather unstable." He frowned, bit his lips together and seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. Then he licked his lips and cleared his throat. "You know, sometimes, she wouldn't go to work for weeks. She came so close to losing her job so many times. In the end, they forced her to take a part-time position so that when she doesn't teach, she doesn't get paid."
Silence stretched between them for a bit. Morgan was mulling over what Reid had told him. After a while, he asked, "What about your dad?"
"He left. When I was ten. I haven't heard from him since." Reid shrugged again.
"Now that just ain't right," Morgan said, but the younger man just looked up to the stars again, leaning back onto his hands. Derek asked, "Did Rothschild offer to pay for the trip to see your mom, then?" Reid nodded. Silence fell once more.
"What about you?" Reid asked after a moment. "No degree?"
"Nah," Morgan said with a shrug. There had been this guy who'd offered to pay, back in Chicago, but what he had asked in exchange was not something he was ready to give. So he'd punched the man's lights out and never looked back. He wasn't ready to tell Reid that, though. It was all old history anyway. He couldn't even remember the guy's name, though he vaguely remembered him being some big-shot. Carel? Carl? Something.
Silence stretched. They sat there, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Morgan observed the younger man quietly. There was just so much strength in him, that Derek had never even guessed was there. He'd always imagined Reid was some rich, spoiled kid with an easy life, saved from being an insufferable asshole only because he didn't act entitled. He had been so, so very wrong. Reid was so much more than that. So much better than Morgan had given him credit for.
Reid turned his head and their eyes met. The young doctor looked surprised at catching Morgan staring, but then his expression morphed into a pensive look and he licked his lips, like he was about to say something. Morgan also thought he should maybe say something; apologize for staring, perhaps, or for assuming things about the young doctor. He wasn't sure. He even opened his mouth, but nothing came out so he closed it again. Time stretched between them. It should have been awkward and uncomfortable. It really should have been, but it wasn't. Not at all. Reid shifted and moved so he was facing Morgan fully. There was something in his eyes that Morgan couldn't quite read. Something he wanted to know. Reid bit his lips together, then licked them again. He moved as if he was going to get closer, but then he froze and opened his mouth. Morgan was pretty sure the young doctor was about to ask him something, cause he had this unsure, confused look in his eyes.
"There you are!" Both men visibly jumped. Morgan turned his head to his other side. Jordan was walking towards them, smiling brightly and waving. He heard movement behind him and figured Reid was putting his hat and mask back on. He grinned at the secretary, hoping Reid had enough time to put his gear on. Jordan suddenly faltered and her feet slowed down. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't notice you were with your wife." She looked visibly uncomfortable. "I'll just go back to camp."
"S'okay, Jordan," he told her. "We were just chatting. You didn't interrupt anything."
She didn't look convinced. "I was just going to say good night."
Morgan was ready to bet it was a bit more than that, but he didn't push. "Going to bed? Sleep tight."
She nodded. "You too, when you get to it. Both of you. Good night."
He stared at her retreating back. "Well, she's right about one thing," he told Reid. "It is late. What do you say Pretty Boy?" He patted Reid's calf. "Bed time?" Reid nodded, though he didn't speak again. He was probably just avoiding hearing himself speak with the weird girl voice. Morgan got to his feet, then offered the young doctor his hand to help him up. Reid hesitated, frowned lightly, then finally placed his hand in Derek's. Morgan pulled him up, which was entirely too easy to do. Guy was a feather weight. He had half a mind to tease him for it, but then decided to spare him. Tonight had been awkward enough as it was. Instead, he motioned for Reid to precede him back to the camp, and they made their way back in companionable silence.
