Disclaimer: see part 1

Chain of Command

Part 11

Resume

By Random1377

"It's about damn time you woke up…"

Shinji felt as if his mouth had not had moisture in it for months… and for some odd reason, though his eyes were open, he still could not see anything but white.

The first problem was partially remedied when someone's mouth pressed firmly against his, kissing him gently, but deeply and thoroughly.

"What… happened?" he managed, when his mouth was no longer occupied.

"Unit 10…"

He recognized the voice as Asuka's. "Veronique?" he asked quietly.

"She's gone, Shinji…" the redhead answered, her voice shaking a bit, "and you would have been too if the other angel hadn't been between you and her Unit."

"Saved… by an angel," Shinji mused, "how… appropriate. Why can't I see? Am I…" he took a steadying breath, "am I blind, Asuka?"

"No," she replied, "but the doctors were worried your eyes might be over-strained by witnessing the blast… so they bandaged them, just to be safe. The bandages come off tomorrow."

He nodded. "And my arm?" he inquired, "why can't I move my left arm? Is it broken?"

"Hardly," Asuka laughed, "it's just… being used."

"Being…" he trailed off as he became aware of another, smaller body in the bed with him. "Reiko?"

"She insisted on staying by you," Asuka said quietly, "she's been here more than I have. She's asleep right now…"

"I see."

"She loves you very much," Asuka whispered, caressing his cheek gently, "I love you very much, Shinji…"

"I love you too," he replied, "what's wrong, Asuka… you sound sad…"

"It's…" she debated lying to him. It would be very easy to just say the destruction of Unit 10 was weighing on her… but if she wanted honesty from him, she would need to give it in return.

"I talked to Hikari," Asuka said, letting out a gusty sigh, "I know about… you two…"

"Oh," he replied, fighting a rising tide of panic. –She'll leave now…- he thought, frantically trying to think of a way to make her stay, -she knows I've betrayed her… not just once, but twice…-

"Why didn't you sleep with her?" Asuka asked, "You did it with someone else later, why not Hikari?"

"She was drunk…" Shinji whispered.

Her brow furrowed, "That's it?" she said softly, her voice quavering, "the only reason you didn't is because she was drunk? So if she was sober and came on to you like that, you-"

"No," he cut her off gently, "that's not the only reason." He sighed, "Hikari's your best friend… I knew that neither of us would ever be able to forget it if we did anything, and more importantly, I knew you would never be able to forgive her… and neither would Touji. I would have been destroying three relationships instead of…" his voice broke, "instead of just one…"

"So the other girl…" she said after a moment, her voice a bit calmer, "she has no problems forgetting it? Was it one of your little bar girls?"

"No…" he replied, his voice faint, "no… you know her… and I think she regrets it as much as I do – not more than I do, because no one could ever regret anything that much…"

He felt her hand slowly stroke his cheek. "Will you tell me who it was?" she asked softly.

"Please don't ask me too…" he begged, "it's bad enough that it happened… don't make it worse by confronting her…"

"I wouldn-"

"I know you, Asuka…" he cut her off gently, "you don't think you would right now… but every time you saw her, it would bother you… until you couldn't stand it anymore…"

There was a brief silence. "Maybe…" she conceded finally, "ok… I won't ask anymore… but I wanted to tell you something…"

"What?" he asked, holding his breath. –Here it comes…- he thought, -'I don't think I can be with you anymore'-

"Thank you for not doing anything more with Hikari… and forcing me to make a decision we would both regret."

"What?" he said, entirely stunned.

"Even though you did touch someone else…" she clarified, "Hikari is my oldest and best friend… if it had been her, I don't think I could have forgiven either one of you…"

He considered this for a moment. "Asuka… I truly am sorry."

"I know you are, baby…" she whispered, kissing him softly, "that's why I love you… that's why I can forgive you. I know you feel bad for what you've done, and I know you won't-"

"Shinji!!"

Shinji felt the weight lift from his arm and reapply itself to his chest. "Re… iko…" he gasped, "can't… breathe…"

If the little girl heard him, she made no sign. "My Shinji!" she giggled, hugging him tighter, "Mineminemine!!"

Finally, she released him, ignoring the huge gasp of relief he gave and chattering for five minutes solid about the things he had missed while he was 'asleep.' Including the details of several romance movies, and the boy Nozomi secretly liked but couldn't tell (but Reiko hoped she would tell), and what they had had for lunch that day.

"Whoa!" Shinji said, reaching out blindly in the direction of the child's voice as she paused to inhale, "Slow down, Koko… your tongue will get tied in a knot!"

He heard Asuka giggle as Reiko responded indignantly, "Nu-uh! And I'm not cocoa!"

Shinji smiled. He knew using the hated nickname would get her to stop.

"I have to get back to my post," Asuka said gently, "I left Hines in charge two hours ago because the doctors told me you would wake any time. I'm sure by now he's pulling out the little bit of hair that he has left. Truly, the man has no threshold for stress…"

"Asuka…" Shinji said quietly as he heard her chair scrape back, "I know I promised I wouldn't say this anymore… and this'll be the last time…" he took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, Asuka… for what I did, and for any time I've ever hurt you. I love you…I don't ever want to lose you…"

"You… sound like a romance novel, honey…" Asuka said after a moment… but her voice was low and uneven, "get better soon and come home to me. I love you."

As the door opened and closed, Reiko said, "Grownups are weird…"

"Yes," Shinji said, smiling at his younger sister, "that they are. Now tell me about that one movie… the one with the pink-haired girl that wanted to be a prince."

As the little girl launched into her description, Shinji leaned back. –Maybe things will be ok now…- he thought, -maybe…-

The next day, he would find out for sure…

**

Rei sat in silence, regarding the immense creature.

-Five more…- she thought, -then this will end… and what of me, then? Must I die also?-

The thought did not please her as it did when Commander Ikari was alive. Now she had things to live for… friends… coworkers… love?

-Do I love Kensuke?- she thought idly, -I believe it is too soon to know that…-

It had taken much talking to convince the young man that he could not come with her to this place – and even more to convince the doctors that she was well enough to leave her bed… though they had insisted that she go in a wheelchair, lest she should fall.

"And if I fall…" she whispered quietly, quoting an old song, "will you pick me up… will you dry my tears?"

The creature stirred.

Rei waited as the large being twisted slowly in its tank to face her.

"Mother…" Sandelphon whispered, "I did not sense you…"

Rei nodded. "I wanted to try something…" she said softly, a note of satisfaction in her voice, "I was concentrating on concealing myself from you."

If the creature had had a mouth, Rei was sure it would have smiled. "You are embracing your true self, Mother… I am pleased…"

Rei paled. "I am human," she whispered, no longer sounding as confident.

"As you say, Mother…" Sandelphon replied.

"Last time we spoke…" the blue-haired girl said hesitantly, "you said that you could feel it when the others were approaching…" she took a deep breath, feeling vaguely ill as she asked, "can I?"

The angel was silent for a moment. "You are the Mother…" she began slowly, "all of your children would be visible to you… if you cast aside that form you have chosen and embrace your true self…"

Rei closed her eyes. "I cannot do that…" she breathed.

In spite of the firmness in her tone, the fact remained that the idea of merging with the huge white body held deeper in Terminal Dogma was somehow appealing. She knew she would feel complete in a way that she never could otherwise… but she also knew the cost – and she was not willing to pay it.

"The feeling is the same for me either way, Mother," the angel said softly, "you are the Mother… no matter what form you choose, and being close to you pleases me… but if you reclaimed your flesh, you would see all that you have been so long denied. You would be whole… and all of your children would flock to you, longing to obey and worsh-"

"That's enough," Rei interrupted, "stop now…"

She was shivering… her soul longing to reunite with the body it was separated from.

"Goodbye," the blue-haired girl said abruptly, turning the chair and rolling it towards the door.

The soft whisper behind her made her pause. "Mother…" Sandelphon said gently, "thank you for visiting me…"

The gratitude in the angel's voice moved Rei more deeply than she would have thought.

She eyed the manual launch lever for a moment. "Would it not be better for you to die?" she asked, her voice soft and almost soothing, "You would be free of your cage… free of the experiments and pain that is caused you…" she reached out, laying a hand on the lever, "would you like that?"

"You are kind, to offer me the choice…" the angel whispered, "life and death are equal to me… but you are my Mother, so I will abide by you decision." It paused for a moment, "Whatever you choose, Mother, I thank you for spending time with your daughter… I love you…"

Rei slowly began to bear down on the lever, then let out a slight gasp. –What am I doing?- she thought, pulling her hand away and staring at it as if it belonged to someone else.

"I am to live then?" the angel asked quietly.

"You said you loved me…" Rei said quietly, still trying to understand why she had almost destroyed the creature, "you know of love?"

"What I know of emotion," Sandelphon replied, "I learned from observing your Lillim children. I believe that what I feel is what you term love, and it is only right that a daughter should love her Mother, is it not?"

Rei considered this for a moment. "It is proper for a child to love its mother…" she conceded finally, "but I am…" she trailed off.

Sandelphon watched as the blue-haired figure began to roll its odd chair towards the door again. "Goodbye, Mother," she said softly.

"Goodbye…" Rei replied.

Nothing more was said… nothing more needed to be said.

**

"Mmmmm…" Angelica hummed, "that was nice…"

She rolled over, slipping her arms around her companion and kissing his side gently.

"Can we go to your place next time?" she asked quietly, "I'd like to see it…"

Kaworu continued to stare up at the ceiling. "You would not find it pleasant," he replied absently, "it is small and sparsely furnished."

This was a rather sizable understatement, as the apartment in question had NO furnishings of any sort. The only reason Kaworu had an apartment at all was in order to receive mail and have a place to sleep where people would not bother him. When he had first arrived in Tokyo-3, sent by the now-defunct SEELE, he had spent one night in a large, nicely treed park, preferring the outdoors to the cramped quarters he had been given.

It had been awkward to try and explain to his commanding officer, Major Kaji (then Katsuragi) why he was arrested for 'vagrancy'.

"That's ok," Angelica said, sighing contentedly, "I'm sure it's nice…"

If she had thought about it, the brown-haired woman would have expressed her surprise at caring what the Fifth Child's apartment looked like. Normally, in a relationship such as the one they were engaged in, she barely cared what her partner was wearing… but she found that – with him – she cared a bit too much.

She decided that it was going to be time to break it off soon… or ask for more.

"Your apartment is much nicer," Kaworu said thoughtfully, looking around the spacious bedroom of the three-room place, "very… comfortable…"

"Thanks," Angelica said, wondering why such a simple compliment was making her blush. –Don't fall for this guy…- her mind whispered, -sure he's nice, and considerate, and good-looking, and… wait, why shouldn't I fall for him, again?-

"Would you like to make love again?" he asked her quietly, trailing his fingers over her back.

"Mmmmm…" she replied, shivering at the memory of the last time, "maybe in a few minutes… right now I just want to lie here…"

They lapsed into silence for a moment.

"Hey Kaworu," she said finally, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he replied.

"I…" she flushed, unused to not saying what was on her mind. –Why should he be different?- she thought. "I was wondering what's going on with you and Shinji…" she finally blurted out. "I know people talk about you… you know…" she closed her mouth, deciding that saying anything more would be pointless.

Kaworu considered this for a moment. "I love Shinji," he replied plainly.

Angelica's breath caught. "You do?" she gasped, "Then why are you here with me?"

"You asked me to be here," he pointed out.

"But… but…" she protested, "do you and him… I mean…"

"Did he and I what?" Kaworu asked.

"Did you sleep with him?" Angelica asked.

"Yes," the gray-haired boy replied, "he was very lonely when I first arrived… I slept with him the first time three days after my arrival."

"Does… Asuka know about this?" the Ninth Child inquired, entirely stunned.

"Certainly… though I only slept with her once, and that was when she was accidentally locked out of her apartment and it was raining," he smiled, "she was most reluctant to do it, but she finally gave in."

"How… how long has it been since you slept with one of them?" Angelica managed to get out, deciding to ask Asuka about her tryst as soon as the chance arose.

"Does it matter?" Kaworu asked after a moment, "Is that what you would like to spend your time discussing? I thought you wanted to make love…"

She considered this for a moment, then shrugged. –Guess it doesn't really matter that much right now,- she thought, -but I'm sure gonna ask Asuka about this! Holding out on me this long!-

Slowly, she leaned up and kissed the red-eyed boy, sliding over until she was on top of him.

As they slowly began for the second time that evening, Angelica forgot about the Second and Third Children… and let herself get swept away by the boy with the gray hair and the gentle touch…

And trying to tell herself that she was not falling in love with him…

**

"Shinji's coming home tomorrow night," Reiko said, talking around a mouthful of takeout Chinese food, "he said he's gonna come by and visit when he gets out."

"Did he?" Misato asked, taking a drink of her beer, "He didn't call to talk to me about it."

"It's a surprise!" the little girl replied happily, "He said he's gonna sneak up and grab you, and you'll scream!"

-Well, I might have…- the purple-haired woman thought with a grin. "Did he say anything else interesting?"

Reiko frowned, considering what (if anything) her brother had said that was interesting. "No," she said finally, "but he said he would try and come by more… cuz he loves me."

Misato set her drink down, assessing the little girl as she resumed shoveling moo goo gai pan into her mouth. "He said that?" she asked, smiling as her daughter nodded, "Well… that's good…"

"He said to tell you sorry, too," Reiko said absently, not noticing the small fragments of dinner that scattered from her mouth.

"For what?" the Operations Director asked with a confused frown, trying to contain an exasperated sigh as she considered the laundry that was already backing up… and now had a small shirt and pants to be added.

"I dunno," the little girl shrugged. "He just said, 'Tell Mommy I'm sorry.'"

Misato pondered this for a minute. "And he's going to visit more?" she asked, earning another nod from the still-eating youth. –God…- she thought, taking another drink, -I was thinking he'd never figure out how much Reiko loves him…-

She sighed, setting her drink down once more. –Now if he would just do something about his dr--

Her thought broke off as she stared down at the beer can nestled comfortably in her hand…

"What's wrong, Mommy?" Reiko asked as her mother stood.

"Nothing, honey…" Misato replied, wondering how many times she had told him to get help for his drinking… how many times she had criticized his judgement and lack of control… how many times she had sworn it would be the last time she would come pick his drunken ass up.

All while having that comfortable, aluminum companion wrapped in her grip.

"Nothing's wrong at all, baby… finish your dinner…"

Reiko nodded, thinking that grownups really were weird… as her mother slowly poured the rest of her drink down the drain.

Continued…

Author's notes: Nope… I'm still not subtle.

Yup, Ryoma still pre-reads for me… so thanks – especially on this one for making some damn fine suggestions. ^_^

Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com