Disclaimer: I do own Millennium, however I do not intend to profit.
A/N: I need your reviews people! Come on! It only takes a minute! Now, as the saga continues.
Chapter 3
Captain Amanda Lopez stared out the window, looking out at the stars. It was a little past four in the morning, and the Officers' Lounge was totally empty, with the exception of a pensive Captain. Amanda looked at the chronometer, and sighed. She really should head back to her quarters. She sighed again, and rose, striding through the misty glass doors.
Amanda looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked basically the same as she'd looked at fifteen, but there was maturity in her face where there had been none in previous years. Her father had once said that the only way you could become an adult was by watching others suffer and die. He said that by sharing the pain, you became a mature person, with a new piece in that colorful mosaic of life. Amanda didn't know what to think. A part of her yearned for the comfort of her father's wisdom, but another part told her that she was an adult, and had to formulate her own ideas. It was a constant struggle: to stay with the wisdom that you know has worked, or to rebel, and forge on ahead, treading a path for yourself. Another thing her father had said was that the more colorful your life mosaic was, the more you missed out on, spending more time embellishing than helping and caring. Lieutenant Carey Lopez had believed that just the simple act of caring when you saw or heard of something awful, or good could do wonders of it's own, restoring the mind and spirit. Amanda looked back into the mirror, and was rewarded with the face of a woman who had watched friends die, who had seen innocent ensigns taken from their lives as if they were fragile glass figures, too weak to handle life. Her thick dark brown hair had not changed. Her black eyes now held both the joy of youth and the pains of life. Her slim body was just the same as it always was, and her height hadn't changed since she was eleven. Overall, Amanda thought she wasn't sure she liked what she saw.
Crystal Vague looked at her own reflection, and saw ghosts from her past. Her strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes ran in her family so long that Crystal could look at a picture from 1940 and be able to see herself in any one of the pictures. She was a classic Greek goddess beauty, with a wonderful smile, and beautiful looks. The question was, would anyone see past her looks into her intellect? She strongly doubted it. Even her own husband probably didn't. In fact, the only person who she thought had seen past her looks was Amanda Lopez. Amanda Lopez seemed to look past the barrier of mists into the true painting of your soul. It was as if nothing could be hidden from the quiet Captain. Crystal decided it was rather uncanny. She turned away from the ghosts and back into her life. She stopped again, haunted by the ghosts of the true love of her youth, sleeping peacefully now. She seemed to see Will transform back through the misty years to a time when love seemed unconditional and cast in stone forever. A time when the mists and waters of adulthood had not descended, clouding the pure vision and freedom that is love. Crystal sighed and slid into bed, tucking her head against Will's chest. She was asleep before her head hit his chest, lost in the mystical waterfall of dreams.
Viviane Abbott sat at her desk in Sickbay, staring at the pool of tears resting on the desktop. She was crying more and more lately, even though it had been over a month since her husband James had died. It was painful, knowing that he'd never come home again wearing his uniform crooked after getting it caught on the many parts of Engineering. He'd always been a clown, preferring to make people, especially her, laugh instead of career advancement. It was one of the things Viviane had loved most about the goof. Oh, SHIT!! How she missed him! It felt like there was a huge hole inside, burning, smoldering, but still going strong. Viviane started sobbing. "Viviane! Are you the hell okay?" She heard the concern in Amanda's voice. "Go away Captain! I beg of you! Please!" She heard Amanda sigh and hit a COM panel. "Lopez to Trent! Jennifer answer me please!" Oh damn, Viviane thought, she's called the ship shrink. "Captain? Is it Viviane Abbott again?" Jennifer sounded annoyed. Oh, so now I'm just some annoying hysteric! Viviane thought angrily. "Yes Jenny, it's Viviane alright, but I think she just needs someone to talk to, and for my money, that's you." Amanda sounded pleading. Hoping to get rid of me is she! Well I'll show her! Viviane staggered to her feet and took a swing at the Captain, but before her fist hit home, everything went black.
"Viviane! Wake the FUCK up!" She heard Jennifer's voice gently washing away the pains. Jennifer Trent was a tall, attractive woman, with long red hair, usually knotted into a French tuck. Her blue eyes seemed to peer past your soul into your dreams, making her the ideal councilor. Viviane had often envied the younger woman her beauty. Although Viviane wasn't pretty, she was one of those women you just noticed. Her jet-black hair and piercing hazel eyes were definitely captivating, if not pretty. "Why don't we go have a chat?" Jennifer's voice was trembling, probably with the shock of Viviane's attempted attack on the youthful Captain. "I'd like that", suddenly meek, Viviane followed Jennifer out the door. They sat in the 'fountain room' as it was called. A transparent room with water cascading from the ceiling in a soft wave. It was a beautiful sight, filled with the peaceful serenade of flowing water. It was an ideal place for a councilor to meet her patients. "I'm so damn lonely!" Viviane suddenly burst out, rage and pain, mingling to form grief poured out of her. Jenny let it come. She'd always said, 'Better out than in'. Jenny made an occasional comforting noise, her mind empty, she let it unleash it's hidden power: the ability to see the whole picture, mingling past, present, and future to create an idea of who the patient was. "I just wish I could wake up one morning and he'd be back, snuggled in his chair where he'd fallen asleep the night before with a book" the tired, battered woman began to lose control, on the verge of screaming. When tears began to seep out of the corners of her eyes, she started to dash them away, more out of habit than a desire to avoid crying. Jennifer stopped her. "It's better to let it come out", her voice was an echo of everything that had been said to Viviane following James' death, but somehow the words didn't just wash over her- they absorbed, and she finally let the tears of grief, loneliness, desperation, and pure hatred of the young Vagues' poured out from the very depths of her soul. "I have a confession. I examined Natalie Vague about a month ago, and found her to be pregnant. I was jealous. I was the same age, but yet I couldn't have children because the one man I loved in a harsh world was gone. I was so upset that I knocked her out and gave her an abortion. Of course, she didn't notice". Jennifer, although shocked, didn't appear riled in any way. "That was damned wrong of you Viviane! But, I suppose in your place I might do the same thing". Jenny knew that she never would do such a thing, but she knew that in order for Viviane to be comfortable with herself, others would have to accept her first. It was going to be one hell of a long night the way things were going.
A/N: I need your reviews people! Come on! It only takes a minute! Now, as the saga continues.
Chapter 3
Captain Amanda Lopez stared out the window, looking out at the stars. It was a little past four in the morning, and the Officers' Lounge was totally empty, with the exception of a pensive Captain. Amanda looked at the chronometer, and sighed. She really should head back to her quarters. She sighed again, and rose, striding through the misty glass doors.
Amanda looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked basically the same as she'd looked at fifteen, but there was maturity in her face where there had been none in previous years. Her father had once said that the only way you could become an adult was by watching others suffer and die. He said that by sharing the pain, you became a mature person, with a new piece in that colorful mosaic of life. Amanda didn't know what to think. A part of her yearned for the comfort of her father's wisdom, but another part told her that she was an adult, and had to formulate her own ideas. It was a constant struggle: to stay with the wisdom that you know has worked, or to rebel, and forge on ahead, treading a path for yourself. Another thing her father had said was that the more colorful your life mosaic was, the more you missed out on, spending more time embellishing than helping and caring. Lieutenant Carey Lopez had believed that just the simple act of caring when you saw or heard of something awful, or good could do wonders of it's own, restoring the mind and spirit. Amanda looked back into the mirror, and was rewarded with the face of a woman who had watched friends die, who had seen innocent ensigns taken from their lives as if they were fragile glass figures, too weak to handle life. Her thick dark brown hair had not changed. Her black eyes now held both the joy of youth and the pains of life. Her slim body was just the same as it always was, and her height hadn't changed since she was eleven. Overall, Amanda thought she wasn't sure she liked what she saw.
Crystal Vague looked at her own reflection, and saw ghosts from her past. Her strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes ran in her family so long that Crystal could look at a picture from 1940 and be able to see herself in any one of the pictures. She was a classic Greek goddess beauty, with a wonderful smile, and beautiful looks. The question was, would anyone see past her looks into her intellect? She strongly doubted it. Even her own husband probably didn't. In fact, the only person who she thought had seen past her looks was Amanda Lopez. Amanda Lopez seemed to look past the barrier of mists into the true painting of your soul. It was as if nothing could be hidden from the quiet Captain. Crystal decided it was rather uncanny. She turned away from the ghosts and back into her life. She stopped again, haunted by the ghosts of the true love of her youth, sleeping peacefully now. She seemed to see Will transform back through the misty years to a time when love seemed unconditional and cast in stone forever. A time when the mists and waters of adulthood had not descended, clouding the pure vision and freedom that is love. Crystal sighed and slid into bed, tucking her head against Will's chest. She was asleep before her head hit his chest, lost in the mystical waterfall of dreams.
Viviane Abbott sat at her desk in Sickbay, staring at the pool of tears resting on the desktop. She was crying more and more lately, even though it had been over a month since her husband James had died. It was painful, knowing that he'd never come home again wearing his uniform crooked after getting it caught on the many parts of Engineering. He'd always been a clown, preferring to make people, especially her, laugh instead of career advancement. It was one of the things Viviane had loved most about the goof. Oh, SHIT!! How she missed him! It felt like there was a huge hole inside, burning, smoldering, but still going strong. Viviane started sobbing. "Viviane! Are you the hell okay?" She heard the concern in Amanda's voice. "Go away Captain! I beg of you! Please!" She heard Amanda sigh and hit a COM panel. "Lopez to Trent! Jennifer answer me please!" Oh damn, Viviane thought, she's called the ship shrink. "Captain? Is it Viviane Abbott again?" Jennifer sounded annoyed. Oh, so now I'm just some annoying hysteric! Viviane thought angrily. "Yes Jenny, it's Viviane alright, but I think she just needs someone to talk to, and for my money, that's you." Amanda sounded pleading. Hoping to get rid of me is she! Well I'll show her! Viviane staggered to her feet and took a swing at the Captain, but before her fist hit home, everything went black.
"Viviane! Wake the FUCK up!" She heard Jennifer's voice gently washing away the pains. Jennifer Trent was a tall, attractive woman, with long red hair, usually knotted into a French tuck. Her blue eyes seemed to peer past your soul into your dreams, making her the ideal councilor. Viviane had often envied the younger woman her beauty. Although Viviane wasn't pretty, she was one of those women you just noticed. Her jet-black hair and piercing hazel eyes were definitely captivating, if not pretty. "Why don't we go have a chat?" Jennifer's voice was trembling, probably with the shock of Viviane's attempted attack on the youthful Captain. "I'd like that", suddenly meek, Viviane followed Jennifer out the door. They sat in the 'fountain room' as it was called. A transparent room with water cascading from the ceiling in a soft wave. It was a beautiful sight, filled with the peaceful serenade of flowing water. It was an ideal place for a councilor to meet her patients. "I'm so damn lonely!" Viviane suddenly burst out, rage and pain, mingling to form grief poured out of her. Jenny let it come. She'd always said, 'Better out than in'. Jenny made an occasional comforting noise, her mind empty, she let it unleash it's hidden power: the ability to see the whole picture, mingling past, present, and future to create an idea of who the patient was. "I just wish I could wake up one morning and he'd be back, snuggled in his chair where he'd fallen asleep the night before with a book" the tired, battered woman began to lose control, on the verge of screaming. When tears began to seep out of the corners of her eyes, she started to dash them away, more out of habit than a desire to avoid crying. Jennifer stopped her. "It's better to let it come out", her voice was an echo of everything that had been said to Viviane following James' death, but somehow the words didn't just wash over her- they absorbed, and she finally let the tears of grief, loneliness, desperation, and pure hatred of the young Vagues' poured out from the very depths of her soul. "I have a confession. I examined Natalie Vague about a month ago, and found her to be pregnant. I was jealous. I was the same age, but yet I couldn't have children because the one man I loved in a harsh world was gone. I was so upset that I knocked her out and gave her an abortion. Of course, she didn't notice". Jennifer, although shocked, didn't appear riled in any way. "That was damned wrong of you Viviane! But, I suppose in your place I might do the same thing". Jenny knew that she never would do such a thing, but she knew that in order for Viviane to be comfortable with herself, others would have to accept her first. It was going to be one hell of a long night the way things were going.