Disclaimer: Star Trek: Voyager belongs to Paramount, it is not mine, but
neither is the air and I'm still breathing it!
Okay, I think it's confession time;
The song Unintended belongs to Muse, and was written by Matt, who is, by chance, one of the greatest musicians ever! Rebecca, you probably won't be pleased to know, that Muse took Celine Dion to court because she wanted to call her tour 'muse', they won and she had to rename her tour, probably something like Celine Dion on tour. Anyway, now that I have divulged that pointless piece of information. . .
I think I need to do a disclaimer for Farsecape as well, it's very subtle and you might not have noticed what I've borrowed from the series, but I just need to state that no harm was intended.
I can't think of anything else that I've borrowed, but if you see anything just let me know in the review. Hope you enjoy:
~*~
Chapter 16: Unintended
As far as Tad could remember, work stayed in the office, and the rest of the house was for the family, even living on board star ships where they virtually lived in the work place somehow it was always kept separate. Seven years in the delta quadrant, he noted, hadn't changed that habit. Some habits just stuck, he thought to himself with a faint smile, and then frowned at seeing two empty coffee cups- nope, some habits just stuck!
As he walked through the hall he noticed the door to Kathryn's office was ajar, pausing briefly he decided he would enter, he knocked gently on the wood and was received with the affirmative 'uhuh' allowing him to enter. She was sitting at her desk, several mugs placed randomly around the room, most were empty or contained coffee gone cold, but no doubt there would be one mug, probably the one her hand was edging towards, that would contain the fresh coffee at just the right temperature that his mother enjoyed so much.
He leant against the wall near to the door at the far end from the desk, Kathryn was engrossed in a report and probably wouldn't look up for another few moments until she had finished her paragraph. This was the room where she kept her awards, colours, the miniature gold replicas of every star ship she had served aboard, the coffee machine (replicated was no longer an option) and of course her work. Eventually she put the padd down on her desk and leant back in her chair, crossing her arms and looking at him evenly, studying him, analysing why he had come to see her, and waiting for him to go first.
"Equations," there were better places to start, but that was the only way that came to mind so he went with it.
She frowned, "am I supposed to know what you mean?" she asked at last.
"You asked me what I was writing on the walls," he unfolded his arms and pressed his finger tips to the wall behind him pushing him self off it slightly and then allowing him to fall back onto them. "I was writing equations."
"Equations to what?" her interrogating look on him was piercing, but he wasn't unperturbed, he'd grown up with that look, and over time he had learnt when to keep talking and when to run for it.
"Lots of things," Tad said after thinking about it, he paused again, but Kathryn didn't interrupt or attempt to return to her work, just watched him with a tenderness that only a mother could understand beneath her blank gaze- she was willing to listen for how ever long he was willing to talk. Tad bit his lip and made his way over to the desk, sitting down opposite her, "did dad ever tell you what happened to him on Veltac?"
Kathryn shifted a little uncomfortably in her seat, "a little," she said, frowning at the change in subject.
"I know that he was taken by a hostile alien race, but did he ever say what they did to him while he was held there?"
Tad was leaning on his elbow expectantly waiting for an answer and there was no reason not to answer his question, "when you father came back from the planet he wasn't quite the same for a time, he never gave details of what happened, just that he was kept in a prison for a time. Justin had never been one for talking when it came to about himself, he was just very quiet and reclusive for some months, it put an enormous strain on our relationship, I'm surprised that we ever made it through that phase."
"Good job you did, because then you wouldn't have had me," Tad said with a smile.
Equally Kathryn returned the smile momentarily before it faded a little, "it was because of you that we did manage to stay together, when I found out I was pregnant, Justin finally pulled himself out of it, and by the time you were born you would never have guessed that he'd ever been through anything as traumatic as he had." She finished and looked at her son ever more curiously, "why do you want to know all this?"
Tad shrugged and frowned, "I'm not sure," he shook his head in dismay at himself, "I only have parts of the picture, and I know that some things are linked, but I don't know why or how most of the time. I know there was a war between two alien species, I don't know who started it, or who they were, but it was over some information. The side that had the information found that they were betrayed by their own side too often, and so chose to pass the knowledge onto someone more trustworthy. . ."
He broke off, and look up from the floor to meet his mother's gaze, "the knowledge, I have it, I don't understand it, but I know that it's important. I don't think that dad just made Felicity perfect because he knew that he could, but because he didn't want her to share the same burden as we had. The information lies in imperfection, without it, it cannot exist; it's like an art, it doesn't have rules, or a set shape or form, it just is."
First she didn't do or say anything, just stared right at him, he wasn't going to say anything further, and so she guessed it was her turn to respond. Her next move was to lift her mug and sip the still warm contents, her eyes still fixed on him all the time, until she returned the mug to the desk. "Tell me what happened to you," she said at last.
Tad let out a deep breath slowly through pursed lips, "there was a woman, like there always is, Kennedy, attractive, hit on me, I was pissed, I need not tell you what happened," to his mother's affirmative nod he continued, "but it didn't feel right. No, it was more than that, it's hard to describe, it's like being the coldest, the most unhappy and yet the most exhilarating you've ever been all at once, well it was like that with her. Not sex, but just being in the same room as her, I didn't notice it at first, but the sensations became more intense the more time I spent with her. Even after she had gone the feeling was still there, dormant, but gradually growing, until unbearable."
Again Kathryn didn't respond immediately, "you sound just like your father," she said with a cautious look in her eyes, "strange you should bring up Veltac as it was after that that he first started to describe such depression."
"It's not depression!" Tad insisted.
Kathryn raised an eyebrow, "what is it then?"
He leant back. Stumped. "I'll get back to you on that one . . . but that's why they had to get arid of Felicity so that she didn't disturb their plan."
"Who is they Tad?" Kathryn's voice raised another notch, "Felicity's death has nothing to do with you!"
"She's not dead!" Tad stated angrily, "she's still alive, they tried to kill her but they couldn't. . . You don't believe me do you?"
"I'm sorry Tad, but sometimes when people go through traumatic experiences like losing loved ones, they can change the situation in their minds to make more sense of it. Just accept it Tad, your sister's not coming back."
Tad sank back in his chair, "you did," he said quietly.
"Barely," she replied quietly thinking about all of the close calls they had had in the delta quadrant, all of the lives that had been lost . . . "This Kennedy," she said at last, "what species was she?"
"Huh?" Tad hadn't thought about it before, "I just assumed that she was human, I mean, she looked human, but then, she didn't seem human and after what happened . . . I don't know. You don't think that she was the same species as the aliens on Veltac?"
"In disguise maybe," Kathryn shrugged, "stranger things have happened. Maybe you should ask intelligence to help you track her down, see if she has any answers for you. She might know how you were able to do what you did to Seven."
"She's probably long gone by now, but I'll talk to Alex about it." There was a long moments silence before Tad chose to speak again, "if dad hadn't died do you think that the two of you would still be together now?"
Kathryn rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair letting out a long breath, "why's nothing ever simple with you Tobias?" she asked rhetorically, "I don't know to be honest, maybe, but we were young and there was a lot that we didn't know about each other. Enough speculating about what-ifs, I love Chakotay and I have Aaron let's try to concentrate on the present and the future."
Tad nodded solemnly, "who do you love more?" he quirked an eyebrow knowing the question would annoy her.
"Coffee," she answered briskly, "is there anything else you want to talk about? . . . Anything other than your father."
"I guess not," he shrugged, "oh," he said remembering something that had been nagging at him for some time, "I was wondering if I would be able to visit Annika."
Kathryn frowned, "you do realise that you're supposed to be dead?"
"Oh," Tad bit his lower lip, "and intelligence really thinks that she believes them?"
"Not for a minute, it's just easier bringing her into their lie as well instead of wiping the minds of everyone else that she may have told about you."
"So what's the harm?" he asked, before adding, "one visit, that's all I'm asking, surely you could pull some strings."
Kathryn rolled her eyes, "I'll see what I can do," she smiled at him. Their thoughts were broken suddenly, by the sound of a screaming baby, shooting her eldest son an apologetic look Kathryn stood and followed Tad out of her office towards the source. Entering the nursery they saw Chakotay just lifting Aaron out of his cot, he turned round and smiled at them, "he'll just get encouraged if all three of us turn up every time that he starts crying," he joked softly, pressing his lips to his son's head and gently stroking the back of his neck to sooth him.
"I didn't know you were still up," Kathryn said making her way over to the two of them.
"I was just about to call it a night when I heard him," Chakotay looked over at Tad standing awkwardly by the door way, "you want to take over Tad?"
Tad smiled, "sure," he walked over and Chakotay transferred Aaron to his older brother's arms.
"If you're okay with him, I think me and Kathryn will call it a night," Chakotay said innocently enough.
"We will?" Kathryn frowned, Chakotay turned to her and flashed her a wicked grin, she understood, "oh yes," she said at last.
Tad rolled his eyes, "thanks for being so discrete," he said sarcastically, "I knew you had ulterior motives for letting me stay here, you just wanted someone to baby sit Aaron, while you- ugh, no, just go already!"
Smirking the couple left the room, "parents," Tad muttered to Aaron hearing their footsteps fade to the other end of the house.
~*~
Felicity pulled a face close to her mother's death glare, "so you're telling me that you don't know where it is?"
The purple alien looked uncomfortable, the last time he had given her bad news she slammed his face into a wall and held it there until security officers had peeled her from him.
"Not exactly," he tried the tactful approach, breaking the news to her slowly in the hope that that way his life be prolonged.
"Then be exact!" he insisted through clenched jaws, her temper rising with every passing second.
He paused again and took a deep breath, if it was to be his last he wanted to get a good lung full. "We believe that your shuttle has been stolen."
She paused, "are you sure that when my shuttle was 'stolen' that the culprits did not leave behind any sort of 'payment'?"
"That would be implying that we sold your shuttle," he said nervously.
"It would, wouldn't it," she removed her pistol from its holster and held it to his head, "if they activate the warp ten the chances are that will start to mutate, now, if you have sold my shuttle to those Provalians that I saw earlier, like I think that you have, and their families find out that due to your incompetence, they no longer have their sons, brothers or husbands, do you really think that they are going to let you get away with it." She gave him a few moments to think about it, "because from what I've heard, Provalians aren't very understanding when they're upset."
The purple man in front of her moved uncomfortably at the truth to the words, before remembering that there was a gun still pointed at his head. "Maybe the security will be able to track down your shuttle," he said at last.
Felicity put her pistol back in its holster, and crossed her arms as she watched the purple alien scuttle about the room in the hope of retrieving her 'missing' shuttle.
~*~
Seven sat back on the couch and sighed to herself, that day had been exhausting, she was still getting used to the idea that she was not capable of going for long amounts of time without resting. When she still had her Borg implants she could go days without regenerating, but now she found it difficult to stay up longer than 31 hours with out resting.
She had just come back from a large dinner that Tom and B'Elanna had invited her to at Admiral Paris's house. They had just returned from the Klingon colony where they were now living, and were visiting Earth for a few weeks. There had been about twenty of the old crew there, and Seven was part relieved that Kathryn hadn't turned up, she wasn't ready to face her again. Many of the old crew were surprised that her implants had gone, and her equally that the news had not reached them as she knew how quickly gossip spread within the Voyager crew.
Closing her eyes briefly she heard someone at the door, and reluctantly she got up from the sofa and made her way over to the door.
Tad smiled nervously as Seven's face went from surprise, to confusion and then to anger as she opened the door and saw him standing in the hall way. She was about to slam the door on his face when he held out a hand and stopped the door before it closed completely. "Please Annika, here me out, I need to explain everything."
"I don't want to talk to you," she said, annoyed that now without her Borg strength she was not able to over power him.
"One minute," he said quickly, "just one minute."
She released her push on the door and looked at him expectantly, crossing her arms, having no intention of letting him back in.
"Okay," he thought for a moment, panicking, what the hell was he going to say? Realising that his minutes were quickly and even more painfully ticking away he desperately racked his brains for something to say. In the end he settled for a song.
"You could be my unintended, choice to live my life extended, you could be the one I'll always love.
"You could be the one who listens, to my deepest inquisition, you could be the one I'll always love.
"And I'll be there as soon as I can, but I'm busy mending broken pieces of a life I had before."
The silence following was a little more painful, "please don't make me go on," he pulled a quirky grin, "the song gets higher, although sweeter, I know of only one way to get some of those high notes, and that would be very painful for me." She stifled a smile, which softened her entire posture, "I guess that I'm just trying say thank you for pulling me out of that bath tub."
She stepped to one side of the entrance, indicating that she was allowing him to enter, gratefully he took one step through into her apartment. They had a lot to talk about, and even less time to do it all in, so when she asked him why he had tried to kill him self, he didn't bother curving around the subject and just told her the plain and simple truth, he didn't have a clue.
~*~
End of Chapter 16
End of Unintended
~*~
Thanks for all those that have been reading this, and especially to those that have been reviewing. If you've found this story confusing, I'm really sorry, it was meant to be a simple plot, but I got more and more ideas, and now they seem a bit shit, but by the time I realised, Chapter 14 was already written, so it was a little late to rewrite the whole thing.
Anyway, I hoped you've enjoyed reading Unintended and its prequel, this is probably the last story featuring Tad and Flic, and I'm now working on about three other Voyager stories, plus a forth attempt at writing a novel, last time I got to the tenth chapter of a story (where the chapters were about twice as long as this one) and then lost all enthusiasm for it, and haven't touched it in months! I doubt you'll see another long story like this for some months because I've got exams to revise for, but you never know . . .
Okay, I think it's confession time;
The song Unintended belongs to Muse, and was written by Matt, who is, by chance, one of the greatest musicians ever! Rebecca, you probably won't be pleased to know, that Muse took Celine Dion to court because she wanted to call her tour 'muse', they won and she had to rename her tour, probably something like Celine Dion on tour. Anyway, now that I have divulged that pointless piece of information. . .
I think I need to do a disclaimer for Farsecape as well, it's very subtle and you might not have noticed what I've borrowed from the series, but I just need to state that no harm was intended.
I can't think of anything else that I've borrowed, but if you see anything just let me know in the review. Hope you enjoy:
~*~
Chapter 16: Unintended
As far as Tad could remember, work stayed in the office, and the rest of the house was for the family, even living on board star ships where they virtually lived in the work place somehow it was always kept separate. Seven years in the delta quadrant, he noted, hadn't changed that habit. Some habits just stuck, he thought to himself with a faint smile, and then frowned at seeing two empty coffee cups- nope, some habits just stuck!
As he walked through the hall he noticed the door to Kathryn's office was ajar, pausing briefly he decided he would enter, he knocked gently on the wood and was received with the affirmative 'uhuh' allowing him to enter. She was sitting at her desk, several mugs placed randomly around the room, most were empty or contained coffee gone cold, but no doubt there would be one mug, probably the one her hand was edging towards, that would contain the fresh coffee at just the right temperature that his mother enjoyed so much.
He leant against the wall near to the door at the far end from the desk, Kathryn was engrossed in a report and probably wouldn't look up for another few moments until she had finished her paragraph. This was the room where she kept her awards, colours, the miniature gold replicas of every star ship she had served aboard, the coffee machine (replicated was no longer an option) and of course her work. Eventually she put the padd down on her desk and leant back in her chair, crossing her arms and looking at him evenly, studying him, analysing why he had come to see her, and waiting for him to go first.
"Equations," there were better places to start, but that was the only way that came to mind so he went with it.
She frowned, "am I supposed to know what you mean?" she asked at last.
"You asked me what I was writing on the walls," he unfolded his arms and pressed his finger tips to the wall behind him pushing him self off it slightly and then allowing him to fall back onto them. "I was writing equations."
"Equations to what?" her interrogating look on him was piercing, but he wasn't unperturbed, he'd grown up with that look, and over time he had learnt when to keep talking and when to run for it.
"Lots of things," Tad said after thinking about it, he paused again, but Kathryn didn't interrupt or attempt to return to her work, just watched him with a tenderness that only a mother could understand beneath her blank gaze- she was willing to listen for how ever long he was willing to talk. Tad bit his lip and made his way over to the desk, sitting down opposite her, "did dad ever tell you what happened to him on Veltac?"
Kathryn shifted a little uncomfortably in her seat, "a little," she said, frowning at the change in subject.
"I know that he was taken by a hostile alien race, but did he ever say what they did to him while he was held there?"
Tad was leaning on his elbow expectantly waiting for an answer and there was no reason not to answer his question, "when you father came back from the planet he wasn't quite the same for a time, he never gave details of what happened, just that he was kept in a prison for a time. Justin had never been one for talking when it came to about himself, he was just very quiet and reclusive for some months, it put an enormous strain on our relationship, I'm surprised that we ever made it through that phase."
"Good job you did, because then you wouldn't have had me," Tad said with a smile.
Equally Kathryn returned the smile momentarily before it faded a little, "it was because of you that we did manage to stay together, when I found out I was pregnant, Justin finally pulled himself out of it, and by the time you were born you would never have guessed that he'd ever been through anything as traumatic as he had." She finished and looked at her son ever more curiously, "why do you want to know all this?"
Tad shrugged and frowned, "I'm not sure," he shook his head in dismay at himself, "I only have parts of the picture, and I know that some things are linked, but I don't know why or how most of the time. I know there was a war between two alien species, I don't know who started it, or who they were, but it was over some information. The side that had the information found that they were betrayed by their own side too often, and so chose to pass the knowledge onto someone more trustworthy. . ."
He broke off, and look up from the floor to meet his mother's gaze, "the knowledge, I have it, I don't understand it, but I know that it's important. I don't think that dad just made Felicity perfect because he knew that he could, but because he didn't want her to share the same burden as we had. The information lies in imperfection, without it, it cannot exist; it's like an art, it doesn't have rules, or a set shape or form, it just is."
First she didn't do or say anything, just stared right at him, he wasn't going to say anything further, and so she guessed it was her turn to respond. Her next move was to lift her mug and sip the still warm contents, her eyes still fixed on him all the time, until she returned the mug to the desk. "Tell me what happened to you," she said at last.
Tad let out a deep breath slowly through pursed lips, "there was a woman, like there always is, Kennedy, attractive, hit on me, I was pissed, I need not tell you what happened," to his mother's affirmative nod he continued, "but it didn't feel right. No, it was more than that, it's hard to describe, it's like being the coldest, the most unhappy and yet the most exhilarating you've ever been all at once, well it was like that with her. Not sex, but just being in the same room as her, I didn't notice it at first, but the sensations became more intense the more time I spent with her. Even after she had gone the feeling was still there, dormant, but gradually growing, until unbearable."
Again Kathryn didn't respond immediately, "you sound just like your father," she said with a cautious look in her eyes, "strange you should bring up Veltac as it was after that that he first started to describe such depression."
"It's not depression!" Tad insisted.
Kathryn raised an eyebrow, "what is it then?"
He leant back. Stumped. "I'll get back to you on that one . . . but that's why they had to get arid of Felicity so that she didn't disturb their plan."
"Who is they Tad?" Kathryn's voice raised another notch, "Felicity's death has nothing to do with you!"
"She's not dead!" Tad stated angrily, "she's still alive, they tried to kill her but they couldn't. . . You don't believe me do you?"
"I'm sorry Tad, but sometimes when people go through traumatic experiences like losing loved ones, they can change the situation in their minds to make more sense of it. Just accept it Tad, your sister's not coming back."
Tad sank back in his chair, "you did," he said quietly.
"Barely," she replied quietly thinking about all of the close calls they had had in the delta quadrant, all of the lives that had been lost . . . "This Kennedy," she said at last, "what species was she?"
"Huh?" Tad hadn't thought about it before, "I just assumed that she was human, I mean, she looked human, but then, she didn't seem human and after what happened . . . I don't know. You don't think that she was the same species as the aliens on Veltac?"
"In disguise maybe," Kathryn shrugged, "stranger things have happened. Maybe you should ask intelligence to help you track her down, see if she has any answers for you. She might know how you were able to do what you did to Seven."
"She's probably long gone by now, but I'll talk to Alex about it." There was a long moments silence before Tad chose to speak again, "if dad hadn't died do you think that the two of you would still be together now?"
Kathryn rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair letting out a long breath, "why's nothing ever simple with you Tobias?" she asked rhetorically, "I don't know to be honest, maybe, but we were young and there was a lot that we didn't know about each other. Enough speculating about what-ifs, I love Chakotay and I have Aaron let's try to concentrate on the present and the future."
Tad nodded solemnly, "who do you love more?" he quirked an eyebrow knowing the question would annoy her.
"Coffee," she answered briskly, "is there anything else you want to talk about? . . . Anything other than your father."
"I guess not," he shrugged, "oh," he said remembering something that had been nagging at him for some time, "I was wondering if I would be able to visit Annika."
Kathryn frowned, "you do realise that you're supposed to be dead?"
"Oh," Tad bit his lower lip, "and intelligence really thinks that she believes them?"
"Not for a minute, it's just easier bringing her into their lie as well instead of wiping the minds of everyone else that she may have told about you."
"So what's the harm?" he asked, before adding, "one visit, that's all I'm asking, surely you could pull some strings."
Kathryn rolled her eyes, "I'll see what I can do," she smiled at him. Their thoughts were broken suddenly, by the sound of a screaming baby, shooting her eldest son an apologetic look Kathryn stood and followed Tad out of her office towards the source. Entering the nursery they saw Chakotay just lifting Aaron out of his cot, he turned round and smiled at them, "he'll just get encouraged if all three of us turn up every time that he starts crying," he joked softly, pressing his lips to his son's head and gently stroking the back of his neck to sooth him.
"I didn't know you were still up," Kathryn said making her way over to the two of them.
"I was just about to call it a night when I heard him," Chakotay looked over at Tad standing awkwardly by the door way, "you want to take over Tad?"
Tad smiled, "sure," he walked over and Chakotay transferred Aaron to his older brother's arms.
"If you're okay with him, I think me and Kathryn will call it a night," Chakotay said innocently enough.
"We will?" Kathryn frowned, Chakotay turned to her and flashed her a wicked grin, she understood, "oh yes," she said at last.
Tad rolled his eyes, "thanks for being so discrete," he said sarcastically, "I knew you had ulterior motives for letting me stay here, you just wanted someone to baby sit Aaron, while you- ugh, no, just go already!"
Smirking the couple left the room, "parents," Tad muttered to Aaron hearing their footsteps fade to the other end of the house.
~*~
Felicity pulled a face close to her mother's death glare, "so you're telling me that you don't know where it is?"
The purple alien looked uncomfortable, the last time he had given her bad news she slammed his face into a wall and held it there until security officers had peeled her from him.
"Not exactly," he tried the tactful approach, breaking the news to her slowly in the hope that that way his life be prolonged.
"Then be exact!" he insisted through clenched jaws, her temper rising with every passing second.
He paused again and took a deep breath, if it was to be his last he wanted to get a good lung full. "We believe that your shuttle has been stolen."
She paused, "are you sure that when my shuttle was 'stolen' that the culprits did not leave behind any sort of 'payment'?"
"That would be implying that we sold your shuttle," he said nervously.
"It would, wouldn't it," she removed her pistol from its holster and held it to his head, "if they activate the warp ten the chances are that will start to mutate, now, if you have sold my shuttle to those Provalians that I saw earlier, like I think that you have, and their families find out that due to your incompetence, they no longer have their sons, brothers or husbands, do you really think that they are going to let you get away with it." She gave him a few moments to think about it, "because from what I've heard, Provalians aren't very understanding when they're upset."
The purple man in front of her moved uncomfortably at the truth to the words, before remembering that there was a gun still pointed at his head. "Maybe the security will be able to track down your shuttle," he said at last.
Felicity put her pistol back in its holster, and crossed her arms as she watched the purple alien scuttle about the room in the hope of retrieving her 'missing' shuttle.
~*~
Seven sat back on the couch and sighed to herself, that day had been exhausting, she was still getting used to the idea that she was not capable of going for long amounts of time without resting. When she still had her Borg implants she could go days without regenerating, but now she found it difficult to stay up longer than 31 hours with out resting.
She had just come back from a large dinner that Tom and B'Elanna had invited her to at Admiral Paris's house. They had just returned from the Klingon colony where they were now living, and were visiting Earth for a few weeks. There had been about twenty of the old crew there, and Seven was part relieved that Kathryn hadn't turned up, she wasn't ready to face her again. Many of the old crew were surprised that her implants had gone, and her equally that the news had not reached them as she knew how quickly gossip spread within the Voyager crew.
Closing her eyes briefly she heard someone at the door, and reluctantly she got up from the sofa and made her way over to the door.
Tad smiled nervously as Seven's face went from surprise, to confusion and then to anger as she opened the door and saw him standing in the hall way. She was about to slam the door on his face when he held out a hand and stopped the door before it closed completely. "Please Annika, here me out, I need to explain everything."
"I don't want to talk to you," she said, annoyed that now without her Borg strength she was not able to over power him.
"One minute," he said quickly, "just one minute."
She released her push on the door and looked at him expectantly, crossing her arms, having no intention of letting him back in.
"Okay," he thought for a moment, panicking, what the hell was he going to say? Realising that his minutes were quickly and even more painfully ticking away he desperately racked his brains for something to say. In the end he settled for a song.
"You could be my unintended, choice to live my life extended, you could be the one I'll always love.
"You could be the one who listens, to my deepest inquisition, you could be the one I'll always love.
"And I'll be there as soon as I can, but I'm busy mending broken pieces of a life I had before."
The silence following was a little more painful, "please don't make me go on," he pulled a quirky grin, "the song gets higher, although sweeter, I know of only one way to get some of those high notes, and that would be very painful for me." She stifled a smile, which softened her entire posture, "I guess that I'm just trying say thank you for pulling me out of that bath tub."
She stepped to one side of the entrance, indicating that she was allowing him to enter, gratefully he took one step through into her apartment. They had a lot to talk about, and even less time to do it all in, so when she asked him why he had tried to kill him self, he didn't bother curving around the subject and just told her the plain and simple truth, he didn't have a clue.
~*~
End of Chapter 16
End of Unintended
~*~
Thanks for all those that have been reading this, and especially to those that have been reviewing. If you've found this story confusing, I'm really sorry, it was meant to be a simple plot, but I got more and more ideas, and now they seem a bit shit, but by the time I realised, Chapter 14 was already written, so it was a little late to rewrite the whole thing.
Anyway, I hoped you've enjoyed reading Unintended and its prequel, this is probably the last story featuring Tad and Flic, and I'm now working on about three other Voyager stories, plus a forth attempt at writing a novel, last time I got to the tenth chapter of a story (where the chapters were about twice as long as this one) and then lost all enthusiasm for it, and haven't touched it in months! I doubt you'll see another long story like this for some months because I've got exams to revise for, but you never know . . .