Child of the Sun Chapter 17, an andromeda fanfic

Author's Note: Italics signify thought or emphasis.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dylan carried Drago into the suite when Alura opened the door. The little boy was asleep with his head on Dylan's shoulder. Alura led Dylan into Drago's room and gently transferred her son from Dylan's arms to his own bed. Alura was surprised when Dylan stayed in the room as she tucked Drago in. When she was done, she gestured for Dylan to precede her out of the room.

In the front room, Dylan smiled at her, "My mother used to tuck the blankets in tight around me just like that."

Alura's smile felt slightly forced, tempered by Beka's words earlier that evening and the absence of her mother or anyone else she knew Dylan did actually like.

"Where's Mom?"

Dylan gave her a puzzled look, probably due to her slightly cold tone, but answered, "Beka approached her in the hall. They're talking."

Alura closed her eyes, and her shoulders slumped slightly. When she opened her eyes again, Dylan was watching her with a worried expression.

"Beka and I... had a disagreement," Alura informed the Andromeda's captain. "She's probably complaining to Mom."

Dylan sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked a lot older when he was tired, and Alura felt bad for adding to his stress. Especially when she realized her mother would feel it and take it on to herself. And Trance did not need any more weight on her shoulders.

"You want to tell me what the fight was about?"

Alura shifted her weight from one foot to the other then straightened her spine, looking Dylan directly in the eye. How was it that she could face down swarms of Magog and command an entire fleet without breaking a sweat, but facing the disappointment of the heavyworlder before her made her feel like a child? She remembered the first time she had watched the vid of her birth and how gentle he had been with both her mother and Alura's newborn self. Tears and a feeling close to regret had overwhelmed her. Dylan would have been a loving father to her if he had been given the chance.

She supposed a part of her had always wished that she could find a way to start over, to have Dylan as her father, even if it meant dying with he and her mother when she was only ten. To be loved unconditionally for ten years was something she could only imagine. But it would never happen, and she had to let go of the childish fantasy. She had a chance at a much different life now. She was a mother, and hopefully she would soon be a wife as well. While a big part of her hated not being the full warrior she had been before her universe fell apart, she knew she could be content in the path she had now chosen.

Alura sighed. "Beka and I don't get along. I'm sure you've noticed that we have... clashed a few times since I came aboard. She pushed the limits of my patience by trying to drive a wedge between Telemachus and I."

"And?" Dylan prompted.

"And I told her why I don't like her. Why I will probably never trust her."

Dylan's eyebrows drew together in a frown.

Alura took a deep breath to keep the anger and pain from her voice. "The Beka Valentine in my reality murdered my father."

"Beka killed him?" Dylan asked. "What had he done?"

The anger inside snapped to attention again, and Alura's bone blades flared without her meaning for them to. But somehow she managed to keep her voice flat.

"She murdered him to get his wealth. She thought he had told her all his secrets, so he was of no more use to her. Things were different in my reality than they were here. Beka left the Andromeda to find her own fortunes before I was even born. Dad never went through the Route in my reality. He had no desire to lower himself to make a deal with the leader of the Magog. Tyr Anasazi may have been a false leader of the Nietzscheans, but he did a better job keeping his people safe than anyone had the right to ask. When she murdered him, things fell apart. The Nietzscheans splintered again and..." Alura's voice broke. "It was six years before I was able to visit his funeral pyre. They didn't even bother to bury him..."

Alura stiffened when Dylan moved forward and wrapped his arms around her. One hand traveled to her head, soothingly stroking her hair over and over. He made comforting noises and slightly rocked her. After a minute, Alura melted against him, grateful for the chance to give in to the grief and take comfort from someone else's presence. He didn't dislike her. If only because she was the daughter of the woman he loved, Dylan cared about her.

A few minutes later Dylan pulled back and looked down at her. He wiped a tear from her cheek and gave her a small smile. "Okay now?"

Alura nodded. "Thank you, I needed that."

"Alura, as long as you don't get into physical fights with Beka, it's okay for the two of you not to be friends. Nobody gets along with everybody else." Alura nodded again and Dylan finished, "The next time there's a problem that can't be resolved with a little time and space, come talk to me about it, okay?"

"Okay. And thank you, Dylan, for everything."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Trance entered the room only minutes after Dylan had left. Alura waited for her mother to berate her, but Trance simply looked at her with concern for a few minutes before talking.

"You saw it happen?"

"I was in the next room," Alura answered. "My father often let me watch and listen during his meetings, I suppose because after Drago... I was his only heir. There was a section of wall near the back of the throne room that was just lattice work. I'd stand in the hall on the other side and learn. He was sitting on his throne when she shot him three times with an energy blaster. I ran to the room as soon as she fired the first shot, but he was already dead when I reached him. She took a shot at me, too, but she missed. I believe because of shock. She had never seen me before, and I might have reminded her of you."

"How could she have not known about you?"

"She left the Andromeda after the first time you tangled with the Magog worldship. She'd had enough of risking life and limb for the good of a universe she felt had always dealt her a lousy hand."

Trance nodded and stared off into space for a moment. "You do know they're not the same person, right?"

"Of course," Alura answered with absolute calm. "If they were the same person, I would have killed her already."

Trance looked mildly shocked at the blunt confirmation of violence, but she nodded her understanding again.

"Would it make everyone feel better if I told Beka that she isn't the same as the woman who killed my father?"

"I know it would make me feel better," Trance responded. "Beka is one of my oldest and dearest friends."

"Alright,"' Alura sighed. "I'll go make nice."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While Trance stayed in the suite to be there in case Drago woke, Alura went in search of Beka. The Andromeda's AI informed her upon inquiry that the second-in-command was on the Maru. Alura walked briskly to the ship she had never been on. The door stood open and she wondered momentarily if Trance had told Beka she was coming. Alura decided it didn't matter.

Alura stepped into the dim interior of the Eureka Maru and bit her lip. She had no idea which way to go.

"Hello?" she called loudly.

Beka came into sight from around a corner, frowning at her.

"I guess you don't know the layout of the Maru like you do the Andromeda."

"No," Alura answered. "I was never on the Maru. Although the Andromeda was just a shell when I eventually found it dead in space, I studied the schematics so that I knew them nearly as well as the Dance."

Beka nodded, understanding dawning in her eyes. Both women avoided prolonged eye to eye contact. Alura knew that Trance would have already calmed whatever self-doubt Beka had undergone from the knowledge that her other self had killed her former lover, and she had no intention of dragging this out.

Alura cleared her throat and began, "I wanted to apologize for my outburst. I know you didn't kill my father. You aren't the Captain Valentine from my reality."

Beka nodded. "And I shouldn't have tried to come between you and Rhade. It's obvious to everyone on the ship that you care very deeply for each other."

"So..." Alura said, holding out a hand. "Allies?"

The knowledge that they would probably never be friends hung silently in the air between them.

Beka pursed her lips for a moment but took Alura's hand and shook it. "Allies."

It was enough for both of them. And more importantly, it would make Trance happy, which was something they both wanted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Telemachus woke with a feeling of anticipation, but it took him a few seconds to clear the sleep from his mind and remember why. Alura. She wanted to talk to him. Their separation, his avoidance of her, could soon be over. He intended to apologize for pushing her away when he had known it would hurt both of them, but he also wanted to know what it was she had decided to say to him. After the way he had treated her the past few days, Telemachus knew it was ludicrous to hope a deeper commitment was about to be forged.

Swinging his feet to the floor and standing, Telemachus stretched and quickly finished his morning routine. He had purposely set his alarm for 0715 that morning so he would have just enough time to stretch out, shower, dress and eat before it was time to go meet Alura on the Dance. And he would have no time to worry about what was coming. He allowed only a momentary question of why she wanted to meet on the Dance and not in her quarters on the Andromeda to drift through his mind before he forcefully concentrated on each of the tasks at hand.

Since he had the day off, Telemachus chose to wear black leather pants and a dark red sleeveless t-shirt in place of his uniform. He had noticed Alura's admiration when he had worn similar shirts during their sparring sessions, and he wanted to look good for her. Being a Nietzschean male, he always took pride in his appearance, but this was different. He was dressing for her. Telemachus smiled to himself as he finished getting ready. He exited his room with just enough time left to walk calmly to hangar one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Danny greeted Telemachus just inside Alura's ship. The hard light AI holograph looked happy but professional in his uniform. Instead of taking Telemachus to the bridge as the Nietzschean had expected, however, Danny led him to the crew quarters area of the ship. They stopped in front of a door, and Danny turned and winked at Telemachus before disappearing.

Telemachus took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It slid open to reveal a softly lit living room. There wasn't anything personal in the room, making him think it wasn't the room that Alura had used for herself before meeting up with them. Why would Alura want to talk to him here? As if thinking of her had conjured her up, Alura appeared in the other doorway in the room, the one that presumably led to the bedroom of the suite. She smiled warmly at him.

Telemachus forgot to breathe for several minutes. He had never seen Alura in anything but pants. She was now wearing a very simple but beautiful dress. It was floor length, sleeveless and black. The material of the dress clung to her in all the right places and his gaze traveled slowly over every inch of her body. Her feet were bare and there were no gauntlets on her forearms, the skin around her bone blades bare as well. When Telemachus' eyes met Alura's again, she was blushing but still had a happy light glowing in her eyes.

"Come in," she softly invited, stepping backwards into the bedroom so he understood what she meant.

Telemachus swallowed hard and started breathing again. It was a good thing he was a Nietzschean or he wouldn't have lasted that long. Moving closer to her, he took note that her dress had a string tie that appeared to thread through the entire neckline. Alura's long blue hair was loose, falling in soft curls halfway down her back. Telemachus felt his heartbeat kick up a notch. She wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of dressing the way she had if they were simply going to talk.

His eyes scanned the bedroom, which was just as impersonal as the living room. Telemachus noted a dome-covered dish on the edge of the bed with a confused frown. There was absolutely no scent of food in the air, so what was in the dish? He turned toward Alura but forgot what he was going to ask when she walked right up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing the length of her body to his. His hands settled naturally on her hips, holding her close.

"Hi," she said, her dark blue eyes twinkling up at him.

Telemachus smiled in answer, lifting one hand to gently caress her hair. Alura leaned slightly into the caress before moving in even closer. Her lips brushed his lightly, and he had the feeling she was seeking some kind of permission. When she feathered a kiss against his lips the second time, he used the hand in her hair to hold her still and deepen the contact.

They both sighed in relief at the same time and Telemachus smiled briefly against Alura's lips before he let go of any thought but how soft her lips were under his. Telemachus angled his head to capture her mouth more fully with his.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alura was thrilled that Telemachus seemed to have completely moved past what had been making him avoid her, but she knew she needed to apologize to him before they could move forward. Reluctantly, she pulled back from their embrace. She smiled reassuringly at Telemachus when he looked concerned at her withdrawal.

Alura moved to the bed and sat down, patting the area next to her. Telemachus sat where she had indicated, watching her expectantly. He was on one side of her and the covered dish was on the other.

"I'm sorry," she started her speech. "I'm sorry I hurt you by making you wait for my decision, but there were things I needed to find out about myself before I could consider asking you to be my husband."

Telemachus reached toward her with one hand as if to stop her, but Alura knew she needed to finish. She reached up and caught his hand with hers, lacing their fingers together.

"Let me finish," she pled.

"If you need to," Telemachus relented.

"Thank you." Alura took a breath and started again. "You'll already be giving up a lot to be with me, so I wanted to make sure that at the very least I could give you a child. I had my mother run some tests and she says there is no physical reason why I couldn't. But you need to understand that even though I can have children, it may be harder for us than it would be with a full-blooded Nietzschean woman." When Telemachus looked like he was going to say something, Alura squeezed his hand lightly so that he would let her finish. "And there are things you may never know about me. If knowing that I love you is enough for you to accept all that, then I have something for you."

"You love me?" Telemachus asked gruffly when she was done talking.

Alura was sure he was asking more to hear her say it again rather than not having believed her.

She smiled warmly, "Yes, Telemachus, I love you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Telemachus made a soft sound of need and pulled Alura into his lap. He kissed her deeply, showing her without words that her concerns didn't matter, that he accepted whatever he could have with her. As long as he could be with her.

"I love you, too, Alura," he said once he had pulled his mouth away from hers.

The happiness in her eyes as she smiled at him then was almost too much for him to take in. If he had known she would react with such absolute joy at knowing how he felt about her, he would have told her the minute he had figured it out. Alura reached across the bed and lifted the domed lid covering the dish. Telemachus sucked in a breath at the sight of a beautifully... and expensively... made pair of helix bands.

The traditional DNA strand design of the band was made of platinum and gold, but an extra design had been set in the center of the prominent side of the smaller of the bands, a starburst pattern made up of dark blue sapphires. Alura's helix band had obviously been designed specifically for her. The larger band lacked a starburst, but it did have several sapphires spaced evenly around the band near the top edge.

Alura lifted one in each hand and gave the smaller one to him.

"Do you accept me as your mate, as your first wife?" she asked.

Telemachus smiled lovingly at her and answered simply, "Yes."

Alura smiled back radiantly and gently snapped the larger of the helix bands into place on his left bicep. Now Telemachus was doubly glad he had worn a sleeveless shirt. With a reverence he had never felt before, Telemachus lightly caressed the soft skin of Alura's left arm before putting her band in place. He didn't let go right away, tracing the edge of the band and then the skin above it. Alura shivered and gently moved off his lap, standing in front of him.

Telemachus looked up at her with a sense of loss. But her next action erased any doubt from his mind. Alura slowly untied the string at the neck of her dress. As soon as the bow was undone, the garment slid down her body to puddle on the floor, making Telemachus realize that it was a nightgown and not a dress at all. A nightgown with nothing but her under it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alura bit her lower lip and waited for him to respond in some way. Telemachus didn't disappoint.

"Beautiful," he breathed out.

Alura smiled and accepted her first kiss from her husband when he stood up to take her in his arms. The kiss was gentle and thorough, full of the love they were now free to show each other. Telemachus held her to him gently, almost as if he were afraid she would break. Alura's last rational thought for several hours was that if he let go of her, she might.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Preview: Final chapter! Alura and Telemachus share the happy news with friends and family. Some take it a little better than others.