Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this? Fine. I don't own it.
A/N: Post episode for Star Crossed. Despite being in love with Gabriel (did anyone notice the "I've never been accused of having useful information before" line as relating to Michael Shanks' more regular character, Daniel Jackson of SG-1?), there were a bunch of shippy moments between her and Dylan. The look on Dylan's face when she said she was in love with Gabriel… I was close to tears. And the comment from the video screen about the love triangle. On the one side, the captain, on the other, the newcomer. Oh, so true.
Get Thee to HeavenShe was sobbing, hard. "Warships only know how to do one thing, kill. We have no heart, we have no empathy." Dylan, tired of watching helplessly, pulled her into his arms. "Balance of Judgement went insane, Pax Magellanic went insane, I don't want the same thing to happen to me."
Dylan comforted her as he would a child, smoothing her hair down softly. When it came to dealing with emotions, Rommie was still a child. "You're forgetting one thing. Balance of Judgement had no captain. Pax Magellanic lost her captain. Why do you think warships have captains in the first place?" She tilted her head up slightly, and she'd never looked quite so vulnerable. "I'm your heart, Rommie. I always will be."
Rommie dug her face deeper into his chest. This was against protocol, against regulations, and she didn't care. She was taking Gabriel's advice and being her own person, separate from the ship. It was the first time she'd truly let go, and it felt wonderful. They stood there for close to ten minutes, Rommie crying quietly into Dylan's uniform. She pulled herself out of her thoughts when he started talking.
"The commonwealth needs you. The crew needs you. I need you. Permission to chop yourself into tiny pieces is officially denied."
"Does the pain ever go away?" Rommie sounded desperate.
"It's not supposed to. That's part of what it means to be alive." He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. She smiled in spite of herself.
"I am sorry for overreacting, Captain."
Inwardly, Dylan winced at her drop back into formality. He was trying to be a friend, not a captain. "Well, you only overreacted a little. And it was completely understandable under the circumstances." He took a step back, away from her.
"He wanted me to kill him."
Dylan nodded slightly. "I think he was counting on you finding that data transfer."
Rommie's eyes got teary again. "But why didn't he tell me?"
He swore inwardly at Gabriel for hurting Rommie so much. And if he was honest, Dylan swore at Gabriel because Rommie loved him enough to be willing to leave the ship for him. "Maybe he couldn't. Remember, he couldn't refuse a direct order from the Balance of Judgement. Maybe that was part of that file, an order."
Rommie blinked, then nodded slowly. "Maybe you're right."
Dylan grinned. "Of course I am. I'm your captain. Now, get thee to heaven, there's no place for you here."
"Paraphrasing Shakespeare."
"Well, he was one of the best Ancient Earth writers."
"Dylan, if you're my heart, then does that mean…" She blushed. "Does that mean I have your heart?"
Dylan blinked rapidly a few times, then a slow smile spread over his face. "I didn't think about it that way."
Wanting to change the subject, Rommie spoke up. "When Gabriel connected my systems to the Balance of Judgement, he gave me some of his knowledge. I think that was his way of repayment. He really was a scholar. I now have extensive data on every Ancient Earth language."
"Does that include Latin?" Dylan smiled. "I was always fond of the phrase 'veni, vidi, vici'."
"I came, I saw, I conquered. Appropriate for us, sometimes."
Dylan looked down at her for a minute. She wasn't leaving him. She wasn't going to leave with Gabriel. His world was back to order. Well, as ordered as it ever got. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Rommie's forehead.
As he headed for the door, he called back to her over his shoulder. "Veni, vidi, amo tu."
A/N: I am putting this at the end cause I didn't want to spoil it. Veni (obviously) means I came, vidi means I saw, and amo tu means I love you. So, he was saying that he came, he saw, and he fell in love with her. I couldn't resist. Review, please! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!
