Chapter 24 – The Best Laid Plans Often Come Undone

Her decision finally reached, Amelia saw no sense in wasting any more time and reached for her topcoat. She was about to slide an arm in to it when her door burst open revealing one very agitated Canid who was currently suffering from a rather acute case of bronchial spasms judging from his acute wheezing.

"Lightoller just informed me of your idiotic plan," he gasped without preamble. Ignoring his less-than-flattering description, Amelia gazed at him with narrowed eyes. From the way he was clutching his side, she guessed he had sprinted from the bridge to her quarters. Damn that Lightoller. Sometimes her First Mate was too smart for his own good.

"I shall choose to ignore your negative appraisal of my battle plan and instead ask why you felt the need to run a marathon to my quarters. Hmmm?" She raised an eyebrow and waited expectantly.

"I did not 'marathon' here," he protested and then reassessed his statement as her eyebrow rose even higher. "All right, even if I did, it was for good reason." He slid down on the small stuffed chair positioned near her desk and then narrowed his eyes as he slowly caught his breath. "Whatever possessed you to formulate this plan?"

So much for subtlety, Amelia thought. Mentally sighing, she braced herself for his barrage of questions and met his question with a stiff tone of her own. "Are you questioning my actions?"

"Absolutely," was his instantaneous reply. "I'm beyond questioning it. I think you need to take a serious step back and reevaluate this."
Amelia studied him in stunned silence. Never, ever, in all the time they had been seeing one another had he questioned her command abilities. Even when she knew he disagreed with her decisions, he had merely stepped back and let her do her job. To hear him say this, here and now, at this moment when she most needed his unwavering support - it was simply too much. The man had been wearing britches too big for him for a good portion of the voyage. As much as she detested doing this, it was time to tighten the belt a few notches and remind her love exactly where he stood.

"Delbert Doppler, I will not have you marching in here and questioning my decisions." She held up a hand to stave his reply. "You will not speak right now. At the house, on Montressor, you are more than welcome to exercise your ability to disagree with me. As you well know, I have allowed you to rail at me several times when we don't see eye to eye." She took a breath and continued in a cool voice. "But here, on my ship, I am in charge. In the bluntest of terms, you are a mere crewman, required to do my bidding, so to speak. If I don't allow my First Mate to question my decisions, then why would I allow you?"

She was being harsh on him. She knew it, and she hated herself for playing the role. But the man had to understand that on the Legacy, she was not his lady love. She was The Captain. And sometimes, The Captain had to make the decisions that were best for her ship and crew, not Amelia and Delbert. Even though he said he understood, Amelia felt that he'd never quite grasped that particular, and in this case, most pressing, concept. His present actions only lent evidence to her belief. From the look on his face, her explanation wasn't going over very well.

His countenance darkened as anger warred with reason, anger eventually winning the battle. "If that's truly how you feel, then perhaps we should refrain from seeing one another in other arenas, as well." His voice was stiff.

Amelia heaved an inward sigh. She knew he would react like this. He was always so ... so ... touchy when it came to things like this. Such an over-reactor, her Delbert. "Delbert, that's not what I meant and you know it."

"Do I?" he countered. "You made it quite clear how you feel." He stood and slowly walked toward the door. "I have always respected you as a captain, Amelia. I readily admit that I have made mistakes in our relationship. It took me a while to find a healthy balance between both dominant facets of your personality." He reached out and sharply turned the doorknob, pulling the door open. "But one thing I have never done or tried to do is lord over you."

"Lord over me?" Amelia asked with wide eyes. "In case you haven't noticed Delbert, you're not exactly the "lording" type." A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"I hardly think this is a laughing matter. I don't think you grasp how serious I am." And with a candid gaze and significant pause, he stepped across the threshold of her quarters. "I will see you at the briefing tomorrow."

"Delbert, really now --"

The door shut on her protest and she stopped, shocked more by that simple action than by anything else he had said during their conversation. Delbert had never walked out of their conversations. And as a rule, people generally didn't go around slamming doors on Amelia while she was speaking to them. She ran an angry hand through her hair, sweeping it back behind her ear and growled.

"Blast you, Delbert! Why now of all times did you choose to pursue an argument?" Her shoulders dropped in frustration and a staccato sigh escaped her lips. She would have to deal with this, and something told her that her usual method of seducing his anger away wouldn't work this time.

Another angry growl and then she flung the door open, following his retreating form and reaching out to yank on his coat, pulling him back into her Stateroom.

"We are not finished with this discussion, Doctor," she informed him in response to his blustery questions as to just what she thought she was doing. "You are on my ship, and you will stay until I say."

Still angry but sound enough to realize that, for all intents and purposes, she technically was his commanding officer, he bit his tongue and nodded for her to continue.

"Thank you. Now as I was saying, I have never thought you to be one who lorded over me, and I appreciate it. I realize you are concerned about this plan, but believe me, it is the only option."

Still angry, Delbert stared silently for several moments. Then, in a very low and emotionless voice, delivered his final say on the matter. "If you think I'm going to let you just willingly waltz the Legacy in to enemy hands, putting yourself in danger, then you need a serious and bracing reality check, Captain."

"I have had enough of this childish bickering!" Amelia's eyes blazed with barely restrained fury. "It is you who needs the reality check, and you'd do well to remember your place, Doctor!"

Delbert's eyes grew large. "My place!" he huffed. "I think you've made that quite clear, Captain," he growled, stressing her title.

"And just what does that mean?" she demanded.

"I'm no more than a lap dog to you, apparently. Content to have me by your side when it suits you, but easily cast off at the first sign of independent thought."

Amelia grew silent, the fight instantly extinguished in her eyes and replaced by raw emotion from the deep wound his words inflicted.

Delbert, instantly repentant, knew he had crossed the line. His shoulders dropped in defeat and his voice, when he spoke, was soft. "Amelia, I'm sorry. That was grossly unfair."

"How dare you," she finally hissed. "After everything we have been through together. After all it took for me to open myself to you, to allow myself to become close to someone." A tear rolled down her cheek and she gave in to the fear and anger that were coursing through her. She didn't care if he saw her cry. Her captain's persona no longer mattered. If Delbert couldn't understand her, couldn't fathom the reasons behind her decisions, it didn't matter anymore. He was supposed to understand. She lowered her head and her shoulders shook as she tried to regain control of the situation.

Delbert's heart broke at the sight of his love shaking before him. Tentatively, he came closer to her. "Amelia, I'm so sorry. We've been through too much together for me to ever think you capable of doing something such as that. I spoke out of anger." He reached for her hand. "I just can't let you give yourself up. I can't." His fingers laced through hers.

Amelia glanced down at their hands before bringing her eyes back to his. "Delbert, you can't keep me from my duty."

Delbert looked at her, the plea evident in his eyes. "I know that. Don't you think I know that?"

Amelia nodded, another tear falling.

"But I have to protect you," he whispered. "You're all I have." He pulled her in to his arms. "I gave up everything the moment I decided to love you. If you go ... if you don't come back." He fell silent.

"Delbert, please. Don't ask me to choose between you and my duty," she begged, pressing her face in to the crook of his neck as he gathered her in his arms.

"I'm not asking you to choose, Amelia. I could never do that." He hugged her tighter. "I just don't know what to do."

"I know." Her fingers dug deeper into the fabric of his coat and he inwardly gave in to what she was planning on doing. He knew he couldn't stop her, knew he couldn't ask her to choose. Oddly enough, the decision to step back and allow her to do precisely what she was trained to do left him with a sense of peace. His Amelia knew how to take care of herself. Of that much, he was certain. Why that knowledge had eluded him only moments earlier, he didn't know. But upon once again remembering this, he took a deep a breath, and realizing all would be well, his eyes landed on a photograph that lay among the scattered pictures. It was of Amelia from what had to be during her Academy days. She was a good deal younger than now. He laughed softly to himself as he saw the taunting, youthful arrogance flashing in those oh-so- familiar vivid green eyes. Some things never changed, he smiled. Her hair was longer than she wore it now. It hung loosely about her shoulders, just brushing against the glowing amber of the jacket that opened to reveal a very snug, black turtleneck. The ensemble complemented the fiery hue of her tresses.

His breath caught in his throat. By the cosmos, she was beautiful. Then and now.

"I still can't believe how I managed to end up with someone so perfect," he told her by way of unspoken apology.

She stirred against him, understanding what he had not said and chose to accept his offer. "You flatter me, Doctor. You know better than anyone else what a complete pain I can be when I'm in a foul mood."

"Hmmm, well there is that," he teased. He tightened his arms around her. "All I ask is that you're careful. No somersaults off the masthead," he chided, referencing their first meeting.

Amelia laughed at the memory. "Well, I had to strike fear in your heart somehow."

"Oh believe me, you did."

"But I promise," she assured him and slowly disentangled herself from their embrace. "Besides," she noted, kissing him softly on the lips, "I have much more to return home to than I previously did."

To be continued …

A/N

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