A/N: Another update after a long time. Season five premiered tonight (yay!) and I got all inspired (meaning that there were many hot Rhade scenes).
Chapter Seven: Cured?
Trance had been right. Rhade had been angry. Very angry.
Usually Harper made it a priority in his life to avoid very angry Nietzscheans at all costs however he didn't think that Rhade would have actually hurt him.
He thought wrong.
"Ow...Traaaaaancie..."
"Oh Harper," Trance said, swatting his hand away from his own severed face, "Stop groaning like that, you sound like your—"
She cut herself off when she saw Harper's perverted little grin.
"Even in this state! You're still thinking about only one thing!" Trance scolded, "Besides, I was going to say that you sound like your going to die any moment when you groan like that."
Harper's eyes widened in fright, "I'm not really going to die am I Trancie? I'm too young and intelligent and hot to die! And what about my life's mission, huh? I still have to get Rommie to agree to—"
"Harper you are not going to die...and Rommie would never do that with you anyways," Trance said absentmindedly.
"That's encouraging..." Harper grumbled and then yelped in pain when Trance touched his nose.
Trance frowned, "I think it's broken," she said.
"Great," said Harper, trying not to cry, "Damn Nietzschean..."
Trance gave him a truly sympathetic look and then started dabbing his nose gently with some tissue paper.
"He didn't have to punch me so hard," Harper pouted.
"What did you say to him?" asked Trance, getting some bandages out from a cupboard.
"What do you mean 'what did I say to him'?" he replied defensively, "I just went to see if he was alright and then he jammed his knuckles into my face!"
"Harper," Trance sat next to him again, "You and I both know that Telemachus would not simply punch you for no reason."
"That's debatable."
"What did you say to him?"
Harper simply mumbled something to himself and crossed his arms against his chest, "Why are you interrogating me? Can't you see I'm in pain?"
"That's very obvious Harper, however you do know that if you scrunch up your face like that you're only going to further dislocate the bones in your nose," she informed him.
"Mrmmph..." Harper half-groaned, half-whined.
Trance sighed and wiped away a small stream of blood that was trickling down his face.
"Where's Telemachus gone now?" she asked some time later after she finished bandaging his nose.
"Like Hell if I know...he's probably off sulking in the Maru," Harper growled, but it didn't come out right, and Trance had to hide a smile, "I suppose you find my pain amusing."
"Oh not at all Harper...it's just..." she giggled slightly.
He looked like a child who'd just had his tonsils out and was whining that his leg was broken as well.
"I'll go see if I can find him," Trance added and kissed him on the cheek, "Try to get some rest."
"Yeah..." Harper looked even more cross, "And when you do find him, tell that self-absorbed moron that I might accidentally activate Andromeda's internal defense system all over his genetically enhanced, Nietzschean ass!"
Trance laughed quietly.
Because on days like these, you had to.
Harper had been right, it had taken Trance less than ten minutes to find Telemachus Rhade sitting in Beka's piloting chair in the Eureka Maru.
"Hi," said the golden goddess, sitting down next to him.
Rhade nodded in greeting without even looking at her.
"You know..." Trance smiled to herself, "Harper can be a bit of a pain when he's...in pain."
"I think he's just a pain in general."
Trance's smile faded a bit and she peered closely at Rhade. His rough features were softened in the gentle light and made him look a bit more appealing. Trance looked away again, and sat there for a long time in a lingering silence.
She thought about the events of the past few days and suddenly a desperate question popped into her head.
"Do you like Beka?" she blurted out, her eyes bugging wide.
That woke him up.
"Excuse me?" Rhade answered as though he could not believe her ears.
"Uh..." Trance stared up at him, unsure of what do say.
Rhade took his eyes from hers and stared out into space again with a blank expression on his face. Trance stared down at the Maru's flooring, her thoughts wandering off to Beka, Dylan, Rommie and Harper.
"Maybe."
Trance's eyes darted upwards to see Rhade still looking into a glass window. Had he actually answered? Was that his voice she'd just heard? Trance wasn't sure, but she knew that if he had replied to her question, then it was a start.
"Did you say something Telemachus?" Trance asked in the quietest voice possible.
"I said maybe."
He stood up suddenly and left Trance to herself, wondering if he'd growled or sighed.
Trance shook her head.
Oh yes indeed. Telemachus Rhade was in love with Beka Valentine.
Dylan Hunt awoke on Med Deck. Alert, confused and a little shocked. He pulled himself out of bed groggily and then sat down again when everything began to spin around him.
"Andromeda?" he called out.
"Yes Captain?"
Dylan jumped a little when Rommie bounded into the room.
"Uh..." Dylan stared at the excited avatar strangely, "Rommie?"
"Yes?" she smiled, a little too brightly than he expected—or was prepared for.
"Um..."
"Boss! You're awake!" Harper said, appearing behind Rommie.
"Harper what happened to your nose?" was the only thing Dylan found suitable to ask.
"Oh, Rhade punched me," Harper pouted, remembering the incident.
"Are you okay Dylan?" Rommie tilted her head.
"Did you hear what I just said? Rhade broke my nose!" Harper exclaimed to Rommie, who seemingly ignored him.
"Uh..." the Captain's voice was lost to him again.
"What's going on...?" Beka's voice sounded.
Rommie groaned inwardly when she heard Beka's voice.
"Hi Beka."
Harper, Rommie and Beka stared at Dylan in utter disbelief.
"That's it?" asked Harper, "Just, 'Hi Beka'?"
"Am I missing something?" Dylan asked, completely bewildered.
No one answered him, instead, Beka stepped past Rommie and Harper and went near Dylan.
"Can you see me?" she asked slowly, spacing her words.
"Um...yes," Dylan quirked an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?" Harper pried.
"Um...yes."
"Positive?" asked Rommie, even she was wondering why he had not pounced on Beka minutes ago, though she couldn't say that she was upset about that.
"Allright, what's wrong with all of you?" Dylan raised his voice out of frustration.
The silence that encased the room seemed to last for an eternity.
"What's wrong with us?" Harper cried finally, "For the past two days you have been all mooney-eyed over Beka! You practically proposed to her in Command in front of all of us, you made out with her for hours in this very infirmary, you've sent Rhade into a mad-protective state and Rommie...well I'm not brave enough to talk about that..."
Another silence. Dylan turned to Beka and gaped at her, he was unable to take it all in at once.
"Y-you don't remember?" Beka looked down and Dylan could have sworn she blushed.
"No..." Dylan replied awkwardly.
"Oh...okay..." Beka stood up and walked out of the room stiffly.
Harper began to wonder if Dylan's feelings in his crazed state were really as unrequited as he thought.
He hoped they had been, otherwise things were about to get complicated. Again.
Beka walked up and down the Andromeda's corridors with posture that could have impressed theTriumvirate, it was like she had a long metal rod stuck up her back.
"Hi Beka," came a slightly roguish voice.
And the rod melted away slightly.
"Rhade," she nodded at him.
He noticed her distant look, his Nietzschean senses picked up her discomfort and slight misery.
"Are you all right Beka?" he asked, and held back from reaching out for her for fear that she'd push him away.
"Yeah...I'm..." she heaved a sigh, "Dylan's back to normal."
"Back to normal? You mean...does he..."
"No," Beka shook her head, her blonde hair falling into her face, "He doesn't remember anything."
At seeing her sadness, Rhade felt compelled to slay Dylan once more. Either that, or he'd sweep Beka off her feet.
And after much thought, he decided that neither one would turn out for the best.
A/N: Hmm...I don't like this one either. Certain parts were okay, I liked the first bit, with Trance and Harper, but that's about it. To be honest...I'm really not sure what to write next. So it seems Dylan has come out of his obsessive, Beka-crazed state. Should I put him back into it? Or should I just go straight to the aftermath? You guys decide. Oh and by the way...I'm debating on whether I not I should add in more pairings. This will be a Rhade/Beka story in the end, as promised at the beginning of the fic, sorry if you wanted it to turn out as Dylan/Beka. So...tell me, Dylan/Rommie or Harper/Trance as a secondary pairing. I really don't want have to do both...it would seem a bit Too much to have everyone paired up, don't you think? I'm leaning towards Dylan/Rommie, but only because I like the Harper/Trance friendship idea. I don't know. Please feel free to suggest things, I really want to please people with this. I could always make Dylan go insane again...if I did, the story might be longer though.
Help me. Other wise I'll...well, screw this whole thing up royally. Like I did with Rhade's most wonderful character personality. Yes I know, I really think I've completely destroyed Rhade...and maybe even Rommie a little. I apologize. All right, before you go and mourn the loss of Rhade in all his sexy, Nietzschean glory (because I've killed him with this chapter). Please review. Even if it's just a few words.
Meep.