Chapter 10: Liberation
Enjoying the morning air, he takes several deep breaths and slowly exhales. The heat vapors drift slowly away from his mouth and disappear. It has been a little over a year since he and Shayera moved from his apartment to the mountains. At first it was a major adjustment; the lack of buildings, the clean air, the isolation. However, when Shayera became pregnant, their new home and its surroundings were exactly what the doctor ordered; peace and quiet. Living in the mountains forced them to slow down and it allowed them to truly reconnect. Even their love-making had improved, he remembers with a slight smile.
They decided to remain on Earth for their honeymoon. Their first night as Mr. and Mrs. Stewart was spent at the log cabin they now call home. "Mr. and Mrs. Stewart" he says to himself, grinning. He then laughs aloud remembering how Wally thought it funny to call him "Mr. Hol" at the wedding reception during his toast. "Smartass".
Thinking back to their wedding day he remembers the feeling of tremendous liberation when they finally drove, not flew, to the cabin for the first time as a married couple. Yes, he had been here before. This was, after all, Shayera's place. He thinks it strange now, but didn't then, that they had never made love here prior to their wedding night. Sure, they had made love several times at his old apartment and even in the Watchtower, but never here; never at her place, never at her sanctuary, never at her fortress.
A traditionalist, he carried her over the threshold with her wings hanging daintily around his arms.
"I'm home Mama" he said.
"I know Forrest" she replied.
And then they both laughed. It was a routine they never got tired of doing. Forrest Gump was one of the first movies they had seen together and it was easily one of their favorites.
Once inside, he put her down, but continued to embrace her. The back of her head rested against his chest. They both took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Can you believe it Mrs. Stewart?" he asked softly, his arms wrapped around her waist.
"Mrs. Stewart. Mmm" she said shaking her head. "No, I still can't believe it". She turned to face him. "So what do we do now Mr. Stewart?" she asked with a devilish grin.
"Well, I'm gonna go get the bags out of the car" he replied playfully, pointing to the vehicle outside.
She put her hands on her hips. "If you go out to that car, you're gonna be sleeping in it".
He winked and drew her closer to him. "So you wanna go in the bedroom?" he asked slightly smiling.
She slowly shook her head. "No" she said authoritatively, kicking her shoes off.
"Here?"
"Here" she replied, removing her blouse in one smooth motion.
"Uhm, how'd you do that?"
"Practice. I've been waiting for this day for a long, long, long time" she said, unzipping her pants and wriggling out one leg. "So you gonna continue with the 20 questions or get naked?"
"Hmm, let me think" he stated putting his right hand on his chin. "What are my options again?"
"John!" she yelled, throwing her blouse at him.
"Okay! Okay! Naked is, as naked does" he said, removing his shirt and laughing.
As they continued to disrobe, their eyes locked. They began to smile as their state of undress turned into a contest of who could get out of their clothes the fastest. In the process of taking off one of his socks, however, John lost his balance and with his arms flailing, fell to the floor. He hit butt first. She stood over him, victorious in her nakedness. She covered her mouth trying desperately not to laugh. Here they were just moments from being in the throes of passion and her husband crashes to the floor ala the Three Stooges. Unable to hold back, she laughed aloud bending over and placing her hands on her knees. He reached up and grabbed her arm, pulling her down to the floor with him.
"Whoa!" she said, still laughing.
"Gotcha!"
They began to laugh, but it was not driven by their respective falls. Their laughter was one of joy; one of release; one of liberation. After all of the secrets, all of the betrayals, all of the tragedy, all of the indecision, they were finally free. They were together.
Once the laughter had subsided, he remained on his back and she lay across him. Her head rested on his chest. He gently caressed her hair while she listened to his heartbeat. His breathing was slow, deep and rhythmic. Each time he inhaled and exhaled, her head would move up and down. They remained on the floor in their nakedness for several minutes. Their eyes remained closed, as they enjoyed the collective warmth of their bodies. As a Thanagarian, her body temperature had always been higher than his and in the early days of their relationship he had nicknamed her 'the furnace'. On this day the furnace felt especially warm and comforting.
She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Mmm" she quietly murmured, placing her right arm on his chest. She rubbed her hand across his left nipple and suddenly stopped.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked softly, his eyes still remaining closed.
"Nothing. And it feels great".
"Mmm. You're right. It does".
She stared at her hand as it lay on his smooth, but muscular chest and began to reflect on their contrasting skin colors.
"John?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you think our children are going to look like?"
He opened his eyes and sat up. He wasn't prepared for her question, but he knew the answer. He had already met their child, but she didn't know that. He could describe Rex in vivid detail; his skin color, hair color, eye color, and physique, but he chose not to. He could have given her information that every future mother would want to know. Yet, he took what he thought would be the path of least resistance. He thought wrong, but lied anyway.
"I don't know".
In the seconds it took to say those three simple words, he had wiped out the feeling of freedom it had taken them years to earn.
Thinking back to the past caused a frown to form in the present. He was leaning on the balcony rail when she stepped out of the bedroom door. Although she was walking toward him, he did not hear her approaching.
"Hey" she said softly, standing next to him and putting her left arm around his waist.
He turned and smiled. "Hey yourself".
She had finished showering and was dressed in blue jeans, a grey turtleneck sweater and hiking boots. Her bright red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she smelled wonderful. She was clean. She was pure. She was perfect. Her wings hadn't dried yet so she lightly flapped them.
"Here" she said handing him a cup of tea with her right hand. The cold mountain air revealed the beverage's warmth as the heat vapors slowly emanated from the cup.
"Thanks" he replied reaching out, covering her hand with his as he took the cup and saucer.
"Careful. It's hot" she warned.
He took a small sip. "Mmm. Earl Grey. My favorite."
"I know. It's Captain Picard's favorite too" she said smiling and raising an eyebrow. "Coincidence?"
"Man's got good taste" he said trying not to smile. She had found his fan fics awhile back and ever so often, like now, enjoyed playfully teasing him about it. He took another sip, turned and resumed leaning on the rail. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"
"Yeah it is" she replied softly, joining him on the rail and rubbing her stomach. She started to speak, "Listen, John", but he interrupted her.
"They're beautiful. Are you doing that?" he asked, looking overhead into the open sky.
She looked up and spotted two hawks flying low, slow and in a circle. "Sorry, I can't take credit for that" she answered. "Although…they are asking me what I'm doing standing next to a guy in a flannel jacket" she said, slightly tugging on his sleeve at the elbow.
He smiled and tried to defend himself. "Hey, it's all I had. I don't want to drain my ring trying to stay warm around here".
She started to giggle. "They say you look like a poor man's Grizzley Adams" she said, now openly laughing.
"Oh, nice" he said, taking another sip. "I'm getting fashion advice from a bunch of birds. What is this, queer hawkeye for the black guy?"
His joke made her laugh. After her laughter subsided she began to gently rub the small of his back with her left hand. She then let out a deep sigh. "John, listen. I'm sorry if I opened up any old wounds earlier. I didn't mean to bring back any painful memories for you".
He was listening, but not looking at her. His gaze remained forward as he took another sip of the warm tea. "Don't ever do that" he said softly.
"I know, I know, it was thoughtless…" she responded.
"No, Shayera" he said, turning to face her. "Don't ever apologize to me".
She frowned. "I don't understand".
He sighed and placed the cup of tea on the balcony's rail. He took her hands in his, closed his eyes and lowered his head. "You…you are my angel. You brought me back from the brink Shayera". He opened his eyes again and continued. "I owe you everything. If anyone should be apologizing it's me".
She looked into her husband's eyes, but could not read him. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Let's take a walk" he said, motioning with his head and smiling.
"Where are we going?"
"Through time".