After retiring back to their rented apartment, all four men headed to bed. Wes tossed and turned for several hours, not because of Hobbie's persistent snoring, but because of Myri. He had been describing her to Tycho earlier and it made him wonder about why he couldn't seem to shake the image of her from the previous night. It was like she wasn't even a sentient being, something borne of the stars and the planets. He felt a calming warmth when he thought of her, which send his mind into a flutter that he had never felt before. Women didn't make Wes Janson fall, it was simple psychology. Still, the tingle she had left in the back of his mind was absolutely undeniable.
He was left with only one choice, pulling himself out of bed and dressing to take another walk on the beach by himself. The bright stars lit the sand with a soft white glow, making a dark lump extremely visible against it. As he got closer, the shape became the form of a human lying nearly face down in the dark sand. Wes military instincts kicked in and he moved quietly to the person, "Are you all right?"
He kneeled when he got no response. Very gently he rolled the figure over and into his arms, becoming panic-stricken when he recognized the oddly calm features of the girl he had been losing sleep over.
"Myri," he murmured nervously, giving her a soft shake. As he leaned down to listen for breath, Wes noticed that the skin above her upper lip glittered in the moonlight. He brushed his fingers over it and brought them to his mouth, and sighed loudly as the grin realization of what the bitter tasting powder was. Of course she took glitterstim; any female in her line of work probably did. That though had never crossed his mind about her though, being Wedge's daughter.
Then he remembered that she had developed an alcohol dependency by the age of 15. A memory hit him of one night that he had stayed at the Antilles' She had been brought him, ranting like a lunatic, probably having imbibed more alcohol than he ever could. She had shattered a table that night, with her bare hands.
"Oh Myri," he said, pulling her to his chest and wrapping his arms tightly around her. He lifted her from the sand, suddenly realizing that bringing her back to the apartment would do nothing but make the situation work between father and daughter. He also knew that he couldn't just leave her on the sand in hopes that she'd wake up in the morning and find her way back to the ship. He was just going to have to take her back to the apartment and have her out before anyone else woke in the morning.
Wes quickly padded down the hallway of the apartment after coming back from the beach. Cradling Myri in his arms, he tiptoed past the bedrooms where Hobbie, Wedge, and Tycho were sleeping. He brought Wedge's unconscious daughter into the living room and lay her down on one of the plush sofas. Wes shook her gently, whispering her name a few times until she began to stir.
"Hey," he said, a slight frown on his face as she struggled to focus on him. When she became slightly closer to consciousness and recognized him, she sho0t into a sitting position.
"Where am I? How did you get me here?" she demanded, drawing back sharply from him.
Wes was momentarily taken aback, but very quickly frustration took over, "I found you unconscious on the beach and I carried you back here. You tell me how you ended up there."
Myri shoved him back, hard, "Who the kriff do you think you are-"
Wes grabbed her wrists tightly and spoke forcefully, "Why are taking glitterstim?"
She raged in his grasp, but he wasn't letting go. She began to trail off in a smattering of stim induced angry ranting that broke Wes' hear more than infuriated him. Suddenly he cut her off mid-rant, pushing her back into the couch and covering her mouth with his hands. Myri beat her fists against him as hard as she could, but he only pushed his body against hers harder until she tiredly gave up.
"I've seen people die from this, Myri. I've seen peoples bodies just cease to exist. I've seen girls just like you, dead in alleyways, and if they weren't, they were being raped. You're young and beautiful. It can help you or it can kill you. I won't let it kill you."
Wes was so wrapped up in his words that he hadn't felt his face become heatedly red and his voice become chocked and his eyes filled with tears. His hands fell way form Myri's face and her mouth and eyes were wide in shock. Seconds felt like hours as they stared at one another. Myri moved first, pushing Wes' trembling form back against he cushions and crushing her lips to his. Wes was quick to reciprocate, holding hr face in his hand as he drank in her kiss.
On the other side of the couch, a voice said, "Son of the Sith!"
Myri sat up, her legs straddled over Wes' body. He pushed himself up as far as he could and his heart dropped into his stomach. Hobbie was standing at the end of the hallway, clad only in his underuni, rubbing his tired eyes.
"This isn't what you think," Myri said, getting up from the couch.
"If this isn't what I think, then it is one twisted nightmare."
Wes shot Hobbie a hard look before moving off of the couch, "Myri, wait, I can explain all this…"
"No, I shouldn't be here. You should have left me," Myri told him before shoving past Hobbie and fleeing down the hall and out of the apartment.
"What in blazes is going on out there?" the two men heard Wedge bellow.
"I just caught Wes sleepwalking, no worries, go back to bed, I'm sorry," Hobbie said rushedly. The two men waiting for a response, and when they got none, Wes started for the door.
"Where are you going?" Hobbie whispered.
"I'm not going to let her walk out there alone, she-" he couldn't continue. Not without knowing that Wedge wouldn't find out, "Can I trust you?"
For a few moments, Wes was concerned that he had insulted his own friend. Hobbie realized quickly that he was confiding in him because it was something that put Wedge in some sort of danger, as well as Myri.
"As always," Hobbie responded, dropping on to the couch.
Wes shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor. He sighed and set himself up to shock Hobbie, as he often did, "I did end up finding Myri last night. I was trying to get her to let her guard down, and I sort of got distracted."
His mind was reeling from the force of her kiss and denial on moments later. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued, "Myri and I ended up spending the night together-"
"You're as good as dead."
"Only if you tell Wedge, which you won't , because unlike myself you value your life. She's been acting unusual since I left yesterday morning, like she's hiding something. I, on the other hand, am fully ready to admit that after 47 years, someone is finally starting to get to me."
"You're falling for Wedge's daughter. It's poetic, but more along the lines of a tragedy. Certainly understandable, too. She's flawless."
"Not so much. Wedge sent her away for a reason. She's an addict with no reason not to abuse. At 15, she was alcohol dependant. I found her unconscious on the beach, and she had definitely taken stim."
Hobbie leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. He covered his face with his hands for a moment, letting all the information sink in.
"Judging from her reaction, I don't think she's going to talk to well to you going after her."
"I can't just leave her, Hobs…"
Hobbie looked up at him and they stared at one another until he sighed and said, "Let me go after her, I'll make sure she gets back to the Diamond safely."
He stood and Wes clapped him on the shoulder, "Thank you. Take care of her for me."