AN: Another chapter! We tied the knot last month, and it feels great! I'm so happy to have the time to write again, and I sincerely hope I have a few readers left. This story is part of a series, if anyone is interested. Acquaintanceship Through the Forest, and Solace are all completed (Through the Forest might be taken down for editing soon though!) and up for your reading pleasure.
As always, enjoy! (And review, if you feel like it.)
Delbert isn't usually one to indulge in nightcaps, but he thinks tonight he could make an exception. The cactus whiskey would help him sleep tonight and hopefully bypass the jitters he would more than likely experience that night. Besides, he hasn't had a drop in ages. It would do him good, he thinks.
The bottle has a thick patina of dust on it, a byproduct of sitting on the shelf for a while. The pads of his fingers interrupts the mosaic of dust and he slowly uncorks the bottle. Instantly he can tell that the alcohol has matured further since he had last partook. The flavors, the smells were different.
It smelled of anticipation, and late night coalescing into early mornings. The symphony of flavor crashed like an amber tidal wave into the clear tumbler that he had placed on his desk and little bubbles lingered on the surface. The whiskey is capped and Delbert sits down at his desk, peering into the glass that he had poured for himself before remembering it's exact purpose.
Delbert needed sleep. It had been far too long since he had been able to snag an entire night uninterrupted. The mansion had started settling in the evening after everyone had gone to bed. Strange noises, the howling of the wind, and even sometimes the sound of his own breathing would keep him awake.
The lead crystal tumbler feels etherial in his hands. Smooth glass is unmarred by chips or cracks, and the liquid inside has begun to settle on the bottom ridges of the glass. The whiskey leaves a trail of fire down his throat and he sets the glass down, sitting back in his chair as the alcohol begins to take effect.
Delbert isn't known far and wide for his ability to make quick decisions. So how did this come about seemingly overnight? It had been the culmination of many months of late evenings on the opposite side of her desk, and many more mornings waking up and not having to worry about being late anywhere. It had taken some time to re adjust to civilian life. He would like to think he was getting the hang of things when he had finally disembarked from the Legacy on his way home. He had finally adjusted to early nights, and much earlier mornings and Amelia was starting to look much less upset when he came in the door, juggling star charts and books.
Realizing that his brain has now wandered far off the original point of thought, he backtracks.
Extenuating circumstances had forced them together, and Delbert had screwed it up horribly.
Amidst a throng of people bustling to the correct dock laden with packages, and cases they had said their goodbyes. Amelia had been taken in the arms of a pair of paramedics who were fighting to get her into an ambulatory vehicle and Delbert needed to catch up with Jim.
"Well now, it seems our adventure together has come to an end." Delbert walks down the gangplank with Amelia beside him. The feline's eyes are roaming around a full port and he watches them narrow in irritation when it spies flashing lights and medical personnel.
"It would seem so, Doctor. There is plenty of paperwork to be done, I expect to have copies sent to you by the end of the week."
"Ah, yes of course" Delbert pushes his glasses up on his nose and when he refocuses his eyes he finds a throng of cameras and reporters have seemingly come from nowhere and are now gagging the point of entry into the port.
"Captain Amelia, care to share where you went this time?"
"Captain, care to comment on the lack of a crew?"
"Is it true you went after treasure?"
"Doctor Doppler, are you looking to publish another paper soon?"
Camera flashes and shouted questions bombard them and Delbert throws an arm around her middle and poses for a photo before ushering her past the press and beyond the security officers now flanking the area.
"Why the hell would you ingratiate them like that?" The reprimand comes through gritted teeth and he knows she is agitated by all the flashing lights and microphones in her face.
"Better to let them have one good picture, rather than a bunch of bad ones. Learned that one the hard way."
"Captain Amelia," The paramedics had found them and placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her towards the ambulatory vehicle parked a few feet away. "Captain, we need to get you into surgery."
"Nonsense, I have orders to carry out." Amelia wrenched her arm away from the EMT and turned back to the Doctor. "If you will excuse me, I have a mountain of paperwork to sift through, and it won't get done by itself."
"Ma'am, your first mate really should be taking care of that. We need to take care of you." The paramedics were insistent in their duty and although Amelia had respect for that, she certainly didn't have time to go under the knife.
"Damnit, my first mate is dead. Shove off!" Even in her weakened state, the glares that she sent the paramedics were icy enough to keep them at bay a little longer.
"Captain, go. I will take care of things here. You need to go with them." He touches her hand briefly and smiles. "You can trust me."
The paramedics behind her cleared their throats and ushered her towards the ambulance.
He watched it drive away briefly before turning to the Legacy again. The pirates were being de-boarded , each of them cuffed and in a line guarded closely by no fewer than four officers.
"Where is the Captain and her first mate?" A few officers were on the deck speaking with Jim and he pointed his finger at the doctor who was now making his way back up the gangplank.
"I'm the financier, as well as the navigator. How can I help you?"
"Doctor Doppler, where is the Captain? Our orders dictate that we speak with her."
"As she is currently incapacitated, you will have to conduct your business with me."
"Incapacitated?"
"You just escorted no less than six pirates off this ship, what do you think incapacitated means?" His attitude came on suddenly, and completely unexpectedly. He supposes it is a byproduct of spending so much time with her, but it cannot be helped. He hasn't eaten or slept and his patience had reached it's end.
"Hey buddy. If you want to get rough, we are going to have to have this conversation somewhere else."
Delbert takes a moment, breathing deeply before starting again. "The crew mutinied. The Captain was injured during our escape and is being taken to the hospital."
The two officers on the deck then hand the canid a large sheaf of papers with a sealed envelope addressed to the Captain. "Seeing as that makes you the ranking officer, sign this top sheet saying we gave you the necessary forms. It will then be up to you to ensure they are completed either by yourself, or by the Captain." With that, they stride off the deck and disappear into the churning throng of people.
Looking at the stack in his hands, he huffs slightly at having to be the messenger boy. He has a doctorate, why is he doing the running around?
He supposes he should thank them, this now gives him the excuse to visit her at the hospital.
Amelia woke up in a haze that evening. A pattering came through a long tunnel, accompanied by various beeping machines and a lingering stench of antiseptic. Her tongue sticks to the top of her mouth when she opens it to speak, and the taste is an odd after effect from the pain killers.
"Ah, Captain Smollet, you're awake. Good. We have a few questions for you." A penlight is flashed into her eyes and she tries to lift her hand to swat the offending object away. For her efforts, she is rewarded with a twitch of her wrist and nothing more.
"Now, Captain Smollet, we had to give you a sedative. Do you remember what happened?"
Amelia vaguely remembers verbally abusing the admitting physician and possibly clawing a few nurses; but it comes to her through a thick fog.
The doctor answers her with a knowing smile. "It will be difficult for you to remember now. But when the sedative wears off fully, you will regain your memory."
Amelia nods and the doctor continues.
"You broke four ribs, and fractured your collar bone in your latest stunt. Is it at least a good story?" The doctor peers over his clip board briefly and a memory from a past injury flickers across her mind.
Amelia chuckles in amusement. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Well then, you have a visitor, and he seems quite anxious to see you. Would you like me to send him in?"
Amelia licks her lips. There is only one him now, and she knows who exactly is sitting in the waiting room. "Yes. Today, if possible." The last bit is said with her usual icy tone and she can tell the doctor doesn't know what to make of it.
The doctor sweeps out of the room, his white coat billowing behind him. The door hangs on it's fringes, not shutting completely. More likely the product of a lazy construction team, she muses. Looking around the room, spartan furnishings greet her bleary eye and it isn't until she looks away from the ugly abstract art across from her that she realizes someone has entered the room.
"Captain," Delbert clears his throat to gain her attention before sitting in the chair beside her bed. A leather satchel is dropped by his feet and she picks up on his nervousness.
"Doctor, is there something you need?"
"Yes, ahh. The port authority handed some documents off to me to give to you. It's just the passenger manifest sheet and a few insurance claims forms. I really don't know what to do with them to be honest. This is the first time I've done anything like this." Delbert pulls out the envelope addressed to her and places it on her bedside table. "They also handed me that. It's addressed to you, so I didn't open it."
Amelia chuckles and sits up slowly in bed. "To be honest, I don't have a single clue about those either. Arrow took care of all of them." Amelia grabs the envelope and breaks the wax seal with a manicured claw, unsheathing the documents inside.
Delbert watches her eyes flick over the print on the bohemian stationary before she sets it aside, her good hand reaching up to massage the bridge of her nose.
"Blasted troglodytes. I've half the mind to march up there myself and give them the dressing down they deserve."
"Not good news?" Delbert furrows his brows and watches for a reaction from her.
"Not hardly. Those idiots at the judiciary office are trying to pull me in for jury duty." Amelia folds the paper back into the envelope and lays it on the table beside her.
"They knew you were off planet, why would your name even come up in the system?"
Amelia growls, gritting her teeth. "I haven't the faintest idea, Doctor."
The white coat clad doctor pokes his head in the door, motioning to his watch. "Couple more minutes, then I'm gonna need to kick you out."
Delbert smiles and stands up, patting Amelia's hand. "He's right, you need to sleep."
"Look who's talking. When was the last time you slept?" Amelia's snarking tone didn't fly over his head and he rubs the back of his head.
"I know, I know. I'll be by tomorrow afternoon, and maybe if you are feeling up to it we can muddle our way through all this paperwork." Delbert bent down to pick up his bag and when he straightened up, Amelia was fast asleep, slouching in her upright position. Very carefully leaning her back into her pillows, he prayed she didn't wake up and tear him a new one.
Against his better judgment, he leaned down and pressed a small kiss on her temple. She wouldn't feel it, and he would never have to tell her that he had done it.
Delbert had kept his word and returned the next day, and the day after that. But after the funeral, things for the doctor had picked up a great deal. It happened on a warm afternoon that a call came in for him to lecture at the astronomy hall. Delbert accepted in a heartbeat, and just like that his life was back to the way it was before. His students loved having him back, and the faculty was curious about what had happened to him to make him disappear like he had.
He wonders after a few weeks if he should send a letter off to the Captain, but he knows that she would probably be busy and not get back to him. So he sets aside his quill and ink and moves onto the physics paper he had been working on.
Looking back on it, Delbert cannot believe how stupid he was not to visit her after the funeral. He honestly hadn't meant to disregard her like he had, and he thanks the stars that he's been given a second chance with her.
Standing up from his chair, he stretches until his shoulders pop and he extinguishes the lights in his den. The alcohol seems to have done it's job by the time he gets up the stairs and he crashes into his bed after setting the alarm clock for an ungodly hour in the morning.
Sleep comes quickly for what may be the first time in his life.
