Chapter 2: Resuscitated

Carol jumped out of bed ready to fight. The phantom in her sleep still lingered just beyond her field of vision. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying her best to remove him from her mind. Removing him from her mind was the easy part, but not so much from her heart. She rested her head in her hands and draped her legs over the edge of the bed.

How could he betray her like this? All the years of working close together, saving each other's lives, fighting for the good of all Kree… It was all a lie. Carol fought back the tightness in her chest as her mind settled on one of the last memories that she had of him before her entire life changed. It started out very much like this, with a nightmare. She knew she could always go to him regardless of the time. Day or night. That night in particular, she really needed him to stabilize her.

When he opened the door and looked at her, she knew right away that he could tell how much she needed him. There were so many words that went unspoken because to Yon-Rogg, showing emotion meant weakness, even if it was love.

There was a light knock on the door. Carol groaned inside, not wanting to deal with the C-53 syndrome this early in the morning.

"Yeah?" She called out.

The doorknob turned and the door slowly opened. Carol knew it was Maria before she appeared. She took a deep breath and steadied herself for whatever Maria was about to confront her with. To her surprise, Maria appeared from behind the door carrying a tray of food. She approached her cautiously, because surely Carol's face revealed her frustration.

"Breakfast?" Maria asked.

Carol frowned and glanced down at the tray. Steam rose from it, filling her nostrils with wonderful smells that she'd long forgotten.

"What is that?"

"Take a look," Maria said placing the tray down on the chest dresser by the window.

Carol grabbed her shirt and slipped it on. "It smells really good," she said as she came to Maria's side. She gazed at the plate of flat round bread, with strips of some type of fried meat, and a cup of black liquid. The liquid looked suspicious, but smelled like pure energy.

Carol looked up and saw Maria smiling at her. "Go ahead."

Carol took a bite of the flat round bread and was amazed at how sweet it was. Her taste buds seemed to sing with excitement while she chewed the morsels of food. She took a piece of the fried meat and popped it into her mouth. The combination of the sweet bread and the savory crunchy meat almost made her head spin.

"What the heck is this?"

Maria laughed out loud and handed Carol the cup of coffee. "Wash it down."

Carol took a sip of the coffee and almost instantly lost her mind with the menage trois of flavor.

"Damn, that's amazing!"

Maria laughed again and watched Carol devour what used to be, and apparently still is, her favorite meal for breakfast. Carol didn't say a word to Maria and Maria didn't speak to her. The silence was enough and it was comfortable. Carol occasionally glanced up at Maria only to be greeted with a gentle smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Carol knew what that kind of smile meant. In her past studies, she'd learned that a smile that didn't reach the eyes, especially in a humanoid species, meant that even though the face presented as happy, the heart wasn't. Carol studied Maria's face for a moment, searching for familiarity in this woman who'd been her closest friend. Surely, there was something still there in the recesses in her mind.

Why couldn't she remember her? Why could she remember little bits about Monica, but nothing about Maria has opened up yet? Maria seeming to have known what Carol was thinking, nodded slowly and started cleaning up the tray.

"Thanks for the breakfast. What do you call it?"

Maria kept silent until she'd cleaned up the entire tray. "Pancakes, bacon, and coffee. It's your favorite breakfast."

"Wow, it was amazing. Did you cook it?"

Maria rolled her eyes. "Who else is gonna cook that, Carol?"

"I mean…" Carol shrugged and winked at her. "The kid's pretty smart. I wouldn't put it past her."

"Yeah, she's smart, but not ready to cook just yet."

Carol stretched and looked out the window. "Where is she anyway?"

"She's still sleeping. You coming back yesterday was very emotional for her."

Carol understood. Ever since she landed on C-53, it's been nothing but an emotional rollercoaster ride. And in just a few hours more, she was going to launch into space in search for Pegasus. She knew deep down that she was going to see Yon again. The thought of it left her feeling a deep feeling of sickness in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't place the feeling, but it was bad. She knew if she did see him again, she was going to have to kill him.

"Where's your head at?" Maria's voice cut through the fog in her mind.

She turned and looked at Maria whose face exhibited for the first time since they'd been reunited, a familiar expression. One that when she saw it, she immediately felt a kinship with the woman staring back at her.

"You tell me," Carol responded.

"I know this has to be hard for you, but it's going to be okay."

"Do I live here?"

"What?"

Carol waved her hand around the room. "Here? In this house. With you and your daughter? Do I live here?"

Maria shook her head slowly. "No."

"Then why is this place so familiar? And why," Carol said looking out the window. "Why does the way the sun rays shine through those trees over there feel so familiar to me?"

"Carol."

"Why do you, although my mind says I don't remember you, feel so familiar in my heart. Why do you and Monica feel like my family? And speaking of family, where is my family anyway?

"Carol," Maria said approaching her carefully. "Eventually your memories will return. You said so yourself. So why don't you just relax and focus on what needs to be done."

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"Finding Pegasus."

Carol scoffed and turned her back to Maria. "How can I find Pegasus when I can't even find myself."

"You will. I have absolute faith in you."

The way Maria voiced her belief in Carol made her heart turn over in her chest. Suddenly a surge of cursed C-53 emotions shot through her system and merged with the power that was already coursing through her veins. The mixture of the two made Carol feel invincible and weak all at the same time. Her knees gave out and she stumbled backwards.

But Maria caught her before she could hit the floor. "Whoa, what's going on?" Maria asked while guiding her over to the edge of the bed.

Carol sat quietly, calculating each thought, each breath, and each movement. Something was happening to her. The low hum that she'd grown accustomed to hearing each time she closed her eyes, was now accompanied by a steady soft beat.

"Do you hear that?" She asked Maria.

"Hear what?" Maria touched Carol on the hand and a small flame ignited under her fingertips. She drew back her hand quickly. "Holy crap!" she said jumping off the bed.

Carol looked at the place where Maria's hand had been and saw the outline of her prints just briefly before they disappeared into her skin. She glanced up Maria who was standing by the door horrified. She motioned for her to return and sit beside her. Reluctantly, Maria came back and sat down.

"Do you trust me?" Carol asked.

"Nope. Not at all."

She laughed and held her hand up, inviting Maria to press her palm against hers.

"I don't think so. Are you crazy? I saw what those fire hands can do."

"I can control it. Let me show you."

Maria stared long and hard before she finally gave in to the curiosity. When she placed her palm just inches away from Carol's, blue and white flames reached out like tiny fingers slowly making their way to connect with Maria. Maria started to pull away.

"Trust me," she said.

Maria inhaled deeply and nodded. "If you burn me, I swear I'm kicking you out of here."

Carol chuckled and nodded towards their hands. "We're best friends, right?"

"Used to be."

Carol nodded and pressed her hand closer. She pulled Maria closer and their hands ignited into a ball of brilliant blues, oranges, and whites. Maria gasps and tried to detach, surely fearing that her hand was going to be consumed by fire, but Carol held onto her, not letting her get away.

"Carol, this is freaking me out!"

"I can control it. I promise. Calm down."

After a minute or two, Maria finally calmed down. And when she did, something amazing happened. The orb of fire that surrounded their hands grew in size, but it was contained in the space between them.

"This is so crazy!" Maria said with a laugh. "How am I not getting burned?"

"If you become a part of me, then you won't get burned."

"It's weird, I can feel this radiating through me. Wow"

Carol's smile faded from her face, and she suddenly extinguished the flame; leaving them basking in the wake of the moment.

"Why did you turn it off? I was just getting used to it."

Carol couldn't tell her why she turned it off. She couldn't even explain it to herself. But there was an overwhelming sense of dread that came over her at that moment. And it suddenly felt wrong to share her power with Maria. And as she gazed into Maria's confused eyes, another set of emotions settled upon her heart. Sadness.

"I... I just didn't want to overwhelm you."

"I was good! Do it again. It felt awesome." Maria's excitement made her smile. But this time, it was Carol's smile that didn't reach her eyes. "What's wrong, Carol?"

"Nothing," she said pulling away completely from Maria. "What time do we launch?"

Maria looked at her oddly. "You okay?"

"Yes," Carol wanted to put as much distance between them as she possibly could, to lessen the dreadful feelings. "Just ready to move on with my life here."

Maria stared at her for a moment. "Okay... We launch in five hours."

"Good." Carol walked quickly towards the door, but Maria caught her by the arm.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"I know you," she pressed. "Tell me."

Carol yanked her arm away from her. "I said nothing. Please, let's just go find Pegasus so I can start recovering my memories, okay?" Carol stared at her for a long time before Maria finally gave up the fight.

"Okay. I'm game for that."

Carol winked at her and motioned for her to follow her out of the room. Maria followed Carol downstairs where they spent the remainder of the time before launch looking through pictures and listening to Monica remanence.

Yon was right. Emotions made Carol weak, but they also made her stronger.