* USS MONTANA: First Things First

[Karal]

<<NRPG: SCD Warning - Oooo… it's the mushy stuff!>>

MD: 8.0235
Scene: Cait-Carlton Hotel, SB EPSILON

[Old material from 'The Rebirth'…]

Sean looked up at her entrance. While she'd been in the shower, the food had
arrived, and he'd shooed the surly young man out with scarcely a word. Then
he'd gone about arranging the food on the small table - the bottle of
champagne, the two plates, a single white rose in a vase on the table. He'd
already dimmed the lights to about half, and when Elli entered, he popped
the cork on the bottle and poured.

"It's nae the best - but it's French, and it's drinkable," he said, handing
Elli a glass. He stepped back, took a moment to take her in. She *was* a
little on the thin side, a reminder of what she'd just been through. But she
had her appetite back, and the rest would soon follow.

He raised his glass. "To rebirth, and new beginnings. May you always have
fire in your heart, truth in your mouth, and friends all around you."

[New material…]

She knew, as long as she had him, Caissa and Karl, she would have all three.
Elli raised her chin, giving him a smile as she accepted both the champagne
and his toast. She took a sip, her gaze diverted to the table and the plates
and the white rose. The smile broadened a bit and she stepped over to it,
lifting the vase to drink in the scent. It was sweet and heavy, and far too
wonderful to be replicated… it must have cost him a small fortune, but it
was priceless to her. Her eyes closed and the look on her face was as near
rapture as it could be. "Did you smell it?" she murmured.

Sean shook his head. "It just got here," he admitted.

Her eyes opened and she turned toward him again, the crystal flute in one
hand and the vase in the other, taking a step closer to him to offer it up
to him to smell.

He sniffed. The scent was truly remarkable.... As was the other scent, that
of a clean Elli. He took another sip of the champagne - it tasted better
than he'd expected - and stepped past the flower to stand near Elli. He put
his free arm around her back. "It's good to see you, Lass," he said, giving
her a tender squeeze.

Elli felt the muscles in her stomach tighten as the flash of adrenaline shot
through her system at his touch. As hungry as she was for the food - she was
hungrier for *him*. Not only in a physical way - but in a way that went
beyond that. After two years alone, thinking she'd be alone forever, the
sound of his voice was a magical thing - and the fact it was saying what
she'd dreamed of hearing did nothing to lessen her desire to hear it.

"It's - good to be here," she stammered. It was right on the tip of her
tongue to say 'with you', but she hesitated. Then she gave herself a shake
and nodded once to herself, remembering all the promises she'd made to
herself 'if she ever got the chance'... "It's good to be here with you."

Sean's heart did a neat back flip when he heard that. He was glad for the
lowered light, so she couldn't see him blush. "Aye," was all he could think
to say. He waved his hand at the food. "Hungry?"

Not trusting her voice again right away, she nodded, and the two of them
moved to the tiny table and took their places. She replaced the rose and its
vase, but not until she'd taken another deep drink of its scent, then she
turned her attention to the meal he'd ordered for them. After all the weeks
he'd seen her pick at the food Caissa was constantly admonishing her to eat,
it was amazing to see her putting away the prime rib now with such relish.

"You like it, then?" he asked. It certainly appeared so, since she'd nearly
finished her meal by the time he'd eaten a third of his steak.

She nodded, pausing the fork on its way to her mouth just long enough to
inform him there wasn't much need to eat in the Valley, but that didn't mean
she wasn't hungry while she was there.

He smiled and took another bite of his food. It was the first meal he'd had
himself in nearly two days, between the ritual fasting period and the fact
that he didn't feel like eating during those last few days. The potatoes
were perfectly done, just lumpy enough, and the boy had actually found real
butter. Sean wore a satisfied smile, and continued to watch Elli. He wasn't
watching her eat, even though that's what she happened to be doing. He just
watched her move, watched her as she became totally absorbed in a single
thing.

Elli was watching him, too, and trying not to appear to be. As precious as
his voice was, after so much time alone, the sight of him was something she
couldn't get enough of either. She started out wondering if those memories
she'd lashed herself with had been accurate, if they'd stood the test of
time as it passed there with her - and it didn't take her long to decide her
memories had been sorely lacking when it came to the real man. When she'd
finally put all the food in her stomach it would hold she leaned back with a
groan and covered the rounded part of her belly with both hands. "I can't,"
she surrendered. "That's all I can do."

Sean smiled. She'd only eaten about two pounds of meat, plus most of a
serving of mashed potatoes. "Nothing to be ashamed of, Lass. You can eat as
well as my sister. Now, tell me what else I can do for you. More champagne?"
he asked, refilling the glass.

Elli's eyes darkened a shade, but she held her tongue, accepting the full
glass with a murmured 'thank you'. She wanted to say, 'Take me to bed'. But
that sounded... altogether too something. Too bold. Too crude.

Perhaps 'hold me'?

'Touch me again'?

All of that sounded like something beyond what she intended. She needed the
sight and sound of him… but she need the feel of him even more. Could he
understand that? The night she'd kissed him in her cabin and he'd stopped
them before anything could happen flashed across her mind and she remembered
the promise she'd made not to do it again.

"You've saved my life," she finally said, "what more can I ask of you?"

"And you've made mine a hell of a lot better by coming back," he answered.
"So I figure you can ask anything you want." He tried unsuccessfully to
avoid looking at her form under the silk outfit she wore.

"You're everything I want," she said before she could stop herself. Then,
trying to recover the moment, she blundered through a retraction that
neither of them believed. "You've *given* me everything I want," she said,
feeling her face turning hot.

"Aye? Good." Sean pushed a few thoughts about what he wanted out of his
head. Not here, not now, so soon after such a trauma. "D'ye feel good? D'ye
feel better than you did this morning - *my* morning?" He got up and came
around the table to stand behind her. He could just see their reflection in
the large mirror on the wall.

She swallowed the drink of champagne hastily taken to cover her gaffe and
nodded. Lifting her arm - the one she'd cut so long ago to mix her blood
with Mersault's - she showed it to him. "It's gone. I noticed it - the
morning after I accepted he wasn't coming."

Sean remembered the scar from just that morning. He took her arm to inspect
it more closely. A tingle ran through his fingers and down his back. This
close, she smelled like cloves, and flowers, and something else he couldn't
place. Maybe it was just the way she smelled. A bubble of excitement, of
pure elation, bubbled up in him and burst on the surface, bringing a chuckle
to his lips and tears to his eyes. He turned to face her, her hand still in
his, and smiled, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Wordlessly, he
pressed her wrist to his lips for a long moment. Then he smiled and leaned
against the bed behind him.

For a moment, her eyes reflected concern, "Why?" she asked, and reached up
to take the tear on her fingertip.

"I'm happy," he repeated. "It's something my mum does, too... She gets this
feeling when she's happy, and a few tears come out. Fortunately," he added,
"her tears aren't as interesting as yours."

Elli's chin dropped and she studied the water on her finger, once again in
awe of the fact that tears - chemically speaking - meant so little to her
when it came to this 'bond' hers could forge - and so much when it was hers
being touched. "I'm - glad you don't have that - problem with mine," she
said softly. "'Interesting' isn't quite the term I'd use…"

Sean looked at her quietly. He'd touched her tears, of course, during the
ritual. He'd told her how he felt about her. It didn't matter to him. He
simply stood there, letting her see his guilt. If she was looking.

When he said nothing, Elli lifted her head again and looked up at him. After
a moment, without thinking, she raised the finger to her mouth and dried the
tear by licking the end of her finger, tasting the salt, wondering absently
if there was anything in the heavens that could make her want to be with
this man more than she already did.

She stood up then and carried her champagne with her to the other side of
the bed, setting the glass down on the table there before she bent over to
peel the covers back.

Sean wondered if this was an invitation, and if it was, to what. She hadn't
made any of the tired noises that he'd expected were a hint that she'd be
ready to sleep soon. He looked around quickly, which gave the unfortunate
and inaccurate impression that he felt trapped. Then he looked into Elli's
eyes one more time. It would have taken a fool not to see that she wanted
him in the bed with her... Still, he waited for an invitation.

It took her a moment or two to settle herself on the edge of the bed, with
her back to him. And that gave her a moment or two to breathe without
looking at him - like that was going to make any difference at all. Then she
laid down and straightened the covers over her and rolled onto her side
facing him, looking up at him where he was still standing at the side of the
bed. Her hair was splayed out over the pillow and a large portion of the
sheet as she watched him for the space of several heartbeats.

"I... don't expect you to make love to me," she said softly, "I don't even
expect you to want to... but... I - need to feel - you beside me tonight..
and I know how much I've asked of you - but I..." Her voice failed her then
and she sucked in a breath, trying to replace the one she'd just lost.

Sean was silent while he let all the answers wash through him, the desires,
the questions, the awkward rejections that he didn't feel but part of him
felt he should say. Then he opened his mouth to speak.

At first, no sound came out. Then, "I... want to." He sat at the edge of the
bed, trying to decide just what he wanted to do. Trying to decide what was
appropriate, since he knew the exact extent of his desire. He sat on the
bed, tucking his feet beneath him, and dropped a hand to her hair. It was
thick, still slightly damp from the shower. He began to run his fingers
through it very slowly.

"I'd be... happy. Thrilled. To sleep. Tonight. Here. With you." The feeling
of her hair sliding over the back of his hand was tremendously satisfying.
He scooted down on the bed, lay down facing her, his right hand still free
to stroke her hair.

She closed her eyes, not asking anything else of him. She could feel the war
that was being waged inside him, and had attributed it to a battle between
the desire to do as she asked and the desire to get the hell out of there
before anything happened that he didn't want to have to face in the morning
across a Bridge somewhere. The touch of his fingers in her hair was
mesmerizing and even though she felt he might not want to be where he was,
it soothed her to the point much of the tension she hadn't known was tying
up her neck and shoulders began to ease.

Sean watched her relax visibly. There was so much he wanted to say, so much
that he couldn't bring himself to say! His hand wandered, now stroking her
hair, now caressing the side of her face, now running a fingertip over her
lips. A thrill ran through him, and he quickly moved his hand back to her
hair, but grabbing a handful as he caressed. He leaned in closer. He could
hear her breath, could feel it on his cheek, could smell the remnants of the
champagne.

A small, contented-sounding sigh escaped from her, and Sean felt his heart
melt within his chest.

His hand traced down to the ends of her hair, over her back. His arm felt
good draped over her like this. There was something that felt... right about
it.

Not that that surprised him, of course. It was, after all, something he'd
been dreaming about for days. Ever since the night that he'd shown her the
X-31F. And then she'd...

Sean slowly leaned in, afraid that if he moved too quickly, the moment might
break. Another soft moan made him want her all the more, and it took a feat
of will not to spoil this. Another inch, her face coming closer so slowly.
Finally, his lips brushed hers, and he kissed her, gently.

The instant his lips touched hers, Elli felt her breath stop again - but
this time was different... in so many ways. She wasn't drunk. She wasn't
dying. She wasn't bound by ties that meant nothing but sorrow. She couldn't
ever remember receiving such a deliberate kiss - one not driven by passion
that was unthinking or desire that sought any oblivion it could find. As it
lasted, she pulled in a slow breath, felt her lips respond in kind to his,
and raised her hand to touch his face once more and hesitantly thread her
fingers through the hair behind his ear, seeking those curls that she'd
wanted to feel beneath her fingers since that night in the tunnel.

Sean's hand also went to the back of Elli's head, pulling her closer,
deepening the kiss. For a brief moment, he broke the contact, looked into
her dark eyes, whispered her name. Then he kissed her again, just as
tenderly, perhaps a little more passionately. Both arms now snaked around
Elli's form, feeling the supple body beneath. His lips parted for an
instant, and Elli's tongue, warm, moist, passionate, gained entrance. He
crushed her body to his.

That was more than adequate to the task of eliciting another soft moan, one
that came from deeper within her chest this time. She felt the tightening of
his arms around her and when he moved to pull her closer she braced against
the coming embrace - not that she cared. This was what she'd wanted, dreamed
of - thought never to have. At the first opportunity, the instant his lips
gave her the chance, his name escaped on the out rush of air from her lungs
and her arms tightened around his chest as her hands slid over the hard
muscles of his back, seeking a comfortable position around him and beside
him - one from which she could crawl inside his skin and feel nothing but
Sean Dalmore from that moment on.

Sean felt as if he was falling, pleasantly falling into a wonderful
oblivion. His hands wandered over her back, searching for the smallest patch
of bare flesh that he could get them close to. When his name escaped her
lips, it was like a chorus singing in his ears. He worked his hands into the
spaces of her body, pulling her close. "Don't leave me again, Lass," he
whispered, kissing her again.

He felt more than saw her head shake gently side to side, "No," she
murmured, "Not again. Never again." Those were the right words, and she
didn't even know it. Beh'Lar had left him… and left him again. He needed
someone who'd be beside him - and that's exactly where she wanted to be.
Like him, she felt the rightness of it, the way it fit in the scheme of
things like nothing and no one else ever had.

"Good," he responded. His fingertips traced her back, felt the bones there
beneath the skin. He paused, thinking about the ordeal she'd been through.
She was so frail, so weak right now... His own desire was a demand, but one
that he'd have to set aside for now. His kisses gradually became more
tender, softer, as he kissed not only her lips, but her cheeks, her closed
eyes... And his right hand slid up to begin caressing her hair again, while
his left wormed its way down to curl around her waist and rump.

Elli had played her share of games of chance and she'd won and lost a fair
amount of latinum on wagers and she'd have bet more than money on this.
She'd never have bet she'd fall asleep at such a moment - but Sean knew
best, for both of them, and as his touch soothed her, changing from the
caresses that were meant to excite to those that were meant to reassure, she
melted against him, coming closer to being inside his skin than lovemaking
could have made her at that moment. She had placed her trust and her life in
his hands - and he had not failed her. He wouldn't fail her now as she put
her heart there. She murmured his name once more, raising up to get close to
his ear, and once she'd said it, she pressed a kiss to the side of his face,
smiling at the tickle of that beard on her lips. Then she curled back into
the shelter of his arms - those arms she'd wondered how small she'd be
within - and settled her ear against his chest, listening for the steady
thump of his heart just inside his ribcage.

And then she was asleep.

It wasn't quite as easy for Sean. Given the events of the last twenty-four
hours, it was understandable that he couldn't close his eyes for longer than
a few moments without an instant replay of everything he'd seen playing out
in full color on the inside of his eyelids. And just about the time he
managed to doze off, Elli would stir or the softest of sounds would escape
her lips - and he'd be wide awake once more. Between the time they lay down
together and the time Sean lost consciousness at last, he must have listened
to the sound of her breathing at least a thousand times, and slipped his
hand inside the yellow silk to lay his palm against the skin over her heart
a thousand more.

Elli, on the other hand, slept like the dead.

Once she felt his embrace close around her, she relinquished the last of her
fear and surrendered all that she was to Sean's guardianship. No longer cold
from the solitude of her stay in Haath-Haar's valley, she shared the warmth
only Dalmore's proximity had been able to provide. It seemed ages since
she'd slept as soundly as she did that night, and the only explanation she
would accept - or could offer - was that he was there.

____________________________________

NRPG:

MD: 8.0235 Sean and Elli have dinner and get some sleep.

Notes:

____________________________________

A joint post, respectfully submitted by:

Lieutenant Commander Sean Dalmore
USS MONTANA

aka

Scott H. Rowe
<ge...@earthlink.net>
"Abair ach beagan agus abair gu math e."

and

Jenny Dahl
Ka...@mmcable.com
'D'Alles'
ICQ-UIN 6828803

Lt. Eilese Riveau; FCO, USS MONTANA, BLUE Fleet

'Writing is easy; all you have to do is stare at a blank sheet of paper
until the drops of blood form on your forehead.' -Gene Fowler

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