A Moment Alone
As I've come to expect, Andy consistently knocks it out of the ball park. Thanks, Andy!--Maer
Monday, 04 Aug 2521
Kuiper II class, Summer’s Gift
En route to Pericles Station
Blue Sun (Qing Long) system
1015 hrs, ship’s time
When the decision was made to have Joshua Borrow Calico Jack, I made a decision of my own and waited until everyone had dispersed before following Joshua into the galley. I automatically grabbed a bus rag and started mopping up the debris left from breakfast. As I brushed and swept off the prep counter I thought back to Joshua’s Borrowing of Jackson and wondered how things would go this time around. You could ask him, my inner nag prompted. It is why you’re here, getting in his way.
“Joshua.” I shook the crumbs into the sink and, folding the bus rag across rim, I leaned against the counter and frowned at my boots. “I want you to know I support you doing this, but don’t expect to see me much while you’re him. It wasn’t so bad when you were Jackson. Jackson wouldn’t’ve hurt a fly but Jack is… different. You’ll be different. And I’d rather not … not find out the hard way just how different you’ll have to be. I don’t know how to say this kindly and I’m sorry if it’s hurtful but that’s how I feel about it.”
---
Joshua nodded as he started putting away the skillet. "I understand. Remember, I won't be me so you can't hurt my feelings." He loved that she was worried how he was going to feel. But, his main focus now had to be finding the role, memorizing the details, and preparing what could be a very dangerous Borrow.
--
I missed you in a place I couldn’t pack away, he’d said to me after the Jackson Borrowing and the words came back to me now as I looked at him.
“You sure about that?”
---
He turned away from the oven back towards Rina. Joshua looked at her, trying to get a feel for her mood. She was really concerned. "Will you hold it against me, the things that I do when I become Calico Jack?"
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“No, that’s not what I’d meant,” I said, realizing where our wires had gotten crossed. “Of course I wouldn’t hold anything against you but I won’t sugarcoat my responses either. I … You said something to me when you let go of Jackson, something that makes me believe that underneath it all while you’re Borrowing, you’re still feeling and remembering as Joshua. It’s not Jack I’m worried about hurting, it’s you.”
---
He stepped forward and took her into his arms, holding her close, letting his physical presence do some of the reassuring. "I understand. And yes, I'm still Joshua underneath. I have to be or else become lost. I don't have Blue Sun to reset me anymore." He took his hands and started rubbing some of the tension out of her shoulders. "But if you aren't going to hold my actions as Calico Jack against me, how I can hold your actions during that same time against you?"
---
"Because my actions tend toward the rough end of the spectrum. Or haven't you noticed?" I wrapped my arms around him trying to soak him in, to tide me over until the job was done. I tipped my face to his and bit my lip. "I wasn't talking about just your feelings when I mentioned hurting you."
---
He looked down at her and raised his eyebrows. "Really? You don't think I can handle myself? I think so far, I've been the winner when it comes to hand to hand combat."
---
"So far. But that was you and me on the practice mat."
Nika's encounter with Escobar crossed my mind, as did her strategy to handle it had she been cornered. Could I have done the same thing if it had been me that night? Could I do it now? God help me, I didn't know. I could still feel Grimes' nose giving way against my knuckles, hear the wet crunch of his skull against the bulkhead ... feel the Lieutenant’s hands on me, the blows he dealt when I refused to give in …
"When you're Jack, it'll be for-real. If it comes to that, don't expect a clean fight, because if we're fighting, it won't be over something clean. What I've heard of the man doesn't make me hold out much hope that it would go any other way. I just ... just want you to know that before you go in."
---
"I trust you," he said simply and then kissed her on the forehead.
---
His trust humbled even as his kiss exalted and I didn't know where to look or turn. I knew Joshua intended to take things slowly as he courted me, but what my head knew and what my body wanted were a universe apart.
"I'd better go." I flattened my hands on his chest and eased back, hating every wretched inch between us. "We've got work to do."
---
"No, we don't. We've been waiting long enough." Joshua didn't know what was going to happen when he tried to enter the Neptune or what he might do as Calico Jack. He didn't want to have any regrets. He stepped forward again and kissed her, enjoying the familiar taste of her, knowing the courtship was over.
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Go to Joshua's Crew Page or to Rina's Crew Page or to Nika's Crew Page
Go back to: Timeline Season Four, April 2521 to Dec 2521
Go to Peripatetica - Rina's Journal entry and RP log
Go to Rina's Russian Glossary
Go to Rina's Crew Page
Go to EPISODES or TIMELINE
