Ever Fixed Mark
Terri and I did this in just an hour or so, making for a fast afternoon and an even faster story. Even so, we got a lot said. Thanks, Terri!--Maer
So much had changed in what seemed a short span of time. Nika brushed the horse's flanks firmly, her thoughts on the scene that they'd arrived on. A faint smile quirked her lips as she thought of her twin and her husband. They were savvy -- she'd always known that about the Johannsens. They'd been amazing friends through the years. Even through the ugliness that had been the situation with Trey. Standing in the paddock now with time to observe the hands on the ranch, Nika was more than impressed. Her sister was good at the politicking in ways Nika never would have been. She shook her head turning her attention back to the horse and pulling a few carrots out of her pocket for him. "Here you go, greedy guts," she said softly. Her tone was affectionate. "Don'tcha go tellin' Nala, now. She'll holler at me for spoiling you."
---
Earhart Ranch
Boros
"Those from hydroponics? Cuz if they are, don't go tellin' Joshua, neither."
I kept my voice low and clucked my tongue as I approached, mindful of how horses could shy at sudden noises. I'd watched Nika come in from her ride earlier from my vantage point on the porch. I'd been fiddling with the piston on Nala's screen door and finished the task before making my way over. I crossed my arms on the top rail of the paddock fence and put a foot up.
"Hey. Nala says dinner'll hit the table right about the time you finish up here. Should give you a chance to wash first."
---
Nika turned, her braid swinging around her hips and one hand up on the horse's long nose. "Hey there," she greeted with a smile. The horse crunched and snorted faintly in Rina's direction and Nika left him to his carrot and came across the paddock to lean on the other side of the fence next to Rina. "I forget how busy a working ranch can be," she confided mildly. The ranch hands -- far more of them than there'd been last time -- were definitely doing their jobs. A grin quirked her lips and she said, "Nala's expectin'. She's over the moon." The words hold a hint of pride and maybe some envy too for her sister. Maybe for just having a life in spite of it all.
---
"Oh? That's a surprise." It was. Nala wasn't showing yet and I never would have guessed. "I'll have to congratulate her. Does Larry know?"
---
"Well, I reckon when she screamed at him to take his onion-smellin' self out of the house when he'd barely come in the door and she was like 20 feet away, he caught a clue. He's got some experience," Nika laughed. "Apparently she's hypersensitive to smells. And I dunno, the upchuckin' might have given it away too." She seemed both thoroughly amused at the anecdotes that apparently came with the announcement and truly happy. The lines in her face have eased greatly in the past couple of weeks and standing here in the sunshine, she finally looks... peaceful, maybe.
She caught Rina studying her and admitted quietly, "I needed her. You're a great friend, Rina, but... I needed her."
---
I'd stifled a chuckle at the story by burying my face in my arms and now I slid a look at Nika.
"You don't have to explain," I said softly. "Nothing beats family when you're hurting."
---
"I just didn't want you to think it was... somethin' you did," Nika drawled softly. "Things have been a lot better for me lately. Aside from Arden's continuous disagreement with the choices we're making as a crew." She looked pensive for a long moment, her eyes going out to the pasture beyond the paddock. When she finally spoke again her tone was quiet. "I can't quite decide if he's lookin' for a way out... or lookin' for a reason to stay," she admitted.
---
"Maybe," I shrugged. "Maybe he's just lookin' for a fight. Or maybe he disagrees cuz all he can see is the danger of you running into the lion's den. Or maybe he's just being Arden." I ducked under the rail and came up next to Nika and gave her a hug. "You could ask him and five'll get you ten, he won't be able to tell you why. I don't think he knows what he wants. He just ... feels what he feels and acts on it."
I sighed and propped my chin on her shoulder and stared out across the paddock.
"Of course, you realize the value of my relationship advice, right? Emotional trainwreck that I am? Even so, I'm just callin' it like I see it."
---
Nika leaned into the hug, resting her head on Rina's for a moment and then casually pushed upright once more. She smiled faintly. "Don't," she told her engineer quietly. "I don't...." She bit her lip. "No, that's a lie. I choose not to know in this case. I suspect the answer might be something I can't deal with yet." Ruefully she glanced at Rina before returning to her study of the pasture. "Don't know if I even want to deal with it. Some things just need to be left laying. Y'know?"
---
"Then let it lie," I said easily. "I've had over ten years practice in that area, so I know it works."
---
Nika smiled at her. "Do you know how strange it feels to stand here and look out over my Daddy's land knowing that the Independents are slowly but surely making Boros theirs while I stand here?"
---
"No," I said and gave her a feral grin and nudged her with my hip. "But I betcha it feels goddamned nice."
I might never understand how it felt to regain family land from an oppressor, since my own family had none to lose or gain, but I understood how important it was to have a place to stand, to plant your flag and say not another inch.
---
It made Nika laugh, something she's doing more and more easily the past few days. "I don't know what my mother would have thought of it. But I know my father always believed that we had the right to determine for our own selves what our path should be. I think he'd be tickled to see what's goin' on right now." Her tone was musing. "I finally feel steady again."
---
I looked at her then, really looked, and saw it was true. She was at peace again, after having gone so long without it. The contentment coming off her was one I'd never caught from her before and for an instant, I wondered if she'd ever had the peace she had now, if perhaps when we'd first met, she had been without it. Either way, that's done. I closed my eyes and sent up a prayer, gladness a hot coal in my chest. And then, because the prayer needed it, I shared it.
"Bokh s'vamyeh, Nika." God is with you. "Amen to that."
---
Rina's expression made Nika pause, wondering what the engineer saw when she looked. Should she ask? She disliked the knowledge that she didn't know what Rina was seeing, feeling as though a couple of years ago she would have. But so many things had changed. She smiled faintly and instead of speaking again she looked west. The sun was setting, the moon three-quarters full and following it down toward the top of the mountain range. The full light of day had given way to the deeper blues and reds of twilight, shadows creeping across the land. The first stars were just becoming barely visible. And the blond soaked in the peaceful evening. "Never thought I'd say this... but there might be a day when I come back for good."
---
I opened my eyes and gave her a quiet smile, then let my gaze wander over the landscape. When I spoke again, it was barely louder than a whisper. "Family. Home. Love. It is the star to every wandering barque, Nika, and sooner or later, we all have to stop wandering and come home."
---
"Maybe," she agreed thoughtfully. Silence reigned between them for a time, broken by the shout from the back porch. "You two gonna dither all night or come eat this? We're all waitin' on you!"
Nika laughed quietly. "Ever notice how bossy she is?" She nudged Rina's shoulder with hers and called back, "Gorram it, woman, you're a nag!"
"If I'm a nag, you're a nag cuz we look just alike!" Nala taunted in return.
Nika put her hand on the top of the fence for balance and hopped it handily, laughing the whole while. "Yeah, but soon they'll be able to tell us apart again cuz you'll be the FAT nag!" she retorted.
Nala squealed. "Ooooh! You come up here and say that to my face! Just for that, I ain't lettin' ya have any dessert! And I made a real apple pie for your sorry butt!"
I chuckled at the exchange and memories of my family stabbed me again, but this time the pain was softer. Shaking my head and smiling, I followed my friend back to the house where love and laughter waited to take us in.
---
"Awwwww! C'mon!" Nika whined, throwing her arm around her twin as she went up the steps. She got knuckles on her head for her trouble, but both women were still laughing.
HOW TO SPEAK RUSSIAN[edit]
Bokh s'vamyeh = Бог с вами = bokh s'-vahm-yeh = God is with you Sound clip
Go to Nika's Crew Page or Rina's Crew Page
Go back to: Season Seven, May 2523 --
Go to EPISODES or TIMELINE
