Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 02:43:21 -0600 (CST)
From: Matt Hydeman <voyage@cjnetworks.com>
Subject: USS PEGASUS: The Wedding
SD: 91205.3
Children...it was more fun to be children
We just took life as it happened
Run through the days,
Don't look behind....
*****
Scene: Harding Family Compound
Western Australia, Earth
"I can't go through with this," murmured the red-headed woman, as
the hair clip sprang out of her hands for what seemed to be the hundredth
time, her flame-gold curls falling into her face.
"Look at this," she demanded, picking up the clip from the floor
and dropping it to the vanity, where it sat like a steel-toothed version
of a grinning pirahna. "It's even conspiring against me ever looking
good."
She dropped her head to the vanity and suppressed a scream of
frustration, the hair clip still laying there like a mocking metal mouth.
She'd been left alone in here for a bit, while her bridesmaids and
the other female attendees of her bachelorette party were cleaning up the
small guest house. An empty bathroom with only her in it.
Unless you counted the hair clip, of course.
It was her wedding day, damn it, and all she could determine was
that her hair wasn't going to stay up, her wedding gown was too small and
most of all, she couldn't remember what happened at the bachelorette's
party the night before.
And why was there a rhinestone-studded g-string hanging from the
light fixture?
*****
Over....
The blink of an eye, and it's over
What a surprise to discover...
We were people ourselves.
What kind of people did we want to be
No answer ever came...to me....
*****
Scene: Harding Family Compound
The opposite end
"If you don't sit down for a moment, Pierce, I think I'm going to
have to hurt you." Those words came from the tall man standing near the
sidetable holding what remained of the alcohol from the bachelor party of
the night before...and a rather suspicious-looking piece of lingerie that
appeared to have an extra cup.
It had been a wild night.
Dr. Pierce Harding looked over at the man who had spoken those
words, running his hands through his short blond hair, making it stick up
as it usually did. He glared at Brad Cantari a moment before resuming his
frantic pacing.
"Okay, so you could end up hurting me more," murmured Cantari as a
third man popped his head out from the other room, eyes twinkling as he
stepped out, wearing a stunningly tailored dress uniform that would have
made a blind Admiral take notice.
"Give him a break, mon ami...this is the big day," said Aerik
LeCroix, moving over to the sidetable and picking up the piece of
lingerie, peering at it a moment before tossing it to the chair next to
the still-pacing Pierce.
"I'd forgotten how much Lola got into her show, eh, Brad?"
continued LeCroix, as Brad sipped his drink and nodded. "Those Caretian
females certainly live up to their reputation of being showstoppers."
"Especially since they've got enough padding there to stop a
speeding hovercar," deadpanned Cantari, his hands gesturing at his chest
in an example of the Caretian stripper's ample endowments.
"Enough," said Pierce, breaking his pacing a moment and turning to
the two men he had called friends since he had been young. "I wish the
two of you would stop reminding me of what happened last night and help me
start thinking how I can explain to Samantha all of this." He gestured to
the room around him as Brad raised an eyebrow and sipped his drink again,
as Aerik pushed a couple of wadded-up sheets of wrapping paper and a
couple holovideos to one side of the table near the small kitchenette.
"What's to explain, mon ami? Samantha's a big girl; she knows
that we were going to have a bachelor party for you," said LeCroix, as
Pierced thrust his hands in his pockets and sighed. "It's a tradition
that goes back hundreds of years, for heaven's sake."
"He's right," said Brad, as Pierce leaned against the back of a
armchair. "You can't be serious that you don't think Samantha knew about
us doing this. And you -know- she was just as guilty in having a
bachelorette party of her own."
"Sable's doing, no doubt," said Pierce as Brad shrugged at the
mention of his wife. Pierce was the second of the three to get married
and despite Aerik LeCroix's protestations to the contrary, it was a given
that perhaps sooner than anyone thought, the handsome Frenchman might be
escorting one Commander Jordana Galit down the aisle.
One wedding he would be going alone to, he was sure, thought
Pierce to himself. Knowing of his fiancee -- soon to be his wife's --
hatred of Galit and her boss, Admiral Susan Antares, head of Starfleet
Intelligence, he was certain that Samantha wouldn't be seen within miles
of that wedding party.
He hoped Samantha wouldn't notice that Jordana would be in the
back row. How could have have asked Aerik and not have asked Aerik's
current love of the moment?
"It wasn't all Sable," corrected Aerik, as he slipped one of the
holovideos back into its case. Pierce tried hard not to notice the
half-naked Andorian female on the cover. "I seem to recall that First
Officer of hers was in on it, too. And your sisters, too, Pierce." He
picked up the holovideo, now in its cover, as he read the back of it, as
Pierce tried hard not to stare at the full-lipped, pouty
naked-but-for-her-antennae female on the cover again.
He remembered *that* particular holovideo entirely too well.
*****
I didn't sleep at all last night.
Mom, I've come to you like yesterday
About today....
Mom, I'm afraid....
*****
His name had been Rick. Or was it Rock?
Maybe Randy?
Samantha Hennessey suppressed a groan as she struggled to reach
the rhinestone-studded g-string from its precarious position.
"This is -not- what I had expected to be doing on my wedding day,"
she muttered as she made a grab for it, only to fall from the countertop
of the vanity, thudding onto the floor, wincing as her elbow made contact
with the hard tile of the bathroom.
"Samantha? Dear, are you all right?" The concerned tones of an
older woman came to the door of the bathroom, as a quiet knock sounded on
the wood.
"I'm fine," lied Samantha, gritting her teeth a moment as she
willed the pain in her elbow to stop. "Just dropped something, Aunt
Lydia."
A pause. "If you say so, dear." A quiet murmur of other voices
could be heard, as Lydia Albright, Samantha's aunt, made her way from the
bathroom door, moving into the little living room of the guest house.
"Is the Captain all right?" inquired a emerald-skinned young
woman, in casual clothing. The deeper green of her hair signaled her
heritage as Orion. But Mala Olvaerr was as far from a typical Orion
female as there could be.
"She said she dropped something," murmured Lydia Albright, as she
patted the hand of her niece's First Officer. "I'm not certain if I
believe her, but if she wanted something, she'd have asked."
"I know we agreed not to bother her, but I wish I could at least
help her with her hair," said a gorgeous woman sitting on the couch, her
hands adorned with several rings that Lydia was certain were as real as a
Vulcan during Pon Farr. "I had such an idea for a twist--"
"Whatever Samantha comes up with will be wonderful," said another
woman softly, as Sable Sloane Cantari fell silent. "Your niece is
certainly a resourceful woman, Lydia. I trust her as much as you do."
Lydia Albright nodded, smiling at the woman who would soon be
Samantha Hennessey's mother-in-law. But unlike the countless millions of
meddling mothers-in-law, Amelia Harding was a woman who recognized a
kindred spirit when she saw one.
And she saw that independent spirit in Samantha Hennessey.
<If Pierce's father were here, he'd have said the same,> thought
the matriarch of the Harding family to herself as she accepted a cup of
tea from Lydia Albright, seating herself at the small table next to the
kitchenette. Magellan Harding would have probably handpicked Samantha
Hennessey for Pierce, if he knew that the younger man would have chafed at
an arranged marriage. That and it simply didn't happen anymore.
"Resourceful and stubborn," said Lydia softly as Mala began to
speak to one of Pierce's sisters -- was it Becky? Autumn? The -other-
Samantha? -- quietly about other things. She looked over the rim of her
teacup at Amelia Harding, a wry smile on her face.
"She got that from her mother; my sister, Ellen, was never one to
quit," she said as Amelia Harding gave a gentle smile. "Even after her
father's death, Ellen knew that Evan would have wanted Samantha to
succeed."
"And she has, indeed," remarked Amelia as a cry of triumph came
from the region of the bathroom and a slightly discheveled Samantha
Hennessey appeared at the door, the rhinestone-studded g-string thrust
upwards in the air.
"I got it," she said, a lock of her red hair falling into her eyes
as she tossed it at Mala, who awkwardly caught it, then quickly passed it
to Sable Cantari, who held it up, her eyes appraising the slip of fabric.
"How it got on the light fixture in the bathroom, I'll never know."
"You don't remember?" asked one of Pierce's sisters, who Lydia
recognized as Penny, the one which Samantha had mentioned she had met with
Pierce on SSE1 months ago. She laughed softly, as Samantha's eyes
narrowed. "You told Rico that you were interested in seeing a bit more
than his 'Suave'--"
"Penny, that's enough," scolded Amelia, as Penny grinned and took
the g-string out of Sable's hand, twirling it on one finger, a leering
look in her eyes. She reminded Samantha of Pierce a tad too much when she
did that, thought the PEGASUS' captain to herself as she looked back at
her aunt.
"Aunt Lydia, could you...could I talk to you for a little bit?"
The tone in Samantha's voice was quiet, almost soft, as Lydia Albright set
down her teacup and nodded, moving towards her niece as Amelia Harding
rose, nodding towards the other women in the guest house.
"Ladies, we've other places to be right now. It's nearly time to
help out the groomsmen and some of the other guests who have volunteered
to set up for the wedding." Amelia's eyes softened as she looked from the
assembled women to Samantha.
She recognized the tone in Samantha's voice only too well. It was
something she'd done a couple of times, first with Morticia, then with her
daughter Samantha, and then more recently with Penny. The mother-daughter
pre-marriage chat.
She was gratified that though Samantha Hennessey's own mother was
no longer among the living, that Lydia Albright was more than a mere aunt
now. Indeed, from the discussions she'd had with Lydia since the other
woman's arrival from the New Aragon colonies to the Harding compound on
the coast of Western Australia, she was certain that she was as much
Samantha's mother as Ellen Hennessey had been.
As the women filed out of the guest house, Amelia Harding's eyes
met the green eyes of her future daughter-in-law's and the older woman
gave a gentle nod.
Never had there been so much meaning in so little a gesture, as
Samantha Hennessey felt her shoulder blades relax a bit as she gave a shy
smile to Amelia Harding.
*****
Hon, come and sit by my side
Listen to me
Words come so hard
But what my heart says
I will give you....
*****
"Your mother would have been so proud of you," whispered Lydia as
she and Samantha sat on the couch, the older woman's arm around her
niece's shoulder. She hugged her softly. "And I know your father would
have been, too."
"It doesn't seem real," murmured Samantha quietly, as she stared
down at the glittering engagement ring on her left hand, her eyes lost in
the twinkling facets a moment. She looked back up at Lydia, her emerald
eyes oddly liquid. "It's taken so long...."
"I know, Samantha," Lydia said soothingly, smoothing a lock of her
niece's hair comfortingly. "Think of all the things that you've been
through with Pierce. All the triumphs and tragedies."
"He was the stubborn one. Always wanting to know how I ticked,
why I was the way I was. Always trying to make me come out of that little
world I'd made for myself." Samantha's eyes welled up with tears as she
rested her head on her aunt's shoulder, sniffling. "And to think I almost
turned my back on him...in the Nexus...."
Lydia squeezed Samantha's hand, a tissue seeming to magically
appear in her hand, as she dabbed at her niece's face. Faint moisture
sprang up in her eyes as she leaned back and regarded Samantha a moment.
"But you didn't, dear. Your heart knew the truth, even as the
Nexus tried to convince your mind that it was Jason there, next to you."
Lydia sniffled despite herself, tilting her niece's chin up, looking in
her eyes.
"I remember you once told me, after you took that leave of absence
after the ELLSWORTH's destruction, that you'd vowed never to let your heart
rule yourself. That it would only lead you into heartache again." Her
voice grew stronger, as she remembered a younger Samantha standing before
her back on New Aragon, a voice dulled by the death of Jason Forrestal.
"You never knew this, Samantha, but I prayed that if that would be
how you lived your life, that perhaps it was time for me to leave this
life before I watched you grow to hate yourself." Her voice halted, then
continued.
"Jason can't come back. And you have found a man who is willing
to share the rest of his life with you in pursuit of everything this
universe can provide. And I know that between you and Pierce, there will
be such magic, such joy, such passion that it won't ever be quenched."
Lydia's face shone, tears rolling down her cheeks as she stroked
Samantha's face, as the younger woman began to cry again, this time with
tears of joy and love.
"I wish your parents could be here, Samantha. And I know, in
their own way, they are. But if you'll settle for this old woman who
loves you more than her own life, you won't be disappointed."
Samantha choked back a sob as she hugged her aunt fiercely, tears
streaming down her face as the two held each other for a long time,
letting the tears flow.
"Now," said Lydia hoarsely as she pulled back from Samantha,
dabbing at her eyes. "We've got a big challenge ahead of us."
"What's that?"
"How in the hell we're going to get the swelling down around your
eyes before Pierce thinks you and I were in a fistfight, of course," said
Lydia Albright conspiratorially, as Samantha stared at her aunt in shock.
And promptly bust out laughing.
*****
Because you are in love
Your eyes begin to open
As if you had awoken from a sleep
Because you are in love
You use imagination
And lose your concentration
When someone calls his name....
*****
"Pierce!"
Pierce Harding barely had time to jump out of the way before a
bundle of rope fell from the sky above him and slammed into the ground,
the dust rising from the impact, dissipated by the winds coming off of the
ocean.
"For heaven's sake, would you please look where you're going?"
asked Brad Cantari, as Pierce rubbed his forehead, his mind still lost in
thought. "I don't think Samantha would appreciate Pressed Pierce on her
wedding day." The other man rubbed his hands together, getting the dust
off of them. Setting up for the reception after the wedding was difficult
work and some of the guests had decided to help Amelia Harding by setting
up the evening barbecue on the beach before heading to the wedding itself.
"Sorry," murmured Pierce, as Aerik LeCroix sauntered over and
handed Harding a glass of some clear liquid.
"It's water," assured the Frenchman to Pierce, who gingerly
sniffed at the glass' contents. "Merde, I gave up trying to give you
anything alcoholic hours ago, mon ami." He nudged his friend on the arm.
"Just drink up. I don't think Samantha would appreciate a dehydrated
groom, either."
"You two are as bad as Mum, sometimes," grumbled Pierce, sipping
the water. "Next you'll be telling me to eat my vegetables and join the
Clean Plate Club."
"No, that will be for Samantha to do, son," came Amelia Harding's
voice from behind him as Pierce turned to see his mother standing there, a
wry smile on her lips. "As a good wife should."
Pierce grinned as he strode over and enfolded his mother into his
arms, hugging her tightly. "Then I'll have no fear," he said as he kissed
her on the cheek. "Because Sam certainly will."
"I know," teased Amelia as Pierce smiled. "I reminded her of her
duties with regards to my only son."
"You didn't!"
Amelia's twinkling eyes were her only answer as Pierce grinned and
hugged his mother again.
"Did I ever thank you for letting us invade the homestead for all
this?" he asked quietly as Amelia patted her son's chest, shaking her head
slightly.
"A few times. But I'm willing to hear it again."
Pierce groaned. "Penny's been rubbing off on you again."
"More like the other way round, Pierce," came Penny's voice as his
younger sister's arm wrapped around his waist, a quick hug her greeting.
"Mum says I'm getting to be more like her everyday."
"Heaven forbid," said Pierce in mock-horror as Amelia gently
punched him on the shoulder. "I mean, how wonderful."
*****
You're back in his arms, as always
Your daydreams work out that way
It's all just a trick, your mind plays
The more love grows, the more it stays the same.
*****
"Are you ready?" asked Brad Cantari, as Samantha held onto his
waist and nodded.
"I've never been more ready for anything," she whispered, her
heart pounding faster. It was soon...very soon now.
Brad grinned and activated the mini-launch's engine, as the
watercraft shot forward, the waves gently parting as they headed out
towards the horizon, as the sun slowly started to move towards that hazy
line where the earth curved.
And there it was, thought Samantha Hennessey as she saw the long
platform grow larger and larger as the craft drew closer to it, figures
and faces coming into view. The place where she and Pierce would marry.
It sat on the Great Barrier Reef, anchored securely by submerged
tractor locks that Query Neile and Tyler Elbrun had come up with. A long,
wide platform with the wedding guests on one end and the wedding party on
a slight dais, it served to showcase the dazzling wonder and beauty that
the Earth had created in forming Australia and the majestic coral reef
that surrounded the majority of the continent.
As the watercraft drew close to the makeshift dock on the left
side of the platform, Aerik LeCroix bent down, an arm extended towards
Samantha, a smile on his face as he helped up his former crewmate from the
USS EXCALIBUR-C, all those years ago.
"You look enchanting, cherie," he whispered as he lifted Samantha
to the deck of the platform. "If he does not treat you like a princess, I
shall kill him like the dog he is." His eyes twinkled as Samantha gave a
slight shake of her head.
"I don't think you'll have to, Mister LeCroix. I think I'll be in
good hands." Aerik's smile grew wider as he gestured to Samantha's left,
as Brad climbed up from the dock, brushing some lint from his pants as he
followed the duo.
*****
(Same little girl who's sure)
But I love him so
(Same little girl who's sure)
That he loves me so...
*****
When Pierce saw her, all time seemed to stop.
He'd never doubt Sable Cantari's ability to design a dress again.
It was perhaps the whitest white he'd ever seen, falling off of
Samantha's shoulders in a shimmering cascade of satin and antique lace,
the dress filling out at her hips, coming to brush against the floor of
the platform. Simple diamond earrings that sparkled against the glowing
fire of her red hair and a diamond solitaire pendant were the only other
adornments she wore.
She was the most beautiful woman in the world....
*****
Sees with a woman's vision
Knows what a woman knows....
*****
She knew without a doubt that there was no more handsome man on
the face of the earth -- or any other planet she'd have opportunity to
visit.
A classically tailored tuxedo, a cravat of dove grey at his
throat, Pierce Harding seemed to be the incarnation of every man Samantha
had ever daydreamed about when she was a little girl.
In those daydreams, those men were always faceless, always lacking
facial detail. But they were always impeccably dressed to the nines,
their tuxedoes immaculately pressed, as starkly black as darkness and
white as pure color, the dove grey cravat the middle ground between the
two extremes.
But now, in this moment, Samantha knew all those men had had the
face of Pierce. They were all the same man -- always had been him.
With a slight tremble in her hands, she stepped forward, as the
music changed. The Wedding March.
She almost didn't realize that Lydia had stepped up to her side,
the agreement having been that in lieu of her father, her aunt would
represent the Hennessey family in giving her away.
And then they stepped forward....
*****
Because we are in love
We reach for our tomorrows
And know we won't be lonely
In laughter and in sorrow
Where love abides
There is a place we'll keep our heart for always....
*****
"Do you, Samantha, take Pierce to be your lawfully wedded husband,
to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, from
this day forward, until death do you part?"
Her emerald eyes met his.
"I do." Her heart seemed to soar higher and higher, towards
dizzying heights. It was hard for her to breathe, as if she drew a deeper
breath in, it would all cease to exist.
"Do you, Pierce, take Samantha as your lawfully wedded wife, to
have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, from
this day forward, until death do you part?"
He never looked away. There wasn't anything else in the world
that he'd rather look at than Samantha.
Nothing.
"I do." It almost came out as a whisper, but somehow, even in his
awe, it was carried to everyone's ear, as if he had shouted from the
proverbial rooftops.
In the rows of people watching Samantha and Pierce say their vows,
Vaiko glanced over at Hower Duill for a moment, noting the strange
expression on his face. It almost seemed like a longing, ke thought,
returning kis gaze to kis commanding officer and former Counselor.
The minister looked from Samantha to Pierce, from Pierce to
Samantha, then looked out towards the group of people watching, all family
and friends. Old and new, young and mature. Officer and civilian, human
and alien.
"What God has put together, let no man put asunder." His voice
warmed as he looked at Pierce, then again to Samantha.
"You may kiss the bride."
And with a grin from ear-to-ear, Pierce Harding winked at the
minister, then looked back at his bride.
"Just try and stop me," he whispered, as he leaned in to embrace
Samantha.
"I certainly wouldn't," she whispered back, as their lips met and
the two shared a kiss that caused whistles of envy and cheers from the
assembled.
As they broke the kiss, Pierce stared into Samantha's eyes, his
eyes twinkling mischevously.
"Well, Captain, I guess this means the crew approves," he said
huskily as Samantha tilted her head back and laughed softly.
"I'd say so, Doctor," she murmured as she drew her husband into
another kiss. "I know this member of the crew does...."
And as the sun seemed to settle upon the waters of the ocean,
gilding the platform and the people on it in a warm glow of golden-orange
light, it framed a scene that nobody would forget for a long time.
And for Samantha and Pierce, never would.
*****
You and I, because we are in love....
-- "The Wedding Song," the Carpenters
*******************************************
NRPG:
You don't know how difficult it was to write this. I scrapped and
re-wrote what seems like a thousand versions. None of which seemed good
enough until I decided to do what I always seem to do in the cases where
I'm stumped on how to write it. I wing it. ;)
Gwen: Now write your post. <G>
Brian: Is a mission post coming soon? Hopefully Admiral. Sullivan
will allow the newlyweds to have a little time for themselves.... ;)
Captain Samantha Gabrielle Harding (nee Hennessey)
Commanding Officer and Newlywed
USS PEGASUS
NCC-6000
--
Matt Hydeman |***** Copyright 1997, Stormchaser Endeavours *****
voyage@cjnetworks.com |************** All rights reserved ***************