Lost And Found

Posted on Sun Nov 8th, 2015 @ 12:51am by Lieutenant Commander William Harding M.D. & Seyla

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Will's Quarters

Wandering through Will’s apartment, Seyla stopped in his living room, where he had old-fashioned leather-bound paper books, mostly medical references from various cultures and eras. She ran a finger along some of the spines and wondered where Will was. She hadn’t heard from him in days and the only news she’d received of him was bothersome. Sighing, she went to the kitchen and started fixing herself a snack.

Several minutes later, the doors parted and Will entered the living room. He was already shedding his lab coat and was ready to sit down and relax. It had been a long afternoon in surgery with Solis and the young Security crewman who’d lost his hand under some strange circumstances. There were some oddities that had actually resulted in the surgery being successful that he intended to look into later. For now, he intended to do nothing at all. As he approached the sofa, however he stopped and sniffed the air, recognizing the hint of perfume that lingered.

“Seyla?” he called out.

“Will?”, a surprised response came from the kitchen. A moment later, Seyla appeared, a plate of small olives and cheese in one hand. She wasn’t smiling as she asked, “Where the hell have you been?”

“Nice to see you too.” He draped his lab coat over the nearest chair, then loosened his uniform jacket. “As for where I’ve been, today we re-attached a young man’s hand. If you’re speaking more generally, I was down on Archadia for over a week because someone there poisoned me, hoping to kill me.” He stopped and looked her up and down and his expression softened. “It’s been rather crazy of late.”

“Apparently so crazy you couldn’t contact me, one of the women you share your bed with,” she replied snidely.

Her comment got Will’s attention. “One?” He moved over to the sofa and sat down with a groan as his tired body settled in. “Marabeth or Darwin?”

“Are you sleeping with them, too?” She paired an olive with a slice of cheese and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” He had to laugh at her question and then shook his head. “No. Darwin’s not quite my style, nor is Marabeth.” He popped the olive and cheese into his mouth. “So you want to discuss the Prime Minister? Or shoot me and get it over with?” He smiled, hoping to lighten the mood.

“You could have told me, Will!” She frowned and sat in the armchair near him. “Instead, I had to hear it from Darwin,” she added, remembering how willing Darwin had been to comfort her. “You could do worse than Darwin, you know.”

“Nah, he’d insist on leading if we danced.” Will smiled briefly, but it faded. “Do you recall the discussion we had after the blow-up over Niro? I told you then that there was another that was more of a business arrangement?”

“Yes, but you also left me not knowing where we stood with each other,” she replied, obviously unhappy about that.

“I know.” He sighed aloud and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t have an answer for that either, Sey. When this all started, I was so insistent that you give up anyone else because I thought that’s what we should do. I had, and I suppose I was seeing it from my point of view. Now, the roles are reversed. I did part ways with her but when things blew up with us, I went back. Now, I’m in a difficult situation.” He held out his hand to her, though he wasn’t sure she was willing to touch him or not.

“What makes the situation difficult?”

“What do I do?” He met her gaze and held it. “I never wanted to hurt you and I hope you know that.”

Her jaw clenched. “Of course you didn’t. So what do you do? Perhaps part of the problem is that I don’t know what you’re doing, Will.”

“I have a history with Solaana, from years ago,” he admitted. “It’s part of the reason, I suppose, that she and I keep crossing paths. I do have an official position there, with her, one I’ve held for some time...off and on. I did give it up when we decided to live together. Then things got all mixed up for us and I realized that perhaps I’d been too hard on you, too insistent that you give up your lifestyle to fit what I wanted.”

“And?” She shook her head, still not understanding what he was doing or, more importantly, what he wanted. “So you’re involved with Solaana. Are you involved with me? Do you love her? Do you love me? What do you want, Will?”

He honestly considered the question as he looked back at her. “When we talked last, we agreed to keep each other informed if we had...other plans now and then. I failed to do that, but part of that time I was close to dying, and then we were tracking down the one who did it. I should have called you, I know. As for your question, do you still want me? Do you believe it’s possible to love two people? Does that make a difference to you?”

“I gave up my clients for you! The basis of my income and my daily work, gone, all for you!” Angry, she stood and stalked to the kitchen, tossing the plate to the counter there with a clatter. She came partly back into the living room. “Did you know that Orion females often have more than one husband? Some are purely... strategic pairings, done for an advantage of some sort; others are for personal reasons. So is it possible to love more than one person, yes, of course. It doesn’t diminish one’s love for the others. I don’t think you know what you want, Will.”

He rose in an instant and hurried across the room. Taking hold of her shoulders, he held her there, looking down into her eyes. “I want everything Seyla. I don’t want to give up my place down there but I don’t want to lose you either. I know that sounds selfish as hell but it’s the truth.”

“Then say that! I don’t care if you’re bedding down with the Prime Minister, Marabeth and Darwin! But let me know my place. Don’t make me guess,” she told him, her tone snippy.

“I don’t want Marabeth and Darwin.” He smiled down at her. “I was wrong to force you to give up the life you were happy with, Seyla. If you want to see your clients, that’s your choice and I’m fine with it either way.” Her words struck him, however. “Why is is up to me to decide what your place is? Don’t you have some say in that too?”

“My place with you, Will. That’s something that you determine. Am I a convenience for you? a lover? a loved one? Do I come behind Solaana or before her? Those aren’t things I have a say in, except if the situation isn’t to my liking.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you serious that I can take clients again?”

“If that is what you want, yes.” He released her shoulders and slipped his arms around her. “As for us, you surely know that you are not just a convenience. I do love you Sey. I don’t want to lose you and if this...you...are alright with me spending time with Solaana, that’s what I need to do.”

“I don’t mind you spending time with her, Will. You know you’re important to me; I gave up my clients for you. I wouldn’t do that for just anyone,” she certainly hadn’t ever done it for Suresh, the real one, nor for Darwin, not that he’d ever asked her to. A telepath would pick up that Seyla’s “important to me” was an Orion-ism for “I love you, too.”

“Thank you.” He pulled her close against him and gave a relieved sigh. “I just want you happy, Sey. Happy and still agreeing to see me. You know I can’t leave you.”

She hugged him. “It felt like you had, though,” she said, verbally pouting as she put her head on his shoulder.

“I almost left everyone,” Will answered. “It took some scrambling to get the antidote to the poison that fellow gave me. It was, to be blunt, an assassination attempt ordered by her second consort. Jealousy mixed with a healthy dose of craziness in my opinion. He’s now in prison along with his accomplice who was his father.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be her consort, then!” She looked up at him and put a hand on his cheek. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“He won’t be out of prison, ever.” Not alive anyway, Will knew, but he didn’t want to say so. “I don’t know that she will be so quick to replace him either.” He smiled finally. “No need to worry. Will you stay tonight? Please?”

“Yeah, I’ll stay Are you hungry?”

“I am, yes. It’s been a long day. Why don’t you call and have something sent while I get out of this uniform?”

“Sure. I could help you shower once I place the order,” she purred seductively.

“I thought you’d never ask.” He kissed her deeply, then strolled off to the bedroom.

**************
Seyla
Lt. Commander Will Harding, M.D.
Getting It Together