The Core Knowledge Revelation

Posted on Sun Sep 11th, 2022 @ 6:48pm by Ensign Alexandra 'Lexi' O'Connery & Commander William Gerhard

Mission: Mission 6 - Memory
Location: Deck E - Officer Quarters
Timeline: Day 303 - 0130 hrs
1828 words - 3.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Lexi sat working at the desk that was not hers trying to figure out what she wanted to say. They had all been encouraged to write or record personal logs to try and get whatever happened between them and the psychological torture that Smith and put them through out in the open. She glanced back to sleeping form of her boyfriend and smiled softly. It was not often that she was in his quarters but it seemed better for the little bit more space they got to allow him to rest after his eventful couple of days and the CPR that have been performed on him. Shaking her attention away from watching him she returned her attention to the PADDs and started to write out all the thoughts that she had.

William lay in his own bed, reveling in the comfort the biobeds in sickbay lacked. His breathing was steady. For the first time in a long time, he hadn't felt a sense of dread when he'd gone to his dreams. Lexi had been with him, and her presence had soothed him even more, the way she had helped him undress and tucked him in. He now sensed that she wasn't with him, and he opened one eye to see her sitting at his desk looking over some PADDs. The sound of her typing echoed in the small room, but he didn't disturb her.

Frustrated finally with the confusion of her jumbled thoughts she topped typing plunging the small space into silence again.

“You were not the one who was meant to die.” She whispered without really thinking She scrubbed her face confused before it all came to her why she had been so upset and down in the dumps before the tower incident. She set the PADD down and tried to understand why the data core upset her so much.

"Who was meant to," he asked as he slowly sat up. He winced again as he let the sheets fall of him before he leaned against the bulkhead. The metal felt cool against his back and he met her eyes when she looked over to him. He gave her a reassuring nod before he rubbed the spot on his chest which still showed some bruising. He heard her chair move as she came back over to sit on the bed with him.

The woman sighed as she slowly rose and moved across the small space climbing onto the bed with him. She tugged the tee she wore around her better as she crossed her legs and rested her head against the wall. “Me… remember when we found the core? You left me, Elegy and Sloan there and then they both came to find you leaving me to secure the core. Well it activated on the ships manifest and my name wasn’t on it for July 2156.” She admitted not quite meeting his eyes as she revealed that between now and July she something left her not the on the manifest.

The revelation that this was the secret that had been bothering her registered with William. It was a sign that her memories had fully returned, but it was also a sign that she was now ready to talk with him about this issue. He nodded slightly and looked back at her. "I see, and I can understand why you didn't want to share that with me. But there was nothing that says the future was set in stone," he said softly before he reached out and intertwined his fingers with hers. He gave her hand a soft squeeze to reassure her. "Do you remember what you told me when I asked if you wanted to know your future," he asked softly.

The woman shook her head as she moved closer and lay her head slowly against his chest conscious of the bruises. “I do not. It is all still a little fuzzy but I do remember that I saw the manifest and nothing more. It’s been a cloud over me since.” She sighed speaking Swedish. “I knew you would say something like that but I did not want you to worry.”

Feeling her hair against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He rested his chin atop her head and breathed her scent in deeply. "It was after we'd first gotten back with the data core, and I asked if you would be curious to what your future held. Your response was a pretty firm no, that you wanted to live your life not knowing the steps you would take," he said softly before continuing. "I knew there was something bothering you then, but I never wanted to force the issue until you were ready. We also promised that we would see what our future holds together, that you would keep me out of trouble," he said laughing slightly before wincing again.

“Why I am having such issue with directing my thoughts away from knowing that I might not be there in the immediate future.” Lexi said relaxing more into him being there. It was nice to just have him there again and being able to just enjoy the comfort. “It was an accident me seeing it but it is what it is and I am sharing.”

"I think it's only natural, even for someone like you who wants to not know about their future," he said in response. "I can't say that I fault you for that. If I had seen the same thing, it would probably be in the back of my mind as well. Especially given what happened," he said again before trailing off. While he had told her that he had thought briefly during his attack about letting go, he was still struggling with it somewhat. William had always been a fighter, and the fact he had even contemplated the idea of embracing his death had rocked him to his core.

Lexi said nothing for a long moment before she finally said something instead of it just going around in her head. "I know that but the version of me before I got here didn’t know how to process it. She was scared... No petrified of what was coming our way. She didn’t know if she was going to die happy or if it was going to be terrible. I thought the tower incident…” she moved her face to look up at him and shrugged that whole event did not need to be mentioned but she had been sure that it was going to be the end.

He met her gaze and pulled her closer. There was nothing that needed to be said about the tower. She had been at the precipice much like he had been, but she had come back. It showed the type of person she was, she was a fighter. "But you came back, and your here now. Just as i was. If that's not a sign that your meant to be here then...," he said before trailing off. He closed his eyes and rested his chin on top of her head as they stayed like that in that moment. The only sound was of their breathing and the low hum from the ship.

Lexi let him bring her back and just enjoyed the steadiness that he offered. It was nice to just be comforted and to have someone who was there for her. “Meant to be be together.” She finally said. “It’s a sign we are meant to be together.”

He closed his eyes and let her words wash over him. He still got butterflies when she talked about them. They had been through a lot. They had seen each other at their highest and lowest points. Lexi was William's whole world. He never wanted to spend another day without her in his life. "Lexi, I love you so much. I never want to spend another day without you in my life," he said as he turned her face towards his so he could look her in the eyes.

Lexi had nearly fallen asleep in the sudden warm silence and blink as he lifted her chin. “I… lo…”

"Alexandra O'Connery, will you...," William said before pausing and taking a moment. He focused on her eyes and smiled slightly, "Will you be my wife?"

Lexi’s mind stopped whirling like it normally did and she stared at him dumbstruck. “You called me Alexandra…” She finally said smiling at him as she moved to kiss him.

He smiled back at her as he felt her lips press to his. "I felt that a question as important as that warranted some formality," he said as they pulled apart. He looked back into her eyes once more, "You didn't answer my question though." He raised his eyebrows in anticipation as he felt the butterflies start up again.

“Oh… well … I assumed…of course, I will.” She said teasing him but deep down she said it without hesitation or doubt. How could she say anything other than agree to what he requested from her? “I love you.”

"I love you too," he said as he kissed her deeply. Time seemed to slow then, and he could feel her arms snaking around the back of his neck. Her fingers ran through his hair, and when they separated he couldn't help but grin wildly at her. "Now, I'm not really sure what the protocol is going forward," he said the joy plainly evident in his voice.

"You get to tell the Captain." She chuckled as she stayed close refusing to shift away from him after what felt like weeks of not being close to him. "I mean... when you are ready to tell people." The Captain would be the only one on board who could make anything official but Lexi was just happy in the little bubble of them again.

He squeezed her tightly before kissing her once more. He let his lips linger on hers for a bit longer before he pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers. "I'm ready for everyone to know how much you mean to me," he said softly.

“Big words.” She teased him smiling more at the revelation he had made. It was so uncharacteristic for him but it spoke huge volumes about what had happened to him and them as a couple.

"Big words that are true," he said grinning back at her. He pulled her close and rested his chin on top of her head. "This is the beginning of our new lives together," he said softly.

"I like the sound of that." Lexi leaned back against him and just enjoyed the closeness he was offering to her when they had not been this close in a very long time since the Bable Planet. "True words are the best words." She added wishing she could see his face but she could his heart beating under her cheek.