by Zanh Liis
80812.22
...continued from part one
80812.22
...continued from part one
Liis felt her eyes pool with tears now as well, and she threw her arms around the sweet little soul. Eilish and Molly scrambled to find tissues.
"Ah, the bride's make up will need to be done again," Eilish exclaimed, laughing away her own tears. Molly, the most stoic of the O'Sullivan sisters, just shook her head at the display going on around her.
"You women are emotional wrecks," she declared, reaching out to place a gentle hand upon her sister's prominent belly. "Eilish, you're with child so 'tis understandable and Mary Clare always cries at everythin'. But you, Zanh Liis," Molly was amazed,
"I've never once seen you shed a tear before. Tears of joy, I'm hopin'?"
Liis nodded, accepting the tissue and dabbing at her eyes. She winked at Molly and doing her best 'Keiran' impression, she answered.
"Aye. They are that."
Her response brought laughter from her new-found sisters, and Liis realized in this moment that for the first time in her life, she knew how it felt to belong.
"Just a few more things before we're to begin," Mary Clare continued, sniffling softly. She handed Liis a delicate handkerchief. "Carry this today, and then when the time comes, I'll add a few stitches to it and your first baby can wear it as a bonnet for the Christening." She realized suddenly what she'd said, and qualified the remark. "Granted, of course, you'll be havin' a Christening..."
"Whoa, slow down, we're not even married yet." Liis laughed softly, a little overwhelmed. "Let's get to that first then we'll talk about everything else." She held the fragile looking gift gratefully and with awe. "It's so beautiful. Thank you, Mary Clare." she looked down at it again and gasped. "No, this can't be." She saw the initials carefully embroidered onto it, and all three women nodded.
"Yes," Eilish whispered. "It belonged to Mother."
"I can't accept this, one of you should keep it for your own children," Liis tried to hand it back. "It's a family heirloom."
"But don't you see? You're our family now too, Zanh Liis." Molly insisted.
"Aye." Eilish added quickly. "You're making our brother a happy man for the first time in all his days, how can we ever do an'athing but love you for it?"
Liis was truly speechless. She nodded, folded the handkerchief and secured it inside of the sleeve of her gown.
"Sun's settin'," Molly declared, "About time to start. What's missing?"
"Something is missing, I just don't know what." Liis looked in the mirror at her delicate lace gown. She adjusted the off the shoulder neckline, and she looked down at her shoes then up at her reflection in the mirror again.
"I do!" Mary Clare exclaimed, and she ran out of the room. "Right back!"
A moment later she returned with a sprig of small white flowers and handed them to Liis.
"For your hair, then."
Liis grinned, and used the clip already holding her hair back and away from the right side of her face to also hold the flowers in place. "Thank you."
All three O'Sullivan sisters chattered their approval and then the two oldest retreated, intent on leaving the bride alone for a moment to gather her thoughts.
Last to leave was Mary Clare, who still had tears in her eyes.
Once her sisters had vanished to gather everyone together outside, the young nun looked at Liis and begged her sincere response to a very important question, which she tried to approach cautiously as possible. "Just, tell me one thing more, yeah?"
Liis stared at her reflection still, unable to believe what she saw there. She never imagined this day would come in her lifetime; in any timeline. "Of course," she answered absently.
"Do you truly love him, then?"
Liis turned, staring at Mary with concern that she felt the need to ask the question.
"Because I don't think Keiran could ever live without you, Zanh Liis, you see? And I, I love my brother so, you know," she stopped.
Liis crossed the room swiftly and put her hands on the small woman's shoulders. "I love him, Mary Clare," she whispered. "I swear to you."
A look passed between them and finally, Mary Clare felt satisfied. She cleared her throat and smiled her ever- gentle smile upon Zanh Liis once more. "Aye. Then we best be gettin' this wedding started. I'll come back for you soon, la."
-=In the smaller bedroom=-
"I'm only grateful that your mother, God rest her soul, isn't here to see this day." The eldest member of the O'Sullivan clan fretted, pacing about the room with his cane in one hand and his Bible in the other.
He'd finally managed to out-run the tactics of his six other children and had a moment alone with his middle-born son. "Aye, glad of it! Hopefully she's far too busy in Heaven today to see from there what you're doin' down here!"
"Come on, old man. Don't be saying things like that, yeah?" Keiran wished very much that his mother was here to see this day.
"World must be comin' to an endin'. Never thought I'd live to see the day when any O'Sullivan would be marrying a girl who isn't..."
Keiran waited for his father to say the word, and when the old man did, he winced.
"...Catholic."
"Maggie was plenty Catholic and we all know how that turned out." Mary Clare scolded, clucking her tongue as she came back into the room. "Mother would be pleased that Keiran is so happy, and so loved as he is by Zanh Liis, Father. For the love of all that's good, let it go."
Mary Clare was her father's favorite, and the old man softened a bit at the admonition of his youngest child. "Besides. Father Quinn is doing the ceremony I don't know what more ye could want of the woman. She's Bajoran, Da. You really expected her to convert and marry him in the church, yeah?"
"Yeah."
Keiran and Mary Clare sighed heavily in unison. Then the tiny woman with dark auburn curls poking out from beneath her ever-unsteady nun's veil and freckles sprinkled across her fair and lovely face stood on her tip toes and kissed her brother on the cheek once again. "You look fine today, Keiran. Mighty fine. Ma would be so proud of you."
She held out a single red rose blossom for his inspection. "Is this the one you were wantin'? So many in bloom in the garden I didn't know which rosebush you meant."
"Aye, that's the one. Thank you, Littlest." She began to fuss with the pin, attaching the perfect rose to the lapel of his black suit coat. She couldn't help but give him another kiss on the cheek when she was through. "She looks lovely, Keiran. Wait till you see."
Keiran's heart sped up. Would twilight never come? This had been the longest day of his life, he would swear to it. But a ceremony at twilight was what Liis wanted, and so it was what she would get.
"I'm sure she does, that," he whispered breathlessly. He had thought this day would never come and now that it had, he could hardly believe he wasn't dreaming.
"You're determined to do this, then?" Teirney O'Sullivan asked his son, one last time.
"Aye, Da. Nothing can stop me. Nothing." *Not even Time and Fate itself,* Keiran thought defiantly.
"Then we best be gettin' it over with." The old man shook his head, and set the Bible aside. Keiran knew this was his father's way of showing his affection; but still, he wished he could just accept Liis as she was. Perhaps he would, in time.
"Come on, dear one," Mary Clare smiled, taking her brother by the hand. "Your bride doesn't want to keep you waitin' any longer."
-=End Flashback=-
Zanh Liis felt as though she was looking at a stranger in the glass as tears rolled down the face of her reflection.
The memories from her perspective were painful enough.
The ones from Keiran's were simply devastating.
How had he ever found the strength to go on when the timeline that began with a wedding and such joy ended in such sadness?
*You're far stronger than I will ever be,* she thought. *I envy that strength.*
She realized that time was running short and made her last adjustments to her new hairstyle.
This would have to do.
She put on a simple black overcoat, tied the belt across her waist and stepped into her shoes.
This was Vol's big day, and she intended to wear a broad smile, no matter what.
That smile would be very hard to maintain. Especially knowing as she now did that if all went according to plan...when the Bonding was over Vol would, like so many before him, be leaving her life and her crew.
She had not known the Counselor for very long, but she knew for sure that she was really going to miss him after he was gone.
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-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS SerendipityNCC-2012
-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS SerendipityNCC-2012