by -=/\=-Zanh Liis
80924.17
80924.17
Immediately after Off the RecordSoundtrack: I Will Remember You
by Sarah McLachlan
by Sarah McLachlan
-=O'Halloran's Pub, Cork=-
"I don't know the name..." Liis concentrated, trying to find any spark of memory related to it. "Should I?"
"No," Lassiter folded her hands and set them down atop the table. "You have no reason to. But he was Keiran's Jump partner for a long time. After," She looked at Zanh apologetically. '...after your initial era had ended."
"I see." Liis was surprised by the appearance of the man, who could now clearly be seen, as he took center stage in the room.
"Nice dress, Willy!" One of the older officers from the Perseids chided. "What cute knees you've got!"
"Yeah yeah, pipe down there you. You'll not dare to be insultin' the pride of the Lindsay Clan, will ya man?"
He twirled around, putting his legs on full display as his kilt flared.
"The only one who was allowed to do that with immunity was Keiran. And that's only 'cause I had a few things to say about the proud O'Sullivans of Cork mehself."
Laughter rose from the crowd, and Lindsay set a basket he was holding down onto a nearby table. He snapped his fingers impatiently. "Somebody get me a beer."
Liis' lip curled just slightly. "TI paired the Irish poet with..."
"...a crazy Scot? You bet we did, and the two of them were," Lassiter smiled wistfully. "They were very close." She watched Lindsay hold court for a moment before turning back to Liis with sorrowful eyes. "Don't let the showmanship fool you, Zanh Liis. The man is bleeding."
"I think I'd like to meet this William Lindsay." Liis announced, but then she hesitated, looking at Lassiter directly. "Unless there's a reason I shouldn't speak to him."
"It's all right." Lassiter assured her, knowing the only person who could be endangered by such a meeting was already dead. "We're about finished, for now. Go on."
"Thanks for your time."
"Zanh Liis,"
Liis looked up.
"Everything said here tonight...off the record. We'll have our official discussion tomorrow."
"Understood." Liis extended her hand to Lassiter now, genuinely wishing to shake. "Thank you, for everything. Somehow," she looked down at her feet. "It helps to know that,"
She didn't know what helped, exactly, only that something about being here had helped her on one of the worst nights of her life. "Helps to know. 'Night."
Liis quietly joined the crowd gathered around Lindsay.
He held his beer mug high into the air, sloshing suds of Guinness down the sides and onto the hardwood floor. "So I said to him, are you sure that you checked the bloody thing twice? Keiran glared at me as if I'd dared to question whether his mother had been baptized Catholic."
His audience laughed uproariously.
"It was only upon insisting, in a rather pissy manner, I might add, that he had indeed checked the compass twice that he realized that he wasn't carrying his at all. He'd picked up mine by mistake when we were resetting them at the end of the previous Jump."
He stopped, his speech interrupted momentarily by his own laughter.
"He looked at me, stone faced, called me a 'fekkin' wanker' and threw it at me! Hit me right between the eyes before I could even react. I kept the scar, see?"
He parted his hair proudly to display the permanent crease in his brow.
"Ten goddamn stitches!"
The laughter around him died out and people parted like the Red Sea upon discovering Zanh's presence.
Not seeing her, Lindsay became confused.
"I thought it was damned funny. Oh well, I guess maybe you need a few more beers in ya before you see the humor."
Someone asked a question that Liis couldn't quite hear.
"Why the stitches? Well, we were a long way from home, boys and girls. A long way. No dermal regenerators where we were. Jumping isn't for the faint of heart, you know." He shrugged, acutely aware that everyone was staring over his shoulder.
He turned to see what they were staring at, and inhaled sharply when he saw her.
The smile he'd been wearing evaporated into an expression of pure amazement, and he set his mug down and reached for her hand with both of his, quickly introducing himself.
"William Torquil Lindsay, at your service." Before she could give her name, it became apparent that she didn't need to. "God in Heaven. I didn't think we'd ever be in the same room."
He tugged her along by the hand toward a pair of chairs at the nearest table. He pulled one out for her, and Liis sat.
Once he was seated as well, he reached out and touched her face as though expecting his fingers to keep going right through her, as would happen if one attempted to touch a ghost.
He was having a very hard time believing she was real, a being of flesh and blood like himself.
"You know who I am, then?" Liis felt her cheeks burn as they reddened.
"Oh, yes." he laughed softly again, but not humorously this time. "I know exactly who you are." He paused, looking her over up, down, and sideways like someone sizing up a used vehicle they might purchase. His eyes were judgmental and Liis could plainly sense that he was seeking out her flaws.
"You're the woman who broke Keiran O'Sullivan's heart."
"I did no such thing." Liis scoffed at the audacity of his statement. "I think you must have lost a few brain cells during all of those Jumps, Lindsay. Or did they damage something vital in there when they resequenced you last?" It was the kind of insult that only another TI agent could understand.
"Whatever you say." He chuckled again, noting that she was everything that Keiran had described her to be. He sat back in his chair and slammed a hand down onto the table. "Barkeep! Bring me a bottle of Jack Daniels. And two glasses."
-=At the bar=-
Dane glanced up from the conversation he was having with Ashton Ledbetter to see if Zanh would accept that drink from the guy in the kilt, whoever he was. He was relieved to see that as soon as the glass was set in front of her, she pushed it away. Salvek had told him that if nothing else, he was to see to it that Zanh did not drink any alcohol tonight.
"You've grown up quite a bit since last I saw you," Ledbetter remarked, looking up at the taller Cristiane.
"We've met?" Dane didn't remember it, if it had happened.
"Not in person. But I was Zanh's partner when she was buying information from you on DS23." Ledbetter explained. "Another, please? Thank you." He set his wine glass down onto the bar with the utmost care after placing his order, and Dane just laughed. He couldn't imagine this uptight, proper man ever working with Liis.
-=Across the room=-
"I never broke his heart." Liis insisted, confused as to why it even mattered to her what this stranger thought of her. She could only assume that it was the fact Lassiter said that he and Keiran had been so close that made it matter. "Not intentionally, anyway." She shrugged. "If you only knew,"
"Oh, believe me, dearie," he snorted with an arrogance that annoyed her. "I know."
He noticed that she was fiddling with a chain around her neck, and upon closer inspection he recognized the item dangling from it.
"My God. That's something I haven't seen in a very long time. I don't suppose I could..." He reached out toward her again, and Liis slowly removed the chain and handed it, ring and all, over to him.
He held it up into the air, watching the light bounce off of the crest as it twirled at the end of the chain. "Only man I ever knew who still sealed his letters with wax and a signet ring."
"He was only several hundred years out of his element," Liis answered thoughtfully, as he handed the chain back to her and immediately filled his glass again. He took a significant swig of whiskey without batting an eye.
"I always thought that he was much more suited to the era of knights and chivalry than..." She held her arms wide in a helpless gesture. "This thing that we call modern society."
"Aye, I'll drink to that," He raised his glass to her even though she had declined the beverage.
"To Captain Keiran O'Sullivan; knight errant, time traveler," he slowly lowered the glass, sadness creasing his brow for the first time since he'd appeared. "...and my best friend."
Liis looked away.
She swiveled in her chair, turning when she heard an odd noise coming from behind her.
The basket that Lindsay had brought appeared to be...squealing.
"What the hell?" Liis jumped as the lid of the small wicker vessel began to move- seemingly under its own power.
"Oh god! I forgot!" Lindsay jumped out of his chair, kilt wafting in the breeze created by his movements, and grabbed the basket. "You all right, little lady? Here. Have a look."
He held the basket out and lifted the lid. Liis peered in and was greeted by two tiny, impossibly dark eyes.
"Something is alive in there!" She feared what it may be.
"Shhhhh. They won't want her in here," He shook his head. "There, girl. Here, here's your biscuit. Good girl."
"What is it?"
"That, my dear Zanh Liis, is the punch line to a ten year old inside joke."
He sat down heavily, holding the basket in his lap. He reached in, fingers entwining with a squirming puff of pure white fur.
"I was told that, when Keiran got back from this Jump he was done with TI." Lindsay's eyes fixed in a vacant stare. "They were going to pull out the big chair for him. The flagship." He shook his head. "I was so proud of him when I heard the news, I just about burst. But of course, I couldn't let him know that."
"Of course not."
"I had always told him that when he really made it big, that the Irish Giant was going to need a proper, stately companion at his station. Someone from, say, Scotland..." He reached into the basket, pulled the animal out and placed it onto his lap, hiding it in the folds of the tablecloth and hoping the din of the revelers would drown out its whimpers.
He pointed downward and Liis saw the puppy, which couldn't have been more than a few months old.
"The breed is called a West Highland White Terrier, and I thought...what better stately companion for a man of Keiran's size and temperament than a little Scottish bitch."
Zanh seemed confused by his use of that last word.
"Oh, no no. That's what Terran breeders call female canines, you know. Bitches."
"Ah." Liis was trying to ignore the tiny puppy, which was now sniffing at her hand. It turned its pure white, fluffy face up toward her. It looked very sad and its whining was absolutely pathetic.
It seemed to be crying out for something, or someone, very important that it had lost, somehow.
*I know how you feel,* Liis thought.
"The breeder wanted me to keep her myself, since Keiran won't be..." his words trailed off. "Oh, crap." He looked down and realized that the puppy had just made a small wet stain on the tablecloth. He leaned down, looking it in the eyes. "You're going to get me into a lot of trouble, you." He shook his head, and as he tried to pick the squirming whelp up to put it back into the basket, it managed to scoot from his lap over onto Liis'.
"Hey, it's not going to spring a leak over here too is it?" She shifted uncomfortably as the pup nuzzled her hand. Before she knew it, it had settled in with its tiny head against her palm and closed its eyes.
*Quit being cute, damn it.* She silently cursed it.
"Well, would'ya look at that now?" Will laughed. "Here I thought that I was gonna have to pawn her off on one of the Perseids crew. But I think she's already found her new best friend."
"Oh no. No no. I am not, how do you put it, a 'dog person'."
"Come on, Zanh Liis. One bona fide, pedigreed bitch deserves another." He took the liberty of teasing her, knowing her sense of humor well enough from the way Keiran had described her, and so knowing he had a better chance of getting to her through it than if he tried to appeal to her on a sentimental level.
"Highly amusing, Lindsay. You should take that act on the road."
"I am, actually," He answered, turning completely serious. "I'm getting back into the game."
"Honestly? You're coming out of retirement?"
"Now that Keiran," he stopped, again side stepping the act of speaking of Keiran's death directly. "Somebody has to reign in this younger generation in his stead. They are entirely too reckless with the consequences of traveling through time and space."
"Of course they are. Whereas we have always been the very model of restraint and discretion."
"Maybe not, but," Will shook his head. "We did always do our best, didn't we?"
Something in the tone of his voice brought tears to her eyes for the first time since she'd left the meadow.
She looked down at the little dog, asleep so soundly now, and for an instant, she actually considered the idea of taking it back with her.
The instant she realized that she had considered it, she picked the dog up and plopped it gently back into the basket, which was now beneath the table.
"Good luck finding a home for your friend, Lindsay. And thanks for the drink, it's been...real."
"No need to thank me, you didn't even drink it," Lindsay responded flatly, pouring what would have been her drink into his empty glass. "I'll be happy to dispose of it for you." He watched as she turned away. "Was good to finally meet you." He held his hand up suddenly. "Can I tell you something?"
She waited.
"Keiran was probably the closest thing I'll ever have in this life to a brother." He confessed. "We were a hell of a team, and we had few, if any, secrets. He knew my flaws, I knew his weaknesses."
He looked up into her eyes and reached for her hand again. "Just...want you to know that there wasn't a single day that I knew him that ever went by that you weren't a part of, somehow. You were always there."
She closed her eyes and shuddered at the thought.
"Take care, Lindsay." As she took a step she became aware of the sensation of something very soft brushing against her ankle. The puppy had climbed out of the basket and sniffed around until it found her skin. Then it plopped down on top of her foot.
"Oh, this can't, noooo." She picked it up, and suddenly a passing waiter marched up to protest.
"What do you think we're runnin' here? Dog has to go."
"Yes, Zanh Liis, shame on ya. Take your dog and go." Lindsay added with mock disgust.
Liis sighed, looking down at the pitiful little pile of white fur.
"Fine. If it stains the carpets on my ship, I'm sending you the cleaning bill. I'll get even with you for this." She picked up the basket, apologized to the waiter, and put the puppy back inside.
"I'll look forward to that." As Will Lindsay prepared to drink his fourth whiskey, tears suddenly obstructed his view of her image as she walked away. Again, he paused as he raised the glass toward his mouth.
He glanced down at his bare knees and the kilt which refused to cover them. He shifted position slightly, and sighed.
"How the mighty have fallen, eh? I just hope you're enjoyin' this.
"I lost the bet, and I wore the kilt to your funeral. Those were the terms of our agreement. On my honor, I kept up my end."
He stared at the Perseids crew across the room, at the empty chair across from him where Zanh Liis had sat moments before, and then hung his head in sadness.
"Damn you for dyin' first, Keiran. Damn you."
-=Across the room=-
"Dane!" Zanh barked at Cristiane, who was leaning on the bar and entirely too close to Gira Lassiter for her liking. "Time to go."
Dane's eyes pleaded with her, but he knew there was no changing her mind. He quickly said his goodbyes as Zanh stood in the doorway tapping her toe impatiently.
When he arrived beside her, he couldn't help but question her as to the contents of her interesting new handbag. "I know the basket completes the look and all, but is there any other reason you're carrying it, Dorothy?"
He jumped backward as the puppy let loose another squeal. "Jesus, is something alive in there?"
"Yes, and it's going to be your job to paper train it. Time to go back to Kansas, my pretty. You, me, and the little dog, too."
--------------
-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
-=/\=- Zanh Liis
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012