558: Simple Coincidence

by Fleur Le Marc
81005.18
The Morning After Movie Night

-=Takesian Plains, Bajor=-

Surely, it must have been a dream.

Fleur slowly opened her aching eyes and tried focus them to see in pre-dawn darkness.

There was no way that she had seen, or heard, what she was remembering in fractured bits and pieces.

He was not here.

He did not escort her home from the...medical tent?

And most of all he did not tell her that he and La Capitaine had parted, going their separate ways by choice.

"I do not have this kind of luck."

Then, she remembered another piece of the puzzle and quickly grabbed for the wrist lamp she kept by her sleeping bag.

Turning it on, she quickly shone it on the small bed where Tress had taken to sleeping beside her at nights, the two of them having grown very attached to each other in the time since Fleur had arrived.

The baby was not in her bed.

"Oh my God." Fleur flashed the light next down onto her own hands, arms, and legs finding gauzy bandages wrapped around them. Her own blood had wept through the dressings overnight, and the wounds stung when she attempted to move.

She ignored the pain, throwing her blanket over her shoulders as she left her shelter. She hurried to the medical tent, and upon looking inside, she saw two things and could not decide which was more beautiful.

One was tiny, eighteen-month-old Gillan Tress, wrapped in blankets and sound asleep with her thumb in her mouth.

The other was the still, angelic form of Jariel Camen, as he slept on one of the cots across the room.

The local doctor, who had only recently returned from visiting other nearby encampments, slept on a cot in the center of the space as well.

Not wanting to disturb them, Fleur reluctantly backed away. With one last lingering glance at Camen she stared, committing the image of him sleeping to memory so she could always recall exactly what it looked like. His curls framed his face in perfect waves, his eyelashes were impossibly long. His lips were softly parted as his chest rose and fell in rhythm with his breathing...it was a sight so much more enchanting than she had ever even dared to dream it.

After finally pulling herself away, she ambled slowly to her kitchen.

She was awake now, she may as well see if there was anything she could accomplish here, even if her injuries did preclude her from participating in the day's bread production.

Upon arrival she was surprised to find that Gillan Pace was already there, wearing an apron and kneading a large pile of dough. The room was warm and smelled of freshly baked bread; he had been at work for awhile.

"Good morning!" He grinned broadly and quickly crossed the room. He gave Fleur a quick kiss on the cheek, something he had never done before. "How is our hero this fine day?"

"Pffffft. I see no hero, only a woman in desperate need of tea," Fleur moved slowly, telling Pace that though she would never admit it, her injuries were causing her discomfort.

"Sit down, I will get it. The dough has to rise again anyway." He plopped the amazing-smelling concoction into a glass bowl and covered it with a towel before setting it aside. He washed his hands, and then filled the kettle from the supply of clean drinking water. "Darjeeling or Cinnamon?" He asked, knowing those were her two favorite kinds.

"Whatever is most convenient," Fleur hated to let him wait on her, but she was still unsteady on her feet, and so she did not try to argue. She slowly slid onto a tall stool beside the counter. "Thank you, Pace."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you." His eyes were misty as he spoke. "You saved her, Fleur. You, and that mysterious Vedek friend of yours. If not for the two of you we would've," he couldn't stand to think about what would have happened.

"The Vedek?" Fleur had not seen Jariel until after the crisis was over, she had no idea that he'd actually played a part in the rescue because, of course, he was far too modest to have mentioned it himself. "He helped us?"

"Helped? Saved the day is more like it. We were sliding and the ground was winning, and he just dove onto the rope. I couldn't believe how strong he was. He had no idea who was down in that hole, but he was willing to risk his life to save someone else's."

"He is a remarkable man." Fleur said softly as she stared off into the distance. Pace placed a steaming cup before her and then handed her the bowl of ground kava and a spoon. Fleur measured out two spoons into the cup to sweeten her tea and smiled gently. "Thank you."

"You should have seen the look on his face," Pace continued, turning his attention to the oven. He looked inside and saw that the loaves he'd already put in to bake were browning up nicely. "When he saw you. He looked like he'd just been struck by lightning."

Fleur did not respond.

"How long have you known him?" Pace pressed, curious.

"Pace,"

"Fleur," Pace sat down beside her and looked at her shyly. "I know it's none of my business. But you've given me plenty of advice about girls...and about..." he shrugged. "Do you remember when I asked you, awhile back, how you know when you're in love?"

Fleur nodded, looking downward. Her hair fell into her face, obscuring his view of her expression.

"You told me that I would know it when I saw her. That I would just know."

Fleur began to wring her hands, wincing, having forgotten about the cuts and scrapes upon them.

"I know what I saw yesterday when that man saw you standing there."

"Pace," Fleur looked up, tears running small rivers down her face. "He does not love me that way. The Vedek and I," she paused as saying those three words in that order stole the air from her lungs. She inhaled, exhaled, and then continued. "...we have been friends a very long time. But."

"Fleur,"

"It is not to be." She whispered, reaching out and taking his hand gently. "Some things are just not meant to be."

"But you love him." Pace replied with conviction, taking care not to squeeze her injured hand as he held it. "I can tell. I know, I know," he rolled his eyes. "I'm only sixteen. But I've lived a lot in my sixteen years, especially the last one, since the storms, and,"

"...and?"

He reached out and touched her nose gently with his fingertip. "I may never have been in love myself yet, but I know what it looks like when I see it. Because my father," he brushed the tears from her cheek gently as he tried to force the words out. "Used to look at my mother the way that." Sadness prevented him from saying any more until he managed to regain his composure. "Why do you think that it's not meant to be?"

"Because," Fleur answered pushing her teacup away before finally standing up and turning her back to him. She just couldn't look at him and say what she had to say. "He told me so himself. Just before I."

Suddenly, things were beginning to make sense to Pace.

"You came here...because of him. Didn't you?"

"I came here because I wanted to help the people, Pace. I had heard from him all about the storms and his words haunted me. I wanted to do something useful with my life, for a change. Rather than..." she hated to admit the next part, but she felt she owed him an answer that was truthful. "Rather than sitting around feeling sorry for myself over what I cannot have. And look." She turned back to him and brushed his hair back affectionately. "I have gained so much. A brother," she smiled upon him, "a young sister. Mothers and fathers. Family. Something I have never had."

"If he had not told you that it wasn't meant to be, would you have come here?"

Unable to lie to him, Fleur shook her head. "I don't know, Pace. But...likely I would not."

"Don't you see!" He leapt off of his chair and gestured emphatically. "Don't you see, Fleur? You came here because of him, and now he's here and he saved your life, Fleur I have no doubt of it. Yours and Tressie's and probably the rest of us who were holding onto the rope too. He's here, and he,"

"Pace," She dreaded what he was likely to say next, that it was 'the will of the Prophets'. She hadn't wanted to think about Them for a very long time, and did not have the desire to now, either. "It's just a coincidence."

"I don't believe it." He insisted. "I won't believe it."

Fleur heard the sound of people beginning to mill around outside, and looked out of the small window. The sun was coming up, people would be seeking something to eat soon before they started their day of building work.

"I should go and see if the doctor is ready to release Tress to us yet," Fleur whispered. "I want to spend some time with her before I get to work."

"You can't work on the building today, Fleur, are you serious? Look at you!" He indicated her bandages. "You're a mess."

"I may be a mess, Pace," she replied softly, "But the injuries outside are far less painful than the one on the inside will be if I do not find a way to make myself useful today. Will you see to the rest of the baking for me? If Prylar Delle asks, tell her that I did not want to handle the dough with my hands as they are."

"She'd chase you out of here if she saw you anyway. If she finds you at the work site..."

"Then I'd better go before she comes looking." Fleur stood on tip-toes and kissed Pace on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For being my friend."

"I'll always be your friend," Pace promised. Before he would let her go, he had to say one thing more. "Fleur, have you changed since you've come here?"

"What?"

"Are you different now, because of all the time you've spent here with us?"

She didn't even know how to answer the question. There wasn't a single aspect of her personality that had remained the same since she'd come here.

Even the one thing that had changed the least, her feelings for Camen, had changed in that she had so much more respect now for the work he'd done with his life. He had always spent his time in the unselfish service of others. Fully comprehending the depth of his sacrifice had made her wish even more that there was someone who was there just for him. Someone he could turn to without hesitation and know, just know that he was going to be accepted and cared for always, just as he was, without ever having to do a thing.

He deserved so much more than he'd ever been given, by anyone.

She had been arrogant to think that she could be the one to show him that kind of affection, if she was just close enough to him physically, long enough. She had wanted to believe the dreams or visions or whatever they were that she'd had, the ones that told her that if she was just patient, he'd finally, truly see her.

She realized now that he did see her, but she was not what he wanted. There was nothing left now but for her to accept it.

"If you're different," Pace whispered, his eyes sparkling with youthful optimism, "Isn't it possible that your Vedek is different too? That something has changed him since you saw him last and maybe,"

"You shouldn't love people if you're going to do it with expectations attached to it," she replied, speaking from experience. "If you're going to love someone, love them just because they are worth loving, and ask nothing from them in return. That was my mistake, Pace, you see, I wanted him to love me back."

She brushed tears from the corners of her eyes again and sighed heavily. "Now I've realized that I love him, because I love him and that will never change. Even if he can't love me, he is still so much more worthy of my affection than any other man I've ever known."

"Even if he doesn't return it." Pace shook his head at the thought.

Fleur nodded. "Oui. See, he can be taught!" She teased, gently tapping him on the forehead with her finger.

"Seems such a shame..." he wanted to try to make her smile before she went about the rest of her day. "...half of the Takesian Plains' Law Enforcement Department is madly in love with you for your culinary skills alone."

"Pfffffft."

He laughed as he teased her gently, but his words did have some truth in them. He knew that at the very least, Drial Dier was quite taken with their Terran visitor, only she had never noticed.

"Pace, you're a good boy, thank you." Fleur smiled but her eyes did not match the rest of her expression. She reached out, ruffling his curly hair again. "Now go and finish the baking, hm?"

"Yes, Fleur, I will. Give Tressie an extra kiss for me?"

"I'll bring her by to see you in a little while." Fleur promised.

She paused, her mouth opening as though she wanted to say something more; but she thought better of it at the last minute, and then, she was gone.

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Fleur Le Marc
Currently on Bajor