Facing Demons part two

Posted on Sat Feb 18th, 2017 @ 6:51pm by Senior Captain Connor McKinney M.D. PhD & Captain Madeline Sanchez
Edited on on Wed Sep 12th, 2018 @ 6:35pm

Mission: My Place In This Universe
Location: Connor's Apartment
Timeline: 2388/08/12 0730 (August 12 2388 0700 - 0800-ish)

He stared after her, "wha..no.." and then walked out quickly following her. "Maddie!"

Continuing...


Already standing by Connor's front door, Maddie raised an eyebrow and said "You said yourself that whatever this is needed to be done. So do it." She looked at him pointedly, eager to ensure that he carried out whatever it was.

Having leaned with his hand on the door frame, Connor now closed his eyes for a moment finally admitting to himself that with what he had to do, he didn't want to be alone. He nodded and opened his door, gesturing he wanted her to enter before him.

With a satisfied nod, Maddie stepped inside and turned to face him as she said "I'll uh..." she stopped for a moment before asking "Shall I sit down or...wait on the balcony or...." Now she was in his quarters, she had no idea what she was making sure he was doing or whether she was in some way supposed to help and so then she frowned and asked "Uh...so what was it you're actually going to do?"

Connor walked around her and into the livingroom to show her the crate. It sat as high as his lower torso, and standing next to it, he folded his arms. "What remains of my life from SB900." he said turning towards her. "It had been shipped to my parents, rerouted to here along the way."

"I see." Maddie replied softly, "And opening it up will bring back too many memories?" she asked, her head tilting slightly to appraise him as she waited for a response.

"Something like that." Connor said staring back at her, then away. Memories. So many still missing from his past, and then there were those he felt haunted by. Unfolding his arms, he moved over to the couch, sat down, and leaned forward as he started rubbing his hands together.

"Are you sure you want me here?" Maddie asked, "I kind of feel like I bullied my way in here and what you're about to do is kind of personal and none of my business." she added, regretting her 'take charge' attitude.

His hands holding each other, Connor looked up to her, "If I didn't want you here, " he replied, "you wouldn't be. But if you want to bail," he hesitated, "I won't keep you here."

"I don't want to bail." Maddie replied quietly as she sat down beside him.

"Thank you." Connor nearly whispered, staring at her, and the stress was showing more. He looked away again, running his hands down his face before saying, "Nearly four months ago...I was mugged, severely beaten, 'n' it was reported I had karked-it in surgery..." His eyes returned to hers, "While it was believed that my body had been shipped along with my belongings to my parents, on Earth, I was found two weeks later on a starship, having been placed in a medically induced coma."

"Your family were told you were dead?" Maddie looked shocked. It must have been awful for them and then to find out it wasn't true? She shuddered at the thought.

"Along with my former crew mates...'n' Oralia." He looked downwards at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name.

"That must have been terrible...for them and for you." Maddie replied softly, the mention of Oralia's name causing a totally irrational flare of emotion within her which she refused to give name to.

Connor nodded. "It was...", he said glancing over to her, and then pushed himself off the couch to walk over to the crate. He opened it, and stared into it. There was a piece of folded paper, addressed to his parents in Oralia's handwriting. "Will you help me?" he asked quietly, his brows knitted together as he stared again into the crate.

"Of course I will." Maddie smiled softly at him before walking to his side, "Just tell me what you want me to do." she added as she looked down into the crate.

With a lost expression, he picked up a small black velvet ring box, and handed both it and the letter to her. "Place these on the coffee table?" he asked, looking over at her.

Maddie nodded silently and took the box and letter. Clearly it had a lot of meaning but it wasn't her place to ask and so she quietly set it down on the table without a word and turned back to face him.

Connor was rubbing his forehead, the meaning of Oralia writing to his parents, the letter placed next to the ring box... Had they been placed in there together? Had she been the one to pack the crate? Shaking his head, he leaned onto the crate and pinched between his eyes.

"You can do this." Maddie said softly as she reached out to touch his shoulder, "And at least once it's done, you won't have it hanging over your head anymore no?"

After removing his hand, Connor stared down at her momentarily with emotion filled eyes. Finally, he nodded back to her in acknowledgement, and then looked back to the contents of the crate. Using both hands, he lifted out some framed photos, started unwrapping one and recognized it to be one of several pictures Oralia had taken of him. He cleared his throat, and said quietly as he handed her one and then another, "I guess she had no more use for these."

"They're lovely photos." Maddie commented, wondering if it would be weird to ask if she could have one before chastising herself for being ridiculous and setting them down on the table.

That was when Connor saw the guitar case peeking beneath more wrapped items, and his mind flashed back...

He took a few angry steps towards Jackson Banning, the owner and manager of The Nexus nightclub on Starbase 900, his prior posting. His fist were balled, "You're going to look me in the eyes 'n' tell me you don't want her!?" he demanded. "You're right, I don't trust you!"

"I never said that. I said I've not done anything about it. I stepped aside a long time ago back on the Berkeley, Connor. Told her so too." Jackson looked him up and down. "Now, you wanna talk more about this, settle down."

"Settle down...?" Connor shook his head, giving a small sarcastic chuckle, turning a bit while an image of ripping Jackson's head of with a scalpel went through his head. "My heart is being ripped apart by the woman I love, and you..." one hand ran down his face and neck, "pretended to be my 'friend', lying to me, and you want me to settle down..", and he turned completely away, unable to take the image anymore, nor the anger, he rushed up onto the stage, and grabbing the guitar he just played the night before, he smashed it over and over again onto the piano.

With a startled breath, Connor's hand came up to cover his mouth, and a part of the memory of the last time he saw Jackson came rushing back to him...

Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in, Connor slid his backpack off, placing it beside him and the guitar down in front of him as he sat in a chair. "I want you to have this", he said, meaning the guitar and the look in his eyes revealed it was no simple gesture.

Jackson met Connor's eyes and held them for a long moment before he smiled. "That's right generous of you but you're the guitar player in the crowd." He paused as he studied the doctor before him. "And why does this feel like a lovely parting gift? I'd rather you hung around to come play with me now and again."

Leaning forward in his seat, Connor looked to the floor covering his mouth with one hand, then pulling it away to gesture to the guitar, "Look, I'm here to make amends for what I did be...", and cutting himself off he stared at it, "It..it isn't replicated. It's an authentic Gibson", his eyes moved back to Jackson's, "I want you to have it."

"Then I'll say thank you. I'm touched, Connor, really..."

Pressing his lips together, his faced reddened, Connor's jaw tightened. "Place them back in the box!" he demanded, and slapped a hand angrily against one side of the crate.

"Why?" Maddie looked at him curiously, wondering what had just changed.

Connor had walked over to the other side of the room, and in trying to answer her, the tears threatened as no words came out, and he swung away from her, "Because it meant nothing to him.." meaning the guitar, not thinking about that she wouldn't know what he was referring to. He turned back towards her, "Because I chased her to him." He looked around at nothing, "She had already left me...before she thought I was dead."

Maddie didn't understand the full story underlying his words but she could recognise a man in pain when she saw one. Silently she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly in the hope of giving him at least a little bit of comfort right now.

He hugged her back, wanting that comfort, and he realized, not just from anyone...only from her.


End


Captain Madeline Sanchez
XO/Assistant Dean
Magellan Campus

Doctor Connor McKinney
Dean
Magellan Campus