Found Again

[Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart]

Cassiopeia was slow to wake up. She was confused at that at first, as well as why the back of her head was throbbing. And then her eyes slowly cracked open. The teen stared up at the metal bulk head for a long, heavy moment, the truth of it slowly sinking into her brain.

I'm back on the Plunder's Heart. I'm back home. I'm back . . . .

Most of her thought process derailed as everything that had happened for the past six months came flooding over the top of her. Now without Clara near-by to deaden the emotion. Her eyes slowly widened, color draining from her face. Breath panting in quick gasps, the machines she'd been hooked to began beeping and screeching in protest as her vitals skyrocketed in reaction to her distress.

Her nightmare had come true. All of those people . . . she had killed so many people, and never cared. Clara had told her to kill them, and so she had done it. Mercilessly. Like a machine.

Like a monster.

Cassiopeia wrenched herself from the bunk with a agonized screech, ripping out IVs and sensors along the way. She crawled somewhat blindly into the corner then, sobbing. Hugging her knees and shaking violently, somewhat insensible to anything else around her. Even when Andromeda came running in, kneeling down beside her. Crying as well, trying to hug her and tell her it was okay. Cassi just continued to shake and huddle in a ball.

She wasn't entirely sure how long it was before Andromeda finally left. It might have been minutes or hours, she didn't know. Nor was she entirely sure how much time passed before Josetta was suddenly kneeling in front of her. The older woman reached out to stroke the hair that had slipped free from her matted braid, causing the teen to flinch a little and sob again.

The redhead was silent for some time, continuing to pet Cassi's hair. And then, "where do you stand, Cass?" the pirate questioned then, tone soft. "With us or with them?"

Cassi didn't reply, merely continued to tremble and stare somewhat off into nothingness, her arms tightening a little where she'd wrapped them around her knees.

"I need to know, Cassi," Josetta pressed. "I'm sorry. It's a hard question to ask and this is a confusing time. But I need to know, Princess."

". . . I killed them, Jo," she whispered then, finally. Tone hoarse and horrified. "I killed them all." Her expression crumpled somewhat. "And I liked it. Why did I like it?" The blond teen finally turned to stare Jo in the eye, her own filled with raging guilt and horror. "She made me like it, Jo. She told me it was the right thing to do. And when she said it, it made so much sense . . . ." Cassi started to cry again at that, somewhat tortured. "But I never meant to hurt anyone. I swear I didn't!"

"But you did, Cassi," was Josetta's sad reply. "And that will be with you for the rest of your life." Before the blond could become any more depressed, however, the older woman continued with, "but you're here now, and if you want to be with us, be on our side, we can help you through it, Princess. One day at a time, we can help you through it. Like a family does."

Cassi just shook her head. "Everyone will hate me now," she whispered. "And they should. I've become a monster."

"You're not a monster," her mother protested firmly. "And no one will hate you. No one does hate you. This war isn't black and white, Princess. Sure, not everyone's pleased with what you did, but what you did isn't you and they know that. To them, you're still the same Cassi. They haven't judged you, and they never will."

Cassi stared up at Josetta then, caught somewhere between disbelief and pained hope. "But what about you?" she murmured then. "You have more reason to hate me than anyone. I hurt some of the crew. I tried to make you kill me. And I . . ." she had started to mention Morgan, but cut herself off. Even mentioning his name might be too painful at this point.

The redhead just sighed, however, reaching out to stroke her cheek, the tenderness in the action--mirrored by the same in the woman's blue eye--was nearly Cassi's complete undoing. "Why would I hate my own daughter?" Jo whispered then. "I don't hate you, baby girl. I love you. And I love Clara. Nothing's ever going to change that."

Cassi released her death-grip on her knees, only to fall forward and bury her face in her mother's chest with another sob--though this one was of the more thankful variety--her arms wrapping tight around Josetta's middle. The older woman held her just as tightly, nuzzling her cheek against the top of Cassi's head.

"Welcome back, Princess," Jo murmured into her hair. "It's good to have you home."

[Morgan Halcyon]

Morgan found himself standing in front of Cassi's door, a day after she had returned. In his arms, he was holding the squirming dog Roger, now less of a puppy than he had been when Cassi left. He sighed and opened the door. Immediately, the yorkie squirmed out of his arms and bolted straight for the stunned Cassi, bounding up into her lap and licking her face. She giggled despite herself.

"Get off, Rog!" She said with a laugh, and then she noticed Morgan in the hallway. A deer-in-headlights look went across her face and she stood still, despite the small licky dog in her face.

The two of them stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, before Morgan said, "I'm sorry I put you through that."

Cassi sat up and stared down at her feet, expression pained, and she shrugged.

"...I'm sorry because I..." Morgan glanced away, steeling up his confidence. "You're so young, Cassi. I...." The look on his face became more determined. "....I treated you badly. So horribly. A man should never treat the woman he loves that poorly. Ever."

Cassi's lips trembled, and a tear dropped from her eye. "It's okay, Morgan. I know you don't really . . . you don't have to pretend for my sanity’s sake. I'll be okay. I-I . . . I know how much you love Jo. I saw you talking to Andi, the day I left. I heard you tell her that you never would have slept with me, if you still had Jo. I never should have interfered with that." A sad sigh, barely even hearable, escaped her mouth.

"Damnit Cassi, that wasn't me admitting to not loving you. That was me telling your sister that what she did wasn't any different from what I did." Morgan said, stepping forward., at which Cassi blinked outwardly. Morgan looked her in the eye and said, "I do love you, Cass. I really, really do."

She looked torn, both wanting to believe him and wondering if this was all a dream. "Then why . . . why didn't you ever tell me before?"

"...I felt like the worst person in the world, Cass. I didn't want it to be true, that I was falling for you. And, Christ, you're young. When I was your age, I didn't know what love meant. One tumble and I thought I was head over heels with my soulmate at sixteen. I thought you would grow out of it." Morgan gave a dark chuckle. "Guess I was wrong."

Though her expression was blank, Cassi's lip twitched a little when she said, "Yeah . . . well . . . boys are notoriously dumber than girls, you know."

Morgan let out a laugh at that, but quickly grew more serious again. "What happens with us now, Cass?"

Cassi let out another pained sigh. "I don't know." She looked at him with sad eyes." I don't want to hurt Jo anymore. Not after . . ." Cassi then vainly attempted to wipe away her tears, but they were coming too quickly. "Not after everything else that I've done.

"We're divorced." That exclamation stunned Cassi--with both elation and guilt. "Never woulda thought me cheating would have been the end of it." The First Mate sighed. "It's not all you, Cass. We were growin' apart anyway. This was the final nail in the coffin. So I repeat." He stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "What happens next?"

She stared back up at him, face solemn. ". . . you still want me, even after . . . after everything that I did?"

"What part of 'I love you' didn't you understand?"

Cassi threw herself around his middle, cuddling against his chest, her yorkie scampering out of the way just in time. He held her back, as close as he could, and smiled.

"Welcome home Cass. Welcome home."

[Cassiopeia Reyes-Hart]

Cassi wrenched up in bed with a ragged sob. It took a moment of harsh breathing—and her wide eyes darting around her surroundings somewhat wildly—for her to come awake fully. For her to remember everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. That she wasn’t on Earth anymore fighting a war. That she was back on board the Plunder. Back with her family, where she belonged.

That the agonized and angry screams of all those she had killed echoing hollowly throughout her nightmares were no longer real. Just a distant, painful memory.

The blond shivered a little, reaching up to rub away the faint sheen of sweat and the tears from her face. She glanced toward the chronometer on her nightstand and groaned then, drooping slightly. She’d barely been asleep for two hours. Cassi was utterly exhausted, mentally as well as physically, but knew that no matter how much her body craved it, she’d not be able to fall back asleep again tonight. Not after that dream.

After another few moments she got reluctantly to her feet and entered her bathroom, wincing at the face that was staring back at her in the mirror. She had huge, dark circles under her reddened and puffy metallic eyes, making her creamy copper face seem gaunt and somewhat sickly. Cassi grimaced. Andi or Morgan were gonna take one look at her and lock her up in the infirmary for a week. The teen toyed briefly with the idea of going to her sister and maybe asking for some sedatives to help her sleep, but dismissed the idea with a sigh. She was never one to depend on drugs to survive. And she had spent enough time over the past six months being half-out-of-her-mind. Cassiopeia had no desire to continue the practice, in any form.

She splashed some cold water on her face, hoping that would help remove the puffiness from her eyes and clear her complexion up a bit, then pulled off her thin blue nightgown and dressed in one of her looser, more comfy dresses instead. She left her hair in the fat braid she used to sleep in, turning around and leaving the bedroom entirely.

Cassi made her way through the ship, her steps slow and somewhat meandering. The teen smiled reassuringly to those crew members she passed that happened to be up at this late hour, nearly all of whom approached her worriedly, asking if she was okay. It made her heart ache, with how easily they had all forgiven her for her sins. Thus she found herself getting a touch weepy more than once. Most didn’t look entirely convinced that she was as fine as she insisted she was, though they let her pass without a fuss. Until the elf-like female found herself alone in the large, circular room of the observatory.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d used this place as her faithful comfort zone. Cassiopeia Reyes had come here almost immediately upon boarding the Plunder for the first time, gazing up through the dome at the vast blackness beyond and realizing just how small she was in the grand scheme of things. This is where she ran to when she and Andromeda had their sisterly fights over the years, fuming her teenage outrage to the silent stars. It had been here that the Captain—whom she had thought a man at the time—first called the fourteen year old ‘Princess,’ trying to cheer the young girl up when she’d been heartbrokenly convinced that she’d never grow into her awkwardly oversized, pointed ears. It was here, laying down in the center of the floor and staring up dreamily at the universe beyond, that her fifteen year old self had first started seriously entertaining a crush for the powerful First Mate, Morgan Halcyon. This was where she always ran to when life had her confused or troubled, or just plain whimsical and moony.

Now at nearly eighteen, the blond smiled a little as she came to stand in the center of the room, tilting her head back to stare out at that same, familiar view. Almost four years had passed since the first time she had come here. In a lot of ways she had grown up since then, whether by choice or harsh necessity. A lot of things had changed from then to now. “But I guess some things will always stay the same,” she murmured softly to no one, arms wrapping around herself in a comforting hold.

“Cassi.”

The curvy teen turned with a faint startle at the sound of that deep voice. Morgan stood on the threshold, dark face drawn with worry. Cassi smiled a little, shaking her head. She should’ve known that one of the crew members would tattle on her.

“Hey,” she called, attempting to keep her tone light. She didn’t want him to worry, after all. He worried enough as it was. The tall man stepped fully inside and neared her, and Cassi felt her heart squeeze as he stared down at her at her, expression clearly wreathed in concern. Concerned because he loved her.

It was still so surreal to believe, like a dream. One she was utterly terrified of waking up from.

“What’s the matter, luv,” he questioned then, tone soft and somewhat rough. She never did do a very good job at bluffing. Cassi took a deep breath then, trying for a more convincing smile.

“Nothing. I’m fine. Promise.” His eyebrow quirked a little, clearly disbelieving and she sighed at that somewhat heavily. “I’m alright Morgan, really. I just . . . I couldn’t sleep, is all. Thought I’d wander around up here for a bit instead.”

The older man continued to gaze down at her for a moment, dark eyes searching hers before he suddenly spoke again. “And why can’t you sleep?”

Cassi felt herself color a little in embarrassment. The last thing she wanted was to admit to the nightmares she’d been having, not wanting to seem like an immature kid. She shrugged one shoulder a little instead, silver eyes drifting off of his face.

“I dunno.”

“Cass.”

Cassi looked back at him then, frowning a little in a pout. “You’re not gonna let it go are you.”

“Where your safety’s concerned, no.”

Cassi did her best not to feel all melty from that possessive, protective statement and failed rather miserably. Instead she sighed again, her eyes dropping to the floor, uncomfortable. “I just . . . I’ve been having some bad dreams lately,” she admitted at last, clearly awkward. “I have trouble going back to sleep afterward, is all.”

“Bad dreams about what?”

Cassi fidgeted a little. She should’ve known Morgan wouldn’t settle for half-measure. “Just stuff. Things I saw when I was fighting . . . some of the things I did . . . I dunno.” She shifted again. “I’ll be alright, Morg. I’m sure it’ll go away eventually.” God, I hope so. Otherwise I might have to start seriously worrying about my sanity. Whatever’s left of it. “The important thing is that I’m back home now,” she finished solemnly, her large eyes lifting to his again. “I have you, and I have Andi, and Jo, and the crew. That’s all I need. Everything else is just extra.”

Morgan stared down at her for another long minute before he suddenly reached down and took her hand in one of his and then began pulling her out of the room. Somewhat bemused, Cassi didn’t fight the hold, following after the larger man obediently as he took her back in the direction of her bedroom. At first she thought he was going to physically put her back in bed and stand over her until she passed out from exhaustion or boredom one, but he surprised her after they entered by letting go and then turning to her instead.

“Grab yer nightdress and something to change into in the morning,” he ordered, before bending down and scooping up Roger and his basket bed from the ground. Cassi blinked up at him, at a loss for a minute before she just shrugged and did as she was told. The blond had known him long enough that she knew there was no arguing with him when he had that look on his face. She recovered her discarded nightgown and then a fresh change of clothes for the morning, and then Morgan was leading her out again. It only took her a minute to figure out where he was taking her next.

His bunk.

Cassi bit her lip a little, glancing around herself as the First Mate led her purposefully through the halls. They garnered more than one glance along the way, which made her slightly uncomfortable. She knew that the others knew about what had happened between her and Morgan, and that they about them being an ‘official’ couple now. But she had gone so long hiding the fact that it was still somewhat bizarre to so blatantly broadcast it. Not to mention the fact that she knew darned well not everyone was pleased with the arrangement.

The last thing she wanted was to cause any more of a stir than she already had.

If Morgan noticed the attention they were getting, he didn’t show it, or rather didn’t care enough to show a reaction. Instead he balanced Roger’s basket in one arm as he inputted his code and then stepped inside his room, putting his bundle down near one of his dressers just after. Cassi bit her lip a little, but trailed in after him, allowing the door to slide shut again behind her and lock in place with a faint hiss. It was not the first time she had been inside Morgan’s room, though it was the first time she had been here under these circumstances. While they had been having their affair, there had always been an unspoken agreement that they never met each other in personal places like their own bedrooms, after all.

Yet, for all that she had been here before, it never failed to intimidate her somewhat. Morgan was a very organized, orderly type of person—almost bordering on obsessive compulsive about neatness. Everything in his room had a place, and was in it. Where-as Cassi’s room tended to look like a bomb had recently gone off, clothes and other things tossed this way and that in a comfortable, cozy clutter.

The younger girl hesitated just beyond the door, clutching her clothes somewhat to her chest. Morgan turned back to her after getting a sleepy Roger settled, and stepped back over, reaching out and gently prying her underwear and the outfit she had picked for the morrow out of her nervous fingers. “Get dressed for bed,” he murmured again, deep voice soft and obviously trying to be soothing.

The sudden stab of shyness that hit her was probably a little on the ridiculous side. They’d had sex multiple times after all. Morgan was more than aware of what her naked body looked like. Yet Cassi found herself scampering into his bathroom to change all the same, and Morgan allowed the retreat wordlessly. A minute later she exited again in her blue silk nightgown, her blond braid falling down over one narrow shoulder, to find Morgan changed into a gray t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants—the most dressed down she had ever seen him besides in gi pants for training or naked, as he wore his uniform always—and already stretched out on the bed on his back. He nodded his chin at her, indicating his intent for her to join him.

The teen fidgeted a little before she crept forward, feeling her ears start to sting. Why on earth was she acting so skittish and shy?

Because we’ve had sex before, a voice inside her murmured softly, but this is the first time he’s ever been so personal. They had never slept together like this, after all. Not once, in the entire time that they had started seeing each other all those months ago, did they actually spend the night together. They could’ve been caught, after all, and Morgan would’ve never allowed himself to soften so much toward her back then. She was elated now by the prospect, but also extremely nervous as well.

Cassiopeia crawled into the bed beside him, somewhat tense and not really sure what to expect. He didn’t grab her and pull her beneath him, however, as she’d half expected. Instead Morgan he gently tugged her into place where he wanted her, until she was cuddled up against his side, her face pillowed somewhat on his large shoulder with one of his arms curling around her back.

“Sleep, luv,” he urged gently then. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Hot tears stabbed at her eyes then, but they were happy ones for once. Cassi’s breath hitched a little, the tense timidity in her frame melting away as one of her arms curled hard around his narrow waist, burying her face into his neck as the emotion started pouring out of her in waves.

Morgan just held her through the worst of it, a silent rock for her to lean on. He continued to hold her long after the teen had cried herself into an exhausted sleep. And once or twice throughout the night when she started to whimper or shift, face drawn and in pain as the nightmare tried to intrude again, a few murmured words in her ear quickly had her soothed and still again.
Post Continued in the Naughty Section . . . .

[Dr. Andromeda Reyes]

Andromeda sighed somewhat, glancing through her computer tablet while she waited for her patient to arrive. She was running dangerously low on Ceptafin, one of her more powerful pain medications. Hopefully after this damned-fool crazy plan of ship-liberation was seen to, her Captain might be persuaded to put in at a port somewhere. Andi smirked a little to herself. She'd just have to work at convincing Jo tonight when they went to bed.

The doctor sighed at that, feeling her face heat a little at her ribald thoughts. Andromeda really should feel more guilty about that. It was highly unprofessional, after all. Unfortunately she was having a really tough time making herself give a damn. Nobody else seemed to care. Why continue castigating herself over an imagined sin? For once in her life, Andromeda was becoming determined to just forget about the social implications and just enjoy something that made her happy. And Jo made her very, very happy. In more ways than one.

And now she was blushing completely.

The slender woman straightened somewhat as the med-bay doors slid open, shoving her inappropriately dirty thoughts aside. Her patient stepped into the room, her silver eyes somewhat widened and faintly nervous.

"Ah . . . you wanted to see me, Andi?" Cassi questioned, a touch hesitant, as Andromeda hadn't told her the exact reason she wanted to see her.

"Yes," the older sister murmured, setting her tablet aside and then patting the exam table she stood next to. "Come on over and have a seat."

Her younger sister bit her lip a little, but did as she was told. Andromeda turned away slightly, and when she turned back she had a syringe in her hands. Cassi blinked at her, expression confused. Andromeda merely sighed. "It's Deprin. Birth control," she clarified. Cassi blinked, and her face started turning an uncomfortable red, the color quickly spreading to the tips of her ears. "Like hell I'm letting you sneak off onto the Cove again to get injected with only God-knows-what." Andromeda hesitated, and then murmured, "unless you want to get pregnant now?" though not unkindly, merely curious.

Cassi turned a darker shade of red, but shook her head vigorously. She lifted the shirt she was wearing then, allowing her sister to swab her down with alcohol and then administer the shot with a quick, fluid skill. The younger girl sighed afterward, slowly lowering her top and tugging it back into place. She hesitated for a minute while Andromeda disposed of the needle, and then, "s-so you . . . you're okay with this? M-me and Morgan, I mean?"

It was Andromeda's turn to sigh at that, turning back to her. "I'm not going to lie to you, Cassi," she announced solemnly. "I'm not exactly thrilled with it. And not just because of the uncomfortable tangle it causes between the four of us. He's a whole lot older than you are, hon. A part of me can't help but worry if he's just using you for easy sex." Cassiopeia started to speak at that, expression incensed, but Andromeda held up a hand to stop her. "I'm sorry, but I told you I wouldn't lie to you. But I am willing to give it--him--a chance. The most important thing to me is that you're happy," she pronounced then, tone somewhat hoarse as she reached up to gently push a tendril of her sister's long hair behind one of her pointed ears. Her eyes became somewhat glassy. "And if Morgan makes you happy, then we'll all learn to deal with it. One way or another."

[Willie Barbary]

Willie sat in the galley with Joey in her lap, doing her best to eat her breakfast and keep her son's overly-curious fingers out of it. She was only half-succeeding at both. Miller was still asleep in their room, recuperating from his second thrashing. Willie had, of course, ended up going back on her word to be unmoved by his plight. As soon as he'd walked in the door covered in fresh bandages and bruises she'd fawned and worried all over him. Bullying him into bed and doing what she could to make him comfortable. Right now, it seemed that the best thing for him was sleep.

Hopefully he'd manage to recover somewhat this time before they reached Europa and he went and got tore up all over again.

Willie glanced up as someone else entered the galley. Her frame stiffened somewhat at the sight of Cassi Hart. The small pilot felt her face harden into a scowl. Everyone else seemed ready and willing to forgive and forget the young Mage's transgressions. Yet Willie could hold onto a grudge with the best of them. And Cassi had had a very large hand in the fiasco that had almost ended in her son's death, whether intentionally or not. That was enough to make the curvy pilot more than a touch bitter.

Joey suddenly let out an especially cheery gurgle, which drew Cassi's attention from across the room. The blond stared at her for a moment, shifting her weight, and then Willie let out a groaning growl under her breath when the teen started in her direction.

Willie shifted her son in her arms into a more protective hold as Cassiopeia came to sit down in front of her on the other side of the table. She tried for a hopeful smile. "He's really cute," she offered, tone friendly.

Willie just continued to glare. "Yah, he's pretty adorable. And he almost didn't live to see his first breath. You and your sister made damn sure of that."

Cassi visibly winced at that, silver eyes becoming somewhat tortured. She bit her lip, hunching slightly and staring down at her hands. "I'm really sorry, Willie," she murmured softly then. "I know it's not much, but I never meant for any of you to be hurt. I was really confused and hurting and . . . well, I know that's not much of an excuse. I understand if you want to hate me now. I just wanted you to know that I'm very sorry for what happened to you."

Willie glared harder, as she was suddenly feeling as if she'd just kicked a puppy. And not just because the tall First Mate had just entered the galley, and was casting a worried, protective eye in their direction. The curvy pilot wrestled with herself for another minute before she sighed rather loudly.

"Oh forget it," she snapped somewhat brusquely, causing Cassi to lift up again and blink at her in confusion. Willie rolled her eyes. "It's not like you were shooting at the ship yourself or forcing me into labor or anything. You fucked up. Whatever. It's over with now, just forget about it."

Cassi just nodded somewhat hesitantly at that. Willie noticed her silver eyes drift to Joey again, who was trying to eat the neck of her shirt, and gave a grudging sigh. "You want to hold him?"

The blond teen's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really?"

Willie smirked a little before lifting up her son and handing him over. "Hell you'd be doing me a favor. I was losing more of my food than I was eating it."

Cassi cuddled the baby to her chest, cooing and laughing and Joey ate up the attention like a cat to cream. In the background Morgan visibly relaxed, drifting off to secure his own food.