From MVINCENT@DREW.EDU Sat Nov 29 16:29:14 1997 Date: Mon, 03 Nov 1997 16:02:33 -0500 (EST) From: "Vincenti, Michelle" Reply-To: seaQuest-ff@escapenet.org To: seaQuest fanfic list Subject: (sQ-ff) "Out of Darkness" Resent-Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 15:17:36 -0600 (CST) Resent-From: seaQuest-ff-request@escapenet.org This is just a short little thing I wrote yesterday that came out of nowhere...felt like giving Tim a little problem :) All comments are appreciated :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Out of Darkness" by Michelle Vincenti Tim sat alone in his quarters. This was always one of the most dangerous times for him. Since the whole incident with Kimura occurred, the times he spent alone were often spent thinking about what had gone wrong for her to have betrayed him like that. He lay on his bunk, looking up at the ceiling. Suddenly, he realized that his music was still playing Billy Joel's "An Innocent Man". Had he left it on repeat? He shrugged and continued to lie there as the words sunk deeper into his soul. "I know you're only protecting yourself I know you're thinking of somebody else Someone who hurt you..." Tim sat up as those words reminded him of Kimura. There was so much pain behind those dark eyes of hers. So much pain that he would have given anything to take away at one point. "Some people see through the eyes of the old Before they ever get a look at the young..." That was Kimura, surely. She'd seen both her parents die prematurely. She never truly had the chance to live a happy life. She'd never had the chance to see life as a child, having to grow up all too quickly in the Chaodai society. "Some people say they will never believe Another promise they hear in the dark Because they only remember too well They heard somebody tell them before..." All the lies she'd been told, all those she had told. She needed her lies to survive, to keep her life. This saddened Tim more than anything. He wanted to be able to be there for her, to help heal her pain, but in deceiving him, she'd turned him away. "You know you only hurt yourself out of spite I guess you'd rather be a martyr tonight..." She looked so strong, holding back the pain inside. Tim could somehow see beyond it to a woman who needed someone there for her. He wanted to, but she'd hurt him so much. Tim took a deep breath and walked to his desk. He sat down and copied down the words to the song. He wrote the words out by hand, figuring it might mean more coming from his own hand. He left his quarters and walked towards Kimura's. Not wanting to be there when she received it, he quickly slid it as far under the water-tight hatch as he could and walked back to his quarters. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What is the meaning of this, Lieutenant?!" Kimura stalked into Tim's room without knocking, a piece of paper in her hands. Tim jumped off of his bunk, where he'd been lying, reading. "What?" he finally managed to sputter out. "This...this...nonsense. What are you trying to prove?" she angrily spat out. He sighed deeply and said a quick prayer for patience. "I...I know that things haven't been easy for you, especially since you've gotten to seaQuest. I just wanted to let you know that I'm still going to be there for you, if you need someone to talk to." Kimura was fuming, but her anger softened slightly at Tim's words. "After all I did to hurt you, you're still willing to befriend me?" Tim motioned for Kimura to sit down on his bunk as he shut the hatch. Kimura sat and after he'd shut the hatch, Tim sat on a chair, facing her. "Yes, I am." "Why? I don't understand you, O'Neill. I endanger the lives of you and your friends to save my own life, to gain my own freedom, yet you're willing to forgive me?" "Yes, I'm willing. Kimura, I've done a lot of thinking since you came aboard. For a long time I was angry that you had done what you did. Once I finally calmed down, I realized that you were only doing what you needed to to, much as we were." "Is that why you risked your life to go out there and save me?" Tim was silent. "I'm not quite sure." "What _are_ you sure of?" Kimura crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly. "I know that at one point in our relationship - before we'd met face-to-face - I would have done anything for you. Granted, circumstances are much different now, but I would venture to say that I'd still be there to talk if you needed me." Kimura, ever defiant, finally let down her guard ever-so-slightly. "Really? You'd..." For the first time in a long time, she was having trouble speaking. "You'd do that for me, despite how much I've hurt you?" Tim nodded. "Yes, I would. Look, Kimura, I'm not one to hold a grudge - at least not for very long. I've seen the pain you've been in - all hidden behind your eyes. I'd do it for anyone I'd ever considered a friend. Kimura looked down at her hands sadly. "I don't deserve your friendship, let alone your kindness. Not after what I put you through," she said softly, almost completely letting down her guard. Tim got up from the chair and sat next to her on the bunk. "You thought I'd forgotten about all the good you've done for me? Hardly. Kimura," he said softly. She looked at him, seemingly close to tears. "You've done so much for me. You've listened when I was upset about missing all those years on...in stasis. You reassured me whenever I got upset. You shared in my joy, however rare it was. Hell, you even listened to me ranting every time Hudson threw me out of my chair. I guess that for a while the bad seemed to outweigh the good. I'd somehow forgotten about all the times you'd been there when I needed you as opposed to the one time you weren't. I've given this a lot of thought and I'd like to be able to be there for you, just as you've always been there for me. What do you say? Can we give our friendship another shot?" Tim looked hopeful. Kimura took a deep breath, got up off the bunk and moved a few steps away, her back to Tim. "There's so much about me that you don't know," she said quietly. "You'd probably never want to speak to me ever again if you did." Tim got up and stood behind her. "Not likely," he replied. "Friends don't turn away from each other because of their pasts. They're friends because of a common bond." He paused, then continued in French. "Do you know what I mean?" Kimura turned to face him. She replied, also in French, "Yeah, I do know." She continued, in English, "Thank you, Tim. Knowing that you'll be there as a friend really helps a lot." They smiled at each other. Tim held his arms open and Kimura stepped into his embrace. They stood tehre, hugging each other, each drawing strength from the others' embrace copyright 1997 by Michelle Vincenti ---------------------------------------- seaQuest-ff-request@stgenesis.org Subject: unsubscribe