Valentine's Day story - 2003

[Thomas]

Okay.

[Voy_Girl]

But you should also know, that I have alost finished the whole thing now...

[-_-VoyagerFanatic-_-]

^ gd gd... just make sure you finish it n get it posted

[Voy_Girl]

With an effort of sheer mental strenght, she managed to push the pounding in her ears aside, grab around the liana even tighter, and pull her right foot up with an alarming sound.

Mariah held on, and focused on finding a steady section to place her feet on. When she looked up, she noticed how plae Cameron was. Somehow his concern made her feel quite good.

[-_-VoyagerFanatic-_-]

erm... pretty short... erm... chap? nah kidding.. i'm hoping you will post the rest of the chap l8er

[Lxe]

heya honey , great story, as usual i love it. i don't have the words to say how much i enjoy your stories.

Regina

[Thomas]

That's good, if short.

[Voy_Girl]

Sorry for that teeny weeny piece!!

Aww... This is another piece of the chap.... and short!!:
_________________________________________



She had laid half the obsticle behind her,
and only one little mishap had come across her.
But she had taken care of it herself, after all;
she had kept the other foot safely steady the
whole time. Mariah could be proud if herself.
Cameron could be proud of her.

[Thomas]

(If I don't have some words it looks like spam so, here they are. )

[Voy_Girl]

I'm sorry for not writing a decent chap!!!! (I've misplaced my papers)

[Thomas]

They must be somewhere! You'll find them!

[Voy_Girl]

I guess I'll have to look (not that I haven't already)

[Voy_Girl]

Shuffling her feet slowly, Mariah managed to lay yet another couple of inches behind her. The lianas creaked loudly at times, and she cam to the conclusion that they had taken a toll when Cameron dragged himself, his entire weight over.

”You’ve only got a meter to go!” Cameron cheered from his position at the edge, now so close to her.

Mariah looked up and dared herself to smile. She even noticed, despite her focus, that he was getting a healthy shade of pink on his cheeks again.

She moved her left foot in a haste to the immediate left, unconsciously peeling off a piece of liana with her sharp, Starfleet regulation heel.

”Come on! You can practically jump!” Cameron was audibly happy and relieved. He stretched his hands toward her, as if to catch and embrace her, if she did take the slightly upturned leap to him.

He bent forward yet a little more, his right hand and arm securely wrapped in a tough liana. The other hand, the sinewy left, he stretched out to Mariah; even though they wouldn’t reach one another for quite some time.

But Mariah did not take these last steps she needed to put behind her before she could reach out to Cameron and accept his outstretched hand. She was not about to either. Instead, she remained still on the same spot, the whole natural construction swaying softly under her weight.

She stared at him ruefully with blank eyes and a dumb smirk. She was not about to take his offer for the relief of a few unsecured steps. Not since she’d spent most of her adult life brutally training her, at heart, kind and sweet person to trust no one. She’d taught herself everything she knew. She only trusted herself. Completely.

***

[-_-VoyagerFanatic-_-]

yippee! longer chap! more more!

[Voy_Girl]

A puff of wind rattled their bridge and the trees surrounding it, as well as loosening Mariah’s once very neat ponytail.

She took another step with her right foot, so that she kept both her feet on practically the same spot. She was firmly determined to get the whole way by herself.

Yet another wind swept in, blowing her hair in her face. Without thinking, Mariah let go of the liana with one of her hands, so that she could stroke back the forelock and tuck it behind her ear. Suddenly, the lianas below her creaked with a surprising noise.

Mariah drew sharply after air; stunned, scared. She held on tight to the liana with the one hand she still held there. Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion. She could hear her own heart beat furiously, as the well-known pressure of blood rushing through her head returned.

And then it happened; what she had to wait for in insightful agony. The lianas under her were stretched beyond their capability, to slowly unwind, burst and snap. She could do nothing but feel how her hand slipped along the hanging liana, while her feet descended downwards through the hole which had been ripped open.

A curt peep escaped her, like embedded in a soothing mist, Mariah managed to bring her left hand up to the liana. She closed her eyes, waiting for the length to end. However, it did not. The stickiness of the liana itself, combined with the panic-stricken grasps of her hands, had
served to stop her fall.

She looked up, frightened beyond what she’d ever thought possible. Her whole body had gone numb, she could only hear the blood in her head, only feel the pain in her sore palms.
Cameron was high above her, staring down. His face had become so small, so fast. So far away from her. She didn’t bother to care about his facial expression, and she definitely did not pay any attention to what he called out.

When she wiggled a bit, she knew that her waist was just above the ragged, bleeding remains of the lianas she’d been standing on top of. She realized that she had to pull herself up, the final test of her policy to help herself. Then she started to pull, her whole body shivering, but
flooded with a weak flow of adrenaline, which finally dissolved the numbness.

With an unusual mental strength, Mariah managed to drag her own body upwards again. Unfound mental strength, it had to be that, kept her going for more than mere seconds, since her obvious lack of arm strength.

The sole liana she clinged on to suddenly began to sway at about the same time only Mariah’s knees ad lower parts of her legs remained on the other side of the hole. She wailed, since the sudden movement did not give her aching arms any kind of relief.

”Stretch! Take my hand!” Cameron shouted, and she could see how he gave all his best trying to reach her. He was lying flat on the firm ground above, holding out a hand towards her. He’d abandoned all safety precautions, thinking only of her and how to help her save her life.

Mariah moved a little, and found that if she exerted herself and stretched as much as she could, they would probably be able to reach each other. But, she would have to let go of the liana. It was her only reliable way to survive, as she felt it. The fact that she trusted it more than she
trusted her friend didn’t even surprise her.

”Hurry! It’s bursting!”

What was he saying? Mariah pricked her ears up, trying to reassure herself that Cameron was lying to her. She couldn’t hear any signs of anything bursting. He probably only wanted her to trade the plant for his hand, only so that he would be able to drop her himself. Sometimes she
amazed herself. What outrageous scenarios she could come up with.

But as much as she wanted herself to be right, she still felt split. Would she give up her earned self-reliance for a man she did not dare to love, nor befriend? Or rather take the safer path up, take care of the delicious matter herself, but at the same time condemn herself to another era of
loneliness?

”Hurry!” He sounded desperate now. And finally, Mariah heard it too. The dreaded sound of another liana slowly unwinding, fibre by precious fibre.

***

[Thomas]

Ummmm, nice and long.

[Josi Rockholt]

Those last ones were looong,but I liked them.Please continue.

[Voy_Girl]

Thanks I hope long chaps are better than very short, so...





----------------------------------------------------------


”Take my hand!” Cameron roared, waving frantically above her.

Mariah kept drawing calm, steady breaths. With each one her eyes flickered between Cameron’s hand and the swaying liana. She knew what would happen if she didn’t take his hand. Didn’t know what would happen if she did.
She had always preferred to know what she was doing, what was going to happen with her.

Another couple of fibres burst high above her, and caused her to sink further down towards the consuming mist forming deep down in the wild ravine.

”Trust me!” He pleaded, and made Mariah take a sharp breath, which she didn’t let out again. Everything went quiet. She could hear nothing. Net the wind, not the yielding liana, not her own rushing blood. She stared at his hand, dumbfound. Trust him?

*

A sudden, violent wind swept in over the ravine, and a good part of the forest around it. The liana snapped, finally too strained. It had fought well, but the effort couldn’t last for long. It fell down, swiftly though the hole. Due to its weight, it fell faster and faster the further down it got.

During the span of only a few seconds, it had fallen from the tree it had grown from for years, to the tangled thorn bushes and slush deep down in the rocky hole.

High above the fallen liana, two pairs of eyes studied the whole lapse. Cameron shuddered a little where he lay, blinking away a few burning, desperate tears that had formed in his eyes.

Mariah shuddered even more, hanging helpless like a rag doll in his hand. She had stretched and grabbed his hand in the same moment as the liana gave up. She had watched with horror as it fell, feeling oddly enough safer with his hand in hers.

Cameron managed to resist to slip down by anchoring his feet behind a rock and a tough root, which surfaced several meters from the tree it sprung from. Mariah had helped him to pull her up, by using protruding pieces of rock as a climbing frame.

She had crawled up on the dusty, but firm ground. Tired, worn. She panted, trying to catch her breath properly. Tried to stand up, nut her shaking legs wouldn’t let her. The reality of the situation had hit her with full force as she understood that she was safe and well.

Cameron shuffled up to her, kneeled beside her and tentative put his arm around her shuddering shoulders. Much to his surprise, she turned a little to rest her aching head on his shoulder. A different hug, but still utterly approved. And most important of all; it was mutual.

***

[Lxe]

ooh I love it Ann brilliant as always.

[Thomas]

^ Why think of my own comment? That sums it up perfectly.

[Voy_Girl]

You two are so nice.


-~~~~~~~~~~


This is a part of the ending. The Last piece had a few things I must fix.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


She was dressed in a pliant, red satin dress. it billowed around her ankles, but left her shoulders bare. It was cut lower in the back than in the front, which suited her. The dress had no other accessories than her plain red heels, her let-out hair and the carefully plastered smile.

She wanted the plain to symbolize her change in personality; she’d become more humble, discovered how to listen to others than her own cynical side.

Cameron walked by her side, practically itching to lock his arm with hers, but not daring to. He wore a pair of dark grey slacks and a matching jacket, along with a shirt in a lighter shade.
He’d even spent almost all his replicator rations on a pair of fancy patent-leather shies, which he’d probably only wear on that single occasion.

Since his last rations couldn’t get him a decent tie, he scraped a little in his circle of acquaintances and replicated Mariah a simple rose without a stalk. Instead, it was equipped with a band so she could wear it around her wrist.

Cameron knew that his attire probably served more to amuse than please her, but he was willing to dress like a clown, just to make her smile like she’d done when he’d just pulled her up form the jaws of the ravine.

She’d at least seemed sincerely thankful for the flower, which she’d immediately strapped around her left wrist. He guessed the right still, after dermal regeneration, was pretty sore after the inconvenient sliding along the somewhat raspish liana.

*

They were heading for the Holodeck again, to continue where they had left off when the away mission so rapidly had begun. Luckily, Tuvok and Paris had found enough of the material for Seven of Nine and the entire Engineering staff to take Voyager away from the trouble quickly.
It had only cost them about two days of their journey.

A few trembling minutes after Mariah and Cameron had ended up on the other side, he had managed to hail Tuvok, while still having trouble to breathe properly. The silent Vulcan had almost immediately come running with transporter fortifiers, and literally thrown them over to the recovering couple.

Well back on Voyager, the Doctor had in unity with the Captain given them three days free each. This was the evening of their first day in eventless day they both had used to sleep and write their personal reports to the interested, and not so little impressed, Captain Janeway.

*

[Thomas]

Yay!

[Lxe]

great chap honey. love the story

[Josi Rockholt]

Good job.

[Voy_Girl]

Thanks everone!!



LAST CHAPTER AHEAD!!!!
__________


Jones went on and on about her life-long fascination for polar bears, while Cameron listened dutifully. It was so rare that she was talking the hind legs off a donkey, that he listened to her babbling with awe. It was probably only a way for her to cover up how she, much like him,
was nervous and lacked a bit precious self-control. He fingered nervously on the neckband of his shirt.

When they finally arrived at Holodeck one, Mariah’s bears was about to end up in the South Pole, while Cameron had accomplished a couple of greasy fingerprints on the neckband. No one had noticed though. They hadn’t met a single person in the hallways.

Emerett closed his eyes when she ordered the doors open, expecting a red alert or at least an important hail from the Bridge. But nothing happened. So the doors started to slide open, and Mariah turned to him with a smile of anticipation. She had no idea of what kind of program
they were going to use on their little date, not why he’d been so secretive about the whole night.

”SURPRISE!!”

The doors were fully open now, causing the holler to bounce back and forth inside the detailed scene. There was a soft broadloom carpet covering the floor of the room. Pure style wooden long tables with sober, white tablecloths, were placed out in strict lines. Even the streamers
used to give the place a little party spirit seemed strategically placed, but Mariah loved it.

She had clapped her hands when she realized that everything was for her. The big cake, the cold punch, all the decorations. Especially the huge banner saying ‘Happy belated birthday, Mariah!’.

Almost the entire crew was there. From the guy who spent has days lying low down on deck 15, to the captain herself in full dress uniform.

”We don’t usually celebrate a crewmember’s birthday with such pomp and circumstance... But you deserve this, crewman Jones,” Janeway said after shaking Mariah’s hand, and giving the young woman’s shoulder a light press, before continuing her raid through the room.

”How did anyone know about this?” Mariah sipped on her punsh and slipped down in a wooden chair on the edge of a table.

”Lieutenant Torres found this date in your database. We had it all planned and ready, when that red alert showed up.” Cameron answered sheeplishy from his seat opposite to her. He occupied himself, BY trying to fish up an ice cube from his glass, with the spoon he’d already finished his piece of cake with.

She giggled, ”I wondered where you and Commander Chakotay came from... Who did all this by the way?”

”Torres came up with the idea, as I’ve already told you. Lieutenant Paris and Ensign Kim made this scene, while Neelix and little Naomi Wildman baked the cakes.”

”What did you do?”

”I... saw to it that everyone knew what was going on. I don’t think there is anyone missing tonight, so I apparently informed everyone. Except the unlucky ones who are stuck with the shift, of course.”

”Thank you,” Mariah said sincerely, looking around at all the people gathered. She had never had so many people coming for her sake before. Although the most of them surely came for the cake, the music and the, probably spiked, punch, she was happy.

”Listen everyone,” she said as loud as she could, after ordering the party music to stop. All present stopped short, staring at her. Stopped talking, moving, eating or drinking. It was just them and her, the birthday-girl. ”I hope everyone can hear me. I’d just like to thank you all for coming to this party, which I had no idea about--”

Some stuck-up fellow shouted from deep within the crowd gathered around her, ”Because it was a surprise!”

”Shut up! You idiot!” B’Elanna Torres growled at the unknown man, wanting Mariah to stay completely happy for at least one night.

Mariah felt her cheeks flush, first pink, then alarming red. But she managed to smile thankfully towards her Chief, which she spotted in the crowd, next to Chakotay. ”That was all I had to say,” she shrugged, disliking the way her brittle voice bounced back and forth.

”Computer, resume music,” Cameron ordered, hurrying up to her and placing an arm around her. ”What just happened?”

”I realized that everything can’t be this good,” she said quietly, trying to shrug the feeling of ridicule off her back. Apparently, not even her birthday party was taboo when you wanted to make fun of her. It took so little to hurt her, and set her mind working on a reason. ”Not when
I’m around.”

A young man with dark hair and big puppy-dog eyes made his way up to her. He was still in uniform, a blue one. Though that had obviously not stopped him form having plenty of the punch. ”Hey... Mariah?”

She struggled to ignore how he had to read off the banner to address her. Cameron’s grip around her shoulders tightened. ”Yes?”

”I was the one who shouted. It was just for fun, you know. I didn’t want to hurt you or anything.” He had a broad, slurred speech, possibly with a hint of Italian accent. Those big eyes pleaded with her to forgive him.

”It’s all right. I suspect that I left my little sense of humor down with the lianas.” Forgive and forget. She had to learn.

He looked blankly at her, not understanding a word she told him, except the apology. ”That’s a very nice dress you have,” he slurred instead.

”It’s satin.”

The young man apparently didn’t know the difference between satin and rough homespun. ”Aha... neat. Very nice rose too.”

Mariah shot Cameron a look over her shoulder. ”Yeah, I know. My... boyfriend gave it to me.”


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
‘’’’’’’’

THE END

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~