Halfs And Wholes [byShia&National Acrobat, idea by Shia,with summary, COMPLETED]

Started by Shia, February 24, 2010, 09:16:57 AM

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National Acrobat

'It is, it looks like there was an industrial accident, many lives were lost, and they are trying to save as many as possible' he said, obviously pained by the implications of being apart from her for even a day, the burden would be heavy on him. He'd just found her after a couple of years, and was not ready to leave so soon.

'You could but we know what he'll say to you, that 'duty is duty' and all that, plus the usual line of we have to do our jobs first' he said to her, squeezing her hand in his. He placed another kiss on her cheek.

'Unless of course he decides to send you too' he added.

Shia

"I'm not a surgeon... but I'll try." She smiled at him and pulling his good hand to her face she planted a gentle kiss on his palm then held it against her own face.
"I'd rather walk into the middle of danger than to be apart from you even for a day.. my love." Her voice trailed off, trembling - somehow they both felt their parting was inevitable.
Hours left, a cruel sentence...

National Acrobat

'I know, I feel the same. All this time, and now, to have this happen' he said, although he wasn't very hopeful that it would happen. No doubt that with some of their staff gone, the need for the others to stay behind was going to be more imperative. He had a look in his eyes that said it all. He never wanted to leave her side.

Shia

But he did - and she didn't join, she couldn't. The pediatric unit was in the middle of a huge developing process and Imma was one of the most efficient cathalysts of it, simply by being there and giving her best. No wonder, a successful woman's enthusiasm is contagious especially if she's in love.
As for Cody he promised and she made him promise that he'll send a message or try to contact her every day - to let her know he was safe and alive. This was the best part of her days, to return to their quarters and wait, perhaps he logs in and they can make video contact. Though this happened rarely, he was busy and soon at the edge of exhaustion, only her words kept the light for him and the strength to wait as crisis in the sector only expanded and those weeks turned into months without a warning in advance - by now their team was under the direction of the army and no longer an extension of the medical services...

National Acrobat

To say he was bummed, was an understatement. While he'd harbored no illusions that she wouldn't be able to go, he was hoping that perhaps some sort of exception had been possible. It wasn't. They had spent the last few hours before he left wrapped in each other's arms, doing little more than cherishing being together.

It was hell where he was. Constant work. The planet was important to the army, it was where a lot of natural resources were mined to build their biggest weapons, and most sturdy ships. It had a huge strategic impact. Needless to say, the accidents that plagued them while construction occurred on the mammoth refineries were gruesome, especially the originating call that brought him here, where the first plant exploded.

As it was he constantly sent her emails, and video conferenced with her, spending every waking moment that he could communicating with her. He only hoped that when he returned, she would be waiting for him.

Shia

But when it finally happened, after almost four months and leaves in the artificial park of the Endeavor patiently began to turn into warm yellows and reds of autumn their quarters welcomed him empty, except his own belongings and those that were the landmarks of their phoenix-relationship.
Otherwise she was gone, every bit of her was gone and all remained clean and untouched, perhaps for long weeks by now, a scaring image of order and pedantry in their usually cozily chaotic nest.
And no answers.
His e-mails printed and together with the recordings of their chats systematized but left behind just like those movie tickets on the door of the fridge or the maps of their short trips when both of them had a day off...
The place of their seemingly lost happiness rather reminding of a museum now, 'Here lyes Imma and Rich, may their souls rest in peace'... 

National Acrobat

Worried didn't even begin to describe his mood. He'd thought things would return to normal when he came back. The silence was maddening, and when the ship docked and he came aboard, naturally the first place he went, was sterile and cold. She was gone. The stack of communiques and letters, printed out so neatly was like a cold slap. Where was she? What had happened? If she had transferred, surely she would have told him?

He wandered around in a daze, trying to check any records he could find, but to no avail. Finally, he went to see Doctor Keller. Perhaps he could shed a light on the situation. Hopefully.

Shia

"Son, I'm so sorry but you must know I'd be the happiest if I was allowed to tell you where she left."
Doc was almost the same demolished by her leaving, pale and seemed at least ten years older, as he was rubbing his face leaning against his elbows on the huge desk. Even his office felt larger and colder now - much empty, without the giggle and black jokes of Imma, without the long chats of the trio into the night and beside some good wine, without him telling old stories about the family they shared with her.
"But.. she was begging me not to tell you, no matter what, she made me promise that I won't..."
With trembling hands he was searching for a cigarette - and this was a very bad omen...
"Though..." The elderly man picked something else from the drawer as well, not only the fragrant tobacco and the lighter to stretch his over-stressed nerves a little.
"I've kept this.. One can never know..."
And with a weak wink he handled Cody her pager, with all the numbers she received calls from.
"I'm sure they talked much with her sister recently.. That's the most how I can help you."

Slowly he rose from his leather seat, tired and broken, stepping to the young man and patting his shoulder.
"Please.. please, son, if you manage to contact her.. please tell her that...... just tell her that I love her." 

National Acrobat

'She....left?' he said, stunned. He couldn't comprehend. They were so happy. Had he not been transferred, they would have been together. His mind was racing. What had he done?

'Did she say why?' he asked, taking the pager. He couldn't believe it. 'Anything at all?' he asked Dr. Keller, unable to believe the news. It hit him in the gut. He felt like he'd been stabbed and left to die. It was horrible.

Shia

Keller took a sip from the cigarette but immediately let out a harsh cough - he wasn't used to that and none of them was used to missing Imma.
"Use the pager. That's what I beg for."
Conversation was quit - and the small tool hid all the untold rest...

National Acrobat

'Alright' he said, rather dejectedly. Glumly he left, and went back to their quarters. He sat down with the pager, and start to thumb through the numbers. Finding the one that seemed to be called the most, he wrote it down, and fumbled for his communicator, and when he found it, he entered the number and called, and anxiously awaited for a voice to be heard on the other end. His stomach was full of butterflies at this point.

Shia

It was somewhere back on Earth, it was like calling not another galaxy but another dimension. While his request found the target minutes passed and nothing else could be heard than an annoying buzzing which was like the million languages of the Universe mixed together.
Then a bit sleepy but definitely awake female voice answered.
"Isabelle Simmons, yes?"
Bingo! It wasn't the best certificate about the parents giving their daughters names beginning with the same letter but what to expect from those who worked for money and reputation all in their lives and payed little attention to the one Cody loved.
Her sister was slightly luckier as she came eight years earlier when the successful lawyer and the politician who was slowly but surely crawling higher on the level of fame weren't so busy. But still Isabelle became an arrogant and shallow personality, spinning in fashion trade, consuming two husbands already - yet her voice sounded patient and kind now.
"Hallo...?"

National Acrobat

He waited patiently. It was nerve wracking to say the least. The crackle of the lines made him nervous.

Finally he heard a voice, and it was similar to Imma's. He felt the butterflies in his stomach.

'Hello? I'm trying to reach Imma' he said simply.

Shia

First there was only silence as a response, for a second he could even think Isabelle simply quit the line in her anger... But then he got an excited sigh in return for his laconic request.
"Rich?? I mean Doctor Richardson??"
There was relief and joy there, mingling in her soft voice.

National Acrobat

'Yes, it is Doctor Richardson' he said calmly. He was wondering why the silence. He was hoping that maybe something was about to be revealed, something that would help him find Imma. Perhaps her sister would be sympathetic to him.

Shia

Her voice brightened up a little.
"Cody, I.. I really don't know what to say I..."
But here another person's muttering could be heard.
"She's calling you again, ma'am..."
"I'll go..."
Isabelle replied to her and returned to the doctor, shortly.
"I'll send you the coordinates. Come any day but in the afternoon, please.. Take care, Cody..."
The neutral buzzing returned, leaving only more question marks hanging in the air between he and Mother Earth.
What sort of secrets this uncomprehendible distance was keeping? Sure Imma's sister did the most she could do, she was more than 'sympathetic', she practically went against her sibling's will, revealing their exact location, somewhere at the place of the former Southern-France, called the Mediterranean Region now, just right next to the sea. The place Imma was telling so much about -their grandparents' house-, how she took long walks along the shore when she was a child, collecting shells, playing in the sand. So she was there again, the circle closed...

National Acrobat

'Alright, I will' he said and then she was gone. The connection was gone. Doctor Keller had told him to find her, so that meant he had the leave to do so. He waited for the coordinates, packing very lightly to that he could leave soon. He purchased a ticket on the first transport back to Earth, his stomach all aflutter. What had happened? She left without at trace. That wasn't like Imma. Something must be wrong.

When he got the coordinates, he left. He couldn't get there fast enough, and he would worry and fret the entire time. There was also the puzzling thing about coming in the afternoon. What did that mean?

Shia

She must have been a beautiful and vivid young woman once but on the day of his arrival Isabelle Simmons was simply a tired woman in her early fourties, her noble face now carried the same marks of exhaustion as Cody's - her hollow cheeks and the grey shades under the almond shaped eyes once Imma had as well told about possibly many nights spent awake recently and much much worry.
"Thanks God you are here..." She leaned against the visitor's chest, folding her arms around his shoulders for a few seconds.
They were standing at the terrace of the enchanting "old school" house, that still had a peaky roof and windows that could be open manually. Weather evoked the doctor's memories of a mild summer as here even winters weren't cold only cool. Seemingly the rich vegetation took an advantage of this and inhabited this friendly land with a wide scale of colours and shapes, only this relatively small part of the estate reminded of a complete garden... and the garden itself was pretty expanded. A few exotic birds were jumping and tweeting excitedly in a large cage against the wall, peeking at the stranger curiously.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't speak longer on the phone but it's... so hard, so hard for me.. for us... Imma is here, you're right, but first I think we should speak. I've just arrived home, I must catch up with work in the mornings.. fashion is a cruel slave-driver.. but now we could take a walk on the shore, if you agree...?"
Of course, he had to agree. There was a reason why they could chat only shortly before and the same reason had to be the one that urged her to leave the house together with him first.

National Acrobat

What a stark contrast. He knew he looked bad, hell he was very tired, and full of worry, but even as they were surrounded by the beautiful scenery, it was apparent that something was weighing heavily upon Imma's sister. No doubt, it had everything to do with Imma. He had a sense of dread building up in him, that something terribly bad had happened, and that instead of letting him know, she'd just up and left him, alone.

'I am here, although if my senses are correct, she would rather that I not be. It was very hard. She said nothing, left nothing, not even a trace' he said to her, motioning that they should walk. 'Please, lead on' he said to her.

Shia

Isabelle took off her slippers and let the still warm sand flow between her toes as they were heading paralelly with the constantly changing line of water drawing strange, disappearing forms on land.
"Yes.. I understand you.. But her too..." Wind was playing with their hairs, caressing their faces with salty kisses. "There are still things I can't tell you but I tell what I'm sure about."
She stopped looking into his eyes but then beyond his shoulders just like she was searching for solace farther, in the infinite...
"Two months ago Imma began to complain about allergic symptoms. First doctors told her it was because stress and that you've left to one of the most dangerous places possible. They prescribed her mild sedatives but for some reason she refused to have those and asked for a complex examination. She got it...... Cody..."
Isabelle placed her palm on his shoulder again, but this time in an encouraging way, the elder's strength to a younger one.
"She's lost the implants..." The woman who changed so much, from the hiding family member into a caring motherly figure swallowed hard. "And also her sight. There was... an auto-immune process destroying her body without any sign.. I'm so sorry, dear..."
And she didn't have to add that she knew how much he loved her sister...

National Acrobat

He listened, and understood. He was a doctor after all, and he'd known that it was a possibility, even Imma had known it would happen. It was the way it worked. Cyborg technology was far from perfect, and in some cases, was still in it's infancy as far as a viable means for keeping people alive and mobile. He had looked through many of the Medical Journals discussing the cases. So, he was prepared somewhat for what he'd heard.

'What about the rest of her that's survived. Forget about the sight and her artificial limbs. How is the rest of her body?' he asked.

Shia

Isabelle squeezed both of his arms with a relieved expression. The boy was still there - and it meant something. Something that was probably the best for her sister, no matter how much she tried to exclude him from this whole madness. Love is love.
"Don't worry, she's all right. Only very bored. Recovering quickly from that threathening condition, they caught it in time, thanks to Imma's awareness. Soon.. slowly.. she'll be ready again to try another material, fitting her metabolism more. Till then.. I'm here, you can count on me. You know... throughout the years I spared a whole rich... But I stayed alone... When she had that accident.. I couldn't think of anything else than how much I can't face her with her.. new body... Yet now... I don't know, it's like.. loosing my silly pink glasses. And it's better without them." She gave him a soft smile and caressed his arm.
"Let's go in, it's time for you to see her, you've waited long enough, I think..."

National Acrobat

'Wonderful. I thought I had lost her' he said, relief, frustration, anxiety and love all in his voice. He was still a little annoyed that she hadn't told him about it though. When he had promised to love her, he meant it, no matter what happened. He still held to that, although he was wondering why she had deserted that promise.

'I am glad she was here with you. I feel a lot better knowing that. I am ready' he said, clasping her arm. Was he? He knew he was, but he was unsure of what Imma would say. Would she even accept him again. Part of him was afraid of losing her, so soon after making the connection that had saved him.

Shia

Her special, water-bed was standing in a smaller, cozy room that opened directly to the back terrace and a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea. But even without the sight of it air and the constant murmurring of waves was something fascinating.
Imma was slumbering peacefully under the covers, her unruly hair now put into two long braids, ornated with fresh flower heads, and an angelic smile playing on her lips under the light bandage that encircled her head at the level of the eyes.
Through the radio some serious expert was talking about the possibility of re-creating ice caps at the poles of the planet - this was so much her. While the nurse Isabelle payed was reading a magazine close to the open window, waiting for the patient's next wish she drifted away from here&now with some exciting scientific discussions.
Noticing Cody's arrival the small Asian lady politely bowed, at least three times, then disappeared from the room without a sound like some sort of fairy aunt...

National Acrobat

The sight of her brought an instant smile to his face. It was a warm smile, that was pure adoration and relief. It was like being lost for a long time, and finally finding your way back to where you belonged. He entered the room, and all was well in his world, for at least the moment. She looked so peaceful, he was glad of that.

He was aware that she would be upset, probably annoyed and shocked to find him here, but he also had a sneaking suspicion that had she really wanted to disappear for good, she would have tried harder. He had to laugh at the radio program. It was pure Imma, and that brought another smile to his face. He took a seat while she slept, and simply watched over her.