They’re gone.  All that’s left of the Maru’s cockpit is torn metal and wires.  Dylan remembered running through the ship, hoping to find them somewhere on board.

A missing EVA suit or escape pod.  Something, anything.  But the wreckage is too bad to know, and he couldn’t tell for sure if either of those things really were missing from the Maru.  So he just stood there and mentally hugged himself as he stared through the hole.

The hole went right though the Maru’s outer bulkhead.

If Beka or Tyr didn’t get to their suits, or found a way to the slip pod in time…

It took Dylan a moment to register the sight of Harper’s form running towards the Maru.  Dylan saw him not through the Bridge where some of the windows were shattered, but through the hole where he was standing.  Once it registered, there was only one thing Dylan had in mind that had to be done before anything else.

Keep Harper from seeing the inside of the Maru.  If Harper did, he’ll lose it for sure.  And Andromeda needed him.  His crew needed him.

Dylan needed him.

Dylan ran through the charred and darkened corridors as fast as he could and through the hatch a split second before Harper arrived.  Using his body to block his path, Dylan grabbed his shoulders.

He knew Harper had been monitoring Communications on Command from the Machine Shop.  It was part of his job as engineer.  So he knew as soon as Dylan did, that the Maru came back on autopilot.  He looked panicked.

Harper stopped, but stared at the hatch.  “I have to see.”

“Harper…”

“Beka’s family, Dylan.  So is Tyr.  I have to see if they’re all right.”

“Harper, they’re not on board.”

Harper stopped and looked at Dylan with tears filling his eyes before he tried to struggle past.  “No, they both have to be on there.”

Dylan silently shook his head and held onto Harper, waiting for what he said to register.  Harper kept struggling against his grip.

“You don’t understand.  There are places to hide on that ship during a breach that aren’t in the specs.  She could have dragged Tyr.  Or they could have gotten into a slip pod…”  Harper struggled out of his grasp, but Dylan managed to grab his arm and pull him towards his body.

Dylan didn’t think Harper would be so difficult to keep still.  Holding Harper against his body, he felt more like he was holding a struggling cat.

“Harper, the breach is bigger than the hatchway.  We’ll find them, but not on the Maru.”

“Will you let me go look on the Maru, YOU FUCKING BASTARD?”  Harper tried to yank out of his grasp once more.  Dylan heard Trance enter the hangar deck.

“Harper?” Trance said quietly.  “Harper, Dylan’s right.  We won’t find them there.”

“Don’t you tell me what we can and can’t find you gold freak.”  Harper’s struggles started to slow down, his breathing became a bit less raspy.  “Beka’s all I have left…”

Harper stopped struggling and began to slide to the floor.  If Dylan wasn’t holding him so tightly he would have fallen.  Trance came closer and took Harper from him gently.

“We’ll find them, I promise you,” Trance whispered in his ear.  She was looking right at Dylan.

Dylan had never seen either of them look so lost in his life.  And he’d never felt so empty.

“Dylan, Rommie needs help looking on Command.  I’ll take Harper to the Med Deck and give him a sedative.  I’ll relieve you in a few hours, okay?”  Trance turned Harper and led him out of the Hanger Deck.  When they reached the door, Trance turned her head and said, “I’ll look after him, I swear.”

Dylan couldn’t move.  All he could do was nod slowly.
 

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

Rommie was staring straight ahead when Dylan got to Command.  On screen was a view of the area where the portal once existed, separated into quadrants.

From the distance they kept, Dylan could see the amount of debris in the area.  That debris was going to make it that much harder to find them, especially if they couldn’t get an active signal on that pod…

“I’ve already taken the liberty of starting a quadrant by quadrant search, but there is a lot of debris, so this will take time.  Was there… was there any evidence Beka and Tyr got out of the Maru before the breach?”

Dylan stood at his station and put his head against his hands.  “Rommie… there’s so much damage on board… I don’t know.”

Rommie stepped away from her station and approached Dylan.  She put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.  “I’ll partition a piece of myself into a maintenance droid and begin a thorough search of the wreckage.  And… I’ll keep Harper away from the Maru as long as you feel I need to.”

Dylan looked at Rommie.  “I just… Harper’s been through so much already.  I don’t want him see it.”

“Harper is our engineer.  He’ll have to access the Maru to begin repairs sooner or later.”  Rommie frowned.  “You can’t protect him if they’re already dead.  And the chances they survived that breach, made it to a slip pod, and survived Rosie’s explosion…”

“I know.  But we survived a black hole, didn’t we?”

“Yes sir, we did.”  Rommie turned and went back to her station to continue her search.

She knew it was going to be a long one, and her AI self sighed within the matrix.
 

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

Harper didn’t move as Trance injected him with a mild sedative.  Trance put down the injector and brushed a small piece of hair out of his eyes.  “There, that’s better.”

“Is it?”  Harper looked unfocused.  “Trance, I don’t know what your future was like, but this one, it sucks.”

Trance sat down next to Harper and took her hand in his.  “In my future, only Beka and I survived.  Every one and everything else, including the Commonwealth, died when we used Rosie.”

Harper covered his mouth with his free hand and choked back a sob.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because if I had, you wouldn’t have used Rosie, and the Universe would be a lot worse off.  You have to trust me on that one.”  Trance looked straight ahead.  “I will tell you this.  Beka insisted that she carry the bomb this time, even after I told her what happened in my future.  With Tyr, she just made a better future than the one I lived through.  And we will find them.”  Trance pulled Harper into a hug and kissed his cheek.  “Now please, lie down and get some rest.”

Harper rubbed his face.  “Stay?”

Trance nodded.  “Until Dylan arrives.  That is, if you don’t mind having this gold freak around.”

Harper closed his eyes as he began to feel sleepy.  “I thought you said this sedative was mild.”

“It is, but you’re also exhausted.  Don’t worry, you’ll feel better soon.”

Harper had trouble keeping his eyelids open.  “Listen… I’m sorry I called you a gold freak.”

Trance played with his hair as he began to fall asleep in her arms.  “Don’t worry about it.  I know you’re still getting used to me.  Besides, you’re right.  I am gold, and I can be a freak.”

She watched him smirk slightly before he went under.
 

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

Dylan entered the Med bay six hours later, and even then only after Rommie's urging.  He'd been looking for Beka and Tyr since he’d had Trance bring Harper down to the Med Bay.

There was, as of yet, so sign of them.

Dylan wasn't sure what he'd say to his engineer.  Somehow the words: ‘Sorry, but I can't find the pod,’ didn't seem to appropriate here.  He looked up to see Trance sitting on one of the beds, cradling a sleeping Harper in her lap.

Trance looked up and smiled.  "I was beginning to lose circulation in my legs."

"Do you have the same circulatory system we do?"

"I have a similar one...  Any luck on locating them?"

Dylan shook his head.  "How is he?"

"Sedated and sleeping like a baby.  I was hoping you'd come down here so I wouldn't have to move and wake him."  Trance patted the bed next to her.  "I'm gonna lift him up gently and slide out.  Could you take him?  Beka and I found out that when he's upset, Harper sleeps more soundly if he's held."

The thought of holding Harper made his stomach jump.  Dylan sat down with a confused look and Trance gently lifted Harper up as she slid out before nodding to Dylan to have him move over.  When Dylan was sitting in place, she lowered Harper back down so his head and shoulders was in his lap.

"Do you need something to calm you down?" Trance whispered.

"Nothing.  Just ah... use your guessing skills.  We’re getting nowhere up there."

"I'll do what I can.  Take care of him for me."  Trance kissed Harper's cheek and left.

Take care of him.  Easier said than done.  Dylan watched Harper’s face as he slept.

He looked so young.  Harper’s face was not of someone who had been born and raised on a slave planet.  And it was definitely not of somebody who’d been dying of a Magog infestation just a few months earlier.  Actually, it was a rather handsome face with fine features.  Dylan wondered what it would have felt like to kiss his temple, his jaw line, or his lips.  Before he realized what he was doing, Dylan traced a scar just above his eyebrow gently.

Dylan sighed.  Now was not the time for a captain to notice his engineer was attractive.  Now was the time to be looking for their missing crew.  Suddenly Trance’s idea of  having him hold Harper as he slept, even if it was intended to keep Harper calm, might not have been a good idea.

Maybe he should have taken a sedative after all.  Clearing his throat and looking up, he whispered, “Andromeda, status.”

Andromeda’s hologram materialized in her miniature form on the bed.  She was frowning.  “Trance and I have searched another three percent of the debris field in the quadrant.  Still no sign of a pod, survivor or…”  The hologram paused.

“Remains,” Harper said with his eyes closed.  Dylan forced himself to snatch his hand away.

“We still have over eighty seven percent of the area to look over, Harper.  We’ll locate them.”

Harper opened his eyes, looked at Andromeda and sat up.  Dylan found himself staring at his hands, not knowing what to do with them all of a sudden.  “Thanks, doll.  I appreciate it.  Have we started to look at the wreckage?”

“I’ve just finished an initial sweep and I’m in the process of sending two more droids down to the Maru to assist in a more detailed search.  You should rest, Harper.”  Andromeda’s hologram disappeared.  Harper turned his eyes to Dylan.

“Let me guess.  Trance asked you to hold me while I was sleeping.”

“She said it helps you sleep when you’re upset.”

Harper smirked.  “Beka used to make Trance do that when I had nightmares on the Maru.  Even now, when I’m having them on board the Andromeda, Trance sneaks into my quarters and holds me while I sleep.  I never ask how she gets in, and I don’t really need it, but I guess I got used to it.”

Dylan flushed and looked at his hands again.  “Andromeda’s right you know.  You should get some rest.”  Dylan kept his voice as soft as possible.

“I’ve been out like a light for nearly six hours, Dylan.  I’m rested and ready to get back to work.  Besides, you look wiped and the girls could use an extra pair of hands.”

“Harper…”  Dylan sighed.  Leave it to Harper to want to throw himself back into his work.

Harper’s expression turned into something Dylan couldn’t identify for a few moments before he hid it with his usual grin.  “Look, I’m sorry I called you a fucking bastard.  I was stressed, you know?  And we won’t find them if we’re not looking.  So you get some rest, and I’ll go help Rommie and the droids in the Maru, okay?”

“Harper, if you want to help that’s fine, but you’re not going inside the Maru.”

“I’ve seen worse you know.”

Dylan looked up into Harper’s eyes.  “What?”

“On Earth.  Whatever it is you think I’m not ready to see, I’ve seen worse.”  Harper put his hand on Dylan’s knee, and Dylan had to fight the urge to cover his hand with his own.  “Dylan, you can’t protect me from what happened to them.  And you definitely cannot protect me if they’re dead.  Look, if it will make you feel better, I’ll wait until morning so we can start fresh, and you can come with me.”

The thought of going back to the wreckage and staring through the hole at Hangar Deck One made Dylan feel queasy.  Dylan didn’t want to see it again any more than he wanted Harper to see it.

But Harper and Rommie were right.  Harper would have to see the wreckage sooner or later.  He was the engineer; it was his job.  Dylan slowly nodded.  “I’ll only let you see it if I come with you.”

“Deal.”  Harper leaned back in the bed and looked at Dylan.  “Look, if you’re making me rest until morning, why don’t you take the next bed?  I mean, we can both fit on this one, but we’ll practically be sleeping on top of each other.  Not that I’d mind, but you might.”

“Oh, right.”  Dylan stood up and took the bed next to Harper’s.  He could feel his engineer’s gaze on him as he laid down.  “I should have taken a sedative to help me sleep.”
 

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

Dylan watched Harper bite his lip as they both stood staring up at the Maru.

“Jesus, this is going to take weeks to fix.”

“Yeah, but that’s not why we’re here.  You said there are places on the Maru that they could hide in?”

“Yeah.”  Harper approached the hatchway slowly.  “If either of them got down to the cargo hold, there’s a separate ventilated compartment.  In case of a breach, someone can survive with the air in that compartment for weeks.  It’s also reinforced so even Andromeda may not be able to see what’s inside.  Tyr wouldn’t have known about it, but Beka would.  Also, and I won’t be able to tell until I’ve looked at the damage, there’s a chance they got out through a slip pod.  But I have to look at the Maru to be sure.”  Harper stopped just inches from the hatch and turned to Dylan.

“Harper, are you sure you want to see this?”

Harper nodded and stepped inside.  It was easier for his small frame to get past the partially opened doors to the cockpit than it was for Dylan.

The Maru looked worse the second time around.

Harper’s expression went blank and unreadable as soon as he went inside.  He looked around at the damage to the floors, the torn wires, the broken airlocks.  It wasn’t until they reached the cockpit that Harper so much as made a sound.

And even then it was a sharp intake of breath.  With a shaky hand, Harper began to take down notes of the repairs that needed to be done.  “Rommie, we’ll have to uh… start by making sure there are no coolant leaks in the cockpit area.  And we need to make sure the antiproton tanks are still sealed.”

“I checked on those last night, and they are sealed tighter than mine, Harper.”

“Good.  One less thing to worry about.  Now, have you been able to get down to the cargo deck?”

“Yes Harper, two of my maintenance droids have been down there removing debris from the area you mentioned to Dylan last night.  They should be ready for further instructions whenever you are.”

Harper nodded and continued to take an inventory of the repair work.  He was, considering his behavior the day before calm.  Maybe a little too calm.

It was making Dylan nervous.

Finally Harper finished his inventory and looked at Dylan.  “Let’s go.  If Beka or Tyr are down in that storage compartment, they may not be able to get out on their own.”  Harper started for the cargo deck, but stopped and then turned around.

He was looking at the breach.  He stepped closer and peered out of it.

Dylan followed closely behind.  “Harper?”

“Wow… you could see the entire Hanger Deck from this thing.”  Harper’s eyes slowly followed every torn wire and bent piece of metal.  He reached his hand out and ran his finger over a jagged edge.

“Harper, if you need to take a break, get some air…”

“No, I’m good.”  Harper took his hand away and looked up at Dylan.  And all Dylan wanted to do was take that pained look away.  “Come on.”

“You sure?”

“Dylan, we have to find them.  Standing here won’t help any.”  Harper said as he started down the ladder to the cargo deck.  Dylan noticed he practically slid down the ladder.  So he followed suit.
 

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

They could both see the maintenance droids moving aside beams and sheets of metal from the area of the cargo deck Harper indicated.  They were nearly done when Harper arrived and looked down.  He settled on his knees and started to brush more of the debris away.

One of the droids looked up at Dylan and shook its head before going back to helping Harper.  He found it puzzling until Harper opened the hatch and suddenly stopped.

Rommie’s droid spoke for both herself and Harper.  “The storage compartment has also been breached.  If they managed to get down there, they wouldn’t have survived.”

Harper looked up at the maintenance droid with tears in his eyes.  “Are the pods on board?”

“No Harper, that’s the good news.  Both of them are missing.  I think it would be most prudent if Trance and I continued our search from there.  I’m sorry, Harper.”  The droids turned on their heels and left the cargo deck.

Harper didn’t move.  He just stared at inside the storage compartment.  Dylan knelt down next to Harper, watching his face.  He would have given anything to comfort Harper.

“Dylan… you’ve seen the hull breach, and the fire damage.  You’ve seen the cockpit.  They didn’t… they’re gone.”  Harper shifted and brought his knees to his chest.  “They’re just gone.”

“Harper, we don’t know that…”

Harper turned around so quickly Dylan jumped back.  “They’re dead.  No one could have survived this!”  Harper turned back and stared at the breach.  “Nobody.”

“Harper.”  Dylan reached out and placed his hand on Harper’s shoulder.  “You don’t know that.”

“I do.  I think that they died saving us.  And when we find them, we’ll only find their bodies.  Beka was the one who got me off Earth.  She’s been the only person willing to put up with my crap since then.”  Harper snorted.  “First Rev, then Trance, and now Beka and Tyr.  What are we going to do now?”  Dylan moved closer to Harper as he curled in tighter.  “What are we going to do now?”

Dylan put his arm around Harper and pulled him close.  “We’ll find them.  And then… we’ll deal with what we find.  That’s all we can do.”

Harper buried his head against Dylan’s neck.  He shook against Dylan’s body.  Dylan shifted so he was sitting on the floor and moved Harper so he was half sitting on his lap.  He credited Harper’s compliance to shock.

“Harper.”

“I loved them both,” Harper said, his face still buried against Dylan’s neck.  “I loved Rev too.  I hated what they were; a spacer, an Uber, a Magog…but I loved them.”  Dylan could feel Harper’s arms slip around his waist lightly.

“I know you did.”  Dylan rubbed Harper’s back, rocking him back and forth as he felt his neck begin to get wet from Harper’s tears.  Turning his head slightly, he began to kiss along Harper’s forehead before his actions registered.

Instead of looking for Beka and Tyr, he was sitting on the floor of the Maru’s cargo deck, holding Harper in his lap.  What the hell was he thinking?

Before Dylan could pull away in a panic, he felt Harper’s arms tighten.  Dylan bit his lip as Harper tilted his head back to look him in the eyes.  The look on Harper’s face made Dylan’s heart break.

“Dylan?”

“You’ll always have Rommie, and you’ll always have me.”  Dylan wiped a tear off his cheek.  He leaned in and started to kiss Harper…

“Dylan, we need you on Command immediately.  We found a slip pod.”  Trance’s voice came over the intercom.  “I think it’s them.”

Harper broke his gaze and looked up.  “Are they alive?”

“I’m not sure.  But I think so.  Can you meet me on Hanger Deck two in case we need help opening the pod?”

“We’re be right there.”  Harper broke the embrace and stood up shakily, leaving Dylan feeling cold all of a sudden.  Wiping his face with his sleeve, he said, “Thanks Dylan.”

Dylan couldn’t think of a thing to say, so he simply nodded.
 

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

Harper and Dylan reached Hanger Deck two just as Andromeda was repressurizing the area.  Trance and Rommie were already by the doorway with a stretcher.

“Rommie?” Harper said.  He was still shaking slightly.  Dylan couldn’t help but put a hand on his back to reassure him.  He noticed Harper didn’t pull away and felt relieved.

“I read two life signs.  And it’s definitely them.  But I can’t tell you anymore, Harper.”  Rommie entered the Hanger Deck as soon as the doors opened.  Harper, Dylan, and Trance immediately followed suit.

“Harper, I can’t open the hatch automatically, can you help me with this?”

Harper nodded and jacked into the slip pod’s external controls.  It took him only a few seconds to override the lock.  As the doors opened, Dylan could see two forms lying on the floor inside.  Harper reached in as soon as the hatch cleared.

“Beka?”

“Did somebody get the RAD signature of that salvage vessel?” Beka said with her hand over her eye.  She had been bleeding.  Harper pulled her into a hug.  Beka winced.

“Don’t scare me like that.  I thought we lost you,” Harper whispered.

“I thought I lost me too.”  Beka broke the embrace.  “Tyr’s still unconscious.  He has been out cold since before I came to.”

Harper looked at Tyr, then at Trance.  Trance checked Tyr over.

“He’ll be fine, but I wouldn’t hug him right now.  His ribs are cracked.  Rommie, would you get that stretcher and help me bring him to the Med Deck?”  Rommie nodded and brought the stretcher over.  With Rommie’s help, she lifted Tyr and took him off without another word.

Harper turned back to Beka.  “Can you walk?”

“Yeah, I’m just bruised.”  Beka stood unsteadily and leaned on Harper.  As they passed, Harper paused and looked at Dylan.

“Come with us, please?”

Dylan bit his lip and looked at Beka as he followed.  “Thank you, Beka.”

Beka smiled at Dylan but kept her hand over her eye.  “I couldn’t have done any of it without you guys.  My crew is my anchor.”

They walked on towards the Med Deck in silence.  When they arrived, Trance was already getting ready to set Tyr’s arm.  His eyes were still closed.

Harper helped Beka onto the nearest bed and looked her over.  She shooed him away.  “I’ll be fine.”

Dylan stepped forward.  “Are you sure?”

“Yeah… How is he, Trance?”

Trance snapped Tyr’s arm into place, and Dylan had to force himself not to wince.  “It’s not life threatening, but he needs work.  Dylan, Harper, can you give us some privacy?  This could take awhile.”

Harper looked as if he was about to protest, but Beka said, “Go with him Harper.  I’m safe now.”

Dylan nodded.  He had a feeling Beka might not want Harper to see Trance tend to her wounds.  Or worse, if Tyr regained consciousness, to see him scream if he was in any pain.  “Harper, we can go back to the Maru and finish that assessing the damage in the meantime.”

Harper turned with a frown and left reluctantly.

Beka turned her attention to Dylan.  “He’ll be okay.  Just be with him until Trance gives you guys the go ahead to come back here.”

“Understood.  Nice work, Beka.”  Dylan followed after Harper.  He caught up with Harper just as he reached Hangar Deck One.  Leaning against the wall by the doorway, Harper looked at Dylan.

“We found them.”  His voice was shaky.  Harper suddenly began to slide to the floor, but Dylan grabbed a hold of his waist and held him up against the wall.  Harper slumped his head forward against Dylan’s chest.

Dylan felt a bit like he was holding a scared child.  Breathing deeply, he pulled Harper closer to his body.

“Yes Harper, we found them…”  Dylan said in a very quiet voice.  He tilted Harper’s face up to look at him.  He wanted to know if Harper had just fainted.  If so, he was planning on carrying him back to his quarters so he could rest.  Instead, Harper’s eyes were wide open.  He looked desperate.  “Harper?”

“Dylan, I…”  Harper choked back a sob.  Dylan could see a tear run down Harper’s face.  And he would have done anything to keep Harper from crying.

Dylan didn’t realize he kissed that tear away until he heard himself whisper against Harper’s cheek, “I can’t stand to see you like this.”  To Dylan, it was like he was hearing it from somebody else.

Harper pulled Dylan down and kissed him hard.  Dylan could feel his hands running up and down the front of his torso in frenzy.  The feeling was beyond description.

Dylan could have pulled away if he wanted to.  But he didn’t want to.  Instead, he yanked Harper’s shirt up and rubbed his nipples with his thumbs, eliciting a groan from Harper.  Kissing along his jaw, he was vaguely aware of Harper’s hand tugging on the zipper in the front of his pants.  Harper managed to pull them, along with his underwear, down quickly.

When Harper wrapped his fingers tightly around Dylan's cock, any protest Dylan would have against going forward with this was lost.  He grabbed a hold of Harper’s ass and braced him against the wall.  Harper wrapped his legs around Dylan’s waist.  Dylan remembered first trying to undo, and then giving up and ripping the seam of Harper’s pants and underwear so he could push them out of the way.  He began to rock his groin against Harper’s.

Dylan was barely aware of it when Harper groaned out between kisses, “Please.”

Dylan increased the friction, thrusting his hips harder against Harper.  Harper moaned his name loudly and came.  That was enough for Dylan to lock his hips as he followed suit.

Any energy Dylan had left was used to slow the both of them as they slid down the wall.  Dylan rested his head against Harper’s shoulder, looking out towards the corridor.

The only person who would have seen any of this was Andromeda herself.  And she was keeping silent.

Between pants, Dylan whispered, “Better?”

“I needed that.”  Harper took a deep breath.  “I… uh, think I broke something.”

Dylan looked at Harper and kissed the tip of his nose.  “No, I did.”

“Huh?”  Harper looked confused and tensed up slightly.  His cheeks were bright red.

“I meant your clothes.”  Dylan smiled and kissed his lips gently.  “Sorry about the uh…”

Harper’s cheeks went from red to crimson.  “You mean the fact that we’re in the hallway?  I’ve been in worse places.”

When Harper’s body relaxed, Dylan felt relieved.  Standing, he held out his hand.  “Come on, let’s go change.”
 

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

“… So I blacked out after the breach, and when I woke up, I was crammed into the pod against Tyr.  A close fit like that was not my idea of comfort, trust me.  Anyway, he was breathing, but unconscious.  To the best of my knowledge, he must have managed to drag me into the pod just after the explosion.  It took me an hour to get the beacon up and running.”  Beka hugged herself and looked at Harper.

Dylan stood with his back against the wall, not making a sound.  He was still trying to absorb the relief he was feeling that they were alive.  Tyr had suffered some burns, a few cracked ribs, a dislocated arm, and a stab wound, but he was still unconscious.  Trance said his immune nanos would take care of that with time and plenty of rest.  Beka might lose an eye, but other than cuts and bruises she was mostly shaken.

What happened between himself and Harper on the Maru, and in the hallway after they found Beka and Tyr, would have to wait.  They both changed their clothes afterwards but Harper didn’t say much about either incident during the damage assessment.

This made Dylan very nervous.  The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Harper.  He prayed he didn’t.

Harper had been spending the past ten minutes touching Beka’s hair, her cheek, her hand.  It was as if he was trying to convince himself that she was real.  Beka seemed to have no problem letting him touch her.

Beka smiled at Harper.  “Yes, Harper, I’m real.  Now will you stop fussing over me?”  She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

“You fuss over me every time I get a hangnail.  Now it’s my turn, okay?”  Harper rubbed Beka’s arm again gently.  “Trance said you saved everybody this time.”

“Well, she gave me a straight answer about her mistake for once.  That made a lot of difference.”  Beka turned to Dylan.  “So how hysterical was he?”

Dylan shook his head.  “No more than the rest of us, trust me.  Harper was just a little more vocal about it.”

“Gee, thanks for the support, Capitan.”  Harper looked at Dylan for a moment.  Turning back to Beka he said, “You.  Sleep, now.”

“Yes, daddy.”  Beka made herself comfortable on the bed and closed her unbandaged eye.  “Dylan, would you take care of Harper for me while I rest?”

“Beka, I’m not exactly a baby.”

Beka opened her eye again.  “I know you Seamus.  You’ll get excited because Tyr and I are okay and start fixing my ship when we all should be sleeping.  And I have a feeling my baby is wrecked, so you’ll need help fixing her.  Which means I don’t want anyone else near the Maru until morning, okay?”

“But…”

“That’s an order, Harper.”  Beka was grinning as she closed her eyes again.  Dylan reached out and touched Harper’s arm.  He made note of the fact that Harper didn’t jerk away from him as he expected him to.

“Come on, she’ll still be here in the morning,” Dylan said before he turned and left Med deck.

It didn’t take him long to hear Harper’s footsteps behind him in the corridor.  The two of them walked silently towards the crew quarters.

Harper’s quarters were closer.  Dylan expected Harper to go into his quarters but when he stopped and turned, he sighed.  Here it comes.

“Boss, walk with me.”  Harper grinned.

“Isn’t that my line?”

“Well yeah, but I’ve always wanted to say that.”  Harper stepped forward.  “Listen, about what happened on the Maru and in the hallway...”

Dylan waved a hand to stop Harper.  “I know.  We were both stressed.”

“No, stress has got nothing to do with it.”  Harper moved in and stood on his tiptoes so that the two of them were more level.  He was blushing.  “I just wanted to tell you that, what I said about Beka, Tyr and Rev goes for you too.  And…if you wanted to do anything like that with me again, you can.”  Harper rested his head on Dylan’s shoulder.

Dylan bit his lip and patted Harper’s back.  “Harper we shouldn’t be doing this.”

Harper sighed.  “Yes we should.  Dylan, if there is anything I’ve learned, it’s this.  Everything the six of us once loved before the black hole is gone now except what’s on this ship.  Don’t let go of the things you love here before you realize what they mean to you.” Harper tilted his head up and pulled Dylan down for a soft kiss before he turned on his heel to go to his quarters.

For the second time in less than day, he left Dylan feeling cold.  Suddenly he didn’t feel much like sleeping.  “Harper?”

Harper stopped just a few feet away from his quarters.  “You know you just ruined an ass kicking exit.  I mean come on, that was holodrama quality.”

“Yes, but you could try a different one later.”

Harper turned around and looked hopeful.  Hopeful was an expression Dylan could definitely deal with after all this.  “Later?”

Dylan nodded and walked to his own quarters.  Opening the door with a smile he said, “Later.”

"What, like coffee and a chat kind of later, or a quick tumble in the sheets kind of later, or breakfast kind of later?”

“Just… later, okay?”  Dylan pinched his nose and tried not to laugh at Harper.

Harper hesitated briefly before walking quickly to Dylan’s quarters.  Dylan closed the door and turned to find Harper sitting on the bed, kicking off his shoes.

Dylan smiled and sat down next to Harper.  “I didn’t specify what kind of later I meant.”

Harper stopped and blushed.  “Oh.”

Dylan ran his fingers through Harper’s hair.  He shifted on the bed so he was sitting behind Harper with Harper positioned between his legs.  Dylan took off his own shirt and hugged Harper briefly.  “Don’t turn around yet.”

“Okay.”  Very slowly and very gently, Dylan started to caress Harper’s back and shoulders.  After a few moments, Dylan moved his hands to Harper’s arms.

Harper hesitated and then leaned back with, tracing circles on Dylan’s thigh.  Dylan couldn’t help shivering as he began to get hard.  His hands ran over Harper’s stomach.

Harper sighed and covered one of Dylan's hand with his own.  “Is uh… this the kind of later you meant?”

“It’s heading that way.”  Dylan planted a few kisses onto the back of his neck.  The skin was soft to the touch.  He wondered if Harper was this soft all over.

Harper smirked before tilting his head to the left.  “So this is the slow kind of later.”

“I like slow.”  Dylan kissed the area around Harper’s dataport gingerly.  Harper gasped, and took his hand off Dylan’s thigh.  “Should I stop?”

“Don’t.”  Harper reached up and ran his fingers through Dylan’s hair, pressing his head against his neck.  Dylan smiled and licked along the edge of that port.

“Oh, my God.”  Harper rubbed his backside against Dylan’s groin, making him hard.  Dylan ran his hands under Harper’s shirt and stopped long enough to lean back.  Harper turned and covered Dylan’s lips with his own.

This time the kiss wasn’t soft at all, but intense and passionate.  Dylan opened his mouth and Harper slid his tongue in, making small noises as he did so.  Harper broke the kiss long enough to pull his shirt over his head with a lopsided grin.  With that same grin, he pushed Dylan backwards and straddled his hips.

“See, this may be a problem.  I don’t do slow very well.”  Harper rubbed his backside against Dylan’s groin a second time, causing him to moan.  Dylan bucked up and grabbed a hold of Harper’s hips.

“We need to stop a second.”

Harper frowned and stopped.  “Why?”

“Because if we don’t get these clothes off, I’m going to ruin another set of pants.”

Harper grinned and got off Dylan long enough to wiggle out of his pants, boots and underwear.  He turned and helped Dylan with his own, pausing to kiss him every few seconds.  Once the clothes were off, Dylan rolled over so Harper was under him.  He ran his hands all over Harper’s body.  Harper squirmed and planted kisses everywhere he could reach.  Reaching down, he cupped Dylan’s balls.

“Harper… I said slow.”

“And I said I have a problem with slow.”  Harper grinned and Dylan felt Harper’s thumb rub over the head of his cock just before he began to pump Dylan’s cock in his fist.  He began to see stars.

Dylan had to stop so he could move Harper’s hands away and pin them above his head.  Kissing him, he let go and leaned over to the night table to grab a tube of lube.

Harper’s lopsided grin grew wider.  “And just what are you doing with that?”

Dylan felt his cheeks turn red.  “Well I was thinking I could…”

Harper nodded.  “I prefer the receiving end, but I want to see your face as we uh…”

“Absolutely.”  Dylan nodded and pushed Harper’s legs apart.  Slicking up his fingers, he slid one in with no resistance.  Dylan was surprised that Harper was that relaxed.  When he slid in a second, Harper began to rock against his fingers.  Dylan decided he loved making Harper look at him like this.

“Dylan…” Harper bit his lip.  “Please.”

Dylan kissed Harper again, slicked himself up, and slid in.  They both stopped and took a deep breath.  Dylan didn’t move.  He wanted to, but he wouldn’t move until Harper gave him a go ahead.

After all they’d been through in the past two years, Harper deserved as much.

Harper nodded and pushed down.  That was all the encouragement Dylan needed.  He began to thrust against Harper.

The second Dylan hit his prostate, they both lost it and bucked against each other wildly.  Within a few seconds, Harper clamped down and came, spilling his cum all over Dylan’s belly.  Dylan came a few seconds later with a shout and collapsed on top of Harper.

“Sorry,” Dylan said between gasps.  “It’s been a while.”

“Me too.  So should I make another dramatic exit now?”

Dylan rolled off Harper and pulled him into his arms.  As Harper settled into his shoulder, he said, “Don’t you dare.”

--End--
 

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