Title: Harper's Tradition
Author: ILH, aka Melissa
Rating: G
Summary: Harper performs a yearly tradition to mark a special occasion.
Fandom: Andromeda
Disclaimer: Andromeda is property of Tribune.
Author's Note: A short fic. I don't know where this came from. It just suddenly popped into my head, and I wrote what the voices told me to write.
"Rommie, what time is it?" Harper half-mumbled, holding a nanowelder in his mouth and fiddling with some wiring with his hands.
"It's 11:47 PM, Harper," Rommie's voice replied.
"Thanks, Rommie." He took the nanowelder from his mouth and placed it in his toolbelt. "I'll be back in a while to finish this, 'kay?"
"May I inquire what you plan to do this late?" Rommie asked.
"Just go to my quarters. I've got some stuff I need to do there."
"Is sleep part of your plans?"
"You know me better than that, Rom-doll." He grinned as he pushed himself to his feet.
"You've only slept 16 hours in the past five days, Harper. Please consider it at least. With your weak immune system-"
"I know, I know. I'll go to sleep after I finish working." Harper walked silently to his quarters and entered the messy room. "Privacy mode."
"Privacy mode engaged," Andromeda's voice stated.
Harper took off his toolbelt and tossed it onto his dresser. Part of the pile of mechanical components and his possessions clattered to the floor. However, Harper didn't seem to notice. He grabbed his video recorder and sat down on his bed.
He pressed record. "Hey...in three minutes, it's your birthday -- eighteen at last. If we would've made it to that drift, there would be a giiiiiiant swarm of men chasing after you. I wouldn't have been able to touch you with a ten foot pole! You were always so pretty, even when we were crawling through the mud trying to find our way home that time you ran away to go to the drift yourself. You were just seven, too, but you were still so freakin' impatient -- yesterday wasn't soon enough. God, there's so much I had forgotten that I remember now..." Harper lifted his hand to rub his eyes, ridding himself of the tears that threatened to fall. "Anyway, I just wanted to say happy birthday...and that I love you. I still miss you, sis."
Harper turned off the recorder and erased the message. He had done this every year since he had left Earth on the Maru. Every year since he had lost his last immediate family member, and probably his best friend.
Harper put up the recorder and sighed. "If only you could've lasted another year or so...but that's already over and done with. No reason to dwell on it or lose anymore sleep because of it. She wouldn't have wanted me to. Disengage privacy mode."
"It's 00:17. Are you going to go to bed now, Harper?" Rommie's voice asked with concern.
"Actually, Rommie, I am. For some reason, I think I'll sleep better tonight. Lights off." He yawned and plopped down on his bed. The exhausted engineer soon fell into a rare peaceful sleep.