Long time no see [Faye]

[darkreaction2]

When the shuttle he had been traveling on finally shuddered to a stop at the docks of Persephone, Brian let loose a soft sigh of relief. The shuttle was old and crowded, and the ride had definitely not been fun. He hefted his bag to his shoulder, lifted his case with his other hand, and made his way towards the exit, moving slowly to let the crowd jostle by him. One of the last to leave, he stepped out into the night. Glancing around briefly, he followed the swell of people into town. The bar was still open, he could see, and he drifted inside for a quick drink and perhaps a tip for work or a ride.

He sat at the bar, propping his large duffel and med kit against the counter at his feet. Ordering a beer, he struck up a conversation with the man beside him. Apparently there was a pair of ships come in recently, both of them rumored to be looking for work. "Yeah, one's a girl, name of Murphy if I remember it right, and other's a man name of Hannigan. The ships are Riley and Atlas." The man informed him. Brian's mind was swimming at the mention of a girl named Murphy. Now, Murphy wasn't a rare name, but with a ship named Riley? He knew well who Riley was from her ramblings under the morphine he had given her while she was healing, although he did not know he had died. He hadn't seen Faye in years. Could it really be her, captaining her own ship as she'd wished? Thanking the man and paying the bartend, Brian collected his belongings and left the bar a lot faster than he'd come in.

He shouldn't get his hopes up, really. Even if it was her, it had been years. Would she remember him, or want to see him? Sure, she'd made that promise, but she was on a lot of painkillers. She might not have even remembered his name or what he looked like for the drugs. His pace slowed as he pondered this. It was unnerving to head out in the dead of night for a ship where girl he once helped might or might not be, and who may or may not remember him. He must be crazy.

However much he hesitated, he still was headed back to the docks. There was a little tug on his heart telling him he had to at least know for sure. He had gotten sincerely attached to the strong woman in the short time he'd known her, and thought about her often. Brian had to at least know if she even remembered him.

As he walked through the docks, looking at the names of ships, he almost ran into a man walking sidelong in his path. "Sorry!" Brian said, stopping in his tracks. The man waved off his apology. "Say, do you happen to know where I can find a ship called the Riley?" Brian asked him. The man pointed to a ship down the line, and Brian thanked him. As he approached the Riley, he could see no one was there. It was locked up tight and there was no sign of life or any lights. Setting down his valise and bag, he found a place to sit on one of the benches along the docks and made himself comfortable. He'd wait until morning if he had to; he was not letting that ship take off without seeing whether this woman was the Faye he had known.

[faye]

Faye was just pondering on the Riley's apparent lack of a medic as the three of them stepped out of the Atlas, after saying their goodbyes to the crew there. Mechanics were easy to find; she could pick one up for next to nothing in the morning if she wanted to. But medics were tough to find, and if you wanted a good one, a trained one, which Faye did -- she knew all too well the destruction that could be wrought by untrained hands when the hurt was bad enough -- you had to be either very good or very lucky.

There was an ever-so-slight chill in the air, but Faye didn't mind. It had been burning up in the dining room of the Atlas, so she'd taken her jacket off, and she didn't bother with putting it back on just to walk over to her ship. The shirt she was wearing was black, and its short sleeves sat just on the edge of her shoulders, creating a basin-like neckline that dipped just low enough on her back to reveal the tip of a scar on her left shoulder that extended diagonally down her back to her right hip. She'd had the scar since the war, and she hadn't forgotten how she got it, or who she had to thank for bringing her back from certain death.

Delilah and Sam were in front of her, laughing and playing like they usually did. Looking around at all the lights, she noted a man on a bench along the dock, close enough to be noticed, but far enough away and in enough of a shadow to not be recognized as anyone she knew. So she ignored him, instead looking back to Del and Sam. Faye loved moments like this, when she had a job and she had friends and her sister was happy. She was content. She truly was.

[darkreaction2]

As he waited, Brian busied himself with studying the few people that came and went this late. His fingers absently stroked the hard casing of his valise. That valise held some of the most necessary items for his life's work, and it was worn and old. It was, in fact, the very valise he had left St. Lucy's with the day he had decided to help out in the war. His thoughts turned to everything that had happened in the war, but he tried not to let his mind wander back to Faye. He would only set himself up for disappointment if it turned out this Murphy woman was not the same Murphy he was looking for.

Just then, he spotted a group of three people coming towards him. Two women, one men, still too far yet to make out features. The man and one of the women were talking and laughing comfortably with each other, and as they finally came closer, it was Delilah he focused on first. Looking identical to Faye, she did trick him at first into thinking it was her. But her mannerisms were not the same, and his eyes flicked quickly to the other woman, the one who carried herself with pride and confidence. This was Faye. He stood and walked towards them, calling to her. "Murpy? Faye Murphy?"

He was close enough to see her clearly. She was older now, not the same young woman so passionately fighting for what she believed in, but an adult captaining her own ship. He was impressed, but not surprised. If that woman could survive the shrapnel she was hit with, she could do anything she set her mind to. He had never actually seen Faye standing and walking, and it relieved him to see the shrapnel hadn't seemed to cause long-term damage to her motor functions. Even with the happiness he was feeling at seeing her again, his mind was still thinking somewhat clinically. His lips turned up in a shy smile, hoping she'd recognize him. He'd grown older, too.

[faye]

The incident at Farren Pass hadn't gone without damage. She couldn't feel some spots, and in other places she had oversensitivity. A few of her reflexes had been heightened, which turned out to be a blessing and a curse. But she got through it. All of it.

"Murpy? Faye Murphy?"

At the sound of her name, Faye paused. The man who'd called it was the same one from the bench, only now, he was closer, and in the light. He wasn't much to look at -- brown hair, about five-ten, with just a hint of scruffy beard. But Faye remembered his sparkling eyes, and even more than that, she remembered his voice. He looked different from when she'd last seen him -- god, how long had it been now? Years. Years upon years since she'd seen the man who'd saved her life at Farren Pass.

"Brian!"

There were no thoughts. The man's name rolled easily off her tongue, and her feet carried her forward effortlessly. When she'd closed the four or five feet between them, she jumped slightly and threw her arms around his shoulders. Normally, Faye wasn't fond of physical contact with people she didn't know well, but she knew Brian. She knew him so well that the very scent of him, unchanged from all those years ago, nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Releasing him after a short hug, she blinked a few times. "What are you doing here?

[darkreaction2]

His stomach clenched as she hesitated, turning her gaze upon him. It didn't take long to get the answer to his question, though. She remembered him, cried his name. And she was coming at him, fast. He quickly extended his hands to catch her as she jumped. Then she was in his arms, and he hugged her to him in surprise, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Faye Murphy." He repeated, incredulously. Turning his face into her hair, near her ear he said, "It's been a while."

She pulled away after what felt like much too short a time, and he laughed a little at her question. "I was looking for work...a man in a bar mentioned the Murphy girl and her ship the Riley. I was hoping it was you..." He shook his head as he trailed off, still not able to keep a silly grin from his face. Trailing a hand through his hair, he chuckled nervously. "Sorry, this is all just so surreal. I never thought I'd see you again."

He became suddenly self-conscious, aware of Sam and Delilah there. He obviously had to introduce himself. Smiling, he nodded at them. "Hi. Brian Patterson. You must be Delilah," he said to Faye's twin. Even if Faye hadn't told him all about her, he could have seen if was her twin. "Faye told me about you." His gaze went back to Faye for a second. He couldn't help it.
She was even prettier than he remembered, but the spark that he had seen, her will to live and inner strength: that was still there.

[faye]

"I was looking for work..."

Faye's heart sparked. Was it only three minutes ago that she was pondering their lack of a good medic? What magic it was, then, that Brian Patterson would show up at that very moment. Delilah and Sam had already stopped playing and walking to look at the stranger. Sam knew who he was, from stories Faye had told him, but Delilah was spared the tales of her wounds. Faye typically didn't like her sister to know that she was, in fact, mortal.

"Lookin' for work? That's perfect!" she couldn't keep herself from saying the words with excitement in her voice. "We're about to go on a job, ourselves, and we need a medic."

"Sorry, this is all just so surreal. I never thought I'd see you again."

"You're tellin' me," she said under her breath. She watched him introduce himsel to Delilah, and watched Delilah give him a glowing smile.

"Brian Patterson," Delilah repeated, weighing the name. She shook her head, but still kept her smile. "I've never heard of you before. But you know Faye, so that's okay with me."

[darkreaction2]

Brian's head snapped up when she said they were looking for a medic. Faye seemed as excited as Brian felt. He smiled widely, trying to convey his disbelief at the lucky coincidence of the situation. "Really? Are you offering me a job?" His luck was unbelievable. He could think of no other person he'd rather be his captain than Faye Murphy. It would be amazing to be on her ship and help them out.

It took him a second to register what she had said, but when he did, he cocked his head and furrowed his brow slightly. "You need a medic because you're going on a job, or you just need a medic?" He wasn't suspicious or anything, he just wanted her to be straight up with him about what he was getting into. Brian wasn't as straight-laced as he appeared to be when he was in professional mode, and illegal work wouldn't really matter to him.

Brian was a little surprised when he realized Faye hadn't told her sister about him. It didn't take him long to decide that it was for good reason, when he remembered everything Faye had told him about Delilah. It was obvious Faye was really protective of her; could it be Delilah hadn't known about her injuries. "Well thanks, Delilah. It's great to finally meet you." He glanced back at Faye, giving her a fake sad face. "You didn't tell her about me?" He teased her.