April 2000
Rating: G
Star Trek belongs to
Terminal
by Sängerin
They disembarked
long after everyone else, and the staff treated them like celebrities. He had
an arm around her shoulders, supporting her - they were both obviously
exhausted. His forehead was wrinkled with stress, his hair was a
salt-and-pepper grey, more than you’d expect for someone his age. Tall and
handsome, he turned all the female heads within sight. The male heads turned
too - for her. Despite her exhaustion her eyes shone, her pale skin gleamed,
and her smile lit up the building. His head bent down to say something in her
ear, and she laughed up at him in reply. Everyone who could see them envied
what they had - each other.
Just
as they drew level with me, she stretched up and kissed him on the cheek, then
took a bag from him and left without a backward glance. I watched her walk to
the transport station. She met another woman coming in - tall and dark-haired.
They hugged and spoke briefly, then the smaller woman
spoke to the console operator, stepped onto the platform and was transported
away. The darker woman came up to the man I had been watching and kissed him.
‘I’m
glad you’re home,’ she said. ‘Kathryn looks well.’
‘She’s
glad to get back to her boys,’ replied the man. ‘And she missed her husband
terribly.’
‘I’m
glad you two have each other on these ridiculous trips.’
The
man scrutinised the woman’s expression carefully.
‘She’s my best friend, Tessa. She has been for so many years.’
She -
Tessa - nodded. ‘She loves you.’ She smiled. ‘And you love her.’
‘You’re
forgetting something,’ he said. ‘I love you, too.’
Tessa
laughed gently and they kissed again before they headed towards the transport
station. My flight was called, and in the bustle that followed I lost sight of
them. It was only when my shuttle was halfway to