weeks ago but seemingly a lifetime away. When it was over, she collapsed into the shelter of his arms, nuzzling comfortably into his shoulder with a sigh of contentment.
Jason basked in the warmth of her skin, nostrils filled with the muskiness of their combined sweat, feeling the beat of her heart against his chest. For the first time in weeks, he felt like he could relax—like he could think. And the only thing he could think about was what a bastard he’d been. Here he was, lying in bed with Shannon like nothing had happened, while a few rooms away Val was with her fiance, pretending the same thing. He wasn’t a particularly religious person, and had few hangups about sex, but this was deception, and it was wrong.
“Shannon,” he said, the sound of his voice breaking the idyllic spell of the moment.
“Yes?” She twisted around in his arms to face him, frowning at his serious expression. “What’s wrong?”
“When it all happened, when we were at the mansion,” he struggled for the words. “I was outside, taking a walk. I couldn’t sleep—you remember, right?”
“Yes, Jason, I remember,” she said.
“Valerie—Ms. O’Keefe—she was out in the garden, too. She was still upset about the attack at the Mendoza’s, and we were talking when the pods came in. I saw one of the pods hit the mansion, saw it catch on fire. We were cut off, and I thought…” His voice trailed off and he had to look away, unable to face her. “We thought all of you were dead.”
“You did the right thing,” she tried to assure him, but he waved it off.
“No, you don’t understand. I knew I had to get her out of there—I knew what my duty was. But
He looked up and saw understanding come into the clarity of her celadon gaze. Clarity, but—to his surprise —not anger or disappointment.
“You slept with her,” Shannon finally put into words what Jason had been trying to say.
“Yeah.” He let his head drop back against the pillow. “I slept with her.”
“Do you love her?” Shannon’s voice was calm and even, almost friendly—and that scared him.
He shook his head. “No. I mean, she’s really nice, and I have a lot more respect for her now than I did a couple months ago. She’s been through a lot, and she’s handled it better than I would have. But we were just alone and scared. We didn’t have anyone else to turn to, and we thought everyone else was dead. I… I didn’t want to think about you—about all of you, Jock, Vinnie and Tom, dying on my command while I got away. I knew I did the right thing, but I still felt like shit, and I didn’t want to think. She helped me not to have to think.” He looked up at her pleadingly. “Do you understand?”
There was a look on her face that he couldn’t quite read, something that might have been compassion or indecision… or relief.
“Yes,” she answered, laying her head back against his chest. “I understand.”
Jason wasn’t sure if that also meant she forgave him, or whether she believed there was anything to forgive, but he didn’t want to push his luck. So he just held her there in the darkness, listening to the quiet softness of her breathing, wondering if she were asleep, and wondering if sleep would come for him anytime soon.
“No!” Valerie snapped sharply, pulling away from Glen’s grasp and rolling to the other side of the bed.
“Damn it, Val, what’s wrong?” He threw up his hands, falling back against the pillow. “Ever since you got back, you’ve been treating me like a fucking leper!”
“I’m not ready, Glen,” she said tightly, wrapped in shadows, facing away from him. “It’s too soon.”
“Too soon for what?” he demanded. “It’s been over a week since you got here! What happened out there? What haven’t you told me? Damn it, Val, I deserve to know!”
“What about me?” She turned on him, face coming into the glow of the ghostlights on the wall above them, venom in her voice. “What about what I deserve, Glen? Did you ever bother to think about someone besides yourself?”
“But, honey,” he protested, shocked at the outburst, “You know I love you! I just…”
“Oh, you love me,” she sneered, throwing aside the covers and sitting up, the frost-white of her bra standing out from the newly-acquired tan of her skin. “You always throw that around like it’s some magic word that’ll make everything all right. Well, everything’s not all right, Glen!” She sprang out of bed and began feeling around for her clothes in the dark.
“Where are you going?” He shook his head. “It’s the middle of the night.”
She ignored him, stepping into her skirt and pulling on Jason’s khaki overshirt—she’d never given it back to him.
“Val,” Glen insisted, hopping out of bed. “You can’t just run off! You’ve got to tell me what’s wrong!”
“You,” she declared, shaking her head. “You, Glen. You’re what’s wrong. And where I’m going,” she said as she pulled the door open, “is none of your damned business.” Then she was gone, the door slamming behind her.
Glen stood there in his underwear in the middle of the room, mouth open, wanting to follow her but knowing it wouldn’t do any good. He chewed his lip in uncertainty, then suddenly made up his mind. She wouldn’t talk to him, but there was someone he thought she would listen to. He turned on the light and hurriedly began to dress.
Jason’s head snapped up and he peered into the darkness, uncertain if he’d really heard anything or if he’d just dreamed the noise.
Then it came again: a soft but firm knock on the door.
“What?” Shannon rolled over, abruptly sitting up in bed.
“I don’t know.” He rubbed sleep from his eyes as he slowly, gingerly made his way to the door.
When he pulled it open, he was surprised to see Glen Mulrooney standing behind it, looking worried.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Lieutenant,” he said, amazingly cordial. “But we need to talk. It’s important.”
Jason regarded him silently for a moment, considering whether to tell him to come back in the morning—or, rather, later in the morning. But there was an earnestness in the man’s tone that made him change his mind.
“Give me a second to get dressed,” Jason said, shutting the door.
“What’s wrong?” Shannon asked.
“Mulrooney’s got a hard-on for something,” McKay told her, locating his pants. “Try to go back to sleep—I won’t be long.”
Mulrooney was still waiting outside the door when Jason emerged, still bleary-eyed, into the comparative brightness of the hallway.
“So what’s so important,” Jason wanted to know, “that it couldn’t wait till morning?”
“It’s Valerie,” Glen explained. “Something’s wrong. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it.”
“I haven’t talked to her much since we got back,” Jason hemmed uncomfortably. Actually, he’d avoided her like the plague for the last week, not wanting to dredge up anything with her while he was trying to patch his nascent relationship with Shannon.
“Well, she’s been withdrawn.” He shook his head helplessly. “She’s shut me out—won’t talk to me about whatever happened. And…” he hesitated. “She doesn’t want me to touch her. You know, in bed.”
“Well, look,” Jason said, running a hand through his hair, “if she doesn’t want to talk to you about it, I’m not sure if it’s my business to tell you.”
“I don’t want you to tell me anything.” Glen raised a hand to halt the idea’s progression. “I want you to talk to her. You went through whatever happened out there with her, so you understand. I think maybe she’d talk to you.”
“I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea,” Jason protested.
“Please,” Glen implored him. “She’s outside, walking around—just outside the front entrance. I’m not sure if she’s safe out there. I mean, there could be animals out there.” His voice, his eyes, were pleading, and finally Jason gave in with a deep, hissing sigh.
“All right,” he agreed. “At least I’ll try to get her back inside.”
“Thank you,” Glen started to say, but Jason was already walking off toward the shelter entrance.
He snagged a flashlight from an equipment shelf on the way into the garage, bypassing the still-closed vehicle doors for a short set of stairs leading up to the small personal access hatch lying open to the side. He ducked out of the dim, chemical striplighting of the unoccupied garage into the brighter glow of Aphrodite’s larger moon, an irregular captured asteroid. The reflected light played over the rocky surface of the plateau overlooking
