Participants:
Featuring comatose:
| Scene Title | Not In This Moment |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Sometimes, things are just not meant to be. Kaylee closes the door on a part of her heart for the sake of her friendship. |
| Date | January 19, 2019 |
Secure Facility, Kansas City, MO
The stark hospital room is quiet except for the soft beeping of machinery. Equipment that was attached to the prone form of Raytech’s Security Chief. Kaylee stood just in the doorway, just passes the privacy curtain just watching the man, with a thin vase with a single white rose stuck in it and a sprig of lavender for color. The telepath had waited for a chance to step in there without others hovering over him. It felt awkward. It felt sneaky.
She wouldn’t stay long. Only taking advantage of a moment of privacy.
Swallowing against a sudden surge of emotions, Kaylee quietly moves to set the vase on a table with the others. There were no markings to say who it was from, but he might know if he sees it. After fussing with it a little, she finally gets the courage to turn to look at him again.
Closer now, she studies Luther’s face, thoughtful. Hands resting on the plastic railing, one on top of the other. “Hey you,” Kaylee whispers softly, even though she knows he can’t hear her. “I heard what you did. Quite a show you put on.” There is a touch of amusement, even a smile touching her lips “I only wish I had been there to see it. I bet it was pretty impressive.”
The telepath falls silent again, smile falling away and gaze dropping to the blanket covering the prone form. The time stretches, content to do just this, but finally…. “There is so much I want to say, but I… I just can’t.” Fingers seek out and find the band on her finger, twisting it and feeling the weight of it on her conscience. “Maybe one day. Hmm?” Blue eyes travel up to look at his face, so peaceful.
“I am jealous, though” Kaylee admits softly, huskily as emotions grip at her throat. “I don’t know how you can—” she trails off and shakes her head and lets out a heavy sigh.
“No matter what we saw, what we… felt in those moments…. I know in this moment, we were not meant for each other. They made sure of that, for whatever reason. I just think it is cruel that we had to see the possibility of it all.
“ Still…” the telepath reaches to touch his cheek, but stops herself short. Fingers curl in and tears fill her eyes. “I feel a connection to you that I can’t shake. It started well before all of that.” Instead, Kaylee gently tugs the blankets up a little higher, fussing to keep her from touching. “I’m too scared to ask if you feel it too.” She huffs out a breath that could be a chuckle. “Wouldn’t be the first time. Even if I am a telepath. I never like knowing. Protect my fragile heart I guess.” She never liked the pain of the rejection, which would explain her willingness to make them love her when she was younger and then cast them aside.
Kaylee finally can’t help but reach up and brush a thumb over his stubbled cheek. “I miss my friend and my lunch buddy. I miss our conversations and just… us in general. Carl misses his friend too.”
The mental hum of people passing the room has her freezing, her whole body going still. It would feel weird to be caught there, like that.
Luckily, they continue on and once they pass, Kaylee lets out the breath she had been holding and pulls her hand away. “I should go, I just wanted to check on you. Needed to really” At first she starts to step away, leave it at that…. But something stops her. Fingers drum on the railing as she considers. Finally, she turns back to the sleeping man and simply leans over to press a soft kiss to his forehead, noting how cool he was. They had told her his power was burnt out, but it was jarring to feel his skin so… normal. She moves to press her forehead lightly to his, with eyes closed and shiny with unshed tears. She sits there for a moment with a sniffle, just listening to the sluggish hum of his mind feeling a comfort in it.
“I love you, Luther.” The words slip out, but she’s not really try to stop them. It was true and she couldn't take it back. “Please, come back to me,” she whispers too quiet to be heard by anyone but the comatose man. So, it is a confession that goes unheard, except for maybe the universe. Pulling back slowly, she brushes at the tears on her cheeks and sniffs a little.
“Get better fast, cause I’ll be happy to just have my friend back. I’ll take you to lunch and you can tell me all about your heroics.” A nervous glance goes to the door, Kaylee has been there too long as it is. “No matter how I feel,” Kaylee starts, finally takes that step back, putting distance between them, “you will always be my friend first. I just can’t imagine my life without you in it anymore.”
With that said, she turns and hurries off before someone notices her. Kaylee hadn’t planned on it; but, sometimes you just needed to see someone with your own two eyes. Maybe a part of her hoped to find a measure of peace there, too.
Time will only tell if that is true.
