Date: ??/??/2001
From: SouthernSlider

Wade poured Remmy his third glass of wine.  She hoped this would loosen his tongue enough, and dull his senses enough, so that he wouldn’t wonder why she was probing for so many answers about his companions.

Not only did she wonder about Quinn’s feelings toward her now, but what was the status of him and Maggie?  And who was the guy that looked so much like Quinn? How did they hook up with the double of her sister?  Remmy had given her a synopsis of their sliding life when she had been around, but not a recent history.  Her skin itched wildly just below the surface with curiosity.

“Tell me about your companions.  What have you guys been up to recently?”  She tried to act nonchalant, but she wasn’t sure it came off that way.  She took a deep breath in anticipation of her next question.  “What about this Quinn of yours?  You said he and Wade were close.  Has her disappearance affected him terribly?”  She swallowed hard.  It was so difficult to speak of herself in the third person.

Remmy took a deep breath.  If he was going to tell her any of this story, he might as well tell it all.  He began with Quinn and Maggie finding him in the Kromagg prison, and discovering that Wade had been taken away.  He became somewhat emotional when he gave her more details about Wade being taken to a Kromagg breeding camp. Wade made a valiant attempt to push away the memory of his story.

Remmy composed himself and continued with the story of Quinn’s apparent change in attitude about Wade.  He then interjected that much later it was discovered the attitude was guilt.  They both felt extremely guilty about losing her.  At times, it was almost more than either of them could bear.  Wade fought unsuccessfully to keep the tears from welling up.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.  I’m upsetting you with this tale about your double.  I should stop now,”  he said as he brushed an escaped tear from her cheek.

“No!  Please, go on.  I need to know.”

Remmy frowned.  He didn’t anticipate her getting so emotional about this, but he shook off the chill that went down his spine and continued.  He finally got to the details of Quinn and Maggie.  Wade was grateful that things hadn’t progressed as much as she first thought.  It seemed her own hold on Quinn was stronger than she realized. Yes, Maggie tried, Remmy said, but Quinn couldn’t let go of his Wade enough to make a strong commitment to another woman.  Relief washed over her.  Now if she could just steer the conversation to the other guy and her sister’s double.  How did they figure into all of this?  It had to be more than coincidental.

“I really should stop now.  This is more than you need to know,”  Remmy said. She was visibly shaken, and Remmy couldn’t stand to see her upset.

“No.  Really, I’m fine.  How about we switch people?  Tell me about this Colin and Kelly that’s with you.  You didn’t mention anything about them in the beginning.” Wade hoped she was conveying a casual interest, instead of the heated desire to know that burned within her.

Remmy took another sip of wine and settled in with a different story.  He noticed the amazement Wade displayed when he told her all about finding Colin.  She couldn’t believe Quinn had a brother.  It was as if she had known Quinn before.  A nagging thought crossed his mind, but the effects of the wine disintegrated it before it could take root.

She laughed when he told her about Farm-boy’s naiveté, and his nick-name for the lad.  Remmy couldn’t help but laugh himself.  The wine was loosening him up pretty good.  And Wade was there to refill his glass the second he drained the last drop.

He finally came to the day they had entered this world the first time. Unfortunately, the conversation drifted back to his Wade when he related the events of the fight, and Colin’s disappearance.  It seemed everything always went full circle back to that petite sweetheart every time he opened his mouth these days.

Wade had mixed emotions.  She hated that Quinn was taking her capture so hard, but, at the same time, her heart swelled with joy that he cared so deeply.  She didn’t want him hurting so much on her account, but it made her feel there was something left between them that could be built on if . . . if what?  If she got to stay?  If he would leave her alone?  A pin of pessimism popped her balloon of hope.  She doubted things would turn out ‘happily ever after’.

Remmy launched into the story behind Kelly’s admittance to the gang.  When he told her that Kelly was his Wade’s sister and how she came to be on this earth, Wade went deathly pale.  The wine glass slipped out of her hand and went crashing to the floor, sending a splattering of the grape and tiny shards of glass in all directions. She slumped backwards toward the arm of the sofa in a dead faint.

Remmy ignored the mess on the floor and reached for her.  “Wade?  Wade?”  he yelled in a panic.  He patted her face, almost a little roughly, but she didn’t respond.  “My God!  What happened?”  He jumped up and ran to the bathroom to get a cold wet cloth.

His thoughts raced through his mind as he wet the cloth under the cool stream of water.   What did I say?  How could this story affect her so dramatically?  Did she have a sister named Kelly too?  Had that sister disappeared from her life?  What the hell do I say to her when she awakens?

Remmy lay the wet cloth over her forehead, then held on to her limp hand.  He called her name several times without a response -- not even a slight movement that would indicate she was coming around.

“Wade, you have to wake up.  You have to tell me what I said to send you into this tailspin.  Please, sweetheart.  Come back to Remmy, come back to me.”  His hand went into a noticeable tremble as he spoke.  He suddenly realized he was crying when he saw a fat tear plop onto the back of the small, soft hand he was holding.

For a split-second, it was as if this really were his Wade.  It was the wine. It had to be the wine that was muddling up reality and mixing it in with wishful fantasizing. This couldn’t be his Wade.

Original URL http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/1095/???? (purged)
Nominated by DieselMickeyDolenz