Posted by Lieutenant Kate O’Neill (Chief of Security) in West Virginia, Earth - Shaun and Kate’s Wedding

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Shaun Grecken (Doctor) in West Virginia, Earth - Shaun and Kate’s Wedding
Emilia paced the large dressing room she and her sisters stood in as she looked over at her her brother, sullen and quiet on the couch. His face was drained of all life and emotion as Shaun kept looking at the piece of paper that was held in his hand. The paper seemed to terrify him as he seemed to read it as if it was going to be set ablaze any second now.

“I’m gonna kill her, my law firm will get me off I swear they won’t even be able to find her when I am done.” Emilia said as she cracked her knuckles, the blue and gold dress becoming frayed on their edges from the constant movement fraying the edges.

Despite being the second to oldest, Emilia had always taking a mother hen approach to her siblings. Elspeth was all about feelings and conflict resolution while Fenella and Fioana just followed whatever mischief their brother concocted for them. In many ways their gang was run by Emilia and Shaun, controlling the other three as they grew older. This dynamic never changed as they aged, in many ways it became more cemented.

“You are not going to kill anyone, Dawson and his brothers are looking for her. This… this has to be a mistake, I know it is.” Fioana said, her face seeming paler than normal as she lightly massaged the ring on her finger. Her engagement to Dawson had been very sudden, but the Grecken and O’Neill family had became like one tribe many years ago. Her dressed matched that of Emilia and her sisters, marking them clear as bridesmaids for the wonderful day that was transpiring.

The O’Neill and Grecken patriarchs had long ago made work and business friendships, pushing their respective families ever closer as time went on. The wedding of Kate and Shaun in some ways was the cementing of that long family friendship. If becoming business partners wasn’t enough bond, marriage surely was.

“Kate has been our friend for years, she loves Shaun I know she does… this isn’t what it seems. Someone had to get to her, I know you want to protect Shaun but this isn’t going to help anyone.” Eslpeth chimed in, she was moving seats as she came to sit next to Shaun placing her hand on his shoulder as she pulled him in close.

“No… it is exactly as it seems… I am with Emilia, Kate can’t be allowed to get away with this.” Fenella said as it became a clear war between the sisters, each trying to help Shaun in their own way but neither knowing where to stand on the line fully with Kate.

“Out…” Shaun said softly, as he looked around his sisters, the first word he has spoken since he sat down to the letter in hand.

“We are not going....” they all seemed to chime at once but found themselves shaking by the thunder of Shaun’s response.

“OUT!” Shaun shouted, his voice carrying as he grabbed onto the small vase that was behind him on the shelf as he tossed it at the door between Fiona and Emilia. Shaun’s eyes seemed to be red with a sense of rage and sadness that burned deep inside him. It was clear he was not asking his sisters permission. The silence deafened as they looked at him scared but still.

“NOW!” Shaun added with a thunderous clap back in his voice, this time the girls left quickly. None of them had ever once seen Shaun act this way, Irish had a temper but this was beyond the fury they even knew he possessed. Sitting quietly he looked once more at the paper, mountains of tears seeming to flow from him as he dropped the paper between his feet as it softly fell to the ground. His tears, flowing from his eyes fell from his cheeks as they softly hit the paper, staining the letters as they began to become a watered mess.

Dear Shaun,

I don’t know where to start but to say I love you and I am sorry. I won’t trivialize this with an “it’s not you it’s me” paragraph because you are there and I am not. This is all on me. It took everything in me to make this break so that you could think about what I am about to say. First, though I need you to know that I wish you were with me. Space is cold and dark and lonely. This is the first time I have ever been alone and it is not exciting or inspiring. It does not make me feel independent or brave. Being alone feels as it should feel: isolating, depressing, and terrifying. As to why I am alone and not at your side is a much more complicated answer.

I tried to talk to you, my parents, your family, and my brothers about everything I was feeling as the wedding grew closer. It was all met with the same sort of response. “Kate, Shaun loves you. Everyone gets nervous. You’re being silly.” They were right in saying this but they never let me talk about why. Shaun, I have felt so insecure with you for the past eighteen months. I spent a lot of time trying to find out the reason why. I spent even longer trying to find the words to explain it. Ultimately simple is the best. You always say that to me when I was at a loss for words. Shaun, I need to know that you want to marry me because of who I am and not because it was expected of us. You are not marrying me because we have been together for 16 years. We have been Shaun and Kate childhood best friends. We have been Shaun and Kate boyfriend and girlfriend. We have been engaged, Shaun and Kate. We have been Shaun and Kate the cadets who were getting married right after they graduated the Academy; yet, when have we been just Shaun or Kate?

You say you love me a thousand times a day but lately, it feels routine and the expected response. You and I have been together longer than many marriages and we have not even said I do. There is so much history between us and I wonder if that is why we are doing this. Are we getting married because we have been together so long or because we believe there is no life without each other?

Shaun, I want to be the woman you are marrying because when I walk down the street your head would turn and you can’t stop thinking of me all night. I need to be the woman you are marrying because life without me doesn’t make sense. I have to be the woman you are marrying because nothing else matters to you in this universe except for me. I can’t be the woman you are marrying because we are following in the steps of our siblings. I can’t be the woman you are marrying because of a promise you made as a little boy to a little girl sitting by the pond one day on a lazy July afternoon. I can’t be the woman that you marry because it is just the next box in the checklist of your life. Right now can either of us honestly say we are getting married due to passionate love?

The only thing that matters now is how we move forward from here. I pray that you will speak to me one day. I understand if it will take some time. I know you love me. I love you more than I can ever put into words. You own my heart. You own my soul. Whether you and I work this out or never speak again the truth is I will never love another man the way I love you. Time will not replace you nor mend the ache in my soul for losing the spot in your heart.

Please forgive me for this and know that when and if you ever want to talk I will be here.

My love forever and always,

Katie Bug

The message seemed to create a void Shaun knew nothing of how to fill as he grabbed the note from the floor, crumbling it up as he found the trash as he walked over to the mini bar as he found a glass and began to pour the whiskey. Shaun had never once felt something like this, something that left him incomplete and desolate. He felt the air leaving his lungs as he searched to focus. He didn’t understand anything in this moment, but he knew he couldn’t stay.

Shaun grabbed his coat from the hook on the wall as he bolted from the door, moving down the hall he found the door that lead outside. There was dozens of cars and vehicles that seemed to litter the farm side. Every relative from five generations back had arrived for this day. Shaun began to look as he spotted it, Aston Martin DBZ 2032 model. It was an antique his Uncle Jeremy loved, and Shaun knew just how to jump start.

Entering the car Shaun jumped in finding the wires under the dash as he heard the car lurch to life. He wasn’t sure where he was heading, but it was away from here. Smoke and dust filled the air as he pressed the pedal down burning past families coming out of the shuttle lift. Shaun knew his world wasn’t right, it couldn’t ever be again, but he knew West Virginia was no place for him. This was her world, not his.

*** Five Hours Later - Dublin Ireland ***

Entering the dusty apartment as he seemed to be entering a tomb. This was there place, when they went to stay here. They had long ago decided to get a place that was away from San Francisco and away from West Virginia, some place they could make their own. Shaun felt his stomach lurch as he looked around the room. They spent all their summers here, in between semesters as they made a life away from it all. Shaun wasn’t hear to look at old pictures though, heading into the bedroom he was clearly on a mission.

Behind the bed, that’s where they kept it. Shaun reached as he found a small box, it seemed old and precious to him as he looked at it carefully. Before long he went into their closet finding clothes and a bag as he began to pack. Taking just the necessities as he puled the bag over his shoulder. If anyone saw this it would seem like a robbery how quick it all went down, but Shaun was out the door once more as he grabbed the PaDD from his bag as he pulled it out.

=/\= New orders, report to Starbase 71 for long term mission on colony world in the Galan System.=/\= came the words, as he took note and left.

“Goodbye Katie Bug…” Shaun said softly as he closed the door as he felt the tears burst through once more as he walked out into the rain of Dublin, pounding as it poured over his head.

Grecken, Doctor