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spacedogfromspaceThe Vanishing
Chapter 10: Epilogue
The search is finally over.
Nyota sat in a chair at Christine's bedside. After being out in the woods for so long, being in such a white and sterile room felt strange. Christine lay sleeping in the bed, under white sheets. Her white hair and pale skin made her look like a ghost, but the monitors she was hooked up to showed that her vital signs were in an acceptable range. Nyota herself was supposed to be in a bed too, as moving around might pull the stitches from her gunshot wound. But ever since Christine's surgery had finished, she had been sitting at Christine's bedside. She knew Leonard would yell at her when he found her out of bed, but she didn't care. Jim was in the next room over, recovering. He hadn't had any life threatening injuries, but those gene splicing scientists had done some fucked up things to him that he might never recover from, physically or emotionally. But he was alive.
There were reporters outside, being kept away from the three by security guards. Nyota had given Hikaru everything she had on those evil people— the location of their facility, her personal testimony, the binder that detailed her brother's torture and experimentation —and he had taken it straight to the press. The press, he explained, because once it was public knowledge, the government couldn't try to cover it up. The authorities had to take action and investigate the disappearances and human experimentation taking place in Yosemite National Park.
Nyota was relieved. Her years of searching had come to an end. She had found answers, and the rest was out of her hands. But she felt strangely empty. What would she do now, after so much of her life had been consumed by searching for these answers? She didn't know, and it made her feel lost.
Christine stirred on the bed, pulling Nyota from her thoughts. Yellow eyes slowly opened, blinking against the bright lights. When she realized where she was, Christine's eyes widened, and she tried to sit up. Nyota lunged to pin her down, not wanting her to reopen any of her wounds.
"It's okay," Nyota assured her. "Leonard was the only one working on you, you're safe."
The tension in Christine's body left her, and her panicked eyes relaxed. "Are you okay?" She asked Nyota.
Nyota smiled. "Yeah," she said. "I'm okay. You're the one who got really banged up. How do you feel?"
Christine chuckled. "Like I'd been shot five times," she answered jokingly.
"Actually, you were shot six times," Nyota told her. "Leonard did a good job patching you up."
"I'm sure I'd be dead without him," Christine said. "Maybe I hate doctors a little less, now." Nyota laughed lightly. Christine turned to her. "You know, I'd be dead without you, too. I don't know how you carried me all that way."
Nyota shrugged. "Adrenaline, I guess," she supposed. "All I knew is that I'd rather die than leave you out there."
"Nobody's ever taken such risks for me before," Christine said. "Thank you. I am in your debt."
Nyota smiled sadly. "Well, you've taken bullets for me on multiple occasions," she pointed out. "Maybe we can call it even." Suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion, Nyota yawned, and leaned on the arm of her chair, looking like she was about to fall over at any moment.
"You should be in bed," Christine said, observing her wariness.
"I didn't want to leave you," Nyota said.
"I'll be okay, now," Christine assured her.
Nyota shook her head weakly. "Still don't want to leave you."
"Well, then..." Christine patted the bed beside her. "Don't."
Nyota smiled tiredly, and got up. Sitting on the edge of Christine's bed, she swung her right leg up, then used her arms to haul her injured leg up after it. She settled down beside Christine, gently weaving an arm under Christine to put around her shoulders. Christine nuzzled her face into her shoulder, and reached for Nyota's free hand. Their fingers intertwined, and they fell asleep.
Months of court proceedings ended in the arrest of over thirty people. The ones in charge of the operation got life without parole. Normally, Nyota couldn't have been happier, but with her obligations to the proceedings over, she was at a loss for what to do next.
"So," Nyota asked Christine when they got back into the car after all was said and done. "I can take you back to Yosemite this weekend, if you want. You've been away from home for a long time." She didn't want Christine to leave, of course. She had gotten used to sharing a home with someone, to sharing a bed. But Christine was a wild creature, and Nyota saw how a certain melancholy passed over her while she was cooped up in the city.
Christine turned to look at Nyota, an eyebrow raised. "Trying to get rid of me?" She asked, teasingly.
"Of course not," Nyota replied, turning the key in the ignition. "I'm just worried that you aren't happy, that's all."
Snorting, Christine shook her head. "I miss the woods, but I don't want to go back to that place any more than you do. And I like being with you. I love you."
Nyota's heart skipped a beat. They had exchanged a lot of words in the last few months, in all sorts of combinations, but never those three words, in that order. "I love you too," Nyota said quietly, feeling stunned and warm all at once.
"Maybe we can go camping on the weekends," Christine suggested. "Any other national park would do."
"So you want to stay?" Nyota asked, unsure if she believed it.
"Of course I'm going to stay," Christine said. She gave Nyota that mischievous wolf grin that she had grown to love so much. "Unless of course, you don't want me."
"Of course I want you," Nyota scoffed, shaking her head. Christine was silently laughing at her. To shut her up, Nyota took Christine's face in her hands and kissed her.
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