Category: McQueen/Other romance, Alternate Universe, Crossover with Dark Angel
Spoilers: General ones for both series.
Author's Note: A fan of both SAAB and Dark Angel (though unsure of the direction the 2nd season took) I have always wondered about the idea of the transgenics and InVitros existing in the same reality and thus, this was spawned.
Thanks to R.B. for the beta!
Stolen Moments
by
Medie
He woke to the feeling of a feminine form lying flush against his. The familiar clean scent of
hair filling his nostrils, and the warmth of her body radiating through him. Opening his eyes, he
saw the mass of dark auburn hair before his face and in the darkness of the room, he could see -
peeking out through her hair - the barest hint of a barcode on the ivory skin of her neck.
Jondy was here.
McQueen had never asked how she managed to appear on the Saratoga without anyone’s noticing. He
supposed someone knew but whoever that person was they had not revealed their identity, nor had
Jondy said anything as to who it was. It was better that way. The animosity between the IVA and
Manticore was palpable to those who knew of the latter’s existence. It was widely believed by the
upper levels of the military that Manticore had succeeded with it’s Transgenics where the IVA had
failed with their InVitros.
The transgenics had no problem with combat. They’d been bred specifically for it. McQueen didn’t
understand a lot of it, what he knew of Transgenic science was what Jondy had explained to him over
the years they’d known each other.
Sometimes he doubted if they truly did know each other. She kept more secrets than she revealed
truths. He knew her freedom was non-existent. That to Manticore she was property, a weapon, and
that there was no foreseeable escape from that life. He knew they saw her as only the numbered
code on the back of her neck. He knew she was genetically engineered in a way that he was not. He
knew that physically Transgenics were superior to InVitros...he knew something else was well.
The Transgenics envied the life InVitros led.
Jondy had once told him she would gladly suffer the indignities of prejudice just to have the
privilege of living free. He couldn’t give her that but he’d promised himself to give her whatever
time they had together. The few stolen nights she appeared in his bed, returning or embarking on
whatever top secret mission Manticore had sent her on.
Altered to his waking state by the change in his breathing, Jondy rolled over, her dark eyes meeting
his.
“Back again.” He noted, sliding a hand along her bare arm.
“Back again.” She repeated softly.
“How long can you stay?”
“A few more hours.”
That was all this time. Just a few hours. “Transport’s leaving soon?”
“0700.”
His eyes saddened and she snuggled closer.
“How’re your kids?”
The way she asked, the knowing look in her eyes...McQueen had long suspected she kept a closer eye
on him than she was letting on but he’d never pressed the issue.
“Coming along.”
“Hawkes?”
“Doing well.” He let a hand move through her thick hair until it came to rest on her shoulder,
thumb stroking the soft skin rhythmically. “Your...family?”
“We’re always good.” Jondy’s lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. “You know that.”
“Do I?” He countered with a faint smile.
One lean leg hooked over his, tugging him flush against her. The restrictions placed on their
visits had kept them from deepening the emotional contact too much. The conventional idea of a
relationship was not something they could indulge in. There were no late night dinners, or dancing,
or walks on beaches.
There was only clandestine meetings, the rushed ardor of stolen kisses and hurried love-making,
in the dark of night. The desperation of two lonely souls who knew the very details of their existence
barred them from any sort of ‘normal life’ but were determined to take what they could get.
He hated the desperation and secrecy but he knew at the end of the day if it meant being with her,
he’d take what he could get. The same was true of Jondy. She made no secret of that fact. Her
constant presence in his life testified loudly to that fact.
Sliding her hands beneath his t-shirt, she slid it from his upper body and surveyed him, her
genetically enhanced vision allowing her to see in the dark as though it were day. “This one’s new.”
She noted softly, her fingers tracing a scar. “Protecting your kids?”
A smile formed on his mouth and he nodded once. “Crashed on Kazbek.”
“I know.” The barest hint of frustration colored her words and he met her gaze sharply.
“Were you?”
“No.” She shook her head, russet curls whispering across her bare shoulders. “But I wanted to be.”
Jondy ran her hands up his chest, reacquainting herself with his form. “God, I wanted to be.” She
sighed. “The AIs are our fight, Ty, not yours.”
“Manticore conscripted to clean up the mess?” He asked, harshness creeping into his voice.
Jondy’s gaze fell, and he wondered if he’d finally managed to hurt even her, then she shook her
head. “Not exactly.” Then he realized her hesitance had been born of another reason. The reason
that he’d stumbled onto something, a tidbit of information about the faceless agency that had
created the woman in his arms.
“What is it?” He pressed, hand guiding her face to meet his. “Jondy...If it’s about us...”
“I can’t tell you, Ty, you know better than to ask.” She sighed. “Things are changing. Manticore
is changing. The war...Things are changing.” Her words were sparse but her eyes pleaded with him
not to press her for more while trying to impart the truth to him. A truth she was forbidden from
revealing yet felt honor bound to try and share. “I can’t tell you any more than that.”
“Is it big?” McQueen asked softly, not wanting to push her but unable to leave it at that. “The
affects?”
“It may affect everything.” She revealed quietly, resting her head on his chest, cheek warm against
his skin.
There was a lot left unsaid. He didn’t need to look her in the eye to know it. Jondy was trying
to get a point across without saying the words. She’d revealed to him more than once that Manticore
was *very* careful about it’s Transgenics. Monitoring their activity was chief amongst its care
taking. The fact that Jondy was able to steal away, even for a few hours at a time, was a minor
miracle.
She sighed, the breath tickling across his chest, sending age-old signals through his body and
McQueen was torn. He knew what she wanted, that she wanted the same thing he did. To be close. To
know they were both alive. To share in those few moments of undeniable life...They wanted each
other. But he also wanted to spend one night with her in his arms, no demands, no pressure of time
running out, just to be.
It was a wish to be denied them, quite possibly for the rest of their lives.
But he would take what he could get. He was determined to give her that much. A few hours of freedom
was better than none at all.
“Jondy...” He murmured her name, rolling them over.
She smiled at him, sliding her hands up to lock behind his head, fingers finding the navel there
and teasing gently.
“Minx.” He accused with a chuckle, lowering his mouth to hers. Their mouths met and lingered, their
bodies moving languidly together. Tonight, it seemed, both were determined to take things slow.
Defiant of time restrictions, just once they would be together and not worry. Just once Manticore
would not dominate their lives.
Just once.
She was gone when he woke again.
He didn’t know how she did it but Jondy consistently managed to slip in and out from his quarters unnoticed. Manticore training combined with her own physical abilities he supposed. Either way, she always managed it.
Sighing, he relaxed back against the pillow, the scent of her filling his awareness. It was the only sign that she’d ever been there, it always was. She left no hint of her presence behind. No physical manifestation of her save the scent of her body on the sheets and on him.
But that was all he needed. Not all he wanted but all he needed. If he went by what he wanted, Jondy would be with him constantly. It was a desire he could not fulfill so he contented himself with what he could have. What they could steal away together.
“Someday...” He told himself, the word hollow. He couldn’t make the promise, not truly and he knew it.
Anger briefly surfaced at the organization that held Jondy’s leash. The bastards that treated her as nothing more than a pawn on their chess board. Who saw her as nothing more than property. He hated them. He truly did. But, nevertheless, he squelched the anger. It would do him no good.
Leaving the bed, he began to prepare to go on duty, to face the 58. They would never know of his nocturnal visitor. They couldn’t know. To discover Jondy’s existence would put them in the line of fire of an organization more ruthless than anything they could imagine.
West thought Aerotech was as soulless as they came.
He was dead wrong.
McQueen stopped at the hatch and looked back at the bed. He’d make it later, he couldn’t bear to touch it now. If he looked hard enough, he thought he could see the indentation where her body had lain. It was a fantasy he knew but it was one he contented himself with.
In life, fantasy was all he had.
It was all he dared hope to be given or steal.
But hope...He could always have that. “It’s the one thing nobody’s figured out how to kill.” He muttered to himself then, without a glance back, Colonel Tyrus Cassius McQueen closed the hatch behind him.
Finis
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