Galaxy's Way

by E. R. Paskey

  This cabin was home‌…‌and yet now things had changed‌—‌she had changed‌—‌and it wasn’t quite home anymore.

  Colin’s rugged face flashed across her mind’s eye, his blue eyes bright with laughter, and she sank down onto her bunk with a trembling sigh.

  No, home wasn’t home anymore. Her heart belonged to Colin now‌…‌and wherever he happened to be was where the rest of her wanted to be too.

  In the familiar stillness of her cabin, Anna rubbed her hands over her face and admitted to herself that this was without a doubt the first time she’d ever encountered the realization that she wanted to leave her brother, their freighter, and their crew behind and go gallivanting off across the galaxy with someone she loved.

  Unbidden, a smile formed on her face. Someone who loves me. Her gaze dropped to her prosthetic hand. All of me.

  She was still smiling a half hour later, when she crawled into her bunk, bathed and dressed in clean clothes, and fell asleep.

  ~oOo~

  Anna slept for a long time. She hadn’t bothered to set an alarm, figuring that her body’s natural rhythm would wake her as usual. She hadn’t counted on needing to catch up from the events of the past few days. It was past noon by the time she finally rolled out of bed, got dressed, and went in search of her brother‌—‌and food.

  She wasn’t the only late riser; one of their mechanics stumbled out of his cabin as she strode down the corridor. He greeted her with a bleary, “G’morning,” to which she responded with a smile and a nod. She had the feeling he would not thank her for speaking to him just yet.

  When she reached the galley, Anna fixed herself a sandwich and a cup of coffee. She finished both before she went in search of her brother. He wasn’t in the main living compartment, or the cockpit. She frowned. That leaves the cargo bay or his cabin.

  It hadn’t occurred to her that he might not be awake yet either. Still frowning, Anna messaged him to ask where he was.

  The response came a moment later: My cabin. Talking to Colin.

  Her heart skipped a beat and then resumed pounding in double-time. A fresh wave of butterflies erupted in her stomach; she flattened a hand against her sternum. She knew what kind of questions her brother would be asking Colin‌…‌and she could only imagine what some of them might be. Her cheeks tinged with a faint blush.

  Before she could figure out how to respond, Vik messaged her again. We’re almost done. Come join us.

  Anna smiled slightly at that. I was planning on doing that anyway, she sent back.

  Sliding her comm back into her pocket, she took the familiar path through the Iliana to her brother’s cabin. For one crazy moment, she had to quell a sudden rush of nervousness. No need to be nervous, she scolded herself, squaring her shoulders and straightening her spine. It’s just Colin and Vik.

  Just the two people she now considered most dear to her in the galaxy.

  No biggie, right?

  Raising her prosthetic hand, Anna thumped on her brother’s metal door. Then, heart still thudding in her chest, she stood in the corridor and waited for Vik to let her in.

  A long moment passed, and she was just getting ready to bang on the door again when it creaked open. Vik stood framed in the doorway, his expression unreadable.

  “Morning,” Anna managed. It was the only thing she could choke out‌—‌asking him if Colin was still in one piece seemed a bit harsh.

  “Morning.” Vik stepped to one side, nodding for her to enter. “Got a few questions for you.”

  Behind him, Anna glimpsed Colin sitting in one of Vik’s armchairs, looking remarkably at ease for a man who’d just been through a pseudo-interrogation by a rather protective older brother. His blue eyes warmed as they met hers, and he smiled at her.

  Anna smiled back before turning to her brother and propping a hand on one hip. “What do you want to know?”

  “Do you want me to leave?” Colin interjected pleasantly.

  Anna could have sworn Viktor looked relieved. “For a minute, if you don’t mind.”

  “Certainly.” Colin rose from the chair and crossed the cabin to the door. His eyes locked with Anna’s before he disappeared through the door, giving her a look that left her slightly breathless. An entire conversation passed between them in that one glance; his eyes told her that everything would be fine, but it was up to her now.

  The door slid shut and Anna came back to herself. “So … ” She moved over to the armchair Colin had just vacated and settled herself into it. “What do you think?”

  “Of Captain Dupree himself?” Vik’s mouth twitched. “Or the fact that he wants to stay married to you?”

  She’d known that was what Colin wanted, but it still gave Anna a thrill to hear the words from someone else. She waved a hand. “Both.”

  Viktor looked pensive. He dropped into the armchair across from her and drummed his fingers on one arm. “I like him,” he said at last. “Seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and from what I’ve been able to find out the past few weeks, he’s got a good reputation. Murder charges aside,” he added dryly.

  Anna let that slide. There was more; she knew there was more. Viktor had that look about him.

  “Never put much stock in the whole whirlwind romance thing, but … ” he shrugged his broad shoulders helplessly, “there’s no denying the man has it bad for you, Anna. You should have seen him after we pulled him out of that escape pod.”

  An ache formed in Anna’s chest. “My imagination was bad enough.”

  “Yeah, well‌…‌it wasn’t pretty. Once he got over the shock of you drugging him, he was convinced Thabati had coerced you into doing it and that the man was going to kill you as soon as he’d gotten what he wanted out of you.”

  A chill danced down Anna’s spine. “He’s not far off on that. Thabati swore he wasn’t going to kill me, but — ” her throat tightened, “ — he was getting paid an awful lot of money. All the evidence eventually started pointing a different direction.”

  The siblings shared a sober look, and then Viktor’s expression turned keen.

  “Colin told me about his past, about his wife, and how he lost her.”

  “I figured he would.”

  “He told me he loves you.” Viktor took a breath. “And that he’s sure you love him.”

  For some reason, that brought a tremulous smile to Anna’s face. “He would be right about that.” It was her turn to take a breath. “I do love him, Vik. I had no idea it would happen, when I met him in that cave lake, but in all this craziness, I fell in love with him. And if there’s one thing I do know, it’s that he really does love me.”

  That keen, assessing look on her brother’s face did not change. “And you want to leave the Iliana and travel the galaxy with him?”

  Anna was already nodding. “I do.” She twisted her hands together in her lap, before lifting them in a half-helpless gesture. “I mean, I don’t want it to be something where I never see you anymore, but I‌—‌I want to be his wife. I want to go where he goes, share his life.” She shook her head. “Two months ago, I’d have laughed at myself for even thinking of leaving our ship and our crew, but … ” she shrugged, “I love him.”

  Viktor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “And you’re sure you’re not going to change your mind in a couple of months, when you’ve had some more time to think about it?”

  “I’m sure.” Anna laughed softly, remembering. “If we could make it through the past two months, I think we stand a fair chance of making it through anything.”

  “I don’t know‌…‌I’ve heard the mundane can do a number on a relationship … ”

  Anna might have been concerned, but the spark of mirth in her brother’s dark eyes gave him away. She leaned forward. “You’re okay with me leaving, aren’t you?”

  “I’ll miss you,” Viktor said honestly. “A lot. The Iliana won’t be the same without you.”

  “Well, things won’t be the same anyway, what with all the honest jobs you’ll be ab
le to take now.” She smiled to soften her words.

  “That helps, I must say. As long as he gets that murder rap cleared, we shouldn’t have any trouble finding places to meet in the Federation.” Concern threaded his voice, filled his eyes. “You’ll need to make sure all your paperwork is filed correctly so that you’re actually listed as married.” He snorted “As far behind the times as Plimus is, I don’t trust ‘em to be that efficient in updating their Federation information.”

  Sitting there looking at her big brother, the one person in the galaxy she’d always been able to count on to have her back, a wonderful, absolutely crazy idea hit Anna. “Will you marry us?” she asked impulsively. “Please, Vik?”

  Her brother just blinked at her.

  “I’m serious.” She left her chair and crossed the compartment to take his hands. “You’re a captain of a ship; under Federation law, you can legally marry people, right?”

  “Anna — ”

  “Please? It’d mean the galaxy to me if you’d do that for us.”

  “Anna — ”

  “I mean, it doesn’t have to be a big deal‌—‌I never really thought much about it anyway‌—‌and if I’m going to be married to Colin, I’d rather we had somebody actually do it instead of it being just because we accidentally signed a motel — ”

  A hand covered her mouth. “Anna,” Viktor said, sounding torn between amusement and exasperation, “would you let me get a word in edgewise?”

  She nodded meekly, and he removed his hand.

  “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.” He waited a beat before saying, “Colin asked me the same thing.”

  Anna’s eyes went wide. “He did?”

  “Yeah.” Viktor raised a hand to the back of his neck. “For pretty much the same reasons you listed too.” He shrugged. “Depending on the Plimus paperwork, the Federation will probably consider that your actual marriage date, but — ” He got no further; Anna had tackled him in a squealing hug.

  “Thank you!” She squeezed his neck and then planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you so much!”

  Viktor protested that she was choking him, before grinning sheepishly. “I really am going to miss you, sis. If he doesn’t take care of you, comm me and we’ll come straighten him out.”

  Her heart felt like it would burst in her chest from an overflow of happy emotion. “I will.” Tears pricked the backs of her eyes; she blinked them away. “I’m going to miss you too.”

  “I have a feeling not as much as you think,” he said wryly, as she bounded over to open the door and wave Colin inside.

  One look at her bright face told Colin everything he needed to know, and something in him seemed to relax. His blue eyes began to dance at her. “Got his blessing, did you, lass?”

  Anna looped her arms around his neck, pleased when Colin’s arms came up to encircle her waist. “He said he’d marry us.”

  Colin kept a straight face, though his eyes continued to dance. “Oh, signing the motel registry wasn’t enough?”

  “Like you didn’t ask him too.” Anna dropped a hand to poke him in the side; he arched away from her and trapped her arm.

  “He is still in the room,” Viktor called out.

  Anna threw him a smile over her shoulder.

  “When?” Colin asked softly, tightening his grip on her just enough to draw her attention.

  Anna looked at Viktor again. “This evening? Before dinner?”

  Amusement flooded her brother’s face. “You do realize you’ll probably end up having to invite the entire Polygon. After everything that’s happened, you won’t be able to keep them away.”

  Anna and Colin traded glances, imagining what that was going to look like, and then Anna shook her head. “No. It should be just us. Your crew,” she looked at Colin, “and mine.”

  “Probably ought to invite Indinara and Jou,” Viktor interjected.

  “Which means Lobai and his wife will probably be in attendance as well.” Colin laughed incredulously. “I suppose it’s only fitting that the man who introduced us attends our wedding.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, and then Anna smiled wryly. “That’ll be a story to tell the grandchildren.”

  Colin dropped a kiss on her upturned face. “We do have to leave tomorrow though. Have to get that mess on Raveena sorted out.”

  Mal’s scarred face flitted through Anna’s mind; she burst out laughing, startling both men. “While we’re there, we’ll have to tell Mal I married you for real.”

  “If you like.” Colin smiled back, though his expression held an uncertain edge that said he didn’t quite get the joke.

  Viktor grinned. “Wish I could be there for that conversation.”

  “I haven’t got a ring for you,” Colin said suddenly, his expression turning apologetic as he looked down at Anna. “Not yet.”

  Anna curled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. “I don’t mind waiting.”

  His eyes glistened with a heady mix of gratitude, love, and desire‌…‌and then he swiftly leaned in and kissed her.

  “Okay, okay,” Viktor said loudly, “I do not want to see that.” Behind them, he flapped his hands. “Break it up, break it up. You can kiss her later, Dupree.”

  Anna smiled against Colin’s lips before pulling away to address her brother. “You’re going to have to get used to it, Vik.”

  “Not yet I don’t.” He shooed them toward the door. “Go on, go on. You want to tell the crew, or should I?”

  “We’ll do it,” Giving her brother an impish smile, Anna snagged Colin’s hand and pulled him out into the corridor.

  Once the door had safely shut behind them, Colin wrapped his arms around her and tugged her into a tight embrace. “I love you,” he murmured into her hair.

  “I love you too.”

  They shared several sweet kisses before Colin draped an arm around her shoulders. “We’d best tell Mondego first‌—‌I have a feeling he’ll be wanting to bake us a cake.”

  “Any excuse for a cake,” Anna mused, doing her best to keep a straight face.

  “Precisely.”

  They shared a grin, and then Colin kissed her one last time, as though he couldn’t quite help himself. “Come on, lass. We’ve a wedding to plan.”

  Anna smiled, tucking herself into his side, and then froze. Her eyes widened comically. “What am I going to wear?”

  Chapter 44

  COLIN SCRUTINIZED HER. “UNLESS I miss my mark,” he said slowly, “you’ll not find much in the way of formal wear here.”

  Anna pursed her lips. “That’s true.” She gave it another three seconds’ worth of thought before shrugging and waving a hand. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll figure something out.”

  She started off down the corridor again, but Colin’s arm around her shoulders kept her from getting very far. He hadn’t moved. She gave him a quizzical look. “What?”

  “Is that something you wanted?” His blue eyes searched her face again, as though he was peering straight through her skin to her soul. “A proper wedding, with all the trappings?” It was his turn to wave a hand. “Instead of‌…‌well‌…‌this?”

  Anna chewed thoughtfully on the inside of her lip, her gaze sliding past Colin to the bulkhead behind him while she considered it. She could feel the muscles in his arm tense, but he remained silent.

  “To be honest,” she said at last, looking up at him, “I really can’t say I ever gave it much thought.” To stave off a curious‌—‌or, worse, incredulous‌—‌question as to why, she barreled on, “I mean, Vik and I have been living on the fringes of society for years. I never‌—‌I never really thought much about marriage, let alone what kind of wedding I’d have.”

  Resisting the urge to hunch her shoulders, Anna forced herself to stand tall and arched a questioning eyebrow at him. “What did you and Mina do?”

  “We had a small ceremony.” Colin shrugged. “Family‌—‌not that either of us had much in the way of that‌—‌and a few friends.”

/>   Anna nodded, regarding him thoughtfully. “Do you want a proper wedding?”

  His answer came promptly, painfully honest and coupled with a soft, almost shy smile. “I don’t much care either way, lass, so long as it means at the end of the day you’re coming home with me.”

  A warm glow flooded Anna’s chest, giving her the curious feeling that she was almost light enough to defy gravity and walk on air. She placed a hand against Colin’s cheek. “I — ”

  The door to Viktor’s cabin creaked open, but he stopped short when he saw them. “Are you still here?”

  Rolling her eyes, Anna dropped her hand. “We’re going, we’re going. Had a few things to work out.” She started forward again, and this time Colin matched her pace.

  “In front of my door?” Viktor called after them.

  Anna just sent him a mischievous grin over her shoulder.

  When they had put several corridors between them and Viktor, Colin cleared his throat. “You were saying?”

  Anna glanced sideways at him, unable to contain a smile. “I was going to say that nothing about our relationship has been exactly conventional.” Her smile turned rueful. “Including the fact that technically we’re already married. So why should this be any different?”

  “You have a point. I‌…‌I just don’t want you to regret anything.”

  Touched, Anna slipped an arm around his waist. “I won’t, I promise.” Stopping in the middle of the corridor, she tugged him down for another kiss. “This is where we part ways. You’ve got your crew to tell, and I’ve got mine. Plus packing.” She smoothed his collar, before sliding her hands across his shoulders and down his arms. Then she took a step backwards. “I’ll see you later.”

  The look Colin gave her made her toes curl in her boots. “You most certainly will, lass.”

  ~oOo~

  The remainder of the afternoon passed in a frenzy of activity. Anna tracked Viktor down, and together they announced her imminent departure to their crew. Groans, hugs, cheers, and a few tears were shared, and then Anna set about packing up her belongings.