Opening up

<A couple of days ago>

"Hey." Jamie said, stood in the doorway to the bar/observation area that Jay & Cass had been in, he was leaning against the wall to stop himself from fidgeting and giving away his nerves.

Now, it was just Cass. She jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned to face him.

"How long have you been stood out there?" She asked.

"I've been around the corner for a few minutes." He replied. "Trying to figure out what to say."

"I never thought I'd be pleased for someone to make me jump. Looks like the link is finally gone." She said, with a smile. For her, it was a happy thing. It had gone on too long, and grated on both of them.

"That's the only reason I'm actually here, rather than just letting you hear my thoughts on the subject." He put a hand on his face, and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. There was an awkward moment of silence.

"I-" They both said in unison.

"You first." Cass said. Jamie nodded in reply.

"Under any other circumstance, I'd apologise for all the awkwardness caused by this link. But I can't."

Cass furrowed her brow, and looked confused.

"I mean, obviously I never intended to share some of the thoughts you saw, and never intended to see some of yours. But without this link, I'd not have known what was going on in the medical room in time, and Jade would have died. So I'm glad the link was there. And who knows what Tara would have done after she'd killed Jade..."

"Yeah..." She replied. It was a moment of deep thoughts regarding what had happened.

"I also want to say, given some of the things I learned about you... I never knew you back then. I know you try hard to make up for everything that you or.... she... did in your past." He began, not wanting to say the name. Both of them knew who he was referring to, and saying the name would be wholly unnecessary. "But to me, You are Cass, and always have been. You don't need to make up for anything." He paused again, and looked up at her. "That's it, really."

"Thankyou." Cass said, in a very quiet, barely audible voice.

"Anyway." He said, almost ignoring what she'd said. He was just trying to not draw attention to it. "I'll be securing crates for transport of supplies. Let me know if you need anything." Then he walked away.

Folding her arms, she watched him go in silence, one hand clasped to her mouth as her eyes blinked away the threat of her tears. A few seconds more, and it'd be far too late.

"Jamie!" she called; and when he paused and glanced back over his shoulder, she covered the few metres between them in a couple of quick strides.

Raising his eyebrows, he inclined his head "Yeah?"

"Thank you" she repeated "That means..." her shoulders sagged as she petered out "You know how much that means. Thank you so much"

Opening her arms, she threw them around him in a clumsy embrace, which Jamie briefly returned, before they broke apart and retreated away from each other; Jamie feeling awkwardly like he had just hugged his kid sister. At least, what he imagined it would be like if he had a kid sister.

“Come and get a drink” Cass said “We've had a new guy come out of stasis back on the Dwarf; Jay’s gone to pick him up, so it’s as good an excuse as any...”

<this post was a collaborative effort>