Blissfully Unaware

[Cmdr Ridire 0]

If Aidan had known beforehand that the next mission would involve Richard Drew he would have stayed in bed, pulled up the covers and refused to even consider leaving his quarters. In fact he would have packed some bags, announced his and Deb’s retirement and absconded with a runabout even if it meant carrying Deb over his shoulder while she protested.

 

It had been ten long years since the death of the Cairo and the murder of Fiona, one of his closest friends. That event had cast him into a pit of darkness that took years and no small help from Deb to climb out of. He had finally put that darkness behind him for the most part, it only creeping back into his life on the anniversary of the event or her birthday. True, there were the occasional nightmares but even those had lessened and when they occurred Deb took pains to give him something else to focus on. Invariably when he did have those nightmares he’d wake up gasping for breath and she’d also wake up and pull him back down into her arms.

But as he finished showering before going to the bridge Aidan was blissfully unaware of the fact that the past was about to rear its dark ugly head in his life once again. His mind was focused on the present and the immediate past, specifically the end of their shore leave and Deb’s whispered promises as she convinced him to delay going to the bridge for a little while longer. He smiles as he traces a finger along the back of his neck where there was a scratch present.

 

If he had only known the past was about to come crashing down.