Paradox is dead

[Owen Matthews 0]

Megan virtually stalked through the hallways on the way to the gym. No one, not one soul, who saw her coming failed to give way. That was one ANGRY Marine! And those who didn't see her coming, and didn't hear the crisp footfalls... may they rest in peace. Fortunately, anyone who noticed that someone wasn't moving pulled the person out of harm's way, so that her progress was unimpeded. She stalked into the gym, which fortunately was empty, and started beating the stuffing out of the punching bag.

 

Owen made his way to the gym. He was still confused, frustrated and angry. Hair had been right, he needed the time in the gym and vent some of it but he was also tired and worried about Megan. He knew she and Paradox were close and what really concerned him was how she had cut him off when he had asked how she was. Without even realizing it Owen had reached the gym. He stepped in and looked around. He was quite surprised to see Megan. For a fraction of a second he thought about turning round before she'd notice him. Maybe she needed to be alone. But then he decided to give it a try and walked up to her. "Hey!"

 

She whirled around to see who was insane enough to approach her. When she saw Owen, she nearly broke down in tears, but refused to give in. She turned back to the punching bag, and continued, "Hello."

 

Owen opened his mouth to say something, closed it again, exhaled audibly and watched Megan for a moment. He didn't know what to say so he simply reached out and put a hand on Megan's shoulder. He felt a little awkward. Being sensitive wasn't Owen's forte. "I'm really sorry, Megan."

 

She grabbed his wrist and threw it off. "You heard, then? It's official, is it?" She stopped her destruction of the punching bag, and sat down with a hard sigh. For a long moment, she just sat and stared at her hands.

 

Now he was really confused. Sitting down beside her he looked at her questioningly. "What is official?"

 

She looked up, "That she's dead." She went back to staring at her hands.

 

Owen's jaw dropped. He sat staring at Megan for a full minute before he even realized what he was doing. He closed his moth, turned a little to face Megan and pulled her gently closer, hoping that she wouldn't push him away. "I had no idea, Megan," he said softly. "I had no idea....I'm so sorry."

 

Megan frowned, leaning back, "You said you'd heard... didn't they send notice to the NNC?"

 

"I said I was sorry...for things going wrong during the mission. I really had no idea. I went to get cleaned up a little and then right to the gym. I honestly didn't know," he said almost pleadingly.

 

Megan frowned, anger flashing through her eyes, "Did they or did they not contact the NNC to report that Paradox was dead?"

 

"I have no idea, Megan. Last news I got was you swearing over the comm. But I'm sure Harper knows and she'd send word to the NNC right away. When did she...." he traield off, unable to finish the sentence.

 

Megan rested her head on his shoulder. Her slim body was trembling slightly. "I don't know... Troll and Socom were working on her.. but they went into a surgery suite.. I couldn't see or hear anything... I couldn't stand being there anymore, so I came here. Last I saw they were shocking her." Turning slightly, she buried her face against his shoulder.

 

Owen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Feeling Megan tremble, he held her tight. "Megan, I'm sure she's not dead. They would have notified you right away...I'm sure Medusa would have." He fell silent again for a minute. "Do you want me to check with sickbay?" he asked.

 

Without speaking, she shook her head. Silence reigned for another minute. Finally she looked up. Her eyes were red, though she hadn't let a single tear fall. "I can't face it if she is. She's been my best friend for over a decade. She woke up... spoke... " Megan frowned, "She 'pathed to Medusa.. I'm sure of it. Then Socom brought medication, and she crashed. Troll beamed in. She shouldn't have 'pathed. Why? Why did she take the full grenade blast?" She pressed her face against his shoulder once more.

 

For a long while Owen just sat there and held Megan. He knew nothing he could say would make her feel better. After what felt like an eternity he finally spoke. "We all know the risk and still we do our jobs every single day. That's what Paradox did down there. She saved some poor guy's life."

 

After another long while, Megan sat up, sliding an inch or two. "But.. our unit.. we haven't lost anyone since we came to this armpit of the galaxy.. not in fair, honest, mission-related combat. We can't lose our XO as the first one. It's just not right!"

 

"I know how you feel. I lost most of my friends when the Gideon was destroyed...my whole unit....well, you know what I'm trying to say. I know it doesn't seem fair. And honestly, I don't know what to tell you."

 

Megan nodded, scrubbing at her eyes. "I know.. here I'm whining about one person. This must bring back bad memories for you. I'm sorry." She stood up. "If you're right, though.. they haven't called because either they haven't given up, or things have settled down. Either way... let's talk about something else for a bit... or get some dinner. I haven't eaten since we got back."

 

Owen got up and gently caressed Megan's cheek. He smiled at her. "It's alright. You needed to talk about it. And you know I'm here. Let's go have dinner and well...just a quiet evening. How's that sound? Maybe we can stop by sickbay and check on Paradox. I'm sure she's ok."

 

Megan nodded, taking one more swing at the punching bag, then walked with him to the exit.