Reunion

[Tabor Nansk 0]

.ExternalClass .ecxhmmessage P{padding:0px;}.ExternalClass body.ecxhmmessage{font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;}Will smiled at seeing an out of breath Anna come running to up to him, "Here...I...am..." she managed to gasp out.

 

Will almost laughed as he gave her a hug and gave her a few seconds to catch her breath but knew she hurried for him, "Well since you are here now and aren't going to die of heart failure, we should go, eh?"

 

"Actually, I left everything in the very capable hands of Dr. Smith," Anna grinned at him. "And yes, we should go now--before some disaster occurs and the Captain calls us all back."

 

Will, being the gentleman he was, offered his arm to her. When she took it, they left the ship and entered the station. Will took a quick look around as they entered the station wondering they should do first. Though it doesn't happen often, Will missed a certain Bajoran male staring right at him.

 

Anna wasn't looking at the people milling around the docking area. This section was for Starfleet only and the person she was looking for wouldn't be here--if the PlaxiCo ship she'd seen on the way in was Andy's, he would be docked with the other freight forwarders, in the non-fleet area. Eyes on the legend they were walking by, Anna craned her neck, saying, "If we get the chance I need to see if--"

 

Tabor was standing off to one side of the arrival gate with his duffel still slung over his shoulder. Even with the flood of personnel making their way through the umbilical, it wasn't hard to spot Anna and Will. The two had obviously grown even closer during his absence and it made him wonder if he should intrude upon them at all. Finally, something Will's father had told him just before he left earth made him laugh and gather his courage. It was the old "if worms had phasers" line, Jared's standard response to any conundrum He would have to hurry though, as neither had seen him amongst the bustling crowd and were almost passing him by. Raising his arm he called out, "Will! Anna!"

 

Hearing their names, Anna broke off what she was going to say and turned, immediately seeing Tabor Nansk, and then blinking to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Excitedly, she yanked on Will's arm as she called out, "Tabor? TABOR!"

 

Will heard froze as he heard a voice he was worried he'd never hear again. He turned with Anna and his eyes were as wide as saucers as they approached. At first he was wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him, "Ta...Tabor?" He touched Tabor's shoulder to make sure that his best friend was real. The instant he found out that Tabor was indeed real and solid, he pulled Tabor into an embrace so tight, Tabor found it difficult to breathe.

"It's good to see you too, Will....I think!" said Tabor, nursing his rib cage. "Everyone's getting off! Is that a bad sign? I was hoping to find a nice, quiet corner of the galaxy to get lost in. Any chance the Reaent is going that direction?" He looked wistfully at Anna and Will, relieved that it was they who were the first crew to see him. "Oh by the way, Will, your parents say Hello. I saw them for a while before shipping out."

 

"We just got back from a mission and are on a layover. The next mission is a patrol mission near the base." Will replied as he finished breaking the embrace, "So, what happened after you were abducted? How did you get away? Who took you away?" Will began asking all his questions in rapid fire mode. Once they started, he found that he couldn't shut up.

 

"It's so wonderful to see you, Tabor," Anna added gently, a warm smile on her face, as she took careful stock of Tabor. He didn't look like he'd been injured in any way but she still didn't know the secrets he'd shared with Will and Jared Tomlinson before disappearing. She wondered if he was still in some sort of danger--he'd just said he wanted to disappear into a quiet corner. Maybe he'd suffered an injury to the spirit. Those could be a lot more devastating than a physical wound. Still, no matter what he'd been through, he was here, back with the ship and his friends and now Will could let go the terrible guilt he'd been feeling.

 

Tabor didn't know where to begin his story, especially since Will's questions kept coming rapid fire. "There's so much to tell you, both of you, but here's not the place." He took a measured look at the two of them. "And I'm guessing you both had something different in mind for shore leave than listening to me. Why don't you go on with your plans and we can meet later. I have to report for duty anyway, and I'd just as soon do it when there wasn't a crowd." He gave Will a tilt of the head that said "go on, I'll be fine, I promise to be here when you get back."

 

Will bit his lip hesitantly when Tabor suggested that they continue on to the station and looked at Anna. When he looked back at Tabor, Will nodded reluctantly, "All right, but you had better be on that ship when we get back or so help me..." He left the rest of the threat unsaid as Tabor headed for the ship and Will and Anna entered the station.

 

"He'll be there, Will," Anna stated reassuringly. "And he looks ok. You'll get the story out of him later. We'll meet Caroline for lunch and have a nice time while Tabor gets settled back on the ship. He must have cleared up any problems with being AWOL or he wouldn't have been here, waiting for the Reaent."

 

Tabor boarded a virtually empty ship, which suited him fine. The less attention the better as far as he was concerned. He found the Officer of the Day and reported in for duty. The OD gave him his quarters assignment and Tabor went off to unpack. Since the OD hadn't questioned his arrival, Tabor assumed that Star Fleet had cleared his return. In any case, he was glad to avoid a confrontation. Will, however, was going to be another story. It wouldn't matter what SF said, Will would want to know every detail and would hound Tabor to death until he got it.