Alone Time

Declan let the steam open his pores as the water turned his skin a bright red. He had already rinsed off minutes ago, and he was just letting the water do its magic work. He would have to talk to Mother in the morning about installing a hot tub; he could really go for a good long soak right about now. Every muscle in his body was aching in spite of the nanites that were rebuilding his tissues and clearing his muscles of lactic acid. In the morning he would be hale and hearty; ready to go bite the universe on the behind. Right now all that he was fit to do was go to bed.

In fact, he was going to skip his meal. He knew that the nanites needed fuel for their work, but right now he needed sleep. He shut the water off with a thought and stepped out into the bathroom proper. Air vents opened around him and enveloped him in a blanket of warm air, drying his whole body in seconds. He combed his hair and slipped into a pair of boxers and his slippers. He considered shaving, but dismissed it for the morning; there was no point in doing it twice. He shut the lights off and slipped into his bedroom. That was when he came to the realization that he wasn’t alone.

“Lights,” he called out and the room illuminated instantly. That was when he saw Second Sarah sitting on his bed. She was resting against the headboard and had her legs stretched out in front of her. She was still in her clothes from this morning. Was it only this morning that he’d saved her? That was worlds ago and felt like several lifetimes. She casually threw one leg over the other.

“Uh, hello,” he said cautiously.

“I brought your dinner,” she said as she pointed to a tray with a lid.

“Thanks.” He nodded to her but felt very self-conscious being around her in his underpants. His hands drifted to cover his crotch subconsciously. “I was actually planning to just go to bed. I’m pretty tired.”

Second Sarah gave him a curt nod, “I imagine so. You’ve been out saving me all day.”

He coughed, “Yes, well, all in a day’s work as they say.” He reached out and grabbed his bathrobe. He slipped his arms into it and tied the belt around his waist, and his shoulders slumped as the tension they had been carrying suddenly vanished.

“Look, Deck. I know you are tired and have had one hell of a long day, and if you want me to go I will, but,” she began, “I wanted to just ask you a few things before I called it a night. Is that Okay?”

“Sarah,” his voice was hoarse and dry, “I have never denied and will never deny you anything. I can last a few more minutes. What do you want to know?”

“Why?” She stared into his eyes and he was drawn in as if they were black holes, “Why do you risk yourself to save me? I mean all of the me’s. It’s confusing, I know, but you understand what I’m trying to say.”

He nodded, “I do,” he said.

“Well, you clearly aren’t in it for the sex. I mean, Jesus, you almost ran away from me just because you were in your underwear. I met the other “girls”,” she made quotation marks with her fingers when she said girls, “Jiminy Christmas, there is a frigging centaur and a cyber-robot me. Don’t think I forgot about the sexy bunny girl, either. Plus, you bring home some topless crazy road warrior chick? WTF, dude? I know you said you were out to save as many Sarahs as you could, but this is nuts.”

He leaned towards her, “Why wouldn’t I help them? Just because they aren’t like you or me doesn’t make them less special. It doesn’t make their existence any less valid. I cherished my Sarah, and I am sworn to keep her memory alive by saving every single one of her I can. I will make this planet a true Terra Sarah by the time I am finished.”

“You’ve said that already, why is it so important to you?”

He didn’t blink. He didn’t flinch. He just looked her in the eyes and said in a voice o faint that it barely came out of his mouth, “Wuv, twu wuv.” He fought to keep his eyes from watering as he said it.

Now a look of what in the hell are you talking about clouded over her face. He was shocked. “Have you never seen the Princess Bride?”

“The Princess Bride? Who is that? You mean Lady Diana, who married Prince Charles? Or are you talking about that Julia Roberts movie?”

He shook his head. “It’s just a movie. My . . .” he paused and then amended, “Our all-time favorite film. I will show it to you tomorrow if you want. I promise that you will love it. It is, perhaps, the greatest movie ever made.”

She crinkled her nose, “What is it about?”

“Everything. Revenge, intrigue, murder, giants, pirates, poison, giant rats, and most importantly, true love.” He paused and took a deep breath. Sarah saw tears well up in his eyes, but he managed to hold them in. “We must have watched that movie a million times. We threw quotes at one another all the time. That is why I do this. Because death cannot stop true love, it can only delay it for a little while.” She watched as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He stood up. “It is always a pleasure to see you Sarah, but it has been a long day, and I am very tired. If you don’t mind I’m going to go to bed.”

She stared at the ceiling for a second, and he could see that her eyes were watering too. “Tell you what,” she said, “I hate sleeping alone somewhere new. How about I stay here tonight and we just hold each other?” She wiped her eyes, “As long as you promise no funny business,” she said as she pointed her finger at him.

He climbed into bed beside her, leaving his bathrobe on. “That would be nice.” The lights dimmed and went dark a moment later, and Declan rested.