Golden Afternoon
Liam stood in the hold of the great ship, watching helplessly as Lili's life slipped away from her. The sight of her pain wracked face brought tears to his eyes, but there was nothing he could do for her. He couldn't even hold her, his way barred by the massive Jaridian. He squeezed his eyes shut, and his memory took him back to a time a little less than a year ago. Liam's attention had been dragged away from his paperwork as he heard a cheerful knock on the door to his apartment. He rubbed at eyes that were sore from reading files for hours on end and got up. His spine cracked loudly and he crossed the room to open the door. Lili's smiling face greeted him. "Hello!" she said brightly. "You up for a picnic?" On her arm was a large picnic basket, out of which floated enticing smells that made Liam's mouth water. He shook his head with difficulty. "I…I can't. I have work to do, Da'an needs these papers by tomorrow, and I need to—" Lili cut him off. "Liam it's Sunday. And it's a beautiful day outside. It's perfect for a picnic, and you've been working on those files since Friday. Have you even slept?" "I catnapped," he said defensively. "Or eaten?" "I was too busy to go out and there was nothing in the fridge." "I knew it," she said. "You are taking a break, right now. You're going to come with me, get a little sun, talk to a real, live human being, and forget about everything that's sitting on your desk." Liam tried to say no, he really did. He opened his mouth to formed the words to decline and… "Oh, all right," he said, to his surprise. "I guess I could use a break." Lili grinned. "Great." She pulled him down the stairs and out the door of the Flat Planet, hardly giving him the chance to lock up his apartment behind him. They went to a small, shady park only a few blocks away, and spread out a red-checked blanket on the grass. "See?" Lili said as she settled herself comfortable and began to dig into the picnic hamper. "Isn't it nice to get out and breathe the fresh air?" Liam admitted it was nice. And the sun on his face and the wind in his hair was refreshing. He then watched in awe as his friend produced a massive spread of fried chicken, egg salad, sandwiches, chips, cookies, lemonade, doughnuts, and cheese. "Dig in," she said, selecting a drumstick and ripping into it with her teeth. "I figured you'd be half-starved by now." "I am," he said, as his stomach rumbled. He devoured far more than his fair share of food and Lili did quite a job on her meal as well. After their hunger had been sated, they continued to pick leisurely at the remains until they were stuffed. "Oh, that was good," Lili said when they were done, laying on her back and staring up at the sky through the leaves of the oak trees. Children laughed in the background. "Mmm…" Liam agreed, flopping to the ground beside her and resting his head on his hands. "Thanks, Lili. I think I did need the afternoon off." "Told you," she said, poking him affectionately. Then her expression sobered. "Liam, I've been worried about you. You've been working yourself almost to death, and you've had it pretty rough the past few months, with your mother's death and then Jonathan flipping out and trying to kill you, and Kali and everything. Things are going downhill for us, fast." Liam turned his head to look at her. "I know." "Are you okay?" she asked, her pretty face lined with concerned. "Sometimes," he told her. "Sometimes not. Everything just seems to happen so quickly, I don't have time to get over one thing before the next happens. It just all builds up inside me until I think I'm going to explode." Lili reached over and squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry. It's not fair for you, at all. I wish I could do more." Liam smiled at her. "You do more than enough. You and Augur are the best friends I could ever want." She turned her gaze back to the sky, hiding her expression of sorrow. Liam was silent for a moment, and then said tentatively, "What was William Boone like?" Lili made a sharp intake of breath and said too easily, "You seem to have a fascination with Commander Boone." Liam half-shrugged. "I don't know, Lili. I guess I just have a connection with him. I mean, he died the moment I was born. I stepped into his shoes when I was a day old. He was Protector of a Taelon and leader of the Resistance, and now I am doing both those things. You can't blame for being curious about him." Lili rolled over on her side. "I wish you could have known him, Liam. He was such a wonderful man. He was very different than you, but the same in many ways. You would have gotten along splendidly. He would have made a perfect roll model for you. Da'an, Dr. Park, and I are hardly fit substitute parents, and even though you've turned out okay, I think you would have benefited from his guidance." "He was a good man, then?" "Yes," she said quietly. "Very good." Liam nodded. "Liam, I know you took Kali's death pretty hard…how are you doing?" Lili asked gently. "I'm alive," he said bitterly. "I go on with my life. That's what she wanted." Lili made a soft noise of agreement and sympathy. "Lili…have you ever been in love?" Liam asked. "Really in love, I mean." Lili rolled back over on her back and stared at the sky without really seeing anything. "Yes," she said very, very softly. "Who was he?" Liam breathed. "William Boone," she said shakily. Liam blinked and said nothing. "He was the only man I ever really loved." Lili sat up and stared at her friend in amazement. "I've never told anyone that before…I don't think I even admitted it to myself fully." "Your secret is safe with me," he vowed. Lili smiled. "I know it is." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I think we've gotten enough out of our systems now. Let's just try to enjoy the rest of this afternoon, okay? Dark times are coming and we should enjoy the times like this. We won't get many more." They had lain on their backs in the grass, side by side, talking easily about nothing and everything, as good friends do. They hadn't known what was coming in the next year, but they had been determined to make the most of the good times. It had truly been a golden afternoon, Liam thought looking back on that day from the nightmare vantagepoint of a year later. Until the sun had gone down.
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