ways_infirmary | (no subject)

It took a few hours, but his gift was finally finished. (http://trustntheharper.livejournal.com/8723.html)

Harper came into the infirmary with a present wrapped in shiny foil that shimmered like oil on water. He really hoped Alessa was not comatose at the moment.

She's lying back, eyes closed.

But they open at his approach.

"...seamus." She smiles.

And see, there were very few people he let call him that, but he was gonna let it slide, just for her.

He came over, quietly, or at least quietly for him, and stood by her bedside, holding the gift behind his back.

"I brought you somethin'," he told her. "I guess you could call it a be-very-lated Christmas present."

Her face is surprise and confusion, completely naked.

"A present?" He took it as maybe she'd never gotten one.

And maybe she hadn't.

"Y'know, like I give you something, no strings attached, just because it makes you happy?"

"r-really?" She allows the hope to take hold. A smile crosses her face.

He pulled out the present. The foil was really shimmery and shiny.

Eyeing her bandaged hands, he cleared his throat and said, "Uh, you want any help openin' it?"

She gazes at it. Clearly, the shiny was a good choice.

Inspite of herself, the smile is widening.

Harper took the incentive and unwrapped it for her.

It was a strange little cube, with a few buttons on the side and a strange round lens on top.

"Lemme show you what it does," Harper said eagerly. "See the button? You just set it up somewhere in the room, and push the button."

Harper'd wanted to make it easy for her to use.

"I figured, y'know, you could maybe use a nightlight."

The pushed the button, and the universe filled her room. Stars (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/6738517/), planets (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17189369/), galaxies (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17073278/), nebulae all swirled around the room. Only they weren't dying like they were in the viewing window in the bar--they were all alive, casting multicolored light around the room. Some floated so close Alessa could reach out and touch them, although she could only feel the warmth of the holo-projector's light if she did so.

Gape

...

GAPE

She does reach out, cupping a hand around the stars in awe.

"I picked the star systems that make up a lot of constellations you can see from Earth, yanno? See here? This is the Big Dipper--the second star from the end of the handle of the Big Dipper, that's Mizar. It's actually a multiple star system made up of four stars."

Four little stars were swirling around where he'd cupped his hands, his whole body dotted with stars as he walked around inside the hologram.

"And here's Crab Nebula...and over here's the Cygnus Star Field...and this, this over here is Witchhead Nebula--I've actually been there on my ship--my old ship."

Stepping back over to her, a bit shiftlessly, he clapped swung his arms and clapped his hands together.

"So...whaddya' think? You like it?"

"mizar..." she repeats, watching them, "crab... cygnus... witchhead..." She peers at the last one, searching for the ship.

"you went there?"

And she grins. "thank you..."

"Yep. Actually, went back in time and went there, but it's a long story."

Another aimless little swing of his hands, and then he scratched his neck near his dataport.

"You're welcome, kiddo."

He took a seat next to her. "Uh, I could tell you all sorts of stories, about all this, if you want," he said waving his arm towards it. "And my world has lots of great stories, too, holonovels, yanno? Books with music and moving pictures. Like, there's this really good one about these two orphans, right? This little girl and this older boy, and their quest to find the Lost Treasure of Beijing. That one's a pretty good one."