Ganymede Station Pt. 02

"Funny, I was going to say something similar. I love you, you know." I told him. "You have my heart too."

"I know." He smiled warmly.

We were married the following year, about five months later. We rented matching suits and I would be lying if I didn't admit that Henry Deacon was the most handsome fellow I've ever laid eyes on. He felt a little foolish being so dressed up but he put up with it because of how I kept eyeing him and telling him how dashing he looked. I think I kept him blushing for nearly the whole day. It was a very intimate affair with only a handful of guests in attendance including Chief Holden flying in all the way from Ganymede along with Mike. The weather, being manufactured of course was very nice, and we made our vows on the end of a wooden dock at a quiet edge of the brilliant blue lake. Neither Henry nor myself had been raised with religion so we had a justice pronounce us married. We both cried a little bit, Henry was becoming such a softie in his older age. I considered it a welcome change from his days of trying so hard to stay numb.

When the ceremony was over, we provided our guests with dinner in a small lake house just off the docks. There was some music and dancing, naturally, and that was when I learned that Henry had two left feet. He did his best though and ultimately found his groove during a slow song when we could just hold each other and I laid my head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad I don't have to dance very often." He said quietly.

"Not me, I could stay like this every night." I said, smiling up at him.

He leaned down and kissed me softly.

As the night drew to a close, our guests left to find their hotels and the locals headed home. The two of us strolled back to the end of the dock, hand in hand. Unlike Ganymede and Prometheus, the high domed ceiling here mimicked stars that twinkled and glowed unobtrusively and beautiful. We both stared up blissfully.

"I had a really nice time today, with you." Henry told me.

"Thanks for marrying me." I said.

"Thanks for marrying me back." He countered.

We stood there, newlyweds, friends, and saviors to one another. I couldn't remember a time when I had been this happy or for this long, but then, I knew that such a time had never existed before meeting my marshall. He had shown me over the last five years that I could grow and learn and experience life in new ways with someone who cared deeply for me and wanted me to succeed. Now that I was a full-fledged pilot there were many opportunities available. I could run freight of course, or salvage, but I knew that I most wanted to be a transport pilot, someone who took people where they wanted to go in the cosmos. Some of my few happy moments on Ganymede were when I would see the transport shuttle arrive and families or couples would be reunited. The looks of love in their eyes never failed to soften my heart.

It would be challenging sometimes, I wouldn't see Henry for weeks at a time in some cases, but we weren't worried. We could miss each other, for a little while, and it would make coming home that much sweeter. We both always knew how much I wanted to see more of the galaxy, that I might never be satisfied until I traversed one end to the other. There was so much to experience out there, and I wanted nothing more than to explore as much as I could. Then, when I arrived back on Olympia I would come home to the person I loved above all else.

I know that we are lucky to have found one another. I know that many times in our lives the darkness was almost overwhelming, but even at our lowest points, nearly lost in the blackness, there was always the light from a distant star to beckon us forward. It didn't take me very long to realize that star, for me, was shining in the heart of Henry Deacon. Though the universe is bright and vast, it is a small thing when compared to what I feel inside for that man.

END