Sylia woke up to find her head still on Linna's lap, her arms around the younger woman's waist. Looking up, she saw that Linna was sleeping in a very uncomfortable position, her head hanging down so that her chin was resting on her chest, one arm resting on Sylia's shoulder, the other hanging off the bed. She was still wearing the same off the rack, K-Mart chic outfit she'd had on yesterday, although now it was all wrinkled. Sylia made a mental note to try and help Linna with her wardrobe choices one of these days. "Linna," Sylia whispered. "Snkt...Oh mom, do I have to meet this new loser dad's brought over?" she mumbled in her sleep, causing the other woman to chuckle a bit as she shook her. "Hey sleepy head, come on; time to get up." "Huh?" Linna asked as she slowly lifted her head. Her body was sore and stiff from the position she had been sleeping in. "What time is it?" Sylia looked over past Linna to the clock on the dresser. "8:30 AM, Monday morning." "What?" Linna jerked up at that, causing Sylia's head to fall off her lap and onto the mattress. "I'm going to be late! I've only got thirty minutes to get home, change, and get to work." With that Linna leapt out of bed, and promptly fell on the floor. "Linna!" Sylia cried out, "Are you alright?" "Ow... Yeah, I'm fine." she said, her face turning red from embarrassment as she rubbed her sore rear. "I guess my legs fell asleep." Sylia laughed a bit at that as she helped Linna back to her feet, saw her to her moped, and went back inside the Silky Doll. Over the next few days, Sylia's physical withdrawal symptoms gradually became more manageable and less noticeable. Her psychological addictions were harder to overcome, but with Linna, Priss and the others around, as well as her new friends she'd made at the weekly meetings she was attending, she was learning to manage. Nene however continued to stay away from her. She never talked about it, but it did hurt a bit not having the blonde at least saying 'hi' when she came to spend time with Mackie. She knew enough to stay away from the youngest Knight Saber though, allowing her to have her space until she was comfortable being around her again. ---Two Weeks Later--- Nene let out a long yawn, stretching her arms out wide as she watched the clock. Five more minutes and the shift would be over. When she had agreed to switch shifts with Sara so she could be with her mom in the hospital last night, she hadn't thought much of it. After all, she'd been out late into the night with the other Sabers dozens of times. How hard could an overnight shift at the newly revamped AD Police computer center be? Nearly nine hours later, at three minutes to seven in the morning, she knew exactly how hard. "Well, Uprio-Chan," she said, talking to her stuffed weasel as she added one more used Styrofoam coffee cup to the small cup pyramid in front of her, "Two more minutes, and we can get out of here and go to bed." "Yay!" she exclaimed, moving Uprio-Chan's head and arms to look like he was cheering the good news. Finally, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and looked up to see the morning shift replacement smiling down at her. She quickly collected her things and made for the door, throwing away her coffee cups on the way out. As she was lethargically making her way down the corridor to the elevator at the end, she felt a hand grab at her underneath her right arm, then another under her left. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself being dragged into the broom closet, heard the sound of something splashing, and then the light was turned on. "Aw shit!" "Ha, ha. Smooth moves, Leon." Nene turned around to see Daley laughing hysterically at something. It took a second for the sleep-deprived AD Police computer technician to focus in on what just happened. Then she realized Leon had stepped in a mop bucket. Normally this would've amused Nene to no end, but right then and there all she could think about was going home and collapsing into bed. "Leon Poo," she fumed, "Go away! Can't you see I'm tired? I don't have time to play today." Daley continued chuckling as Leon pulled his foot out of the bucket, shook the water out, and gave him a look of death. He then focused his attention on Nene. "Don't call me Leon poo! And we didn't pull you in here to play. We need to talk to you." "About what, Leon Poo?" Nene asked, not really caring what Leon or Daley had to say at that particular moment. "About Sylia," Daley answered, suddenly taking on a much more serious air about him. That got Nene's attention. "Priss has been talking with us," Leon said, "She's told us everything. About the intervention, what was said, what happened since, everything. What she wants to know, what we all want to know, is where the hell have you been through all this?" Nene narrowed her eyes, "Look, I'm tired, I'm cranky, and my stomach's doing summersaults from too much coffee. I'm not going to get into this with you two?" "Nene, she's a friend," Daley broke in, "She needs everyone right now." "She's got Linna, Priss, Mackie and Henderson. Besides, I did try to help, and it blew up in my face!" she said, again reliving the angry words of that night. "She asks about you," Leon broke in, "Priss tells me that, even though she does her best not to show it, it hurts her to know you won't come around to visit, or call, unless it's to see Mackie. Then, you can't get out fast enough." "Leon..." Daley spoke up again, "Give her another chance. That's all anyone's asking of you Nene." "She's having dinner tonight at six. Priss and I will be there, and so will Daley, Linna and Mackie. It would mean a lot to her to have you show up." Nene was looking down at the ground, "Okay, if I promise to think about it, will you two let me out of this smelly old room so I can go home and get some sleep?" Daley and Leon looked at one another. "I think we can accept that," Daley said, speaking up for both of them. "Good. Bye." And with that, Nene left the broom closet, leaving Leon and Daley alone in the room together. "Well, that went smoothly," Daley said as he put his hands in his pants' pockets, "By the way, that's a good look for you. I hear the wet look is in this season." "Oh, shut up Daley," Leon growled as he exited the room. Daley followed, chuckling at the "squish, squish" sound Leon was making as he walked down the hallway. ---Later that day--- "Henderson," Sylia said as she picked up her purse, "I'm going out for groceries for tonight's get together." "You needn't do that, madam. If you give me your shopping list, I'd be more than happy to..." "That won't be necessary." Henderson noted something in Sylia's voice. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was wrong. "Are you sure, madam?" "Look, I just said...," Sylia stopped when she saw the look on his face. She sighed a bit, and smiled, "I'll be fine, Henderson. Thanks," she said as she entered the elevator. The elevator doors closed, leaving Henderson alone and very concerned about what might be troubling her. Just then, the phone rang. Henderson went to the counter to answer the phone, only to hear a busy signal. When he heard another ring, he realized it was Sylia's cell phone. Following the ringing, he eventually found it on the coffee table lying next to her pager. 'Odd,' he thought to himself as he opened the little phone to answer. "Good afternoon." "Hi. Henderson?" Nene asked, "Where's Sylia?" "She went out to buy groceries for tonight." "Oh, okay. Can you tell her I'll be coming over tonight as well?" "Certainly, Miss Romanova. Miss Stingray will be very pleased to have you over." "Good. Well, bye," the kawaii young woman on the other end said just before hanging up. Once again alone with his thoughts, Henderson began to wonder why Sylia would forget her pager and cell phone. It was totally out of character for her. Then something caught his eye. It was the date displayed on the digital screen of the cell phone. He quickly did some math in his head. "Oh bloody hell," he gasped, as he hurriedly went through the cell phone's speed dial listings. "Hello?" "Miss Yamazaki?" he asked, Linna immediately picking up on the panic in his voice "Are you busy right now?" ---One Hour Later--- Six months. It was six months ago today that they had tackled that rogue assembly line boomer on the roof of the tuna factory. Six months since it fell from the roof as its core was torn out. Six months since Mackie screamed out that the carcass was about to fall on their old Knight Sabers' van, and six months since Nigel threw Mackie out the back of the van, and was caught in the fireball as the boomer collided with the van. She didn't want to deal with this. Not now, not ever. She tightened her grip on the shopping cart as she stood there in the super market staring at the wine and liquor section, just as she had been for the last ten minutes. It would be so easy, she thought. A third of a bottle, and she wouldn't hurt as much. Two thirds and she wouldn't feel anything. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead and her mouth was salivating, and still she stood there in the aisle as if hypnotized. She didn't have to worry about what Nene might think; she'd obviously given up on her already. Priss would of course give up for good, leaving her to go to hell in her own way. Linna would... Linna... She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Opening them again, she turned around and began to walk away. As she was exiting the aisle, some movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. A slightly older woman than herself was reaching for a bottle of vodka, nervously looking around as she did so. Suddenly their eyes met, and she recognized the woman. "Miko?" Sylia asked, looking at her friend from A.A. Miko, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, dropped the bottle of vodka she was holding. It fell to the floor with a loud crash as she started sobbing. Sylia went over to put her arms around her as a clerk angrily came from around the corner. "Hey!" he yelled, "What's going on here?" "Sorry sir," Sylia said, holding the now nearly hysterical Miko as she was crying on her shoulder. "Just an accident. I'll pay for it." Suddenly, Linna came running around the opposite corner with a look of concern on her face. She stopped when she got a good look at the scene in front of her. Sylia was holding a clearly distraught woman in her arms, there was a smashed bottle of booze on the floor, and a frowning sales clerk staring back at them. "Uh, Sylia..." she asked, "What the hell just happened?" Sylia proceeded to do the one thing she did best in a crisis situation; she took charge. "Linna, here," she said as she passed a card over to her fellow Knight Saber, "Take my credit card and pay for the broken bottle and the groceries in my cart," she ordered, adding, "Do you have your cell phone on you?" "Wha...oh, yeah. Here," she said as she offered it over. "Good," Sylia answered as she took the phone. She turned around to head down the aisle that led toward the exit, one arm still around Miko as she hurriedly dialed a number from memory with her free hand. "Hello? Is this Mr. Toshiro Itano? It's Sylia. Sylia Stingray. Yes, the pretty one from the group," she said as she rolled her eyes, "Listen, are you free...?" ---That evening--- Nene arrived fifteen minutes late for Sylia's dinner. The first thing she noticed, besides the fact that the lights in the Silky Doll were still on even though it was after six o'clock in the evening, was the strange car parked between Linna's moped and Leon's civilian rust bucket. As she went inside, she saw Henderson pouring Daley a cup of coffee. Leon and Priss were standing in a corner talking while Linna was drinking coffee out of an expensive looking cup. The office lady was staring at the stockroom door behind the counter. "Um, hello." Linna turned around, and her face beamed, "Nene! You came! Sylia will be so happy." "So," Priss asked, "You've decided to come visit again?" "Yes, Priss. And that was a dirty trick, getting Daley and Leon Poo to corner me when I was tired and my defenses were down," she remarked as she looked around "So what happened to dinner? And who's car is that parked between Linna's moped and Trench Foot's heap." "Trench foot?" Priss, asked, raising one eyebrow as Leon turned beet red and Daley started chuckling in the corner, trying to keep from spitting out his coffee all over the floor. "You mean," Nene asked, trying to feign innocence in her voice, "He didn't tell you about the bucket?" before Leon could reply, Mackie came into the room. "Dinner's been postponed," Mackie explained, "And the car belongs to one of the members of Sylia's support group. He and another member are in the back stock room with sis right now." Nene's heart sank, "She had a relapse?" she asked. "No," Mackie answered, "Someone else did." Just then the door to the stock room opened, and the room hushed as Sylia walked out, followed by Miko and Toshiro. "I'll take her home, Miss Stingray." Toshiro offered. "Thank you, Mr. Itano," Sylia said, "You sure it's no trouble?" "No trouble at all. You ready, Miss Ishikawa?" "Yes, thank you," she said. She then turned to Sylia, "And thank you, Miss Stingray. If you hadn't been there in the grocery store to stop me..." "Think nothing of it." Sylia answered, trying to ignore the feelings of guilt welling up within her. Everyone thought she was some sort of a hero for being there to stop Miko. She knew better. As she watched them leave through the main doors, Sylia noticed Nene standing with Mackie and Linna by the cash register, and smiled. "Nene," she said happily, "You're here." Nene smiled back at her, "Well of course I am, silly. We're Knight Sabers, we stick together! And I brought a friend with me." "Oh really?" Sylia asked, "Who?" Pulling her backpack off, Nene reached in and pulled something furry out. "This is Uprio-Chan!" Nene said triumphantly, as both Leon and Daley rolled their eyes. "He always cheers me up at work when I'm down. Say 'Hi.' Uprio-chan." "Um, Nene," Sylia began, "That's very sweet, but I..." "Hello, Sylia." Nene said in a squeaky, high pitched voice as she held the stuffed weasel up to Sylia. The leader of the Knight Sabers looked over to see both Priss and Linna shaking convulsively, trying not to laugh. Even Henderson had his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. For the briefest of seconds, Sylia wondered if having Nene back as a friend really was so great. But then she looked at Nene, and could see the sincerity in her eyes. She really was trying her best in her own way to reach out to her. "Hello, Uprio-Chan," she finally managed to get out. ------ As everyone was leaving, Sylia called to Linna to stay behind. As the last of the guests left, she turned to her. "Linna," she asked, "What were you doing at the grocery store today?" "Henderson called me. He was worried about you and asked if I'd go make sure you were okay. Today being the six month anniversary of Nigel's death, he was afraid you were going to relapse or something. You're not mad, are you?" Sylia looked at the other woman silently for a few seconds before letting out a small sigh, "No, of course not," she answered, "Actually, he was right to be concerned." Linna looked shocked, "You mean, you..." "Came this close," she admitted, holding up her hand with her thumb and index finger less than an inch apart. "What stopped you? Was it Miko?" "No, Linna. It was you." "Me?" Linna asked, wondering what Sylia was trying to get at. "I wanted to, Linna," she said as she walked over to her, "I wanted to bad. But I couldn't bring myself to hurt you that way. Not after all you've done for me over the past three weeks. You pulled me back from the brink, and I can never thank you enough." With that she hugged her. Linna, carried away with the moment, hugged her back, kissing her on the cheek. Sylia froze, her body suddenly tensing. Linna immediately regretted kissing her. She was about to back away, when her fellow Knight Saber hugged her a bit tighter. She then felt the older woman's cheek brush up against hers as Sylia reached up and gently cradled the other side of the young woman's face. Linna looked questioningly at the older woman as Sylia turned to look at her in a way she'd never done before. "Sylia?" she asked as the Knight Saber's leader reached up with her other hand, tenderly stroking her other cheek, "What..." she was cut off as Sylia closed her eyes and moved in, pressing her lips to Linna's. Linna's eyes widened as she felt the soft, full lips against her own. She'd always dreamed of this moment, but to now have it actually happening seemed too good to be true. Her heart felt like it was ready to burst out of her chest as Sylia continued to kiss her, stroking her cheeks with her thumbs as the scent of her perfume filled the younger woman's nostrils. As she finally began to calm down, she closed her eyes, losing herself in the moment as she opened her mouth invitingly. She ran her hand up and down Sylia's back as the other woman deepened the kiss. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the two separated from the kiss. They looked silently at one another, their faces communicating far more nonverbally than any words could. Linna still had her arms around Sylia as the older Knight Saber continued to tenderly cradle her cheek. Finally, the younger woman closed her eyes as she leaned forward, resting her head on the other woman's shoulder. -To Be Continued-
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