Author's Chapter Notes: Tissue warnings for some!
Her vision flickers. Black into white and then back to the despairing black again.
It happens over and over, and she wants to fight the dark with every ounce in her being, but it's also her one place of refuge. Because of him.
She knows that they are controlling her, trying to find out where she ends and the nanites begin. They hadn't encountered a human hybrid, not for the last ten thousand years, so they had made her their guinea pig. She had told them as much, but they hadn't understood what the phrase meant.
Not that she had expected them to.
She sighs and leans back against the wall in her cell as the deep dark overtakes her over once more. She calls up a scene in her mind, one of the few that she is able to keep from them, and she watches it play out again. Sometimes she will place herself inside the vision and take part in it, altering what had really happened. But at this point in time, she is just content to let it play.
She remembers the slight tingle as she had crushed his lips to her own, the barest nip of teeth across her bottom lip, and the grind of his teeth as they met hers. At the time, she had felt it awkward, but in this place…she welcomes the memory. Her fingertips move up to her lips as the vision plays yet again, in slow motion, and despite everything, she smiles.
This time through, she inserts herself into the vision and begins altering the reality of what had happened. She lets one hand remain on his cheek, and strokes the stubble of his beard with her thumb. This time, instead of Thalan and Phoebus, it is John and Elizabeth.
He smiles at her and dips his head down to taste her lips again. He tastes like sugar, like he'd just poured a packet of the stuff into his mouth in the commons area. She smiles against his lips and holds his forehead to hers.
"I miss you, John," she whispers, hoping that no one would overhear her. Her eyes flick up to his, and he meets her gaze equally, matching the longing in hers with the need in his own.
"I know," he whispers back, a wistful smile taking over his face. "And you know I'm not just going to leave you here."
She smiles again. She knows.
"I'm coming, Lisbeth. I promise," His eyes search hers until they find belief in his words. Only then does he smile for her.
Her knees go weak and he has to catch her before she topples over. The laugh that comes out of his throat is music to her ears. She's missed that laugh more than she's able to admit.
"John, I..."
He places a finger to her lips and she kisses it softly. He smiles down at her, his green eyes shining with love.
"Shh, Lisbeth. Everything is going to be all right. I promise. I'll be back for you."
The vision fades out, and the colors return. She winces at the sudden blast of light and something inside her knows that they are coming for her once more, but smiles again as she hears his final words.
"I love you, Lisbeth. Be strong. I'm coming..."