Opposites Attract

Heartbreak

At first she had thought he was just sitting in his usual spot on one of the benches that lined the observation deck, bending over to look down at the earth below them. But then she noticed the dejected slump of his body, his head in his hands and the subtle shaking of his shoulders.

He obviously heard her footsteps approaching and looked up. His face, that gorgeous face that she knew almost as well as her own was streaked with tears, his expression one of pure sorrow and desolation.

"John? Baby?"

Her soft words were enough to break him, his face crumpling. He reached out to her and she was there in an instant, catching his hand in both of hers.

She fell to her knees in front of him, not knowing what the hell was going on but knowing that he needed her. She kissed his hand, first his knuckles, then his palm and the inside of his wrist, needing him to know she was there.

He leant forwards, his hand closing around hers, tugging her closer. She didn't ask what was wrong, he wasn't at the point of being able to speak. His body felt stiff and unyielding, like he was physically trying to hold himself together.

"It's OK, baby," she caught his face in her hands, pressing soft kisses everywhere she could reach, his cheeks, salty with his tears, his forehead, his lips that weren't curving into their usual smile for her.

"I'm here, my love, I'm here."

He slumped further forward then, his face buried against her chest, letting her wrap her arms around his shoulders and draw him closer.

"I've got you, you're OK, baby."

She heard a soft whimper escape his throat, the most heartbreaking sound she'd ever heard from anyone let alone the man she loved with all her heart and soul. She held him tighter, felt his arms slide around her waist, clinging tightly. His legs seemed to give way as he slid off the bench and onto the floor beside her.

She held him as his last ounce of strength abandoned him and he came apart in her embrace. She held him as he sobbed like his heart was breaking, held him as his body shuddered and shook with the force of the emotions riding him.

"You're OK, you're safe. I've got you." What the hell happened while I was gone? she asked herself, unable to comprehend anything so bad that would affect her spaceman in such a way. She knew the family was safe, she knew that no one was hurt, there were no emergencies that needed coordinating, she was drawing a blank.

She stroked his back, rocked him like she would a child, knowing that he needed her more than ever at that moment, no matter what it was that had happened.

She didn't know how long they sat there, wrapped in each others arms but it was long enough for her butt to start aching on the hard floor of the gravity ring and for her foot to go to sleep. She didn't know how long it took for his tears to stop, but he'd been silent for a long time. Maybe she should risk speaking.

"Baby, talk to me, please?"

"I...I can't..."

She nodded her understanding, not about to force him to talk if he didn't want to, she just contented herself with holding him tighter, whispering soothing nonsense to him as she sought to soothe him, wanting, no needing, him to be OK.

She kissed his neck, kissed his jaw, kissed his chin and up to his lips, soft butterfly kisses, while silently praying that he would respond. It took him a few minutes but he finally turned his head, his lips meeting hers in a gentle kiss.

"I love you," she whispered, a declaration and a promise.

"I love you too."

She felt him move and let him go, let him move out of the shelter of her arms. He rested his back against the edge of the bench, his head still bowed, looking down at the endless expanse of space below them.