Ficlet: Someplace Better To Be
Title: Someplace Better to Be
Author: Davnee
Rating: K+
Summary: Bill and Lee share a drink, and Bill gains some new perspective on an old habit. Yep, it's a ring fic. I couldn't resist. Set sometime shortly after the events of Deadlock, so spoilers through 4x16. Thanks once again to unavitasegreta for all her help and for being generally awesome.
“What are you drinking to?” Bill asked as he sat down on the barstool next to his son.
“My failures,” Lee answered as he held up the gold ring he’d been spinning on the bar before slipping it back on his finger.
“That’s going to require another round,” he observed, signaling the barkeep with a wave and smiling just a bit too faintly to fully remove the sting from his words.
Lee downed his drink to make ready for the next one, raising his empty glass in salute to his father before setting it down. “Apparently the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he replied with a sarcastic smile that conveyed no such confusion as to his intent.
Bill chuckled darkly as he picked up his drink. He could hardly protest the point.
“I’ve never understood why you keep wearing it after all this time,” Lee explained after a moment with a brief nod toward his father’s hand. “Now I get it.”
Bill put down his empty glass and stared at it for a long moment before speaking. “When you don’t live up to your commitments, people get hurt. Sometimes they don’t recover. Once you learn that lesson, you can’t afford to forget it,” he finished, avoiding his son’s eyes as he finally looked up and motioned for a new round.
The men sat in silence until their drinks arrived. “I did love her,” Lee began in quiet explanation. “Not as much as she deserved. And not enough to justify the promises I made. But I did love her. I hope she knew that. If that was why …”
“I think she did, Son,” Bill offered kindly as he glanced briefly in his direction before returning his attention to the glass in front of him. “But you’ve still got to live with it either way,” he said with a shrug as he emptied his glass in one go and then raised it in the direction of the bartender.
Lee stared at his own drink. “Ever stop and think you were the one that didn’t recover, Dad?”
“You saying you’re over what I chose to put first?” Bill asked surprised by the possibility that they could have come so far. He wondered what was keeping this round. He wanted the feel of a glass back in his hand.
“I’m trying to be,” Lee answered softly, but with sincerity, as he fidgeted with his glass.
“That’s good,” Bill replied with a nod. He meant for both of them. Beyond that, he had no answer for his son’s original question. As he spied a Six out of the corner of his eye perched on some scaffolding, bucket in her hand, he could make no sense anymore of what was meant by recovery.
Lee looked up from his glass. “Is it still first?” He would not let his father off the hook so easily. “The uniform,” he prodded after a long moment’s silence.
Bill did not answer, taking refuge instead in the diversion provided by the barkeep as he placed without comment a bottle next to the Admiral’s empty glass. “At least somebody on this ship still believes in efficiency,” Bill chuckled as he poured himself a generous shot and then held up the bottle to his son.
Lee waved him off. His glass was still full. He watched with a sad smile as his father downed a shot and poured himself another, the liquor sloshing over the rim of the glass. It had taken him a long time to want only the best for this man. He hoped it wasn’t too late to offer it to him.
“Sometimes not making a commitment is a mistake too,” Lee suggested, drawing his father’s eyes to his and then nodding toward his ring. “I think that scar has healed, Dad. Maybe you should acknowledge that … before it’s too late.”
Lee pushed away his glass and slid off his stool, patting his father on the shoulder as he stood. “Don’t you have someplace better to be?” he asked, not waiting for an answer as he walked away.
Lee’s words lingered in Bill’s mind. He’d been a fool. It wouldn’t have been the first time. He looked down at his ring, running his thumb along the curve of it and realizing the feel of it had long since changed. Too much time had been lost, and too little was left to frak around with any more delay on admitting that. Sure they already knew what they had. They were living it in more than just their hearts every day now, but it was about time they made a point of it. She came first, and he wanted everyone to know it. Most of all, he wanted this ring to be unmistakably hers. He wanted to feel the weight of her and see the proof of her always. From her he would never recover.
It took a good tug to get the ring off, after all those years of dutiful wear, but it felt good to be free of it. Even better, Bill thought, as he looked at the worn groove of pale flesh, to be ready to put it right back on for the best reason he’d ever known.
He didn’t bother to finish his drink. Placing the ring in his pocket, Bill stood to leave. He had someplace better to be.
Author: Davnee
Rating: K+
Summary: Bill and Lee share a drink, and Bill gains some new perspective on an old habit. Yep, it's a ring fic. I couldn't resist. Set sometime shortly after the events of Deadlock, so spoilers through 4x16. Thanks once again to unavitasegreta for all her help and for being generally awesome.
“What are you drinking to?” Bill asked as he sat down on the barstool next to his son.
“My failures,” Lee answered as he held up the gold ring he’d been spinning on the bar before slipping it back on his finger.
“That’s going to require another round,” he observed, signaling the barkeep with a wave and smiling just a bit too faintly to fully remove the sting from his words.
Lee downed his drink to make ready for the next one, raising his empty glass in salute to his father before setting it down. “Apparently the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he replied with a sarcastic smile that conveyed no such confusion as to his intent.
Bill chuckled darkly as he picked up his drink. He could hardly protest the point.
“I’ve never understood why you keep wearing it after all this time,” Lee explained after a moment with a brief nod toward his father’s hand. “Now I get it.”
Bill put down his empty glass and stared at it for a long moment before speaking. “When you don’t live up to your commitments, people get hurt. Sometimes they don’t recover. Once you learn that lesson, you can’t afford to forget it,” he finished, avoiding his son’s eyes as he finally looked up and motioned for a new round.
The men sat in silence until their drinks arrived. “I did love her,” Lee began in quiet explanation. “Not as much as she deserved. And not enough to justify the promises I made. But I did love her. I hope she knew that. If that was why …”
“I think she did, Son,” Bill offered kindly as he glanced briefly in his direction before returning his attention to the glass in front of him. “But you’ve still got to live with it either way,” he said with a shrug as he emptied his glass in one go and then raised it in the direction of the bartender.
Lee stared at his own drink. “Ever stop and think you were the one that didn’t recover, Dad?”
“You saying you’re over what I chose to put first?” Bill asked surprised by the possibility that they could have come so far. He wondered what was keeping this round. He wanted the feel of a glass back in his hand.
“I’m trying to be,” Lee answered softly, but with sincerity, as he fidgeted with his glass.
“That’s good,” Bill replied with a nod. He meant for both of them. Beyond that, he had no answer for his son’s original question. As he spied a Six out of the corner of his eye perched on some scaffolding, bucket in her hand, he could make no sense anymore of what was meant by recovery.
Lee looked up from his glass. “Is it still first?” He would not let his father off the hook so easily. “The uniform,” he prodded after a long moment’s silence.
Bill did not answer, taking refuge instead in the diversion provided by the barkeep as he placed without comment a bottle next to the Admiral’s empty glass. “At least somebody on this ship still believes in efficiency,” Bill chuckled as he poured himself a generous shot and then held up the bottle to his son.
Lee waved him off. His glass was still full. He watched with a sad smile as his father downed a shot and poured himself another, the liquor sloshing over the rim of the glass. It had taken him a long time to want only the best for this man. He hoped it wasn’t too late to offer it to him.
“Sometimes not making a commitment is a mistake too,” Lee suggested, drawing his father’s eyes to his and then nodding toward his ring. “I think that scar has healed, Dad. Maybe you should acknowledge that … before it’s too late.”
Lee pushed away his glass and slid off his stool, patting his father on the shoulder as he stood. “Don’t you have someplace better to be?” he asked, not waiting for an answer as he walked away.
Lee’s words lingered in Bill’s mind. He’d been a fool. It wouldn’t have been the first time. He looked down at his ring, running his thumb along the curve of it and realizing the feel of it had long since changed. Too much time had been lost, and too little was left to frak around with any more delay on admitting that. Sure they already knew what they had. They were living it in more than just their hearts every day now, but it was about time they made a point of it. She came first, and he wanted everyone to know it. Most of all, he wanted this ring to be unmistakably hers. He wanted to feel the weight of her and see the proof of her always. From her he would never recover.
It took a good tug to get the ring off, after all those years of dutiful wear, but it felt good to be free of it. Even better, Bill thought, as he looked at the worn groove of pale flesh, to be ready to put it right back on for the best reason he’d ever known.
He didn’t bother to finish his drink. Placing the ring in his pocket, Bill stood to leave. He had someplace better to be.