Title: Holding Hope
Author: Mareel
Author's email: Mareel@earthlink.net
Author's URL: http://www.geocities.com/bdebpr
01/14/2004
Archive: Permission to archive granted to EntSTCommunity, Archer's Enterprise, Reed's Armory, Others welcome, please let me know.
Category: Slash (m/m)
Rating: G
Status: Complete
Pairing: Archer/Reed
Series: Just Before Morning
Previous story: Intimacies
Next story: Bereft
Number in series: 4
Disclaimer: They all still belong to Paramount, or, more likely, to themselves.
Summary: When love abides, so does hope.
Author's Notes: This is the fourth in a loosely connected series, inspired by the Treksoap Jon and Mal (with my deepest thanks to their creators). But no backstory is necessary to understand the bond between two lovers trying to work through the aftermath of serious trauma. Here Jon offers what comfort he can, hoping it will somehow be enough. (Originally posted to LJ metasoap entitled 'Anchor'—I've reverted to my first choice of title because it feels right.)
I watch you sleep, at peace in my arms…demons banished, for the moment, by my love…our love, an anchor in a storm of unwelcome memories.
I hold you close, wishing I could do more to keep you safe or ease your passage through unbearable pain.
I stroke your cheek, drop silent kisses into your hair. My hand rests on your chest, holding your heart, unconsciously matching each breath with my own.
I feel you stir, nestling closer to my heart…and cry silently, moved beyond words at seeing on your lips…after all…the shadow of a smile.