"Looks like your husband abducted my bride," Lafayette beamed, pointing at Pierre who was dancing with Samantha. "Seems only fair that I take you hostage for this dance? Just to be on the safe side..."
"Oh, with pleasure, Pierre," Joanna laughed and accepted his arm.
"I'm so happy for you," she whispered when he held her and they started to dance.
"Thank you, my dear," he said only.
Joanna looked up at him. "Pierre...?"
"Let's not talk now, please" he replied, pulling her closer. "All is good."
Joanna heard a tone of sadness in his voice and understood. She had no illusions that this marriage was... second best. Still, it was good to see he was trying and she hoped with all her might that it works for him. For both of them, actually. Knowing Sam only for a short time, she already liked and respected her.
She turned her head when she heard a scream. To her horror, she saw Samantha lying on the floor and Pierre, coming their way with his fists clenched.
"That's enough!" he growled.
"Pierre..."
He pushed her away violently and grabbed Lafayette by the throat.
"Keep your hands away from my wife, bastard!"
"Pierre! What are you doing?!" Joanna caught his arm and tried to pull him away but Pierre slapped her on the face with his other hand.
"Quiet!" He snapped and turned back to Lafayette as she staggered to the floor.
He was trying to free himself but was losing hopelessly. He couldn't say a word, struggling for breath but his eyes spoke volumes. Pierre hit the old man at least three times before Jeff Torres, the first officer aboard the Atlantis, realized what was happening and shouted: "TCS Unit Pierre IV Beta 0.2 emergency deactivation! Authorization Torres Gamma 475 Orion 6!"
Two bodies slumped lifelessly on to the ground.
Joanna sprung up from the floor and jumped to Lafayette's side only a moment later. He was unconscious. Terrified, she looked up at Jeff.
"I need medical transport now!"
Torres contacted the Atlantis and had them both teleported immediately to sickbay. He also summoned security and had Pierre, still unconscious, transported to brig.

* * *
"I guess... that's it... as far as my... marriage goes..."
"What are you talking about?" Joanna leaned over his bed, happy to see he finally regained consciousness.
"Sam..." Lafayette wheezed in reply. "She knew what she was... doing... marrying an old man... like me. But she still... was hoping for... a few years... of normal life... not just... nursing me... for the rest of my..."
"She loves you! Even if it comes to that, I'm sure..."
"Yeah..." he interrupted her. "But I can't... do this to... her. If I'm paralyzed... I'll just go to a nursing facility..."
"Over my dead body!" Joanna exclaimed.
"What..."
"If that's what happens, and Sam doesn't want to help you, I'll stay with you!" she said firmly, leaving the monitors alone and looking straight into his eyes.
"Joanna..." Lafayette tried again.
"I'm serious. I'm divorcing Pierre anyway, I'll just take extended leave from the Fleet and I'll take care of you."
"You're... not serious..."
"I'm dead serious."
"Joanna... you can't..."
"Oh yes, I can. Just watch me!"
"You have... no obligations... towards me," he panted, looking at her pleadingly.
"This isn't about obligations, Pierre." Joanna brushed his hair. "This is about love."
"My dear... you can't... leave Pierre... you're making a... terrible mistake."
"No, actually, I'm about to correct one. After what he's done, do you think I could even look at him again?!"
"There must have... something's wrong with... his... his soft... ware..."
His eyes became glassy and he was having a hard time talking anymore. Joanna put her hand on his forehead.
"Pierre, you need to rest now. Don't worry about anything. You'll be fine."

* * *

"Joanna, please... I don't even remember what happened!" Pierre came as close to the forcefield keeping him in the cell as he could. "I only remember looking at the two of you and thinking that Lafayette is dancing with his dream while I'm dancing with his reality... and then,  I must have blacked out! You know I can't lie."
"At this point, I don't care." Joanna shrugged. "I'm sick and tired of your program failures. You almost killed him!"
"How is he...?"
"I stabilized him for a moment... but it may change any minute. His heart is failing..."
"I'm so sorry..."
"Sorry?!" she yelled. "Do you have any idea what you've done?! He has three broken ribs, I hardly managed to stop the internal bleeding not to mention serious brain injury! He may end up paralyzed for the rest of his days! That's your wedding gift for him..."
"Joanna..."
"I'm out of here. He needs me. You, Sir, are making me sick. As far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell!"
She was gone before he managed to open his mouth again.

* * *

"Joanna..."
"Yes?" she was busy checking his latest results, she didn't look at him.
"Something... I... can't..."
Before Lafayette finished, the alarms went off. His heart stopped.
"Oh no! Pierre!" Joanna exclaimed, rushing to resuscitate him. "Come on!" she begged him, applying the equipment for cardiac massage. "Don't give up on me now!"
"Charge. Clear," the computer stated dispassionately. No effect.
"Again!" Joanna gave him an adrenaline injection.
"Charge. Clear." Still nothing.
"Again! Again!" Joanna was on the verge of hysteria watching his body arch under the current only to slump back on the bed, no pulse, no life signs, no nothing.
"Again!!!" she screamed.
"Charge. Clear."
She felt such a relief seeing his heart action return that she almost collapsed.
A few minutes later, Lafayette opened his eyes.
"How do you feel?" she leaned closer.
"Tired..." Joanna read from his lips rather than heard it, his breath was so feeble.
"I know, my dearest, I know," she whispered through the tears, tightening her throat. "I almost lost you."
"Jo... anna..."
"Don't say anything," she kissed his hand. "Just rest now. You need to rest. I'll be here, I won't let you go, I promise."
He wanted to say more but his eyelids fluttered and he drifted away.
He woke up two hours later, sweaty and shaking out of weakness. Joanna, who had been sitting at his side all this time, wiped his face gently.
"Welcome back," she whispered with a loving smile.
"Let me... die..."
"What?!" She thought she heard him wrong.
"Please," He made a huge effort and managed to turn his head a notch in her direction.
His lips were blue and his skin still almost white but, according to the readings, his circulation was slowly getting back to normal.
"Don't even think about it," Joanna said, tenderly stroking his hair.
"I'm so... tired..."
"It will pass, my darling, I promise you. Just fight it for a while longer, don't give up."
"It'll be... better...everyone..."
"Shh... " Joanna took a syringe from the table to inject him. "It's nonsense," she told him, pressing it against his neck. "Everyone loves you, we want you to be with us as long as you can."
"Let me... go..." he begged one more time before the sedative worked and he passed out, just in time not to see the tears that started running down Joanna's face.

* * *

"Tanya, help me, please! You know I wouldn't do anything like that!"
"I'm sorry, Captain. It looks like you did. Your controls are fine, your emotional levels are normal... nothing indicates any software error."
It was true. After five hours of checking his circuits one by one, Lieutenant Tanya Bailey had found no indication of any malfunction whatsoever.
"But I have no recollection of what happened?!" insisted Pierre.
"You do. You're just blocking it. I can remove the blockade but it will take some time. Looks like you overcame your firewalls to do what you wanted to..."
"That's not what happened! I didn't want to hurt anybody!"
"You did something like this once, when you broke into my mind."
"But I remembered it! It was different."
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can help you, Captain. I didn't report that incident then, but I'll have to do it now. I'm afraid you're facing court martial, Sir."
Tanya took some samples for Joanna to check, just in case. Pierre, as an android or, technically, a cyborg, had organic parts as well. Schizophrenia was what came to mind first. Also one of the few diseases that humanity still struggled with in the 25th century. Even though Pierre's brain was positronic for the most part, the possibility of his human side taking over also existed. Court martial, however, looked like a far more probable outcome than a mental facility at that point.

* * *
Joanna couldn't believe it when she showed Tanya the results of her tests.
"So, you're saying that, in effect, we're responsible for what happened? We designed the anti-bots together..."
"Joanna, we couldn't have predicted anything like that! Cyborg technology is highly adaptive but we made sure..."
It happened before the recent malfunction of the androids. During one of its first missions, the Atlantis stumbled upon the remnants of Cyborg technology. The Cyborgs were an artificially engineered species from another galaxy. Actually, their origins had never been discovered.
The fact remained that they attacked the Human Alliance over a hundred years before, taking thousands of humanoids prisoners and turning them into mindless drones. This was the reason why the Alliance considered the TCS program in the first place.
It turned out, however, that androids were not immune to the alien nano-technology. Pierre was the first one infected and, if it hadn't been for Tanya and Joanna's combined efforts, the whole crew of the Atlantis could have easily fallen victim of the Cyborgs, a century later becoming their new nestle.
They were sure they had eliminated this threat once and for all, until they received the report from the Fleet Headquarters about similar attacks from two other androids. Incidentally, these other two were Jeff IV and Victor V, the only ones with whom Pierre had had direct contact since the accident.
"Still, the reports say they had used some basic impulses..." Joanna wasn't convinced. "Each of the androids only attacked those they didn't like or didn't get on with very well. Pierre's always been jealous of Lafayette."
"I'm probably the last person who has the right to say this but... you did give him reasons, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I guess I did. He could never understand how I felt.... But it doesn't matter now. I'm going to divorce him, anyway. Cyborg or otherwise..."

* * *

"But... If I don't agree to a divorce, she will have to attend the counseling?" Pierre wanted to make sure.
"Yes." Counselor Aleyah Purr confirmed with a heavy heart. She had known Pierre and Joanna ever since they met and nobody on the Atlantis realized better than she did, how rough their relationship had been from the start. She had already intervened when, after Pierre's artificially designed romance with Tanya was revealed, Joanna demanded a divorce.
"Then I'm requesting official counseling. You're the only one who can help me here."
"There were times when you weren't so sure about my abilities..."
"Allie..." It didn't take a psychologist to see that he was desperate.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Look, if anyone can convince her, it's you."
"I'll try but I can't guarantee..."
"I know." He nodded. " I just want you to explain to her that I'm not a monster she believes me to be... if she wants to leave anyway, I won't stop her."
"We'll need an engineer to point out a few things."
"Sure. Get any experts you want. Just one request..."
"Yes?"
"This time, really, no talking about my... alleged plans or anything like that. I want to be fair, no emotional blackmailing. She should know how I feel about her by now..."
Aleyah had no choice, she had to agree to his terms even though she had a pretty good idea about his feelings herself. She had no doubt that, if Joanna really goes through with the divorce this time, Pierre will end his existence the first chance he gets. How she wished these two could finally stop hurting each other so badly…

* * *

"This is a dilemma that dozens of races had been facing for generations," the counselor explained patiently. "Mothers killing their own babies, spouses turning against each other..."
"But... the reports say that they used previous animosities to trigger these strikes."
"That's right. This time the Cyborgs are working differently. But then, had it been you, you could have killed Pierre over a minor disagreement about... I don't know, what to have for dinner? It didn't have to take that much."
"No."
"Joanna, you must have learned some history at the Academy?"
"I did. But he always hated Lafayette. He never understood him, never wanted to."
"Joanna, I'm begging you..." Pierre's voice trembled. "If you're looking for an excuse to... to be with him, after all... don't. You know I'll let you go. If that's what you want, you'll have your divorce. But please, not like this... I... I had no control over what I was doing, I'd never do anything like that!"
"Do I have to go through this?" Joanna never even looked in his direction, her eyes focused on Aleyah through his entire speech.
"All these years we've been together... Don't they mean anything to you?" Pierre tried one last time.
"After what you've done?" She glanced somewhere over his shoulder. "No, not anymore. Counselor, can I go now, please?" she added in a tired voice.

* * *
Pierre didn't have anyone to turn to. Even though it's been proved that he hadn't attacked Lafayette out of his own free will, Joanna didn't want to change her mind. He was losing her and there was nothing he could do about it.
"But you, Sir, you don't believe that I could have done anything like that, do you?"
"No Pierre, I don't," Lafayette sighed in reply. "It's my research that led to creating you in the first place, I know the basic priorities of your programming... and your personality. I know you never liked me but you're not capable of such violence."
"Thank you..."
"But... that's not what you came to ask of me, is it?" Lafayette knew him too well.
"No Sir, not only that."
"It's about Joanna... am I right?"
"I... I'm not asking that you let her go," Pierre looked at him coyly. "I did it once... but not anymore. I guess, when it comes to her, I have no pride, but enough is enough. If that's what she really wants, so be it... But yes, I have something to ask of you Sir, please, I'm begging you. I told her already, if she insists, I'll let her go. But I want to be sure she's doing it because she loves you more, not because she hates me... try to explain it to her, that's all I ask..."
"Look... I don't want her to be with me anymore than you do, son. Oh, don't get me wrong," he snorted, hearing his own words."It's my greatest dream... But not if I'm like that. Not when I've absolutely nothing to offer her... I'll talk to her..."
"Pierre, can I ask you for a minute?" Joanna's calm voice interrupted them.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She yelled at him the moment the door of her office closed behind them.
"I... I came to make sure he's all right..."
"Bullshit! I heard what you were talking about! I realize you're still the captain of this ship but I do have medical authority over you and I'm telling you: sickbay is out of bounds for you until he's here. Now get the hell..."
An alarm sound interrupted her.
"See?!" she shot, already running to her patient. "Look what you've done again! Get out now!"
When she got to his bed a second later, Joanna realized this was only a blackout caused by fatigue more than anything else. Nothing very serious this time, Lafayette regained consciousness the moment she touched his arm.
"I'm... sorry for being... so much trouble..." he whispered feebly.
Joanna leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Don't even think about it," she told him softly. "You're no trouble at all."
Pierre looked at the two of them on his way out and felt like there was actually no place for him to go anymore. No place in the entire universe. Still, he left the sickbay as she had told him to.

* * *
The diagnosis was final. Lafayette still knew too much about medicine to be able to fool himself. Maybe, after months or, more probably, years of painful rehabilitation, he might walk a few steps on his own. Right now, however, nobody could even guarantee that his heart would endure the effort.
Knowing what he knew, Lafayette was equally opposed to having Samantha take care of him, as he was to letting Joanna do that. He was convinced that a nursing facility was his best option. Apparently, he must have underestimated Sammy. The Irradi were nice, gentle people but notorious for their stubbornness.
"Do you remember how I helped you when you were recovering from your alcoholism?" she asked that afternoon.
"It wasn't easy…" agreed Lafayette, thinking back to those times.
"No, it wasn't," Samantha admitted openly. "But we have made it. How can this be any worse?"
"I'll be…"
"I know," she didn't let him finish. "But do you remember what you promised me back then?"
"That… you'll be the boss…" Lafayette couldn't help but smile. "When it comes to my health."
"That's right." Samantha nodded. "Well, isn't this a health issue?"
"Yes, but…"
"But what, honey?" she interrupted him again. "I've always known you to keep your promises."
"Sammy," he tried again but she only shook her head.
"What? You just married me and you already want a divorce? Because of some stupid accident? Oh no, my dear," she winked at him. "You won't get away that easily!"
"Sam…"
"What?!"
"I don't know… what to say…"
"Don't say anything, Pierre," she told him more seriously now, seeing his eyes full of tears. "I hate it when you become melodramatic."

* * *

"She'd been there with me," Lafayette explained to Joanna later that day. "And it wasn't pretty. I'd pee in my pants, throw up all over the room and then yell at her when she was cleaning up…" he sighed. "I think I might even hit her once or twice… I'm not sure and she never wanted to admit it but… You see, she… she knows me for what I really am."
"I'm happy for you, Pierre," Joanna told him and he knew it was true. He also knew that it didn't make her change her mind about her own divorce and it pained him to no end.

* * *

A few days later, the Atlantis took off. Joanna was going through her things she had taken from Pierre's quarters when she moved out. Divorce or not, she still had to serve under his command until her contract with the Fleet expired. Five months.
While she was sorting out her personal belongings, her eyes fell on a magnellian crystal Pierre had given her for their first anniversary. It had the same glow as her husband's eyes…
* * *

Pierre was sitting at his desk, with a virtual image in his hand. It was the recording of his wedding. He was so immersed in the memory, he never noticed Joanna enter the room. She startled him by putting her hand on his shoulder.
When he turned around, she saw his face was all wet with tears.
"What do you want?" he asked quietly.
She took the image from his hands and turned the sound up to listen to the song he had sung for her that day.
"She may be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
That I'll remember till the day I die..."
"Switch it off, please," he asked softly, turning his back on her and wiping his cheeks discreetly. When she deactivated the image, Pierre reached into his drawer and handed her an electronic notepad over his shoulder.
"What is it?" she asked, taking it.
"Our divorce agreement." His voice was quiet but calm.
"Pierre..." she hesitated. "Can we talk?"
He chuckled sadly then, after a pause, he said: "Yeah, we can talk. Please..." he waved his hand towards the sofa.
Joanna sat down, still with the pad in her hand. When she didn't say anything, he remarked, almost casually.
"So, you've had a change of heart, huh?"
Joanna looked at him, unsure what to say.
"He turned you down?" It wasn't so much a question, more of  a statement.
"No Pierre, I..."
"What?"  he didn't let her finish.
"Can you... forgive me?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"Forgive you?" he paused. "Yeah, I can forgive you. But... I'd rather you signed this agreement anyway," he finished quietly.
"Pierre...?"
"What?" he turned to look at her for the first time since she came. "Surprised?"
"I... I thought..."
"That I'll just welcome you back with my arms wide open?" he smiled bitterly. "I'm sorry, Sunshine. I don't think I can... not anymore."
"Why?"
He drew a heavy breath before forcing himself to reply. "You really don't understand, do you? I just... I don't want to go through all this anymore. I'm sorry. I..." he hesitated. "I guess I just love you too much. I can't be sure you won't do this again."
"I won't..."
"Won't you, really?" Pierre swiveled his chair to face her. "Can you, for example, tell me what happens if Sam decides one day that she'd had enough and Lafayette is left alone? Will you stay with me? Or will you run away to take care of him?"
"She loves him," Joanna shook her head. "She won't..."
Pierre jumped up from the chair and started pacing the room.
"Oh, so that's it?" His voice trembled. "That's what I'm supposed to build my marriage, my... life upon? On another woman's loyalty to your lover?!"
"He's not..."
"Oh yeah, right!" he snorted. "I forgot. He's just a wannabe. Whatever!"
"Pierre..." she was on the verge of tears.
The sound of her voice made him stop. He sighed heavily and forced himself back under control. "I'm sorry," he said finally, sitting heavily beside her. "It's just... difficult for me.
"Pierre, please," Joanna whispered. She moved closer to him, looking pleadingly into his eyes, and put her hand on his thigh. It wasn't a particularly erotic gesture, rather just tender. After all, they were still husband and wife. But the warmth of her body was enough to make Pierre's breathing harder.
"Don't play this game with me," he asked softly.
"I'm not playing games," Joanna shook her head but moved away. "You can look into my mind and see that's what I really want..."
Pierre chuckled. "Here we go again, huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"You see, Sunshine," he began explaining again. "From the very beginning, our relationship had always been about what you want, what you need... Tell me," he added, looking straight into her eyes. "Did you even once, for a moment, consider what it is that I might need?"
It was a good shot. Joanna drew a deep breath and sat there for a while before she replied quietly.
"You're right. I guess I've always taken your love for granted. You've always been there for me and... all right," she said, returning his look. "Why don't you tell me what you need now?"
"What I need? How about a wife that I could trust? A wife who won't run away shouting 'divorce' the next time something goes wrong? I need you, Joanna. I need you more than anything else in my life. But I need to be able to depend on you. I need to know that you'll be by my side no matter what. I need to rely on you..."
"I understand," she nodded. "Will you... can you trust me this one last time? If I promise it won't happen again? I tried to leave you, I really did. But I realized that I can't... I don't want to be without you. Can you believe me?"
Pierre didn't reply immediately. He just stared at her for a long while before he delivered his final blow. "What if I ask that you don't see him ever again? Will you agree?"
He saw the look of hurt surprise on her face and his heart sunk. But he had to know. He realized that, for the first time in his life, he was actually scared of what he may hear. But he had to hear it.
Joanna fought the tears gathering up in her eyes. Finally, she blinked them away and said in a voice that was more of a whisper. "If that's what it takes... if this is your ultimatum... yes, I will agree. I won't see him again..."

 

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Part 13 Wedding

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