Lee Carter lay awake listening to West snore softly where he lay atop his pile of hay on the other side of the barn. It was almost 0300 hours. Outside, the stillness of the country night was broken only by the comforting trilling of night insects and the wind rustling through the branches of the surrounding chaparral.
Sleep remained elusive, her mind too full of confused thoughts and feelings. West had seemed so trustworthy, at least once you got past the scoundrel's facade he affected. She would have bet her life on that. In fact, she had! and had nearly lost it as a result. But he had betrayed her -- tried to sell her to the very fiends that had kidnapped Sam Beckett, and then tried to cover it up with that ridiculous story about it all being part of some crazy plan.
The betrayal weighed heavily on Carter's mind, made all the more bitter by the fact that she had initially almost admired West. His brashness and courage and almost childlike attitude of indestructibility in the face of the Nausicaans back at the Salty Spittoon had left a definite impression on Carter. Yes, dammit -- she hated to admit it to herself, especially now, but she had liked the man!
But he had betrayed her.
Always her thoughts came back to that heart-rending fact. She could no longer trust West, no matter how often he flashed that confidence-inspiring smile of his or how many confabulations he plied her with.
She had to get away from him.
Quiet as a mouse, careful not to wake the still-snoring West, Carter rose from her haystack and slipped into her jacket, which she'd been using as a blanket. She tip-toed to the barn door and slipped outside. She cast one last look back at West's sleeping form, illuminated by a shaft of moonlight coming through a hole in the roof. A flood of conflicting emotions welled up in her, but she savagely beat them back. Whatever she might feel about the man -- like, dislike, disappointment, respect, admiration, something more..., she knew she'd miss him.
Closing the door as quietly as she could, Carter slipped off into the night.
The morning sun peering over the crest of the hill shone in West's eyes and woke him. He shivered at the crisp morning air. Rising from his hay bed with a loud groan he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stretched like a cat, then walked over to where Carter had made her bed, intending to wake her. Her haystack was empty though, barely looking slept in.
Frowning, West looked around the small barn, then went outside and circumnavigated the entire building looking in vain for the headstrong Starfleet officer. A short walk to the nearby well yielded identical results. The worry lines on his forehead became more pronounced as it quickly became inescapably obvious she was nowhere in the vicinity.
"Oh Commander Carter," he pronounced softly to the air. "You've really gone and done it now..."
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