I'm Glad You Came

Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 3rd December 2005

Characters: U'kaiah, Traelyn
Description: U'kaiah and Trae steal a quiet moment together
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 28 of Turn 3

They had managed to retreat from the dancing hall fairly discreetly, or so Traelyn hoped as she and U'kaiah wound their way through the corridors up to her weyr. They would only stay there briefly, for she had a duty to be down with the harpers this evening - and not only did she have a duty to them, but to her Weyrleader as well.

She turned her head, smiling at him as she led him into her weyr. "I'm finally unpacked," she told him, heading towards her sofa, grabbing two wineglasses as they passed the small table. He _had_ said he'd brought N'klar's wine... "It took a while, but I did it."

"It's bigger than your last weyr," U'kaiah replied with an appreciative nod as he opened the bottle of wine he had brought. "How do you like having so much space to yourself?"

She held out the glasses to him. "It's nice..." And Trae really did have it all to herself. It was a little lonely, in a way, but she certainly wasn't going to tell _him_ that...

He filled her glass and poured one for himself before settling down onto the couch beside her. "And how is your Weyrleader?"

Her hesitation was slight, and she took a sip to try and cover it. "I think we work well together. He and I've only gotten into a few...disagreements." **And not only about the business of the Weyr.** She gave him a smile. "But nothing that a good cup of klah and a conversation couldn't fix."

"Good," he nodded. "And the Weyrfolk? Have you been getting along with them?"

"Most of them. Not all." Her eyes darkened slightly at the thought of that infuriating brownrider. "But that's to be expected," she shrugged a resigned shoulder as she offered him a half-grin. "How I came to be here will rest on my reputation - and my name - for a long time, U'kaiah."

"Shards, Trae, but I should of told you," U'kaiah sighed, unconsciously reaching for her hand. He could not forget that he had a part in her being at the wrong Weyr at the wrong time. "Someday soon, when you have proven to them all what a wonderful Weyrwoman you can be, I think it won't hurt so bad."

Her fingers tightened around his, and she looked down. "I don't think I'll be _wonderful_...but I do hope that I'll be a good one. J'darin expects it of me. And I... I expect it of myself."

"You will be, Trae," the bronzer said reassuringly as he leaned his head down to touch hers. "Now why don't you tell me how things _really_ are."

Her eyes closed. Why was it that he could sharding see right through her?
"I told you, U'kaiah... I'm doing fine," she murmured quietly.

U'kaiah sighed and leaned back into the cushions. He sipped at his glass thoughtfully for a moment. Though they had only known each other only a matter of months really, he had come to know her well enough to know when she was avoiding the truth. Usually when she avoided the truth it was because the truth hurt. He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her. "All right, Trae."

She knew he didn't believe her. But Traelyn was glad that he didn't push.
Now was not the time to be dwelling on certain things. "And you?" she asked after a moment, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Well, there is _one_ thing..." From the moment he saw Trae it had been hard not to just blurt it out, to share with her just how happy he's been the last couple sevendays. Shards, he wanted to just scream it to the sky! But he almost felt wrong now in telling her, now that he knew that things had been hard for her. But he would never have kept something like this from her. She was the _first_ person he had wanted to tell... "Um...
Jaela and I have... been seeing seeing a lot of each other recently."

She tilted her head back to look at his face, her expression curious. "Really?"

A hint of a smile played at his lips. "Yes, really. It's something that... well, it's something that we've both wanted for a while."

Trae smiled at him. "So the hints of whispers I got wind of back at Dragonsfall were true then, huh?" She leaned her head back down and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder lightly. "She makes you happy?"

"So happy, Trae." He could not hide his smile anymore as he thought of the moments he and Jaela had shared. "I'd always respected her as a Weyrwoman, but every since I became a Wingleader I've gotten to know her as a _woman_ and... shards Trae it's almost frightening the way she can make me feel."

Again, she rubbed her cheek against him, her smile fading somewhat as an emotion she'd never felt before began to knaw at her. Her eyes closed, her face concealed by her hair as she tried to understand just _what_ it was that she was feeling. Jealousy? Surely not! How could she want to deny her friend the happiness he'd sought? Even if it was Jaela... Was that the reason? Trae bit the inside of her lip, astonished at herself for even _thinking_ like this. Or was it because she had no man of her own to make her feel the way U'kaiah felt? Faces flashed before her eyes, and she squeezed them shut tightly, trying to ward off all feelings of frustration.

She smiled for him, shoving back those sharding, confusing emotions. It was important to her for him to be happy. It was. "I'm glad, U'kaiah,"
she whispered softly.

The bronzerider's smile faded slightly. U'kaiah could not see her face, but he could hear something in her voice. Setting down his glass, he turned to pull her closer. He shouldn't have told her. He shouldn't have rubbed in the fact that he had been so happy, and she had not. "I'm sorry, love. I wish you could be happy too."

She shook her head as she brushed her cheek lightly against his chest. "To know that you've found what you've been looking for makes me happy, U'kaiah." He had to believe her, because it was true.

He shook his head as he ran his fingers through her long blonde hair. "I mean, I wish you could be happy _here_."

A half-smile curved her lips at that. "Happiness'll come in time for me, U'kaiah. Well, the kind of happiness you're talking about anyway."

"Yes, Trae. You will be happy. I know you will." He kissed the top of her head softly. "And I would be so happy if the next time I see you, you have a bit more meat on your bones." His fingers lightly tickled at her sides.

She frowned slightly. "I have meat on my bones..."

"You know what I mean, Trae." Shards, he had never seen anyone lose so much weight in just a few sevendays unless they were seriously ill. "You haven't been eating much, have you."

"When I'm stressed, I lose weight, U'kaiah. I've always been like this, even as a girl. But things are starting to slowly settle...and I'm finding that I have more of an appetite now..."

"Listen, love, I don't care if you don't want to eat, I just want you to do it." He squeezed her tighter to reassure her that he wasn't angry, just concerned.

**But I _am_...** She bit back a reply. It wouldn't do to argue with him. He was right, and so was Dantial, and J'darin. **For the good of the Weyr...** "I am doing better though," she told him softly, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I just worry about you is all. All right, I won't say another word about it." **This time at least.**

Traelyn bit her lower lip and looked down to study the wineglass in her hands. The wine really was very good... Sweet - just the way she liked it. A smile whispered across her lips. N'klar truly did have the best taste in wines. She remembered sneaking into his weyr and nabbing a couple bottles - one of them she'd taken so she could share it with N'vanik. The smile faded.

Shards and shells. That arrogant prick.

She didn't know _why_ what he'd said to her still sharding bothered her.
It had been nearly a month ago since then...

Not even knowing _why_ the words slipped out of her, she asked him quietly, "How is...how's N'vanik?"

"All right," he shrugged. "Pretty much the same."

Trae nodded, falling silent. She didn't want to sharding think about him right now. Moving closer to her friend, she whispered softly, "I'm glad you came, U'kaiah."

"Me too, love." He kissed the top of her head fondly, almost wishing that he didn't have to return to his own Weyr.

Last updated on the December 3rd 2005

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I'm Glad You Came