Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Too Hot to Handle [Mature] [Complete]

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I'd say my father's going to hate you to start, and you're going to hate Berkeley for life," Liv said as she rose herself, keeping the blankets around herself as she sat facing him. She was smiling at him, and there was no hesitation or doubt about whether she wanted him to come. She leaned forward and kissed him, grinning a little. "Now, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want an answer, not another question. Will you leave with me?"

[Forge]

"Can't, and before ya jump to some irrational conclusion," he said, seeing her emotions go haywire, "Have to stay to finish the school. It's the last building and NG has arranged a big PR thing with the military...'Road to Prosperity' or some shit like that." he finished, miming air quotes.

"There is 'bout another two weeks of work, think you can manage to be away from this that long?" He said, gesturing up and down his body.

He didn't realize it, but he had answered with another question, their eternal competition having bled over into the subconscious.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Don't you think you'll have a harder time going without this?" Liv asked straightening and casting the blankets around her off her shoulders. She gave him a coy smile, her hands brushing over her body lightly. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine. You're the one who's going to be going into Liv withdrawals."

Was she really joking about changing the course of her life for someone she'd known two weeks, and abhorred for one of those weeks? But there was more to someone than first impressions, or a bristly outlook, or even good sex. Liv sensed something in Vinny, something that promised loyalty, duty and love to those he found worthy of all those. It was something that could noble, if it found the right ground to grow in.

It could have been bullshit. She wouldn't be the first woman to read something in a man that wasn't there. It didn't matter whether it was true; it was what she thought, and that was all that mattered.

[Forge]

"Well, better get my fill before you leave then." He said, swinging his feet underneath him as he moved over to her, that fiery look in his eye that said he would.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv grinned and met him, and got her fill of him, or at least some more of him. After they'd worn themselves out again, Liv had a thought and chuckled. Vinny looked at her, knowing that she had something mischievous planned, just from the sparkle in her eyes. "No arguing about Liv withdrawals?" she murmured, kissing him as she curled against him.

He grinned. "I'll be fine, darlin'. though you'll be havin' the shakes by the end of the time."

"And, sure you'll be just dandy," she grinned. "Care to prove it?"

He grinned at the tone of challenge in her voice. "What'd you have in mind?"

"We'll see who lasts the longest before breaking down when we're back together in California," Liv murmured between quick kisses to his face. "But... no cheating while we're apart. No toys for me, no visiting Rosy and her five daughters for you."

He chuckled softly. It was the best kind of bet - one you wanted to win, but couldn't really mind losing either.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The two rose groggily in the morning after just a couple of hours of sleep. They'd finally been unable to stay awake any longer, and it took a while for the alarm to rouse them. They dragged themselves through the shower and back into clothes before trudging toward the site.

Liv had resolved that she wasn't going to break down and cry or anything like that. But it was easier to decide to do such things than it actually was to do them, and her hand held his tightly as they walked.

[Forge]

The heat of the day was already promising to be blistering and unforgiving as the young couple's clothes were soon moist. It wasn't long before they were at the van, Abbas waiting patiently for everyone to load their luggage and get inside. He saw them approaching, and after a soul-piercing glare, he turned back towards the small trailers and crossed his arms.

Vinny stopped and turned Liv towards him, unshed tears already glistening in her eyes, "Two weeks darlin', won't be nothin' before we're back to bitchin' and moanin'." he said, trying to keep his voice level.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Yeah, I know," she said, hating that today of all days she seemed plagued with such strong emotions. "Just a few days, really."

Suddenly, she brightened and turned from him, scrambling to get to her suitcase. She grinned when she dug out the small disposable camera and saw it had four shots left. "You're going to have to tolerate this," she warned him, priming the camera and holding it up. He barely grumbled at her, making her smile all the wider as she got a couple of just him.

"Abbas," she said, turning to the liaison, "I know you're mad, but would you-" The native Kuwaiti turned to glare at her and Liv frowned. "Please?"

With a sigh, he took it from her and let her join Vinny. The first shot was just side-by-side, her happily leaning against him. For the next one, she glanced up at him and tapped her cheek. "Right there, buddy," she smirked - a smirk that softened to a goofy smile when he pressed his lips to her cheek until Abbas snapped the shot.

"Thank you," she said to the liaison when she retrieved the camera and re-packed it, earning a snort from him.

But despite that non-verbal remark, Abbas' expression was less stony as he said, "We leave in a couple of minutes."

"Ok," Liv said, nodding. She turned back to Vinny, taking another hug from him. She held him tightly, thinking about the long two weeks ahead, about two long plane flights and just how much could happen.

Olivia had been raised in love, hearing about her parents falling in love at first sight, about how she was their living mark of love. She'd been taught it, feed it, nourished by it. All her life, she'd known that she was loved; even when Bill had left, she'd known that part of it was for love of her. At this point in her life, Olivia gave love as freely as she breathed - love for perfect strangers and people who had touched her alike. So none of her friends or family would have been surprised that she stood on her toes and whispered to Vinny, "I love you... don't forget that, ok? If you forget everything else, remember that I love you."

[Forge]

Vinny was a little shocked that she dropped the 'L' word, but it just cemented his decision to leave and take the gamble on her.

"I...I love you too darlin' and I will. Please stay safe." he replied as he leaned down to kiss her goodbye.

During the extended kiss, the rest of the volunteers filed out and threw their bags in the van, mostly ignoring the two as they climbed in.

"Olivia, it is time." Abbas said, "You do not want to miss your plane."

"Go on Granola, giddy up." Vinny said, slapping her ass.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

One last kiss, and then she was out of time. Liv climbed into the van, watching him through the window. Her small hand pressed to the glass as Abbas started the van and pulled away; the last time she saw him, he was standing alone in the early morning, watching her leave.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It took thirty-five hours to get home, and her stay-over in London was the only reason she survived. The flight was draining, and Liv could only assume that the emotional stress of parting from Vinny as well as her own physical exhaustion were the cause. Whatever the reason, she didn't even get to hit the pool; she was so tired she just slept.

When she got home and was picked up by her family, she went back to sleep for several more hours. That remained her status for most of the two weeks; she kept herself busy, but some part of her was aware that she was a little more worn out than she probably should be. She simply got more sleep, in between finding an apartment for them and looking for part-time work so that she could pay the bills until he found a job. To her delight, her father arranged for Vinny to get an interview at the University in Construction Services. It wasn't a guaranteed job, but it was a promising start.

Given how busy she was, the two weeks flew by. When she got the call from him a day and a half before he was due, she was able to tell him that they had a place to live and to give him the address in case his plane was early or late.

The day he was supposed to arrive, Liv realized what was wrong with her. "Not possible," she mumbled, heading toward the computer. The antibiotics thing was a myth - she'd been told so by her regular doctor. But a quick bit of research at the library confirmed that some antibiotics did interfere with birth control.

"Oh, fuck me," she whispered, before getting a test. She'd just gotten the positive result when Vinny called from his layover in Seattle. His plane was delayed by a freak snowstorm in Vancouver and he'd probably be late. He caught her odd tone and asked what was wrong. The only thing she could tell him was she had some big news, but he had to wait until he was here to hear it. This wasn't the kind of thing you told someone on the phone.

"I'll see you soon," she promised, coiling her telephone cord around her finger. "I've missed you, Vinny."

[Forge]

Vinny spent the last two weeks of the build, cracking the whip like an Egyptian slave driver. He worked long hours, pushing himself to the point of exhaustion mostly to keep his side of the bargain up.

The day the Air Force General arrived to tour the newly completed structures proved to be a fateful time. The press had arranged for the children to have started school, if only for show and photo opportunities. Just as the General was about to enter the building behind his retinue a small tremor shook the village that was later attributed to the bad earthquake in May.

The building, having not been designed to handle much seismic movement, quickly started to fall in on itself, the roof collapsing along with its southern wall, blocking any reasonable chance for escape.

Vinny, as the contractor for the build, had been there to babysit the entourage through the village and entered, much like a tour guide, ahead of the retinue. Having dived under the wooden tables, grabbing kids as he went, he waited out the short quake, nearly getting pounded by the south wall as it collapsed. The wall took one of the Airmen with it, but fortunately no one else.

As the dust cloud mostly settled, Vinny crawled back out and quickly determined the rest of the building was on the edge of imploding, and likely going to take the rest of them with it.

Thinking and working as fast as he could among the throng of panicked people, he quickly started bracing the walls with the tables, placing them strategically around the outside of the one-room school in an effort to keep them up while hopefully they were being dug out.

Feeling satisfied that, barring another shake, they were temporarily safe, he started barking orders in Arabic, having the adults start to move collapsed blocks as he pointed to them. The surviving Airmen quickly forming a chain to stack what blocks were useable to further brace the sagging walls.

Within half an hour, a small exit had been braced up and the children were quickly funnelled out, followed by the adults and then Vinny.

Not suppose to be inside when it fuckin' explodes. People go on the outside.

"Congratulations young man!" The General said, walking up to Vinny as he sat back on a crate pouring water over his powdered face. "Major Ruskin told me what you did in there, we could use men like you in the service ya know."

"Thanks, but I'm already full of shit." Vinny replied walking off.

Fuckin' time to go, had it with this shithole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Missed you too darlin'. My world has collapsed since you been gone." Vinny said, grinning to himself as he tossed the small piece of cinderblock in the air. "Can't wait to build our new life together."

Fuckin' priceless.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Way ahead of you on the 'building life' part, honey, Liv thought with a laugh that was somewhere between frightened and giddy. She'd wanted this, she just wasn't sure she wanted it now.

Mom wasn't ready for you, either, Liv reminded herself, and felt better. If her parents, who had had to deal with a messy divorce on top of a surprise pregnancy, could do this, so could she and Vinny. "Me, either," she said with a near purr. "I think you're going to like the apartment - only one bedroom, but bigger than the last place we shared." Shit, we might need to get a bigger place. Wonder if the landlord would let us shift our lease to a two-room lease?

There was so much to plan and prepare for, and Liv heard her voice catch as she added, "I want you here already."

[Forge]

"Not too much longer now, they are saying the weather should clear up within two days. I hope fuckin' sooner, SeaTac is a shithole airport." he said.

Vinny shifted around in place at the dock of payphones, staring at the arrival/departure board, willing his 'Cancelled' to change back to 'On Time'.

"Before you know it darlin' I'll be stripping you down in our new place."

Our place, how fuckin' odd is that ass-tard?

"We gotta lay claim to the base of operations, yeah?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Yes, we do," Liv grinned. "That's why I convinced my family to stay away for a few days. Everyone wants to meet you." You're lucky my parents are anti-gun, else my dad might meet you with a shotgun... and me in a white dress.

"Stripping me down, huh?" she asked, grinning. "Does that mean you're willing to concede victory to me already?" She knew he wasn't, but she had to tease him about it.

The desire to blurt her news burned on her tongue, but she restrained herself. He should hear it from her directly. But the waiting was killing her.

[Forge]

"Ha! Darlin' I've lived with blue balls this fuckin' long, I ain't givin' in now." he said before covering the receiver.

Through the muffled phone, could be heard, "Fuckin' take a picture lady, it'll last longer."

The phone returned to normal once more. "Damn weirdos up here, fuckin' tellin' ya...anyways where were we? Right, you were about to say that you couldn't last and I've won a special prize."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

No fair, my hormones are working against me. Liv chuckled at the thought that people were finding Vinny odd enough to stare. "What's the matter, is my painted man drawing a few looks from repressed yokels?" She tried to imagine what kind of woman was staring at her guy.

Her stomach roiled suddenly, and Liv's good humor rolled away. Fucking morning sickness. She struggled to put the humor back in her voice. "And don't worry about the prize or winning - I'm going to win, even if your balls turn purple and start to fall off."

[Forge]

"Fail to see how winning involves me losing my nards darlin', sounds kinda kinky, but then again, you like kinky shit don't ya?" he said, pushing his voice deeper.

This fuckin' conversation will not help.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Only the fun kink," she said, swallowing hard against her stomach's desire to empty itself - nevermind that it was already pretty empty. Is it supposed to be this bad this early? "You know how much I like your nards, right where they are. Though if you're too stubborn to concede, that's hardly my fault, is it?"

She went to the kitchen and got some water, hoping it would settle her stomach.

[Forge]

"You ok? Sounds like you're 'bout ready to puke." he asked.

The sound of nigh-heaving was very familiar to the binge drinker and he could recognize the sound of chewing it back even across a staticky payphone connection.

What the fuck is she doin' gettin' drunk?

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Mmm, been feeling bad today," Liv said without artifice. It was true, too; she didn't add that it had been like this yesterday, too. "Stomach's unhappy. I'll try to be better by the time you get here - don't want you to think you're going to win by default." She took another sip of water and cheerfully added, "Because you're not."

[Forge]

"If ya feel like shit, ya feel like shit, no need to press the issue." he said, concerned. "Why don't you get some rest, I need to stake out sleeping turf and find some grub."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

She didn't want to get off the phone, but he was right - sleep might not help her aliment, but at least she'd be unconscious through it. "Ok," she said softly. "I want to be ready for you, hot stuff. So I'll nap, and when I wake up, you'll be that much closer to being here. Take care, Vinny. See you soon."

[Forge]

"Bye Granola...love you." he said before hanging up the yokel-encrusted receiver.

"Now to find me something to fuckin' eat in this god forsaken concrete nightmare they call an airport." Vinny said hefting his carry-on and dropping his headphones back onto his ears as he hit play on his Deuces Wild, B.B. King CD. "If You Love Me" starting to spin up as he weeded his way through the other delayed or cancelled passengers.

Hope she ain't sick, cuz that shit would so not be fuckin' cool.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Lov- Ah, damn it," she sighed as she hung up. It didn't matter, he'd be here soon enough, and then she could tell him. No, nix that, she'd just show him, over and over, in every way she could manage. The thought made her grin softly. At this point, she almost didn't care about winning their bet, she just wanted him here. Almost - she still intended to fight him for it. She wandered to the hand-me-down couch in the living room, her mind already coming ahead to the anticipated arrival of her boyfriend. She lay down and as she drifted off, her mind sleepily contemplating her approaching boyfriend.

Knocking on the door woke her up, and Liv blinked, looking at the clock. Six in the evening; she'd been a sleep for a while. Stretching, she lazily meandered toward the door - until she realized it might be Vinny. An eager smile lit up her face, and she dashed to the door, not checking the peephole. She wished she had when she saw Bill. "What the fuck? How'd you find this place?" she growled.

"One of your co-workers told me. Don't close the door, please," Bill said, spreading his hands. "I come in peace."

"You'll leave in pieces if Vinny finds you here," she snarled. Now I have to bitch out a co-worker. Wonder if he'll say which one...

"Wow, so that was true." Bill jammed his hands in his pockets and looked down. "Congrats. I mean that."

Liv's suspicious frown didn't waver. "No offense, but I'm not sure I believe that."

"Can I come in and sit down?" he asked. "I... I'd rather not do this on your front step."

"Vinny should be here soon, but if you're willing to assume that risk, come on in," she said. He started to sit and she waved him on through to the balcony. "Nope, outside." They'd be less cozy out there, not to mention that the lack of privacy would limit any potentially malicious actions on his part.

He nodded and went out, looking around. "Nice place," he said.

"Thanks. What do you want, Bill?"

He looked at her. "I was a douche," he said softly. "I'm sorry, Liv. I... the heat made me crazy, but that's not an excuse. Ashley told me you'd found someone else, and I realized that I'd fucked up completely at that point. And then I realized I deserved to have you leave me. And I felt that I had to come and tell you that I'd be ok with being friends, maybe some day." He swallowed, and with visible effort, he added, "I hope you guys are happy together."

Liv smiled. She knew Bill; he was being sincere. For the first time since they'd met, he seemed to be trying to change. "Thanks," she said, and leaned forward and hugged him. He was surprised; then his arms circled her tightly and his head dropped on top of hers.

"Bill," Liv said after a moment. "That's friendly enough. And stop smelling my hair."

"Sorry," he said, stepping back, looking awkward. "Habits."

"Right." Liv clearly didn't believe him, not completely.

"I'd better be going," he said. "See you around, right?"

"Yeah," she agreed, showing him out. Alone again, she went back out to the balcony, taking a seat where she could see people approaching the building. She started to read her paperback, but she paused suddenly and put a hand on her stomach. "Daddy will be home soon," she said, trying it on. It fit, somehow, and Liv felt a rush of pure joy. "He'll be here, and then we'll all be together again," she added. It was the first lie she told her unborn child, but it wasn't the last.

[Forge]

Vinny had gotten lucky at SeaTac. He had managed to convince a charter jet pilot to get him out early along with the guy's cargo. It had cost him an outrageous amount of money for the co-pilot's seat, but it was worth it to get to Cali.

Wanting to surprise her, he hadn't called ahead. He had the address, he had figured that a taxi could get him there easy and with minimal headaches.

The cabbie dropped him off at the corner, and quickly unloaded the luggage. Vin pulled out his wallet and pulled a crisp bill out. The hindi took the offered Benjamin with a large grin. "Thanks man! You're awesome!" he said in heavily accented English staring at the bill.

"Fuckin' take your lady someplace nice." Vinny answered as he shut the trunk and picked up his bags. Nothing could ruin his stellar mood right now...nothing.

He pulled out the scrap of paper that held the address of their new place as he scanned around, looking to confirm the address. Finding that he was just around the corner from the building, he hefted his bags and started walking briskly, eager to eat some Granola.

Vinny was looking up at the building that was to be his new home, admiring the height and architecture of the place as he rounded the corner, wondering if there was room on the apartment balconies to perform what was going through his imagination, nevermind the exposure.

Eve 6 - "Think Twice"

"Fuck-Fuzz?" Vinny said, dropping his bags in utter shock, as his heart was torn to minute pieces as he watched them embrace. "Fuckin' two-timing bitch."

His face boiled red as he got angrier and angrier.

Originally Posted By: Liv

"It didn't solve anything. It just caused more pain, and might have gotten you in trouble."

And then he let it out as he started to silently cry. He wouldn't ruin what she wanted. She had made the choice, and had wanted to shove it in his face. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction, his final gift to her would be this one act of non-violence, the one time he restrained himself would be in her honor.

Let her fuckin' choke on it.

Picking up his bags, while blinking away tears he turned around and walked back the way he came to find the cab still there, the driver talking on his radio. Forcing control into his voice, he leaned down on the open passenger window, "Grand get me to Vegas right now?"

"Yes! Of course, it will tak--."

"Then fuckin' drive." Vinny said, tossing his bags into the back and sliding in behind them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Regina Spektor - "Lady" (bad cover)

Two days of binge drinking and losing nearly every penny he had to his name found Vinny getting thrown out into an alley, slightly roughed up and shit-faced.

As he laid there, wallowing in the strip club's trash, a realization came upon him that started with a muted chuckle, that escalated to a drunken guffaw. He realized that he had gambled. And he had lost.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

By midnight, she was worried. She called SeaTac, trying to find out when his flight was leaving. It was still grounded. Disappointed, she went back to sleep, murmuring apologies to the cluster of cells inside her body.

In the morning, when she called, she found it had left. It was due to land soon, and she rushed to get to the Oakland Airport to meet him. Eager and excited, she stood with the other waiting loved ones, searching each disembarking face. As each passenger appeared in the long tunnel, Liv felt her excitement amp another notch, until she was almost vibrating.

And then the flight crew disembarked, and that eager hope twisted into cruel apprehension. Did she miss him? Had he snuck past? She didn't know how. Even if he'd missed her, she couldn't have missed him, given his size. Her throat constricted and she dashed after the flight crew.

"Excuse me," she said, catching one of the stewardess' arms. "I'm sorry, but... did you see my fiance?" Yes, it was a lie, but she might not talk to a girlfriend. As she pulled out one of the few pictures she had, she said, "He was on this flight, big guy, probably grumpy."

The woman looked at the picture, and her expression became sympathetic as she shook her head. "Sorry, hon, I didn't see him." She got her co-worker's attention, but it was the same. They hadn't seen him on the plane.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

She forced Wakiki to fly up to Seattle with her. To be honest, it hadn't taken much effort. Everyone in the family was worried, not for the young man they didn't know, but for their daughter/sister and the wild, desperate look in her eyes.

But that trip was as pointless as the other inquiries. Liv found one person who remembered him being there, but didn't remember what happened to him. She went home empty-handed, but not before she'd filed a missing persons report.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Something happened to him, I know it," Liv said softly. "It's killing me not knowing what."

Her friends looked around the table at her. Sherman shrugged uncomfortably. Bill looked like he wanted to say something, but it was Ashley who finally spoke up. "Liv, they would have found something by now. Hon... he's left."

"No," Liv said, shaking her head. "You didn't know him. You didn't know us."

"You knew him for a week," Ash said, before tipping back her bottle. "Oh, excuse me, two, but you hated him for one of those. Girl, he played you."

"No!" Liv snarled, standing up.

"Baby," Bill said softly, "it's ok, just siddown... we'll drop it, ok?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

She kept faith until the private detective her father had hired came back to her. His proof was unmistakable. He'd trailed Vinny all the way to Oakland, where he'd apparently gotten cold feet before being driven to Vegas. The final damning proof was a blurry black and white photo of Vinny at a strip club in Vegas.

It was a lot of money to pay for a broken heart.

That night, Liv went out with her friends and got wasted. The next morning, she made an appointment at the clinic. She could at least save Baby from the pain of being abandoned. Sherman went with her for moral support; of all of her friends, he was the only that would neither judge nor demand that she stop and think about this. He trusted that she'd do the best thing for herself. He was mostly right.

Liv knew she'd made the right decision, but she wasn't prepared for the hollow feeling after. The fetus had been too small to really sense, beyond its changes in her, but she'd been leaning on its tiny support through this mess. She'd been strong, because it had needed her. Without Baby, she was lost.

Three weeks after Vinny left, threatened with defaulting on her lease, she let Bill move in with her.

Five weeks after Vinny left, she and Bill were dating again.

And nine months almost to the day after Liv left Kuwait, she met Hatchins. She physically survived the encounter, but not without sacrifice: the happy, adventurous girl who had recklessly chosen love was killed. What was left was a quiet, afraid woman who tried her best to forget who she had been. Part of that was forgetting Vinny and Kuwait.

Some things were just too hard for her to handle.