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GEARY WAS LAUGHING WITH TEDDY AND SCOTT WHEN she caught a shadow out of the corner of her eye Thinking it was Kat come to join them, Geary turned her head to welco in the doorway-just as she&039;d iined him earlier that day A chill of deja vu washed over her as her huht eyes as he watched her

The predatory gleam All he had to do was extend his hand toward her and it would be her dreaain

Was all of this a preht Geary&039;s distraction and turned to look Like Geary, she went mute, and as the rest of the crew noted the wohter and good cheer turned into a rigid and questioning silence

Geary cleared her throat as she approached Arik, who didn&039;t seem to be the least bit concerned or disturbed by their silence "What are you doing here?" she asked in an emotionless tone

Oblivious to the tenseness of the others, he shrugged "I kno much this means to all of you, so I wanted to join in your celebration that is, if you don&039;t mind"

That seemed to soothe everyone in the roo Arik a plastic cup of Cristal-yeah, it was a cheap way to serve the best, but they&039;d been saving the chane for this particular event Geary had two more bottles stashed for when they found hard-core proof of Atlantis&039;s location Then the real celebration would begin

This was, Geary hoped, just the war except the divers and Tory

The tea closer to her, Tory touched her gently on the arm "Are you okay?"

"I&039;m fine," she said with a fake smile before she made her way from Tory to Arik

Scott clanked a cup with Arik&039;s "Man, we can&039;t thank you enough for getting those permits You really have no idea what this means to all of us"

Arik inclined his head before he took a drink of chaasped and sputtered, then i

Scott pounded Arik on the back as Geary took the cup fro, Arik nodded "I wasn&039;t expecting it to be so"-he curled his lips-"so strange tasting"

"Strange?" Teddy asked, gulping his "This is the best shit to be had"

Geary remembered what Solin had said about Arik&039;s sequestered upbringing "Have you ever had chaaped "Get out Where you been living, under a rock?"

Arik cleared his throat "Not exactly But close"

Geary set his cup aside "Arik was raised in the Greek countryside, away from civilization"

Scott shuddered "Man, that sucks I went up there once a couple of years ago and it was enough to convince , if you knohat I mean And since you&039;re froed a horrified look before Geary pulled Arik out of the room so that she could speak to him alone Not that they had much privacy in the hallway, but at least they weren&039;t in direct line of sight and hearing of the others

She crossed her arlare on hi with Solin"

Arik looked less than apologetic In fact, he was actually charrin "I don&039;t want to be with Solin I want to be with you, especially while you&039;re happy"

On the one hand that was flattering, but on the other itstalked by hiranted most of her discomfort was caused by the fact that she&039;d seen him in her dreams these last few months That wasn&039;t his fault, but still "Thank you, and while I can appreciate that, I don&039;t like clingy men I&039;ve always needed my personal space, okay? I mean, really, I barely know you"

Arik nodded as a fierce pain settled in his chest fro and made him literally ache What was this sensation? He&039;d never felt anything like it before Strange e in his throat to choke him It was a physical pain and yet there was no physical reason for it He didn&039;t understand

"Please, Megeara Don&039;t be angry at me I don&039;t have a lot of time left and I don&039;t want-"

Geary cocked her head at his offhand comment "What do you mean you don&039;t have a lot of ti slip he hadn&039;t et I said anything" He started past her

Geary gently pulled at his arm to stop his retreat "Wait a sec Go back to the &039;lot of ti to go back to the e as on co about his de back to Solin&039;s or your house?"

He shook his head

"Then what exactly did you uish there actually made her heart ache for him "I don&039;t have a lot of ti to have to leave it soon very soon"

In the back of herhih her a lot more than it should She&039;d lost so ht of his dying so young tore her apart "Are you telling ?"

Arik hesitated He didn&039;t want to lie to her, but in a way it wasn&039;t a lie He would cease to exist as a huain be here

Ultiiven an expiration date"

Geary covered her mouth with her hand as a wave of pity washed over her He looked so healthy and pri? It didn&039;t h "Yeah I couldn&039;t be more positive"

"Oh, Arik, I&039;lad I have any time here at all"

Those words touched her deeply That he could look at the positive at a tiry or bitter over the injustice spoke volu told that she only had a finite time to live Hoful it would have to be

"I don&039;t understand why you&039;d help et s to do with your life"

His handsome features softened "I wanted you to have your dream before I left"

She couldn&039;t understand his altruism People just weren&039;t that kind "Why?"

He reached out and cupped her face in his warm hand "You live your life like it&039;s a rare treasure to be savored You take pleasure froranted I saw the joy on your face and the life in your eyes when you cradled the per lovelier I actually thought you would cry just fro theeara, but you you feel on a level that I can&039;t even iine and for a little while I wanted to feel that, too"

And she felt like crying now at the thought of this gentle, consideratedo you have?"

Grief tainted the luster of his eyes "Teeks"

"Teeks?" she repeated, her chest tightening eventhe sincerity in his gaze The , or at least he believed it

"Well, otten a second opinion?"

"I don&039;t need one," he said with a bitter laugh "You can trust me on thus In teeks, I won&039;t be here, at least not with a human body"

And he had come to help her in his last days

"Oh, Arik," she breathed before pulling hi him "I&039;m so sorry"