The young Lt Commander walked hesitantly into the intensive care room. This was foreign territory for him. He had risen quickly thru the ranks with Starfleet because of his ability to handle new situations and challenges. He was a natural leader and all of his superiors had recognized this very early in his career. But he was very uncomfortable in this situation. Nothing in his training had prepared him for this.

He looked at the figure lying on the bed and slowed his steps even further. He was expecting to see a sick man but he did not even recognize the figure lying on the bed that was surrounded by medical equipment, Equipment that monitored the signs of life and tubes that helped to maintain that life. The man lying there was pale with sunken eyes and cheeks. The hands that were lying on the top of the covers were skeleton thin and the blue veins that snaked down the hands and upper arms were the only color that he could see. His hair was brittle and almost completely white. His torso and upper arms were covered with a thin cotton gown that made him look smaller and thinner than he really was.

He drew in a breath in shock and surprise. He was expecting to be shocked but he wasn’t prepared for what he was seeing. His face drained of it usual healthy color and his green eyes filled with tears. He walked over to the figure on the bed.

“Dad?” He whispered

There was no answer and no sign that the man had even heard him. He moved closer and took the man’s hand, bent down and whispered again.

“Dad?”

The man opened his eyes and looked at his son. A small weak smile crossed his face as he looked up at him. He took in the blue Starfleet uniform and the pips that indicated the rank. His smile became a little bigger as he beamed with pride at the young man.

“Jonathan, you’re here!”

“Of course I am, Dad.”

He had been at Jupiter station when they notified him that his father was gravely ill. He had last seen his father a year ago. He knew that he had not been in the best of health but he dismissed the idea that this strong man who was his father could ever be ill. He kept in contact with his father frequently but his duties at Jupiter station had kept him busy and away from earth since then. He had assumed that his father was busy with his work also when he failed to hear from him as frequently as he usually did.

He had gotten the call 2 days ago that his father was in the hospital and not expected to live. He had turned over his duties and had gotten the first shuttle off the station. He moved a chair over close to the bed and sat down with his father’s hand still in his.

“How are you doing, Dad?” He asked quietly. “I wish you had called me earlier. I would have come.”

His father smiled slightly. “Nothing you could have done here, Jonathan and I know how important your work is.”

Jon shook his head in denial. “Not more important than you are.”

They sat for a moment in silence. Henry Archer closed his eyes and leaned back against the pillow. It was ok now that his son was home.

“I am not going to make it, son, so I am not going to pretend. It has been hard the last few months not telling you what was going on but you needed to focus on your career.”

He reached over and touched the new pip that had been added just a couple of weeks ago and smiled at his son. “I am very proud of you, you know that don’t you?”

Jon nodded but was afraid to speak. He had never had to wonder if his father loved him or was proud of him. That love was unconditional and he had always known that. It was what gave him the courage to go into Starfleet and train as a pilot with his eyes on a career in space. He knew that his father would have preferred him to follow him as a warp engineer but he understood Jonathan’s love of space and exploration. He had never faltered in his support of his son toward that goal.

Jon leaned forward and said “Dad, I have something to tell you.”

Henry had let his eyes close again but opened them at the sound of his son’s quiet voice.

“I put in for a transfer and it was just approved. Next month I am coming back to earth and I will be assigned to the NX program. I didn’t tell you earlier because I wanted it to be a surprise.” Jon’s voice shook with emotion as he realized that this transfer was coming too late for his father.

His father nodded and Jon noticed tears in his eyes as he gripped his son’s hand.

“That’s wonderful, son! If I can’t be there then I will rest easier knowing that you will be there to see the work completed.” Henry closed his eyes and leaned up against the pillow again.

Jon waited but Henry didn’t open his eyes again. He sat back in his chair still holding the older man’s hand.

His thoughts drifted back over the years. One of his first memories of his father was on a beach. The day was sunny and warm. He must have been 5 or 6 and he and his father were building a sandcastle. Well it had started out to be a sandcastle but his father decided that they should build a starship so they worked on it all afternoon. His father presence was even brighter than the sun. He thought his father could do anything and was sure that he knew everything there was to know. He basked in the attention of his dad that afternoon. As they worked Henry told Jon about the engine that he was building and how it would be taking humans into deep space someday. Jon felt so proud that his father was sharing these important things with him.

As busy as his father always was with trying to get the new warp engine working and dealing with the Vulcan’s, he always seemed to find time for Jonathan. He was always at his Little League games and science fairs at school. Jon could not remember one time when his father wasn’t there when he needed him to be. His presence in Jon’s life was the one constant that he had always counted on. When Jon was in elementary school, Henry had hoped that his son would be interested in engineering and guided him in that direction. As Jon got older and he realized that his son’s interest was not in engineering he had swallowed his disappointment and encouraged Jon in the direction that he was moving. Jon only realized this in looking back that was how unfaltering his father’s love was.

The memory that was the clearest for Jon was when his father took him to a ceremony in Montana where the statue of Ephraim Cochran was dedicated and he actually got to be on the spot where the first warp ship was launched. That was really the highlight of the trip. He also got to walk on the spot where the Vulcan ship landed on their first contact with humans but this didn’t impress him as much. His feelings about Vulcan’s were colored by his father’s feelings toward them. The memories of that perfect day frequently found their way to Jon’s mind as he moved thru his days. It was the turning point for him in the decision to join Starfleet and become a pilot. And his father standing with him was a major part of that memory.

The man in the bed moved slightly and gave out a small groan. His breathing seemed a little shallower. Jon got up alarmed and went out to get a nurse.

She followed him back in and checked her patient.

“He is failing pretty quickly.” she looked at him with sympathy. “ I think he was just waiting until you arrived. You are all he has talked about the last couple of days. The staff has been hearing all about you.” She smiled at him and put her hand on his arm and guided him back to the chair that he just vacated.

He sat down and the nurse left them alone again. An overwhelming sadness filled him. How could he go on, knowing that his father was not going to be there anymore? A love that he had taken for granted and depended on was leaving and he felt a huge emptiness inside him that threatened to swallow him up. He took his father’s hand again, trying to hang on to him as long as he could.

“Dad?” He wasn’t expecting a response but had to know. He was silent for a few minutes then started telling him stories about his life on Jupiter Station. He told stories of the young pilots that he had been training. He talked about the new ship he had piloted to the Mars Colony a couple of months ago. He told lighthearted stories about his off hours activities and some of his friends who his father would have known.

He talked for almost an hour and then fell silent again. He stared at the man in the bed and willed him to open his eyes and be the old Henry Archer again. He stood and paced the room. Pacing always seemed to help him cope with overwhelming or frustrating experiences. He was sure that his father knew what he was doing. It was a source of gentle teasing when his father would see him pacing. He smiled a little thinking of those moments, wishing them back, wishing his father back.

His father’s breathing was becoming more erratic. Jon walked back to the bed and took his father’s hand again.

“Dad, I hope you can hear me. I want you to know that I am going to make sure that the NX project is a success. We are going to build that new ship and your engine is going to be responsible for finally getting us into deep space where we should have been years ago. The Vulcan’s are NOT going to stop us this time…I will make sure of that. I promise you, Dad that I will be on that ship. And you will be on there too, with me and in your engine.”

As he sat there filled with new resolve for the project he had just been assigned too, his fathers breathing stopped. Jon continued to hold onto his hand not wanting, not daring to let go. As the sadness overwhelmed him, he lowered his head onto his father shoulder and sobbed.

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