================================================================================ TITLE: Passing Moments
AUTHOR: Gray
TYPE: Short Scene Story RATING: PG
DISCLAIMERS: All Earth: Final Conflict characters is the property of Tribune

Entertainment and all related affiliations (Kirshner-Roddenberry, Atlantis,
etc.) 
SPOILERS: Set between Sandoval's Run and the Secret of Strandhill. Possible
spoiler warnings for the Secret of Strandhill and Sandoval's Run. 
NOTES:  How William Boone discovered his CVI wouldn't let him

get drunk. Guess you could call this one an implant bonding moment, rare as
they are. :-)
   Anyway, I didn't have a clue how I wanted to finish this one. I just
started it as a spur of the moment thing. Just a small filler I wrote to try
and get me into the feeling for writing in Sandoval's character, which I don't
think I did too well in this case. Ah well!  Thanks to Ron, an offline reader,
for the title as well as the beta readers who knew this one by the name
Untitled #1.
   Let me know what you all think.

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Passing Moments
by Karolyn Gray <kmgray3@aol.com>

   Ronald Sandoval scanned the crowd slowly, meandering through the press of
people in the establishment. He wasn't in any hurry to get anywhere like many
in the Flat Planet Cafe. Ron couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief at
some of the patron's attire. He personally had never had much use for such
establishments in his rare moments of private time, but could see why it was
such a popular practice.

   'Obviously, tonight is retro night.' He thought to himself as he shuddered
at the combination of clothing styles favored in the latter half of the
previous century. He never did understand people's fascination with that time
periods clothing style. Even the music was mostly incomprehensible to him. He
shrugged to himself and continued his search.

   A few minutes later he spied the target of his search and smiled to
himself, allowing his normally indifferent facade to slip away. He
straightened his tie and quickly made his way through the crowd to the booth
situated on the back wall and joined its single occupant. He wasn't really
surprised to see his arrival did not gain immediate attention from the other
man.

  He glanced across the table taking in the two dinner plates scraped clean of
their food and the assortment of a half dozen beer and hard liquor bottles
scattered across the table. Noting he saw only one glass, currently full of
clear liquid, he knew the man across from him had been the only imbiber.

   "It won't work, you know." He said casually.

   This comment earned him a glance from William Boone, but nothing more.

   "The CVI doesn't allow alcohol to interfere with it's operation. It keeps
the brain active and clear so we may better serve the wishes of the
Companions." Ron continued.

   "How do you make it stop?" Wil asked, surprising Ron with the roughness in
his question.

   "Make what stop?" Ron asked, sensing by the forlorn expression of  his
fellow implant, that he was upset.

   "The memories." Wil supplied vaguely before finishing the entire beverage
in front of him without pause.

   Ron sat in stunned silence, wondering if maybe Boone would actually try to
test the CVI and see how much he could drink before passing out. After a
moment he leaned back and sighed. "You can't." He admitted unhappily as his
own less the happy idyllic memories came to the fore in his mind. Seeing the
look Wil shot him he shrugged and leaned conspiratorially towards Boone. "The
trick is to remember the good times. Focus on them and the others will fade."

   Wil pointed to his head. "Not anytime soon." He grated out. "I keep seeing
her and all it does is remind me how much I miss her."

   Ron looked down, unbidden images of his own wife flashing through his mind
in a bittersweet montage. "I know. It's the same for me."

   Wil looked stricken at Ron's admission. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

   "It's OK, Boone." Ron assured the other implant, a part of his mind
screaming at him that he was *not* OK. "By taking....care....of Dee Dee you
helped me more than you can know."

   Wil looked away uncomfortably remembering all too well the events
surrounding and leading up to  Ron's second CVI implantation. "You were right
about that. I guess I felt I owed you for....Kate."

   "But I wasn't entirely correct." Ron said morosely. "Ever since receiving
my new implant I've begun to think about things. Things I could have...should
have...done differently."

   "We all make mistakes." Wil replied back.

   Ron started fidgeting with the wedding band on his hand. "Yeah, I suppose
so. Some more than others."

   "That's your wedding band isn't it?" Wil asked carefully. "I don't recall
seeing you wear it before."

    "Yes, it is." Ron replied with a genuine smile at the fond memory of his
marriage ceremony with Dee Dee. After a moment he looked up to see Wil
watching him with sympathy. "I've come to realize recently that I could still
serve the Companions and have a private life." He smiled sadly as he gestured
to Will's own wedding band. "Before I could never understand your desire to
continue wearing your ring after you became an implant."

   "And now?" Wil asked.

   "And now, I do." Was all Ron was willing to admit, suddenly feeling as
depressed as the Commander had looked when he found him.

   A companionable silence arose between the two as they watched the crowd and
ran through their own thoughts and memories. After several minutes Wil cleared
his throat. "Agent Sandoval, care to test the theory that it is impossible for
a CVI to get drunk?"

   Ron caught the odd grin on Will's face and felt one matching it creep
across his own despite the part of him constantly reminding him of duty and
service to the Companions. "But Da'an may need us."

  "Is it not in the best interest of the Companions to know the limits of our
CVIs?" Wil deadpanned, actually earning a chuckle from Ron.

   "Put like that I suppose I should say yes." Ron replied. "Besides I have
tomorrow off anyway."

   "You're actually taking time off?" Wil asked in surprise as he signaled
Kwai Ling to bring over more drinks.

   Ron loosened his tie and grinned. "Well, *you* were the one who asked if I
ever went home."

  "If memory serves me correctly you answered with 'why'."Will laughed,
surprised that he was actually liking Sandoval.

   Ron merely shrugged, his eyes widening as one of the waitresses brought
over three bottles of hard liquor and two glasses. "We're going to drink all
that?" He asked the red haired implant.

  "Yep." Wil nodded as he poured a drink and handed it to Ron and then poured
his own.

   "To the Companions." Ron saluted before gulping down the drink. He came up
gasping at the drinks bite, causing Wil to laugh.

   "To the Companions." Wil returned the salute, downing his own drink without
so much as a grimace.

   'This is going to take a while.' Ron thought to himself, surprised at
feeling not the least bit guilty about it. Tonight was simply a night to try
and forget his burdens.



  Across the room Lili and Augur watched with a mixture of surprise and
disgust as Wil actually drank with of all people Sandoval! Why Sandoval?!
After the second toast Lili just groaned in disgust and left the Cafe, Augur
tagging along watching her shake her head and mutter to herself. He still
didn't understand what had upset her but decided that he valued is own life
too much to inquire.

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Copyright 1998 Karolyn Gray and Skrillwerks