Unheard Arguments

By:  M. J. Cogburn and C. E. Krawiec

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"Bye, Allen.  You too."  Watching as the elevator doors closed, she stood in the hallway for a moment considering what had just happened, but everything that came to mind was simplistic.  A thank you kiss, that’s all it was.

Going back into the apartment, Siren opened the door and saw her father coming out of his room... dressed in his robe.  "I honestly hope that everyone had a good time," she told him as she plopped down on the couch.  "Gosh, I'm exhausted," she said as she stifled a yawn.

Xavier smiled at his daughter.  She was more relaxed than she was before she had her shower and to just look at her now, leaning her head back on the couch, he could see the glow around her.  She was absolutely beautiful.  “Then, go to bed,” he told her kindly.  “The dishes are already in the kitchen and I’ll put them in the dishwasher.  You cooked, I’ll clean up.”

Seeing her give him a questioning look, Xavier couldn’t help but tease.  “You better head that way before I change my mind.”  Even before he could even finish the sentence, she’d gotten up from the couch gave him a kiss on the cheek and was heading for the bed.  “Good night, Miss Hostess.”

“Good night, Daddy,” she called back to him.  “Thank you.”

Closing the door, Siren quickly undressed and got into her nightgown and crawled into bed.  But even before he she could turn off the lights, she saw the letter Trevor had written on her nightstand.  Reaching for it, she opened it up and reread it once more.  Frowning, she reached for a pad and a pen.  After reflecting for a bit, she began to write.  She glanced back and forth at his handwriting.  Finishing it, she signed her name and put it in an envelope.  She wanted to make sure it went out with tomorrow’s mail, so she placed it outside their quarters in the mail slot then went to bed.

PART ONE

While Siren settled down in her bed, pleasant thoughts of how well the dinner with the  Conroys and Allen and her father had turned out, one of the dinner guests was doing some rather deep considering about the evening.

Allen returned to his quarters directly from the quarters Siren shared with her father...  Xavier! He still had to pause as he worked at wrapping his mind around that stunning revelation.  Getting a beer from his fridge, he popped the top and took a couple of swallows of the cold brew as he returned to his living room.  He scanned the room, just listening to the silence.  Picking up the remote, he turned the TV on and surfed a few channels, but nothing appealed to him, so he turned it off again and tossed the remote on the couch.

"This is ridiculous," he declared aloud, as if hearing the words aloud would make the those other thoughts rolling around in his mind  go away or least turn down the volume on them.  It didn't.  Still, he wasn’t ready to confront those thoughts face on so, flipping the light switch off, he went down the hall to his bedroom.

Taking another swallow of his beer, Allen stripped out of his clothes, draped them more or less neatly on the dresser, and from there walked down the hall to the bathroom.  It was when he stepped into the bathroom and turned on the light that he found himself confronted by his reflection in the mirror above the sink.  Reaching for his toothbrush, he applied toothpaste and lifted it to his mouth, but the implement didn't go into his mouth immediately.  After a moment of staring into his own eyes, and using the toothbrush as a pointer, he demanded of his reflection, "Why did you...I kiss Siren like...that?"

’Like what?’

"You know exactly what I mean," Allen said as he set the toothbrush down on the counter.  "Why did I do that?  She's not... available.  Why on earth am I putting myself in his situation?"

The room was quiet for several long moments before Allen picked his toothbrush up again.  The next words uttered made the toothbrush clatter back down onto the countertop.  "Love is a funny thing, isn't it?"

Allen's eyes grew wide in disbelief.  He couldn't believe what he had just said.  It couldn't be - could it? 

The uttered thought hung in the air between the man and his reflection, siding with the one and daring the other to deny the words' truth.  The man, however, grabbed up the toothbrush again and began to brush his teeth vigorously.  Spitting out a mouthful of foam after a minute, he considered his reflected self again.

"I do NOT love, Siren," he stated firmly to the mirror then in the next breath back peddled a bit.  "I don't love her the way she loves Trevor.  She's a friend and that's all it is.  I care for her as a friend."  He resumed brushing his teeth for several seconds then took the toothbrush from his mouth again, once more using it as a pointer.  "That's how I feel about Siren," he said sturdily, defying that little voice inside to deny it.  "I love her as a friend.  Hell, Trevor's my best friend in the world and that’s how I love him... as a friend.  That's how I feel about Siren.  Nothing more.”  He glared at his reflection then brushed his teeth a few more strokes then added, "And that's all there is to it."  He shook the toothbrush at his reflection sternly.  "So there'll be no more of... any of what happened tonight.  Period."

Allen paused a moment, staring at his reflection, waiting for his conscience to come back with a smart remark, but there was no comeback from that quarter.  Satisfied that he'd won the argument with himself, Allen finished brushing his teeth, used the toilet, washed his hands, and returned to the bedroom.  Turning out the light, he crawled into bed and settled back on his pillow.  Turning onto his side, he sighed as he stared into the darkness then closed his eyes.  "It's settled," he murmured.

An hour later, he was still awake.

Flopping onto his back, Allen looked up at the ceiling through the dark.  He couldn't sleep.  It didn't matter what he tried to count or think about--nothing worked.  He brought his hands up, tucked them behind his head and sighed.

"Okay, maybe it's not settled."

'Damn straight, it's not settled.  You love Siren and you don't want to admit it.  It doesn't matter how much she loves Trevor or how much Trevor loves her.  You love her,' his conscious drilled back at him loudly within his mind.

"No, I don't... not in that way," Allen remained resilient in his way of thinking.  "I can't.  I won't," he stated emphatically.

'And you will kiss her again, as soon as you can.  You can't resist her.  You love her smell, how she feels, tastes... admit it, Allen.  You love her.'

Throwing off the rumpled and tangled sheet, Allen got out of bed and stalked out of the bedroom.  He paused in the open doorway, considering the incessant back and forth argument with that little voice that had never let him off the hook for anything that mattered throughout his life. 

"Not like that!" he growled aloud then went and stalked around his darkened living room a few moments but it didn’t help.  Swearing roundly, Allen stood still a moment, his thoughts a mad jumble.  When he was about to do something stupid - what exactly, hadn't clarified in his thoughts - another thought managed to make itself clear to him.

"There's only one way to get Siren off my mind," he declared aloud, the set of his jaw hard as he returned to his bedroom to get dressed again.  Allen took only enough time to dress presentably and put on his shoes before he was out his front door.  A couple of minutes later he was on an elevator headed for the upper levels.  His own destination was a bar where, with some luck he'd find a girl to take his mind off the beautiful Siren, if only for a few hours.  It wasn't the most honest reason for going looking, but when the doors of the elevator opened minutes later and he stepped out on the second level, for him, it was more honorable than coveting his best friend's girlfriend.  A woman who, he had no doubt, would, in the not too distant future, likely end up as Trevor Conroy's wife.  Besides, what sort of a lowlife would go after a woman pregnant with another man's child?

"Not Allen McAllister," he muttered to himself as he scanned the broad expanse of walkway before making a decision and heading off to a bar popular with any number of his friends and acquaintances.

The OMS Bar emitted a wonderful sound of lively music and people talking and having a good time; just what he needed to steer his thoughts from the direction they seemed determined to go.  Allen didn’t think twice as he headed toward the lively sounds of distraction.

Opening the door of the bar, he walked in and went directly up to the bar.  Looking around, he saw that any number of the girls were  already draped on someone else.  Seeing Dan Kennedy on the other side of the bar, making a margarita for someone, Allen waited patiently for the bartender to turn his attention to him..

Putting his elbows up on the bar, he rubbed his face hard as he continued to hear his conscious repeat in his mind, 'You love Siren, Allen.  Admit it.  Come on, man, just admit it.'

Daniel Kennedy had seen Allen McAllister come into the bar.  Nodding his head backward at him, he continued making the margarita, topped it off with a strawberry then handed it off to the  server. 

Walking over to where Allen was rubbing his face, Dan asked with a grin.  "Whatcha want, Allen?"  The answer he got startled him.

"To forget a woman," Allen blurted out more sharply than he intended.

Dan Kennedy's eyebrows arched, his expression revealing how the other man's reply had been taken.  Keeping his tone light but not condescending, he said, "Well, a bar's a good place to start."  He didn't bat an eye at the look that got him, but then he got blindsided again when Allen added, "And I want someone to help me get... her outta my head."

Dan studied his customer and acquaintance's face and expression closely then took a chance.  "How long you looking to forget?"

Allen's gaze narrowed at the bartender a moment, but his tone wasn't as abrasive when he admitted, "At least for tonight.”  He hesitated then admitted, dropping his voice to a level only for the bartender to hear, "I've got to get some sleep and I can't with... her running through my thoughts."  Meeting Dan's eyes, Allen admitted, "I need a distraction, Dan."

Daniel looked at the man before him and understood exactly what he meant.  However, he was a bit concerned that it was Allen McAllister talking about needing a 'distraction'.

Meeting the man's eyes, he leaned back slightly on his heels then said simply, "I never knew you to be a one night stand man, Allen."  Seeing the look that came up at that, Dan held up his hands and said, "Here... if it's just for tonight, I have just the thing and it'll be all you need."

Allen gave him a narrow wary eyed look.  "What’s  that?"

"You just sit there.  Let me do my magic.  But, you have to promise me one thing, though, Allen."

"What's that?”  Allen asked still wary of what Daniel was asking of him.

"Once you have my 'magic' then, you head straight to your quarters and go to bed.  No dilly-dallying around.  If you do... well...  I'm not responsible."

"All right, Dan.  I promise."

Nodding, Dan clapped his hands together and rubbed them  with a flourish. "Let the magic begin."

Turning around, Dan began taking any number of bottles and bringing them together, lining them up behind the bar.  Once he got them together, with his back still towards the bar, he picked up several of the bottles and pretended to pour them into a tall glass.  With his body between the glass and Allen, he acted as if he had poured eight different liqueurs into it. 

Grinning, he opened the small drawer in front of him and pulled out a Benedryl tablet.  Using a knife, he crushed the Benedryl into dust then scraped it into the drink.  Filling the drink with a little bit of Seven-Up and a touch of lime juice, he turned his head back to Allen and grinned then made a flourish of shaking, stirring and adding some more Seven-Up to the glass.

Turning back to Allen with the small shot glass of Seven-Up and lime with the Benedryl in it, he took the salt shaker and lightly put a little bit of salt in it, just for looks, in front of Allen then set the "mixture" in front of the watching man.

"Now, you can't sip this stuff.  You have to down it... and it's going to taste sweet, salty, and at times just blah... but you have to immediately go back to your quarters and go to bed.  Remember, you promised.  Right, Allen?"  Seeing the man nod, Dan stepped back and put his hands behind his back.  "Go for it then."

Except for a couple of scans of the busy, noisy bar, Allen had watched the bartender, wondering about this 'magic' of Dan's that was going to shut up the voice in his head.  The sounds of liquids pouring, watching as each of the collected bottles was divested of some of its contents into the shaker.  Idly, Allen had to admit that just observing the concoction's assembly had pushed Siren from his thoughts for those few moments.  So when Dan turned back to him, setting the shot glass with the clear liquid garnished with a half a slice of lime before him, he was hoping that the best part of it all hadn't just been the performance.  To Dan's, "Go for it then," Allen looked the man in the eye then picked up the glass and tossed the drink back.  He wrinkled his nose a bit at the shade of acridness that got past the lemon-lime flavor of the soft drink, but he swallowed it all.

"What's in that?" he asked when he got his breath.

Dan's smile was enigmatic as he removed the empty shot glass then wiped the area when the glass had been set.  "Like I said... magic."

Allen eyed the bartender, trying to see past the expression that wasn't giving anything away.  Finally, he gave up trying to decipher it.  Reaching for his wallet, he asked, "Okay.  Have it your way, it's 'magic'.  How much for the shot of 'magic'?"

Dan waved off the question.  "It's on me," he said evenly.

Allen paused, his wallet open, ready to extract the cost of the drink from it.  "Come on, Dan," he insisted.  "I saw how many different bottles you used making that little shot of 'magic'.  That drink's gotta be at least...what... seven...eight bucks?”  As the question left his lips, Allen blinked lightly a couple of times.

Dan didn't miss the blinking then repeated his refusal to take any payment for it.  "Make you deal," he said.  "Next time I'm off duty, you buy me a drink and we'll call it even.  Okay?"

"Dan, I...”  Allen began then capitulated, shoving his wallet into his back pocket again. "Whatever, man," he muttered.  He couldn't hear how his words were slightly slurred.  Again he shook his head when, as he looked at the bartender, things appeared a bit out of focus.  It took several more seconds before it got through the fuzziness in his head what the problem was.

Dan, on the other hand wasn't surprised.  The 'magic' usually worked faster when the person had an empty stomach or was already tired.  He suspected that it was a bit of both for Allen McAllister.

"Go on, pal," he said with an easy manner.  "Remember, you promised."

Stepping back a pace from the bar, Allen stumbled slightly, a hasty grab at the counter steadying him.  "Damn that's some... whatever it is," he said.  Feeling a warmth beginning to run through his body, he forgot about saying more, except a vague wave in the direction of the bar.  "Later," was all he managed to get out as he turned away and walked - to his way of seeing it - to the door and exited the OMS.

Watching from behind the bar, as Allen made his way out the door, Dan Kennedy turned to look at the other bartender on duty.  "Hey, Steve," he called out as he went to the other man busy with filling a drink order.  "I'm taking ten minutes."

"Whatever, man," Steve replied as he finished shaking and pouring a martini.

If the other man said anything else, Dan didn't hear it as he moved from behind the bar and wended his way amongst the variety of men and women enjoying themselves and each other, and exited the bar.

Dan’s 'mission' was more or less uneventful as he  deliberately followed Allen McAllister's steadily increasing unsteady steps as he made his way to the elevator.  As it turned it, luck was on Dan’s side as he was able to slip in amongst three or four other people, thereby able to keep an eye on Allen.

Dan maintained his distance as he patiently followed a man he considered more than just an acquaintance and customer at the bar.  Only when he saw Allen manage to get his front door open and stumble inside did he turn away.  But that was momentarily thwarted when, as he turned, he heard a rather clear thump.  Turning back, he saw the front door of Allen's quarters still open and without comment went to check on the lightly medicated man.

Reaching the open door, Dan felt inside the door and flipped on the light.  He was greeted by the sight of Allen McAllister half sprawled across the end of the couch and half on the floor.  Shaking his head lightly, a soft chuckle issuing under his breath, he went to the passed out man and began to manhandle him to get him up on his feet.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty," he said amusedly as he half walked, half-dragged Allen to his bedroom.  Dumping him on the bed, Dan made sure Allen was arranged comfortably then removed his shoes.  Turning out the light on his way out, Dan made sure that the front door lock was set as he exited Allen's quarters and went back to finish the rest of his shift.