cthia wrote:Why should Theisman and Pritchart give it a go? I don't think Pritchart's ready ... to let go of Gisky ... needy, but not ready. And, would that be a conflict of interest, a flirtin' and skirtin' with the the Articles of War? Would it be seen as a dangerous "marriage" of power bases?
Does Haven have such ideals?
In all honesty, as much as I (sometimes) love the idea of Eloise finding second love with the man who held her hand through it all, this pairing has so much stacked against it it's almost painful to think about.
1. They are Haven's pillars, Haven's dynamic duo - the two most visible symbols of the new Republic. They can't afford even a
hint of impropriety. So
if this happened, it would have to happen quietly, and not be known outside the inner circle of the Grand Alliance. I can't imagine that Haven would take well the knowledge that their President was romantically involved with their Secretary of War, and doubly so when that man is also the Chief of Naval Operations. They were promised a clear, open, and honest government; they wouldn't take well to a high-profile romance between the two major powers of it.
2. Eloise loved Javier Giscard. I mean, she
loved that man. I tend to scoff at the idea of soul mates, but those two? They bloody well
were. And I honestly don't know if she's capable of it. I don't know if she has any romantic love in her left to give, because what she had with him was so once-in-a-lifetime. How could anything else possibly stand up to that?
2a. And yet, if she were to fall in love again, I can't see it being with anyone
but Tom Theisman. He has been her anchor, her right hand, her best friend, her
partner almost from the moment they met. Who was it she turned to, on all the lonely nights when Javier was light-years away and all she could do was miss him? It would have been Tom, because that's who they were. With him, she didn't have to wear a brave face. With him, she could be herself. And of anyone, who would know better what she had lost? He knew Javier, too. He would accept, when so many others could not, that Javier would
always be a part of her, that loving him is something she will do until the stars burn out, and that it doesn't mean she can't love him, too. But the eternal question in my mind is, "can she?" And I honestly don't have an answer.