Favour Required
Posted on Sun Jul 13th, 2025 @ 8:32am by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami
Edited on on Sun Jul 13th, 2025 @ 8:32am
2,450 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission: Stars Around the Well
The screen flickered as the video call connected, and a familiar face filled Adrianna’s display. Constantine’s blond hair was slightly dishevelled, like he’d either just rolled out of bed or had been running his hands through it in frustration. His sharp eyes softened when they landed on her.
“Ciao, bello,” she greeted, tilting her head with a smirk, “you look like you’ve had a day.”
He huffed a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck, “you know me, always running around like a headless chicken. Honestly, between kiddos and Fleet, I'm a mad man. But, I always have time for my favourite Lisichka. What about you? You look like you’re about to interrogate me.”
She widened her eyes in mock innocence, “Interrogate? Me? Connie, I am offended.”
Constantine snorted, “you’re worse than my mother when you get that look.”
Adrianna grinned but didn’t deny it. Instead, she leaned in slightly, her tone turning casual– too casual, “fine, fine. I just wanted to ask you something. Are you still part of Project Gated Stairway?”
For a split second, something flickered across Constantine’s face. It was barely there– just a slight tightening around his mouth, a shift in his posture. Then, he schooled his features, but Adrianna had already seen it. “Why do you want to know?” he asked carefully.
She narrowed her eyes playfully, “that’s not a no.”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair, “yes, I’m still involved. But, Adri, if you’re asking, that means you’ve either heard something or you’re about to do something reckless.”
Adrianna tilted her head, smirking, “do I ever do anything reckless?”
Constantine gave her a flat look, “do you really want me to answer that?”
She laughed, but the tension between them lingered.
He studied her through the screen, his gaze sharp despite the easy conversation. Then, with a heavy exhale, he ran a hand down his face. “Look,” he said, quieter this time, “whatever this is, just… tread carefully, okay? You know how delicate things are with that project. This project is teetering in place because of your work with Drifting Gallivant. I took this project so that I could continue helping you and keeping your secrets about Vance.”
She met his eyes and held them, something unreadable passing between them. A silent understanding. “I know,” she murmured.
The air felt heavier for a beat too long, so she flicked her hair over her shoulder and grinned. “So… how’s your husband… children? Or is Project Gated Stairway the only thing keeping you warm at night?”
Constantine groaned, rolling his eyes, “and here I was hoping you’d forgotten how to be annoying.”
“Never, cucciolo.”
He shook his head, but there was fondness in his expression. The tension from before wasn’t completely gone, but for now, they let it slide, “come on, Adri. Why are you really calling and asking me about my work?”
Adrianna hesitated for a moment, chewing the inside of her cheek as she considered how to phrase her next words. Constantine noticed, of course– he always did. His brows pulled together slightly. “What is it?” he prompted, “I know that look. Just say it.”
She let out a breath, “it’s about Vance.”
His expression didn’t change, but she saw the way his shoulders tensed slightly. He’d never been Vance’s biggest fan, though it wasn’t outright hostility– more like a quiet wariness, an instinctive protectiveness over her. He'd known everything and had been happy that they had found each other on the right side of the law, but it didn't stop him being concerned. “What about him?” he asked.
“He remembers everything.”
That got a reaction. Constantine blinked, straightening in his chair, “everything?”
Adrianna nodded, “every last detail. His childhood, his training, his time with me… the whole mess. It’s all back.”
“Bozhe,” Constantine muttered under his breath, rubbing a hand over his face, “that’s a lot.”
“It is,” she sighed, running a hand through her hair, “and it’s messing with him. He’s still with Starfleet, but it’s like he’s caught between two lives. He’s remembering people who don’t even know he’s alive. He feels like he should be checking in on them, catching up, but he can’t. As far as they know, he died years ago. He misses the Pendragon, he misses the life where he was the one in control. I can see it.”
Constantine exhaled sharply, “that’s rough.”
“Si,” she hesitated, then leaned forward slightly, “I was wondering: are there any upcoming missions that could give him a chance to do that? To reconnect, somehow?”
Constantine’s lips pressed into a thin line. She could see the wheels turning in his head, calculating the risks, the logistics, the possible consequences. “…There might be,” he admitted, though he didn’t look thrilled about it, “but Adri, if he’s struggling this much, throwing him into something like this could make it worse.”
“I know,” she said quickly, “I wouldn’t ask if I thought it’d break him. But I think it might actually help– closure of sorts.”
Constantine sighed, leaning back in his chair, “I’ll see what I can do. No promises, but… yeah. There’s something coming up that might work. It depends on when you're next in base.”
Adrianna smiled, a little softer this time, “Grazie, Connie. We're actually heading back to the base you're stationed on now. I can meet you for coffee there.”
He rolled his eyes but didn’t argue, “you owe me for this, Baciami.”
“I always do.”
Adrianna hesitated again, her fingers tightening slightly where they rested on her lap. She didn’t want to say it. Every instinct in her rebelled against the words forming in her mind. But if she was asking this of Constantine, she had to be honest about what it meant. “I’ll help keep him off the manifest,” she said finally, her voice quieter now, “if he decides to go back to his old life, I won’t stop him– I'll help him.”
Constantine’s sharp gaze flickered, taking her in. She was trying to keep her expression neutral, but she wasn’t fooling him. He knew her too well. He saw the pain tightening her features, the way her throat bobbed slightly as if she was forcing the words out. It was killing her to even consider letting Vance go. “Adri…” his voice was softer now, lacking its usual teasing edge.
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head, “it’s not about what I want, Connie– not this time. It’s about him. He’s spent years in limbo– making decisions without all of the information about his past, and now he suddenly has his whole life back. He deserves the chance to decide what to do with it properly.”
Constantine leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as he studied her. After a beat, he shook his head with a small, knowing smile, “you really don’t see it, do you?”
She frowned, “see what?”
He sighed, as if she was being impossibly dense, “Adri, you are worth giving up lifetimes for.”
Her breath hitched. She looked away, swallowing hard.
“Don’t do that,” he murmured, “don’t brush it off. I would’ve given up a lifetime for you. I almost did.”
She let out a shaky breath, laughing softly, “and look how that turned out.”
His lips twitched, “Yeah, well, we were idiots. But you were my best mistake. And even when I realised that we were better as friends– best friends, it didn’t change how much I would’ve given up for you. And Vance? He already made that choice before.”
Adrianna glanced up, confused.
Constantine raised a brow, “or did you forget that he was already in the process of retiring from that world for you before he lost his memories?”
She blinked. She hadn’t forgotten, exactly– but she hadn’t let herself think about it too much either.
“He was going to walk away from all of it for you, Adri. Not because he had to. Because he wanted to. He wanted that security for you– he wanted you safe and he wanted a life with you,” Constantine leaned back, arms folding across his chest, “So if you think for one second that he’s just going to disappear back into the shadows now that he remembers everything, you don’t know him as well as you think.”
Adrianna exhaled slowly, his words settling deep in her chest. She had spent so much time preparing herself to let Vance go that she hadn’t even considered what he might want now that he had a choice.
Constantine tilted his head, watching her, “you good?”
She forced a smirk, “are you asking if I’m going to cry?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t hate it. It’d be nice to see you actually process your emotions like a functional adult.”
She let out a real laugh this time, rolling her eyes, “Vaffanculo, Connie.”
“There she is,” he teased, grinning now, “alright, I’ll handle my end of this. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when Vance shows up with some grand, dramatic gesture instead of running away. I hope that this time it doesn't involve chickens though.”
Adrianna shook her head, but her heart felt just a little lighter.
Constantine was quiet for a moment, as if weighing something in his mind. Then he exhaled and ran a hand through his hair, his voice careful when he finally spoke, “you know, I could keep you off the manifest too.”
Adrianna’s breath caught for half a second, but she shook her head almost immediately, “no, Connie.”
His brows pulled together. Surprised by how fast she had answered no, “are you sure? If Vance is going off-grid, you–”
“No,” she repeated, firmer this time, “I’m in a good place right now. Starfleet, my life– it’s not perfect, but it’s mine. I don’t want things to be more complicated than they have to be.” She sighed, leaning back in her chair, “You and I both know what would happen if I went off the grid like that. Starfleet would consider me a traitor, I’d be court-martialled if I ever set foot back in uniform, and I’d never be able to return home. I have finally got back to a semblance of normality where my biggest risk is a space toilet. I love Vance, so much, but I would not be able to.follow him without knowing that one day I would resent him.”
Constantine didn’t argue. He didn’t have to– he knew she was right. He just nodded, though there was something unreadable in his expression.
Adrianna tried for a smirk, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes, “besides, at least this time, if Vance decides to leave, I’ll actually get to say goodbye.”
Constantine gave her a look, unimpressed, “that’s not happening.”
She raised an eyebrow, “you sound awfully confident about that.”
“I am,” he leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering just a bit, “but Adri, when I do put your name on the manifest, Lutz is going to come for you.”
She didn’t flinch, didn’t even look surprised. She just exhaled through her nose, nodding once. “I know,” her voice was steady, “and it’ll be justified. I can't say that he didn't warn me. He gave me a reprieve the last time I saw him– I'm sure that this would get me permanently back to being tolerated.”
Constantine’s jaw tensed slightly, but he didn’t argue. There wasn’t really anything to argue about. Instead, he sighed, shaking his head as he muttered, “you always did have a knack for making life difficult for yourself– especially when it came to who you fell in love with. I include myself in that statement.”
Adrianna smirked, “it’s part of my charm.”
Constantine rolled his eyes but didn’t disagree, “just… be careful, alright?”
“Aren’t I always?”
He gave her another unimpressed look.
She huffed a small laugh, but her expression softened, “Grazie, Connie.”
He just shook his head with a sigh. “Yeah, yeah. You owe me for keeping secrets again.” Constantine sighed, rubbing his temples as if the weight of everything they had just discussed was finally settling in and giving him a migraine. Then, after a moment, he looked at her with a pointed expression, “we’re not telling Giovanni about this, are we?”
Adrianna snorted, “do you want to tell Gio about this?”
“Not if I want to live.”
“Exactly,” she grinned, “I’d like to make it through the next month without having my big brother hunt me down for being an idiot after he's just got his leave approved for the Baciami-Adams wedding.”
Constantine huffed, shaking his head, “you realise that if he ever finds out, he’ll kill both of us, right? Maybe Vance for food measure too.”
“I like to think that I would have a head start.”
“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair, “fine. We don’t tell Giovanni.”
There was a beat of silence, then Constantine straightened slightly, his expression turning more serious, “I’ll be on the ship too, either way.”
Adrianna frowned, “what?”
“Someone needs to make sure Lutz doesn’t actually kill you,” he said matter-of-factly, “I doubt he’ll care about your sense of poetic justice and equally, someone has to get the actual mission sorted.”
She tilted her head, trying to gauge just how serious he was, “you don’t have to do that– I can handle the mission.”
“I know.”
Their eyes met, something unspoken passing between them. He wasn’t going to let her talk him out of this. Just like when they were kids, just like every time before– he had her back.
Adrianna exhaled, shaking her head with a small, knowing smile, “you really are an idiot.”
“Says the woman walking straight into a death trap.”
She grinned, “at least I won’t be walking alone.”
Constantine sighed dramatically, “Bozhe, Adrianna, I should have let you marry me. At least then I’d have legal grounds to complain about the stress you put me through.”
She laughed, rolling her eyes, “Goodnight, Connie.”
“Yeah, yeah. Try not to get yourself killed before we get there, Baciami.”
With one last smirk, Adrianna ended the call. The screen went dark, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
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