Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in When the Other Shoe Drops

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Bethany Kovra Gadi (Chief of Security) in When the Other Shoe Drops

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aasrel Izei (Chief Medical Officer) in When the Other Shoe Drops
Posted by… suppressed (25) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Finally, Bethany was released from sickbay. There was no reason to keep her. Her blood volume was fine, the psilosynine was no longer in her blood stream (something much worse was), her immune system was back to normal, no more racing heart or labored breathing, no fever. She was in perfect health.

Bethany entered Aasrels quarters behind him. She hadn’t wanted to go back to hers. Not yet. She just wanted to be with Aasrel. When the door closed, she looked at him and then walked into his arms.

Bethany

Aasrel opened the door to his quarters and stepped him. When she came to him he hugged her tightly and rested his head against her. “Our first time alone in… how many days?” He asked softly.

~ Aasrel

Bethany rested in his arms, but groaned softly. “Far, far too many.” She kissed his cheek softly and then leaned back to look at him. “I don’t think I’ll know what to do with no one to check in us every half hour, and trying to listen to our conversations.”

Bethany

Aasrel smiled down at her, hugging her close to him. “I have a few ideas, depending on what you’re up for,” he said. He pulled her toward the bed and sat down. “You’re healthy, too. No more time limits, no more illness hanging over your head, no more symptoms. Whatever will you do?”

~ Aasrel

Bethany let him tug her after him and sat down. She laughed softly, “Anything? I don’t remember what that’s like. Maybe you can show me?”

Bethany

Aasrel kissed her, long, slow, and gentle. “I don’t know, my brain still has some healing to do. Maybe we need to figure it out together.”

~ Aasrel

“Well I’ve heard tell that the best ways to help the brain heal is to help trigger memories and play games.” She grinned, wrapped her arms around him, and pressed in close. “If my memory hasn’t been lost to me, I do believe I remember you like having me this close.”

Bethany

Aasrel hugged her, pulling her in closer. “I think it was this close,” he said and smiled. “The hypo pat down would be welcome too, so long as you’re very, very thorough,” he looked down at her, grinning widely.

~ Aasrel

Her hands began to slide up his arms. “Well after all the time I’ve had off, I could really use the practice.” Rhen around his collar and into his hair, around his waist, his ankles, cuffs of his pants and inside his boots. She checked each pouch and loop of his belt, and then she checked his pockets. An inside pocket of his best her brows raised and she looked at him. “You didn’t hide this quite well enough, Doc.” She held up a hypo and wiggled it back and forth and then tossed it onto the desk. “You weren’t going to try and sedate me my first day being healthy were you?”

Bethany

He was liking her touch, she could tell. He wanted her to just keep searching.... but then she found it. Aasrel grinned. “More like… insurance. Can’t have you randomly collapsing on me, just in case this somehow… wears off or something.”

~ Aasrel

Her heart stopped, and then started pounding, but not in a good way. Did he think she was going to get sick again? She did, nothing so miraculous could be real. Could it?

She smiled at him, “Well now that I know you hid one, I’ll have to search again.” She proceeded to do just that and took her time. “Hmmm… I didn’t find another one.” She looked him up and down and then moved close into his arms, “I think I’ll risk it,” and then she kissed him.

Bethany

Aasrel felt her fear and immediately felt bad. Sorry, his mind whispered to hers, his mouth occupied by hers. He hugged her tightly to him, pulling her into him. When the kiss broke he grinned. “I get to look forward to many, many more of those.”

~ Aasrel

Between kisses she whispered absently, “For what?” She sighed as he held her tightly. “As many as you want Rel, for as long as you want.”

Bethany

Aasrel glanced at her. She’d heard him before, he could project thoughts. He figured that was it. “I just… I didn’t mean to scare you. With what I said.” He shook his head. “You heard that, huh?”

“You didn’t scare me more than I already am.” She rubbed her nose across his. “Yeah, I heard you. Nothing’s wrong with my ears.” She chuckled and kissed him softly. Bethany didn’t realize it was his thoughts. It had sounded as clear as speech to her.

Aasrel chuckled softly. “Nothing’s wrong with your mind’s ear either, apparently, because I didn’t say that out loud.”

Bethany didn’t think anything more of it. She knew Aasrel was a strong telepath and could project his mental voice to others. He’d done it before. She was glad for him, that everything was coming back so quickly for him.

“What if I want more than that?” Aasrel said, voice soft, hands starting to explore her some more. “Are you up for that, too?”

~ Aasrel

“Yeah, I’m up for that.” She liked the way it felt to be in his arms. “As much as you want.”

Bethany

He smiled and pulled her into him. “Good. Because I’ve miss having you.”

~ Aasrel

“Well you don’t have to miss me anymore…”

Some time later…

Bethany stretched languidly. “I thought when I got better, I’d do nothing but sleep for days. I could sleep, but I don’t want to. I blame you for that.” She winked at him and sighed delightedly.

Bethany

Aasrel grinned. “Why would you want to sleep when I’m here? I can’t imagine wasting time I could have with you.” He said, pulling her close to him again. “I’m glad there are no more time limits.”

~ Aasrel

“Mmmm I don’t want to sleep.” She rested her hands over his chest and propped her chin on them so she could look at him. “Me too, but now I’m impatient to have this mission over.” She glanced towards the door a slight look of annoyance on her face and then turned back to him. “So let’s go back to not wasting time.” She leaned in close and kissed him.

Bethany

Aasrel kissed her back and smiled. “I don’t care where I am so long as it’s with you.” He said, in between kisses. There was a sense of forlorn lostness, he still didn’t feel like he could go home. It was mixed with his distorted and displaced sense of self, but a strong love for her, belonging with her.

~ Aasrel

Bethany suddenly felt empty and lost. It was a feeling she was all too familiar with. She had learned to put it to use and not let it dictate to her. She couldn’t seem to push past it though. It rose up quite suddenly and seemed to drown her.

One moment she was quite involved in kissing him and the next she was sobbing. She was clinging to him as if he was a life raft. She had no family, no home, nothing but him.

Bethany

The feeling quickly shifted to an intense, all consuming worry and concern and Aasrel hugged her tightly, trying to get her to stop crying. “What’s wrong? Bethany?”

~ Aasrel

Her voice broke on racking sobs. “I have nothing and no one. I want to go home and I can’t. I’m not me anymore. Get these things out of me!” His voice sounded funny, like there was a pitch to the timbre of his voice she hadn’t noticed before. It made him sound more worried than she’d ever heard from him.

She leaned back and looked at him, brushing his hair away from his face and resting her forehead against his. “It’s okay.” He could feel it, and it was weird. She she went from deep despair to deep aching worry for him like flipping a switch. There was also a deep undercurrent of confusion at her behavior, but she couldn’t seem to do anything about it.

Bethany

Aasrel’s brow furrowed as he looked at her, her emotions shifting.... like his. His expression cleared and instead he grinned, he found this quite humorous really. He did his best to center himself to help Bethany. Some of the lostness, the body dysmorphic self hatred remained, but it wasn’t so bad. There was an over current of care and love for her, and humour. He decided to give her a little test. Bethany.... You are okay, okay? He didn’t try to project the thoughts, just let it hang, see if she’d pick it up on her own.

~ Aasrel

Her eyes were closed as she tried unsuccessfully to center herself, so she didn’t see him grin. Then suddenly she was calmer. It was weird and disturbing. She didn’t see him not speak either. “I am not okay. Something is wrong with me. I’m still sick, and it’s not funny!” She was truly upset now, confused, and scared.

Bethany

Aasrel hugged her tightly, conveying a sense of calm and normalcy. Trying to keep her calmer. You’re okay, Bethany. Your paracortex is working the way it’s supposed to. You’re experiencing emotion the way I do. It was too easy for him to think it rather than speak it. It was so easy for him to convey his ideas that way, along with the emotion behind them. With his words came that same caring, reassurance.

~ Aasrel

The words were like a knife, right through her soul. She was shattering into millions of pieces - no more than dust to be blown and scattered and forgotten. She wasn’t enough as she was.

Then it was hidden behind a mask of temper that he would know was 100% fake. She couldn’t even summon the lazy self-deprecating humor and flirtatiousness that she showed everyone else. She hurt too much.

She pushed away from him, hard and gathered her clothes. “My paracortex doesn’t work. It never has, and it’s not going to miraculously start working just because you wish it.” Her voice ground out because it was the only way to not cry. She was shattered. She jerked her clothes on. “Thanks for saving my life.” Where was her shirt?

Bethany

Bethany felt hurt, heartbreaking hurt, and it was plain on Aasrel’s face. For a silent, tense second, Aasrel sat too shocked to do anything. Finally he managed, “Bethany, wait! Please… Why would I do that to you? Why?”

~ Aasrel

She stood, her back to him and ramrod straight. As if the slightest breeze might knock her over into broken rubble on the floor. His shock and confusion was palpable in his voice. She didn’t know why he would do that. She never would have thought it mattered to him. Maybe he didn’t know it mattered to him. She knew she could never give him the kind of intimacy, the kind of connection, that was so normal for Betazoids. She had hoped that giving him back his telepathy and being open to him reading her would make up, just a little bit, for what she couldn’t give him. She loved him so much, she hoped it would be enough even if she was never deserving.

“Look,” her voice wavered, “I know you aren’t being cruel. You just want to be able to share something really unique with me. You can’t help hoping. It’s okay. I understand. So better I not to waste your time.” Her voice cracked and she inhaled sharply, and turned into a hint of a sniffle. She dashed a tear off her face. “Something’s still wrong with me, obviously, and when this is over I’ll be in prison anyway.”

She didn’t want to go. She wanted him, desperately. She had even entertained the childish fantasy that they might get married. Her mind felt so muddled and overwhelmed. Maybe it was good he had brought the hypo for her.

She didn’t even realize she had been responding to his thoughts.

Bethany