Posted by Civilian Yavia Crockett (Nurse - Sacred Heart Hospital) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be

Posted by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be

Posted by Major General Charles Tenkiller (Vice-Commander, Colonial Customs and Defense Agency) in Three Isn’t A Crowd If You Don’t Want It To Be
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

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The only sound for hours was the sound of breath moving in and out, sometimes in rhythm, sometimes not, and the soft rustle of sleeping bodies moving against cotton sheets.

Into that peace and silence the storm came, howling and crashing, the demon demanding its due. Sharah moaned, more like a muffled cry, full of pain and fear. She tossed, curling into herself, the soft rhythm of her breath turning harsh and rapid. She tossed, turning over again, and in her sleep her hands covered her ears, but it had no effect on the noise. Her eyes snapped open in the dark, she was disoriented and hurting. The storm screamed and raged at her, making it impossi le to thi k and even breathe. Her stomach heaved and revolted at the sudden intense throbbing in her head. She couldn’t think enough to call for either of them. She tasted tears between gulps of air. She dragged herself to the edge of the bed, pushing and fighting away from the tangle of limbs. She practically rolled and dropped to the floor. She stumbled as she tripped on discarded blankets into the bathroom where she was violently sick.

Sharah

It wasn’t even a minute before there was a hand on her back and another pulling back her hair. “Easy, hun… came back quick, huh?” Charles said softly. He rubbed her back gently. As usual, his thoughts were unguarded. He was concerned, but not surprised. And he definitely wasn’t scared. He was just there… a firm point in the chaos raging around her. “Maybe you should drink. If you’re gonna have the hangover, might as well have the fun ‘afore hand.” and he smiled at her, his hand still rubbing gentle circles on her back.

Tenkiller

Yavia was right behind him, looking slightly ill herself. She wasn’t, but that was a side effect of being so connected with someone else. Sharah’s sudden distress had woken her just as suddenly. She took a moment to breath and regulate what she was sensing and then she moved toward the towels and took down a couple of clothes and soaked them in the sink. She wrung them out and then sat on Sharah’s other side, gently wiping her face. She put an arm around her waist as Sharah was sick again. She looked across her at TK, the turmoil Sharah was feeling reflected on Yavia’s features along with concern. There was no fear, but there was frustration that she didn’t know how to help Sharah. She couldn’t even take her pain away. Yavia was easy for Sharah to read, but she didn’t force it, she was just there a second anchor in the storm.

Yavia

Chaos and deafening sound and her rebellious stomach were all Sharah was aware of at first. She wasn’t drifting with it, she was fighting with it, meaning there was no attempt to recognize snippets of thoughts or hints of emotions or even choose to relegate them to background noise. Then there was a point of clarity - Charles a solid warm point anchoring her, holding onto her. And then another - Yavia reminding her to breathe instead of hold her breath, helping her right herself. Sharah was reacting out of fear rather than responding with calm and thought. She was making it worse on herself. She moaned in warning before her stomach rebelled one last time to the sudden intensity. She wilted back against him. She whimpered, her hands came up to rub at her temples. She didn’t yank on her hair or claw at her scalp, like she had when she was a child and she was desperate to make the noise stop. She turned into him, seeking Yavia’s hand, keeping her close too, while she breathed heavily. The whole thing only lasted a couple of minutes.

Each breath gave another crystal like facet of focus to her awareness. Sharah realized several things as she breathed. The first that Charles and Yavia were both there. She wasn’t on her own, and they were worried. She squeezed both their hands. Second that her stomach hurt and so did her head, probably more from vomiting than her telepathy, and her mouth was nasty. Third the floor was cold and for once she wasn’t. Fourth was that it was over…whatever it was. The last time this had happened it had taken much much longer before things settled. She was curious as to how. The why was obvious…or at the moment it seemed obvious to her. Finally, she was okay. Actually she was probably better than okay. She was caught by surprise, but she lived with this every day, this was no different.

She cleared her throat, “Charles?”

“Next time you decide to back me into a psychological corner and make me ‘let go’…I wanna be awake when it turns back on.”

Sharah

Charles sighed a bit and a pang of guilt struck him. “You got it, Sharah. I… I’m sorry. I didn’t think ahead. You ok?” he asked.

His guilt tugged at her. It would never not be that way. One hand cupped his face and the other threaded into his hair. She stared up into his eyes. She was tired, they all were, it was the middle of the night or just too early, either way, but she could give him this. Her voice sound quite clearly in his head. Before she had been hesitant and he could feel it in the contact, and she couldn’t stop her worry even now, but it came from a place of care and love. This time it was seamless, soft instead of raw edges. It played along his circle, from that connection. It was her but it was also him, it was all of them. ‘Charles, don’t be sorry. Please? You did what you knew was best for me, for all of us. Don’t ever be sorry for that.’ She searched his eyes. She wasn’t going to kiss him, not till she’d cleaned up a bit, but he suddenly felt like she was. It was tender and warm and incandescently happy. Then she spoke. “There was no way to know what would happen. You couldn’t think ahead. This is the second time this has happened, and now we know, right? Now we know I can manage when I’m awake and aware. I’m not okay. That implies the status quo, and actually I think I’m better than okay.” Her thoughts brushed his again, ‘Please don’t be sorry for showing me I’m safe.’ There was a depthless meaning to the word and an equal amount of love and gratitude as well.

Sharah

He stood up and offered her and V a hand. “Let’s gety’all up off that floor, ok? And get ya cleaned up a bit.”

Tenkiller

Yavia took his hand and hugged him warmly before rinsing the cloth out in the sink. She gave Sharah a glass of water to rinse her mouth and then disappeared briefly and returned with her toothbrush. “Our room, right? Just leave it in here.” She ran a hand down Sharah’s back and then slipped an arm around TK’s waist and squeezed as she looked up at him. “We’re okay. Are you?”

Yavia

He nodded and said “Yeah, I’m ok.” And he was. Sharah’s word had made their point, and he was not one to dwell. At least, not often. “Why don’t we all get cleaned up, maybe take a hot bath, go back to bed and relax for a bit? I’m not in the mood to start the day quite yet.”

Tenkiller