By Vol Tryst and February Grace
100203.01
Following On the Good Days
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100203.01
Following On the Good Days
-=/\=-
-Sickbay, USS Alchemy=-
[Salvek to Blane.]
TC felt February startle as she leaned, half asleep against his shoulder, and bolt upright again. She reached up a hand to her now stiff neck, the muscles suffering for the angle she'd been resting at.
Blane sighed. He hated the thought of leaving until word came that Reece was a hundred percent out of the woods. "Go ahead."
[If you would join us on the bridge at your earliest convenience, Commander, for a security briefing?]
Bru nodded to TC that he shouldn't worry, though the man still seemed to hesitate. "On my way. Blane out." He came as close to frowning as he ever did and his eyes reflected his regret at having to go.
"It's okay, TC. You've got work. Thanks, for, you know," she found she could say no more, her eyes beginning to tear up again. She glanced around the bay, looking at Kellyn and Jamie in their beds in the far corner and at Rada sitting by them. She couldn't bear to turn back in the direction of the space where the medical team was still working on Dabin.
"If you need me just call." Blane stressed, "I mean it, February. Say the word and I'll be back here in no time flat."
"Thank you."
Blane turned and looked over his shoulder and sure enough, just out of February's line of vision, stood Vol Tryst. Blane's eyes conveyed to the Counselor that this was the time: he was on, and it was his chance to try to get February to talk about what had happened, or at the very least to try to reassure her that it was over.
Vol had done what he could to seal off his receptive telepathic abilities, in order to filter out the panicked and emergent minds around him. By Blane's silent signal, Vol was now entrusted with the delicate task of a currently fragile February Grace. Honestly, Vol could think of no better way to spend his time right now.
So Vol sat next to February. She stared up at him, hardly needing the visual confirmation she received as to who it was. Vol tried cracking a smile, before simply wrapping his arms around the woman. He tried to appear as calm as he could, when truthfully his own mind was rampant with thoughts focused on a multitude of different people and problems. One of them was sitting, seemingly deep in thought, in this very room. However, right now, Vol brought himself to focus solely on February Grace.
It was strange, the crew had just spent a grueling few days together and yet Vol found that he still felt missed Grace's company; it felt like he hadn't truly seen or spoken to her in ages. He was still hugging her when he whispered into her hair.
"What do you need me to do?"
It almost embarrassed the Counselor to ask such an inane question, but why guess at something when it was quite possible February knew exactly the right answer?
"Forgive me?"
Vol blinked. She was completely serious. "I beg your pardon?"
"For the whole fixing you up with Trev thing. Sibalt hardly turned out to be the romantic setting I'd hoped for."
Vol seemed unable to speak. The corner of his mouth curled into something the could be called a smile, but he was much too preoccupied with the thoughts of his dear friend. Where had such a statement come from?
It was now that Vol really felt Bru's emotions shift; her anger at Jelca turned inward, mutating into a sort of twisted self-loathing that hit him like a bucket of cold water. "If Reece..." she paused, unable to say the word, "it'll be all my fault."
"No," Vol began, " . . . Bru, don't do this."
"Not Dabin, his blood is on Jelca's hands." February shook her head. "I meant Reece. The Trill government won't send another host for the symbiont because of the Reassociation. If Dabin," still, she couldn't speak his name and that word in the same sentence. She shivered. "If...then... Reece also will be lost."
"Oh no you don't." Vol didn't know what came over him, in fact later that night he would spend some time pondering over whether he was thinking clearly at the time, he just reacted. He slowly took February by the shoulders, angling her to face him as he shifted to look at her in the eyes. "N-n-n-n-no. Absolutely not, no woman as fabulous as you is allowed to do this to herself. Not while I'm her Counselor."
February sort of stared back in mild disbelief. Tears rushed to her eyes, and Vol felt the hurt inside of her at the thought of ever harming Reece- a pain that was so devastating that she wished for nothing more in this moment than the ability to lay down in his place on that bed and suffer his injuries for him.
*If only it were that easy, Vol,* she thought, *if only patients could be denied feeling certain things by their psychiatrists, like some sort of vetoing system.*
A scene that struck her as oddly and perversely amusing in this moment played in her mind. It went this way:
"I feel suicidal," said the patient.
"No, I forbid you to do so," said the doctor.
"...very well then, I feel better," was the reply.
"Very good, see you next week."
Bru's lips shaped into the merest hint of a smile and the expression was mirrored by Vol. Although Tryst didn't see the scenario as clearly as if it were his own imagination that'd conjured it, he still felt the black humour in it.
"I'm serious," Vol continued. "I won't let you go down that path."
"I'm serious too, Vol Aniso Tryst." February insisted, finally wrenching herself away from him and wrapping her arms around herself to try to still the tremors that had taken her over. "There's just no way I'd every be able to forgive myself if something happened to...he, I," she finally choked.
"Uh uh!' Vol marched back over to her and seized hold of her again, giving Bru a light shake once more with his hands on her shoulders. "Snap out of that nonsense this instant. You are February Valentine Guinevere Grace, wife of Dabin Reece! You both have a relationship built on love, trust, respect and . . . Dabin." Vol paused only momentarily. "What's more, you're mother of the divine miss Sophia Relanna Grace Reece, and don't you forget that either."
Thinking of Sophie--the thought she might have to grow up without Dabin-- caused the pain to surge in February's heart anew. She reeled and closed her eyes as Vol continued.
"You have just successfully escaped the clutches of a mad-woman, and so did Dabin and Reece. You did not in any way provoke the assault on Dabin Reece, nor did you hinder his recovery. You did everything you could, no exceptions, and that is why you have nothing to feel sorry for. Is that clear?"
"I wish I knew how to help him." A solitary tear trailed down her cheek. "There's got to be a..."
She looked up at Tryst now, a new light shining in her eyes as he felt inspiration dawn over her. "I think there may be a way." She tilted toward him and kissed his cheek softly. "And I thought that I was supposed to be the one giving advice from a wise old slug..." she mumbled.
"Bru?" Vol blinked in confusion.
February strode away from him in a hurry. "Stay with Reece till I get back, will you? I have a call to make."
"Yes Ma'am." Vol felt overwhelmed with relief that she seemed to be spurred to action once again, no longer frozen in panic.
She thought something very sweet as she walked away, leaving Vol to catch his breath. The thought was simple, and it conveyed the depth of her attachment to the Betazoid in all his fantastic, brilliant glory.
*I love you, Vol, my dear friend,* she'd thought, and he knew from the purity of the emotion that she truly meant it. *Thank you.*
Lt. Vol Tryst
Ship's Counselor
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Lt. February Grace
Chief Flight Controller
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Ship's Counselor
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Lt. February Grace
Chief Flight Controller
USS Serendipity NCC-2012