Confusion

Posted on 25 May 2016 @ 11:49pm by Ensign Xavier Hernandez & Ensign Elisha Cherno

1,890 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Sick Bay
Timeline: MD 10

Elisha woke up.

That was remarkable because it meant she had been asleep.

She had been asleep! For the first time in several days, she had actually been sleeping. She still didn't feel rested, but she certainly felt better. That boded well.

She looked around. Xavi sat next to her bed. Distrust flashed across her mind when she saw him, but it was quickly replaced with fondness. The two emotions warred with one another for awhile until she finally turned away and closed her eyes.

Xavier looked up when he sensed rather than saw Elisha move, but when he looked over, she was looking away from him. "Elisha?" he asked very softly. He had spent every hour he could off duty by her side and his uniform looked as if he had slept in it, but he only cared about her.

She turned slowly back to face him and the emotions warred with each other again. Why would she not trust Xavi? That was ridiculous. "Hi," she said weakly.

"Do you want something to drink?" he ask her quietly, the look in her eyes throwing him off a bit and he decided to go slow with her and stick to the basics.

"No, I'm fine, thank you," she answered, still trying to figure out what was going on. "Am I still in Sick Bay?" she asked.

"Yes," Xavier told her. "You've been here for three days and I've been here every day when I get off duty until I had to go back on. Your brother is still on the ship, too. Are you feeling okay, other than being weak?"

The mention of her brother brought more feelings of distrust, but she quickly shoved them away. They couldn't be valid. "I... I think so," she said. "Just a little... disoriented, is all."

"Ah..." he said. "Mi Querida...you had a strong allergic reaction to the cure. You were very sick for a moment because of it and just now fully recovering. Many people are already back on their feet and out of sickbay."

She nodded. "I guess that explains why my fingers feel swollen," she said, holding up one hand. It looked normal, but the fingers felt just a little bigger than normal.

Xavier reached for the hand she held up. "It feels normal to me, but I have spent so many hours holding your hand throughout this that I could not tell you if they are normal or not, mi Querida. You had me and Joel very worried."

She gave him a weak grin. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'll try to get better quick, okay?"

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "That's all I want for you, Elisha. Joel feels the same way. The other cadets have been in and out of here daily as well to check on you. Kelly came in so many times that one of the nurses had to chase her away."

This time, her grin was slightly stronger. "I'm surprised they didn't chase you out," she said.

Xavier pointed to his gold uniform. "I'm Security," he said. "It's hard to chase us out of anywhere and I've came in useful a few times in restraining some of the rowdier ones when the hallucinations started."

The color drained from Elisha's face. "Did- did I hallucinate?" she asked. "I don't remember hallucinating. Oh, please tell me I didn't do anything embarrassing."

"You, uh...were convinced that me and Joel were trying to kill you," he said a bit uncomfortably. "You were shouting and had to be sedated."

"Oh, no," she moaned. "That is SO.... ugh. Why would I think that?"

"You were sick Elisha," Xavier said. "The Captain's Yeoman tried to attack Cadet Crehan and nearly disemboweled herself with a laser scalpel and a Lieutenant Commander went nuts and took a Security Ensign hostage, thinking they were Jem'hadar."

Okay, so that made her feel a little better. "Even so," she said. "That's a horrible thing to accuse of someone."

"The Yeoman thought that Cadet Crehan was a former boyfriend or someone come back to life and was trying to kill her," he told her. "It was nearly a hostage situation. The Chief and Assistant Chief of Security had to get the Lieutenant Commander talked down and subdued. There were others as well, but those were the two most violent ones."

"Wow," said Elisha with a yawn. "It sounds like I missed all the excitement."

"How much do you remember?" Xavier asked her.

"Just being thoroughly exhausted and unable to sleep, and then waking up just now," she replied. "I remember Joel being here."

"Are you sure I can't get you something?" He asked. "Being hooked up to IV's for days without any solid food has to have made you hungry or thirsty."

"I should be," she said. "But I never am when I first wake up. Give me a few minutes. Maybe I should have some water, though."

"I'll be right back," Xavier promised her as he released her hand to go get some ice cold water and a straw for her. When he returned, he sat down and offered it to her, straw first. "Here you go, mi Querida."

"Thanks," she said. Since she was too exhausted to sit, she just turned her head and sucked some water through the straw. "I guess it's not safe to drink while laying down, but I'm so exhausted," she said.

"It is okay," he told her. "That is why I got the straw. Do not drink too much at once. I would not want you to get sick again, even if you are in sickbay. Just take small sips and don't exert yourself too much."

Elisha nodded and took another sip. "Seriously," she said. "You don't think my hands are swollen? They feel swollen."

"Do you want me to call a nurse over to check you?" Xavier asked her. "I could tell if you were armed or planning a physical attack, but I'm not good at medical knowledge beyond first aid."

"No, I'm sure it's okay," she said. 'If it's just an allergic reaction, this is probably just leftovers. If they start to look fat, I'll talk to a nurse."

"That's probably the case," he said as he reached for her hand and made a show of slowly feeling and gripping each finger lightly before giving her hand a light squeeze as a whole. "They feel like they're in good enough shape to feel the slightest deviance in the warp core to me."

"That would come in handy if I were an engineer," said Elisha, taking another sip of water.

"Then you would certainly be able to detect a shift in subspace with these glorious fingers," Xavier said. "They feel as sensitive as the best calibrated device that technology has to offer."

She giggled. "I'm not sure exactly what sensitive devices feel like, so I'll just have to take your word for it," she said.

He smiled at her giggle. "That's a very welcome sound to hear from you after the past several days, mi Querida."

She smiled up at him. "I can do it more if you like," she said. "All you have to do is be funny."

"Have you seen my face?" Xavier joked. "When I was born the doctor wouldn't stop laughing."

She giggled again. "I like your face," she said. "The doctor was an idiot."

"My mama used to tie pork chops around my neck so the family dog would play with me," he went on.

It was a corny joke, and one she'd heard before, but it had the desired effect. "Well, you don't need a dog anymore," she laughed. "You've got me, now."

"Well...I guess," Xavier said. "But do you fetch and play frisbee?"

"I'm sure I could learn," she replied. "And I'm sure I'd be at least as good as a dog."

Xavier laughed. "You're much, much cuter and Pequeño would get jealous. I would never treat you like a dog, Elisha."

"I know, you're just goofing around," she said, still smiling. "It's okay. I know the difference between joking and reality. I grew up with five brothers, remember?"

"I've been keeping Joel occupied while he's been on the ship and he's told me a lot of amusing stories about when you were little," he said. "Is it true that you once gathered all of your animals and turned them into a bridge crew so you could go off to fight pirates?"

"I was five," defended Elisha. "And that horse was the best XO ever!"

Xavier laughed. "Okay, I'll give you that. They are big but...wouldn't it get depressing being around an XO who always has a long face?"

She giggled again. "Actually, he was always smiling," she said. "Rather a lot like the doctor. Except a horse. And male."

"A smiling horse?" he blinked. "How would you know when a horse was smiling? I tried to picture that and I think a part of my brain just broke."

"They sort of peel their lips back from their teeth," she said. "But this one was stuffed. His smile was stitched on."

"Oh that poor horse," Xavier said. "Forced to smile forever. Whatever happened to your loyal XO?"

"He's sitting on my bed in my quarters," she answered. "He's been patched so many times, he's almost a completely different horse, but I'm sorta nostalgic."

"You should see if there's a replicator pattern for him," he suggested. "That way, you could keep one and put the other up to give to your children one day."

"No way," she said. "He's my horse. No future kids are getting him."

"No," Xavier said. "Give the replicated one to your future children so they can know the same love you have for yours."

"No," she insisted, laughing. "Commander Applejax is mine and mine only. Nobody else gets to have him! They'll have to find their own things."

"I like that name," he said. "It has a nice ring to it. Do you have any others that you've kept?"

"No, just him," she replied with a yawn. "He was my favorite."

"Elisha....can I ask you something?" Xavier asked her a bit hesitantly.

"Of course, anything," she replied sleepily.

"Do you remember saying you loved me?" he asked softly.

Elisha blinked. "No, I-" Her eyes grew wide. She did remember saying it. "Oh.... Oh, I guess I did."

"It's okay if you didn't mean it," Xavier said. "You were sick and suffering from lack of sleep...."

"No," she said. "I mean, it's not that I don't mean it. I just... maybe it was too soon...."

"It's okay," he assured her and gave her hand a squeeze.

She gave another yawn and smiled weakly. "I'm really sleepy," she said. "I'm probably supposed to be resting anyway."

"Get some sleep, mi Querida," Xavier told her as he leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I will be here when you wake up."

Elisha sighed happily and let her eyes close. Really, could she have asked for a better boyfriend than Xavi? Perhaps, but then she would have been just greedy and nobody wanted a greedy girlfriend. Content in the fact that she was not, in fact, greedy, she let herself drift off to sleep.

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