Awakening

Posted on 25 Jan 2017 @ 8:57pm by Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale

1,282 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Endgame
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD12 || 0400 Hours

Silence.

The symbiont slowly becoming aware of its situation. There was no way to determine how long it had been unconscious - could have been hours, or even days, for all it knew. But the one thing it did know, was that the Host was also unconscious. Temerant's thoughts were quiet, with only occasional bursts coming through the link. He might be sleeping, or -

The symbiont remembered. The pain from the shoulder injury, the exhaustion stemming from the blood loss, and the sudden loss of balance.

Was it possible that it was now in another Host?

No. The Host was still unconscious, but there was a familiarity here that would have been absent in another Host. And the symbiont was usually awake during a Joining. No, he was still Temerant Bast.

A sound.

The symbiont had heard something. Temerant's thoughts were becoming louder now, gaining in cohesion. Some sounds were beginning to register. A few beeps. Faint, distant voices. A slow, steady beeping. A biobed?

Camila sat by the side of the biobed where Temerant had been laying with a PADD in her hand. She was reading a tale from Trill that involved the first Joining and didn't notice anything from where he lay.

Temerant slowly opened his eyes. The lights were dimmed, but he could make out a few shapes and silhouettes. He turned his head, and saw a familiar face sitting next to the biobed. The one face he wanted to see the most - the only face he wanted to see, really.

"Hello," he whispered, his voice hoarse, and barely audible.

The sound of his voice, even if it was just barely heard caused the omber haired acting XO to drop the PADD and look at him to make sure that she had heard him speak and it wasn't just in her head. The sight of his open eyes made tears come to hers and she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I...I never thought I'd see you again," she said, her voice cracking.

"The rumors of my death..." he began, his voice still weak and struggling to catch his breath, "may have been slightly overstated... But only slightly."

He wanted to reach up and stroke her cheek, run his fingers through her hair, pull her closer to him, but his arms still felt too weak. He smiled, and looked into her eyes. "I couldn't leave you behind now could I?"

Camila pulled back for a moment to look him over before she reached for a pitcher of cold water and poured a glass. She touched a control to raise the biobed up to make him a bit more comfortable and offered the glass to him. "Temerant..." she started. "You can't keep doing this to yourself....not when I realize that I love you."

"I'll make sure the Selamat get a memo regarding your objections," he whispered. Then the rest of her words registered, and a smile lit up his face. "Took you long enough," he said.

She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as she met his hazel eyes. "I was in no shape to reciprocate when you told me you loved me in sickbay, Temerant. I didn't realize it until after you were gone and I had time to worry myself sick."

Memories started coming back to him. The Selamat. The asteroid. The base. The Cochrane. Explosions. The ship shaking, and then... Nothing.

"The Cochrane," he said. "Is the crew safe?"

"They are as far as I know," Camila said, still holding his hand. "You wouldn't be here, otherwise. Some of them got banged up pretty bad, but it could have been a lot worse." She paused and fought to maintain eye contact with him. "I kept fearing that I'd lose you and didn't know what to do other than throw myself into my duties and work double and triple shifts when I wasn't drinking myself to sleep."

In his normal state, Temerant would probably have countered that it was nothing to worry about. That he had enough life experience by now for her not to worry about such things, that he would always find a way. That self-sacrifice was part of their duty as officers, to ensure the safety of their ship, their crewmates. And that it wouldn't do anyone any good for her to be so hard on herself. But as it was, he was still too weak to mount a proper reply. His brain still felt like it was wrapped in cotton candy.

As it was, all he could think of to say was, "Didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me, Temerant," Camila said softly as a tear slid down her cheek. "It wasn't your fault. All I could think of was what you were going through and the fact that I'm the one who made the suggestion for the Black Hawk to leave instead of staying to fight."

"You can't blame yourself," he replied. "If you'd stayed the Black Hawk would have been captured too. And we would have been much worse off."

"I'm just glad you're back," Camila said as she leaned down to give him a soft kiss. "Do you want something to drink or any messages that I can pass along for you?"

Temerant took her hand, and pulled it close to him. "I have everything I could ever want right here."

She leaned in when he pulled her closer and gave him a soft kiss. "You are an amazing man, Temerant Bast, and I'll be by your side no matter what. Once things get settled, if you want me to, I'd be happy to move in with you."

He smiled and fought the pain to bring her hand to his lips. "I think I might be the luckiest man this side of the wormhole to have found you," he said. He kissed her hand.

He wanted to wrap his hands around her. He wanted to hold her, and be with her, and cut off the outside world so they could just be together. But he knew that wasn't possible for now. The universe seemed to be conspiring to keep them apart. But they would prevail, he was sure of it.

The professional part of him wanted to ask her how the ship was holding up, and the makeshift repairs they'd made by integrating material from the Chimera. But the injuries had taken their toll, and he felt weary, worn out, and utterly exhausted. He couldn't feel his left shoulder, and moving his left arm was impossible.

"Did Doctor Kij tell you anything about my injuries?" he asked her.

Camila shook her head. "No one has told me anything," she said softly. "I don't need to know anything as long as you're alive and awake. You shouldn't force yourself to do anything, either. I mean that and as the Chief of Security, I will enforce it."

"Will handcuffs be involved?" he said, smiling lopsidedly.

But it was apparent that his energy was wearing thin. His body was still struggling to repair itself, and his eyelids were getting heavy.

"Worse," she said. "My love." She saw that he was ready to pass out again and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "Get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up or a combadge away. I love you, Temerant."

I love you more, he thought in his head, in his final conscious moment before falling asleep. His lips quivered as they tried to form the words, but only a grunt was audible. His hand went limp on hers, and he slept.

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