Madness, Part 2

Posted on Mon Sep 21st, 2015 @ 8:27pm by Ensign Reva Madhava & Lieutenant Riley Sukotav

* Down the Hall *

After the walk, Reva had replicated new sheets and remade the bed. She’d ripped the others when she’d woken in a panic. She hadn’t, however, gone back to sleep. Instead, she’d headed back to the crew lounge for another meal. Her metabolism more closely matched that of an Orion than of a Betazoid; she burned calories faster just sitting still - some of which was due to the fact that her body temperature was ten degrees more than most humanoids.

In the lounge, she replicated one of her favorite meals: a cheeseburger with as many fixings as would stay on the bun. In the middle of her meal, just as she’d taken a large bite of the burger and gotten mustard on her face, she saw Riley come in. Smiling, she waved to him.

“Hello sleepyhead,” he greeted her and sat down at the table. “Everything okay? You realize we’re about a day closer to home than when you went to bed?”

“I do,” she wiped her face with a napkin before leaning toward him to kiss him. “I can’t wait to get there.” She pulled at the jewels at her neck and added, “I want this off.” Just tugging at the collar made her head hurt and her stomach churn. “Are you okay? Have you talked to Raj in the past few hours?”

“First stop once we’re home is sickbay.” Riley shook his head. “No, actually. Last I heard, he was finally going to get some sleep but that was several hours ago.” He looked around the lounge and back at Reva. “Where’s Desta? I would‘ve expected to see her here with you since he’s not out and about.”

“Desta and I went for a walk around the ship while Raj went to see a medtech,” she looked and felt a bit guilty. “When we were done, Desta was tired so I left her in her room. Just a warning, Rye? If I’m having a nightmare, you might want to use a pole to wake me. Or wear a face mask. Raj found out the hard way and I scratched him.”

“Really?” Riley thought about it, then smiled. “He’s been through a lot worse, trust me. Between you and Six though, he may want to start wearing body armour,” he teased and ducked out of Reva’s reach. It felt so very good to laugh, he realized.

She laughed, too, and tossed a french fry at him. “I feel awful. Well, felt awful. I don’t want to do that to you, though.”

“But Raj is okay?”

She nodded. “I had good aim, missed his eye. Just got his cheek. He’ll be fine after a little time with a regenerator.”

He laughed again, then reached over to steal a fry from her plate. “One more day Reva, and we’ll be home. Have you thought about whether you want your old quarters or somewhere else?”

Dropping her burger back onto her plate, Reva blinked at him. “Why wouldn’t I want my quarters?” She looked at him a little closer. “Or is that a sly way of asking me to move in with you?”

Riley’s smile turned shy at her question. “Well, it did cross my mind. For many reasons.”

She smiled, too, but it was a wary one. “We could, but it needs to be for the right reasons.”

He nodded slowly. “Because I want you there, not because I feel this overwhelming urge to protect you, is that it? You know that I do.”

Reaching over, she held his hand. “I want you there, too, and I know you can protect me,” you rescued me; you killed him, “but let’s think on it. Maybe ask Raj for advice. Plus, I have a lot to settle. Seyla, Niro, this Robart guy.... I don’t want that to be messy for you.”

“I know you do,” he replied. “That won’t be easy, at least where Seyla and Niro are concerned.” He tried not to let his distaste for Niro color his words but with Reva holding his hand, there was no escaping her notice.

“Rye,” her tone was matter-of-fact, “it is easy where Niro is concerned. I brushed him off before, but then things... well, I used him to keep me from thinking about what you said in the Brig. But he left me open to Owain’s betrayal.” She had no desire to see Niro again, didn’t really even like him, actually. She didn’t have any interest in going to the Pit, either, not anymore.

“It will be fine, in time,” he assured her. “That reminds me, I brought you something and in all the craziness since the rescue I forgot. Wait here.” He rose and hurried from the room. Several minutes later, he returned with his hand behind his back. “Since I happened to think it would be a long trip home, I thought you might like something to tinker with.”

“Do you have my bot!?” She perked up, smiling.

“One of them, at least.” He held it out to her, then sat back down. “I know Darwin’s not here to pester, but there’s always Raj.”

She laughed and took the bot from him. “Thank you. Tinkering with this will be fun. Maybe Desta will be interested.” She doubted that, but one never knew. “One more day. And then...,” she looked a little confused, “back to work?”

Riley shrugged. “That’s up to you and Raj. He may suggest a few days to adjust and I think that’s a good idea. At least the chief won’t give you a hard time about it. I sent her a message to let her know you were alright.”

“Thanks.” She pushed the rest of her burger and fries away. Her mood had shifted downward. “Are you eating? Heading to bed?”

“I should get to sleep, I took a duty shift while you were sleeping, but I hate to leave you up and alone since Des is out too. You can come tinker at my place though. Or read me a bedtime story.” He was joking with her once more.

“I’ll go with you,” she said. She didn’t want to be alone. “Let me put this away,” she took her plate to the recycler and came back, touching his shoulder when she did. “What bedtime story do you want?”

He stood and took her hand as they departed the lounge. “What about Rapunzel?” He covered his yawn with his hand. “You can rename her to Reva.” He gave her a lopsided grin.

"And the Prince Charming, Riley? Wait... is there a Prince Charming in that one?"

* Riley's Room *

She hadn't read him a bedtime story, but she had gone to bed with him and, with his head resting on her breast, gently run her fingers through his hair as he fell asleep. Once he was asleep and once she realized sleep wasn't going to come for her just yet, she carefully eased out of his bed and sat at the desk, toying with her little robot and some parts she'd replicated for it.

As her fingers worked, her mind wandered, revisiting the trauma of Fisher's quarters and the Fisheries' cargo bay. Her hands shook, her whole body trembled as she relived the sound of the cat'o'nine tails on the Bajoran woman's skin; her mind had parsed the memory into the various sounds: the woman's screams, Desta sobbing next to her, the shuffle and scrape of the whip's points on the deck plating between each cruel blow, the sound of the impact of those points and the tearing of the woman's flesh. She could block out, somewhat, the visual replay, but the aural memories refused to be ignored or silenced.
Reva had to stop working on the 'bot; she couldn't see through her tears. Wiping them away, she managed to shock herself and short out the little robot thing. "Shit," she cursed under her breath then looked over at Riley; he was still sleeping.

She shivered. Pulling her cardigan tighter around her, she ordered parts from the replicator and a mug of warm chocolate laced with a sleep aid. Sipping the drink, she replaced the shorted out parts in her toy then stopped to assess her work. What she saw surprised her.

The little robot no longer resembled an insect with a main body and six legs. Now, it had eight, two of which were wickedly pointed and sharply edged. It also had a tail like a scorpion's, complete with a large spike at the end.

"Huh." She put her tools back in her kit and eyed the 'bot. Maybe she could convince some of her fellow engineers to design their own little gladiators and challenge them to a duel. Softly chuckling to herself before yawning widely, she left it and crawled back into Riley's bed.

***************
Lt. Riley Sukotav
Ensign Reva Madhava