Darwin Plays Chaperone

Posted on Tue Oct 20th, 2015 @ 9:37pm by Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Ensign Six of Ten & Vic

Feeling far more relaxed than when he'd arrived in his quarters, Darwin kissed Edana, adjusted his uniform tunic and left his quarters. He was playing the part of delivery boy: Suresh had stopped by and asked to have a bouquet of flowers (Six's favorites) and a box taken to Six. Based on what he now believed had happened, Darwin had no problem taking the items to her.

He did have one problem: getting into Intel's most secretive level. But a brief conversation and a quick call to Captain Hawke had cleared that away. One of Intel's Ensigns had escorted him to the door of Six's temporary quarters and waited nearby till the door opened - which Six was slow in getting around to.

When he stepped inside, he could tell why: Vic was there.

"Darwin. Hey," Vic greeted him as casually as he could, considering he was shirtless and had just barely managed to get his pants back on.

"Hey." Darwin missed a beat then held out the flowers and box to Six. "These are for you."

Six looked at them and blinked in surprise. “Oh Darwin, I didn’t know you cared,” she joked. Her voice sounded hollow, however. She took the vase from Darwin and left it on the table, then reached for the box.

“You’ve talked to him then?” she asked.

"Yeah." Darwin nodded and turned his attention on her. Her hair was missed and her lips looked soft. He'd seen plenty of women with that particular glow about them. He wondered just how far Vic was going in his efforts to comfort Six. "We have evidence that he was drugged. He broke the cardinal rule: never leave a drink unattended. I've turned it over to Gilroy 'cause I need to be somewhere else, but he's going to round up Xerena and have her read."

Vic swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair. "Drugged? Huh. That's not good." That was an understatement.

“Drugged?” Six repeated. Vic’s words echoed in her head and she had to agree. “No, that’s not good. Maybe she is as crazy as Patch said she was.” She opened the box and then frowned. “Umm Darwin?” She held it out and he could see it was empty. “That’s weird.”

His brow rose. "I didn't open it when he gave it to me. I'll ask Ed to talk to him and find out what was supposed to be there. He really wants to talk to you, Six."

“I’m sure he does.” She closed the box and left it beside the flowers. “What exactly does this mean Darwin?” She looked over to Vic for a moment, and her expression softened before she turned back to look at the flowers. Suddenly, everything was in a whirl once more in her head.

"Maybe a girlfriend could come stay with you? Reva isn't on the duty roster yet; Ed is, but I'm sure she could be floated?" Darwin was wary of leaving these two alone.

Vic looked at Six, waiting to see how she'd respond.

“Why? Vic is here so I’ll be fine. I’m supposed to see Raj tomorrow for my usual time and I’m sure he’ll have some good advice too. Will Security let me know once she’s been read and something more is known?”

"Yeah, well... Vic? I'm sure he has a shift at the Nexus...?" Darwin hinted at Vic.

Who wasn't playing along, "Nope, actually, I'm free tonight. All night." He blandly smiled at Darwin.

“Ed said she would be back up here a little later too. She was going ‘hunting’ down in the Pit to see what she could find out. So, I'll be fine. Thanks for bringing the flowers though. I…..I can call to see what was supposed to be in the box….and say thank you at least.” She reached for the small box once more and raised it to her nose. She sniffed and a quick smile appeared. “Don’t worry.” She had sensed his concern at Vic’s presence.

"You'll call Surie?", Darwin asked, to make sure he had that detail correct. He wondered what she smelled on the box. Or in the box?

“I will. Whatever is missing, maybe he can send it up with Edana when she comes.” She laid the box aside once more. “Good luck with whatever it is you have to go do.” She moved closer and hugged Darwin. “Thanks for looking into this too,” she whispered.

"Yup." Darwin hugged her close. He'd grown fond of her, and of Suresh, during his months of working with them and was sure Six knew that. "Go, call Suresh. He's getting frantic. I'll see you in a few days." He looked over at Vic, who was looking decidedly guilty, then took his leave.

When the door closed behind Darwin, the room was quiet for several seconds. Six stood, looking at the flowers and thinking over what Darwin had said. Suresh was getting frantic. He had been drugged and likely by Xerena, as the chain of events seemed to indicate. That might mean it wasn’t his fault, but then, he’d still been there with her and Six was having a very difficult time getting past that. She sighed aloud and reached up to rub her temple.

Vic cleared his throat. "That changes a lot, doesn't it?"

“Does it?” she asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "If he was drugged... that paints a different picture than what you originally saw, Six."

“And this…” she motioned between them, “would make us no better? Is that what you’re saying?”

"Hmm...," he hedged as he approached her and hugged her. "Actually, I'm saying that, if that's what happened, then it's more like he's been... ah... raped. It wouldn't have been his choice."

“What a vile woman,” Six commented as she settled in against his chest. “When I was there, it was as if she found the whole thing funny. Her parting comment was that she’d go and leave us to decide who was going to move out.” She shivered slightly. “He caught me as I was running for the door. Around the ankle. Yelling at me to stop.” A sob caught in her throat. “I just had to get away. I don’t know what to do and now I’ve dragged you into it too.”

"Don't feel bad about that, Six. Don't feel bad about any of it. Just take your time. Feel what you're going to feel, whatever that might be, just temper it with the possibility that he was... not at fault." Vic couldn't believe he was arguing for Suresh, and against his own interests.

“Darwin’s right I should call him. At least to say thank you and check on him.” She rested her forehead against his bare chest, then pressed her lips to his skin for a moment. “Will you excuse me? Just for a minute?”

"Yeah. I'll take a walk," he kissed her hair then grabbed his shirt and shoes and headed for the door.

Alone once more, Six returned to the table and picked up the small box, holding it to her nose. A deep breath in brought with it Suresh’s scent, a mix of the aftershave he always wore and his favorite soap. Darwin’s information played in her thoughts once more. If Xerena was behind this, then he and Vic were right. And if so, what did that mean for her? Why had it been so easy to turn to Vic? She couldn’t answer that and finally, left the box on the table and sat behind the terminal. She stared at the blank screen and realized suddenly that she was afraid. Of what? Her husband? Of being forced to choose once again? She willed herself to get moving and opened the channel.

"'lo?" Suresh answered the call hurriedly. "Six? Six! You called!" He was nearly speechless with surprise.

“Hello.” Seeing him there brought the storm of emotions back in an instant - love, fear, anger, disgust...all rolled into one confused mass. She covered her mouth with her shaking hand and sat silent, trying to get a grip on herself.

"Darwin brought you the flowers and bracelet? Do you like them? I saw that bracelet and immediately thought it would look beautiful on your wrist," he said, sounding desperate.

“What bracelet? The box was empty. The flowers….are beautiful though. Thank you.” Her eyes began to sting and she closed them a moment, determined that he would not see her cry.

"It was empty?" He sat back, stunned. "I'm sorry, I should have checked it." He paused before quietly saying, "Please believe me, Babe, I would never do something like that... not with her, not with any woman. I love you. There is no one but you."

Six nodded slowly. “Darwin said that they think you were drugged by….her. Did they find anything else?”

"Darwin told me the drug they found traces of can cause suggestibility and sedation. I know he's going to find Xerena and interrogate her about this," he frowned. "I don't know yet if the nurse found anything else."

“Patch says she is crazy.” The words slipped out before she even thought about them. “You should be careful.” What Vic has said came back to her and she bit her lip, hesitating. Finally, she continued. “Vic said that if she did do this, then it wasn’t your fault, that you had no choice. He said it was like you’d been….” She stopped unable to give voice to the rest of it.

"Vic said that?" Suresh stared at Six. He had a new respect for the man. "What did he say it was like?" Even as he asked, he realized that if the genders were reversed.... His sense of loss and violation increased. "Oh. Nevermind." He frowned heavily. "I hadn't looked at it that way."

She nodded. “He’s right. That’s exactly what it is. She better hope that Gilroy finds her before I do.” Six’s tone had sharpened. “She won’t like it if I get there first.”

He chuckled, smiling ruefully. "Let's race. Really, I just want her off this Station. I don't care if it's voluntary, non-voluntary, alive or dead. Though she might end up in the brig."

“If she is guilty of this, they will send her off,” Six replied. “I suppose we will know something as soon as they have her.” She fell silent, simply looking back at him. The haunted look in his eyes worried her. “What will you do for tonight?” Too late, she realized that question might backfire if he asked her the same thing.

"Will you come home, please? We need to talk and I'd rather not do that over a computer terminal." He didn't answer her question.

“I don’t know if I….if I can be in there yet,” she replied honestly. She thought, too, of Vic and how close they had been to giving in when Darwin appeared at their door. “How about the Arboretum? There’s a grotto there that will give us some privacy.”

"There is?" He wondered how Six knew about it. "Okay, let's meet by our tree at the lake and walk over," he said.

“Alright. But I’ll need a couple of hours, then I’ll be there. I promise.”

"I'll be there, waiting, Six." Suresh smiled, feeling hopeful.

“How did we get to this point?” she whispered, although she had a good idea. It was all part of the crazy, not quite real life they were living.

"Xerena. Niro. I think those two are poisoning everything they touch," he answered darkly. "No matter what comes of this, they need to disappear."

“You should hear from Gilroy soon enough. I need to go. I’ll see you in two hours.”

"Yup," he nodded and the channel closed.

She sat looking back at the screen, thinking back over what had just happened. Vic was right, Darwin’s news certainly changed things. The urge to get up and go now hit hard but she resisted, knowing she needed to think this through before she went to meet him so she wouldn’t make a snap decision. She was still sitting there when the door slid open and Vic peeked in.

"You okay?" He came fully into the room. "What did he say?"

“That box was supposed to have a bracelet in it. He told me they’d found traces of a drug, as Darwin said, one that causes suggestibility and sedation. He wasn’t sure what else they found, but he did say that Gilroy was going to bring her in. He thinks Niro is involved.” She looked up at Vic and held out her hand. “It won’t surprise me if he is. He blames me for all his problems, what better way to isolate me from Suresh and my obvious source of protection?”

Vic took her hand. "So what are you going to do? If you want to head home, I can walk you there or get Ed."

She shook her head. “No, I’m not going home. I agreed to talk to him but later, at the Arboretum.” Still holding his hand, she stood. “But only to talk to him, then I’ll be back.”

“Right... I’ll grab one of our small weapons and go with you.” He could sense that she was about to argue and continued, “If you expect to leave here without an escort, then you’re not leaving here.”

“I don’t think seeing you will exactly thrill him, Vic.” She frowned, sensing he was digging in his heels. “Whichever way this goes, I don’t want to torture him any more than he’s doing to himself right now.”

“Then Edana will go with you,” he said, “It doesn’t have to be me, but it does have to be someone. I’ll pull rank if I have to, Ensign.”

Something in his tone brought a flash of fire to her eyes but she nodded. “Yes sir. Edana it is. I’m not leaving for two hours, though.”

He nodded. “Good, that’ll give her time to get up here. How about reheating and having dinner, then? Or did you want to spend the two hours doing something else?”

“I think I’m too nervous to eat,” she replied and looked down at their joined hands. “I think I’m a little afraid too.”

Mentally probing just a little bit, he saw enough to ask, “Of feeling these emotions? The anger, the hate, the pain of being betrayed?” He pulled her to the couch.

“That’s part of it. Part of it is trying to decide what to do...and what not to do...and what I want to do.” She smiled faintly. “That made no sense did it?”

“I got it. I get what you mean. You’re not the first to be betrayed, so I do know some of what you’re going through. You’re going to feel what you feel, Six. Let it happen and try not to react to every nuance immediately. Otherwise, you’ll feel like you’re on a merry-go-round, and not in a fun way.” He pulled her close and rubbed her shoulder.

“What if what I feel may not be the best idea?” she asked softly, settling in against him. “Darwin’s not here now.”

“...” He wasn’t sure what the one had to do with the other and refused to think about it. “That’s why you need to let the emotions happen and not react to them. Give yourself some time to think about them, but actually think, not just feel. So... you know, if you feel like hitting him, you need time to think about whether that’s a good idea.”

She looked up at him, holding his gaze. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Did you notice how hard Darwin was trying to get you out of here?”

He laughed hard, “Yeah, he was trying wasn’t he? He’s convinced we were already intimate. That’s not something we should do.”

“But we would have, had he not showed up at the door, and I’ll be back here again tonight. Perhaps then, I’ll have a better idea of what’s happening.” She rested her head back against his chest. “Will you call Edana?”

“Yeah,” he got up before he did something stupid and went to the terminal to open a channel to Edana. Once the message was delivered, he stayed in the desk chair. “She’ll be here shortly,” he told Six. “We’ll see about tonight once you come back from meeting with Suresh.”

Six nodded. “Thanks. For understanding...for...everything.” The kisses before Darwin’s arrival replayed in her mind and she let them, knowing Vic was staying tuned into her thoughts. If she was going to explore her feelings, then she was going to explore all of them.

“Stop that, Six,” he complained. “What are you trying to do? Punish me for something?”

“No, not at all. I’m just following your advice.” The door chime rang and she stood. “That will be Ed. I’ll be home later. I promise.” She stopped by his chair, resting her hand on his shoulder. “Ed won’t let anything happen.”

“Yeah. Be careful out there.” He watched her go.

****************
Ensign Six Of Ten
Vic
Conflicted

Lt. M. Darwin
Clear