Ties That Can't Be Unbound
Posted on Wed Oct 21st, 2015 @ 9:56pm by Ensign Six of Ten & Suresh & Senior Chief Petty Officer Edana
Edited on on Sat Oct 24th, 2015 @ 1:27pm
Mission:
Further Challenges
Location: The Arboretum
* The Arboretum *
Six and Edana reached the edge of the Arboretum and continued to walk along in silence. Edana wondered how much of her advice Vic had taken. When she’d seen Darwin off to Archadia, he had seemed a little unhappy about his visit to see them but Ed hadn’t pressed. She wanted to ask Six but it was really not her business. Up ahead they could see the tree by the small lake. Suresh was visible leaning against it.
Six stopped and turned to Edana. “We’ll be going to the grotto that’s on past the lake. You know the one. I will be visible till I get there in case anything weird happens. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
Edana gave Six a reassuring smile. “Good luck. Yell if you need me.”
Six nodded. “I will.” Then she turned and walked across the grass, finally reaching the tree and Suresh. She stopped, out of his reach, but close enough to talk. “Hi.”
"Hi," he pushed himself away from the tree and took a few paces towards her. "I'm glad you came."
She resisted the urge to step back and held her ground as he drew closer. Reaching out mentally, she sensed the roiling emotions within him and sucked in a breath. The hurt and worry were strong, but the sense of violation was almost overwhelming.
“Oh...Suresh….” she murmured.
He looked down at his shoes. "That grotto? Where is it?"
“Just beyond the lake on the other side.” She watched him for a moment, then finally reached out to touch his arm. “Ready?”
"Yes," he smiled and covered her hand on his arm. He let her lead him to the grotto and then asked, "How do you know of this place?"
“Strangely, Niro mentioned it once a while back, then I saw it while I was out wandering.” She looked around at the inside of the small grotto, then perched on a large rock. It was as private as Niro had said it would be.
“Huh... I bet the old Suresh knew of this place,” Suresh moved around the edges of the space, hands in his pockets. He paused near the back of the grotto and faced her. Speaking slowly, he pleaded with her, “Six, please understand. This was not... I did not do ...whatever... willingly or... knowingly.”
“That is what Darwin said too,” she admitted. “When he brought the flowers. I can feel...just how deeply this has hurt you too. It is a violation, a huge one. I know that now.” She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them to her chest. “It’s a mess.”
He wanted to be where her knees were. “It is,” he agreed. “I don’t know what else to say, Six, but I want to go kill her.”
“That desire crossed my mind too you know.” She smiled at him finally. “I….” she hesitated, not wanting to pile more on him but Vic’s words about accepting what she was feeling came back to her. “I don’t want to make you feel worse,” she began. “But I am not used to such emotional turmoil and I don’t know how to deal with it. When I came home and saw…..” She closed her eyes, not wanting to continue that train of thought.
“What we’re both horrified by, Six. I can’t imagine what it looked like from your point of view. I know from mine it was a nightmare,” he said. “I want you to come home, but ... you need to do what’s right for you and not just what I want.”
“I don’t know what that is.” The strain was evident in her voice. “I mean, I know rationally that this wasn’t your choice but how do I get past it? How do I get it out of my head?”
He thought about the roles being reversed. What if he’d seen Niro in such a compromising position with Six? How would he feel? How would he move past that? He realized what he’d have done - and he wouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion Six had, not after their conversation the other night. He felt rage well up suddenly. “I don’t know. What I do know is that ....,” he reined in his anger. “We need to go to our separate places. We both have some things to feel and work through.”
His anger hit her full force and she recoiled. “I’m sorry I assumed what I did but I never thought she could have drugged you. I’m not as good at any of this as you are. I’ve never had any sort of relationship before so I have nothing to draw from, no experience. I want you to know what I was feeling then so it doesn’t just keep brewing within me. I didn’t know what the story was so all I had to go on was what I was seeing.”
Slowly, he nodded; he had a handle on his anger, but it was still there, seething. Working to be calm, he said, “I never imagined that she’d drug me. I should have known better, though - the Xerena I knew in the other universe was a chemist.” He sighed. “I’m serious about going to our separate places, though. For tonight. Even as much as I want you at home with me.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I need some space, too. I have my own thoughts to work through. It isn’t as if I’ve ever done this... or had this done to me before.”
“And I was less than understanding and immediately doubted the man I married,” she replied. “Instead of doubting her.”
Rubbing a hand across his mouth and jaw, he nodded. “Just what she wanted you to do. Same with Niro.” He paused, thinking, then added, “Perhaps I rushed you into marriage.”
Fear flashed through Six now and she shook her head. “You did nothing of the sort! You promised that you’d never push me into anything and you didn’t. I made that decision and I…..” she stopped and shook her head. “I failed you. How could I be so stupid?”
“Stupid? You didn’t do anything stupid,” he went over and took her hands in his. “You did what Xerena predicted you would do. We’re in danger of walking right into the trap she set for us. The only saving grace is that Darwin and Li know me and are willing to see the truth of the situation.”
Six knew that she had been in danger of walking into another situation entirely with Vic because of anger, fear, and what she had thought was betrayal. Suddenly, an image of Riley rose in her mind and she sucked in a breath, even as her grip tightened on Suresh’s hands.
“Ow,” he whispered, more as a warning than as an actual cry of pain. “What? What caused that?”
She caught herself and relaxed her grip enough so that she wouldn’t break his hands. When she looked up, tears had filled her eyes. “I was just thinking of Riley. I realized that I was so quick to forgive him when he did something terrible that was not his choice or his fault. I was so sure he wouldn’t do it intentionally. Why was I also so quick to assume you would do this on purpose?”
“Because men cheat?”, he said. He had no doubt that, at some point, her friend Reva would have said something along those lines. “Friends don’t normally try to kill you, but boyfriends? Husbands? They cheat. They screw around behind your back and expect you to be okay with it. Right?”
His words cut deep and she shook her head. “Maybe because we tend to believe what we see and simply react.” She raised Suresh’s hands to her lips and kissed each one gently. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Impulsively, he hugged her, saying, “I’m sorry, too. Is there anything we can do to ...make any of this better?”
She slipped her arms around him, taking in the familiar and welcome feel of him. “Can you forgive me for thinking the worst of you? For blaming you for something you didn’t do?”
He held her, smelling her hair, her essence. “Yeah, I can. It hurts that you’d think the worst, but... I get it. No matter what, I love you; I can forgive you.” He kissed her forehead.
“I know you do.” She tilted her head up to look him in the eyes. “I love you too. I was so confused about what to do but I can’t leave you Suresh.”
Nodding, he sighed, “Thank you. Will you come home with me?”
Relief swept through her, both that things might get back to normal and that she had just saved herself from her own impulsiveness.
“Yes, but I need to call Vic and let him know I won’t be back.”
“You can call him from our quarters,” he hugged her as tightly as he could. “Let’s get back.”
She pulled back just a little and reached up to take his face in her hands. “First things first.” She pulled him down into a kiss.
He drowned in that kiss and let his hurts and insults wash away in its gloriousness.
*******************************
SCPO Edana
Standing Watch
Ensign Six Of Ten
Going Home
Suresh
Saying a Hail Mary
