Go Ask Reva: Advice for the Lovelorn

Posted on Wed Nov 4th, 2015 @ 10:30pm by Ensign Reva Madhava & Vic

* The Arboretum *

After Vic left Leto and Suresh, he’d gone out to lunch and then, not really in the mood to go home, he simply began to wander. He’d finally ended up sitting on a stone by the lake, a place he knew Six often came on her walks. Not that he expected to see her here today, but even so it was a peaceful place to relax in the wake of hearing that Suresh knew a lot more than he was comfortable with. He had no idea whether to tell Six or not. So, he sat, just letting his thoughts drift.

And that’s where Reva found him. She was coming off of lunch and a trip to Mamu B’yaga’s shop, where she’d met the not-so-elusive shop owner and picked up a gift for Riley. “Hey, Vic, how are you doing?” She sat next to him and looked out over the lake.

“Reva, hi!” Her smiled, genuinely glad to see her. “What brings you around here?” He’d avoided the question and didn’t really expect to get away with it.

“You, actually,” she smiled at him and reached over to pat his hand. “How are you doing?”, she asked a second time, keeping in contact with him.

He looked down at her hand and shook his head. “Checking to see if I lie, huh?” He shrugged. “I’ve had better days. I had to be the good guy and for once, it sucks.”

“I know. You’ve been on the losing end with her since she met Suresh. For the record, Vic, I think she’s nuts, even if he really is a nice guy.” Truth was, if she wasn’t dating Riley, she’d have been happy to date Vic. She let him feel that through their physical contact.

He laughed softly. “So that makes two of you who think I’d be great if only….” He patted her hand. “It’s alright, I appreciate the thought. As much as I hate to admit it, though, I’m the one who blew it in the beginning. I’ve accepted that. I gave it a damn good try and that is all I can ask. When we found out what really happened to him, I had to make a decision.” He didn’t say aloud how close he and Six had been to really complicating matters but he knew she could read that.

“Yeah. That damned Darwin, always getting in the way, right?” She chuckled. “Desta likes you. You should come over more often and just sit with us.”

“It’s not just Darwin. It’s my stupid ethics too, though this time I managed to ignore them.” He paused as her last words caught his attention. “She does? I like her too. I can’t imagine going through what either of you did and still being so….together.” He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“If it weren’t for Riley, I wouldn’t be together. I’d be a mess,” she admitted. “Desta... I don’t know; I don’t understand how she’s coping. She was on that ship for nearly two years. I don’t know. If it’s the sex you’re wondering about... that was only a small part of everything. The pain and, for her, the training... those are the hard parts.” She leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder.

“I don’t either. We talked about it a little that night she stayed with me in sickbay but not too in-depth. What I sensed though, is that she was there so long, anything now is a blessing and she’s grabbing hold of it all. I don’t think she expected to ever be away from Pash or really to live much longer. I’m just glad that we got you back. For what it’s worth, Riley would be a mess too if they hadn’t.”

She nodded. “I worry about him. He’s focused on making sure I’m okay, but he still has his own stuff to work through. Should I...,” she hesitated, “Vic, I’m considering asking him if he wants to go back to his quarters. He’s been staying with me, and Desta, since we got back; maybe he should be in his own space.” Not that she wanted him to not be in her space; on the contrary, she sorely wanted him to stay with her.

Vic considered her question and finally he shook his head. “Don’t you think if he really needed that, that he wouldn’t say so? He’s back on duty so he is doing his own thing. Is he still seeing Raj?”

“Yeah,” she nodded again, “So am I. Hey, I started working with an Academy professor. I’m helping out with some engineering classes.”

“That’s good. You’re an amazing engineer, it’s high time that was recognized.” He smiled as they sat looking out over the lake. “How do you like it, and him, so far?”

"The professor is... I'm unsure about him. Some moments, he's fine; others, he's creepy. He just asked Six on a date, sort of. I don't think he meant to, but that's how it sounded."

That got another laugh out of Vic. “I’d probably vote for not meaning too. I know plenty about those two and my advice is to keep your ears open and soak up everything he knows. Louie’s name is still legend in my department. Louie the Black, they called him. As for you, I think you’ll do very well.”

"Thanks. Class was stressful today because it was my first. Chance and Eli were there. Eli was good, but you know how Chance can be sometimes." Faintly, she smiled. "It should all be good, though. What about you? How do you handle being her contact?"

“So far? It’s been up and down,” Vic answered truthfully. “Leto asked me today if, given recent developments, I want to continue to be her handler. I’m thinking about what to do there. I want to talk to Six about it before I decide.” He paused as he debated whether to bring up his morning and decided to take the plunge. “I need your advice on something.”

"My advice?" She seemed surprised he'd ask. "Sure, ask away."

“Well, this morning I ended up sitting down with Suresh. He wanted to be sure I know how grateful he is for helping to bring out the real story so that Six knew the truth and for convincing her to come talk to him. He was being really sincere and I can appreciate what it took for him to admit that to me. He said that if there’s ever anything he can do for me he will.” Now Vic paused as the rest replayed in his thoughts. “He also told me something else he thought I should know - that Six talks in her sleep.”

"Okay...? Are you asking me whether you should tell your boss? I'd think they might already know." Reva chuckled. "Don't they do all sorts of tests... Oh, with Six, maybe they didn't see the point."

“No, I’m asking if I should tell Six,” he answered. “That was his way of nicely telling me that he knows everything that’s happened between me and Six, or almost happened. She has no idea he knows any of it.”

“You don’t think he’s already told her? Why wouldn’t he? Would it worry her if she knew? It seems that she’d have told him some of this... don’t you think?”

“I don’t know.” Vic frowned as he looked back out over the lake. “On one hand I feel like she should know and on the other? I think it’s up to Suresh if he wants her to know. It’s just more than a little awkward to have him tell me he knows I’ve been getting too close to his wife.”

“At least he told you and didn’t try to wipe you off the Station because of it,” she said, still leaning against him. Suddenly she started giggling and managed to say, “Look at that, I forgot again. Disliking him was so easy.”

“It’s going to sound strange but liking the guy is actually pretty easy. Most men in his shoes would’ve taken a swing at me.” He laughed too. “Such is life.” Something she’d said earlier came back to him and now what Six’s double had said began to make sense. “Oh. Several nights ago, Six’s double came to see me. She seemed so certain that someone else here found me attractive. I wonder if she meant Desta, since you mentioned it just now.”

“I think there are more than just Desta who find you attractive. Chance and Eli, for example. Maybe not Eli... he works with you,” she mused. Finally, Vic’s comment sunk in a bit more and she asked, “Six’s double? Who is that?” Like many, she didn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of the species on the Station.

“Halanans have the ability to project themselves as a double. That’s the short version anyway.” He shrugged. “She said several things that night that made sense. I guess we’ll see how it goes from here. In time it will all work out.”

“Yeah,” she let silence fall between them. “Hey, do you want to go warp ten with me?”

Vic began to laugh once more. “I’ve sworn off warp ten with other men’s women,” he joked. “No good can come of it.”

“...,” she glanced at him and laughed. “I meant real warp ten, like on a ship, not ... yeah, not that. Robart’s ship will go that fast. I want to be in the engine room when we hit it.”

“That might be much more of interest to Professor Thorn, don’t you think? It would make for a great presentation to your engineering class too.” Vic patted her arm. “Think about it. I bet he’d jump at the chance. Besides, I’ve heard it’s an interesting sensation. You should twist Robart’s arm into making it a field trip.” He grinned.

“Hmm... that sounds difficult, considering how big Robart is. ‘Course, Desta said that he acts like he’s wrapped around my little finger.” She glanced at Vic, smiling, “That’s a Terran phrase meaning that he’ll do anything I ask.”

“I can see that,” Vic answered. “It’s worth a shot. I don’t think he’ll say no to you over much of anything.” He turned just enough to wrap his other arm around her in a hug. “Thanks for tracking me down.”

“Hey, you’re my friend, I don’t like that you’ve been having a hard time,” she said, hugging him back.

“I’m a big boy, I’ll get past it.” He smiled back at her. “Besides, I knew the risk in pursuing it after she told me they were engaged. So, I took a chance that didn’t work out. Almost did but not quite. Now, I move on and, now that I’m a partner at the club, I suspect work will take up more time.” He let go of her and stood. “I should be getting to that actually. Enjoy your class planning.”

“I will. Be good, Vic,” she smiled at him and winked. “See you around.”

**************
Vic (Lt.)
Bending Reva’s Ear

Ensign Reva Madhava
Bending Back