The Aftermath of Suresh

Posted on Sun Sep 2nd, 2012 @ 4:30pm by Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Seyla's Quarters

Knowing he was unexpected, Darwin was surprised when Seyla’s door swooshed open, admitting him into her domain without so much as a “who the hell are you?” Of course, the computer controlled that, and he did have a commbadge on, so it all made some sort of sense. He stepped in and found the place dark. Not completely, he realized after a moment.

There was light and a soft music coming from the bedroom. “Seyla?”, he called, hoping she wasn’t entertaining a client. Moving the beads that hung in the doorway aside, he peered in and frowned at what he saw.

“Oh, Darwin,” Seyla, mostly undressed, smiled at him and made a lame attempt to hide the item in her hand. She couldn’t hide the dark green and purple bruises on her cheek or neck, though.

Walking over to her, Darwin took her chin in his hand and turned her so he could better see the bruises. He could also see what was in Seyla’s hand: a regenerator, designed to quickly erase bruises and small cuts. “Who did this?”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s nothing. Trust me?” Slipping out from beneath his hand, she crossed to the bathroom, using the mirror and began to work on the bruises once more.

He frowned and followed her. In the bathroom, he put his hand on the regenerator over hers. “Go sit on the bed, Seyla,” he said, nodding his head in that direction. He didn’t trust her, but yet he did... he liked her, even.

Lowering the regenerator, she met his gaze in the mirror. “What? Being a gentleman now?” She wasn't too sure about this. He sounded concerned, and what if he raised her skirt at all? Noticed there were more? That would lead to far more than casual concern and dash straight into...something. Their relationship was so odd, she never knew what he thought of her really.

He snorted derisively. “Like I’ve ever needed to be a gentleman with you, Seyla. I do have quite a bit of experience taking care of bruises, though. I promise to be gentle,” he looked her over in the mirror and slipped a hand around her bare midriff; his hand covered a bruise there.

“Silly me for thinking such a thing.” She let go of the regenerator however and turned away from the mirror - and towards Darwin. “If you insist.”

He paused, looking her beautiful, though currently marred, face over, and lightly brushing a lock of hair back behind her ear. “I do. C’mon,” he turned to let her lead the way to the bed. He’d said the bed for a couple of reasons: one, he saw bruising on her back; two... it was convenient.

As she sat and let him run the regenerator over her skin, he asked her again, “Was this a paying client or a competitor?”

“Competitor? You know we don’t have any here Dar. I have people who look out for that. And no, it wasn’t a client. The only one I saw last night got interrupted.” Seyla waited as he finished passing the regenerator over her face and neck. “We done now?” Damn. Too impatient. He was a sly one and always picked up on the nuances. “I mean...thank you. It’s nice of you to help out.”

“Help out?” He stared at her a moment. “I used to be in love with this woman, Amber... still am in love with her.... But whenever she wanted me to ignore something, she’d try to hurry me along. Either that or distract me with sex.” For just a moment, he had a far off look in his eyes. Then smiled and looked at Seyla, “I rather liked her second method better than the first. But I learned to be a little suspicious when women do either one.” He caught her chin again. “How many other bruises do you have?”

“So if you are so in love, what are you doing here and not there?” She crossed her arms as she looked back at him. It was a good means of distraction, since sex would answer his question far too plainly.

“She sent me away. She’s an Admiral... Hey, quit avoiding my questions, Seyla!”

“So I’m a good filler?” Her question was a little harsh but it would continue the distraction. She hoped.

“That’s not what I was saying,” Darwin started to defend his comments about Amber then frowned at Seyla. “Should I strip you to find out my answer?”

Seyla could take Darwin barging in whenever he felt like it for a romp. She could handle the fact that he wasn’t really emotionally attached to her. Their ‘relationship’ was what it was. What she couldn’t deal with was all this concern and caring. Where the hell had this come from? It wouldn’t last either, that’s not what they were about. Her voice hitched as she answered him.

“So if I tell you, will you leave it alone?”

“Leave it alone? Seyla, this is your profession; my profession is Security, and helping make sure people aren’t beating on others on the Station. If you tell me that a client did this and that’s normal business with that client, I’ll leave it alone.” He gently urged her to lay back, so he could work on the bruise on her ribs. “And I’ll get the places you can’t reach.”

She lay still as he healed the bruises on her ribs, then gently slipped off her skirt. There were clear finger bruises on her hips going around to the back and one more on her right thigh.

“There, that answer your question?”

“My last question, yeah, but not my other question, which was: who?” His touch on her skin was light, almost sensual as he removed the bruises and rubbed the formerly sore spots. Seyla wasn’t using her pheromones on him, but the residual amounts in the room and on her were enough to have him wanting to do more than just remove the marks on her skin. “I think we got ‘em all.”

She had rolled over to let him get at the ones in back and now turned her head to the side to look at him.

“Suresh.”

He’d been slowly rubbing her spine when she said the Romulan’s name. He paused in his gentle ministrations; when he resumed, his hands were tense. “Then perhaps you have more information to share?”

“About? The fact that he’s losing his marbles over that woman? That I gave him a little dose of reality? Or that he needed to work off the tension before he shattered? Trust me, none of those was pleasant.” She groaned inwardly at the tension she felt in Darwin now. “Look, I heard about what happened at the Nexus. One of the girls thought it might be a good idea if I entered the lion’s den with a few treats.”

There were several conflicting thoughts in Darwin’s head. The one thought that overrode the others was that Seyla had... she’d essentially taken one for the team. But what team was she playing on? He figured he knew the answer to that one: Seyla played on Seyla’s team and no one else’s. As he massaged Seyla’s back, the tension eased from both his hands and her muscles; her pheromones rose from her and Darwin leaned in to smell her. “Seyla... I came just to ask about last night, what you had heard, what was being said,” he breathed next to her ear and kissed her shoulder. “But, as usual, you’re pretty irresistible.”

“Tell your CO to watch his ass. That’s all I know.” She sighed softly at the kiss. “And aren’t you on duty?”

“Like that’s been a problem before?” Darwin moved her glorious red hair out of his way and kissed her neck. “Either kick me out now, Seyla, or let’s hit the shower.” As it stood now, if she kicked him out now, he’d have to find a shower, a long, warm shower, before returning to the Security offices anyway.

“Shower. I need to wash some Romulan off, and maybe some human on.”

“Yeah, let me help with that,” Darwin growled and pulled her off the bed and into the shower, not caring that he was still fully clothed.

**********
Darwin
More of a Gentleman Than Previously Realized

Seyla
Taking One For The Team