Outpost 88✔️

CHAPTER 01: New Territory

For once, Jennifer found that she wasn't the one having the nightmares.

She had come awake a few moments ago from what had been a mercifully dreamless state. At first, she wasn't sure what had awoken her, but ultimately determined that it was the woman who shared her bed. Genevieve was twitching occasionally, and making soft sounds. Jennifer thought that the woman didn't get nightmares, she seemed...above them, somehow. Too tough for them, perhaps. Now, she laid on her side, staring at Genevieve's pale face in the dim light of their shared, temporary cabin aboard a Viper hurtling through space at faster-than-light speeds, debating with herself about whether or not to wake her.

She found herself thinking about their relationship.

Probably the most interesting thing was that she wasn't quite sure how it had begun. What was the transitioning point between them being friends and them dating? It was something she'd thought a bit about lately.

It had been a month since the incident on Ash.

Her injuries...had been very bad, but she counted herself lucky compared to what had happened to Greg. It was a miracle that he had survived being decapitated. Her caved-in skull, popped-out eyeball, and ripped-off leg had taken about two weeks to heal in their entirety. Sometimes, she caught herself thinking about the fact that, a few hundred years ago, she likely would have died from her injuries. Or, had she survived, she'd be stuck without a real leg and probably brain damaged. And she always gave deep thanks for medical technology.

For about a week, she'd been laid up in the infirmary while they did what they needed to do to get her back up to one hundred percent. Genevieve had come to see her often. She even took to eating her meals by her bed. When Jennifer had been able to leave the infirmary and begin physical therapy, something she'd only have to do for a few days thanks to modern medical marvels, Genevieve had helped her with that, too.

While the physical damage healed quickly, the emotional and psychological damage took more time. In fact, she was still sorting through it, and thought she would continue to do so for quite awhile. At Hawkins's urging, she had started seeing a therapist, one of three they had on the ship. In a way, she felt kind of lucky. Most of the worst parts of Ash were kind of...hazy. She didn't really remember them, unless she tried hard, and she never tried hard to do so. The biggest problems, however, came at night, when she was trying to sleep.

Sleeping alone was something she had gotten used to. Nightmares, too. Everyone had nightmares, and she thought she might have more than most, given what she'd been through over the past few months. But the new ones...she found herself waking up multiple times a night, convinced that something was in the room with her, something that wanted to torture her. After three nights, she'd finally given into her fear and had started sleeping with the lights on. It helped...but only a little. And it was more than a little embarrassing.

Through this, Genevieve had been sticking around her a lot of the time, talking with her, training with her, just hanging out. Jennifer thought that the woman, who finally admitted to being a former government assassin, didn't really know the meaning of the phrase 'down time', but she was pleased to discover that Genevieve could watch and enjoy movies or shows with her, could play a few games, didn't mind sitting around in her quarters just...talking. They both had a lot to talk about it seemed. Stories, theories, opinions.

Finally, after five restless nights, Jennifer had asked Genevieve if she would spend the night with her. She just needed someone there in bed with her. Genevieve had agreed. She knew that Jennifer wasn't going to try and turn the encounter sexual, given that she was asexual, and Genevieve had, during previous conversations, said that she wasn't sure she was interested in sex anymore. Not after Trent's death.