Nobis ✴︎ Pavel Chekov

Chapter Twenty Four - Goodbyes

The days start ticking down until Pavel returns to space. Emory checks her phone constantly but she hears nothing from him. His dorm is empty, Kirk and Scotty are clueless. Alec hasn't seen him since he last retreated to engineering. Sulu is silent about the whole matter, which only sparks Emory's interest more. She doesn't comment on it until two days before they're supposed to leave. She turns up at his dorm and he looks like he's been expecting her and leads her outside, taking a seat on a bench near the dorm rooms.

"I know you know where he is. I'm going crazy Sulu, I can't let him go to space without seeing him at least once more."

"Emory, he made it very clear to me that he'd only tell me where he was on the condition that I didn't tell you or anyone else. He's safe but he doesn't want to see you."

"Sulu, please... He just walked out. There's too much I need to tell him and he won't even read my messages. I don't know how long he'll be in space for, what if I don't see him again?"

Sulu doesn't agree with Pavel's decision, he thinks the Russian should at least try and talk to her. He apologises to Emory but respects his friend's wishes. Emory gives him a look of strong hurt, standing up and leaving before she can start to tear up. She comes back into her dorm, wiping her eyes and trying to calm herself down. T'mas is there and Emory sudden realises, giving her a weak smile and retreating to her bedroom. She hasn't broken down in front of a Vulcan before and it wasn't exactly something she was planning on doing. She slides from against the door onto the floor and lets the tears fall freely from her eyes. She stays there until time blurs and until she succumbs to sleep and wakes up in a crumpled heap on the floor. She moves into the bed and falls back asleep, telling herself that she doesn't want to check her clock.

The day before Pavel leaves Emory just walks around the campus in the hopes she'll run into him somewhere. She has a suspicion that he could be staying with Sulu but doesn't want to wait outside his dorm for hours. She checks the library and around engineering, any place she thinks he might be. She wonders if he's even in the same country, sighing glumly to herself as she takes a seat in the cafeteria. She wonders if he had stayed in Russia the whole time. She checks her PADD again and there's still nothing there. She's running out of time before he'll be in space and she's getting more and more anxious with every passing hour. She can't let herself accept the fact that she probably won't see him again. She doesn't understand why he snapped so suddenly either. It just seems uncharacteristic of him and she questions if she even really knew him.

The shuttle leaves at 1745 hours and Emory is pacing around the shuttle bay. There's a lot of couples and families there, talking quietly whilst they wait for their names to be called. Emory knows Pavel would be likely to be this early but she can't see him anyway. Her throat feels like it's been sealed shut and her stomach aches from nerves. She has no idea what she's going to say if she does see him, she hasn't thought that far yet.

A little searching later she manages to find Sulu. He's there's alone and she thinks this might be her chance to figure out where Pavel is. Sulu smiles at her softly but his smile fades when he sees the worry plastered on her face.

"Still nothing?"

She nods, feeling her eyes cloud over. "He won't read anything I send him. Please Sulu, you've got to help me. I don't want to be left here without saying goodbye to him. Can I borrow your PADD? If he thinks it's you calling him he might pick up..."

"Emory..." Sulu says uncomfortably, "I really didn't want to be the one to tell you this but... He's already on board. He got permission to board early through Scotty... I'm really sorry."

Emory shakes her head in disbelief and takes a few steps back. Sulu puts his bag down and hugs her as she starts to cry. She never thought Pavel would be so cruel and tells Sulu she's just going to go home. She'll miss Sulu and she lets him know that, thanking him and wishing him luck in space. She doesn't know when the next time she'll see him again is but she hopes it's soon.

"Just, before I go, is there anything you want me to say to him. Do you want me to ask him to message you? I can't promise anything but I can try..."

"No thank you," she says quietly. "I don't think I want to speak to him again."

Sulu nods, surprised by the severity of her comment. He gives her a weak smile and one last hug. Sulu hates this part of the mission, having to say goodbye to everyone. He's thought he'd gotten through all of his goodbyes when he left his family in Japan. He didn't anticipate this last one but it's a lot harder than he thought it'd be.

(Author's note)

Does anyone still read this lol