Nobis ✴︎ Pavel Chekov

Chapter Sixty Two - Pasha

He motions for her to come over and he places a kiss on her cheek. She pulls him into a hug and stays there for a while, trying to keep herself together. He whispers to her, telling her how sorry he is for scaring her. She doesn't say anything, just pulling him a little tighter. She buries her head in his neck and starts crying. He runs his hands up and down her back and closes his eyes, wondering just how long they'll stay like this for.

"I'm so sorry Emory."

"You saved me, did Sulu tell you that? When you pulled me from the botany lab you saved my life. When I came in and saw Irina, I thought that you had died. Something inside me told me that you were dead. All over again, I didn't know how I was going to survive it a second time."

"I'm here now," he whispers. "I'm here with you."

She lets go of him and kisses his cheek, wiping her eyes. She asks if he's feeling okay and he nods, telling her about the dream that he had. He tells her about the tingling in his chest and how warm he felt. He tells her that he doesn't remember a thing about the botany lab. She looks concerned.

"Your eyes..." She mutters. "When you pulled me out of the lab... They were a neon green. It was scary. You passed out soon after I saw them but they were such a vivid shade."

"Are they back to normal now though?" He asks, wishing he had a mirror.

She shakes her head, meeting his eyes. "They're still purple."

"Did they change colour when I stopped Sulu from touching the wire?"

"I wasn't looking at your eyes to be honest. I was looking at the replicator or Sulu. They could have been... I don't remember with the light panel either."

Pavel nods and runs a hand through his hair, wondering how he's going to keep himself occupied as he stays in medbay. He wants to be able to just lay with Emory in his room, not sit there and worry about his heart and every other crazy thing that has been happening.

Emory stays with him for ages. They talk with their hands intertwined and for a little while, things almost seem normal. McCoy comes and finds them and tells Emory to let Pavel get some rest. They give each other a soft smile before she goes and McCoy checks over Pavel's vitals again.

"Do you think you can eat something?" McCoy asks, realising Pavel hasn't eaten much in the past few days. He nods, though he doesn't have a huge appetite. McCoy replicates him a plate with a bread roll, a cup of jelly and some white rice. Pavel starts on the jelly and only makes it halfway through before losing interest in eating. McCoy doesn't think it's a good indication but doesn't mention that to Pavel.

Three days pass without anything abnormal happening. Pavel is thankful for it. Irina keeps him company when she's on shift and when Emory or Sulu aren't around. He starts keeping more and more food down and McCoy thinks it's good progress. His eyes are still purple, he still feels a little weaker than he'd like to be. McCoy gets him to start moving around a little more and Pavel's honestly just glad to be doing anything other than sitting on the biobed.

Emory seems a little off the next time she comes in and Pavel tries to get her to talk to him. She stays quiet for a little while and eventually decides to talk, sitting on the opposite end of his bed with her legs crossed.

"I just wanted to ask... What does... What does 'pasha' mean, in Russian? Irina was saying it over and over when Sulu was with her. I forgot to ask you and remembered it this morning. What does it mean?"

"Oh," he says softly. "Pasha is a form of my name, a diminutive... Russian names sometimes take a shorter form, like Aleksander goes to Sasha or Elena to Lena. It's not just a romantic thing, friends of mine in Russia used it too."

"Ah," she says softly. He can't tell if she's annoyed by it or not. "I was worried it meant 'he's gone' or something."

"No, it's just my name."

"Would you be opposed to me using it?"

"Not at all. I'd welcome it."

She grins at him and puts her hands on his knees. She's glad that Irina wasn't saying 'I love him' like she'd originally feared. Pavel yawns and she asks if he's tired. He feels like he's always tired but he shakes his head, wanting her to stay. He's suffering from severe boredom and just wants someone there with him.

"I don't know how much longer I'll have to stay in here," he mutters, leaning back and looking at the ceiling. "I want to be able to be in my own room and use my own shower and stuff. I'm getting restless here."

"Your eyes are also still purple," Emory points out. "Sawyer asks about you a lot."

"She does? What does she ask?"

"Just for updates on how're you're doing. She's unnerved by thing with your eyes, so I think it may be while before she comes and visits. If your eyes went back to normal she'd probably be in here more than I would. She has so much to ask about your warp theory."

"I don't know how much I like the idea of anyone using the warp theory after everything I've been through. Until I'm certain there's no kind of correlation between this and the theory, I'm not risking any more testing on it."

"Understandable. One part of me feels like it's not the transporter though. I feel like it's something else."

"I hope you're right," he says gently. "I really hope you're right."

(Author's Note)

Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.

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