Angels (Pavel Chekov)

68 - Silence

Vienna goes into another trance and loses all track of time. She makes sure her eyes are dry before heading back to medbay and she takes an energy gel, hoping it's enough to get through whatever else might happen. The ship gets thrown around more and more and Vienna stops listening to updates on what's happening. She looks up at one point and Captain Pike is being brought into medbay. McCoy is by his side and Vienna just keeps trying her best to look after everyone.

The ship is docked and everyone is sent back to the academy. There's counseling on offer and Vienna just goes straight to her room and collapses. She sleeps for nearly two days straight and wakes up with no concept of time. She goes to the bathroom and showers. She stays in there for longer than she should and gets out and drinks a whole bottle of water. She eats, despite a complete lack of appetite and checks her PADD.

She has all sorts of Starfleet messages. She has nothing from Pavel. There are three missed calls from Erik within the last hour and she rings him back, rubbing her eyes as she waits for it to ring through.

"Vienna?? Vienna, oh my lord, are you okay?"

"I'm alive," she confirms.

"Can I come over? You sound... I don't know. Not well. Do you want company?"

"Please," she mumbles, wanting someone near her. "Please. Come over."

Erik is at her door in twenty minutes and she opens it, honestly glad he's there with her. He asks if she's okay and she just breaks down, letting him wrap his arms around her.

Amahle was on the USS Excalibur. Vienna hasn't heard from her. She has refreshed the survivor list again and again but her name is yet to appear. Erik listens and feels his own chest get heavy. Vienna hasn't gotten a hold of Selwyn yet either, one part of her is too scared to ring him.

Erik lasts fifteen minutes before asking why she's not with Pavel. She doesn't make eye contact. She asks what he knows already. Erik knows that Pavel is alive, and that is all.

"We had a fight. I haven't talked to him since. I don't want to. He yelled at me."

Erik is surprised to say the least but he can tell Vienna is hurting and decides not to question her any further. She's exhausted and needs longer to process everything going on in her mind. Erik suggests they watch something to try and keep her mind off what's going on. She agrees, hoping that he knows more about how to deal with what she's going through than he does.

Vienna's PADD buzzes, she doesn't want to look at it. Erik tells her it's Selwyn. She scrambles to pick it up.

"Selwyn?!"

"Vienna, Vienna are you okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah I'm... I'm so glad to hear your voice. Oh my God, you're alive. I was so worried."

"I'm so glad you're okay. So many others haven't called me back. I can't get a hold of my cousin. I have to make more calls but I'll message you soon, okay? Look after yourself."

Vienna tells him to take care and hangs up, feeling her chest lighten as she lies back. She starts crying again, she isn't entirely sure why. Erik passes her a drink of water and she thanks him. She nurses it and wipes her eyes, wishing she could go back to sleep for a few hours.

There's a knock at the door a little while later and Erik goes to get it. Vienna tells him she'll get it and stands up, hoping it's not Pavel. She checks who it is before opening it and realises that it is in fact Pavel on the other side. She doesn't want to open the door. Her hand rests on the latch and Erik asks what she's doing. She doesn't reply, just opening the door and keeping her eyes glued to the floor.

"Vienna," Pavel says softly. "Vienna, may I...?"

"I don't want to talk to you," she replies coldly.

"I came to apologise."

"Not right now," she mutters, going to close the door.

Pavel puts his hand on the door just before she closes it and swallows, trying to think of something to say to convince her to let him in. "Please," he says weakly. "I won't talk if you don't want me to. Just... Just let me be in the room. I'll stay quiet, I promise."

She desperately wants him to stay. She opens the door a little and lets him in, still not looking up. Pavel doesn't comment on Erik being there. Erik just looks towards his brother, glad to see him alive. They sit in silence for a long while and watch the movie that Erik has put on. He gets up after a little while and comes back with a bowl of popcorn, offering it to Vienna. She has no appetite but it smells enticing and she takes a handful, thanking him softly. Pavel takes some as well and eats it quietly. He hasn't eaten much in the past few days and he's felt noticably weaker because of it.

It takes a while but Vienna eventually puts her hand on top of Pavel's. He looks up, wondering what's happening. Vienna isn't looking at him but he entwines his fingers with hers and she squeezes his hand softly. He feels better, glad that he has her right there with him.

Erik goes to the bathroom and Vienna finally speaks, still not looking at Pavel.

"Is David okay? Is he still alive?"

"He's okay. His girlfriend too. He was freaking out. She lost her brother and she wasn't messaging him. He's alright now though. I hate to ask but Amahle...?"

Vienna doesn't reply, just shaking her head.

"Ah Vienna," he says. "I'm sorry, I really am."

She wipes her eyes with one hand. She shuffles closer to him and cuddles up to his chest. He holds her and places a kiss on her head. His arms are so warm and she finally feels safe for the first time in the last few days.

"I was wrong to get angry at you for doing your job. I was wrong to yell at you at all."

"I shouldn't have doubted you. You saved us. All of us. And Earth... If you hadn't have figured out to put the ship behind Titan... Everything, the whole planet, my family, your family, even my dog... It would have all been destroyed. I owe everything to you. If you weren't so stubborn, we'd be all that was left of Earth."

"After... After I walked off I feel this shame for getting angry like that and I just wanted to hide myself away. Then I thought about concealing the ship and the idea for hiding behind Titan... You saved the planet too, Enya."

His tone is so soft and warm it just makes her cry more. She finally feels better. She finally feels like she can breath again and she just lets Pavel run his hand up and down along her back. Erik comes back and feels honestly glad to see that they've made up.