something to do (Pavel Chekov)

7

Another eight quiet days pass. They sing together now and again as well. Eadie's period finishes earlier than usual and though she's thankful it stopped, she's worried about what that means about her health. They don't get any visitors, they complain about wearing the same clothes and not being able to properly shower. They talk about the foods they dream of and Eadie just wants to sleep in her own bed.

A visitor comes on the ninth day and holds Eadie down while scanning her. The visitor mutters to itself and then scans Pavel. It leaves and a few minutes later, some items are placed in their box. Pavel goes over and stands there for a few seconds.

"What?"

He brings the whole box over and places it next to Eadie, a little speechless. The visitor comes back standing at the bars and grunts in an alien language. Eadie and Pavel look at each other. It takes a universal translator and speaks into it, holding it up for them to hear.

To be eaten now. Do not ration.

It leaves, they look at each other. The whole box is filled with food. They aren't quite sure what. Eadie feels her stomach grumble just at the thought. She inspects the items and sniffs it. It looks like a root vegetable and is still warm. She looks to Pavel and takes a bite of it.

"Oh my god," she mutters. "Something other than bread."

He picks up the matching vegetable thing and takes a bite, grinning as soon as the warmth hits his lips. They sit down and eat together, hungry after not eating more than a single loaf of bread for weeks on end. They smile at each other.

"Like potato almost?"

"Mmmm," Pavel confirms, his mouth full of root vegetable. He finds two cardboard like cartons and inspects it, opening the corner and seeing a liquid inside. He sniffs it and takes a small sip, sighing in relief. "It's sweet. Oh my God, it's sweet. It's sweet, finally, sugar. I'm so happy. Finally."

She takes a small spherical object from the box and tastes it. It's a different type of bread and tastes salty and she smiles. She tries the sweet drink and frowns. She puts it next to Pavel and tells him to have it. He asks if she's certain she doesn't want it and she nods.

"I can't drink that. Even if it's sweet I don't like the taste. You have it."

"Have my bread then," he says, passing her the spherical roll. "I don't feel like bread after eating it for so long."

She takes his bread roll and thanks him softly. They eat and grin every time they look to one another. The room hasn't been this bright since they got there and for the rest of the day, things don't seem all that bad.

Later they're getting ready to sleep and Pavel mutters something in Russian. She lies against the bench and Pavel rests his head on her lap.

"I haven't been this happy in a while," he says softly. "It's amazing what a nice meal can do."

"It is," she laughs, smiling down and him and running her fingers through his hair. His warm glow is infectious and she lays back, sighing in contentment.

"Eadie?"

"Yes?"

Pavel sits up and he turns to face her. "I feel like after telling you everything, I'm not scared anymore. Well, not as scared. I wanted to thank you."

"You've no need to thank me," she says, stretching her arms out. "I'm glad you're not as scared anymore."

He's quiet then and he sighs. He looks like he goes to say something and decides not to, lying back down. She starts playing with his curls and he relaxes a little. He feels like with a full stomach and her hands in his hair, everything is okay in the world. His mind is busy and it takes him a little longer than usual to slip under.

Pavel is up when Eadie wakes. He's looking at his stomach under his shirt and Eadie asks if he's alright. He nods and pulls his shirt down.

"I'm all skin and bones now too. I had some flesh on me before I came here. I can see my hip bones, I feel like that's not a good thing."

"I was scrawny to begin with. I don't think much has changed."

They start stretching and thinking through their day ahead when the same visitor from earlier returns. He comes in and takes Eadie's arm, pulling her over to the bench and running another probe over her. It takes something from its pocket and jabs it into Eadie's leg. She lets out a shrill cry and faints, Pavel pushes the visitor off her and tries to bring her back. Pavel gets pushed onto the ground and he gets back up. The visitor pulls a knife as Pavel goes to tackle him. He stops with the blade right between his eyes and takes a step back.

The visitor takes Eadie. Pavel feels like his heart stops beating as it drags her body out of his view. He starts crying, horribly scared of both what happens to her wherever they take her and what happens to him in the meantime.

It's cold again when Eadie wakes up. Not as cold as last time but enough to make her uncomfortable. She calls Pavel's name and there's no response. She gets up off the floor and just starts walking. She can't see any walls or furniture and she's just too drowsy to be frightened.

Eadie collapses after a while. Her legs feel gelatinous and her body is numb. She calls out to Pavel again and gets nothing back. She yells until her lungs hurt and lays down. She lets her eyes close and she cries once more. Pavel is the only thing on her mind before everything goes dark again. 

(Author's Note)

Writing this book in appreciation of the little things. Clean socks, nice meals, stay in a comfortable bed five minutes more, listening to a song you've been wanting to hear. All the little things that make life just that much better.