something to do (Pavel Chekov)

9

Another visitor comes. They scan Eadie and take a vile of blood as she screams in protest. They pass her a small pouch with a mouthpiece and tell her to drink it. She shakes her head and they hold her down and force it into her mouth. Pavel is handcuffed to the bench, just out of reach and he yells incoherent Russian at them. Once all the pouch is in her system they let her go and uncuff Pavel. He breathlessly asks if she's okay and she shakes her head, her lip quivering as she starts to cry. He wraps his arms around her. He tells her to try and breathe. She feels like her lungs won't work.

Eadie goes quiet after a while and Pavel stays around her.

"I have being held down like that. I hate feeling so powerless."

"I know what it's like," he says, a sadness in his eyes. "I know just how horrible it feels."

She wipes her eyes again. Her tears feel like they burn her cheek as they fall and she tries to stop crying, just resting her head on his. He apologises for not being able to help. She tells him he doesn't need to be sorry for what isn't his fault and he still feels bad about it.

Eadie throws up a few hours later and she isn't sure if it's stress induced or from the medicine they gave her. Either way, she freaks Pavel out. He stays by her side and holds her hair back. She has spit dripping down her chin and her eyes sting. She cries again and tries to wash her face. He tells her she should try and sleep and she nods, her stomach a little more settled after throwing up.

Pavel tells her to sleep on his lap for once and she hesitates. She knows he won't be able to sleep sitting up but he's adamant that he doesn't care. It takes her a while but she eventually starts drifting off and she can hear him mumbling in soft Russian just before she goes. She wishes she understood what he whispers to her.

Pavel's already awake when she gets up and his first question is if she's feeling alright. She shakes her head and just makes it over to their tap before throwing up again. She only has water in her stomach but she throws it up anyway and groans. She hates feeling nauseous. He's there moving her hair from her face and she thanks him softly.

"Starfleet needs to hurry the fuck up," she grunts. "I'm going to give them a damn mouthful."

Eadie leans against the wall and sighs, pushing her hair back and looking to the ceiling. Pavel sits beside her and tenderly puts his hand on her knee. She sniffs and rests her head on his shoulder.

"I want to go home Pavel. I want to see the sky again. I want a hot shower and something other than a bench to sleep on. I miss music and reading and walking around and eating when I feel like it."

He takes her hand and entwines his fingers with hers. His heart is beating unsteadily. She wipes her eyes and sniffs again. They're silent, the air is thick as usual and they try not to think too much about being trapped.

Visitors come. One holds down Pavel, one holds down Eadie and the other scans them both. They mutter amongst themselves and there comes a point when Pavel just stops thrashing, stops trying to fight. Eadie thinks it's a sad sight. He hasn't stopped fighting them yet; she wonders if he's given up.

The visitors leave and Pavel drops to the floor. He's breathing heavily. He sits up and wipes his eyes, walking to the black bars and putting his hands on his hips.

"Come here," he says, walking over to Eadie. "I want to put you on my shoulders. Try and see if the ceiling has any weak spots. There might be an air-vent or something we can't see. I don't know, we just need to try."

She nods and climbs onto the bench, using it to get onto his shoulders. She holds his hands for support and he moves slowly over to the corner of the room. She reaches up, touches the ceiling and screams.

Pavel lowers her down and as soon as she's off him, she scrambles over to the tap and turns it on. Her hand is covered in something bright orange and she's crying loudly in pain. She's sobbing and shaking, trying to run the water over her hand. She cries and cries, her breaths starting to turn into hyperventilation. Pavel whips his jacket and shirt off, taking his undershirt and rinsing it with water before wrapping her hand in it.

"Pavel," she sobs, "It burns. It burns so badly."

"I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I shouldn't have made you do that. This is my fault. I should have tested it first. I'm so sorry Eadie."

He looks so defeated, she can't bring herself to be mad at him. Her hand still shakes, even under the water. The burning subsides after a few minutes but her hand is red raw and looks like it'll scar. She worries it could get infected. She worries it could very well cause her death. She feels sick thinking about it. Her eyes are starting to water more and Pavel puts a hand gently on her shoulder.

"I want to go home," she whispers. "I just want to go home."

Eadie's burn keeps her up that night. She cries on and off silently and though she tries to hide it, Pavel still notices and feels awful. He finds himself caught in another dark web of bad thoughts. He is the fly and his mind is the spider. He's stuck in the tangled web and in those four dark walls, he can't get out. He stands up and Eadie watches him, thinking he was asleep. He kneels at the bars of the cell and sobs. The spider keeps wrapping him up. He bottles himself up for a just a moment long enough to let out a frustrated scream. When his breath dies he goes back to sobbing and Eadie watches, rubbing her own eyes again.

"Pavel," she says weakly. "Come here. Come here with me. I need you."

He wipes his eyes before he gets up. She wraps her arms around him and he lets out a deep breath. She squeezes him tightly. For a few seconds, things feel just a little bit better. She runs her fingers through his hair and tries to calm him down.

"We'll get out of here. We'll figure it out. Starfleet will come and we'll get out. We just need to be patient."

"I hate being patient."

"Me too, Pavel. Me too."