something to do (Pavel Chekov)

15

The religion conversation finally comes up. Eadie initiates it, lying on the bench with her feet up against the wall and watching Pavel stretch out his legs from the corner of her eyes. She asks if he believes in a higher power and he pauses before giving a direct answer. His reply doesn't surprise her all that much.

"I did."

"And now?"

"Not so much. Faith used to be a huge part of my life. I held the belief that all my abilities and talents in mathematics and physics were a gift from God. It made me work hard. I wanted to use what He had given me and do something great to honour him. After what happened when I was 11, I went through an identity crisis and I couldn't... I couldn't believe that He would let something like that happen to me when everything I did, I did for Him. I lost any kind of faith I had. I told myself I couldn't believe in something so intangible... I refused to go to church. My parents always thought I had just burned out after starting university at such a young age. They tried to talk to me, tried to help me. I just shut everyone out. I've been thinking recently about telling them, if I ever got out."

"Think you could ever tell anyone else?"

He shrugs. "I still can't believe I told you. I kept it inside me for just over a decade. And I hadn't even known you for all that long. I guess I didn't want to die without telling anyone."

"I imagine it'd be a burden to carry."

"It is."

They go quiet for a little while and Pavel asks Eadie if she believes in a higher power. She tells him about praying while he was gone, though she wasn't even sure to whom she was sending her thoughts to. She considered and still considers herself agnostic. She thinks there's someone, something out there. She just isn't entirely sure what.

"Maybe if we get out safely, I can believe in God again," Pavel muses. His tone is almost comical. She can't tell if he's joking or not.

He comes and sits beside her, giving her a soft smile. She has more questions she wants to ask but she decides against it. She wants to know more about faith in his childhood. She wouldn't have guessed it. Science is facts, religion is faith. She wouldn't have picked him to embrace both.

Pavel's awake before Eadie a few mornings later and before he has much time to think he can hear a few alarms going off. He wonders if something has gone wrong and moves close to the bars, trying to peer down the corridor. He sees nothing and he sighs, knowing there's nothing much he can do. He wants Eadie to wake so he has someone to talk to, but for now he lets her sleep.

The sounds get a little louder and Eadie wakes, complaining of a headache and asking what's going on. Pavel has no answer; the corridor is still empty ,and he starts running through all the possible things that could be going on. He has an unrelenting feeling that it's a fire and that the two of them will be alive, unable to escape. He sits down and takes Eadie's hand, noting the same uncomfortable expression on her face.

The cell shakes a little. Visitors come in, in a hurry, and pin the two of them down. They go to stick something in Eadie's neck and she closes her eyes, waiting for a sting that never comes. She opens her eyes and the visitor is on the floor. Its partner gets shot by a blue beam and crumples to the floor as well, Eadie wonders if she's imagining it. Pavel comes to her side and they look for the source of the beam. Some figures step out of the shadows and for a few seconds, they wonder if they're dreaming.

"Chekov," A voice laughs, stepping into the light and lowering his phaser. Pavel recognises the man as he pulls a hood from his face, his heart starting to go into overdrive and he runs over, wrapping himself around the captain.

"Captain Kirk," Eadie says, her voice coming out as a sob. Pavel lets go of him and she comes over, embracing the first human other than Pavel that she's seen in months. They don't waste any time, Kirk calls for them to be beamed up and Eadie takes Pavel's hand. They share a soft smile and try not to worry that they'll wake up from some sort of dream.

The bright lights make Eadie dizzy and she takes a few steps before collapsing. She can hear her name being called but the whole room is spinning and she can't make out where she is. She hears someone call out to page medbay and she loses consciousness, the air in her lungs feeling heavy.