something to do (Pavel Chekov)

20

Sulu hears screaming a few hours later and goes into Pavel's room, trying to calm him down. It takes a little while but Pavel just eventually quietens down and spends a few minutes trying to breathe normally again.

"I... I need to see Eadie..." he says breathless, sitting up. "I need to make sure she's okay."

"She still in medbay. She's safe there."

"I need to see her," he says again, sitting up and running his hands through his hair. "I need to go to medbay."

Sulu insists on going with him and they walk together through the corridors of the ship. Medbay isn't busy but they can hear noises and Pavel already knows what it is he's hearing. He finds Eadie where she was last time and she's freaking out again. He comes over and tries to calm her down. She slows down when he comes over to her, muttering in Romanian and telling Pavel she missed him. He apologises for not staying close and the nurses look at each other, amazed how quickly he calmed her down. They been trying to reassure her for a while now and had very little success.

Eadie only stays awake another few minutes and complains about how tired her body feels. She's exhausted from her surgery and can't seem to stay awake long. Pavel stays with her until she drifts off then finds Sulu talking to McCoy.

"Seems you two are pretty dependant on one another after what happened," McCoy notes. "We couldn't calm her down at all but it took you like half a minute."

"It was only us two for so long. We always felt a lot safer when we were together."

"Sulu tells me you're having bad dreams?"

Pavel nods, not wanting to elaborate. "Ever since I got back on the ship. Think you can give me something for them?"

McCoy nods and plugs something into a medical replicator and passes it to him. "It's an anti-anxiety spray. Spray it once in your mouth before you go to sleep. It can cause drowsiness so only take it when you're actually planning on sleeping."

Pavel thanks him and pockets the spray. Sulu asks how much longer Eadie will be in medbay for. McCoy doesn't have a definite answer. It may be a while, especially considering that she still has psych evaluations to do.

"When can Pavel come back to navigating?" Sulu asks. Pavel has been wondering the same thing.

"It may be a while. Not for a few weeks at least."

"What... What am I supposed to do in the meantime? I spent eight months doing nothing, I want to go back to work and fill my time with something. I can't keep sitting around..."

"I figured you'd say that," McCoy notes. "And I've been chatting with our head engineer. He's looking for an apprentice, someone to shadow him and learn the concepts for engineering. You're particularly skilled at mathematics. I think you'll find it quite fulfilling."

Pavel nods, liking the idea of getting himself lost in engineering for a while. He wonders how Eadie will manage, what she'll be doing to fill her time. He worries about the next few weeks ahead. He worries about learning to separate from each other. Sulu offers to stay and keep Pavel company in medbay and he appreciates it immensely. He talks to Sulu for a long while, going over everything that happened as a prisoner. Sulu wants to know what language they were speaking together and Pavel tells him about learning Romanian and teaching her Russian and Russian sign. Sulu didn't even know that Pavel could sign but he isn't entirely surprised. His friend leaks talent and is beyond intelligent.

Eadie wakes and Sulu leaves them be, needing to go sleep before his shift anyway. Eadie complains of aches everywhere from her bellybutton down and McCoy gives her a patch to put on her tongue. Once it has dissolved she tells them she feels heaps better and McCoy encourages her to try walking. She takes Pavel's hand and he stands with her, helping her keep balance.

It takes Eadie a while to adjust to walking. She's alright after doing a few laps of medbay with Pavel by her side and insists he lets her try by herself. She manages, slowly. She shoots him a soft grin as she sits back down.

McCoy asks her if she wants to eat and she nods, happy to have anything that isn't a bread roll. She takes a jelly that McCoy tells her is full of electrolytes and some pasta. They're still both quite malnourished, McCoy thinks it's contributing to their inability to stay awake. Eadie requests that they read for a while and they sit next to one another and get lost in literature. Pavel's reading in Russian and Eadie watches him for a minute or two.

It takes a few days for Eadie to recover and for both of them to gain a little weight. McCoy helps them bring their nutrion levels up and they feel a little more alive after a few days. They're finally allowed back to their room together and Eadie tells Pavel about just how glad she is to be there with him. They seat cuddled up next to each other and laugh, music playing in the background. Eadie breaks into song when she's in the kitchen and Pavel wishes he knew the lyrics to join her.

They stay together when they shower again. One of them sits with their back turned and then they swap. Eadie has spent a little time wondering if she'll be able to progress further with Pavel. She hasn't asked about it. She's a little apprehensive about it.

"Do you sing in the shower?" Pavel asks, stretching his legs as he talks.

"I do. I'm just getting lost in thought at the moment. Do you?"

"Not often," he admits. "I never used to spend all that long in the shower. What are you getting lost in thought about?"

"Us."

"Us?"

"That's what I said. Are we... Are we in a relationship?"

"I believe so... I've never officially asked but it's always just felt like we have been. Do you want to be?"

She smiles and turns the shower off. "I'd like that. I'd love to be your girlfriend."

"It's official then," he says, looking up to the ceiling. "My first girlfriend - and you had to be trapped with me for a few months first. It's a little funny, isn't it? I'm glad though. It's nice having someone I can look after, someone I can talk to. It's all I was ever really hoping for."

She places a kiss on his head and fixes her hair in the mirror. She has the towel around her and she takes a seat beside her boyfriend. He wonders if his face is heating up, seeing her in just a towel. She kisses his cheek and gets up, disappearing into their bedroom. He mutters to himself in Russian, reminding himself he officially has a girlfriend. 

(Author's Note)

Just authorchan here with her binoculars, searching for some sweet validation in the comments hahahaha please