As
Malena sat beside Zerrad’s bed she was very relieved that he was on the mend
but after her three day vigil in sickbay she was
All
too conscious of the fact that she had shown her hand to the rest of the crew
in regard to her feelings for him and there was no putting the genie back in
the bottle.
The
Tornado was about three days out when Terrell Vorton decided it was time to
bring his patient out of his medically induced coma.
So
he sent Malena out of sickbay so he could slowly reduce his sedation.
“But
I could stay and help” she said
“You
need to go and eat something, freshen up and change so that when he wakes up he
sees you at your best” he said
“You
do know that I’m an Obgaron shapeshifter and the freshening up thing doesn’t
really work for me” Malena pointed out
“Yes
but you can eat and you can change” Terrell said “So go”
She
reluctantly agreed and as she left the sickbay she realized just how hungry she
was so she headed straight for the mess room and she got there just as Asti was
leaving and tantalizing smells escaped through the open door making her mouth
water and she hoped Bagg would have something inside to satisfy her appetite
and she was not disappointed.
“So
what’s the passenger’s story?” she asked as she wiped her mouth on her napkin
and Bagg filled her in with the little information he had managed to glean from
her over scones and coffee.
“So
is she running away from her past or running towards her future?” Malena asked
“A
little of both I think” Bagg replied enigmatically but the nuance of his reply
went unnoticed as Malena’s mind had wandered back to sickbay.
“So
todays the day” he said
“What?”
she exclaimed
“Isn’t
the Doc waking the patient today” he asked
“Yes”
she replied suspiciously
“So
there will soon come a moment when you will no longer be holding the hand of an
unconscious man” he pointed out “and he might well question why the co-pilot of
the Tornado is keeping vigil at his bedside and holding his hand”
“I
know but…” she began
“It’s
obvious to all of us how you feel about him” Bagg said “And you can’t undo
that”
“I
know that” she said and sighed
“So
have you thought of what you will say to him when he wakes?”
“I
have thought of little else” she replied “Although at first I didn’t even dare
hope he would wake up, and then I have run the scenarios through my head until
my ears bleed”
“I
know, from what the Captain has said, that he has feelings for you too” Bagg
said “if that helps”
“Thanks
but I already knew that” she said “it’s not the disposition of his feelings
that concerns me, it’s more complicated than that”
“It
always is” he said philosophically
“So
what are you going to do?”
“I’m
going to go and hold his hand and watch him wake up” she replied
When
Malena Endia arrived in sickbay wearing her smartest outfit she found the
Healer, Terrell Vorton, at Zerrad’s bedside and he turned to look at her as she
entered and smiled
“Perfect
timing” he said “He should come round in the next few minutes”
“What
will he think?” she asked “When he finds me here”
“He
we think he’s in heaven” he replied and she sat in her familiar chair and leant
forward and took his hand in hers and stared intensely at his face looking for
signs of consciousness.
It
was almost ten minutes before his eyes betrayed signs of REM and then the
corners of his mouth twitched, but that was all that happened for a full five
minutes until the moment his eyes fully opened and they looked straight at her
before flicking down to his hand and back to her face and then he smiled and
she returned that smile with interest.
While
this was going on Terrell tended to him and when he was satisfied all was well
he left them alone.
“How
long have I been here?” he asked
“Five
days” she replied
“And
how long have you been here with me?” he asked
“Five
days” she replied
“Does
that mean what I hope it means?” Zerrad asked hopefully
“It
means that I nearly lost you” she responded and they sat in silence while they
contemplated the implications of what had been said until he broke the silence.
“You’re
lovely”
“You
know that this isn’t me” Malena said “this is just the form I took, of a 27
year old human that I met on a remote mining colony when I first entered Legion
space, and that was more than 20 years ago, so I don’t look like this, and the
person that I touched in order to look like this is twenty years older now and
no longer looks like this herself and is probably a grandmother by now”
“You’re
still lovely” he repeated
“But
you haven’t seen what I really look like” Malena pointed out
“Then
show me” he said
“No
one has seen me as an Obgaronian for 20 years” she said
“It’s
ok, you don’t have to” Zerrad said
“No
I want to” she said and got up and walked over to lock the door, then she
walked into the adjoining cubicle and undressed.
As
an Obgaronian shape shifter she could transform at will but she could only
shift into a being she had touched.
Only
the briefest moment was required and then it was in her memory banks and could
be recalled when required.
She
could also manipulate that memory and add or subtract from it, for example in
her everyday life she chose to take the form of a 27 year old human girl, but
she chose to be the human girl and wear clothes on that form, but it wasn’t
necessary, she just preferred it that way which was why she needed to undress
before she revealed her true self to Zerrad.
And
when she had done so she emerged again this time in her natural Mercurial form
of liquid silver glass which was very pleasing to the eye.
“This
is me” she said and his jaw dropped.
“Wow”
was all he could manage to say and then after a minute or so she slipped back
into the cubicle and the brunette came out and walked over and unlocked the
door.
“So
now you know who I really am” she said
“When
I said I thought you were lovely, I wasn’t revering to the beautiful brunette
outer shell, I meant you’re lovely, inside”
Zerrad
said and she returned to her place at his bedside.
“So
you’re not put off now you’ve seen what I am?” Malena asked
“Of
course not” he said earnestly
“But
are you sure about us?” Malena asked
“It’s
what I’ve dreamed of” he replied
“But
you know we can’t….. couple?” she said
“It’s
physically impossible”
“I
don’t care about that” Zerrad said
“I
can feel you and hold you and that’s all I need”
Malena
smiled, then let go of his hand and climbed onto the bed and lay down beside
him.
About
ten minutes later Terrell returned to the sickbay with Lyris in tow and found
the couple asleep, Zerrad had his arm around her and Malena had her head on his
chest.
“Well
that’s a shocker” Lyris said
No comments:
Post a Comment