It's easier to be stoic when you're strong enough.
I'm still off.
I crawled into bed right after I got back, and slept as much as I could manage with Elvis driving me insane... running across me, crying for attention, springing to life every time I so much as twitched. I couldn't think of anyone who could take him... practically everyone else is doing doubles thanks to the Terran death flu.
Last night, Therav stopped by right on schedule, right at the end of his shift, freshly scrubbed and wearing crisp clean off-duty clothes and apparently prepared for what (under normal circumstances) would take place. The actual term "booty call" may have sailed right over his head the other night, but he gets the basic idea well enough.
I tried to think up an excuse to shoo him out, but it wasn't going to be easy to budge him and I didn't have the energy to argue too much. He had food with him, which is typical enough, but he also had some (rather vile-tasting, it turns out) Andorian herbal stuff with him, so somehow he had figured out I was sick.
I laughed weakly and told him that if he goes to another bond, he'd make a good mate for them. He responded saying that Starfleet officers usually weren't anyone's first choice, and most Andorians don't like being seen when they're sick. A little more conversation revealed that he's no exception to that... with one time being an exception.
This made sense. I told him Thil had practically bit my head off back on Andor, when I asked about his injury and where they were taking him.
It's just not how they do things.
"Did anyone come to see you?" I managed to ask.
"Shlev did."
I laughed a little, because I'd known that would happen. I considered telling him who was responsible for that, but laughed a little and shook my head.
I didn't particularly feel like a winning conversationalist, so quiet was fine, and sometimes he told me stories from Andor. The one you told that kid on the train, about the fictitious military officer, I asked... where did you hear that?
"Vasili," he said.
The man is a heater, so being on the bed next to me while I'm feverish was practically unbearable, even with the thermostat way down... though I'm sure it would've been a good idea. He sat on the floor, and seemed okay with that, before I eventually told him to just go back to his quarters and get some sleep. I joked that looking after me while I'm sick isn't in whatever tezha contract this is, and he made a small amused sound and replied that the sooner I'm well, the sooner we can go back to "fulfilling our tezha contract".
He insisted on doing something though. He ended up doing the one thing that could really, really do me a favor.
He took Elvis with him.
Which means I've actually been able to sleep.
Given it's the first that I've been able to actually catch up with my letters, I've been doing that, now that the stabbing pain behind my eyes is considerably less.
I crawled into bed right after I got back, and slept as much as I could manage with Elvis driving me insane... running across me, crying for attention, springing to life every time I so much as twitched. I couldn't think of anyone who could take him... practically everyone else is doing doubles thanks to the Terran death flu.
Last night, Therav stopped by right on schedule, right at the end of his shift, freshly scrubbed and wearing crisp clean off-duty clothes and apparently prepared for what (under normal circumstances) would take place. The actual term "booty call" may have sailed right over his head the other night, but he gets the basic idea well enough.
I tried to think up an excuse to shoo him out, but it wasn't going to be easy to budge him and I didn't have the energy to argue too much. He had food with him, which is typical enough, but he also had some (rather vile-tasting, it turns out) Andorian herbal stuff with him, so somehow he had figured out I was sick.
I laughed weakly and told him that if he goes to another bond, he'd make a good mate for them. He responded saying that Starfleet officers usually weren't anyone's first choice, and most Andorians don't like being seen when they're sick. A little more conversation revealed that he's no exception to that... with one time being an exception.
This made sense. I told him Thil had practically bit my head off back on Andor, when I asked about his injury and where they were taking him.
It's just not how they do things.
"Did anyone come to see you?" I managed to ask.
"Shlev did."
I laughed a little, because I'd known that would happen. I considered telling him who was responsible for that, but laughed a little and shook my head.
I didn't particularly feel like a winning conversationalist, so quiet was fine, and sometimes he told me stories from Andor. The one you told that kid on the train, about the fictitious military officer, I asked... where did you hear that?
"Vasili," he said.
The man is a heater, so being on the bed next to me while I'm feverish was practically unbearable, even with the thermostat way down... though I'm sure it would've been a good idea. He sat on the floor, and seemed okay with that, before I eventually told him to just go back to his quarters and get some sleep. I joked that looking after me while I'm sick isn't in whatever tezha contract this is, and he made a small amused sound and replied that the sooner I'm well, the sooner we can go back to "fulfilling our tezha contract".
He insisted on doing something though. He ended up doing the one thing that could really, really do me a favor.
He took Elvis with him.
Which means I've actually been able to sleep.
Given it's the first that I've been able to actually catch up with my letters, I've been doing that, now that the stabbing pain behind my eyes is considerably less.