I don't mind at all

[lt_n_uhura]

Who: Uhura and Paddy
Where: Paddy's cabin
When: Backdated to last night. Late.
Warnings: Language, probably.

Comments

[christ_onabike]

Paddy was still awake, and just playing on his x-box, trying to relax a little after the dinner shift - and had totally missed the time, especially once he'd cracked open the odd beer. He hadn't expected anyone to come knocking on his door, especially not at this time. At first, he thought it might be Laura, so tossed his controller to the floor quickly, then was a little surprised to hear Uhura's voice.

He pulled open the door, a bottle of beer still in hand and looked at her, a little confused, "What... what's wrong?"

[lt_n_uhura]

Without waiting to be invited, she stepped inside and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans. She glanced over to the television and the XBox that was hooked into it, but only filed that away in the back of her mind.

"Um...I..." She looked away from him, very close to tears, but refusing to succumb to them. Of all the stupid, asinine things to cry over, Harper was at the top of that list. And she wasn't going to fall for it.

"I just needed somewhere to go for a while. I...know I'm not supposed to but..." She sighed, losing her fight.

[christ_onabike]

He watched her closely, and didn't quite know what to do. She looked like she was about to cry, and he didn't know why, or what to do about it. He stepped over and put a hand on her arm, "Hell, Uhura, if you're upset... what's happened? What's upsetting you?"

[lt_n_uhura]

The touch on her arm made her turn to look at him and she just gave him a very sad look. "It's just...everything, Paddy. I...don't know what to do with Ana. I don't know if I can help her anymore. Then Parker...now...Harper." Her breath hitched a bit and she swallowed it back. Everything had been building up to this and she just needed to fall apart once. Just once...since she was always the one who was so strong.

"It's like...when Spock left. Only worse, because Harper's still here." She didn't know if she was making any sense, but, in her mind, it was the same. She was in that same place as, when Spock left, she had considered just following him and returning to the Enterprise, forgetting everything that had happened.

[christ_onabike]

Paddy started adding things together in his head, and was starting to realise what had happened. He wasn't used to seeing Uhura quite like this, and he'd quite like to punch someone in the face, if it made things better. Which it probably wouldn't. He hugged her tightly, holding the beer out behind her back, because what else was he supposed to do?

"What did he do, Uhura?"

[lt_n_uhura]

She buried her face in his shirt for a moment, though she still couldn't bring herself to cry. "It's...over, I suppose." She hesitated a moment and then pulled back just to look up to him. "I always thought that it might end up like this. It's not really about anything...long term. We have a job to do and I was going to do it but...I also loved him, Paddy. I don't think I ever really told him that."

[christ_onabike]

"Oh, Christ Almighty." It was more muttered to himself, and an expression of sympathy than anything else, "I'm sorry, love. Do you wanna talk about it, or do you want a drink? Or both."

[lt_n_uhura]

"I'll take a drink and a place on your couch for right now. I just don't want to be by myself, really. It's hard to distract yourself when there's no one around." She had ever intention of bothering Ana the next day, or even Kirk. It would help keep her head on straight.

She walked over and found a place to sit, pulling her knees up underneath her chin and just staring at the floor. She finally then just let the tears come. She just couldn't do it while she was so close to Paddy.

[christ_onabike]

Paddy set his beer down on the coffee table and went to get her one, but had only just got his hand on a bottle when he heard her crying. He returned to the table and put the beer in front of her, then put a hand on her back, "Uhura... You can stay as long as you want, honest. And have as much of my beer as you want."

He then added, a little quieter, "It'll be alright, Uhura."

[lt_n_uhura]

She nodded to him silently, giving herself a moment to wiped her tears and compose herself. "I know that it will be, Paddy. I just...want to not be rational about this for a little while. I want to be stupid and sad about this. I haven't cried over something this...this...stupid in so long." But of course, to her, it wasn't stupid. But she couldn't justify being so sad over something that she might have otherwise thought trivial.

She reached forward for the bottle and just held it in her hands.

[christ_onabike]

"Well, I reckon you're entitled to that, love." He disappeared across into the rest of his room, rifling through his cupboard, then dashed back into the main room. There was a big bag of miniature chocolates he'd bought in port. It was half empty, because he had a sweeter tooth than he'd like to admit.

"Chocolate. A stereotypical fucking solution, but don't tell me it doesn't work." He thrust the bag at her, "Help yourself."

He then flopped on the settee next to her, "I'm here, though, if you wanna talk. Or, hell, if you don't."

[lt_n_uhura]

She laughed as she caught the chocolate, but that just made the tears come again and she cursed softly, wiping them away with the back of her hand. "Thanks. And...I think I'm talked out for now. I...I think I'm just upset because I don't get it. I don't know what I did wrong. Or what I could have done otherwise."

Okay, so maybe she wasn't talked out.

[christ_onabike]

Paddy leant forward on his knees and glanced up at her, eventually reaching over for his own beer. "It's quite fucking possible you didn't do anything wrong, Uhura. Sometimes, men are dickheads. We're very fucking good at that. Or sometimes there's more going off than you'd think."

He had a sip of his beer, "I'm fucking sorry, though."

[lt_n_uhura]

She gave him a bitter laugh as she finally took a drink. "There is something more. There's another woman in the picture. Naturally." Another drink, though, and she felt bad for that statement. "Wait...that wasn't fair. This isn't her fault." At least, that's the story that Harper painted for her. And Uhura wasn't going to be upset with this woman just because of something neither one of them could control.

[christ_onabike]

He had a drink and looked up at her, "Isn't it? Sounded like you thought so for a moment there."

Paddy wasn't going to ask who it was, "So, what, did he pick her over you, is that what this is?"

[lt_n_uhura]

Uhura honestly didn't know who it was. She supposed that, with a bit of thinking and digging, she could figure it out. But she honestly didn't want to know. It was easier to be upset this way.

"No. I...don't know. Maybe." She looked away and closed her eyes tightly again. "He certainly didn't pick me over her."