<USS Avalon> "Side Effect"
- From: Lyryn Cate <wistful_fancy@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: avalon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2005 20:41:51 -0800 (PST)
Side Effect
By Senior Lieutenant Elissabeth Marksbury
and Junior Lieutenant James Monroe
"Liss, wake up," James said, shaking her gently. He knew she went into work by
0700 hours, but it was already 0730 and she hadn?t even stirred. "Lissi?"
She moaned slightly, turning over, eyes fluttering a bit. Placing a hand to her
head, she groaned.
"What?s a matter? Are you sick?"
"No," she whispered. "Don?t talk so loud."
"You?re scaring me," he told her, smoothing the hair back from her face. "Tell
me what?s wrong."
"Skyler." Sighing, she said, "I don?t know how to explain it." Lissi sat up
slowly, forcing the dull ache to the back of her head. Taking slow, deep
breaths, she tried relaxing the pain away.
"Do you need to go to sickbay?"
"No, just... give me a minute, okay?"
He nodded, watching her intently. This was entirely out of character for her.
She finally got up and moved to the bathroom. He could hear the sonic shower.
James knew she had left in the middle of the night, but he never heard her come
back. It must?ve been a really rough night.
Half and hour later, Lissi sat dressed at the table drinking a cup of tea while
James was on his second cup of coffee.
"So what happened when you went back to sickbay?"
Taking a sip of her tea, she told him softly, "Skyler...called to me in her
dreams."
He cocked an eyebrow, gazing at her over his cup of coffee.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm serious. She?s a telepath. It's possible."
Giving her a mild shrug he said, "Yeah, I suppose so, but it seems rather
unlikely. I'm thinking that you were probably just worried about her and
projecting that into your dreams, Liss."
"No, I wasn't. She was calling me, begging for help."
Taking a breath, he knew when to back down. "Okay. So, what happened?"
"I?m not really sure. I just know that I went there...and I could talk to her
with my mind. She was panicking and I didn?t know what to do. I did the only
thing I could think of to calm her down. I "gave" her my mental shields."
Shaking her head, she said, "It sounds crazy, I know."
"But you?re not a telepath...are you?"
"No, I?m not."
"But that?s a telepathic ability, Liss."
"I don?t know what it is!" she snapped at him.
"Woah, there." He got up and moved around the table, kneeling in front of her.
Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Are you really okay?"
Closing her eyes briefly, she answered, "Yes. I?m sorry, James. I?m
just...scared. And frustrated. I don?t know what?s happening to me. Or more
importantly, what?s happening to Skyler. It?s almost like she?s forced some
sort of telepathic bond on me."
"It hurts, doesn?t it? I can see it in your eyes. You?re in pain."
"A little," she admitted. She wasn?t going to tell him all the details about
the night before or he?d send her straight to sickbay. "But I?m okay. Just a
headache. It was a draining experience."
James studied her as if deciding wether or not to let the subject drop.
Finally, he got up, placing a kiss on her forehead and moved back to his seat.
She offered him a grateful smile.
"So, you ready for tonight?" Lissi asked to change the subject and get her mind
on the day ahead. She had several meetings with new security personnel and an
appointment with Dr. McKinsley. It was already going to be a long day, and
getting started late wasn?t helping anything.
"Yep. You nervous?"
"About?"
"Beginning this training. I know you've been working on it non-stop."
She smiled, "No. I look forward to it and dread it all at the same time, but I
don't get nervous."
"You liar. I've seen you nervous."
Smiling broader, she admitted, "Okay, once. But only with you. And it's because
of that smile that still makes me weak in the knees." Leave it to James to make
her feel better. She stood and moved around the table, wrapping her arms around
his shoulders. "I'm gonna miss you this week. I think we'll be spending more
time together than ever, but..."
"It's just not the same, I know," he said, tipping his head down to kiss her
hand.
Taking a moment to enjoy the closeness, she hated to tell him, "I have to go."
James stood and hugged her, kissing her cheek. "I know. Have a good day, Liss.
And take care of yourself. Please."
"Thank you and I will. I promise. Enjoy your time off today and, if not before,
I'll see you tonight at 22:00."
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