The Morning After

Posted on Fri Jul 22nd, 2022 @ 4:32pm by NVeid tr'Rehu & Lieutenant Commander Finnley Keating VII

Mission: Character Development
Location: Finn's Quarters
Timeline: In between missions, after "Nightmares"
1142 words - 2.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Finn woke up the next morning, but something was off. Why was there a cold arm placed over her? Instantly thoughts of Silnan's arm which had been severed from his body came to mind and Finn panicked. Pushing away the foreign body part and jumping out of bed. "What the hell?" She shouted before she even realized who it was.

The push caught the sleeping figure off guard and he fell out of bed, a loud thud resounding through the room. "Ow..." NVeid opened his eyes and was almost instantly on his feet, proving there was little wrong with his reflexes. Contrary to prior motion, which now left him to rub his arm and thigh. "I stayed to watch over you," he explained somewhat sleepily.

"What?! I said the couch, NVeid! I don't need watching over. What do you think I am? A child?!" Finn asked, confused and annoyed. Though deep down she knew that he felt for her. She shared his memories now. She knew it was almost impossible for him to just sit by and watch her suffer, even if that was exactly what she wanted.

"You did," he said as he rubbed sleep from his eyes and attempted to smoothen the wrinkles from his clothes. "I simply held you most of the night, nothing more. Nothing inappropriate happened, you have my word..." He rubbed his eyes a second time. "You were screaming and thrashing. I was afraid you'd hurt yourself, so I stayed here."

Finn sighed, she knew he was right. She didn't like it only because she was a solitary animal and she didn't like how close they'd become in such a short period of time. She remembered him sheltering her when she woke up from the nightmare and how comforting it was to have a friend there when she felt vulnerable. No, I can't let him get close, she told herself. If he ever found out what she had done, he would hate her too and he had suffered enough. She let out a sigh. "I know. You just can't keep from trying to help can you?" She asked. "Wait, what time is it?" Finn shook herself out of her own head and looked at the clock on her bedside. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry. "Dammit. I have to get going." Without waiting for any responses or further words herself, Finn dashed into action to prepare for the day.

"Stop." The order - even though technically he couldn't order her, being a civilian - was short and very abrupt. "Change your shift, I'm sure you can do that, being the chief. And to answer your question, no I can't do that, that's not in my nature." In fact, his personal morals had added to him being a pariah in the empire, his refusal to break certain ethical codes had been his downfall.

"No. This has always been my shift and I see absolutely no good reason to change it." Finn said.

"Then just be late," the Romulan reasoned, "and stay a little longer. Everyone will understand. Meanwhile... may I use your replicator to get a clean uniform?"

"Why be late? I can still make it on time if I hurry and yes, of course, you can use the replicator," Finn replied as she sprinted across her quarters. She grabbed a fresh uniform from a drawer, threw it on, and tied her hair back into a bun.

Replicating fresh uniform, he disappeared into her bathroom to change. "Why hurry when you're going to be late anyway?" He knew he was going to be late. "And you do need breakfast. What do you usually eat?"

"I won't be late, you underestimate how quickly I can run," she retorted. "I'll replicate a granola bar or something in my office for breakfast, but feel free to make yourself something if you want. You can stay as long as you need." Finn stopped for a second to look up at NVeid and shook her head in an attempt to wake up more. "What was in that hypospray anyway? I still feel a little groggy,"

"A strong sleeping agent. Do you want something to negate the effects? Coffee won't help."

"No, I think I've had enough of hyposprays for a while. The run to engineering ought to help some I would imagine," Finn hopped around as she put on her boots. "Alright, I think I'm set. Do you need anything before I leave?" She asked, ready to run out the door.

NVeid shook his head. "No, I'll be heading to my quarters and I'm taking the day off since I'm already late, not in a right mindset and have plenty of leave days to begin with."

"Ok, well, have a nice day off then," she turned to leave but stopped short at the door. She thought about saying thanks, but she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. Yes, he had kept the nightmares at bay, but he was also infuriatingly involved. "I'll see you around then I guess?" She awkwardly settled for the more informal note.

"Of course. We're bound to run into each other again." He smiled as he too stepped towards the door. "And if you need me, you can always page me. Any given time."

"Whoa," Finn put her hand up as he stepped towards the door. "I can't be seen rushing out of here, on the verge of being late with you coming out of my quarters at the same time. You know how rumors spread on a ship!"

"And you care about rumours?" He arched a single eyebrow at her. "Because I don't."

"You'd care about rumors too if you were in charge of a department. The last thing I need is my engineers gossiping about my personal life in the jefferies tubes instead of doing work. And on that note, nothing that happened here, leaves this room. Agreed?" She looked at him with a stern expression.

"Nothing happened to begin with," he pointed out, "we came to visit and i fell asleep on the couch. You didn't have the heart to wake me. Right?"

"Have you met Fenn? That excuse would never fly by him. Why don't we avoid the fact that you were here last night at all. Maybe you just came by this morning to see how I was doing? How's that sound?" She asked.

"As you wish." He gave her a nod. "Can I go home now?"

"Yea, sorry," Finn bolted out of the door. "Thanks for stopping by!" She somewhat awkwardly yelled as she exited, just in case anyone was around to see or hear.

NVeid just waved as he walked off, as if to acknowledge her gratitude. He was exhausted and he felt utterly drained. What he needed, was more sleep.