Hope

Posted on Saturday, 10 April 2021 - 6:55pm by Commander Soral & Lieutenant Alex Kingsley

Mission: Operation: Peace or P'Jem
Location: Alex & Soral's Personal Quarters
Timeline: 2394 -- Post follows After the Storm

ON:

Leaning against the wall, Lieutenant Kingsley savoured the warmth of the water as it cascaded down her body. Washing away the soap, while the scent of vanilla and strawberries lingered. Every moment seemed to coax life back into her body, making her feel distinctly more ‘human’ again. Or half human.

This was far better medicine than adding to the woes of the doctors who had been bombarded with calls. It seemed the telepathic outburst had impacted a lot of people. She had promised to come back if she felt unwell and retreated to their quarters. Wherever she was, Soral would find her.

Turning, she angled her head to rinse her hair while she reached out blindly towards the folded towels.

“How’s T’Lanna?” she asked as she realised Soral was standing in the doorway. Turning off the shower she reached for the bath towel to wrap around her body.

"Not well. I had to knock her out. She's in sickbay."

“Oh...” she made a note to check in on her at some point. Wrapped up she stepped out of the shower, studying him. “Are you okay?”

"For the most part. I am frustrated with that towel. It covers too much." He sighed and then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I am more worried about you though. I wish to check and see that Vali's actions did not harm you."

“Can I make a confession?” Alex said quietly as she held out her hand towards him.

He walked to her and took her hand.

“I left Sickbay the second I could stand on my own two feet not just because they had so many other people to care for. I was scared. I was scared in case Dr Rose said this had destroyed any chance for us,” she admitted. “Whatever you need to do, I’m okay with trying it.”

He gave a nod. "A simple mind meld." He lead her to the bedroom and they sat on the bed. He gently laid his fingers on her temples. "The mind brush will be brief and you will feel a deep cold. I must examine all the areas of the mind. It will be different from our usual mind melds."

“Different how?” She whispered, wrapping her fingers around his wrist.

"It will feel impersonal. You will feel a cold in each part of your body as I scan each section of your mind. You may have a vision of being alone in a dark room but know that I am with you. I need to check every connection of your mind." He was no doctor but all Vulcans were trained in this kind of exam.

She simply nodded, closed her eyes and dropped her hand down into her lap. She trusted him, implicitly. He would never knowingly hurt her. Taking a deep breath she waited for him to begin.

Soral closed his eyes. "My mind to your mind. I am but an observer in your mind."

Suddenly a light filled Alexandra's mind. It was as if her mind was icing over. Soral scanned every neuron, every connection, every connection. He allowed the images of her mind to fill his own. He saw her brain as a solitary object in his hands examining turning it.

Beneath his touch she shivered, her breath catching. She had prepared to see the dark room Soral had spoken of but it was the opposite, vague shapes taking form in a cold sterile room. It seemed familiar somehow, perhaps from a dream. It was cold, clinical... “Soral?”

His voice sounded in her mind as if from afar. "I am here. If thoughts come, let them pass like logs on a river. Keep observing them but do not let them affect you."

She wrapped her arms tighter around herself, willing Soral to finish. Forms around her took on more definitive shapes and details. It was like a collage of pictures in a photo album, no order or sense to them. Some she easily recognised and others were not. Some looked like the picture had been torn but it was a fleeting impression and something always took its place before she could focus on it. It was home! The realisation struck her that as it took shape this... this was her bedroom from their apartment on Mars! She could suddenly see so many things so clearly. The pictures, the toys, the books piled high on her desk.

And a stranger’s face reflected in the mirror.

She spun around but nobody was there. Just her room. And a wooden door? She studied it, confused. There were no wooden doors in her room, or the entire house. But there it was, plain as day. It began to rattle, the knob beginning to turn and she threw herself at it to keep it closed.

The scene shifted and then Alex was in a white lighted room. Footsteps sounded from all around. Soral, projecting his image in her mind walked toward her. He wanted just one moment where their minds touched, it would have to be brief.

As the world shifted around her she stepped back, turning as she tried to find the source of the footsteps. “Soral!” She ran to him, throwing her arms around him with as much strength as she could muster. It wasn’t real, she knew that, but he felt as solid as anything in the real world ever could.

He held onto her. What he'd seen had...surprised him. He'd have doctor Rose check to ensure it was true but … it gave him hope. "My Alexandra." He used his fingers to lift her chin so that they could look at one another in the eye. "I will break our connection, there is much to speak about."

“Just... a few more minutes, please?” she whispered as she touched the side of his face. “It doesn’t hurt, I promise.”

"A few more minutes. As he held her their heartbeat seemed to merge. Their minds for a moment were one, an intimacy that had been long absent. A few minutes would be all he would allow but the fact that it was possible told him that his wife was healing. Whatever this was that T'Lanna threw her way it had caused an accelerated healing. Still too early for the bond but... perhaps soon.

“Soral...” tears stung at her eyes, not at any pain or discomfort but just to have a fleeting moment like this was something she was beginning to think would never happen again. She didn’t need to say the words to convey how much she loved him, nor he her. She kissed him softly, wishing the moment could last.

The kiss was brief but powerful. "It's time to end this but it is a good sign."

She pouted as she released her grip on him. She didn’t want to, but knew she had to. It wasn’t rejection, she told herself, it was caution. Even so she felt that biting disappointment, the niggling doubt. He was holding back to protect her.

The mind link slowly dissolved. He smiled at her and cupped her face. "It is better to be cautious. I think that T'Lanna's effect on you may have been positive."

“Positive?” She repeated, surprised.

"Some pathways that were damaged before they are healed. We are a big step in into the healing process. I will want Rose to verify that, of course."

“You aren’t just saying that?” She clarified. “To make me feel better, I mean.”

"No. Our brief link was possible because of the healing. I felt the strings of the bond we'd formed. They were there, dormant."

She couldn’t speak, relief washed through her. Hope. Mostly that. She threw her arms around him, holding him tight. “We can try again?”

"Yes, not until I have doctor Rose's permission and it will be a little time yet but we are so much closer to it. Soon my love." He pulled back and took her hand kissing the inside of her wrist. "It was painful but it helped us."

“Painful and exhausting,” she corrected with a rueful smile.

"Then you must rest." He kissed her forehead. "I will make you a light meal before we head to the conference room."

“Here I was hoping you still didn’t like the towel,” she teased lightly. Yet even now she was ready to fall asleep. “Okay, you win. But just a quick nap.”

He tossed her one of his shirts. "Rest. I will wake you when it is time for the meeting."

OFF: