Vital Signs

Posted on 16 Feb 2013 @ 3:22am by Raifi Zaren

3,471 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 6, MP Labs; Deck 2, VIP Quarters
Timeline: MD03: 1700

[ON]

"Deck six." The doors closed and Maenad leaned against the turbolift's back wall. Rojar was now only hours away and she thought it a good idea to check the labs ahead of arrival. She was off-duty, but that didn't matter. With her hands clasped against her lap, she looked down at the skin on her forearms. Her sleeves were rolled to her elbows, revealing the blueish lines of veins on the underside. She thought they were more noticeable today with a concerned frown.

On deck four, the doors opened and Zaren's expression went from contemplative to beaming. "Hello, beautiful. Going up?"

Maenad stood up straight, not expecting to see him - or anyone. She turned over her arms to hide what she was looking at. "Going down," she corrected. "Deck six, to the multipurpose labs."

He tilted his head against the doors to stop them from closing. "Mind if I join you?"

"I don't have much choice, I think," she smiled, then told the lift to resume.

He slipped through the doors as they closed, sidling up next to her on the wall. "Hey."

"Hi," she said to the doors, not looking at him.

"Whatcha up to?"

"I'm going down," she started slowly, then finally turned to look at him, "To the multipurpose labs on deck six."

"Uh huh," he slipped his thumbs in his pockets and grinned at her. "And then what?"

"I'm going to make sure that they're fully operational and take note of anything they might need," she replied.

"Yeah," he nodded and nudged her arm gently with his. "And then what?"

"I don't know," Maenad sighed. The lift stopped and the doors opened, she strode out into the corridor and headed toward the first lab.

Zaren trailed along behind her. "So what's going on in there? Can I see?"

They reached Multipurpose Lab 1. Maenad turned around, a smile on her lips. "Nothing is going on in here," she assured him. She led them inside just as the lights came on. She swept her eyes over the room, then checked the cabinets, cupboards, lockers, and made sure all the computers were linked and operational.

"Very posh," the Trill murmured, wandering around behind her. He didn't touch anything, just observed. "Empty labs are always so peaceful. Full of potential, like a bated breath."

"Poetic," Maenad said with a sarcastic grin on her face. Assuming Zaren was following her, moved on to the next lab. "Are you just going to follow me around like this all day?" she asked once she'd gotten to checking the computers.

Everywhere they went, he was turning and looking around, and now he'd dropped to one knee with his PADD in his hands, taking notes on the sense of anticipation he felt for the new lifeforms and interpretations of basic elemental compounds that would hopefully soon fill these rooms. How laboratories were like empty canvases awaiting the bright splash of discovery. "Hm?" he asked absently. "These are nanomicroscopes, aren't they? They go up to ten-thousand times magnification. Gorgeous."

Maenad turned around to see Raifi studying one of the nanomicroscopes and smiled. "Some get up to hundreds of thousands of times," she said. "The microscopic world is a fascinating place." She walked over toward him and squeezed his elbow only enough to pull him on. "There's one more lab I have to check," said with a quiet sense of urgency.

"Right, yes. First time down here," he grinned unashamed, and followed her.

The third lab was not dissimilar to the other two. It was identical in most ways, in fact, except for the arrangement of some of the tables and computer terminals. It only took a moment for Maenad to run her checks, but one of the final computers gave her a bit of trouble. "There," she said once she'd finished.

"All good?" Zaren inquired from the floor where he was studying the underside of a really cool transparent module.

"Yes," Maenad told him. "Where were you going before you started following me around?" she approached where he was fooling around.

"Organizing more replicator deliveries to MS1," Zaren murmured. "Hey, can I touch this?"

Maenad lifted her foot away from him. She laughed, as she set her foot back down. He was laying on the floor in front her still. Could he see up her skirt? She flushed a little in the cheeks as she stepped back, though offered him a hand. "Get up," she grinned.

"I like it down here. Have you looked at this thing from below? You should. It's your responsibility, isn't it?"

Not sure what he was talking about, she wriggled the fingers of her open hand. "Yes," she said. "Now stand up."

Zaren grinned and took her hand, pulling himself up. "What now, Chief? The labs have been checked. Do you need to check the ones on Deck 4, too? I haven't seen those yet."

"No, those labs are fine," she assured him.

"Feeling okay?" he asked, absently rubbing her palm to warm her hands. His extremities were meant to be chilled, but Terrans, he knew, were meant to have warmer hands than she did.

Her smiled faded; the question caught her by surprise. She didn't realise that she was so cold until she felt the warmth of his hands. "Yes, I am fine," Maenad insisted. Was she acting strangely? She didn't think so. She also didn't realise that the skin around her eyes was a dark purplish colour. "Why?"

"Mostly because you look like you're about to keel over." The lights in the lab were brighter than the ones in the corridors or the turbolift and the yellow tint of their shine reflected the dark of her eyes. "Are you getting any sleep at all?"

"Yes," Maenad said, now a little worried. "I get plenty of sleep," she reminded him. "I even take naps - I feel just fine," she gave him a bright smile of her teeth.

He pressed his thumb against her pulse on her wrist, watching her. "Have you eaten today?"

"I had lunch," she said quietly. "What are you doing?"

"Worrying about you." He brushed his tattooed fingers over her rose-petal soft forearm, noting the blue tint of her veins. "Have you ever had malaka clams? They're delicious. And also a great source of iron, folic acid, and B vitamins. Let's get you some. Mid-work snack. Yeah?"

"I'm actually off-duty," Maenad smiled again. "Sure, let's eat."

He squeezed her hand gently as they stepped back out into the corridor. "What's down there?" he asked, pointing down the corridor in the opposite direction of the turbolift.

"Main deflector control and deuterium storage," Maenad said flatly. Inside the turbolift, she sucked on her lips. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere with clams and a medical tricorder," Zaren informed her cheerfully. "So. Sickbay or my quarters or... I don't know where else. The arboretum? How has your day been?"

Maenad turned to look at him face on. "Raifi, I am perfectly fine. We are not going to sickbay. Take me to your quarters." Her voice was stern but almost shrill too, in a pitiable sort of way, and she turned away from him. She stared at the bottom of the closed doors; Maenad hated talking about her health. She knew that she was unwell. She didn't like being reminded of it all the time, and his worrying was starting to frighten her. If he was going on about it as much as he was, then she knew that she was probably raccoon-eyed again. She hated this. She was a strong woman, she had always told herself - and other people probably thought it too. But, in this body, she was weak and feeble. She could fall to pieces, even die, because it just couldn't do the simple things that everybody else's body could. It just wasn't fair.

"Deck two," he said, resting his fingers lightly on her shoulder. "Mae..."

"What?" she asked just above a whisper, somewhere between impatience and frustration.

He turned her towards him and held her gaze. He thought about telling her she was smarter than letting her pride get in the way of her health. Or telling her about the years of experience Selik had, in addition to the doctor's tendency to take his cases too personally. But she was smart. And while not as old as he was in his soul, she was an adult. He couldn't talk down to her and she didn't seem to be looking for an explanation anyway. Instead, he did the very next thing that came to his mind. He kissed her, firm without being forceful, then went back to looking at her.

She tried to look unhappy, but failed at it. Her fake pout was awful. Maenad raised her eyes to his after she'd looked away and gave him a kiss on the cheek, her eyes closed. "You're very sweet," she said into his ear, then slowly moved back, kissing where the corner of his jaw met his neck.

"And you're lovely," he murmured against her hairline. As the doors opened, he tugged her gently from the lift and down the corridor to the VIP quarters. "Justin?" he called, looking around. Nope. No cameraman. He caught Mae's face between his palms and kissed her again. "Now sit down and let me feed you protein, will you?"

She did as she was told, looking around the VIP quarters as he went off to get these clams he was talking about. She couldn't tell if they were nicer than hers. "Who's Justin?" she asked from the edge of the couch she was perched on.

"Justin Baker. He's our camera-master. Brilliant eye. And he puts up with me, which is nice." He requested the clams, baked in garlic, and a pitcher of water, and brought it all to her. "Eat."

"These smell good," she commented, taking the plate from him. She ate one. It was good. "Thank you."

"Garlic is one of my favorite things. Garlic and chocolate," he kissed his fingers. "Ambrosia." He poured her a glass of water. "I have a lot of favorite things. The universe is magnificently diverse and delectable. Want to see some of Baker's vid-captures?"

"Sure," she ate another clam and sipped her water, for which she thanked him.

"Super." He hopped up and sorted through a variety of PADDs before he came to the one he was looking for. As the images of crystalline lakes and gloriously roaring comets slipped across the screen, Zaren wandered into his room and came back out with a strange black medical tricorder. "See-" he said, nodding to the PADD. "One of the best there is."

Maenad watched the beautiful landscapes as she ate the clams. What she saw was nice, but she wasn't particularly enthralled. It was just something to do while eating. A few moments later he came from his bedroom, holding what looked like some kind of tricorder. She knew right away what he was doing, and didn't like it one bit. She practically jumped off the sofa and took a few steps back. "Put that away," she told him, pointing a finger, and she wasn't smiling.

"Mae," he said reasonably. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Why don't you believe me when I tell you that I am fine?" she asked, almost pleading with him. She was really quite sad when she was like this.

Zaren sighed, setting the tricorder on the table. "If you're fine, then that's what the tricorder will say." He brushed a bit of hair from her cheek, "I'm a fact over faith guy, Mae. Now, you tell me that you don't care if you're fine, you just don't want to be scanned by Trill equipment, I will leave it alone."

Maenad sighed, moving her head away. "I am not afraid of Trill equipment."

"I didn't say you were." He drew his hands off and rested them against the back of his head. She could tell him to back off if she wanted to, but she couldn't tell him she was fine. There was evidence to the contrary.

She moved past him after giving him a studious glare, returning to the couch. She drank some more water and ate another clam.

"Just to clarify," he said, dropping to the couch beside her and resting his hand on her back. "We're not talking about this? Or I can check your vitals?"

"My vitals are perfectly fine," Maenad scolded him. "I'm not about to drop dead," her voice was starting to scathe.

"Right. Not talking about it." Zaren scooched closer and rested his chin on her shoulder, arms around her. "I'd like to see you dance. Not now. Just... sometime."

"Would you?" she asked, going for the last. "I doubt you would say that after seeing it," she gave him a sideways grin.

"You think it's cute, but I can see right through that modesty of yours. 'All right at piano'," he added on a laugh. "You smell good."

A flushed smile spread across Maenad's lips. She always tried to be modest, but she could never hide appreciation for a compliment. "I'm not wearing anything," she told him, touching the bone behind her right ear.

For once, Zaren held his tongue, but he couldn't help the thoughtful smirk that curved his expression.

Maenad yawned and wiped the water from her eyes on the top of her wrists. "When shall I dance, then?" she said after deflating back into the sofa.

"Soon." He folded back into the couch with her, "When you can. I know you'll be busy once we reach the system. So will I." He paused. "Well. I hope I will," he added with a laugh.

"I'm too tired to dance right now," she said without thinking. She stared ahead without really looking at anything.

"Well, yeah," he laughed. "No. You just hang out here for now." He cuddled her against him and kissed the top of her head. "Soon, as in the next couple weeks."

"What are you doing tonight?" she mumbled.

"Trying to get a solid first impression of the Rojar system," he said against her hair. "You?"

"Sleeping."

He chuckled. "I'm glad."

After a long few moments, Maenad stirred. She was comfortable, but she thought that she had spent enough time here, even though she could have stayed like that all night. She liked Raifi, for some reason. Maybe it was because he liked her as much as did. She liked being liked. "I should go," she said.

"You keep saying that," he said with a half-smile.

"It's the first time I said it," she protested, turning her head up to him with the same half-smile.

"Two days ago, right here, well," he nodded to the floor. "Right there. Your pesky 'shoulds'."

"I don't have to go," she said. "But you have things to do. And I should sleep so I'm better for tonight."

"I'm fully in favor of you sleeping and me doing things. It's just every time you say 'should', I feel like I'm in school again and all I want to do is the opposite."

She grinned. "What's the opposite?"

His expression tilted sideways, eyes glinting mischievously. "So. Very. Many. Options."

"Name one," she pressed him.

He thought about spinning off the couch and dipping her low to the ground. Or tearing her clothes off. That was never a bad idea, because clothes - while fun in their own way - were always hiding things and he wasn't a terrible fan of hiding things. Especially not beautiful things. Instead, he kept his eyes on hers. "I would like to kiss your wrist until I felt your pulse quicken against my lips."

She raised her hand, a little anxiously. "Then do it." Maenad didn't know why she said that.

Zaren didn't question. He simply took her offered hand, turned it so the blue tinted veins of her forearm were visible, and exhaled over her skin. 'Kiss' might have been the wrong word for the languorous attention he paid to the flesh there; it was more breath, fluctuating between warm and cool, tempered by brushes of lips and nose and cheek.

A shiver ran up Maenad's arm, into her neck, through her spine, down her sides. She watched him curiously as the skin around her wrist became more sensitive to his touch. It tingled by his lips and breath, rising the hairs on end, and the inside of her elbow had a tickled with pleasure. She rested her head in front of his shoulder, his neck forming a sort of pillow. She smiled to herself, glistening eyes, watching him manipulate her arm. Until now, she had no idea that a wrist could be so erogenous. He knew exactly how and where touch her.

She smelled like rich cream and salt and a little of the garlic from the malakan clams. He tapped his tongue against her pulse and felt it skipping and flurrying. He proceeded down to her hand, brushing his lips over her palm and up her thumb.

Maenad watched him with building excitement. She wanted to kiss him, but she held herself back. She had only known him for a few days. And he worked with that monster of a woman Jool. There was so much she didn't know. Being hurt many times in her life had left her detached, but it also made her delusional when it came to new men. She could never be sure of anything. "Raifi," she whispered. "Would you do this with anyone else?" she asked carefully. "Is there anyone dear to you back home?"

He kissed her fingertips and turned her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Terrans, he thought with a contented smile. "I'm not involved with anyone else at the moment, if that's what you're asking." He rubbed his thumbs over her fingers, "If you are, I don't mind so long as they don't."

She reached up to kiss him on the chin. "It's just me," she said. But then she sat upright. "I do have to go." It wasn't true. She didn't have to go anywhere. "I have things to do, as do you," she explained as gently as she could.

As if on cue, his PADD vibrated and played a few lyrical chords noting an incoming call and before he could reach out to answer it, a face appeared on the screen in lieu of Justin's captured images. "Raifi- hello..." The man on the screen had similar features to Raifi, albeit he lacked the ink and metal adornments and looked a few years older and quite conservative. "I didn't mean to interrupt, but I thought I should tell you father's coming back from Hrala in ten minutes. I can patch you through to him, but I wanted to give you the heads up on our progress with him so far regarding the freighters... Now a good time?"

"Pilin, this is Maenad. Maenad, my brother Pilin." Raifi smiled at her with a little eyeroll and kissed her cheek. "Looks like you were right, after all."

"Hello, Maenad," Pilin inclined his head regally in the screen.

Maenad didn't like being kissed in front of this stranger, especially if it were his brother. "Hello," she said a little shakily.

A second man who looked almost exactly like the first with the exception of the color of his finely embroidered tunic leaned into the frame.

"And my brother Bele," Raifi explained.

"Greetings, friend of our wayward little brother," Bele murmured with a small wave. "Raifi-"

"Yes, yes, father, I know. Give me a minute." He picked up the PADD and dropped it screen down on the couch, turning to Maenad. "See you later?" he asked as his brothers complained from the couch cushions.

Even though Maenad was planning to go, she'd even said that she was, she felt a little wounded. Like she were being thrown out. "Yes," she said. "Of course." She stood, floated on spot for an extra second, then turned to leave.

"Unless you want to listen to me talk about replicators on MS1. You'd love my dad. He's a mess," Raifi grinned, standing with her. Now his brothers were bickering with each other, muffled by the cushions. "It might actually be entertaining for you."

"No, thank you," Maenad smiled from the door. "Have a good evening. Thank you for the clams." She went out through the doors, paused to sigh in the corridor, and went home to her quarters feeling like she wanted to be in bed alone.

He watched her go, then turned back to the couch and lifted the PADD. "Okay. Fill me in."

[OFF]

Raifi Zaren
FNN Journalist
USS Galileo
(pNPC Lilou Peers)

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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