My Quarters or Yours

Posted on Thu Sep 20th, 2018 @ 9:43pm by Lieutenant Commander Radak & Lieutenant Galatea Polaris

2,215 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Negotiations and Apothecaries
Location: XO's Quarters
Timeline: TBD

ON:

Ilana stood outside the door. She was more confused than ever. Polaris had released her and she'd wandered about the ship things seeming familiar yet not. She had a few shocks, one of which was that she didn't live with the man who was supposed to be her husband. She hit the chime on the door.

"Enter!" Radak called out. He had lost the PADD that he had been working on and was sort of making a mess of his quarters in an attempt to find it. He was in the process of lifting up things he had already lifted several times in the hopes that maybe this time it would be different and his PADD would appear.

Ilana sighed and then steeled herself. She entered and stood by the door. On her way she'd worked out what had happened. Even though it had nothing to do with the truth her jumbled mind made sense of things. "Hi," she said.

Radak stopped what he was doing and bowed politely. "Greetings. How are you this morning?" He hoped for a moment that she was here to say she remembered who she was. He looked around the room at the mess he'd made. "Pardon the mess. I seem to have misplaced my PADD."

She ignored the comment about the mess. "I am still confused, I wish I could remember things." She walked around noting the mess and boxes. "When I was released I found out that we are in different quarters. Are we separated?" It would explain the lunches they'd had. Perhaps they were trying to reconcile? At this point she wasn't sure of anything.

Radak blinked at her. Oh gods. How was he supposed to explain this? He argued with himself for a few moments. The doctor had warned him about filling her head with things that weren't true. What was he supposed to do now? Should he lie to her? Should he make something up? That sounded a lot like what the doctor had told him not to do. "No... but we have very different schedules and I am afraid that I am a restless sleeper. We also own a lot of clothing..." He looked around his room at his own clothing strewn everywhere.

She stopped him. "You don't have to pretend. I know what's going on. We're separated aren't we?"

So now she wasn't even believing his lies. "If you insist... then yes. We are seperated," Radak said, unsure of what to really say. They really couldn't be separated since they were never together, but he had been told not to argue.

She walked in a little. "I think we need to talk about all this. I'm going to ask for your patience since I'm a bit out of it." She walked over to the sofa, cleared a place, and sat and then motioned for him to join her.

"I really must find this PADD," he insisted, but he sat anyway. Besides, totally destroying his quarters had not produced the missing PADD. Perhaps, he had left it in his office. "How are you feeling? Do you want me to get you a drink?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm alright. I'm confused and upset and I don't know what I am. I could have died. What if I had and you and I had been fighting? The amnesia thing is good because I can't remember whose fault the separation is but you know what I have been thinking?"

"I am not certain that anyone in particular is at fault. Much of what I said earlier was cause for separation, at least in quarters. There are many things in our lives that are in conflict." He looked at her, trying to chose his words carefully.

She stood and plopped herself down in his lap, twining her arms around his neck. "I don't care whose fault this is. I don't remember our wedding or anything, but I'll be damned if I let us fall apart. How about we start over. Fresh."

Radak made a surprised noise when she dropped into his lap. Her arms around his neck made him totally nervous as well. He'd never had a real relationship with anyone. He had been too paranoid that someone would find out the truth under his carefully constructed facade. No one had ever touched him with the familiarity that she was touching him now. He couldn't breathe and for a moment he couldn't think. Everything was suddenly hot and he could feel his face heating up as well. "I would like that as well... but this is a very bad time. I must find that missing PADD."

She laughed a bit. "Were you always this nervous?" Smiling she gently brought her forehead to his. "Radak. Do you still love me?"

He swallowed hard. It wasn't that he had never imagined this scenario with random people in his life, but he never really expected it to be right here in his lap. "Always, yes and yes of course." It wasn't totally a lie. He did care for her.

She smiled. "Good. We give this a try then. How about a date night tonight?" She lowered her lips to his in a gentle kiss.

Radak fought the urge to jerk his face away and returned the kiss chastely. "Will you still be awake when my shift is completed?"

She smiled. "I will." She stood up. "I'm going to go back to sickbay for a check up. I'll see you later?"

"Yes, please let me know what the doctor has to say." He requested, not moving from the couch, his cheeks still a little green from his blushing.

"I will." She smiled sweetly once more and headed out.

Radak slumped into the couch, his breathing coming in ragged bursts as if he had just run a marathon. He only had a little bit of time left before he had to be on the bridge and his heart was racing. How was he going to survive this as well as his duties? What if next time she decided she wanted to do more than kiss him or sit on his lap. He ran one hand through his short hair and tried to stop the panic that rose in his chest with deep, controlled breathing.

Ilana, blindly unaware of the near panic attack that Radak was having, strolled through the hallway feeling oddly at peace. She wondered if she'd get any of her memories back? Her quarters, much like Radak's, hadn't been unpacked so she would spend the day rifling through her things in hopes that something would knock a memory out.

Radak, back in his own quarters, breathed a heavy sigh of relief and rubbed his face. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do about all of this, but he knew who he needed to talk to. Looking down at the PADD on the side table he noted the time and thought to himself that he should hurry and then realized that he had just checked the time on the very PADD he had been looking for. After rubbing his face in frustration the second time, he checking his uniform and his face for potential lingering lipstick, and headed for sickbay.

Galatea had just sent off her final report and was feeling rather pleased with herself. She had one more appointment for the night and that was with Ilana. She was worried about the woman who seemed to be more confused than ever. She was just about to head out when her door chimed. "Enter."

Radak stepped into the doctor's office and leveled a look at her. "I cannot with this, doctor..."

Galatea sighed. "Alright, come in, tell me what happened."

Radak stepped through the door into the office, but he did not sit down. "She thinks we're separated because of our separate quarters. What do I tell her Doctor? You said that we shouldn't fill her head with nonsense, but by lying to her about our relationship aren't we doing just that? She sat on my lap, Doctor!" He seemed to be a bit more ruffled about this than most single people his age.

She sighed, "Technically we aren't lying she is making her own assumptions. We are just not correcting her." Her mind went into processing mode. The lap comment made her smile a bit. "I see. I can understand as Vulcan's are generally not open to the touchy feely side." She rubbed the bridge of her own nose. "I could suggest to her that she take time to unbox her things. It could jog her memory, but there is a reason her mind made this connection. This book that she is writing, she seems to have confused it with real life, however, the confusion can be a part of genuine attraction so there had to be something of that." She opened Ilana's file. "I just don't want to risk a sudden shock to her. She has had a rough time as of late."

"I understand this, Doctor, but she is asking questions that I must lie or make up stories or both to answer and when I attempt to dissuade her she is unhappy." He sat down in a chair, but got back up almost immedately. "I mean... if she is attracted to me that... that is fine. I do not even think that I would be uninterested, but this is not the time for something like that."

She tilted her head to the side. "For you or for her?" She began to wonder about Radak. He was not a typical Vulcan and was quite emotional for one.

Radak took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Either of us... she should be in her right mind or I would feel that I was taking advantage of the situation. That is not a way to start a relationship." He sat down again, looking a little more defeated then he probably intended. "This is not my area of expertise..." he said softly.

She smiled. "You are right there. It would not be right now. I had thought that she would not pursue this relationship as vigorously as she did. Actually, I told her you were separated and that she should maybe just keep her distance, but I see she did not listen." She thought a moment. "Maybe we can tell her the truth but gently."

Radak nodded. "I am not unwilling to support her. She is my friend. I do not want her to feel abandoned."

Galatea smiled. "Let me handle this then. I will be seeing her shortly."

Radak nodded again. "I am sorry Doctor. I was very uncomfortable."

She smiled. "Understandable. Don't worry I will take care of this. Besides..." She looked at her watch. "The twenty-four hours we needed of calm for her have passed and maybe we can work on jump starting her memory."

"I really hope so," Radak said with a little sigh. "I am sorry, Doctor. I do not mean to make... how do they say? Mountains out of mole hills?"

She smiled. "I don't think you are doing that. It is a natural reaction and Ilana's background... well it makes her more likely to reach out for a connection that she never had. I will take care of this."

"Thank you, Doctor. I feel for her, I honestly do. I am concerned for her well being. I do not want to cause her heartbreak as well, when... when it is a lie. I would rather cause heartbreak over an actual relationship." He paused for a moment. "That sounded worse than I intended it to sound."

Galatea laughed, "No I get it." She studied him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Doctor. Ask anything you like." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I am alright, if that is what you wish to know."

She smiled. "Good to know but now that this issue has come up with Ilana. I am sensing, and by your reactions, you have not been in any long term relationships. Am I correct in that?"

Radak looked uncomfortable. He shifted back and forth in the chair. The movement wasn't obvious, but it was there. His eyes darted toward the door for a moment. "Is that really necessary, Doctor? No, I have not, if you must know."

She smiled. "Well, then it is something that we have to work on in our sessions." She sighed. "Let me ask you something, is it by choice or fear?" She sensed it was both. Choice was well and good, but the fear part... that is what they had to work on.

Radak stared at her for a few moments. "I am perfectly fine on my own. A mate is not required for life or to perform my duties."

"I see." She made notes on her computer. "We shall revisit this at a later time until then my advice is, always be open to the possibility of love."

Radak nodded. "Of course, Doctor. I would not want to miss the chance to have a mate because I was blinded by duty, but I believe that is something that will come when the time and the person are right."

Galatea smiled. "I'm sure it will."

:OFF

 

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