Space Oddity

Close Proximity👩🏽‍🤝‍👨🏻👩‍❤️‍👨

Culber, Michael and Kehaulani stand before the cage that Ripper now lives in "Doctor Culber I've been studying the creature since it came on board his incredibly regenerative but with each jump Discovery makes he cries out and the last forty eight hours he seems sluggish, depressed.... if it wasn't for Kehaulani being here.... she's the only thing that's been keeping him as active as it is.... making sure he eats as much as he does"  Michael informs him "I heard about the incident on the Bridge when we jumped to Corvan 2.... Commander Saru seemed awfully worried about you!"  Hugh says to Kehaulani then he turns to a very confused Michael who has not heard about whatever happened on the Bridge until Kehaulani says "then you know what you're about to say isn't completely true!.... he does feel the things we feel just not in the way we feel them!.... he doesn't speak our language and we don't speak his so how would you be able to understand one another?!"  Hugh smiles at her then replies "true!"  then he once again turns to Michael "you discovered how to use the Tardigrade for navigation a victory that maybe isn't a victory anymore given the creatures deteriorating condition let me run some tests.... Kehaulani you know this creature better than anybody I'd like to ask for your assistance"  Hugh says "with pleasure doc"  Kehaulani replies Hugh laughs "thank you.... both of you!"  Michael says Hugh nods "let's get to work"   he says to Kehaulani as he lightly pats Michael on the shoulder and Kehaulani follows him out of the room with a smile on her face.... "so explain to me why....?!"  Hugh starts as they walk towards Sickbay "if I gave her all the answers right away it wouldn't feel like much of an accomplishment!.... though with the way he's reacting to however they did what they did it probably still doesn't feel like one.... but it was somewhat one of her own anyway!"  Kehaulani replies Hugh chuckles softly "besides I didn't actually know everything!.... I've only seen the view of Engineering from the doorway I haven't exactly taken the full tour.... I still don't understand my connection to him but perhaps the beings I connect with don't have to be completely humanoid.... or maybe he just needed someone to understand.... I don't think he realized just how connected our connection is!.... if he had.... I don't think the pain would have been that bad!"  she adds.... once they got to Sickbay Hugh did a full check up on her to make sure that she didn't have any long lasting effects all he found were a few bruises in the same place the needles struck in the creature called Ripper which he made disappear in a flash he asked her many questions about each experience and was surprised to learn just how long she's had the connection "so that's why you were so distracted!?!"  he asks "yes!.... but I wasn't lying about the simulation either.... I felt those emotions as well!"  she replies with a soft chuckle in her tone he smiles.... Hugh has her by his side as he runs the tests on Ripper for he noticed that the creature was much calmer when she was near "I think he'd be glad that you don't used needles for everything.... though it would have been nice if the science department found a more.... humane way of doing what "is necessary" with our technological advances there should be a better way a less painful way to do all this!"  Kehaulani says Hugh nods "how are things between you and Saru?!"  Hugh asks Kehaulani chuckles then asks "is everyone trying to play matchmaker now!?!.... Lorca put me in his care the day I arrived on his ship!.... he made us share the same quarters!.... which we still do by the way!.... I sleep on the couch he keeps his bed.... I kind of used our difference in height as an excuse.... which in many ways is true I'm only 5ft 2 he's 6ft 3!"  he chuckles "I think he's scared of taking our "relationship" past the "friend zone".... he's been having these dreams.... well to him they're more like nightmares!.... I thought they would be about losing his first Captain or maybe even failing this one but they run much deeper than that.... if you catch my meaning.... I still try to comfort him.... and his body does calm as soon as it feels my presence but.... in a way it hurts and in a way I understand.... his people live in fear of just about everything!.... but I've always thought of him as brave.... he's the first and ONLY of his kind to "branch out" leave the life of a slave behind and become "something more".... and I don't believe that Starfleet would give anyone the rank he has if they showed the fear Kelpien's feel over every little thing!"  she says "true!"  Hugh replies with a nod "I think I love him but he's afraid to love me in return and I don't want to force him that wouldn't help!.... it would only make things worse!.... our relationship wouldn't survive if I MADE him do something he wasn't ready to do!.... though that might not be it at all perhaps the fear he feels stops him from "taking it to the next level".."  she says Hugh looks at her sadly she chuckles then says "I'm a patient person.... or at least I try to be.... I don't want him to hate or fear me!.... I can live with being his friend.... for now!.... after all it's only been a couple of weeks.... who knows how long it took him to even become brave enough to join Starfleet.... maybe getting over this particular fear is just taking a little longer"  Hugh laughs unbeknownst to them Saru just happened to be passing by the open doorway of Sickbay where Hugh and Kehaulani were going over the information they had learned so far.... Saru had heard Kehaulani call him brave and he stopped in surprise when he heard that though he didn't stay for the whole conversation or make himself known to the two of them he had to get to the Bridge and continue his shift.... he was on his lunch break.... he didn't hear Hugh's reply to her words or that she said that she loves him.... though that may have surprised him as well if he did for as fast as he passed by then stopped he started walking once again towards the Turbolift