Angels (Pavel Chekov)

108 - Good Boy

In Vienna's mind, there are two words that perfectly describe medbay.

Obnoxiously bright

She blinks, feeling a sting in her arm and her vision coming back to her. She grunts in frustration. A hand takes hers and she looks over. Selwyn is by her side. She asks what's happening.

"Pavel's getting checked out. Hikaru is with him. Erik is vomiting in the bathroom. Saxon is with Erik and I'm here with you. You have a head injury. You need to take it easy."

"My ears are ringing," she says, not sure how else to reply. "Where's Barkley?"

"Barkey?" Selwyn asks, surprised that of all the questions she has, she wants to know where the dog is. "On the farm. He stayed by the other guy..."

"He's a good boy," Vienna mutters, closing her eyes.

"You need to stay awake," Selwyn tells her, squeezing her hand.

She opens her eyes and asks where they are. Selwyn tells her they're in the city. It's dark outside and she nods, rubbing her eyes to try and keep them open. There's a knock at the entrance and Pavel stands there, looking to Vienna. Selwyn stands up and pats him on the shoulder as he leaves. Pavel takes his seat and holds her hand, kissing the top of it softly.

"I'm sorry," Pavel whispers, squeezing her hand.

"Don't," she says. "Don't apologise for anything because I don't want to hear it."

He nods, resting his forehead on her arm and not saying anything else. A while passes before he asks if she knows where Erik is. Vienna tells him what Selwyn told her.

"Makes sense," he mutters. "The blood. I'm surprised he kept it together."

"Blood?"

"Barkley took a chunk out of him. It was all down his coat. He was covered in it. It was everywhere. I'm amazed Erik didn't faint. I did. I shouldn't have because you still needed help but I did."

"Barkely," Vienna says, still a little dazed from whatever's in her arm. "He's a good boy."

"He saved us. You wouldn't be here without him, and I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I'd lost you like that."

"A good boy," Vienna repeats, squeezing Pavel's hand. "My memory is fuzzy... I remember Barkley. I remember Selwyn shaking me and being sick. I remember being on the picnic rug and something scaring us... Was it a snake?"

"What?"

"A snake? Was it a snake that scared us? And then Barkley scared it away, right? I tripped and hit my head so you called Selwyn and everyone. But you passed out because you were scared of Barkley."

"Vienna... Is that all you remember?"

She nods, he swallows uneasily and presses a button on the side of her bed. A nurse comes in and Pavel starts speaking to her in Russian. The nurse looks to Vienna and asks Pavel something. He translates for Vienna, asking her to sit up a little so the nurse can inspect her head again. She leaves and comes back with a doctor. The doctor asks Pavel to leave so he can talk to Vienna. Pavel kisses her hand and goes.

"You're experiencing memory loss," the doctor says simply.

"I am? Everything feels a little fuzzy, that's all."

"This isn't exactly uncommon after trauma. You'll need to spend a few days here. You need to rest and give yourself time to recover. Don't worry about going back to your classes, okay?"

"My classes?"

The doctor sighs, wondering just how much she has lost. He gives her something and tells her to sleep if she needs it. Pavel comes back in when the doctor leaves and sits by her side. She's sleepy, she asks if Pavel minds if she drifts off. He tells her to rest and kisses her hand again. She smiles at him before she closes her eyes.

Pavel finds Erik in the bathroom. He's heaving still, even though there's nothing left for him to throw up. Saxon's sitting on basin and Pavel looks at him, frowning at his brother.

"Erik?"

His eyes are red and he looks to Pavel for a second before heaving again.

"I can't stop," he says weakly. "I keep freaking out. This is shit."

Pavel tells him to come over to the basin and Erik shakes his head, muttering that he can't move until he stops heaving. Pavel goes over and helps him up, Erik groaning in the process. He gets to the basin and starts dry heaving again. His arms shake and he tries to catch his breath. When he stops, Erik tries to take in some air and Pavel encourages him to wash his face and wash his mouth out. He calms down a little. A few minutes later his body stops heaving and they head back into the waiting room. Selwyn and Hikaru are talking and Erik sits down beside them, rubbing his face.

"Vienna doesn't remember what happened," Pavel says, everyone turning to look at him. "She thinks that we got startled by a snake and Barkley attacked it to save us. I don't know what else she has forgotten or can remember but I'm too scared to ask..."

"She recognised us," Selwyn notes. "That's good. At least she knows who she is and who we are. That's a good start."

"I'm still worried," Pavel mutters.

"I don't know if it's too early to ask this but what actually happened?" Hikaru asks, looking to the rest of the group, who want to know the same thing.

"Well... We were sitting there together and we heard a branch in the bushes. We thought it was an animal or something. We heard this laughing and Damien appeared. Last time he saw me, he told me that he'd kill me and he reminded me of that... He was talking for a while. He was calling me pathetic and he was slurring because he had been drinking. He said he wasn't a killer, that's why he needed alcohol in him. He... He said that if he couldn't have Vienna then no one could. He kicked me over and put the phaser to her head. He dropped her when Barkley attacked his leg and I picked up his phaser. I couldn't kill him though... I was so frightened but I couldn't kill him."

"Who called us?"

"Vienna. After I stunned Damien the blood and the dog just made me pass out. I wish I'd gone and checked on her instead of passing out and being useless... I'm lucky she sent for help."

"Don't," Erik says softly. "You have that tone in your voice, I can tell. Don't beat yourself up over this. She's okay now."

Pavel nods, though he really wants to just ignore the comment. His mind is a mess. He wants to be alone but he knows Erik is going to stick around him for the next few hours.

"I can stay," Selwyn mutters. "You need sleep, Pavel. You've been through a lot too. I don't need to sleep as much as you. I can stay and message you when she wakes. You too, Erik. I know you're not well either."

Pavel starts protesting and Erik says something softly to him in Russian. Pavel wants to stay with her. He wants to be by her side when she wakes up. The night is still early but his eyelids are heavier than he'd like them to be and Selwyn already has found them a place just down the street. Saxon tells them he'll stay to keep Selwyn company. Pavel nods, telling Selwyn to message as soon as Vienna wakes.

(Author's Note)

Thank you for reading
Let me know what you think