The next time Ashima woke, her hearing felt more clear. She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. Dull pain throbbed but she wasn't sure where. She must be on painkillers, she assumed. After a moment she was able to get her eyes to blink. Once... twice... a handful of times. Relief flooded through her as she felt her eyelids part. The room was already dark this time, she noticed as her eyes put in great effort to focus on her surroundings. She was in a medical room of some kind, she assumed.
She closed her eyes, taking in another deep breath, already feeling tired from her efforts. So instead she left her eyes closed and focused on her other senses. There was something familiar in the smell of the room but she couldn't quite place it. Something that made her feel safe. She focused on what she could feel, noticing her face felt pain but her chest didn't really feel anything. They must have applied that miracle cream to the cut on my chest. She noted, wishing she had that in her life growing up. When her focus got to her midsection she winced as the pain there became apparent, letting out a quiet whimper. What had happened to her there again? Oh yeah... he punched her over and over. She felt tears stream down her face and she let out a small cry as the memories began to flood in more clearly.
"Shima?"
A hand gently wrapped around hers but she flinched at the contact.
"Ahhhh! No!" She screamed, trying to pull away from her attacker and off the other side of the bed. But his hands grabbed her upper arms and held her still. "Please! Stop, please!"
"Shima. Shima, it's me. No one is hurting you. But you must stay still, your injuries... please just lie still. Open your eyes, Shima. I'm here, no one will harm you."
"K...Ki?" She whispered, her voice crackly and her throat dry.
She heard him sigh as he squeezed her hand. "Shima." He breathed. "Come on, come back to me. Open your eyes, Shima."
"Her eyes fluttered and when she managed to open them she drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the familiar lavender alien hovering above her. But the next moment it was as if the resolve she had held herself together with over the past several days left her and she was able to allow him to protect her while she fell apart.
She leaned toward him and buried her face in his chest, grabbing onto his shirt as she began to sob. "Don't... don't leave... pe...please."
"I'm here." He caressed her as she cried. "I'm not going anywhere."
Three hours later, Ashima was waking from yet another round of sleep. She opened her eyes and searched the room. She found Kietnan's left hand holding her right as it lay beside her, his head resting on her lap as he slept, sitting in a chair beside her bed. She reached up with a shaky left hand and caressed his head lightly, breathing out a sigh as she lay there watching him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and they immediately searched for hers. When they found her looking at him, relief flashed across his features.
"Shima." He said as he sat up slowly. He was stiff, she noticed.
"How..." she stopped and tried to swallow, her throat dry.
"Here." He reached beside the bed and pushed a button that raised it up for her to sit up just slightly before grabbing a jar with water in it from the bedside table, opening it and holding it up to her mouth. She sat up slightly and took several sips before laying back against the bed, noting the pain in her abdomen at her movements.
"Thank you." She whispered, as that action alone made her feel tired.
"How are you feeling?"
She thought for a moment. "There's pain but I'm a bit numb actually." She commented.
"That would be the medicine. You're on a lower dosage now so you could wake up, so I imagine you'll start feeling more soon." The words seemed to pain him.
She reached up and placed a weak hand on his face. "You're here." She smiled.
He reached up and placed his hand on hers, holding it against his face. "I wish I was able to get here sooner. Before ..." his voice stopped as his throat choked. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there, Shima. In our dwelling. When I heard you scream, I ran to get to you but I was too late. By the time I-"
"Ki." She spoke softly, turning her hand to hold his as she brought them down to her lap. "We knew they would come for me at some point." She said sadly.
His voice grew harder. "I didn't want you to be alone, I thought we'd have more time, I-"
"Shh." She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. "You're here now."
His right hand rested on top of their joined hands, as if he was afraid she'd be taken from him again. "Shima, I..." she watched as his throat bobbed and he looked down at their hands. "I've never felt such fear. When you were taken, I..." his eyes bore into hers, searching. She removed her hand from his and brought it up to the left side of his face, running it comfortingly along his cheek, behind his ear, before eventually setting it back down onto his hands as her strength faltered. He leaned his head down, resting his head beside their hands, looking up at her. "I never wish to feel like that again." He whispered.
"Oh, Ki..." she felt a tear run down her cheek. "I never wanted to cause you pain." She sucked in a shaky breath and he sat up, looking at her before reaching with his right hand to wipe away her tears, their other hands never parting.
"You may have caused me confusion and frustration at times, but you have never caused me pain, Ashima. You have brought adventure and curiosity and wonder into my dull life." He smiled.
The words he spoke and the sound of her full name from his lips was more than she could bear. She shook her head, looking away as she breathed deeply. She felt as if they were standing atop a ridge, nearing the edge. Should they stay back on the side they've been or dare to cross the pinnacle to the other side? The fear is always that once you cross, you can never return to the way things were before.
"But I will only bring you pain, Ki." She spoke softly.
"No." He said sternly.
"I want you to be happy. You can't be happy with me in your life." She said with broken words, hardly able to speak them.
"Why do you think this?"
"What of your people? Of your life?" She shook her head again before speaking quietly. "They hate me. They would hate you too, even for just being my friend."
"Shima-"
"Ki, please... please, I can't bear to cause you more pain. Wh... what if I'm sentenced to... to death? Or what if I'm forced to leave?" She said between sobs. "Let's not make this any harder on you. Return to your life and forget about me."
"I could never simply forget about you, Shima." He scoffed, rubbing his head in frustration before looking her in the eye. "They see your innocence, they won't sentence you to death. But they will try and find a way to send you home."
"You know this for certain?" She stared at him in anticipation, her muscles tense.
He simply nodded.
Ashima thought she had cried so much that she was incapable of producing more tears. She was so wrong.
~~~~~~~
"Teluq!" Ashima yelled loudly from her bed.
The door quickly opened and Teluq's head popped in, looking around quickly before setting on Ashima. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. Please." She motioned for Teluq to enter the room. "Come in."
"Shima, you do not need Teluq's help. I am here." Kietnan grumbled.
Ashima scoffed as Teluq came closer. "What is it?" She glanced between the two.
"Teluq." She passed a frustrated glance at Kietnan before continuing. "Am I allowed to leave this room?"
"Shima, yo-"
"No." Ashima cut Kietnan off, holding her hand up to stop him before softening her eyes as she faced the female guard again. "Teluq?"
Teluq eyed the two curiously before continuing. "As long as you are escorted, yes."
"Thank you." Ashima drew out the statement, showing her relief.
"You are not fit for that yet, Shima. Your injuries, you must heal."
"And like I've said many times, now..." she said slowly, grinding the words out between her teeth. "If I don't at least look out a window or breathe some fresh air, I am going to go insane." She drew in a deep breath and calmed her voice. "Teluq." She turned her attention to the guard.
"I have to assume with the technology I've seen here so far, that we can arrange something for me to get around until my feet heal?" She asked. So far, Kietnan, Dran, or a medical attendant had simply been carrying her to and from the bathroom, much to her protests.
When Teluq nodded, Ashima continued. "Lovely! Could you possibly escort me somewhere, anywhere, today? Even if only for a few minutes? Anywhere outside. Or with a window, at least?"
"I-"
"I will take you." Kietnan stopped the guard from responding.
"Oh now you'll take me?" Ashima eyed him with frustration. She'd been asking him to help her get some fresh air all day but he had refused.
"Teluq, give us a moment please." Kietnan asked and the guard sighed before turning to leave the room, giving them a half smile as she closed the door behind her. "I don't suppose you'll let me carry you?"
Ashima crossed her arms and raised a brow at him in both surprise and annoyance. "And let everyone see you being so kind to the alien?" She shook her head. "No way am I doing that to you. And besides, I need to be able to get around some other way over the next couple days or however long it takes before I can walk again." Her voice grew slightly quiet and sad as she spoke the last words.
She was brought out of her thoughts as she watched Kietnan stand and approach the supply closet on the wall opposite the bathroom. Ashima had seen medical attendants retrieve various supplies from the small closet a few times since she'd arrived there but other than that, she'd not paid it much attention.
He retrieved two short poles, each of which had a small box on the end about the size of a pack of playing cards. She watched as he approached her bed, kneeling in front of her, and quickly complied when he requested she sit on the edge . He sat one pole down on the floor and to the other he pressed a button on the box. Ashima jumped slightly when a slightly yellow tinted light radiated from the box before settling into rectangular shaped... "Ki, what is that light? Some kind of hologram?"
He scoffed. "No. You want to walk, this is how you'll do it."
"I get to walk?! I assumed someone would get me a wheelchair or something."
"A wheelchair? As in a chair with wheels? Is that what your species uses when people have leg or foot injuries?" He said in disbelief.
"It's one of the devices. It depends on how bad the injury is. Some people can't walk at all so they need wheelchairs to live."
"You do not heal their ailments?!" He asked in surprise, his hands discontinuing their motion as he stared at her.
"Well. of course we try to." She crossed her arms, feeling defensive. "Some people are born with something that can't be fixed, or sometimes an injury or illness happens and our medical technology simply can't fix the problem. Of course everything is done to help fix any issues but it's not always possible."
He stared at her for a long moment before sighing. "I apologize, I didn't mean to offend you. It simply didn't occur to me that your species wouldn't have the ability to heal such ailments." He looked back down to her feet, placing the glowing rectangle under her left foot as it dangled from the side of the bed.
"I have noticed your medical technology seems to surpass ours. That cream and those tonics are amazing. I've healed much faster than I would have at-" her words were cut off as she gasped lightly.
Kietnan had pushed the button on the box again and the light flashed once more before the glowing rectangle transformed to encompass her foot and ankle. A slight tingling sensation was buzzing through the bottom of her feet where her injuries were. It wasn't necessarily painful, more like it was applying slight pressure. She stared in silence as he applied the other device to her right foot.
"Now." He stood and held both hands out toward her. "Let's get you up and see how you feel."
She reached for his hands and he closed his fingers around hers but she hesitated. "Won't this hurt?" She looked up at him.
"It should significantly lessen any pain but if it hurts at all, tell me."
She nodded and then began applying pressure to his hands to pull herself off the bed and onto her feet. Once she was mostly upright the device applied more pressure and created a cushion between her feet and the ground. The action threw her off balance and she fell forward into Kietnan, who let go of her left hand as he bent and wrapped his right arm around her waist. She caught herself by pressing her hands into his chest.
"Are you alright?" He asked, worried.
Ashima opened her mouth to speak but instead she took in a breath as she looked up and realized his face was so close to hers. Her eyes zeroed in on his and she felt her heart beating hard in her chest. "Yes." She whispered after a long moment, as she unconsciously licked her lips. His eyes darted down to the action for just a moment.
Ashima blinked to clear her mind and applied pressure to his chest to push herself upright and away from him, even though her heart protested at her actions.
"Th-thank you." She looked back down at her feet. "I just wasn't expecting that." She let out a nervous chuckle. "I guess I didn't really know what to expect."
She slightly moved her feet up and down, adjusting to the feeling.
"Does it hurt?" He asked as his hand left her waist and found her elbow, helping her to turn and begin taking small steps.
"No, not really... it's more like... pressure? I'm not sure how to describe it. But I'm okay."
"Promise me you'll tell me if your feet start to get uncomfortable. I don't want you to overdo it and set back your healing."
"Yes, yes."
"Promise me Ashima."
At the use of her full name and his serious tone she quickly looked up at him. After a moment she nodded. "I promise, Kietnan." She held his eyes a moment longer. "Thank you. For helping me."
He nodded while keeping eye contact with her. She quickly looked away and began trying to take more steps forward. Once they exited the room, Kietnan told the guards he'd accompany Ashima so they decided to take a break during her absence.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this now." Ashima said as she began walking more confidently. They were almost to the end of the hall when she realized she was still holding his hand. Her heart squeezed painfully at the way she felt so warm and comfortable by just holding his hand but she knew she had to stop such things before she set herself up for serious heartache.
He may be helping her and she could see he genuinely cared for her well-being, but he had his own life to live here and very soon it wouldn't include her. She wanted to try her best to make sure her presence here now would affect him as little as possible when she left. So she reluctantly pulled her hand to remove it from his.