Saru remembers the last time she held her chest like that it was when the team Lorca set to the sister ship the USS Glenn and they met the creature Saru places his hands on Kehaulani's arms just below her shoulders she looks up into his eyes and stops screaming he places her in front of him and has her work his controls as they enter the planet Corvan 2 for he thought it would be best if she could put her mind on something else but the pain she felt.... pain that wasn't even hers and still broke his heart to even think of her suffering in such a way.... "targets one and two destroyed" Saru says standing behind Kehaulani and now he was distracted by the close proximity of their bodies his chest pressed up against her back his hands working over hers as they work together making sure they get everything perfect but he did what he could to hide the feelings he felt at this very moment and focused on how calm she now felt because it "full stop" Lorca orders "Captain?" Saru questions "initiating full stop Captain" Conn Officer Keyla says "multiple Klingon vessels converging" Ops Officer Owosekun "diverting nonessential power to shields" Saru says as his and Kehaulani's hands work together to do just that "the birds are at 1,000 kilometers and closing" Keyla says "their phasers are locked Captain" Owosekun says "hold tight everybody" Lorca orders Saru holds onto Kehaulani as the Klingon's aim and fire at the Discovery keeping her safe within his arms without moving his hands away from his controls "Shields holding at 80 percent, seventy five, sixty five" Saru tells Lorca "Engineering?" Lorca asks "one more time!.... it's going to be ok!.... just one more time!" Saru hears Kehaulani whisper to herself as Stamets says over the comms "Spore Drive is primed Captain" Lorca says as they continue to get shot at by the Klingon ship "on my order" Owosekun lets Lorca know that "birds of prey closing in at 500 kilometers" and Saru tells him "shields at thirty percent" Stamets says "coordinates input" Saru shouts out "twenty" and they get hit one more time "Captian" Saru calls out shaking his head "Lieutenant Stamets advises that the ship is ready to jump" Owosekun says "I need them closer wait" Lorca says holding his hands out in front of him with his pointer finger held up in the air "let's send our Klingon friends a message they won't forget and.... go" he adds Kehaulani's knees buckle as they use the spore drive once again to travel and she holds in a scream clenching her teeth and gripping the edges of Saru's controls and as soon as the ship stops she runs to the Turbolift Saru watches in shock and worry as she rushes away from him and into the Turbolift....
Michael finds Kehaulani sitting in front of the Containment Pen staring into it's darkness "he may forgive but he will never forget the pain you humans caused him just to get what YOU wanted from him!" Kehaulani says once she hears the doors open "I know!" Michael whispers "he trusted you!.... now he isn't so sure he can" Kehaulani tells her "I understand.... computer open Containment Pen" Michael says a little flash of light shows as the Containment Pen is opened Ripper walks over to Kehaulani slowly as though he knew that she also felt his pain and he gives her his own version of comfort Michael watches the two of them for a few seconds then set down her case of spores opening them for him "I'm sorry" Michael says softly then she stands up and walks out of the room "go ahead.... try to eat" she hears Kehaulani say softly as she reaches the doorway then walked out of the room.... the next morning Michael walks into the room to find the creature and Kehaulani cuddled together on the floor asleep and she smiles walking over to them she lightly shakes Kehaulani awake which wakes up the creature as well once he sees Michael he walks back into his cage and lays back down and Michael closes it.... for the next couple of days Lorca travels to the planets that Kehaulani gave him to get soil and seeds for her garden that he had set up in what was to be her quarters.... he found it odd that a person who could only eat the real thing never hunted the real thing.... "you've gotten to know me within the last few days that I have been on your ship Gabriel besides the one encounter which was basically self defense in its own right.... do you honestly believe that I am the type that would have the heart to do such a thing?!" she asks him he chuckles then says "no.... I don't believe you would!" she smiles then says "I'll tell you what!.... if you are so worried about me becoming a full on vegan YOU can do the hunting for me!.... after all it must be pretty hard for you as a Captain of a ship you don't really get the "full satisfaction" of the kill!.... I know it's not completely the same but perhaps it will be a somewhat "glorified" substitute!" he laughs then replies with a smile "it would be my honor" .... Saru went with them on every planet and helped bring everything back onto the ship he watched as Lorca and Kehaulani conversed with ease and would sometimes join in.... if she brought him into the conversation.... or would become jealous of Lorca and how easy it was for him to just chat with her like they've been friends for years when it's only been a few days then a few weeks.... once her garden was complete and everything had grown the way it was meant to grow.... it took a few tries and a little help with Paul, Hugh and Michael to get everything to grow "naturally".... they head to find a way to make different parts of the room stay in different temperatures and whatever else was necessary though Saru was the one who came by the most to check on everything and help Kehaulani if and when she needed it.... but once everything was at least somewhat close to perfection Kehaulani made a complete meal for the entire Discovery crew with the fruit, vegetables that she and her friends grew and the meat that Lorca had hunted down which surprised both Saru and Lorca that one she would even do such a thing and two that she COULD do such a thing.....
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