A Walk in the Park [Jiseth/Zero]

"I can't fault you for that... Given the situation of things... Your life... A lesser person would have done so long ago. There's an ancient Human text, Hebrew I believe... 'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children.'"

Jiseth sat up halfway, propped up by her elbows. There was remorse in her eyes and though with a tired heart, she found herself in a somber mood. The roller coaster of emotions seemed to be without end.

"Now, it's easy for me, tempting even, to think of myself as the righteous. Especially with our lost child. That's not how it is, is it? I may lack the tyranny of evil men like Corinth, but there is little justice from me because I am the selfish. I'm finding more and more as time goes on just how much I need you. Even so, I'm trying Zero Alpha... I'm trying with everything I have to be the shepherd."

"I do not understand..." Zero said, her frown deepening. "You have risked and sacrificed much for me. That is not consistent with the definition of a selfish individual. To 'need' another person as you have specified is not selfish. I believe that it is, in fact, an element present in many humanoid species."

Standing from the bunk, Jiseth only moved half a step forward. Her augment's space she did not want to enter just yet. She had to relearn her cues which were considerably more restrictive. Every jerk or flinch felt like a sting of rejection, even though she knew it was not her who was the cause.

"Then please... If nothing else, know how you felt when you thought I was gone forever. I feel like a coward to ask, not wanting a taste of my own medicine, but please... Don't put me through that."

Zero tended to be a woman of her word. She disliked lying from anyone since it often took so much effort for her to understand what came out of other people's mouths without worrying whether or not it was true. It was for that reason that she didn't want to reply to Jiseth, because she knew that she may not be able to keep that promise.

"I would appreciate it if we could continue this conversation at a later time, e'lev. I am finding that I am very fatigued, and I am sure that rest would do you more good than harm."

With resignation Jiseth lowered her head with a few nods. Returning to the bunk, she scooted toward the bulkhead to give her partner room. At the very least she could enjoy the rest of the flight close to her. That fact made we feel far safer than the shuttle operating within parameters.

"I suppose I should listen to my doctor. She always seems to be looking out for me... I'm grateful for that."

Zero gave a soft smile, coming back to kneel next to the bunk, pulling the blankets up over the Romulan. "It is generally wise to listen to those tasked with looking after your health," she replied, tucking Jiseth in before curling up on the deck next to the bunk, her head pillowed on her arm. Her grey eyes drifted closed, exhausted by the emotional turmoil and upheaval of their little excursion.

The bedding was comfortable. So was the warmth of the blankets. Even the low hum of the engines, but the silence that filled the cabin was maddening. Jiseth lay there with her eyes closed, but in able to rest.

Too much had been said while her thoughts fogged by all the emotions. Much of it she was regretting and to be so close to Zero, but have her yet so distant, a chill went down the Romulan's chest. Another gulp of the insecurities and fears upheaved during her imprisonment. More bitter than any Klingon brew.

[Some time later]

Jiseth sat up as a soft-pitched beeping came from the cockpit. Rubbing her eyes, she tried to recall what it could possibly be. Her mind was stark and devoid of any real effort to release from the dream she wished to still be in. Then it hit her, We're out of warp... We're back.

Zero had only managed a few minutes sleep before her mind had woken her up again, uneasy in the environment. She sighed slightly, listening to Jiseth breathing on the bunk, waiting for the Romulan to fall asleep before she quietly go up, moving back into the cockpit to give her some privacy.

Once there, she sat in the co-pilot's chair again, balancing her heels on the edge of the seat so that she could hug her knees, half watching the stars streaking by, half watching the ETA countdown on the console.

As the starbase finally appeared in the distance, growing larger and larger as they approached, she heard the console start to beep, probably signalling the end of the auto-pilot's programming. She sensed movement in the living quarters, she stood up, looking back through.

"We have arrived back at the base," she stated. "I hope that your rest was not too disturbed."

Rubbing her eyes with a groan, she staggered from the bunk to the cockpit. There was a slight thud as her shoulder hit the doorway and she descended against the back of her seat. With ample futility she tried to reach the controls from her position before sliding around into the chair.

Hunched over the controls, she poked at the console and the shuttle came up to the docking perimeter. Tractor beams from the control tower did the rest as the shuttle touched back down in the hangar it had departed from.

Slouched back against the cushioned seat, Jiseth hid her face in her hand. She could not remember the dream she was having and she wondered if she was still in it. Tracing her fingers along her forehead ridges slowly, the Romulan found a strong wish to go back to sleep and wake up to find that nothing in the past day, or months for that matter, had even happened.

"What now?"

Zero watched as Jiseth came stumbling into the cockpit, apparently still half asleep as she took the pilot's seat and keyed in the necessary sequences to bring the craft in to dock. The Augment stayed on her feet, one hand braced against the back of the co-pilot's chair.

"I do not have any preplanned events. What is it that you wish to do?"

"Getting something to eat might not be a bad idea... Probably fantasize about you while you're on shift. It really was quite wonderful earlier, you haven't lost your touch. Wouldn't mind going back and exploring more of that place. Or you."

Firmly pressing her hands against the console, Jiseth forced herself up. Grogginess was worse than being drunk, to a point. The day had taken more out of her than she realized as her skin began to feel a touch too warm for comfort.

"I need to get more oil on me soon. Can't have me turning into a prune."

"Yes," Zero agreed. "Another meal would be a good idea. You still require much nutrition of you are to regain a weight more beneficial to you." Moving into the back of the craft, she retrieved the medkit she had taken with her. "If we dine in my quarters, we will be able to reapply the ointment that you replicated."

"Mmmm."

Jiseth nodded slowly and shuffled behind her partner. Whatever belongings she had in the shuttle could be retrieved later. She did pick up the small jar of coconut oil on the way out. Moderately important that.

"Lead the way, e'lev."

Zero did indeed lead the way back to her quarters, where they were greeted rather enthusiastically by Ghost. Apparently, the canine thought that the pair of them had been away for far too long as he bounced around them.

"Eat first. I will tend to your burns afterward if you wish."

Jiseth knelt and ran her fingers through fur as her face was happily slobbered from the eager canine who insisted it was absolutely necessary she know how much she was missed. Standing and wiping her cheeks with her sleeve, the Romulan drifted toward the replicator.

Her empty plates and bowls sat on her night stand and Jiseth lay disrobed on their bed. The comforter was quite cool to the touch as Zero normally kept the thermostat a notch lower than standard. The light sunburns still stung, however.

Zero sat on the edge of the bed, the glass with her nutritional supplement still in her hand. There were still a few mouthfuls of the thin, brownish gruel at the bottom of the glass. She sighed slightly, setting it aside. She wasn't likely to finish it, but that didn't matter. Getting to her feet, she gathered up the various dishes before taking them back to the replicator to be recycled. On the way back to the bedroom, she picked up the little pot of ointment that Jiseth had thought to bring back from the shuttle.

"Do you wish me to apply this to your burns?" she asked, holding it up for the Romulan to see.

No, hon. I'm just here presenting myself for photos that will be in some erotic magazine.

"...Yes, please."

Lifting her head up, Jiseth gave a smirk. The relief could not come fast enough. Silently she dreaded when she would have to take a shower next. It might have to be altered to a lukewarm bath.

Spreading some of the cream onto her hands, Zero quickly dug into her task, working it into Jiseth's skin as gently as she could. Burns could be remarkably tender, that much she knew. She was honestly a little surprised that Jiseth had been burned that badly by the sun given that her people was descended from desert dwelling species. Then again, Jiseth wasn't in a particularly good physical condition. That was bound to have an effect.

She rolled her shoulders, trying to shift her uniform into a more comfortable position on her skin. The fabric, while generally unobtrusive, was rubbing against her own burned skin.

There was a soft sigh that escaped her lips as she could feel the heat being absorbed from her skin to a gentle warming. As she lay there, looking to Zero as she worked, Jiseth noticed Zero's pinkened complexion getting more vibrate.

"I'll do you next, e'lev. Lesson learned I guess."

"Due to my pallor, I was going to experience some degree of burning no matter how short the length of time I spent in the sunlight," Zero replied quietly. Given the fact that lying on that planet had probably been the longest she had ever spent out in the sun, it was hardly surprising to the Augment that her skin had reacted to it.

She worked the last of the cream into Jiseth's green-tinged skin before sitting back on her heels, feeling some measure of pride at the sight of a patient well tended to.

Sitting up, Jiseth thanked her lover with a kiss on the lips as she took the jar from Zero and retreated toward the pillows. On her knees, she took a scoop with one hand and with the other's index finger motioned for Zero to come closer.

"I may not be a doctor, but I know what you like."

It took Zero a moment to follow Jiseth's gestures, the knot of stress, worry and fear already starting to form in her solar plexus at the thought of Jiseth touching her again in such an intimate manner. If it had been left to her, the Augment would probably have attempted to apply the cream to herself, without the Romulan's aid.

She shifted further up the bed, but stayed a little inside arm's length to Jiseth, sitting back on her heels once more and making an effort to actually look at Jiseth and not the bed spread.

Tiny moments like this she wished she could just plow through all the barriers that Zero had up because of Corinth. It was interfering with her fun. Worse, her love. For a brief moment she pondered what size coffin he would fit in, let alone if one would be needed at all.

Leaning forward and propping herself up with her hand that had beckoned her Augment closer, she reached out slowly with the other until a single coconut-scented finger dabbed a bit of the oil on the tip of Zero's nose.

"Boop."

Zero frowned in confusion, her eyes crossing as they tried to follow the finger approaching her face. She even leaned back slightly, but the Romulan's reach was greater than she could avoid.

As the finger made contact, she flinched back, shaking her head as if to try to dislodge the small blob of oil now on the end of her nose before she wiped it off on her sleeve.

"'Boop'?" she asked. "What is the significance of this action?"

Jiseth tried to keep her oiled hand above the bed sheet as the other wrapped around her midsection, the rest of her hunched over her knees as she let out shrieks of laughter. The sight of Zero's grey eyes crossed to look down her nose was perhaps the most comical thing she had seen her partner ever do.

Erecting herself once more, she scooted a tad closer to Zero and though she covered her mouth, her joyous cackling was still quite audible. After many moments and with deep breaths she tried to calm herself but would sputter every now and then when she looked to the confused expression on the Augment's face.

"That look you had... it was priceless. I wish I had a camera for it. I never want to forget that."