First, Peace of Mind
Posted on Sat 31st Jul, 2021 @ 5:05pm by Mary Elizabeth Gregory & Maiek s'Ethien
Edited on on Sat 14th May, 2022 @ 8:22am
1,522 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Waging Peace
Location: The Hangman's Noose
Timeline: MD-6, 2300 hours
Maiek was surprised to regain consciousness in his bed of all things, instead of on the deck plating. He thought for a second he'd heard a stunner. Actually no, he was certain that he'd heard a stunner and he was certainly feeling the effects of not only the stunner but the beating he'd received. It was a damn sight softer than the decking had been, though the pool of blood under his cheek made him wince with distaste.
Mary Elizabeth! If they would hurt me, a ranked member of the former Court, they wouldn't hesitate to hurt her, or kill her.
Stricken, he bolted from his room. He simply had to get to the Noose. Not noticing the pain due to adrenaline was one thing, but the lack of air was causing him no end of issues. His breath was agony from about the point where he hit the promenade, and he was forced to slow himself in order to catch in life-giving oxygen. Briefly he cursed the Elements for being so fickle as to deny him their blessing in their -his and Mary Elizabeth's- time of need. Passing out again was hardly going to help matters.
He was still fast, and it took not long at all to reach the doors of the Noose.
Lifiaden was working the hostess stand that shift, and she jerked around upon hearing the main door being yanked open. Her eyes widened at the sight of the beaten and bloody--and frantic--Romulan gentleman who rushed inside. "Oh, my God--Let me get you to the back," she said. "You're Miss Gregory's intended, aren't you?"
The Romulan fellow wasn't paying any mind to her at all; his attention was fixed on her supervisor, who was working behind the bar, serving a customer. Lifiaden waved an arm, the gesture catching Mary Elizabeth's eye. She hastily excused herself and darted toward the hostess stand.
"Maiek, what happened? Let's get you to the break room."
His dark chocolate eyes took her in, and his hands cradled her face. His fingertips took a reckoning of the curve of her jaw, the curl of her hair around her ears, and the soft warmth of her face. Her blessedly clear, unblemished face and the air left his lungs in a faintly copper scented breath. He wobbled a little in the face of the relief that she had not been targeted by this attack. Merely him. Another tug on his arm brought his attention back to the raging agony in his chest and face. "Ow. Gently please A'rhea."
Mary Elizabeth offered Maiek her shoulder for support. "Lifiaden, tell Mrs. Ellis to clear the break room and bring the first-aid kit."
"Immediately," Lifiaden said and hurried to the kitchen while Mary Elizabeth and Maiek followed more slowly.
Mary Elizabeth peered at Maiek as they walked. "I see knuckle marks. Who did this to you? And, er, how does the other bloke look?"
"I am uncertain what he looks like at present," he answered honestly. Raising hands swollen from the stunner, he touched his face gingerly. "I imagine I look like a punch bag? That is the word yes? Punch bag?"
"Punching bag--a punching bag that someone has spent a lot of time practising on," Mary Elizabeth said, her voice edged with anger. "If your face is this bad, what about the rest of you?" She pushed open the door to the Employees-Only area and held it until both she and Maiek were through it. "Break room's off to the left. Here, through this doorway."
Mary Elizabeth helped Maiek into a small room filled with four tables that could seat four people each, with a refrigerator and two small ovens that could heat food. "Hello, Mrs. Ellis. Maiek here got into a bit of fisticuffs."
"My word!" The portly, sandy-haired woman gave Maiek a wide-eyed stare for a moment before she hastily reached into a medical kit. "Never seen anyone bleed green before. Sit on the table, my lad, and we'll get you taken care of." She fixed him with a look. "If the antiseptic works on a Vulcan, will it work on you?"
"And are you allergic to anything?" Mary Elizabeth asked.
She wanted him to sit ON the table? He ached far too much to offer any resistance to the idea, and used the helpful arm of his beloved to do so. His eyes flickered to Mrs. Ellis and he nodded once before returning his stricken gaze to Mary Elizabeth. "Not to my knowledge."
"Glad to hear it." Mrs. Ellis washed her hands at the sink, squirted some antiseptic solution onto a gauze pad, and began gently dabbing at Maiek's cuts
and bruises.
"How does the rest of you look?" Mary Elizabeth asked as she too washed her hands. "Most fights don't stop at the face."
"I have not looked," came the quiet admission, his breath still labored from his run to this place. Fingertips rising to caress her cheek, and hopefully ease the anxiety that was written there. "No one from my ship has been here causing problems, have they?"
Mary Elizabeth caught his fingers and kissed them. She gave him a sharp look. "Not so far. I take it we should be on the lookout for that?" She let go of his hand and began unfastening his tunic so she could see what damage was underneath.
"I thought...if they would hurt me in front of my own home. That they wouldn't hesitate to come here and hurt you or your staff." His deep chocolate gaze caught hers and held them. He hissed through his teeth as they pressed on the bruised flesh under his tunic. His difficulty in catching his breath was plain, in the way his posture changed and his nostrils flared. His broken ribs shifted in response to the pressure and he couldn't find the breath to protest.
"I suspect your ribs might be broken," Mary Elizabeth said, watching the way Maiek caught his breath. "I've seen the occasional barroom brawl outside my parents' version of this place, and you're breathing the same way some of those blokes did. I'm going to get an ice pack for you and talk to our bouncer."
"I suspect you are right." Maiek managed after a moment of burning contemplation of the necessity of air in one's lungs. There was a cool almost blissful sensation to the return of oxygen to his body. Strange. "I also suspect you may wish me to see a medical professional rather than a first aid kit?"
Mary Elizabeth grinned at Maiek as she handed him an ice pack. "I knew I was marrying an intelligent man. Everything I've ever read about broken ribs says to use ice packs and take pain killers, and to not wrap the chest, that they'll heal in six weeks. I think Dr. s'Siedhri can do better for you than that. Would you be willing?"
"Dearie, you're going to be his wife," Mrs. Ellis interrupted as she lightly touched a dermal regenerator to the worst contusion on Maiek's face. "The way to handle this is, you point toward the doctor's office and tell him, 'Go!'"
"Not if I'm going with him," Mary Elizabeth pointed out.
"If you are accompanying me, then get the bracelet and the orange ring. They will be watching, and I think that perhaps the message that we are not fearful of displaying our devotion to each other might not be amiss. If you were to go out not wearing it, with me at your side, would indicate you are having second thoughts about being my wife. That is in essence what they want." Offering her a lopsided smile, he panted softly to catch his breath once more.
"I'm glad you told me that, else I'd have just dashed off with you to the doctor, wearing only this ring and not realising my jewelry choice was significant," Mary Elizabeth said, holding up her left hand with the diamond engagement ring that she wore while working. "I'll hurry up to my room and be right back."
As good as her word, she reappeared in the break room about five minutes later, wearing the orange sapphire ring and the House bracelet that Maiek had given her. "All set. I checked, and Dr. s'Siedhri's clinic is still open. Is it safe to take you to him?"
"The man is favorable to the ambassador, so therefore to myself as well." a faint smile touched his lips at the memory of the man, reunited with his mother. It had been a spectacular thing to be part of. "I might have to lean on you a bit."
"That's fine. If you need to rest on the way there, say so. Fortunately, most of the distance will be covered by tram." Mary Elizabeth helped Mrs. Ellis clear away the detritus of first aid treatment and then slid herself in close to Maiek. "Ready, love?"
"As I'm going to be."
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