Prying

Posted on Fri Sep 4th, 2020 @ 11:45am by Laurier Cami & Jeassaho Kea (*)

Mission: Mission 12 - Railway
Location: Jefferies Tube Junction 2D3
Timeline: Pre swap
2016 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

Despite her continual protests, Jeassaho pointed firmly and urged Cami further up the Jeffries tube ladder. She had been distant and distracted all day, dropping off suddenly into long silences, occasionally even looking as though her eyes were glossed over with tears. The older woman had tried prying with light conversation, even suggesting she take a few hours reprieve or visit the chickens in the hydroponics bay but nothing had worked.

She stepped into Jefferies Tube Junction 2D3, pulled out her tricorder and used it lower the lighting and reduce the gravity. "Now listen," Se said, not caring if the Bajoran was angry or not at her having dragged her, after a long shift, down into the bowels of the ship, she was concerned. “What is wrong?”

"What's wrong? Prophets, what do you mean 'what's wrong'?" Cami motioned to their surroundings. "I could be sat in my pyjamas drinking moonshine, but you've got me sneaking down here into the bowels of the ship. You tell me 'what's wrong'."

Jeassaho raised her eyebrows, disappointed for a moment that she had not known there was any more moonshine left before she remembered why she was actually getting the woman up there. "You have been deadly silent for weeks now. What is going on? I am asking as a friend not as the Captain's wife as frankly, he would not have noticed as he is as still and silent as you have been."

"I'm not silent," Cami retorted but caught herself. "Okay, maybe...maybe I haven't been all that chatty the last few days. It's just..." She caught herself again. "Did Leiddem talk to you? I bet he did. That lunk-head can't keep anything to himself. Tell me what he told you."

"My brother has not told me anything. He has been pretty silent on anything the last few weeks. Why what had you been scheming and plotting together?" Jeassaho wondered quietly looking concerned."You have not been right since the mine and that was months ago. Seriously what is going on?" The Betazoid asked even more concerned now. Her brother was normally an open book literally but he had been closed off.

"We're not scheming or plotting anything..." Cami sighed, torn between having a sulk and letting it all go. "And before you ask, no we didn't sleep together. Like...ew..."

“You could do worse than my brother thank you,” Jeassaho said with a grin. It was her brother so she had to defend him slightly but she knew they had a love-hate relationship.

"How much worse?" Cami cringed a little. "Prophets, I can't even..." She shook her head. "Like, if I tell you this, you promise you won't laugh?"

"He is still my brother and underneath the Marine, he is a good guy. He has kept your secrete this long." Jeassaho said with a grin. "I will not be able to promise that but I will support." The woman quickly assured. A good friend might laugh but they would always have the others back and support through the laughing.

"Hmph." Cami expected nothing less from her bestie. "So...I kinda...told your brother..." She cringed at what she was about to say. "I told your brother I had a crush...on Burnie."

Jeassaho looked like she was going to laugh but then her face broke into a grimace and then lent out and squeezed her friend's shoulder. "That is... awkward." Was the only word that crossed her mind. She was impressed with her brother keeping it on the low for so long. It must have cut him up inside to not tease so openly.

"Yeah," Cami shrugged glumly. "It didn't even cross my mind to say anything. But then that Nollel woman got her talons into him and..." She sighed again. "What's wrong with me, Jea? Am I going crazy or something?"

Jeassaho smiled at the woman and drew her into a tight hug. It looked like she needed it especially as she was so young. It was obviously hitting her hard. "You are not going mad or something. Just experiencing heartache. Nollel and he fit. And she is not that type of woman to have talons." Jeassaho said kindly and she had the right to be upset that the woman tried to blow the ship up once upon a time.

"So you're saying he's better off with her than he would be with me?" Cami blinked, her emotions getting the best of her for a moment. "Thanks for that..."

“Cami. You know I did not mean it like that.” Jeassaho scolded just a little as she rolled her eyes. “Is a man worth it when they’ve made you cry?” She wondered.

"I'm not crying," Cami sniffled, rubbing her lower lid to try to stop it. "You know it's really dusty down here, someone in maintenance should clean up more..." she let herself chuckle in a self-pitying way. "Prophets, I must seem pretty pathetic right now."

Jeassaho shook her head, that was the furthest thought from her mind. The younger you were, the harder the fall was. Jeassaho had been there many times and it sometimes hurt a lot harder when you were able to see it coming from emotions and thoughts, you actually think you can change it all. Love hurt even if you were getting it right.

"Would you like to talk properly about it all? This had been harbouring a while hasn’t it?" She wondered one of her arms still holding the woman close afraid to let her go in case fall blown tears started.

"What's the point?" Cami shrugged. "He's like, a lot older than I am. And he's got someone else now. And look at me, I'm a street kid from Bajor that knows how to strip an EPS relay. He deserves someone better. Someone who likes things exploding. Not me."

Jeassaho looked at the woman and shook her head. She really was heartbroken and self-pitying, it would do her no good to continue feeling like that. “Sweetheart, you are anything but a street kid from Bajor. Might be where you started but it does not define you or let me know how awesome you are now. Cami, he was not right for you and yeah definitely older but he probably did not even know you felt that way. He is not the type to lead on or exploit those feelings.” Jeassaho let the woman go and stood back. “Come on we are going to drink my husband's good Vodka.” She mused tugging on her hand. It was one deck up and out to her quarters.

Cami let herself be pulled along, pushing the tears away from her eyes. "I need a man who has Vodka in his quarters..." she sighed.

As the pair entered the quarters Gregnol was lying sound asleep on the couch in just a pair of shorts and shocks. Jeassaho grinned at the sight not even looking at Cami and chucked a pillow at the man making him wake with a start. "We have company." She declared making the man glance at Cami and jump up searching out a tee shirt with a few choice words in Russian towards his wife.

"Are you okay Cami?" The man wondered as she pulled the shirt over his head and noticed the puffy eyes.

"She is fine but we need a girly night." Jeassaho countered making the man frown as he realised he was about to be kicked out of his quarters.

"Apparently we need a girly night," Cami nodded at Gregnol apologetically, giving him a shrug as if to say 'I have no say in this plan'. She plopped down on the couch at Jea's insistence. "Thanks for the booze, though, Cap!" she added with a little shout over her shoulder.

The man muttered something else but disappeared off. "Am I allowed to stay or am I being kicked out?" He wondered hopeful, he might be allowed to just go to bed and shut the door on the noise. He was not worried, the best thing about his wife was her empathy and need to fix the world but sometimes was it too much to ask her not to when it involved his booze.

Cami grabbed a cushion from the couch and lobbed it at him. "You men have no idea what we girls need." She looked at Jea, a grin forming. "Unless you want him to stay? Braid his hair? Paint his nails?"

"And I know what my woman needs." The Captain said with a hint of a roguish smile as he caught the pillow. "Wouldn't be the first time," Gregnol commented on making Jeassaho grin and walk over to him. She kissed him softly before turning him and sending him towards their bedroom.

"Go sleep, old man." She teased making the man lob the pillow back at her.

"Just don't make to much mess being all raucous would hate security to come to check it all out." He said pressing the door release that barely ever close shutting them both out.

"Like to see him try; Leiddem knows what's good for him..." Cami smirked at Jea as the door closed. "Who'd you think he's more scared of - Gregnol, or the two of us?"

Jeassaho smirked a little at the thought of who her brother was more scared of. Gregnol and he had, had huge arguments in the time before she got there thanks to how they had been pushed together to protect her still out in the fleet but they had a pretty good with each other now that Jeassaho was onboard. It had been years since they had fought or argued so that just left her and Cami. "Us. Reu and he are pretty chummy now."

"So long as he knows it. We girls gotta stick together on this ship," Cami giggled. It felt good to actually have some fun and relax. Jea was her best friend for a reason; she knew how to help her have a good time despite all the chaos. After the giggling died-down, Cami picked up a glass from the table. "How have things been since, y'know, the weirdness on the colony?"

Jeassaho poured two glasses of the liquid and took a gulp before she thought on the question. Jeassaho leant her head on the back of the couch and looked at her carefully, her hair cushioning her hand as her gaze looked at her intently. It was a difficult question. "I am not overly sure. He is healed but there is a lot of stuff unsaid. It is like meeting evil Gregnol all over again but this time it is him who is suffering."

Sneaking a sip, Cami patted Jea on the arm. "You know he's not evil. And maybe he's suffering but he's gotta see that you're suffering too. Like, you went through just as much as he did. He needs reminding of that. 'sides, he wouldn't have been found if not for you and Jake."

"Oh I know he isn't evil." There was just no way he could hide that side from her for so long if he was but it was hard to live with sometimes just how close she was to losing him. "He is thankful just a stubborn man. He does not like to be seen as not the hero." Jeassaho revealed. "But come on how are we going to help you? How are we going to get you over Burnie?"

"Ugh..." Cami flopped dramatically on the couch. "Lots more of this," she waved the half-full glass of Vodka. "I'm all out of ideas otherwise."

Jeassaho nodded and just poured more. It was the least she could do seeing she had dragged her here, there and everywhere around the ship in an attempt to open up. She was happy she had done it but the woman was on the long road to a broken heart. Maybe she could push Leiddem to bug her more and get her to see him in a more positive light. It would be thoughts for tomorrow.