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Trojan Horse #129, 130 - Sleepover!ON: <Bridge> Hannah saw Kitty scrambling out of the readyroom, and remembered the favour she had to ask. "Hey Kit..." she started, but Kitty was already in the turbolift. Hannah frowned, concerned. She nodded at the backup tac offier to take her place, and started after her friend. Kitty had already hurriedly marched into the turbolift.. she leaned against the far turbolift wall, arms folded across her stomach, looking down. When Hannah entered just before the doors closed, she looked up at her friend and tried to smile, doing her best to blink away the tears in her dark eyes. "Hi." "What's up?" Hannah said, seeing her friend's state. "Oh, I'm ok.." Kitty said with a small forced laugh. "I, uh, took a little bit of flak for the way I handled the away mission. But I'm not in any trouble... I'm.. pretty sure." "Bollocks" Hannah said dismissively. "What's happened?" "That's what happened," Kitty said pretty much truthfully. "He wasn't happy with what I did, but I stood my ground and gave my reasons... well... it was kind of unnerving." Understatement of the century. "And I still.. well, I'll be glad to get a vacation, that's all. Uh, looks like you're up and around again, are you feeling better?" When in doubt, subject change! "OK..." Hannah said, cautiously. "Well, I'm up and about...actually, I have a favour to ask." "A favor?" Kitty looked up. "Shoot. Well, don't. But yeah, what is it?" "I need...I need a place to crash for a little bit." Hannah asked cautiously. Kitty blinked and stared back at her friend for a moment, then gave a somewhat unexpected response. She laughed. It started as an amazed snicker that turned into full-out laughter, the type that bends you over and hurts your stomach and threatens to turn you inside out. At first Hannah looked a little offended, but the sheer joy of Kitty's laughter was infectious, soon she was giggling herself, and then competing in intensity and volume with the other woman. When the fit was over, she leaned heavily against the side of the turbolift. "Wow..." she sighed. "What were we laughing at?" Kitty was still going into occasional residual gigglefits. "I've been homeless for days, Hannah. My quarters are still damaged. I haven't been able to get into them at all. I think they depressurized.. I think there was a minor hull breach in the area. I slept for a few hours in Evans' bed.. he wasn't in it at the time.. and I had my last good rest in a Sickbay bed. But Evans is still staying at sickbay and Dr. Russell is pulling all these crazy schedules and hardly ever comes in, so I bet he won't mind if you bunk out in their room with me." "You think that'd be ok?" Hannah said, gasping for breath. "I don't want to be a bother..." "Well, I don't know. I don't like being a bother, either," Kitty said, calming down now. "But what're you going to do, anyways? I bet there's bunking up all over the ship until we get to the starbase. It's either that or sleep on the Lantree." "Right." Hannah said, shuddering at the thought. "Exactly." Kitty frowned slightly. "So what, then, was it the most recent attack? Did it get your quarters?" "Uh...kind of..." Hannah said, awkwardly. "So, uh...is the floor comfy in Ev's room?" she gamely tried to change the subject. "Ask Evans," Kitty said wryly. "He's a gentleman, you know that, I've always got the bed. Can you get into your quarters at all? Is there anything you were able to salvage?" "Oh, yeah..." Hannah said vaguely, all tthe schemes and deceit she had learned as a young woman abandoning her in the face of a friend. "Stuff..." Kitty looked at Hannah for a moment, then seemed lost in thought... then she nodded slightly. "Hold" she told the turbolift, and it paused between decks. She promptly seated herself on the floor and gestured, offering Hannah a seat on the floor as well. "Ok," she said. "The captain's annoyance at what I did didn't bother me 'some', it bothered me 'a lot'. "I've been miserable since I got back from over there. Some of the things I saw, I keep seeing in my nightmares. I got into Sickbay in bad shape, and they had to give me something for the stress. I think I slept about twelve hours, and I still feel like I'm on the edge of sanity." Tears came into her eyes as she spoke.. she determinedly blinked them away.. and gestured to her friend. "Your turn." Hannah sat, cross-legged, facing her closest friend. "I...I broke it off with Sulan." she said, barely keeping the tears at bay. This was double news for Kitty. "You mean you were... Oh." She took a moment to digest that, then a moment longer trying to figure out the problem. "Were you two.. rooming together?" "After a fashion." Hannah grinned, amused by the metaphor. Kitty blinked and smiled wryly. "Is that it, then, you were sharing a room? Well, ok, I could see that... Sure, there isn't much room left on this ship, but there's bound to be some corners left in Evans' room. It's the best I've got to offer." It was Hannah's turn to burst out laughing. "Kitty, we weren't sharing a room. Well, we were, but only a few hours at a time." Kitty blinked, confused again. "Then why did you... Oh." She fell silent for a long moment, then repeated herself. "Oh." Then she looked up again. "Well, if that's the case, then what Is wrong with your quarters?" she asked naively. "Nothing...nothing's wrong with my quarters, Kitty." Hannah said, shaking her head. "The truth is...I'm afraid." Kitty frowned, listening, tilting her head slightly to one side. It looked cute, but her tone was serious. "Afraid of what, Hannah?" she asked, as if she was beginning to guess a possible answer. "Afraid of Sulan." Hannah said, very quietly. Kitty leaned back a little, taking a silent moment to consider all of this, to think it over and absorb it. She spoke her first coherent thought aloud. "I wish Petrova were still here." Then she looked up at Hannah again. "If you're that sure she'd do something.. harmful.. do you think you should tell the captain?" "I'm not sure." Hannah said. "I'm just afraid. And...I don't want to get her into trouble. She's still a friend...I think." Kitty frowned at that and took another moment to think. To really think. To pull up her legs and lower her head and look as if steam was coming out of her ears. Finally, she looked up. "Well... I'm not sure if I know the right thing to do. I mean, if you think there's a real problem, I don't see why you'd be any safer with me. I'm no fighter. I mean, you're still completely welcome to share what bit of quarters I've got! I just.. wish I could think of the best possible solution for You." "Kitty - I'm not asking you because I need physical protection - I'm asking you because I need someone I can trust right now...a friend, a sister, even." "Oh..." Kitty was completely and entirely confused, but she felt complimented. "Well, that's ok then. Sure. Whatever I can share, I will. I think Evans is still going to be in Sickbay, so there will be at least one bed free. If nothing else, we can put a couple of chairs back-to-back and make a blanket tent. My grandmother taught me how." She smiled, a truer smile than before. "That...sounds like fun." Hannah said, truely touched. "Thank you, Kitty." "Hey, no prob," Kitty said, then she thought for a moment. "Hey, for all I know, it might help my nightmares to have company." "Here's hoping." Hannah said, impulsively giving Kitty a hug. "You're the best, Kit." "My name wasn't short enough already?" Kitty chuckled and hugged back. "I'll have the ice cream ready at shift's end." OFF: Setting up for a slumber party to beat all slumber parties: Lieutenant Hannah O'Driscoll Chief Tactical Officer USS Pegasus "Getting through this, one relationship at a time" Lt. Kathleen Black Chief Engineer USS Pegasus
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