Heart to heart 4: Painful revelations

Posted on 01 May 2012 @ 6:34am by

980 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: M8-A: Kzinti War - Recon from Hell
Location: XO' Quarters, USS Achilles
Timeline: After the arrest

Once they were in Ciara's clearly new quarters, empty, clearly not lived in. Only a few personal belongings were scattered around, a few
photoframes and some damaged cases, obviously transported in. Ciara brought them each a cup of delicious and wholesome hot chocolate.
They both needed it. "What does Cap...Kretorg say about not having children?" Ciara asked carefully. What Zaria didn't know was that
Ciara was quite ready to confront Kre if he caused her even more hurt with this.

"He loves me anyway," Zaria responded, tears still in her voice, "But I know it weighs heavy on him ...and me," she admitted, "especially
now, with the consequences of an accidental pregnancy hanging over us..."

"He made someone pregant, he shouldn't have?" ~What a bastard!!~ Ciara thought angrily.

Zaria nodded and made excuses for him, "He was lost. Hurt and angry about a friend, something he felt he should have prevented. He withdrew from me and had angry, drunken sex with any female who could handle it. One was devious enough to get by the safeguards we'd put in place and now we all have to pay..."

"Oh my...." Ciara said in empathy. "Is he.... " How was she going to ask if Klingon feels remorse. Could they feel remorse? She wasn't
even sure. "Uhm.... Are you going to get thourgh this together?" she asked in stead.

"Yes," Zaria responded, the first thing she'd said with absolute certainty in quite some time.

Ciara's lips lifted in a warm smile. "I am glad, I was going to beat him up......" she said in a light joke. "So you talked about it?" she
asked, curious again. "I apologize for my questions....obviously my impression of Klingons are just wayyy off. Or he is just very different...I can't imagine a Klingon sitting down and talking about issues, especially anything concerning a relationship....:" she admitted.

"He doesn't...at least not willingly," Zaria admitted, "But it's obvious when something's bothering him because his behavior is...'off.' " She paused to think about that a moment before adding, "That's generally when I pester him until he talks but with this...there were things that led to him sleeping with undesignated women. And those things he refused to talk to me about, pushed me way even ... and evaded all of us who are here to protect him and his line."

This sounded like earth in days gone past, maybe that was why some could still adapt to that kind of life. Obviously it was hard for Zaria, yet she stayed with this man. "Do you want to talk about that?" Ciara asked carefully. It was bothering this near fragile looking young woman, but she didn't want to sound nosey or pushing her into talking about something she would regret later. "You don't have to, but I will listen if you want to get it out," Ciara said. This helped her also not to think too much about her own sadness.

"I do," Zaria said, "I have...I've tried, but nobody gets it. Everyone I care about thinks I'm insane for staying with him. Especially when they find out that he's married...and not to me," she cringed and sighed, biting her lower lip before adding resolutely, "But I'm the one he loves and of that I have no doubt. It's just...it's the life I have to put up with to be with him that's so hard to deal with..."

Instinctively, Ciara got up and sat next to her, placing her arm, almost motherly around Zaria's shoulders, like she did so many times
with her daughter. "What you do for the man you love is beyond what most of us do... and that makes your love so special...but hard. But
would you give it up?' she asked the hard question.

Gritting her teeth, Zaria shook her head firmly, "No, never. Not unless he were to shut me out for good. Then there would be no purpose to my love and, quite honestly, he would probably kill it for me." Saying that aloud, that as strong as their love was, it was fragile as well, was almost a relief to Zaria. She wasn't sure if even HE knew how fragile their love was or how easily it could break. She knew he had damaged it already but she didn't think, at this point, it was broken beyond repair.

"If I think about it now, I think that if there was one person that could have destroyed me, it was my husband. I loved him so much...." Ciara choked up a little, but regained her composure quickly. She couldn't let go, not now, she wasnt ready for that anyway. She breathed in and out and gave Zaria a brave smile. "I had to trust him not to break me and I think, to me that was love.... real love. I had no other leg to stand on, there was no plan B for me, or him... I hope," she said with a little smile again. "Real love makes one so vulnerable and I am afraid, you love that big Klingon warrior very much, warts and all... only I guess he has really big warts... .with ridges..." she said in a little lighter mood. "Only thing is.... does he realize what he has in you?... If he doesn't I will tell him ...." she threatened.

"I think he knows...at least most of the time..." Zaria said with her wistfully crooked half-smile.

Ciara said nothing, just held her for a while, comforting her the one way she knew how. "He'd be the biggest fool if he didn't..." she said
firmly as she got up. "I need another hot chocoloate... actually I we both could do with something stronger..." she said witrh mirth. "But I
am on duty ..... I think..." she said. At least Da'nal hadn't bothered her.

TBC

 

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