Bren awoke to the sound of something like glass or porcelain breaking in the middle of the night. Very much asleep still, he opened his eyes to the dimly room and rubbed them in an effort to become more wakeful. He glanced to his left and noticed the bed was empty; Liev was not in bed and the sheets were thrown off. Looking towards the bathroom door, he noticed it was closed and thought that Liev must be inside. Lying shattered on the floor on the way to the en-suite bathroom, having fallen off its perch from a shelf, was an ornamental opaque Bajoran glass jar.
Getting to his feet, Bren walked slowly towards the wreckage of the jar near the bathroom door. He bent down to survey the shards when he heard what sounded like coughing sounds coming from inside the bathroom. Alarmed, he quickly stepped over the glass and put his ear against the door. "Liev, are you all right? Are you sick again?" This wasn't the first night lately that Liev had been up sick. It happened last week as well, and the week before that. "Do you need me to call a doctor?"
Bren had urged him to go to Sickbay for a check-up and Liev had promised to do so, but Bren had the feeling that hadn't happened.
"No, I'm fine," a hoarse voice responded inside. "It's just an upset stomach, I have some medication for it."
"Are you sure? Is there anything I can do?" Bren asked, leaning against the door frame.
The door opened and Liev looked up at Bren, his face deathly pale with dark circles under his eyes. "I said I'll be fine," Liev said and pushed past Bren, moving to the kitchen.
Bren sighed and watched Liev walk into the kitchen. Things between had been strained for the last few weeks, perhaps even months. Although they hadn't spent all that much time together, the time they did spent together Liev had seemed distant and not his usual kind and chatty self. Bren blamed himself in a way; it was the nature of his job. He was away on missions a lot, especially while at R&D, and anyone who thought that Starfleet life wouldn't affect a relationship was a fool.
He had thought things would be a little more quiet since he came to Unity, but they weren't really. In a few hours he had to get up to join the Chimera on a mission to Erassian space which would take at least a few weeks. Besides the Tarangor mission, Bren had never command a Task Group before and certainly never one into foreign, possibly hostile, space. Shane seemed to have faith in him and he sincerely hoped that faith wasn't misplaced.
He bent down again to start cleaning up the glass before someone stepped on it. As he picked up the large shards, he spotted what looked at first like a tubular piece of glass having rolled into the corner. Leaning over, Bren picked it up and studied it closely. It was a tiny vial of pale, clear blue liquid. The vial structure looked medical in nature, like the vials used for miniature-sized hyposprays. He figured the vial must have been part of Liev's medication and placed it back on the cabinet before returning to cleaning the floor.
He bent down again to start cleaning up the glass before someone stepped on it. As he picked up the large shards, he spotted what looked at first like a tubular piece of glass having rolled into the corner. Leaning over, Bren picked it up and studied it closely. It was a tiny vial of pale, clear blue liquid. The vial structure looked medical in nature, like the vials used for miniature-sized hyposprays. He figured the vial must have been part of Liev's medication and placed it back on the cabinet before returning to cleaning the floor.
Liev came back from the kitchen and without a word fell back into bed and was fast asleep in no time. Bren watched him from a moment from his position and then continued to clean up the floor. When he was done, he headed back to bed and got in, wondering how things would be between them after he got back from Erassian space.
= End Log =
Commander Bren Ohmsford
Science & Act. Engineering Advisor
1st Task Force, SSF
