"Jonathan"

[Dox Maturin 0]

"Jonathan"

Personal Log – 0705.17

 

Dox sat stiffly in the dimly lit science lab, his hand trembling slightly as he looked deeply at the woman seated across from him. She was a fair skinned human of medium height and thin build, apart from the motherly round bulge at her stomach. Her long black hair hung flat across her face, curling a tiny bit at the end where it drooped over her shoulders. Her blue eyes were wide and sparkling, and her face bore friendly, heavenly smile.

 

By contrast, Dox's eyes were clouded, surrounded by dark circles of fatigue. They stared at each other for a moment, until finally her smile conquered his sunken mood and an upward curl appeared at the side of his mouth.

 

"Is this really where you want to be?" she asked him, in a sweet, soothing voice.

 

Dox shrugged his shoulders, looking away from her for a moment. "Xiang seemed to think it best," he told her, meeting her gaze again as if waiting for validation.

 

"Xiang doesn't know you as I do. No one does. Maybe," she cocked her head gently, "you should return to Earth. Wouldn't you like to see home again? Wouldn't it be better than trapping yourself out here, in the far reaches of space, so close to everything that has hurt you?"

 

"You know I do not have a home. This is where I belong."

 

"Oh, Jonathan," she touched her hand to his cheek, "why do you keep torturing yourself? We should have ended all of this when we had the chance. It doesn't matter what that delpin may have taught you, or how logical and in control you think you are."

 

A trace of frustration flashed across his face. "I will overcome this. My emotions are well in control. I do not understand why you continue to come here."

 

"I'm only here because you want me to be."

 

She smiled again, as if she had no cares in the world at all. As her lips parted a trickle of blood dripped from her mouth and down her cheek. Dox reached out to her with his trembling hand, just as the lights in the room lit up to full brightness.

 

The doors hissed closed as Lieutenant Copper entered the science lab, PADD in hand, and stopped in his tracks. He looked quizzically at Dox, sitting there across from an empty chair.

 

"I'm sorry, ensign. I was just coming in to review your report." Copper raised a brow. "I," he looked around the room, "I thought I heard voices."

 

Dox stood from his chair and shook his head, "Just thinking to myself, sir."

 

"You look a bit fatigued, ensign. Why don't you go get some rest before your next shift?"

 

"Indeed," Dox tugged down on his tunic, his eyes darting to the empty chairs behind him, "an excellent suggestion, sir."