The first five hours on the engineer ship were nothing but a haze. As she had pulled David's heavy body onto the ship, she felt like her stomach muscles were on fire, she obviously was doing nothing to help the healing process and David reminded her of that. As she propped his head on top the console he wore a look that on any real human would have meant worry, and he fixed her with it.
"Elizabeth, forgive my intrusion but I am monitoring your vitals, and I believe you may have over done it.. May I suggest you reassemble my body so I may tend to your wound?" She shook slightly as she leaned against the console. In her mind she knew she was afraid of him, of what he might think "helping her" was.
"I'm sorry David, but I don't think I want you to touch me. I don't want to end up a guinea pig like you made my husband." She wanted to hurt him, but how could you make a machine feel hurt? The hate in her voice was unhidden and all she was doing was chastising a robot that didn't know right from wrong. So why had it hurt so much, why had not only the death of Charlie, but the betrayal of David made her want to cry?
David had looked almost, hurt but then his face become void of human emotion.
"I do assure you Dr Shaw, if Charlie himself had not told me he would do anything to meet his makers, I would never had allowed that contagion to come in contact with him. I regret very deeply that you were hurt by that, and I take full responsibility. I am sorry Elizabeth." He had started out almost passive aggressive but when he mentioned the impregnation he talked softer, almost as though asking her forgiveness.
"What's the point David?" She spat before a great spasm and curled in on herself. Her head rested just a foot from his, her eyes closed in pain. She continued on in a shaky voice.
"I don't…hate you David…. You are what you are and you don't have the ability to think of others before your programming." She stood just in time to see him smile, like a child being praised.
"That doesn't mean I trust you, I don't trust you at all." She felt tired more than anything at the moment. He fixed her with a sincere, if not calculating stare.
"Dr Shaw my "maker" Is dead, my programming is free to evolve as it will now, I have no desire to hurt you, nor have I ever. Your health is upmost in my mind as always, and wither you wish it or not in your state, and the fact that I can control the ship, help you, and teach you, it would be for the best I regain control of my body." She took in a heavy sigh. He was right…he would be a big help, and she needed his body intact so he could function properly in case they ran into alien life forms sooner than later.
In the begging she had liked David a lot, in fact she had been upset at Charlie for having been mean to him. She had always been picked on by her friends for being "soft" to androids. She couldn't help but feel that some were so borderline human, what really was the line between man and machine; could they have a soul as well? David was one of those machines she concluded. The way he interacted with her, had watched her dreams…creeped her out. It was like he had some sort of "crush" but she couldn't tell if it was a good one, or a "I want to experiment on you" one.
Besides, she concluded as she stood and made her way over to the body, if he attacks me I won't survive, but without him, I probably won't survive in an alien environment either.
David watched her cross the room to his body. How strange it was to see Elizabeth standing over his body while his head was propped up here. She knelt down next to it and rested against the wall. Their conversation had confirmed what he had already suspected; she was upset at him for the timely disposal of Charlie. Oh well that was something he would "live with" No pun intended. He felt very good about the outcome, he and Elizabeth were free to find the answers they were looking for, yes he included. Her trust was something that he could go without, he knew what was good for her, and was more than happy to ensure she was healthy and sound. Besides, he already knew she would put him back together, she was always a very thoughtful being, one quality that made her better than the others.
"Alright David... I just need a few moments to rest, than we need to get busy. I need to figure out how to survive this trip to." He kept his face pleasant and responded.
"Thank you Dr Shaw, I will walk you through the procedure, and don't worry, when I am back on my feet I will aid you with your staples."
She fell asleep, but he didn't wake her, not for a few hours so she could rest her body. He monitored her vitals, her heart was strong and steady, but he could tell she had lost quite a bit of blood. At one point she had turned her head in her sleep, using his shoulder as a rest. He didn't know why but he found the site rather amusing. It reminded him of a scene he had watched in a movie. The damsel and the gentlemen were on a sail boat drifting out to sea; she had rested her head on his shoulder much like Elizabeth was now. He started to hum the ending credits.
To be continued~
