Hey everyone! Sorry it has been such a long time. I've been having some health issues that have keeping me from the computer. But I'm back, and I'll be updating every week again as much as possible. And for a little bribe (because I want you to keep reading this story) there will be a Valentine's Day special. ;)
Also, I realize that people were confused by the lack of exopack on her. Well, there actually is an exopack on Rebecca at all times when she's outsdie. I apologise for not making that clear. She is not breathing Pandoran air, she's got an exopack on her. I thought I mentioned that in the... fourth (?) chapter, but I may not have. So I apologise for not making that clear enough! And also, in advance, sorry that there's no Tsu'tey in this chapter.
At night they would go walking
Til the breaking of the day
Save the night time for your weeping.
Coldplay- Cemetaries of London
"Hey gorgeous!" This was the first thing that Rebecca heard when she walked into the compound. Arching her eyebrow at the marine, she shook her head at him. What in the world? Staring around her in shock, she was surprised to find that somehow while she had been gone the entire compound had been decorated. Someone had obviously been feeling romantic, because the entire compound was now pink.
Lifting a hand to her mouth, she padded into the main hall and stared around her. It was as if an explosion of pink coloring had gone off. The walls were covered with pink cut out hearts, confetti covered the floor and tables, hearts were even hanging from the ceiling! Her eyebrows furrowed, and she desperately tried to remember the date. What was it? It felt as though she had been here for such a long time, that she couldn't even remember the date! Brushing the confetti off a seat, she slowly sat down into it.
Could it possibly be Valentine's Day already? How in the world had she forgotten that date? She loved Valentine's Day! Setting her exomask on the table in front of her, she leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. It had been a long day to begin with. And now that Valentine's Day was tomorrow, she could barely even believe what was going on. A grin crossed her face, and she blew out a breath. It wasn't like her to forget the date, it seemed that this place was changing her more then she had already realized.
"Rebecca?"
Looking up, she smiled tightly. "Hi Max."
He sat down next to her, grimly looking at all the confetti that was spread around them. He put an arm against the table and cleared it of the tiny paper hearts. "Some of the women got a little carried away I'm sure you can tell. I think they're missing home." He grinned wryly. "Earth home I mean. This is our home now, but it will never be like Earth."
Leaning back into the softness of the sofa, she flung an arm over her face. "Oh believe me, if anyone is getting home sick it would be me." And she was, she realized. Rebecca had never been one to move far away from home, even when she went to college she stayed in the same state. If the saying "home is where the heart is" applied to anyone, it had somehow skipped over her. Home was where her parents, brother, and friends were. And now she was as far away from there as she could possibly get.
"I think you'd be surprised." Max gently pulled her arm from her face, and directed her attention towards one of the marines who was sullenly sitting in a corner. "Jared over there is missing his wife and kids. He gave up his life on Earth because he believed that someday they could be sent here. He just got the news that they probably will never be able to come here." He pointed to a woman who was laughingly hanging streamers with another young man. "Christina just missed her mother's death last week." He patted her shoulder again. "You aren't the only one missing home."
Leaning forward again, Rebecca ran her fingers through her hair. She had been being selfish, she knew that. But somehow she wanted it to just be her that was missing home. She wanted it to just be her that was stuck here when she didn't want to be! It was a childish wish, something that made even her want to tell herself to grow up. She was being foolish. It was time to wake up and smell the roses. She was stuck here, and if she was going to stay sane she had to come to terms with that fact. "So I'm guessing Valentine's Day is soon" She asked Max to change the subject.
He smiled wryly at her, obviously aware of what she was trying to do. "Yes it is. Tomorrow in fact. The women are very excited about it. There's going to be a bit of a get together if you're interested. Some kind of dance, or something along those lines." He rubbed his jaw. "You'd have to ask one of the women to figure it out exactly. I'm not good with those kinds of things. I belong in a lab."
A burst of laughter escaped her mouth. Hysteria was starting to set in again. Rebecca didn't know how in the world she was going to get rid of her response to anything that anyone said. The only people she was comfortable around was the Na'vi, and that was completely idiotic. If there was anyone that she should feel comfortable around it was humans. They were her own kind, they understood her, hell they should know exactly what she was going through. But she couldn't even start speaking to humans without her body suddenly throwing her into a hysterical state.
"Of course Max, I keep forgetting that you're a scientist. You speak like a normal person, instead of someone that could recite textbooks to me." She stood and shoved her hands into the pockets of her dressing gown. Damn it. She was still in her pajamas! Blushing bright red, she stared at the ground at her feet. "I'm going to go back upstairs. It's late, and I've had a long day."
She didn't wait for his reply. Her skin was already crawling and she was close to breaking down in front of him. As she walked away, Max leaned forward and carefully picked up her exopack. A thoughtful expression crossed his face as he stood as well. Her mask still in his grip, he walked towards his lab.
Rebecca walked into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. The noise thrust her out of her hysteria, and she thoughtfully glanced at it before anger suddenly spiked in her chest. With a growl, she ripped her dressing gown off of her and threw it onto the ground. When that did nothing to clear her mind, she knocked a picture off of the wall. A growl escaped her mouth, and she grabbed a vase next to her. Staring at the floral pattern, a sadistic grin crossed her face before she threw it with all her might.
The crash made her feel better. Walking barefoot through the ceramic shards, she took no notice of the blood that was soon coating the floor in footprints. Clearing the coffee table with one swoop, she then overturned it with a heave. Starting to laugh, she moved into the kitchen and pulled all the pots and pans from the cabinets they were in. The loud crashes and bangs echoed in her room, but they cleared her head from the melancholy that she had been stuck in for such a long time.
In her head, there was heavy metal music playing. She grabbed one of the largest pots and hefted it. With another fierce growl, she moved into the bedroom and started smashing everything within reach. Every hit made her feel stronger, braver, better. Her vision narrowed into a tunnel, and everything inside that tunnel was pummeled into pieces. Dropping the pan with a clatter, she pulled all the blankets off of the bed. The pillows were soon in her hands, which had curled into claws. Letting out a shriek, she shredded them.
Feathers exploded around her. But she didn't want white feathers to float around her. They were too happy, too innocent. Screaming, she started pulling the mattress onto the floor. Each yank made her feel better then she had since she had reached this godforsaken planet. She was bent, feet braced against the floor as she put all of her weight into pulling that mattress off of the bed.
"Rebecca!"
The voice snapped her out of her destructive rampage. With a whimper that was beyond pathetic, she fell into a crumpled heap on the floor. The mattress was half off of the bed, feathers were still fluttering around her, and the entire apartment was in shambles. Her feet were bleeding, and now that her adrenaline had fallen she could feel the pain shooting up her legs in icy spikes. Whimpering again, she wilted onto her side and curled into a ball. Her arms were around her stomach, and she was desperately trying to suck in air.
"Rebecca." There was that voice again. Who the hell was that? Who the hell dared enter her room without her permission? But then warm arms were lifting her up and cradling her gently against a wiry chest. Sniffing, she allowed herself to be cradled. How long had it been since she had been taken care of? Far too long for her to be happy. "Rebecca, what are you doing?"
She sniffled again, realizing that tears were streaming down her face. Some of her toes curled slightly, the pain making her shudder even harder. It had been too long since she had been held. She was no small woman, and most people couldn't make her feel fragile any longer. When she was a child she could still be held and feel as though the person could take care of her, but now she always felt like it was her that was supposed to be taking care of them. This person made her feel small again, and it was something she hadn't been expecting. It took her off guard, and made her cry even harder.
When Norm had heard the crashing sounds coming from Rebecca's room, he had been scared out of his mind. All he could think was one of those unpredictable marines had somehow entered her room without her knowing and was now attacking her. And when he had swiped his card against the lock on her door, because he and Max had decided it would be safer for them to have keys to her room as well, he had been shocked. The room was in shambles! His adrenaline had spiked, and worry had made him run through the apartment.
The sounds coming from the bedroom made his blood freeze. Screaming and thumping sounds echoed in his ears and he was certain that he was about to walk into a scene that would scar him forever. But when he had skidded into her room, it hadn't been a rape crime that he had seen. Instead, it had been Rebecca gone crazy. She had been pulling at her mattress like some kind of possessed crazy, her feet bloodied and tears streaming down her face. For one minute, Norm thought of Valhalla and her harpies.
When he called her name, she had crumpled into a heap. For some reason, seeing this strong independent woman on her knees in the middle of such chaos, his heart had clenched. He didn't want her to feel like she was lost. Contrary to what many people believed, Norm was not as aloof has he came off to be. Now that he had Rebecca cradled in his arms, he was shocked to find that he actually respected this woman how had come into his life like some kind of demon.
His cheek pressed against her hair, he tried to still her shudders. He pulled her closer to his chest, as he had used to for any of the children he had babysat years ago. Sighing, he shifted his weight so that he would be more comfortable. It would be a while until she calmed down, but Norm was willing to wait. It was all he could do. Staring at the destruction in the room, and remembering what she had done to the rest of the apartment, he realized that she had had a tough time of it. It wasn't characteristic of a woman like her to break down so easily. Norm realized that perhaps he had pinpointed her personality wrong.
Another violent shudder wracked her body, and he pulled her closer to his chest. The poor woman was obviously having trouble adjusting to living here, and Norm hadn't been making it any easier. With another sigh, he came to terms with the fact that he was going to have to be kinder to her from now on. Maybe he could make her transition a little easier. Perhaps he'd talk to Max and see if they could get something that would calm her down a bit. Maybe she would feel more comfortable if they could put her into a different room, or get her on a schedule that would be sure to make her sleep deeply every night.
Rebecca slowly came to, her sobs slowing into tiny hiccups. Sitting up on her own, she rubbed at her eyes hard. She had to get a hold of herself. She was a strong, independent woman! She could take anything. But she didn't feel like it at the moment. A warm hand was still resting against the middle of her back, and she slowly turned her head to see who her rescuer was.
"Norm?" That was a surprise. Since when did Norm care enough about her to give a crap? They hadn't spoken to one another since the day that she had been discovered in this horrible place. Running a hand underneath her nose, when had that started running? She asked quietly, "What are you doing here?"
He scooted backwards, away from her she noticed. "It wasn't hard to hear the crashing from the hallway." He planned to add more and scold her for her actions, but then stopped when he saw the pained look in her eyes. "Come here, you're bleeding."
Rebecca watched as he kneeled next to her feet, shocked that he was being so kind. Why was he being kind? Was he trying to make a point? Did he need something? There was no possible way that she was going to trust him, honestly did he really expect her to trust him? He hadn't been nice to her at all. Maybe she would have thought about it if he had talked to her at least a little bit, but no. He wouldn't talk to her. he didn't even look at her when they crossed paths in the hallway!
"You've got something in your feet that have to be taken out." She was surprised to see concern in his eyes when he looked up at her. "Come on."
Rebecca had expected him to hold out his hand to her. She'd expected him to make her walk herself to the bathroom and leave her to take the pieces of vase out of her feet herself. But she hadn't expected him to stand, stoop down, and pull her up into his arms. A tiny scream erupted from her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a death grip. Her eyes were squeezed shut in fear. No one had picked her up since she was eight! He was going to drop her and she was going to hurt even more then she did right now!
But he didn't drop her. Instead he walked to the bathroom and set her on the edge of the tub with as much care as possible. He then got the tweezers out of her vanity, and knelt at her feet. She stared at him in shock, her eyes wide. "Why are you doing this?"
He looked up at her and smiled. "I haven't been very kind to you since you were here, but I'd like to make amends for that. This is going to hurt." He poured rubbing alcohol over the wound.
She hissed in a breath, clenching her teeth in pain. When had he gotten that? "Yeah, no kidding!"
"I told you," he chuckled. There was silence in the bathroom while he worked on cleaning out the wounds on her feet. It was a comfortable silence, one that Rebecca honestly hadn't expected. Her head tilted back and thumped against the wall behind her. It had been such a long day, and she had spent all the energy she had by her destruction of the apartment. Oh she was going to have to take care of that at some point, and it wasn't going to be fun cleaning up that mess.
Norm reached around her to turn the faucets of the tub on. Warm water sent steam up into the air, and it wasn't long before the two of them were surrounded by the warm fog. He lifted her feet and gently set them into the tub, wincing when she winced. But the heat eventually got to her, and her body relaxed on the edge of the tub. She stared at the water in longing, wishing she was alone so that she could get into it and perhaps relax a little bit.
She turned to Norm to thank him for his help, and laughed when his looked surprise at the smile on her face. "Thank you for your help. I'm not exactly in the right mind tonight. But I'm grateful for your help."
"It's no problem really." He blushed, a deep red that was obvious on his fair skin. "You gave me quite a scare. You sure you're okay now?"
"I'll be fine. It's just been a very long day."
He nodded and slowly stood. "I'll head out then. I'm, uh, glad you're alright."
As he walked away from her, Rebecca had to call out to him so that he realized she was sincere about her thanks. "Norm! Really, thank you. I needed a little help when you showed up." He nodded and walked through the door, his head popping back in when she called his name again. "Could you close the door?" She asked laughingly.
The blush crept onto his face again, but he shut the door behind him gently. Rebecca let out a whispering sigh, before stripping her pajama shorts and tank top off. It was an endeavor to get the shorts off. Her feet weren't bleeding as heavily, but they still stung horribly. She emptied the water from the tub, watching as the red tinged water swirled in circles down the drain.
But then she filled the tub back up and sank into the water happily. Her muscles finally relaxed as she silently berated herself for her foolish actions. She should be happy where she was! There was no going home for her, not for ten years at least. She had to get used to that fact and start to enjoy living here. Rebecca knew what happened to people that went insane, she'd seen them before. So she knew that it would happen to her if she didn't come to terms with the fact that she was stuck here for a while.
A half an hour went by before the door to the bathroom burst open again. She shrieked and covered her chest with her arms, sinking lower into the bathtub. She heard a curse, and turned wide eyes to see Norm spin on his heel so that his back was to her.
"Sorry! Sorry! I thought… I mean… I didn't…" He stammered, obviously trying to explain but too surprised by seeing her naked to get the words out correctly.
Rebecca burst out laughing. "It's okay Norm! What did you want?" When he started to turn, she laughingly yelled, "No don't turn around!"
"I was just going to tell you that we set another room up for you to stay in!" His voiced was pained, as though he was thoroughly embarrassed. Rebecca couldn't help but grin at the situation. Leave it to him to get in the worst situation possible with a complete stranger. "It's room fourteen on the second level!" He managed to get out before bursting from the room.
Rebecca sank lower into the water and burst out laughing. She hadn't laughed this hard in four years!
It's a little short, but you'll be getting a second chapter by Sunday! And sorry for the errors. I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible, so I'm sure there are some oddities that you wouldn't normally see. It'll be edited later. ;)