I Will Follow You in to the Dark (Chapter 7)
A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been having computer problems lately. Hope you enjoy!
"Hello, Ensign." The beautiful Nurse Alvarez greeted the young man at the door, looking rather uneasy.
"Hello. I am here for my exam."
"Well, then, Dr. Langdon is on break, and will be back in a few minutes." She moved to go back to her work, but was stopped by the uneasy patient.
"May I ask you something?" She stopped in her tracks, as she wished to be as helpful as possible. She, too, was fresh out of the academy, so she was unintentionally overcompensating for her inexperience.
"I have been experiencing difficulty in accessing my memories from the past four years. Is that something to be worried about?" Truthfully, she didn't know what to say. It's not like anyone just came in for a physical to confess any sort of amnesia.
"Can you elaborate on that?"
"Everything seems…blurry. I remember classes, teachers, that kind of stuff, but my personal life seems almost nonexistent. What I do remember of my time out of class is hazy, to say the least." She placed her PADD on a desk to the side, and fumbled for some equipment.
"I think the Doctor will want to do a brain scan, because, honestly, that shouldn't happen for no reason."
Icheb stood before Captain Genevieve Toole, a woman whose reputation far preceded her. She was well known at the academy for her brilliant, scientific mind, and her caring personality. Unfortunately, she looked far from it. It was obvious from the puffs under her bright green eyes, and the untidiness of her short brown hair that she was under a great deal of stress. Q, who stood invisible beside his lover, regarded her with skepticism.
"Come on, Itchy. Do you really think she'll believe you if you tell her?" Icheb heard a faint buzz, but nothing more.
"Please do sit, Ensign." She had met him once before, at the morning senior staff meeting, but still hesitated to call him by name. She had trouble remembering it. Still, he paid no mind, and took a seat. Q stood cautiously behind, as he always had a habit of doing.
(August, Two Years Ago)
Icheb sat at his uncharacteristically unorganized desk, completing his analysis of an unknown star cluster for his advanced placement astronomy class. He was in his third year at the academy, and even placing him in his own class (with real data and new discoveries to boot) was barely a challenge anymore. Still, it was the most simulation, intellectually, he received in a day. Q stood behind him, watching…waiting.
"How long have you been standing there, Q-ball?" He didn't even look up from his work.
"A while." Q slid his arms around his lover, kissing his perfectly smooth cheek. "Come to bed, will ya?" Icheb silently turned off the desk lamp, took the other boy's hands, and allowed Q to led him to bed. He put forth no argument, because he knew that the stars could wait for tomorrow. The affectionate cuddles were always worth it.
"I have the analysis of your brain scan from yesterday pulled up on the view screen. Did Dr. Langdon tell you what he found?"
"No, sir." Icheb felt something pull in his gut.
"Well, it seems that you have some neural blocks in brain, blocking access to certain memories." She sipped her coffee tentatively while turning the small screen on her desk so the Ensign could see.
"That's strange." He barely managed to keep his voice level, "It's as if someone selectively blocked memories."
"That's the doctor's theory as well." She leaned back in her chair. "As strange as this may sound, do you recall when you stopped remembering?" Icheb sat back as well, and took a moment to think.
"Actually, it took a while to realize. It was little things at first, like my bracelet, and more recently, the presence." Q placed his hand atop Icheb's, signaling that he was still there. The young man before him shuddered, but didn't move away.
"Will you tell me about them?" She looked at him in anticipation.
"Can I speak freely, sir?" She looked confused.
"Of course," She readjusted herself in her chair. "You can always speak freely with me."
"Very well. I suppose am just worried that you will think I have gone insane, or just not believe me."
"Based on the fact that your brain has been so expertly altered, with no indication of how it was one, or who did it, I am willing to entertain any possibility."
"Well, this bracelet," He unhooked it from his wrist, "was a gift, I think. I don't know who gave t o me, but I can feel that it was very important to me. I don't feel right when I don't have it with me."
Captain Toole looked at the piece of jewelry in her hand, bearing the engraving 'For my one and only, my reason to exist'.
"For such serious words on it, one would think it would be harder to remove from someone's brain."
"It's just the memories. I still feel the emotion of unconditional love, despite the fact that I have no recollection of whom." She returned the bracelet, which Icheb quickly put back on.
"You also mentioned a presence?"
"Yes, that didn't start until I was aboard. When I was leaving my beam-up location, I felt as if someone brushed passed me. My PADD momentarily glitched, and then everything was normal. I dismissed the event. Then I kept feeling it more frequently. It has only gotten stronger since. For instance, I feel very strongly that someone is standing behind me." Q listened intently. "However, I don't feel uneasy. It's as if I've known the feeling for ages."
"Perhaps the presence is what's blocking your memories."
"No, I don't think so. I sense that he can't do much more than observe."
"He?" The captain looked at Icheb with questioning eyes.
"I am uncertain of how I know his gender, but I do." Q looked at the brain scan, suddenly aware of how his father blocked Icheb's memories. He knew that his father made it possible for him to undo the blocks.
"Have you checked the sensors for anomalous readings?"
"Yes sir, and I found nothing."
Q placed his hands to Icheb's head, and began to reveal the most important memories.
Icheb felt a stabbing pain in his head, as he began to remember, and he hunched over. The Captain summoned the doctor, and rushed to the man's side.
With a shaky voice, he spoke. "I know who the presence is."
