"What do you mean you can't change her mind?"
Julian Bashir squirmed in his chair as the anger welled up in his stomach. After all he had gone through over the past month, he felt ill prepared to deal with deployment drama.
"I mean," Commander Rzepka started briskly, pacing Bashir's quarters. "I can't change her mind. I've tried. She has a legitimate need. I don't know what else I can do, Imdazi. It's only for six months, maybe shorter."
Bashir turned and looked out the window of his quarters aboard Defiant. Tomorrow ended their Disaster Leave and Commander Rzepka received deployment orders to report to Aventine for temporary duty the following day.
"I don't think you tried very hard then," Bashir said coldly back. "I think part of you wants to go."
"Julian," Rzepka replied, feeling a bit annoyed, mostly because he was right. "Listen. I have talked to Ro. I've talked to Dax. I have to go. But I'll be back. Come on."
"No, you come on," Bashir shot back, his voice getting louder. "It's not like we haven't endured enough loss, now they're reassigning you?! We were told all of us would stay together. And goddamn it… obviously that's not happening."
"And you're angry," Rzepka said. "I understand. And I'm sorry. This isn't my fault."
"I need you to stay," Bashir's words became sharper and sharper. "All of us need you to stay."
"There is nothing I can do. Please hear me!" Rzepka practically yelled, her temper flaring when she sensed his anger.
"I can't!" his voice became a yell too. "I can't hear you! I can't do anything! I can't deal with this! Not now!"
"I really need you to grow up and get a hold of this. I don't want our last day to be like this."
Bashir turned back to Rzepka, inching closer to her, the vein on his forehead pulsing. "Grow up?! Don't you think I've grown enough? Don't you think we're both damaged enough?!"
"I'm over this," Rzepka replied, putting her hands up and turning to leave. "When you're ready to be rational, let me know"
A pulse of anger came over Bashir and although his mind told him to stop, he reached out and grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn back to him. He knew his grip on her was too rough but he couldn't let her go.
"Let. Go. Of. Me."
Her words were ice. Bashir never heard such seriousness from her. Finally his hand released her, but his anger raged on. He lowered his voice to a growl. "Don't walk away from me."
"If I don't, I'm going to say something I'll regret. And I don't want to have to hear your shit about it."
Bashir's brown eyes widened with another wave of anger. In a flash of a second, he raised his hand and aimed it at his lover's face, hitting her hard in the mouth with the back of his knuckle. The blow sent Rzepka stumbling backwards before her hand flew to her face in recovery. Julian's jaw dropped in shock over what he'd done and his eyes welled up with warm, stinging tears.
"Oh my god," he muttered as the anger melted from his expression. "Kym. My god. I'm so sorry. I don't…. I don't know what came over me….."
He reached out a trembling hand to her in a futile attempt of comfort, but she stepped backed quickly. When she slowly lowered her hand from her mouth, the doctor gasped at the blood trickling out of the corner of her lip.
"Kym…"
She flinched again and slinked toward the door. "Don't fucking touch me. Ever. Again.
"Oh god, what happened to you?!"
Rzepka found herself standing in Captian Dax's doorway a short time later. The blood from her mouth had already partially dried on her chin and her palm appeared covered.
"I ran into a doorway," she said dryly. "Can I come in?"
Dax stepped back to let her friend in. After the door closed, Rzepka sat down on the Captain's sofa and sighed. "Do you have any ice?"
"Yeah," Dax replied quickly, already aiming for the bar near the replicator. Commander Rzepka was always impressed by the size of the Captain's Quarters aboard Aventine – it seemed very luxurious. When the Captain returned with a small bit of ice wrapped in a towel, she sat down next to the commander. "Want to tell me what really happened?"
The commander shook her head. She didn't want to admit what happened. Sure, she'd heard stories about women who are abused and always felt like it was their fault, that he didn't mean it, that she caused it….
She felt all of those things and was embarrassed to admit it.
When Dax saw the look on the commander's face, she knew. She placed her hand on the commander's arm. "Did he hit you?"
Rzepka's teary eyes met the Captain's. "I don't even know why I came here."
"You came for help. Please tell me what happened."
Rzepka shook her head again. "I don't know what to do, Zee. I thought he was getting better. He was so calm during our leave. Julian needs help that I can't offer him." Her head kept shaking and she furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm just making it worse."
"How are you making it worse?" Dax put on her counselor voice and gently urged Rzepka to tell the story.
"I said horrible things to him. I instigated a hostile conversation. He's upset that I've been assigned to Aventine. We were told by the command that we would stay together, but it didn't end up that way. He was angry. Oh god…. He was so angry… I felt how angry he was. I've never felt anything like that from him. It was like… he was another person."
Dax sighed as her memory drifted back to Audrid's husband. Her previous host has been abused by her husband for several months before she finally had the courage to tell someone. Dax admired her friend for the courage she always had – not just in this situation.
"What did he hit you with?" Dax's voice remained calm and quiet. Rzepka continued to look at her lap, one hand on her knee and the other still holding the ice to her mouth.
"The back of his hand."
Dax stood and reached down for her friend's hand. "Come on. Let's make sure your teeth aren't broken and we'll figure out what to do, okay?"
"I don't want to turn him in. I want him to get help," Rzepka argued, pulling the ice away from her face. She had already started to bruise and the swelling looked pronounced. "I just want him to be himself again."
"I know. I want that too. But he will never get real help unless you do something. And you might have to play dirty to do it. Come on. Simon will know who we can talk to."