Chapter 6 -- Changing Perceptions
"I never had any idea that you would get so tense before going after a fugitive," Mel told Cole as she massaged the tension out of his neck and shoulders.
Stretched out on his stomach beneath her, Cole craned his head in her direction, smiling. "And I never had any idea that these back-rubs felt so good."
"Oh, you just like it when I touch you," she teased, laying down on his bare back and sliding her arms underneath him, hugging him.
"It's an added bonus," he admitted honestly.
Mel gave a small laugh. He really was becoming more human all the time, but he still managed to retain an amazing degree of his innocence, even when things got physical. It was a strange, and appealing, contrast. "So, what's the plan?" she asked, rolling off of him and propping herself up on her elbows.
"The plan is to stop Zarreth."
"Really?" Mel asked, affecting shock. Shaking her head, she hit him with a pillow. And abruptly found herself pinned beneath 200 pounds of laughing Cirronian, her hands held tightly in his. "Hey! No fair using hyper-speed in a pillow-fight!" she protested, laughing. When he released her hands and sat up, his eyes sparkling with laughter, she hit him again with the pillow, just to teach him a lesson. "Goof!" she muttered, returning the pillow to its proper place on the bed.
"Goof? A goof is a mistake, Mel."
"Or a silly person," she explained, smiling and shaking her head. "The plan, Cole?"
"The plan." He nodded, then sighed. "The plan is so incredibly crude that we came up with it in 30 seconds and spent the rest of the day trying to find a better one."
"Oh, Cole," Mel murmured sympathetically, sliding behind him and resuming her interrupted massage. With a deep sigh, she rested her chin on his shoulder. "What is the plan?"
"Stake out the train-yards until Zarreth shows up."
Mel sighed and closed her eyes. "Leaves an awful lot to chance."
"We'll have you on the computers, Mel. We'll know if there's a fugitive anywhere nearby."
Mel sighed but nodded. "Will you be able to use hyper-speed if you need to?" she asked finally. "After that little stunt you just pulled?"
He nodded. "It wasn't actual hyper-speed, Mel, just moving very fast. It didn't tire me; I'll be fine."
"Okay." She smiled and nodded, sliding her arms around him from behind.
"I'm worried about Vic, Mel," Cole admitted, brushing his cheek against hers.
"He not taking things well?" Mel asked.
"He seems to be, Mel." Cole gave a small, one-shouldered shrug. "But he isn't moving very well and he is on a lot of pain medication…"
"And if you heal him the rest of the way, that leaves you more vulnerable when you face Zarreth," Mel sighed.
"Yes, Mel."
"Can you walk me through healing him?" Mel asked after a few minutes of thought.
Cole smiled brightly. It was a perfect solution. "Yes, Mel. If you're willing to reveal yourself to him as Cirronian, you can heal Vic."
"Perfect." Mel nodded. "It's about time I learned that trick anyhow." Smiling, she turned off the lights and stretched out. "Tell me what it involves."
Smiling, Cole stretched out next to Mel and pulled her into his arms, explaining about the healing energy that resided within all beings and telling her how best to tap it.
***
Vic woke with a start, initially more than a little confused as to where he was and why. It took a few minutes for his sleep-clouded mind to clear enough to recall that he was in Maria's guest bedroom. He glanced at the clock, worried that he had overslept. Cole had said to be at the Watchfire by noon, but Vic wanted to get there early. Vic was relieved to see that, in spite of the previous night's over-indulgence in cheap alcohol, his internal clock had not failed him. It was not even eight yet.
Sighing, he pulled his clothes on and staggered into the living room, his head pounding.
"You drink like a man trying to forget," Maria announced, putting down the book she had been reading and rising.
"How much did I have?" Vic asked, grimacing at the taste in his mouth.
"Lost count at two."
"Glasses?"
"Bottles, Vicky." Maria shook her head. "I think we both took years off of our lives last night, but you outdid me by far. Breakfast?"
The mere mention of anything even remotely related to food was enough to send Vic bolting to the bathroom.
"You'll feel better now," Maria told him gently when he had finished. She crouched next to him with a damp washcloth and reached towards him to sponge his face.
Vic intercepted her hand. "I've got it, Mar," he told her, shifting uncomfortably.
He did not remember much about the night before, except that the more they had drunk the more casual and straight-forward the flirting had become. It had not gone beyond flirting, there had not even been a goodnight kiss before Maria had abruptly cut him off and half-carried him into the spare bedroom, but he still felt as awkward as hell.
Maria regarded him with a sigh, annoyed with him for acting as if something had changed but more annoyed with herself for having brought it on. Letting him drink so much had not been wise, either, and she felt more than a little guilty that he was in such obvious pain now.
"Please," she whispered, sighing. "Don't let the fact that I turn into a flirt at the mere sight of liquor change what we have."
This time Vic let her smooth the cloth over his face. "Is that all it was, Mar?" he asked softly.
"No, but it's something we can both tell ourselves." She rose, throwing the washcloth into the sink and turning to leave.
"Mar…" Vic rose swiftly and caught her arm. The sudden movement sent a wave of dizziness washing over him and he pitched forward.
"Whoa," Maria said, catching him and supporting him. "Let's get you into the living room.
"We need to talk about this," Vic said as she helped him onto the couch.
"Do you remember what you said as I was shoveling you into bed last night?" she asked, walking into the kitchen and pouring a glass of water. "Drink slowly," she directed, handing it to him, along with several aspirin.
Vic stared at her, wide-eyed and a little alarmed. He slowly shook his head.
"You said, 'it isn't drugs, Mar. You wouldn't believe me if I told you and you're happier not knowing'. Ring any bells?"
"None at all."
"You're a terrible liar, Vicky." She shook her head and walked into the kitchen.
"Only to you." He rose and followed her. "Mar, you are not catching me at my best here."
"Yeah, no shit." She shook her head and pulled a loaf of bread out of the cabinet. "I'm guessing your stomach isn't going to be up to much more than plain toast this morning. Finish your water."
"Mar," Vic sighed. "Is this how we're going to be now?"
"Maybe." She shrugged.
"Because of what I said last night? What I didn't say? Work with me here, partner…"
She turned to face him, her expression startled. "You don't… remember?"
Vic swallowed hard. Damn, he had gotten drunk and stepped over the line with his best friend. Perfect. "What did I do?" he whispered anxiously.
"You need a twelve-step program, Vic."
He blinked. She had actually just called him Vic. "Whatever I said or did, Mar, I am so sorry…"
She shook her head. "You didn't. It was nothing like that. It was just… I've seen people on acid trips talking more sense than you were talking last night." She shifted uncomfortably. "Look, Vic, you have to stop drinking if this is what it does to you."
"What did I say?"
"You said that Gregory James has been dead for the past six months. In fact, you were pretty damned insistent about it. Ringing bells yet?"
It was actually ringing quite a few. When he got drunk, he got talkative. He was relatively certain that he had not mentioned aliens per se, but still… "Anything else?"
"After that you were a little too garbled to really understand." She turned around again as the bread popped out of the toaster. "Except to say that if I had come on to you at any other time you would have jumped at the chance," she added in a low voice.
Vic rubbed his mouth. "It was true," he told her gently. "As lame as it sounds, this is just a really bad time for me. Things are kind of spiraling."
She turned around, searching his eyes suspiciously. Suspicion was slowly replaced by surprise. "Are you an alcoholic? Is that what's been going on with you?"
He shook his head quickly. "No! God, no, Mar… It's just… it's like you said. I was drinking like a man trying to forget."
"Forget what?"
"I can't tell you. And even if I could, I wouldn't."
"Kind of leaves us at an impasse, doesn't it?" she said quietly.
"I guess it does, yeah." Vic sighed deeply. On impulse, he touched her cheek. "I've had a lot of shit dumped on me in the past few days and I care about you way too much to burden you with any of it."
"Partners are supposed to be honest with each other," she told him firmly, not trying to pull away, but also not doing anything to encourage the touch.
"Yes, they are. When they possibly can be." He kissed her forehead. "Remember that episode of the X-Files where Scully thought Mulder was working for the terrorists?"
"Last night your life's an episode of Twilight Zone, today it's the X-Files?" she muttered, shaking her head.
"Yeah." Vic nodded. "It actually is, Mar."
She stared, stunned. She had known him long enough to know that he was being absolutely serious. Whatever he was into, he was in it up to his eyeballs. She sighed and nodded. "I'm here when you're ready."
"Ready to give you answers or ready for a relationship?"
"I'm here when you're ready," she repeated simply.
Vic blinked. "Thank you. On both counts. I… I should go now."
***
"Look, could you stop pacing, please," Cole sighed to Mel. "We agreed on noon. He'll be here."
"It's not like Vic to wait. He should have been here bright and early. He's not answering his home phone and his cell's turned off…" She stopped pacing, turning to face him. "I'm worried about him, Cole. We have basically changed the axis of his universe and just assumed he was handling it okay because he's a big boy." She shook her head. "What if he isn't taking it as well as we thought?"
"Taushi," Cole whispered, taking her shoulders in his hands. "Vic is a steady--" He paused at the sound of knocking. "See?" he asked.
"I'll get it."
"Yes, Mel." Cole nodded. "You're only nervous because of what you have to tell him. You know that, don't you?"
"I know." She nodded and walked to the door, pulling it open. "There you are." She smiled at Vic, but her smile quickly faded. "Are you okay?"
"Um… lot going on right now."
"Yeah, guess there is. Are you in much pain?"
He shrugged, wincing involuntarily. "Mostly just hung-over."
Mel grabbed his arm and steered him into the living room. "Here, sit. What happened?"
"Oh, left here with Maria yesterday afternoon, started drinking an hour later. Two bottles after that I told my partner of five years that I would have climbed into bed with her then and there if my life hadn't just turned into an episode of The Twilight Zone. This morning it was more X-Files analogies. Oh, and I think she's probably planning an intervention for me even as we speak…"
"What is an intervention?" Cole asked, handing him a glass of water. If he had consumed that much alcohol he would be dehydrated.
"Thanks. It's um…" Vic shrugged, not really sure how to explain the concept to an alien.
Mel explained, "When a person's friends think they might have a problem with drugs or alcohol, they have an intervention. They try to talk the person into understanding that they have an addiction and working to correct that."
"Yes, Mel." Cole nodded. "Drink that, Vic. It will make you feel better."
"So, are we… ready to go?" Vic asked after he had finished that glass and two more that Cole forced on him.
"We're a little worried about your mobility," Mel began.
"Take your clothes off," Cole added.
Vic stared from Cole to Mel who had turned bright red and was sputtering and wearing an expression halfway between mirth and horror. Cole was regarding her in confusion, obviously seeing nothing remarkable in his request. Mirth finally won out and Mel sank onto the couch, giggling and shaking her head as Cole continued to stare quizzically at her.
Vic continued to stare between the two, trying to figure out what was going on and not at all sure he liked where things were going. One too many episodes of the X-Files had him wondering exactly what Cole had planned for him, how much it was going to hurt, and if it would leave a mark. Cole's confusion deepened at the expression on Vic's face. Mel took in their respective looks and only laughed harder. She could guess what was going through Vic's mind.
Finally, she managed to compose herself enough to explain, still laughing, "We want to see how badly injured you are…"
"Oh!" Vic grinned and nodded. "I was… um, curious about that…"
"Why, Vic?" Cole asked.
"Strange request," Vic told him with a shrug.
"Especially coming from an alien," Mel snickered.
Vic grinned and nodded. "Especially coming from an alien," he agreed, winking at Mel.
Cole shook his head. Human in-joke, he supposed. He would ask Mel later. When the two had managed to compose themselves, he told Mel, "Your room would probably be best."
She nodded and rose. "Come on, Vic."
His smile wavered slightly. "Vic, come to my bedroom and take your clothes off?"
Mel laughed and even Cole grinned at that comment.
"Don't worry," Mel told him. "We'll all still respect each other in the morning." Shaking her head at Cole's quizzical expression, she ushered Vic into the bedroom.
Vic stood there for a moment, waiting. "You're staying?" he finally asked Mel.
Mel stared and nodded. "Um, yes. Vic, I have seen you naked before. Besides, you can keep your shorts on."
Vic shrugged and sat on the edge of her bed, pulling his shoes off. He looked up at the sound of hushed voices. Cole was whispering to Mel, who was wearing a strange expression of combined anxiety, anticipation, and concentration. Vic continued to watch as he undressed, wondering what he was saying to her.
"Oh, my God!" Mel gasped, covering her mouth with one hand at the sight of the livid bruises covering Vic's torso.
"His back's the same," Cole announced quietly, circling around the bed to look. "Could you stand up, Vic?" he requested. "And turn around?"
Feeling vulnerable and naked in spite of his boxers, Vic rose and slowly turned for their inspection.
"What do you think?" Mel asked quietly, near tears at her friend's injuries.
Cole caressed her throat, not caring that they were not alone. "I think you can do this, Mel."
Vic frowned curiously at that exchange, wondering what he was missing.
"Can we have a few minutes alone?" Mel asked Cole.
Cole smiled gently and nodded. "Call me when you're both ready."
"Both ready for what?" Vic asked, reaching for his pants. "I thought Cole said you were staying here."
Mel took the pants from his hands. "We need to talk."
Vic frowned slightly. "And I can't do this with my pants on… because?"
Mel sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "You'll just have to take them off again for the healing."
"Oh." Vic nodded. Made sense. "Cole's going to heal me."
"No." Mel shook her head. Staring up at Vic, she took a deep breath. "I am."
