He was still thinking about that room as he entered his quarters. The sweats from sickbay fit all right, but he still felt a little gross, like he'd never quite get clean. That thought took him back to the decon chamber. He got as far as taking off his t-shirt before the memory of warm blue light washed over him. Vaguely, he was aware of how different some of his memories had been lately. They were more detailed, like he was experiencing the sensations all over again. He flopped to the bed, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back, feeling like the warmth of decon was seeping into him all over again. A quick thought that this must be a residual of concentrating for neuro-pressure passed through his mind, but left again quickly as the remembered warmth fused over him. He started to picture the stark metal walls and the soft blue light, subconsciously taking himself back there.
That wasn't where he ended up. It was a bit like walking through a cloud at first, only thicker, like something was dragging him back. Once he'd cleared the mist, there was no resistance at all.
The walls were white, or seemed to be. He couldn't exactly see walls, but there was a definite impression that they were there, but also that they kept going in all four directions. The floor was definitely white. He could see it as clearly as he could feel reverberations coming up through his souls with every step. They were made of something hard. Marble, maybe? Or maybe nothing real at all, just solid. The room didn't seem vast. It was more…cozy. Empty in a comforting way, but not stark. There was no feeling of being a speck in an infinite space, but neither was there a feeling that the room was closing in.
She was there, of course. He'd known the second his first step connected with that hard surface that this is where he'd end up, and she'd be there. She was sitting on the floor in her meditation position. She knew he was there. He could tell by the way that her shoulders stiffened just a little that she knew he was there and was trying to ignore him.
A wry smile caught at the side of his mouth at that knowledge. There was less intensity here than there'd been earlier, and he could feel the tension from sickbay leeching quickly away.
"So now you're the one who's not going to speak to me?" he asked. He couldn't resist teasing her, or prevent the grin that started to spread across his face.
"I'm meditating," she replied, a bit too sharply.
"It's the middle of the day."
"When I choose to meditate is no concern of yours," she nearly snapped. She'd opened her eyes and swung her head around to glare at him.
He tried to let the smile drop, but in the end he just ended up pursing his lips. Walking slowly around the room, he said, "Now why would you need to meditate in the middle of the afternoon?" he drawled. "Having a little trouble concentrating, maybe?"
She had to snap her head around in order to follow his progress as he went on, "Why do I get the feeling I'm not the only one who found that little stint in decon to be so…disturbing?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I am simply finding meditation more difficult lately, so I am adjusting my routine."
When he didn't respond, she went on, "It isn't always easy to find quiet and solitude on a ship of this size."
He still said nothing, continuing to wander around the room, not even looking at her. Her eyes followed him with every step, however. The more he moved, the more tension betrayed in her voice. "I require this time to refresh myself."
"Go right ahead."
"Alone."
He shook his head slowly, still not looking at her, "Nothing I can do about it. I was in my quarters getting ready to take a shower. You were here first, so obviously, you're the one who started this…"
"Commander Tucker, this is Simmons in Engineering." The slightly tinny voice brought him back to his room with a jolt. "We need your assistance, Sir. That last round of repairs has shifted the warp alignment off again."
"Just great," he thought, sighing heavily, "It's going to be a very long night."