When Ryder woke in the medbay she didn't know what was worse - the way the world dipped and rolled around her, or the medbay itself. She hated the medbay, and not just because she saw so much of it, or because every time she was in here Lexi stuck a needle in her for something. It was the bright white light, and these stupid little mattresses on these stupid bays that were barely anything more than a layer of padded paper. Anything would be better than these things. A pile of pyjacks would be more comfortable.
Or even better - a science officer. A science officer would probably be so comfortable right now.
It was round about that thought that she realised, in a vague and very abstract sense, that she must be drugged to the eyeballs. There was deserved pain somewhere, she knew, and the way things dipped and swayed around her was decidedly not normal, but none of it seemed to matter at the very moment. If it hadn't been for the drugs she might have found the extremely angry diatribe from Lexi to Drack and Cora outside the door painful, but as it was it was pure background rumbling.
She considered sitting up, and even gave it a cursory try, but things just didn't work. What's more, she had the vague sense that things might retaliate by breaking if she tried again. So this was what it was going to be – a rest on this torturous bay that was neither pyjack nor science officer. It crossed her mind – lazily, a thought that came and went like a leaf floating on the wind without too much intent – that she was the damned Pathfinder and she could requisition as many damn pyjacks as she wanted. The moment she could get up – no, the moment someone confirmed that she was still alive, because really she wasn't completely sure yet – she would order better mattresses. Not made of pyjacks, though, because those little fuckers bit. Also not science officers, because she wasn't willing to share those with anyone else (no idea if they also bit), but maybe just some actual decent mattresses.
The door hissed open and Lexi entered, her face an attempt at careful neutrality as she saw Ryder was awake. Leaning over the Pathfinder she touched something on her forehead (it was anyone's guess what; Ryder could see her hand moving in slow motion, but she couldn't feel a thing).
"Hey, Ryder. Need I ask how you're feeling?"
The intended response was (probably) "okay". The actual result was "ghagh". For some reason the right side of her face was not moving the way it should. Oh well. Ryder started laughing, realised that was a terrible idea (and also physically impossible), cleared her throat gingerly and tried again.
"Akay. Hi."
Lexi pursed her lips. "When you're not completely out of it I am going to give you such a talking to, Ryder. Right now you probably can't tell my face from the wall."
"Some." Ryder smiled lopsidedly. "Can we bet better bets?"
"What?"
"Gets. Beds. These are uncomfortable." Ryder wasn't sure whether the last word had come out right, so she added, with gravity, "I'm the Pathfinder. You know."
"Oh, I know." Lexi rolled her eyes. "I'll make a note of what I think you just said for discussion when your brain is back to normal. Or as close as it gets."
"Yes. Good."
Lexi's eyes skimmed Ryder's face, and even in her drugged state Ryder could see the concern and upset written all over the Asari's face.
"Sorry, doc."
"I swear, I wish you would just think a bit more before you..." Lexi stopped and pursed her lips again, then sighed. "Never mind. It's what you do, isn't it." Not a question, more of a resigned statement. "I would tell you about all the things you've broken, and all the things I had to patch back together, and all the things that won't work the way they should for a while after this, but you probably won't remember any of it. And you'll find out about all of it the hard way, the next time you wake up. I mean, who in their right mind takes six medigel shots at a time? Six? By the time you've had to take two that's a good sign you're done with whatever ridiculous thing you're doing that you shouldn't have been doing in the first place. The amount of adrenaline you flooded your system with – you're going to feel like a …"
Ryder didn't really mind the doctor's monologue – she'd lost track of the words not very long in, so it was pretty much a nice gentle drone, and Lexi had a very soothing voice anyway. She was just drifting off when another voice at the edge of her consciousness vied for attention. It sounded like Suvi was outside the door, and she was mad. The science officer was usually quite soft-spoken even when upset, so it amused Ryder to no end that all she could make out of that dialogue was a genuinely contrite "sorry, Suvi" from Drack.
Then the door hissed and Suvi came towards them, her forehead furrowed as she took in Ryder's form on the bed. "How's she doing, Lexi?" Noting that Ryder was actually awake, Suvi leaned down. "Ryder. How are you feeling?"
To her mortification Ryder had always felt herself blushing when Suvi said her name in that accent, with that voice. Today all she felt was a warm wash of pleasure in her stomach. She probably didn't have enough blood left in her body for a blush. "Hello," she said formally, and then smiled a woozy lopsided grin.
Suvi's hands moved restlessly at the edge of the bed, her fingers reaching to fleetingly brush Ryder's arm before she pulled back self-consciously. Her hands were so closer to Ryder's that she could feel the warmth radiating off them. Ryder simply stared up at her, totally enamoured with the colour of her eyes. They were like space. Stars. Shiny pretty stuff.
"She's heavily sedated, so she's not making much sense at the moment, but at least she's not in pain. For now. When it wears off she's going to be a wreck." Lexi sighed. "This team. We should upgrade the medbay. Ryder was just telling me how uncomfortable the beds are. At least, I think that's what she said."
Torn between her favourite subject of the moment (because it was right under her ass) and the vision that was Suvi Anwar, Ryder decided to interject. "Yes!" Too much enthusiasm. The exhalation made something in her chest … not hurt at all, but also hurt a lot, and it felt like a bad idea. Taking a careful breath Ryder narrowed her eyes and tried again. "Yes." Now it was a sneaky little whisper.
Suvi frowned and glanced over at Lexi, who shrugged. The science officer leaned in closer. "Yes, Ryder?"
Her breath smelled like cinnamon. Probably that tea she liked so much. Almost as much as Ryder liked her. "Yes," Ryder agreed to whatever was being said, and then remembered. "Suvi. Suvi. You're better than a pile of pyjacks."
A surprised laugh bubbled from Suvi's mouth, and then Lexi snorted with laughter before she could stop herself.
"I'm not sure I heard that right. Dr Anwar, are you... better than a pile of pyjacks?"
"You're damned right I am, Dr T'Perro."
"As a declaration of affection, it certainly is unique."
Suvi blushed, and tried to cover gamely. "Have you never been compared to a pile of pyjacks, Dr T'Perro?"
In the middle of their amused conversation Ryder reached across the hair's breadth of space to put her hand in Suvi's, and with the very gentle tightening of the science officer's fingers around hers she drifted away to her favourite sound.
