Night Blooms
By Laura Schiller
Based on: Star Trek: Discovery
Copyright: CBS
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Ensign Sylvia Tilly padded out of the refresher in her slippers and bathrobe, wringing out her wet hair with an exhausted sigh. It was good to feel clean again after getting slime from the mycelial cocoon and dusty black yeel tree bark all over her. She knew she should be grateful - they'd not only brought Dr. Culber back from the dead today, but saved the entire JahSepp species from extinction – but it was hard to shake the residual horror of having a JahSepp parasite living in her brain for weeks, manifesting as the ghost of her childhood friend. Saying goodbye had felt like losing May all over again.
Michael, sitting on her bed, looked up and held out an arm. Tilly leaned into her roommate's shoulder and closed her eyes. For someone so thin, Michael was very comforting to hug. Even more so because she'd seen everything Tilly had; there was no need for an explanation.
The door chime interrupted them.
"Come in," said Michael, letting go with a final encouraging squeeze.
Commander Saru stood in the hall, the top of his head nearly brushing the doorframe, holding – of all things – a vase containing one bright red flower in both hands. He clicked modestly and inclined his head. Both women rose to their feet.
"As you were," he said. "May I come in?"
Michael glanced at Tilly for permission, which considering that the science officer outranked her, was really very kind.
"Y-yes, of course," squeaked Tilly, holding her bathrobe closed at the neck, wishing she had postponed her shower just a little longer. She so wanted to look professional in front of the dignified First Officer, and yet he always seemed to find her covered in slime or dressed in a skimpy medical gown. "Did you want to talk to Michael? I can leave if you want … "
"Actually, I came to see you, Ensign," said Saru. "I … " Click. "I understand it is customary on Earth to offer flowers to a convalescent."
He held the vase out to her between his long-fingered hands, very carefully, as it was slim and made of glass. Up close, the flower almost reminded her of a poppy, red on the outside and golden at the center. Tilly leaned in and sniffed; the fragrance was subtle, but sweet, like high-quality honey. For once in her life, perhaps because it was alien, the pollen didn't even make her sneeze. It did make her eyes water, but she couldn't blame that on allergies.
"Oh, sir, thank you," she said, cradling the vase and carrying it over to place on her nightstand. "It's beautiful. Where is it from? What's it called?"
"It is native to Kaminar, and it is my namesake. My elder sister used to say it was appropriate, since it only blooms at night and I was such a secretive person." He gave a self-deprecating tilt of his head. "I've had cause to, ah … reconsider some of my choices recently, and have decided that sharing more of my culture might not be amiss."
He aimed a pointed, but affectionate look at Michael, so Tilly could guess where that advice must have come from.
Michael smiled back, her eyes glittering. "You couldn't have picked a better way to start."
"I didn't know you had a sister," said Tilly. "Do you still talk to her? … Wait, isn't your planet pre-warp?"
"Yes, it is, and General Order One applies, so … No. We haven't spoken since I left."
Which must have been decades ago, considering his Starfleet service record. Tilly's family drove her insane sometimes, but she couldn't fathom never speaking to them again. No wonder Saru and Michael were so close; she'd lost a sibling too.
"Oh my God," Tilly breathed. "I'm sorry. Shut me up if I get too personal again."
"As a matter of fact, Ensign, I also came by to commend you," said the First Officer. Tilly took the change of subject as his impeccably polite way of shutting her up. "I read your report of your, ah … unique First Contact with the JahSepp, and you handled it admirably."
"I did?" Tilly blinked. "Uh, sir … did you miss the part with all the panicking? And almost … almost killing Dr. Culber for a second time?"
She shivered in spite of her plush bathrobe as she remembered May shrieking at her to kill the monster. Her finger had been on the trigger; if the crouching shadow in the corner hadn't shown his face in just that second … God, it was still hard to believe that the wild, terrified creature they'd found was Dr. Hugh Culber. How was he ever going to come back from that?
"You helped to bring him back," said Saru. "Against all odds. Not only that, but you overcame your completely natural fear and responded to the JahSepp with empathy. You turned a potentially deadly situation into a successful rescue and First Contact. That is exactly what Starfleet likes to see in its future leaders."
She had been so afraid, whenever May had interrupted her during her Command Training Program exercises, that she was hallucinating and mentally unfit to continue the program. The Commander's respect felt like a weight off her shoulders. She smiled up at him gratefully. "I guess it wasn't that bad after all."
"Told you," Michael chimed in.
"I am … pleased … to see you taking care of yourself," said Saru. "I hope you won't forget."
Of course. The last time he'd paid her a convalescence call, he had called her out for getting out of bed without Dr. Pollard's permission. He'd reminded her not to push herself too hard, because as the first Kelpien in Starfleet, he understood what that was like. He'd touched her for the first time she could remember, a light hand on her shoulder, and …
Now wait just a minute. Memories flew to rearrange themselves like puzzle pieces in her head. The first Kelpien in Starfleet. Pushing yourself too hard. What was it he'd said only a few minutes ago, about a recent event that made reconsider his life choices? And he had the nerve to lecture her.
"With all due respect, Commander," she burst out, "You need to take your own advice! While I was in the mycelial network, weren't you still working on the Bridge when you were coughing and could hardly stand? Didn't Michael have to haul your ass to Sickbay, pardon my language? Didn't everyone believe you were dying, including you?"
Keyla and Joann had been there and told Tilly everything. Her eyes were watering in earnest now. It didn't bear thinking about that the Sphere data, possibly the greatest scientific find their crew had ever made, had nearly come at the cost of losing Saru. Without his hard-won courage, his grace under pressure, and especially his kindness, Discovery would be a much darker place.
She was so grateful he'd survived, and here she was yelling at him. Would she never learn to think before she spoke?
"Wh-what I meant to say," she hurried to add, "Is that I care … I mean, you're important. To all of us. So … please remember that."
"We did have a crisis on our hands, Ensign," Saru retorted, looking – thankfully – more amused than offended by her outburst.
"We've always got a crisis on our hands," Michael chimed in. "Tilly's got a point, Saru. Hauling you to Sickbay wasn't much fun. I'd rather not do it again."
The look on her face belied her sarcastic tone, as did the way she reached up to pat Saru's arm. When they stood next to each other, Michael barely came up to Saru's shoulder. Now that he was recovered, the idea of her half carrying him really was a little bit funny.
"I will do my best to spare you further inconvenience," said Saru, with an insulted tone, but a deeply gratified face.
Once they had said their goodnights and he had bowed himself out, Tilly caught Michael watching her with the oddest look on her face; a knowing, almost mischievous smile.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just thinking how much the two of you have in common."
"What, the Commander and me?" Tilly blushed. "Being terrible patients, you mean? Yeah, I guess we are."
"Exactly," said Michael. "Side effect of taking care of everyone else before yourselves."
Tilly reached out to rub a petal of the night-blooming flower between her fingers. It was soft as velvet, and the brightest thing in their white-and-steel standard issue quarters. A gift for her.
"I guess it's a good thing," she said, "That we're on this ship together. That way, we can balance each other out."