I don't own The Orville or any of the characters, just taking them for a spin.
Alara was glad that things had gone back to normal between her and Gordon, even though they had slept together. It also seemed as if he really was keeping her secrets, even from John. She was glad that she had one element of her life that she could consider going well.
As for the rest of it, she seemed to be having issues. She kept making small mistakes at her station, her reports had been getting sloppy and even when she was working out she would accidentally miss the bag and it would knock her over.
All of this stemmed from the fact that over the last two weeks, she just hadn't been getting much sleep.
It wasn't like she didn't try to sleep or that she wasn't tired, but when she fell into bed she ended up tossing and turning, getting maybe two or three hours sleep before she had to be back on the bridge.
Luckily the mistakes were so minor and she was keeping mostly to herself that no one really noticed anything was amiss. No one, except Gordon.
"You look tired," he said one morning in the lift heading to the bridge. Alara glared at him, but couldn't deny his statement.
"Not sleeping well," she explained as she yawned for what seemed like the millionth time.
"Maybe you should take the afternoon off or something, get some rest."
She knew that he was trying to help, but her sleep-deprived brain wasn't functioning at full capacity and she snapped. "I'm fine."
Gordon seemed taken aback at the tone, but still looked concerned.
After another few moments of silence between them he spoke again. "At least see Claire," he said softly. "She may have something to help."
Alara looked at Gordon in surprise. That thought had not crossed her mind in the whole two weeks she hadn't been able to sleep. "That's a good idea," she said softly. "I think I'll do that. Thank you."
The doors opened and Gordon walked through. "No problem," he said over his shoulder as he headed to the bridge.
Alara, instead of exiting as planned, stayed in the lift and went down to the medical bay. If she was going to see Claire, the sooner the better. Before long those minor mistakes would turn into major ones.
She entered Sick Bay to find Claire alone, which suited Alara fine. Better to just talk to Claire without having a whole group of people hearing her problems.
At the sound of the door opening, Claire had turned. She was surprised to see Alara there. "Alara? Is everything alright?"
Alara moved towards the doctor. "Honestly, I'm not sure," she replied. "I've been having trouble sleeping for longer than a few hours each night."
Claire seemed to think on this for a moment. "Odd," she said before gesturing to a nearby exam table. "Have a seat."
As Alara hopped up on the table, Claire grabbed her scanner and walked over to Alara. She started scanning her slowly up and down. "Any other symptoms?"
Alara shook her head. "No, just a lack of sleep."
Claire nodded as she continued her scan. Alara had always found Claire a bit hard to read, so if anything was wrong she wasn't sure she would know unless Claire said something.
After what seemed like the longest scan she had every seen Claire do on someone Claire finally spoke. "I'm not seeing anything off," she said firmly as she set the scanner down. "It may be psychological. When was the last time you remember sleeping well?"
Alara started thinking back to when her sleep issues began. The last two weeks she hadn't slept well, mostly because she hadn't been able to drink herself to sleep. In fact the last time she slept well was the night she slept with Gordon.
"Alara?"
Alara looked up at Claire with wide eyes. She couldn't say that she slept well when Gordon had been with her. She cleared her throat. "About two weeks ago," she said softly.
Claire raised an eyebrow at Alara's odd behavior, but said nothing about it. "Okay, I would suggest trying doing what you did that night and see if that helps. If not, I can offer some sleeping pills to help temporarily."
Alara took a deep breath at Claire's suggestion. What was going on in her life right now?
She thanked Claire for her suggestion and let her know that she would try that, although how she didn't know. She left Sick Bay and headed to take her place on the bridge for her shift. She wouldn't be able to think about any of it until her shift was over.
Although she had no idea what she was going to do or how she would suggest anything to Gordon.
Luckily it was a mostly boring day with the Orville just doing mundane scans and delivering some supplies. The entire time Alara kept her eyes on her station doing her best not to think about the man at the helm only a few feet away from her.
Gordon's shift ended a bit before hers and she knew from her security checks that he and John had requested time in the simulator that evening. At least she knew where he would be.
After her long shift finally ended, Alara wasted no time heading down to the simulator and entering their simulation.
It was an old saloon from early Earth history, complete with a bar and rowdy cowboys. She quickly scanned the room finding both men sitting in period costumes at a table playing cards, each of them with a busty woman on their laps.
Alara felt a rush of anger fill her at the sight, but then wondered why that would be. There was no reason why she should feel bothered by the sight of Gordon with another woman. She shook her head, sure that this was a result of sleep-deprivation. She crossed the room, her eyes fixed on Gordon.
He was a handsome man, she could admit that, with a boyish smile. He looked rugged in the cowboy outfit he had on and the light beard across his jawline.
The woman on his lap kept giggling and whispering in his ear as he played. That was annoying, although Alara wasn't sure why.
When she stood next to him she cleared her throat, gaining the attention of both men. John seemed confused by her presence and Gordon seemed surprised.
"Lt. Malloy, could I speak with you..." she glanced at John momentarily before looking back at Gordon, "...privately?"
John looked at Gordon with an obvious "what did you do now?" look, but Gordon didn't seem to notice.
"Um...sure," he replied before lifting the woman off his lap and standing. He turned to John. "Keep playing, I'll be right back," he said to a now curious John. John opened his mouth to say something when the woman Gordon had removed plopped herself onto John's lap next to his own girl and both started giggling and flirting with him.
Sure now that John was sufficiently distracted, Gordon lead Alara over to the bar area on the opposite side of the room where John wouldn't accidentally overhear.
"So, whats up?" Gordon said, his tone light.
Alara took a deep breath, her face flushing slightly. Gordon couldn't help thinking that it was a cute look for the usually together Head of Security.
"Claire gave me some advice on how to fix my sleeping issue," she said. Gordon nodded, looking confused as to what this had to do with him. "She suggested that I go back to the last time I slept well and try recreating that night to see if that helped. The last time I slept well was...well...it was that night."
It took Gordon less than a minute to make the connection to which night she was talking about. The same night he had been thinking about for the past two weeks, the same night that randomly popped into his head when he looked at Alara, the same night that he couldn't get out of his head no matter how hard he tried.
"Really?" he said in shock. He lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He didn't want to admit that he had wanted a repeat of that night. He didn't know why as he had never looked at Alara as a potential partner before. She was his crew mate and friend.
She was also in love with Ed.
At that thought he couldn't help the anger that rushed over him. "So," he said firmly, "You want to get drunk, have sex with me and then confess your feelings for another man?"
Alara's eyes widened at his angry tone. Although he had said that he forgave and forgot, he apparently hadn't done so. She couldn't blame him for that, it couldn't be easy to think that he was being substituted for another person. She knew that she wouldn't stand for it. Still, to accuse her of wanting to actively hurt him again.
"No," she said firmly, "I just think that we could try sleeping, just sleeping, in the same bed."
He narrowed his eyes at her as if trying to figure her out and Alara could feel her patience wearing thin. Lack of sleep was making her irritable and the look on his face and his attitude was pushing her over the edge.
"Look," she said sharply, "I'm sorry about what happened. Obviously I'm so guilty about it I can't sleep. I would try getting black-out drunk like I was that night, but I'm already on thin ice with the Commander as it is. I just thought I would ask you for help. If it doesn't work Claire said she would give me something to help but it could only be temporary and only if everything else didn't work. I just..." she let out a breath. She looked back up at him, her eyes showing how tired she really was. "Never mind, it's crazy."
She turned to walk away when she felt a gentle grip on her arm, stopping her movements. She turned back to him as he released her ignoring how that small touch from him had caused her heart to flutter. She must be more tired than she thought.
"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to go off on you like that. It just...doesn't feel good being compared to someone, even your best friend." She nodded her understanding. Gordon smiled at her. "I'll help you out."
He watched as her tired eyes lit up with hope, causing his stomach to flip-flop. "Really?" she said softly, her voice filled with hope.
He nodded. "Couldn't hurt to try." Gordon suddenly found himself in a tight hug. His brain started to malfunction as all he did was feel and remember. Her soft curves pressed against his firm body, her soft skin against his, her lips on his... It felt so right.
But she was in love with Ed.
That thought alone popped him back to the present as Alara released him expressing her thanks.
"It's no problem," he said with a smile before registering that this conversation with Alara had gone a bit long and now John's gaze was upon them. He was going to need a good excuse for this depending on how much the man had seen.
"Still," Alara said with a smile, unaware of John's curious gaze. She really was tired if she hadn't noticed it. "I cannot thank you enough. I'll see you later, my quarters?"
Still aware of his friend's gaze, Gordon nodded at Alara. Her smile seemed to bring life back to her tired features as she turned and left the simulator.
Gordon took a deep breath before turning back to where John and the card game were waiting, although right now he wasn't interesting in dealing with either of them.
"What was that about?" John said as Gordon returned to his seat. He spoke casually, but Gordon knew he was beyond curious.
"Not much," he said with a shrug. "I had noticed she wasn't well earlier and suggested going to Claire for help. She was just filling me in on what Claire said and thanking me for the suggestion." It was true. Gordon knew that if he tried to straight out lie John would be able to see through it, but telling the truth, granted with parts missing, would be harder for him to figure out, even as smart as he was.
John seemed to accept this, but Gordon noticed how throughout the rest of the game the man kept glancing at him, as if trying to figure out if there was more to this story than Gordon was telling him.
The next hour seemed to go on forever before they reached the end of their allotted time in the simulator and had to leave.
"Wanna get a drink?"
Gordon shook his head, aware that Alara was waiting. If she really did think his presence would help her sleep then he should get there quickly.
"What? Got a hot date or something?" John joked with a nudge. Gordon laughed with his friend at the stupid line despite how accurate it was.
'Or something,' Gordon thought before they parted ways.
Gordon stopped off at his quarters first to change back into his regular clothes before heading to Alara's quarters. It would draw much less attention that way.
Even though he knew nothing was going to happen, that he literally was going to just see if being there helped her sleep, he couldn't help feeling a bit excited.
Even when he first met her he noticed how attractive she was, sexy. He also knew that she was strong, mentally as well as physically. She wanted him in her bed, even if essentially he was filling in the role of a teddy bear rather than a man. Maybe he could convince she needed him as a man instead?
Gordon shook his head as he continued down the corridors. He didn't know what was going on with him lately. All he could focus on recently was Alara.
Even when he masturbated it was to her image, as she was that night. He could even hear her voice sometimes when he envisioned her. How pathetic.
This whole situation was Ed's fault really. Although they had been friends for years, Gordon knew Ed was very single-minded and oblivious to what others had going on around him. If Alara said nothing Ed would never know how she felt about him. He would never make a move on her with the knowledge of how she felt about him.
Of course, Alara wouldn't say anything either. She was right on the nose about how obvious Ed was about Kelly. The two had been spending a lot of time together and seemed to actually be getting along. He would be surprised if Ed fell under Kelly's spell a second time.
Gordon didn't think it was a good idea, but then again he wasn't the marrying type either. After watching his parents marriage basically fall apart with only him holding it together he never wanted any part of it.
He stopped that train of thought when he realized he had reached Alara's quarters. He lifted his hand and pushed the comm, hearing the bell ding inside. He pushed all thoughts of Alara, Ed and Kelly out of his mind. Right now he had a role to play for their Chief of Security. She needed her sleep and Gordon would do what he could to see that she got it, even if it killed him.
The door opened to Alara looking way better than he had remembered. She was out of her uniform and had changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts that revealed way too much skin for a woman asking a male friend to sleep, and only sleep, with her. Her hair was messy and her eyes looked more tired than they had only an hour or so before. Still, Gordon couldn't help the heat rush through him at the sight of her.
He stepped inside her quarters and allowed the door to close behind him, engulfing them in darkness. He pushed any indecent thought out his head, Alara needed sleep, not a sex-crazed man lusting after her.
"Guessing you've had no luck sleeping?" he said in a casual tone that revealed none of the dirty thoughts he was currently having about her.
She shook her head and yawned. "All I do is toss and turn," she said, her voice low and sleepy. Even her voice was sexy like this.
He nodded before removing his jacket and shoes. He turned to her and gestured to the bedroom. "Let's see if me being here helps."
Gordon followed Alara into the bedroom, trying his best to push the memories of the last time he was with her in this room from his mind. She just needed him to sleep, she didn't want to have sex. Not with him. She was in love with Ed, wanted Ed. He had to remember that.
Alara climbed into the bed and Gordon walked to the other side and laid down on top of the covers, still dressed in his undershirt and pants. She laid facing him and took a deep breath.
"I hope this works," she said before shutting her eyes.
Gordon tried to stay as still as he could so Alara could fall asleep easier. He felt awkward but listened as Alara's breathing seemed to even out a bit. Maybe this would work.
He heard her shuffle a bit and then watched as her arm came across and fell upon his chest softly, her head curved against his shoulder, her breath caressing his skin.
Alara had cuddled up against him. Gordon heard her take a deep breath, sigh and settle before her breathing evened out indicating she had fallen asleep.
Gordon let out a breath of his own, willing his body to remain still. Alara had no idea that this was torture for him, having her against him so close and wearing so little. He knew that she needed her sleep so he forced himself to relax and shut his own eyes.
Maybe it would do him good to sleep as well.
He took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of Alara's scent, let it out slowly and drifted off to sleep.