PASSENGERS (2016)

Chapter Nine

Elizabeth is not feeling well and Arthur doesn't understand what illness in a human can mean.

I do not own any part or character of this film, just my OC.

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Arthur and Elizabeth continued to enjoy each other's company as the weeks passed into months. There were many discussions about different topics, much game playing, story telling with laughter from both human and android, various drinks old and new, and sex, lots of sex, enough that at times, Elizabeth didn't miss human companionship as much as she had early on.

Arthur showed her love in any way he was able, learning new things as she taught him. He looked forward to their time together, whether he was fulfilling his programming by making her drinks and giving advice, or if he was making use of new knowledge he had merely incorporated into his general programming.

During their liaisons, Arthur would touch her body, kiss her mouth, and whisper words and endearments he was learning she liked to hear him say. She would moan and breathe funny, clutching at him until she cried out his name. This let him know to stop what he was doing. Elizabeth appreciated he was a tireless lover, and he never questioned her. Arthur loved her too much to do that.

Elizabeth would smile at her android lover, not even wishing he were a human anymore. To her, he was already as human as she needed him to be. If she could have any wish come true, it would be that he were more mobile. But she was no engineer and could do nothing to help him become so. Elizabeth wondered if he would make such a wish. Did Arthur realize his losses being stuck behind the bar? To not be able to accompany her to the observation lounge or one of the many restaurants and venues.

There were times Elizabeth wished she could take Arthur to her quarters and have him bed her there, to wake in his arms like in one of her many dreams. They had not completely gone away, but they were less explicit, perhaps because she and Arthur had managed to enjoy a relationship that included sex, even if not exactly how she wanted it.

"Arthur, am I an amiable companion for you?" Elizabeth asked out of the blue, while sipping on a Peach Bellini.

"Elizabeth, I would think that would be a question I would ask of you," Arthur replied pleasantly, while polishing a highball glass.

"Well, at least you're not saying 'These are not robot questions.' as often as you used to. It was very annoying, Arthur."

Arthur was used to Elizabeth's non sequiturs. At times, she had asked him questions that he just could not answer. "I'm sorry if my responses to your earlier questions were less than...satisfying. Yes, you are an amiable companion for me. And as for the other thing, I have become more accustomed to your queries over all. Is there some point to this conversation? Is anything the matter?" He narrowed his eyes and bobbed his head slowly one time, as he did when he felt something was amiss.

"No, Arthur, I just want to be sure you're not becoming bored with me."

He put down the glass and rag, and gazed at her face, taking her hands in his and kissing the tops. He then turned them over and kissed her palms. "Never."

"Good." She laughed, giving Arthur a slow deep kiss. Then she pulled back, and with a smile, said, "Let's play cards...for green olives?" Since the food storage was supposed to sustain the awakened passengers four months before their arrival at Homestead 2, Arthur found he could allow Elizabeth many games of poker for olives, green and black. Sometimes she would grab for a handful from the bowl to snack on and he'd have to smack her hand, albeit gently. "Those are for the game, sweetheart."

Sweetheart. She had taught him the word and he liked to use it more when he had to admonish her or get her to tell him something he felt she was hiding. She could never tell him a lie after he used that endearment.

Elizabeth looked at Arthur over the top of her cards, trying to read him. He tried letting her win in the beginning of their friendship, but she could always tell if he wasn't doing his best, and she made him aware she would always know. He stopped, even if it meant she never won. But humans were not always predictable, so she actually managed to beat Arthur sometimes.

Elizabeth set down her hand and grinned. "I win, Arthur!" She grabbed her winnings and began to eat them.

"How can you continue to play, Elizabeth, if you eat all your money?" Arthur asked, gathering the cards into a pile.

"We're done playing, my friend," she replied, realizing she really was hungry. "I'm famished. I think I'll run to the cafeteria and get something to eat." She leaned over the bar to give Arthur a quick kiss, then hopped off her barstool, and ran to the outer corridor. "I'll be back soon!" She shouted on the way out.

When Elizabeth returned, she had a plate full of chicken tenders and fries. Arthur had set up a game board for them to play, no wagering necessary. She ate her food with one hand while moving her pieces around the board with the other.

Elizabeth was enjoying the board game she and Arthur were playing, but she felt something off. She had felt a slight pain in her stomach. Thinking she had eaten too much, she pushed the plate to the side and continued playing.

But Arthur had noticed. He always noticed everything about her, from her every expression to every nuance of her personality. "Are you all right, Elizabeth?"

"I'm fine. It's just a slight pain. I'll visit the AutoDoc later if it doesn't go away, and see if there's a problem. Maybe I need some effervescent pills or something."

"I think you need to go now, Elizabeth," Arthur insisted. "What if it's something worse than you are obviously guessing at. You are not a physician."

She looked at him with a detached expression. Arthur took her hands in his. "Are you worried? Elizabeth, I'm sorry, you're probably right. It may be nothing...but don't you want to know for sure? I love you, and I want you well." She slid over the counter to stand in front of the android.

"Of course, you're right, Arthur. I'll make a quick trip for an exam, just to be sure." She hugged him, truly scared for the first time since she had first been awakened.

Arthur kissed Elizabeth, cupping her cheek. "It will be all right. Go now. I'll be waiting."

Elizabeth hopped onto the counter, bending to give Arthur one more kiss, then she fell to the other side and left the lounge, giving him one more glance.

Once in the Infirmary, Elizabeth kicked off her shoes and stripped down to her underwear. She activated the AutoDoc, getting in once the door slid open. She lay down and waited for the scanner to slowly move down her body and back up. Then the AutoDoc gave her the final diagnosis.

Back in the lounge, worry was etched on Arthur's artificial face. He waited, perfectly still, until Elizabeth came back to the lounge. His thoughts wandered to the possibilities. What if she were ill, ill beyond repair. He picked up a glass and bar rag, and began to mindlessly polish the drinking vessel.

Less than an hour later, she returned, seeing Arthur waiting expectantly for her at the bar. He gave her his usual smile.

"Are you alright, Elizabeth? Did the AutoDoc find any reason you're experiencing pain?" he asked, less than enthusiastic when he saw her facial expression.

"Yes, Arthur. Apparently, I have stage one cancer in my stomach. It's s very small tumour, but it will grow." She hadn't meant to just blurt it out to him, but didn't want to keep him in suspense either. Could he even feel anxiety? "I had some slight pain for awhile, and general ickiness at times..."

"And you never told me." His face took on a serious appearance.

"Arthur, what would you have been able to do!" Elizabeth didn't mean to shout at him, and immediately apologised.

"What will the AutoDoc do for you?" he asked, not sure how to react.

"What can it do? It's not allowed to perform any surgeries without a human doctor in attendance. It can treat the cancer with proton therapy, and prescribe medication. Arthur, it just means instead of living 100 years, I'll probably be dead before I reach 35."

Arthur gazed at his human companion, a look of sadness on his face. His eyes looked down, while his android brain processed the news. He knew human life spans were not as long as that of androids, even if androids eventually ended up on scrap heaps themselves.

Elizabeth slid over the bar, having trouble falling to the other side as if she had no strength. She looked at him, tears forming in her eyes. "Arthur, help me." He held her as she slowly climbed down off the bar's counter, her legs not cooperating at all. Once she was on the other side, he gathered her in his arms and held her. Elizabeth buried her face in his neck and wept. Arthur let her cry on his shoulder, unsure what to do. He only wanted to comfort her as best as he was able.

She looked at Arthur. "Just keep holding me please. I need to feel your arms around me."

The android knew this was not good, and did as she asked, tightening his arms slowly, until he felt her arms slide up his back. "Elizabeth." It was all he could do for the moment.

He wondered what this would mean for them. She would die, and he would be all alone. He had only just begun to feel comfortable with her in loving her so completely, learning to please her in ways that felt natural. Her companionship was vital to him. He didn't want to lose that. "Are you in any pain right now, Elizabeth?"

"No, the AutoDoc said I might feel pain off and on for the next few years as the tumor grows. But for now, the treatments and medicine will take care of that. I'll feel fairly normal for awhile yet."

Arthur stepped back, his hands on her waist. He peered into her face, while he moved one hand to brush the tears from her cheeks. He leaned in to kiss her gently, but when Elizabeth held him tighter, her mouth devouring his in need, he responded. She obviously needed this from him. He didn't quite understand all of the information transmitted to him, but he would do what he could to make his human feel better.

Elizabeth kissed Arthur, her hands sliding up and down his back. She sucked on the artificial skin of his neck, biting his ear, then ravaged his mouth again until she was breathless. Fatigue made her stop, and she just leaned against him, content his arms supported her.

"I can't lose you, Elizabeth," Arthur whispered in her ear.

"I don't want to lose you either, Arthur. I know when I die, you'll be all alone." She pulled back to gaze into his blue eyes, wanting to remember them even into death. Elizabeth had always believed in an afterlife, but Arthur would not be there with her. He had no soul.

"I'll die with you," he said impulsively.

For the first time since returning to the lounge, Elizabeth smiled, shaking her head. "You can't do that, Arthur. Androids can't commit suicide. I know you'll feel alone, but can't your programming take over once I'm gone? Like turn you off or reboot your memory files so that you'll forget me?" She didn't want him to forget her, but damn, would it do him any good for him to remember her, to recall their times together?

Apparently Arthur didn't want to forget Elizabeth. He protested her words to that effect.

"There will be people here who will need you when they awaken. I'm just one person," she explained while stroking his cheek with her knuckles.

Did she truly believe she was only one person to him? She was everything to him. He gently kissed her, his lips moving along her jawline, then nuzzling in the crook of her neck. "Stay with me," he begged, his arms around her tightly, as if holding on to her would keep her from dying.

A/N : Arthur will come closer to experiencing the loss of the only human who ever looked at him as real, with life and emotions. Someone who loved him and he could love in turn. Without her, he'll go back to being a simple android if not something worse.

Sadness alert in the next chapter.