Two hours. Vienna bit her lip as she paced the transport room. Two hours since Pavel, Hikaru and the Captain had beamed to the Red Rose. Two hours, and she didn't know if they were safe. She had already barked at frightened ensigns to leave her be, and now she was alone in the room, about ready to tear her hair out. Did something really have to happen now? Couldn't people just wait until her and Pavel were done? She had waited for so long for that moment, and of course, something just had to go wrong. Vienna scowled.
The blonde woman sat down in a chair, and ran her fingers through her messy and tangled hair, sighing. Everything is going to be okay, she told herself, Everybody is fine. Pavel is fine. And it was true, he had to have been. Captain Kirk wouldn't have picked him for this mission if he couldn't protect himself. Besides, Hikaru was there to help him if he needed it. Between the two, they had to be safe. Vienna took in a breath, focusing on calming herself down.
And just when she had managed to get her heart rate to a normal pace, Captain Kirk's smooth voice came from over her comm.
"Lieutenant King, 12 to beam to the Enterprise."
Vienna let out a controlled breath as she typed in the necessary coordinates. "Captain, you must be doing something right if you're coming back with more people than you went with."
Kirk must have heard her unanswered question. "Lover boy is safe." She could hear the amused tone in his voice, along with Pavel's indignant "Hey!"
Vienna laughed happily, clutching at her heart as she calmed herself down. Pavel was safe. Pavel was coming back to her.
"Ready, sir?"
"Yes, ma'am. Energize."
No sooner than the six familiar faces (and the five that weren't, along with another unconscious man with blood running down his nose) landed safely on the transport pad did Vienna abandon her post and find the Russian she was looking for, enveloping him in a huge hug that sent the two stumbling backwards from the sheer force of it.
"I'm so happy you're safe," She whispered into the crook of Pavel's neck where she was currently nestled.
"Of course I am, Vi. I would never leave you."
"Promise me."
The Russian man pulled away from her embrace but kept the distance between the two. "I, Pavel Andreievich Chekov, promise that I will never leave you." His ice blue gaze rested on her, content.
Vienna's lips drew up in a soft smile. "And I, Vienna Audra King, promise that I will never leave you."
"Then I believe you owe me something." He reminded her lightly, placing his hands on her waist.
"Of course," Vienna whispered, "How could I forget?" The two slowly closed the distance between each other as Vienna wrapped her arms around Pavel's neck. Just as the two were about ready to finally kiss, Captain Kirk's voice rang out through the room.
"Alright, lovebirds, as cute as this is, you're both still on duty. How about you wait until you're done to do all of that?" Kirk grinned evilly.
Vienna frowned as she let out a frustrated breath. "Every time…" Pavel chuckled and pressed his lips to her temple. Vienna flushed red as she turned around to face the captain and the crew with Pavel's arm still wrapped around her.
"Aye, Captain." Pavel said, oddly enough, hardly embarrassed.
Before much more could be said, Vienna's comm. device beeped once, signaling a written message. Her eyes lit up immensely as she read through the message, a grin spreading quickly over her face. "Scotty's awake!"
Her eyes met Kirk's, and he nodded, smirk still present on his face as he looked at Pavel's arm draped casually over her waist. Vienna either didn't notice or chose to ignore her captain's critical gaze, instead focusing on the fact that she was allowed to go see Scotty. Placing a quick kiss on Pavel's cheek and shouting a "See you later!", she sprinted as quickly as she could to the Med Bay.
Even without taking the elevators, it was only five minutes before she got to the Med Bay. She noticed Bones looking over a PADD right by a bed she assumed was Scotty's, and was prepared to run over to him when she ran into someone else.
"Calm down, sweetie. Yeesh, you're going to knock everything over in here."
Vienna's head snapped up only to meet the gaze of a familiar face. "Oh, hi, Aaron!"
The man grinned. "Hi there. So, you have anything you want to tell me?" He winked mischievously. Vienna frowned, confused, before she remembered.
"Oh! Oh yeah, Pavel and I are…" What are they? "Well, he feels the same way."
Aaron scoffed before waving his hand. "I knew that already. It was pretty much only you who didn't notice."
Vienna's eyebrows knit together. "Excuse me?"
The brunet man laughed. "It was really obvious. I mean, before you got me into this mess, I thought you two were already a thing."
Vienna's cheeks flushed pink. "O-oh. Then what did you want to know?"
"If he kissed you yet, duh!"
The woman's face arranged itself into a scowl. "No, we've been interrupted twice now."
Aaron laughed again. "It'll happen soon, sweetie," he assured her, looking at his PADD, "Well, I gotta get back to work. Anything else I can do for you before I go?"
"Yeah, actually. Where's Scotty at?"
"Exam room five. Doctor McCoy is checking him over."
Vienna grinned. "Thanks, Aaron!" This time, there weren't any interruptions. Vienna ran into the room Aaron had told her about, and felt immensely relieved when she saw Scotty and Bones arguing. If he was feeling well enough to argue right now, he would be fine.
Scotty's eyes wandered over at the sound of the door bursting open and a large grin spread over his face at the sight of his right-hand woman. "Lass! It's great to see ya!"
"It's good to see you too!" Vienna smiled, running into her father-figure's arms. "Are you okay?"
The Scottish man waved off her concern. "Aye, the Doc says I don' have no big injuries, but – "
"A concussion isn't exactly a minor injury." Doctor McCoy growled, setting down his PADD. "And I need you to convince him to stay in the Med Bay for at least seventy-two hours."
Vienna's mouth dropped open. "A concussion?"
Bones rolled his eyes. "He'll be fine as long as I keep him here to monitor his brainwaves, make sure there are no lasting effects."
Vienna fixed a glare on Scotty. "You are going to stay here for as long as Dr. McCoy needs you to stay."
The Scottish man, usually the one to frighten other people with his temper, gulped and looked down. "Aye," he muttered, "I'll do it. But I won't like it."
"You don't have to." Vienna responded cheerfully, patting Scotty on the back.
Finally, she thought with a smile, things are starting to look up for me.
First things first: KIRK YOU COCKBLOCK GODDAMNIT
Okay, I'm calm.
So, here's the deal: right after I posted the last chapter, I immediately began working on this one. I wrote exactly 658 words (seriously, I looked at the word counter about a million times and that number will haunt me forever) before I stopped because I was totally blocked. Finally, almost a friggen month later, I figured out what I wanted to do. While I know I shouldn't be making promises to you, I can say that updates will be more frequent because school for me gets out in two weeks. Woot! Anyhow, the moment you've all been waiting for (maybe)!
The winner of the ship name contest is: The Sorceress's Apprentice ! A lot of you guys gave me the same great ship name, Pavienna, which I think is the best ship name ever, but she was the one who gave it to me first. So, your prize is a 5k minimum drabble of your choosing! I can write anything that you wish, and from (almost) any fandom that you choose. So, if you could be so kind and PM me with the details, it should be out very soon. Also, I'd like to put in an added thanks for sticking with this story and putting up with my infrequent updating. You're the best. :)
ALSO. Anyone who wants to do fanart for the beautiful ship that is Pavienna, please feel free to do so. Who knows, I might just write you a 5k drabble of your choice as well.
Review time!
NightShadeMoon: Aw, you squealed for me? Thanks! I'm glad you like the story :) To answer your question, Pavel said "That's what you get for trying to hurt my love." Cute, right?
katie's got a gun: Glad you liked! Baddass!Chekov will always make everybody happy, especially myself.
Elizabeth Deadtree: Welcome to the story! Thanks for the review! I'm glad I can make you laugh, and yeah, I think that scene is my favorite too. They're just so cute! I'm glad AIL is one of your favorites! You seriously have no idea how happy that makes me. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as the rest of the story!
Live Long and Prosper, my dear readers.
-Les