Pavel stared at his con, mind wandering. He wasn't sure how to feel. One moment he'd been getting to know Rey better, the next she'd knocked him unconscious.

I'm a liability. I'm scared of myself.

I couldn't live with myself if something happened.

Her voice echoed in his aching head. He understood what she meant now and wished he didn't. Maybe the Captain was right. Maybe there was something the matter with her. But still, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was a big misunderstanding. They didn't know how this Force worked. Kylo could easily have been tracking them for who knows how long with her on board. Maybe she had been a liability this whole time. Or, maybe, she wasn't a liability, but a mole.

A traitor.

Surely not. He knew her too well. Or did he?

The more time he spent in thought, the more his mind spiraled.

"Pavel? You okay?"

Hikaru's quiet voice jarred him from his thoughts.

"Oh. Y-yeah, I'm ok. Just hef a bit of a headache, zat's all."

"You need to go to medbay, Mister Chekov?" Kirk asked.

"No, sir. I think I'll be ok."

"Does everyone else feel alright?"

Everyone said they did.

"Chekov, report to the medbay and take the rest of the day," he ordered.

"Sir I—" he sighed. "Yes, sir."

He got up and his backup promptly relieved him.

After leaving the bridge, Pavel walked absent mindedly toward the medbay as he'd been told. His thoughts were still on the day's events. He decided he'd go talk to her, which gave him ever so slightly more of a spring in his tired step. Once he reached his destination, Doctor McCoy looked him over and prescribed rest, mild pain pills, and maybe some tea. Pavel gladly agreed and went home. He grabbed some of the pills the doctor had given him and took them with some replicated tea in his favored podstakannik. Taking it to his sofa, he sat down and turned on the TV. After taking another sip of the warm spiced tea, his mind began to wander again. Why was my head the only one to hurt? I must've hit it when I fell. Picking up his cup again, he felt the cool steel in his hand. His mind took a different direction.

"Pashenka, be careful with that!" His mother's soft but firm voice echoed in his head. Taking the glass from him, she placed it in the metal holder. "Don't touch the glass, it's hot. Use the podstakannik, silly!" She returned it to his tiny hands; after which he remembered gingerly taking it and tilting it toward his face.

He missed the way she made tea. The ship's replicator could never copy its comforting taste. Come to think of it, he hadn't had tea the way she made it since she passed on. Nadya could make good tea, but not the way Mama could. It's just tea. How did she make it taste so good?

"Sorry, Mama," his tiny voice replayed in his mind. He could see her smile. Warm, constant, inviting, motherly. He could practically smell her. She always smelled warm, like a spiced flower bouquet. Almost like the taste of her tea.

The aching in his heart became so that he couldn't subconsciously ignore it anymore. He tore his mind from his mother, instead focusing on his tea and the television.

"I miss you, Mama."

A few hours passed and he woke up from his short nap. He felt so much better, except for a bit of lingering ickiness from the tears he'd shed earlier. He sat up on the side of his bed and looked at the flag of his homeland perched above his lackluster headboard. His mind wandered again, remembering his mother's beautiful singing voice repeating the words of his anthem. He couldn't exactly place when that particular memory had come from, but he treasured it nonetheless. He sighed.

Slipping his clothes back on, he checked the time. There was still plenty of it left in the day. Running his fingers through his curls, he decided he'd go talk to Rey. He'd had plenty of time to rest and think.

"Hi, Rey."

She was sitting with a slouch on the bench on the side of her cell, staring at the back wall. Visibly perking up upon hearing his voice, she turned and walked to him.

"You're okay! I-I…" Her momentary enthusiasm died down and she wouldn't even look him in the eyes.

"I was afraid you'd gotten hurt," she muttered.

"All I needed was a leetle rest and some tea," he said, his face and voice possessing only a hint of the usual cheer that made her enjoy it so much.

"I guess you're here to give me a talking-to, huh." There was a slight hint of ironic amusement in her defeated voice.

"No, I just vanted to come see you."

She sighed. "I'm just going to cut to the chase. I didn't mean to do that. I thought you of all people would know that."

"I know you didn't."

"I'm not a traitor, I promise."

He was silent.

Suddenly her tone rose, and she looked him in his aquamarine eyes. "Do you see now why I wanted to leave? Do you?! Why did you have to stop me? You changed my mind! This is all your fault!" She forcefully wiped a tear from her eye and sniffed. Breaking her momentary eye contact with him, she slumped to the ground, letting a few quiet sobs free.

"I know there's no way for me to prove myself. Just leave me alone."

Her sudden burst of emotion gave him a bit of a start. Why did I question her? She doesn't deserve this. Any of this.

"I-I'm sorry, Rey. Really," he said tenderly.

"Maybe I just didn't vant to lose you like zis. I didn't vant you to give yourself up like zat. Who knows what could hef happened to you! I just vanted ze best for you. Maybe it vas only ze best for me, I-I don't know. I'm sorry."

She wiped her tears again and looked at him, sitting straighter. "Are you serious, or are you just, patronizing me?" She had a little venom in her emphasis.

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry I doubted you. I should hef known better. My mother raised a better man than this." Now it was his turn to look her in the eyes. "Forgive me."

She stood, her eyes widened, and she quietly gasped. After a moment of disbelief, she spoke. "I-I do."

Nodding, his trademark smile returned. "Zen let's vork on zis together."

Out of nowhere, Nyota spoke. "Just so you know, I'm on your side as well. Never left it."

Rey smiled and nodded. "Thank you." She froze. "W-wait, how long were you there?"

"Not that long. But long enough for me to hear him get back on your side," she said with a knowing smirk.

Rey shrugged. "Alright."

"Now. Let's talk about this a little."

Rey was soundly sleeping on her cell bench in the ship's dimmed night hour lights when suddenly they went out. The ship shook, jarring her awake. She called out to the crew members that manned the brig as she heard footsteps.

"H-hello? What's happening?"

"Who's there? What's happening?" She heard the now alert crewman, at the main door to the brig, echoing her question.

The lights turned a bright scarlet as the red alert siren sounded. She heard that same voice cry out, followed by a thud. She could've sworn she saw a dark figure in the doorway. The next time the alert light flashed, it got closer. The lights flashed again and her door opened. She could recognize the figure now.

Kylo Ren.

She almost cried out herself, but before she was able to make more than a squeak, she blacked out.

A/N: I can't really explain what a podstakannik is, so please google it. :D What I'm talking about, tho, is the ones that have a glass inside to hold tea.

PS. the tea he drank was probably decaffeinated by the replicator, otherwise I realize he wouldn't have been able to sleep. XD