Prompt: Donna - "Oh shut up, honest to God, do you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice?" - 'The West Wing'
Chell was at it again. I wasn't even sure which crew member had done what to annoy him today, nor did I really care. With Chell, it was always someone else's fault or someone else doing the offending. He never stopped to consider that perhaps he had committed the offense first or he was the one at fault.
Why couldn't people just cut one another a little slack? None of us were perfect.
Yet to listen to Chell sometimes, you'd think he was. That he was some kind of God that could do no wrong. If he had ever been taken prisoner by the Cardassians they probably would have let him go just so they didn't have to continue listening to him talk.
I was starting to regret allowing Dalby to sit with me. I knew Dalby meant well and that his attempts at being a friend were genuine. I just couldn't bring myself to make myself vulnerable like that again. The pain of losing everyone I had ever been close to, who I had loved, still felt fresh. I hadn't wanted to go one when that had happened and yet giving in meant letting the Cardassians win. My family had died resisting the Cardassian occupation of Bajor and giving meant dishonoring all they had stood for.
So I had forced myself to go on despite the pain but I had sworn to never let anyone get close. Sworn to keep all relationships on a professional level. Tried not to attract attention to myself or show an interest in anything and it worked for the most part. Except for Dalby. No matter how distant I was, he wouldn't back off, and it was hard to be mean to someone who was always sticking up for you.
Of course allowing Dalby to sit at the table had meant that others would come.
Not that I was making an effort to be sociable. In fact, I had glanced up only enough to see who each person was as they sat down. Otherwise, I was trying to give the impression that my meal was more interesting in the conversation going on. I had been listening though, which was while Chell's incessant ranting was getting on my nerves.
"Will you shut up already!" I finally exclaimed, looking up from Neelix's latest concoction. "I think the only one enjoying the sound of your voice is yourself but everyone's just too polite to tell you they're sick of hearing you complain."
For the first time since Chell sat down there was silence. Even the tables around us had fallen silent. It didn't take me long to realize everyone was looking at me. Embarrassed, I looked back down at the plate.
"He speaks," Henley finally quipped, breaking the silence.
As chuckles broke out around the table, I couldn't help but smile, knowing that I was doing what I had sworn not to do - I was letting people start to chip away at the walls I had built.