poly_chromatic | personal log stardate -309815.3148782344

Entry tags:

star trek xi - nyota uhura

personal log stardate -309815.3148782344

[ voice - filtered to Penny ]
Hey Penny, I'm sorry for bailing on you last night. I hope you got home all right. Can we talk?

[ voice - filtered to Karaoke Adam ~~even though he's an NPC~~ ]
Thanks again for last night. You are a true gentleman.

[accidental voice]
[Uhura thought she had turned the device off, but nope, she's just switched it to public. Can you blame her? Chekov's started tinkering with his toys in the living room again and he's making a huge racket. And despite Adam's magical hangover remedy, her head still really hurts.]

Chekov, could you PLEASE keep it down?

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[He wasn't tinkering so much as trying to get at his own network device. In theory, he should have altered it enough to use it even without thumbs. Unfortunately, he was careless enough to leave his device on a table last night and, try as he might, he can't get at it.

CRASH

Trying to scale the other odd projects he left around the living room isn't getting him anywhere, either. It seems, however, that he was at least successful in waking Nyota.

Chekov scampers down the basement stairs--well, half of it is tumbling since his legs are ridiculously short--and sits by Uhura's bed. For a lack of a better plan of action, he yips at her.]

[Thanks to Adam's magical remedy, Uhura is able to pry herself out of bed with minimal difficulty.

And stares. At the puppy sitting by her bed.]

Pavel, when did you get a dog?

[The dog yips again and turns in a circle before looking up at her expectantly. Not being able to talk is a great inconvenience.]

You're a cutie.

[She leans over to pick up the little dog, still not realizing it's Chekov. (Hangover, okay?) She scratches him behind the ears and heads up the stairs.

She likes dogs, but seriously, Chekov, you need to check with your roommate before bringing home a pet.]

[Cute, sure, yes, they have already established this. Chekov snorts in annoyance but doesn't wriggle in her arms; Uhura seems somewhat groggy and he doesn't want her to drop him.

Well. The scratching feels good, too, and surely Nyota will realize what has happened as soon as she fails to find him.]

[It takes her awhile. She wanders around the whole house, shouts up at the roof, and spends a good five minutes standing in the kitchen before she looks down at the pup still in her arms.]

Pavel?

[He smiles--as much as a dog can smile--and wags his tail. She's going to tease him about this, he knows it, but for know he's just pleased that someone knows who he is.

(The dog part of his mind wants to squirm and lick Uhura's face. Chekov nobly resists.]

I'll take that for a yes. [scritch scritch scritch]

Do you need me to call your work for you?

[He nods--an eerily human action for a dog--before leaning into the scritching, eyes closing in doggy bliss.]

All right. [She adjusts her grip on him and heads downstairs to grab her device again.]

Who would I call at your work? [Right, dog.] Maybe I should grab your device.

[He wags his tail agreeably. Chekov had the forethought to make his network device somewhat operational in the event of something like this happening. If Uhura just gets him to it...]

Okay, sticking to yes/no questions... Is your device in your room?

[Head shake! At least it's in a fairly visible place in the living room. It's not uncommon for Chekov to momentarily misplace his device in his messes.]

[Okay, next option.]

The living room?

[That gets an enthusiastic nod. He squirms in Uhura's arms, eager to get to something that will help him communicate.]

[She heads over there and sure enough, there's his device, sitting atop a pile of scrap he's assembling into...something.

Uhura picks it up.]

I'm going to scroll through your contacts. Bark when I reach the person I should call.

[He watches her scroll intently, yipping when she reaches Delacroix, Marie. It's not strictly necessary to tell Delacroix that he won't be in, maybe, since he has a way of being unable to make it to work and she doesn't seem to care. Still, it's the polite thing to do when one has been turned into a dog.]

Ten.

[Paaaaause.]

Sorry, cursed. But sure, talking's a thing we can do, and seriously, don't worry about any bailing that might've happened. [She's used to it.] Are you okay?

Yeah. ...no, not really. [It's time to start being honest with herself...and other people.] That's why I wanted to talk. I was hoping we could do it in person.

You don't have to be okay all the time.

Where would you like to meet?

[insert a cute little cafe here]

[Penny shows up slightly later than scheduled, which is normal enough for her. She doesn't look nearly as put together as Uhura, either, which is also normal.]

Hey. [She sits across from Uhura, smiling out of habit.] What's up?

Hey. [Uhura returns the smile out of habit too.] Thanks for coming.

[She looks down into her drink. She's never been shy about discussing her needs before, and she doesn't think therapy is a shameful thing. She just feels like she should be able to handle this on her own.

That's your brain lying to you. She shakes her head.]

I was hoping to get your advice about something.

No problem. It's nice to see you outside of work.

[As clear as Uhura's words are, Penny has to run them over in her head twice. She's turning to her for help? Is the world actually going to end this time? Is hell freezing over?]

Sure, anything.

[This shouldn't be so hard to talk about. It really, really shouldn't.]

I know the Welcome Center has counselors to help new arrivals, But do you know any good therapists? Who could help with other problems?

Therapists? I don't think there're any in the City, actually. They'd make good money. I know Wilson's been doing some therapy stuff, but he's not licensed or anything.

[More importantly!] Do you mind if I ask why? I'll try to help if I can.

[That...is not the answer she was hoping for. She manages a disappointed smile.]

Thanks, but... it's not the kind of thing a friend can handle. Should even have to handle. [She shakes her head just slightly] Recent curses have been hard, and I'm not coping as well as I'd hoped.

There're plenty of things people shouldn't have to handle, but they still do. If you're not coping well, just talking things out could help. [Penny fidgets a little. Is she being too aggressive? Maybe she's being too aggressive.] I'd listen.

I know you would. [She reaches out to squeeze Penny's hand.] You're a great friend. But it's just one of those things.

[It's too personal, too dark, too frightening. And the situation with Saya... she can't drag Penny into that, nor does she even have the right to.

She takes a sip of tea to gather herself.]

I'll try talking to your Dr. Wilson.

[She returns the squeeze, but her disappointment is evident in her body language. For how many people talk to Penny, very few actually confide in her. It's always for the same reasons: they don't want to burden her, or draw her into anything, or accidentally pop her optimistic bubble by telling her about the darker things that go on in the City.

It's frustrating. Penny had plenty of experience with darkness and despair in Los Angeles; she can handle more than her friends think she can.

But she nods. That's better than nothing.]

Okay. He's easy to talk to, and really good at... basically everything.

[She smiles apologetically, sensing Penny's disappointment, but not ready to confide. Not that it's any consolation, but Uhura is trying to protect herself more than Penny. She can't keep pretending that everything is fine all the time, but she still wants some places where she can pretend and forget about the things that have happened. She can't at home with Chekov -- their shared history is a constant reminder.]

You like him a lot, don't you?

[That'll work. One of Penny's talents is pretending that things are just fine; if that's what Uhura wants, that's what she'll get.]

Who, Ja--Wilson? Of course. He's been there for me ever since I got here. [Penny does feel a need to clarify.] We're not a thing, though. I mean, we tried it out, but we're better off being friends.

What about that cop friend of yours? Steve, wasn't it?

Yeah, Steve. He's... y'know. I'm pretty sure he's not interested.

Is this Penny-sure [in other words, low self-esteem sure] or actually sure?

I don't know. How many times does a guy have to ditch you before you're really, actually sure that he's not interested?

Twice. [Uhura sighs and reaches out to pat Penny's hand.] I'm sorry. That really sucks.

It's okay. Worse things've happened. And weren't we talking about you?

[wry grin] Topics can change.

Yeah, but I'm fine. I promise.

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personal log stardate -309815.3148782344

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