Waking Up

Gabriel Keats manages to stay mostly asleep. . .different images flit through his head, mostly unfamiliar and frightening. . .fortunately, there's a sense of underlying calm underneath it.

Gabriel Keats's eyes open with a start. He looks at the bed, hearing far off voices. They don't make sense. They never make sense. The room is bright and unreal seeming. He moves his head and sees the Captain on his arm.

Rae Overholt sleeps peacefully, lashes fluttering from time to time as she dreams.

Gabriel Keats smiles contentedly. The voices are a mere distraction, nothing more; this must be a good dream. He puts an arm around Rae, slides his leg up and over hers

Rae Overholt sighs and curls closer into him, blissfully unaware, dreaming of floating in water, surrounded by waves.

Gabriel Keats moves up his other hand to gently stroke the hair from her face. He looks at her. The rest of the room feels too bright and too loud, but this feels real. It's a good dream.

Rae Overholt feels the feathery touch of wind on her face as she floats in her dream and her lashes flutter again.

Gabriel Keats feels a twinge of fear. The voices are louder now. The dream is going to end. He leans towards Rae and kisses her, softly and tenatively. It's a dream. What's the worst that could happen?

Rae Overholt watches as an indistinct shape takes form in the water, reaching out to entangle her and pull her close. She is not startled by this, as is the way of dreams, she accepts it for what it is. Vaguely she wonders how they can still float, but her concern is pushed away as the shape takes on a masculine form and brushes his lips across hers.

Gabriel Keats enjoys the kiss, then pulls his cool, dry lips away. She hasn't woken up. Normally, in his other dreams, she'd be awake. But she isn't. The voices are more insistent, though he can't understand the words. He doesn't have much time.

Gabriel Keats raises his leg around Rae, straddling her, and runs a hand down her side. He moves to gently turn her over onto her back, quickly, before the voices become too much, before they wake him up

Rae Overholt 's dream becomes more distinct, suddenly they are out of the water, on a beach, waves still tickle her toes as the man presses her into the sand, her back stinging. She stirs, restless in her sleep.

Gabriel Keats would like to take his time, would like to go slowly, but something about the urgency of the voices makes him go faster. He reaches a hand up Rae's shirt, pressing against her, and kisses her again, this time more quickly, almost violently.

Rae Overholt lets out a soft sound of discomfort, feeling the man touch her, wondering who he is and why he is becoming more insistent with her, her lips part for him as she slowly begins to struggle out of the dream.

Gabriel Keats relaxes a little as Rae's lips part. He takes a moment on the kiss--though it's still a bit rough. He runs his hands over her chest once last time before sliding them up her arms and pressing against her in a slight rhythm

Rae Overholt 's eyes part groggily, feeling painful pressure on her back and her throbbing arm first. She then feels the weight on top of her, and Gabe's motions against her. "Gabe." Her voice laced with sleep with an edge of pain.

Gabriel Keats whispers. "Shhh." He smiles--it's a wicked smile, full of promises and mischief. He moves his hand from her injured arm and moves it down to her waist, starts trying to remove her pants. The voices are pushing against his ears but he ignores them. The room is blindingly bright except for the bed where the two of them are.

Rae Overholt struggles to grab his wrist with her left hand, wincing as her arm stings. Noting his smile, her stomach does an odd flip, another time she might be up for this. Tonight she's in too much gorram agony. She wonders if he's even aware of what he's doing as she watches him. "Gabe, wait, Gabe."

Gabriel Keats looks at her, presses down with his one hand. "Shhh. . .It's okay. . ." The voices fill his head, drowning out his own words, and all that's left that's real is the dream, is Rae in front of him. He slides against her. "I love you, Rae." He starts reaching under her pants.

Rae Overholt closes her eyes and bites her bottom lip, her hand on his wrist as he slides it into her pants. "Gabe, wake up. Please, I like you Gabe, I do. You're hurting me though, please stop."

Gabriel Keats grins again. Everything is rising to a fever pitch. He's hardly even thinking, though his eyes are wide open and look oddly focused. There's no time! He forces his hand down lower, trying to pull her arm with him. Everything was so gorram bright! He presses her hard into the bed, leans down, tries to kiss her in a frenzied, violent motion.

Rae Overholt lets out a cry as more weight is put on her tender back, it almost comes out as a sob. Releasing his wrist, she raises her injured arm to touch him on the face softly, trying to snap him out of it. As he leans in to kiss her again, she turns her head to the side.

Gabriel Keats jerks back at the touch. . .at first, he's angry, the voices are screaming, and he grinds against her in one, hard thrust. . .and then it's as though the world is broken. The brightness fades, the voices retreat to a low murmur, and he's looking at the side of Rae's face. His expression becomes one of horror; but he doesn't move, too shocked to react.

Rae Overholt lets out a tense breath as he pauses, and turns her face to look at him hesitantly. Spotting his expression, her eyes widen and she grabs his collar. "It's ok Gabe, you werent yourself, but, I need you to move. My back hurts." she states in a strained voice.

Gabriel Keats seems to jump off. . .not only off of her, but off the bunk, retreating to a far corner. "Oh, God. . ."

Rae Overholt clenches her eyes shut as the motion jars her, "Gabe, you can't leave. I cant get down. I dont think I can move right now."

Gabriel Keats closes his eyes. The voices are a little louder now. . .but he knows they're not real. Rae, however, is. He nods and walks over silently, offers her a hand. He'd apologize. . .but he can't even form the words.

Rae Overholt looks at his hand, thinking its going to take more than that to get her up. "Gabe, seriously, my back hurts. I don't think I can."

Gabriel Keats winces. He swallows hard. "All right. . ." He climbs back onto the bunk. "I--I can carry you down."

Rae Overholt lets out a half hearted chuckle. "how you going to manage that?"

Gabriel Keats is breathing in shallow, ragged breaths. He puts an arm around Rae, lifts her gently, avoiding the injured areas, his arm shaking.

Rae Overholt puts her uninjured arm around him. She tries to stay calm but can't help but be shaky due to the pain of her back. A light sweat forms on her forhead.

Gabriel Keats puts his other arm under her legs, lifting those so she's no longer lying on the bed, but is raised a little.

Rae Overholt tells him in a soft voice, "Gabe, its ok, honest. No one has to know. Its ok." Feeling a warm spot on her back.

Gabriel Keats carefully climbs down, taking her with him. When he speaks, his voice is angry, harsh. "I know."

Rae Overholt winces at the tone in his voice and says "don't be angry at me."

Gabriel Keats lays her down gently on the bottom bunk, on her front, so her back is exposed. His face suddenly loses all of the hardness. "Oh. . .no. . .no, God, Rae, I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry. . ." He looks at her back. "I think you're going to need new dressings on that."

Rae Overholt nods, turning her face to look at him questioningly, "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have been up there. I-I" *thinks of how to cover for her actions* "I was lonely. You're not going to leave are you?"

Gabriel Keats looks at her, eyes shining brightly. "It was not your fault. If you hadn't--if I hadn't--" He trails off and closes his eyes. "You do need a change. . .I can get the Doctor if you want. . .or I can come back. . ."

Rae Overholt: I'd prefer you. At least I know you like me, *gives him a grin that’s as close to devilish as she can get at the moment*

Gabriel Keats returns the grin, forgetting himself for the moment, eyes lighting up. . .but then he shakes his head as though distracted. "I'll be right back." He leaves the room and heads towards the infirmary.

Gabriel Keats goes to the infirmary, grabs disinfectant and fresh gauze. . .then stops by his bunk and takes a worn, green knapsack. Brings all of it back to Rae's bunk.

Rae Overholt is mostly asleep when he returns, she groggily greets him and settles back to rest, not having moved from where he put her.

Gabriel Keats speaks softly. "Rae?"

Rae Overholt manages to let out a small "mmm"

Gabriel Keats: "I need to take a look at that."

Rae Overholt makes no response, eyes closed, face turned towards him and her right arm hanging off the bed.

Gabriel Keats sets the knapsack down; it makes a glassy clinking sound. Kneels next to the bed and starts changing the dressings and using the antiseptic

Rae Overholt 's lips smack once as she settles into a dream about chocolate, cheesecake and a hot bath.

Gabriel Keats finishes with the dressings and walks over to the far corner where he's set down his knapsack. Takes out two bottles of whiskey. One almost empty, one full. Opens the full one. Says to no one in particular. "God, make it stop! Stop it!"

Gabriel Keats opens the full bottle with one smooth, practiced motion. He tilts his head back, lifts the bottle, and starts chugging.

Gabriel Keats he finishes half the bottle before coming up for air, and sits there a while. The voices are still going. They fade showly. He drinks more, eyes going red and blurry.

Gabriel Keats tries to stand after finishing most of the bottle. The voices are gone. . .he's gone. His steps are staggering as he heads towards the door. , ,but then it overtakes him, and he falls, passed out on the floor, truly asleep, the voices finally gone.