fateandfortune | Just two vampires, traveling the galaxy... [For Todd the Wraith]

"It's a lot to do," she commented, giving him a brighter smile than before. "I guess we'd better have a damn good dinner, to make sure we start things off right."

At the back of her thoughts, she'd already been contemplating what to make that night. She didn't know how the rest of the crew was handling the disappointment of the day, but she didn't imagine they were overwhelmingly happy about it. They'd been so long without a Queen...

So comfort food it would be. Mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted vegetables, and roast beef. Brownies for dessert, made with the darkest chocolate they had and flavored with coffee to temper the slight sweetness of the chocolate. It was all the sort of food that said home to her, that was filling and warm and left you feeling just a little bit better after a hard day. She hoped it would do the same for everyone else on board, that she could help them in this small way.

They all enjoyed the meal, and the dessert too very much indeed. There'd been a definite air of disappointment when they arrived but after clean up and as they left, they certainly looked in better spirits.

During dinner, they spoke of everything from the meal itself, to the engineers finally working out a way to make showers work on the hive, to the younger wraith on board the hive and how their progress with fighting and their chosen professions was coming along.

When the last of the plates had been put away, Todd and Rogue headed back to her chambers, spirits better than they had been in the last couple days, despite the afternoon's poor news.

If there was one thing Rogue had learned growing up in the south, it was the healing powers of food. She was glad that seemed to extend to wraith as well; it helped her urge to look after them all, the way she had her students back at the institute. There was even a little mother-henning in there at times, as she looked after these creatures that were centuries and millennia older than her. None of that made any difference in her mind.

The dinner had really taken it out of her, though. It had been a lot of work to make enough for everyone, and even with her helpers, Rogue had put in extra work at a quick pace to get things done. She considered it worth the renewed sharp ache in her side to have seen the others in such brighter spirits, and to have enjoyed overhearing their conversations.

The pain she was in was likely apparent though, with the way her arm was held close to her left side, her breathing shallower than usual, and her eyes a little tight at the corners. But she was still happy and smiling from the accomplishments of the evening.

"You're in pain again" he observed "Did Doctor Beckett give you any medicine?" he asked. Her injury should have been on its tail end by now, but after today's activity, she might have set herself back a week or so.

Again, the idea of using the enzyme to finish the job came to his mind, but he'd only ask now if Beckett had not provided her with anything to dull the ache.

Edited 2015-12-20 21:42 (UTC)

"He did," she answered with a slight nod, "but it was only a small amount and I've already gone through it. I should have rationed to keep some in case I get sick, but I didn't think of it."

Not that she was expecting to get sick or injured again anytime soon, but you never knew. With only wraith aboard who didn't get sick and healed quickly, she doubted they had any sort of first aid on board.

Todd hesitated, then decided not to beat about the bush anymore and tell her a final option, as there was, indeed, little else on board that would help her.

"There is...another drug you may use." he said. "It will even heal your ribs."

He held up his right hand to show her the feeding slit. "It won't hurt" he assured her "And since you're taking the enzyme with an injury, you won't become addicted to it."

She stared at his hand for a long moment, at the slit that had always fascinated her. He wouldn't suggest it if it would harm her in any way, she knew that without question, but she still didn't agree right away.

"Would there be any side effects?" she asked carefully, considering the option he'd presented. It would be nice not to have to worry about her injury any longer.

"Short term heightened heart rate, a little more strength and energy, alertness levels risen. Like a powerful adrenaline rush" he elaborated.

"I wouldn't offer it if there was an alternative. In fact I thought about offering it back on Atlantis, but I believed you'd be mostly healed by now, especially with all our training sessions where you could potentially gain some of my healing ability. Apparently not."

An adrenaline rush that could heal her. Interesting. Intriguing, really. And worth a try, since thete weren't alternatives. She'd also thought she might pick up more of his healing during their training, but she'd gotten his vision instead. It wasn't worth waiting to see if it might work soon when he was offering this now.

"Alright," she agreed after a moment. "Let's do it. Thank you for offering," she added with a small smile. "I do appreciate it."

The wraith nodded. "Very well, sit down on the bed and pull your top down to expose part of your sternum." he ordered. He flexed his right hand as he waited for her to comply. "Remember, I'm going to be touching you, so try to keep your focus like in our training." he reminded her.

When enough of her pale skin was exposed for the feeding slit to not ruin the cloth, he lifted his hand, the slit wide open as he pressed it against her skin.

"Slight pinch." he warned.

The pinch was more than slight, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by the rush of the enzyme he fed into her. The pain in her side swiftly disappeared, the cracked ribs and bruising healing as though they never were. Any other ailments, back ache and her fatigue of the day followed, replaced with relief and energy, and it was even a little pleasurable.

Rogue gasped at the 'pinch' that felt like a hell of a lot more, but the relief that followed was what took her breath away. The pain disappeared completely, the stiffness in her back from leaning over the counter in the kitchen, the leaden weariness in her limbs. She felt more well-rested and in better shape than she had possibly since arrived in Pegasus. It was amazing. The pleasure that came with it was a surprise - a little pleasure went a long way with Rogue, who was so starved for the sensation, and half a quiet moan escaped her before she was able to reel back in the response.

She concentrated on keeping control of her abilities from the moment he made to touch her, stopping the transfer immediately when his skin met hers. But in the seconds that followed she was distracted and that control flickered. When she realized what was happening, she clamped down on her power, using more force than she ever had before to keep it firmly in the 'off' position.

And it stayed. One second she was narrowing her focus to that single task, and the next... She didn't even have to think about it. No concentration was needed. She could feel an indescribable difference in her control, and she looked up at Todd with eyes wide for more than one reason. Because as she let go of her control completely, he was still able to touch her safely.

Todd's grip on her was about a minute long. After he was sure he'd given her enough, he let go with an ugly sucking sound, the bloody wound healing up almost immediately with no sign having been there at all.

"Any better?" he asked, then cocked his head, "What is it?" He realized something incredible had changed judging from her expression. He knew it felt good but even for someone who was starved for touch, the enzyme-especially the relatively small amount he'd given her-wasn't that pleasure-inducing. So what was it?

Rogue took a deep breath and leaned forward, lifting her hands and slowly removing her gloves. She flexed her fingers, stared at her own right palm for a few seconds, and then held her hand out to him.

"I turned it off," she told him, feeling like she was in a bit of a daze. "Touch me again. Please." She had to see if it still worked. She felt like it would, but she had to be certain.

If and when he touched her, there would be nothing but her skin on his. No powers, just her usual warmth.

Genuine surprised crossed his features, and, after a moment, he lifted his hand again, cupping her jaw instead of her hand, as she had his after the news of the queen killing the female.

Warm, soft skin greeted his finger tips with not even the slightest drain of energy.

He brought his other hand up to cup the other side of her face.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

He let go of her face and sat down beside Rogue on the bed to take her hand in both of his. Still nothing.

But how?...and could she flip the switch whenever she wanted...or was this a permanent fix?

Or worse, was this just a strange side-effect of the enzyme? Once the high of it wore off, would her ability come back to the way it was before?

Her eyes drifted closed as he set his hands against her face, and she sighed when the contact ceased. But then he was sitting beside her, taking her hand in his, and she nearly cried at how wonderful it was to simply have someone holding her hand and be able to enjoy it without the stress of worrying about hurting them.

She wrapped her other hand around his and clung to him like her life depended on it. In that moment, she felt like it might.

"I don't even have to think about it," she said softly, something akin to disbelief in her tone. "It's just... off."

Despite the very well known fact that wraith preferred little to no affectionate gestures, he was not going to slap her hands away. This was important, and it wasn't like she was going to run through the ship tomorrow bellowing at the top of her lungs "the commander held my hand!"

But he was the logical one.

Powers didn't just up and disappear for no reason.

"Can you turn it back on?" he asked. Perhaps the enzyme wasn't blocking her ability but just giving her the power to control the switch so to speak?

Rogue glanced up at him, her vision blurring slightly as tears filled her eyes for the second time that day. She very gently pulled her hands away from his, replacing the full touch with just a brush of fingertips.

It took nearly a full minute of concentration to track down that 'switch' within her, that place that just felt right, where her intuition said she would finally have control. Xavier had always said she'd be able to do it, they just had never been able to find a way. Maybe it was because of something to do with the enzyme, or her consistent exposure to wraith DNA, or... There were so many possibilities. She pulled in a tight breath as her power snapped on again, but with the same usual slow pull and not the agonizing pain Todd had felt at times. It was back on, and normal.

She lifted her fingers from him and set her hands in her lap, her gaze moving to his face. She'd done it. Finally. After all these years.

Todd chuffed, and smiled. "Well done" he praised.

But he wasn't ready to celebrate entirely just yet, the enzyme's side effects may be brief but the drug didn't dissolve in the system for several hours. Tomorrow morning, they'd know for sure if the switch she found within her could be activated at any time...or not.

He got up from the bed, "Get some sleep, you've earned it." he said.

She knew they still needed to be cautious, that she shouldn't get her hopes up when it might just be some weird sort of side effect from the enzyme. She just wished they could know now, either way.

Giving Todd a small, genuine smile, she told him, "So have you." He'd had an incredibly long and difficult day, and he'd come through the other side of surprisingly well, in her opinion. She was proud of the way he'd handled things after the initial despair and anger from the news of the young potential queen. "Sleep well, Commander."

"You as well, Rogue." he replied and left her be.

He returned to his quarters and laid down, watching the endless black and stars wheel through the window as they orbited a nearby planet.

It was a good day, and Todd slept well that night.

He woke later than usual but as they had to wait for the hull to regenerate before jumping back into sub-space, most of the crew could take the time to relax, including himself.

Todd watched the sky a bit longer before deciding to get up and go see Rogue. He knocked on her door. Moment of truth soon upon them. Had the enzyme helped or just given false hope?

Rogue was still asleep when Todd came knocking, and it took a few moments for her to realize what was happening. She'd been up for hours after he'd left the night before, first winding down from the slight high of the enzyme, and then alternately thinking over everything and remembering the way his hands had felt on her skin. When he'd held her face...

She rolled her off and stumbled to the door, running a hand through her sleep-messed hair and straightening the blue pajamas she wore. He got a smile when the door opened, though it would have been even bigger if he'd had a cup of coffee in his hand. Maybe in a perfect world.

"Come on in," she told him before moving to sit on the edge of the bed again. "I assume you want to try again." She certainly did.

Perhaps he ought to have waited before coming to her as she'd obviously just rolled out of bed.

No, this was better actually. If the enzyme hadn't been the key to her ability to switch her ability, then now, while she was barely awake without it in her system, was the best time to try.

"Indeed so." he said, following her over and standing in front of her.

This was it.

A moment, and then he held out his feeding hand for her to touch.

She took a deep breath and concentrated. It still took time to find that place, to flip the metaphorical switch in her mind, but barely a minute had passed before she reached out to wrap her hand around his.

Nothing. Not even a spark of her powers.

Rogue pressed the back of her free hand to her mouth. It worked. Still. It hadn't just been a side effect.

He'd prepared for the worst. Instead, she'd done it. All on her own now. Whatever had happened yesterday had kicked her down the right path to finding the so-called switch to her power.

Turning it on and off at the blink of an eye would take further practice, but Rogue had taken a monumental step. Everything else was the icing on the cake as the saying goes.

He grinned broadly. "Well done. Well done indeed."

Todd lifted his free hand and touched her jaw like yesterday. No residual draining, no tingling, nothing at all. If he didn't know better, he'd say she was as normal a human as they came. But she was better, she was an extraordinary human with an extraordinary power that she could finally control.

Edited 2015-12-21 05:09 (UTC)

She leaned into that touch, closing her eyes and letting her free hand fall into her lap. If only he would always touch her like that now. Even if it was all she ever received, it was more than she'd had before in her life, and that it was Todd made it that much better. More meaningful, more satisfying. Sensual, even.

"I couldn't have done it without you," she told him, looking up at him with an expression that was grateful and something more. "My Commander."

i just adore the way things are progressing

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