On the Edge of a Knife - Part 5

Posted on 27 Mar 2018 @ 10:34am by Commander Scarlet Blake

655 words; about a 3 minute read

[[Present Timeline – USS Schofield]]

ON:

Scarlet bolted upright in bed, gasping for breath as she woke abruptly from the nightmare. Her skin was covered in sweat that stuck her hair and vest to her skin and made her tremble with the cold. She gasped loudly and deeply for breath, as if starved for air, her hands lifting to her face to try and pull the soaked hood away from her mouth...a hood that wasn't really there. A hood that she could still feel from the dream.

She threw her cover off with a shaking hand, stumbling out of bed and to the sink, gripping the edge of it desperately as she grabbed a towel. She rubbed it hard against her face, trying to dry cold water that wasn't there either.

Looking around with confusion, Scarlet blinked several times as she breathed hard, the surroundings of her quarters on the Schofield slowly sinking in to her and she finally realised where, and when, she was.

Scarlet closed her eyes in the dimly lit room, sinking down heavily to sit on the floor, trying to calm her breathing to a more comfortable rate.

She finally leant forward, her legs drawn up to her as she rested her arms on her knees and her head in her hands, running her fingers through her damp, dark hair to ease it back from her face. She grimaced against the pain in her head from the sudden awakening.

Scarlet let out a breath of frustration, shaking her head slowly. Years after being taken captive...a new career on track, a child...and she still ended up in a cold sweat at night, dragged back to that cell and that interrogation room, with a cold metal table and a hood over her head.

"Stupid..." Scarlet breathed with a frown at herself, licking her dry lips and swallowing hard past her nausea. "Stupid, bloody woman..."

She pushed herself up on unsteady legs, twisting enough to the sink to catch some water in her hand to drink, closing her eyes, trying to fight back her own frustration and anger at herself for not having moved completely past it. For not being able to completely block out those months in that place. And that man. Will North.

Scarlet moved aimlessly out of her room, letting out a tired breath as she let her feet lead her away. They took her to her daughter, close to where she slept, so she could just watch her, wrapping her arms around herself.

Lily made everything worth it.

She leant down to pick up the soft toy dragon that had fallen to the floor, carefully tucking it back under the cover with her.

"Mummy?"

"It's alright, sweetheart, go back to sleep," Scarlet said gently, crouching down next to her, stroking her hair gently.

"Bad dream, Mummy?" the young girl murmured, cuddling the toy tight into her arm.

"Yeah," Scarlet nodded with a weak smile, pulling the cover a little higher over her. "Just a silly bad dream."

Lily glanced to her with sleepy, half lidded eyes. She pulled the cover back a bit, shuffling over in the bed to give her room to join her.

Scarlet chuckled gently at the gesture, watching her with love. She carefully got in next to her, wrapping her arm over her and closing her eyes, pulling the cover up over the two of them. "Night, Angel."

"Sweet dreams, Mummy," Lily yawned, her eyes already heavy again, closing as she easily fell back to sleep.

Scarlet let out a soft breath, watching her with tired eyes. If only it was so easy to drop off to sleep when an adult. She kept watching her in the dim light, to make sure she was okay, until her own eyes finally became heavy again. She instinctively tried to fight it at first, not wanting to dream again, but she finally let it overtake her.

OFF:

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