Ship Store -- What a mess

[Lizzie Rousseau]

Lizzie let out a rather elongated sigh as she blew her hair out of her face. This was not how she had expected to be spending her day. Visions of colors, clothes, and cribs filled her mind. Yet, she had been restless. Not once, but nearly ten times, she had been contacted by some of the younger staff helping with the clean-up of the ship's store. After the countless interruptions, Lizzie soon found herself in the midst of boxes, debris, and everything else you could possibly imagine.

With a slight groan, she pushed her hand against her aching back. She really should not have gotten down onto the stool in the first place. Even though she had told herself she would only supervise, she soon found herself diving right in. She knew not to lift any of the heavy objects, so she had been trying to re-organize the supplies and get things back onto shelves so they could take a proper inventory.

She needed to use some of the facilities soon, but getting back up from her current position might be a bit of a challenge.

"Well, little one," she whispered, running a hand over her clothed abdomen. "I think you've been trying to make mommy's life a bit difficult." Even as she spoke the words, Lizzie smiled. Nothing could be farther from the truth. She was the happiest she had ever been in all her life and she hadn't even met her daughter yet. "I can't wait to meet you, my little love," she added. With that she knew she needed to get a move on. Scooting forward, she gripped one of the upper shelves, prepared to try and hoist her now rather larger self back onto her feet.

Tag Any

[Lt. Commander Travis Rousseau]

The longer he worked in sickbay the more anxious he became about the safety of his wife and child. After tending to an elderly female who had suffered a concussion and performing a twenty-five percent skin graft on a young man who had suffered major burns to the upper portion of his body, Travis finally delegated some of the minor tasks to the other physicians aboard and went to search of his wife.

Covered in bruises and scrapes himself due to a collision in the lower decks, he looked a bit mad as he made his way from sick bay to their quarters. He had adviced his wife to stay there until he returned, but that had been hours ago. He prayed she was still there and resting. She was due any day now so the less time she spent on her feet the better.

"Commander Rousseau. Are you okay?" An officer asked as he passed the man. He nodded and waved the man aside.

"I'm fine. Thank you," he said stepping around the worried officer. In his haste he hadn't done a fantastic job mending himself so the people he passed eyed him suspiciously as he moved along. He paid them no mind, but hurried along until he reached their quarters.

He knew before the door swooshed open that she wasn't inside. Their 'home' felt vacant and deserted and as he moved about the place his heart began to sink

"Computer. Be...Elizabeth Rousseau's position."

"Elizabeth Rousseau is located on deck four."

Deck four? The store! It felt as if a large bucket of cold water was tossed into his face. His entire body goosed and his heart tightened in his chest so that he clutched at it helplessly. He had to remain calm. Maybe she was alright. Maybe she had gone there after the attack.

He left their quarters and literally ran to deck four.

When he arrived it was the find debris everywhere. Medics were sifting through the wounded and removing them one at a time toward sickbay, which is where he should be, but he wouldn't return until he found his wife.

"Beth!" He called as he moved around those lifting broken displays. He couldn't see her, but she was small even given her pregnancy and everything that was usually on shelves was scattered around on the floors making it difficult to see. It was almost impossible to manuever around it, but he did, though he tripped over his feet a few times.

"Have any of you seen my wife?" He asked, looking at a security officer. She glared at him for interrupting her, but then her expression softened. She shook her head. "I hope she wasn't in here when this place went berserk. Two employees are being shipped to sickbay from head injuries. A plump woman and a man. They didn't look too good."

Travis' calm broke. He had to find her now!

"Beth!" He called again making his way toward the back of the store where he knew she worked.

Tag: Beth, anyone

[Lizzie Rousseau]

Lizzie, still in the process of trying to hoist her body weight around, paused for a moment at what she thought was a familiar voice. With some much noise out in the main area of the store, she couldn't be certain.

She strained to hear over the sounds of others out in the store front. Could that have been Travis she heard? Her heart beat a little quicker. She had already asked the computer hours and hours ago after his well-being, worried since she hadn't seen him. The response had informed her that he was not a patient in sickbay, but working instead. In order to take her mind off things she had come to the store to help re-assure her co-workers and friends that all would be well. Yet, even though she had come initially to help and talk with Serena, her closest confidant in the store, she was now alone. Serena had been forced to tend to other matters, leaving Lizzie, still stuck on the little stool in the back of the storeroom.

"Travis! I'm in the back storeroom!" She called out, "I'm here!" She shifted her weight once again, cursing the fact that it was so much harder to manuever with her big belly than it ever had been. It had definitely been a mistake to get down on this low stool. Lizzie contemplated getting down onto the floor on her knees to see if she could rise better that way, but with some shards of the broken pottery and glass that she and Serena had been cleaning still scattered everywhere she didn't want to take the chance.

"I could use a hand!" She called out again, torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to cry over her silly predicment.

Tag Travis, Any

[Lt. Commander Travis Rousseau]

Who knew this much junk could fit into a store this size. It felt like the entire ship exploded and collapsed into this one room. As he was helping move aside a large metal display he heard Beth's voice.

"Travis! I'm in the back storeroom!"

His eyes brightened. Easing the shelf back against the wall he smiled at the officers he had helped before continuing on.

"Beth. Why in the world...?"

He pushed into the tiny room and looked around, expecting to see her standing around putting things back into place. Instead he saw her kneeling on the ground on a stool. She was holding her stomach and gripping a nearby shelf for support.

He rushed to her side. "Are you okay...are you hurt? Is the baby...?" His head was spinning with questions, but none of them made much sense to his befuddled mind. He looked her over before lifting her chin so that he could look into her eyes. She didn't look like she was in pain, but pain was a subjective thing, he would be able to tell even with a million of medical training.

He took a second to clear away all the ridiculous questions in his head, some of which concerned her being attacked and held prisoner in the storage room. He was being outrageous and silly.

"Why are you here?" he asked while helping her to her feet. He brushed aside a few broken shard of a broken vase with his foot. Travis stroked her cheek and leaned in to place a shaky kiss on her forehead. She was alright. There was no need to worry anymore. He pulled her close, or as close as he could with their daughter wedged between them.

Tag: Beth

[Lizzie Rousseau]

"I'm fine," she managed to get out before Travis was at her side, concerned eyes scouring her form for injuries. She blinked a moment, letting her vision clear. She hated the change in her vision because of the pregnanacy. Everyone assured her it would clear up after the birth, she couldn't wait.

Feeling herself enveloped in Travis' loving embrace, Lizzie was almost envious of how quickly he had plucked her off the stool and onto her feet. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. She slanted her head back, but before she answered his questions, she gasped.

"What happened to you? Are you bleeding? Is that your blood?" She felt herself feeling a bit light-headed at the sight. Normally she would not be so affected, but so many things affected her in ways she would never expect now that she was pregnant. After closing her eyes for a moment and taking a breath, she gazed back upon her love's face.

"I'm sorry if I worried you. It seemed as though noone could accomplish anything here without me. I swear they were seeking me out at least once every 10 minutes. I thought I could just over-see a bit, help with the clean up, but then I got stuck on that stupid stool," Lizzie chuckled a little and felt a tear slip out of her eye at the same time. "Hold me, please. I just want to feel your arms around me, to know we are all safe." Lizzie leaned her head against his shoulder, wrapping her own arms around him as best she could.

"Why did this all have to happen?" She whispered as another tear seeped out from her eyes.

Tag Travis

[Lt. Commander Travis Rousseau]

"What happened to you? Are you bleeding? Is that your blood?

"No, I mean yes. But I'm fine," he said trying to seem nonchalant about his injuries. The soreness was beginning to make his entire body stiff, but he hid his discomfort so that Lizzie wouldn't panic more than she already had. He'd be sure to soak in a warm bath as soon as his shift ended.

He gazed down at his wife as she explained her reason for being here. The longer he listened the angrier he became. Didn't they know she was pregnant? You'd have to be pretty blind not to realize it, yet they insisted on placing all of the stress of restoring this store on her shoulders! He would surely have a word with the clerks within the store before the week was over. How dare they jeopardize the safety of his wife and child?

The anger inside him was coursing through his veins like hot lava, but Lizzie's next words extinguished that flame almost as quickly as it began to burn.

"Hold me, please. I just want to feel your arms around me, to know we are all safe."

He didn't have to be told twice. His arms were around her and he pulled her even closer. "If anything had happened to you..." he whispered pressing his cheek atop her head. He didn't want to contemplate what he would have done. Lizzie was his world. She was the reason he woke up each morning, the reason why he tried so incredibly hard to prove himself each day. He had a family to take care of now. Lizzie needed him almost as much as he needed her, probably even more given her gruesome childhood. He'd made promises; till death do they part. He hoped that particular phrase of their vows would remain in the distant future. He wouldn't survice long without her if it didn't.

"Why did this all have to happen?"

"I've been asking myself that all evening," he murmured as he looked off to the side lost in his thoughts. Things like this happened for a reason, but he had yet to figure out why. As smart as he claimed to be he couldn't decipher the minds of mad men.

"As long as there is happiness in this world there will be those who wish to destroy it," he said stroking Lizzie's lower back. It was a horrible fact, but it was true.

"Come on. Lets get you back to our room. You need to rest."

Tag: Lizzie

[Lizzie Rousseau]

"If anything had happened to you..."

Lizzie wanted to say something, to assure him that all was well. Instead, she simply pressed her hand to his heart. Her head resting against his chest. His words, as always, soothed her soul. She knew there was a reason for everything, yet this devestation was so hard to comprehend.

"Happiness," she whispered, reaching a hand up to stroke his cheek. "You give me happiness."

"Come on. Lets get you back to our room. You need to rest."

Her head simple nodded into his chest, agreeing with him. It was at just that moment that she felt a rather forceful kick from their unborn daughter.

"I think our little one agrees. Did you feel that?" Lizzie's face was bright and glowing as she turned her head to gaze at Travis. "She's telling me that I won't get you all to myself that much longer. She's anxious to be born as she wants to be in your arms just as much as I do." Lizzie reached up on tiptoes to brush her lips against Travis'.

"Take us home, love," she breathed, looking forward to sinking into the soft, cushiony sofa that was in their quarters. Her back ached, her feet throbbed, and her shoulder, well, it burned from when she had been thrust into the dresser in their bedroom during the attack. Yet, all those aches only meant that their daughter would soon be with them. Lizzie couldn't wait to hold the tiny infant in her arms, to give her the love she had longer for in her own life. The love Travis had given her.

Tag Travis - then end Lizzie

[Lt. Commander Travis Rousseau]

"I think our little one agrees. Did you feel that?"

He had. Travis looked down at Lizzie's growing belly and then back at his wife who was now grinning at him. He absolutely loved her smile.

"She's telling me that I won't get you all to myself that much longer. She's anxious to be born as she wants to be in your arms just as much as I do."

"I'll be very spoiled with two lovely women around," he whispered against Lizzie's lips. He was a very proud husband, and though their daughter wasn't quite here yet, he would soon be an even prouder father.

Travis treated himself to one more kiss before leading his very exhausted wife back to their quarters.

End Travis