Jayme lay on her bunk, exhausted after hours of standing watches, teaching classes, doing practical applications of her materials taught along with her own studies, as she fell into bed. Her blood rushed through her body. She felt confined, and she twitched a hand then a foot but felt she couldn't get free, as her eyes moved frequently, she had that sour-metallic taste in her mouth. She couldn't get comfortable, and she wished she could yell at the squad to turn the music down, before the Lieutenant busted them all...they weren't in their quarters but a maintenance bay, there was the strobe light and she recognized the voice that held her head and murmured into her ear. She shivered and was cold--because she wasn't wearing her uniform, then the heat of embarrassment, and prayed that she wouldn't throw up as she started uncontrollably shaking.
Kassia had just started down to Jayme's quarters to water the plants when she was stopped and told of a package that had arrived for Jayme. It had been banged up a bit and apparently hadn't arrived with the rest of her belongings, but was now finally there. Kassia took the package and signed for it. She then went to Jayme's quarters.
As she entered, she placed the box down. She wanted to make sure that nothing was damaged inside, but didn't just want to open it. However, she just didn't feel it was her place. As she thought of Jayme, she let her mind drift a moment. As she closed her eyes, she got the sense that something was wrong. She could feel Jayme in distress. She allowed her mind to seek out Jayme's and discovered her in a nightmare. Using her own abilities, she tried to quell the storm ranging in her friend's mind. Slowly the bodies began to disappear and the bulkheads of the ship began to disappear into a meadow.
It was just her and Jayme standing there. Kassia made herself comfortable on the grass and looked up into the sky. She wasn't going to make Jayme think it was anything other than a dream.
Jayme looked around at the grass, trees, and the sky. She shivered and couldn't seem to get over being so cold. At least for once the temperature on the G'kar base hadn't been bothering her. She saw Kassia take a seat on the grass. "Did you do this?" Jayme asked; a headache building in her temples.
Kassia shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe," she smiled. "Why don't you take a seat and relax," she said. "It looks like you could use a break."
She followed her friend's advice. She also didn't know how long she could stay on her feet. "Thanks, I needed this break." Jayme looked into Kassia's eyes, and said, "I ...I don't understand. How?"
"Hmmmmm," she smirk. "Magic," she finally said and laughed softly. "Here, let me do one more thing for you." Gently, she touched Jayme's forehead and her pain was gone. "No sense in you suffering through a headache."
Jayme touched her forehead and smiled, "Wow, thank you." Lowering her hand she played with several blades of grass. "What bought you here, anyway?"
"Oh! Well, apparently your missing box has shown up," Kassia replied. "But it looks a little worse for the wear. I was concerned there might be some things inside that might be broken . . . But I didn't want to opened it. It's not my place."
"Box?" Jayme looked at her bare feet, and laughed, and asked Kassia, "Where are my boots?" Then before the other woman could answer she remembered, "...box? Oh, the one that got lost when I transferred from the Phoenix to SB901. Yes, there are some breakable items in there." Jayme shook her head, and then said, "Please open it."
Kassia nodded, her green eyes sparkling. "I'll do that then," she replied, "Now that I have your permission. Do you want me to leave everything in the box as well?"
"If you have the time you can place the items around my quarters as you check on them...if you don't have time then just leave them in the box...there is a list in the box of contents." Jayme paused, and added, "Set the box out and maintenance will take it."
"All right," she said, fighting the urge to ask how Jayme was doing. Having witnessed part of the nightmare and knowing what she knew of the reports that had come in, she didn't want to bring up anything that would destroy this tranquility for her. "I think I can find the time to take care of it. I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing these items around your quarters."
"Thanks," Jayme was cold and tired, "I think I need to go back and get some more sleep...have you guys been okay since I was back on station?"
"Everyone's fine," she replied, though not getting into the recent events. There was just too much to go into with Kalimar. "Not to say there hasn't been exciting moments, but I can tell you all about those later. You should probably get some more rest. You look like you could use it."
Jayme frowned, she'd heard that before. "Thanks for interrupting the dream. I still don't understand," she motioned around the meadow then sighed, "We can discuss this later." Jayme shook her head when she saw the smile on her friend's face."
"Just remember the meadow whenever you feel stressed," she smiled. "It might help. But now, I think I'll bid you goodnight. Sleep well from this point until you have to wake."
There was a falling sensation and then the warmth of the station folded around her and everything was dark and quiet around her. She woke a couple of hours later with the klaxon sounding. She slid out of her cube and started pulling on her boots as she moved toward CIC.
Kassia pulled away from Jayme's mind and was back in her friend's quarters with the damaged, but unopened box nearby. Now that she had Jayme's permission, she carefully opened the package and began sorting through the contents. There were framed photos of Jayme's father, and of Jayme shawl dancing at a Pow Wow. There were other various framed photos of her and her father together. She carefully inspected the frames of each photo, making sure they were unbroken. Seeing they were okay, she moved onto the next items she saw. Several discs with music. With a smile Kassia looked over the selection. It was diverse and appealing. The last thing was in a small case at the bottom of the box. She opened it and immediately recognized the item as a holo-program. She again smiled as images of the Pow Wow came to mind. Nodding to herself, she closed the case and set about her business. She collected the framed photos and began placing them around Jayme's quarters. She placed the music discs on the coffee table and placed the holo-program in a place Jayme was sure to see it as soon as she came back. With that done, Kassia finally watered Jayme's plants. Taking one last sweep of the quarters to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, she left, securing the door behind her.