Politely, Alara excused herself and began to make her way towards Victor, who had just drifted out of her line of sight. She was trying her best to allow him some freedom from her, as he would no doubt be quite sick of her over the next few days. But she couldn't let him be out of her sight, and just as she was about a meter and a half behind him, a hush fell over the crowd. Keeves' eyes turned immediately towards the door, where Jesa had just walked in... with Buck Gear.

Not many things could surprise Alara, but this was one of them. Her eyes widened, and she blinked once, looking him over to make sure that he corresponded to her mental picture of the man. To the best of her judgment, he was the genuine article, though she couldn't have said for sure without the report from a medical examination. Another woman stood behind Jesa... 'Jelandra Gear', Alara thought, recognizing her from an earlier visit to the Isannah.

Victor stood staring wide-eyed at Jesa and Buck, his glass slipping out of his hand and falling to the floor with a crash in the otherwise silent room. There were so many emotion-laden thoughts swirling through the room, it overwhelmed him in only moments, so quickly he didn't realize what was happening to him. The fact that all of those thoughts either came from or concerned Jesa didn't help matters any.

He drew the attention of a few people, but most eyes were focused on the new arrivals. Alara pushed her way through the crowd, arriving at Victor's side just as Callen spoke. "This is Doctor Becknar Gear who has recently returned to us, and Cadet Jelandra Gear who is taking her cadet cruise on the Isannah." She said, but the silence remained. Callen just looked over the crowd and then uttered one last sentence "As you were."

At that word, the commander headed towards the bar, and Alara reached out to touch Victor's arm. Another side-effect of the new arrivals was a great clamor of whispering and talking, everyone was exchanging words. From the few she could pick out, they were mostly of the exclamatory category sprinkled liberally with 'I thought he was dead,' 'How can he be here?'. "Victor." Alara said, but was sure she wasn't heard. He didn't seem to notice her touch, or anything else for that matter.

There was just too much noise in his head, each thought sparking something inside him he worked to keep pushed down. He fled the room pushing past Buck and Jesa, trying not to look at either as he barreled out. It was like rushing through the fire to escape the smoke. He had to get out, had to get away from all the noise! For an instant, Buck's eyes followed the man, there was something in that cold gaze that Alara didn't like. But she had other concerns at the moment.

Alara was after him in a heartbeat, her steps shadowing his. She reached the corridor and then looked both ways to see where he had gone. He ran through the halls, running blindly as he searched for his quarters, leaving a wake of confused people behind him. His eyes were clouded with the tears flowing freely now. Alara saw the barest glimpses of someone and followed, running through the corridors with the same fast pace. His trail which she followed was the people looking stunned in the corridors. The oddest part of the whole situation was that the same scene had played out earlier in the day, but with a different heroine.

Victor tripped over a young ensign in his path and fell to his knees, pounding on the floor as he wept, screaming. "I don't want this anymore!"

Alara heard the screamed words and quickened her already fast pace. Soon she saw a bewildered woman looking quite shocked at the prone form of a man weeping on the ground as she steadied herself against the corridor wall. The black-eyed woman was at his side in a second. First determining that the only anguish he was going through wasn't physical, she consoled the young woman and asked her to leave them alone. A simple nod was the only reaction she gave, disappearing down the corridor.

She looked down at him, her brow furrowed. Alara looked both ways to determine who else was around, and then she knelt down, gently reaching to touch his shoulder.

He seemed to relax under her touch, breathing heavily. "What's wrong with me?" he whispered.

Gently she rubbed her hand across his shoulders comfortingly, the way she had done at times for her brothers. "I wish I knew..." she said softly, "would you like to go to your quarters now?"

His voice came out in a hoarse whisper "Yes......please." Something told him that was a good idea, that he could fix himself if he made it to his quarters.

Alara left her hand on his shoulder and gently put her other one on his arm, guiding him to stand. Her touch was strong, but gentle.

He stumbled to his feet, leaning on her for balance as his vision cleared. "Wh... where are we anyway?"

She looked around "Deck Thirty-Five, section theta, corridor 5-J." Alara replied, holding onto him gently as she guided him to the nearest turbolift.

He frowned a little. "I was going the wrong way then......I can't imagine how pathetic I must have looked back there."

"Try not to think about it right now..." she said gently, as the turbolift door came into view.

He leaned back against the turbolift wall. "I shouldn't even be here. I should be rotting away in some cell somewhere and be spared all this."

She stood beside him, trying not to look at him in case he should take it as staring, instead of what it was meant as. "You can't live there... you can only survive. You need people around you in order to really live..." Her voice was soft, gentle, non-confrontational.

He just kept looking at his feet. "No, I need my people. I need my family and my friends. I need my old life back."

Alara chanced a look over at him, just looking at him. 'I have no clue what his problems are, I probably shouldn't even be speaking... but... ' she thought. 'I'll do what I can...' She leaned back against the side of the lift. "We're only granted the chance to go forward... unfortunately, or fortunately..." she said, gently.

"Unfortunately..." He sighed softly as the door opened and waited for her to walk out before following. "I just don't know how much more of this I can take."

"I'm sure there are some who will do their best to help, if you'll let them." Alara said, turning back slightly waiting for him to exit the lift. 'I sure hope there are... I hate to think about the situation if there are not.' Her entire manner was low-key, but with a high degree of presence and attempt to help.

He followed her back to his quarters silently and let them both in, making his way to a chest in one corner of the room. "M... make yourself at home, Miss Keeves." Victor sighed, there was going to be no avoiding this. He supposed he could order Alara out of the room, but that would ultimately defeat the purpose. He had to stay calm and rational.

Unlocking the chest, he first removed a pair of orange goggles and a small cylindrical device. Donning the goggles, he waved the cylinder in a circle on one side of his head, then the other. After a moment, he replaced the cylinder in the chest and plucked out another device, this one looking almost like a weapon. Victor slipped his fingers through the finger-holes and gripped the device tightly, holding it to the side of the goggles before touching its point to the side of his head.

There was a sharp hissing noise and Victor winced, biting back a cry of pain. The device Victor was holding started humming softly, and when it was silent again there was another sharp hiss. Victor let it slide from his fingers, holding up a hand to stop the flow of blood running down his face. He reached down into the chest, feeling around for a moment before bringing up a Federation-made dermal regenerator. Quickly closing the wound in the side of his head, he wiped the side of his face with a scrap of cloth, then went into the other room.

He came back out, his face and hands still wet, and sighed as he noticed Alara, nodding to himself. It couldn't be helped, he reminded himself. "Miss Keeves," he said quietly, "I don't think I need to say that I would appreciate it if you kept this matter to yourself."

Most people would have been decidedly rattled, Alara wasn't most people. What she was, however, could be something described as a mixture of heightened anxiety, curiosity, and alertness. She had stayed in the main room of his quarters, but had seen more than she probably wanted to. She had taken moment to formulate a response, longer than she normally did, but probably decidedly shorter than someone else would have. Her lips were pressed in a thin line. "I will do my best to keep it confidential, but should other things occur and this event becomes pertinent somehow, I may decide to inform Commander Callen." Her voice came out calm, without a break in it, but Victor could easily see she was more than a little uneasy.

"I understand completely, Miss Keeves. It's possible that might be just the thing to save my life one day." Victor went back over to the chest, properly replacing all the tools and securing the lid before making his way over to the couch. He was calm, collected, and he even managed a smile for Alara.

She watched him carefully, obviously trying to ascertain if he was alright or not. When she had found what it seemed she was looking for she relaxed visibly and sat down on the opposite end of the couch. "Are you alright now?" she asked somewhat quietly.

"Yes, I suppose." He replied with another smile. "Still a bit shaken, and more than a little embarrassed." Victor's cheeks reddened slightly. "But I think I'll be fine."

Gently she touched his shoulder, trying to be reassuring. Alara then got up a moment, crossing the room with ease and retrieving a wet cloth from the replicator. Returning to the couch she offered it to Victor. "For your hands," she nodded slightly at the traces of blood still present on his hands, and a few other places, she noted upon further inspection.

"Thank you." Victor nodded and took the cloth from her, wiping down his hands before returning the cloth to the replicator and sitting back down on the couch. "I do feel much better now."

"Good," she said, smiling slightly, because otherwise she was told she looked rather stern, even when she didn't mean to be. "Now, is there anything else I can do for you before I tend to some of the progress reports Johnson asked me to get done?"

Victor chuckled good-naturedly. "You could try to relax a little, for both our sakes Miss Keeves. I know I won't be able to get any rest until I can be sure you're doing the same."

Alara shot him a pained look, half mixed with annoyance, though it was easy to tell neither was to be taken seriously. "So, it's kind of your back-handed way of trying to make sure I relax by making your own state of mind depend upon it? Hmm?" She gave a slight laugh.

"Well, it is the only way I could get you to relax, and we both need it." Victor smiled, then leaned back and let out a long sigh.

"I suppose you have a point," Alara allowed, getting up yet again and going to the replicator. Tapping the surface, two mugs of steaming tea materialized before her. Alara took it in her hands and returned to the couch, walking up to Victor and offering it to him. "It's my own blend, mostly herbal... I find it soothing... and probably the only non-stimulant-oriented thing I drink," she said with a sheepish grin. Sitting down again she took a deep draught and sighed.

He cupped the mug in both hands, trying to hide his obvious distaste for the replicated drink. "It's... nice." he sighed and took another sip, figuring sooner or later he's going to have to get used to replicated food and drink.

Alara smiled slightly, "Sorry. Guess you're used to the real stuff. I'd offer to cook... but as my brothers told me, I am the only one who can burn water."

He set the mug down on the table. "Don't worry, if anyone does the cooking around her it'll be me, thanks." He looked up at her, tilting his head to the side. "How rude of me not to offer sooner..."

She shook her head with a smile, "No, it's alright..." and as she spoke the rest of the sentence she wandered around the room, examining various things, such as drawers, and other pieces of furniture, looking at the their placement quite distinctly. "I'm not really a guest, I'm your bodyguard... slightly different protocol is required." She looked back at him, smiling.

He shook his head, thinking about just how silly Starfleet officers could be at times. "No, you are a guest as long as you are in these quarters, and I expect you to behave as such."

Alara's smile turned to a grin; "Then I'm being quite rude as a guest right now... checking for dust."

He chuckled softly. "Dust, bugs, small explosive devices... it's quite alright. But that still doesn't excuse me. I don't suppose you have a favorite dish? Something I could make for you sometime?"

Alara shrugged, continuing her rounds. "Nothing I can think of... I'm normally too busy to even eat, much less find something I really enjoy eating..." she looked over at him, "I'll give it some thought though, if that's what you want." She said, stopping at the door to his bedroom, non-verbally asking permission to search it and in her own way of showing respect for his privacy.

He nodded. "Of course you may... just stay away from that case in the corner alright? It's rather personal."

She nodded back, "Of course," she said, disappearing into the other room.

He sighed and laid down on the couch. Twice he'd had a breakdown and twice someone had come to his rescue. He kept thinking to himself, 'Why do I trust these people? These people who took everything away from me....?', but couldn't come up with a clear answer.

A few minutes later Alara emerged from the other room, and looked over at Victor. At that instant she wanted to ask 'Are you alright?' but since it was clear that he wasn't, she tried to think of something else. After a moment of standing there she gave up the cause. Instead she quietly crossed the room, trying not to disturb him, and sat in a chair, picking up one of the padds from a nearby table which she had brought with her. Alara settled down in the chair, pulling her legs up under her.

The main reason she was doing this was to not place a burden of conversation on him, for that wasn't why she was sitting near him. Alara almost smirked as she realized that somehow she had stumbled upon a great disruption of her interaction protocols, especially around men, in the last few weeks... she never really did relate in an informal manner. Of course, those thoughts sent her musing on a completely different wondering---what had happened that had changed her so?

Victor breathed in deeply and leaned over the couch, looking at Alara. "So......find anything?"

She shook her head, looking up at him. "Nope. Doesn't look like anyone was in here... except Remy of course."

He ruffled Remy's ears. "Well, that could be just as bad, you didn't see anything damaged did you?" He looked at his cat and smiled. " 'Cause my Princess loves to amuse herself when Victor's away, doesn't she?"

Alara smiled. "Nothing destroyed, just a few things disturbed and knocked on the floor, I put them back in order. No fingerprints on them."

Victor yawned and stretched. "Then if you'll excuse me, Miss, I think I will turn in for the night."

Alara smiled slightly, "You're quite excused, though these are your quarters, and you do outrank me..." she chuckled slightly and reached for a padd, while seating herself in a chair.

He smiled back warmly, just barely stopping himself from launching into a perfectly chivalrous speech on courteously in the presence of a lady and simply said. "Good night, Miss Keeves."

"Goodnight, Lieu--- Victor." She smiled gently.

Loaded: 06.11.2004