be my escort | valeria&jim
Jim saw her shake her head and his heart dropped. He understood why she blamed herself, but how could he possibly comfort her if she wasn’t willing to listen? “Val, I’m not putting you in the brig-" he began, but then saw the tears beginning to fall.
Slowly, he stepped forward, gently taking her face in both hands. He didn’t force her to look at him, only leaned his head closer to hers, letting his thumbs wipe away the tears that threatened to spill. “Valeria, please listen to me," he said, his voice soft. “You are a good person. You made a mistake. Good people make mistakes. If anyone here is at fault, it’s the officer who attacked you. He violated direct orders. You were defending yourself. It was an accident."
At that moment, he decided that he would defend her - against his crew, against Starfleet, against anyone who tried to tell him that she was evil. Because all he could see was a frightened girl, not an evil one. Everyone had a bit of dark within them. Jim certainly did. He stepped back, one hand falling to her shoulder comfortingly while the other retrieved his communicator once more.
"Kirk to transporter room, two ready to beam up."
Valeria stayed close to Jim, practically pinned against his side as the worry crossed her face over what might happen. Jim might believe she was good but would the rest of Starfleet? They'd probably use this as an excuse to officially get rid of her by claiming how dangerous she was.
Though part of her wanted to run, she remained as though her feet were glued. It most certainly felt as though they were stuck to the ground but her thought broke when she nervously ducked behind Jim as some other officers approached. She looked to him as if telling him to be a hero before staring ahead at the two.
